Disclaimer: I don't own Ash, nor Guitar Hero, nope, not pokémon, which makes me feel like a zero. And though I've hoped, and though I've prayed, I don't own Sixteen Candles, not now, not one day. But I DO own this fic, and I own this idea, and a black iPod which I've named Maria.

Misty Waterflower, aged fourteen, casually sat on the tan sofa, running her hand over the velvety surface. She had always loved velvet, soft, smooth, something she kind of (with a blush) imagined Ash's skin to be. Why did she imagine it? Well, Misty was crushing and crushing hard on a certain dark haired beauty jumping up and down, blaring Guitar Hero III songs from his game system, which he received from his mom for his fourteenth birthday not four days ago.

She rolled on her stomach, sighing, and eyed the electric rodent chasing after her azumaril. He looked preoccupied, stressed, horrified even as the baby turned the garbage disposal on and off and slowly leaned forward, closer and closer to that deadly sink. Her tail twitched with excitement, her little eyes opened wide and ears shot up with unbridled interest in the gurgling sound. The little tail began to get closer and closer to the drain…

Pikachu began to scream, racing towards the baby. (Azumaril, NO!)

Misty idly put her head in her hand and sighed again. "Ozzy, the sink is dangerous. Don't put your tail in there, it hurts. Remember what 'hurts' is?" She raised an eyebrow, and the baby pokémon chirped joyfully and bounded away from the sink, leaving Pikachu to cry with relief and fall flat on its face.

"Pikachu, You're supposed to be focusing on me, you know. And my problems." She rolled over on her side, burying her face in the couch with a moan. "I don't know why I both. He probably wouldn't care. Heck, he probably wouldn't even know what the hell I meant. I could run right up to him and scream my feelings in his face, kiss him right on the lips, and he'd just stare at me. Maybe he'd think I was playing a joke on him."

(What are you going to do then?) Pikachu asked. She bounded from her spot near the sink and onto Misty, curling up on the narrow ledge of her side and resisting the urge to get a tighter grip by using her claws. Ash may have gotten used to it, but Misty was another story.

"I suppose I'll just go and tell him and kiss him on the cheek or something, if I was going to. At least then I could say I kissed Ash Ketchum. Most girls would like to brag about that. He did save the world a couple times." Misty put her head in her hand. "It's all hypothetical, of course. It's not like I'm going to run upstairs and tell him, that would be stupid. Besides, I don't want to get rejected. Rejection sucks. The guy in my homeroom class rejected me. Well, not so much rejected me as he asked my name and I forgot and ran and hid in the bathroom because he was hot. That kind of counts as rejection. It stung like rejection."

Pikachu licked her cheek to comfort her. (I don't see why you're so worried about it. You said it yourself. He's an idiot. If you get it off your chest, you'll feel better, and he probably won't even realize. Even if he does realize, do you really think he'll shoot you down? He doesn't get love, but…he wouldn't insult you. He's let you down gently. Or, the more likely option, he'll be an idiot and say, "Gee, Misty, I love you too! You know who else I love? Pikachu and Brock and Max and May and Dawn and the list goes on and on and on.)

Misty moaned. "You're really rooting for the two of us to go out on a date, aren't you?"

(Oh, come on, like I have that little of a life. Don't you think I have more important things to do?)

"You're an electric rat who has a trainer that is currently upstairs playing Guitar Hero. What the hell could you possibly be doing?" Misty rolled her eyes.

(Alright, so I'm trying to hook you up. Maybe I've got a bet with Mr. Mime on the side. Let's just say if you get together by the end of the week, I'll have ten apples and three ketchup bottles to give you.) Pikachu winked suggestively at the girl, attempting to goad her into the bet. (Oh, you know you want to. All you have to do is tell him! You'll feel better. Your friendship will be better. I'll be rolling in apples and ketchup, which is practically the currency of the pokémon world.)

