Platonic

Chapter 25: Three's a Crowd

Previously...

"Ready to go?" Brendan asked cheerily as Drew came up to them. The both nodded silently and followed him out of the Pokemon Center.

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He was becoming soft. If it had been a year or so ago, he wouldn't have hesitated to turn Brendan away. But now, without him even realizing, his walls had fallen a significant amount. His cold facade he had tried to keep up had melted and he suspected that it had something to do with the girl that was currently in between him and Brendan.

Ever since he and May were chased by the agents after him, his guilty conscience had been weighing heavily on him. That was probably why he gave into letting Brendan come along. He started to feel personally responsible for May's safety. It was also kind of the reason he was here in the first place. Her mom didn't want May traveling alone. He had thought it was going to be a burden. Having to keep her out of trouble, and keep his secrets away from her.

That wasn't how it ended up at all. He actually really enjoyed her company, and would enjoy it much more if Brendan wasn't there. They were having an important conversation earlier. Even if he wanted it to be over, that didn't mean he wanted Brendan waltzing over and interrupting as if he owned and deserved her attention. He gritted his teeth in annoyance. A burning feeling was bubbling in his stomach but he shoved it down.

"So your dad is Professor Birch?" Drew asked. Brendan looked at him, as if he wasn't expecting to be addressed. Suddenly a pretentious smirk broke onto his face.

"He sure is!" He said smugly.

"So why is he in Hoenn if you're from here?" Drew asked.

"He went to research Hoenn Pokemon and he had me stay here to research Johto Pokemon. He gave me my Mudkip to help me in the field, but we never got the chance to travel and actually get strong until now!" Brendan said, clenching his fist in a determined fashion.

"Brendan and I have known each other since we were kids. We were neighbors and our dads were friends. Then my grandma passed away and dad got the role of gym leader in Petalburg City so we moved. It was pretty hard on me because it all happened so fast," May explained.

"I see," Drew said.

"I really missed having you around, May," Brendan smiled softly at her. Drew clenched his fist in anger.

"Aw! Me too! It's great to see you again!" May said.

"Hey! Remember that time when we-"

"NYAH!" Skitty suddenly burst out of its pokeball and began sprinting ahead.

"Skitty! No! Wait! Urgh get back here!" May exclaimed as she rushed forwards. He and Brendan chased after her. When they caught up with her, May was holding Skitty by its tail as it dangled over a cliff. She pulled it into her lap where she held it in a vice grip.

"Skitty! You've got to stop doing that! If I hadn't caught you, you could've fallen!" May scolded it. Drew could tell that she was pretty shaken up about it. The cliff was a pretty steep drop off. It wouldn't have been good for Skitty if it had run off it. Sighing in relief, she returned it to its pokeball. As she stood up and brushed herself off, the edge she was standing on gave way.

Her eyes widened as she began to fall. Brendan lunged forward and tried to grab her hand, but she slipped out of his grasp. May screamed as she fell until she landed on Flygon. As soon as she had started to slip, Drew had let it out, and sensing Drew's emotions, the Pokemon jumped right into action.

Flygon brought May back up. She clung to its neck until it landed back on the ground. Drew held out his hand to her and she took it. He helped her down and let out a surprised grunt as May wrapped her arms tightly around him. She grabbed the fabric of his shirt and held it in her fists as he pulled her closer.