Anything For Love
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or the characters from Pokemon in this story
Warning: Minor swearwords
Main Characters Ages:
Misty/Mickey- 18
Gary- 18
Ash- 18
Richie- 18
May- 21
"…" Talking
'Italic' Thinking/Texting
Chapter 29: That Smile Only Means…
In Front of the Gym's Entrances
May had no interests in what Richie had whispered to Ash, but she knew something was troubling him from Ash's deep stare at Richie's back. To get it out of him and cheer him up at the same time, May decided to do some old time shake teasing by letting out a few cutesy meow calls. Once it got Ash's attention, May curled up her free hand to her cheeks like a Meowth.
"Nya-nya-nya, what's the seeecret that Richie whispered into your eaaar?" May asked teasingly and playfully messed up Ash's hair like back in the olden days.
A big smile was on his face for only a few seconds before it slowly disappeared when he gently grabbed a hold of May's wrist. Ignoring the few wondering eyes and curious whispers around them, Ash slowly inhaled. "I guess it's now or never," Ash leaned in and gave May a kiss but quickly pulled away to explain. "The secret was that I should man up and tell you my feelings before it is too late. You know ever since we were little I've have always lo—" Ash stopped when he saw May's troubled expression.
May placed her hand on Ash's left cheek and stared at him. "Ash, I don't know when you've grown in this superb young man but I hope you'll understand of what I'm going to say next. I know where this conversation is going, as I'm flattered of your feelings. I'll be lying if I told you I didn't love you. As I do love you but I'm not IN love with you."
Ash gave May a confused stare when she took a couple steps back. "Is there a difference?"
"Yes, I love you like a little brother and nothing more."
"What about during last years' auction date when you told me you weren't going to bid. But after I got a bunch of high bids you all of a sudden started bidding like you were jealous and had to win."
A sympathy expression crept up on May's face. "It's a big sister's duty to make sure shallow girls don't get a hold of her little brother, in my case little brothers. During the auction I didn't like what I heard from a lot of those girls, so I had made sure none of them got that date."
"I just don't get it. I thought we were having fun and I felt a connection between us. It wasn't just last year, I'm talking about all the other time when you visit." Ash said with a puzzled expression.
"It's probably because you were stuck on the idea of a possible us as a couple. So of course you would think that way," May let out a tiny sigh with a sympathy stare. "Ash, its a lot to ask but please don't take this rejection to hard."
Besides quietly chuckling at May's bluntness; which definitely ran through the Oaks' blood, Ash mentally fought with himself if he should keep on persuading May. That way maybe in time she will grow to love him more than just a brother. But when a few admirers came up to May to proclaim their love towards her and her researches work, at that moment he remembered the conversation he had with Gary about why the lack of a 'companion' in her Love Department. Suddenly being pushed out of the conversion by pokemon research topics, Ash decided to step back and away from the group. While listening and staring at May talking about her researches and lifestyle to her fans, Ash saw a smile he's only seen a few time in his life time. A smile that indicates a deep love towards something or even possibly someone, but never in his life time he has gotten that smile personally. As it made him realized there was definitely never going to be a 'what if' chance for the two of them.
"It doesn't matter what kind of battle it is, it seems like I lost to another Oak." Ash said quietly in a teasing tone to cover up his first rejection.
May slightly tilted her head at Ash's comment when she finally stood by him again. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Whoa, what happen to talking to your fans? Weren't you in a middle of a deep conversation or something?"
"Yeah but I told them that I had to end it because I was in another conversion and it'll be rude of me to leave you hanging. Besides I told them if want to talk more they can set an appointment to see me at my work lab. Anyways, what was that quiet whisper to yourself about?"
"Heh, besides losing to Gary most of the time, I ended up losing to you too. I realized that I can't compete with everybody else and the love you have for your job. I saw the smile you gave when you started talking about your work. That smile that I've only seen a few times in my life time was the neon-flashing lights of you being IN love with your job." A tiny chuckle escaped from Ash's mouth. "I didn't want to believe but even Gary told me that my feelings for you were pointless since you had no time or interest in pursuing a relationship."
"Woooah wait a second, Gary already knew about your feelings towards me? Did you tell him?"
"I didn't personally. Apparently he's known for years but not too long ago he finally decided to call me out on it."
