Well, my self confidence level has dropped again so…er…here's a new chapter. Reviewing would make me cheerful. Anyway, there I go again with my stupid little need to swear. It's a teen fiction…surprise (sarcastic remark). Yeah, that's not like me at all.
Chapter Four
"Listen, Misty, sorry to call so late," Ash began.
Misty groaned and shifted under her covers, "three…freaking a.m. It is three in the morning, Ash. How could you possibly think it's human to call someone this early? That's cruel. What are you doing up so early anyway?"
"The bus just pulled over and woke us all up. There's been traffic all day, we could've gotten to you faster by walking, but we stayed on and then we fell asleep and now there's some storm blowing outside. The gym's too far, I can visit you tomorrow, we're just crashing here at the pokémon center for tonight."
"Really?" Misty murmured. She licked her lips and sat up. No, she couldn't. It was stupid. What kind of prank was it? See if Ash recognized her? That was just plain weird. She would not, could not, and should not stoop to that level of immaturity! Please, like she would ever do something like that. "Hey, Ash, why don't you stay there for the day? It's not that I don't want you to come, but the house is a mess. Can you please let me have the day to clean it, and, you know, get Daisy all cooled down?"
"Is she still emotional?"
"Oh, completely," Misty chuckled. She bit her lip immediately after. What was she doing? The house was immaculate! She was so, so stupid! "I can't wait to see you again, Ash. I've missed you."
"Careful, Mist. You sound like you care about me," Ash teased. "Pretty soon we may be holding hands and…" his confident voice broke off. "Misty, are you blushing too?"
"Not too badly," She lied, completely red. "I don't think I can put up with that type of teasing yet, Ash. I have been getting a bit, ugh, touchy feely. I can't help it! Every time I think of Daisy's baby I just," she gave a dreamy sigh. "I love babies."
"I'm glad to hear that. Maybe I can bring my little cousin over to your house for a week or two," Ash said slyly. He heard the snort over the phone and cracked up. "You still remember him?"
"How he kept rhyming everything he said and making up weird little raps? Oh, vaguely. I wanted to kill him, Ketchum. Now I know how your mom must've felt growing up." They both laughed again. This time Ash was a little too loud, however.
"Ash! Shut up with your stupid girlfriend! I'm tired! Hang up the phone before I (censored language) kill you!" Came the frustrated voice. She was pretty sure that was Drew, since it obviously wasn't May and Ash wouldn't be yelling at himself. Well…at least not this time.
"She's not my girlfriend! Romeo, go get a room with Juliet in the pokémon center."
"Three rooms, dammit!" Drew retorted. "May, move it! I'm tired and cranky and…and…" May walked up to him, tired as well and not bothering to snap for being mistreated. "tToo much yelling. I can't breathe. Woah," Drew stumbled and fell to the sidewalk, his bag in one hand panting for air. "I've never yelled that much in my life."
"Ash, what's happening?"
"Drew's a robot and can't show emotion, shush. I'm watching," Ash said quickly into the phone, watching the scene unfold.
May picked up Drew's bag and swung it over one shoulder. Then, just feeling witty at the moment, walked away shouting, "Drew, I know that the very thought of me coming close is overwhelmingly delightful since I'm so beautiful and all. I understand that you're feeling some new emotions. That's fine, but please, try and keep from falling for me." Drew's mouth dropped open. He murmured something about 'so that's where the mojo went' and stumbled to his feet. He strolled, not to dare try running (it wasn't his forte), off to the pokémon center, the blush barely visible in the lamplight.
"Did you hear that?"
"Oh my freaking Mew did I ever! Tell May I am so proud of her I could cry," Misty squealed. Four years had passed since the first insult passed between May and Drew. Now…now May had finally gotten her revenge. One comment may not seem like much, but it was a sign that though her rival had won many a battle, he had most certainly not won the war. "Ash, I'm really tired. I don't mean to be rude but-"
"Sweet dreams, Mist. I'm sure I'll be in them." he said sweetly. "Oh, and one last thing."
