The Rose In My World
By Mari "Flame" 3-2000
Note from the author: Just so you know this is my first fanfic ever...
She had just finished watching "Holy Matrimony" for the 50th time, when she said to herself...
"Oh... Jessie is so lucky to deserve his love and attention... If she could only see how much he loves her... she's usually so mean to him!"
The young devoted Team Rocket fan looked out the window from her bedroom and stared at the bright night sky filled with a trillion stars and more.
"It looks so peaceful, and nice tonight... so many stars out there, so many possibilities."
Rose was pretty, quiet, and a bit of a loner, living on her own fantasy world. Everyone thought she was beautiful but she was too humble to notice. She was in her late teens and so ready for love. Rose had two boyfriends before, but she was looking for so much more in a relationship. The young girl would spend her nights reading romantic novels, and day dreaming of the Prince that would never come. She had just discovered Anime recently. Rose had always enjoyed cartoons, but Anime was so new and different to her. The characters on Anime were so real to her. They too lived on a fantasy world that seemed more attractive to Rose than her real world. She would cry and laugh with them. James, from that Anime everyone called "Pokemon", and to her was just "Team Rocket", was her favorite character. She saw so much of her in him. His child like innocence, loyalty, and sensitivity.
Rose walked to her computer and typed in her password.
"I wonder if people really visit my page..." she thought out load.
"You've got mail..." the mechanical voice on her computer told her.
"Oh! Looks like Sara sent me another drawing. I hope it's the one of James she had told me she was working on..."
The computer loads the picture, and just as she hoped, it was James, smiling as if he was looking deep into her eyes.
"I have to frame this one and put it next to my bed. His expression is just precious!" the girl says, examining the drawing and smiling to herself.
Rose's window was next to her computer desk and she had it open to feel the night's breeze and see the beautiful stars. Just then a stream of light filled with a million sparks brightened the night sky.
"Oh, my God! Was that a Shooting Star ?!?"
The Disney song came to her mind ...'when you wish upon a star...', she smiled to herself again and closed her eyes...
"Hmm, I don't have much to wish for, I'm lucky enough to have a beautiful family and almost everything any teenager would want... except a real love."
She pictures herself in James' arms, without a care in the world.
"If only I could make my dream come true..."
Just then from the speakers of her computer and in James' voice...
"Why don't you check out our website?"
This startled Rose, because she thought she had the volume on her speakers down.
"Huh!? Weird, I guess, I must have opened that sound file on my desktop by accident."
Sara's drawing of James was still on the screen and so she said to herself...
"Aww, look at those eyes..., they're so beautiful. I bet there wouldn't be jewel in the world that could look like that".
Rose continues to close her eyes again and concentrates on James' eyes.
"If only, if only, I could just have that one very special moment, when James would be real and he would hold me in his arms".
Rose laughed to herself joyfully.
"Silly me, wishing for a cartoon character to come alive."
Rose looked at the tiny clock on her computer screen.
"1:30 AM?! Gee...guess I better hit the sack. Tomorrow is Saturday and I want to catch that new Team Rocket episode in the morning."
She hits the print button on her computer, she waits a while, then takes the drawing of James out of the printer and places it on her second pillow, since she had a double bed.
"Good Night James," she whispered, kisses the drawing of James goodnight, and then sinks into her fantasy dreamland.
At 7:30 AM, Rose's alarm wakes her up... only to see a strange figure next to her! She was ready to scream when the figure moved and she heard a whispering voice say...
"Prepare for trouble, 'snore'"
The person next to her was still sleeping. Rose's mouth dropped open almost anime style!
"Ahhh!
She jumps from her bed.
"Someone's in my bed!"
She looks at the young man sleeping next to her; he was wearing something that looked like the Team Rocket uniform. His hair wasn't blue or purple, but the most beautiful black hair she had ever seen. The morning light was hitting his hair and she could almost see blue highlights. His eyes were closed but she could tell he was gorgeous. A beautiful fair skin, and long eyelashes. Rose started trembling and she was almost crying at this moment. She looked around her room to see if she was somewhere else, perhaps she was still dreaming... But it was her room, her bed, and she was sure she wasn't dreaming. She pinched herself hard on the arm.
"Ouch! Nope, I'm not dreaming... This is scary! There's no way this can't be real! Did my dream really come true?"
