Ash and May: After the club
Chapter 1: Arrival
May's eighteenth birthday had finally come and gone. The young coordinator had a huge party thrown for her by her parents, inviting her family members and closest friends. Now two days after, on Thursday afternoon May was getting ready for her first night out to a club. Misty was the one who suggested a brand new club in Pallet Town as the two girls had become very close friends over the past few years. Misty also helped to reassure May's parents Norman and Caroline, since May had to travel to Kanto from Hoenn to get there. Misty talked about the great reputation the place had and that Ash would be the designated driver. While this did calm her relatives down May was also excited to see Ash again. The young man was usually very busy training and caring for his Pokemon and had barely had time to make it to May's birthday, the fact that he now was taking the time to look after the two girls meant a lot to May. Norman was the most hesitant about letting May travel that far for a simple night out, but he trusted Ash greatly since he meet him as a kid, Misty was also quite responsible and the two were both a few years older than May, so in the end he decided to let her go.
May was very excited on the day she left, giving her mum, dad and now fifteen year old brother a hug goodbye before driving off to the docks to board a ship to Kanto. On the way she remembered how much Ash and Misty had changed since she last saw them. Ash nowadays didn't do much other then travel and occasionally drop in on his mother for pit stops. However on her birthday he told her that he had recently brought a house in Pallet town and had decided to settle down for a bit before he started off again. That was when Misty decided that they would crash at Ash's after their night out, since he didn't want to drive all the way to Cerulean city to get to Misty's place.
Misty was still running the Cerulean gym now with the help of her sisters. Apparently she had become quite the party girl according to Ash.
'She takes after her sisters in that regard' Ash had stated before Misty punched him in the shoulder. The twenty-one year old red head was still a tall, fit swimmer who kept her tom boyish look while still remaining a natural beauty.
Ash on the other hand had changed quite a lot, the thin, tanned boy she meet years ago had grown into what she would have described as tall dark and handsome. He was now taller than Misty and about a head taller than May, quite well built and yet still retained his enthusiasm towards whatever task was at hand. From what May could gather she came to the conclusion that Ash didn't drink much, which was why he was going to be the designated driver, the reason he agreed to come along was because he was very protective of his friends, and he didn't want anything to happen to them on the night.
May was very appreciative of Ash for doing this, and of Misty for organising the night. She would arrive in Kanto after 8:00pm, be picked up by Misty and then the next day the two of them would go to Ash's house and get ready for May's celebration. May was not the typical person to be able to hold her excitement and through the entire boat ride could barely contain herself. Upon her arrival Misty was waiting for her as May jumped into her arms, bursting with excitement.
"Wow May I didn't know this meant that much to you?" Misty asked quite overwhelmed.
"It really does!" May almost yelled. "I get to hang out with my best friends and it's my first night going to a club!" She squealed.
"Ok let's try and make it home first." Misty replied picking up her bags and heading to her car.
As the two girls drove home Misty tried to keep up with all of May's questions about the club telling her she would just have to see it for herself, a little annoyed May changed the subject to Ash.
"So how long has Ash had his house?" She asked Misty.
"A month or so" Misty started to think. "It's good to see him back in Kanto, he kept up communications with a lot of people but still it's better seeing him in person now." Misty continued.
"He sure has changed a lot," May thought out loud.
"What do you mean?" Misty asked.
"Well he's gotten a lot taller and broader, and a bit handsome as well." May giggled. "But don't tell him I said that, he's still a great friend is all." May seemed to be defending her former statement.
"I think that's how he sees all of us." Misty added getting a confused look from May.
"Well to tell a bit of an embarrassing story, I got a little drunk one night and, I kind of pulled the moves on Ash." Misty gave an embarrassed smile.
"What!" May gasped, covering her mouth not realising how loud she had responded.
"Yes well," Misty continued "Ash stopped me and in the morning said that there was no way that he was going to take advantage of me like that, so in the end I respect him a lot more for that." Misty finished.
"So are you two," May paused considering her next words. "A couple?"
"What, no, no, no we're just friends, I'll admit I had a crush on him when I was younger but not anymore, we both know where we are in our relationship." Misty answered seeming quite happy.
May was about to ask more questions about this crush she had on Ash when they pulled in to Misty's driveway.
After they unpacked May told Misty she was quite tired and headed straight for the spare bedroom.
As she laid there alone she wondered about Misty's feelings towards Ash, she too had a crush on him when she was traveling with him, her question was did she still have those feelings now? Ash had been a major part of her life in those years she spend on the road with him, however he had little to do with her growth as a person throughout the last few years, she wasn't sure if she was like Misty in that it was just the young crush or if she still carried those feelings for him. All of those thoughts slowly faded as sleep eventually took hold.