May squinted her eyes at the thought of Gary. "That little sharp brother of mine, geez, without even telling or seeing him he can be scary smart at times when you don't want him to be."
"Heh, anyways for your sake May, I will not burden you with my infatuation." Ash looked away to avoid eye contact. "Just forget that I confessed and made a move on you."
May took a step to pop her face in front of Ash with a sincere smile. "Thanks. I knew you would understand."
"Sooo no awkwardness between us?"
"Not to throw it in your face, I am older and more mature than you Ash, so I'm perfectly fine. The questions is, will you be fine and not be all awkward towards me?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure how'll I act around you. I still have the same feelings for you before confessing. The only difference now is that you know about it and flat out rejected me."
"Gosh, you make it sound like I rejected you bad."
"Hahaha just giving you a hard time but you know me, I've always been that clueless goofball. It's not like I can't pretend that I didn't confessed."
"Heh, I guess you're right, thanks," May gave Ash a smile. "I want you to know that I'm not thankful because you're backing down and not chasing after me now. It's mainly because I didn't want you to pursue a love that will never happen. I definitely have no interests on finding a companionship right now. One, I'm far too busy. Two, you're right about me being in love with what I do. And three, I was stuck in a bad love triangle a few years ago. So I'm definitely not eager to jump on the Love Train anytime soon."
"A love triangle a few years ago? I spent most of my time helping you out before entering the academy. So why is this the first time I've heard about it?" Ash gave May a raised eyebrow.
May once again playfully ruffled up Ash's hair. "Hahaha silly, do you think big sis would tell her little brothers everything? A girl has her right to keep her love life private. If it makes you feel any better, Gary just found out today too after our lovely talk."
"You're always full of new surprises, just like Mickey and Misty."
A smile crept up on May's face. "Heh, Mickey and Misty definitely are full of surprises. Speaking of those two, where are they?"
"Oh Mickey got called away to help Brock out with an out of town errand and as for Misty, she's probably still doing her errands? I believe she'll be in town later but haven't gotten a confirmed answer yet. I'll probably text her later."
"Are you going to hang out with her when she comes than?"
"I was planning on it I guess."
"You guess?" May raised an eyebrow at Ash. "What do you mean by that?"
"I don't know May, I'm just confused with my feelings about Misty and along with someone else's."
"Ash, I thought we've decided to look pass our little incident."
Ash raised up his hands in defends. "No no no, someone else isn't you. And F.Y.I. we are passed the incident that happened ten minutes ago." Ash looked away a bit frustrated at the thought of Gary; being the 'someone else' and also recalling Mickey's sleep-talk 'confession' not too long ago. "Blaaah, within the last few weeks my feelings has been on a roller coaster towards a few certain people. Misty just happened to have the bigger role in my dilemma and then probably Mickey is second in line, as he has been encouraging me to get to know Misty since day one. Then there is a person who just recently started provoking me more than usual when it comes to her and I just took notice that there are a lot of guys who are interested in her. So right now I don't know the exact reason or reasons of why I want to see her today."
"Look at you, you're babbling. It seems like Misty gotten to you before you realized it. So why don't you find out today. Figure out if you like her or even want to be with her before it's too late," May paused for a second and gave him a sly smile. "That crazy girl is someone you don't want slipping through your fingers. You can say she's about gone through hell just to know and be with you Ash." May let out a sigh when she saw the perplex expression. "Ash, don't you realize you're second guessing yourself right now? That means something, so listen to big sis and go figure out your feelings. And whatever happens down the road between you two please try to keep an open mind ok? That goes for Mickey too."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I—" May stopped when she heard the crowd from inside suddenly got load with squeals and cheers. "Ahh! That means the event has started right? Hurry let's get going Ash, I can't miss Gary's entrance!" May started panicking and ended up slightly tripping over her clutch. But she managed to catch herself back on balance.
"Be careful May. We don't want you injuring yourself after an almost fast recovery now do we? If it's only Gary's entrance is your concern, we still got a bit before Gary step onto stage. The only thing you missed is Principal Dean's annual speech of how he and his classmates were the ones that started this Fundraiser traditional when they were teenagers attending the Academy themselves. The screams were most likely for the First Years' class girl, Georgia. Come I'll lead you to our seats. We'll be sitting at the upper side level blenchers so you can see the whole stage and avoid the crowd." Ash walked alongside May leading the way, as the two entered the gym.
