"What do you mean that was only the beginning…?" May wondered, itching to hear more of Ash's story. The raven-haired boy sighed as he still refused to meet her eyes with his own.

"We didn't see each other again until after school that day…" he explained.

Later that same day, after talking about things with Serena over text, May managed to spot Ash as he was packing to leave for the day. His head was still held low and his eyes were still sad which absolutely broke her heart.

"Ash!" May called as she ran to him as quickly as she could. He glanced over, still clearly hurt by what he saw earlier, and he closed his locker as he grabbed his keys. "Ash please stop and listen to me…"

"I have to go May...I have to pick up Luna…" he mumbled as he walked past her towards the door. But she grabbed his arm and forced him to stop. "May-"

"Just shut up." she cut him off before kissing him hard. Ash blushed in surprise as she held him there, their lips locked and unwavering. Time seemed to stand still until she finally pulled away and looks him dead in the eyes.

"You're the one I want to be with Ash…I've wanted it for so long…there is nothing between me and Drew…" she explained as clearly as she could, causing Ash's eyes to widen in shock and the blush on his cheeks to only deepen further.

"A-Are you...are you saying you...?" he stammered as he tried to process what was happening.

"Yes…I love you…" she nodded.

"May…" he whispered as the reality began to hit him. A slow smile crept onto his face and he soon wrapped her up in a tight hug. "I love you too...I've loved you for so long…"

"I love you too…" she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him in return. The two stayed in each other's arms for a few moments longer before Ash planted a kiss on her lips. May happily kissed him back and both of their hearts soared with happiness. They both moaned as he invaded her mouth with his tongue and deepened the kiss. They stayed in the lip lock until finally May was forced to pull away when she needed air. Ash's eyes found her's once again as he held her firmly in his arms.

"May will you be my girlfriend...?" he asked.

"Of course, I will…" she nodded. Ash's smile only grew wider as he hugged her tightly.

"Well then, how about I give you a ride home?" he offered with a kind smile.

"I'd like that very much…" she nodded. With that, he took her hand in his and walked her out to his car.

May was left breathless as Ash concluded the next portion of his story. It was true. They really had become a couple. She was Ash's girlfriend, just like she always wanted to be. And he loved her just as much as she loved him. If the last week hadn't been as crazy as it had been, she would've almost sworn she was dreaming.

"Whoa…but then, what happened with Drew?" she wondered.

"From what you told me, you two worked things out…" Ash sighed.

The next day at school, as May gathered her things from her locker to start her day, she heard footsteps coming towards her once again. She turned curiously since the plan was for her to find Ash, not the other way around, and she saw Drew walking towards her once again. She glared at him, still angry about the previous day, as she slammed her locker closed.

"What do you want Drew?" she growled.

"May…I'm just here to apologize…" he said, surprising her so much that the anger immediately faded from her face.

"What…?"

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't know you were in love with Ash, but even so, I shouldn't have tried to influence your decision by kissing you. So I just want you to know how sorry I am." he explained.

"Drew…" she whispered. She was surprised by his apology and, remembering the good times they had together before drifting apart, she let the last of her anger fade. "Did you really…mean what you said?"

"I do miss our friendship…and I wish we hadn't let it fade away…I thought maybe we could give being a couple a try now that we're older…but I'd never try to force you into anything. Especially since you're already in love with someone else." he clarified. Now this was the Drew she remembered. A little rash at times and aloof when it came to his feelings, but underneath it all was a kind person.

"I miss our friendship too…and Ash and I worked things out so…maybe we could just take things slowly? Work towards our friendship again?" she offered. Drew seemed surprised by her offer, but slowly a small smile crept onto his face.

"I'd like that May…"

"Me too…" she smiled back as the bell rang, alerting them to the time. "Oh! I-I gotta…!"

"Go ahead. We'll talk later." he assured her. May flashed him one last smile and ran off, much happier now and eager to tell Ash the good news.

"Wow.." May muttered as Ash continued his story.

"Those next three weeks of September were the most amazing of my life...I have never been happier than I was when we were together that way...going out on dates, spending our free time together…it was just…perfect…" he explained.

"Oh Ash…" May whispered.

