For The One I Love [CS/PG-13/AU]

[Mimori Kiryu]

Okay, so how many of you remember For My Love, a Contestshipping story I wrote a couple of months (almost a year ago). For my New Year's Resolution (one of them anyway...), I promised myself that I would work on all my old stories, so here we go! ^___^ I hope you all like this and I hope it's better than the first time I wrote it.

Short Summary: Drew moves on after his journey is over. Endless hookups and mishaps form his late teenage life. Just as he's about to turn 21, an old friend reenters his life. She's in danger of being killed. What's a boy to do? Rescue the one girl who made his heart skip.

Chapter Outline:

1) Blind Date
2) Unfortunate Circumstances
3) Travel and Discovery
4) Secret...Agent?
5) A Guilty Conscience
6) The Plan Unfolds
7) Reunion
8) Death
9) The Curse Mark
10) Haunted
11) Arrival
12) Friendship
13) And Then There Was Light
14) Mortal
...and more...

For The One I Love

Chapter One

People do foolish things for love.

Some people think that material things are the most important in a relationship; while lust and emotion are the two big players in others. Some people love to spend every waking moment with their special person, just to show them how much they care.

From where I stand, the most important thing you can do is to always be there, give them a crutch to stand on and to help lift them when they’re down. Just being there for them is enough to show them how you care.

The dearest thing a person can do is to give themselves wholly and completely to that other person.

Body.

Mind.

Soul.

Everything, no matter what the cost.

_+_+_+_+_

Several large houses sat upon a hilltop; the sunshine from the beautiful sun having already started to warm the Earth. Not by much, since old man winter had arrived. The small village was almost unnoticeable because of his arrival the night before. Many snowflakes covered the ground – the best kind of snow. It was perfect for forts and snowball fights for the young children living out in this area. The trees swayed in the light breeze that picked up, blowing the snow into the air. Snowflakes glimmered in the sunlight, giving the village a brilliant aura.

“Today’s the day…”

A voice came up from one house. It was the smallest house in the village, further out than the town square. It was two stories tall and had been painted an off-white color some odd years before. Its paint had all but faded away and now left spots of discolored brown upon the surface. Its main front door led straight up a staircase, to a different colored floor, this one blue. The door was white just like the house, but the handle was golden and dirty from many different hands touching the surface.

Inside the door, pacing back and forth in the first room was a tall, handsome looking young man. His hand was resting on his chin in a thinking position and he mumbled under his breath as he turned on his heel after almost colliding with the wall. Something was on his mind, but even the boy himself had forgotten exactly why he was so nervous.

The teenager was fully dressed, wearing a semi-green t-shirt with a black light jacket overtop. His blue jeans were tattered at the end; the cloth laying neatly over his tennis shoes. His light green hair lay neatly over his face, even though he had yet to brush it that morning. His verdant, emerald eyes stared into nothingness across the room; not staring at one thing in particular. They were too busy scoping out his surroundings to actually focus on one certain thing.

Finally, after tiring himself out, he collapsed onto the couch. He lay looking up at the ceiling, his arms stretched out and his eyes searching the empty roof. Looking closer, he noticed the popcorn like ceiling reaching down for him and he rubbed his eyes, making the vision disappear. He turned to his side, lying more comfortably on the couch. The boy was now facing the television, which was off. He saw his reflection in the tube and shuddered. He definitely needed a new wardrobe.

The young man sighed, sitting up and rubbing his face. Maybe a splash of water would help him to wake up. It was so tiring day after day of doing nothing. Sure, he had his part time job down at a nearby diner, but it did zilch for his boredom. He glanced at his newly bought Nintendo Wii, which sat abandoned under the TV on a different shelf. His obsession with video games stretched out too far for a person who was near the age of adulthood.

That thought made the young adult want to hurt himself even more. Tomorrow was March 18th, or in his terms, his death. Okay, it was an exaggeration, but it would be his last day as a kid. Turning 21 meant a person had to become older, and more adult like.

I guess there goes the four hundred dollars I spent on that thing. He thought, looking to his Wii. I can already hear Travis now. ‘Drew, you need to go and get a girl. Stop with the blind dates because they’re obviously not working, man.’ He never stops reminding me...

The boy, now known as Drew, stood from his warm seat on the couch and traveled absentmindedly to his bedroom. He didn’t really know what he was going to wear tonight on yet another blind date. Travis had set him up on this one and had sworn up and down that Drew wouldn’t ever have to go on a date again. This girl would be the girl of his dreams.

Drew, however, knew differently. He had already met the girl of his dreams and she was long gone. He could remember her face, voice, personality, appearance; everything like he had only seen her yesterday. In actuality, it had been over ten years since he last talked to her. Ever since he’d left her behind and traveled to the Johto region by himself, he felt empty. Nothing seemed to matter anymore now that he couldn’t see her face everyday. He was almost sure he hadn’t let any hints escape his mind to her about how he truly felt. He had given her roses every Contest, but had assured her the roses weren’t for her – they were for her pokémon, Beautifly, a gracious and beautiful bug/flying type whose magnificence was only surpassed by its trainer.

