Contestshipping one shots

7. ) 7 Kisses part 1

The kiss that started it all

May couldn't sleep.

Tomorrow was the day of the Ecruteak Contest and she had to win it. She was already slightly behind on ribbons at three, and there weren't too many contests left to compete in before the Johto Grand Festival. She'd recently returned from Sinnoh, where she had entered the Wallace Cup with the hope of obtaining the Aqua Ribbon and catching up, but her close friend Dawn had bested her in the final round.

She had spent the evening running possible strategies and combinations through her head, wanting desperately to perform to the best of her abilities in tomorrow's contest and earn herself that fourth ribbon. She had even already decided which search Pokémon she was going to use: Blaziken for her appeal, Glaceon for her battles. May knew, however, she wouldn't be able to put on a good show tomorrow if she was tired.

Frustrated, May threw the sheets off of her and sat up, rubbing her eyes. It wasn't doing her any good to be sitting wide-awake in bed, so she thought she might as well head downstairs and warm herself by the fireplace in the Pokémon Center's lobby. Perhaps there would even be some milk in the cafeteria that she could heat up and drink. She'd heard warm milk was supposed to make you sleepy.

May ran her fingers through her hair before slipping out the door of her room and trotting down the stairs. Once on the first floor, she was surprised to see she wasn't alone in the lobby; someone else was hanging out near the fireplace. Upon closer examination, May realized this person was her long-time rival, Drew Hayden.

"Drew?" she inquired in surprise. She almost immediately regretted speaking up after a further moment's thought; she was still in her pajamas, her hair was an absolute mess, and she probably had horribly dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. She was practically asking to be teased. The male coordinator turned his head to look at her.

"Well, hello, May," he said with a smirk.

"What are you doing down here?" May asked.

"I suppose I could ask you the same question."

May folded her arms and shifted her weight to her left hip before saying, "I asked first, so you answer first." Drew shrugged.

"What? Can't I enjoy the fire?" he replied with a grand gesture toward the flickering flames.

"At midnight?"

"Whoops, sorry, you've already used your question of the day. Try again later." May rolled her eyes, but nevertheless meandered to the front of the sofa and plopped down next to her rival.

"What about you?" he asked after she joined him.

"Hm?" she intoned.

"Why are you up?"

"Oh! Um... can't sleep," May replied, though there was slight hesitation in her voice. Drew smirked again and flicked his hair.

"Nervous about tomorrow's contest?"

"No."

"I would be if I were you, since you might end up facing me." May huffed.

"I presume that means you're entering, too?"

"Obviously. I'm looking to complete my collection of Johto ribbons," he replied haughtily. May's face fell; so that meant he was gunning for his fifth ribbon, which would gain him entry into the Grand Festival. Her fists clenched, feeling a sort of jealousy bubble under her skin. She hated how Drew always managed to be at least one step ahead of her.

"And how far behind are you?" Drew asked, feigning a cordial tone.

"I'm not that far behind," May retorted.