Fire In Your Eyes
By: Chris Devlin
E-Mail: chris_devlin@hotmail.com
This Fan Fic is set just before my story Together Forever.
Jesse sighed as she watched Ash and Misty say their vows. She wanted that. To be able to stand up there with the person she loved and declare it openly in front of family and friends. The person she loved was currently sitting next to her trying to straighten Meowth's Bow Tie. The cat Pokémon was squirming, trying to get the blue haired human off him. "Leave me alone, I can do it myself!" Meowth protested. Jesse rolled her eyes. James always knew how to make a seemingly simple task into a huge problem. Yet she still loved him. She didn't know why, but she guessed it had something to do with the fact that, despite being an ex-member of Team Rocket, he was very noble. He had always protected her when she couldn't do it herself, always stood up for her, always gave her a shoulder to cry on. She'd never met anyone like him before. Never.
James sat up from arguing with the annoying Pokémon and noticed Jesse staring at him. "What?" he asked. Jesse, shook her head as though waking from a dream. "Hmm, oh, nothing. I was just thinking." James eyed her suspiciously. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Uhuh." Jesse replied nodding her head. James frowned. Something had been bothering her for a day or two now, he knew that much. Yesterday he'd caught her crying. She'd shrugged it off of course, saying that she had something in her eye, before she promptly left. He wondered what it was that was concerning her so much. He knew what was concerning him. What had been concerning him for several years now. Jesse. He'd known he loved her for years, he was just too afraid to say anything incase he ruined their friendship. Being with Jesse all those years it was only a matter of time before they developed feelings for each other. He sat there thinking. Before he knew it the ceremony was over and the reception had begun. They'd moved to a larger Marquee and the traditional events took place. The speeches, the toast and then the dancing. The seed of an idea planted itself in James' head. Ask her to dance, it said.
Waiting for a slow quiet number James wondered what he'd say when they were up there. Then it started, the slow music, replacing the up-beat rhythms of the previous song. Gathering all his courage he stood up and walked over to Jesse who was discussing fashion with Misty's sisters. She looked at him as he crossed over the dance floor to her. She considered him. Altogether she could do much worse, he was good looking, occasionally funny and looked incredibly handsome in the suit he was wearing. Is he going to.. she thought. "Jesse, ladies." James said to the arrayed group of women. "Jesse, would you like to dance?" Jesse's heart skipped a beat. "Uh, er, sure." she babbled in shock. James took her hand and led her to the dance floor. She put her arms around his neck, and he placed his hands on her hips, and they started to sway gently to the music. There was something about the entire situation that felt good. It felt, It felt right. They both knew it. Jesse wanted to keep her distance slightly so that he wouldn't feel how fast her heart was beating, but a part of her pushed her closer and closer, so that he would feel it, so that he would know how she felt. Eventually she was pressed right up against him. James' heart was beating just as fast and he felt it might explode should she get any closer. All the while the music played they somehow managed to avoid looking into each others eyes, eventually they met and they locked. James looked into Jesse's eyes, and Jesse into James'. They could both see it. The fire in the others eyes. Suddenly Jesse realized what it meant. She gasped, shocked by this discovery. Then she gently pushed off him, turned and ran from the floor. "Jesse!" James cried after her, before going after her.
Jesse ran. She didn't know where she was going, she just kept running, out of the Marquee, into the nearby woods. Eventually she stopped. Looking around she found a fallen tree and sat down. The tears flowed like a river and she wept. He loved her. She couldn't believe it, all this time, he loved her too. He didn't have to say it with his voice. His eyes said it all. In the distance she could hear him calling. Why had she ran. Isn't that what she had always wanted, for him to love her in return? Her head was messed up. She heard him again, this time much closer. "Jessica!" he cried. She smiled. If that had been anyone else she would have killed them. Only a select few people were allowed to use her full name. James was definitely one of those few. She wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm over here James!" she called to him.
"Jessica. Why did you run?" James asked as he sat beside her. Jesse looked him in the face. "Because I was afraid of what might happen." she said. matter of factly. James sat there, not understanding what she was saying. She saw this and started to explain everything. "James. I've loved you for years now. When we were dancing I finally realized that you felt the same way. I'm afraid that if anything happened between us it would ruin the friendship we've had." she explained. James sat and absorbed this. "But Jesse, If we don't take that risk, then how will we ever know what could have been? I love you too, and I would never allow anything to come between us." he said in reply. "If you don't think you are ready, then I'll wait for you. I'll wait for you until the day I die if I have to." James added. Jesse smiled at him, touched by his words. "James, you don't have to wait anywhere near that long." she said. He grinned. "Good." he said as she brought his face closer to hers. "I love you James.". "I love you Jessica" the pair said before they kissed. As their lips touched they took a sharp intake of breath. They kissed sensually for a few moments before they stopped. The couple sat there under the stars, mere centimeters from each others face, just looking into the others eyes. They sat for hours, talking, kissing and holding hands. Eventually they stood up and headed back to the, by now, almost empty reception Marquee. As they walked hand-in-hand, Jesse began to speak. "James, do you know how I knew you loved me?" she asked. James turned to her. "I was wondering. You haven't been reading my diary have you ?" he asked slightly panicked. "No, I haven't. When we were dancing, I saw it in your eyes." James breathed a sigh of relief, before answering. "What do you mean in my eyes?" he asked. "I saw it James." she said as she looked down at her feet. James frowned. "Saw what?" she looked up again and smiled at him before saying "The Fire In Your Eyes."