Hello wonderful readers! :) Don't worry, I promise not to ramble too much here. x)
Thank you Cloud Reflection, SpecialxGirl (guest), malory79080, eeveeluvr, Kayjune (guest), NoProb101, and Cheep the Hedgehog for the lovely reviews to chapter 8! :DD
Quick recap:
May and Drew kissed and then continued their game of tag.
Leaf and Gary are still stranded at Leaf's house. (Here it skips to after they are done in the kitchen :3)
Misty is still stuck with the awkward Fifty Shades of Luvdisc predicament. Ash is clueless -_-'
And Dawn and Paul were just sitting around and almost getting along but Paul said something stupid so now she's trying to leave in the dangerous storm :O
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.
"Hello?" A brunette picked up the house phone in her bedroom. It had rung just moments ago and she had excused herself from the visiting brunet to go and answer it. Actually, it was a surprise that the service was still available.
A female voice emanated through the object, "Leaf! It's an emergency!" Misty whined over the line.
"Huh? Calm down, what are you talking about Misty? Are you alright?"
"NAOO!"
"That's a little vague…where are you? Did you get stuck out in the storm or something?"
"At…at…" Leaf waited anxiously as she spoke, worried about her friend. Misty gulped. "I'm at Ash's house."
Leaf face-palmed. "I don't see the problem. You guys are, like, best friends."
Misty huffed on the other end of the line. "Well so are you and Gary but there's still some awkward tension between you guys, right?" she complacently mentioned.
"No!" Leaf immediately responded. "Wait…are you saying that there's some awkward tension between you two now?" she redirected smugly.
"O-Of course not! Ash is too dense for anything involving that sort of stuff!"
"What 'sort of stuff'?" the clever brunette pried.
"Er…how do I phrase it…romance?" the normally feisty girl unsurely replied.
"Hmm…what an interesting choice of words! Romance, you say?" Leaf cheekily pointed out. "I can tell; you aren't being your usual abrasive self."
"Leaf, If you think that I'm above punishing close friends with the Misty Mallet then you're wrong. And don't think that you're safe from it just because we're talking over the phone."
Leaf could practically sense the dark and menacing purple aura radiating from the other end of the line. She weighed her options carefully and critically; her machete vs. Misty Mallet. The brunette easily decided that the Misty Mallet would win in a landslide.
"True," she sheepishly agreed. "So, why did you call, anyhow?"
"Ah yes, see I have a huge problem and I need some expert advice. So…um…you know that book called Fifty Shades of Luvdisc?"
Leaf chuckled. "Misty, I had no idea you were such a pervert as to read that book."
"I only heard of it!" she snapped. "It had a Water-type Pokémon's name in the title so it's only natural, but that's not the point! My question is: what would you do if Ash asked you what that book and some related terms were about? I…figured you could help since you've known him for a long time as well and also—"
"Rambling; clear sign of tension between you and A—"
"MISTY MALLET!" she fiercely reminded.
"Sorry!" Leaf pleaded. "But it is true…" she murmured to herself. "You should get his mom to help you out. That's her job anyways."
Misty sulked. "Tried it; she ditched me."
"As expected of Ms. Ketchum…she is quite cunning," Leaf reflected. "Lucky for you, I know of another perfect way to help you in your situation. It is pure genius, if I do say so myself."
Misty's eyes lit up as she clenched the house phone in hand eagerly. "Oh, really? Yes! Thanks, Leaf, you're a lifesaver! Please explain!"
"Sure, sure. Now, the most important thing to do is—" Leaf pulled the telephone away from her ear quizzically as a loud static sound emanated from it. "Misty? You still there?" she said to it.
"Hmm…well there goes our telephone service," she commented as she dropped the phone back onto her ivory nightstand.
Leaf soon emerged from her room to find none other than Gary in the living room casually watching television. She suddenly noticed that she was still wearing that damn apron and stupid chef hat that he had forced her to wear and briskly removed said clothing items with an annoyed huff. She caught him staring at her in that instant...almost thoughtfully or expectantly. Leaf looked straight back at him, waiting for some sort of explanation for a few moments until he spoke up.
"…are you stripping, Leafy?" he finally said.
A vein throbbed on the brunette's forehead. "Shut up!" she abrasively responded. "You know I was just taking off those ridiculous accessories which were completely unnecessary to cook with," she scoffed.
