Hi all,

I'm back with another fic, and this one will actually be finished (I promise!). This one is an advanceshipping fic and named after one of my favourite songs, After Dark by Mr. Kitty. I feel like that song perfectly encompasses the vibe I wanted for this fic. A few things to note before reading:

This is an AU fic, there are no Pokémon in it, and the characters are all completely different people essentially. (All 18+)

It will be pretty graphic lemons in later chapters of this fic and plenty cussing.

This is a long ass fic. I've written 110k+ words so far and it's not finished. I understand if some people don't want to commit to something that long!

Ultimately I've just been having fun writing this one and if anyone else enjoys it then that's just a bonus really! Enjoy!

I'm sitting on my bed, bare knees drawn up to my chest, a book perched on top of them, and my eyes are glued to it, skimming over the lines quicker than seems possible. It's a good one, and I'm deep into it, the words creating a blockbuster movie in my mind, the characters alive and speaking and-

A knock at the door startles me, and the book falls forward onto my face. I curse, rubbing my nose and stand, knowing it's just mom, wondering what she wants. I glance at the clock before I shout my reply. 9pm. Before I have time to open the door or call out, she opens it, letting in a cool breeze. Complete lack of privacy, as usual. She smiles a pained smile.

"Drew is here, honey."

I don't know why, but I sigh. Drew. My boyfriend of a year. He'll be sitting outside in his red convertible Toyota, the top down.

"Alright. Thanks, mom," I say, grabbing a jacket hanging from my wardrobe. She says nothing back, just disappears into the hallway again. I smooth my hair out in the mirror quickly, staring a second too long at my own face. I catch myself, and pull back, huffing and heading down, grabbing my shoes from beside the door, and pulling them on as I swing open the door.

I'm right, of course. He's smiling over at me as I stroll down the path, hands stuck in my pockets. I smile back. He hops out, walks around the car and opens the door for me before I reach it, the perfect gentleman as usual. I just hope that tonight he stays that way.

"Didn't disturb anything important, did I?" Drew asks as he falls back into the driver's seat. He leans over for a kiss before I can reply and I give him a quick one, barely even closing my eyes.

"I was just reading a book," I say, and wait for him to ask which one. I wait for him to ask anything. Of course, he doesn't. He starts the car up and pulls away, driving with one hand on the wheel, and places the other on my thigh. I feel my whole body tense up uncontrollably, and he does too. He looks over, gives me a reassuring smile, but it doesn't help.

See, hanging out with Drew has started to seem like a chore recently. We started dating a year ago, but we've done nothing more than kissing. At first, it was explained away easily. I was nervous, or wanted to wait; take things slow. At first this was enough for him. Only lately he's started getting pushy, trying for something every time we saw each other. I was starting to think I was the problem. He was my boyfriend, and we'd been dating for so long, so why did I seize up at every small touch? I did like him. I did.

He rubs an absent finger over my bare skin and it prickles. I feel a slight heat build between my legs, one that I've felt only a few times when we've made out, or he's tried touching me, but I also feel dread, seeping into every inch of my body. My chest rises and falls heavily.

He's looking over at me. He's just taken a turn, and we're on a country road. The sun is setting, but the clouds overhead are making it darker than it should be, and the road is barely lit. I look back at him, hoping maybe he'll make conversation. That maybe he just wants to hang out, and he's not driving us somewhere in the hopes that I'll have sex with him.

"Drew, I-"

He moves his hand suddenly, spreading his fingers out, and squeezes my thigh, hard. I squeak, shocked, and look back to the road just in time to spot the deer crossing it. I scream, reaching for the wheel with both hands and jerking it left. Drew finally looks forward, his eyes going wide as the car spins, and he slams on the brake but it's too late, and we're in the bushes, branches crashing against the car, and I think I'm screaming but I'm not even sure. We come to a stop suddenly and I jerk forward, putting a hand out to stop myself, twisting my wrist painfully as it pushes into the dash. I'm jerked back into the seat right after, and am greeted with silence.