She narrowed her eyes. "I'm doing this because I've been thinking about it for years, not because you're goading me into it." She stood up, throwing Pikachu from her side and to the ground, and brushed off her pants. "But I still want those apples and ketchup bottles. I'll drown my sorrows in fruit."

(Wait, wait. You're going up just like that? Fix yourself!) Pikachu cried from the floor, wildly throwing her arms about. (Oh! Oh! You know what Ash liked? He thought it was cute when you put your hair down. Well, I actually don't know if he liked it but he did say: "Misty wore her hair down. That's new," when we finished up for the night so that could potentially mean he's interested in your hair being down.) Misty stared at her blankly. (If you don't put your hair down I won't get ketchup, dammit! Put your hair down!)

With an angry, exaggerated movement, she pulled the rubber band out of her hair and shook her head. The loose hair cascaded smoothly to her shoulders, a tad bit frizzy from the summer heat but not too bad, all in all. The band was snapped around her wrist, having no place else to put it, and she held her arms out to the side for Pikachu's approval. "I'm not all dolled up. He's not going to notice the difference. This is stupid."

(No it's not! It's brilliant and…and…) The little mouse broke down. (I'm already in debt with Mr. Mime! If I don't win this one I may never get ketchup again! Ash is already mad because I lost three potions in a bet with a starly, but that damn bird was mocking me! How was I supposed to know when it meant a high-flying jump contest, it didn't mean jump in the air? It turns out it means how high you can go with one flap of your wings. I lost…badly…So I zapped that little bird bastard and all his comrades to hell.)

Misty eyed her carefully. "I'm going to back away slowly and go upstairs. Because, suddenly, being alone with Ash doesn't seem half as scary as being alone with you." And, doing as she said, she backed away slowly, making sure not to show her back to Pikachu, then raced up the stairs as fast as she could.

She approached his room tentatively, smoothing her pants and shirt once more with a slow, nervous, sigh. Then, her chin came up, her face set, and she began to slam her right fist on the door. "Ash!" Misty shouted, getting angrier as time went by and he didn't answer, "Ash, you idiot, get out here! I've gotta tell you something! Guitar Hero shouldn't be as important as your friends?"

"Huh?" Ash pulled his head out. His head, curiously, was covered in a blue bandana and his face was drenched in sweat. "Sorry, I had the music up really loud. They've got some amazing songs on here, you ought to listen. It's way more fun than the handheld one Brock's little brother got for the holidays. But what's you call me out for?" His eyes widened. "Oh! Is someone in trouble? Should I get my pokémon? I've been meaning to use muk against Team Rocket."

"No," Misty growled, clenching her fists. Of course, he didn't notice the three seconds it had taken to put down her hair, she didn't expect him too. But still, couldn't he have made this easier on her? Like, instead of looking like a sweaty, crazy teenage boy, he could look a bit more sexy and understandable for her to have a crush. "Don't run off somewhere, I want to talk to you about…about stuff."

"So…no one's in trouble right?" Ash asked, cocking his head to the side. "Because I saved my game and finished the song and stuff, so if there is you don't have to worry. I can just run right out and do whatever you need me to do. Really, I'm up for the challenge."

Misty smacked her forehead and growled. "Yes. Come the rest of the way out. So as I was say-holy…" Misty trailed off, feeling her eyes bug out of her head.

Gaping, now, as much of a compliment it was to some, was probably not a good thing to do to your best friend right before you confessed your love. There was Ash, in all his shirt less glory, standing sweat soaked in his boxers with the cutest expression on his face. He beamed at her. "So, Misty, what'd you want to talk to me about? Hey! You want to take your turn at Guitar Hero? It's really addictive."

"A-ash. Shouldn't you, ah, put on a shirt?" She flushed. Just as she had many times before, she put both her hands over her eyes and closed them for extra security.

