So we meet again, fellow pokeshipping fans... :3
Uhh... There's an OC in here and her name is Aya... I made her up myself, but I don't want to claim her... So... Go ahead and steal her if you want...
And... No. She is not the same Aya who is the younger sister of Koga.
There. Now that that's cleared up, we can begin the story. Aren't you so excited?
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon (yet.)
Random quote time (just when you thought you were about to get to the story):
"You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one."
"Imagine," by John Lennon
Dense
Why was Ash so dense?
Or, no, perhaps a better question to ask would be this:
"How" was Ash so dense?
All day, Misty had seen this girl - this "all-too-perfect" girl - flirting with Ash, trying to get him to look her way. Her direction. And as usual, Ash was being a fool. He was being an absolute fool.
Why?
Because not even for one second did it occur to him that this "all-too-perfect" girl was hitting on him. Not even for one second did it dawn on him that he had an actual girl "liking" him.
Was Misty jealous of this girl? You bet. She was as green as green could be. She was even greener than the blades of grass that could be found underneath everyone's feet at the time as they stood there - outside in the warm embrace of the sun.
This "all-too-perfect" girl went by the name of Aya: a name that Brock had described as "beautiful" the instant he set eyes on her (or, basically, it felt like it was the instant he set eyes on her... He asked the girl her name as soon as he spotted her. So, quite frankly, there wasn't that much of a time lapse between him asking her name and to him taking his first glimpse at her to really make that much of a difference...)
Her violet hair was long, straight, and immaculate. It deflected the sun in a rather charming way, too - almost to prove that her hair were made of some fine silk (it may as well have been classified the finest silk on this earth.) And her eyes... How they seemed to shine brighter than the rays of the sun themselves. And even they, too, were a yellow.
However...
Even if she were as half as beautiful as Brock had claimed her to be, Misty still wasn't sure why she "liked" Ash. And she still wasn't sure how Ash could have missed all her alarming signals - the ones that made it blatantly obvious that she liked him...
That flawless hair of hers swished to the side when she tilted her head to say, "I can't thank you all enough for everything that you've done - especially you, Ash." She had eased her posture by softly clasping one of her hands just below her hips, making herself appear like a "real" lady. And that... Was what bothered Misty more than anything else. If Ash was to fall victim to her dirty tricks, there'd be no way Misty would forgive him, then...
This time, in yet another attempt to assist a fellow trainer, Ash and his friends had helped Aya's younger brother regain his fighting spirit. All it took was one quick battle with Ash, and Aya's brother was back to his former self again. And... Surely enough, he was back to battling everyone he crossed paths with. He was so outgoing (Aya knew) that he must have been too busy battling with everybody to have really given Ash a proper "thank you." So, Aya (being the older sister who she was) had to step in and take charge like a responsible adult (although she was only 16 - not quite old enough to be considered an adult yet.) She had to thank Ash and his friends while her brother was out doing something elsewhere (probably battling again...) But she didn't really mind it. She was too grateful to really care...
In response to her prior statement, Ash had scratched the back of his head. A droplet of sweat had formed on his right temple as he forced his most friendly of smiles. "Ah, it was nothing...," he said. Pikachu was perched atop his shoulder when he said this, too. It had nestled its head around Ash's neck to chip its two cents in: "Pii-pika-chu!" It then presented a darling peace-sign at the lady.
Brock rudely shoved Ash aside and took his place before Aya. He clamped his hands together and gazed up at her longingly. "Forget about Ash," he said. "I was the one who stood by your side when you thought all hope was lost, remember?"
Aya giggled, bringing a closed fist up to her mouth. "Of course. I couldn't forget about you, Brock."
At this, Misty grumbled. "Ugh... Can we just go already?" She had her arms crossed as she tapped a foot on the ground impatiently. She looked like a volcano that was about ready to erupt. Either that, or she closely resembled that of a ticking time-bomb. Whichever.
