Chapter 25: Is It Over Now?
May was thrilled to learn of Litleo's evolution into Pyroar after Tyranitar nearly killed her. As Ash predicted, the coordinator was more than proud of the lion's bravery and determination to protect the ones it had come to consider its friends. The Fire-type feline purred contently against her, relieved she was with them again. May spent the rest of the day enjoying the company of various Pokémon and Ash. Everyone wanted a piece of May that they could shower with affection.
It was a dramatic shift from the lonely and reflective experience May retreated to in the morning, but the brunette knew it was necessary to undergo if she wished to begin again with new joy. The girl affirmed to herself that she would no longer allow the sorrows of the past to ruin her present. She would leave past problems behind while being determined to resolve the pending issues of the present. May would take new initiatives with a better attitude. It was the ultimatum she made to herself in the shower, lament in the past or thrive in the present. The girl from Petalburg City chose the latter.
That's why her day went by, filled with laughter and fun. May savored every moment of her time with Ash and the Pokémon because it was the only way she knew she could live life to the fullest going forward. It wouldn't solve all her ongoing issues, but it was a start. The group continued their pleasant reunion into the moonlight hours, but by then, some of the Pokémon had fallen asleep from so much play, including Pikachu. May felt exhausted, so they all agreed to call it a night. The coordinator ensured all the Pokémon and Ash made it to bed without issues. She took the time to wish all of them a good night until she was alone. Then she quietly went to her bedroom to tuck herself in. It had been quite the day.
She lay down with her thoughts. Being alone again gave her time to think about her kiss with Ash. May placed her hand over her heart with a deep sigh. She couldn't deny she had feelings for him; she always did. However, was it the right time for them? When they traveled together, it clearly wasn't. Ash was too involved in his dream to notice her subtle feelings for him, which pushed her closer to Drew. Ultimately, she never expected anything from Ash, but upon reuniting with him, she found something changed within him. He was more attentive. He prioritized her over his training this time. He even put his journey on hold to reunite with her when he was not obligated to. The combination of her old memories and new memories painted a new image of him. She wondered what prompted this change in his attitude. May asked herself if he learned new things beyond Pokémon while he traveled to other regions. It didn't matter much, but it left her pondering her current situation. What am I supposed to do about Ash? May sighed again.
Her mind pictured the boy who used to be clueless about romance, but she believed Ash understood what love was. He unknowingly comprehended love when it came to bonding with his Pokémon. Ash loved Pikachu and all his other Pokémon like family. He loved his friends, so he'd go out of his way for them. There were no limits to Ash Ketchum's love. His only problem was that he had trouble interpreting love in the romantic sense, thus making him oblivious to its elements. Nonetheless, his deep love for his loved ones and Pokémon drew May in, along with his confident and supportive demeanor. Ash's strong belief in his friends made him charming in his unique way, which was another thing May adored about him. May overcame some of her most significant hurdles thanks to Ash, unlike others who thought tough love always worked, but it put her down sometimes. Drew was exceptionally good at putting her down at times. That's when her mind started to think about the emerald-haired coordinator.
Drew was her first and only serious relationship. May became saddened when she remembered how beautiful their relationship was when it started. For a time, she believed she was going to marry him. Like most young love though, it went sour. One thing that made May so alarmed about her kiss with Ash this morning was that it was eerily similar to when Drew helped nurse her back to health after she got injured in Johto. After May got hurt, similar to Ash, Drew prioritized her well-being over contests. She remembered he claimed to be willing to sacrifice the Grand Festival for her then. His words and the tireless nights he spent watching her melted May's heart. If May felt something for him before, she knew she was definitely feeling something for him after that experience. She would never forget the evening she regained consciousness.
May gently opened her eyes to find evening sunlight showering her. She felt disoriented as she tried to remember what happened. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice say her name, "Welcome back, May."
The girl shifted her head to the left to find Drew sitting beside her with a relieved smile. His eyes were glistening as if he was trying to hold back tears. "Drew, how long have you been here?" May tried to understand what was happening.
She tried to sit up but felt a bit weak. Drew grabbed her hands to pull her up, "Let me help you." He gently helped her sit so she'd feel more comfortable after being on her back for nearly two weeks.
"Thank you," May softly grinned at how he helped her sit up.
"Your family is going to be so relieved that you're alright," Drew rubbed away any tears swelling in his eyes.
"What happened?" May asked him as she tried to remember.
Drew held her hands as he helped her recall. "We were passing a bridge, and it snapped as you crossed. I tried to save you, but we were too late. You fell into a river with some strong currents. Flygon and I spent hours looking for you until we bumped into some people who found you and took you back to their village to nurse you. We've been here ever since."
