Inspiration:
This story is highly inspired by Jagodibuja's comic about "living with a Hipster girl and a gamer girl". Big shoutout to him for making a comic that is both entertaining and relatable.
Disclaimer:
I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters portrayed in this story. I make no profit from writing fanfictions, it's simply a passion of mine that I wanted to pursue for a long time.
Warning:
This story contains strong language and suggestive scenes. If you are uncomfortable with profanity or potential sexual content, kindly leave the story as it might not be suitable for you.
"You got everything ready honey? Your clothes, phone charger and school applications?" The young teenager nodded to his mother's words, packing the remnants of his belongings in his luggage. He glanced at his PC that occupied most of his luggage, and felt a sense of dread that his beloved conduit to the online world might not make it throughout the journey.
"Yeah mom I have everything already." With everything intact, The young teen took his luggage to the front door, only to be met with a stern expression from his mother who has a less than pleased look plastered on her face.
"Everything except finding a place to stay." Right, he gets to go to a prestigious school meant for aspiring pokemon trainers at the age of 15, only to get screwed over by the fact there is a lack of accommodations and the fact, he had to share an apartment with others. Something which, does not bold well for his antisocial nature.
"Well finding a roommate who is willing to share with me shouldn't be too hard, I am after all helping them split the cost of rent." While his personality may not be the warmest or friendly for that matter, at the very least, he could help split up the cost of rent. That should enough to win bargains and convince his future roommates that he's worth the investment.
"True, but what if you can't find a place to stay? You sleep on the street?" A shrug from her son caused Delia to sigh, causing her to rub her temples. His nonchalant nature was something she worried the most.
"Don't worry I can refer the to school and ask for accommodations, but I might need to pay a bit more money."
"I need to pay more money." Delia pointed to herself, giving her son a deadpanned look.
"Yeah, that. This wouldn't have happened if Gary wasn't a dick." He was still salty over the fact that Gary stood him off, promising that he could move in with him and become roommates, yet quickly booting him out the moment a girl asked Gary for a place to stay. Truly, pathetic and disappointing. A mixture of betrayal and despair washed over Ash, though truthfully, he would probably done the same.
"Now, now Ash while I'm not thrilled of Gary making false promising and canceling your plans at the last minute, I still want you to be on friendly terms with him."
"Fine, fine, he's more popular than me anyway. Definitely do not want to stir the wrath of his lackies." As the grandson of the renowned pokemon researcher professor Samuel Oak, he has earned much adoration from others. Combined with his undeniable handsome face and his narcissistic attitude that screamed edgy and cool, he has earned himself a cult following.
"Good boy, if you can't find a place to stay, give me a call and I will come pick you up." Ash begrudgingly sighed when his mother pulled him into a hug, seemingly comforting him at the fact there was no shame of asking your mom for help in times of need.
"Fine, but that would be my last option." Ash spoke in a stern tone when he placed his luggage into his mother's car, closing the car boot shut in the process. He turned to his house that he stayed for 5 years and felt a sense of sadness that he would be leaving his beloved home. He wasn't the most independent person in the world, but he was confident that he can manage by himself.
'Just stock up on cup noodles and frozen lasagna.' Placing his faith into those two food items sent by Arceus himself, Ash was confident he would survive the 3 year of studies and come out alive, without dying from heart attack at least.
"Alright let's go." Ash sat next to the driver seat and bucked up, feeling a wave of excitement washing over him at the thought of moving out of his mom's house. Not that he loathed staying with his mother, but he finally get to experience the life of a student before becoming a full fledged pokemon trainer. His mother started the car and soon enough, they started their drive towards Jubilife city.
"Are you sure you don't want me to wait? I can help you find a place to stay you know." His mother's voice of concern made Ash sighed, he understood her concern over his lack of accommodations, but he didn't want to further burden his mother with his own problems.
"It's fine mom, you have a meeting later right?" Delia scowled internally, not liking how Ash was using her career that she held dearly against her. That being said, her love for her son far outweighs any promising job advancement.
"Yeah but-"
"If anything comes up, I'll call you, I promise." Admitting defeat when Ash crossed his heart, Delia nodded and helped Ash to unload his last baggage. She grinned when Ash held his PC in such a precious and delicate manner, bridal style if you will.
