Archive of Our Own ^beta

Jessie sighed angrily at James' statement and jabbed a finger in his face, which promptly startled the purple-haired man.

"Yeah? We're all tired!" she growled.

"Maybe we's should take a break," said Meowth carefully, backtracking to the two.

"But the Contest starts at any minute!" growled Jessie, whirling on Meowth. "I actually got registered for this one! And I was practicing!" She clasped her hands together dreamily. "Seviper and I were finally going to win ourselves a ribbon!" Her face twisted again. "But then we had to get blown away out of nowhere in the middle of my practicing!" She gestured with her naked hand. "And I lost one of my gloves!"

James scratched his head. "It was quite unlucky…"

"And now we got blown a hundred miles away from the place," grumbled Jessie, "that stupid mightyena stole our food—"

"But Cacnea and I got it back!" said James with a smile.

Jessie whirled on him angrily. "One bite of my sandwich was not getting it back!"

James and Meowth cowered a little.

"And we are almost there!" Jessie finished, grabbing a terrified James by the collar and shook him. "So stop whining until I get my ribbon!"

"Uhh, Jess?" said Meowth.

"What?" she snapped.

"It's 1:30. The Contest started at 1."

Jessie screamed.

Meowth winced, happy for once to not be the one at her disposal when she was this furious, but felt a load of pity for James who was being throttled in her grip.

She tossed James and collapsed on the ground. "But I deserved this one!" she cried into the grass.

Meowth carefully walked up to her and patted her arm. "There...there…" he said awkwardly.

"I don't appreciate this kind of manhandling!" muttered James who pulled himself to his feet.

Jessie finally pulled herself back up. "This is just great."

Just then a flash of red light revealed Wobbuffet. "Wobbuffet!" it said happily with its normal salute.

Jessie recalled it back into its poké ball.

"What do we do now?" grumbled Jessie.

Meowth and James shrugged.

"We could catch Pikachu," suggested Meowth.

"The twerps are all the way at the Contest," said James, propping his head on his hand. "We wouldn't make it in time."

Meowth sighed. "Too bad they's never come ta us."

"Team Rocket!"

The trio whipped around as the very twerps themselves burst through the trees. Ash, Max and Brock were glaring down at them. Even Pikachu's eyes were narrowed from Ash's shoulder.

James looked at Meowth. "Wish for money next."

Jessie didn't even bother moving from her slumped position on the ground. "What do you want?" she asked in a bored voice.

That seemed to take them aback for a second. But then Max stepped forward. "What did you do to my sister!"

Jessie, James and Meowth blinked. "What?" asked Jessie, lifting her head from the dirt.

"May's missing," said Ash. "She's been gone since last night and all we found was her scarf. Right next to this!" He thrust black material in front of them.

"My glove!" said Jessie excitedly, jumping to her feet and snatching it. She pulled it back on. "Yay!"

Ash's face just twisted in more anger. He got in her face so close Jessie stumbled back. "What did you do to May?!"

"If you hurt her," said Brock in a voice so harsh it made Jessie's skin crawl.

She held her hands up in surrender. "We didn't do anything to your friend, twerps."

"Then what was your glove doing right where she was?" demanded Max.

James stood up. "You know, I told you it was a Silver Wind that blew us away."

Ash, Max and Brock snapped their heads to him. "What?" asked Ash.

"Last night Jessie was practicing for the Contest," said James. "But we got hit by some strong wind and blasted off."

"May probably was practicing with Beautifly or Skitty," said Brock.

Max fell to his knees. Tears blurred his eyes. "But if Team Rocket didn't take her then where is she?"

Ash and Brock looked at each other, sharing the look of fear. "I don't know," said Brock quietly.

Ash heaved out a sigh. He looked back at the trio. "Do you remember where the Silver Wind hit you?" he asked.

"Yeah," said James.

Ash's expression hardened. "Take us there."

---

It was beginning to rain.

Drew didn't notice the first few drops, too focused on trying to find a way out of this place, and keeping an eye out for any wild mightyena who wanted a second try at him.

So he didn't notice it until it picked up. He was starting to feel the water soaking into his clothes and dampening his hair. "Great," he muttered. "Roselia," he called gently to his grass-type at his side. "Keep an eye out for some shelter, okay? We should get outta this before it comes down harder." On his other side walked Skitty, looking less than pleased with the weather, bristling its fur every few steps. "We'll find some shelter, Skitty. Don't worry."

