Chapter 24: Begin Again
May found Ash resting on the edge of the bed, much like the first day they met. The girl adjusted herself a bit to give him some more space to rest. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect because her moving caused Ash to wake up. "Damn," the girl whispered with regret over disturbing his peaceful slumber.
Ash slowly opened his eyes, but as soon as he saw May sitting, he jolted back up. "May, you're awake!" Ash's eyes came to life with relief and happiness. He knew she'd come back to them.
The moment the brunette made eye contact with the raven-haired boy, she stared at him with wobbly sapphire eyes. Everything started sinking in for May as she looked into his auburn eyes. She remembered him, she knew everything Ash had done to help her grow in her journey. Ash noticed her teary eyes with worry, "Are you alright, May?"
"I could hear everything you were saying in my sleep. You've been nursing me since Tyranitar's attack," May expressed gratitude through her eyes.
Ash modestly rubbed the back of his head, "It wasn't just me. Chansey, Wigglytuff, and Audino helped too, they-," he got interrupted by the coordinator.
"But you're the one who's here. You were always here. As much as I wanted to wake up, I didn't have the strength, but you never left me. Your hope was strong enough to make you believe I'd wake up any moment," May clarified that Ash had gone above and beyond for her.
The trainer lowered the brim of his hat a bit to hide his light blush. Ash softly smiled at her, "Friends don't leave friends behind."
The coordinator unexpectedly reached for Ash's hands to squeeze them. Her action surprised him, "Do you know how I found the strength to wake up, Ash?" He nodded sideways with confusion. May warmly smiled, "You gave me the strength. Listening to you, especially now, gave me everything I needed to come back from such a close call."
Ash curiously raised his eyebrows. He did not expect his words to hold that much weight, "Wow, May."
May's glistening sapphire eyes started to release a few tears as her warm smile widened. "That's not everything. Ash, I remember."
Ash's eyes were perplexed, "Remember what, May?"
Her tears dropped on Ash's hands. She took a deep breath to speak without crying, "I remember everything. I remember we met the day I got my Torchic. I remember all of our traveling together up until the Wallace Cup."
"Really, May?" Ash's heart started to race as he realized his old friend had returned. He squeezed her hands while she still held them.
May slowly nodded with her loving smile. "You've always been there for me, haven't you?" the brunette spoke softly.
Ash started to blush again, but he laughed nervously. He made his confession, "I care about you, May. I always have, but I messed up as your friend because I didn't stay in touch. I wish I had arrived sooner to support you more through all this."
May shook her head in disagreement. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Ash. You're here now. That's enough to show that you never forgot me." Her heartbeat started to quicken as she said it.
"May, I-," Ash tried to follow up, but May lunged at him with an unexpected kiss. His shocked eyes grew when he felt her lips press against his.
Coincidentally, Pikachu popped up at the window that moment, but the mouse's jaw dropped without alerting them. Pikachu's eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing. Not only did he discover May was awake, but she was kissing his best friend. He quickly hid under the window sill to avoid detection.
May held Ash's face with both hands as she pressed her warm lips on his. She thought her heart would burst out of her chest as she felt the warmth of his body. Ash put his hands on her waist while he absorbed the passion May was giving him. He could feel his heart rate match May's. The adrenaline from their kiss transported them to a different reality for a moment, but that reality was incredible.
If their lungs allowed it, they could have kissed all morning, but they stopped to catch their breath. May immediately backed away with shock over what she had just done. The coordinator pressed her hands against her chest with worry.
Ash became confused by her sudden change in demeanor. "Did I do something wrong?" he worried he sucked at kissing.
The brunette shook her head sideways frantically, "No, no! That was actually a really good kiss. I just- I just didn't expect myself to do that." The coordinator had mixed feelings over her hasty reaction toward Ash's affection. Her expression remained frozen with regret and confusion.
Her friend tried to ease her by placing his hand on her shoulder, "It's alright, May. Don't worry yourself." He was still confused by her reaction, but he knew she had just woken up from a near-death experience with regained memories, so there was a lot to process.
When Ash touched her shoulder, the girl could feel her heartbeat quicken again. May wanted to keep kissing Ash. She wanted to keep holding his face while she melted from his touch, but the Petalburg girl felt she had gotten ahead of herself. She lowered her hands with a sigh, "I'm sorry, Ash."
Ash pulled his hand back from her. He stood up with a gentle grin. "Let me get you something to eat. You must be hungry and will need to get your strength back." He recognized May's need for a moment.
May quietly agreed with a nod. Ash stepped out, but he nearly jumped when he saw Pikachu outside her bedroom. The mouse had seen enough and overheard enough to understand that his best friend was in uncharted territory. "Pikachu," Pikachu raised its eyebrow.