The young boy begins moving again; he sits on the bed with his eyes still close and yawns...
"Awhhh... good morning Jessie" he said, opening his emerald green eyes.
Rose puts a hand to her face, those eyes!!! They were the most beautiful shade of green she had ever seen in real life, and as she thought earlier, no jewel in the world could match his eyes. There's no doubt now...
"It's you! You're James!"
James looked at Rose in the most peculiar way.
"Huh? Who are YOU?! Jessie, Meouth?! Prepare for trouble! Where's Jessie? Where's Meowth? Who are you and what are you doing in my..."
James stopped, realizing that he should be in his sleeping bag. He remembered that he and Jessie had been on the trail following those kids... He hadn't been in a comfy bed like this in over a month! He took a moment to try to absorb his surroundings...
"Wait a minute, what's this place? Did the boss have me kidnapped? Please don't hurt me, Awhhh!!!" James whines on his sweetest and most pathetic tone of voice.
"It's okay, please don't be scared."
Rose couldn't believe her eyes...she wanted to hug James but she could sense his fear and felt sorry for him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen... I mean, I really wanted this, but who would have thought those shooting stars were for real. My God, you are gorgeous even in person, James." She said in a nervous broken voice.
"What are you talking about? Please tell me the meaning of this... What am I doing here? Are you a spy? What is this place, everything looks so weird... YOU look weird!!!"
"Hey! What do you mean?! No wonder Jessie has to slap you so much!"
"You know Jessie? Where is she? What did you do to her?"
"Please, keep your voice down, you're going to wake up my parents."
Rose walks to her dresser to find a hand mirror.
"Here, look at yourself!"
James slowly takes the mirror and moves it to his face.
"What for..., WHAT?!? Awhh! Who is this?"
He touched his face and hair...
"What happened to me?! I look weird now!"
"Why is my hair black? Why are my eyes so small? What happened to my little nose and why is everything so detailed... Awhh!"
James' eyes brighten up all of a sudden.
"Hee-heee-hee! Ha-Ha-ha-ha!"
James began to laugh hysterically.
"This is only a dream, I better get back to sleep, all those donuts are giving me nightmares."
James closed his eyes and intended to fall asleep again.
"What are you doing? This is NOT a dream! I'm REAL! You're REAL! Well, you are now..."
"What do you mean? "
James got up from the bed for the first time and looked out the window.
"Eeeehh! What is this place? Everything looks so... different! "
"I know, James, welcome to the Real World!"
~~~}~~@
James held his head, took a deep breath to get a hold of himself, and tried to understand....
"The Real World? Okay, let's begin with, how do you know my name, and how did I get here?"
Rose offered him her computer chair and sat down on the edge of her bed.
"This is going to sound strange to you James, but..., but to us in this world you're just a make believe character on a fantasy world we only read about, and see on TV. You're not real to us. People from this world created you and the world you live on. But last night..., last night I wished for you to be here with me, and I guess my wish came true. I'm so sorry, James..."
Rose began to cry for a moment... but then she looked up at James, wiped her tears away and smiled as she said, "But no need to be sad, James. You being here is a miracle come true! You'll like this world too!"
"I don't understand what you're saying. I'm so confused..."
He noticed Rose's eyes for the first time. They weren't Jessie's... but he could see the sincerity in her gaze and decided to trust her.
"What's your name?"
"My name is Rose. You love Roses, don't you?"
James was about to answer her question, when the sound of another voice interrupted their gaze. It was the voice of Rose's mom calling her from the kitchen.
"Good morning Rose! Do you want some breakfast?"
Rose began to panic! She didn't even want to think of what her Mom would do if she found a boy in her room! Quickly, (perhaps a little too quickly) she rushed to the window. Pushing it open, she whispered at James, "That's my mom. Here, you can get out through this window and wait for me outside. I'll be out there in a few minutes, okay?
She pushed him out.
"Coming Mom!"
Rose dressed quickly. She took a glance at herself as she passed the mirror on her dresser to make sure her hair was in place and she says, "I'm no Jessie, but I can make you happy, James!"
Rose, walks to the kitchen where her mom was making some breakfast, kisses her good morning, and begins to tell her.
"I forgot to tell you yesterday, I'm meeting Serena at the mall for breakfast. We're going to be working on our science project this weekend and there's still some things we need to buy, okay Mom?"