"Yes?"
"If you keep this up, we'll be holding hand and kissing!" He said, dramatically finishing off his earlier statement. "Are you blushing now, Kasumi?" The phone fell from her hands and she scrambled to pick it up again.
…call has been disconnected. You may hang up and try again later…
Misty pressed the disconnect button on the phone, taking deep breaths in and out. It was all okay. She'd be fine. Calm the heart, deep breaths in and out, let the moment drift away, forget what made you feel that way. That's how she cooled down her temper tantrums. This was the same thing, wasn't it? Another tantrum because the great Ash Ketchum had ever thought that'd they'd actually…kiss one day! Please, like she'd ever be caught dead in a liplock with Ash Ketchum. Not even to save his life!
Well, CPR, yes. But not just a romantic kiss with the guy!
Misty? Are you okay? Was that that Ash boy?
"Yeah. We, we can do that prank you wanted. To test how well he knows me? It's all set up, not a problem." She blinked up at Unnown A. She was too nosy. "G-goodnight." Misty snuggled deep down under the covers, squeezing her eyes shut.
No. She did not love Ash. Yes. She had temper tantrums. No. She and Ash were not an 'item'. No. She did not wish they were. Yes. It angered her when people teased her about it. Why? She hated gossip. Really? Of course, she hated people making fun of her! Or, wait, wasn't her reason gossip? Maybe, are the stories getting confused? No! There were no stories! She wouldn't lie to herself of all people! Sure, honesty had never been her strong point, but she had never lied to herself before. Are you mad now? Is that what you're feeling? Yes, undoubtedly.
So if she was feeling all the common symptoms of severe anger; red faced, heart racing, shivering, stomach clenched, then why was this strange other symptom coming over her? This strange feeling like a blanket warming her from the inside out?
Was it love?
No. Not love. Sixteen year olds did not fall in love. Sixteen year old did not have crushes on the strange excited kid in the background, but the nice, strong, stable, cocky, muscular goofball shoving his way through the crowd.
But as she started to drift off again, she couldn't stop that little voice in the back of her head…Ash has muscles too.
There was one other strange thing she felt, though. When she kicked out her foot to hang it over the bed (which she liked to do sometimes when nobody was there to see) she couldn't find the end of the bed. She humphed, a humph that sounded much too high (but it had to be the sleep deprivation!) and crawled on over to let the foot fall, only to bring it back again with the strangest thought of all.
She thought: I can't let my foot hang out over the bed. The monster might grab it.
" 'I can see clearly now the rain has gone! I can see all obstacles in my way! I don't know all the lyrics actually! It's going to be a bright, bright sunshiny day! It's going to be a bright, bright sunshiny day!' " Ash banged on May's door, belting out the song as loud as he could. He didn't have the best voice in the world, but at least it could carry!
"Ash! Go away! It's only eleven!"
"In the morning!" Ash argued. "Even I can't sleep in this late! Come on, May! I'm lonely and Misty says I can't come until tonight and I'm afraid she'll beat the crap out of me if I show up out of nowhere!"
"Go try Drew," She muttered, letting her head crash back down into the pillow.
"Okay," he shrugged. Down the hall he went, off to Drew's room with a new song in mind. He knocked on Drew's door, cleared his throat, and began proudly. " 'Just can't look its killing me and taking control! Jealousy, turning saints into the sea swimming through sick lullabies, choking on your alibis, but it's jus the price I pay! Destiny is calling me! Open up my eager eyes, 'cause I'm Mr. Bright Side!' "
"Ash, give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right now."
"IEven better, I'll give you three. I've saved the world and therefore your ass about fifteen times, I just woke May up with 'I Can See Clearly Now' and I woke you with The Killers. I could've woken you up with Wicked. I could've sang 'As Long As You're Mine'. Do you really want that?"
"You know musicals?" Drew groaned.
"Do you want to take that chance?" Ash shot back. "Wake up! I'm bored. We can do whatever you like to do. What do you like to do?"