"Is something wrong, Misty?" Asked Ash - just when Misty thought he couldn't get any more stupider...
"No. It's just that I'm getting really tired of standing here, that's all," Misty growled.
"Hmm..." Brock gripped his own chin in wonderment. He pondered the notion. "It seems like a real problem to me... If nothing's wrong, then why'd you say-"
Misty shot him square in the jaw with her fist. The volcano nearly erupted. Fortunately, she was able to contain most of her pent-up anger...
Having fallen to the ground, Brock curled into a fetal position and began to protect his head with his arms. "Ah... What'd I do...?"
Aya pushed a smile, appearing very uncomfortable at what she had just witnessed. "Wow... Your friend must really want to go... But...," she glanced to Ash, taking him by his hands. "Before you go, I have to ask you something..."
Ash gazed up at her curiously. "Yeah, what is it?"
Just by the sight of her holding his hands, Misty was going to...-
"I know it might sound sort of rushed...," Aya resumed. "But..."
Rushed?
If she was talking about what Misty thought she was talking about, Misty was going to...-
"Will you... Go out with me?" Aya finished.
Misty commenced a mental breakdown.
Suddenly revived, Brock sprang up immediately. "Of course I'll go out with you, Aya! I love-" He halted at once. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. Aya wasn't addressing him. She was addressing Ash. "WHAT! Did you just say you wanted to go out with ASH?"
Was this really happening?
Ash pointed towards himself, becoming confused and lost. "Uh... You want to go out with... Me?" He didn't seem as much enthused as he was surprised.
"That's what I just said, isn't it?" Aya told him. She had on a nice, pleasant smile.
Misty thought twice about pulling a knife out and slitting Aya's throat right then and there. But she had to remain as stable as possible... If she didn't, all hell would break loose. And she knew that that would happen, too.
Without letting Ash give a decision of his own, Aya bowed gently and said, "Meet me at the Pokecenter at the same time tomorrow evening. I'll be waiting, Ash..." She then winked at him before she finally decided to leave them all: Ash, Brock, and Misty.
Brock was amazed. "Ash! That was incredible! How did you do that? Come on, please tell me!"
"Uh... How did I do what?" Ash asked.
"Ash! You big, fat idiot! You moron!" Misty shouted, brimming with rage. She couldn't hold back her anger any longer. "Why'd you agree to go out with her! You stupid, idiotic loser!"
"I agreed to go out with her?" Ash asked. He looked clueless. He didn't remember agreeing to go out with Aya... Was it possible that Misty was so jealous that she actually just thought that?
"Arrgh! I swear, you have to be the densest person on the planet!"
Brock gripped his chin again. He was pondering again. "Is 'densest' even a word...?"
Not knowing what further to say, Misty stood still. Tears began to well up in her eyes. The color red heated her face as she stood there, immobilized. And it didn't help her much, either - that both Brock and Ash just happened to be standing there, watching her... Like this.
She then decided to whip around and march on. She thought that if she tried hard enough, she might be able to repress the memory that two of her closest friends just actually watched her cry... And that in due time, maybe they would forget about it, too.
Did Ash even know how she felt? Did he even realize that she just cried for him?
"Fine. Whatever. I don't care anymore. Just do whatever you like, okay, Ash?" Misty lastly said. She then left Brock and Ash to themselves.
Girls were so moody...
Ash just stood there like the "idiot" Misty had claimed him to be. "... What's up with her?"
He was still so very lost. He wanted to ask Misty where she was going, but... She had left him all-too-soon.
Brock cleared his throat. "I could be wrong, but..." He trailed off. "Ash, I think Misty's jealous," he speculated.
"Jealous? Of what?"
Brock just slapped a hand to his own face, somewhat frustrated with Ash's remark. "Oh, boy..." He could do nothing more than smile after that.
It was around seven by the time the trio of friends had finally decided to set up camp for the night. They decided to sleep in a clearing they found in the woods.