She walks out her house before her mom could finish talking to her.
"Okay Rose, just remember to give me a call when you get there. Your hear Rose?! Ahh...these kids!"
Outside her home, Rose began looking for James. She went around to the back of the house, around the outdoor garage in their backyard, and finally she walked around her home again, but found nothing.
"Was I day dreaming again?"
She was about to give up searching for him, when she walked by the neighbor's garden and saw the boy in the Team Rocket uniform staring at the roses there.
"They are always beautiful this time of the year." Rose told James, standing behind him.
"Uh! Yes, they are! These roses from your world... they are beautiful too. I wonder what Jessie is doing right this moment...? I wonder if they've noticed I'm gone?"
Rose changed the subject on the intent of interrupting his thoughts of Jessie.
"You want to see more of this world? Come on, I'm going to give you a special tour, James."
She takes the rose James is holding in his hands.
"You can't be seen wearing your Team Rocket uniform, James. People are going to think you're... besides, we don't have your good sense of fashion around this town. It would be different if you were in New York or a big city..."
She keeps talking as she lets the rose fall to the ground, and begins to undress James.
"Take off your white shirt with the R. You can leave that black shirt underneath. And the boots! What do we do about your shoes? I guess they would look okay if you untuck your pant legs from your boots like this. Oh, and the gloves! Take those off James!"
James took off his gloves without a word. He was used to following instructions without too many questions. He remembered the last time Jessie had hit him on the head for asking a stupid question. He was not sure if he was suppose to be happy now that he was away from everything that hurt him, including Jessie. Everything around him looked so unfamiliar, and his adventurous side wanted to go out there and investigate. Perhaps he could find a rare Pokemon in this world, and take it back home. Ha! Jessie would be so jealous of him for finally capturing a rare Pokemon and all by himself!
"Prepare for trouble!" James said.
"...and make it double!" Rose said with her brightest smile. She didn't know what she was getting herself into, but she didn't care. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world being next to James. Rose took James' shirt and gloves and hid them behind some pots in her backyard.
She took her car keys out from one of her jean pockets and asked James to follow her to her car.
"I could let you drive, but you don't know where we're going. I don't want you to kill us either. We don't have that many lives on this world, James."
James stared at her with questions written all over his face, but he decided not to bother. He was too busy looking out the car window and everything they passed by. The color of the trees, the people on the streets, even the sky and the sun, everything looked so different to him. The colors were there, but not as vibrant as the ones he was used to. He couldn't stop looking at his hands and clothes... The strange girl he had just met told him he comes from a fantasy world, but to him his world was real and this was the alien world.
Rose drove by her school and saw many of her friends already there in the schoolyard practicing for next week's big game. James listened to the noise of screaming young people and wondered if there was a Pokemon battle/match going on.
"You're going to like my friends, James. Let's tell them you're one of my internet buddies, a friend visiting, okay?"
James looked at Rose and said with a smile, "No motto?"
Rose smiled back.
"No, no motto this time, James. Don't be nervous, just agree with everything I say, okay?"
Rose opens her car door and waited for James to get out.
"He looks so handsome in his black shirt, Serena is going to be so jealous of my new friend," she thought.
"Hey Serena! My! You're here very early this morning!"
A cute girl with long blonde hair turned around and looked at Rose in surprise.
"Hi Rose! What are you doing here? You didn't have practice this morning," she said, looking at the good looking boy next to her friend Rose.
"Who's your friend Rose? Aren't you going to introduce him?" she said with a smile, fixing her hair.
"Oh, this is my friend James, Serena. James, this is my best friend Serena."
James blushed as he extended a hand to her for shaking.
"Nice meeting you Serena.", he said.
"Nice meeting you James..." Serena said, looking at his beautiful emerald eyes not wanting to let go his hand.
Rose noticed her friend flirting already and grabbed onto one of James' arms.
"Hem! James is a friend from the internet. We've gotten real close the past two months and we finally met last night. He's new to town, so I'm giving him a special tour today."
Serena's boyfriend, Darien, was playing football on the field next to them when he saw his girlfriend flirting with a strange new guy. He stopped playing and walked up to the two girls and strange looking boy with long black hair.
"Hey Serena! Hey Rose! ...and who are you??" he asked, grabbing Serena's hand.