Drew wiped those memories from his mind. May was behind him and she had probably already found someone else in this world she loved. That in particular didn’t bother him. As long as she was happy, Drew couldn’t ask for anything else. He closed the door to his closet. If he didn’t go dressed in what he was comfortable for his date, he would be uncomfortable and it would go horribly. Though, he was pretty sure it would go bad no matter what anyway. He hadn’t ever found a girl he liked romantically, other than his crush on May, and he was pretty sure he wouldn’t find one for many years to come. As he sat on the bed, his foot began to bounce against the wooden floor. He didn’t understand why this particular day made him so nervous; it wasn’t as if this was his first blind date.

A sudden knock at the front door startled the young man, almost causing him to jump out of his skin. He stood from his place on the bed and walked out of his room, closing the door with his foot. Passing his abandoned gaming system, he approached the front entrance and looked through the peephole. Standing outside, bouncing his foot on the floor to the beat of the music that played in his iPod, was Travis, Drew’s best friend. The two had attended Pokemon College together since Drew was seventeen and now, during their senior year, Travis had become Drew’s right hand man and advisor on relationships – even though Travis himself hadn’t ever had a girlfriend. Women are too troublesome for me; they always gotta talk about how they feel… Travis would always tell Drew when he questioned about Travis’s own love life. He would remind Drew after that he had better luck with women because he was more attractive.

Me? Good looking? Hmph – yeah sure. Drew thought to himself as he pulled open the door.

Travis was dressed as crazy as usual, not really trying to match any colors together. His lime green shirt was covered with a bright purple buttoned down shirt, which was currently unbuttoned. His red pants seemed to be too large so two belts, both black, held those up. His platform black shoes were almost hidden under his jeans. He still banged his head back and forth to the music while playing an air guitar. Drew could tell when the song ended because Travis had ‘thrown’ said guitar and landed in a heap on the couch.

“Dude, that song was ROCKING. I hadn’t ever heard anything like that. It was so AWESOME.” Travis sighed, pulling the earphones out of his ears. “Joel let me borrow one of his CDs and man, he has awesome taste.”

Drew leaned against one of the nearby chairs, looking at his friend. “Travis, what are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming over until tonight when you’re taking me to where this girl lives.” He crossed his arms.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I was just making sure you weren’t going to bail on me. How’s about we go out to the city and get a gift for the girl? She’s been my friend for years, so I know everything she likes.” Travis suggested, crossing his legs and leaning back in a more comfortable position. “But first…” He glanced at his watch which read ten o’ seven in the morning. “I’m starving. Let’s head down to the diner. Ya’ll make some really good bacon and eggs.”

Drew shrugged. “I don’t care.” And in reality, he didn’t. His job was usually the last thing on his mind and when he was bored he’d hang out down there and talk to his co-workers. “Let me get my wallet and my jacket.”

The young man dashed into his room again, grabbing the jacket and feeling into the pocket to see if his wallet was even in there. It was and he pulled it out, making sure he had some cash because Travis never did. Opening up the dollar bill pocket, a slip of paper fell out, gliding across the air and just in front of Travis who had walked into the room. He picked it up as Drew pulled on his jacket and stuffed the wallet into his back pocket.

“Drew, who’s this girl? She’s a cutie whoever she is.” Travis told him. “But you both look really young…” Before he could continue, Drew had snapped the picture out of his hand and shoved it into the drawer on his bedside table.

“It’s no one. Let’s go.” Drew pushed past him.

Travis shrugged and followed his friend out of the apartment.

_+_+_+_+_

Drew and Travis pulled up in front of the Casual Diner. Travis turned off the ignition and got out, running inside. Drew was slower, getting out of the car like a semi-normal person and walking into the restaurant. Soft, mellow background music played creating a calm, serene aura about the place. The diner consisted of one row of booths and a bar with spinning chairs. As usual, Travis had taken his seat in the last spinning chair and had already proceeded in spinning around as fast as he could. Drew sighed, rolling his eyes as he took the seat next to him.

A young female walked from the back to see both of them. Her brown hair was in a bun and a white apron covered up her clothing – all but her black t-shirt. She smiled at Drew and walked over toward him.

“I’m surprised to see you up this early, Drew. Especially since you’re lucky enough to have a Saturday off.” She said, pulling out her pad and a pin from the pocket on her apron.

“I’ve got something to do tonight, so there’s no reason to be sleeping all day.” Drew sighed again. “Well, I guess I’ll just have my usual, Faith.”

“Yeah, Faith, I want those awesome bacon and eggs you make.” Travis said, still spinning around. He stopped, putting his elbow on the bar and balancing his chin on his hand. Faith smiled at him and he winked. “Make them special for me, honey, okay?”

