Beautiful disaster

I do not own Pokémon!

Notes: Hi, this is my first time writing for the fandom. I recently watched the Pokemon series and remember how much I loved May and the series as a whole growing up. There will be times where the characters are OOC which I try to keep to an absolute minimum but sometimes I cannot prevent it. In this story they are over 18 years old. I'm aware there will be grammatical errors, as I'm not the best writer, I'm only writing this for fun so I apologize in advance if it bothers you.

That being said, this is an AU and there's no mention of Pokémon and please don't leave comments about the ships in this story please, don't read this story if they're not your cup of tea. This is rated for language and mature themes. I'm not brave enough to write explicit content, as descriptions aren't my strong suit, however if I change my mind, I'll probably upload the same chapter twice and label it or just have a separate story where those specific chapters will be uploaded to. Story title may change in the future as I'm not sure I like it.

(Bold italics = text between characters)

(Italics = flashback or emphasis on something)

Faraway/Outcryshipping, (May x Paul) mentions of other shippings.

Chapter One: What are the odds?

"Paul?" a voice from behind him asked, making him stop short in front of the door. The purple haired man frowned, wanting nothing more than to leave, he had things to do. And quite frankly he didn't want to be there any longer than he had to, the smell of cigarettes wafting through the air, from what he assumed came from the employees taking their break, bothered him. Pinching his nose he closed his eyes and sighed, wondering why he had even stopped, but there was a hint of familiarity to the voice. He heard steps get closer and he opened his eyes and turned to see who it was. Dark eyes met sapphire blue and he cursed his luck.

'Damn it! Out of everyone I could have ran into, why'd it'd have to be her?' Now the two weren't what you'd call friends, they weren't close, which he supposed was their own faults as neither of them really made any effort to get to know each other, that and the fact their schedules rarely often aligned, at best they could be called were casual acquaintances, that would exchange greetings and casual pleasantries. She was best friends with his roommate, Ash and his friends, Dawn and Drew. Paul looked the brunette over, taking in her tired appearance and her mood seemed to be off, not her usual relaxed and inviting natured self. Then again that could very well be a mask she wore, maybe this was who she was or maybe she just wasn't feeling well. Then he remembered where he was and could only wonder what she was doing there, she was the last person he'd expect at a place like this. Maybe she knew someone who worked there? Could be that she was just there to unwind. He just hoped she wasn't a gossip, he'd prefer not to have to explain what he was doing in a place like this, especially since it wasn't anyone's business.

May signalled him to follow her. Walking in silence they made their way to what was an employee only exit, specifically where the dumpsters were kept. Stepping out first she held the door for him long enough for him to walk in front of her then let the door close with a loud thud.

"Never thought I'd see you here. What brings you here?" She took note of the frown on his face and made no move to answer her question, which was fair. He didn't have to as they barely spoke more than a few words unless they were in a casual setting with other people. She also knew that he wasn't going to go blab to anyone that he'd seen her there and she wasn't one to put anyone's business out either.

"I could ask you the same question." his eyes locked with hers, deciding to answer her question with a question. "Why are you here?"

Paul watched her waiting for her response. The building they were in wasn't something that was necessarily their style, seeing as this was the city's most sketchy and seedy bar, he would use the word bar loosely, since it wasn't exactly a stretch to call this a ruse for a brothel. Of course it wasn't advertised as such but he's not stupid and is rather perceptive. This place was just unsafe for someone like her. But again he didn't really know her so for all he knew it was her vibe.

"I work here." she shrugged.

He raised an eyebrow but stayed silent there was nothing he could say to that. He was about to say something but May cut him off.

"I'm a bartender. I'm not a dancer." she added, she didn't know why but she felt she needed to state that. Nothing wrong with that but she wasn't going to go down that path no matter how hard times were getting.

"Why?" The man was genuinely curious. That's not what he expected to hear, but it did confirm his earlier suspicions about the bar bar being sketchy. May let out a laugh.

"Why what? Why I'm not an exotic dancer or why do I work here?" she asked with a hint of playfulness in her tone.

Paul rolled his eyes but stayed quiet which May interpreted as his way of silently saying that he wanted to hear her explanation.

"It's not what I had in mind but I needed the money so here I am…" trailing off something clicked. "I'm going to guess the reason you're here is because of the open security position? You don't seem like the type of guy to socialize, much less socialize at a bar. No offense."

Paul nodded. "No offense taken, you don't strike me as the type to be at a bar either."

"It's not really my vibe, I mean I've been to plenty, Dawn basically loves the club scene but yeah. It pays pretty well though. I would expect a call soon."

"Why do you say that? I'm not the only one who's applied.

