Chapter 9: Pick Up the Pieces

Silence fell over the room as they heard the slam of the door behind Misty. Delia made to rise from her seat, but Brock put a hand on her shoulder to hold her back. "May, Dawn," he said quietly, and the two girls nodded before quickly scurrying off after the upset redhead.

Ash slowly slid back into his seat, his brown eyes holding a distant gaze. He groaned before letting his head fall onto the table, arms covering his head. No, he wasn't happy. He just made Misty leave. No words, no hit – she just left. And how often did that happen? He knew he didn't have to say all that; Misty would have put Gary in his place on her own no trouble. Honestly, Ash had no clue of what had come over him. Just seeing all that… her being… so pretty… then Gary… and…

He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, as if that would block off all the thoughts. Thinking hurt. His head, his heart; they felt so heavy now. Funny, how when Misty was there he had felt so light. Or, he did when Gary wasn't… doing… that thing he was… doing.

Seeing the boy's distress, those still lingering at the table did their best to remain sympathetic. Gary just didn't want to provoke Ash any more than he already had, not quite expecting his actions to have caused such a response, and sat looking down at his hands folded in his lap.

"Ash, sweetie," Delia tried to console her son, one hand placed on his back and gently rubbing it, "are you alright?"

The boy didn't say anything, and only seemed to slump down in his chair even more than he already was. Pikachu leapt up on the table to comfortingly pat his head, drooping when he got no reaction. Brock watched the small scene and sighed heavily. He should have expected something like this – fighting. And since it was Ash and Misty he was dealing with, he wondered why he hadn't thought to plan ahead for conflicts before.

"Gary?"

The brunette's head snapped up as he heard Brock say his name and saw him give a pitying look; they both knew this wasn't exactly part of the plan, and now it was time to pick up the pieces. "Didn't you, err… tell me about something you had to do back up at the lab?"

"Uh, yeah," he replied, not needing a moment to understand what Brock meant. "I'll go…do that." Gary stood up from his chair, awkwardly lingering for a moment before saying, "Thank you for the meal Mrs. Ketchum. You too, Brock. It was great."

"You're welcome, Gary," said Mrs. Ketchum, glancing up from her motherly duties of observing her disheartened son. "Tell your grandfather I said hi."

"I will." He nodded, but then paused as he looked at Ash. "Er… See ya later Ash."

"Bye Gary," Ash mumbled from beneath his arm.

Gary gave a curt nod to the group before leaving the residence, and Brock, Delia and Pikachu (with an only barely attentive Piplup) were left with the downtrodden Ash. His mother's hand never left his back, in hopes that it might prompt him to cheer up a bit, but no such luck. He never usually got this upset over something like a little fight – not even one with Misty. There was obviously something else bothering him.

"Ash…" Delia sighed. "Sweetheart, please talk to us. I know something's bothering you and I don't think it's only just what you were just yelling about."

Pikachu gave his trainer a sad look. "Pikapi…"

"It's okay Ash," Brock said. "It's just us; your mom, Pikachu and me. Everyone else's gone. You can talk to us."

A quiet muffle could be heard from Ash's folded arms, but none of the three could quite make out what it was saying. Not even Pikachu's sensitive ears could pick up the mumbling blurb very clearly.

"We can't hear you, dear."

"I said I don't know!" Ash exclaimed, sitting back up in his chair. He sighed, pulling off his cap and running his hand through the raven hair underneath. "Sorry, it's just… Everything's so jumbled up and I'm just…" He sighed again, not quite knowing where to go.

Delia's hand travelled up to his shoulder, and she gave him a gentle squeeze. "It's okay. Why don't you just tell Brock and I how you feel?" she asked softly.

"Pika!"

She smiled softly. "And Pikachu."

Ash's hands came up to cover his face. "But that's just it. I don't know how I feel!" He let his hands drop into his lap, his body tempted to follow. "It's like twenty different things at once and it's gonna give me a headache," he groaned.

"That's good," Brock pointed out. "Try to pinpoint something."

"I dunno," Ash said, propping an elbow on the table and resting his head in his palm. "Mad. I feel angry."

"At Misty?"

"No."

"Gary?"

"No."

"Chu?"

"Pikachu, you need to be a little more specific!"

"Pika pika!"

"It's not like he can't read your mind or anything!"

"No, I…" Ash seemed to want to go on, so no one tried to push more (or, apparently, argue in Brock and Pikachu's case). "I'm angry at me, I guess. I made Misty leave, which means she's upset, which means it's my fault she's upset."