"I like video games," Drew said, just loud enough for Ash to hear. He rolled out of bed with a tired groan. His head rolled on his shoulders for a moment, then he unlocked the door and burst through. Ash tumbled backwards with surprise. "I like video games."
"Arcade it is, then," Ash beamed. He grabbed a still sleepy Drew by the collar and dragged him out the door. This resulted in a quick scuffle a few minutes later in which Drew managed to escape Ash's death grip. They began their peaceful stroll to Cerulean City's arcade. "So, how are you and May doing?"
"Why are you here?" Drew asked. "Seems awfully weird to finish up one league, stop looking for another, and drop by to pay your old friend a visit, especially since you didn't even bother to call Brock."
"Fine, I'll drop the topic!" Ash snapped with a blush. "Come on, the best arcade in town is this way." He took a violent spin around the corner, neither of the boys noticing the nervous girl behind them, the floating creature above her head.
"Unown A, this may be a weird question but, before you make me little again, did you...did you do something last night?"
Do anything?
"Like, make me a kid again?"
Oh, no! I wouldn't do that! You see, if you sleep in a different form than your own, you might get too comfortable. You might not want to change back, you see? It's much too dangerous. Unown A explained. Misty nodded.
"Alright, this is it, I guess," Misty said, running her tongue over her dry lips. "Make me little again, please."
How little? Unown A said.
"Seven," Misty said without hesitation. "I want to be seven again. It's young enough that I look different but old enough that I give him a fighting chance of recognizing me. Even though the idiot should be able to get it from the hair," she muttered. She closed her eyes and nodded. "I wish I was seven years old again."
Ash took his hat off to let his head cool off a bit. Maybe Drew was right, he should've cooled it on that samuri game. He had started out well enough, but then the creatures were everywhere and he had felt overwhelmed. He panicked, thrashing everywhere until he slipped and fell down. After that he had screamed something about a 'panic attack' and ran out of the place.
"Ash?" He heard. He turned to see a little girl stare up at him. Her eyes were blue and wide, her hair was the traditional carrot top color and she couldn't be any older than (A/N: if you don't know this, you need some mental help) seven.
"Do…Do I know you?" Ash asked, wondering how she knew his name. Misty gave a sly smile.
"No, at least I don't think you do. My older brother says that you were on the news though when you saved the world a bunch of times," she said. "He's a pokémon trainer too. He left eleven years ago to start his journey. He's never saved the world though. How did you manage too?"
"Uh, I just did. I got roped into this Chosen One thing. What was your name?" Ash asked.
"Kay Kay," She giggled, the name out of her mouth before she could stop it. Why, oh Ho-Oh, why that nickname? She hated that nickname! Then again, it did sound awfully cute on her seven year old self. "My brother said you're from Pallet Town, what's a Charizard doing here?" She smirked, referring to the Pallet Town football team. "It's pretty out of the way. You challenging the gym?"
"No, I'm visiting the Waterflowers. Well, Misty anyway," Ash grinned. He sat down on the cement and patted the spot next to him. "Here, sit. Let's talk."
"Misty? She's the youngest one, isn't she?" Misty asked Ash. He nodded. "Why would you visit her? I mean, she's cool and all, but I thought boys liked the pretty girls."
"That's mean. Are you saying Misty isn't pretty?" Ash accused. "You shouldn't do that unless you're teasing them. That's how you lose friends. I'd never want to do that to Misty, she's the best friend a guy could have. She's a good gym leader too. Show some respect for the town gym leaders."
"Dirty Charizard," Misty grinned. "I guess you're right though. I do like Misty. She's pretty nice. Guys just usually stay away from her since her older sisters are so pretty."
"No, she's got a new boyfriend every week."
"They break up with her?"
"Sometimes. Sometimes she breaks up with them. Sometimes she practically forces them to break up with her. Misty's complicated. You look a lot like her, has anyone ever told you that?" Ash asked. Misty nodded excitedly. "You could practically be her twin! Uh, if Misty was, how old are you?"