Faith smiled, giggling as she ran to the back to prepare the food. Drew couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes again. Travis didn’t ever try to mess with women during school; However, outside of school was a completely different story. Travis was the biggest flirt Drew had ever met. No matter what girl is was or what she was doing, Travis would turn into a womanizer, complementing her and then eventually ask her out on a date only to be turned down. What Drew found surprising was that Travis hadn’t ever asked Faith and those two had been flirting since before Drew could even remember. Maybe Travis really did think that women were too troublesome to date anymore. Drew hoped not; he could only imagine what the other students at school would say about them always hanging out together.

Drew shuddered. He definitely didn’t roll that way.

Back to the food and the situation at hand, Faith had already brought out Travis’s dish and placed it in front of him. He drooled out of hunger and scarped down the food in less than two seconds. Faith walked in front of Drew and sighed. “It seems we’re out of the French toast sticks right now.”

“What? I thought we got truck last night?” Drew asked, shifting in his seat and putting his money away in his pocket.

“Yeah, but I think Serena forgot to put them on the list.” Faith replied, looking back to the back of the store. “I couldn’t find any and neither could Tom. Maybe we’ll get some in tomorrow?”

Drew shrugged. “It’s no big deal.” He stood up from the spinning chair, throwing some extra change onto the bar and his car keys. “That should cover Travis’s food. I’m going out for a while, Travis. Just drop by my place whenever you’re going to take me to that girl’s house. I’ll walk home later.”

Travis mumbled something incoherently while nodding. He waved to Drew before turning back to his second plate of food. Faith smiled to Drew, waving goodbye to him as well. Drew signed with his trademark two finger salute and disappeared out the door.

_+_+_+_+_

Drew pushed the door open to a convenient store, the bell dinging to signal his arrival. He walked briskly passed the grocery section into the frozen foods area of the store. This was also where they kept the fresh flowers. The young man really didn’t know exactly what girl’s liked, but his mother always enjoyed flowers from his father and his mother was a girl, so he figured the same thing applied here. He glanced at all the flowers in the refrigerated, dry box. Nothing caught his eye until he looked at the last section. Beautiful, blooming, red roses were sprouting out of the bouquets, the water mist covering their petals and leaves shimmering in the spotlight.

Drew’s heart pounded at the sight of the roses and a vision of a young girl appeared in front of his eyes. Her long brown hair flowed behind her back and a bandanna was wrapped around her neck. A red shirt lay perfectly along her shoulders and a black skirt complemented her figure with short black shorts under them. A knapsack hugged her waist and completed her outfit. Turning to Drew, he saw her stunning blue eyes staring at him and her lips curled into a smile.

But then she was gone.

The image of that beautiful girl was gone in an instant and Drew felt his heart ache in his chest. He couldn’t put up a façade anymore. Drew missed her so much and lying to himself more than he had already would only make it worse. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out his wallet. Opening it to the last picture place, he saw the same girl in his vision. Her arm was wrapped around a younger version of himself. She was grinning widely and he had his arms crossed arrogantly. Drew remembered exactly what he had told her about the picture, too.

“If you develop this picture, I’ll kill you.”

“Aww, why can’t I? It’s not like I’m asking you for more than one!”

“No, but I hate pictures. Camera’s steal your soul.”

“They do…?”

“No, you idiot. I was joking.”

“Okay, if you’re joking, I’m going to develop the picture!”

“May! Get back here!”

Drew had proceeded to chase her, diving for the camera every chance he had. Somehow, May had ended up in his hometown of LaRousse City after embarking on her own journey and visited him. The picture reminded him of the last time he had seen her. He couldn’t believe that ten years had passed since that time. It felt like only yesterday that he tackled her to the ground in an attempt to retrieve the camera.

The boy sighed, stuffing his wallet into his back pocket. It was just as he told Travis. She was no one. He pulled open the door to the flowers. He felt the rush of cold air hitting his face before he grabbed a bouquet of the roses and quickly shut the door. Turning on his heel, he dashed back to the front of the store and paid for the roses. Staying here anymore would bring back more memories he’d rather forget.

_+_+_+_+_

Travis pulled Drew’s car in front of the apartment, getting out and locking it with the remote. He had been surprised when Drew had offered him the car for the day, but he was curious as to what his right hand man had been doing since he’d left the diner almost five hours ago. Stepping through the two-inch snow up to the cleared path of concrete, Travis pulled his thin jacket closer to himself. The temperature had gone down drastically and the forecast had been calling for more snow. Quite frankly, Travis was surprised in the change of weather. LilyCove was a cold city, but never this frigid. Ignoring the cold and concentrating on warming himself up, he stepped carefully up the icy stairs that led to Drew’s apartment. Just as he arrived at the top, he saw Drew come out of his place, carrying a bouquet of roses. Drew’s apparel hadn’t changed over the time he’d been gone. Only difference was a thick black suit-like jacket over the rest of his clothes.

“Oh, you’re already here?” Drew asked, locking the front door.

“Yeah. I figure you and your date should be going soon. It looks like the weather’s gonna get worse tonight.” Travis told him. “Let’s go.”