May listened to him as everything started flashing back to her. She recalled Drew waiting for her on the other side of the bridge, but she was too frightened to pick up the pace. The winds were blowing unusually strong, so it made the crossing wobble. The last thing she remembered was the rope snapping. Her mind returned to the present, where she stared at Drew with amazement. The brunette caressed Drew's hands, "So you've been looking after me while I got better? What about the contest in Goldenrod City?"
Drew shrugged his shoulders, "You are more important. Plus, contests don't have the same energy if you're not there."
"Drew," May got bashful upon hearing him admit that.
Unexpectedly, Drew moved his hand to her cheek. He started caressing her affectionately, making her blush red like a Tamato Berry. "I was afraid I was going to lose you. You have no idea how worried I was. I-I can't picture a life where you're not around May." The male coordinator started to blush as much as May.
The female coordinator placed her hand over the one he used to caress her cheek. "Drew, I would never leave you. I treasure you very much. I'm glad you've been with me through this journey."
Drew and May's hearts started beating faster as their eyes peered into their souls. He became lost in her sapphire eyes, and she became mesmerized by his emerald eyes. May realized Drew was looking at her in a way that he had never looked at her before. She intensely stared while she read his eyes. The female coordinator thought this day would never come after the million roses he had given her, but May recognized the inviting gaze he was giving her. She didn't move as Drew inched closer to her face. The brunette could feel the heat radiating from him when she slowly closed her eyes. Drew closed his eyes when he leaned in. Their lips finally touched. The pair of coordinators got lost in their kiss. May wrapped her arms around his neck while Drew held her face with his hands. Neither wanted to let go. After years of hints and heated rivalry, their relationship culminated in this long-awaited kiss. Finally, May was his, and Drew was finally hers. Despite the incident that damaged May's memory, it was one of the best moments of her life at the time. She was grateful for Drew.
Her world changed forever after that. From then on, they trained more often as a couple and competed as a couple wherever they could. As they won more contests, they became well-known in Pokémon coordinating competitions. When May became a top coordinator and started winning multiple Grand Festivals, their fame skyrocketed to a new level. May and Drew became the "it" couple in coordinating, but they got recognized in circles outside of Pokémon coordinating by then. For a time, it was nice to have the world know how close and powerful they were as a couple. The couple received praise for their exceptional abilities but also dashing looks. Regardless, neither May nor Drew anticipated the toll fame would have on their relationship further down the line.
May's career and accomplishments grew at a faster pace than Drew's. With this accelerated success came more scrutiny and invasion of privacy for the pair. Drew became more uncomfortable with the spotlight to the extent that it affected his focus. The fact that he started to see less and less of May because her required attendance was in areas far away added salt to the wound. It was a life that the LaRousse coordinator had more difficulty tolerating as time passed. Then one day, Drew realized he had to handle things differently.
Everything reached a breaking point when he nearly got into a fistfight with a paparazzi outside his home. If Solidad hadn't been there, he would've gotten in deep legal trouble afterward. After the incident, Drew called May repeatedly to vent over it, but she didn't answer.
On the other end of the phone line, May watched Drew's name appear when it rang. She nearly answered until Wallace stopped her, "No phones during practice, May, remember?" He raised his eyebrow sternly while he stood beside his majestic Milotic.
"But we've been practicing almost the whole day, Wallace. What if it's important?" May argued with a sense of insecurity. Glaceon looked back at her trainer with worry. The Ice-type knew she hadn't spoken to her beloved in days.
Wallace nodded sideways, "Becoming the best requires absolute focus and dedication. Unfortunately, Drew will have to wait. If it were an emergency, he would contact me."
May sighed with disappointment. Glaceon lowered her ears with sadness. Everything May felt, her Pokémon felt, too. The only thing May could do was hope that Drew would understand why she couldn't answer.
After Drew got sent to voicemail for the third time, he gave up. She never answered. "Will she ever answer?" Drew frowned for a moment. He took a deep breath to prevent his anger from getting the best of him. That's when Drew threw in the towel. He couldn't go on like this.
One fateful afternoon, May returned from Unova to meet up with Drew while he was competing in Hearthome City. May met with her boyfriend for a cup of coffee the day before the contest, which she planned to attend to support him.
Drew took a sip, then set his cup down. He looked at May with a stern face. May wondered why Drew acted so seriously. When she saw him, he didn't even greet her with a kiss. "May, there's something I need to tell you," Drew said uneasily. He fixed his eyes on his cup.
May held her cup with both hands. She raised an eyebrow, "What do you want to tell me?"
Her boyfriend closed his eyes and sighed. "For a while, I feel my performances have fallen below my standards."
The brunette became confused because she didn't believe so, but she decided to ask why he felt that way. "Do you know why?"
Drew opened his eyes to look at May and showed hesitation in them. "Because of you," he lowered his head after his declaration.