May scoffed, "You've seen this place, it's not bad today but we're in desperate need of guards and we need three to properly be safe, that's how crazy it can get. There's two positions open now because they just hired a new guy and only two more people, not counting you, have applied and came in for interviews. Plus you fit the vibe, you look like you can kick someone's ass…" checking her watch she finished, "I'll let you get going because I can tell you're dying to leave and my break is almost over." pulling the door open she added "I'll probably see you around." with a wave she walked back inside, door closing behind her.

Paul pinched the bridge of his nose as the cigarette smell permeated the air again. He could feel the start of a headache coming on and briefly wondered if applying here was a mistake. 'At least she wasn't annoying to talk to.' He pulled the door open and started walking to his car. 'I need coffee.'

*

Flipping the light switch up, he walked into his apartment letting the door close. He put his backpack on an empty peg on the coat rack and slipped off his sneakers all while being careful not to spill his coffee. Locking the door he made his way to the kitchen. Taking a sip he took in the unusual quiet in the apartment, which meant that Ash wasn't home, leaning against the island he allowed himself to relax and finish his coffee in silence. Glancing at the time displayed on the microwave he thought about what to do for the rest of the day. He knew he needed to get his groceries since he was out, as well as some household items for the apartment in general, and he needed to start his laundry.

'I guess I'm going to have to go out but first I need to change out of my clothes. They reek of cigarettes.' he thought, his nose scrunched in disgust.

With a plan for the rest of his evening he threw the empty coffee cup in the trash and headed towards his bedroom when the shrill sound of his phone sliced through the silence. Pulling his phone out of his pocket he glanced at the caller ID not recognizing the number. First he was tempted to let it go to voicemail but on the fourth ring he answered by bringing the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Good evening, I'm calling for Mr. Evans."

"Speaking."

"This is Cyrus. The manager of the Hidden Diamond. We spoke earlier today at your interview," he paused and Paul could hear the rustling of paper, "the reason for my call is to offer you the job, that is if you're still interested of course."

He wasn't, if he was being honest with himself however he needed the extra income, his lease was up for renewal in 3 months and that usually meant rent would go up, and his tuition would be going up next semester. He wasn't in a position to decline.

"I'm still interested, Sir."

"Great. You'll need to stop by Thursday at 5:00 pm, to fill out paperwork and set up payroll. You'll also be in training so you can get familiar with everything."

"I appreciate it."

"Of course, I'll see you Thursday evening. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Mr. Evans." the call disconnected before he could reply.

With a sigh he pocketed his cell. 'What did I get myself into?' He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer and just went to his room to change so he could run his errands.

May yawned and stretched her tired arms over her head as she walked towards the office to officially clock out. It'd been a long day but there weren't any fights that had broken out, and no one got handsy or overly flirtatious with her that night. The tips were also great,so all in all it had been one of her better shifts. Approaching the office, the door swung open and out walked Courtney. She noticed the brunette headed towards her so she held the door open for her.

"Thanks Courtney."

"No problem," the violet eyed woman replied, "how'd your shift go? Anyone give you trouble today?"

"Surprisingly, no."

Courtney raised an eyebrow. "Really? Huh...well that's good. Where's your friend, Brendan? Doesn't he usually pick you up when you're here late?"

The brunette laughed, "probably asleep by now. I told him not to come today."

"Oh... okay ." Courtney replied.

May raised an eyebrow. She didn't miss how her cheeks were a bit pink and how she sounded disappointed. 'Well that's a first, wait…does she...? I'm not even going to think about that and I don't think I want to know.'

"Well in any case, I'll be heading home, stay safe and see you when you work next." with a wave she headed to the employee parking.

"Take care Courtney" she told her coworker before stepping into the office she grabbed her time card and slid it, hearing a beep she placed it backing its spot. Glancing at the clock, '3:24 AM already?' she mused. It had been a slower night and while nothing crazy happened they had a hard time closing since some of the patrons refused to leave, others were too drunk to drive and others had fallen asleep. So on top of normal closing procedures they had to make sure those asleep woke up and those too drunk made arrangements to get home safely. Knowing it was due to the lack of security and hopefully they'd hire people quickly to avoid future problems.

'I hope by the time I get to the bus stop the bus actually starts its route. I've got class at 9:00 AM. I'm going to have to go to Richie's, make sure the house is okay, take Sparky for a quick walk then get to class.' She reached for the door handle when the door swung open, revealing Cyrus. She stopped in time to not walk into him.

"Sorry Sir." she apologized, she found it hard to talk to him, something about the way he carried himself made her nervous. It didn't help that he wasn't a man of many words either.