Rose noticed his intentions and jumped in with "Hey Darien!" This is MY friend, James! He's new in town and we just stopped by to say hi."
She took hold of James' hand. Darien backs up and extended a hand to James.
"Oh! Hi man!"
James shook his hand and said "Hello Darien! It's nice to meet you."
Darien thought James sounded strange. "He sounds too proper," he thought. "Maybe he's gay?"
Darien noticed the girls all looking at James and began to feel jealous. He was used to being the center of attention around girls.
"So, are you into any sports James? Are you good at anything?"
James forgot where he was for a minute and responded without thinking...
"Are you up for a Pokemon match?? Go Weezing!!!"
Rose froze and opened her eyes in terror. "What are you doing James?!?"
James took something that looked like a Pokeball from his pocket and threw it into the air. The toy pokeball fell to the green grass with no reaction. James suddenly remembered this was not his world.
Darien looked at the toy pokeball on the ground and began laughing hysterically.
"Aren't you too old to be playing with Pokemon toys James?!? Ha! Ha-hee-hee!"
Rose picked up the pokeball and said "Oh, James was only joking. He knows how much I like Pokemon and we were pretending we were Team Rocket earlier, right James?"
James' eyes were sad. What was he good on this world for if he couldn't even be a Pokemon trainer. His dream had always been to be a Pokemon master, that and to be able to love Jessie and tell her he loved her, but now...
Rose noticed James reaction and said "Hey guys, I think it's time for us to go now. I'm taking James to the mall for lunch."
"Can I come??", says Serena.
"Hey Serena! We were going out later, remember?!", Darien jumped in.
"Ah, Darien! You're going to be here allllll day.... and it's getting too hot already... pretty please?"
Serena winked at Darien, giving him a cherry ice cream smile.
"Alright! I'll try to catch up with you guys at the mall later."
Darien kissed Serena on the cheek and walked back to the game field.
"See ya Rose! Go Pokemon man! Gotta catch them all,eh?! Ha-ha-ha! Heee-hee-hee!" he said, making fun of James as he walked away.
Rose took James by the hand and whispered in his ear, "Don't let him bother you. He's just jealous because you're cuter than him!"
James smiled gratefully, but even then his eyes looked sad.
Back in the car, Rose tried her best to cheer him up. She turned to Serena sitting in the backseat.
"Hey Serena! You know, James also likes Team Rocket!"
Serena jumped up from her seat and moved closer to James in the front.
"Cool! Do you know the Team Rocket Motto?!"
James eyes sparkled again as he began the motto.
"Prepare for Trouble!"
"Make it Double!", said Rose.
"To Protect the World from Devastation!", said Serena.
"To Unite all Peoples within our Nation!", said James.
"To Denounce the Evils of Truth and Love!", said Rose.
"To Extend our Reach to the Stars Above!", said Serena.
"Jessie!... I mean, Rose!!"
James sank into his depression again.
"Your turn, James!" Rose said to him.
"James!", he continued.
"Team Rocket Blast off at the speed of Light!" said Serena.
"Surrender now or Prepare to Fight!" they all said, beginning to laugh. James looked out the car window. A tear ran down his face only to have the wind take it away.
Serena interrupted his thoughts.
"Is James your real name? You said James' part great! You even sound like him! I can see you're a big Team Rocket fan! That's so cool for a guy!"
James turned his face back inside the car and smiled.
"Yes! I'm a big Team Rocket fan, especially a Jessie fan..."
His last words sounding like he was talking to himself.
"Speak up James! Yeah, I'm sure... all boys like Jessie of course! She's cute for a cartoon, I guess. James is a hottie, right Rose?"
She began to chuckle.
"Yes, he is..." Rose said, looking at James, who was turning red as a tomato.
Rose suddenly remembered about lunch.
"Hey James! I think I have a surprise for you. Serena, you know that new Dunkin' Donuts at the mall? Let's go there for lunch, okay?"
James eyes widened and he began jumping up and down on his chair.
"Donuts?!? There's donuts on this world, I want a donut, Rose! Are we there yet??"
Serena smiled and began imitating James.
"You're so funny James! Yes, Rose, donuts for lunch! Me wants donuts! Me wants donuts!"
"We want Donuts! We want Donuts!" they all sang as Rose parked her car on a nice shaded area just under a tree.