"But it was exactly when I thought everything was perfect that it all changed...I lost everything in just one night…"

It was the night of the royal ball theme dance and everyone in the school was excited for the big event. But no one was more excited than Ash as he pulled his car up to May's house. It would be their first school dance as a couple and he was eager to spend the entire evening with her. He parked his car in the driveway and headed up the path before knocking on May's front door. After a moment, the door opened and revealed May on the other side, wearing the most beautiful dress he'd ever seen. His eyes widened as he stared at her, stunned.

"Whoa…"

"Hi Ash." she greeted him sweetly.

"Wow...May you look...wow…" he stammered, scratching his head nervously as s bold blush crept in along his cheeks. This caused May to giggle.

"Thank you. You look great too." she replied, admiring his suit for a moment.

"Thank you kindly ma'am." he answered as he then offered her his hand. "Shall we?"

"Absolutely." she nodded as she accepted his hand. With that, he escorted her to his car and began to drive them to the dance as they chatted.

"It's a real shame Dawn isn't around. She'd love a royal-themed dance." May giggled.

"We'll take a picture for her." he assured her.

"Think Serena ended up asking anyone to be her date?" she wondered.

"Not sure. She didn't mention anything so she may just come as part of our group." he shrugged.

"I'd feel a bit bad if she did…especially since I know Chloe and Goh will be there too." she sighed.

"Don't worry. She'll find her match." Ash replied as he parked his car in the parking lot. "In fact, I have noticed her eyeing Drew ever since he started hanging out with us more."

"Really?" May smiled.

"Never know." he winked before he hopped out and opened the car door for her. "After you ma'am."

"Thank you Sir Ketchum." she giggled as she got out of the car. He smiled back at her and escorted her in like a true gentleman. Inside they met up with the rest of their friends where they danced and partied all night, having a great time all the while. After one of the faster songs later in the evening, Ash offered to get May and himself a drink, not realizing that some of the upperclassmen had just a few minutes earlier spiked it with pure vodka. He filled two cups with the laced punch and brought them both over to the table he was sharing with her.

"Here you go May." he said as he handed her one of the cups.

"Thank Ash." she replied politely as she accepted. Ash sat next to her and downed his drink in one big swing, not realizing that by doing so, the alcohol in it went right to his head, almost immeidatly starting to affect his perceptions.

"Wow! It's really good tonight!" he laughed a bit louder than he normally would have. Curious by the sudden shift in his behavior, May took a small sip of her's and winced slightly at the taste.

"Well…it's not my favorite they've ever made…" she shrugged. She set her cup aside as Ash watched her movements, smiling at her as the alcohol began to make its way through his system and lower his inhibitions.

"Oh Arceus you're beautiful…" he commented out of nowhere, making her blush.

"Oh. Well thank you Ash." she smiled softly. His response however was to get up from his chair and wrap his arms around her waist, startling her.

"I love you so much…" he mumbled.

"I love you too…but are you feeling ok?" she wondered, taking notice of his change in behavior. He however seemed to ignore her question and instead began to rub her waist with his palm.

"I want you…"

"Huh…?!" Ash ran his hand down to her butt and simply repeated himself.

"I want you...Say you'll come…"

"A-Are you sure we're…ready for this…?" she stammered, blushing hard.

"Oh yeah baby…" he smirked.

"Well…alright. I'll trust you." she nodded. Gaining her approval, Ash smiled and proceeded to sweep her off her feet and carried her to his car. Once they were both inside, he started driving fast and erratically down the road away from the school under the influence of the substances in his system.

"Whoa…Ash, maybe you should slow dow-" she was cut off mid-sentence as Ash blew past a red light just as another car was going through and the two collided. Ash's car skidded across the road as the other car slammed into May's side of the car. Both teens screamed and Ash's head suddenly slammed into the roof of the car and he promptly blacked out.

After only a few moments, Ash groaned as he started to come to. His side of the car was left relatively undamaged and his injuries were fairly minor. The other car had already fled the scene and his car was left damaged and totaled in the middle of the quiet intersection.

"A-Ah…" he groaned. However as the events of the evening began to return to him, his eyes widened and he bolted upwards. "May?!" he turned towards the passenger's seat and froze. Even in his drunken state, he couldn't miss the horrifying sight of her body. She was pinned to her seat by the impact of the other car. Her head was bloody after the bent metal had smashed into her head. Her arms and legs were nearly crushed in the rubble and she looked as though she had just been through a war. By all accounts…she looked like she was dead. "No…! NO…!" he frantically tried to set her free from the seatbelt and the crushed metal, but he simply couldn't do it on his own. "May…! May no…!" he screamed. His calls were suddenly answered though as someone ran up to the car and looked inside one of the broken windows.

