Disclaimer: If I owned Pokemon, I wouldn't be wasting my time with the likes of you. *turns up nose* I'd be getting these put into the TV show.
~ ~ ~
So I listen to you complain and then
I bite my tongue in vain again
As I let it all just slowly settle in
Such a pretty picture that you paint
I'm so vile while you're a saint
Funny how your eyes see thick not thin
- Ashlee Simpson
Losing Grip
one: gone
The audience oohed and aahed at the
combination of magical leaf and petal dance. I smirked. They were too easily
impressed. The really beautiful bit came now. "Pin missile, Roselia," I said
lazily, waving a hand. Roselia bowed her head, closed her eyes and gathered
power, then began to whirl around at super speed until she was nothing but a
green blur, shooting spikes in all directions. They ricocheted off the
ceiling, floor and hit the leaves and petals, exploding in a pink and green
blur of light that filtered through into the audience. I glanced around, aware
that I had put on a brilliant performance, and to my mild surprise I spotted
May standing in the doorway. Oh, but of course she was there; she was up next.
She gave me a small smile and waved. I didn't smile or wave back, just flicked
my hair and turned to the judges expectantly. Yep. A 26.5. An amazingly high
score. I could sense May watching me, but I didn't look over to her, only
nodded at the audience, acknowledging the tumultuous applause and being none
too modest about it. I didn't see the point of modesty. If you're good at
something, why say you're not? It's bad for your self-esteem.
I walked slowly offstage, recalling Roselia as I went, and stopped to watch
May's performance through the backstage screens. It was okay, I suppose; all
things considered, she had improved a little. She used her Beautifly in the
performance. I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes loftily. It
deserved somewhere around a 24.
So I was totally and utterly astounded when I heard Lilian shout out,
"Incredible! May has scored a record 29!"
Now that was just totally unfair. After my amazing display, scoring an
amazingly high 26.5, she broke the record? She scored the
highest? She beat me? She beat me!
I glared at her as she came backstage, glowing with pride. "I don't believe
it!" she squealed. "The highest score ever! Almost perfect!" Then she looked
slightly thoughtful and said more slowly, "Really though, it wasn't that
great. I don't know...I think you deserved a score like that more than I did."
Too right I did! "Wow, you think?" I rolled my eyes.
"Yes, I do." She smiled at me - another one of those dazzling smiles of hers,
the kind that almost made me blush (but I don't ever blush) - and continued,
"I do. Your performance...it was really beautiful. Inspiring." She looked like
she wanted to say something else but thought better of it, and contented
herself with beaming at me for a minute and then walking away. Her eyes were
shining, her voice shook slightly. I almost believed she really meant it.
That's almost.
~ ~ ~
Last round. Me versus May. This was getting all too predictable. I could not
remember one contest where the two of us hadn't come up against each other at
the last round. There would be a big confrontation, May would nearly lose her
head, I'd smirk and flick my hair, May would pull herself together and one of
us would win in a breathtaking, nail-biting surge of power. I was getting a
little bored of it. Maybe today would be a refreshing change - eg. me winning
first move.
"Well everybody, welcome to the finals!" Lilian's voice reverberated through
the stadium, enjoyment, enthusiasm and excitement ringing through every
syllable. "Facing off, and not for the first time, are Drew and May!" Frenzied
cheering and screaming. "These talented young co-ordinators are well known for
sharing a friendly, if vicious, rivalry - and not just in contests, either.
Their rivalry has seen them facing off in the finals many, many times. Well,
let's not delay - FIGHT!"
"Come on out, Flygon!"
"Go, Squirtle!"
We glared at each other as was our custom. I ordered my first attack. "Sand
tomb!"
She flinched as Squirtle was entombed in, well, sand. "Can you get out of it?"
she asked Squirtle. The hill of sand swayed and broke.
"Great job Squirtle. Now use ice beam!" she yelled. I winced. Flygon was very
weak against ice attacks. Before I had the chance to call out 'dodge' Flygon
had fallen to the ground and was struggling wildly. One of its forelegs and
both of its wings had frozen over and it couldn't move. I stood paralysed,
knowing there was nothing I could do.
"Hydro pump!" called out May.
I grimaced. "Solar beam," I ordered.
Flygon turned its head painfully, opened its mouth and fired a solar beam at
Squirtle. It collided with the oncoming hydro pump, they combined and
exploded. When the dust cleared, both Pokémon were standing hunched over,
bruised and bleeding, but still conscious. May bit her lip. I hesitated. It
didn't seem very fair to make them keep battling in this condition. And as
both of us opened our mouths at the same time, presumably to say 'forfeit'
both Pokémon swayed and collapsed, running out of points and health.
Both of us stood in shock, then May ran forward and scooped up Squirtle in her
arms. I walked forward, stunned, put a hand on Flygon's neck and muttered some
reassuring words, then recalled it.
"Well, folks, isn't this exciting?" gushed Lilian. "It's a double KO! Well,
the ribbon has to go to the runner-up - Arielle and her Venasaur!"
May and I both walked off-stage. Neither of us spoke. We were too astonished.
When we got backstage, May said in a small voice, "Well...neither of us won."
"Mm."
"I was surprised."
"Mm."
"Sorry, Drew," she said sadly.