Inside the mall, James ran toward the smell of donuts. He stood in front of the donut counter with his mouth open.
"Awhh! So many donuts! Hey lady, I want all these donuts here now!"
The lady at the register gave him a dirty look and ignored him as Rose jumped in, out of breath from running, after James.
"No, James! This is not how we do it here. I'm sorry, my friend is new in town. He's visiting from another country. Hee-hee! We'll have half a dozen donuts please... better yet, give us the whole dozen donuts. One of each, please?"
Rose and Serena had not finished eating their first donuts when James had finished the whole box. They were both looking at James finish his last donut when he said "Can we get some more?"
Serena and Rose looked at each other and began laughing hysterically almost shocking with their own donuts. If James was still anime, they would had seen a big sweat drop on the side of his head.
"We'll take some donuts home, James. You better drink some water and relax now. Hee-hee!"
"Oh, is James staying with you Rose?", asked Serena.
"Ah, yeah... only this weekend. Mom met him and she's letting him stay with us. Oh! No! I forgot to call Mom! I'll be right back James. You stay here with Serena, okay?"
Rose got up from the table and ran to the phone booth on the food court. She wanted to get back to James as soon as possible. She knew it was risky leaving James by himself with Serena. What if she found out this was the real James!
"So James, do you have a girlfriend back home? Or is Rose your girlfriend now?" Serena asked flirting a little with James.
"Ah!? No... Yes! I have a girlfriend back home, and she's my real Rose!"
Serena stared at his dreamy green eyes.
"You could play James from Team Rocket if you wanted.... at an anime convention, or something like that, you know! Hmm... your rose is a very lucky girl! Does Rose know about her?"
"Yes, she knows. I think she knows..." said James, eating some donut crumbs from the empty box.
"I'm back!" Rose said, catching her breath.
"Gee! Rose, what was the hurry? I wasn't going to try to steal your boyfriend. Right, James?"
James blushed, and got up from the table to greed Rose.
"Is everything okay with your Mom, Rose?" he asked.
"Oh Yeah! But we're gonna have to get back home earlier than I thought, James. I forgot I'm suppose to be working on a science project" she said, wanting to be alone with James again.
They still had a lot to talk about, and she was beginning to worry about James and having him at home. What if her mother found out? She could tell her he was a friend, but what was James suppose to do? He needed a place to stay. The more she thought about what was happening, the more nervous she got. She was happy to have James in her life, but did he belong here? She had been trying to ignore all the signs James was giving her of unhappiness, but she was sure she could make him forget about his life back home with Team Rocket and Jessie. He was just homesick and all she needed was time, she thought.
Serena gets up from the table.
"Oh, too bad. Do we have time to stop by the comic's bookstore though? We got to show James all the cool Pokemon and Team Rocket stuff they have there now!"
James stared at Serena, very confused.
"I don't think that's a good idea now Serena. Maybe tomorrow, okay?" said Rose.
James turned to Rose and said "No, I want to see, Rose. I want to see what Serena is talking about, please? I need to know."
Serena thought James was taking it a little too seriously, perhaps he was joking again.
"Hee-hee! Yeah, let's go Rose! I want to see if they got the new issue of the Manga."
"Alright, let's go" said Rose, without knowing what that trip to the comic bookstore had ahead for them.
"Here, it is! Come on James!"
Serena said as she grabbed James hand and pulled him inside the shop. Rose followed them to the comics section of the store.
"Cool! I had not seen this one before Rose! Looks like it's the only issue left too!" said Serena as she took a copy of a Manga from James' hands. James had seen the manga with Jessie's picture on the cover and was looking at it when Serena took the copy from him.
James cornered Rose to a side. "I think I heard Jessie calling me, Rose! I swear I did!" he told her.
"Come on James! You're just thinking of her again! It's only natural in here. That's why I didn't want us to come in. James, you're not ready for this."
James walked around the store exploring everything that looked familiar to him. He spied a big Pikachu stuffed toy and held it.
"I finally got you Pikachu!" James said to himself.
He set Pikachu down, and he felt tears coming to his eyes as he realized, for the first time, what Rose was telling him before. Here were all these fake Pokemon, none of them moving. He spotted a set of Team Rocket figures... it's Jessie and him in their Team Rocket uniforms, just like the set of dolls Jessie had tried to win once back home. He saw a big Meowth stuffed toy, and remembered his feline buddy. He looked back at the figures and he felt like his head was about to explode when he heard Jessie's voice again.
