Hey all. So I finally have a new chapter. It took a while I know, sorry. I live in Connecticut and we just got attacked by storm Alfred which blew our power. The only reason I am even online is because my AMAZING step father is an electrician and my mom knew a contractor. The contractor gave us a generator and the AMAZING step father set everything up :~D But enough about me on with the story!

Ash looked at the little cave they had landed at. It was really tiny and it was very shallow there would barley be enough room for the three of them if they light a fire, and they would definitely need a fire tonight. Misty seemed to notice too, but didn't say anything. Instead, she simply took one of the sleeping bags out and started setting up camp. Ash sighed as he realized that meant he'd have to go get the fire wood. He didn't really mind, but he was kind of lazy…

By the time he had collected enough wood and came back Misty was relaxing on her sleeping back looking at something. "Hey what're you looking at?"

"Nothing." She said smoothly, as she slipped the book-like item under her torso. Ash, now interested, set the wood down where Misty had obviously intended it to be as there was nothing directly around it and plopped down next to her.

"If it's nothing then why are you hiding it?"

"Because it's nothing as in none of your business." He made a shocked face and put his hand to his heart all dramatic like.

"I am hurt Misty. Nay! Crushed! That you, one of my best friends, would wish to keep something from me, how? How could you do this to me?" As if the phrase and acting he'd done to go along with the spiel wasn't enough he placed his hand on his forehead and fell over as if dead.

"Are you done yet?" He propped himself up on his elbows.

"Can I see it?"

"No."

"Uh!" He fell over again. She giggled and he suddenly reached out to her and to Misty's horror started tickling her right above the hip.

"ASH!" She squealed, "STOP IT"

"Pika pi" Pikachu shook his head in disapproval as he watched the spectacle.

"Let me see the book."

"No."

"I won't stop until you show me!"

"No!"

"Why?"

"BECAUSE."

"WHY?"

"Its embarrassing okay?"

"Then why did you bring it?" He asked while still tickle-attacking her.

"Ash seriously stop."

"Tell me."

"I wanted to remember."

"What?" She pulled it out and pointed to the cover. Ash stopped tickling her and read it. It said Misty's Journal but Journal was crossed and Misty had written 'Survival guide to Living with Ash Ketchum.' He had to read it a couple of times just to process it. "You needed a survival guide to travel with me?"

"Need? No. I Started this the first night I was with you, and then after we became friends I more did it as a joke, but there are some valid things to remember in here."

"Oh yeah? Like what? It's not like I'm difficult to live with Misty." She laughed and flipped through.

"How about number 2, 'Always Have food, the boy eats like a crazy, starving, person'."

"I was a growing boy and we were constantly walking and training."

"You don't need to defend it Ash I was using it to make a point."

"Yeah well you're not the easiest person to live with either." She sighed.

"Honestly Ash I brought to remember a couple of things but mostly I brought it as a laugh, but that doesn't mean I want you to read it, especially if you're getting this sensitive over your appetite." She stuffed it back into her bag. Ash just looked at her for a second.

"What did you want to remember in there?" She blushed a little, and then she sighed and took it back out. She flipped though actually getting to the middle of the book looking for a good example.

"Well," She flipped back and forth now as if trying to decide which one to reveal to him. "Number 22, 'Be careful with how often you compliment him, he has a big enough ego as it is'." He actually laughed at that one.

"It took you that long to decide write that one down?"

"That was the third night."

"You wrote 22 rules in three nights?"

"Well it was more or less redundant considering number 3 is, 'Don't let him grow his ego- it is already large enough'." Ash sweat dropped and sighed,

"Okay well how many are redundant?"

"Surprisingly not that many."

"Come on Misty please let me read them."

"Why do you want to see it so badly?"

"I want to know what you thought of me back then." She sighed and looked up at the sky, it was already dark and now it was windy and cold…

"Okay, you make the fire and I'll let you read it while I make some food."

"Great, only one problem."

"What?"

"Brock has all the food." She turned and looked at him giving him the weirdest expression of annoyance, surprise and a little anger.

"How did Brock end up with all the food?"

"Well we were trying to give Charizard the lightest load possible and the food was heavy so we took one of Brock's bags and he grabbed all the food for the most even load size."

"You have just broken rule number 6!" They both started to laugh and finally Misty just sighed. "Okay make the fire and I'll let you read it."

"YES!" He jumped up like he was actually ten again and started to set the fire to last the night.

Now Misty found herself sitting in front of the roaring fire watching very carefully out of the corner of her eyes she watched Ash reading her journal and wondered why on Earth she actually let him do this.

He was just about half way through when Misty spoke. "Alright Ash you've seen it, can I please have it back?" He finished reading something smiled and looked up.

"I'm sorry Mist what was that?"

"Can I please have that back now."

"You already let me read most of it, why bother stopping me now?" He smiled as he watched the blush rush into her checks again. "Unless there is something in the end that you wouldn't want me to see." His smile broadened and he started looking for where it ended.

"Ash Ketchum don't you dare." He continued to flip the pages completely ignoring her. "Ash give it back." She got up and started towards him but he only stood and started walking away from her. "Why are you such a child!" She jumped onto his back and saw that he was in fact on the last page and reading in. Realizing this she got off his back and slumped back to her sleeping bag and laid down face-first. Ash looked back at her in shock.

