This is my first fanfic, so if it stinks, then it stinks.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. I never will. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this fanfic. I would just make it into an episode.

Ages:

Ash: 15

Misty: 15 (and a half)

Brock: 18

Delia: 38


Didn't Expect This


"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Brock sighed. The fighting was getting old, and he was getting a headache. Ash and Co. were on their way to Pallet Town for a visit, and they had gone through Viridian City. Having gone through the forest so many times, Ash believed that he knew where he was going. Misty and Brock argued, saying that they would get lost, but Ash wouldn't give in. Eventually they gave up, and let him lead the way. Unfortunately, they were right about him getting them lost.

"No, I didn't get us lost!" Ash yelled.

"Then how'd we get lost out here?" Misty screamed, just as loudly.

"We're not lost Misty!" Ash said, his voice getting even louder.

"Oh, yes we are!" Misty said.

"No, we're not!"

"Yes, we are!"

"NO, WE'RE NOT!"

"YES, WE ARE!"

"Shut up!" Brock yelled.

Ash and Misty froze, surprised at Brock's yelling. He hardly ever yelled, except when he had to, or when he was mad. As they looked at Brock, his face calmed.

"The fighting's getting a bit old, and I'm getting a headache." He said. "Ash, do you know where we are?"

"Of course I do! We're…uh…well…" Ash actually didn't know where they were, he just didn't want Misty to be mad at him. He hated it when she was mad at him. In reality, he loved her, but he never told her. He felt that Misty would just laugh at him and yell at him some more. He didn't want that, so he kept it to himself.

"I knew it! I knew we were lost!" Misty yelled. She didn't want to yell at Ash; in fact, she hated it. She loved Ash, but she feared rejection. She feared that he would just laugh at her and turn her down, breaking her heart. So, she yelled at him to hide her secret, plus the getting lost routine was getting old.

"I told you, we're not-"

"Quiet!" Brock interrupted, not letting Ash finish.

"Ash, Misty, I'm tired of your fighting. If you guys don't hurry up and tell each other how you feel, I'll-"

"WHAT!" Ash and Misty screamed.

"Well…I…" Brock started, but he never got the chance to finish his sentence.

xxxxx

5 seconds later...

xxxxx

Brock was face-first in the ground, with two huge bumps in his head, one being from Misty's trusty mallet, the other from Ash. He quickly regretted saying that, but he did know that they both cared about each other, as more than friends. They just needed a little push.

"DON'T EVER SAY THAT AGAIN!" Misty yelled, fuming. Her face was as red as her hair from both embarrassment and anger.

"That's not even funny, Brock. Me and Misty, together? Yeah, that's a laugh!" Ash said, with a smug grin on his face. He only made that face to hide his anguish. He didn't want to say that, but he had to make sure Misty didn't find out. It was better that way, he thought.

Misty was shocked at his words. "He doesn't want us to be together? He doesn't think that we could be more than friends?" Small tears started to form in Misty's eyes, but she quickly hid them.

Ash noticed this, however, and quickly decided to see what was wrong.

"Hey, Misty, what's wrong?" Ash asked, worried.

"N-nothing's wrong, Ash." She said, stuttering slightly, her tears starting to roll down her face.

"But you're crying. There's gotta be something wrong." Ash said.

"It's nothing, Ash, really." Misty said, her tears now flowing freely. "He doesn't love me? He doesn't think that I care? He doesn't believe that there's even a chance for us to be together?"

"Misty, I know there's somethi-"

"I said nothing's wrong!" Misty screamed. She could no longer hold in her sobs, so she ran off, not wanting Ash to see her cry.

By now, Brock had recovered from his pain, and had watched the whole thing happen. He knew that this was bad, since Misty was a lot more sensitive with her feelings than Ash.

"Misty, wait!" Ash screamed, and followed her. Brock followed him as well. They didn't know what could happen to Misty in the forest, and they didn't want to take any chances. Ash was not far from Misty, with Brock right behind him.

Misty continued to run, not caring where she went. "He doesn't like me? He only thinks of me as a friend?" These thoughts continued to flood her mind as she continued to run through the forest. She didn't know which direction she was going, or where she was. She just wanted to be by herself, to have some time to think.

She kept on running, until she came up to a hill that overlooked a small town. It was a cozy little town, with many fields and a lot of peaceful Pokemon. Misty recognized this town at once. It was Pallet Town. Ash's hometown. She stood there for a second, then, remembering that she wanted to be away from Ash, she ran to the Pokemon Center. Once there, she sat in the lobby and cried.