Straight ahead on the gym's stage; after 'her' five minute introduction, 'Georgia' posed for the cameras throughout the gym in a light blue; off the shoulders top with ruffle trims, that went nicely with his knee length ruffle trim skirt. Going for 'cutesy' theme look, he and his classmates went with a shoulder length light brown wig with a blue heart-shape hairpin on the side that matched his trademark accessory; a scarf. Striking a few more cutesy poses, the crowd went wild and would not settle down. That is until Principal Dean spoke in the microphone asking if the crowd wanted to see the Second Years' class girl. The squeals were quickly held in to a minimum level enough for the next girl representative introduction. Once 'Drena' introduction was finished and personally called out, squeals and cheers escaped from the crowd again, as Drena made her way out from behind the red curtain. With Drew being the Second Years' girl, the class went for the fierce and sassy theme look. Being self-assured Drew decided to go without a wig and use his natural green hair. Quickly adjusting his rose collar, Drena posed with a confident smirk with a hand on his hip, showing off an open light purple blazer jacket over a black top and belted with a tight-thigh teal skirt.
While the crowd still going wild and gawking over Georgia and Drena; when the two posed together on an impulse, Misty; with Lili's group at the front of the stage, was in her own little world. She did enjoy the turnout of Georgio and Drew but it only lasted a few minutes, due to her worrying about when it came to Gary's turn. Before she entered the gym, Misty was full of confident of winning but started seconding guessing her chances when she saw, Nessi Kiyin, Crissytje, Azrae Livi and Whittney Wolf Princess throughout the crowd. Not sure if they were here to bid for a date or just being supporters from Gary's Fan-club, she was still on shaky grounds at the thought of some of her co-workers from Lil' Pandas were at the main event. Collecting her thoughts, Misty told herself she had no choice to turn on her A-game and focus on being the 'Lola' persona she created when she heard Principal Dean mentioned the Third Years' turn. While listening on about 'Gabby's' introduction from Principal Dean, Misty and along with everyone else in the gym; besides May, were really curious and excited about Gary's transformation. When Principal Dean called Gabby out onto the stage all cheers broke loose. But within the thirty seconds of no sign of Gabby, the cheers became whispers and mumbles.
"…Once again, can I have Gabby onto the staaage!" Principal Dean eyed the red curtain for some movements. And with another thirty second of no sign of Gary, Principal Dean was about to head towards the curtain but stopped in his track when he saw the curtain opened.
'How in the world do girls walk in this thing?' Gary slowly stepped out from behind the curtain, as he held it open so that his straight with spikey ends, mid-back brown wig didn't hit it. While continuing his way towards the middle stage in his purple base with white flowers and swirls kimono, Gary elegantly placed his hands in front of him. And naturally let out his trademark glare towards the crowd; especially when he spotted Lola. 'Youbetterwin.'
Only half the crowd was squealing and cheering when Gabby stepped onto the stage, as the other half was rendered speechless and Misty was one of them. Although during the brief eye contact, she did manage a smirk towards him, indicating that she's ready to rumble and win it all. But still at the back of her mind she wasn't sure if she was speechless in the first place due to the fact Gary; Mr. Lone Wolf, had transformed into a girl for her sake. Or the fact that he, being a guy, ended up more beautiful than she will ever be in a kimono. Within seconds she didn't dwell on the issue anymore when she saw the irksome expression on Gabby's face when Georgia and Drena joined him on each side striking a pose for the cameras. She couldn't hold it in anymore as she started giggling at the sight in front of her.
'Oh Gary, you're really hating this aren't you? Hehehe, I got the perfect thank you gift for you.'
About 30 Minutes Later
Misty let out a grunt at the last bidder and decided to up the ante by a hundred. "Seven-Fifty!"
"It seems like spunky brunette one-eight-eight has increased the bid by a hundred for Gabby! Do I hear Seven-seventy-five or even eight-fifty?" Leo; Third Years' class president asked enthusiastic to the crowd.
"Make it a thousand!" A blond across the gym shouted raising her number up in the air.