It was a few more minutes of walking before he heard Roselia's call. She gestured and Drew saw a little alcove in the side of the hill. It was a shallow cave, but it was enough to fit the lot of them.

"Great job, Roselia," complimented Drew. He hurried toward it, ignoring the twinge of his injuries, as the rain picked up more. By the time he, Roselia and Skitty ducked under its cover, the rain was thundering down, the downpour just missing the opportunity to drench them.

"Phew," breathed Drew, a bit out of breath. The cave itself was no more than ten feet all around. It was empty and unused by anyone besides wild Pokémon from the looks of the broken twigs and grass from left over uses of the shelter.

Carefully, Drew placed May on the ground. He sat her up against the wall, noticing her shiver. He looked down at himself, at his jacket over his shirt. It was a bit damp, but it was the best he could do. He shrugged out of it and draped it over May like a blanket.

"How you doing, Roselia?" asked Drew. He sat down himself with a grunt as his ribs protested the unceremonious movement. Roselia approached his side and sat down beside him. She rested her head on his thigh. Drew placed a gentle hand on her, gently stroking her leaves with his thumb. "I'm tired too. But we'll be okay." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Skitty scurry over to May, and snuggle up on her lap, sharing in the warmth of his vest. "In here, you'll be warmer," said Drew quietly, recalling Roselia back into her poké ball, and then settling back against the wall.

---

May stirred.

Her head pounded. She felt distinctly like she knocked it into something hard, feeling similarly to the day she'd been roughhousing with Max as kids and she bumped her head into the edge of a table. A trip to the local doctor told her she had a bruise and a minor concussion, but that she'd get over the headaches eventually.

This felt like that.

Confusion mixed in with the realization, and May tried to remember where she could have knocked her head into a table. The last thing she remembered was getting ready for the Contest. Then Skitty ran away and…

May cracked her eyes open.

Her vision blurred into the view of a cave wall.

She blinked.

How did she end up in a cave?

She blinked again, waking up more as questions came. Where was she? She looked down, feeling something moving in her lap. Skitty. The little normal-type was curled up against her, using Drew's jacket as a blanket.

May blinked at the vest.

What was Drew's jacket...?

She turned her head, wincing as it woke her headache even more, to see Drew himself sitting a few feet away.

She searched for her voice. "Drew?"

Having been watching the light drizzle outside, he jumped, startled. He looked toward her, and seemed to relax, in more ways than one, when he saw her awake. He got up to kneel beside her. "Hey. You're awake. Are you feeling all right?"

May hesitated. "What's going on? How'd I get here?"

Now Drew looked hesitant. "Do… do you remember falling?"

Falling?

When was she falling?

The last thing she remembered was Skitty jumping out the window and chasing it until Skitty fell—

Oh!

May jerked upright. "Skitty—Skitty fell!" she exclaimed. Her voice woke up the normal-type, who looked ecstatic to see May awake.

"Na na na!" cries Skitty, jumping up to lick her face.

May hugged him tight. "Oh, Skitty. Thank goodness you're all right!" She pulled him away to look him sternly in the eye. "Never do something that dangerous again!" Skitty's tail lowered and he looked just short of miserable. May relented. "I don't want you to get hurt." Skitty licked her cheek and May giggled. "I love you too, Skitty."

"So that's what happened."

May looked up. Drew was watching her, a slightly thoughtful look on his face.

"What's what happened?" asked May. She winced as her head pounded. She rubbed at it. "Wait, how'd I get here?"

"You must have fallen with Skitty," said Drew. "I found you on the ground at the bottom of the drop off."

May winced, this time not from the headache. "I… didn't fall. I… jumped."

Drew's face screwed up in incredulity. "You what?!"

"Well," said May, bristling a little under Drew's judgement. "Skitty fell and… I didn't know what else to do."

"That was stupid! You could have died, May!" exclaimed Drew, and May was surprised to hear the strength in his words. "Skitty are very adaptable in a fall; he would have most likely been fine!"

May narrowed her eyes. "Most likely isn't good enough for me! What if it had been Roselia?"

"But it wasn't," growled Drew. "It was you!" The moment the word was out of his mouth, he looked like he'd said too much. He shut his eyes, breathing out a calming breath. May watched in surprise. "Sorry." It was a muttered apology, but it was a Drew Hayden apology. May had begun to believe those didn't exist.

"It's okay," said May in a small voice. Since when did Drew ever care what happened to me? The moment stretched into awkward very quickly and May cleared her throat a little. "You didn't tell me how you fit into all of this."