"Are you okay?" I find my voice to say, looking over at Drew. It looks like he's in shock. I reach out and place my hand on his shoulder and he jerks away, offended.

"What the fuck was that?" He asks, raising his voice slightly. I flinch at the malice in it.

"You- You weren't looking at the road, there was a deer, I-"

"So let the car hit the fucking deer, May. Fuck. What do I do now?" He asks, throwing his hands up, and before I can say anything he's getting out to assess the damage. To see how far we've come off the road. He didn't even ask if I was okay, I realise as I sit in the passenger seat shivering, watching him walk around the front of the car, pulling branches away. I close my eyes tight shut, and keep them shut until I hear his door open again.

"I think I can drive back out," he says, starting the car back up and slowly easing it up the bank we've come down. It's groaning in disapproval, and I hate the silence but I can't find anything to say.

We come back onto the road and Drew pulls over, stopping the car again but leaving the lights on. This time I get out, wincing when I move my right hand. I think I've sprained my wrist, but it doesn't feel right to say as Drew circles his car again. There doesn't seem to be much damage, just a few scratches in the paint, and I think it would have been a lot worse if we'd have hit the deer for sure, but I don't say that.

"It's not so bad," I say instead. Drew huffs and leans on the front of the car. I hate it when he's like this. I walk around and sit beside him, reaching out for his hand, but he pulls it away. I look up to find him staring at me, his eyes burning.

"Do you love me, May?" He asks, and the question catches me so off guard that I can only stare back at him, jaw hanging open slightly. The truth is that I don't know. When we first started dating, I was happy. We'd been friends for a long time, and we got along so well that I thought it'd be a great idea. I was infatuated for a while, wanting to spend every minute with him. Until we began to fall apart.

"Of course I do," I say quickly, not knowing what else to say, and not wanting to annoy him further. He scoffs.

"Liar."

I don't know what to say to that. "Drew, not this again-"

"I can't keep going like this, May. You're so hot and cold it's ridiculous. I never know where I stand with you." He stands now, and I'm scared that he's going to break up with me. I'm scared of being alone.

"We see each other every day," I counter. "I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, you know exactly what I mean," he spits. Something in the tone of his voice snaps me, and I stand myself, staring him down.

"I've explained myself plenty of times before, Drew. I won't do it again."

"Fine." He throws up his hands. "Fine."

"Fine? Really? We're going to pretend you're not mad now, repeat this again tomorrow? I'm sick of this broken record, Drew!"

"It's your fault, May!" He's shouting now. He's shouting but I won't cower. I take a step towards him.

"You don't have any respect for me-" I shoot back, and tears are streaming down my face. Curse my angry-crying. "It's all you want from me!"

Drew rises off the bonnet and storms off, pulling open the car door so violently I think it might come off its hinges. I hear the car start up before I register what's happening and jump up, racing around to the passenger door, but he's locked them from the inside, and no, this can't be happening. I slam my palm repeatedly against the window, letting out a string of curses. Drew barely gives me a glance before he pulls away, the tires screeching in the dirt, and drives off. I run out into the road and wave my arms.

"Drew!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "You can't leave me here!"

I scream profanity until his tail lights disappear into the night. Defeated, I fall back into the dirt, pulling my knees up to my chest and cry, sobs that rack my whole body. It's at least three minutes before I pull myself together enough to reach for my phone, which I always keep in the back pocket of my shorts, and-

It's not there. I left so quickly that I forgot to grab it. A fresh wave of rage and heartbreak crashes over me and I scream, pushing my head into my forearms, feeling my tears slide down my thighs. I know where I am, but it's a forty minute walk home at least, and it's getting dark. I can't believe he would leave me here. I can't believe he really cares that little.

It's another few minutes until I stop crying again, and decide to stop being pathetic. I won't let him beat me this easily. I'm about to stand when another set of lights appears at the end of the road, racing down it. I look over my knees as it gets closer, thinking it's Drew, coming back, mentally preparing myself for what I'm going to say. Only when it gets closer does my heart stop. It's not red, it's black, and it's not a Toyota, it's a Mustang.