Misty puffed up her cheeks, as she shot a glare at the blond while Leo spoke in the background. She then looked over at Lili due to a side comment of hers. "No I am not going to let that bimbo win! I told Gary that I'll win the auction!"
"Hahaha well you better continue bidding Lolaaa!" Lili teased Misty; as she pointed at Leo who was counting down to end the bid.
"AHH! One thousand five hundred!"
"Spunky Brunette one-eight-eight has drastically increased the bid again! Blondy forty-three? Do I hear one thousand six hundred?" Leo asked the blond but shook her head 'no' in defeat. "Well it seems blondy forty-three has opt out of the bidding—"
"HAH! Take that bimbo!" Misty shouted at the blond with a smirk, as her adrenaline raced through her body. 'Wow ,besides blowing my money like crazy, I never knew bidding could be so fun and stressful at the same time. Hahaha! Oooh this bid is min—' Misty became alert when she heard Leo called out a new bidder number.
"—New bid goes to the fair black haired girl with red contacts at the left end of the front row!"
Misty looked down the road and she noticed it was one of her co-worker; who was a late comer to the event. "Lili, that's Ami right? Why is she bidding? I thought she couldn't stand Gary."
"Well it's a love-hate thing with her and her feelings towards Gary? She can't stand him but the fan club members we all know she's in deep denial and she secretly likes him. But you better keep your eyes on the prize. The dude just started the count-down again."
Misty didn't pay attention what the next bid was; a thousand seven hundred, as she just raised her number. Not even a split second for Leo to his shout of the next bid, Ami raised her number two-zero-two for the bid to be at a thousand eight hundred. Misty pulled the same stunt and quickly raised her number for her bid of a thousand nine hundred. Misty caught Ami's glare while raising her number to make the bid at two thousand flat. Whistles and mumbles arose from the crowd, as Gary still kept his composed expression and elegant pose. But in the back of his mind he couldn't believe how much some girls would pay for a date; and most of them has forgotten it's for a fundraiser cost. His full attention turned towards Leo when he felt a forearm leaning on his shoulder.
"Look at that Gabby. Within the three years we've been at this academy, you've broken the auction record for us. Congrats and you better not disappoint your date with Miss. Gothic because it looks like the end for Spunky Brunette. Especially with that troubled face of hers." Leo pointed down at Lola.
Gary had no worries because he knew that expression from Misty wasn't a troubled one at all. It was an expression he gotten many times from her; the expression of 'game over' for the other person.
Misty cracked her knuckles and let the countdown dragged out. 'Gosh damnit Ami, I don't know how much you're willing to pay for a date with a person you're not too sure about, but I'll make you dropout like how I did with the rest.' Misty raised her number in the air with a smirk. "Let's make it three thousand." Misty enjoyed the gasps and mumbles throughout the gym, as she looked down at Ami but her attention was brought up towards the upper left bleachers when she heard Richie called out her alas name.
"Look at you being all baller-status!" Richie shouted, leaning against the railings after getting up from his seat in between Tiffany and Nikki; and nearby Ash and May. "You really must want that date with Gary don't you? Are your planning to do some freaky-deaky stuff towards him?"
Misty was appalled at Richie's frankness of his images of Lola already but she kept calm and gave him snicker. "That's my little secret and too bad you'll never know!"
A big grin appeared on Richie's face, as his flirtatious side kicked in. "You're right. But I did offer myself earlier and you turned me down for that debonair brunette." Richie pointed at Gary; who had a bothered stare towards him. "I'm a little jealous if I say so myself."
"Well if I'm ever back in town, I'll look you up. How about that?" Misty winked and blew a kiss towards Richie. She then looked straight back towards the stage towards Leo and Gary. "Can we just end this already? Because I think I won the auction because someone by now would have out bid me already."
Not realizing Gary's infuriating expression towards Misty's and Richie's conversation, Leo took back charge. "Right! But I still need to do the auction procedures one-eight-eight." Leo cleared his throat. "Do I hear any higher bids than three thousand?" Leo asked and scanned the gym for any takers but none raised their number. "Alright, current bid of three thousand going once," Leo scanned the gym again. "Going twiiice," Leo scanned the gym for the third time and was about to close the auction but he saw a person raised a number in the air from the entrances of the gym.
"Let's make my first out-bid five thousand!"
