Two

Paul exhaled exasperatedly. "I told him I'd be here at 7:15." He rang the doorbell again.

Still no one came to the door. He knew Delia had gone into HQ early and was already filing away reports, but that was no excuse for no one to come to the door. Hadn't she raised her son with common courtesy?

Finally, he heard the locks click as they were undone. The door opened to reveal an exhausted, pajama-wearing Ash. "Wha?" he said groggily.

Paul's eyes went wide. "You're not ready? You're going to be late, you lazy ass! Go, go get dressed. You have five minutes before I call your mom."

Ash yawned hugely and rubbed his eyes. "Late for what?" he asked sleepily.

"School, you retard, now get dressed before I come in there and do it myself."

It took Ash a moment to understand what Paul had said, and when he did, he was revolted. "Ew, you sicko, no way! Get away from me!"

"Then go get ready for school!"


When Paul pulled up in his sexy black corvette, the busy schoolyard seemed to freeze. All the chatter stopped, and every head turned to see the car that purred up to the curb, craned their necks for a better look at the gorgeous purple haired driver in his mysterious sunglasses, and giggled when the cute messy haired boy stepped out.

Three girls, in particular, were highly interested in the boy and his sexy chauffeur.

"Oh my gosh, would you look at him?" squealed one. Her blue hair framed her beautiful face and gave her giggle a certain something that made the football team (which was watching from afar) go weak in the knees.

"Forget about him, Dawn," said her brunette friend. She adjusted her bandana. "Look at his car!"

The third member of their party was busy yanking her red hair into a ponytail. "Bet you anything the kid who got out is a basketball player."

"What makes you say that?" asked Dawn.

Her friend finished her ponytail and nodded at the boy's figure as he retreated nervously into the school. "Look how tall he is. His legs are as long as you, May!"

"Well, I'll bet you he's too busy for after school sports," retorted May. She did not approve of her height being made fun of. "He must be new, so he probably has a lot of things to take care of and doesn't have time for things like basketball."

"Do you think we'll have any classes with him?" Dawn asked. "I want to know who that guy was with the purple hair."

"He was clearly too old for you," Misty said.

Dawn glared at her. "Thanks for dashing my hopes, Mist."

Her friend shrugged. "It's what I'm here for," she said. She grinned. "Come on, we're going to be late for English."


Ash studied his map of the school with frustration. Sure, he could read the blueprints of a building and know his way around in an instant, but when it came to finding room 218, he was at a loss. It didn't help that he had gotten a grand total of four hours sleep the night before.

"Where am I now?" he asked himself, turning the paper this way and that in an attempt to find his position. He looked around, searching for the numbers of the rooms he was standing near. The throngs of people made it difficult to get through, but he was tall enough to see over most of their heads.

His height really came in handy when he spotted the one person he knew at this high school.

"Gary!" Ash shouted, and many people turned to stare at him. His friend was in one of the classrooms, wearing a white lab coat and safety goggles. Feeling not so lost anymore, Ash pushed his way through the crowd and stumbled into the classroom. It was empty, save for his friend. "What are you doing?"

Gary did not look at Ash but remained focused on the measuring cups in front of him. "Nothing terribly important. You?"

"Trying to find my way around this school," he said with a yawn.

He glanced at Ash. "Are you tired?" he asked.

Ash nodded and stifled another yawn. "Didn't sleep long enough last night," he admitted.

Gary added a little bit of white powder to his concoction, and it bubbled ominously. "Here," he said, handing the beaker to Ash. "Drink this."

With a frown, Ash accepted the bubbling potion and took a generous gulp of it. His face contorted with its taste, but he forced himself to swallow it. "Ugh," he said.

"Did it taste bad?" Gary wanted to know.

"Awful," he replied.

"Oh," he said, taking the beaker back from his friend. "Shame. I was hoping it would taste better."

"Was it supposed to wake me up?" asked Ash.

"Hm? No, why would you think that?" Gary questioned. He laughed a little at his friend's stupidity. "I just wanted you to tell me if it tasted good or not."

"What was in it?"