"Oh," said Drew, sitting back on his heels, looking less uncomfortable with the redirect of the conversation. "Your friends were looking for you. They couldn't find you and the Contest was starting so—"

May froze.

Cold swept through her.

She snapped her eyes to Drew. "Th-the Contest! Did we miss it?!"

Drew bit his lip. "It's going on right now." May started to get up in a rush but Drew moved quicker, gently pushing her back down. "May, be careful! I don't know how hurt you got in the fall." When she paused, he muttered under his breath, "Never thinks anything through…"

"What?" began May, hearing it.

"Look," said Drew. "We're in the forest below the hill. Even if we managed to find our way out of it, it's more than a two hour walk all the way back up." May knew where he was going with this, and her shoulders fell. "We'd miss it either way."

May felt her eyes sting. "Great. Now there's no chance of getting into the Grand Festival." May suddenly looked up at him. "Wait; why aren't you there?"

"I…" Drew shifted away from her a few inches, looking like he was choosing his words. "Your friends asked me for help, looking for you," he said slowly. "They went off one way and I went another and I heard Skitty crying." He shrugged. "I saw you and came to help."

May raised her eyebrow. "You wanted to help me?" She narrowed them in suspicion. "Wouldn't my being out of the Contest have made it easier for you?"

"May," said Drew with clear disgust in the idea, "you got hurt. That's not—" He shook his head to himself. "Do you really see me as that bad of a guy?"

May shrugged.

"Well," muttered Drew. "I'm not."

May's face fell again, thinking about each ribbon she's won. Now they were practically worthless. "I can't believe I won't be able to compete." She raised sad eyes to Drew. "I'm really sorry I made you miss it too," she whispered. She felt tears come but she blinked rapidly. I will not cry in front of Drew.

"Hey." A tentative hand on her shoulder opened her eyes. Drew was looking at her with a rare sort of kindness...that clearly made him uncomfortable. He withdrew his hand and looked a little awkward for a second before saying, "There'll be more Contests. Trust me." He stood, attempting to do it quickly, but he winced halfway up. Before May could mention it, the wince was gone and something else caught her eye—

May caught sight of the poke balls on his belt and sat up with an idea. "Wait, Drew! What about having Masquerain fly us back up?"

But he shook his head even before she was finished talking. "She's not great at carrying people when she flies," he said, adding, "and…" He looked back toward the rain. "She's not in great shape right now."

May's brows crinkled. "Why? What happened?"

"When I saw you… on the ground," he said, like he was wrestling with the words. "I fell. Masquerain caught me but she got hurt."

"You fell?" exclaimed May breathlessly.

Drew shot a look over his shoulder. "What? You jumped."

May's concern wiped away at the smirk in his face.

Yep, he's still Drew, all right.

"Will Masquerain be okay?" asked May.

"She should be." He didn't look fully convinced though, and she could see the concern in his face.

May eyed the way he was holding his chest...still. She thought back to that wince. "Did you get hurt when you fell?"

"Not when I fell," said Drew after a moment. "There's a wild mightyena around here that isn't happy with us. We shouldn't be here."

"You were attacked by a mightyena?" asked May, feeling fear slip down her spine.

"Barely," said Drew dismissively. "Roselia helped. It ran away. But," he looked back outside the cave. "I think we might be somewhere trainers shouldn't be."

"What should we do now?" asked May.

"We should get you to a hospital," said Drew, turning back toward her. "Or the Contest doctor, at the very least, to look at your ankle."

"My ankle?" She looked down, and saw the joint black and blue, looking swollen. She gasped. Reflexively she tried to move it, but sucked in a breath. "Arceus," she said, absentmindedly massaging the tender skin, wincing a little. It did hurt quite a bit. Well, that's just great. Lost in the middle of nowhere, unable to walk, with Drew.

The thought suddenly scared her. She wondered if the others were worried.

"I hope Max is okay," mumbled May.

"Well," said Drew, coming back to bend down to her level. He gave her a rare sort of grin. The tiniest grin she'd ever seen, yet one that for whatever reason made her cheeks tingle. "I saw him about an hour ago and he was with your two friends, Ash and…?" He paused. "What was the tall guy's name again?"

"Brock," said May with a smile of her own. "Well… good. At least he's being looked after."

"They're really worried about you," said Drew, his tiny smile fading, somehow voicing the answer to her unasked question.