Gary smiled. "Oh just shut up and come watch some TV." He patted the seat next to him on the couch. Currently, he was contentedly laid back with a bag of white cheddar popcorn in his lap and feet propped up on an old coffee table.
"…Grass-types Weekly?" Leaf questioned, slightly interested.
He shook his head. "Nope, it's Friday. Water-types Weekly airs today."
Leaf let out an exasperated sigh but went to take up the offered seat nonetheless. She would have opted for a different piece of furniture since it typically is not the best idea to sit directly next to a playboy such as Gary, but the other seats did not offer a decent view of the television screen.
"What's up with you and Grass-types Weekly?" he chuckled lightly.
"Well, most of them are green," she explained as she fell back into the couch cushion.
"…and?" he pried.
"Green is an awesome color…and last name," she proudly stated. "See if Pokémon Chronicles is on."
He nodded and clicked a couple of numbers on the remote. "Yep."
Leaf eyed the scene carefully. "I've seen this one like fifty times."
"I've seen it fifty-one," Gary teased.
Leaf stuck her tongue out childishly at him as he returned the immature gesture. She subtly smiled to herself. It was kind of nice experiencing that same best-friends-since-childhood relationship they had without him being so perverted. It was a rare moment to be cherished, in her opinion. Unfortunately for her, it did not last long.
"So who were you talking to on the phone?" he suddenly asked; expression unreadable as he stared blankly ahead at the television.
Leaf raised an eyebrow. "What does it matter to—"
"Jason, right?" he interjected with a hint of aggravation. Sure, Jason had claimed they were not dating during their little chat earlier, but that did not mean that that guy wasn't thinking about trying to take her away from him. He hated the idea of some guy trying to make a move on her…she was special. Different than all of the skanks he went out with.
"Huh? How do you know him?" Leaf asked curiously.
"…I kept calling your house phone for like a million times and you wouldn't answer, then when I called your cell phone he picked up."
"Aw, darn," Leaf realized. "I left that at the store…?"
Gary nodded solemnly. "So you like him?" he bluntly asked. The truth might hurt, but he was determined to find out.
"What?" Leaf exclaimed and recoiled in shock. "Not in the way you think I do!" He was somewhat satisfied with her reaction and would have dropped the subject except she spoke up again, "Why would you care anyways? Pffft. You don't see me inquiring about your hundreds of dates."
He flipped a piece of his auburn locks haughtily. "Well, I wouldn't say hundreds, but—" he cut himself off when he noticed the serious look she wore, staring down at her lap where she was fiddling with her hands.
"You always go out with so many girls and then you get on my case when I talk to one guy. I…don't understand you at all." She let her hair fall over her eyes to shield to emotion they displayed.
He frowned. "Leaf, I—"
"Just save it. I don't want to talk," she hurriedly waved him off. "Let's just watch this episode."
Gary sighed solemnly but nodded. They turned their attention to the TV screen just in time for everything to go black. The screen, the lights, the whole house were engulfed in darkness except for the flashes of lightening from a nearby window. The two sat there for an instant, during which time Leaf was screaming in her head: I'm screwed. Gary eventually pulled out his phone and brought out an application displaying a bright candlelight on the screen.
"So," he sat back and offered her the bag of popcorn. "What shall we chat about first?"
…
"Well I was talking to Misty," she piped up after a few long moments of silence.
"Hm?" Gary hummed, not quite catching onto the topic.
"A little bit ago on the house phone. It wasn't Jason, dumbass."
"Good," Gary quietly commented in relief. He face-palmed himself once realizing he had said it aloud. "I mean…yep…cool…uh..." he failed at finding the right words.
Leaf raised an eyebrow. "I'll never understand you," she sighed in exasperation.
Gary suddenly sat upright. "Leaf, for a smart girl, you're pretty stupid!" he yelled.
"Well then," she gasped, quite offended but confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"That you should've figured out that I like you already!" To his surprise, the brunette merely rolled her eyes in disinterest at his confession. "Eh-hem, kind of pouring my feelings out here," he reminded.
"You like every girl you see, Gary," Leaf said with a frown. "I'm just another one of them."
"But you're not—"
"Save it!" she interrupted. "I don't want to hear the same speech you probably tell all of your stupid dates."
"You don't understand, Leaf!" he shouted in frustration. He took a calming sigh and continued. "I left that girl I was on a date with tonight just to find you in a horrible storm! Doesn't that count for anything?"
"You mean that slut named Linda?" she asked out of curiosity.