Everyone turned around to face the front entrance doors when they heard a guy's voice. Once again gasps and murmurs arose from the crowd, as Lili and her group of friends commented amongst themselves about they weren't expecting 'him'. About everyone were shocked like there was no tomorrow, especially Gary. His face dropped instantly the moment he heard the guy's voice. Gary quickly eyed Misty; who quickly turned back to face him with a terrified face. She flashed a low five and shook her head, to indicate that she only had five thousand for 'just in case'. But that didn't stop Gary from glaring at her to quickly think of something.
"Psst Lili, I really hate to ask you this but could I borrow some money? I have the extra cash in my account but I only five thousand on me."
Lili stared back at Misty with hopeless in her eyes. "Sorry, I can't. It's not the fact that I don't want to lend you the money, it's that I don't have the cash amount that you'll need. It's game over for you. You remember earlier that I mention there's another old founder of the club? Well that's him. That's Ajay Chasevoid and he swings towards the male audiences if you catch my drift."
"Oh crap. Anyways! Can't I just borrow what you have?"
"It'll be pointless. Ajay's been saving every penny since he was like two if that's even possible, for a big splurge purchase. And as you can tell Gary's the splurge, especially when he managed to fly in today. Anyways, the countdown is now at two."
Misty looked back at Leo; who was eying her at the last final countdown, and shook her head in defeat. Misty and Gary had mixed emotions inside of them when they heard Leo thanked the gentlemen in the back with his generous bid donation of five thousand dollars. Misty was mad because she couldn't kept her promise to Gary and also the fact that she lost in general. Gary was stunned speechless but the moment he heard Matt's laughter coming from the upper right side bleachers, he was thrown into rage. As he then glared up at Matt.
"In all the years of us being rivals, I've never seen such a priceless expression just moments ago on your face! And I'm going to admit I have a feeling that you'll win the contest result and I'm most likely going to be your personal servant." Instead of the usual sore loser attitude, Matt snickered happily down towards Gary again and started pointing at the crowd. "But the fact you could have gone on a date with one of these hotties but it ended up being with a guy makes the side wager less dreadful for me. So congrats on your date Gabby!"
Livid to all hell by Matt's taught, Gary gave him the "bird" before giving his full divided attention towards the strange guy still at the front entrances. With his famous glare, yanking the wig off in an enrage manner, Gary threw the wig down to the stage floor. "You do realize I'm a guy right?"
A big smile crept on Ajay's face when he saw Gary had ruffled up his hair in frustration and confusion. "Of course, you're Gary Oak and I'm a big fan of yours! Now who do I hand over my cash to for today's date?"
With Leo calling up Ajay to the stage, Gary advert his attention back towards Misty but she was nowhere found in her spot with Lili's group. He scanned the whole crowd for a good minute before spotting her off to the side of the gym whispering something to the guy that won the date. Trying to get a read on the two of what it seem like a heated conversation, Misty suddenly turned around and quickly headed towards the doors with her cell to her ear. Once Misty disappeared through the doors, Gary wasn't sure what his emotions were at the moment but he did knew he wanted out and off the stage. About to head towards the curtains he got stopped by Leo when he got asked where he was going.
"Back to the dressing room to get out of this get-up. Got a problem with that Leo?"
"Well if you put it that way nooo but we still got a bit of the event left of passing out the free wallet size digital photos prints of you guys for voting. Also with all you three of you gals being on stages, the digital package will sale better," Leo said towards Gary but looked back over to locate the winner; who was only a few feet away from entering up on stage.
"Not my concern anymore. The photos will still sale without me here. Beside I pretty much doubled the donation amount that we've ever seen, so I think I earned the right to leave early and enjoy a little time to myself before my man-date. So tell the guy after the event is over meet up at the front of the academy." Gary said in a monotone and made his way towards the curtains.
Leo wasn't sure if Gary was being sarcastic or not by the way he said it. But he knew him well enough that he doesn't do things half-hearted and will carry out his mission, so he wasn't worry about Gary ditching his 'man-date'.
While looking down at the stage to see Leo finally talking to the guy who won the auction date, Ash looked over at May; concealing her laughter in for the fiftieth time within the last ten minutes when they announced the winner. It also didn't help that Richie was cracking jokes off to the side of the situation. Ash had to admit he did see the amusement of the turnout of the auction date but deep down he did pitied Gary a bit. "I didn't think you'll get so much amusement out of Gary's pain May."