The atmosphere couldn't get any more soothing: the orange sun was just beginning to melt into the horizon, and the drifting clouds were ones that Ash watched overhead as he laid in the grass, partially asleep. It was as if they had induced a trance as they restlessly soared through the evening sky... Or maybe from them rained a sort of sleep powder that had ultimately fallen onto Ash, causing him to give way to rest... Either way, Ash knew he was sleepy.
Brock was preparing his final meal of the evening: his infamous "Brock" stew. And with a little bit of help, Pikachu was there to help him stir it, too, as he minced a few potatoes. As for Misty, she was positioned on one large rock to herself, brushing through her hair multiple times with each stroke to be paced slower than the last. It wasn't that she was concerned for her hair - it was just that she had nothing better to do with her time as she sat there, contemplating her day.
She didn't even want to think of Ash going to see Aya the following evening. She just wanted to brush the thought aside as much as she possibly could... But she knew it was futile. The thought - the feeling - they had already proven to be too repetitive for her to handle.
But... She had to do something...
Brushing through her a hair for the final time, Misty at last broke the silence and said, "Ash, I don't want you seeing her tomorrow."
Ash's typical response was, "Seeing who?"
Misty only sighed. "You know who I mean... That Aya girl or whatever her name is... You're not allowed to see her tomorrow."
"... Why not?"
She tossed her head to the side. "Because I just said so, that's why!"
Ash sprung up from the ground and held his hands out before himself in his way of defense. "Jeez! Alright, alright, Misty! I won't, okay? Just calm down..."
Disregarding his comment, Misty only continued, as if she hadn't heard a word he said, "I mean, just how old is she, anyway? She has to be at least a good four years older than you. That's way too old to be..." She stopped. She looked to Ash at once. "Wait. You said you 'won't?'"
Ash rubbed the back of his head as he grinned pathetically. "Yeah, if you really don't want me to see her, I won't."
Misty seemed to ponder this thought for a few seconds before she proceeded to get up and dig through her bag. Her bag was just next to the rock in which she was seated upon. From it, she pulled out a pink fishing rod. She began to walk off without giving Ash a final look. "I'll be out fishing if you need me...," she said before she was gone from the scene entirely.
"I don't get it...," Ash pondered out loud. "... Was it something I said?"
Brock gave Ash a weary look. "Ash...," he started. "Perhaps you may want to consider how she feels..."
"But... How do I do that when I don't even know what I did in the first place?"
"That's what I'm saying," Brock explained. He went over to sit down next to Ash in the grass. "You need to think about what you've done wrong, and..." He paused. "Well, try and fix it."
Ash gazed down at one blade of grass in particular. "... Okay..."
He made Brock sound like he was a father scolding his child.
"... Do you even like her?"
"Like who?"
"Aya."
"Uh... Well, I guess... I mean - she's nice and all..."
"No, I don't mean like that. I mean... Do you like her as a girlfriend?"
"Um... Am I suppose to?"
Brock slapped another hand to his face. He tried to ignore Ash's remark the best he could.
"... Do you like Misty?"
"Like... As a friend?"
"No - as a girlfriend."
"Umm..." Ash scratched the side of his head with a finger. His cheeks began to turn a pink while his tiring stare at the blade of grass continued. "... Why do you ask?"
"Because... Just answer the question, okay, Ash?"
It became dead silent. Ash didn't respond for the longest of time. He only sat there, unwilling to answer.
When he finally did answer, however, he replied with, "I don't know..."
Brock hunched over, letting loose a long, painful sigh. He couldn't understand Ash in the least bit. How could anyone be that clueless? How could anyone be that dense? If there was an award given out for being the densest person on the planet, Brock knew that Ash would definitely win it. No one came even remotely close to being as half as clueless as Ash was, and Brock knew that to be fact.
... He then began to wonder how long it would take Misty to return to the camp-site...