Ash continued to run after Misty. He knew that she had run in this direction without turning, so she had to be somewhere ahead. As he ran, he eventually made it out of the forest, and came across Pallet Town. Ash stood there, looking at his hometown. Brock soon caught up, and he also stood there, next to Ash.

"Misty…" Ash thought.

Suddenly, Ash began to run again.

"Hey, Ash, where ya goin'?" Brock asked, following him.

"Home. I'm betting Misty's probably there." He said, a hopeful smile on his face.


Nurse Joy noticed Misty crying and decided to help.

"What's wrong?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Huh? Oh, n-nothing." Misty stuttered.

"I know there's something wrong, miss. It's not everyday I see such a young girl running into my center, crying her eyes out." Nurse Joy said, with her hands on her hips.

"It's…it's personal." Misty said.

"But that doesn't mean you should keep it to yourself. That only makes the problem worse. You need to talk about it if you want to make it better." Nurse Joy stated.

"Well…okay. It happened like this…" She started.


Ash continued to run throughout Pallet Town, searching for his house. As he ran, he began to think. Misty. I didn't mean any of those things. I'm sorry. Why'd I ever have to say any of those things? WHY? I didn't mean to hurt you. I just don't want you to know. If you knew, you'd just laugh in my face. I couldn't go on in my journey without you. I don't want you to leave. Ever. Ash, so caught up in his thoughts, didn't notice that his house wasn't very far away. He probably would've ran right past it, if his mom hadn't stopped him.

"Ash!" She exclaimed.

"Wha-Ahhhhh!" Ash was suddenly caught in one of his mom's bear hugs. He was shocked at first, not expecting him mom to suprise him like that, but then he sighed, glad that he had reached his house.

"Oh, Ash, I've missed you so much!" Delia said.

"Yeah, mom, I've missed you, too." Ash mumbled.

Brock quickly caught up and, noticing the "moment" between Ash and his mom, began to snicker.

"Brock!" Ash said, embarrassed.

"Oh, hello Brock. Come on in, you two. I'll fix you up a nice lunch." Delia said, letting go of Ash.

"Alright, mom." Ash said, running into his house.

"Wow, Ash sure seems hungry." Delia said, as she went into the kitchen.

"No, I don't think that's what's bothering him." Brock said, helping her cook.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Delia asked.

"Mom, is Misty here?" Ash asked, coming down from his room.

"No. Why? Did something happen?" Delia asked her son.

"Well, see, it's like this…" Ash began.


"…and that's what happened." Misty said, finishing her story to Nurse Joy.

"Hmmm…" Nurse Joy wondered to herself.

"What? What is it?" Misty asked.

"I believe that boy cares about you very much." She said at last.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Misty asked, surprised.

"Well, from what I've gathered, it seems like you care about each other very much, right?" Nurse Joy began.

Misty simply blushed a deep red. Nurse Joy smiled at this, and continued.

"Well, he followed you even after you ran out on him. He obviously cares about you enough where he's concerned that you're crying. Plus, I also gathered that you both feel that you would ruin your friendship if either of you told the other, right?" Nurse Joy asked.

"…are we really that obvious?" Misty asked in a low voice, with her head low to hide her red face.

"No, of course not. I just so happen to know about this topic." She giggled.

"So, what should I do?" Misty pleaded.

Nurse Joy thought for a little bit then said: "I think you should go tell him how you feel. If he does feel the same way, then everything will fall into place." She said.

"But what if he doesn't return my feelings?" Misty said, disheartened.

"He will return your feelings. He seems like a very nice boy. If he's what you say he is, then he'll definitely love you back." Nurse Joy said, sure of herself.

"…you think so?" Misty said, lifting her head up, her spirits a bit higher.

"I know so." Nurse Joy said.

"Alright, I will! Thanks, Nurse Joy!" Misty said, running out of the Pokemon Center towards Ash's house.

Nurse Joy smiled, then her smile disappeared a little.

"I hope she'll be alright." Nurse Joy wondered.


"…and that's how everything played out." Ash said, finishing his story of what happened.

Their conversation had moved to Ash's room. Brock already saw what had happened, but he didn't know how everything had happened through Ash's eyes. Delia was also concerned. She, like Brock, knew how Ash and Misty had felt towards each other for a long time. She was concerned about how her son could've done something like this. Ash was silent. He was simply staring at the ground, poking at it with the tip of this shoe.

"So, you're not sure what caused her to run off like that?" Delia asked.

"No, not at all. She just started crying and ran off." Ash said.

Delia sighed, and was about to ask Ash another question, when she heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." She said.

"So, where do you think she went?" Ash asked Brock, worried.

"I dunno. Maybe she went back to Cerulean City. That is where she lives, after all." Brock said.