"Let's get out of here! We have to get you home James!" Rose said to him, still holding the manga issue she had stolen from Serena a few minutes ago.
Rose and James were quiet on the way to Serena's home. Serena thought it was strange and tried to make conversation as James and Rose kept to themselves.
"Guess Rose found out about James' girlfriend", she thought.
"Bye Serena. I'll call you tomorrow."
Rose told her as she parked her car in front of Serena's house long enough for Serena to get out.
"Okay, call me! Bye James!"
James smiled at Serena as they drove off.
"Gee! Wonder what happened?! My God! Rose is so lucky! I bet she'll get him to kiss her tonight" said Serena walking to her door.
"Are you okay James?" asked Rose.
"What's in that book? I could have sworn I heard Jessie's voice coming out of there. Let me see it, Rose." James said in an alarming voice.
"You will James. Let's get home first, okay? This is very important. I'm so sorry, James. I just want you to know you are a very special person. Before getting to know you in person, I could only think of me and how I wanted a guy like you in my life. Someone to laugh with and share my love with. I didn't stop to think about what that person would want in me. I didn't think of your feelings, James. I've always known you love Jessie, but I thought she didn't deserve your love. Now I know I'm wrong."
James looked at Rose. He was concerned about her and what she was talking about. He could see her silent tears running down her face.
"What are you talking about, Rose? Is it serious?"
"I thought I loved you, James. But how can I love someone I don't really know. I don't know you, James. I only know what I read about you on these magazines" Rose said, holding up the manga they had gotten at the comic's shop almost half an hour ago.
"...and what I see of you on TV, on my computer...", Rose continued, realizing he didn't know what she was talking about.
"But back there in your world, you have your own life, your own dreams, your love ones. Jessie! Hm, Jessie...she does cares about you, you know, James."
~~~}~~@
It was 3:40 PM when Rose and James got to her home.
"Wait for me by the window on the back James. I'll get it open as soon as I can, okay?"
James hid behind some bushes, lowering himself to the grown and began crawling to the back of the house. Rose looked at him and smiled.
"He thinks he's on one of those Team Rocket missions."
Rose opened the front door of her home, set her car keys down on the kitchen counter, and looked for her mom.
"Mom! I'm home! Serena wasn't feeling too good so I dropped her off at her house. I will be in my room the rest of the day working on the science project, okay?"
"Alright, honey! Are you hungry? There's still some pizza in the oven", her mother said.
"I'm okay Mom, we ate something at the mall. I'm going to my room now. I'll come out later to wish you good night!" Rose said, locking her bedroom door. She took a deep breath and looked at the manga in her hands, before setting it down on her computer desk and going to the window.
"James? James?" She whispered to him. "Ooh! Ah!! You scared me!" she cried almost whispering. She noticed he had put his Team Rocket jacket and gloves back on.
"Jessie knew what she was doing when she designed your uniform, James." Rose said, looking at the young man's lean body. She was never one to speak her mind, and be so direct with guys, but James was different. She felt like she could tell him almost anything.
"Now, where's that book with Jessie on the cover? I want to see it!" said James a little angry now. He still wasn't sure how he got to this world, but he didn't care anymore. He missed his world and Jessie terribly, and he wanted to go back now at any cost. He had a feeling Rose knew how to help him, and he was going to make her tell him.
Rose knew what he was thinking. She handed the manga to him.
"Here, James. It's Jessie! I think you need to read this yourself. I don't know if I can help you get back. I'm still not sure how this happened, but I want to help, James. She needs you, James."
James looked at Rose's worry face and took the manga from her hands. He looked at the drawing of Jessie on the cover and heard her voice again.
"Jessie! Are you okay?"
He opened the manga as Rose stood behind him. They turned to the first page. There was a drawing of Jessie laying on her sleeping bag. They began reading...
~~~}~~@
"Good morning James..., good morning Meowth..." said the most beautiful Team Rocket member opening her bright blue eyes. Blue as the morning sky.
"Good morning Jesse!" said the cat Pokemon.
"Where's James? I hope he's getting us some breakfast! I'm hungry this morning!" said Jessie as she yawned and stretched her arms.