Gary frowned and grabbed the notebook that had been sitting on the table beside him. "Vinegar, sodium, orange flavored powder, half a pixie stick, some potassium and…" He squinted and pulled a pair of glasses from his pocket. "Baking soda."

Ash stared at him. "And you expected it to taste good?"

"No," said Gary honestly. "I wasn't sure, so I had you try it first." His eyes found the clock on the wall. "What class do you have first?"

Ash flipped the paper with the map over to reveal his schedule. "Um, English."

"Ah," remarked his friend. "Then you're late."

"What?" Ash cried. He whipped around to see the digital clock reading ten minutes past eight. "Oh no! I'm late!" With that, he flew out of the room.

Gary smirked and went back to his measuring cups. He heard Ash come back into the room with his flustered panting. "Yes?"

"Where's room 218?" he gasped.

Still smirking, Gary pointed to the left. Ash nodded his thanks and sprinted down the hall again. He found himself chuckling about the young boy. He was so oblivious when it came to normal things, but the kid was a natural agent; someone truly worthy of the title "secret weapon."

Currently, Gary had a free period, so he continued to experiment with whatever the lab room had. Until she walked in.

"Hi Gary."

Gary dropped the test tube he had been holding so delicately in his hands. It shattered on the table, the vinegar inside it going everywhere. "L-Leaf!" he cried, swallowing hard.

Leaf was a girl with auburn hair and bright blue eyes that glittered with intelligence. Her outfits were always modest, and her personality was always gentle and curious. She giggled at his fright. "Did I scare you?" she teased.

The boy searched for something remotely intelligent to say, but nothing came to mind. "Uh," was what he wound up saying.

"I'm sorry," Leaf apologized, though her smile never faded. Her nose wrinkled. "Vinegar?" she asked.

Gary blinked and found his wits again. "Yeah, it is—I mean, was. Well, it still is, but—God! Hi, how are you?" he said with an embarrassed smile.

Leaf giggled at his stuttering, and Gary's insides turned to mush. "I'm good, Gary, how are you?"

He grinned back at her. With a glance at his pants, he saw that the vinegar had run off the table and soaked his left leg. "I'm covered in vinegar, thank you very much!" he accused sarcastically.

"Oh, well, my apologies," Leaf replied. She walked over to the sink on the other side of the room and unwound a generous amount of paper towels. "Here," she said, and she knelt down in order to help clean him up.

"Y-you don't have to do that!" cried Gary.

"Yes I do, it's my fault," Leaf argued. "Now hold still."

Not wanting to offend her, Gary remained stiff and motionless, his blush steadily getting deeper as she continued to brush his leg with the towels. She's touching me, was the only thing Gary could think of. She is touching me.

"There," Leaf said finally, rising from her crouch. "All better." She blinked in confusion when she saw Gary's face. "Something wrong? You're all red."

"What? I am?" he questioned. He raised a hand to his face, and sure enough, he could feel the heat radiating from it. "Oh. I guess it's just embarrassing to spill vinegar on myself in front of a lady."

Leaf smiled. "You don't have to act like a little kid about it," she cajoled. "It's not the end of the world."

It could have been, he thought, but he didn't dare say it aloud. "I know," he admitted. He searched for another topic of conversation, but he must have taken too long.

Leaf tucked her hair behind her ear and looked down at the floor. "Well, I'd better get to the library," she said. "See you later."

"Oh! Bye," Gary called as she rushed out of the classroom. The door slammed shut behind her. His hand had been raised in a half-wave, and slowly, he pulled it back down. Abruptly, he kicked the lab table. "You idiot!" he told himself.


Ash was running so fast he skidded right by room 218. "Hi!" he panted. "I'm… I'm Ash Ketchum."

The teacher up on the board smiled rather strangely at him. "Nice of you to join us," he said. "I'm Mr. Marks." He gestured to the only empty chair. It was at the front of the room and next to a tough looking redhead. "Have a seat."

Ash pursed his lips and took the spot next to the girl. She glanced up at him in an annoyed way. Without a word, she pushed her binder and other papers to the other side of the table, as far from him as she could get. He narrowed his eyes at her but said nothing. A glance at one of her papers told him her name was Misty Waterflower, she wasn't very organized, and she wrote her y's the curly way rather than the straight way.

