Platonic

Chapter 37: Awkwardness

Honestly, I already thought I had dedicated a chapter to you but apparently not! Anyways, this chapter is dedicated to the lovely @WondersOfTheEarth thank you so much! I really appreciate your support and your comments! You are awesome!!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Previously...

"We're winning this and we're winning it together. Neither of us are leaving until we win the ribbon cup!" She said.

"You win then," he smiled fondly at her. She grinned triumphantly.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Things were different after the Azalea Town contest. They were currently halfway back to Len Town on their way to Goldenrod City, and almost a week had passed since the incident. They were both feeling a lot better and not coughing as much anymore. However, it was still fresh on their minds, especially Drew, who seemed to be taking it a little hard on himself the more time went on. She had noticed he'd been more protective over her recently too.

They unfortunately had a run in with his pursuers the day before and Quilava once again came in handy with his smokescreen. Once they got enough distance between them, he pulled her down into the brush with him to hide. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, holding her against his chest. For some reason, she began to think about the dream she had before the contest, about Drew and Brianna. The idea of Drew holding anybody the same way he had been holding her then, made her a combination of sad and angry. It made her heart squeeze painfully.

She had noticed that she had been stirred up recently by him and her feelings were all over the place. It took her laying in her tent trying to sleep the next to have the realization shatter the barrier of denial she had been subconsciously putting up. She had strong feelings for him. More than platonic. She liked Drew as way more than a friend. That's why she hated that dream, and she didn't like imagining anybody else by his side.

She had to tell him, there was no way she could keep her feelings bottled up inside. It was late, but she had already unzipped her tent halfway to go and wake him up and tell him. That was until reality hit her. She closed her tent back up and flopped back down on the ground. He was going home after this Grand Festival, she might never see him again. She couldn't tell him, she would always want more than what she could have, they wouldn't be able to last. It was a depressing thought, and she almost cried before she fell asleep.

When she woke up the next morning, she realized that she didn't know how she was going to talk to him now that had realized her feelings for him. Nothing had changed, but yet everything had changed at the same time. She packed up the things in her tent before stepping outside.

"Morning," he said as he finished up collapsing his tent and putting it away.

"Morning," she mumbled as she looked away from him, trying to hide the blush that had immediately crept on her face.

"Are you... okay?" He asked as he started to walk over to her.

"Y-Yes! I'm fine!" She said quickly as she began to take down her tent hastily. He crouched down next to her.

"Need any help?"

"I'm good, thanks," she said before getting up and taking out the stakes behind the tent. He waited patiently for her to finish taking down her tent before they were on their way again towards Goldenrod City. As they were walking, they're hands accidentally brushed against each other. She quickly swiped her hand away and stepped a bit further from him.

"S-Sorry," he mumbled.

An awkward pressuring silence set over them. It seemed neither of them knew what to say to fill the void.

"Seriously, are you okay?" He asked again, finally breaking the unbearable silence.

"I'm alright," she said quietly.

"Did I do something that upsetted you?" He asked concernedly. She looked at him in surprise.

"No! Of course not. It's not your fault," she quickly reassured him. His mouth pulled down into a small frown. It was a cute expression and she looked away before he could see her blush. It was super frustrating, she wanted to be able to be normal around him, but her mind refused to not get in the way and make things awkward.

She wished she could find the right words to say to break the ice. It felt like they were traveling to Slateport City together again, where she wasn't sure what to say to him because they had never been around each other for that long before.

"I wonder how many ribbons Solidad and Harley have won so far. We had a bit of a head start on them, but we did lose our first contest," She said, finally managing to get out a decent conversation starter.

"Good question, I'm betting at least two. Solidad is very competent and even if she is working with the oddball Harley, I'm sure she's made a strategy that plays to both of her strengths," he said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, that's true," May agreed, relieved this conversation was actually going somewhere.

"Still though, when Solidad said they were partnered up, I was surprised. I knew they were friends, but I didn't think Solidad would actually agree to being his partner. Then again, now that I think about it, she's probably the best fit for his partner. She can keep him in check and make sure he doesn't do anything mischievous," he said. She nodded along.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, that makes a lot of sense. Harley can be very devious, and I think Solidad is the perfect person to keep him under check. Still, it's not fair to her that she's just stuck to him," she added.

"I don't think she minds. She's actually strangely quite fond of him,"

"Oh, right. I don't really get that," she frowned.

"Well, anyways, speaking of them, we should probably start thinking about what we're going to do for the contest. First we need to decide what pair we're going to do," he said.

"Right," she nodded.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

-A/N-

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It was actually really frustrating to write and I didn't have a good time with it. I'm also a little behind on a couple school assignments so I'm a bit stressed but it's F I N E. Anyways, until next time!

YouDontKnowShipping