Tears began to form in Ash's eyes as he began to think about Misty.

xxxxx

Delia answered the door, expecting it to be a salesman.

"Yes, may I help…" she started, but couldn't finish as she stared into the face of a young red-haired girl.

"Oh, hello, Misty. What a pleasant surprise." Delia said.

"Hello, Ms. Ketchum. Is Ash here?" Misty asked.

"Yes. He's up in his room." Delia said, directing Misty to the stairs.

"Thank you, Ms. Ketchum." Misty said, and began to walk up the stairs. Delia smiled to herself, knowing what was probably going to happen.

As Misty approached the door that led to Ash's room, she heard Ash and Brock talking, and decided to listen in.

"Oh, Brock, why'd she have to run away? Doesn't she realize how much I care about her?" Ash said, unable to control the tears in his eyes.

Misty let out a small gasp. "Is he crying for me?" She wondered to herself.

"It's not your fault, Ash." Brock tried to support him.

"Yes, it is! You saw how she ran off. She ran because of me! She hates me! She's too good for me! She probably only followed me for her bike!" Ash retorted, the tears continuing to flow from his eyes.

"That's not true, Ash." Brock said.

"You're wrong! Misty would never have followed me if I hadn't destroyed her bike! Why else would she have followed me? That's the only reason she traveledwith us!" Ash continued to say.

"You're wrong, Ash! That's not why Misty followed you!" Brock said.

"Yeah? Then what other reason would Misty have to follow me? She doesn't care about me! She probably just thinks of me as Ash Ketchum, bike-stealing, egotistical, hard-headed idiot who thinks he can actually achieve his dreams! What reason would she, Misty Waterflower, want to be with me?" Ash said, his tears beginning to flow even harder.

"Because I love you, Ash." Misty said, entering Ash's room. She couldn't bear to see Ash suffer anymore. It was breaking her heart to seehim cut himself down like this. Brock, who didn't expect Misty to be there, knew that they had to be alone, so he left the room.

As the door closed, leaving Ash and Misty alone, Ash continued to look at Misty unbelievably.

"Wh-What?" Ash asked, tears still running down his face.

"I said that I love you, Ash." Misty said, tears starting to form in her eyes as well. She put her head down, waiting for Ash's response.

Ash walked up to her, lifted her head up, and wiped away her tears, thinking: "She loves me? She actually loves me!"

Misty looked into Ash's eyes, wondering what he was thinking. "Well, Ash?" She asked.

"Misty…" Ash began.

"Oh Ash, I-" But before she could finish, Ash had wrapped his arms around her waist and closed the space between them. He put all the love he had for this girl into this one kiss.He only hoped she would return the kiss.

Misty just stood there, not believing what was happening. At first, she was surprised, but then she wrapped her arms around Ash's neck and began to kiss back. She put all the love she had for him into the kiss. This was the best moment of their lives, and they wouldn't ever forget this.

As they broke the kiss, Misty looked into Ash's eyes dreamily. "Maybe he does love me after all." She thought to herself.

"Misty…I…I love you! I've always loved you, and I always will! I swear, from now 'till the end of time! I mean it!" Ash said, all of his love being directed towards this girl.

Misty looked into his eyes and she knew, he really meant it.

"Ash…when I first met you, I didn't think that I would fall in love with you. I thought you were just some kid who cared about his Pokemon and nothing else. But once I got to know you, I realized that you were special. I knew that deep inside, you were really a nice person. One that I would fall in love with." Misty said, finally happy to have revealed her secret to Ash.

Then, they kissed again, this time, more passionately than before. Brock, wondering what was taking so long, walked up to Ash's room. He didn't expect what he saw inside. Standing in front of him were two teens, kissing. He realized that everything had worked out. He decided to break them up.

"Okay, you two, let's break it up!" He said, clapping his hands.

Ash and Misty broke the kiss, very embarrassed, but happy. As they walked down the stairs, they realized how much this was going to affect their travels. Ash would have a lot more confidence as a trainer, Misty wouldn't be so worried each day about telling Ash, and Brock…well, at least he wouldn't have so many headaches.

After stocking up, and saying good-bye to everyone, Ash, Misty, and Brock continued on their journey. Hand in hand, Ash and Misty were thinking about only one thing: each other. As they passed the Pokemon Center, Misty suddenly stopped and pulled Ash into a passionate kiss. Nurse Joy noticed this, and thought to herself, "Guess she went through with it after all!"

xxxxx

So, whatcha think? This was my first fanfic, so don't expect it to be all professional-like. Review (if you want) so I can figure out how to make myself a better writer.