May's POV

I curled my fists in annoyance. The boy in front of me smirked and flipped his fringe out of his eyes. How could he do this? How could he get me so angry, yet remain so calm and confident.

"Drew," I yelled, "I'll have you know that I'm so much better at coordinating. I've been practicing."

"Oh good," he smirked, "Maybe you'll have caught up a little and I can have a little bit of challenge for once."

"Drew! I have-" I stopped at a rose was pushed into my face.

"No seriously, well done." I tenderly took the rose from his hands.

"Well, thanks," I started.

"I mean," he continued, smirking again, "you need all the help you can get. See you at the next contest." With that he walked away, raising two fingers in the air. I stood stunned for a minute.

"DREW!" I yelled. I could have sworn that I heard him chuckle.

"AH Misty, do you know what I'm thinking?" Dawn squealed behind me.

"You thinking of…and…" she replied. Dawn nodded.

"Yep," Misty grinned.

"What?" I questioned turning to them, "what are you talking about."

"Only the fact that Drew totally has a crush on you," Dawn blurted. I felt my cheeks heat up. I'd become friends with the two girls quickly after Ash had introduced us.

"He does not," I cried indignantly. I had not told them about my minor crush on the green-haired coordinator and I didn't want them to find out anytime soon.

"Oh please," Misty rolled her eyes, "like you can't see it. He's really into you."

"Oh yeah, prove it," I challenged. I might have sounded like a little kid just then, but I didn't care. It was going to take them a lot more than just saying it to convince me of that. Oh no, Drew did not have a crush on me. That was impossible right?

Dawn's POV

Misty and I were going to show May that Drew really did like her. The poor girl couldn't see it herself. She was convinced the guy didn't like her.

"The stubbornness of people in love," Misty growled under her breath.

"Hey, you still haven't said anything to Ash," I teased. She blushed.

"Like you can talk, when are you going to tell Paul huh?" she retorted.

"Focus," I snapped, changing the subject, "I've got a list of little clues boys give when they like a girl and we're going to prove them to May."

"Sounds good," Misty agreed, jumping up, "we should go tell her one now." I nodded and we eventually found May. She was in the middle of another argument with the green-haired boy.

"You think you're so good," she was saying.

"I don't think May," he chuckled, holding his hand up to stop her, "I know." With that he turned and walked away, tossing a rose over his shoulder. She carefully caught it and yelled his name in aggravation.

"Hi May," I called.

"Hey Dawn, Misty," she sighed.

"What's wrong?" Misty asked, "you sound upset."

"Just annoyed," May replied, "so what's up girls? You've got that certain look in your eyes so don't even try to tell me you're not up to anything."

"Actually," I cut in, "I've found a list of hints a boy will give a girl when they like them. We're going to slowly prove them one by one."

"Sure," May snorted, "I don't think so, but I'll go along. Just don't try to embarrass me ok?"

"Alright, we'll try not to," Misty promised.

"So what's the first one?" May asked, sounding a bit curious.

"You sound eager," I smirked, seeing her blush, "but it says, he will greet you differently to other people around him."

"Pfft," May snorted again, "like that's a hint."

"Well, we can test it now," Misty exclaimed, pointing down the hall. I followed her finger and saw three boys walking towards us. It was Ash, Drew and Paul. Somehow, the three of them had become more or less, friends.

"Hi guys!" Misty called, waving to them.

"Hi girls," Ash replied, waving back.

"Hi Ash, Paul, Drew," May said, spitting Drew's name out like it was poison.

"Hi May, Dawn, Misty," Drew replied in the same even tone. May shot me a look that said 'I told you so', but I ignored it.

"Hey boys," I grinned.

"Hi May, Misty," Paul greeted, and then he smirked as he turned to me, "troublesome."

"You think you'd learn my name by now," I grumbled, "It's Dawn."

"Whatever troublesome," he brushed it away, "anyway, we need to get going." They all walked away again.

"So much for that," May said, "but hey, it worked for you Dawn."

"Shut up," I scowled, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks. That was not how it was supposed to work.

Misty's POV

Well, the first clue didn't work very well. Dawn had caught that one. May still enjoyed teasing her about it.

"Ok next clue," I interrupted them for Dawn's sake, "Watch his body language. If he likes you, he might lean over towards you. He will be facing your direction and he will rarely turn his back to you."

"Pfft, again another useless clue," May snorted, "Drew always turns his back on me when he walks away from me."

"Well, I guess 2 out of 3 would still be something," Dawn put in.

"I'm hungry," May moaned, "Let's go get something to eat."

"I've got to stop at the library on the way," I said, "there's a new book on water Pokémon that just came in and I have to read it."