"Alright, love you." She kissed his forehead gently, knowing that it would be a long time before she ever see her son again. Such public affection of course cause Ash to blush in embarrassment, but he returned the gestured nevertheless.
"Love you too mom." Waving goodbye to his mother who was already behind the wheel, he watched on as he mother reluctantly drove off into the distance, with feelings of homesick already hitting Ash right in the head.
"Alright, time to find a roommate." Dragging his luggage with one hand and using his arm to hold onto his PC of a box, he walked towards a nearby public noticeboard and browse through the pamphlets that were looking for a roommate. Akin to an adventurer browsing through quests in a tavern, Ash sighed when most of the requirement for a roommate was either looking for a female, willing to participate in underage drinking every night, or have an attractive personality and look, or all in the above.
"Damn it, am I really gonna sleep outside?" His hopes of finding a decent accommodation was dashed, broken and in tatters. With the sun setting in the horizon, Ash realized how dire his situation was if he does not find a suitable housing for him. He sighed to himself, wondering why he registered the school at the very last minute. He didn't want to rely on his school for an accommodation, knowing that the campus would take advantage of his desperate state and charge him with higher rent.
"Come on man." Scrolling through the noticed board in a dejected manner, he's eyes perked up immediately when he saw a promising looking offer that might be too good to be true.
"We are two girls looking for a dormmate. Requirements, anyone is fine (but if you are a guy, don't try anything funny), don't be an ass, help split the rent." Ash murmured the words the necessary requirements to himself, wondering if he should really try his luck. The details stated were put in a blunt and direct manner, which was good because Ash could smell out bullshit the moment he see sugarcoated words.
'They are girls though, and I don't think they would accept me. Then again, they went out of their way to specify that guys are okay as long as they don't try anything. Ah well what the hell, might as well give it a shot.' Ash scrolled through the details, yet he never found any mobile number or even email. Instead, only the address of the apartment was there.
"Hmm maybe they don't want to leak their phone number to the public." Deciding his luck, Ash gingerly walked towards the supposed address with his heavy luggage in hand. It was more fortunate that the apartment wasn't far from school itself, but that didn't mean the heavy luggage wasn't taking its toll on Ash's fragile and skinny body. Passing through the street lights and rows of trees that made the city more lively, Ash was enthralled by the beautiful scenery of the area. He stopped when he saw the building he was looking for in the distance. It was a white apartment that has 5 floors, with a nice little balcony to boot too.
"This is the place." It was a rather quaint an nice place, it wasn't a huge apartment by any means but it seemed cozy and spacious enough for 3-4 people per unit. With huge deep breaths, Ash entered the building and glanced around the empty receptionist desk. Akin to a Deerling in headlights, Ash stood in front of the receptionist desk and place his PC on top on of the desk. He scrolled through his social media feed in the mean time, waiting for anyone to show up and help him.
"Hello, sorry I was in the washroom. Can I help you young man?" A woman, seemingly a receptionist spoke as she came out from the nearby washroom. She sat down on her desk and smiled at Ash in a polite manner. Finally, some much needed help.
"Uh hi my name is Ash Ketchum and I'm here to look for Misty Waterflower and Dawn Berlitz?" The receptionist nodded and logged onto her computer to look for Ash's details.
"Ah I see, you're a student here?" She spoke while searching up on Ash, tapping on her keyboard with much precision and speed.
"Yeah I just enrolled and I kinda need a place to stay. I saw on a noticeboard that they were looking for a roommate, so I was wondering if I can talk to them and discuss with them." Upon seeing Ash's name in the system and the fact he was a student, the pretty receptionist smiled and nodded, already reaching for the phone.
"Sure, let me call them and ask them to come down and discuss the matter with you." Fantastic, finally a receptionist that is both helpful and polite. A rare combination in society indeed.
"Thank you, uh would you mind if I put PC here for the time being, it's kinda heavy." She nodded while waiting for the two students to pick up the landline phone.
"Sure, sure no problem. Take your time, my name is Soledad by the way." Ash nodded, feeling quite confident that the two girls who accept him as their roommate. Though deep down, he knew he would be absolutely screwed if the girls reject him. Not that girls rejecting him would be surprising anyway, the times where a girl had his hopes up were uncountable.