"So you don't want Misty upset?" Brock asked.

Ash stared at his friend, a bewildered look on his face. "Of course I don't want her upset!" he exclaimed. "She's my… She's my best friend."

The older two in the room watched as Ash's eyes distanced and eventually dropped until they were fixed on the table in front of him. Brock sighed, looking up at Delia and giving her an apologetic face. "Mrs. Ketchum? Would you maybe leave us alone for a minute?" he asked. "I just need to talk to Ash about something. Guy stuff. I promise to fill you in later."

Delia's eyes widened and she glanced down at her son, then back to Brock, holding a questioning – yet excited – look. At the young breeder's nod, an adoring smile quickly found its way onto her face and she had to keep herself from cooing to leave the room.

Brock chuckled and clapped a hand to Ash's shoulder. "Ash, Ash, Ash," he sighed. "Do we have to go over this again?"

"Huh? What?" the boy asked, suddenly coming back to life, it seemed.

"You like Misty."

"Wha—?"

"Pi chu Pikachupi!"

Ash grabbed at his head and let it fall against the table. "Not this again," he groaned. "Why is it always this with you?"

Brock held his hands up in the air. "I'm sorry you are unable to handle your love life on your own."

"What love life?"

The older teen crossed his arms across his chest and smirked. "The one you would have with Misty if you'd just admit your feelings for her," he informed. "Really, everyone can tell except you and her. Me, Pikachu, Tracey, various – and very lovely – Nurse Joys, your mom…"

"My mom!" Ash's head shot up. "You told her you'd fill her in on this! I don't want her knowing about this!"

"Like I just said," Brock sighed, "she already does."

"Bu-but… ugh!"

"I hear no denial."

"I-I… and… wha—" Ash stammered, looking lost. "Fine. Fine! Explain to me how I 'like' Misty."

Brock stroked his chin and grinned. "I'd be honored to, Ash my friend." He leaned back in his chair, not minding a bit the strange look Ash was giving him. The grin widened, causing the boy to lean away, and Brock lifted an eyebrow as he said, "Describe how you felt when Misty walked in today."

"But Brock, you—"

"Ah!" The older teen held up a finger to silence Ash's protests. "How did you feel?"

Ash's shoulders slumped in defeat, and he wrung his hands nervously. "I-I don't know… She was pretty."

"And…?"

Brown eyes shut tight and his head slammed into the table. "I blanked."

"You blanked?"

"Nothing came out. I couldn't move."

Brock smiled. "There we go," he said. "And when Gary showed up?"

He watched as Ash's fists clenched on the table, and a growl escaped his throat. "What did he think he was doing?" Ash grumbled. "That was Misty, not one of his dumb cheerleaders. He can't do that to her!"

"It was only harmless flirting," Brock said innocently. "I don't see what's wrong with that."

"At least you have the sense not to do that to Misty!" Ash exclaimed. "And it was not harmless flirting! Did you see what he did a few minutes ago?"

Brock sighed. "I'll agree, that was a bit uncalled for, but for the most part, you seem to be telling me that no one can hit on Misty."

"Exact— Wait, what?"

It seemed the Psyduck had caught himself once again, and Brock nearly cheered as he fell into the trap. "Why can't anyone flirt with Misty, Ash?"

"I, uh… But that's not…" Ash was lost for words and he tried his best to avoid Brock's eye.

"Could it be only you can flirt with her?" asked Brock.

"You know that's not what I meant!"

"Consciously," Brock pointed out. "So obviously, somewhere deep in that clueless little head of yours, you know that that is true, and it burns you up inside to think of anyone else stealing your chance."

Brock's comment hit Ash hard, and he found himself ignoring the insult and only focusing on everything else. "Okay," he finally said, "let's pretend you're right…"

"I am right!"

Ash glared at him and continued, "Pretend. What if I, say, did like Misty? What should I do?"

The corner of Brock's mouth twitched, and managed to form a brotherly smile. Friendly, all teasing gone. "Well," he said, "I'd start by apologizing to her."

Ash sighed. "Alright…"

"I'm taking that as a 'yes, I do like Misty.'" He twisted around in his chair and called out into the front room, "Oh Mrs. Ketchum! Your son has some great news!"

He didn't mind at all the stony glare he got from Ash as the resounding squeals filled the house.


Two figures crouched in the bushes beside the Ketchum household, rustling them and accidentally breaking off branches in a way that if Delia saw what was happening to her lovely shrubbery, she would surely be devastated. They probably should have been quieter, and normally they would have, but they had just made a discovery. And this discovery was over a matter they had supposed and wondered about for years now. Albeit, it was an off-and-on interest, as catching a certain Pikachu was far more important than the romantic endeavors of children, but nevertheless, this was indeed very exciting news.