May's smile only grew, touched by how much they cared about her. "Then we should hurry and let them know I'm all right."

Drew let the smile return.

Just a fraction.

They both looked out, seeing that the rain had let up significantly.

"All right." Drew turned so his back faced her. "Climb on."

May blinked at his back. "Wh-what?"

Drew threw her a look over his shoulder, a raised eyebrow. "You trying to tell me you never had a grumpiggy-back ride?"

May blinked again. "No, I have, I just…" She looked at him. Drew Hayden.

Offering to carry her.

"You sure?" asked May quietly.

Drew flicked his hair over his forehead. "How do you think I got you here in the first place?"

May's brows lifted.

She hadn't even wondered that.

He carried me all the way here.

She dropped her face so her hair would cover a sudden blush. Why were her cheeks so hot? "Oh. Right."

Luckily Drew turned back around. "Yeah. Come on."

Slowly, May pulled herself to her knees, careful to avoid hitting her ankle on the ground or the wall behind her. She put her hands to his shoulders, surprised at the tight muscle beneath the material of his jacket. "Okay," she said quietly.

Drew snaked his arms around her knees and stood up himself, stumbling a bit with a low groan.

"Are you okay?" asked May.

Oh, Arceus, I'm too heavy.

The blush returned full force.

"Yeah," he said with difficulty. "The mightyena just… might have injured my ribs. But it's nothing that won't heal in a few weeks."

May sucked in a breath. "It what?"

Drew turned to give her a sly look. "I'm fine." It softened. "Don't worry."

Something urged May to say, "I wasn't."

Drew lifted an eyebrow.

May suddenly felt very vulnerable.

"Well," she said in a huff, "you were worried about me."

Something shifted in Drew's eyes, but before May could figure out what it was, he turned away from her and said, "No, I said your friends were worried about you."

"Really," said May with a lift of her own brow.

"Really. You should listen more."

May glared at the back of his head. "You're really irritating, you know that?"

She could practically hear him smile as he started to walk out.

---

"This is where the Silver Wind hit you?"

Brock voiced the question they all had, in the same near-defeated voice; they were nearly back where they started. The Contest was going on a few hundred feet away.

"We found Jessie's glove over there," said Max, pointing toward the open grass. Here, they weren't many paces away from a shallow forest with thick bushes.

"Yes," said Jessie, looking toward the building. "I was standing here because I remember wanting to pose Dustox perfectly in front of the sign on the building."

"Then," said James, using his hands to help him explain, "the Wind came at us this way, and pushed us over the cliff through those bushes."

"Cliff?" asked Ash with a quirked brow. Pikachu on his shoulder, he strode toward the bushes and pressed through them.

"Ash—" began Brock.

"Careful, twerp!" came James' high-pitched squeal.

Ash pushed through the bushes only to pitch forward over the edge, a yell ripping from his chest. He jerked to a stop, though, and was pulled sharply backward, safely back on the ground. Brock and Max heaved in a breath at the exertion of pulling him back.

"Thanks," said Ash breathlessly, his heart pounding.

"Pika," added Pikachu.

"Can you try to think before you do things?" groaned Max. "For once?"

James casually looked through the bushes, nodding to the cliff. "Yeah, that's it. We fell over that."

Meowth rubbed his tail end. "Still hurts."

"It took us forever just to make it back to where you twerps found us," muttered Jessie. She looked longing at the Contest where the MC's voice was still announcing contestants. "My ribbon," she said sadly.

"Guys…"

All heads turned toward Max's little voice.

"If we found her bandana here," he said, "do you think the same thing might'a happened to her?" He clutched bandana tighter.

Brock exchanged a grim look with Ash. "It makes sense," he said quietly.

Ash sighed. "Well, we better try."

"How do we get down there?" asked Ash, scratching his head. He looked at Brock. "I don't think Swellow can fly us. Or even Pikachu."

"Chu."

"Well," said Brock, looking back at James and Jessie. "We'll have to backtrack and go the way they came from."

"There's a slightly peeved mightyena down there," said James with a nervous grin, until Meowth hit him with his tail.

"We can handle it, right, Pikachu?" asked Ash.

"Pikachu!"

"Speaking of Pikachu," said James to Meowth, who grinned just as maniacally. They both turned to Jessie. "Let's steal their—"

Jessie was staring at the screen displaying the Contest, which was showing Vivian handing a coordinator a ribbon. "It's over?!" she exclaimed. "No!"

