Believe Again

Hi everyone. :) This is a bit of a longer chapter for you all. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think!

Chapter Two

Gary nodded his head along to the song blasting from his stereo system as he drove his red sports car to Cerulean City. It was a perfect spring day, the sun was shining and the sky was blue for as far as he could see. He could think of a million other things he would rather be doing on that perfect day, but instead he was stuck travelling to visit Misty, the leader of the Cerulean City Gym, as a favour to his grandfather and Mrs Ketchum. That Mrs Ketchum…she always had a way of forcing you to do things against your will. How did she do it? It was no wonder Ash was such a goody-goody.

It took Gary one hour to reach Cerulean. He followed the signs to the Gym and arrived at the huge building soon after. He parked his car out the front, glancing up at the huge Dewgong painting that adorned the pink and yellow striped roof. He had to admit, the place looked a lot better than it had the last time he'd been here. It was in the early days of his journey, but he recalled the run-down, faded building he had entered and earned a Gym Badge from the 'Sensational Sisters'. The three sisters were definitely sensational, but they weren't great trainers, for he had beaten the blonde sister easily. He had heard through the grapevine that the Gym had been turned around by its new leader, the youngest Waterflower sister – Misty. He could tell just by looking at the building that she had made significant improvements.

Grabbing the bag of Pokémon food his grandfather had sent with him, Gary locked his car and walked down the path to the front door. He found the inside foyer to look just as impressive as the outside, with its shiny floors and recently painted walls that were the same shade of blue as the sky that day. The reception desk inside was unattended, so he walked through to the huge arena.

Gary paused mid-step when he saw a girl – Misty, he presumed, kneeling down at the pool and petting a dangerous looking Gyarados like it were a cute little Eevee. She had her back to him, so she had not noticed he was there. Not wanting to interrupt her 'moment' with the Dragon/Water type, he cleared his throat obviously, and she turned instantly at the noise.

Gary was…frozen. Not the type of frozen that you get from an Ice Beam or anything, but the type of frozen that leaves you stopped in your tracks, and probably looking like a complete idiot. All that would move were his eyes, which wandered their way around her face and body approvingly. The last time he had seen this girl she was a scrawny tomboy. Now, she was definitely not anywhere near that description. She was tall, with long, lean legs that seemed to go on forever. Her skin was creamy white and so smooth it almost seemed to glow. She was slim and athletic, but with distinct curves that were visible through the sheer white top she wore over her red bikini top, paired with denim cutoff shorts. Her flame red hair was the only thing that was the same, and even that was different – for it was longer, pulled back into a fiery red ponytail, swishing away as she stood and crossed her arms matter-of-factly.

"A picture might last longer," she said snidely, as Gary finally realised he had been gawking at her as though she were an Arceus. He snapped his mouth shut and cleared his throat as though he didn't know what she meant.

As he took a few steps closer to her, he realised just what Deliah had been talking about. Dark circles protruded beneath Misty's eyes, which were such a pure shade of blue-green he wondered how it were possible for a person's eyes to resemble the exact shade of the ocean, and yet they were dulled, somehow, or glazed over, or something similar. Her peaches and cream complexion was pasty pale, as though she had coated her face with chalk dust. Her small nose crinkled rudely as she noticed him staring again. She cleared her throat, and he snapped out of it. He tightened his grip on the bag he was holding. Damn it, what was happening to him? He never got this way around girls; he was suave, cool, always in control. About now he didn't feel so much in control.

"Uh…I'm-" he began, but he was instantly interrupted by her voice.

"I know who you are, Gary Oak," she snapped, knocking him off balance slightly. "The question is, why are you here?"

Dumbfounded by her attitude, Gary held out the bag in his hand.

"My grandpa wanted me to pass on this Pokémon food for you-" he began, but was interrupted again.

"Where's Tracey?"

"What? Oh, he's in the Orange Islands."

Misty glared at him through her strangely dull eyes, her brow creasing as though she were scrutinizing every thought in his head. Gary felt completely uncomfortable around this crazy yet beautiful girl. Then he remembered the real reason he was there.

"Also," he began, keeping his eyes on her, "Mrs Ketchum wanted me to check on you. She says you're ill."

"What? That's ridiculous, I'm fine," she protested, but her statement was so weak that he could see in her face that even she knew it was a lie. Sensing her weakness, Gary took back the hold she had over him and moved forward.

