A/N: Yay! Thanks SO much to all who reviewed – stella-s55, magicalgalkairi, Paupu-Kairi, Bakura'sli'lgirl, The Awakener Viari, Pikpik246, princessdagger3, Nicky4, Cherry Arrow - I am so thankful!! Hey, this is the first time I've gotten more than 2 reviews for my first chapter... hopefully you'll keep reviewing? *Puppy dog eyes* ^_^
Oops, it also seems I've forgotten to include a disclaimer in the previous chapter! *Whacks self on head* Well anyway here it is!
Disclaimer: I do not, I repeat do not, own Pokemon. Taadaa. All done.
Oh, and both Ash and Misty are about 15. Welcome to my world of random ages. Heehee.
-----
Chapter Two
The days quickly passed.
Ash woke up on Sunday morning with a minor headache. He'd had a rather unpleasant dream last night, which involved himself rolling down the skiing slope and gathering snow until he looked like a giant snowball, and yet he couldn't stop, the slope just kept going, and Gary's laughter was ringing in his ears... with a little sigh, he shook his head, pushed the windows open and stuck his head outside to get some fresh air. When his headache faded, he changed and cleaned himself up (i.e. make bed, brush teeth, sing a little in the shower...).
Half an hour later, he thudded into the kitchen.
His mom wrinkled her nose as he walked past. "What did you put on? It smells awful."
He scowled. "It's called deodorant, mom." Sitting down, he grabbed a donut. "Anyway, I thought moms like perfume."
"Ok, ok," laughed Mrs Ketchum. "Well, I'm a special mom. I don't like such smells."
Ash groaned. "Don't give me that." Munching nonchalantly, he absent-mindedly flipped through a magazine that was lying within arms reach. It was a Home and Garden subscription. Damn. Sighing, he finished off his breakfast with a glass of milk and flung (sort of) the magazine aside. "Shoot. Nothing to distract me with..."
Mom looked up from her own breakfast – hash browns on toast. "Distract you from what? Oh, the ski trip? Don't worry, honey, remember the practice a few nights ago? I'm sure you'll be fine." She gave him a pat on the arm.
"Easy for you to say," her son muttered. "I've got my reputation on the line."
His mom chose not to argue. "Alright, but just one thing. That donut was meant to be fed to the birds. I dropped it in the garden. I just hope that you won't develop a stomachache to go with your nervousness..."
Ash paled and dived for the medicine drawer.
*****
At exactly 9:00am, after a (pretend) teary goodbye from Mrs Ketchum, Ash stopped outside Misty's front door, his luggage in the car (hehe, he managed to buy himself one, though I think he might be a little too young to drive). Peering into the frosted glass, he knocked gently. A silhouette quickly appeared in the doorway and opened the door for him. It was Misty.
"Uh... hi!" he said, grinning widely. "You ready to go? I got my car; you can put your stuff in the trunk." [Urk,] he thought. [Quickly. Offer to take her bags. Or something useful. Don't just stand there looking useless! Go! Go! GO!] "A-and, would you like some h-help carrying your gear?" His heartbeat was getting irregular. Hopefully that was just the side affects of those dodgy-looking stomach pills he took an hour or so ago.
Misty looked flustered. "Oh, could you do that please? Thanks a lot, Ash." She disappeared into the house and brought out a couple of heavy looking bags, panting as she handed Ash one. "I know, it's a little heavy, but seeing as you've got nothing in your hands..."
"Oh, it's ok," Ash almost grabbed the bag off Misty, earning a curious look from her. [Eeemph. That was a little too quick. Slow down a bit... be calm... be a gentleman...] "I'll just take this... meet you at my car. It's parked out on the side of the road. Alright?"
She nodded, a little wide-eyed. "You have a car? I never knew that," she remarked. "What is it?"
"Ur... I think it's a Toyota... Lancer?" Ash's arms were getting a little sore. [Man, and Misty's carrying two of these heavyweights... I definitely need to work out a little.] Gingerly, he placed the bag on the ground and tried to rub his shoulders without her noticing.
"What are you doing? Yoga?" asked Misty, grinning as Ash started doing weird movements.
"Um... no..." [Ack!] "Erm, enough t-talk, let's get going already!" With that, he practically ran to the car, and loaded her stuff into the back. Climbing in, behind the steering wheel, he was soon joined by Misty. The combined weight of both teenagers' luggage made the car sink slightly. Ash hoped the tyres weren't flat. He hadn't pumped them in a while.
The trip to Gary's place was a long and awkward one. Throughout the whole three-quarter-hour journey, neither of them talked much, and though both made good efforts to start a conversation, neither succeeded. The relief that dawned on Ash when they reached their destination was immense. He almost felt like singing and even went as far as opening his mouth before quickly realizing what he was doing and shutting it.
"Hey Ash! Long time no see!" called Gary. "How's things going?" He added a little grin with the question.
"Fine, as usual," replied Ash. [The only thing that's not fine is my love life,] he thought. [Not fine at all.]
May beamed at him. "That's great to know!" And while Misty had turned away, she nudged him, winking. "So... what about Misty? Any... news?"
Ash turned pink. "Wha-what do you mean, any news? W-what news would I have about M-Misty?" Turning the other way, he cleared his throat and tried to calm himself down, using the technique with the deer droppings. It didn't work.
May laughed. "Sure, sure. I'm a girl, you know," she said, smiling. "I know when a girl is interested in a guy. And vice versa." Then, she left him alone and went to join Gary in loading up their stuff into his van.
Ash stared. [She knows when a girl is interested in a guy?] He wasn't sure if he wanted to know who the 'girl' was yet... but a part of him wished that he'd been born a woman, for particular knowledge reasons.
*****
Telltale Sign: Stuttering, awkward silences, and a wish to become the opposite gender...
-----
Hehe. Took me a while to write this... usually I update in 1 day...
PS: No, Ash will not become a girl in any circumstances. Too complicated for little old me... ^_^