The boys exchanged a look. "Nevermind," said James. He and Meowth watched just as longingly as the three twerps and Pikachu ran off to go find their other twerp, listening to an orchestra of swearing from Jessie.

---

"Do you know where you're going?"

"Yes," hissed Drew. His tone was more about the irritation in his ribs rather than his patience. Carrying May on any other day would have been simple. But with the pain from the mightyena's attack, Drew couldn't help clenching his teeth and wishing for breathing not to hurt.

Resting had done wonders to kill the sharpness of the pain, but now it was back and meaner than ever. But he did know where they were going; they just had to follow the cliff wall. At some point they'd reach the bottom of an incline to get them back up.

...He hoped.

But sticking to the traditional manly way: no, he would not admit to being lost.

"You sound mad," said May quietly, and it surprised Drew to hear the lack of strength in her voice. "You're mad about missing the Contest, aren't you?"

In all honesty, he wasn't. He hadn't even thought about missing the Contest until May reminded him. Because the prospect of not having been here to help her, and the mightyena finding May instead of him, made up his mind for him: no, he would never regret his choice.

"I'm not mad."

"Well that's what my mom says to my dad whenever she is mad."

That made Drew's lips twitch into almost a smile. "I'm not," he insisted. And because she still didn't believe him, he added, "It just hurts a little to walk."

May gasped a little. The smallest intake of breath. "Oh, Drew… I can… I can try walking on my own! I don't want to—"

"It's okay," said Drew, a twig snapping under his shoe. He adjusted his grip around her knees and tried not to wince when a slice of pain cut through his abdomen. "It's not horrible. I've dealt with worse."

May was quiet before she responded. "What do you mean worse?"

Drew awkwardly shrugged, his shoulders barely moving in the attempt. "I've been traveling on my own since I was nine. Sometimes ya get hurt along the way, and sometimes a Pokémon Center or a hospital isn't nearby. I've sprained lots of things and broken a few bones in the past few years that I've had to walk with." He didn't know why he was suddenly being so open with her. But the words just… came.

"Since you were nine?" she echoed from over his shoulder. "But you don't get a pokémon until you're ten."

"Yeah…" Drew swallowed, ducking the two of them under a nasty-looking branch. "I left… early."

A pause. He felt her fingers play with the collar of his vest. He wondered if she knew she was doing it.

"Why?" she asked.

Drew's ego chose to respond to her question with, "Why do you want to know?"

She stopped fidgeting with his collar. "I dunno. Just… curious."

Drew walked for a few more steps, cringing with the pain in his ribs, and he contemplated. But eventually he let out a sigh. There was no reason to keep it secret.

And part of him wanted to share.

Even if he's never shared it… with anyone.

"My…" Drew swallowed, finding the words deep and hard to reach. "My parents split when I was really young. My mom lives in Kalos with her family and I stayed with my dad as I grew up. We never really got along." Drew kept his eyes on the ground, feeling May still against his back. "A few months before I turned ten I told my dad I wanted to be a coordinator. But he didn't think Contests were all that respectable. Me being a guy, and all. He wanted me to be a trainer, like him." Another shrug. "I think mostly because he never made it far himself. He wanted to, y'know, live through me." Drew sidestepped another branch. "We had this big fight and it turned into being about more than just Pokémon. I left that day and haven't seen him since."

He fell silent. May didn't say anything. Drew felt his chest tighten a little, feeling a little vulnerable. Why did he tell her all that?

Her voice was quiet when she spoke. "He hasn't even come to your Contests?"

To his surprise, she sounded just as hurt as it felt.

"Nope," said Drew simply.

"What about your mom?"

"She was never all that interested in pokémon," he said quietly. Or me, he added in his head.

"So…" She seemed to collect her thoughts. "So you've been alone this whole time? Just you?"

"And my pokémon," said Drew quickly. He wasn't a complete loner…

"But… just you," she said again. The way she said it suddenly made it sound less okay.

Another shrug. "Yeah. Guess so."

"But… but that's so sad," she said softly.

"It's fine," said Drew simply. "Better, even. This way I can focus completely on Contests and training. It's probably why I've had so much success."

"But you don't have anyone to share it with."

I have you, said his mind, supplying memories of the various times he'd paid her a visit and given her a rose. But each visit had been veiled in an attempt to condescend her.

But if she knew him better, she'd know he'd never waste his time on someone he didn't find incredible.

"It's fine," he said again, not knowing what else to say. Because the more he said it out loud, the less fine it seemed.