"Pikachu, you saw all that?" Ash shook off the startle and crouched down to talk to his buddy.
Pikachu bobbed its head to indicate it had. "Pi," Pikachu wanted to know the details straight from the source.
Ash sighed, "It's more complicated than I think, buddy. Why don't I tell you more about it after I give May her breakfast?" Pikachu agreed as he followed Ash into the kitchen.
After a few minutes, Ash returned to May's bedroom with Pikachu on his shoulder and a grilled cheese sandwich on her plate. "Pika!" Pikachu leaped into May's arms with joy.
May's face glowed with happiness when she received Pikachu in her arms. "Pikachu, it's so good to see you!" the coordinator squeezed the mouse in her arms. The Electric-type nuzzled against May's face, making the girl giggle from his tickling.
Ash smiled over the cute sight as he set the food on her nightstand. "Here you go, May. Eat up," the auburn-eyed boy smiled. Pikachu separated from May as the brunette thanked Ash. Then the Pallet trainer informed her, "I'll leave you to eat and do what you need to do. Pikachu and I will be outside training, but if you need anything, just let us know."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu reminded May that they were ready to help her with anything.
May appreciated Ash's attentiveness, "Alright, I'll catch up with you soon." She tried to keep a positive face in the presence of Ash and Pikachu. Ash smiled at her as he turned to the door. When he was about to exit with Pikachu, May managed to say a few more words with a soft voice. "Thank you, Ash."
Her friend looked back at her with a warm smile, "Any time, May."
With that said, Ash and Pikachu were gone. May was left alone to deal with her thoughts. She lowered her head with a distraught look. She tried to eat in her pensive state, but truthfully, she wasn't hungry, especially after what happened with Ash. Her sandwich was going cold as she only mustered the energy to take two bites. The coordinator set the plate back on the nightstand with her thoughts being her only focus. By kissing Ash, she knew she had thrown herself from one problem into another. "What have I done?" May muttered.
She grabbed her head with both hands to shake herself in a panic. Instantly, the coordinator leaped out of bed. May approached one of her drawers with a frantic gaze. The coordinator frowned, "I know I left them here." After a few seconds of digging through old papers, she found the old photographs she was looking for. They were the same photographs she hastily hid from Ash when they arrived at her home on the first day. When she saw them, she was reminded of another lifetime. Despite the time that had passed, she could still feel the pain of it as if it had happened not too long ago.
May sighed over the photographs. It still hasn't gotten much easier looking at these, the brunette thought to herself. Her sapphire eyes became fixed on the green-haired coordinator who introduced her to a new world of romance beyond roses and Pokémon. Drew led May through her transition from girl to woman, and it changed her forever. She flipped through the different photos with a mix of sadness, disappointment, and loneliness. There were photos from different periods of their relationship.
One picture was of them at the beach. Drew wore purple trunks with a fine set of abs on display. His emerald eyes and proud smile focused on the girl next to him, May. She wore a bright red bikini set that complemented her athletic figure nicely. The female coordinator looked hopelessly in love with him. Her sapphire eyes were fixed on his emerald eyes in the picture. Her hands clasped together while she admired her handsome boyfriend. By simply staring at the picture, May remembered how head over heels she was with Drew by then. It was cute, yet somewhat pathetic at the time. She wished she had been smarter.
Another one of the pictures was of them on a dinner date. She noticed Drew was wearing his usual purple shirt, he really loved purple, May said in her mind. Drew was sitting down with May sitting across from him. The male coordinator had his hand out with a rose for May. May was wearing her orange top from her travels in Johto when they took the picture. There was a blush on May's face, as she prepared to receive the flower. Their candlelit dinner remained ingrained in May's mind. She could recall the details vividly, from the scent of Drew's cologne to the presentation of their food. Even if it was a long time ago, May couldn't deny that she had a nice time then.
The last picture she had was of Drew and her posing over a contest victory. Unlike her contest victory with Ash, this competition was structured for double battles between four coordinators, so the pair that came out victorious received a pair of ribbons. May wore a blue variation of her Johto outfit for this photo while Drew stuck to his usual colors. The male coordinator had his arm around May's waist while they presented their ribbons high in the air. Drew and May's faces glowed with ecstasy over their successful performance. May remembered they showered them with petals when they posed for their victory, which was in the shot. She saw the shower of beautiful pink petals caught in their hair and clothes, but it didn't bother them. Years later, May could not recall where that ribbon was or even the name of the contest. It's probably back in Petalburg tucked away in a ribbon case somewhere, May presumed.