"Number 302, Ash is an Idiot- Just a general reminder not to get my hopes up. Number 303, Ash is immature- just another reminder. Number 304, I hate Ash Ketchum. Number 305, Number 304 is a lie. Number 306, If you are to travel with Ash Ketchum do not fall in love with him- You will feel like a broken-hearted idiot when you must separate, and possibly give him a handkerchief out of desperation." Ash looked over at her and saw that she had completely submersed herself under her sleeping bag now. "Misty?"

"What?" She asked miserably, not even moving.

"Number 306?" She ignored him so Ash set down the book on his sleeping bag and walked over to hers kneeling beside her. "And I'm the child?" He asked teasingly. Misty sighed and reemerged looking at him but not in the eye. "Number 306?"

"I was thirteen I don't know it was a long time ago."

"If that was the case you wouldn't have tried so hard to stop me from reading it." She sighed again and said.

"When I was younger I had a crush on you okay? Are you happy now? Can I please have it back now?" Ash stood back up and walked over to his bag and pulled a pen out, then went over to Misty's journal and opened it up and started writing in it. Misty watched curiously until he had finished at which point he walked back to her and set it down before returning to his bag. She opened it cautiously and flipped through to where Ash had written. She looked back at him who was attempting to look uninterested, but, was really watching her very intently.

'Survival guide to Misty'

Number 1: Beware her bike- She will follow you for three years until you pay her back, or repair it.

Number 2: Beware her mallet- She will hit you with it whenever she decides you are deserving.

Number 3: Never make fun of water Pokémon-See rule number 2.

Number 4: Beware her eyes- You will get lost in them.

Number 5: Never accept a lure that looks just like her- you will never be able to use it no matter how good you know it is.

Number 6: Never let her go- As soon as you do you will realize that you love her and by the time you manage to admit this to yourself you will come back and find that someone else has already gotten to her. You may also find that that handkerchief she left you never leaves your side and that you will wait for her in hopes that she is stupid enough to fall for a moron like you.

Misty found that she needed to read that about four times. Ash loved her? Or no- Ash loves her. She looked at him who had by now stopped pretending not to look at her and gave a half grin. "You're not a moron." She mumbled. Ash couldn't hear her so he moved closer to her so they were sitting right next to each other.

"What?"

"I said you're not a moron." They laughed a little but everything felt too tense, too many things that neither of them had said.

"I'm sorry Mist, I'm sorry for not calling or writing and then coming back like this. It was unfair of me to think you would just be sitting on your hands frozen in time waiting for me to grow up." She shook he head.

"You shouldn't be. Expecting me to wait for you is comical, but never be sorry for coming back, please."

"I should have never let you go."

"Ash, we didn't have a choice I had to go. I needed to take care of the gym."

"I still could have kept in touch, I could have written, or called, or stopped by."

"You were chasing your dream; you did what was best for you."

"Being a Pokémon Master," He paused looking for the right words, "It's still what I want to do, my life goal, but it hasn't been my sole dream for a while now."

"What do you mean?" Misty was actually shocked.

"I've had two dreams for a while now and the other beats being a Master."

"Yeah?"

"Yes." Misty looked away she wanted to know- needed to know even but was scared to ask.

"What is it?" He looked right into her eyes and she swallowed suddenly feeling, awkward being this close to him.

"Being with you." She didn't know why but she felt herself start to cry. She never cried and Ash had been back for not even a month and she was crying all the time- or at least more often than usual. He moved swiftly, embracing her and she rested her head into his chest. For a moment everything was okay after that because there was something about being there in Ash's arms that was so comforting, and natural to her that she stopped crying and looked up at him.

"Ash,"

"Misty?"She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I," She didn't know how to tell him but he left her go a little creating enough space between them for him to look at her in the eyes. Her beautiful green eyes…

Before he could think to stop himself he kissed her. He had just leaned in caressed he face with his hand and kissed her on the lips. Misty was surprised but didn't pull away. The kiss was tender, and sweet it left them both blushing and a little confused as to how to handle the new situation.

"Ash, I want to be with you,"

"But not right now." He finished a little sad but seaming to understand.

"I can't let you be the rebound to Jeff. I would never forgive myself to make you be that person." He nodded slowly.

"It's okay Mist, because I made you wait for a long time I think it's only fair that it's my turn now." He kissed her on the forehead and then let her go moving back to his sleeping bag. "Night Mist."

"Night Ash" She said a little dazed and very confused. She settled back into her sleeping bag praying that this had not been a dream…

She woke up a couple of hours later it was very cold and she saw that the fire had gone out. She was shaking pretty badly and looked over and saw that Ash was too…

Hesitantly she walked over and knelt next to him shaking his shoulder lightly.

"Ash?" He woke up and looked around then realized how cold he was. When he looked at Misty and saw how almost purple her face was he jumped up and started the fire again without another word. They were both shaking really badly as they sat next to the fire.

"Okay I know what we said last night but if we share a sleeping bag-" Misty nodded not needed to hear the rest cuddled right into him, resting her head on his chest. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her to help keep them warm. And without another word they both fell asleep warm, and falling rapidly into a new situation.

Ohhh things are getting a little saucy! But how will things turn out in the morning… you know when Brock comes and all and after what Misty had already said... Oh boy I set up a lot of issues for myself to work out… crap. Oh well. With my power situation I'm not sure how long it will take but I'll try to keep updating asap. In the meantime please please please (note the three times :D ) review it means a lot to me Thanks and happy reading!