"Ash!" the raven-haired teen turned around and found himself face to face with Drew, whose eyes also widened in horror once he saw the situation inside.

"I can't get her out…! Please help…!" he begged. Drew nodded and ran around the other side of the car which had been smashed. He quickly whistled to his car, which was still parked in the school parking lot nearby after he had seen the accident take place. His whistle caused his own partner, a Roserade, to leap out of the car and rush to his side.

"Roserade use Power Whip!" he called.

"Rose roserade!" she nodded as she launched thick, thorny vines from her rosebud hands. She wrapped the vines around the damaged car door and tore it free from the rest of the car. As Ash dug himself free from the other side of the car, Drew went back in and cut May's seatbelt off of her, allowing him to finally get her out of the car. He laid her down on the ground as the blood continued to leak onto the pavement from her wounds. Drew placed his ear to her chest and listened as Ash ran over and joined them.

"Is she…?!"

"She's alive. But her heartbeat is weak. Call 911 now!" Drew ordered him. Ash didn't argue as he quickly got his phone from his pocket and dialed for help while Drew and Roserade did what they could to stop the bleeding. Ash was soon off the phone as he watched May and Drew through tear-filled eyes.

"May please don't die…!" he screamed.

"Ash what were you thinking?!" Drew yelled at him.

"I-I don't know…! I just…!" he stammered, unable to even really form any thoughts between the alcohol and tears. Drew caught a whiff of his breath and his eyes widened.

"Oh my gosh…you're drunk!" he yelled, causing Ash's eyes to widen in shock.

"N-No I…I would never…" he struggled.

"You know those idiot seniors spike the punch almost every time!" Drew growled. Reality seemed to hit Ash like a truck as he realized completely what had happened.

"It…It's all my fault…I did this to her…" he whispered. Drew didn't reply as an ambulance suddenly pulled up to the scene. Nurse Joy and her EMT team rushed onto the scene and immediately began to tend to May, forcing Ash and Drew to back up and give them room to work. The two boys could only watch as the medical team tried to save the woman they both cared about so deeply. "This is all my fault…because I tried to force her into bed I ended up…this is all my fault…I never wanted to hurt her...never…"

"I know...you're a good guy Ash...but if I hadn't been in the parking lot still no one would've seen the crash...and she'd be dead now…" Drew reminded him as gently as he could.

"I nearly killed her…" he cried.

"Let's just hope you didn't…" Drew sighed. Both boys looked back at the accident and saw May's body being loaded into the ambulance. She looked so helpless, fragile, and broken. And they could tell from the chatter of the paramedics that even they weren't sure if May was going to survive. And the sight of it was too much for Ash, causing him to come to a decision. He turned towards Drew, catching the green-haired teen's attention. "What?"

"...I can't risk hurting her again…" he whispered through his sniffles. "You really care about her like you said...?"

"I do." he nodded. Ash sniffled as he tried to dry his eyes.

"...Then prove it. I'm going to stay out of her life so I never hurt her again. She's going to need someone to look after her so…please take good care of her...don't ever let anything happen to her…" he begged, surprising Drew. He hesitated for a moment as he came to terms with what Ash was asking him to do, before finally giving him a small nod.

"I will." he promised.

"Thank you…"

May's jaw literally fell open as she listened to Ash. The reason Drew was trying to make them a couple, was because Ash asked him to.

"Ash…"

"We told everyone in your life about our plan while you were in the comma and they all agreed to it…but when we learned that you had no memory of September at all, we had to change our approach…" he continued.

A few hours after May had awoken from her comma, all of her family and friends had gathered in the private waiting room to discuss the plan moving forward, including both Ash and Drew.

"She really doesn't remember anything at all about September?" Serena asked, still stunned by the news.

"That's what she says…and I don't think she'd lie about that if she knew what all had happened." Caroline confirmed.

"Memories or not, we still have an obligation to keep her safe so she's never in this kind of situation ever again." Norman said firmly.

"Sure, but if she doesn't remember anything about school, then she doesn't remember anything about…" her voice trailed off as everyone in the group slowly turned towards Ash.

"Meaning she doesn't remember ever being in a relationship with Ash." Drew finished for her.

"So what do we do…?" Max wondered.