Mr. Marks watched the whole affair with an amused smirk before turning back to the whiteboard. "Okay, so when writing Hamlet, Shakespeare was…" and that was all Ash heard before he was distracted by movement out of the corner of his eye.

A girl with navy blue hair was trying to capture the attention of the redhead to his right, and finally succeeded. Misty turned slowly and made a shrug, as if to say "What?"

Her friend gestured wildly to Ash, mouthing things he couldn't quite catch without looking straight at her. It made him both uncomfortable and flattered that they were already talking about him. Misty shook her head determinedly, and her friend continued to persuade her.

Finally, Misty succumbed to whatever her friend wished and turned to Ash. Instinctively he leaned closer to her without looking away from their teacher. "My friend would like to know who the guy was that dropped you off," she murmured.

It took Ash all had not to laugh aloud. "Paul?" he questioned. "Oh, he's too old for her."

Misty turned to look at her friend, her expression clearly stating, "I told you so." The blunette, however, smiled. "Paul," she mouthed, and her eyes clouded with a daydream.

Misty's eyes widened with horror. She shook her head and turned back to the whiteboard. "There is no reasoning with Dawn once she's love struck," she breathed.

"With Paul, no less," Ash chuckled quietly. "I don't think he's capable of emotion."

"My other friend is in love with his car," Misty told him, snickering as well.

Ash stared at her. "And I suppose you fell for his sunglasses, right?"

Misty was finding it hard to contain her giggles. "Absolutely. They were so dark and mysterious that I could have fallen right into them!"

"Is this something you two would like to share with the class?" Mr. Marks questioned.

Neither of them could answer. Their laughs had overcome their ability to speak, and the fact that they were trying to keep them silent only worsened the situation. The only thing they learned that day was how short their teacher's temper was, because not even two minutes later, they were sitting in the office, waiting for the principal to see them.

"So," Misty said, still grinning, "you're new, huh?"

"Yeah," Ash confirmed. "I didn't expect to get in trouble so quickly. Must be you," he guessed.

"Do I look like a troublemaker, Ash?" she demanded.

"Like a master prankster," he affirmed.

She nodded. "I could see that." Misty nudged Ash. "You would be the victim in all of them, I assure you."

Ash let out a laugh and pushed her away. "Gee, thanks."

"Students," said the principal. The two ceased their laughter immediately and tried to look dignified. "Come with me," she ordered, and she led them briskly to her office.

The two exchanged a glance that pushed them over the edge, sending them into silent fits of laughter. They followed the principal in her pencil skirt and professional hairstyle, the whole way making silent jokes about her butt and the mole on the end of her nose.

She held the door to her office open for the giggling duo, casting them an evil glare as they took the seats in front of her desk. With a sneer, she marched to the other side of the desk and slammed her hands down. "This behavior is inexcusable," she said in her most important tone.

Misty could not contain herself any longer. Her laughter came out in a loud and abrupt cackle, and Ash simply had to join in. "S-sunglasses!" he managed, and the word sent the two of them to a whole new level of hoots.

The principal's upper lip curled up angrily. "I will not stand for students behaving like this!" she proclaimed. She pointed accusingly at Ash. "I would have expected more from someone of your stature, at least on the first day."

Ash just grinned. "I'm sorry," he said, and another swoop of laughter befell the two.

"And you, Miss Waterflower!" she cried, staring at Misty. "Your sisters and I had a long talk about your behavior only a month ago. Do I need to call them in again?"

"That depends," Misty replied. "Do they need to go to another photo shoot?" Because she and Ash were already in such high spirits, the fact that he didn't fully understand the joke didn't matter. They were roaring with laughter anyways.

"Detention!" cried the principal, but they only laughed harder. "All week!" she added. "And Ash, I am calling your mother!"

His laughter ceased instantly. This was a true threat. "You don't have to do that," he told her.

The principal's eyes glittered. Finally, she had found something to hang over his head. "Oh, I think I do."

"The doctors said not to stress her out," he explained.

This caused her to pause as she reached for the phone. "What do you mean?" she asked warily.