May looked back over at Ash with a big grin on her face. "Are you kidding? Have you forgotten how much I enjoyed seeing Gary like this when we were young? Seriously seeing Gary this flustered at this age is priceless. Especially all our hard work went down the drain to some random guy loaded with a pocket full of cash." May had another giggle fit when she remembered the expression on Misty's face when she lost the bid.
"I wonder how the rest of the day is going to play out." Ash commented with a smirk, he and May looked over at Richie when he got up from his seat.
"Well Ash, May it was fun seeing all this madness with you guys but since my shift is over, Tiffany, Nicki and I are going to grab some food and reminisce old times." Richie flashed a smile and wave before turning his attention towards Tiffany and Nicki.
May and Ash bid bye to the three, as May slowly got up onto her feet with her crutch. "Well Ash I should head out myself."
Ash got up onto his feet with a confused expression. "Leaving already?"
"My researches aren't going to research themselves Ash. Since the accident and recovery my workload got a bit set back. But today was a must be here so I rearranged my schedule in order to make it. And besides I think my personal assistant is ready to drive me back home and get back to work."
"I see. Well I'll you out to the front than?"
"Thanks for the offer but I need to pick up the borrowed kimono from Gary first before I leave. So I think it'll be best for us to part ways once we step out of the gym because you know how Gary can get when he's in his foul mood. And seeing you would just make it worst."
"Yeaaah you're right."
"Will you be alright by yourself?"
"May I'm not the little Ash that would cry or throw a fit every time you or Gary leave anymore. Besides I got the confirmed text from Misty that she'll be at Lil' Pandas in a bit, so I'll be meeting with her."
"Hah true that. So what are you going to say or do when you meet up with her?"
"I don't know, probably wing it? I'm not going to lie my feelings are still on the roller coaster tracks. So I might not confess at all due to my oh-so-awesome attempt of confession earlier." Ash said jokingly.
"Oh ha-ha, throwing me the guilt trip I see."
"Hah, naaah more like giving you a hard time. I just don't know what I'm doing anymore so I'm for sure going to wing it and go with the flow."
May gave Ash a smile. "You'll do fine, especially when it's Misty."
"Thanks." Ash held out his hand when they reached the stairs. "Let me help you down the stairs."
About 20 Minutes Later – In Gary's Assigned Dressing Room
"You know Gary, cursing at the kimono isn't going to change the fact it'll be faster to take off a kimono next time." May said, as placed the first and second layers of the kimono into the hanger.
"Next time? There will never be a next time that I'll be wearing and taking off another kimono." Gary barked back from the other side of the wooden standup curtain; taking off the remaining layers of the kimono.
A tiny giggled escaped her mouth before she cleared her throat to change it to a teasingly tone. "Who said it'll be you wearing the kimono when it's time to be taking it off."
Just got done slipping back into his pants, Gary froze when he realized May's sexual implement. "D-Did you just—"
"Ooooh I totally went there! With that long pause and stuttered of yours was totally worth the joke!"
Gary quickly slipped his tank over his head and grabbed the last of the kimono and stepped onto the other side to hand it over to May. "Jokingly or not, that's a subject you and I should never cross again."
"Aww is lil' Gary embarrassed to talk about sex with big sis? You know you use to be real curious about everything when you were seven and eight." May said with a smirk, grabbing the clothing from Gary.
"Have you forgotten I'm not the little Gary from ten years ago?"
"Gosh you and Ash are still a like even after years apart. And no I haven't forgotten, it's just old habits die hard." May already knew the where about of Misty but she wondered if Gary knew. "Anyways, where did Misty ran off to?"
"Most likely meeting up with Ashy-Boy and at this point I don't care anymore. I'm really irritated at the fact things didn't go according to plan for my part." Gary replied in a displease tone and continued getting dressed.
May replied with an 'I see' and since Ash was brought up, she slightly changed the subject by mentioning Ash had confessed to her right before the event. That news definitely caught Gary's attention when he had replied with a questionable 'what'. About ten minutes of telling her brother what had happen and the situation, Gary wasn't at all surprised at how well Ash was taking the rejection. He knew that's just how Ash is and will always be. He then excused himself for a second to grab his phone to check the time. He paid no attention to the time when he saw the missed call and voice mail icon from Misty. May popped her head behind the wooden stand curtain to ask Gary a question but got a bit curious due to Gary's expression listening to his phone. Once she saw Gary closed his phone and faced her she asked who and what the voice message was about.
