Previously:

He held her up as she draped her arms over his shoulders lazily. She put her chin where his neck and shoulder met each other. The night had brought in a cooler front, but she was perfectly warm and comfortable against his back. She could feel how his body moved as he trudged forward, and before barely any time had passed at all, she was lulled to sleep.

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May woke up bundled in the sheets of a pokecenter bed. She panicked for a moment, wondering how she got there, but flashed back to Drew giving her a piggyback ride. She must have fallen asleep and he brought her up here. She remembered his warmth and blushed slightly. The sun brightly shined through the blinds in the room, indicating it was late morning. With a big sigh, May sat up, the covers pooling at her waist.

"Good morning Sleepy Head," Drew said smugly from across the room. His bed was neatly made and he was sitting on top of the covers with a book in his lap, open.

"Save it, I'm too tired for your antics," May yawned before stretching her arms over her head. "What time is it?"

"10:30," he said, looking at his PokeNav.

"Oh wow. Have you had breakfast already?" She asked him. He nodded.

"Yeah, I woke up about 2 hours ago and I grabbed some food and then I came back here to read," He answered. May made a face at his book when he mentioned reading. He rolled his eyes at her in response. The silence that followed after was quickly disrupted by a protest from May's stomach. She laughed sheepishly.

"Here," Drew alerted her before tossing a packaged chocolate chip muffin. "I brought it up for you just in case you slept past breakfast. I would've been able to wake a dead man before I could wake you up this morning," He laughed lightheartedly. May gingerly accepted the muffin, holding it carefully like it was glass. A small smile had made its way onto her face. After last night and this morning, she realized that Drew was much more sweet than he made himself out to be, maybe even more than what he himself thought behind the walls he put up.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, looking up at him with her enchanting blue eyes.

"Whatever," he said casually, flicking his hair. She smiled to herself at him trying to play it off. She let him.

"So what are we going to do today?" May asked him curiously. They had a whole day to kill until the ferry ride the next day. Drew sighed before putting a bookmark into his book and setting it aside.

"I don't know, I don't have anything coming to mind currently," he sighed as he put his hands behind his head.

"I know! I've been meaning to get a new travel outfit! This would be the perfect time!" May said as she came to an epiphany.

"Yeah sure, we can go to some clothing stores," Drew agreed. Suddenly May's grin widened.

"You should get a new outfit too Drew! Let the purple jacket rest for awhile!" She suggested.

"Oh no, I don't need a new outfit," Drew said, very sure.

"You don't NEED a new outfit, but you SHOULD buy one," May said, trying to convince him.

"I'll decide this later, for now, get ready," he said in a very ordering tone. May let out a frustrated huff before grabbing her bag and making her way into the bathroom. She had slept in her clothes so it was more of a matter of making herself presentable again. 10 minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom, all ready to go. Drew was putting the book on the lower shelf of the bedside table.

"What are you doing?" She asked curiously, peeking over his shoulder.

"I'm putting the book back, what does it look like?" He deadpanned. May rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.

"Yeah, I can see that," she said.

"So why did you ask?" He said smugly.

"Because I thought the book was yours," she explained.

"Oh, I just found it here and I needed to kill some time while you were dead to the world," he said before standing up and dusting his pants off at the knees. She gave a quick glare at him before going to the door. The two exited the Pokecenter and began their walk to the Slateport Shopping District.

"I wonder what I'm going to find!" May sang as she skipped ahead. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. The salty sea air tingled her nose, and she was taken over by a sudden longing to see the beach. Until she was abruptly pulled violently backwards by a firm hand on her wrist. Disorientated, she lost her balance and ended up falling into her rival. He restabled her with one arm. She realized he was the other to hold her wrist. He had been the one to give her whiplash. Anger began to bubble in her until it spewed over.

"What was that for!" She said sharply.

"Uh, you're welcome! You were about to smash into that streetlight if I didn't stop you!" He said, provoked by her reaction.

"Did you have to be so aggressive!" She questioned.

"Next time I'll just let you crash into it!" He said spitefully.

