Even though it made me cringe a little when I found myself back in the lobby I stopped and peeked around to see if I could find a familiar shade of green. To my shock, several people I'd never met came up to me and excitedly congratulated me on my victory. One little girl asked if she could see Simisear, so I pulled out his Pokeball and released him. Several people exclaimed in delight, never having seen a Simisear before. My goof of a Pokemon lapped up the attention, pulling several silly poses which made the whole crowd laugh.

"I still say that's a face only a mother could love," a familiar voice goaded from behind me. I turned to see Drew looking at me with a superior grin.

"You're such a jerk," I said with a sniff, looking away so that I could try to convince my cheeks to stop heating up.

What is up with that guy? Why does he have to be so contrary? ...and why do I keep blushing when I'm around him? I should know better!

"That may be true." I jumped when Drew's voice came from closer than I had expected and when I turned I found my nose inches from a beautiful blue rose. "But Roselia is sweet. She wanted me to give this to you for putting on such a good show."

I could hear a few gasps of excitement coming from the crowd and I just knew my cheeks were as red as tomatoes. Not knowing what else to do, I quickly snatched the beautiful rose and turned away, walking towards Simisear.

"Tell her thank you for me," I said awkwardly over my shoulder before returning Simisear to his Pokeball. My momentum suddenly lurched to a stop though when a strong arm wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me to a halt. I blinked up in shock at Drew, who had me tucked loosely against his chest and was flashing a peace sign at the crowd that had come to congratulate me.

"Please forgive her for leaving so soon, but she promised me a date," Drew said arrogantly. I heard several girlish squeals coming from the people in front of me and I couldn't remember ever feeling more mortifyingly embarrassed.

"I did no such..." Before I could refute such an outlandish claim, Drew grabbed my hand and spun me around, catching me completely off guard. He then took my hand firmly in his and marched us towards the exit.

"Hey! Wait, just a minute!" I hissed at him, trying to pull my hand from his without causing a scene.

"Just be good and follow me," Drew said, just barely loud enough for me to hear.

"I am not a pet!" I snarled quietly at him as he continued to drag me behind him. Drew's cheeks twitched and I assumed he was smiling, but he didn't respond as he led me swiftly from the gym and out into the late afternoon air.

Once we were outside, I tried even harder to pull from his grip, but I was shocked at how firm his hold was. It wasn't like he was hurting me exactly, he just had an iron grip that I couldn't shake free from. I couldn't help but think of my ex. It had been rare for him to hold my hand at all, let alone hold it so tight I couldn't let go.

Shaking myself from my memories though, I decided to change my tactics. Speeding up so I was nearly stepping on his feet, I then planted my feet firmly and tugged as hard as I could on Drew's hand. He let out a grunt of surprise and whipped around from the force of my tug, stumbling slightly and nearly colliding into me.

"Sheesh, superwoman, if you wanted a kiss you just had to ask," Drew said with a cocky grin and I immediately stepped away from him.

"Would you stop teasing me already? Where on earth are you taking me?" I asked, wiggling my arm around as I tried once again to shake free of his hold. He didn't let go of my hand, but his arm swung around with my movement and I hoped we didn't look like those annoying couples that swing their arms together as they walked.

"If I let you go will you come with me?" Drew asked, his expression surprisingly serious. I blinked swiftly as I tried to keep myself from blushing and I turned away to try and hide it from him.

"No," I said, embarrassed out of my mind and not knowing how else to respond.

"Then I can't let you go yet," Drew said with a shrug. I gaped at him and he just smiled smugly again before turning and dragging me along behind him.

I followed after him with a pout. His pace slowed a little so it was easier for me to keep up with him and Drew remained looking ahead of him as he led me down the winding paths that made Turffield so charming. When we got to the base of a steep path with large stones with odd symbols etched into them lining it, I finally realized where we were heading.

"The hieroglyph?" I called after him as he led me up the stairs, still holding onto my hand firmly. "Why are you taking me there?"

