St. Valentine's Day

I do not own Pokémon or its characters

Ash sat in his room, his mind devoid of anything except for the music blaring through his ears, curtsey of his mp3. He was so wrapped up in the song that he almost failed to notice his phone vibrate. Ash paused his music to check his messages, though he was quite surprised by what he read.

'What did you get May for tomorrow?' ~ Dawn

Ash was utterly confused. What was he supposed to be getting a gift for May for?

He tried going through dates in his head: their anniversary was Oct. 17, May's birthday was July 24, and Christmas was still several months away. Ash was quite stumped, as far as he knew there was nothing important coming up.

'Ok Dawn I'll bite, what's so special about tomorrow?' ~Ash

As Ash waited a slight sense of dread came over him, as if Arceus himself had decided that all the forces of evil and wrath should soon be heading his way. His guess was quite wrong, in fact something far worse was about to befall him.

Dawn's reply came swiftly enough to confirm his fears.

'Ashton Ketchum you are so dead if you forgot. Think about it, today's Feb. 13 which means tomorrow is what?' ~Dawn

Ash paled visibly as he read her message. Of all the thinks he could have forgotten it had to be Valentine's Day. Forget about May killing him, she was going to make sure there was nothing left to bury!

He text Dawn back with speed that could rival summer lightning.

'What am I going to do; she's going to do worse than kill me Dawn! You've gotta help me please!' ~Ash

Ash heart beat increased as he waited for a reply. He thought he would have a heart attack before her reply finally came through.

'I don't have a clue on how to help you. Most of the stores are closed by this time. You're on your own. Sorry.' ~ Dawn

Ash ran his fingers through his hair nervously. He had to think of something to get May, or she'd be heartbroken tomorrow and he'd be dead. He was about ready to yank out tuffs of hair when a thought struck him. He quickly sent a text to his three closest male friends: Gary, Brock, and Paul.

'Meet me at the community center in forty-five minutes. I'll explain when every one arrives.' ~ Ash

Ash paced back and forth he had already been at the community center for well past fifty minutes and he had arrived late! He'd have to remember to check to see if Pikachu was sleeping on his jacket next time, that thunderbolt hurt.

He was just about ready to head out and look for them when the first one arrived through the door. Paul had a scowl on his face that clearly showed his annoyance at coming here this late.

"This better be good Ketchum," he stated with an agitated tone, "I usually don't make trips across town at nine o'clock at night."

"I'll explain when the others arrive so just make yourself comfortable for right now."

Ash could swear he heard Paul mumbling, but never the less the boy ended up taking a seat on one of the community centers couches with a soda in his hands.

Ash continued to pace for several more minutes before he heard the doors open again, this time reviling his squinty eyed companion and his messy haired former rival.

Brock's face contained its usual stoic look, obviously knowing that his friend would explain things in good time. Meanwhile Gary's eyes seemed to be trying to drink everything in, looking for his answers from the clues that surrounded him.

Ash gave each of the boys a minute to get situated and to talk amongst themselves. After a bit he cleared his throat and waited till each boy's attention was focused on him before speaking. He took a deep breath and prepared for their responses.

"Alright, the reason I called all of you here is simple and that is I forgot May's Valentine's Day gift. So I came up with an idea to make up for it and I was wondering if you all would help me. You know if you don't mind…"

After several tense quite minutes, during which none of the boys dared to speak, the silence was broken by something none of them had expected. The unforeseen event was caused by Paul, who usually kept to himself in a seemly emotionless state.

"So let me get this straight Ketchum. You called us here because you forgot to get your girlfriend a Valentine's Day gift so you're using us to correct that problem. Let me know if I got any of that wrong?"

Ash nervously scratched his cheek, "That about sums it up Paul. I'm sorry to have to ask this of you three considering you have your girlfriends to take care of tomorrow, but if you do I'll be forever in your debt."

Gary answered first, his answer coming out along with a booming laugh, "Ashy-boy your still an idiot even after two years of being in a relationship, but what the heck I'll help."

Brock nodded his head, sympathetic towards Ash, imagining what Lucy would do if he even thought of forgetting Valentine's Day. While Paul just gave a rough sort of grunt, which Ash decided to interpret as an agreement.

Ash smiled, grateful for his friends, "Alright if you'll just follow me we can get started," he stated motioning for them to follow him towards one of the rooms in the back, "While I was waiting I took the liberty of setting everything up. I hope you guys don't mind."

He opened the door to the very back room reviling what none of them had expected, a recording studio. Already set up were various guitars, drum sets, cymbals, and other instruments. With a microphone set up in the center, it didn't take long for the boys to catch on to what Ash wanted as the each moved towards an instrument to play.

Gary head towards the drums, something he decided to play just for his 'cool guy' image when he was younger and his gramps had force him to continue when he decided it was 'too much work' to learn. Brock headed towards the electric keyboard, something he had learned to play to keep all his siblings entertained. And Paul reached for the electric guitar, something he learned to play years ago, and that Dawn found fascinating for reasons he just couldn't comprehend.

Ash made his way to the center mike, smiling as his friends got up to speed with their instruments.

"Alright guys, let's get to work."