Hello, readers. The story behind this story: I saw an amv of Christina Perri's Jar of Hearts for Ash and all the girls he's traveled with, and I couldn't help but think that it was kinda true. And thus this story was born. It's sad, just to warn you.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Read my author's note at the end of the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or the song Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri.

Who Do You Think You Are?

By: Sally White (a.k.a. RDH)

"Boy, I can't wait to see the look on Misty's face, can you, Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!"

A boy, around sixteen years of age, was running on the sidewalk of the streets of Cerulean City. An electric yellow rat was running at the boy's side, its rosy cheeks lifted up in a smile, or as much of a smile as a Pokémon could have. The boy's own cheeks were lifted up in a grin, his brown eyes sparkling with excitement. One of his fingerless-glove-clad hands was lifted up to keep his hat on top of his black-haired head as he ran.

Ash Ketchum was excited. He could not wait to get to the gym, for he had something very special to give to a certain Water Pokémon trainer. And it was not just any gift; it was her birthday gift, the first he would be able to present to her in person in a long time.

The gym came into view, and Ash could not help but laugh out loud in excitement. "Look, Pikachu, there it is!" Pushing his hat down firmly on his head, he reached down and scooped the yellow mouse into his arms. "C'mon, we gotta hurry!"

"Pika!" the Pokémon agreed, climbing onto his trainer's shoulder.

Ash broke into a sprint as the gym grew closer and closer. Finally, he was at the doors. He stopped in front of the doors, panting, trying to catch his breath. Then he straightened, squared his shoulders, and opened the door. He stepped inside, looking around.

The gym was packed full of people, no doubt there to celebrate Misty's birthday. Tables lined with all kinds of food lined either of the walls, and music was playing in the background. Ash recognized some of the people; there was his mother Deliah, along with Prof. Oak. Misty's sisters were flitting around, trying to attend to every one of the guests. Ash saw many of the other Kanto gym leaders standing around, and he even saw Rudy and Danny from the Orange Islands; the sight of those two made him frown, however. He even saw May and Drew standing in one corner.

One thing he noticed right off was that everyone there was dressed up. He looked down at his own clothes, his Sinnoh outfit, and couldn't help but feel kind of bad for not thinking to dress up for the occasion. He quickly put that aside, though, just glad that he could be there at all.

He slunk around, trying his hardest to not be seen. He wanted his presence to be part of his surprise to Misty. He looked around for the reddish-orange-haired girl, but he could not spot her anywhere. His forehead creased as he tried to think of where she might be. He slunk out the back door to look for her.

Sure enough, not too far into the backyard stood Misty. Her back was to him so he could not see her face. Her appearance, however, stole his breath away.

Misty was in a long, sleeveless white gown that sparkled in the moonlight. Her hair was let down and it just touched her shoulders, and on top of her hair was a silver wreath-like crown. She wore long white gloves that went to her elbows, and her porcelain skin glowed from the light of the moon.

Pikachu looked down at his star-struck trainer and decided that it would be best if he left the two alone. The electric mouse jumped down from Ash's shoulder and ran off to go back inside the gym, probably to go look for food.

Ash silently let out a breath that he hadn't been aware that he had been holding in. He patted his pants pocket to make sure that his gift was still there. Satisfied, he started to take a step towards her, but stopped when he heard her sigh, "Oh, Ash."

Startled, Ash quickly hid in some bushes. He peeked out at the girl, waiting to see if she said anything more.

"I wish you were here," she continued on. "I really miss you. I wonder how you're doing out there in Sinnoh." She sighed again, and she turned to the side. Now Ash could see her face and her beautiful blue-green eyes. His thoughts were interrupted as she went on, "Today is my birthday. Do you remember? You usually call, or send a letter or a gift, or something . . . There was nothing today. Did you forget? I bet you did.

"It really shouldn't surprise me," she said on, quietly. "I mean, I know that you're busy with your training and all. I just . . ." She let out a bitter laugh. "I guess I just thought that I was special to you, for some strange reason. I really shouldn't feel as hurt as I do. But . . . I do." She sniffled. "You always do this to me, y'know. I always get so emotional and stuff when it comes to you." She wiped away a tear that fell down her cheek. "I'm so dumb. You have no idea how I feel. You have no idea what you do to me, what you've done to almost all the girls you've met on your journey."

She stomped her bare foot on the ground. "You're such a dense, dumb idiot, Ash Ketchum! Don't you realize that almost every girl you've ever met has fallen for you? Melody did, or at least I'm sure she did. Bianca did. Macy did. May did. Anabel did. Even Dawn confessed to me once that she used to have a crush on you! And . . . I did." She sniffled again, more tears falling. "I fell for you so hard. But . . . you'll never understand that. Or even care. You just . . . unknowingly collect hearts."

Ash could feel his heart aching for her as she spoke. He truly hadn't known any of that! How could he, when the only girl he'd ever even considered close to him was the girl right in front of him. And to hear her confess her feelings for him . . . it totally blew him away. He had had no clue that she felt that way. He had had no idea . . . that she felt the same as he did to her.

He started to come out of the bushes but quickly stopped when he heard her sweet voice start up once again.

"You know I can't take one more step towards you," she sang softly, looking down at the ground. "'Cuz all that's waiting is regret." She looked ahead of herself and sang, "And don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore?" She crossed her arms in front of herself. "You lost the love I loved the most.

"I learned to live," she sang on, "half a life, and now you want me one more time."

Misty, Ash thought achingly.

Her gaze hardened as she sang, "And who do you think you are? Runnin' 'round leaving scars. Collecting your jar of hearts, and tearing love apart." She slumped a little as she went on to sing, "You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul. So don't come back for me. Who do you think you are?"