“Alright then.” Drew agreed as the two headed back down the icy stairs to the car.

Travis unlocked the doors and both boys got in. Luckily, the car was already warmed up so Travis turned on the heater full blast. He made sure both of the seatbelts had been latched before he backed up and pulled away from the apartment complex. As the car headed silently down the street, the discussion inside was also non-existent. Travis wanted to turn on the radio but he was afraid of moving other than driving. Drew’s foot bounced impatiently against the floorboard. It bounced in a synchronized rhythm. Travis turned the heater down; he was melting.

“Um, Drew? Could I ask you a question?” Travis knew he was stepping into unknown territory, but there was just something about the morning he had to ask about.

“What is it?”

“Who was that girl in the picture with you?”

“The one that fell out of my billfold this morning?”

“Yeah.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I’ve been curious all day and you told me that you’ve never known a girl long enough to have a picture of them. Were you lying?” Travis asked, immediately regretting it. Maybe there was some other reason Drew had decided not to tell him.

Drew sighed, balancing his head on his hand that was resting on the door handle. “Her name is May. She’s a Pokemon Coordinator I met back many years ago.”

Travis slapped his forehead. “You mean the May Taylor?! Are you kidding?!” His voice rose in surprise. “She’s a really popular and powerful coordinator. I’m surprised you know her.”

“Well, for your information, Travis, I was also a Pokemon Coordinator back that long ago. I only stopped after the Johto Grand Festival after I defeated May.” Drew paused. “It’s ironic she started winning every contest after that.”

“And now she’s famous. It is pretty paradoxical the way this world works.” Travis said, turning the car left onto a snowplowed street. “Oh, we’re here.” Drew glanced at him and he pointed at a new set of apartment complexes. “Yeah, this is where she lives. She’s only here on vacation right now so she’s gotta go back to her hometown soon. But I didn’t think it would hurt to introduce her to ya.”

Drew picked up the flowers he had placed on the floorboard on a towel. Absentmindedly, he played with the flowers, straightening them up and making them look the same way they had before he’d bought them. Hopefully his date would like flowers. Travis pulled the car up to the apartments, turning off the ignition and getting out. Drew looked at himself in the rearview mirror before also getting out. Someone had actually salted the stairs leading to the upper apartments so they weren’t as icy as the stairs back at Drew’s place. The former coordinator mentally reminded himself to buy some salt before he went home. Stepping up to the third door on the second floor, Travis stopped. Drew peeked around his shoulder to see a table just outside with a lone chair and a pot of flowers. He sighed internally. At least the girl did like flowers.

Travis tapped lightly on the door and soon after footsteps were heard coming closer. Locks and chains clinging together sounded and then suddenly the door opened. A young female stood there, her hair laying casually down her back and some of it was hooked behind her ears. Her light baby blue shirt was buttoned all but the first, revealing a white undershirt. She had on casual jeans that were hugged to her waist by a belt. Her shoes were high heeled but not dress shoes, more like the platform shoes Travis was wearing. Her eyes scanned over both of them before her lips curled into a smile.

“Hey there, Travis. Long time no see.” She said. Her voice was high pitched, but it was soothing to the ears.

Travis grinned back at her. “Yeah, I know. Here. This is my best friend from college, Drew.” He turned to Drew so the two strangers could clearly see each other. The girl smiled as Drew handed her the roses.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Drew said as she took the roses.

The young female sat the roses inside her house. “It’s nice to meet you too, Drew. My name is Misty Waterflower.” She smiled as she invited the two boys into her place.

_+_+_+_+_

A/N: Thanks for reading. :] Please review!

[MapleRoses]

Whoa, nice

A bit cliffy-ish. (but it's great nonetheless)
No typos found by me, and great use of words.
Just a little mistake(or is it just my lack of knowledge of grammar?)

“No, but I hate pictures. Camera’s steal your soul.”

Camera's means camera is, or camera has. So IMO, it should be Cameras (Plural of camera)
But if the sentence originally implying camera has, so it's alright. I just want to clear this cuz I don't quite understand the sentence.
o.O

“Okay, if you’re joking, I’m going to develop the picture!”

I think develop isn't the right word here.
o.O
Maybe expand or spread out may be more suitable for this.
Develop seems kind of... formulating/modernize a product.
xP
All in, great job.
Nicely done, I'm waiting for the next chapter

[Mimori Kiryu]

I see the first mistake but I don't understand what's wrong with develop. It's what I say when we take our cameras to the store. ^^;

I almost forgot that I posted this story here. I'll update the second chapter when I get home.

[Ayra]

This is certainly different than before.

~Ayra~

P.S. Let me know when next chap is up.

~Ayra~

[Mimori Kiryu]

Here is chapter two.

