What If? A Different Kind of Rivalry~ Epilogue
In Dialogue Format
May: Well…going to my house to hang out didn't work out as planned did it?
Gary: You can say that again…
Ash: I didn't even know that was the plan to begin with…
May: But you guys can't say that it wasn't fun.
Gary: Yeah, it was fun…except for the part when-
Ash: Don't tell the whole story!
Gary: I wasn't going to, now keep your shorts on!
Ash: -grumbles-
May: Haha! Okay, okay. When Gary and I went to my house we had to take care of my parents since a certain someone, who shall remain nameless, (-cough- Max –cough-) forgot to tell them to go to the doctor.
Gary: I never knew taking care of grown people could be so annoying.
May: Things got a little hectic so we called Ash to come over to help us out.
Ash: I'm the best part of the story.
Gary: Someone's conceded…
May: Don't start guys! And quit interrupting the story!
Ash & Gary: Sorry…
May: As I was saying…
"Perfect timing Ash! You wanna come over to hang out? It'll be tons of fun!" she asked with a singsong voice. There was a laugh on the other end.
"Heh, sure. I take it things are cool between you and Gary then?" he asked. May giggled audibly while searching through the cabinets for the cough medicine.
"Yeah, in fact he's over here right now. We're about to watch a movie and thought it would be nice if you joined us." She lied, hoping he would believe her. There was silence on the line that gave May a nervous feeling in her stomach.
"Alright, I'm on my way over." Ash replied with humor in his voice. May beamed at his agreement.
"Great! See you in a few!" with that, she hung up the phone. That's when her eyes fell on the dreaded green cough syrup sitting on the top shelf of the bathroom cabinet. Giving a huff, she got up on her tiptoes and stretched her arm as far as it could go.
"Hey, is Ash on board?" Gary asked, poking his head through the door. To say that he looked tired was an understatement. Bags were slowly developing under his once lively green eyes as he stared at the girl.
"Yeah, he said he'd be over soon. Hey, could you get this for me? I can't reach." She asked sweetly. The boy rolled his eyes, strolling into the bathroom. Without much effort, he grabbed the bottle and handed it to her.
"Thanks. Why don't you take a break?" she offered. He sighed with relief.
"Finally! I can't take it anymore. You're parents are driving me nuts, especially your dad." He laughed, running a hand over his face.
"Go sit down and wait for Ash and I'll take care of the family." May ruffled his hair playfully while shoving him out of the bathroom.
Gary: Things didn't start getting bad until Ash got there. Haha!
Ash: Hey!
May: Shush!
"Hey dude, come on in. Join the party." Gary welcomed Ash into the Maple home. The raven-haired boy walked in and took his jacket off, throwing it on the back of the couch. He looked around, confused. That's when he saw May running across the hall.
"May?" he asked. She zipped around the corner, wearing an apron with a tray of steaming bowls on it. At the sight of him, she smiled.
"Hey, you're here! Uhm, have a seat and I'll be right in there." She explained before shooting back down the hall. Ash turned and gave Gary a confused look only to be met by a smirk.
"Why do I get the feeling that we're not watching a movie?" he asked, scratching his head. Gary gave laugh, patting Ash on the back.
"Well…maybe because May lied to you to get you come and help us with her sick family." Ash gapped then slumped his shoulders.
"Figures…she sounded way too happy on the phone." He gave laugh.
"She played you like a flute, man." Gary laughed loudly while making his way back into the main room where he took a seat in Norman's armchair. The other boy sighed and made his way over to the couch. He took a cautious seat there and tried to make himself comfortable.
"So…" Ash started nervously. The brunette boy was lounging in the chair with his legs propped up on the table and his arms folded casually behind his head.
"Yeah…" there was an awkward silence between the two as they waited for May to return. In the back, they could hear faint sounds of coughing going on that they assumed to be the rest of the family. Soon, footsteps were sounding from the hallway and May was slowly marching into the main part of the house with the tray she was previously carrying dragging behind her.
"Why is this so hard?!" she panted as she plopped down, breathlessly on the couch next to Ash. She tiredly blew up her bangs before turning toward Ash.
"Sorry I had to lie to you but I didn't think you'd agree, given the circumstances." She gave a laugh. Gary added in his own laughter before getting up from his resting position and heading toward the kitchen.
"It's not the first time someone's lied to me." He chuckled in response. "So how is everyone doing?" he asked. May let her head fall back on the couch before answering.
"They're all asleep…for now. I managed to get my parents to eat something that they could actually keep down and I had to totally cut Max off from the world since he lied. He's gonna wish he was actually sick now. But yeah, we're done for the night. I guess there really wasn't a reason to call to you over here then, but to hang out." She laughed. He nodded in agreement before reaching down towards the table, picking up a magazine.
Ash: I told you I was the best part of the story.
Gary: Tch. Yeah right…
May: I don't know about you being the best part of the story, but it did get better after you arrived…if only for a moment….
Ash: Awh!
Gary soon returned with an armful of snacks. He dropped them all on the coffee table and began sorting them into different piles according to what they were. In one pile there was several cans of pop, in another there were miniature bags of chips, pudding cups, fruit snacks, and the like.
"Dude! You totally raided my kitchen!" May lightly scolded him. He merely scoffed.
"Oh c'mon, you know you were thinking the same thing. Besides you're going to end up eating most of this stuff anyway." He laughed, tossing her a can of pop. She caught it in her hands then stuck her tongue out at him. Ash laughed and caught the can that was tossed to him next.
"Now's it's a party." Gary resolved, returning to his previous position.