"...We stick to the plan." Ash said firmly, surprising everyone.

"Ash?" Serena wondered.

"No one is ever going to tell her that she and I were a couple. It's best that she never remembers we ever dated." he continued, earning some nods of agreement, though some were more hesitant than others. He ignored all hesitation and turned towards Drew. "She needs you in her life not me…now more than ever."

"...I understand." Drew nodded, accepting his role in the plan. Ash nodded back and turned towards Norman and Caroline.

"You have my word...I will stay as far away from her as I can for the rest of my life…" he assured them.

"Good." Norman nodded.

"I'm sorry that it has to be this way, Ash…" Caroline voiced her concern, understanding the situation but still knowing how much hurt it was causing Ash.

"Don't be…this is what's best for her...she needs someone that will protect her...especially from me…" he conceded, lowering his head and his voice. "All I want is for her to be safe…"

"We'll make sure she is." Drew promised him.

"She won't like this…" Max muttered as Ash took a deep breath.

"This isn't about what anyone wants...this is about her life…"

Ash continued to cry as he finished his story and May slowly began to take in the final chapter of his story. All the pieces fell into place in her mind. Everyone's behavior suddenly made sense to her.

"Oh Ash…" she whispered as she pulled him back into a hug. "I'm so sorry you went through all that…but it's not your fault…"

"Yes, it is!" Ash yelled, crying. "If I hadn't tried to sleep with you I never would've tried to drive that night! You never would've gotten hurt!"

"You weren't the one who spiked it! You didn't know!" she yelled back.

"But I was the one that hurt you! You could've died that night! All because I wanted to violate you in a drunken stupor!" he screamed, breaking down completely into a sobbing fit. May held him close and let him cry into her shoulder.

"Ash…you being away is hurting me more than any accident…" she tried, but Ash shook his head.

"Please just go back to your family and Drew...please stay away from me...it's better that way…" he begged her.

"That's not happening…" she answered as more tears ran down his face.

"May please...I can't risk you getting hurt again...I can't…" he pleaded with her.

"No…I'm not giving up on you…on us…" she insisted. The mention of their relationship seemed to trigger something in Ash as he lifted his head from her shoulder with frustration.

"This is meant to protect you! Why can't you just let it all die?! You didn't see how broken your body was May! How close to death you were! It haunts me every time I close my eyes!" he yelled.

"Pretending like we don't love each other isn't a healthy solution either! You're hurting I can tell!" she fired back.

"I couldn't care less about my health! It's always about you May! I live with what I did every minute of my life!" he yelled back. May was about to protest again, but a different thought crossed her mind and she stopped herself.

"Answer me this…do you still love me…?" she said carefully. Ash hesitated for a moment but knew well enough by now that there was no use in lying to her.

"Of course I do...but after what I did to you...staying away from you is the only way I can guarantee you'll never be hurt again...I'd go through torture if it meant protecting you…" he answered. Getting the answer she suspected from him, she replied back to him.

"Ash even if had I died that night…I wouldn't regret a thing." she announced, stunning him.

"But-"

"We all make mistakes Ash…but we have to grow from them not run from them. You are everything to me…and I'd go through it all a hundred more times if it meant in the end we could be together. I love you…and no amount of accidents, amnesia, or conspiracies is going to change that." she explained.

"May…"

"Drew may very well keep me safe…but you help me to live life to the fullest…to be the realest me there is…" she added. Ash hesitated for a moment as the fear returned to his eyes.

"If...if you were hurt again-"

"It will be worth it to be with you…" she whispered. Ash was quiet for a moment as more tears welled up in his eyes. Finally, after considering her words, he hugged her and cried, holding her tenderly. May hugged him back and let him cry into her shirt.

"I love you...I love you so much…" he mumbled through his tears.

"I love you too…please promise me you'll never leave me again…" she begged him. Ash sniffled and wipes the tears from his eyes.

"I promise…" he whispered before kissing her. She kissed him back and the two held each other close before finally separating for air. Even still, Ash held her close and rested his chin on the top of her head, cradling her body in his arms. "I just...I want to hold you right now...I missed you so much…"

"I'd like that…" she whispered. As he held her close, he took a deep breath and finally allowed a smile to cross his face. May took notice and giggled softly. "That's a good look on you."

"What is?" he wondered.

"A smile…I haven't seen one all week…" she replied, making both of their smiles grow wider.

To be Continued...