"Well," said May, "your parents are missing out. Watching you in Contests is captivating."

Her comment stole his breath just a little, though it could have easily been the steady stream of pain in his torso.

She thought that of him?

"Well… thanks," he said awkwardly.

A bit more silence fell as Drew walked them through the woodland.

"I used to hate Pokémon."

Drew perked up at the out of the blue comment. "You what?"

"Well," said May, "I used to be afraid of them."

That's unexpected. "Why?"

"I don't know," she said, her fingers playing with his collar again. A sort of feeling he couldn't put his finger on slipped down his spine. "I guess… I just never took the chance to meet one. And I always made them up in my head to be scary."

"When did you change your mind?"

"Hmm," she mused. "Probably a few days into my journey."

Drew's brows lifted. "Wait," he said. "You were afraid of pokémon and yet you went on a journey to be a pokémon coordinator?"

"Actually I was going to be a pokémon trainer," she said sheepishly. "But I met Ash the same day I started my journey and I saw how close he and his Pikachu were. It made me think of pokémon as friends, instead of something to be afraid of."

Drew had noticed the close relationship Ash has with his Pikachu. It reminded him of his relationship with Roselia. "Hm," he said. "I always wondered how you ended up traveling with those other guys."

Not that he'd ever felt jealous.

Not even once.

"Oh, Ash and Brock?" supplied May. "It was all kind of happenstance. Ash and I just met at the same lab, where I got my torchic, and Brock was friends with Ash from way back. Ash was going to challenge all the Hoenn gyms and since that was my plan at first, I thought it would be a great idea."

"You… like traveling with those guys?" asked Drew casually.

"I love it!" said May brightly. "I mean, Brock is the best cook in the world. And we can always count on him to have our backs. I feel safer watching over Max with Brock there to help me. Ash, on the other hand," and Drew tried not to seem too interested, "is great and really inspires me to be a better coordinator and trainer. His relationship with his pokémon is unlike anything." Drew felt himself tense a little as she went on, until she continued: "But the guy drives me insane. Always complaining about food, it's all he cares about sometimes, and he always has to have his way. Ugh, it's like traveling with two little brothers, let me tell you."

Drew found himself relaxing at the word brothers.

But then tensing up again because why would he care if her relationship with Ash was purely platonic?

"I'm glad that I met them," continue May wistfully. "Because if I didn't, then I'd be all by myself. I agreed to go on this journey at first because I just wanted to travel the world, but now I have a purpose and a passion and I have people there for me every step of the way."

Drew let her words sink in. She did make traveling with others sound mildly better than traveling alone.

The pain in his midsection was reaching critical levels. Drew cringed, then said, "Let's take a break for a second."

"Are you okay?" asked May quickly.

He blinked at the amount of genuine concern in her voice. "Yeah," he said, smiling a little through the grimace. "Stop worrying so much. I'm fine."

Drew slowly let her down. She hopped on her good leg, then carefully sat at the base of a tree. Drew sat down as well, taking his time. He closed his eyes for a second, then breathed out.

When he opened his eyes, May was looking at him, that worry bright in her eyes. When she saw his face relax, she did too, sitting back. Not worry-less, just… worried less.

"Drew?"

"Hm," he said, closing his eyes.

"It means a lot, what you did for me."

He opened his eyes. He turned his head, finding her genuine gaze on him. "What do you mean?"

She looked at him funny. "What do I mean? You went looking for me and you got hurt and you're carrying me around." She smiled, a little sadly. "It means a lot that you'd do that, and miss the Contest. Especially for someone you don't even like."

Drew's brows raised. She said it with the tiniest bit of hurt. He swallowed, trying to sum up a response. He smiled a little to himself when he found one and he leaned his head back on the tree. "We're rivals, May. If I didn't respect you, I wouldn't waste my time giving you advice on losing with more finesse."

"Respect," echoed May suspiciously. "You said respect. You didn't say like." She raised her own brow. "I know plenty of people I respect but don't like."

"Like who?"

"You, right now."

Somehow that comment made his lips twitch into a grin, at the fire beneath her words. "If you don't like me then why should I like you?"

"I said I don't like you right now."

"But you used to?"

May stopped herself, narrowing her eyes at him. "I… wait, I asked you if… how did you do that?!"

Drew just smiled, satisfied he dragged that much out of her.

"You're infuriating!" she huffed.

