Sugar and Spice
A/N: Wheeeee- wow. It's been nearly 3 whole months since I last updated this. -Whistles- I've missed the fun of writing this...
Exams in a few days... T.T However we'll be getting an extra couple of days off after that, so I'll be writing more. Hopefully. (Isn't that what I always say? -.-) Holidays are in about a month or so, meaning more time to write! Yay! Man, stupid school is throwing so much homework at me... add that with writer's block and you get a bad bad author who doesn't update nearly enough.
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Chapter
Four
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It hadn't been a pleasant night for either of them, to say the least. Misty, deprived of the space she usually had to sprawl over on her queen sized bed, struggled with the bedsheets in her sleep and ended up tangled in them. Gary, on the other hand, had an extra blanket flung over his head by the girl kicking and rolling around next to him. He tried to throw it back countless times, but each time - without fail - it would end up on him again after 10 minutes. Neither slept well and it wasn't a surprise when they woke up and found themselves with shadows under their tired eyes.
Misty woke up first. Realizing that she couldn't even brush her teeth unless she wanted to risk getting 'Garyitis' (a rare disease that made you become extremely egotistical and big-headed like the person it was named after), she grumbled and squeezed a bit of toothpaste out of a nearby tube and rubbed it onto her teeth with a finger. She splashed her face with water and grabbed a huge bundle of toilet paper to dry herself, and then sprinted into the laundry room.
Mercifully, her clothes were dry and she quickly got changed. Just as she was about to open the front door and leave, she hesitated and glanced back at the bedroom door. It wasn't exactly polite to stay overnight at someone's home and then leave without some form of thanks. Sighing to herself, she found a pen and some paper on a table and scribbled a quick note to her host:
Dear Mr Bighead:
She crossed it out. It wasn't a great way to start a letter, no matter how amusing it was to her.
Gary -
Thanks for letting me stay the night and washing my clothes. Now you'd better come to that amusement park thingie I told you about. If you dare to not come I will be forced to make you. Call either May or Ash for details - I've listed their numbers on a separate sheet of paper.
Have a lovely day!
Misty
She smiled. It would do. She put it on his kitchen counter, weighed it down with a little ornamental vase and left the house.
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Gary opened his bleary eyes to the sunlight streaming through his open curtains. Who opened them? was the first thought that crossed his confused mind. He glanced at the other blanket next to his own and remembered that Misty had spent the night here. He smirked at how wrong it sounded - Misty; fiery, aggravating Misty spending a night in his home? It was something that people would have expected to happen when pigs flew. And since the chances of flying pork was unlikely in the extreme, he didn't think people thought they were very compatible.
He grimaced. He was thinking like she did mean something to him, and that something did happen last night. Which, of course, was completely untrue. Gary shook his head. Such bizarre thoughts were to be reserved for once his brain started working properly, not when he just woke up.
Was she still here? Would she be having breakfast at his place, like he had done last time when he 'crashed' at her house? he wondered as he got dressed and headed into the bathroom. Judging by the lack of noise outside, he guessed not. A small part of him felt a little disappointed, but he crushed the feeling as quickly as it had popped up. He really didn't have time to feel disappointed just because Misty, of all people, didn't spend anymore time here. There were plenty of other girls - more attractive ones - out there, and she'd always disliked him anyway, so it was nothing big.
He found himself plagued by similar thoughts all through the morning, until he caught sight of the two pieces of paper jammed underneath the vase his antique-collector friend had given him for a birthday. Raising an eyebrow, he sprang out of his chair faster than he should have and mentally scolded himself for his reaction. Lifting the vase and picking up the note, he sat back down with vase still in his hand and read the note, an odd eagerness in his mind.
Seconds later, he grimaced and flicked the piece of paper onto the table. He replaced the vase and sighed as he piled his dishes into the dishwasher. Amusement park, huh? Gary wouldn't have minded seeing how exactly Misty was going to make him go - the thought made a small smirk grace his lips - but after all the trouble she'd gone to just to give him the coupon, he decided not to invoke her anger anymore. He glanced at the small square of white paper clipped to the note. Ironically, Misty hadn't left her own number but insisted that he call one of the others. Her behavior gave Gary a small stab of annoyance. It wasn't as if he'd ever misuse her phone number. He certainly wasn't a stalker and he doubted anyone would want to stalk her in the first place.