"Thanks, Soledad." Leaning towards the counter, Ash glanced around the office and found it neat and tidy like any generic office he seen on TV shows. His attention soon return to the receptionist when she started to speak.
"Hello Miss Waterflower? Yes it's me Soledad. There's someone named Ash who is looking for an accommodation, and it just happens that he saw your- ah yes he is right here in the lobby. Alright, I will let him know, thanks." Ash's anxiety was building within him, what did she say? Did she reject him already despite not meeting him? Was this a bad idea? Should he look for some place else?
"Miss Waterflower and miss Berlitz would be down here shortly." Ash breathed sigh of relief, he nodded to himself and stared at a nearby mirror, hoping that he looks presentable. Never in his wildest dream would Ash thought he gets to share a house with two girls, but maybe, just maybe. Patiently, he waited for the two girls who was supposed to meet him.
The sound of a card being scanned and glass door opening startled Ash, he calmed himself down and saw two pretty girls walking towards him. One of them appears to be a redhead with green emerald eyes, she was rather tomboyish looking with her shoulder length hair and boy shorts that revealed her long slender legs. The other girl had rich dark blue hair that flow to her waist, she wore a black tank top that hugged her figure tightly and a cute mini skirt that leaves little to the imagination.
All in all, they were hot babes and Ash knew it.
'There's no way these two are the ones.' He was certain that he used up all of his good luck on pulling gacha.
"Hi are you Ash?" Oh god they are, Ash couldn't believe his luck. He calmed himself down almost immediately, his brain tryin to shut down his hormones that begged him to do something stupid and awkward.
"Uh yeah that's me. Are you Misty and Dawn?" The duo stared at Ash, almost as if they were staring at his souls to evaluate whether he was a decent person or not. That or they were genuinely unimpressed with him already.
"Yeap, we heard you looking for a place to stay."
"Y-Yeah I had a friend who promised me a place, only to stood me off because of a girl."
"Aww that sucks, well we're looking for a roommate too. But if you try anything funny on Dawn or me, I will cut your balls off." Admittedly Ash expected such threat, but to have a girl to say in such an intimidating and unfazed manner, it really did have an impact on him.
"S-Sure, I promise I won't try anything funny."
"What do you think Dawn? Do you think he's alright?"
"Hmm." This girl right here, ultimately decides whether Ash get to sleep with a roof above his head tonight and he knew it. He silently prayed to Arceus that she says yes, but he knew that first impression are important. Hopefully he looked like a nice respectful person, rather than a bloody creep.
"I think he's alright, we can always kick his him out if he tries anything." Again, the threats against him were spoke in such a casual manner that Ash wondered if they have done this before. The redhead stared at Ash with judgmental eyes, causing him to back off slowly. Her cold emerald eyes seemed to scream death to those who dare to try anything to her.
"Well if you say so. Alright then, you're officially our roommate now Ash." The young teen shouted in joy internally, perhaps enrolling into this school was the best decision he ever made! That and maybe the 200 pokedollar prestige skin he bought from league. That was a good purchase too. Still, for the two girls to make their decision so hastily, it did raise some questions from the young lad.
"Thank you so much, I promise that I will stay out of your hair as much as possible." That last part was true, he would probably be stuck in his room cursing his teammates for being useless while munching on unhealthy cup ramen.
"Mhmm, I hold you onto that." Misty slide the card onto the scanner and opened door, allowing Ash to enter. Entering the elevator in a robotic manner, Ash felt anxious when the two girls stood next to him in this rather small elevator. With his eyes stared directly at the elevator door, Ash stood in perfect stillness that you would have thought he was a dead log.
"So Ash where are you from?" Dawn broke the silence and stared at Ash with a smile, such infectious smile caused him to return the gesture as well. Immediately, Ash could tell Dawn was a bubbly and cheerful individual who loves to strike up a conversation with others. Which was concerning considering Ash wasn't really a people's person himself.
"I'm from Kanto actually, but I move to Sinnoh when I was 10 because of my mom's job." Dawn nodded in surprised, she turned to her best friend and poked her shoulders.
"Oh, Misty is from Kanto too." Surprised by the revelation, Ash leaned forward and stared at Misty who nodded in agreement.
"Really? Which part?"
"Cerulean." The redhead spoke casually, though Ash picked up that she was genuine interested in the conversation.