"Fine then! I didn't ask for your help anyway!" She spat at him. His actions were completely unnecessary in her eyes.

"Okay! Whatever!" He growled before shoving his hands in his pockets and turning before walking away.

"Where are you going!" She exclaimed at him. The nerve of him!

"Away from you! When you're ready to apologize for being utterly ridiculous, let me know," he said as he turned his back on her. He pulled his PokeNav out of his bag and waved it for emphasis before disappearing. May crossed her arms before letting out a large huff. Apologize? No way! She stormed down the street but as she started to turn down the street that lead to the shopping district, she suddenly stopped.

It was bound to happen that they would fight, and this was their first more serious one that they had to separate to cool off. And May cooled off immediately. He was only trying to help her and she felt very guilty for yelling at him. The close quarters must have already been getting to them. She realized it was too soon to apologize because Drew was likely to be angry for a while. In the meantime, she could shop for a new traveling outfit.

The first store she entered, she only briefly looked around in and nothing caught her eye. She left quickly and moved on. She made her way from store to store and tried on some clothes here and there, but she didn't find anything that really looked good on her.

Finally entering the last store she looked around for a little before spotting an orange tank top with a black collar and a green fanny pack tied around the waist on a mannequin. She decided that she really liked the combination so she picked up the top and pack which were hanging next to each other.

After she picked them up, her attention was captured by the back wall which had her favorite, biker shorts, on display and folded neatly on the shelves. May went over and picked out a black pair to match the accent collar of the tank top. With her new clothes in hand she made her way to the dressing room to try it on.

With disappointment, she realized that her shoes and bandana did not work with the outfit. The red just vibrated with the orange in a non pleasing way. She began to give up hope until she spotted a pair of black and orange tennis shoes. She happily picked them up as well. She decided that she would just have to go without a bandana because there were none in sight.

She made her way up to the register and as she set her new clothes and shoes down, a green bandana caught her attention hanging on top of a clothing rack. It matched the fanny pack perfectly so she added to her pile. Cringing as she made the payment, she was handed a bag of her clothes. She thanked the woman working there and exited the store. That's when the fight from earlier crossed her mind again. She needed to apologize to Drew. She pulled her PokeNav out of her backpack and turned it on. She touched his contact and sent him a message. She asked where he was. She felt it buzz and read the response.

I'm at the beach.

So she would get to see the beach after all today. She checked the time. It was 12:45 and she was starting to get hungry. Hopefully, it all went well and she and Drew could go and get lunch after this. The walk to the beach wasn't too far, but finding him on a beach as crowded as Slateport was proving to be a challenge. You would think a chartreuse haired boy would be easy to spot. After about 10 minutes, she located him in a less populated spot. She suddenly felt anxious, she hoped this would be quick.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I completely overreacted. You had my best interest in mind and I was a jerk to you for it. Thank you for saving me from my airheadedness. We can go to lunch if you want, it'll be my treat to make up for my behavior," She offered with a smile. He gave a smaller smile in return.

"It's okay, and yes, I'd like lunch, but are you sure?" He asked. He didn't want to make her feel forced into paying.

"Yeah, I wasn't acting very cool, but it was bound to happen that we'd clash, us getting along was kinda weird," she said to him. A small laugh sputtered out of his mouth.

"I've been too nice lately, got to get that out of my system and be normal again," he chuckled.

"And by normal, you mean a jerk," she teased, a light tone in her voice.

"Says you, I know some people who would beg to differ," he said, crossing his arms as he leaned back on his hip, taking a sassy pose.

"They care more about the taste of your mouth than what actually comes out of it," she said as they started walking.

"Too true, I'm just too irresistible, tell me how can you resist a look like this," his finger pointed his finger at his smirk that pulled on his lips. He had a point though. That smirk looks too good on him. But instead, she scoffs.

"It's hardly a challenge, I think of your personality and it's enough to make me lose any sort of interest real fast," she gives a smirk of her own back.

"You wound me! Surely I'm not that bad?" He said, dramatically putting his hand over his chest to cover where his heart was, as if she had hurt it.

"No, you're not that bad, but just enough," she grinned.

