OH MY LORD MAGIKARP GUYS. HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE I UPDATED THIS?

Okay, it's been forever – but you should all know that I am not finished with this. How dare I end that last chapter with Drew hating May. Also, I've barely gotten into the Oldrivalshipping part!

Oh gosh, I hope you guys haven't forgotten about this. Have you? Well, I nearly did. XD But then I reread it, and ideas kind of came and I was like – NO. THIS FANFIC MUST GO ON!

If you completely forgot what happened, I suggest reading it the way I did. XD But here is a brief outline: May and Drew were paired up for an assignment, but they strongly dislike each other because May thought that Drew had been cheating on Leaf, who was Drew's girlfriend AGES ago.

Meanwhile, Norman and Caroline are having a rough time and split up. And Gardenia, who is Drew's mother in this (because I am CRAZZEH), is also having a rough time with her boyfriend, Cilan. And so Norman and Gardenia decide to have a bit of fun together, and May and Drew are determined to put a stop to it. Which means that they befriend each other, and Drew sacrifices his poor butt-hole as well. XD Lord Magikarp, that was so much fun to write.

Anyways, however, May discovered that Drew never cheated on Leaf – he was just out with his step-sister. May confessed that to Drew, and Drew was hurt because he was accused of being a cheater and didn't realise it. So he is angry. Oh, and Caroline and Norman are back together! *cheers*

And all their emotions are reinforced in the little paragraphs that they have been writing to each other.

Anyways, onto the chapter! Please, I hope no one has forgotten about this. O.O

Now, to May!

Caroline may have returned home, but the muesli had stayed. A part of May had assumed – no, hoped – that Caroline's return would see the end of Norman's crazy breakfasts.

But she was sorely mistaken.

On Monday morning, he had served up that same homemade, vomitus muesli with the same type of enthusiasm that was usually reserved for contestants in cooking shows. Caroline had to stop Max from adding half a packet of Coco Pops into it. At least that meant that someone was playing attention to what Max was eating again. Apart from May, of course.

"Things are going to be different," Caroline said, reaching out to stroke May's face and then Max's. "Your father and I love each other very much and we're committed to making out marriage work."

Max clapped, as if they were watching a very bad piece of student theatre. Or maybe he also was hoping that it meant the end of the muesli too.

Then Norman said something about how he had taken Caroline for granted. How he had realised that he had to make his whole family his priority. How he was going to hire another part-timer at the surgery and make a commitment to be home every night by six-thirty.

Caroline looked at him and put her hand on his arm. "Six-thirty at the latest," she said, as if she was playfully scolding a child.

"Absolutely." Norman flashed a cheesy wink.

Oh, and Caroline was also going back to university.

"I'll be a mature-age student," she said, her eyes twinkling. "It'll be just wonderful to have the chance to explore my own dreams."

Continuing to gaze into Caroline's eyes, Norman continued, "And we're going to have counselling. Find a way to reconnect and a better way to communicate."

"It's all about communication, May." Caroline nodded at May wisely, as though she had turned into a psychologist. Then she stood up, moving behind May and Max and suddenly hugged them both to her chest and smothered the tops of their heads in kisses. "And, if I haven't said it enough already, I missed you two so much."

Max clapped again, while May rolled her eyes and attempted to struggle free from her mother's breasts. Then she walked off into her bedroom, unable to contain her smile.

Mum was back. For good.

[LINE BREAK]

On the way to school, it was hard for May to decide whether Leaf was more interested in Caroline's return or in the Drew-appendicitis-up-the-ass story. It only felt right to tell Leaf, since she already knew that Drew and May had been working on trying to keep their parents apart. And from Gary's comment in class yesterday, everyone else seemed to know anyways.

"I'm still in shock about it," Leaf giggled, adjusting the bag strap on her shoulder. "Technically, your dad went fourth base with Drew."

May stopped and stared at her.

"Leaf?"

"Yes?"

"I don't know what the hell you think the bases are on dates, but let me assure you that a quick poke up the bum isn't one of them."

May shouldn't have been too hard on Leaf. After all, when May confessed to Leaf during morning tea yesterday about the 'cheating situation', she had taken it quite well. Leaf said that she would have done the same if the positions were reversed. She said that she would have told May immediately if she thought a guy was cheating. And then Leaf admitted that she actually found Gary rather cute.

May laughed so hard that she nearly choked on her sandwich. Then May realised that Leaf wasn't laughing. She was entirely serious.

"He came over a few weeks ago to fix our pump," Leaf explained.

May put down her lunch and looked at Leaf, prodding her to keep elaborating.

"On the pool. The pump on the pool. He's actually really funny. And he also likes the same Elite Four members as me. Isn't that great?"

And that's where the conversation ended, since Drew happened to be walking past and May immediately leapt up and tried to get his attention. But he had rebuffed her. For the third time that day. He turned his back on May and started walking in the opposite direction. May just wanted to tell him about Caroline coming back; let him know that he didn't have to keep working at trying to split up their parents. But he didn't want anything to do with her. And, to top it off, he had written some stupid new character called Maybelle Perfect into their tandem story. She was obviously representing May.

Is that how he sees me? May wondered, as she made her way through the school gates and Leaf started talking about Gary's prowess with a pool scoop.

Did Drew see May as some ditzy, bitchy, airheaded schoolgirl? And what the hell was that bit about being a bubble-gum pop star? What did that even mean? Plus, he didn't seem at all worried that Max Eislander used to be the name of a character in the film and now he was real.

May wrote her paragraph at lunch. She didn't write anything in the email. She just attached the latest section since it was her last and it seemed pointless to even try talking to him. Lord Magikarp knew how they were going to manage tomorrow night, getting up in front of a crowd and reading their story together.

Maybelle Perfect sat in the make-up chair and closed her eyes as her foundation and lippy were quickly 'touched up' before she was required for her scene. Harley, the make-up artist, talked nonstop and he always did about his kids, his arthritic dog, his lazy partner and the cost of petrol. But Maybelle just sat there, said 'Mmm' at the appropriate moments and contemplated her loneliness. From the outside her life looked perfect – she was the new 'It girl' who had gone from high-school senior to chart-topping singer and now award-winning actress. She was inundated with thousands of fan letters every day. Girls envied her. Boys adored her. She had already made enough money to retire. And yet she was more miserable than she'd ever been before. With the death of her grandmother last month, Maybelle had lost the last person who truly understood her. The only person who knew the deep-seated pain she had felt since she was a child. "There you go, love." Maybelle opened her eyes, thanked Harley and lingered by the doorway of the make-up trailer. She took a deep breath, and then forced a big smile onto her face and walked towards the set, signing autographs for fans along the way.

That's it.

XD Gosh, it's short. I just wanted a bit of perspective of how May was feeling. And the paragraph she submitted reinforced everything.

Also, I vaguely mentioned the Oldrival part. And yes, you're right. I can't get over what happened to Drew at the doctor's office. XD Which is why I mentioned it again.

Okay, so… Only a few more chapters to go! The paragraph May submitted at the end is her LAST PARAGRAPH. Which means that Drew has to submit his last one, and then…

It's showtime. XD And as you're all guessing, showtime involves Contestshipping fluff. XD Stay tuned!

PLEASE REVIEW. THEY MAKE ME FEEL BETTER. AND USUALLY THEY INSPIRE ME WITH NEW IDEAS SO I KNOW WHAT TO WRITE NEXT.

XD And if someone reminds me, I can assure you that the next chapter is coming out quicker. XD I need to stop Drew from acting like an asshole. XD