"Oh I heard that Cerulean is famous for its lakes." At the mention of the pride and joy of her hometown, Misty smiled and nodded, giving her attention to Ash every now and then.
"It is, pristine waters and majestic waterfalls, I kinda missed it." Missing home huh, it was a feeling Ash knew well enough. He too missed the lush rice fields of Pallet Town, seeing the golden rays of the evening sunlight engulfing the paddy field in a shimmering glow. It was nostalgic and he dearly missed those fond childhood memories.
Soon enough, the elevator stopped on the floor and opened smoothly. Ash being the last one out, managed to escape the wrath of the elevator closing its doors in the nick of time. Holding his luggage and box in his hands in a steady manner, he waited for Misty to unlock the door of his new apartment.
"Shoes off." What kind of psychopath wears their shoes in doors anyway? Why on earth was it necessary to tell others to take their shoes off before entering their house? Isn't it common knowledge? Still, Ash decided to humour her.
"Yes ma'am."
"Don't ma'am me." Dawn chuckled at their interaction and enter their dorm, smiling the fact Ash seemed amazed and pleased with the decorations. He looked around the rooms and could tell the rooms on the left was preoccupied, while the rooms on the right were as empty as his bank account.
"You're room is on the right." As he expected, he would be staying on the opposite side of them.
"Oh thanks."
"Unpack your things and come to the living room, we have somethings we need to agree on." Does he need to sell his soul or something? A contract or agreement he needs to sign on? Why does she sound so serious and ominous?
"O-Okay." Nevertheless, Ash quickly walked to his newfound room and found it quite cozy. He was glad that the windows have binds on them, sparing him from buying binds himself. There was even a neat study table that would be quickly transformed into his personal gaming rig. Deciding to piece his PC together later, he unloaded his clothes and hang them on his wooden wardrobe that has a vintage vibe to it.
'Hmm I guess I can settle the rest later.' He walked back outside the living room and saw the girls sitting on the sofa, with Dawn reading a seemingly interesting book. Reluctantly, Ash sat on the other side of the sofa and waited for any of them to start the conversation.
"Ah you're done." Misty spoke while stirring her precious mug that had the aroma of tea. She sat next to Dawn and gingerly passed on a document to Ash. Curiously, he took the paper and read through it, realizing that it was the agreement to splitting the rent and of course ownership of the apartment. Surprisingly, the rent was evenly split between the three of them, Ash was more than prepared to be the one who has to pay more since he was the guy.
"Oh is that it?" He spoke slowly, raising the paper in his hand. He watched as Misty slowly sipped on her tea, giving him a slow nod in the process.
"Yeap pretty much. Just sign it and we're done." He thoroughly go through the agreement one last time in case of any loop holes that might screw him over, knowing that he has to be careful once he's out on his own without his mother guidance. He read through the agreement 5 more times before signing it with a nearby pen and handed it back to Misty, who scanned the paper with her phone before placing it back on the glass table in front of her.
Seeing that Misty shifted her attention to her phone and the fact the conversation has ended, Ash too his cue and decided to return to his room.
"Well if there's nothing I'm gonna call my mom and let her know I found a place to stay." Misty turned towards Ash before snapping her fingers, seemingly remembered one last detail.
"Actually there is one more thing, Dawn and I like to take early showers, usually around 7 am. Just to let you know." Ash nodded in an understanding manner, knowing that he would had to give leeway to the girls who graciously took him in. Besides, the last thing he wants was to cause any unnecessary awkward situations to happen. He was not keen on being called a peeping tom by his roommates, his pride and reputation is on the line here.
"Also if you're bringing anyone back here, let us know beforehand." Dawn added on, snuggling onto the sofa pillow while reading her novel. Personally, Ash knew he would probably never bring in any friends up to the hostel, most of his time would probably be spent on grinding on MMORPGS or binge watching the latest season of anime.
"Oh don't worry, I won't be bringing anyone back here." Misty raised her eyebrows, sitting upright in the process.
"You're a shut in aren't you." Ash gave Misty a deadpanned look, not liking the fact she was calling him out for who he is. At the very least, you can sugarcoat it right?
"Hey you don't have to call me out like that." The redhead before him chuckled as she placed her mug on the coaster, waving her hand off in a dismissive manner.
