Welcome to the freshman picnic

It's always nice to meet new people, but for some old faces, some things are about to change.

Advanceshippers and Farawayshippers turn back now!

Ash, Misty, Drew, Dawn, May, Paul, and Kenny stood in a somewhat awkward grouping. May was amazed that everyone was going to the same high school. Middle school had been somewhat rough, what with her and Misty being together at the same school but separate from the group. She knew that Kenny and Dawn had gone to the same school, and Ash had gone to school with Drew.

Drew looked good, as usual. In fact, she might go as far to say that he looked hot… Really hot… Stop it, May! She mentally scolded herself. He'll never think of you that way, so you shouldn't think of him like that. Not that you would want to. He's Drew, after all. Even if he is beautiful and you think of him every night before you sleep... Realizing that she was rambling and blushing, May looked down. No one seemed to notice except… Drew? Had he been watching her? He met her eyes for a second, grinned, and then blushed. Hold on- BLUSHED? No, he couldn't have. Still, he looked so cute… NO!! She forced herself to think about something else.

Meanwhile, Ash had gone to look at the food, Drew had gone to lean up against a tree, Paul and Kenny were wandering around aimlessly, and Dawn had gone to talk to Drew.

"Hi!!" Dawn said "My name is Dawn!" Drew raised one startlingly green eyebrow and gave her a funny look.

"I'm Drew. It's not really that nice to meet you." She glared at him, firing up at once.

"Yeah. That's great. Just great. Another jerk to add to my collection." Drew blinked at her.

"Hate to burst your pretty little bubble, but I'm already part of a collection." Misty, who was listening in, was intrueged and sad. Poor May. She liked him so much. May denied it, but Misty could read the signs as well as the next girl.

"Oh, and I like your puke-green hair." Dawn smirked, think the game was over and the battle won. Right.

"Thanks. Your tacky hat goes really well with your badly cut hair." Dawn put her face right next to his face, nose to nose, defying Drew. Of course, from anyone else's point of view they could have been flirting or even kissing. Just then, Misty pulled May aside.

"You don't like Drew, do you?' May blinked, confused. Did she see her blush earlier?

"Um... well... kinda- I mean, not, of course not…"

"Good."

"Why?" Misty pointed towards Drew and Dawn. From where May stood it looked as they were kissing.

"Oh my god!" May buried her face in her hands, tears leaking from her blue eyes.

"Hey May!" Ash seemed oblivious to her tears. "Wanna go get some lunch?" Misty looked stunned, and then rounded on him, taking out her mallet. May didn't notice Ash being beat up by Misty or Drew being tackled and pounded by Paul and Kenny. She 

ran out of the green clearing and into the woods, as fast as she could. Back in the clearing, Drew shoved both of the boys off him, staring at the spot where May had just been.

"What was that?" he asked both of them sarcastically.

"You kissed Dawn!" Kenny said, outraged.

"No I didn't!!" Drew said, more outraged. "We were insulting each other! Who would want to kiss her anyway? She's so ugly, and worse, she's so insolent!"

Paul pushed Drew down onto the ground.

"Whoa! You like her or something?" asked Drew.

"No he doesn't- I mean no I don't!!" Both Kenny and Paul answered at the same time.

"Dudes, chill out!" said Drew. "Wait- why did you think I was kissing her?"

"Cause it looked like it!" Paul answered.

Drew looked at where May had been again.

"Oh shit! Where's May?" He asked with a dawning realization.

"Why?" Kenny asked.

Drew got up fully and ran towards where May had been. He saw her footprints leading into the woods.

"I'd better go after her." He said.

"Why? You like her?" sneered Paul.

"Kinda- Ye-I mean NO! NEVER!" Said Drew loudly, glaring at Paul, but at the same time, blushing.

"LUNCH!!" Ash called.

"C'mon, let's eat." Said Kenny. Drew followed him with one last uncertain look at Mays footprints and a strange sense of agitation.

When they arrived for lunch Misty and Ash were in the middle of a heated argument.

"But why? Why do you have to hurt me?" Ash was yelling. Misty looked struck.

"Because… because… you hurt me on the inside…" Her voice dropped to a whisper. You could see her hands trembling. Ash stared at her in horror for a second, then ran up to her and gave her a tight hug.