I scramble to my feet, in defence mode, as it pulls up beside me. Then the window rolls down, revealing a boy. An extremely handsome boy, and he's looking over at me curiously from the driver seat, not saying a word. I'm suddenly all too aware of how crazy I must look, and wipe the tears furiously from my cheeks.

"Hello," he says. "Are you okay?"

I want to nod, to say yes, but I can't lie, so I shake my head and try not to cry, my lip trembling from the effort. He gives a flick of his head, and gestures for me to get in.

"Come on," he says. "I'll give you a ride."

I reach out for the handle and freeze, hesitating as a cold shiver runs right up my arm and shoots straight down my spine. I glance back up at the stranger and see him cock his head slightly, waiting for me to get in. I ignore the strange feeling and pull open the door. It's clean inside, and the seat is comfy, and I sink back, suddenly exhausted, before turning to take him in for the first time. His ebony hair is messy but gorgeous, and his face… Well, he's definitely not bad to look at. I'm staring at his regal features: sharp jawline and a perfectly symmetrical face, almost intimidatingly beautiful. When I realise he's looking back at me, deep brown eyes unblinking, I blush. It was stupid of me to get in a car with a stranger, but it would be worse to try to get out again now.

"Where to?" He asks simply. I say my address quickly, and he nods to himself, then pulls away.

"You're not from around here, then?" I ask. He smiles over at me.

"No, I just moved here. I'm Ash," he says. "Uh, nice to meet you?" He rubs the back of his head.

I chuckle. "Nice to meet you, Ash. I'm May."

For a moment, I swear I see his hands clench hard around the wheel, and his eyes go wide. Then, he returns to normal, and I wonder if I was seeing things. "What happened to you out there, May?" He asks, and my name from his lips makes me shiver a little. I wrap my arms around myself.

I swallow hard. "I argued with my boyfriend. He left me there."

"He left you in the middle of the road on your own?" He turns for a second just to raise an eyebrow at me.

"We don't usually argue like that," I say, and I'm not even sure why I'm defending him. He did leave me alone in the middle of the road. "We crashed."

"He crashed the car and then he left you in the middle of the road?" He says incredulously. I'm not sure what to say so I stay silent, huffed at this stranger's presumption about my relationship, even if I know he's right deep down. I steal a few glances at him, trying to figure out his age. He can't be any younger than me, since he's driving, but he could be older. His face is insanely attractive, I'm ashamed to admit, and he seems pretty mature. I don't want to ask, so I stare out the window instead, until we turn onto my street.

"Mind if I just pull onto my drive and walk you to the door?" He asks, but he's already passing my house, and I'm confused so I swirl, creasing my eyebrows.

"Your drive?" I ask, and look ahead again as he turns onto a drive, three doors down from mine. Oh. Oh. He lives here? "You didn't say you lived on the same road."

"Weird coincidence, huh?" He says, flashing me a grin, and I sink back into my chair even though he's parking the car and it's time to get out. He gets out and I scramble to get out too, feeling suddenly nervous, and the cold hits me. I could have sworn it was warmer fifteen minutes ago.

"You don't have to walk me to my door," I say as he's crossing around the back of the car to join me, but he shrugs.

"I'd rather," he says. I want to ask his age, so I at least know if he'll be at school with me. Senior year is about to start, and we haven't had a new student in so long that I know he'll be the talk of the whole school if he's my age. He comes up beside me, and the back of his hand brushes against mine briefly. A strange jolt rushes through my hand and up my arm and I jerk away slightly, confused, but he just smiles down at me, so maybe I just imagined it.

I'm surprised by how much taller than me he is. He must be around the same height as Drew, maybe a little bit taller. I look up at him and see him looking back, but he doesn't look away, just gives me an innocent smile, and I turn away, wrapping my arms around myself again as we begin to walk.