The redheaded woman stared into the window of the Ketchums' kitchen, a slow smile forming onto her face. "Aw, James," she cooed, "did you hear that?"

"Yes, I did Jess!" replied James. "How cute!"

There was a rustle in the bushes behind them as Meowth showed up. "Huh? What's goin' on you two?" he asked. He jumped up onto James's back and peered in through the window as well. "I don't get it. All I sees is dat twoip with da Pikachu 'nd the bigger one talkin' in dere."

"Well Meowth, it appears that someone we know has fallen in love," said James fondly.

Meowth furrowed his brow confusedly. "But dat ain't anyting new. I mean, da big twoip's been tryna get a goirl fer years now. Don't he 'fall in love' all a da time?"

"Not that one!" hissed Jessie. "The other twerp is the one in love," she said, an almost dreamy expression crossing her features to replace the irritated one. "The twerp!" She pointed at the raven-haired boy through the glass to confirm.

"What?" Meowth blanched, his jaw dropping as his eyes flicked back to the window, as if the pane could explain to him the startling news. "Yer jokin', right?" he asked. Both Jessie and James shook their heads, almost proud smiles adorning their faces, and Meowth's jaw dropped even lower. "Y'mean our twoip? Da one wit dat Pikachu? He's in love?"

"Well," James said thoughtfully, leaning back on his heels and striking a thinking pose, "maybe not love, but—" he clapped his hands joyfully as his voice rose and took on a happier tone "—he just admitted to liking the redheaded twerpette!"

Meowth scrambled to steady himself as James swayed back and forth, but nearly fell off the man's back anyway at his words. "He did? You ain't messin' wit Me-owth, are ya?" the Pokémon asked.

The redheaded woman beside James hummed happily, "Mmhmm..." Jessie crossed her arms, a contented look across her face as she nodded. She held out an open hand to the cat. "Pay up. It's been less than ten years."

"How do I know I should believe ya, huh?" asked Meowth narrowing his eyes. "Yer not just tryna scam me are ya?"

"That could be proof to it," James said, pointing to the window.

Meowth turned his attention away from Jessie and looked back in, only to see that not only was the twerp's mom in the room now, but crushing her son in a hug. His ears turned inward, picking up the sound of feminine shrieking and repeated exclamations over 'grown-up little boy's. Jowls dropping even lower, Meowth had a hard time believing anything else that he could think of than an apparent admittance of love, but nonetheless, he wasn't about to just give away the small savings he had.

"Well," he said, voice as level, "dat dere could mean anyting."

Jessie promptly gave him a blow to the head, and the Pokémon tumbled off of James's shoulders and to the ground. She glared at him as he nursed the resulting bump. "Shut up and pay up, Meowth," she said. "Or we'll just have to work a little harder to prove it."

Suddenly Meowth found himself wondering why he had tried to take a chance in the first place. "Huh?" he asked, deciding to feign innocence rather than encounter another hit. "Oh, I see! I think you might be right about dis one Jess, now dat I think about it." Of course, just because he agreed with her didn't mean he couldn't still avoid losing a paycheck. "And ya know what else? Jus' over dere, I heard da twoipette say she liked 'em too!"

Jessie's blue eyes glittered at that, Meowth's diversion obviously successful. "Really?" she squealed. "Oh, how sweet!"

"Ah, the innocence of young love," James sighed. "Both too shy to tell the other, only to waver in the balance of friendship and something a bit more…"

"Hmm." Meowth placed a thoughtful paw to his chin. "D'ya think we might be able ta help dem out wit dis little problem o' dere's?" he asked, a catlike grin growing on his face.

Catching his drift, an equally mischievous smile found its way onto Jessie's. "Perhaps we might find a way," she said, "…for a payment."

"Payment? Perchance, might it include a certain Pikachu?" asked James.

"I think it just might," said Jessie, causing the three to break out in giggles and fantasies of the perfect plan to 'help out' their favorite little twerps.


Slumped up against the fence, the three girls sat staring at the ground and how the little blades of grass twitched and flickered seemingly by themselves. Though, in hindsight, it was probably just a few bugs that were lucky to be hidden, for if Misty saw them, there would certainly be uproar. It was actually a comfortable position; Misty sat in the middle and May and Dawn's arms were slung around her shoulders – a perfectly posed picture. But they weren't there to take photos; rather the two coordinators were attempting to cheer up the near panicked redhead.