- - - - - - - - -

Disclaimer: Pokemon © Satoshi Tajiri / Nintendo

_+_+_+_+_+_

For The One I Love

Chapter Two

A young girl rode her 10-speed bicycle through a crowded town, dodging shoppers and their families. The town was so busy; she hadn’t ever seen it this full of life before. As the words spread about the Orre Region having both a Gym League and a Grand Festival, more people had been making this place a vacation destination to see the tough trainers. Every gym had become a stadium for the events, along with the contest halls being a place to just hang out. This young girl, May of Petalburg City, loved all the excitement. She loved being the center of attention. After accepting an invite to an Orre Contest, her new journey had all started there.

She stopped at a store, parking her bike outside. May looked into the glass of the store at her reflection, fixing her hair up into two ponytails and adjusted her bandana around her neck. She smiled at the image and walked inside. The store was all for the beauty of a Pokémon and sold jewelry for them to wear in the dancing and showcasing part of the Contest, a new feature in the Orre Contests. Of course, they still battled in the end to determine a winner, but with the new features, it appealed more to the younger kids. May pulled the door open and began to look around at the hair barrettes. Her Delcatty had been bothering her about having a new one for her hair. She reached to her belt and released the cat pokémon.

“Meow, meowww…” said the pokémon, looking up to her trainer.

“Delcatty, I’m finally going to buy you a new barrette. Which one would you like?” May asked, pointing to the shelf. Delcatty’s face looked pleased and started to look closer to the fashion items.

“Oh my Gosh! It’s May!” said a voice from behind her. May turned to see a young girl with two blonde pigtails. Her eyes were opened wide and her hands were together in excitement. “Wow, can I have your autograph?! You’re my favorite coordinator!”

May smiled and nodded. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet a fan of mine.” She shook the girl’s hand and then the girl reached for a piece of paper from her pocket and a pen.

May took the pen and signed her name on the paper. “Here you go.”

The girl jumped up and down in excitement. “Thank you so much!” She turned around and left the store.

May sighed and grinned. The bustling excitement of the Pokemon Contests and League Gym Battles had brought almost celebrity like status to both trainers and coordinators. May was recognized everywhere she went by at least one person. She didn’t mind the attention really; I was nice to be noticed and recognized by people she didn’t know. She liked it. Delcatty proceeded to pull on her shorts and May turned to see her carrying a barrette in her mouth.

“Do you like this one?” May took it from her and the cat pokémon proceeded to meow in pleasure.

May took the small barrette up to the cashier and paid them 500$ pokedollars for the fashion item. She returned Delcatty to her pokeball and hopped on her bike. She pedaled out and continued on the path to where the Orre Grand Festival was about to commence. She was stopped at a stoplight on a busy road and pulled out her ribbons to admire.

Her first ribbon, a beautiful red ribbon with gold trim, had been the Agate Village Ribbon. She had defeated one of her old rivals by the name of Robert. He had been humble about losing and congratulated her. The second ribbon, decked out with blue strands and a silver crown in the center, was collected in Phenac City. The gym leader there was also a coordinator and she had defeated him. Justy was his name. He had also given her some inspiring words to go as far as she could with her coordinating skills. The third ribbon, a yellow ribbon was wrapped around a purple trimming in the shape of two stars, was given to her upon winning at the Gateon Port contest and the fourth one was a stunning green ribbon that she received at the Outskirt Stand contest. But the most memorable contest that she had participated in was the final ribbon. The largest one by far that she had ever seen. She had received it when she had won the Realgam Tower Contest. She had defeated her long time rival, Harley, in the final match.

As she thought about Harley, previous battles of her Pokemon career came into her mind. She remembered being pushed forward by Ash, Brock and her own brother, Max. They were her friends and the source of her encouragement during the beginning parts of her journey. Becoming a Coordinator was something she realized after awhile that it was what she wanted to do. She loved the lights, excitement and suspense the contest brought. It made her feel alive. There was one thing she missed about the past and that was the person who probably helped her the most. Drew. He was her rival and support for most of her journey. He had defeated her in the final battle in the Johto Grand Festival and taught her the most valuable lesson he could’ve ever taught her. That was to always push forward and never quit; never say never.

She looked up to the Orre Grand Festival building and smiled. Drew had disappeared after that and she hadn’t seen him since that day. May pulled on her black jacket, adjusting it. It was the jacket he had given her after the battle. He told her to keep it since it was so cold where they were. She had been told he had left and was never able to give it back. It was a nice jacket so she wore it to remember him. If it hadn’t been for his encouragement, along with Ash, Brock and Max, she never would’ve been able to achieve anything as a Coordinator.

May walked into the main office of the building. The room was filled to the brim with fellow coordinators, all prepping their pokémon and themselves for the upcoming contest. The main desk was in the center. Two Nurse Joys were checking in everyone and verifying their ribbons. May waited in line until one was ready and walked up, smiling to the young, frazzled woman.

“Hello Nurse Joy. Busy day?” May asked, looking at the amount of people.

Joy nodded, fixing her hair back into the ponytails. “Yes, yes ma’am. Oh, May. I didn’t even recognize you! You’re one of the favored to win this competition!” Joy put May’s ribbons underneath the scanner.