Before too long, Brock suggested that it was time to go to bed. Ash couldn't very well disagree with him. He was tired after having stuffed his face with mounds of food... But the only problem, though, was this:
Misty still hadn't returned from her trip. And not only that, but she had missed out on Brock's stew. Ash knew that this was very unusual for her, so it was no wonder when he began questioning scenarios such as her accidentally falling into the river. He thought that maybe a giant, over-sized seaking may have bitten onto her line and had tugged her into the river, head-first. He also thought that maybe she had gotten lost on her way back to the camp-site - or that maybe she had encountered an ursaring along the way, which had chased her around for hours on end.
Ash could hear the rustling of the leaves and the hooting of hoothoots when he slowly began to step up from his sleeping bag. He thought that now was a better time than ever to check up on Misty - just to see if she was okay. Just to see if she was all right.
He really hoped that she was all right.
He knew that there was a lake just near to the camp-site, so he figured that Misty would be there if anywhere at all. He gave one last look at a sleeping Brock and Pikachu before he set off on his hunt for Misty, picking up his red and white hat along the way.
After a few minutes of searching, he ended up coming face-to-face with a thick line of trees. Brushing through many tree branches, something eventually caught his eye when he came out into another clearing in the woods. There, his gaze met with something astounding - something that was absolutely breath-taking - as he watched whatever it was simply unfold before his very eyes.
What he found gazing at was a feebas that was flung about two feet from the river, flailing as it did. The water that had once seemed attached to it sparkled in the moonlight as gravity had inevitably freed it from its body. As that happened, its body suddenly began to glow, transforming it into a whole new species of its own. What it had evolved into was a majestic milotic. Its fine scales shimmered beautifully as it seemed to remain suspended in the air - as time did seem to slow at that very, particular moment. And after a moment or so, it was gone in the blink of an eye. It had inhaled strongly before it had plunged back into the river, swimming its way downstream towards what seemed to be the beginning of the moon.
Ash was inspired.
Misty was inspired. She had just brought that feebas (or what was now known as a milotic) from the river with her fishing rod. She stood there in a daze even long after the milotic had vanished, tightly grasping her fishing rod in her hands.
Ash's eyes lit up. "Wow! That was so cool!"
Because of such an abrupt voice, Misty was startled so badly that she had actually lost her balance and fell forward into the river without control - (for she was just merely on the edge of the river bank.) Ash had to dash after her, shouting, "Ah! Misty! Are you okay!" with soon after having to pull her out of the water by her feet (since that was the only part of her body that had happened to be hanging out of the water at the time, after she had fallen in.) When he finally had managed to reel her out of the water, she was dripping all over. She was holding a closed fist to her mouth as she coughed into it, shaking almost unbearably.
"Jeez... I'm sorry, Mist. Are you alright? Here, let me get a towel...," Ash said. He slipped off his backpack, rummaging through it for some time before he had pulled out a towel. He then began to dry Misty's hair off with it.
Misty attempted to push the towel away from her bitterly. "You pulled me out by my feet? How heroic!" She snapped. Her head tossed to the side like it always did when she got this angry. She stood now, struggling to drain the water from her half-shirt with her hands.
Ash put a hand to the back of his head, looking fairly disappointed. "Aw, come on, Mist. I said I was sorry."
"'Sorry' doesn't cut it! First, you agree to go out with some girl, and now you have the decency to drag me out of the river by my feet? Humph! You should have just stayed asleep! That probably would have suited you better!"
"Misty... You're still mad because I'm gonna go out with that one girl...?"
Misty froze. A faint blush became apparent on her cheeks as she still busied herself, wringing out her shirt. "... Why wouldn't I be...?" She whispered - almost inaudibly heard. A sad look came to her eyes.
Ash stared up at her, wide-eyed. "... Uhh... Misty? Are you okay?"
She was starting to get really tired of him asking her what was wrong... She was starting to get really tired of not telling him what was wrong...
She turned away from him. "... It's nothing. I'm fine."