"No, no I don't meant it like that, it just that you should socialize with others. This is the perfect time to make friends and live out your life before we become adults you know?" Ash sighed, man why does she sound like his mom? As much as he liked to socialize and hang out with others, most of the people he knows are dicks. Apart from his friends like Barry and Tracy, the rest of them were just assholes.
"Well I suppose, I'm talking to you two now, so that's already a huge step in my book." Dawn glanced at Misty, smiling in amusement before burying her nose back into her book.
"Mhmm, alright then. You enrolled into the trainer course? Or did you enroll into the other courses?" Ash nodded, thinking about the various amount of course choices he had. Pokemon trainer, coordinator, performer, breeder and even acting school. There was a plethora of courses for young teens who are keen to be working with the pokemon industry. For Ash, he applied into the standard pokemon trainer course.
"Yeap the standard trainer course, miss Erika is my homeroom teacher." The two girls before him blinked, they smiled at each other before Misty crossed her arms, wondering if it was fate that they met each other.
"Really? Then we are classmates then." Roommates and classmates huh, what other English word in the dictionary ends with mates? Playmates?
"That's great then." Deciding to end the conversation there, Ash stood up and attempted to walk back to the sanctuary and comfort of his room when Dawn piped in.
"You had dinner yet Ash?" She was concern over whether he had dinner yet despite only meeting him for less than 30 minutes? Ash was truly surprised by how nice Dawn was. It may sound like something trivial to others, but to an anti-social dork like him, he appreciates it wholeheartedly.
"Not yet, I just plan to have cup noodles and call it a night." That spicy ramen he stock up was already waiting for him, crack open a can of soda and he was ready to binge watch the latest season of Attack on Regis for the night, that or maybe online smash bros with the boys.
"Cup noodles already? Well Misty and I haven't eaten dinner yet, wanna join us?" Placing her novel down, Dawn took her phone and stood up next to Ash with her hand on her hip. The Kanto native glanced at her phone and could see a Kantonese style restaurant occupying the screen of her phone. There were really nice despite their initial threats against him. To think they invite him for dinner already, maybe they were using him to split the dinner bill? Surely that's the case right? No way would two hot girls that he just met would invite him to dinner with no ulterior motives. Ash had experienced a fair share of girls using him to do their bidding for them, it was humiliating just to think about it.
Still, he was very susceptible to nice offers.
"Uh sure."
"Alrighty then, we're going to nearby Yakiniku restaurant." Kantonese Barbeque is not exactly the most economical meal in the world, and Ash being a student with a tight budget is not keen on blowing his wallet away on the first week.
"Isn't Yakiniku expensive?" He lamented as Misty wore a fluffy looking light blue jacket around her, which admittedly did make her look cuter. Not that she wasn't, but she screamed more of the sexy tomboy type that can kick your ass than your typical cute neighbour next door.
"Nah its fairly cheap and we get a student discount as well. Unless you don't fancy it." Ash snorted, saying no to cheap yakiniku with a bunch of girls? Over his dead body.
"You kidding me? I love Yakiniku, it's barbeque with actual flavour." Misty smiled in amusement, crossing her arms under her breast while leaning forward with a teasing smile on her face.
"Spoken like a true Kantonese huh." Her body movement and teasing expression only drew a crimson red blush from Ash's face.
The sound of the meat being sizzled was music to Ash's ears, the juices overflowing from the steak meat with the sweet onion being caramelized under the spell of the fire was mouthwatering to watch. Ash could almost taste the meat in his mouth yet he refrained from picking the pieces of meat as the two girls next to him was as eager as he was. Deciding to be nice to the girls who took him in, Ash volunteered to be in charge of grilling duty while the two girls just chatted away with each other.
"Alright, here you go." Ash's chopstick skills were second to none, picking up the pieces of meat with much precision and skill. He placed the different variety of cuts onto Dawn and Misty's respective plates, ignoring the fact that Dawn was posting a picture of their luxurious meal onto her social media account.
"Thanks Ash. How do you like the restaurant?" The boy in question looked around the restaurant, admiring the traditional decors plastered all over the wall with pictures of the Kanto pokemon hanging on the wall. The bustling scene before him and the joyous sound of customer chatting and laughing really brings out the atmosphere of the place.