"No need to apologize. You're all ready to go home?"

"Yes."

"Very well. Have a good day."

"Thank you Cyrus, you have a good day as well."

"Oh and May." The brunette stopped mid step and turned her head to the left.

"Yes?"

"Come in before your shift Thursday. There's something we need to discuss."

The brunette looked up in surprise. Was she in trouble? Did someone make a complaint? Did she say something to a coworker who took it the wrong way? Cyrus rarely spoke to his employees, only doing so usually when there were issues pertaining to customers or employees and staff. The older man, sensing her nervousness, elaborated.

"You aren't in any trouble, rest assured."

May sighed in relief. "Alright, see you Thursday."

Pushing the door open she walked down the quiet dimly lit hallway. 'I'm going to need a ridiculous amount of coffee. It's going to be a long day.' Pushing the door open she adjusted her backpack, the cool morning air made her shiver, zipping up her sweater she began the ten minute walk towards the bus stop. 'A hot chocolate sounds good right now, I'm cold and could use a pick me up.'

*

May pressed the passcode on the keypad and pushed the door open once it unlocked. Stepping into the house she heard the quickly approaching pitter patter of paws running before she saw Sparky emerge from the kitchen, his body and tail wagging when he saw her, letting out a bark and sprinting towards her, jumping up on his hind legs to get attention. "Hey buddy." She petted him behind the ear. "I bet you're hungry. Let's get you some food then go on a walk."

Glancing at the clock. "Thankfully I have plenty of time. Come on."

Opening the pantry she grabbed the dry food. She pulled a clean dog bowl and filled it with the three scoops. He wasted no time in eating. She washed his water bowl and refilled it, placing it next to his food bowl. Putting everything back in the pantry she glanced at the time. '6:23 AM. I have time to take him for a walk and a quick shower. I'll just sweep the kitchen down while he finishes up ' She swept the dog hair and dirt as Sparky licked up the last of his food. Once he drank his water she pulled out his harness along with a treat. "Good boy." she smiled as she clipped on the harness and attached the leash, giving him the dog bone once he was ready.

"We should be able to get a good walk in." The gold labrador looked at her and she looked at him. "Do not chase the squirrels this time." Sparky let out a low bark. She didn't know why she said that, when it was inevitable, if he saw a squirrel he was going to chase it. He was a good dog and always listened, the only exception being whenever squirrels were concerned.

"Let's go."

*

May adjusted her bag over her shoulder as she walked towards campus, luckily Richie's family's house was located within a fifteen minute walk from campus or else she would have been late for class. 'I'm happy today I only have one class. After this I can grab up books from the university bookstore and I can go home and sleep. I love Tuesdays, such a slow and relaxing day. One class, no work.' The brunette made it to the front of the building all while planning her day and thinking about lunch. Her cell started to vibrate in her pocket, she pulled it out and answered.

"Hey Drew, what's up?"

"So, Solidad wants to know if you'd like coffee, tea or whatever?"

"Uh, sure?" surprised by the offer. She heard him tell her yes then she heard mumbles while she waited for him to continue talking.

"She asked if you want your usual or something different?"

"Where are you guys ordering from?'

"The cafe that's down the street from campus."

"Oh then definitely the usual."

"She wants her usual. She sounds tired so get it with an extra shot of espresso." A pause before adding "...yeah..May she's asking if Brendan wants anything."

"I haven't spoken to him since Sunday night, so I'm not sure, but you can get him a guava pineapple smoothie anyway. If he doesn't show up then one of us can have it and I'll just pay her back for it."

"Cool. We will see you soon then."

"See you in a bit." May pressed end call.

Looking through her contacts she found Brendan's name and tapped into it, and started to type.

Hey? How are you? she typed. Seconds later her phone vibes.

- I'm fine sitting in the cafeteria. Today was my 7:30 class.

Oh that's right today is your short day, I'll be there soon, I'm walking in now.

- Alright dollface see you soon.

May rolled her eyes at the use of her nickname and headed in the direction of her best friend.

Notes: And that is the first chapter. I was going to make it longer but it seemed like a good place to stop so now the next part is essentially part of chapter two. Some information will become clearer by the next chapter as the plot advances. I have a rough outline on this story that I'm going to stick with, however I'm not a consistent writer, so I don't know when I'll be updating next but hopefully it'll be soon. Any advice or helpful commentary on spelling errors and grammar would be appreciated, just don't be mean about it.

I am thinking about looking for a beta reader but I want to make sure I can have consistent time to write before doing so. Read and review if you feel inclined as it'll help me know if anyone is reading but I'll update regardless. See you all in the next chapter!