I'm about to ask him if he's going to school in the area when a car speeds down the street, faster than the speed limit, and I realise it's Drew as he pulls up in front of the house. Dread suddenly weighs me down, and Ash pauses beside me, giving me a questioning look, but Drew's already getting out of the car. He comes up in front of me and puts his hands on my shoulders, then draws me in for a hug, which I hang limp in, aware of this stranger's eyes on us. Drew pulls away, then looks over at Ash, one eyebrow raised.

"I'm sorry, May," he says, looking away from Ash like he's not even there. "I came back for you almost right away. I felt so bad."

"It's fine," I say coldly. "Someone gave me a ride." I gesture to Ash.

"Thanks, man, for getting her back safe," Drew says to Ash, but I can hear the malice hidden in his voice. If Ash notices, he doesn't show it, he just shrugs and shoves his hands in his pockets.

"No problem."

"I'll see you around?" I say to Ash, hoping that's aloof enough to keep Drew from losing his cool. Ash smiles that winning smile again, and turns away from us, raising a hand.

"Yeah, see you around."

He's suddenly gone, and I turn back to Drew, not even sure what I want to say to him. He doesn't seem mad anymore, which is something, but I'm growing tired of taking his tantrums then pretending nothing happened after. It wasn't the first time, and it won't be the last, but he seems genuinely sorry, and he bends down, planting a kiss on my forehead, and I melt like I always do, almost forgetting.

"The accident wasn't your fault," he says. "Sorry for taking it out on you."

"It's fine," I answer without thinking about it first. It's probably not fine, and I'll probably think about it all night, but it's easier this way, with him smiling instead of shouting.

"Call me later?" He says, reaching out and taking my hands.

"I'm going to bed," I lie. I probably won't sleep for a few hours, but I don't want to call him tonight. "School tomorrow, remember?"

"Oh, right," he says, laughing though nothing is funny. "I forgot about that. I'll pick you up in the morning, okay?"

"Okay."

He drops my hands and heads back to the car. Before he gets in he turns and calls out "I love you,", and the words hit me hard, right to my core, because he's never said that before, and why now? My mouth hangs open, and I'm trying to gather words to say, but I can't find any, and he's just laughing, getting into his car, and he's gone before I know it, and I'm standing dumbfoundedly on the sidewalk. I stand for another minute before I head inside, ignoring everyone, heading straight for my room and falling back on the bed.

That night, as I lie in bed trying to sleep, Drew's words repeat over and over in my head. Do I love him back? I'm not sure, but if I do, why do I keep thinking about Ash?

Drew picks me up the next day as planned. I'm wearing a red lace crop top with spaghetti straps, black shorts and black ankle boots, because we're in the last days of summer, and I want to enjoy it before I go back to sweaters and jeans. Drew pulls his sunglasses up onto his head when he sees me walking down the drive, hauling my black backpack onto my back. He looks hot, I have to admit, in his black print shirt and black jeans.

We don't speak much as he drives us to school, but we've put the night before behind us, so at least there's that. We're early, which is tradition on the first day of a year for us, and everyone is already there, gathered at the base of the brick stairs which lead up to the giant main doors. I take them in as Drew parks, all so different.

Dawn's the first to greet me. She runs right over to the car and throws her arms around me like she hasn't seen me in months, even though we hung out three days ago. When she pulls away, I see she's had bangs cut across her forehead, and they look fantastic.

"Wow, don't you look hot," Dawn says, looking me up and down.

"No flirting with my girlfriend," Drew says, coming up beside me and throwing his arm lazily around my shoulder.

"She's my girlfriend first and foremost. You should know that by now," Dawn jokes as we approach the rest of the group. There's Misty, in her usual tomboy style, smoking a cigarette and acting completely uninterested. Gary, most popular guy in school because he's, well, the hottest and he's fantastic at pretty much anything athletic. Serena, a blonde bombshell, always the most stylish of us all.

"Hey guys," I say, and they all greet me back, but Dawn is already shooing Drew and Gary away.

"Go away now, we'll see you before we go in, I need to catch up with my girls."