May looked up as she could've sworn she heard something a few meters away, near the house. A rustling of bushes, maybe, or whispers on the wind, but when she directed her attention to the shrubbery, there was nothing there.

"May?" Misty's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Are you there?" The redhead gave her a smirk; she must have drifted off a bit.

"Yeah, I'm here," May said. She rolled her eyes at the other girl, but she was smiling. "I was just thinking we should probably head in. Don'tcha think?" May leaned forward to peer around Misty, giving Dawn a silent message. We should tell Brock.

Dawn nodded, unnoticed by Misty. "Yeah, it's getting a little late," she agreed. "We don't want to worry Mrs. Ketchum."

The two coordinators stood up and stretched their arms out, before glancing between themselves and realizing that Misty hadn't stood up along with them. She noticed their confusion and gave them a small smile. "You guys go ahead," she offered. "I kinda want to see the sunset off. It's been awhile since I watched one in Pallet. They're really pretty."

"Um… okay," said May, watching as Misty stood and jumped over the fence, only to lean on it from the other side. A better view, she figured. "Just remember to come in when you're done, 'kay?"

Misty smiled. "Yes, May, I promise I won't forget to go in."

"We'll see you in there," said Dawn.

The two walked off into the house, leaving the redhead alone to gaze up at the setting sun in the orange-stained sky. Just as they entered through the doorway, the girls noticed Brock coming out of the kitchen. Both ran towards him, bouncing on their toes as they called his name over and over again.

"We just told Misty that we'd help get Ash to like her—"

"—'cause she told us tha—"

The girls' joint explanation was sharply cut off as Brock's hands slapped over their mouths and their bodies were quickly drawn back beside him, tucked tightly under his arms. They struggled against his grip, grabbing at the hands covering their mouths and squirming in his strong hold, lost as to why they were suddenly being held captive and shushed by the brotherly Brock.

"Uh…"

As Ash's voice rang through their ears, both girls' movement stopped with wide eyes. Brock laughed heartily and quickly moved his hands away from their mouths and onto their shoulders, the trap becoming a hug instead.

"Oh hey Ash," he greeted as normally as he could. "I didn't get to give May and Dawn a proper greeting earlier and I was just telling them how much I missed them."

Ash stared suspiciously at the trio; something seemed a bit off… But, being Ash and just really wanting to be done with all the weirdness today, he managed to shrug off the feeling, if only a smidge of it. "O…kay…" He scratched his head for a second. "So, uh, have you guys seen Misty?"

"Misty?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, she's right outside," said May, indicating the door with a nod of her head.

"Um, right, thanks," Ash said. As he walked away, he could have sworn he heard something about some sort of explanations but ignored it; there was something more important to worry about right now. He made his way to the door, and stepped outside, immediately spotting Misty leaning against the fence. The rays of the setting sun made her practically glow, and just from behind, she looked beautiful.

Ash took a tentative step forwards, continuing until he got halfway through the yard and paused. Nervousness spread through his stomach, but when he turned to run away, he saw Brock, May and Dawn watching him from the window. Upon being discovered, the two girls immediately ducked away, but Brock remained, simply giving Ash two thumbs up and a wide smile in encouragement.

Hesitantly, Ash took a slow glance over his shoulder. Yup, she was still there all right. It seemed she hadn't changed since she stormed out either, so her hair was still down and she was still wearing that dress, and that was… distracting. The Butterfree in Ash's stomach seemed to be having a jolly time now. He shut his eyes to keep from staring any longer and turned his head back to face the front of the house again. A hesitant lift of the eyelid showed him that Brock was getting a little impatient, wildly gesturing towards the redhead now.

The breeder's signals seemed to stir something in Ash, and he frowned. Why was he so nervous? It was just Misty, right? Good ol' best friend Misty, who may have been pretty and caused chaos-inducing hormones or whatever Brock said they were to break loose, but she was only a girl. Well, sorta, he supposed she was a little more than just some girl… But that wasn't the point; he was Ash Ketchum, Chosen One and future Pokémon Master! He couldn't be afraid of one girl!

So, a new sense of determination falling upon him, Ash set his shoulders, raised his chin, and trekked towards Misty. Reaching the part of the fence she was leaning against, Ash tapped her on the shoulder, snickering when she jumped.

"Hey," he said, still smiling.

She wrinkled her nose at him before turning back to the sunset, coldly. "Hi."