"Look," said Drew, trying to cover his tracks. "I'm helping you out because I owe you for what you did for me on the Island. Alright?"

Something akin to hurt gleaned in May's eyes. "Th-that's the only reason?" she whispered.

Drew flicked his hair. "I don't like having debts. Does there have to be more reason than that?"

May stared at him for a second more, like she was torn between anger and hurt. "Well… well fine, then!" She grabbed a low branch on the tree beside her and started to pull herself up.

Drew blinked. "May, what are you doing?"

"Leaving," she said in a hiss from effort as she slowly got to her injured foot.

Drew stood. "May, you shouldn't—"

Her sharp glare planted him to the ground. "Don't worry. We're even now. You don't need to help me anymore."

Oops. "May—"

"Just leave me alone." May tested some weight on her injured foot, hissing as she did.

Drew approached her quickly. "May, stop. You shouldn't—"

"I said leave me alone!" Using the branch, she hopped on her uninjured foot toward the next tree.

Drew screwed his eyes shut. "May—"

But then he heard it—a growl in the near silence of the forest, among the shifting leaves.

"May, stop."

She clung onto the next branch, and didn't listen. "Drew, I said—"

"Shh!"

At the urgency in his voice, she stopped, looking at him. Seeing his face, drawn tight in concentration. A little fear filtered into her eyes. "What's wrong?" she whispered.

As an answer, the bushes ahead of them moved, and the mightyena made its appearance. Growling at them, and looking just as angry as before. It shifted its gaze between Drew and May, landing on May. They both froze.

"Drew," whispered May in a tiny voice.

Then it lunged.

Drew dove in front of her, absorbing the hit and his back hit the trunk of the tree. Pain spread through his abdomen as his ribs were mistreated—again—and he groaned.

"Drew!"

Just like last time, the pokémon used its heavy paw to pin him to the tree, and Drew held in a yell as it crushed broken ribs.

"Skitty!" called May.

"Na!"

"Use—"

But through squinted eyes, Drew looked at the mightyena before him. Closer than the last time.

Now everything made sense.

"Stop!" he said in a strained voice. "May—don't."

She stopped. "But—"

Drew didn't wait for her to finish. With one hand on the pokémon's paw to keep it from crushing him further, he reached his other hand to the Pokémon's fur, and pulled the thorn from its underside.

The mightyena cried as he removed it, and released him immediately. Drew heaved a sigh of relief. He looked down at the thorn in his hand.

It was long and black. Looked like some kind of needle from a Pin Missile attack.

Before he knew it, the mightyena was attacking him again, only this time its paws jumped on his shoulders and it licked his face. He laughed shortly until it hurt, and he said, "You're welcome."

It licked him once more and scampered off into the bushes.

Drew's smile faded and he pressed a hand to his throbbing torso.

---

May watched the Pokémon run away happily, in complete shock. "Drew!" she breathed. "How did you—Drew!"

He was clutching his chest in a way that scared her, and she dropped to her knees, careful not to hurt her ankle. She put a hesitant hand on his shoulder. "Arecus, are you okay?"

He lifted his head, giving her a shaky smile. "Think so." He tried to sit up, then gasped, and leaned back. He winced.

"Don't move," she said uneasily. "I think you got really hurt."

"It's okay," he whispered through the grimace.

May shut her eyes, shaking her head. "Why did you do that?" She opened them. "We were even. You didn't owe me anything."

Drew gave her a sidelong glance. "Didn't do it to get even," he said. He closed his eyes. "I just wasn't about to let a wild pokémon hurt my friend."

May's heart stuttered. Did he just…?

Did he just…?

She swallowed. "Your…?"

He opened one eye. "You heard me." Closed it. "Don't get used to it."

Despite herself, she felt the tiniest smile tilt her lips. Until it faded as he tenderly touched his chest. "Can you walk?" asked May, worry hitching up her eyebrow.

"Probably," said Drew with a wince. "But I probably won't be able to carry you," he admitted. It was a quiet admittance, and the honesty and vulnerability was shocking to her, still. "Hurt enough to carry you when I still had some bones intact."

May just shook her head. "It's okay."

Drew lifted his. "No, it's not. We're gonna be stuck out here until—"

"Until my friends find us," said May with a smile. "Ash is super hard-headed and Max knows he can't go home to our parents without a sister," she said with a little laugh. "I'm sure they're still looking for me."

"Still?" echoed Drew.

May's brows crinkled. "What do you mean 'still'?"

Drew just shook his head. "You're lucky to have them. People who would look for you."

