Hold my hand
By: McWizardX
Chapter 1
Misty: POV
Winter had faded into a nice warm spring day. There was nothing but blue sky, a small dirt path, and the association of my friends. I carried my egg pokemon with me where ever I go, taking care of it as if it was my own child. You probably know who I am. To my friend Ash, I'm called Carrot Head, to my older friend Brock I am referred to as Loud Mouth, but to myself I'm just plain and simple Misty. It was during that same day that the three of us encountered this fancy school that recently opened. The school was called PKMN Society, which is a weird title for a school, sounded like something from an amateur writer's fanfic found on the net. The school, PKMN Society, situated in an open area away from the city and mountain, it certainly seemed like a nice school but would've been a problem to commute all the way out there. I thought by going there I could learn something new but I've discovered something else while being there.
Ash wanted to go and check out the school, even though he had occasionally said he hated school. Brock too didn't want to be in school but he soon changed his mind when he saw the women there. I never had any problems with school in the past; I always thought they were fun. Together, the three of us got a free tour and, well, were pretty much impressed by the whole sales pitch that we enrolled for a sampler semester. A sampler semester was for those who wanted to try out the education at PKMN Society before enrolling as a full time student. Problem about the sampler semester is we had to work as a trainee to the faculty to pay for our tuition, room, meals, and other expenses. It wasn't so bad considering you were offered a choice of work you wanted
I never thought in my whole life of traveling in this trio that school would be something we be attending, I always thought we'd travel to the ends of the Earth and back. Another thing I didn't expect was to wear a uniform while attending school, it's been years since I wore a skirt. When Brock and Ash saw me they both had interesting reactions. Brock asked if all girls had to wear that type of skirt. I looked down and notice it was unusually short, but how would I know, I haven't worn these in years. Brock immediately ran around campus looking at all the girls, he evened climbed the roof and equipped long ranged binoculars to see as many girls as he could. Ash had a worst reaction, all because it was directed at me. He couldn't stop laughing at first, which really ticked me off. Then he had the nerve to ask what color underwear I was wearing. I slammed him down with a mallet that it left a crater; fortunately the ground was easily fixed.
The first day of class I showed promise and from there on I showed my pure potential as a good student. In my class I was known as the smartest student, however, Ash was also in my class. Needless to say, he irritated me during class time. How does he irritate me? Well, other than the spitballs, the tapping, and the gum chewing, he managed to still make a fairly good grade on assignments. That's what irritates me! I actually study, pay attention in class, and manage my time so I can review and study all my assignments but Ash goofs off the whole time and sleeps during class and still manage to get a decent grade! It's not fair I tell you, not fair at all!
Well days go by and I still remain on top in class. I heard Brock managed to do very well in Home Economics, that and he's become a teacher's pet to Ms. Kanko, one of the more um figured teachers here in the school. The three of us signed up for extracurricular activities, I joined the swim team, Ash joined the soccer team, and Brock became a Nurse helper. Why Brock wanted to become a Nurse helper? Cause the Nurse, Ms. Keiru is also one of the more figured members of the faculty. Our jobs for the school were pretty much the same; we worked together at the lab feeding the pokemon there. The professors that worked at the lab were very nice, they even let us handle the pokemon there, and I especially liked the water type. Student life is nice, but I think it can be better if Ash wasn't such a brat. That boy, I swear he drives me crazy.
So what is a usual day for me? Class starts at approximately eight in the morning so I normally get up around six thirty. I take a bath, groom myself, make breakfast to eat, and a lunch box meal for later, and then head to class early to study for about fifteen minutes before class start. I normally eat lunch in the classroom so I don't waste time walking all around when I could be studying for the next assignment. Once class is over around two in the afternoon I report immediately to the gym to the swim team for an hour and a half of swimming and working out. Then after I walk to the lab for my job and there I get to see how Brock is doing since I don't see him anywhere else other than the lab. Ash however is almost everywhere I go except the pool, that's when I can get away from him for a moment. In the evening once I'm done with work I head back to my room to have a quiet dinner to some nice easy music and study till ten in the evening then I get ready for bed. I sleep around eleven at night. Sounds like a typical student schedule doesn't it? I'm serious in my studies but my neighbor isn't serious at all. Gosh why does Ash's room have to be next to mine!? I can always hear him laughing his butt off watching TV and goofing off. I remember he invited some friends over to watch a movie and all they ever did was make noise, ugh what a nightmare.