Every once in a while, I get sick of never showing any emotion other than
snobbiness and I just have to let it out. Unfortunately this was one such
occasion. "You're sorry, are you? Yeah, sorry you couldn't get your hands on
that ribbon! Sorry there was no way to cheat me this time!"
"That isn't what I meant," she said slowly.
"Isn't it?" I asked, my voice rising. "Isn't it, May? Oh look at you, Little
Miss Perfect, all happy and nice and pretty, walking around with your level 3
Pokémon, everything's always okay in your world! You never mean anyone
any harm. You're never nasty to anybody."
May said very, very quietly, "I've just about had it with this attitude of
yours, Drew. You can't even pretend to be nice, can you?"
"Oh, yes, pretending to be nice, that's your area of expertise! You arrogant,
two-faced little kid, you have not got a talented bone in your body! You did
not deserve that ribbon! I did!"
May's eyes were starting to sparkle with tears. "Yes, you probably did," she
said resignedly, although her voice was shaking dangerously. "You probably
did, Drew. Now if you'll excuse me -"
"No I will not excuse you!" I was now totally furious. How dare she! How
dare she take that ribbon away from me - and not only that, then she had
to make sure it was given to somebody who absolutely didn't deserve it! "You
are not excused! Let's get this straight, May." She bit her lip, tears
threatening to spill down her face. She looked at me apprehensively. I didn't
realise then why she was crying. I thought it was only about the insults to
her talent. In reality, she was scared. She was frightened of me. And of what
I was about to do to our friendship. "You are an immature little child. You
have no talent whatsoever, your Pokémon are pathetic and if there was ever
anything between us, consider it gone."
May stared at me, the tears now running down her face. I ignored it and
stepped back. "Gone," I repeated. "Nothing left."
May let out a heart-rending sob and stepped towards me. For a horrible moment,
I thought she was going to throw her arms around me, but instead she slapped
me hard around the face and screamed, "I HATE YOU!" Then, weeping, she turned
and ran away.
I glared after her, my face
stinging. I felt myself slowly deflating. "Well, isn't that nice. Now she
hates me." Other co-ordinators were staring at me. "You right there?" I
snapped at a nearby kid who couldn't have been older than eight. He ran and
hid behind his sister, who was apparently a co-ordinator. Right. Yes, the very
scary short little boy with shiny hair who yells at people for no reason.
That's me.
Is it?
No, it isn't.
I felt like an idiot. What happened to the calm, collected, sarcastic
co-ordinator May was best friends with? It seemed he had simply walked out and
left me a nervous wreck when I started losing my temper with May.
It seemed May wasn't the only one losing her grip.
~ ~ ~
"You are an immature
little child. You have no talent whatsoever, your Pokémon are pathetic and if
there was ever anything between us, consider it gone."
May shrank back. She was distantly aware of a tear sliding slowly down her
cheek, leaving a warm trail like a despondent, miserable snail of some kind.
She shook her head slowly and the tear dropped onto her hands, which were
clasped desperately in front of her. Another two followed quickly, splashing
silently on her shaking hands. Blurred though her vision was, she never took
her eyes off Drew.
"Gone. Nothing left," he said coldly.
How could he do this to her? Everything they had been through together...now
it meant nothing. Unable to contain herself, she let out a loud sob, a sob
full of misery and despair, and stepped towards Drew. For some reason she had
a mad urge to throw her arms around his neck and sob into his shoulder. But
she changed the motion at the last moment and, with all the strength she could
muster, hit him as hard as she could around his face. He let out a cry of
shock and pain and stared at her for a split second, before she burst into
loud sobs of utter despair and flung herself out the door, no longer able to
look him in the face.
May tried to make herself catty and spiteful towards him, tried to think he
deserved everything he got. Maybe he did. Had he ever been nice to her? When
had he ever been generous or kind to her at all? And had she been reasonable
to him? She had, she was sure she had. Did he deserve it?
No. He obviously did not.
But even though this was clearly true, May could not make herself believe it.
All that time - him tossing insults at her, May getting angry at him, then he
would comment dryly, in the last few seconds before he disappeared, that were
his eyes deceiving him, or was she improving? And then - the roses! He had
given her roses. Red ones. She had looked at the roses and felt a feeling she
couldn't put a name to - like a great, warm swelling in her heart, that made
her eyes smile and her cheeks flush.
And it wasn't just the roses either. Whenever she even looked at him,
she got that same feeling.
But it hadn't been like that before. She had recoiled, terrified of Drew and
what he was about to do to their friendship, feeling the hot tears splash onto
her clenched hands, shaking and desperately hoping he wouldn't say it,
wouldn't do the inevitable.
What had she done to deserve it?
She felt something touch her on the shoulder, and looked up slowly,
hiccoughing and wiping her puffy red eyes.
"May?"
Ash knelt down beside her concernedly, keen brown eyes searching her face.
"Pikachu, Max and Brock are back at the Pokémon Centre waiting for you. They
wanted me to say congratulations and we're proud of you."
"Hic," said May.
"And we are," said Ash quietly. "But this isn't just about the contest, is
it?"
"Hic," said May, and shook her head slowly.
"What happened?" asked Ash gently.
And almost before she knew what she was doing, she had thrown her arms around
him and was sobbing into his shoulder, choking out a recount of Drew's words
and trying to describe her feelings, and his arms were around her he was
comforting her softly and everything kind of went fuzzy and warm and blinked
out.