“Yes. I’ve heard that and read it in the paper too.” May replied, pulling out her ID card for coordinating.

She was popular and she couldn’t say she hated the popularity either. Of course, she was smart not to let it get to her head. She fought for the fame and the prestigious ribbons, but this was also her way to have fun. After all, May didn’t start this journey with coordinating in mind. Travelling was the main point. And she had travelled. She had seen countless cities, people, pokémon and had so many adventures in her life. May looked up and thanked Joy for signing her in. Joy handed her a key with a number on it; it was the number of her room in the upper floors of the building. May found the stairs and started her ascension into the floors above.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Drew walked into Misty’s place, watching her find a vase for the roses. Travis had left as soon as they arrived, not wanting to ruin the ‘chemistry’ between the two. The green haired boy had only rolled his eyes as Travis gave him thumbs up and left in a rush. Misty reached for a thin red vase and filled it half with water and placed the roses inside, throwing away the thin paper decoration. She smiled at Drew and he instantly blushed. Misty was very cute, he had to admit.

“Well, would you like anything to drink, Drew? I’ve got some soda.” Misty questioned, grabbing glasses from the dish drainer.

“Sure. I’d love some.” Drew answered. He sat down in a loveseat near the couch. Misty carried the two cups over, pulling out coasters for them. “So, Misty…uh, I guess this is when we talk about ourselves?”

Misty giggled. “Yes, I would guess so.” She took a quick sip of her drink. “Well…I’m from Cerulean City but I moved here to train a bit. I’m the Gym Leader there. I have three older sisters and I’ve travelled through all of Kanto and Johto with my two friends Ash and Brock. I journeyed through Hoenn to get here.”

Hm. Her friends’ names sound familiar. Like I’ve heard them somewhere before. Drew thought. “You have a really interesting life. Much more so than mine,” He sighed. Now it was his turn to talk about himself. That was definitely something he didn’t enjoy. “I’m from LaRousse City and I stopped coordinating after I won the Johto Grand Festival about ten years ago. I still diligently train my pokémon though. I don’t have any relatives other than my mother who still lives in LaRousse. I go and see her couple of times a year.”

Misty put her glass down. “I thought I recognized you. I know some of your achievements in coordinating.” She paused. “I’ve always been fascinated by your Masquerain. Its beauty and grace definitely took some talent to bring out.”

Drew nodded. “I wanted a pokémon that not many expected to see in a contest for attractive species. I figured it might give me more points in the long run.” He didn’t mention that he wanted a pokémon to match May’s Beautifly. That knowledge wasn’t necessary, he figured.

“That is a good theory.” Misty replied. She looked down at her watch. It was almost five thirty. “Would you be interested in something to eat, Drew? Let’s go somewhere.”

“Sure. That sounds good.” Drew said, standing up.

Misty took their cups to the sink and grabbed her coat off of the back of the couch, meeting Drew at the door. She pulled her keys out of her pocket and followed him out the door. After locking the door behind her, they headed down to her light blue four door sedan. Misty started the vehicle from a distance with a button and the two quickly got inside as the wind began to pick up.

“Want to go to a casual restaurant?” Misty asked, putting her key in the ignition and turning it to on.

“Yeah. What about that new bar styled restaurant with finger foods? That sounds good.” Drew suggested, brushing his green hair out of his equal colored eyes.

“Okay. Finger foods are good.” Misty smiled. I wonder if he naturally flips his hair or if he’s doing it to impress. She thought. Either way, he is very cute. He reminds me of Ash…sort of. The memories of Ash brought another sneaky grin on her face and Misty shook her head. Ash was all the way in Kanto, busy with his pokémon training and probably dating someone. Besides, Misty had a good guy right here. She didn’t want to take him for granted.

Misty pulled the car out of the parking lot and headed down the street toward the main road.

_+_+_+_+_+_

May walked up to her room and matched the number on the door with the number on her key. Since they were a match, she unlocked the entry and walked inside, gasping.

“How beautiful!” May said under her breath.

She looked around the mini apartment. There was a kitchen area with a full refrigerator (May made a mental note to raid it as soon as she could), a living room just adjacent to the kitchen and a large bedroom with a connecting bathroom. It even had a porch area with a table and chairs, aligned with flowers. May walked outside, feeling the warm sun on her skin. She leaned down to smell the fresh flowers to notice they were all roses. Her mind drifted to the past and she laughed.

“Of all the people for me to think of as I’m about to enter a contest, I certainly didn’t expect him.” May said to herself. She gently touched the rose petals and sighed. “I haven’t seen him in so long. I was surprised to see Harley back at Realgam Tower…” May walked back inside and took off her knapsack from around her waist, throwing it on the loveseat. The young girl fell onto the couch, moving only slightly to comfort herself. “…Drew. I wonder what you’re doing now. Stupid boy. He always made me so happy and yet he never knew it. All I could do was yell at him in embarrassment to hide my feelings. I mean…I can’t say I didn’t like him more than just a friend and I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss him…” May sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Why am I even trying to convince myself?! GAHH!”