"I don't know where James is. He wasn't here when I woke up" the talking Meowth said, walking to Jessie's sleeping bag.
"Ah! Wonder what he's up to now..." said Jessie, with a grin on her face. What looked like an ordinary day would soon become the most important day of her life.
Twenty minutes later Jessie was dressed in her Team Rocket uniform fixing her hair. A little bit more hair spray and she was done. Jessie checked her lipstick with her hand mirror, put her makeup back in her bag and walked to Meowth, who was now on top of a tree.
"Hey Meowth! What are you doing up there? Thought you had enough of trees from all the times we've blasted on top of them!" Jessie called up to him in her usual tone of voice.
"Meowth was just looking for James. Not dad I care where da guy is, but it was his turn to make breakfast this morning. I'm starving..."
"Ahh! That James! I hope he's not eating all our breakfast by himself!"
Twenty more minutes had gone by and still no sign of James. Jessie was getting really angry now.
"Never mind breakfast now! We gotta get going! He's never been this late before... He's sure going to get it this time!"
"Ya think something happened to da guy, Jesse?" said Meowth sounding a little worry by this time..
"I don't know, but he better have a good excuse, or I'll give him one!" said Jessie, getting one of her biggest mallets out of nowhere.
A half hour later and still no sign of James anywhere. Jessie no longer holding her mallet, and Meowth on top of the tree again. It was a hot day and Meowth had suggested they got on the Meowth balloon to look for him from the air, but Jessie didn't want to bother. She was sure she would see his face coming from the bushes any moment now.
"Ya know, Jesse, it's a possibility da guy decided to leave Meowth and Jessie" said Meowth with his head down.
"Nonsense! James leaving us? Hee-hee! I'm not that lucky!" said Jessie holding back her tears. She knew something was wrong. It wasn't like James to do something like this. Sure, he acted irresponsible when it came to many things, but never about Team Rocket. Twenty more minutes had passed when Jessie couldn't take it any more.
"It's my fault! He left us and it's my fault!"
Meowth couldn't believe what he was seeing. Jessie crying, and not because she was hurt, but because of James.
"Come on Jesse! Meowth was just kidding before! James would never leave Team Rocket... "
The Pokemon looked at James' sleeping bag.
"He's gone Jesse! ...and it's your fault! Poor guy couldn't take it anymore! I knew it was coming... you and your temper!"
Jessie glared at Meowth with angry eyes and got her fan out of her bag... Meowth covered himself with his arms, only to see Jessie drop the fan to the ground and began to cry again.
"See, what I'm talking about! You almost hit Meowth again!!" said Meowth staring at Jessie's tears in disbelieve.
"You were too hard on da guy Jessie!" he said, taking advantage of the situation and the emotional state she was in.
"You haven't been Mr. Nice Guy to him either Meowth!"
"I know... but I don't think he really cared about the way I treated him. But you... you really got to him Jesse..."
"What do you mean?" said Jessie nearly at the verge of tears again.
"Come on, Jesse! Don't act like you didn't know. You knew da guy had feelings for you, and I'm not talking about brotherly feelings either."
"James? How can he has feelings for me when I'm always so mean to him? But I can't help it! He gets on my nerves for not acting like he's suppose to. I need him to be brave for me! I need him to..."
'tell me he loves me...', she thought.
"Didn't you ever think, maybe the reason why James acts the way he does is to get your attention, Jesse!" said Meowth raising his voice.
"My attention?!? He always had my attention... I just didn't think, I just didn't know how... and maybe now is too late..."
"Come on, I think we better let the boss know about this. Maybe he can send some people to look for him."
Jessie looked at him in shock.
"What are you talking about? We can't tell the boss about this, not just yet! I'm not moving from here all day... maybe he'll change his mind and he'll come back looking for us!"
"You really do care, eh, Jesse?"
Jessie looks at her Pokemon friend and doesn't say anything.
~~~}~~@
Back in the real world, Rose and James read the manga.
"She really does cares..."
James had a knot on his throat.
Rose looked at him with tears in her eyes, feeling his pain for the first time.
It was already dark when Jessie got up from her sleeping bag and got a picture of James from a hidden pocket in her bag. Meowth had gone to his corner for a catnap. The picture was all bent and yellow from all the years inside the bag. Jessie held the picture in front of her trying to look into James's eyes, but the emerald green she loved wasn't there any more. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine them as tears ran down from her sad blue eyes.
