Three Roses
May has been training hard ever since she beat Drew in the Grand Festival. Just because she beat him once doesn't mean she can beat him again. But when Skitty returns with a rose instead of the ball that May threw, are their paths going to cross once more?
A/N: This is what happens when I'm bored and museful. -- Go figure. Anyhoo, enjoy the Contestshipping oneshot. It ends kinda bad, but hey, it's only a oneshot. Hoennshipping coming up next!
Disclaimer: I didn't invent Pokemon. I ain't that brilliant.
"Squirtle! Use Bubble, then Ice Beam!" A certain brunette coordinator cried, throwing out two frisbees with a flourish, turning and turning and turning so that the frisbees would fly farther, and landing with her right leg crossed behind her left one. Her red bandana that had been tied into a knot on her head had been replaced with a green one, and the red in her outfit had been changed to emerald, thanks to her good friend Brendan. He had been kind enough to make her another outfit like the one she had had before, and she was deeply grateful for it.
"Squirtle," the blue turtle Pokemon cried, letting beautifully glimmering bubbles float from its mouth, propping up the frisbees. As the bubbles began to pop, leaving the frisbees glittering beautifully from the dampness of the Bubble attack. As soon as the last bubble popped, Squirtle let loose a gleaming beam of light from its mouth. It froze the two frisbees immediately, and the icicles began to plummet to the ground, making a beautiful whistling sound as they fell.
"Good job," the brunette coordinator said proudly. "Now, Squirtle, use Rapid Spin on the falling frisbees!"
Squirtle began to spin faster, and faster, and faster until its trainer could barely see the spinning Pokemon. It collided with the two frisbees, causing the pink aero discs to immediately shatter and shower the Pokemon with glittering shards of ice. Squirtle ended its attack with a loud 'Squirtle' of pride.
"That was perfect Squirtle!" the coordinator yelled excitedly, embracing the Pokemon tightly.
"Squirtle!" it chirped in reply, and its trainer set it down gently, and offered it some food. It gobbled up the food quickly, hands busy shoving the treats into its mouth.
May gently pushed her Squirtle away. "Easy there Squirtle! I don't want you to feel bloated! Why don't you grab what's left, and sit on the sidelines while I work on Skitty?"
Squirtle glanced up, its cheeks bulging with food. Snatching the last of the Pokemon food in May's hand, it tottered toward the edge of the clearing so it could munch on the brown Pokemon food while watching its teammate practice.
"Alright then! Take the stage, Skitty!" May shouted, tossing the Pokeball toward the open clearing with a flourish. "Use Doubleslap on these balls and juggle them!"
The small Pokemon chirped happily, "Skitty!" and proceeded to gently slap the balls in a circular motion so that it was juggling the orange balls.
May was thrilled; her Skitty was doing it perfectly, and on its first try! "Good Skitty! How about four?" The coordinator tossed another orange ball into the loop. Skitty furrowed her brow in concentration and smoothly changed the speed of her juggling so that she could accommodate the extra ball. May punched the air with her hand. "Alright Skitty!"
But the sudden movement made Skitty waver. Its juggling became shaky and rough as it fought to maintain its balance. For a moment, Skitty seemed to totter on the line between perfection and utter despair. May's hands clenched into fists, and she willed gravity to be on her side. Unfortunately, Skitty toppled over, sending the four balls flying. May quickly caught two of them, and another rolled toward Squirtle, who had finished eating the food, and picked it up. The last one, though, was Skitty's. The Pokemon dashed toward the bushes, its energetic cries filling the forest air. May sighed; it was all her fault that Skitty had lost its concentration. I'm a horrible coordinator, she thought, defeated, dropping her head into her hands.
"Skitty!" May's head rose at the sound of her Skitty. It emerged from the shadows with something clamped in its mouth.
"Skitty! What do you have in your mouth?" May asked curiously, reaching to grab it, anticipating a game of Catch-me that Skitty often played. However, this time, Skitty simply dropped it at the brunette's feet and May reached to pick it up. It was a red rose.
Her heart started pounding at an astounding speed. She didn't need a mirror to see that she was blushing furiously as she took a whiff of the sweet aroma the rose gave off. It reminded her of the times that they had spent together. It was a mixture of bitterness and love. Love? She wondered as she tucked the rose behind her ear. Where she expected thorns was a smooth surface, and she marveled that Drew managed to do that every time.
"Where'd Skitty find this?" May murmured softly as she returned her Pokemon to their Pokeballs.
