WOW I haven't posted in for like...FOREVER. Welp I'll just leave this here.
"Cerulean City Gym! Finally we're here!" Kenyan cries in joy. After two days of traveling with Ash from Pewter City, which included going through the maze that was Mt. Moon, they finally reach their next destination.
"Badge number two is going to be mine!" Kenyan cheers as his pumps his biceps. "Zebstrika will surge through this gym like rice paper!"
"Don't count on that," Ash says knowingly. "Misty won't be that easy to beat!"
"Misty? You mean THE Misty you told me about?"
"Yeah! She's my best friend!"
"...Didn't you date her once?"
"Yeah. What of it?"
"Oh..uh...nothing."
"Let's head inside, Keniyan!" Ash says as he opens the door to the Gym. Kenyan doesn't even try to correct him this time. Kenyan had heard of Misty from Ash so many times before when he started dating her. He couldn't help feel jealous back then when he started to realize his feelings for Ash were more than friendship and now, after Ash and Misty's relationship had ended...he still feels jealous.
"As Gym Leader of Cerulean City Gym, I hereby present you, Kenyan, the Cascade Badge!" Misty announces as she presents Kenyan his second badge. Kenyan eagerly accepts the badge and cheers for his victory.
"Congrats Keniyan!" Ash cheers
"Pika! Pika!" Pikachu cheers from Ash's shoulder.
"Don't ruin my moment by not saying my name right Ash!" Kenyan barks. Ash just laughs in response.
"So where are you two headed from next?" Misty asks
"We'll stay for the night in the city and head for Vermillion tomorrow!" Ash replies excitedly. "I wanna face Lt. Surge again!"
"I can say he won't have the same weakness he had 7 years ago Ash! Don't get too ahead of yourself now."
"Whatever Misty! I'll beat him even if he has gotten better!"
"Kenyan, call me when he loses so I can tell him 'I told you so!'" Misty requests for Kenyan. Kenyan just nods silently.
"Well we'll head off now! I'll call you later Mist!" Ash says as he turns to the exit. "Coming, Keniyan?"
"..Oh I-"
"Actually, you go on head Ash. I need to speak with Kenyan alone for a bit." Misty cuts in, surprising both Kenyan and Ash.
"..Alright...come on Pikachu!"
With that, both Ash and Pikachu exits, leaving Kenyan and Misty alone in the gym.
"So what do you wan-"
"You like him don't you?" Misty says suddenly, cutting him off again.
"Wha? I-I don't! I mean..!"
"Save it Kenyan. When I was young I always claimed to be a "romantic" and I still do. I know you have feelings for Ash since I'm not dense about the little thing called love." Misty sigh dreamily. "Also it's from personal experiences before become his girlfriend for a little while."
"W-what if you're wrong?" Kenyan is now panicking due to this conversation is going the more awkwardly personal route.
"Please. The way you look at him, how you react whenever he calls you "Keniyan", and the way you been acting whenever he talks to me, it's obvious Kenyan!" Misty replies.
"Fine..you got me." Kenyan sighs defeated. "Why are you pointing this out to me?"
"Kenyan...you don't have to worry about Ash and me." Misty says softly. "What we had together was nice but...it's over now and we're just really good friends."
Kenyan relaxes a bit but he's still tense. He looks at Misty and saw she had a sad smile on her face.
"What happened between you two that made you two split?"
"It was a mutual agreement. We agreed that the spark of the relationship wasn't there anymore." Misty answers. "But to be honest, I felt the spark was never there in the first place."
Misty takes a deep breath as she continues, "At age 10, I had this huge crush on Ash. I used to have an excuse to follow him around because I didn't want to realize I had a flimsy reason to follow his journey. You should know, the bike thing. However I never told my feelings since he was dense as a rock at 10 years old. So when I left to reclaim my position as Gym Leader, I still kept my feelings for him to myself, convincing myself that he'll never understand."
"Wow.." Kenyan responds, can't think of anything else to say.
"So years pass, and I've been keeping in touch with Ash, but not that much since I been focusing on my duties as Gym Leader. He comes in the Gym and asks me out on a date. He told me that day that he had feelings for me for a long time also. I still have feelings for him but by this time, they're not as strong as they used too but this moment I dreamed of for years is finally happening to me. I agree and we seemingly hit it off. However we both notice that it wasn't working. So we end it after a year. We say there are no regrets about it though I do have one..."
"What is it?"
"Never telling him my feelings before it was too late." Misty sighs again. "Yeah we dated, but by that time, I've gotten over most of my feelings for him and only relied on nostalgia alone than love."
"That's so sad, Misty..." Kenyan says sporting a sad look. Misty takes a deep breath and shrugs.
"OK now my sob story is out of the way, I just want to tell you to not make the same mistake I did." Misty says to Kenyan. "Tell him your feelings before it's too late!"
"But I'm not even sure he likes guys like that!" Kenyan replies back.
"I'm pretty sure Ash likes red-heads!" Misty says, assuring Kenyan with a smile.
"But...what if he doesn't like me back?" Kenyan sighs. "Even if he "likes red-heads" , it doesn't mean he would like me out of all people."
"Kenyan, You was all he would talk about whenever he and I talked on the phone. He calls you "Keniyan" not because he doesn't know how to pronounce your name, it's because he likes riling you up. He convinced you to challenge the Kanto league AND is traveling with you despite of him not being required to do so. I don't know about you Kenyan, but I think something's there."
Kenyan eyes widen a bit from all that. He honestly really didn't think about all that about Ash, which cause Kenyan to blush a little.
"I'm not saying you should tell him now, but don't wait too long Kenyan." Misty mentors. "Being worried about "what ifs" will make you miss the time you can tell him your feelings."
Kenyan nods with a smile, taking in what he was told. He may not be ready to say anything but he feels more confident.
"Now that I filled my Love Guru quota for today, I gotta finish cleaning up the gym!" Misty suddenly exclaims. "Now run along! Ash must be waiting for you!"
"Oh yeah! I gotta go! I need to heal my Pokemon too!"
"Tell Ash I'll call him later, alright?"
"Alright!" And with that Kenyan runs out the gym.
Good luck on your relationship, Kenyan. I'll be rooting for you!.