Ash shrugged. His face hurt from smiling so much. "Well, she's in a delicate state, what with her being sick and all."

Misty gaped at him, her eyes full of pity. Ash caught her beautiful aqua eyes and gave a wink, rendering her extremely confused. The principal did not see the exchange, as she was now worriedly wondering what she should do. "Oh," she said. "Then, um, I'll call your brother."

Ash did his best not to grin as he remembered who was registered as his brother. "Okay," he agreed.


When Drew pulled up in his classic white '68 Fastback, a few of the guys who happened to see the car actually fainted. He climbed out without opening the door, as the top was down, and removed his sunglasses to reveal his stunning emerald eyes. He trotted up the stairs and entered the building, flipping his hair out of his eyes.

"I'm here for Ash Ketchum," he said to the receptionist.

The poor girl with her freckled face and close set eyes never had a chance. "Of course," she conceded. She looked as if she were melting. "He's in Miss Johanson's office."

Drew smiled flirtatiously. "Thanks," he replied, and with a toss of his keys, he proceeded to the principal's office.

Miss Johanson was guzzling water by the gallon, clearly wishing it were something else. She felt immensely guilty about Ash Ketchum's mother. Had she known, she would never have suggested calling the poor woman.

"Aren't you worried your brother won't help you?" Misty said quietly. They didn't want the principal to overhear their conversation.

Ash shook his head. "Wait till you meet him. Your friend would dump Paul's car in a second for his."

At that moment, the door to the office opened. Miss Johanson spun around, expecting to see an ugly, acne-ridden kid and give him a piece of her mind about how to go about raising his brother.

Unfortunately, that was not what she saw.

Ash Ketchum's brother, Drew, was perfect in every way. His soft green hair rested on his head like feathers. The bangs had grown too long and fell into his sparkling emerald eyes, and he had developed the subconscious flip to keep his vision clear. Since it was nearly summer, he was wearing a navy t-shirt instead of the usual purple jacket, and it was tight enough to show the excellent muscles he had.

Misty's jaw dropped, but it was the principal's that hit the floor.

"Hi," Drew said, and his voice was smooth and enticing. "I'm Drew, Ash's brother." He glanced at Ash and Misty, his eyes lingering on the latter. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Um, well, your brother and Miss Waterflower have received detention for the whole week," she stammered. Clearly Drew had quite an effect on her.

"Really?" he asked. He cast Ash a "you-naughty-boy" look. "He didn't even get through the first day."

"Or the first class," Ash added.

Drew arched an eyebrow. "I am impressed." He folded his arms. "So why exactly was I called here?"

Ash blinked and leapt into action. "I told her that I couldn't stay for detention because the only time I'm allowed to visit Mom is right after school. She wanted you here to confirm it."

Miss Johanson cocked her head in confusion. Was that what happened? Sounded good to her.

Drew's tongue pushed at the inside of his cheek as he pondered the statement. "Huh," he said. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Three to five, right?"

Ash beamed at his phony brother. If there was anything great about knowing people who lied for a living, it was this. "Yeah, and I don't want to miss any of it."

Miss Johanson found herself nodding as she basked in the glow of Drew. "Alright," she said. "You may leave."

"Both of us?" Misty questioned desperately.

The principal looked like she was about to protest, but Drew flipped his hair, and she pardoned Misty as well. "Get back to class, both of you," she said, shooing them away. "Um, Drew, I was wondering if it would be alright if I spoke to you about Ash's… schedule."

Drew, ever smooth, hurriedly came up with an excuse. "I can't. I've got to get back to work." He waved politely. "See ya." He was almost out the main doors when he beckoned to Ash. "Hey, kid, come here a minute."

Obediently, Ash came. "Yeah?"

His false sibling let out a long sigh. "Can you do me a favor?" he asked.

"Of course," Ash said.

"Don't ever get in trouble again," he begged. "Your principal is creepy."

Ash snorted with laughter at this. "Absolutely," he affirmed, grinning.

Drew smiled, nodded, and sallied back to his car.