The presumption led her to think about the Terracotta Ribbon she won with Ash. She opened the other drawer to find half of the ribbon there, along with the bandana she had worn from the day Tyranitar knocked her unconscious. Ash was never anything more than a friend to me, yet I've been carrying this ribbon much longer than any ribbon I've won with Drew. She admitted that the Terracotta ribbon meant more to her than she let on. This made her think about Ash. May knew what she was feeling. After everything that occurred, especially with her memories restored, she recognized she had grown attached to Ash. Besides Drew, Ash was the only boy who managed to make her feel something. It worried her.
May shifted her attention back to the old photos with Drew. She took one last look at them with a glare. Without hesitation, the coordinator ripped them into as many pieces as possible as tears rapidly streamed down her cheeks. It was sudden and quick, but each photo tear felt like a tear in her heart. The brunette clenched onto the shredded pictures in her hands, "Damn it!" May yelled as her tears released uncontrollably. She cursed herself as she threw them into the trash. May panted as she looked into the garbage can with tears dripping on the pile of torn photographs. She rubbed her face with her forearm, but more tears kept swelling up in her eyes. Pull it together, May, the girl tried to maintain her composure.
She clenched her teeth as she angrily undressed herself for a shower to cool down. May hurried into the bathroom with her clothes. Her hand turned the shower knob on with the water set to cold. She'd hoped the shock of a cold shower would bring her to her senses. May slipped off her panties and threw her unclipped bra on the floor. Before she stepped into the cold shower, she noticed markings from cuts and bruises on her arms and back due to Tyranitar's Stone Edge. Her injuries looked better than expected, which May appreciated. She felt lucky that Ash and the Pokémon had done a terrific job nursing her back to health. If it weren't for them, especially Ash, she might not have recovered as quickly as she did. May's mind kept picturing Ash and his smile when she looked in the mirror. The auburn-eyed trainer couldn't escape her mind. May couldn't ignore the fact that Ash held a special place in her heart as much as she might've wanted to in that moment. Her body trembled with anxiety as she nervously tried to step into the cold water. She glared at the floor, don't think, just do it! May clenched her fists and shut her eyes. Without giving it another second of attention, she got under the showerhead. If her body was already shaking prior, the cold water worsened it. She shrieked with horror over her situation and the water spraying her naked back.
"It's too hard!" May sorrowfully wailed. She could no longer fight back against the wave of emotions overcoming her. The coordinator threw herself on the shower floor in defeat. She wasn't sure if the water flowing down her face was her tears or from the shower, but it didn't matter. May knew it wasn't the end of the world, but she still needed this moment. She had never given herself the proper time, but the girl from Petalburg City needed to grieve alone. May needed to grieve over what Drew had done to her. She needed to grieve over the reality that she had forgotten her journey with Ash for so long. She also needed to grieve over the fact that Tyranitar nearly ended her life. Lastly, she needed to grieve over how she poorly handled her unresolved feelings for Ash earlier. It was all so much to absorb at once that it overwhelmed her, but she knew she had no choice now other than to confront it all. This was the price of bottling everything in for so long.
Her focus on her thoughts numbed her to the sensation of the cold water, so she lifted her head with closed eyes to let the shower wet her face. She gasped for a moment but May didn't move away. The brunette endured the initial shock of cold. Then she opened her eyes to see her reflection on the stainless-steel shower knob. May noticed the redness in her eyes as well as her tangled hair. She appeared miserable. Nonetheless, she remained frozen like a statue for a good minute so she could analyze herself. May studied her face, her body, and her experiences. Everything she had ever experienced led her to this painful and lonely moment in the cold shower, but she knew it was where she had to be. Now she knew what she had to do. It was time to let go. May's zombie-like stare turned into a fiery gaze with a resolve as tough as steel. The girl calmly stood up without moving her eyes away from her reflection. A sense of newfound power came over her. May frowned when she clenched her fists. It's time to leave the past behind, May. May wouldn't let past tragedies and disappointing experiences torment her any longer. The only thing she could do to move forward now was to take the lessons she had been given and apply them to the present, where she could still make a change.
May nodded at the reflection of herself. She would learn from her past, celebrate her present, and welcome her future with the tools at her disposal. She would not let anything, or anyone walk over her again, not anymore. She turned the knob to turn off the cold water.
With a refreshed appearance, May stepped out into the sun with her original red bandana and the rest of her original Hoenn outfit. She would return to the basics as she prepared to change the trajectory of her life. Her eyes shined with newfound energy, and she mustered a humble smile at the sun. "Let's begin," May confidently said to herself.
Before she took her first step, she heard a mighty roar from some distance behind her. The girl's eyes became delightfully startled when she turned around. She found Pyroar alongside many other Pokémon who cheered as if welcoming her back. "May!" Ash called her name as he leaped out of the crowd with a bright smile.
"Hi, everyone!" May responded happily. They all ran to her with joy.