"Hm, I thought it was something like Ashley…or Abigail maybe?" he pursed his lips in thought.
Leaf snapped her fingers in revelation. "Actually I'm pretty sure it was Louise."
Gary thought about it for a moment. "Nah, it couldn't be," he decided. "Anyways, see? I'd never forget your name, Leafy. You're different than any other girl to me. I was worried sick tonight looking for you."
The brunette smiled softly as she took in the words he had spoken. "I actually mean that much to you?" she confirmed.
"Of course," he assured.
She held one his hands in hers and turned to face him. "Okay…I like you, too. It's just hard to see you with so many other girls and not have doubt when you act like you like me."
His eyes lit up as he immediately pulled her into a tight hug. "Glad to hear, Leafy~!" he sang and smiled ear to ear.
She wrapped her arms around him as well. "Hah, sure, just don't suffocate me before we go on a first date, 'kay?"
He finally let her go. "Heh, right," he sheepishly replied.
Leaf frowned in boredom at the television set. "What do we do to pass the time now?" she sighed.
Gary smirked. "We should make out," he slyly suggested.
A vein throbbed on her forehead as Leaf pulled out a mini-mallet from seemingly nowhere and proceeded to whack him over the head with it. "I'm not that easy, Oak. We just became a thing two minutes ago, don't ruin it already," she halfheartedly threatened.
"Ow…" he mumbled.
"Good thing Misty let me borrow that," Leaf said with a grin.
Gary only rolled his eyes. He took her head in his hands and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.. "Love you, Leafy."
She happily smiled. "I love you, too."
"Hello? Leaf? LEAF?" Misty desperately called, tapping the phone a little as if it would fix it. "UGHH!" she groaned in defeat as she slammed her last hope back in the phone receiver. "Now what do I do?" she whined with a frown.
Ash, who was sitting casually in the living room on the sofa, waved, oblivious to the inner turmoil he was causing her. "Mist," Ash called over to her. "Look! Water-types Weekly is on TV!" he enthused.
Misty's eyes lit up. "YES! I've been waiting so long for this one! They're featuring Tentacruel in one of the segments! Oooh I love them, they're so perfect and adorable and amazing!" she gushed. She sighed in relief and silently thanked Arceus for this boy's short attention span and how he had already forgotten about that cursed novel.
The redhead gladly took up a seat on the sofa next to him and immediately glued her eyes to the screen. Nearby, Pikachu sat on an end table next to a bottle of ketchup to observe the show.
"And next on the show, we have our long-awaited Tentacruel segement!" the female announcer was saying on the screen.
"Yes, but first it's time for viewer discussion, our live segment where a viewer calls in and gives us a topic relating to Water-types to discuss!" the male announcer on the right reminded.
"Please be how to train a stupid Psyduck!" Misty cheered.
"I hope it's about battle techniques!" Ash enthused.
Onscreen, the woman pressed a button on the telephone next to her. "The phones are ringing faster than a Starmie's Rapid Spin!" she commented. "Hello, you're on the air! What is your viewer discussion topic?" she said to the phone next to her.
A voice emerged from the phone that sounded strangely familiar. "Hi! My I'd like the discussion topic to be on that raunchy novel; Fifty Shades of Luvdisc, please!" the woman's voice suggested darkly. "Please make sure that it is a very in-depth and lengthy discussion. Thanks!"
Misty sweat-dropped. "Universe, why must you put me through this?"
Ash snapped his fingers. "Hey that's right! I was asking you about that book." He goofily grinned. "Now we can hear all about it from your favorite show!"
"Kill. Me. Now," Misty muttered as she slammed her palm against her forehead rhythmically.
Ash kicked his sneakers together against each other rhythmically whilst staring down at the cinnamon brown carpeting. His hands were folded in contemplation and a determined look was present upon his face.
Just a few minutes ago, the ever-so-polite Misty had broken out the mallet. Well, nothing was surprising about that. The truly perplexing topic was why she did it. Usually, Ash could determine his mistake from the hothead's famous correction method if he sat down and focused. Only this time, things were different.
She had appeared to be somewhat flustered after he had asked her about that novel. It was a romance novel, from what Ash had understood. That was what the news lady on the magic box that makes pictures said after Misty stormed out. Of course, Ash was still in a daze so he doubted himself on what he had heard. The news lady said the word "love" a lot just like "romance" so the raven-haired teen had connected exactly what romance was.