Ash in my class has its ups and downs. For one thing I at least have someone I know in my class, but its just Ash. He is useful sometimes and he does make the class livelier with his antics, which keeps everyone awake and the teacher on her toes. The annoying things about Ash is, well, for someone who doesn't take his studies seriously, he gets good grades! I'm serious, he may not look it but he gets good grades on his assignments, tests, and exams. I have to study from morning, noon, and night, to get the top grades right now but he never once studied and yet his just a few marks lower than I am. Its mind boggling and also just plain silly how he can do that, he's younger than me, I should know more stuff.
It was around mid term time when Ash got me the most annoyed. I was sorting out my notes having it ready for binding. As I sorted them out he came by to me and asked me what I was doing. I told him I was just sorting out my notes so I knew what pages I would need to answer some of the essay questions for the mid term. He picked up some of my notes and started to read them, next he mentioned that I wrote something in wrong. Out of habit I didn't listen, I just snatched the paper away and just sorted it with the others. He then picked up another and read it. Then the most stupid Ash moment happened, he sneezed. He sneezed on my perfect notes, damping it with his Ash germs all over then handed it back to me. Gross, I had to just throw it away; I don't want his germs all over me or my other notes. Later when we were given the first essay question, I just realized that it was THAT piece of note that I needed to properly answer the essay question. This later resulted in a less than perfect grade. How less perfect? Ash got a higher grade than me. He rubbed it in so much that I slammed him with my books.
Something happened after midterms. I was so busy from studying that when it was all over I felt tired. The adrenaline rush from trying to get good grades, do well, and ofcourse show up Ash had gone after midterms. I was left with nothing to do other than just my normal assignments, swimming, and work yet I felt tired. It was about a week after midterms had ended when the pool had to go under maintenance; something to do with the water pumps, anyway this gave me some extra time to study. I study a lot, not that I'm a nerd but I like getting good grades, which was just the way I always have been. I was in the library just reading up on some facts on what we'll be going over in class when fatigue had started to rear its ugly head. Little did I know I started to doze off and I fell asleep in the library. I was all the way at the end so no one saw me taking a nap, well, that's what I thought. I woke up slowly, realizing I had accidentally fallen a sleep. I looked up to see a dark silhouette of someone next to me, looking right at me. The window displayed a nice starry sky; I had slept for that long. When my eyes focused I saw the eyes of the person next to me, watching over me as I had slept. He had these beautiful brown eyes, I fell in love with them the moment I saw them. Then he said to me, "Are you okay? You slept for a long time." Then I thought for a moment, maybe I was still dreaming? But no, it wasn't a dream. The closer I looked the more I saw and tried to disbelieve the truth. Ash had watched over me the whole time I was asleep, not only that, I think I saw a beautiful charming side of Ash that I have never seen before. My heart pounded anxiously, was I falling in love?
*****
Ash: POV
Why am I in school? I don't know, I forget. Well since I'm here I might as well make the best of it and also have fun as well. Sure I don't take my studies seriously unlike other people but I think I can survive the curriculum. So far in the pass few weeks I've managed to get by with pretty high scores. I don't think I'm that lucky so I must be smart, though there are some people who will disagree on that. While in school I also play soccer, one of my all time favorite sports. There's nothing like running around and kicking a ball into a net, I highly recommend it. I'm quiet fast too, those years running from danger and Team Rocket has paid off. Nearing the evening I work at a pokemon lab, where I wear this white coat and goofy glasses. I attend to mostly the water types since so many of the other pokemon can fend for themselves. Misty had become terribly mean to me whenever I try to feed the water pokemon, she said it was her responsibility not mine. I can't understand her sometimes; she acts like she hates me ever since we enrolled. I know she doesn't hate me but I can't but feel she is irritated by me. Sure I do tease her and such but we're friends, that's what we always do. In fact I've been teasing her since the first day we met. These past few days my teasing isn't being viewed in the same light as before but something more serious, so that is why I try to refrain from being too mischievous towards her.