"Mist, I'm so sorry. You know I don't feel that way about May, right? Only about you." (A/N: For someone so dense he can be quite bright sometimes…)

"Yes you do. You asked her to lunch, and, and…" Ash now understood.

"Mist, how could I possibly feel that way about May? I only like you. I love you." Misty look up, stunned.

"Oh Ash!" She threw her arms around him and he kissed her passionately.

"Gag me." Paul said loudly. He then proceeded to help himself to some potato salad.

May ran through the underbrush and trees, not knowing or caring were she was going. Her hysterical sobbing was not muffled by the forest that she was now lost in. She came to a shuddering stop, still violently shaking with tears. She should have expected this. How could she have believed that he liked her? What had given her that stupid, demented thought? She looked up only to spot Brock (a teacher) and Joy, the school 

nurse, making out. (A/N: LOL! Brock's dreams have finally come true.) That was creepy, but worse, it reminded her of him and her. Dre- But she couldn't even think his name. She stumbled away until she way far enough from them not to see them anymore. She stared up hollowly at the 20-foot oak. She had been great at climbing when she was a kid. Trees had been her home away from home, her protectors. Why not now? She stated to climb, mechanically finding the right steps, needing this to distract her from the horrible pain inside her. It was just too much.

When she got to the top she stopped and stared our around her. The landscape unfolded like a tapestry, but all that was lost to her. Why did it have to be so beautiful? She felt like the world should be raining blood, the cloud and sun broken on the inside. It made her want to jump off the tree, slit her wrists, have Blazeken burn her to a crisp and scatter her ashes to the wind. Why did she like him so much? It was unfair and worse, he didn't return her feelings. It was sick and twisted. If only she hadn't seen him and Dawn. Oh Dawn. She was so lucky. May would give anything to be her right now. And she couldn't even blame her. She never told anyone about her obsession with Drew because she knew that they would laugh, and she was too stubborn. Though Misty probably knew, but then-

She was interrupted by a Primape and a Mankey tapping her on the shoulder. She should have known better than to tell them to fuck off, but she was upset. She couldn't remember much after that. Just the first punches, the sound of many feet stampeding towards her, and the sensation of falling followed by blinding pain and the one thought. Justice at last… (A/N: No, no, don't leave, she's not dead!)

Drew's agitation grew throughout lunch. He hardly ate anything, fidgeted constantly, and barley heard when people talked to him. He didn't even notice when Kenny and Paul ran off to battle.

Paul and Kenny stood in the middle of the grassy field, staring each other down.

"Okay, I have to tell you now. Dawn is mine. Back off." Kenny stated boldly.

"Actually, I was under the impression she liked me." Paul started coldly. "I think that, since you two have known each other for such a long time and are such good friends, she would have had plenty of chances to tell you how she feels. In fact, I think she's had enough of you." Kenny seemed to struggle to form words he was so angry.

"Fine then. If it's a battle you want then it's a battle you'll get!" Kenny yelled. He sent out his Prinplup. Paul sent out his Electabuz. That would be a problem.

The battle started, Paul scoring a few clean hits and Kenny missing many because he was so mad. Right when Prinplup was about to deliver an amazing Steel Wing Dawn walked in.

"What- what's going on here?" Her voice was high and squeaky from the tension she felt in the air. The murderous expression on both boys faces didn't help either.

"We are having a battle." Paul stated the obvious.

"Why?" Dawn looked from face to face.

"You." Kenny said grudgingly. Dawn gaped.

"But- but- no, don't fight!" She yelled, because Electrabuz had just zapped Prinplup, obviously wanting to finish up the battle.

"Dawn, it's for your own good! You don't want to end up with a jerk like him!" Kenny glared at Paul. Paul actually looked pleadingly at Dawn. (A/N: SHOCKER! OOC, I know, I know…)

"Please don't interf-"

Dawn walked up to Paul and kissed him, to silence him or just to kiss him. He pulled away, surprised. Dawn looked incredibly hurt, expecting one of his snarky comments. Instead, he just said "I like you." And pulled her into a passionate kiss, much fuller than the one she gave him. Kenny looked like he was about to cry, until Brianna walked up to him.

"Hi! I'm Brianna" she said to him. He perked up immediately. "Hi. I'm Kenny" He said back. And his hand slipped into hers, like water in a glass, as they walked off together.