The brunette walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a glass out of the cabinet, filling it with water. As she took a drink, there was a knock on the door.

“Hm? That’s odd.” May sat the cup down and walked over to the door. She half wished there was a peephole on the door but pushed that thought away as she pulled it open. Standing on the other side was a tall man, wearing black jacket with the hood over. His pants were also black. “Can I help you?”

The man reached to pull his hood off and laughed. “You don’t recognize me, May? I’m hurt.” He revealed himself.

“Drew?! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it!” May laughed, reaching out to hug him. He hugged her in return. “Come on in!” Drew walked past her and she locked the door behind her. “What brings you here?” She walked over to the couch where he had taken a seat.

“I heard you were competing in this competition and I figured I’d come see how my old rival’s been doing. You’ve become quite popular.” Drew commented. He flipped his hair. “I say you’ve gotten better than me.”

May shrugged. “I don’t know about that. Would you like something to drink?” She walked over to the refrigerator and opened the door.

Suddenly, without warning, May felt Drew behind her. It was like he moved with unnatural speed. May also felt something on her back. It didn’t feel like something she wanted to feel.

“Drew…? What are you doing?” May asked. Her voice trembled even if she tried not to.

“Shut up. God, you’re really stupid.” said the man. His voice had changed and no longer sounded anything like the Drew that May knew. “You’re about to make me famous, girly. So I suggest you keep your mouth shut and do as I say.” May heard a noise behind her than she recognized from movies. The sound of a gun’s bullet cocking into place.

May began to shake. T-This isn’t happening. It’s not happening. Why me? Why is this guy disguising himself as Drew? She tried to calm herself but it wasn’t working.

The male grabbed her hand from the refrigerator door and twisted it behind her. May bit her lip to keep from screaming. He dragged her to the couch and shoved her down.

“Keep your hands where I can see them. Don’t try anything stupid.” He said. May couldn’t stand to look at him. Even though his voice was different, he still looked like Drew. The man pointed the gun at May as he walked toward the door and unlocked it. He looked down both ways and didn’t see anyone. May couldn’t take her eyes off the gun pointed at her face. “What’s wrong, girly?” the man commented, smirking. “You don’t think this gun is real? Is that what’s wrong?”

Before May could even react, a bullet shot past her face, breaking her glass of water on the kitchen cabinet. Her eyes widened in extreme fear and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep herself from collapsing.

“You believe me now?!” said the man, screaming. He looked down the hallway. No one was coming. The gun was a silencer so he knew he could shoot without anyone hearing a shot. “Don’t tempt me!”

May didn’t even hear him anymore. She was rushing through her past in her mind, thinking about all of her decisions up until now and what had led to this point. She thought about her mother and father, her brother and her friends. What if she never saw them again? What if this man killed her and left her here? She tried not to think about it but it was hard now that he had the gun closer to her face.

“P-Please…I…I’ll do anything…don’t h-hurt me…” May stammered. She tried to talk with force but she was just too scared.

The man smirked but it wasn’t a smile at all. It was a devilish grin full of hate. “Yes…plead for your life. It makes it all the better.” He laughed and May finally lost it.

“What are you doing this for?!” May suddenly shouted. “Why me?! What are you going to do to me?!”

“Shut up!” the man screamed, slapping May across the face so violently that she fell back on the couch. She covered her face with her hands. Tears began rolling down her face that she couldn’t hold back anymore. “I’m the one in control.” He breathed heavily and then sighed. “I do need you for my fame. You’re so popular that your capture will be the talk of the world. So that’s why you. What am I going to do to you? You’re going to be my baby girl. Everything I need, I’ll go to you for.”

May shuddered, only thinking about the possibility of what he would do with her. The fake Drew looked down the hallway again. He turned back to her and pointed at her bag, then signaled her to come with him. May did as he commanded; knowing that angering this strange man might not be in her best interest. He pushed her out the door and made her lock the door as to make it where it looked like nothing had happened.

“What’s your name?” May randomly asked. He wasn’t Drew and she was tired of thinking that his name was Drew. She had to clear her mind and knowing his name was a step. She felt a gun pushed into her back and she flinched. “There’s no need for that. I just figured I should know your name since you know mine.”

“Hn. My name is Victor.” Victor sneered at her as she walked to the stairs and pushed the gun deeper into her back. “No more questions. Get going. We have a place to get to. My mansion waits, as does my fame.”

May took single steps down the stairs. How am I going to get away from this? There’s got to be something I can do…

_+_+_+_+_+_

Drew and Misty pulled up to the restaurant, getting out quickly so they could get back in the warm inside the building. They were taken to a private table in the back with its own mini TV in the wall. Drew took the seat against the wall so Misty took the seat across from him. She took off her blue jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. Drew mimicked her with his black jacket and took his seat. The server came over and handed them two menus, promptly leaving to give them time to decide what they wanted.

“See anything good?” Drew asked as they flipped through the pages of food.