"Misty, Mickey, Lola take your pick." Gary grabbed a hold of all his belongings and also all of May's too. "The message was a bit hard to make out, something about apologizing for not being to keep her promise and she managed to get Ajay, the winner's name, to go to Lil' Pandas for a simple hangout. Also something about hoping having a Plan B figured out when she sees me later. Anyways I got everything, let's head out."
About 30 Minutes Later – Lil' Pandas'
Upon entering the café lobby area Gary and Ajay were greeted by a cutie girl name Babel-Leef and her pokemon. The two got asked if they had a preference of their seating, Ajay spoke up for he wanted to be seated at the bar-stool dining area; that way he could be "next to" Gary without making him uncomfortable compared to sitting next to him a booth or table. Gary didn't care where they sat, so he just quietly followed behind the two. Walking to the other side of the café, Gary noticed a few things. One, it wasn't as crowd as usual; due to the All-Boys Academy fundraiser going on, it was almost like the place was in a ghost town. As it made perfect sense to him on why Misty had choose and convinced Ajay to go to Lil' Pandas. Two, even though it was dead, there was quite a few familiar faces at Lil' Pandas, Richie being one of the familiar faces with his two girl friends in his and Ash's usual corner booth. He then saw the other corner booth across of Richie's booth, Ash talking Misty. The bar-stool dining area just happened to be in between the two corner booth those were being occupied but closer to Ash's and Misty's booth. There was no way of avoiding each other presents but Ajay managed missed Ash and Misty only because being preoccupied of telling Babel-Leef he's one of Lili's closest friends. Ash and Gary naturally eyed each other slightly from a far, which got Misty curious who Ash was staring at. When she turned to see it was Gary, she smiled all goofy like and played it off like she just heard the 'news' by asking Ash is that the guy that won.
Still not aware of everybody else's' existences around him; mainly Ash's and Misty's, Ajay had turned his back against them in order to face Gary to picked up their conversation before entering Lil' Pandas. Even with his inside voice, Ash and Misty could hear Ajay reminiscing about a tournament he was at that Gary had won. Even if they wanted to Ash and Misty could not avoid the eavesdropping on the conversation Ajay was kind of having by himself; since Gary's replies were one or two words throughout the whole thing. The two were fascinated of Gary's early teen years and his adventures for the first time hearing about them. But after hearing the stories of adventures that was supposed to be his and Gary's adventures together, Ash was slightly more poignant than fascinated. When growing up before their friendship fall out, the two had always talked about and even planned out their future travels together of becoming the best trainer duos that walked the region. The feelings Ash was feeling quickly disappeared moment Ajay changed the subject about a 'girlfriend', as his ears perked.
"What?" Gary still kept with his one or two word responses.
"Oh you heard me clearly, was the girl in the yellow outfit your girlfriend or a close friend or just some stranger? I'm just curious what's the relation between you two because the way she confronted me and told me I needed to take you here if I wanted a decent hangout made her sound like a jealous stalker or a friend looking out for you."
"Hah, definitely not my girlfriend, you could say she a close friend who was going to bail me out from going on a date with a random girl and in this case, a random guy."
"Heh, I see. Sooo," Ajay slowly leaned in a bit closer towards Gary. "I can take that info as a confirmed source of you not having or involved with a girlfriend correct?"
Gary leaned back a bit with a stern stare. "What's it to you? You may have won the auction date to go and do about anything on this stupid date but that doesn't mean I am obligated to answer all your questions."
"Heh, just like the Gary I remember way back." A smirk appeared on Ajay's lips. "With me knowing the fact that you're not involved with someone, I might make a move and I can't guarantee what my actions will be towards you."
"And like I told you earlier, I don't care if sexual preferences is towards the same gender but I'll punch the lights out of you if you pull any stupid stunts on me, got it?"
Ajay let out a seductive smile, as he boldly brushed his fingers across Gary's hand; placed on the dining counter. "Crossing that line with you and getting beat up for it will be worth it."
