::Drew::
"May I have your attention please?" Chloe said from the head of the table. "As you should know by now, this is also a sleepover at Gary's wonderful mansion. However, while this is a mansion, Gary does not have eight spare guest rooms that are not filled up with research equipment, Pokémon, or Pokéballs, which mean you will have to share."

A collective groan arose from everyone at the table except Chloe and Gary.
Chloe waved her hand passively and continued. "The pairing for the rooms are Misty and Ash, Dawn and Paul, May and Drew, Solidad and Harley, and finally me and —"

Before Chloe could finish, there was a cry of protest from Dawn. "I'm not sleeping in a room with him!" She said angrily. "And who made these pairing up?"

Chloe opened her mouth to speak but again, was interrupted by Paul. "Shut your mouth, Troublesome. I'm not too thrilled about this either."

"As I was saying," Chloe said, obviously annoyed. "Those are the pairings and I'm not going to change them. They were based off needs, wants, experience with each other, and personalities. Dawn," she said, turning to face her, "if you must know why you're paired with Paul, it's because you brought enough clothes for a fashion show while Paul brought less clothes than a hobo, so you two can balance out closet space." Chloe stopped before asking, "Anymore objections?"

There was a wave of mumbling but no explicit objections. Chloe smiled before turning to a big white board she had covered up beside her.

"Good. Now that we have the pairings out of the way, time to decide rooms. There will be no dibs on anything because we're deciding rooms via Pokémon tournament!" She exclaimed before dramatically uncovering the white board.

"It's going to be set up in tag battle form. Losers of the first battle will battle each other for the small-ish room with a partial waterfront view. Winners of the first go onto the championship round, winner of that round will get the presidential suite, with a full waterfront view, lots of closet space, blah blah blah, and whatnot."

May and I both turned to look at the board. I wasn't too surprised with the pairings. Chloe paired us up even though I wish she hadn't. It's not that I don't like May, it's just that things lately have been awkward between us. I wanted to go up and kiss her but something was holding me back.

Chloe's voice interrupted my train of thought. "You've got thirty minutes to strategize!" She called out.

Dawn and Paul left the table in stoney silence, typical for them. Misty and Ash were pretty happy. On the other side of the table, Solidad and Harley were, in a word, bemused. Chloe who was sitting beside Gary, was surveying everyone with a complacent expression. When her eyes wandered over to us, her satisfied smile turned into a worried frown. She whispered something quickly to Gary before getting up.

"She better not being going for a drink." A new voice piped up.

We all turned to the doorway where a new girl was standing. She had on a short red skirt, and a light blue tank top. She had a yellow bag slung over her shoulder. In her hand she held a white hat with a red ribbon. Her hair fell in a loose tumbling cascade over her shoulders.

"Leaf!" Gary exclaimed.

She grinned. "Hey Gary," she said. "Who are these people? More of Chloe's friends?"

Gary laughed. "I doubt there's anyone in the world who isn't Chloe's friend. She's madly connected with anyone who's anyone.

Lead laughed. She and Gary continued talking lightheartedly, exchanging quips on various aspects of their lives. I looked over at Gary. His face was lit up happily. His eyes were sparkling and he was genuinely smiling. He seemed so happy. No, he was more than happy; he was in love. I frowned, wondering if I would ever be truly in love.

You're in love, dumb-o, a voice said in my head. Open your eyes already!

I shook the voice out of my head. What did it mean by that? I turned my head to see May quietly listening to Gary and Leaf's conversation. She seemed and entranced. I wonder if she was wondering what I was wondering about love.
::May::
Drew and I wasted the rest of our prep time sitting around doing nothing. It was just simply too awkward to try and talk to him after what happened earlier in his room. I pulled out my phone and randomly selected a song. The first strains of loud, blasting country-pop music blasted into my ears followed by Taylor Swift's singing.
I used to think one day I'd tell the story of us
How we met and the sparks flew instantly
I flashed back to when we were ten. Everything was nice. We were simply rivals. We met that day in Slateport City on a private beach. He called my act cheesy. That got my attention right away. I couldn't forget him after that, only to come back in contact with him an hour later. He challenged me to a battle, even then, he was arrogant. He nearly won but Team rocket interrupted us. But there was something special about that day, I just don't know what.
People would say they're the lucky ones
I used to know my place was a spot next to you
Now I'm searching the room for an empty seat
'Cause lately I don't even know what page you're on
Oh, a simple complication
Miscommunications led to fallouts
I snorted. Our little complication was more than simple. I doubt even Taylor Swift could call kissing your rival that also have a girlfriend "simple"
So many things that I wish you knew
So many walls that I can't break through
Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room
And we're not speaking
And I'm dying to know is it killing you
Like it's killing me
I don't know what to say since a twist of fate when it all broke down
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now
A tragedy is right; We had it all. And now look where we are, all because of a bunch of stupid mishaps driven by crazy hormones.
Next chapter
How'd we end up this way?
See me nervously pulling at my clothes and trying to look busy
And you're doing your best to avoid me
He was definitely avoiding me. Across the dining room, he was quietly reading one of Gary's researcher magazines. But every now and then, I saw his eyes dart up from the depths of the magazine to look at me quickly before looking back down.
I'm starting to think one day I'll tell the story of us
How I was losing my mind when I saw you here
But you held your pride like you should've held me
Oh I'm scared to see the ending, why are we pretending this is nothing?
The kiss (and the ones before it) were nothing, right? I was simply a rival in the wrong place, at the wrong time.
I'd tell you I miss you but I don't know how
I've never heard silence quite this loud
Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room
And we're not speaking
And I'm dying to know is it killing you
Like it's killing me
I don't know what to say since a twist of fate when it all broke down
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now
This is looking like a contest
Of who could act like they care less
But I liked it better when you were on my side
I felt a tear form in my eye. Ghostly memories of our friendly-rivalry with no romantic tensions flooded my mind. I remembered the smell of the delicate red roses he's always give me. I remembered the feel of the cool water that day of the Sinnoh Grand Festival. Every happy memory I've ever had with his cane back, reminding me of the good times we had.
The battles in your hands now
But I would lay my armor down
If you say you'd rather be in love than fight
So many things that you wish I knew
But the story of us might be ending soon
I stood up. No. Our story would not be ending soon, not if I could help it. I shut my phone off and walked over to Drew.
"Ready to kick butt?" I asked happily.
He looked up at me with a slightly confused look and weary eyes. A moment later, he smiled, matching mine. "As always," he replied.
A/N
Yayy! Finally a new chapter! I'm so sorry it took me so long.
Comments and votes are appreciated ❤️
~Hay