"I like it, it's small but it's really cozy. The prices are cheap too, so that makes it taste better."
"Glad you like it, Dawn and I often come here."
"Really? I can see why. There's a lot of students here too huh."
"Yeah it's kinda famous. This is the only Kantonese restaurant in Jubilife, so expect it to be packed." Ash nodded in realization, grilling the Shitake mushroom with the help of his chopsticks.
"Misty, Dawn!" As a loud voice shouted for his two respective roommates, Ash turned his attention towards the feminine voice and widened his eyes when a beautiful and dare he say well-endowed girl ran towards his two roommates. The girl in question quickly gave Misty and Dawn a tight embrace before jumping up and down to celebrate their joyful reunion. Misty laughed and return the hug back, rubbing her back in the process before getting a good look on her.
"May! Arceus you look great in that." Indeed she did. The brunette wore an orange sleeveless jacket and biker shorts that hugged her figure tightly. Her blue eyes were comparable to the highest grade of sapphire that were crystal blue. She was truly a beauty with a boisterous energy, to which caused Ash to ponder how many hot girls were in enrolled in this school. Nevertheless, he decided to remain silent and not to draw any attention to him and kept those less than honorable thoughts to himself.
"Aww thanks, I was about to call you two to hang out when I saw you sitting here. You never get bored of Yakiniku huh."
"I mean, can you blame us?" Dawn placed her hands on Misty's shoulders and peered over her, staring at May with a cheeky grin.
"Say, you found your new roommate yet? Or are you still looking?" At the mention of him, Ash double down on consuming his food and chow down the slices of beef on his plate, dipping them in the salty sesame sauce before devouring them whole.
"Oh we found him, in fact he's right next to you." May followed Misty's finger and glanced at Ash who was now busy stuffing grilled enoki mushrooms in his mouth. Upon noticing that he was being the center of attention, Ash turned to May and wave a simple hello to her.
"Hi." May blinked before smiling politely, waving hello to him the process. It was obvious, that she did not expect some random stranger next to he to be their new roommates, and to be honest, neither did Ash himself thought it was possible.
"Oh hello, sorry I didn't know you were Misty and Dawn's roommate." Ash waved her off, drinking his cold green tea in the process.
"No worries." Once Ash returned to grilling duty, May stepped next to Misty and leaned towards her ear, whispering to her to ensure Ash didn't hear their conversation.
"A guy huh?"
"We were desperate for someone to split the rent."
"I suspected as much." May crossed her arms, staring at Ash for the briefest of moments before a loud call to her name cause May to turn her head, waving the person to come over.
"Mine if Drew and I join you guys then?" Misty shrugged, she wasn't particularly keen on sharing a table with May's boyfriend. Personally for the young Waterflower, he never liked Drew for his snobbish and arrogant personality. What did May see in him was a mystery, but as her friend she was still supportive of their relationship.
"Sure, sure." Drew walked over towards them over the sea of crowds and placed his arm around May's shoulders, he coolly greeted Misty and Dawn before promptly ignoring Ash. While it won't normally bother Ash, it did irked him that this guy only has his eyes on the two girls in front of him instead of his own girlfriend. Sure, look at them in the eye to exchange eye contact out of politeness, but stop looking at them with a lecherous grin on your face. At least keep that to yourself you know?
"Fancy seeing you girls here." Ash slowly shifted his away when Drew and May sat down next to Misty, with complete disregard to his presence. He watched as the couple take his hard earned grilled meat and devouring it without a single care in the world, causing the young Ketchum to blink. Those pieces of meat were supposed to be for Dawn, now they just finished it like it was nothing.
Annoyed by their attitude and their lack of manners, Ash decided to not raise the issue to avoid any conflict with someone he barely knew. When a sudden notification from Ash's phone caused him to switch his attention towards it, he titled his head to aside when the message he received was from someone unknown.
Unknown number: Come sit next to me.
Ash Ketchum: Who are you?
Unknown number: It's me Dawn.
Ash peered his head over to Dawn who waved to him, signaling that indeed she was the one who texted him. Shrugging to himself, Ash took his utensils and drink and stood up, knocking Drew in the elbow in the process. Ignoring his blunder, he sat down next to Dawn who was busy grilling meat in front of her. Maybe she was looking someone to talk to because Misty was busy talking to May and Drew?