"No offense, but you actually don't look so good."

She said nothing for a few moments as she watched him move forward, her lips pursed, her cheeks flushed. As he got closer, he noticed more and more how unwell she looked.

"I am fine," she demanded, putting her hands on her hips. "So you can march off back to Pallet Town and do…whatever it is you do," she waved a hand as if waving him away

Gary raised an eyebrow as he stood in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Miss Waterflower, but I can't do that," his tone was mocking, and though she was weak, she still had the strength to be angry.

"Oh yeah? I'll set my Gyarados on you," she glanced behind her at the monstrous creature, which was looking at her protectively.

"I'm so scared," he smirked, and then shook his head. This was going nowhere, and he hadn't wasted his time coming here to argue like a child with her. If she didn't want him here, then he was outta there.

"I'm only here because Deliah and my grandpa forced me to be. Believe me, I have better things I could be doing."

He awaited her bitter, sarcastic response, but none came. Her lips were pursed again, but she wasn't contemplating an array of words to spray at him like a Water Gun, her brow was creased and her eyes losing whatever sparkle they held, which wasn't much. If it were possible, her face became paler in those few seconds that he stood there staring at her. She put a hand to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Hey, are you-" Gary didn't get to finish his question, for a mere moment later, he noticed Misty's body start to weaken, she swayed, and then started to fall. This all seemed to happen in slow motion, and as Gary realised what was happening he sprung forward, catching her just before she hit the ground. Behind them in the pool, Gyarados roared as though it wanted to kill him for hurting its master, but Gary didn't spare a second thought for the monster as he looked down at the pale girl in his grasp.

"Misty?" he called softly, biting his lip when she didn't respond. "Shit." She was out cold. He put a hand to her forehead to check for any sign of fever.

"Shit," he exclaimed as he felt the burning heat coming from her forehead.

Gary sprung into action, and picked Misty up. She didn't stir as he made his way back out of the arena and into the foyer, where he guessed the other door led to the living quarters. He was right, and the first room he found was a living room. He set Misty down on the cream-coloured couch, putting a pillow underneath her head, and raced into the connecting kitchen. Gary had treated a lot of Pokémon with a fever before, but never a human. Still, he figured it couldn't be too different. He ran for the freezer and jerked open the door, before pulling two ice trays out. Grabbing a washcloth from one of the drawers, he dumped the ice onto it and wrapped it up, and then ran back into the room. Misty had not stirred, but she looked restless in her sudden slumber. Gary placed the self-made ice pack on her forehead, and then sought some blankets from the other side of the room. He placed one over her, tucking it in on the sides so she would remain warm. He watched her avidly, he knew he had to get some water into her but he couldn't do it until she woke. He raced back to the kitchen and filled a glass with water, then he walked back into the room with the glass, placing it down on the table beside the couch. As he did so, he heard her stir, and he watched as she opened her blue-green eyes, filled with confusion as they darted around at her surroundings, and then laid upon him.

"Here," he picked up the glass of water. "You need to drink this water. Do you think you can sit up?"

Unable to find the ability to speak, Misty nodded, her eyes still traced with confusion. She tried to push herself up, but she appeared to even surprise herself when she couldn't. Gary watched her intently, before reaching forward. He put an arm behind her and helped her to sit up enough to drink. She guzzled the water down quickly and laid back down.

"You collapsed," Gary explained, noting her apparent confusion. She glanced at him through her tired eyes.

"I have to get up," she said softly, so quietly and slowly that he barely caught the words.

"What? Are you kidding?" he gazed at her incredulously. "You have a fever. You're not going anywhere."

"But-"

"I can't believe you're arguing with me." Just who did this girl think she was? Some sort of machine? Gary had never seen anything like it…

"Now Misty, do you know if you have any Tylenol? You need to take some to bring down your fever, which by the way, is ridiculously high. I should be taking you to the hospital."

"In the bathroom cupboard," she pointed a slender finger towards another door, and he followed her directions before finding himself in their bathroom. He raised an eyebrow at the pink décor, the makeup placed everywhere, the three hair straigteners, each one in a different shade, neatly lined up on the cupboard. He reached for the aforementioned cupboard and quickly found the Tylenol.