There was one other person observing Drew, and she was in the garage. The high school had its own car repair and garage, and May, being a grease monkey, ran the place better than the teacher ever did. She had seen Drew pull up in his beautiful car, and had known at a glance what it was. Of course, that didn't stop her from staring. How often did one see a car that old being driven by someone that young and handsome?

But being as shy as she was, May couldn't bring herself to go out and talk to the man. However, the instant he went inside the school, she hurried outside. She had to see the car up close, maybe pop open the hood to see just how good the engine was…

May started out a few feet away, telling herself that if the driver came out, she could make a run for it and he would never see her. But as time passed, she found herself edging closer and closer to the vehicle. It was so pristine, so well-kept. The leather seats glistened and called her name. The clutch was in park, but it looked as if the slightest movement would put it in drive for her.

Before she knew it, she was examining every aspect of the car, from the gleaming mustang symbol on the front to the chrome words on the back. The top was down, giving her a full view of the car's seductive seats and pedals. Oh, what she wouldn't give to sit in the driver's seat, and feel the purr of what was sure to be a fabulous motor…

May had been leaning over the side of the car, trying to get a better look at the dials and other gizmos the driver would see. She had been careful not to touch it with her grease-covered hands, afraid she might smudge the paint. She had completely forgotten about the driver.

"What are you doing?"

May screamed and jumped back. "I'm sorry!" she said immediately. "I just wanted to look! I've never seen a real Fastback before, only pictures, and I wanted to know everything about it and I really wanted to open the hood to see the engine but I didn't because I didn't think that would be okay and your car is really, really nice sir and I'm sorry!" She felt the tears coming. He was certainly angry at her. She should never have come to look at the car. Stupid, stupid girl! She rubbed her nose in an effort to hold off the tears.

The driver started laughing. "You've got grease all over your hands!" he reminded her.

Blinking, May looked down at her black hands. She gasped in horror and covered her mouth with her hands, a gesture that would have been fine had she not just given herself a gothic makeover. It took her a moment to realize what she had done, and when she did, she went cherry red. "I can't believe I just did that!" she cried. "What was I thinking?"

The driver kept laughing at her, which only enraged her. He reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a box of tissues. "Here," he offered, still chuckling.

"It's not that funny," May snapped. "I mean, you've got green hair. What are you laughing about?" She took a wad of tissues and proceeded to wipe her face and hands.

"Hey, don't go dissing my hair," he warned. "It's probably the coolest hair you'll ever see."

May sneered and worked at particularly tough bit of grease on her palm. "Yeah," she said. "Because my friend's blue hair or that guy's purple hair just doesn't top green."

"If you say my hair is the best," he said, smirking, "I'll let you look under the hood."

May seized up. "Really?"

He nodded. "Really."

She bit her lip, obviously pondering his offer with a lot of concentration. She could admit his hair was the best and get to see the gorgeous engine that was simply waiting for her, or she could keep her pride and be as stubborn as possible. Ordinarily, she would go with the latter.

But she really wanted to see that motor…

"Your hair is the best," she said quickly. "Now open it."

He smiled playfully. "Absolutely."

"Hey!" called a voice, and May turned to see the garage teacher running out to her. "What are you doing out here? You can't be out of class!"

The driver sighed. "I guess you can't see it," he said sadly.

"Oh no," she argued. "I'm going to see that engine if it kills me. I will see you again, and I will see your beautiful, sexy car too." She paused. "Does it have a name?"

He started laughing. "You want to know the name of my car, not me?"

"Fine," she said. "I'm May."

"I'm Drew," he told her with a smile. He glanced at the car. "I think you should name it." He patted the hood. "Let me know next time I see you."

And with that, Drew got in his nameless car and drove off.

*AN: What should I name the car? I have been pondering this for a long time, and I need ideas. I hope making May a grease monkey wasn't out of character. Didn't seem like it to me...

To my veteran reviewers: I promise, it will be every bit as good as Sky Cat, since Amber Ice Fox will again be editing. And hopefully I can get the plot worked out more for you, Nianque! To my new reviewers: Hi! I'm weird! This story will be loooooong, so buckle up! Ordinarily I would reply to everyone but I'm honestly too lazy right now. So thank ya'll for your reviews and for reading!*