He called May, but she gave vague answers to his questions and seemed to hint to him to ask someone else. He wasn't going to call Ash because that just wasn't something Gary Oak would do.
Only one person left on the list. He'd suspected it would end up like this. Where does she go during the day? he pondered to himself. Oh yeah. She's the gym leader of Cerulean City now. Meaning she's gonna be spending all day at the Cerulean Gym.
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Misty felt somewhat upbeat as she strided towards the gym, a spring in her step and a smile on her face. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and she was about to spend all day doing one of the things she loved best - battling against other Pokemon trainers. She unlocked the door, made sure there was enough food for the Pokemon when they got hungry, and let out her 6 main Pokemon to have a quick swim in the pools before they started fighting.
They emerged from the Pokeballs eagerly, rapidly downed some Pokemon food that Brock had sent her a few days ago. The delicious smell wafted up to her nose, and she restrained herself from tasting some of it herself. She looked around in the kitchen for milk and cereal, but could only find a carton of yoghurt which she ate quickly.
She yawned as she finished, and tossed the empty carton over her shoulder into the bin. Judging by the clunk it made on the tiles, she'd missed. She sighed, picked it up and put it where it belonged. Outside, she heard some scuffling, then knocking that announced the arrival of her first opponent of the day.
Misty smoothed her hair back, checked her ponytail was perfect, and opened the door with a huge beam on her face.
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Gary found the gym about an hour later. The people who had given him directions had been extremely vague (such as, 'oh, to the right' or 'just up a bit further') that didn't really help him. In the end, he purchased a map - he hadn't been around here for so long - and finally found his way.
Why was everyone being so vague today? He hoped he didn't come all the way here just to have Misty behave the same way.
He walked up to the double doors, and heard sounds of a Pokemon battle raging inside as he approached. He smirked; he hadn't battled her in ages and now he suddenly had an urge to. Except of course he couldn't just march inside, kick the other guy off the stand and plant himself there instead. That would hardly make him look good. In fact it might even get him arrested for the use of inappropriate violence, and then he'd go to jail, and then...
OK, I'm getting really sidetracked here, he thought, giving himself a mental shake. I didn't come here just to get myself arrested. He pushed open the doors quietly, and, ignoring the stares of others, sat down on a nearby chair. He was quite aware of the fact that the few people near him all seemed quite interested in him, either because he was Gary Oak or because he was - there was no other way to put it - so good-looking. He shifted his attention to the battle in front of him, and marvelled.
He watched as Misty calmly commanded her Pokemon to dive, jump, and torpedo away from the opponent's attacks, and then immediately swerve back to deal damage while the other Pokemon was occupied. It was one of her tactics that hardly ever failed, and one that she'd used many a time on him. He grudgingly admitted that he'd fallen for it, though that still didn't stop him from beating her.
Gary felt a little bit of an ego boost at the memory of his victories against her.
"Oh damn... uh, Pidgeotto, I choose you!" yelled the preteen boy who faced her. His Pokemon flew out of its Pokeball, but was soon caught in a tsunami attack by Misty's Kingdra, and flailed helplessly as it plummeted down into the pool. One more hit, and it was knocked out. The boy stared down, and looked as though he was about to cry. The platforms were lowered and Misty rushed out to comfort him. She said something, and he broke into a smile and nodded. Her ability to make people feel better, no matter what, was still something that Gary found amazing.
She took a break, chatting a little with the people waiting to battle her and grabbed some snacks. When she emerged from the kitchen, she saw him. Her eyes widened, but she didn't say anything and walked briskly over to him. "And, may I ask," she said crisply. "What are you doing here?" From the way she pronounced the word 'you', you would have thought that he was some kind of bacteria.
"Oh, nothing... nothing at all. Just admiring the way you battle." He winked at her, grinning when she turned pink. "Seriously. You shouldn't go so hard on these poor kids. All they want is that shiny badge." Gary pointed at the badge secured on the chest of her t-shirt.
Misty snorted. "Yeah, go easy on them and then have them beaten mercilessly by the next gym leader? They'll sack me if I do that. And then one of my sisters might get called back instead. I don't want that."
He raised an eyebrow. "Is being a gym leader that important to you?"
"Not that... I just don't want to have to give up this gym. It's the best place around here for water Pokemon, and I don't want my sisters hogging it again. They've done that enough already." She rolled her eyes, then looked at him again. "So why are you here, anyway?"
"About that amusement park trip..." he began.