She spread her arms and turned, singing, "I hear you're asking all around if I am anywhere to be found." She dropped her arms, looking up into the sky with a determined expression. "But I have grown too strong to ever fall back in your arms."

He could only watch in growing despair as she lifted one fist to rest over her heart as she continued to sing, "And I've learned to live half a life, and now you want me one more time.

"And who do you think you are," she sang out, now glaring up into the sky, "Runnin' 'round leaving scars. Collecting your jar of hearts, and tearing love apart." Both fists came to rest over her heart. "You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul. So don't come back for me. Who do you think you are?"

She gazed in Ash's direction, which made him panic until he realized that she did not see him. She sang, sadly, "And it took so long just to feel alright, remember how to put back the light in my eyes." She chuckled bitterly. "I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed, 'cuz you broke all your promises."

She threw her arms to her sides. "And now you're back." She fisted her hands and stomped on the ground. "You don't get to get me back!"

She threw her hands up towards the sky, still keeping her arms apart. She sang, "And who do you think you are? Runnin' 'round leaving scars. Collecting your jar of hearts, and tearing love apart." She blinked rapidly. "You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul. So don't come back for me. Don't come back at all!"

She lowered her arms to her sides, still keeping them spread apart. "And who do you think you are? Runnin' 'round leaving scars! Collecting your jar of hearts, and tearing love apart! You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul! Don't come back for me! Don't come back at all!"

Her hands turned into fists as she glared up at the sky, singing angrily, "Who do you think you are?" She sniffled and sang, a bit softer, "Who do you think you are?"

She wrapped her arms around herself and hung her head, singing so soft it was almost a whisper, "Who do you think . . . you are?"

Ash had to swallow hard to keep back the tears welling up in his own eyes. He could not believe that he was the one causing his best friend so much pain. He wanted to go to her, to reassure her or to shake her. He wanted to yell that she was wrong, he wanted to take her in his arms and whisper to her that she was wrong. He wanted to do so many things, but he just could not bring himself to move.

He heard her whisper through her tears, "I will never forget this feeling, as long as I live. I will get over you, Ash Ketchum."

And I'll never get over you, Misty Waterflower, he thought, his heart breaking. He slunk away, making sure that she didn't see him.

Ash went back inside and found Pikachu stuffing his little face with cake. The mouse called, "Pikapi!" when he saw his trainer, but he stared with concern once Ash reached him. "Pikapi . . .?"

Ash's hat and hair was shadowing his eyes from view. "C'mon, Pikachu, let's go." Then the boy turned and started to leave.

"Pikapi, pika!" Pikachu cried, getting up and racing over to his trainer. He jumped onto Ash's shoulder and questioned, "Pi pika ka kachu chupika pi ka chu?"

"We can't stay were we're not wanted," Ash informed his Pokémon in a grim tone.

"Pika. . .," Pikachu trailed off.

Ash stopped in front of the gift table. He hesitated, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a black rectangle-shaped box. He set it on the table, then reached into his vest pocket and pulled out an unsealed envelope. He grabbed a piece of paper that was on the table and a pen and scribbled something on the paper for a few moments. He set the pen aside and folded the paper. He put the paper in the envelope and sealed it, then placed it on top of the box. Then he turned and left the gym, heading out into the dark night.

…..

Misty came back inside, feeling better from her crying session. She made sure to wipe all the tears from her face, not wanting anyone to suspect that she had been crying.

She made her way over to the gift table. She spotted one gift that she hadn't seen before, with an envelope on top. Curious, she lifted the envelope and opened it. Inside were two folded pieces of paper. She unfolded the first one and was greeted by familiar handwriting. She read:

Dear Misty,

Happy Birthday! I bet your real surprised, huh? Not only did I send you a gift AND a card, I'm actually here to tell you that in person! How great is that? I've really been looking forward to this for so long. I miss you, y'know, when I'm traveling. Dawn is cool, but she's no you. It was the same with May, y'know. I just wanted you to know that, no matter what, you'll always be my best friend. And I'll probably hug you after your done reading this, so be prepared! Haha.

Again, Happy Birthday, and I'm so glad I'm actually with you as you celebrate it.

Love,

Ash

Misty gasped and quickly glanced around, expecting him to be leaping out from somewhere to grab her in a tight hug. But nothing happened, and she couldn't see him anywhere. Curious, she unfolded the second piece of paper and began to read:

Dear Misty,

I'm so sorry. So sorry that I've burdened you all these years. I had no idea that I was hurting you so much. I'm so sorry if my actions led you to believe that I'm some sort of player. I had no idea that I'd made so many girls fall for me. How could I, when the only girl I ever saw was you? I'm so sorry that I've been hurting you for so long. But you don't have to worry about that anymore. I won't ever bother you again, I promise. . . .In fact, I won't ever bother any girl ever again, or even anyone. I promise, I'll make myself disappear. But just know this, Misty: you may get over me, but I would never have been able to get over you.

I'll miss you so much. Take care of everyone for me.

Love,

Ash

Misty felt her heart drop, and she let out a gasp. Then her head jerked up when she heard a gunshot from outside. She stared at the door, her eyes wide in horror. No . . .!

The End. . .?

I know what you're thinking. "Was Sally really so cruel that she actually killed Ash at the end?" Well, guess what? You get to decide if he dies or not! Review and tell me whether I should leave it as it is, write a part 2 where Misty finds him dead, or if I should write a part 2 where he gets saved and doesn't die. Make sure you review so I can know how to leave this story. Peace – Sally White

P.S. over 2,000 word for this one, woo!