"I thought you might be at least appreciative."
May froze. Of all the places, why here? Why now? She slowly turned around after taking a breath to calm her nerves. "I- didn't expect you to be here." She stammered.
There was that hair-flicking habit he had. "I thought I would check out the competition, seeing as you beat me the last time we met." May blinked. It wasn't like him to admit defeat, especially to her. After all those insults, after all the heated cheeks, he was being nice to her?
"Er… really?" She tried to sound the way he did, aloof, calm, slightly annoyed, but she failed miserably. Instead, her voice broke in the middle of the word, and it jumped two octaves higher.
"Yes, really," he mocked her, threading his fingers through his green hair and flicking it back in one smooth motion. May found herself following the strand's arc before focusing on his dark emerald eyes. Then, the meaning of his words sunk in, and her cheeks flamed up once more, this time with anger.
"Why do you have to be so mean Drew?" she scowled, propping her gloved hands on her hips. What was it about her that drew him to her?
"Everyone has to have a hobby," he smirked back at her. Latios, that smirk was annoying! Why'd he have to smirk?
May decided to change the subject, partially because she could think of no better comeback and another part because she wanted to stay on friendly terms. "So what are you doing here?"
Drew gave her that incredulous look that said I-can't-believe-you're-that-stupid. "I just said I was here to check out the competition."
May blushed furiously, her cheeks deepening to a dark scarlet. "Oh. My bad."
"Yes. It is."
"Hey!"
"Well you admitted it!"
May ground her teeth in frustration. She couldn't have one decent, calm conversation with the boy without feeling belittled, and frankly, it burned in her stomach. She took a deep breath, counted to ten, but her feelings didn't cool down. She was a centimeter from snapping when Drew proffered her a rose. Surprise was like ice. It soothed the burning feeling in her stomach, and made her curious. "What's this for Drew?"
"I gotta have a reason for everything?" he asked, flipping his gleaming green hair once more. He turned to leave, and then paused, facing May again. "If you have trouble with anything, I'd better give you my PokeGear number. Just in case. After all, you don't have your groupies around, and you could use the help."
May blushed furiously, but replied rather calmly, "O- okay." She took out her red colored PokeGear and gave it to Drew, who quickly punched in his number. Then, Drew handed her back her PokeGear. She also received a green PokeGear. Looking up questionably, she tipped her head to the side, wondering why he'd given her it. Drew sighed exasperated.
"Put in your number May!" Realization clicked in her head, and May turned down to punch in her number. If she hadn't, she would have seen the green haired boy's cheeks redden as he said that. Finishing her number, she handed back the green PokeGear to him.
For a moment, they stood together, an awkward silence stretching between them. May examined her shoes, a flush creeping up her neck. A soft rustling of the grass beneath his feet made her tip her head up. Drew had been so close that their lips met gently.
Shock kept them frozen until May pulled away. Sapphire eyes met emerald, and for once, unspoken consent passed through them.
"That never happened."
"Agreed."
Drew turned away, hiding his blush. Unfortunately, the back of his neck was red and May smiled softly. Grabbing his hand and jerking him back toward her, she kissed him full on the mouth for a full ten seconds. It felt like an eternity to Drew, who stumbled back after she released him. "See ya around Drew," she mumbled, blushing at her daring. Grabbing her pack she quickly scurried toward the opposite path, leaving both teens blushing like there was no tomorrow
- - -
Three days later, May was walking along a well beaten road, closing her sapphire eyes to enjoy the sunshine. Her cheeks still burned as she remembered her kiss with Drew. But she forced it out of her mind. She couldn't be thinking about Drew! He was her top rival! A sudden vibration in her pocket made May start. Realizing it was her PokeGear, May slipped it out of her pocket and raised it to her mouth. "Hello?"
"Hey May." May flinched and blushed. Was it possible for one guy to make her feel both scared and thrilled when he spoke to her?
"Hi Drew."
"Three days ago, when you left, it was kinda in a hurry, dontcha think?"
Where was he going with this? "I guess. What's your point?"
"Turn around." May turned, her PokeGear lower than her mouth. She saw a flash of green hair, and glinting green eyes before she was engulfed in bliss. As Drew pulled away, she glanced up at him dazedly.
"Wh- what was that for?"
Drew smirked, handing her another rose. "Another taste."
Ack. Was that ending terrible or what? Anyway, review please! Oh, and check out Being Human too!