"How did you get my number?" Dawn savored the meat that melts in her mouth before turning to Ash, holding her phone up with Ash's details on it. Ash squinted his eyes, mildly annoyed that the picture of him seemed to be less than flattering.
"I checked your details on the school website before we came down to meet you." Ah that's a big brain move right there, but also frightening that others have access to your personal details. Privacy concerns aside, Ash was nonetheless quite surprised when Dawn texted him.
"That explains it, but why did you called me over?"
"Well I saw Drew eat the pile of beef slices you grilled, so I knew you were annoyed." Annoyed would be an understatement. Ash was horrified.
"Well he did finish the meat I grilled for you and Misty, so I'm a bit salty about it." Dawn sighed, and placed a grilled piece of enoki mushroom wrapped in bacon to Ash's plate, in an attempt to make him feel better.
"Its fine Ash, this is all you can eat though so don't worry." Receiving her offer in a grateful manner, Ash devoured the mushrooms and meat in a hasty manner, trying his best to ignore the thick smoke that came from the grill before him.
"Yeah but still."
"Just ignore Drew, he's like that."
"What did that girl May see in him? He seemed like an ass." He lowered his voice to ensure the lovey dovey couple next to him doesn't hear their conversation.
"He is, but hey gotta support you girl friends you know?"
"I guess." With the conversation near its end, Dawn decided to start a new topic to keep the conversation going. She genuinely wanted to know more about her new roommate who seemed to be introverted in nature. That and she can get a general grasp on his personality and character.
"You said you moved to Sinnoh when you were 10, where did you stay?"
"Twinleaf." At the mention of her hometown, Dawn's eyes sparkled and shuffled closer to Ash, eager to hear more about what he has to say.
"Really? I'm from Twinleaf too." Oblivious to her sudden closeness, Ash stared at Dawn in a curious manner before placing his chopsticks on his relatively empty plate in a neat and tidy manner.
"I never seen you before though."
"That because you never go out." The smug look from Dawn's face made Ash sighed inwardly, man do they like to rub that fact in.
"You and Misty like taking shots are me huh."
"Heh, but seriously, which part of Twinleaf did you live in?"
"Eastside."
"Ah that explains it. I live in westside of Twinleaf, maybe that's why we never met each other." Westside of Twinleaf seemed like a mythical dreamland to Ash, a neighbourhood reserved for the rich and influential. So it was no doubt in Ash's mind, that Dawn came from a wealthy family.
"Honestly, Twinleaf really reminds me of Pallet town, my hometown in Kanto. I think my mom was trying really hard to find a place in Sinnoh that looks similar to my hometown."
"That's nice of her, must be difficult to leave country you live for you entire life huh." Ash thought about Dawn's words, thinking that was it really difficult to leave the place he called home for 10 years. The momentary train of thought didn't last long as he stared at Dawn with a rather serious expression.
"Not really, growing up I didn't have much friends in school. Most of my fondest memories are with my mom and of course video games. But wherever I go, as long as I'm with my mom, that's home to me." To say she was surprised by Ash words was an understatement, she didn't expect him to say something so lovely. For Dawn, she held her own mother dearly in her heart, which was why she was infuriated to no end when her other friends spoke their parents in an negative manner despite their efforts to provide for them.
"That's really sweet Ash."
"Shut up." Dawn chuckled at Ash's embarrassed expression, liking the fact the guy next to her was just a reserved person who can engage in a conversation if approached.
"Seriously that's really heartwarming though, most of the people I talk to don't get along with their parents."
"Well we're in our supposed "rebellious phase" right? Give them some time and they will realize how much they love their parents." Dawn nodded, feeling reassured at Ash's words that most of her friends will come around sooner or later.
"True." Feeling someone tapping his shoulders, Ash turned around and saw Misty and May waving to them, egging for their attention.
"Dawn, Ash, Drew and I are going to a party. Do you guys want to join?" While this may be the perfect time build up social circles and relationships with new people and climb up the popularity ladder in his school so to speak, Ash was not feeling it. Besides, the prospect of gaming in his new room seems more tempting.
"Nah I'm good, you guys go ahead." Already expecting such as answer from Ash, May and Misty moved their attention to Dawn who felt the social pressure to hangout with them. Not that she hated hanging out with May, but to go to a party of a complete stranger? It was a bit sketchy.