“Yeah…I think I might get the chicken strips…” Misty said. “Ooh, they even have dessert. I’ll definitely have to buy me some chocolate cake.” She seemed to glow at the thought of the chocolate and Drew could only grin.

He looked down at his menu and figured he might get the mini sized pizza. It was a decent size and would hold him over until he could get to go back out to the grocery. Travis kept raiding his fridge and cabinets so they were next to empty. Drew looked over to the TV and started to flip channels. Most of the channels had either infomercials or evening dramas on. He looked quickly at his watch. It was almost six o’clock. The news could be noise in the background that would probably be the least annoying. He flipped it a couple of channels to the local station in LilyCove and turned it down, looking back at his menu.

“Hi there!” said a voice. Drew and Misty looked up to see a young woman with her hair pulled back in a ponytail with an apron around her waist. “My name is Destiny. What can I get you all to drink?”

“I’ll take a Diet Pepsi.” Misty said.

“Uh…” Drew flipped over his menu and looked at the drinks. “Dr. Pepper’s fine for me.”

“Great!” Destiny said, scribbling in her pad. “Do you all know what you want?”

“Yeah. I want these chicken fingers please.” Misty pointed at the picture.

“Okay. Like any sauce for them?” Destiny scribbled again.

“Yes. Ranch please.” Misty turned to Drew. “Know what you want?” She smiled.

Drew nodded. “I just want the personal pan pizza. Pepperoni and cheese only.” Destiny wrote slower in her book, looking more at him than at her pad. “Could I get some ranch on the side too?”

Destiny nodded, almost in fast motion. “Sure! I’ll be back with your drinks in a minute.”

After she was a far enough distance away, Misty started to laugh. Drew looked at her strangely and she scoffed under her breath. “You’ve got to be joking if you didn’t notice what she was doing that whole time.”

Drew raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Misty sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. “She totally recognized you and was fangirling when you weren’t looking at her.” The red head began to laugh again and Drew could only stare at her. “Don’t you know what I mean?” Misty said between laughs.

“Uh…no.” Drew said.

“Okay. One, she must’ve known you when you were a coordinator. She looks about the same age as us. Two, she must’ve had a crush on you back then and three, she put one and two together and her brain exploded.” Misty explained. She laughed again and Drew smirked.

He understood now. She was another one of those girls who probably would jump off a building if he told her to. Pleasant. All he needed was another girl who had no idea who he was to freak out just because of his popularity. I haven’t even coordinated in ten years. How are there still fans around? Drew thought and he rolled his eyes. They only liked his appearance and didn’t know his real self and…they never would.

Drew glanced over at the TV to the news. They were covering a top story it seemed. The picture was of the newly built Orre Grand Festival location. Drew reached over and turned up the volume and Misty looked at the TV as well.

“To repeat, an Amber Alert has been sent out over both Orre and Hoenn to find a missing young coordinator. About twenty minutes ago, authorities were notified in the hotel building by several people who heard a gunshot from the upper floor.” The newscaster flipped a page. “The room was locked but traces of gunpowder were found on the floor along with a shattered glass cup that was also burnt, proving it had been shot by the gun. There seems to be no forced entry or anything missing from the room. The room belonged to nineteen year old, May from Petalburg City.” The newscaster kept talking about her abilities as a coordinator as a picture of her popped up on the screen.

The green haired boy dropped his menu and could only stare at the TV. It was her…it was May. Misty looked over to Drew and saw the horrid expression on his face. “Drew? Hey, are you okay?” She reached out and touched his hand, only to have him react by pulling it away, almost in fear. “I’m sorry. Do you know her?”

Drew could only nod. He couldn’t speak. May had been kidnapped by someone…someone with a gun. What…what was he supposed to do? I…I have to find her. This is insane…I don’t understand what’s going on…May’s never done anything to gain enemies…She’s innocent. Drew’s mind raced about his recent feelings and how his heart screamed at him to go and find her and make sure she was safe. For years he didn’t mind not having her around. As long as May was somewhere safe and happy, he was okay. But knowing she was in danger…he couldn’t just sit here…

“This just in!” The newscaster shouted as the commercials were interrupted by the woman. “Pyrite Town News has just received an anonymous package saying if we don’t play this tape, the man who has kidnapped the young coordinator will kill her. Here is the tape.” The woman looked around, thinking this was not what she had signed up for.

The screen turned to a pitch black and all you could see was an outline of a person sitting in a chair and their black eyes.

“I am waiting. I will wait for one week. If I am not contacted by a certain person, I will kill this young girl. This is for revenge for someone who has turned my life into a sham. I was the prestigious winner of all contests until I was defeated by this boy. This child, nonetheless!” The man’s voice was distorted and he shouted his words. As he said the next sentence, Drew felt as if the man was looking right at him. “If Drew of LaRousse City does not give himself up within the next week, I will kill her.”

_+_+_+_+_+_

A/N: Please review! ^_^

[Ayra]

Much different than the other version, still good though, no spelling or grammar issues to speak of.

~Ayra~