When he returned to the living room, he was astounded to find Misty sitting up shakily, taking off the ice pack and placing it on the table.

"Uh…where do you think you're going?"

"I don't have time for this," she said weakly. "Too much to do."

"I don't think you get it," Gary stood in front of her, his eyebrows raised. "You have a really bad fever. You need to lie down, and you need to take this," he held out the small white tablet and handed her the glass. He was slowly recovering from the shock of her collapsing which was giving way to a mix of muddled feelings. First, he was annoyed that he had to take care of this girl, who was only getting annoyed at him for doing so. Second, he was totally miffed by her blasé attitude. And third, he was totally and unexpectedly concerned for her.

Misty took the tablet but did not lie back. Gary sat on the table across from her, figuring he might as well try to get out of her what she could possibly be so busy doing.

"Why are you so busy?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Not that it's any of your business, but the PIA are coming in three days, and the Gym is nowhere near ready."

"Oh," he nodded his understanding, but then paused. "But, the Gym looks fine to me."

"It's not fine. The PIA are getting tougher and tougher, and because of the way my sisters were running this Gym before they will have special watch on it. They are shutting down Gyms all over the place. I can't let them shut this place down, I can't-"

It was Gary's turn to interrupt her. Her eyes had filled with water but he couldn't tell if it was a result of the fever or if she was crying.

"Whoa, whoa, I don't think there's much chance of that happening. And the fact is, you need to rest, unless you really do want to end up in hospital with a drip poking out of your arm."

Misty swallowed nervously. She did not like needles. But she didn't like Gary either. Tracey was much nicer.

"Look," Gary sighed exasperatedly. "Since I'm here, I'll do what needs to be done."

"You?" she asked incredulously, as though he were totally incapable.

Gary did not appreciate her insinuations, especially since he was offering to do her work for her. Sick or not, this girl was a mental case. How had Ash put up with her for all those years?

"Yes, me, I'm more than just a pretty face you know," he mocked her.

With a huff, she laid back down on the couch.

"Just forget it, I'll have a quick rest, and then I'll be fine."

"That's what you said before, and then you collapsed. You know you're lucky I was here. I doubt your Gyarados would have been able to get you ice and Tylenol."

Misty started to realise how impossibly stubborn she was being. Truthfully, the guard she was holding up was exhausting her as much as the fever was. With a sigh, she relaxed, laying her head back against the pillow. He was right, she knew – there was no way she could work in her condition. She hated to admit it, but Gary was her only option for getting the Gym completed on time…

"What do I need to do?" Gary pressed. She reached into her pocket and her shaky hand handed him a hand-written note on a piece of blue paper.

"On the front is the daily chores list. I've done most of that already…" she began, and watched while his eyes widened as they looked over the list.

She went on, "On the back is the list of things I need to do before Wednesday. I've done about half, but there's still a lot more to go…"

Gary flipped the note over. The list on the back was twice the length of the one on the front! He began to realise just how she had gotten so sick.

"If any challengers come for a battle, you'll just have to tell them to come back tomorrow."

"Or, in a few days," he corrected her. "Looking at you, you're not going to be back up and at 'em by tomorrow."

"What are you trying to say?"

"That you look terrible. Have you checked yourself in a mirror lately?" Gary thought she still looked beautiful, but he wasn't going to admit to that.

Misty growled angrily. What right did he have to comment on the way she looked!

"Yeah," he let out a chuckle, "you look like one of those vampires from that stupid movie my sister made me watch."

"Do you have any manners?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"Just trying to make ya laugh, Red," he winked at her.

"Red?" Misty was fuming by now, though, in her weakness her anger was suppressed.

"Yeah, you do have red hair, after all," he brushed her anger away like he hadn't even noticed it. "Well, better go get started on this," he held up the list. "Keep drinking that water, it'll make you better faster," he pointed to the glass of water on the table. Misty said nothing, just crossed her arms and looked away as he walked out of the room.

Once outside the room, Gary leaned against the wall of the foyer, glancing over the list.

'Dammit, I didn't expect to be doing manual labour. This is going to take me forever! And that weird girl isn't even appreciative of the fact that I'm here against my will to do all her work for her!'

He trudged off towards the arena. His first job was to feed the Pokémon in the tank. That shouldn't be too hard…

To be continued…