It was after midterms that I had noticed something about Misty. At first I noticed that she has been more tired lately. Normally I'd think someone would be tired during midterms, not after them. I didn't worry too much because Misty is a strong girl, she can take care of her self. One afternoon I decided to ditch soccer because I hadn't finish my assignments for class, so I needed the extra time. I headed to the library to do my homework, hoping not to be distracted. I'm easily distracted so I had to discipline myself by working at the back of the library in total isolation, or I thought. In the back I saw a sleeping Misty laying her head on her folded arms on the desk. I approached her and saw how angelic she looks while she sleeps. I've seen her sleep before, many times in fact, and I've always thought she looked so peaceful. I set off to do my homework sitting next to her. When I finished she was still asleep and it was nearly time to get to work. I was about to go when I decided I wouldn't. Looking back at her, she looked so cute and peaceful; I thought I'd wait till she woke up. Having slept for so long I got worried a bit, she normally isn't the type to be sleeping all afternoon.
I had waited for another two hours just watching over her, being next to her the whole time. She woke up looking right at me. The glow of the moon reflected the sparkle in her eyes; she looked beautiful. I asked her if she was feeling alright but she just looked at me, staring right at me for a long while. I didn't say anymore, I just stared right back at her. Her beautiful green blue eyes, they shined so nicely in the glow of the moonlight.
The following days felt different from all the others. I resumed my regular duties as a student but Misty acted different. I had teased her a few times but she didn't hit me or chase me around like she normally would but she just looked at me with an emotionless stare. I thought of what she was doing, perhaps a mind game she was playing with me, to get me to stop teasing her as a whole. At first it worked, I didn't do anything to her, but I came to a conclusion that she just wanted to mess with me. Two could easily play her mind game; I decided to change my image to a more upstanding student rather than my current happy go lucky style. It took a lot of effort but I managed to perform as an ideal model student by commenting whenever I can, doing all my homework, and getting perfect scores on tests. I carefully watched Misty's reaction towards me; I knew she couldn't stand losing to me in any way. I was so sure that I had outsmarted her in this game but I was wrong, dead wrong. I had out scored her a few times and all she could say to me was, good job. Where was my competitive edge? Where were the insults directed at me? Where was the mallet or whatever object used to hit me over the head?
I continued the act a little longer; sooner or later she would crack like an egg. Being polite, a gentleman, and respecting her, I did all this for her and she returned all the good for good. One day after class Misty was assigned to take care of class clean up but she had a swim team meeting so she asked mister reliable, which is me, to clean up for her. I accepted but what happened next had placed me in "check" in this mental chess game of ours. As I got up from my chair to clean the erasers she had grabbed a hold of me, faced me towards her, then kissed me on my cheek then ran off waving good-bye to me. I stood there staring in the direction she had gone off in. I didn't move for a few minutes then I touched the cheek, the area where she kissed me. Was this real or just a game? I felt confused; things didn't make any sense anymore. How did this all started? I don't know and how would I know? All I can gather at the time was Misty had stopped acting like herself and to counter her, I stopped acting like myself, and the result, I was kissed. But like I mentioned before, was this a real kiss or just a game kiss to place me in an awkward situation so I may lose my cool? One thing I was certain was my feelings, I felt excited by the thought that she did such a thing. For the very first time, I felt excited when thinking about Misty.
I have to admit, Misty is a pretty girl. I've known this long ago when we first started traveling. I teased her all the time because she seemed like the type that would be fun to tease. I always looked in her direction at times to admire her beauty, though we were all young at the time. With her hair down she looked older, with her hair up like it always has been a cute girl. As good looking as she was, I didn't have any feelings for her yet, only as a friend. I'd get jealous of others trying to claim her for themselves but I wasn't sure how I felt yet, not quiet yet. The days that I had treated her nicely, like a perfect gentleman, I've started to feel differently towards her, I'm starting feel very attached to her. Maybe if I continued to be this way, she'll remain that way as well.
