I didn't feel like writing another disclaimer so I copied and pasted my first one. Hope I'm not missing something...

I suppose I should write a disclaimer, not sure why though... How can I own Pokemon? If I did, I wouldn't be posting at all. I'd be buying stuff all day. Anyways... I do not own Pokemon or any characters that appear in it.









Misty tapped her foot impatiently on the linoleum of the Pokemon Center. Ash was late, as usual. She sighed and collapsed onto a chair in resignation. She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger, blankly watching Nurse Joy care for a hurt Cubone. A click of a door caught her attention and she found herself smiling as Ash Ketchum stepped out of his room. He looked like he had just stepped out of the shower because his hair fell over his eyes in wet bangs. For some reason unknown to her, he had changed into a nicer set of clothes. Misty felt her cheeks flush as he timidly made his way towards her. When he was near, a sweet recognizable fragrance filled the air. It was the cologne she had helped Mrs. Ketchum purchase for her son's birthday.

"Ash Ketchum, are you wearing cologne?" Misty teased, hoping it would put her more at ease. It did for her comment seemed to put Ash in an uncomfortable position.

"Well," Ash muttered, shrugging his shoulders, "Mom gave it to me for my 16th birthday... And I-I uh, thought I'd try it out," he finish lamely.

"Uh huh," Misty pressed, "And the clothes?"

"I just wanted to look nice is all..."

Misty rolled her eyes at the comment and gave him a slight push towards the door, ruffling his hair in the process, "Come on, since you kept me waiting, you're buying."

* * * * * *

"Gary and I couldn't sleep for two whole days!"

Misty chuckled as Ash finished his story. "I can't believe you, Mr. Pokemon Master, was afraid of the dark."

Ash frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, "Well, if you heard Professor Oak's story AND were 6 years old, you'd have been scared too."

"Sir?" Their waiter interrupted, "Your check?"

"Thank you," Ash replied as he took the bill and read it over, obviously not too thrilled with what he saw, "Uh... Misty?"

"Yes Ash?" She answered sweetly, knowing full well how much the dinner cost considering they had opted to go to a nice resteraunt rather than dealing with a fast food joint.

"I think you'd better rethink about getting that bike of yours."

"Ash Ketchum! You are going to repay me for my bike and that's final!" Misty shouted as she stood up for effect, gaining the attention of just about everyone in the resteraunt.

"Oh, you know I'm good for it."

"Grr..." Misty sat back down at the table. She swirled her glass of water around, fixating her eyes on the spinning ice.

"I wonder how Brock's doing," Ash said, thinking out loud, "I hope we don't have to go bail him out of jail."

"You know Brock. If being arrested means spending time with Jenny..." She trailed off, her blue eyes sparking with anger.

Ash gave her a puzzled look, "What? What's wrong?"

"If he's arrested and we have to pay his bail, I'll never get my bike!"

Ash shook his head in amusement, "I can't believe a bike is worth more than your friends."

"It's not that."

"What is it then?"

"I just can't believe Brock can fall hopelessly in love so many times... I mean, I don't think I've ever been really gawked at by a boy."

Tears came to Misty's eyes as she continued, "You know, my sisters always said I never had a boyfriend because I wasn't pretty. I sometimes wonder if they were right."

She sipped her water in an attempt to stop herself from continuing putting herself down.

"Well, I think you're pretty."

That little comment caught Misty by total surprise and she did the only thing she could do. She choked, spraying water everywhere. She coughed several times, her face red not only from the water going down wrong but also from the compliment. She managed a "what" between coughs and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Ugh," was not the answer she was looking for but she immediately understood wholeheartedly when she looked up from the table to see Ash, slightly damp from her earlier scene. He smiled small and dried himself off as best as he could with his own napkin.

"What did you say?" Misty demanded, ready to explode in anger if the boy across from her was setting up for a joke.

"I said, I think you're pretty," Ash said flatly, running a hand through his hair, making sure not to make eye contact.

"You-you do?"

"Yeah, always did really."

"Oh, Ash, I," She started but was cut off by Ash who pulled some bills out his wallet and placed them on the table.

"Come on, we better go before the Pokemon Center closes."









Maybe I should actually think about where these things are going before I start writing. Then I wouldn't have to stop and brainstorm over what should happen next. Yeah, that's basically what's happening now, so again, I'll have to write another part later. Sorry.