"Fine then," Dawn sighed. I picked up my book and we headed into the closest café, due to May being impatient.

"Hey girls," came the bright voice of Ash, "come sit with us." I looked over and saw Paul and Ash, sitting opposite to each other.

"Sit next to me Misty," Ash called, patting the seat next to him. I slid into the seat and sighed. May quickly took the seat next to me, leaving Dawn to sit next to Paul. She blushed slightly.

"Where's Drew?" Dawn asked, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

"Right here," he said, sounding not too happy, "all I did was go to the bathroom and I find that when I come back Dawn has stolen my seat."

"Just shut up Drew," Paul snapped, "sit down who cares?" I held up my book in front of my face, trying to hide my laugh.

"Who invited this ditzy so called coordinator to lunch with us anyway," Drew grumbled. He gestured to May across from him before he sat down and crossed his arms.

"You're just grumpy," Paul retorted. I was surprised May didn't protest, but when I glanced over at her, she was looking at me with her eyebrows raised. I gave her a questioning look and she gestured for me to turn around. I jumped when I saw that Ash had moved a lot closer to me.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked, leaning over my shoulder. I remembered the clue for today and I blushed.

"Umm, you can see for yourself," I managed to say, flipping it to the cover for him to see.

"Water Pokémon huh?" he questioned, "not that surprising actually."

May's POV

They had failed to convince me so far. Clue three was about eye contact. Notice if he stares at you. Notice if he holds your gaze when talking to you.

"Hey Misty," I whispered, "Ash is staring at you."

"Huh?" Misty quickly looked up and Ash looked away quickly. Misty blushed and looked down, suddenly taking interest in her shoes. I looked at Drew for a moment. Nope, he wasn't staring.

Later on Paul and Drew came to talk to Dawn and me. I noticed immediately that Paul was holding eye contact with Dawn and Dawn only. I shot her a look and she blushed. She gestured to Drew. I checked him; he was looking around at the scenery, looking quite bored actually.

Their plans weren't seeming to work. Clue four was about touch. Notice his levels of personal contact with you. If a guy likes you, he will make excuses to touch you.

"Misty you're so funny," Ash laughed, putting his hand over Misty's. She jumped slightly. Ash was always finding the smallest things funny, but I could tell she was focused on the physical contact. She blushed slightly as Ash continued to laugh.

I tripped and fell. I heard laughter ring through the air.

"You're so clumsy May," Drew laughed, standing in front of me.

"Are you going to help me up at least?" I asked hotly, holding my hand up for him to take.

"Nope," He grinned and walked away, still chuckling to himself. Scratch personal contact, I thought.

They really weren't getting anywhere near getting Drew to show me a hint. Clue five was nervousness. Check to see if he's nervous around you.

"Pfft," I snorted, "Drew's never nervous, he's always so overconfident."

"We'll see," Dawn whispered, gesturing to the boys walking towards us.

"Say something to him so we came gauge his reaction," Misty hissed in my ear.

"Hi Drew," I called to him.

"Well, if it isn't May," he smirked. I rolled my eyes.

"Gee I was just gonna ask how are you going on your ribbons? You don't have to be so rude," I huffed.

"Got more ribbons than you," he retorted.

"Why you-"

"Calm down May," Misty interrupted, putting a hand on my arm. I crossed them and glared at the boy. He smirked back.

"H-hey Misty," Ash said, his voice causing him to stutter for a moment.

"What's up Ash?"

"I've got a Pokémon battle soon. I-I was wondering if you'd come to cheer me on," he asked, nervously stepping from foot to foot, "the others can come too of course." I grinned and shot her a pointed look. She blushed and nodded at Ash.

I always had known that they were wrong from the beginning, but some part of me seemed to hope that they were right. Clue six was friends. Watch his friends. They might subtly tease him about you or push him in your direction. Look at their reactions; do the smirk like they know something you don't?

"Hey boys!" Dawn called. She waved them over. They came over.

"Hey Misty, how's it going between you and Ash," Paul teased.

"Umm…" Misty trailed off blushing.

"Shut up Paul," Ash yelled, roughly shoving Paul forwards and into Dawn. She stumbled and he caught her wrist, preventing her from falling over.

"You idiot Ash," Paul muttered, releasing the now bright red girl after she had regained her balance, "Why'd you do that?" Drew smirked knowingly at Dawn and she blushed even brighter.

"So much for his friends teasing me," I hissed to Dawn when the guys left, "you guys are catching all these so called hints."

And they were. I swear whenever they came up with something new, one of their crushes would be the one to show the appropriate response. Clue number seven was about compliments. Pay attention to the compliments he gives you. If he notices if you do something different it could mean that he's into you as most other guys wouldn't notice.