*****
Misty: POV
The Ash I knew had been replace by this new responsible Ash. Had school changed Ash for the better? I wouldn't know but all I know is Ash is different. I noticed this during that one evening when I overslept in the library and I saw him as a beautiful person from lighting of the moon. Since then Ash had slowly changed into someone else, someone who acted very mature and gentle towards me. He doesn't bother me like he use to, he's now helping me. I see Ash differently now; my heart thumps harder just the thought of him. Yes I was falling in love. Was I in love before? I don't think I was, but I did have a crush on Ash but I didn't love him, not till recently. Why the sudden change I wonder? Why did he become so nice? Was it for me? For whatever reason, I admire this version of Ash. I admired him so much that when he said he'd clean up the classroom for me, I kissed him out of want. I didn't plan on kissing him nor did I have any intention to, but I just did. It was the very first time I had ever kissed a boy before, my heart throbs from the very thought.
It seems that days pass by very slowly now, maybe it's because there's a lot on my mind. I can't help but wonder if Ash has any feelings for me. I sit two rows behind and a column to the right of Ash. I can slightly see him, but not really well. At times I'd just stare of daydreaming about him, what I'd like him to be to me. Some dreams become a bit exaggerated at times, I once saw myself in a kitchen cooking dinner and Ash coming home from work. I'd greet him he'd smell what I was cooking, complement the good smell, and then head into the kitchen to see what I was cooking. It was your typical textbook housewife scenario; I was the wife and Ash the husband. I had already married him in my imagination.
Maybe I was blessed by coming to this school, I had always dreamed of a more handsome polite Ash for me to love. I would have loved him long ago if he weren't such a brat. I tried, I tried so hard to confess that I liked him but he wouldn't get a clue. He was so dense it was frustrating. I had already spelt out that I liked him and he still doesn't get it. In fact, I was even so bold to say we would get married one day and all he could say was "wa" in my face. I gave up on the topic after a while and in time I thought I could just live life this way until we were older, when he became more mature to understand how I feel. Now at days, I feel really strange that the day when Ash had finally decided to grow up was actually here. I thought it would be a gradual change, not something that would happen within days. However, in a way I miss the rude obnoxious Ash that I had grown up with. He could always make me laugh, easing me up to my many emotions. I loved him for that as well, for his carefree spirit. I guess I just really love him no matter if he's polite to me or rude to me. That's just the way I feel about him.
How should I tell him how I feel? I want him to know. He could have already learned of my feelings but I want to make sure. Ash maybe polite and gentle even smarter than before but I can't just assume he knows, I have to make sure he knows. I've read this out of a manga, write a love letter and put it in the locker of the one you love, so I attempted this. I wrote like around fifty love letters till I finally got the perfect one. After sealing it and getting it ready I stood up ready to leave my room when I realized the flaw to this plan, there were no lockers in this school. The dorms are in walking range of each class that students could just drop off their things in their rooms. I could always just slip it under his door, till I realized the envelope wouldn't fit under. I tried with my own door, didn't work. I didn't want to just leave it on his door step, what if someone else got a hold of it, that would be so embarrassing I thought to myself. The whole school could end up laughing at Ash and me, poor Ash would be humiliated along with me. I held onto the letter for now, maybe I could just give it to him face to face. Time was being wasted, so I went ahead to devise another plan.
I couldn't think, I was not bold enough to do any other than the love letter. I've always been with Ash but this was the absolute first time I had ever felt nervous to confront him. I felt scared of what his reaction would be. Was he going to laugh at me, reject me, or maybe accept me, say he also felt the same way? Was I going to gamble? Risk my precious glass heart? I don't know, I really don't know. This type of stress had me grabbing my hair in frustration, what am I to do? Was Ash the same way? Could he also be going nuts with romantic anxieties? The answer to that particular question is no, I heard him laughing at the TV when I was panicking. Hearing him laugh made it worst for me, now I know this could just be a one sided relationship. Then I've come to a decision, if I'm going to risk my heart, it will be to Ash. He will be my first.
To be continued . . .
* PKMN Society first appeared in Dreamer, in this fic its used differently