May's POV

The ferry to Sinnoh was departing in a few minutes and I was late. I was now sprinting towards the boat at full speed without stopping once. I mentally praised myself since I wasn't exactly too fit at the moment.

"Ticket please!" I yelled as soon as I reached the terminal.

There was a woman at the ticket booth who looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Ten pokedollars thank you." She said holding up a ticket.

I checked my pocket to realise I didn't have enough money. I gasped and almost broke down. How was I going to do this without any money?

"Here you go ma'am. Add an extra ticket please." A deep voice said from behind me and an arm reached out with pokedollars in hand.

I spun around in shock to see who it was. No way.

"Drew!?" I breathed out in surprise.

He ignored me as he picked up the tickets and dragged me to the ferry.

"What are you doing?" I asked while forcefully retracting my arm from his grip.

"Helping you." He responded finally while turning to face me.

I observed his features for a bit. In just a year he already looked older and taller. I saw him reach into his backpack and bring out something. More like a few things.

"My pokeballs?" I asked while staring at my own pokeballs in his hands.

"I went to your house earlier and didn't find you there. I found you in the forest but you ran away. So I went back to your house and decided that you would've probably gone to the ferry terminal." He explained, his usual arrogant attitude nowhere to be seen.

"So it was you in the forest." I murmured to myself as I put away my pokeballs.

"May. Where have you been this past year?" He asked me.

"On a break." I told him quietly.

"A year long break. You haven't participated in a single contest since a Sinnoh and you never answered any of my calls." Drew looked into my eyes solemnly.

"I'm sorry." I said a bit louder but this time looking up at him properly. "Thanks for the ticket."

He just nodded in response.

"Let's just go now then." Drew told me while bringing us onto the boat.

"WAIT MR DREW!" A high pitched voice sounded from behind us.

In came a running Brianna who was almost out of breath as she reached the boat. She came on board and stopped to catch her breath.

"I've been looking for you everywhere!" She gasped.

"Brianna?" I asked with a tinge of jealousy.

He came with Brianna.

"May! I haven't seen you for so long." She turned to me with wide eyes.

She looked at me for a while then sympathy appeared on her features.

"I know what happened. I'm so sorry." Brianna said while bringing me into a tight embrace.

I gasped in surprise. Does that mean Drew knew as well?

"At least she didn't suffocate me in a hug this time." I heard Drew mutter from nearby.

"I'm going to find my brother." I announced to the both of them as Brianna finally let go of me.

(I don't hate Brianna to be honest. She's just more of a fan girl of Drew. Plus she was nice to May most of the time. I know earlier in the book I made her quite annoying, but she gets better.)

They both looked at me, then at each other.

"We're coming with you then." Drew said while Brianna nodded in agreement.

"You guys should continue your contests though. Don't waste your time on me, I've failed you guys enough." I sighed while shaking my head.

Not letting them have time to answer, I strode off while finding a seat in the ferry. Soon after, I noticed Drew and Brianna being forced into some seats across the ferry.

"Welcome to the boat from Hoenn to Sinnoh. We'll be in Snowpoint City by tomorrow morning." A voice from the speaker announced.

I looked at my pokeballs and smiled at my Glaceon's pokeball. I sighed remembering the time I evolved my Eevee before I met up with Dawn, Ash and Brock. That was fun, before they all left me.

I put my chin in my hands and leaned on the table in front of me. I gazed out the window in wonder as we drifted across the ocean to Sinnoh.

I hope I can find Max soon.

Drew's POV

For once Brianna wasn't speaking to me. She was looking at May with what seemed like a concern. I peered over at May myself to see she had fallen asleep with her arms crossed and hair falling over her face.

She sure had changed. She wasn't the same cheerful person I knew. Hell, it looked like she was going to give up anytime now. No matter what, I had the strange urge to always stay by her side from now on.

Brianna suddenly began to sit up and was going to make her way over to May but I held her back.

"She needs some time to be alone." I told her gesturing to May's sad features.

Brianna looked at May then at me and then sighed. She nodded her head and went back to sit down where we came from. It was strange to be actually getting along with Brianna for once. Usually I would just occasionally say a few yes and no's here and there when she spoke to me continuously, but now, she seemed like a completely different person.

"Do you think she'll be okay." Brianna asked me with wide eyes as she glanced at May.

"I'm sure she will be." I responded reassuringly.

I still couldn't believe that after all this time, the reason why May never contacted back was because her father died. I should've gone back to Hoenn and took care of her. Rival or not, what she went through is something she shouldn't have gone through alone.

After a while, I soon drifted off into sleep with the rocking of the boat as we drifted across the ocean.

"Excuse me passengers. We should be arriving in Sinnoh shortly. Make sure you're all ready to leave and don't forget your belongings. Thank you for choosing to ride our boat today." The voice spoke in the intercom.

"Brianna, wake up." I said nudging the girl awake.

"Wha, wait Mr Drew?" She asked with a yawn and her face turned red as I looked at her.

"We're here." I announced.

"Right." She said waking up fully and tried to hide her blush.

I glanced over to May who was still sleeping but there was a frown on her face. I looked over at Brianna who nodded while getting out of our seats and making our way over to May. As soon as we reached her seat we hesitated.

"Take me, not him please." We heard her mumble in her sleep.

I raised an eyebrow and continued to listen to her sleeping voice.

"Leave him alone. Max come back!" She started tossing and turning in her seat.

I gazed at her with sorrow. Poor May. Then I straightened up and shook her lightly making her jolt up in surprise.

"Huh?" She murmured while sitting up straight in her seat.

"Morning sleepy head." Brianna greeted May with a sympathetic smile.

I think I like this side of Brianna much better than the clingy one.

"Morning." May yawned but her features looked slightly troubled.

I heard her whisper something to herself then she shook it off as she stared at the ground with a haunted expression on her face.

May's POV

My dream was so vivid and terrifying. It seemed almost real, too real. Max was bound in chains and tied up to a wall where he was being tortured endlessly by these people who I didn't recognise. It was terrifying to watch. I'm so glad that Drew and Brianna came over to wake me up or else I would've had to suffer watching that over and over again.

Ever since I fell asleep on the ferry, that scene repeated in front of me, and it was horrible.

"Are you alright?" I heard Drew ask me as we got off the boat, his tone was full of concern.

"I'm fine." I replied abruptly before walking ahead of Drew and Brianna.

Before they could speak, I ran off almost immediately to the pokemon center in Snowpoint as I felt the rush of cold on my skin. I shivered as I entered the building and requested a room as quick as I could. I entered my room and dumped my bag on the bed and drifted off into a troubled sleep.

And that scene unfolded once again inside my head.

—-

So this was the best I could do for the next chapter, hopefully I will find out what to write next.

Poor May though. I can't imagine what it'd be like to be her right now.

Anyways, that's the end of the chapter. We'll see what happens soon.

I'm getting a lot done today because I have school tomorrow and I won't have as much time to update from now on.

- April

20th, Feb 2018