"Seven and one half," She declared proudly.
"Seven, right."
"Not seven!" Misty gasped angrily. "I just told you! I'm seven and one half! Not just seven! Weren't you listening? I bet you weren't! Boys never listen." She crossed her arms over her chest. This was getting weird. It was one thing to act like she was seven, but this wasn't good acting. This was coming out of her like it was a natural reaction. "How old are you?"
"Three hundred and seventy six," he smiled. "Where are your parents? You shouldn't be walking out here by yourself. Someone has to be taking care of you."
"No, I take care of myself, usually. My parents don't mind as long as I'm home for dinner. I can choose inside or outside and that's where I have to be all day. That's why I always have my bag," Kay Kay explained. She looked around her. "My bag is…oops, at home! Oh no! All my pokémon are in there!"
"Pokémon? You're not old enough for that," Ash said suspiciously.
Misty scrambled for an answer that didn't include her being a gym leader. "No, you have to be ten to get a pokémon from a Professor and go on a pokémon journey. If you sweet talk one into being your friend and then catch other pokémon it just means you're smart. Find where it says no to that in the rule book," Misty said triumphantly.
"You're smart for a seven year old. I wasn't like this."
"Maybe you were stupid," Kay Kay retorted.
"Was not."
"Was too!" The battle began, and Drew was quite surprised to come out of the arcade to see Ash arguing with a little girl.
"I see you've finally found someone at your intelligence level, congrats," He said sarcastically. Ash blushed and looked at his, well, not exactly friend, but acquaintance.
"Shut up, Drew. I got carried away!" Ash glared. He looked back at the little girl. "Would you like me to walk you home…uh, what was your name again?"
"Kay Kay," Kay Kay smiled. This was starting to get comfortable. She loved this body. Why had she been so excited to grow up and get out of it? She could see a million different places she could run off too in a smaller body, not to mention all the good hide and seek places! Why oh why would she ever want to be a big, clumsy teenager? They were always listening to stupid music and making kissy faces at one another. Ick, that was only cute with Cinderella and the other princesses! "Don't worry about me, Ash! I can find my own way home!" She giggled. "Bye! Maybe I'll see you around!"
As the young girl scrambled off around the corner, Drew began to put his two cents in once again. "Red head, like that Misty girl you've been talking about in your sleep. Weird, you don't see too many red heads anymore, they're working their way out of the gene pool. It's probably because you need to recessive genes to make red hair."
"Drew, where the hell did that come from?" Ash asked. "Do you have tourettes or something?"
"Don't make fun of mental diseases, Ash. It's cruel. Stop being a retard," he smirked, walking off contentedly. "Yeah, I'm back."
Less than twenty minutes later, Kay Kay burst through the doors of her home, eyes wide. "Daisy! Daisy Daisy Daisy Daisy Daisy Daisy!" She screamed, racing into the kitchen. Instead of finding the usual, her mother with the oldest of her sisters making dinner, she found Lily. The out of place sister was washing dishes in the sink. "Lily?"
"Misty?" Lily gasped, the plate slipping from her hand and crashing to that floor.
"Misty? Why'd you call me that?" Kay Kay blinked. "I told you, I hate Misty. Call me Kay Kay."
"Oh fuh…fudge," Lily swallowed. "Vuh-Violet?" her voice began to rise closer to a hysterical scream, "Vuh-Violet! Violet! Violet come here!" She gripped the counter and bent forward, panting. Violet crashed into the kitchen.
"Like, what's wrong, Lily?" Violet touched her sister's shoulder comfortingly. Lily pointed a shaky hand towards her younger sister, her much, much younger sister.
After much swallowing and gasping and panting, the pink haired girl finally manage to strangle out her conclusion. "They, like, got Misty, Violet. We're like, totally screwed."
"Like, what do you mean?" Violet asked. She followed Lily's pointing finger and her heart hardened in her chest. "Damn."
Was the chapter understandable, with the Kay Kay/Misty thing? It seemed to be. Tell me in a review!