They wander off, grumbling under their breath, and I sit on the steps between Misty and Dawn, Serena on the step below us, busy tying her hair up in a high ponytail. We're an odd group, and sometimes we have our disagreements, but right now we're all on a high seeing each other, and we fight to talk first, eager to find out what each of us has done, and I'm into it, until Serena shoots me the question I want to avoid.

"So, have you slept with him yet?"

I could lie, and maybe they'd stop bugging me about it, but I can't, because Drew might find out, and then he'd wonder why we haven't. So I shake my head. "Not yet. We had another argument last night."

"Another one?" Misty speaks up and rolls her eyes. "You could do so much better than him."

I shake my head quickly. "We're okay. Besides, it would ruin the whole group dynamic." I pause, biting my lip as I consider saying more. "And… He told me he loves me last night."

Dawn slaps her hand down on the brick, her mouth wide suddenly. "He said what? Did you say it back?"

"No, he didn't really give me time. He drove off. We haven't spoken about it since."

"Well I sure hope he meant it," Misty says, putting out her cigarette and blowing the smoke out. "Otherwise I'll kill him. And I hope you're not just staying with him because of this 'group dynamic' shit. I'm more than happy to never speak to those morons again."

"You don't mean that," I laugh, but I'm not sure. Misty's never liked Gary much, and she's grown to dislike Drew too, it seems. She tolerates them at best.

More people are starting to show up, shuffling past us to the doors at school, and we stand, going back over to where Drew and Gary are waiting for us. Misty and I have all of our classes together, but I only have one with Drew, so I won't see him until lunch. He bends to kiss me goodbye quickly, then heads off into the crowd. I follow Misty to class, laughing at her stories about her older sister's misfortune over the summer.

Misty holds the door open for me as I walk in, but I freeze in place. There, sitting in the desk right beside mine that used to be vacant is Ash, head resting in his palm like he's bored. He looks up as I shuffle inside awkwardly, and smiles. Misty looks between us, seeing the exchange, but she doesn't have time to speak before I walk away from her to my desk. I throw my bag down and sit at it, and I feel Ash's eyes on me.

"Now this is a weird coincidence," he says, and I turn to face him. He's smiling, and it's a genuinely friendly smile. My heart stutters in my chest.

"Are you stalking me?" I ask jokingly, and he chuckles.

"I thought I might see you here." He's twirling a pen around his fingers, only stopping to brush away hair that's fallen over his face. I've never seen anyone with such deep black hair before. It's almost mesmerising. His skin is pretty tan compared to my sad, pale skin, I notice.

"So, you are stalking me. Got it." I smile back, and before he can speak again, the teacher is calling out to us, introducing Ash as the new student.

"May, you already seem to have introduced yourself, so you're in charge of showing him around," she says, then starts the class. I look at Ash, who shrugs at me, and I smile, not knowing what else to do. I don't mind showing him around. I just hope Drew doesn't get mad that I'm spending so much time with a guy that's not him or Gary.

We don't speak for the rest of class. Occasionally I look over, and catch him already looking, and vice versa, and we both turn away quickly like nothing happened. When the class ends, we compare schedules, and I realise he has every single class with me. Every. Class.

"This is really starting to freak me out," I joke when I notice, and he just laughs. I show him to the next class. There's very little chance to speak until lunch hour, and when the class is dismissed, he hovers awkwardly, because I'm the only person he's had a chance to really speak to so far, and he doesn't know where to go. I pick up on it, and although I know Drew might be a little pissed, I know I have to offer him a place to sit.

"C'mon," I say. "I'll show you to the dining hall and you can meet my friends."

He tells me a bit about himself as we walk there together. Misty was in a different class before lunch, so it's just the two of us, but it's not awkward at all, and we're at the dining hall before I know it. We walk in, and we've made it there pretty quickly because it's mostly empty, but my table is already almost full. Drew looks up as we walk in, and I see a number of emotions pass over his face. Recognition, brief disapproval, and then back to his poker face as we approach.

"Hey guys, this is Ash, he's new here. I'm showing him around."

Ash does a little wave, and I introduce everyone one by one, finishing with Drew. My seat is beside Drew, and he's saved it for me, so I sit there, smiling apologetically over at Ash, who's stuck sitting at the end of the table beside Dawn.