"Well, uh... Misty?" Ash stood up as well. "U-Umm..." He scratched the back of his head, becoming very awkward as his eyes fixed in another direction - away from her. "I-If it makes you feel any better...," he mumbled, starting to just barely blush. "I've, uh - never went out with anybody before... A-And I never actually agreed to go out with Aya... You just kinda assumed that, s-so..."
"Huh?" Misty blinked at him, turning back around to face him. "Hold on...," she said. "You've... Never went out with anyone before?"
Ash drooped his head, defeated. "... Not... Really..." He felt pretty humiliated. He was almost certain that she was going to make fun of him or something. However, from what Ash had gathered on his journey, Misty didn't really seem like the type to make fun of him at all...
Much to his dismay, Misty squealed, "Oh, Ash, you're so cute!"
He raised his head. "Huh? What?"
A droplet of sweat took form on the side of Misty's head. She smiled nervously, trying to brush the topic aside as much she possibly could by saying, "Uh, nothing!"
Now it was Ash's turn to blink. "Uh... Okay..."
Misty approached him with hands clasped behind her back. "So... You're nervous, are you?"
"About what?"
"Going out with Aya tomorrow."
Misty wasn't sure why, but for some reason - all of the sudden - she didn't really care if Ash went on a date with Aya tomorrow. For some reason - it didn't really bother her anymore.
Ash repeatedly poked two of his fingers together in an awkward fashion. "Yeah... Sorta...," he admitted. "I mean - I don't even know what I'm suppose to do..."
"Hmm? You don't?"
"Yeah - like - are we suppose to hold hands or something...? And how do I do that?"
"What? You seriously don't know how to hold hands?"
Misty smiled. "Come on! I'll show you!" She took hold of Ash's hand, bringing him further from the river.
They silently began to walk together. The moon was their only source of guidance as they traveled through the unknown.
"See? It's easy, isn't it?" Misty added. "You'll have to walk like this with her all day tomorrow, so..." Strangely, she looked down to examine their holding hands. Something must have seemed unusual to her, for she even stopped not only in the middle of a sentence, but legitimately walking as well. She then appeared to be thinking. "Ash, your hands are all wet...," she concluded, giving Ash a simple look.
Was Ash really that nervous for tomorrow to come? Or was it... Something else?
Ash merely forced a laugh. "Oh, ha ha. They are? That's weird. Welp, let's keep going!" He quickened his pace, walking ahead of her now. He couldn't let Misty know that he was getting nervous just because... She was holding his hand.
"Um... Well, okay. But where are we going?"
Ash stopped. He hadn't planned that far ahead. Oh great, he wasn't expecting to be asked this sort of question...
He struggled to select words. "Well, you know... Um... Hey, Misty?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Umm... What else do you do on a date?" He purposely changed the subject.
"I guess... You can hug, too," Misty said. She held a finger up, looking to justify a point. "You know - when you have to say goodbye and all that." She smiled.
"Oh, yeah... I guess."
"Lemme guess: you don't know how to hug either, do you, Ash?" She teased.
"What? I know perfectly well how to hug. I've had plenty experience with that by hugging my mom."
"If you've had so much experience hugging your mom, then how come you don't have a lot of experience holding hands with her when you were younger?"
"Because I never held my mom's hand that much when I was younger!"
"Right. Sure you didn't, Ashy boy."
"Arrgh! Don't call me that!"
Misty crossed her arms, maintaining her cool. "So, are you sure you don't want me to show you how to hug?"
Ash averted his eyes from her, projecting a bored-like gaze into the distance. "You can do whatever you want. I don't care...," he grumbled.
Misty immediately swung her arms around Ash in a playful manner, catching him by surprise. He stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.
"This is how you hug," Misty said. "Doesn't it feel so nice? I could stay like this for hours..." She closed her eyes peacefully as she rested her chin on his shoulder.