May's face shifted a little, a touch of sadness to her features. Drew wasn't looking at her; he stared at the grass. May sat down beside him. "I'd look for you."

Drew turned his head. He searched her eyes a little, as if for a sign she was lying. She knew he wouldn't find one.

Because she wasn't.

"We're friends now," she said, tenderly stretching her legs out, careful of her ankle. "That's what friends do."

"Is that so," mused Drew. They sat in silence for a while before he sighed. "It still sucks we had to miss the Contest."

"Sorry," said May softly.

"No," said Drew, looking like he wished he hadn't brought it up. Leaves gently shifted in the trees with a sweep of the wind. They settled before he managed to say the words he struggled to find. "Only one of us would have gotten that ribbon. This way, both of us got…" His ego, most likely, wouldn't let him finish with what he had planned. So, instead, May watched amusedly as Drew finished instead with, "something."

She heard what he didn't say, however.

A friend.

She decided to ease the conversation for him a little. "You're right," she said. "I got a grumpiggy-back ride and you got on my nerves."

Drew turned a glare toward her, but she could see the slightest bit of relief in his eyes.

"Skitty," said May suddenly, "use Blizzard!"

"Na!"

Skitty obliged, freezing a few trees and bushes in the vicinity. Drew watched in puzzlement. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Making it easier for Ash, Brock and Max to find us," said May with a grin.

"That's…" began Drew, but he stopped himself.

"Yes?" prompted May.

"Not the worst idea you've ever had," said Drew with a flick of his hair.

"No?" said May with a quirk of her brow.

"No." confirmed Drew. "I must be rubbing off on you."

May mock-glared at him. But there was… there was something about him. Something he seemed to leave behind and she seemed to absorb. Some sort of feeling she couldn't quite put her finger on.

So she sat back against the tree beside him and watched the sun sparkle off the snow.

"Yeah." she said with a smile. "Something like that." Silence passed easily between them for a moment, before May thought of something. "Drew?"

"Hm?"

"You jumped to stop that mightyena from attacking me, right?"

Drew's eyes slowly found hers. "Yeah…?"

"Well, I jumped to save Skitty," she said, "and you told me that jumping was stupid."

Drew blinked. Swallowed. May could see the wheels spin in his head, trying to find some sort of way to make it sound different. "I…"

"I'm just saying," said May with a smile and a shrug. "Maybe I'm rubbing off on you, too."

Drew looked very much like he still wanted to argue, but he didn't. Instead, he smiled, looking back toward the trees. "Yeah," he said distantly. "Something like that."

"Mudkip, mud!"

"I think Mudkip senses her!"

"May!"

"May?"

"Look—that looks like a blizzard attack!"

May and Drew sat up—those were Ash, Brock and Max's voices.

The two rivals looked at each other, relief in their eyes. "Over here!" called May. "We're over here!"

The three boys, Pikachu and Mudkip, burst through the trees and snow. The moment they saw May, Max dove into her arms to hug her and Pikachu jumped to her shoulder. Brock and Ash broke out into grins, which shifted to puzzlement when they saw Drew beside her.

"Drew?!" exclaimed Ash and Brock in unison.

"Are you guys okay?" asked Brock.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the Contest?" asked Ash.

"We're okay," said May, "just a little banged up. We fell off the edge of the drop off by the Contest."

When the eyes turned to Drew, he shrugged. "I heard Skitty when the three of you left to find Team Rocket."

Max pulled away from where May was rubbing his back. "But what about the Contest?"

Drew flicked away some hair. "It's fine. There's always next year." And some things are more important than ribbons.

He was just starting to learn that now.

"Well," said Brock, "let's get you guys out of here. Then we can get you patched up and find some dinner." Brock looked to Drew. "Sound good?"

Dinner?

Drew could count on one hand the amount of meals he's shared with other trainers. Friends.

And counting friends was an even smaller number.

"Yeah," said Drew, forgoing his edge. Just for tonight. "That sounds great."

He shared a look with May, who was looking at him. And it seemed she knew what was going on in his head.

Drew never knew it could feel so good to miss his last chance to be in the Grand Festival.

Because without finding her, he would have ended up with a ribbon to celebrate all by himself.

But here, he suddenly had friends and somewhere to be. Even just for a little while.

Something, however, told him the pull in his chest when he looked at May meant just a little bit more than friends.

But he ignored it and smiled at the group in front of him.

He's done enough falling for one day.