Journeying Through Johto

Chapter 6: A Goldenrod Finish

Hey everyone! Here's another chapter for you!

                                                              *****

May basked in the heat of the sun as she made her way to the contest hall. It calmed her nerves to breathe in the warm summer air and watch the hustle and bustle of the city in the daytime. The sky was a clear blue accompanied by the occasional wisps of a cloud shifting across it. There was a half hour until the contest began and she felt more relaxed than usual knowing that she would be at the hall early. As she approached it, she spotted other coordinators, some making their way inside, others conversing near the entrance. When she scanned the groups of people, her eyes came to rest on a few familiar faces. Sophie, May's new rival, stood not too far away with a Mareep. Her blue hair brushed her shoulders as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. Talking to her was the woman from the cafe. Bella, if May remembered correctly. Sophie's older sister. It was obvious now, seeing the two of them together, since they were so similar that Bella almost looked like an aged-up version of Sophie. And next to Bella was her fiancee Matt. May knew she couldn't avoid Sophie but she intended to avoid the other two as best she could for as long as possible. Any event like the one at the cafe would be too embarrassing to bear. Especially alone. She tried to be as discreet as possible when she walked to the entrance doors of the hall. Unfortunately, Bella spotted her and called her name. May cringed inwardly. She wasn't usually one to turn away from a conversation. In fact, that had never been the case, except maybe with Harley, but any conversation with Bella was one that would lead to the topic of her and Drew and she could do without that. She slowly turned, plastering a smile to her face as she did. Bella waved and called her over. Lucky Drew. He had escaped this. Awkwardly, May approached the trio.

"Hi May," she smiled.

"Hey guys," May tried her best to smile back.

"I don't know if you remember," Bella started, "but we met briefly last night at the cafe. I'm-"

"-Bella. And Matt." May nodded. "Yeah, I remember."

"What a relief. It was such a fleeting hello, I didn't even think about asking you your names."

"It was super confusing when they got back last night," Sophie pitched in, slightly embarrassed. "They wouldn't stop talking about this cute coordinators couple that they claimed knew me, but then had no idea what your names even were. We only figured it out because I don't know anyone else who wears a green bandana."

Lucky her. If she'd worn something less unique, she probably could've slipped into the contest hall unnoticed.

"Yes, I'm very sorry about that," Bella sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.

"Oh don't worry about it. It's fine," May weakly laughed it off.

"Especially with the two of you being so popular."

Popular? Was she talking about Drew?

"From the Kanto and Hoenn Grand Festivals," Sophie added. "Imagine when we finally got the conclusion that it was you who Bella ran into last night. I couldn't believe she'd never heard of you."

"No, I wouldn't expect a lot of people to know us!" May rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "I can understand Drew but I hadn't realized I was so well known."

"You definitely are," Sophie said kindly. Then she asked curiously, "But isn't it strange for you to be a couple and rivals at the same time? Don't you both want the other to win?"

May was starting to wonder if it had been a mistake for her and Drew to pretend to be something they were not. If other people started hearing about it, rumours would spread like wildfire. Normally, she would have found it more bearable to live with the embarrassment of telling Matt and Bella that she and Drew had walked into the cafe by accident not realizing it was a couple's cafe, but now, in the split second where she had to decide whether or not to deny what Bella had said, she could not bring herself to do it. She wasn't about to live through that embarrassment alone despite it being her fault they had stepped into the cafe at all.