May paced across the lobby of the Pokemon Center, where she and Max were staying for the time being. She was bored, she decided. Namely, Ash was boring. So naive and immature and clueless. Sometimes she wished that he wasn't so innocent, no matter how attractive it had been at first. Flirting with him was more of a habit than anything else now. It was a... what was the word? Routine.

Dammit. She'd wanted this vacation to be fun. All she'd gotten was an earful of Max and an eyeful of Ash. The two of them were still practically kids, for Ho-oh's sake. Where were the... the hot guys... and the beach days... and the laughing and the casual flirting and the rumors and the nightlife? This wasn't living. She couldn't live on this. This-- this was torture.

"Dammit," she swore silently, and stopped in her tracks. I should just go back home, she thought dully. I should just go back to stinking Petalburg and stupid gym battles and stupid fans. I should just leave this tiny town and go back--

Home?

Suddenly hope was filling her, a nearly insane hope as she looked up and locked gazes with likely one of the most gorgeous strangers she'd ever seen. He strode through the crowd, green eyes piercing, a light smile on his lips.

Well, he wasn't exactly a stranger.

"Drew," she said in acknowledgment, smiling. The green-eyed Coordinator smirked in response, as usual, and walked toward her. When he was within three feet of her, he tossed her a rose. She caught it with the experience of twelve years.

"A rose. Again." She plucked a petal from the blood-red bud. "As usual I say: can't you think of anything more creative?"

"Who says I have to be creative?" Drew laughed, with a flick of his hair. "I'm the one passing out roses. Who's says I can't do it?"

"I say so." May cradled the rose in her hands, deliberately refusing to meet his eyes.

"Really?" The green-haired Coordinator arched an eyebrow. "And why should I listen to you?"

"I've beaten you to the Ribbon Cup twice," May said loftily.

"Sheer luck."

"You're just afraid to admit that you lost," she teased.

Ever so slightly, Drew rolled his eyes and muttered something.

May's voice adopted a steely tone. "What was that?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Drew gave her a smile that nearly melted her insides like butter. "So. Are you planning anything for today?"

"Um. No," May said warily.

"Good." He took her hand and started to pull her toward the automatic doors of the Pokemon Center. "I've been wanting to get you alone."

"W-wait, what?!"

He practically dragged her outside (though she wasn't really trying to pull away), that arrogant smile on his lips as he watched her. May immediately turned back toward the doors to the Center once he had relinquished his grip on her.

"Do you honestly want to go back?"

May stopped.

"You don't."

May was silent, not wanting to turn around and let him see the smile she was trying to suppress. She heard him turn to leave, footsteps slowly receding.

"I'm going."

For a moment, she battled with herself whether she should go. It was stupid, she knew. There had been enough headlines about Drew, Kanto's most notorious heartbreaker, for her to know what an idiot she would be if she followed him. Yes, she would be an idiot to follow.

It would be one of the stupidest things she could do in her entire life.

Well, then, she thought, I might as well be stupid.

She turned.

And she followed.