He was not sure what had given him these sudden revelations; maybe it was that last blow to the head with a mallet.
Knowing that Fifty Shades of Luvdisc was labeled as a love story, he wondered why Misty had seemed so anxious and freaked out. Love was a good thing, right? It felt kind of light and fluffy. Like a marshmallow. And who didn't like marshmallows?
Ash loved Pikachu and all of his Pokémon, his friends, his mom…and especially Misty. She always made his heart feel extra marshmallow-y. She was…special. A feeling of electricity went through his mind and something suddenly clicked. Thatwas romance! He finally understood.
With a determined nod to himself, Ash stood up. "I have to tell her."
Pikachu, sitting secretively behind the couch, sighed out of relief. Good thing it had sent that little electric shock into its trainer's brain just then. Otherwise, he may have never understood. My work here is done, Pikachu decided, picking up its ketchup in two tiny arms and stumbling upstairs.
Ash was not the only confused one. A particular redhead sat on a padded bench in a screened-in room at the back of the house. She pulled her knees in against her, resting her chin on them as she stared outside. The storm was still horrible. Probably not the best idea to be sitting where I am, but oh well, Misty nonchalantly thought.
Ash walked into the room quietly, only the sound of closing the door giving him away. Misty's head shot up. His hands were shoved into his blue jacket's pockets as he sat next to her silently.
Misty passively rolled her eyes. "I don't feel like talking about that book, Ash." It would be weird talking about romantic stuff with Ash. She knew that he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box but she was still afraid. She was afraid that he would somehow discover how she felt. Surely a dense boy such as Ash would never return such feelings.
"It's okay, I wanted to talk about something else," he grinned boyishly. Seeing his expression, Misty could not help but smile slightly. Ash glanced around, noticing the howling wind that seeped through the screens pick up and the rain pour down viciously. "We probably shouldn't be out here in this weather," he pointed out.
"You go ahead in; I'm just gonna stay out here for a while," Misty decided. It was strange, but even raindrops in storms calmed her. It was a Water-type trainer thing, she supposed.
"You should've at least worn a coat." Ash shrugged off his favorite blue jacket and put it over her slightly shaking shoulders.
Misty smiled at the gesture and instantly relaxed. "Thanks, Ash. You're…sweet."
Ash grinned with a silent 'you're welcome'. He leaned back in the bench, tracing her line of sight and watching the thousands of raindrops fall. "So why are you out here, anyways?" he curiously inquired.
The redhead bit her lip slightly and reluctantly responded, "Okay…it's weird, but, I just love watching the rain," she elatedly admitted with a small laugh. Ash happened to find it absolutely adorable of the normally hotheaded teen.
He chuckled slightly. "It's not so weird. You're a Water-type trainer, after all. I guess it would make some sense." Misty nodded animatedly in agreement as she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. Not sure if she should believe it to be a friendly gesture or not, she only shifted slightly in her seating, not even considering moving it away. "It's really pretty. Like you."
The orange haired girl nodded distractedly, still smiling oddly at the droplets of water crashing down outside. After a few seconds of processing the conversation, she jumped slightly in her seat, turning to stare at the speaker in shock.
"Wh-Wha…What?" she stumbled over her words.
"I said you're pretty…please don't hit me," Ash sheepishly added, but more in a playful than fearful manner. Misty only stared back with a sudden loss of words. He decided to further explain, "Well, I wanted to tell you, Mist. I, um, I really think…um…I mean…I really…like you. Yeah, I really like you." He constructed the sentence as successfully as a five-year-old with a one thousand piece puzzle, but the words rung true.
Misty tried to duck away while her cheeks flared up immensely, but found herself unable to move. He had a light flush over his face as well. Wait, Misty mentally told herself. I shouldn't get my hopes up. Ash probably doesn't even know what he's saying. He probably likes me like a friend, like Pikachu or something. Misty breathed a relaxing sigh. "You like me…you mean like a friend, right…?" She wasn't sure if it was a question or statement, but Ash denied it with a shake of his head.
"No, I mean like…uh..." He pursed his lips in thought. "Like I want to hug you and hold you close without getting hit by a mallet." He smiled widely.
Misty giggled at his choice of explanation. She felt so light and free, almost like she could fly. Turning sideways slightly, she reached out and held his hand. "I like you, too, Ash." His chocolate brown eyes lit up.
Not another word had to be said as the two teens snuggled together on the bench, gazing outside through the screens of the porch and glowing with happiness.