"Why? You see me in swimming trunks all the time. I've got pants on. Just tell me what you wanted to say. It's not like we're ten anymore." Ash shrugged, leaning again the doorframe in an almost model-esque pose and eyeing her curiously.

Her hands slowly fell. "Yeah, but…" Misty tried to keep her eyes on his face. She hadn't seen him in his swimming trunks since they were twelve. Yes, she should be fine with it, but still. It was distracting, dammit. He was hot. Of course, he didn't have a six pack and he didn't have a godly body, but he was thin and just a tad stronger than what she was used to. Though, in truth, the only time she really saw men without their shirt on was when she babysitted, and that didn't really count.

"What?" He frowned.

"Nothing!" She gasped, realizing her eyes had been wandering down. She twisted her head up to his face, squared her shoulders, and confidently said, "Ash Ketchum, I love you." With that out of the way, she gave him a lingering peck on the cheek.

She pulled back and watched him. He stared, head cocked to the side as it thinking about something complicated, then chirped, "Thanks, Misty. I love you too. Best friends for life, right? Let's go play Guitar Hero! I've got a song on here I know you'll like!" He tempted.

"You know what Ash…I'd…I'd rather watch a movie, alright?" She said, somehow feeling low. She had thought she didn't have any expectations. She supposed she was wrong. "Don't bother coming down, it's going to be some girly chick flick that you don't want to watch. You'll just being annoying and make cracks about it so, stay upstairs, won't you? And turn the music down, it's blasting my ear off and agitating Pikachu."

He clicked his tongue. "Mist, what are you all cranky about? I'm sorry if I said something." He watched the girl turn on her heel and walk away. "Mist! Misty! Come on! Are you jealous of Guitar Hero or something? Come on! I'll spend time with you! You're not getting away that easy. I'm not leaving this house with you pissed off at me. Last time that happened, you sent my phone bill through the roof by calling over and over. Misty!"

He cried one more time, a bit angry. A few seconds later and his game system was off, his clothes were on, and he was chasing Misty down the stairs.

(PAGE BREAK)

"You were right. I hate this movie." Ash said dully, glaring at the TV screen. Sixteen Candles, perhaps the girliest and sappiest and most romantic movie of all time (at least, while Ash was watching it) was winding down to a close and it was getting more romantic by the second. Ew.

"Why?" Misty asked with a sappy smile. "It's soooo romantic."

"But, it's so clichéd," Ash retorted. "It's not the first time you've watched it, with the corniest ending in all the world."

"Ooh, cliché, big word." Misty chuckled.

"I know. I've been studying lately," He said, completely serious in the matter. "But, I hate clichés. The one I hate the most is when there's this girl, right? And she likes this stupid guy. So she declares her love in some obvious way, like a love letter or e-mail or flowers or candy or whatever, and then the guy is so stupid he thinks she just means like a friend." Ash sighed. "It's a tie between that and the two best friends, the guy doesn't see the girl as a girl, they fight all the time, but they're actually in love and just to scared to admit it. But that usually leads to the second cliché, doesn't it?"

"That it does," Misty mumbled, face flushing. Out of habit, she ducked her head down and began to busy herself with tying up her hair.

"Wait a minute," He stopped her hand, blushing a bit himself. "I like your hair down. And…and isn't it more romantic when the girl has her hair loose? I mean, I already took off my hat, so I'm set, aren't I?"

"Set for what?" She inquired breathlessly.

"Set for this," He whispered. His lips silently closed over hers. Their lips tingled, holding the kiss for barely more than a second before pulling away, both wide eyes and excited. "See, and you called me stupid. I'm not a retard."

Misty grinned. "Oops?"

Happy Birthday, Samantha. Make a wish.

…It already came true.

And as the two characters leaned forward to kiss on screen, Ash and Misty began to as well. Closer, closer, and closer still until…

"Hey Ash, I know this is weird, but I've got déjà vu. It came right after I said 'oops' and-"

She was silenced with a kiss.