I watch him walk slowly offstage as the tears fall from my cheeks.

Another day, another competition

And another loss. To him

As I walk away from another failed contest, he turns back

He throws a rose to me

Why?

What do the roses mean?

Roses, he was always giving me roses.

Why roses?

Beautiful roses they are

I thought he hated me

I know I hate him

We are so different

I am fire

Passionate

He is grass

Cool

I am hotheaded

He is so sure of himself

All the confidence I am lacking, he has

He is my rival

Yet he encourages me

He is always so distant

He must hate me

But the roses? Why does he give me roses?

He is always ahead of me

I must race to catch up

I rarely beat him

Why does he help me?

I followed him to Johto

Hoping he would notice me

Maybe he doesn't hate me

Maybe I don't hate him

What am I feeling?

The boy that made me cry

But always makes me smile

He seems so perfect

I know now he doesn't look at me with hatred

He is always there, watching my achievements

Never gloating in victory

Simply the rose

All questions lead to the rose

All answers in the rose

He has all his fan girls

So popular

Still he has chosen me

Signified with the rose

How do I answer back?

I know now I don't feel hatred toward him

To show my feelings

To show I accept him

I must return the rose

In a week there was another contest

We were both there

It came down to the final two, me against him

My fire managed to extinguish his grass

He walked away slowly

"Drew!" I called

He turned

I threw him the rose

The rose that answered the question

The rose that showed I understood

That said "I love you too"

Surprise was etched on his face

Then joy

He said, "I'm glad you answered the question."

"The question I was asking since the day I first gave you the rose"

We walked out holding hands

The contest forgotten

It mattered not who won or lost

For we had both won

The hearts of whom we loved

As he leaned over to kiss me

I thought

"What do the roses mean?"

The roses mean

I Love You

That was my first try at contestshipping. Tell me what you think. Good? Bad? All criticism is welcome. R&R