Previously...

He woke up with a start, breathing heavily, his heartbeat erratic. His hands were shaking from the storm of emotion inside of him. It was as if he'd known it all along. It was hard enough as it was just liking her, but he knew he was trying to keep it down as long as he could. He knew and accepted that he was in too deep. There was no going back.

He knew for sure that he was hopelessly in love with May Maple.

There was no escaping this.

There was nobody else.

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Drew had been acting off since yesterday. Every time she would try to talk to him or ask him a question, his answers would be curt and leave no room for a conversation to form. She could help but feel that it was her fault for confronting him the other day. She had told him to figure it out and maybe that's what he was trying to do, but he didn't really need to be so rude. It could be that he was really thinking about it, at least he seemed really lost in thought.

She stole a glance at him again, trying to determine his mood. Even though his lips tugged down in a frown, she still had to forcefully pry her eyes off of him, her heart skipping. Why did he have to look so good even when he was upset? Still, something was obviously wrong, but it was clear he didn't want to talk about it. She couldn't help but worry a little though. They would arrive in Ecruteak that night and the contest was in 2 days. It was very clear they weren't on the same wavelength which was going to make it especially more difficult to perform. If they couldn't get things back to normal, they were going to struggle through the next contest. Mustering up her courage, she forced herself to confront him.

"Drew?" She asked. Her tone was firm, demanding to be heard and answered. He only acknowledged her by turning his head.

"What's going on with you? We have a contest soon, you know? We're not going to do well if you continue to be like this," she said. He sighed heavily.

"It's... It's nothing. Just... a me thing I guess,"

"Do you need to talk about it? You know I'm here for you. We're partners, remember?" May reminded him gently.

"I know. I don't want to talk about it though," he said firmly.

"Okay. But whatever it is, if you don't snap out of it, we aren't going to do well," May warned.

"I know!" He snapped. She was surprised by his sudden outburst. The words stung more than they should have and she was trying to suppress the water in her eyes. Her throat tied in a lump as an uncomfortable silence hung over them.

"You're being a bit of a jerk right now, and I- I don't like it," she choked out, the knot in her throat squeezing her words as she forced them out.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have yelled," he said, apologetic and sincere.

The rest of the hour walk to Ecruteak was tense and silent. Quilava invited himself out of his Pokeball to try and cause a bit of chaos but immediately sensed it was not the right time. He put up no fuss when Drew returned him.

Unfortunately, things only got weirder once they got to Ecruteak. For one, May was shocked at the number of police officers present. They had walked by a squadron stationed in the outskirts and she only noticed more and more groups as they got further into the city.

"What's with all the officers," May asked, more to herself than anyone and she wasn't expecting an answer.

"For the contest," Drew said. She gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

"May, while you were gone, two more contest halls were attacked. They've started buffing up security in response," Drew answered.

I just don't get it, why does Team Rocket keep attacking the contest halls?" May frowned, chewing the bottom of her lip as she racked her brain for a potential reason.

"I don't know, but we better hope that the security works because if it doesn't, there are rumors about canceling the rest of the contest season," he said.

"No way! Seriously? I really hope this works then, especially for your sake. It would be awful to have your last season canceled because of these stupid attacks," May said frustratedly.

"I guess we'll just have to see how it goes this time," Drew sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair.

They walked to the Pokemon Center and booked a room for the night and they ate dinner there before going outside to practice. They were using Absol and Glaceon as the two Pokémon had warmed back up to each other despite Glaceon's evolution altering its personality slightly.

They fully flushed out the routine that they had been working on throughout the journey to Ecruteak. Glaceon had been a bit stubborn when they first started coming up with it, but it had become more accustomed to its new form and was performing much better that night. Things were going pretty, but they would still have some more time before the contest to perfect it.

They left to go back to the Pokemon Center for the night, both feeling pretty satisfied about where they were with their routine. Despite the tension that had been hanging over them since May's return from Sinnoh, they were getting back into a groove again. May was hoping the momentum would continue into their practices and performance. They definitely weren't at their best but they weren't at their worst either. They would have to push all the confusing feelings aside to be perfectly in sync again. It wasn't impossible, but it would be difficult to do.

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A/N

Guys I'm so sorry I'm a day late! I fell asleep writing the chapter last night and just wasn't feeling great, I had a bit of a headache and was drained because I had social interaction. I only had a little bit left to write so I just finished it up. Again I'm so sorry for being late, also, for not being able to do weekly updates for a long time, I don't know if I'll be able to keep up the momentum again, but I'll try.

I'm determined to finish this story because I don't want to abandon it. But I never imagined going in how long it would actually be so I am very much ready for it to be done even though I still have like a little more than a third of it left. I refuse to give up after this much commitment and time spent on this. Until next time,

YouDontKnowShipping