The Petal Game

By: TheFifthCharmedOne

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, only the idea, promise.

Summary: "The petal game?" I asked, confused. Misty looked at me. "He loves me, he loves me not." she clarified. "Oh." I replied. "For Ash?" I said slyly. Her face turned bright red. I grinned. "For Drew?" she replied a few minutes later, and my face turned red too. Why does she have to know everything?

X-X

The late summer weather was both disappointing and glorious. Disappointing because it meant that fall and winter were well on their way, and glorious because it was the last bit of summer that made the whole rest of the season worthwhile.

It was hardly humid, and the warm air was comforting in its own sense. I laid on the field by Sky River just beyond Cerulean City in Kanto. I was visiting Misty before I went back to Johto for the Grand Festival. It was nice to see her again; she was one of my best friends, and one of the only people I could talk to about my feelings for Drew.

Yes, I said feelings for Drew.

My name is May Maple, and I have a pretty huge crush on Drew Hayden. Can you blame me? He is really cute, with green hair and green eyes to match. Plus, he's a great coordinator, as he constantly reminds me. He may be arrogant and rude sometimes, but he can be a good friend and kind other times. He doesn't tease me as much as he did during our Hoenn and Kanto journeys, and I guess that's one of the reasons I like him so much.

"Hey, I'm back." Misty sat down next to me, munching on an Oran berry. She must have found it in a tree nearby. "Want one?" she offered me one from her pocket.

"Sure, thanks." I sat up to eat it, and looked at the river thoughtfully. "Hey, Misty?"

"Yeah?"

"Isn't this the river where you met Ash?" Misty smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, did I ever tell you that story?"

"No, you just said you met by a river."

"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that. I was fishing for Water Pokémon, as I had just left Cerulean on my own journey, and I thought that the tug on the line was a big Pokémon, when it turned out it was a boy and an injured Pikachu. I was immediately more concerned with Pikachu than Ash, and when I told him where the nearest Pokémon Center was, he took my bike and rode off with it. I never saw it whole again, because it was burned to a crisp. I got really angry at him when I found him at the Pokémon Center later, and started yelling and ranting about how he would have to pay me back, but he was really upset about Pikachu, and the bike wasn't important anymore. Even though in the beginning my reason for traveling with him was to make sure he paid me back, it became more because he was a good friend, and we eventually became best friends."

I smiled.

"He's more than a best friend to you, isn't he?" I teased. She glared at me, and her face turned a light shade of pink.

"What about Drew?" she asked me.

"What about him?" I replied.

"You never told me how you two met." she said.

"We met in Slateport City, when I was going to compete in the Slateport City Contest. I was practicing a move with Beautifly, and when the Frisbee went in the wrong direction, Drew caught it without even looking. He came down from the bridge and criticized me and my Pokémon, which got me really mad. He immediately became one of my fiercest rivals. I was wanted to beat him, and it took a while but I finally did it. We've been traveling together in Johto for a few months now."

"Do you have a crush on him?" she asked bluntly. I looked at her.

"Me? H-Have a crush on Drew? Are you crazy?" I tried to play it off, but my face was probably redder then a Groudon's skin. She just smirked and then stood up. I watched her go over to a group of daisies off to the side. She plucked two from the soft grass and then came back over. She gave one to me, and I looked at her, confused.

"Do you want to know if he likes you back?" she said. I nodded slowly. "Then play the petal game."

"The petal game?" I asked, confused. Misty looked at me.

"He loves me, he loves me not." she clarified.

"Oh." I replied. "For Ash?" I said slyly. Her face turned bright red. I grinned.

"For Drew?" she replied a few minutes later, and my face turned red too. Why does she have to know everything?

Oh, right, because I told her. Why am I so stupid sometimes?

"I don't know Misty, that seems kind of babyish."

"So? It's not like you can go up and ask him how he feels, right?"

"But how can a flower tell me better then he could?"

Misty groaned.

"May, you're taking it too seriously. It's just an old wives' tale, it's just for fun. Now come on, do it!"

I looked at the daisy and started taking the petals off slowly, saying 'he loves me, he loves me not.'

X-X End May's POVX-X

Drew Hayden was walking through the streets of Kanto aimlessly. He knew he was near Cerulean City, because he had seen the Gym not that long ago. He kept walking until he saw a forest and heard the rushing of a river. It had to be Sky River, and May had said something about going to see her friend Misty. Maybe he would find her there.

X-X

Ash Ketchum walked confidently toward Cerulean City, hoping to see his best friend Misty on his way back to Pallet Town. His Pikachu sat on his head, looking around at their home region.

"Pikapi!" (Ash!) Pikachu pointed to a road off their main course toward Pallet, and Ash smiled. It was the dirt road that led to Sky River, where he had first met Misty.

"You want to go to the river?" he asked the mouse.

"Pika, Pika Pikachupi pi pika." (Yeah, maybe Misty is there)

"You think Misty's there?"

"Pikachu!" (Yeah!)

"Okay, okay, let's go."

X-X May's POVX-X

"He loves me." I finished with the last petal, and my eyes widened. Misty finished at the same time I did, and our faces turned bright red. "I-It isn't true, right Misty?"

She looked at me, her face as red as my bandana.