"No…" Reggie sniffled, eyes glued to his stalker/spy television. He watched Dawn as she was attempting to leave, Paul and her both wore annoyed expressions. "It was so beautiful…why did things have to take such a horrible turn!" he sobbed emotionally.
"Star…" Staraptor sympathetically patted its trainer on the back with an outstretched wing.
"Don't be so optimistic, Staraptor!" eldest plum-head of the house refuted. "This could be the end! What if they never confess their feelings to each other? What would the world come to then?"
"Vire!" Electivire scoffed in the background.
"YOU can SHUT UP!" Reggie rashly shot back. "I am NOT over exaggerating!" he sniveled.
"Meditite?" the last of Reggie's Pokémon agents questioned.
"No, Meditite," Reggie responded in determination. "You can't quit the group yet. We have work to do; we can still salvage this relationship!"
Straraptor glared at him.
"I know what you're thinking, Staraptor; I'll just ruin any chance of it happening with my interference, right?" Staraptor nodded bluntly. "Well in that case, I'll be sure to only give them a gentle 'nudge' in the right direction!" he cheerfully decided.
"STARAPTOR!" it argued menacingly.
"Okay, okay, fine!" Reggie agreed reluctantly. "But…can we at least get a closer field view? There's not even any sound on the stalker slash spy television!" he whined.
Staraptor sighed but nodded, otherwise it would never hear the end of that argument.
Reggie's eyes lit up. "Yes! Alright team, let's move out!" he announced.
Paul grasped her on impulse by the wrist. "Don't go out there."
Dawn raised an eyebrow as she tried to shake her hand loose. "Why would you care? Let go of me!"
"No."
"Why?!"
"Because, Dawn," he paused to move her bangs away from her eyes, forcing their eyes to meet. She struggled to keep an angry expression as he gazed at her without his usual scowl.
"B-Because what?" She silently cursed herself for stuttering. Her eyes drifted away fleetingly to his hand gripping hers and then back to him. Before she knew what was happening, the two of them were slowly leaning in closer to each other, before their lips were just inches apart.
...
"AWWWWWWW!" Reggie unconsciously interrupted. He gasped and covered his mouth a little two late with both hands. The blunette and plumhead froze.
"Star, raptor…" the bird Pokémon shook its head in disbelief at the eldest brother in the room.
"I'm sorry, Staraptor! Gosh!" he sobbed to himself. "I didn't mean to ruin it…it was just so kawaii and moe!" Staraptor blinked. When did its trainer start using girly anime terms?
Paul and Dawn rapidly stepped away from each other with corresponding blushes.
"...Geez, Reggie…stop reading so much shoujo manga…" Paul grunted, scratching his head awkwardly.
"Never!" he declared. "Hey wait, you two should get back to kissing," he reminded ingenuously.
…
"What are you talking about?" Paul finally questioned.
"You guys were about to kiss, at last!" Reggie enthused. "So…go on. Don't mind me!" The three Pokémon behind him face-palmed at their leader's idiocy.
"Me kiss him?" Dawn quickly denied. "Yeah right." She folded her arms.
"Pffft. Same here." Paul strode over to his brother and grabbed him by the ear. "Come on, Reggie. We have some things to discuss…you've been using that stalker camera again, haven't you?" he darkly mentioned, dragging him off down the hallway.
"Eh heh…I see you've caught on so quickly, Paulie!" Reggie sheepishly commented.
"Mm-hm." Paul nodded forebodingly. "Electivire, fixed the power downstairs with the breaker box. Staraptor, you can come with me to 'take care' of your stupid trainer."
Dawn looked down at her boots with her arms folded across her chest. A frown was present on her lips and her eyebrows were scrunched up.
"Medi!" Meditite called to Paul as he made his way down the hallway.
"You can go show Troublesome to the guest room, Meditite," Paul grumbled.
The Psychic-type Pokémon levitated over to said blunette, taking her by the hand and leading her off to a different part of the petite house. Dawn gazed at the retreating purple-haired male as he walked down a different hall, hands shoved in his pockets. She let a sigh of disappointment escape her lips before putting on an irritated expression.
"Forget him…" she murmured in a mixture of sadness and distaste as the Pokémon led her away.
I just love torturing my fellow Ikarishippers, don't I? ;) DON'T WORRY! Just stay tuned for the next (and last) chapter, which will also bring back Contestshipping. :3
Please review if you have the time and I'll try and update as soon as I get a chance :)