Drew was getting more (if possible) worried. May had run off at 12:00 and now it was a little after 1:00. Watching Ash & Misty and Paul & Dawn and Brianna & Kenny make out in there different hiding spots was not an enjoyable experience. He decided to go after her, no matter how much he was going to be made fun of. As he entered the forest he felt a strange sense of forbidding. He traced her footsteps, calling out her name. When he heard no response he got really worried. He started running, scared. He was deep in the woods, looking around desperately. Then he saw. There were gashes all over her, blood running. He was so scared, scared to turn her over, scared of what he would see. Putting his fear aside, he walked up closer to May. She must have fallen. But that didn't explain the gashes all over her body. They confused him. E knew that he needed to take her to get help. He reached out, wondering what had caused her horrific wounds. She would explain when she woke up. But… what if she didn't wake up? What if? Why couldn't he have told her? Why couldn't he have told her how he felt? What if she was… never going to wake up and he hadn't told her? No, no, no. Oh no. Drew turned her over and lifted her up in his arms. She was so light. But she was warm. She was alive. She wasn't dead.

He leaned over and kissed her, softly and gently, a light kiss, but a loving one.

"I love you." He said softly into her ear.

"Drew…" her voice was weak.

"I'm glad you didn't die. I haven't beaten you at grand festival yet."

May smiled, but that seemed to hurt her too much.

"You don't love me. You're just saying that." She started to cry, and Drew couldn't stand it.

"What are you talking about?"

"You and Dawn… and… the kissing…" Drew looked horrified.

"Me and Dawn? I didn't kiss her I don't like her. She has Paul." He smile-grimaced at that. Being tackled by Paul hurt. A lot. This seemed to make Mays head spin.

"But… but then… Misty… the fall…" And then May blacked out.

She woke up in a clean room. The walls were mint green and the bed uncomfortable. Her immediate reference was a Pokémon center or a hospital. But why was she in a center or a hospital? Then her memory came rushing back to her with a jolt that made her head throb. The kiss- the tree- the fall- and Drew. That was the best part. 

Drew. He had kissed her. And he said- he said that he loved her? But he and Dawn. Hold on. Was Dawn with Paul? Or Kenny? Or Ash? Ash? He had been hit by Misty… It was all so confusing. She sat up and almost screamed. Sitting next to her was Drew. She hadn't even noticed him, but there he was, look worried and sleep-deprived. She blinked at him, confused and sad. He smiled and leaned forward. Without warning or explanation he kissed her. When he drew back May stared at him for a second.

"Wha- what?" That was the closest she could come to normal speech yet. He grinned.

"I missed you. Don't do that again."

"What? Tell Primates to fuck off?" She hadn't been kidding, but he laughed.

"Is that what you did? That would explain all the gashes." His voice, a second ago so happy, went dead. He looked haunted, seeing something she couldn't.

"Where am I and how did I get here?" That was the most important question that he could answer without a speech.

"Your in a hospital. I carried you some of the way and the ER took over from there." May blinked, wide-eyed.

"You carried me?" It was silly that that should make her happy. But then again…

"Of course!" He looked insulted. "I couldn't leave you alone to die, could I?" May looked so hopelessly lost that he gave up.

"If I left you to die…" He leaned in so that his nose and hers touched. Her heart sped up. "Then I couldn't do this…" He kissed her slowly. May sighed quietly and relaxed. It was all okay…

"IS SHE UP?" Dawn yelled. Misty, Ash, Dawn, Kenny, and Brianna burst into the room. Paul stood in the doorway.

"Um…" Everyone looked very sheepish about what they had just barged into except Brianna.

"Don't let us interrupt you." She grabbed Kenny by the hand and towed him out of the room, gesturing for everyone else to follow. May turned very red when she realized what everyone had just seen. Drew just chuckled.

"Well, now they know that were together." He looked her in the eyes. "That is, if you want to get together." May blinked.

"But… what about Dawn?" Drew laughed. It had a hard edge.

"What about her? We were never together. I know you think I kissed her, but I didn't. We actually head butted." May laughed. "Or something like that." He pulled something out of his pocket.

"For you." She smiled, holding his signature rose in her hands like a diamond.

"Thank you. And by the way…" She kissed him. (A/N: Again?) "I do want to get together."