"R-Right." she replied. "J-Just a story."

Her unsure answer left me thinking. Was it really JUST a story? Or did it mean that Drew actually loved me? And did Ash actually love Misty?

"Think we should do it again? We can't get the same response twice, right?" I said to her. She nodded numbly, and I got up and took a different flower this time, two daffodils. We started the game again.

X-X End May's POV X-X

When Ash came close to Sky River, he saw Misty's head of red hair and smiled to himself.

"You were right Pikachu," he said.

Pikachu smiled and wondered if his master and his master's mate would figure out their true feelings.

X-X

Drew walked toward the river and saw May's old traveling friend, Ash Ketchum with his Pikachu. The last thing he'd heard was that Ash was going to Sinnoh. What was he doing in Kanto? The thought left his mind as soon as it had entered. Why did he really care anyway? It wasn't like he and Ash were great friends anyway.

He kept walking and then saw May's familiar red bandana next to another girl with fiery red hair. He smiled to himself. Maybe it was a good thing he'd taken a side trip to Kanto after all. He saw she was slowly plucking petals from a daffodil, saying,

"He loves me, he loves me not."

His mind went blank. Who was she talking about? He walked a little closer and stood behind a tree. He watched as she plucked the petals away, as they fell into a small pile beside her.

The wind blew her hair gently, and he felt his face redden considerably. Do I like May? It's fun to tease her, and she's a good rival, but is it anything more?

X-X

Ash watched Misty with a confused expression. Who was she talking about? He wondered. Probably some guy from Cerulean that she had met during her time as Gym Leader. Jealousy ran through him like a wildfire at the thought of another guy being with Misty. He then became confused again. Why was he jealous? He had no idea. Do I…like Misty? Like that? he pondered. A small blush came to his face.

X-X May's POVX-X

The last petal of the daffodil gave me the same answer that the daisy had. I looked at Misty and she had the same look of shock on her face.

"What do you think it means?" I said softly. She looked at me.

"I guess it's a sign. Maybe we should tell them how we feel."

"It'll be easy for you. Ash is your best friend. Drew just thinks of me as a rival." I said sadly. Misty looked at me and put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Just because Ash is my best friend doesn't mean it'll be easy for me to admit how I feel. In fact it'll be harder because I'm pretty sure he doesn't feel the same way."

"But the petals…" I said, looking down at the pile of daisy and daffodil petals on the ground.

"Come on May, this is Ash we're talking about. He's as dense as they come."

I smiled and laughed at that. "And Drew's probably just as oblivious, if he can't tell by now."

"Can't tell what?"

Oh dear sweet Mew.

Both Ash and Drew had come out from behind two trees, Drew with a confident smirk on his face and Ash with a small smile on his.

"Ash? What're you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Sinnoh?" said Misty, confused but happy at the same time.

"Drew? Why'd you come to Kanto? I thought you were staying in Johto to train for the Festival." I said.

"I wanted to come visit you at the Gym, but Pikachu thought you'd be here instead." said Ash to Misty.

"My Pokémon don't need any more training, they're already great." Drew replied arrogantly. This was the guy I had a crush on?

"You are such an arrogant jerk." I told him. Misty and Ash had decided to disappear so Misty could finally tell him how she felt, and now I was facing Drew with anger and sadness welling inside me. "Forget it, I'm leaving."

I walked past him toward the road. The stupid petals lied. He didn't love me. Heck, I'm not even sure he liked me. For all I knew he hated me and only tolerated me to tease me.

That thought struck hard, and I felt like a small piece of my heart was pinched and torn away. More thoughts assaulted me and they were even worse than the last. I felt my heart being picked at and torn to pieces, and it came to a point where I felt tears in my eyes.

"May." I heard my name being called but I didn't stop. "May, wait!" I'm not going to wait for him, I'm done with him. Or at least that's what I tried to tell myself. I heard him fall into step behind me, and I picked up my pace. "May, I said wait!"

"Why should I?" I said, stopping so shortly I almost tripped. I turned around to look at him, and sighed. "I'm sorry Drew, but I can't do this anymore. I can't." Tears stung my eyes and I tried not to let them fall.

"May." he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him. I stumbled into his chest, and got a full dose of the smell of his soap and aftershave. It was nearly intoxicating…no! I have to stop thinking like that. I'm going to go nuts. "May, running from your problems isn't going to make them go away."

"I'm not running from my problems. I'm stopping my heartbreak before it starts. Now would you kindly let me go? I have to go back to Johto to train for the Festival because my Pokémon need it, unlike yours who are just 'so perfect'."

"I'll let you go when you answer a question for me." he breathed in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. "What am I so oblivious too?"

My eyes widened.

"Nothing. You know everything." I said sarcastically. He glanced at me with a look that said 'this isn't the time to be joking.'

"May, come on. You were picking petals saying he loves me he loves me not. Who were you talking about?"

"You!" I blurted. "There. I said it, happy? It was you, so why do you keep bothering-"

All talking ceased as Drew kissed me.

Maybe the Petal Game is right.

X-X-X-X-X-X

A/N: Yep. Kind of stupid. And plotless. No flames allowed. I thought some parts were cute, but it was mostly stupid. Oh well. Let me know what you thought!

~Charmed