Ash sighed; Misty didn't seem too happy to talk to him yet. Nonetheless, he was determined to make things right. He jumped cleanly over the fence, all past warnings of the action from his mother thrown to the wind, and inched towards her. "Listen," he started, "Misty, I—"

"What is wrong with you?" Misty cut him off.

"Huh?"

Misty crossed her arms over her chest, dragging the toes of her shoes through the dirt in random trails and patterns. "Why did you freak out like that?" she asked, refusing to look up at him.

Ash, however, couldn't seem to turn away. "Because I'm really, really stupid."

She laughed, and while it wasn't quite bitter, it definitely wasn't too far off. "Please. I could have told you that."

"Yeah, I know but," Ash sighed, "today, I was just being really stupid." He gave a little smirk and elbowed her in the ribs. "Besides, when do I ever listen to you?"

The redhead couldn't help but to roll her eyes. "True," she agreed. "But, you know, you really should listen to me more often."

"Eh, no fun," he joked. Then turning serious again, he let his head droop, pulling the brim of his hat over his eyes. "But, really, I… I am sorry."

"Huh?" That got Misty to glance up, as she wondered since when Ash apologized to her without Brock threatening him with no cooking for more than a couple days. "You're sorry?"

"Yeah." Another sigh escaped. "Listen Misty, you… You're strong, and I kn-know that – believe me, I know that…" He smiled when that got a giggle out of her. "And I… know you can definitely hold your own in a battle, and you would've been fine if I let you handle… Gary, but I…"

"You… what?" Misty asked.

"I dunno, I-I guess I just... I felt like… It's hard to explain."

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon, just try."

"Do you like Gary better than me?" Ash questioned, staring hard at the girl.

Misty was startled by his strong tone. "Wh-what?" She blinked. "No! Ash! You're my best friend. Of course not!" she exclaimed. "Granted, it'd be nice if you actually kept in contact and called me once in a while, but that's never changed the fact that you are my best friend."

Ash lowered his head again and sighed. "I know, it's just… These past few days, you and Gary have just been so… us."

"'Us?'"

"Like, you've been talking and laughing and stuff," he mumbled, "ignoring me."

Misty gasped. "Ash that's not—"

He put a hand up to stop her and continued. "Then when I saw you come in today, l-like… that, it felt like you were changing for him." Ash glanced at her from the corner of his eye, but feeling a little bit of heat in his face, looked away. "Don't get me wrong, you look… You look re-really pretty, and if you l-like Gary, that's… That's okay. But it really makes me mad that you feel like you have to change for some guy, 'cause you're… Well, you're kinda perfect." He paused, realizing that heat was coming to his face whether he looked at her or not, but decided to just go along with it. "Inside and… and out."

Misty was taken aback for a moment, before she finally managed a quiet, "That's sweet."

Ash laughed abashedly and rested a hand behind his head. "Yeah, well—" He paused when he heard Misty laughing as well, and turned to see her staring at him as a hand hovered in front of her mouth. "What?" he asked. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, just," she said, pausing to let out a few more giggles, "an apology and complements? From Ash Ketchum no less? Is this real life, or have I been thrown into some alternate universe?"

"Aw, come on!" He rolled his eyes laughingly. "I'm not that bad!"

"Maybe not to other people, but to me you are," she said. "It wasn't even that bad of a fight anyway, you dork." She shoved his shoulder playfully, giving him a small smirk.

"Well sorry for trying to be nice!" he joked back. "And if it wasn't that bad of a fight, why are you out here?" He poked her side as he dragged out a questioning 'huh,' laughing when she tried to swipe his hand away.

They laughed together a few moments longer before settling down. Ash stuck out his hand to her, beaming. "So… friends?" he asked.

Without hesitation, Misty grabbed the offered hand and shook it. "The best," she said firmly. "Always."

And if the two had been paying enough attention to anything besides the memory of their brushing skin as they walked back, they would have heard Brock's head connect to the window, subsequent mutterings of dense teenagers and their inexplicable amount of stubbornness and inability to express feelings not far behind.


A/N: Technology frustrates me. Like when viruses invade and erase half my files. It makes me want to slam my head against a wall. But I already have a headache, so I won't do that.

Oh, and because I never explained this last chapter, the episode "Pokémon Fashion Flash" was heavily referenced for points such as Ash's what's-on-the-inside-that-counts mentality. Of course he was referring to Pokémon at the time, but it could totally relate to Misty too! So there.

And, um, I'm actually really worried about my portrayal of Team Rocket, soo if you wanna let me know what you thought about that, that'd be great. Everything helps. Thanks everyone for all your lovely reviews! :)