"What?" May froze. She didn't expect her boyfriend of so many years to come out with such an accusation. "Me?!" the female coordinator could not hide the shock and hurt in her voice. Drew couldn't look her in the eye. It hurt him to look into her sapphire eyes. He loved her, but he believed that was the reality. She clenched her fist when she started to shake anxiously, "Drew, how can I affect your performances? It's not like I'm physically there to sabotage you."
The emerald-eyed coordinator nodded sideways, "That's not what I mean."
"Then what do you mean?" May tried to remain calm. She didn't want to create a scene in a public area, otherwise she'd find herself in a tabloid.
"It's more of an indirect effect," Drew clarified.
May leaned her back against the chair in an attempt to relax herself. "What do you mean?" the girl frowned.
Drew flicked his hair. "I hardly see you anymore. It's nice when we're together, but seeing each other once every season is not enough to fill the emptiness I've felt for a while now. That makes it harder to focus when I'm training for a contest. I can't get my mind to focus on my Pokémon and their performances because I'm always thinking about how much I miss you." May looked at him with pain in her eyes. Her worst fears were coming true. "To make matters worse, I am followed by paparazzi far more often than I see you. I can hardly get any peace these days without a flashing camera. Things were amazing when we did things together, but your newfound stardom has created a wedge between us that feels irreparable now."
His girlfriend placed one hand over her heart. She tried to reach for Drew's hand with the other, but he pulled it away immediately. The gesture felt like a stab in the heart. She could feel a lump in her throat start to form. "Th-then come with me," May struggled to say.
The male coordinator disagreed with her suggestion. "I can't do that, May. Some of us are still working to reach our dreams," he coldly remarked.
May gasped as she retreated her arm away from him. "Are…are you jealous?" the sapphire-eyed coordinator felt anger return to mix with her sadness.
"No," Drew frowned, "but you never considered how I felt in this situation. I hate dealing with paparazzi. You didn't pick up the phone whenever I called. You made little effort to have us see each other more often. I don't know what Wallace makes you do all this time, but I can't wait for you anymore, May."
Drew struck a nerve with his harsh words. May clenched her fist again, "Drew, I put up with paparazzi just as much as you or more. On top of that, do you believe I don't miss you? Wallace has me practicing from dawn to dusk without allowing me to take calls. By the end of it, I can barely keep my eyes open. Have you ever stopped to consider what my situation might be like? You don't know what Wallace puts me through because you never ask when we talk! All you want to talk about is you. Then you have the nerve to say I'm responsible for how unsatisfied you are with your performances. What the hell, Drew? I don't feel it's justified."
Her lover closed his eyes. "I can't afford to fall behind May. I'm not you. I'm not strong enough to endure this relationship. You're better than me, and I'll never get better if we keep dating."
He didn't have to say they were breaking up for May to know where he was going with this. Her tears started to fall on the glass table. The lump in her throat felt like it got bigger, and her hands trembled. "Do you remember that night on your couch?" the sapphire-eyed coordinator asked him.
The boy from LaRousse City got caught off guard by the question. He knew what he was referring to. "I do," Drew watched her tears fall.
"You unbuttoned my red blouse, and that's when I gave you everything I had. EVERYTHING." May emphasized while she glared at him with teary eyes.
Drew remembered the moment with pain. It was just as significant to him as it was to her, but he knew it was time to go. He made his peace with leaving May before they got together for coffee. "I'm sorry, May, you deserve better. I really hope you can find happiness in all this," the green-haired coordinator stood up from his chair. May looked at him intensely. "I don't expect to see you at the contest tomorrow. I won't ask if you still want to be friends either, but if you ever need me, I'm just a call away." He hid his eyes under his green bangs. A single tear rolled down his cheek. He pulled out some money to pay for his and May's coffee.
May didn't say anything. Her red eyes stared at him leave. Drew was abandoning her when she needed him most, more than when she got injured years ago. She couldn't believe it, especially after he promised he'd always stay. That's when May learned that empty promises existed. She booked the first flight back to Unova that night. She hadn't talked to Drew since that terrible day.
The coordinator pulled herself back from the flashback with a single tear hanging from the corner of her eye. She rubbed it away with her finger. May thought of Ash again. I can't hurt Ash the same way Drew hurt me. There was a sense of duty inside her to be a caring friend to Ash, just like he had been to her. She wanted to spare him any pain any time she could, especially now. "I know what I have to do," May sniffled with her mind picturing his face on the ceiling.
Abruptly, a notification made her phone ring. The girl was startled since she got caught up in her head, but May immediately reached for it. May raised an eyebrow when she saw a notification for an event in Laverre City. "A festival in Laverre City?" the girl questioned out loud. She would remind herself to look into it tomorrow. All her thinking kept her up into the late hours of the night. She closed her eyes to rest for tomorrow because new things awaited her. She needed to be ready.