"Jessie! I love you!!!"
James screamed from the real world. Jessie thought she had heard James' voice but was too weak to react now... all she could do was relive the last moments they had spent together the night before in her head. She tried to remember every word they had exchanged for a sign of his goodbye, but nothing gave him away. Jessie laid her head down, she had James' picture on her chest when she was looking up at the sky and she saw a bright yellow light run by...
"A shooting star?", she thought.
" I didn't know shooting stars came out to play on sad nights like this. Do I get a wish?" she said to herself. Only one wish came to her mind... she thought it was funny how with everything that she could possibly wish for in the world, money, fame, and fortune... all the things she had always wanted... only one thing came to her mind now... James! She missed him so much! She held James' picture tighter and made her wish.
"Come back to me James! Give me one more chance! I can't go on without you... I wouldn't know how. I need you to know how much, how much... I love you!"
"I love you, James!" she said out load with a smile on her lips. This was the first time she had ever pronounced those words... and just the sound of them coming from her mouth made her happy. She loved James and it made her happy to say it. Jessie eventually felt asleep pronouncing them.
"I love you... James..."
Back in "the real world" was James, reading these words... these words he had dreamed about so many times before. The very same words he had also wanted to tell Jessie for so long. A single tear ran down his face now, falling on the page with the drawing of Jessie sleeping in her bag and holding his picture.
"I love you too, Jessie... my Jessie, my Rose... I need to go back to her, Rose! I need to go back to the Rose in my World!", said James caressing the drawing of Jessie like if he had her in front of him.
Rose looked at him and didn't know what to say... she didn't know what to do! She was looking at his face and thinking it had to be the most beautiful feeling to be able to love and be loved like that, when all the sudden his face started to fade. James began to turn back into his anime self in front of her eyes. First his face, then the shape of his eyes, his nose, his hands... it was at this moment when James noticed what was happening to him. He looked at his hands and clothes, then at Rose's face and said..."I think I'm going home Rose."
Rose extended a hand to touch him one more time... but he wasn't really there anymore.
James blew her a kiss and said "you'll find your own love someday, Rose. Take care and thank you!" and then he was gone.
Rose looked at the manga, James had been holding, on the floor and she picked it up. Only it was a regular issue of Pokemon with Pikachu and Ash on the cover. She walked to her window and said, "thank you".
~~~}~~@
It was morning on Pokemon town. Meowth had just woken up when he remembered James was gone... He thought about what they were going to tell the boss, and felt sorry for Jessie, and even himself. He was also going to miss James. Meowth turned to look at Jessie when to his surprise...
It was James and Jessie sleeping together in her bag. She was holding James in her arms!
Jessie was just waking up herself, when she opened her eyes and she saw James' face there in front of her, and she felt his warm body in her arms! She didn't move. She thought she was still dreaming and didn't want to wake up.
Just that moment James opened his eyes... he too thought he was dreaming and said "I love you Jesse!".
"Ahh! You're back, James! Where were you?!?" Meowth screamed.
James and Jessie got up from the sleeping bag at the same time. They looked at each other, still holding each other... and blushed.
"You're back James?" said Jessie with a smile and tears in her eyes.
"Yes, I'm back, Jesse... I'm back to you and..., and I love you!" said James holding her tight now.
Meowth still couldn't believe his eyes and ears... he looked at Jessie and James and decided to leave them by themselves for a while. He walked back to his sleeping back with a smile on his face saying, "it was about time!"
"Promise you'll never leave again, James..." said Jessie.
"I promise, I'll never leave you... my Rose!" said James also with tears in his eyes now. This time tears of joy.
"I love you..." said Jessie trembling from happiness.
"I know, Jesse... please never stop loving me. You're the reason why I'm in this world... and I wouldn't change my life with you for any other."
James and Jessie held each other tightly, promising to never let go again.
The End...
** Hope you guys liked my story. Again, this is the first time I write something like this... I know I'm not a great writer, but I thought it was an original story...^_~ I would love to get some feedback! E-Mail- marir@bitstorm.net and, or review fic here...thanx!!!
** Thanx to Pratch, Jennifer, and especially Anna, for all their support and help with the story! *Hugz!!!*