She cut him off. "I'm pretty sure I left May and Ash's numbers for you. May organized it, so she should know everything."
He grimaced. "Well, I called and she wasn't all that helpful. In fact, she mentioned for me to ask you instead." A lie, but a small one. Wouldn't hurt. And that was pretty much what May was suggesting, anyway.
"Oh my God, that conniving little brat!" Misty complained, slapping her forehead. "I should've known she'd do this to me. Oh well. So what do you want to know? Actually I don't know that much either."
Gary folded his arms, motioning for her to sit down beside him. "You could begin with telling me the basics. Date, place, etc. Oh, and tell me; why exactly are you inviting me again?"
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After she was through, Gary was still thoroughly confused. So they were inviting him just because there was a spare ticket? Well, he knew that there were probably plenty of other people May could have invited, and choosing him over them wasn't something she'd usually do. Which could only mean... that there was some kind of catch involved. Like maybe he would have to buy them lunch. Or dinner sometime. Or both.
Gary wasn't poor, but he wasn't that generous.
"What's in it for me?" he asked finally, grinning again. "Since you want me to go so much, I will. But I do expect some form of repayment."
Misty rolled her eyes. "I'm not paying you anything. I'm stone broke. Why don't you think of it as a good, fun trip rather than an obligation?"
"I grew out of amusement parks a decade ago," he said pertly, not answering her directly.
"Growing out of amusement parks is impossible," Misty declared indignantly, wagging a finger in his face. "You may think you've been on every possible ride there could be, but a lot of new rides could have come up in a decade."
Gary combed a hand through his messy hair, making it even more spiky and scruffy, and Misty was horrified to catch herself staring at him dreamily. She nearly slapped herself but refrained from doing so in case the nearby people thought she was crazy and left. "Alright, alright. I already said I was going." He made a face. "But I do believe we were discussing what you would give me in exchange for my participation in your little trip."
She thought for a while. "Well, I have this old antique clock at home that I never use... you seem to have a lot of antiques so you might want that...?" Deep down, she knew he wasn't looking for a material repayment, but maybe she could tempt him away from what he had in mind - which, she was sure, wasn't something she was going to like. Yeah right. Like he's gonna go for an antique clock, of all things. And that clock is hardly antique. You got it in some murky little store when you were sightseeing in a distant land, whispered her inner voice. "Oh, shut up," she snapped back, realizing too late that she had spoken aloud.
Gary looked taken aback. "I didn't say anything," he said, looking confused. "And no, I'm not an avid antique collector. My tasteless friends give them to me too often for my liking."
Misty laughed, something she thought she'd never do in Gary Oak's presence. After all, usually him just being there made her feel severely annoyed and irritated. "OK, why don't we just drop this whole repayment thing. You're gonna like the amusement park. And you don't need to be paid for coming on a fun little trip, do you?" Take it lightly and easily. Then he might get caught up in the mood and drop the stupid matter.
Unfortunately, Gary wasn't someone who had the IQ of a slug, and she had no such luck. He smirked. "You're not getting off that easily. But yeah, let's leave it for today. Those people behind you are starting to shoot some very nasty looks at me for taking up their time. Better get going before someone starts to get violent on me." He stood, walked a few steps and then turned back. "Oh, and... next time, try not to snore so loudly, will you?"
"Wh-what?" she spluttered, going red. "I do not snore!"
"You just keep thinking that. Maybe one day it'll come true," he laughed, walking backwards slowly towards the exit.
She folded her arms across her chest and huffed. "And there will certainly not be a next time, either." As she spoke, she mentally tried to stop the blush that was crawling up her neck. OK, she blushed easily but it was a pretty blush-worthy subject. It wasn't everyday that she ended up sleeping in the same bed as Gary, no matter how innocent the reason.
Gary laughed again. "That's what they all say."
Unsurprisingly, Misty found great satisfaction and amusement when he backed up too much and banged his head on the gym door. Hmph. That was what he got for trying to accuse her of something that she definitely did not do.
And for suggesting that they might end up in that situation again.
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ZOMG! I'm finished! -Heavenly music- The ending of the chapter took quite a lot of brainpower in order to combat the writer's-blockness... but yeah, I finally cranked it out. As usual I had about half done and then finished it after a few months. I do that quite a lot, actually. I write about one third of the next chapter, run out of ideas, and then go back to it after a long hiatus... well, that's just what happens to me. T.T
Reviews equal (slightly) faster updates. :D