"Have you already seen it?' Drew asked, looking back at me with surprise on his face.

"Of course, I've been here for a few weeks, after all," I said with one eyebrow cocked at him.

Turffield's main tourist attraction was a strange combination of a mural/hieroglyphic picture that had been carved into the side of a hill and no grass would grow over it. It depicted a gigantic pokemon of some kind releasing an attack that resembled the sun. People believed it's the first evidence of Pokemon dynamaxing and I had come to look at it when I first got here.

"Well, you haven't seen it with me, so obviously it'll be even cooler this time," Drew said with a flick of his fringe before facing forward and pulling me along with gusto. I rolled my eyes at his egoism and shook my head.

"You keep telling yourself that," I muttered. I thought I heard a faint chuckle coming from in front of me, but Drew didn't turn around in acknowledgment so I wondered if I had imagined it.

When we got to the lookout area Drew went up to the very edge and finally released my hand so he could lean his forearms against the railing as he gazed at the ancient artwork. He didn't say anything for several long minutes and I glanced around me, wondering if he really had dragged me all this way just to look at the hieroglyph.

"Sooooo.... Can I go now?" I asked hesitantly. Drew looked over at me with a surprisingly normal smile and straightened his posture so he was facing me.

"Can I travel through Galar with you?"

My mouth dropped open in shock as Drew fixed me with the most serious and almost child-like expectant expression I had seen from him. He waited patiently for me to react and I quickly shook my head to pull myself out of my shock and I regarded him incredulously.

"Where is this coming from?" I asked, completely shell-shocked that he was asking me this out of the blue. Drew chuckled quietly and glanced over at the carving across from us for a second before answering me.

"To be honest, I'm kind of in a rut," Drew said seriously, turning away so he was facing the hieroglyph. "I've become a Master class Coordinator in almost every region that has contests... but for whatever reason, I just can't make Master class in Sinnoh. I've tried three times in a row and even though I've switched up my pokemon line up and tried new combinations, I just can't win."

Drew's frustration was palpable and I found myself walking over so I could stand next to him. Leaning forward slightly, I could see his mouth pulled down into an uncharacteristic frown and I was surprised to see that his hands were clenched into fists.

"I thought if I just take a break and treat myself to a vacation that I could try again... but whenever I try to practice with my pokemon, nothing seems right. I keep doubting myself and things just spin out of control."

Drew's words triggered memories of my own attempt at becoming Kalos Queen. I knew it was a foolish dream for a trainer in her first year to get the title, but on my third attempt I really felt like I could pull it off. Obviously, things hadn't gone my way though, and whenever I tried to practice after that I would find myself doing all my old tricks or completely failing at the new routine I was trying to come up with. So I had left. Which sounds exactly like what Drew had tried to do. Although, he was at least strong enough to still fight for his original goal.

"So.. why does that have anything to do with traveling with me?" I asked hesitantly, not sure where I fit in with all of this. Drew looked over at me and smiled a little sadly and reached up to tug lightly on his bangs in a nervous gesture.

"Your battle style is so different from mine," Drew said quietly, peeking between his fingers to look at me. "I mean, it's completely inelegant in every way."

My mouth dropped open at the unexpected insult and I folded my arms with a hmph.

"Excuse you?" I asked indignantly but Drew just shrugged.

"It's true. You rely on your pokemon's brute strength to take out your opponent, which was ludicrously effective in your gym battle,"

"Ludicrous?" I repeated, feeling more offended by the second. But then Drew turned and met my eyes with his piercing green ones.

"But... I felt something when I watched you battle, Sayuri." I cocked my head in confusion as he looked at me seriously. "For the first time, I came up with an idea for a contest battle move that could actually work. I know I haven't done much to make you like me... but I feel like if I travel with you I might be able to break out of this rut I'm in. So... will you let me travel with you?"

Choice A: Talk about your Ex

Choice B: Counter with conditions

A/N Things are about to get fun ^-^