"Hey Misty," Ash called, "Your hair looks nice out. You should do it more often." I had gotten a haircut, at the request of my two friends and they wanted to see if Drew would notice it, or compliment it.

"Thank Ash," Misty blushed, "maybe I will."

"Troublesome," Paul said, "you're wearing a different top."

"Ah…Yes I am," she replied, blushing. Drew shrugged.

"Hey Drew," Misty said, suddenly turning her attention to the other boy, "notice anything different about May today?" I rolled my eyes. He was meant to notice on his own.

"Nope, not really," he shrugged, "she's still a terrible coordinator."

"Drew!" I exclaimed. He smirked and tossed me another rose.

"Look on the bright side," he smirked, "it wasn't like you could beat me anyway." I growled under my breath, as he walked away, the two other boys following after him. As much satisfaction as it would have given me at that moment, I couldn't bring myself to crush the rose in my hands.

This was annoying; all these hints that never happened. I was glad when the last one came around. Clue eight was teasing. Pay attention to him teasing you. Usually a guy teases you to get your attention. He might even come up with a nickname for you to see your reaction.

"Well this one's an easy answer," I sighed, "Drew's always teasing me. Half the time I can't tell if it's friendly or not."

"We'll still just have to see won't we?" Misty giggled. I had no idea what she was giggling about until I spotted the three boys again.

"Hey Troublesome," Paul called.

"Get my name right!" Dawn exclaimed, "Its Dawn, get it. It can't be that hard to memorize. It's only one syllable."

"He might even come up with a nickname for you to see your reaction," I reminded her. She instantly blushed.

"So May, how are you feeling?" Ash asked me.

"I'm great, I've got all my ribbons and I'm ready for the Grand Festival," I replied.

"Hah!" Drew snorted, "Barely got your ribbons."

"I did not!" I shouted, "It's still a month away from the Festival."

"Oh well," he shrugged, "I'm kinda glad anyway."

"You are?" I questioned.

"Sure, I mean, who else is as much fun to crush as you are?" he smirked.

"Drew!" I yelled.

"Chill May," Drew sighed, "you get so worked up over a little teasing." I growled under my breath. Did he just admit that he was joking? Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he did think of me in a higher standard than he let on.

"Then again," he continued, the smirk gracing his face again, "I wasn't really joking." I felt crushed.

"You jerk," I growled under my breath and I walked away.

"Wait May stop!" yelled Misty chasing after me.

"You have to come back," Dawn pleaded, "he was just teasing you. You should have seen his face after you left."

"I don't care," I muttered.

"Oh please May," Misty begged, "He did exactly as the clue said."

"Yeah, one out of eight is not a convincing result," I growled, "I'm sorry, but I think I'd better train for the Grand Festival."

"But May-"

"Don't," I cut her off, "Your proving methods failed ok. You girls got the clue on your own crushes. So just go back and flirt. They'll come around eventually."

Right now I was sitting on the chairs, watching everyone on the dance floor. The Grand Festival had passed and I had lost. I lost in the second round to Solidad, who then went on to beat Drew and win the cup. I held a cup of punch in my hands. I didn't feel like dancing or anything at the moment. I had been complimented several times on my outfit by several guys. They seemed to like the full length, blood red dress I was wearing. It had tiny blood red roses, made out of silky fabric, attached across the straps and along the top lining of the bodice I had let my hair out of its usual bandana and it hung in loose curls over my shoulders. Dawn had done it for me. Misty had then pinned a stray piece of hair out of my face with a rose clip. Roses, I thought bitterly. They reminded me of a certain coordinator with green hair and green eyes; a certain coordinator who had proved Dawn and Misty wrong. I searched for them in the crowd. I spotted Misty. She was flirting with Ash, who was blushing severely. I saw Dawn; she was slowly advancing on Paul. Both of them were trying to get the guys to cave in and finally ask them out.

"What are you doing alone?" asked a voice I knew well, "you're not still upset over the loss are you?"

"What do you want Drew?" I asked, a sharp edge coming into my voice. Drew must've noticed because the smirk was immediately off his face.

"Hey, are you alright?" he questioned, sitting beside me. I nodded slightly, still watching my two best friends and their crushes. Drew followed my gaze and laughed. I turned away to look at him as I saw Misty lean up closer. He wasn't even looking at me. I sighed watched the dance floor again. Misty was in the middle of kissing Ash so I looked at Dawn. Dawn had finally backed Paul into a corner. The boy was turning red as Dawn was talking. I turned away for a moment and grimaced as I looked back and caught Dawn and Paul in the middle of kissing.

"In public," Drew muttered, shaking his head, "I can't believe they had the guts to do that. Come out for a walk with me."

"Why?"