Ash wanted to say something - anything. But he couldn't. With Misty being so close to him, he really couldn't. It was as if she had drained all the power from his body, leaving him with nothing to do but to simply stand there in her embrace. He really liked Misty. Maybe... He even loved her. So of course he couldn't resist having to hug her back. He wrapped his arms around her waist gently, hoping not to seem too weird by doing so. He actually felt her for one of the longest times ever, and he also figured that it would probably be one of his last. He knew Misty was right when she said she could stay like this forever - because Ash felt no different. He didn't want to leave Misty's side, especially when it felt as good as this.
Hugging back seemed to have astonished Misty. She stood there quietly with her arms still fixed around him, alert. And strangely, she pushed away from his chest, appearing to be dissatisfied with the turn of events. But she wasn't really dissatisfied. It was because of her heart that she needed to pull away. The throbbing in her chest became that unbearable to handle.
She huffed with her head lowered. Having nothing better to say, she said, "Very good. Now then...-"
"... Misty...?"
Ash's soft voice had her heart thumping all the more.
"... Y-Yes, Ash...?"
"How do you... Kiss...?"
She glanced up to him. His cheeks were all red with embarrassment, just like hers.
Ash edged towards her, closing the distance between their lips.
But he stopped midway.
He then began to burst out laughing, holding a finger up to his nose. "Hahahaha! I was just kidding, Mist! I wasn't actually going to kiss you! Man, you should have seen the look on your face!" He supported his weight up against a tree with one hand, now holding his stomach with the other due to so much laughter. He was hunched over, practically crying as he did.
The expression on Misty's face grew from a look of shock to a now angered, "I'm-going-to-hurt-you" kind of look.
"Ash, that wasn't funny!" Misty screamed, almost at the top of her lungs.
Ash grew intimidated. He waved a teasing hand at her, laughing his last few, small, pathetic laughs. "Ha ha... I was just kidding, okay? Let's head back to the camp-site now, alright?"
Misty glowered at him, but undeniably agreed. She ended up walking back with him. On their way, she wouldn't even so much as look at him properly in the face. She kept her distance, managing to keep a good distance apart from him because she was so mad.
And she thought - that just for a second - that she was actually going to kiss Ash. What a fool she was... Now she was definitely sure that she didn't care the least bit if he really did end up going out with Aya.
It was silent on the way back. And of course, Ash was the one to break that. He had his arms folded behind his head when he spoke up to at last say, "You know... I don't think I'm going to go out with Aya tomorrow."
Misty couldn't help but let curiosity take the best of her. "Why not?" She asked.
Ash paused briefly. "... Just to see if I can spite you."
Misty's face displayed a look of annoyance.
It was quiet again.
"... Hey, Mist?"
"Yeah?"
She honestly didn't know why she was still answering to his calls.
Without a second's worth of notice, Ash had plunged towards Misty and had landed a kiss right on her cheek. Right after, he darted off what seemed to be ten miles before time itself had reached a mere minute. "I'll race you back to the camp-site!" He yelled, too much in a rush to even throw his voice over his shoulder to let Misty hear him. He dashed all the way back like that, holding tightly onto his hat so it wouldn't fly off as he ran.
Maybe... Misty pondered. He wasn't so dense, after all.
She turned a beat red, brushing her hair from her face. She watched him shrink into a smaller and smaller black speck as he ran further and further away from her - eventually to be swallowed by the dark abyss of the night.
~END~
No one will ever know how long it took me to write this... And it still blows.
Here's a word from the wise: don't ever attempt to write anything when you have writer's block. You end up failing in the end.
Anyway, I promised my readers that I would make my next pokeshipping story longer than the last, and here it is... As pitiful as can be.
Well... I don't mean to sound all negative. :/ I mean - I really, truly hope to god that some of you liked it. And I really hope that you guys will review, even if it's just to tell me that this fic blows (because, oddly enough, I believe that sort of feedback helps me as well.)
And as always: thanks for reading! :3
(God, I can't wait until Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon White 2 comes out. I'm gonna foam at the mouth the day it's gonna be released.)