Light filtered in through the windows, brightening the small, lonely room in Viridian City's Pokemon Center and waking the young woman sleeping in there. As her eyes adjusted to the light, May sighed and slowly pulled herself out of bed. After getting dressed and gathering her things, she stepped out and headed for the lobby to get some breakfast. She wasn't really hungry, but she knew she wouldn't get through the day without some nourishment.

"What can I get for you this morning?" Nurse Joy asked when May came up to her.

"Some oatmeal would be nice," she replied.

"Okay," the nurse said. "Just give me five minutes and I'll have it ready for you."

"Thank you," May replied. She decided to go outside while she was waiting and get some fresh air. She walked towards the front door, prompting it to slide open automatically for her, but she immediately regretted deciding to go outside when she found herself face-to-face with a certain someone who was coming in.

Paul looked slightly surprised as well, although he didn't say anything to her and simply walked past, presumably to get some breakfast of his own. May went on her way, but not before looking behind her with a spiteful glare as the door closed behind her.

"Another day ruined," she grumbled as she sat down on a bench.

May spent the next five minutes sitting there, reflecting on the night before and wishing she had the chance to talk to Ash, although she had to remind herself that he wasn't interested in keeping up with her, so there really wasn't any point. Yet still, she couldn't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe…

"Oh, who am I kidding myself?" she groaned out loud as she put her head in her hand. "Even if he's the same guy I knew way back when, he's not a simple trainer from Pallet Town anymore. He's the World Champion. He's way farther above me than I could probably even fathom." She sighed sadly as she rested her face in her hands. "Growing up can be the literal worst sometimes."

After five minutes had passed, she went back inside and received her oatmeal from Nurse Joy, then went over to a corner, sat down and scooped up a spoonful. She gently brought it to her mouth to check how hot it was, then blew on it before finally eating it. It was sweet in her mouth; Joy must have thrown some brown sugar in, she reasoned. She continued to eat, focusing on finishing the bowl and blocking out everything else. She was so focused that she didn't notice someone walking up to her.

"Is that all you're having for breakfast?"

She jumped at the sudden interruption, and her surprise immediately turned to annoyance when she saw who was talking to her. "Yeah, why do you care?"

"You do realize that oatmeal will barely get you through lunchtime, right?" Paul asked as he took a seat across from her.

"Of course I know that," May replied bitterly as she tried to focus on eating. "I just wasn't in the mood for any fancy elaborate breakfast this morning."

"No? Aren't you the only other one in Ash's circle of friends who can match his appetite?"

May looked up, her eyes narrowing even more in frustration. "Where'd you hear that from? Dawn?"

"That's what everyone says about you," Paul shrugged.

"Whatever," she growled. "Just go away. I don't want to talk." She returned to eating her food.

"Where did you run off to last night?" he asked, not budging.

"What?"

"Where did you go last night?" he asked again. "You were at the party, right?"

"Wow, you actually noticed," May said, rolling her eyes. "Congratulations. Your parents must be so proud."

"But you left early."

"Noticed that too, didn't you?"

"If you mean to ask if I saw you leave, then no," Paul replied. "I saw you hanging around the whole time, but later on, Ash was having trouble finding you."

"Well that would explain it," she muttered as she ate another spoonful.

"You shouldn't have left early," he said. "He was pretty upset that he didn't get the chance to talk to you."

At that, May swallowed her oatmeal, her eyes wide as she made the effort to look up at Paul. "He was?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Right before people started leaving, he started looking for you; wanted to catch up after years of not seeing you."

For a moment, May's eyes glimmered with hope, but she quickly dismissed Paul's claims as being too good to be true. "Don't lie to me," she said before getting another spoonful of oatmeal.

"Lie?" he blinked. "Look, I know you probably think I'm the biggest scum of the earth, and I'll admit that I've done things that I'm not proud of. But I have never been a liar."

"Mmhmm," she muttered, not bothering to look up from her food.

"What gain would I get if I lied when I said I thought a trainer or Pokemon was pathetic? Anything I ever said, I said because I believed it, and I didn't care if anyone asked for my opinion or not. So what makes you think I would lie to you about Ash wanting to talk to you?"

May swallowed the oatmeal she just ate, audibly gulping as she did so. She looked up to face her companion as she wrestled with his words. Despite everything she came to believe the night before, and despite her distaste for the trainer in front of her, she wasn't so stubborn as to refuse to accept the truth when it was spelled out in front of her. And the truth was, Paul was right. He wasn't a liar. Anything he said, he said because he believed it. And if that was the case…

"His plane leaves in an hour," he said, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You better hurry."

May didn't waste another second. She dropped her bowl onto the table and bolted out of the center.

"What was that about?"

Paul looked up and saw Nurse Joy standing over him. "Just pointing someone in the direction they should go," he replied.

"I see," she nodded. "Anyways, here's your tea. Enjoy!"

"Thank you," he said, taking the cup from her. As she returned to her station, he brought the cup up to his mouth and took a sip. It was nice and warm, but he grimaced as the bitter flavor filled his mouth.

"Hey!" he shouted. "I said I wanted sugar!"