Misty couldn't believe how bold; and masochist, Ajay was being towards Gary and she could tell Gary was seconds away making the threat into reality. Not wanting Gary to start a beating session in her bosses' work place and her friend, her original Plan B was thrown out the window and had to think of Plan C quick. Not much time to think of something, she just did the first thing came to mind, as Misty apologized to Ash while grabbing her bag and quickly made her way towards Gary. With Gary facing towards Ash's and Misty's booth, when he and Misty made eye contact he raised a slight eyebrow when she mouthed 'follow my lead'. Once she got Ajay's full divided attention by turning Gary's body and stool facing her, Misty gave Gary a passionate; but meaningless, kiss.
Gary paid no concerns to Richie's questionable wail, Ajay's confusion weep and Ash's perplexed stare, for he had to clear his mind to figure out what to do next to follow suit with Misty's sudden action. Before he knew it his body naturally did it for him. His arms were already around Misty's waist, as he deepened the kiss between the two; making them a believable couple in others' views. And without realizing it when Misty pulled away from his lips, a genuine smile appeared.
Meanwhile – Cerulean City Gym – Misty's Bedroom
"Seriously looking for the little treasure box in this giant room of hers is like looking for a needle in a haystack!" Duplica complained going through another one of Misty's drawers full of knickknacks. Her eyes instantly squinted in annoyance. "Oh how ironic, a needle. That's it! I'm calling break time Ditto." Duplica flopped onto Misty's bed and hugged the life-size Dewgong plushy.
"Ditto-Ditto!" Ditto stayed at the edge of the bed because she decided to transform into a Dewgong.
"Hahah, you remember this plushy don't you? This was the first time you transformed into a Dewgong after Misty won this plushy. And oh boy, Misty was so jealous that I had a real Dewgong and she didn't."
"Deeeewgong!" Ditto cheered and looked at a big laminated poster on the wall above the bed.
Duplica looked up at the poster map of the Pokemon Regions and Islands, as she stood on Misty's bed and pointed at a Starmie sticker marked in the Kanto region. "See this Starmie sticker? This is where we got the Dewgong plushy at a carnival." Duplica then started pointing at all the other Starmie stickers stickered in the Kanto, Johto and a part of the Orange Islands region areas. "All the Starmie stickers are places where Misty and I have already seen and traveled to. All the Staryu stickers in this area," Duplica did a circle motion at the rest of the Orange Islands. "And these two areas," Duplica then pointed at the Hoenn's and Sinnoh's regions. "Are places that Misty and I plan to see and do some more training with you guys to improve our skills. Whenever we get the chance that is, but when we do, you know what that means? You'll be able to transform and take form of a lot new pokemons! Isn't that exciting?"
"Dew-dewgoong-gong!" Ditto clapped her fins in excitement, not realizing a few tiny dust-balls crept up her nose. Tickling the inside of her nose, Ditto did the pre-sneeze moment; which Duplica caught on and ducked in time to avoid the tiny Ice Beam sneeze that went towards the Regions Map poster.
Duplica asked Ditto if she was alright and when she got the 'ok' nod from her, a sigh of relief escaped her mouth. After petting Ditto's head, Duplica turned around to start removing the ice to avoid any or further damages to the wall and poster. At first she stood in her spot all baffled and within seconds she became amused at what she saw, as a big smile slowly crept upon her face. "When Kanto freezes over eh Gary? And look, I happen to be wearing a light jacket too."
A/N: (12/13/11) Dude, SO SORRY for the hella long update D: As this is the longest wait period update I have ever done, gosh being an adult sometime sucks XD Well most of you guys already know due to the long wait is because of the business during xmas season and working two jobs and one of them I got a promotion; yay but sadly has taken a lot of free time away ;(
Well enough about life updates, I hope ch29 was worth the wait? I'll admit I did rushed/cut corners in a few parts buuut I got lazy and wanted to get to the main points for ch29.
Oh and if any of you are interested on my profile there will be a link to a collab fanart with Zinoman, as she drew Georgia and Drena and I drew Gabby, kekeke ;3
Thank you again to all the ones who left reviews for the ch28 and the few stranglers here and there within the last few months to keep me going to update ch29. Much lovies and I'll catch ya later, ta-ta for now!
Lili