"How's your first day going?" Drew asks me, reaching out and squeezing my hand under the table, saying nothing about Ash.

"Not bad. I have good classes today, besides Spanish." I suck at learning new languages, but I'm mostly good at everything else. Even sports, especially track and field.

"Do you want to come over later?" He asks. I pull my lunch out of my bag to give me a second to consider before answering. After the night before, I'm not sure it's a good idea, but then I think I'm probably being overdramatic. He's my boyfriend after all, and it's not like I don't want to spend time with him.

"Sure."

I hear laughing and look up to see Ash and Dawn are already talking confidently to one another, making each other laugh. I'm not surprised. Dawn's a sucker for hot people, male and female, and she's been single for a while (at least for her standards), so I'd expected her to stick on him right away, but maybe not this quickly. Dawn goes through boyfriends and girlfriends like there's a massive abundance of them and she wants to try them all. I don't blame her. She gathers enough attention, but they never manage to keep hers for long. She just hasn't found the right person.

The rest of school passes uneventfully. I'm leaning against the wall, talking to Dawn when Drew sneaks up behind me, snaking his hands around my waist and pulling me up against him. I turn around to swat him away playfully, and see Ash and Gary standing close by, watching. I don't know why I'm embarrassed, but I am, and I give them all a quick wave as I climb into the passenger seat of Drew's car.

I call mom as he drives me to his house, and tell her I won't be home for a while. Drew's parents greet me as we walk in, unbothered by my presence. They're pretty easygoing, which is why they also aren't bothered when we head upstairs and Drew closes the door behind us. I shrug off my bag and sit on the edge of his bed. A tendril of dread wraps around me when I see the way he's looking at me, his eyes taking in my bare shoulders, my exposed stomach. I wish I could feel the way he's feeling. I swallow my guilt and reach for the TV remote, hoping if I turn it on, he'll just watch a movie with me.

I feel the bed sink as he sits beside me, puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into him, and it's nice. I can do this. I'm focusing on keeping my breathing steady when I feel his hand slip down to my waist, and he turns, leaning in and pressing his lips into mine before I can protest. The night before floods back, but I push it away, and I let him kiss me, our mouths open, his hand on the back of my head, pushing up my hair.

He pushes me back firmly but gently and I'm lying back on the bed, and he's on top of me, still kissing me almost frantically. My heart is racing so loud that I can't focus, can't think, but I try to. I try to feel what I'm supposed to be feeling instead of nerves and horror. Drew, sensing no push back from me, slides his hand up my stomach, up my shirt, and it finds my chest. I make a noise from slight shock, even though we've gone this far before, of course we have, and he mistakes the sound for pleasure, and then his hand is moving down again, down to the buttons of my shorts.

I try to let him. I close my eyes tight and focus on the kiss, because the kiss is nice, and-

I sit up suddenly, pushing him off me and retreating slightly. Drew's up in a second, watching me cautiously. I cross my arms across my chest and tug down my shirt, which had rode up over my chest on one side. Drew sighs, runs a hand through his hair and turns away. He's frustrated, and I get it, but I can't try any harder.

"I'm sorry," I say, choking back pathetic tears. "It's me. I think… I think there's something wrong with me."

"There's nothing wrong with you," Drew says, and I'm surprised by his tone. He seems utterly defeated. "You just don't like me, do you?"

I scramble to defend myself. "No, it's not that. I do like you." I'm afraid, and not for the first time, that he's going to leave me. I don't know how to be on my own, though I don't know why the thought of being single scares me so much. It's not like I'd have no friends without Drew, or I'd be less popular.

"Okay," he says quietly, then turns again. He sits beside me, leans back on the wall with me, and grabs the TV remote, turning on a movie. We watch it together, hardly talking. This is almost worse than the anger, but at least we're okay. At least that's what I tell myself.

Hope you enjoyed this intro to May's life! I've written 25 chapters so far but honestly I'm not going to set myself a posting schedule I'll just try to post regularly.