The two made their way into a cafe where they had sandwiches for lunch and to the courtesy of May, Drew didn't have to pay a single cent for the meal.

"Thank you," he said sincerely as they stepped out.

"Sure no problem, buuuut, I need you to do a favor for me," she said with a sheepish expression.

"What trap have I fallen into now?" He asked with a foux annoyed tone.

"You need new clothes! Let me pick them out for you! Please!" She begged him.

"I don't need new clothes May," he said firmly. He didn't see the point of changing his outfit just because they were going to a different region.

"Oh come on! New journey, new look!" May said, trying to convince him.

"I said no," he said, crossing his arms, sassily.

"Give the purple jacket a rest pleeeease, for the love of everything that is holy!!!" May pleaded with him as she latched onto his arm. His eyes widened at her comment before bursting into laughter.

"I'll humor you I guess," he finally caved in. She dragged him along cheerfully into another local boutique. Despite all the clothes she made him try on to his slight annoyance, she finally threw a soft dark blue sweatshirt at him that he ended up liking. He still fought her as they went to ring the sweatshirt up.

"I told you, I don't really need new clothing," he said as she put the sweatshirt on the counter.

"Just shut up and buy the sweatshirt!" She frowned at him. He put his hands up in defense.

"Alright, alright," he laughed before pulling his wallet out of the side pouch in his backpack. Slapping the bills on the table in exchange, the cashier put the sweatshirt into a bag with a cheerful smile.

"Have a nice day!" She said politely as they left the boutique with a ring of the bell on the door.

"What did you end up buying?" He asked her as they began to walk back to the pokemon center.

"You'll just have to wait and see until tomorrow!" She said excitedly. He rolled his eyes at her.

"I'm so stoked! Tomorrow will finally start our adventure to Jhoto!" She said, running ahead before slowing down into a spin. Drew smiled softly, unseen by her.

"I can't wait to finally win the Grand Festival this year!" She said, determined.

"Woah, woah, woah, might want to rethink that," he said as he caught up to her in a few strides. He laid a hand on her shoulder, before bending down, his eyes at her forehead.

"I'm going to win this year, just you wait," he whispered haughtily before retracting from her. He began to continue walking, leaving May standing in shock for a moment with the beginnings of a blush on her face.

"Are you coming?" He teased at her. Her blush turned into a red of embarrassed anger.

"Yeah, yeah," she said. As she walked up to him she mumbled under her breath. He caught something along the lines of "stupid jerk!" He smirked before tugging on her arm, causing her to lose her balance slightly and stumble forward.

"Let's go," he laughed lightly. She let herself smile at him too.

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-A/N-

I DID IT! I STUCK TO MY PROMISE! I'M SO PROUD!! Anyways, I'm so sorry, they are so out of character! Or at least it feels that way for me! I'm trying to make it a slow burn, but I think they might be catching feelings a little too fast, what do you guys think? Anyways, FRUITS BASKET COMES OUT TOMORROW AND I'M SO EXCITED!! (I finished this 4/5/2020)

Quarantine has been interesting for me, a little annoying stuck at home with my family, but I'm trying my best, and they're mad I don't come out of my room that much XD. Anyways, thanks for being patient will me! I will try my best to keep on track, I'm hoping I don't mess things up! Until next time!

YouDontKnowShipping

P.S. I want your opinion on this! Should the contests in Johto be partner contests, or do May and Drew compete against each other at every contest? I'd like to know what you guys want for this because I'm not sure which would be better. Anyways, thanks! Bye!

P.P.S I don't know if you all have realized, but my chapters are getting longer, this one is over 2,000 words, that's why I think I started posting even less, because I started writing more. I don't know what it is about this story, but it feels like there is so much to write about. 6 chapters in posted, like over 10,000 words written, and they haven't even gotten to Johto yet! I think this is crazy. This is such a bulky story! My prediction was that it was going to be maybe 20 chapters pushing it, but it's definitely going to be more, and it's a big project that I guess I should really get the bulk of done over quarantine if I ever want to get this finished! XD anyways, by for real this time.