"I figured you look bored watching all these people dancing and your best friends are both in the middle of locking lips so…" he trailed off, leaving the invitation open.

"Fine I guess," I sighed. I stood up and wobbled slightly, adjusting to standing up in my blood red heels again. He offered his hand and I took it tenderly in mine. As soon as I regained my balance, I dropped it again and walked ahead out into the night air. I shiver slightly as the cool air made contact with my skin.

"Are you cold?" he asked. I nodded slightly. He offered his jacket. I shook my head vigorously. He shrugged and hung it over his arm. I bit my lip, wishing I'd accepted it after all. I finally saw a bench by a large water fountain. I sighed in relief as I sat down. I kicked off my heels and rubbed my sore feet. Drew chuckled slightly as he sat next to me.

"You try walking around in heels," I snapped. He held up his hands in surrender. It was back to being silent again between us, which I was glad of. I could forget he was there and focus on the slither that was left of the moon and the beautiful stars.

"Can you tell me what's going on with those two girls you're always with," he sighed, finally breaking the silence between us, "they've been acting so weird around Ash and Paul lately." I looked at Drew and realized he was actually expecting an answer. I decided to be honest. I was really bad at lying anyway.

"They found a bunch of 'hints' a guy gives a girl when they like her. They were trying to convince me that you had a crush on me, but it turns out that the hints were all given by their crushes to them," I explained, "now they're just trying to give their own hints."

"Did they convince you?" Drew asked. I looked back at him. He was looking at me intently with dark eyes.

"No," I sighed, "they didn't convince me."

"Good." I felt my heart crack slightly.

"Because that's my job," he said quietly. I snapped my head up.

"What?" I spluttered.

"You heard me, I said that's my job," he repeated.

"What do you mean?" I asked. He rolled his eyes and leaned over a little closer to me. I felt my heart pounding in my chest.

"I have a crush on you May," he whispered, his breath tickling the skin by my ear.

"Wait, but you didn't show any of the hints that Dawn and Misty said," I reasoned. Was this all a joke?

"Of course not," he snorted, "you think I'm stupid enough to let the whole world see who obvious it is? I wanted you to know May. Not Dawn or Misty or Ash or Paul or anyone else. This is something between us May. I've been trying to tell you for a while, but Dawn and Misty or someone has always been around." I blinked.

"I get it," he continued, "that you don't feel the same way back, but I just had to get it off my chest."

"It's ok," I murmured quietly, getting my voice back, "I have a crush on you too. To tell you the truth, that's why I've been so down."

"Who knew you could get depressed over me May," Drew smirked.

"Shut up," I scowled, "you've ruined the moment."

"I'll get it back," he said.

"It's passed us now," I retorted hotly. His stupid arrogance.

"I meant to say, I'll make a new one then," he smirked.

"How on earth do you expect to do that? You can't just-" I was cut off when he quickly pushed his lips against mine in a warm, but firm kiss.

"I love you," he whispered, grinning.

"I love you too," I whispered back.

"Be my girlfriend?" It was a question, but the way he said it sounded more like a demand.

"Did you really think I was going to say no?" I smiled. He grinned and I could almost say the comment waiting to ruin it again. I glared.

"You know, this'll have to be a secret," he warned, "The fan girls will go nuts and the press will twist anything."

"I know," I smiled, "just kiss me." He smiled too. He leaned down and suddenly I was caught up in a series of longing kisses, one after the other. I tangled my fingers in his hair.

"Oh my goodness!" someone exclaimed. I broke out of Drew's hold, blushing severely. Dawn, Misty, Paul and Ash all were standing together and looking at us.

"I told you May!" Dawn sang. Misty nodded smugly. Ash's mouth was wide open and Paul was smirking slightly.

"You didn't tell her," I heard Drew growl, "I did. Those stupid hints you kept talking about got May really down."

"It worked out didn't it," Dawn retorted.

"Only because I saw that May was unhappy. Only because she's too honest to lie," he growled.

"Who knew you harboured such feelings to your supposed rival?" Paul commented, breaking the tension between Dawn and Drew. Drew blushed slightly.

"This stays a secret though," Drew warned, "unlike you guys, I haven't been as stupid to reveal my feelings for the public to see, but if the press gets a hold of this, it'll bad for everyone." They all simultaneously made zipping motions over their mouths. Drew put his arm around my waist and pulled me back into his chest.

"I don't think you want to start that again," Paul said, causing me to blush, "people are starting to come out now." Drew nodded. He quickly planted a kiss on my lips.

"Until the next time we're alone," he whispered. He placed another kiss on my forehead and then let me go. I jumped away, blushing severely. He winked at me and walked away, tossing a rose over his shoulder. I picked it up and smiled. He thought he was so secretive.