"It was never a party to begin with." May rolled her eyes, opening her can and taking a sip of it.
"Speaking of parties, I wonder who all went to Tyson's…" Ash said, giving it some thought before reaching down for a bag of chips.
"He's probably gonna be mad that we didn't show, haha!" the blue-eyed girl laughed.
"That's so mean May." Ash added.
"That's May for ya…" Gary finished, grinning at the glare he received from the girl. "There's a lot about her that you just don't know Ash. She might seem all nice and good on the outside but she's really- ow!" he grunted as the pudding cup connected with his forehead.
"Don't talk about me while I'm in the room, jerk!" she scolded him again.
"Would you rather he did it while you were gone?" the raven-haired boy added. May gave him an incredulous look.
"This is what happens when you two get together. You gang up on me." She crossed her arms over her chest in a huff.
"Just imagine how bad it would be if Max was here."
May: You guys really are a couple of jerks when you get together.
Ash: Gary's a bad influence, what can I say?
Gary: …shut up!
May: Haha!
"By the way Ash, how's that arm of yours?" May asked, sipping on her pop. Ash grinned, looking at the cast marked with signatures.
"It's doing all right, I guess. It just itches a lot." He complained, scratching away at his injury. Gary shook his head while kicking his shoes off.
"Ew! Put those back on!" May yelled, covering her nose.
"Chill out, my feet don't smell half as bad as yours." He gave her a sweet smile only to be met by a pillow in the face.
"Not nice." She waved a finger at him.
"So, what's the status you guys?" Ash asked, interrupting their potential fight.
"What? Status?" May asked giving Ash a confused look.
"Your relationship." He corrected himself. Suddenly everything in the room became still and quiet as May halted her assault on her fellow brunette.
Gary: Way to kill a mood Ash.
Ash: I was curious…
"We're taking a break to get our feelings and emotions together." May started, giving Gary a look. He nodded with a slight smile.
"And what ever happens, happens. We'll still be friends no matter what. I'd rather have May as my friend if having her as my ex-girlfriend means I'm gonna lose her all together." Gary concluded.
"You're just pulling out all of the goods line today, huh?" she nudged him in the shoulder.
"What can I say? I have a way with words." The group of three laughed for a while before all eyes turned on Ash.
"Now, about you." May began, giving him a sly look. Ash tried to back up away from her stare as much as he could.
"What about me?" he asked cautiously.
"Don't try to hide your feelings. You know you like her, I'm not saying I blame you though." Gary said, his gaze drifting to the side.
"Another one? Two in a row." The girl grinned. He shrugged again. Ash rolled his eyes.
"So…what if I do like May?" he asked, trying to rid himself of the nervous feeling rising within his chest.
"Then you-" May started, only to be interrupted by Gary.
"You have my permission to date her if things don't work out between us." Gary finished for her, gaining incredulous looks from both of them.
"What? Okay, you just lost your speaking privileges. Since when do you get to approve?" she asked.
"I can't let you go out with just anybody, there are tons of crazy dudes out in this world. Ash is…Ash is okay in my book." Ash smiled at Gary's declaration then turned his attention to May who was a little less enthusiastic about Gary's decision.
"Well if that's the case then I get to approve all of your girlfriends." She said, her resolve firm. Gary's jaw dropped at her statement.
"No way! You won't let me date anyone." He exclaimed.
"That's because all the girls you want to date are air headed and shallow." She fought back. He gave her smirk.
"Not true. I dated you didn't I?" he retorted. May uncrossed her arms and switched her gaze to the side with a defeated scowl on her face.
"Touché…" she grumbled.
"My point exactly." Gary said, triumphantly.
"You guys are weird…" Ash added while shaking his head.
May: I hate it when you do that.
Gary: Awh! You know you love me.
Ash: I'll say it again…you guys are weird.
"Okay then 'Mister I-Know-Everything-About-Nothing' what if things do work out between us?" May asked, expecting an answer.
"Only time will tell my dear May." He winked at her and received another pillow in response.
"Well, now that that's settled how about we watch a movie?" Ash suggested. Both May and Gary gave it some thought before agreeing.
May: The rest of the evening was pretty much uneventful after that.
Gary: Uneventful? You are so boring.
May: You are so mean!
Ash: Geez…
Gary: But yeah…nothing else really happened.
May: That's what uneventful means!
Gary: And?
May: Jerk…
Ash: Let's end this before you guys start fighting again.
Both: Fine…
Later that night, Caroline woke up with a piercing headache. So she slowly pulled her blankets back and gently lifted herself up from the bed as not to awaken her husband. She slipped her house shoes on and made her way out of her bedroom and into the main part of the house. During her walk towards the kitchen, she heard the faint sound of the television.
Rounding the corner she noticed that the TV in the main room was indeed on and it looked like a scene from '7 Pounds.' Curiously, she walked to the other side of the couch to see her daughter and two of her friends sprawled out on both the couch and the floor. She smiled at the sight of them and went to get a few blankets.
When she came back, she laid a large gray blanket on May's sleeping form, which took up the whole couch. Another one went to Gary, who was snoring lightly while leaning on the couch. The last went to Ash who was lying on his back, snoring loudly. The mother of two giggled before heading into the kitchen to get a glass of water before returning to bed.
May: Funny…I don't remember that part…
Gary: Me neither.
Ash: I sure don't.
May: Mhmm…oh well!
Ash: Thanks for taking up the whole couch May!
Gary: Yeah, the floor felt just great.
May: It was my house!
Both: Touché…
May: All's well that ends well!
Gary: We hope you enjoyed it!
Ash: See ya!
R&R