"Alright, Dawn?" Misty's facial expression almost pleaded Dawn to say yes, to which caused the young bluenette to sigh inwardly. All she wanted right now is to go back home, take a nice relaxing shower and maybe play a few hours of Pokemon Crossing before sleeping. Now those plans are dashed into smithereens, and an out of control party awaits her.
"Sure I don't mind." Ash stared at Dawn and knew that look, her voice says yes, but her eyes say no. Still, he didn't want to say anything that might drive tension and awkwardness between the two friends, perhaps this was their friendship dynamic from the beginning. Who was he to judge.
"Awesome!" May's giggly voice of enthusiasm was something to admire, but also feared if you are an introvert who wants nothing to do with the outside world. Misty stretched her limbs, feeling satisfied with the meal. Such action caused her midriff to be revealed, allowing Ash to get a quick peak of her smooth and soft skin. This caused Ash to internally smacked himself in the face not soon after, with the moral and virtuous side of his brain giving him a firm lecture over leering your own roommate.
"Here Ash, your spare key." Misty placed the key on the table, sliding it towards Ash with a flick of her fingers. Ash managed to catch the key with his palms, feeling the metallic object that gave him the freedom to traverse between school and home at will.
"Oh thanks."
"Let's go, the party is going to start soon!"
"Bye Ash, see you next time!" Waving good bye to May and his roommates who accompanied her, Ash stared at his phone and looked at the time that read 8:17 PM. Which meant that it was still early in the night, and he had ample amount of time to binge through few episodes of an anime or grind on Ruins of Geneva, a huge MMORPG game form his childhood. Taking one last gulp of his drink, Ash stood up and exited the restaurant with his hands in his pockets, feeling the frigid wind of the night chilling his bones.
"Barry make sure you taunt the boss and cycle between your stuns, Tracy and I would focus on the DPS. Yeah? No no, change your talents to pure tank, leave out the DPS part to me and Tracy. Alright make sure you don't tank the cursed flames or else you're screwed." Ash fervently tapped all of this hotkeys for his spells, casting a barrage of high damaging projectile to the boss while his teammate Barry seemed to be doing well on distracting the boss. His attempt to communicate with his teammates over Discord proved to be useful as the two less experienced players were doing remarkably well on their first rodeo.
"Barry do you have divine protection? Wait you do? Cast it on yourself when he boss drops to 50% HP, he's gonna go super saiyan soon. Yeah, there's two phases. Make sure you hide behind the pillars when he's breathing fire, it does a crap load of damage." Between Ash's instruction and the group's coordination skills, a grin rested on Ash's face when he launched his barrage of arrows onto the boss who had a slither of health left, killing it completely. With the excessive and overexaggerated death animation being played before their eyes, he smiled when Barry and Tracy started to cheer like their favorite football team has won the world cup.
"Nice job guys. You guys did great considering this is your first time. Yeah, see I told you guys this game is fun, its an old game but the developers still care for it, and it ain't pay to win. What? Yeah, I mean they recently reworked the graphics and the mechanics of the game, which is why I invited you guys. We can go for another raid if you all want-" Ash's halted his sentence when he heard the sound of the door being unlocked, he glanced at his phone next to him and saw it read 1:02 AM. He thought nothing about it at first and continued his sentence when he heard incoherent words coming from his roommates.
'Are they drunk?' That was Ash's first thought since he knew they went to a party. Out of concern, he told his teammates to wait for him as something came up, earning a "sure no problem" from his friends. Taking off his headphones and placing it gently on the table, Ash make sure he was decent before stepping out of his room. He's eyes widened when he saw Dawn clinging onto Misty with her red flustered face, which cemented Ash suspicions that the two had been drinking. Misty didn't seem to fair better as she barely can stand up herself, but had to support Dawn's weight with her arms.
"Misty, hey." He quickly held the redhead with his hands, leading her to the living room sofa before using his other hand to hold Dawn in a steady manner. Ignoring at the fact he was holding onto Dawn in such a intimate manner, he hastily lead her to her bedroom and lay her down on her bed.
"Ngh." Ignoring Dawn's sudden moan, Ash turned on the AC of the room and placed her blanket over her, not wanting to be blamed for causing Dawn a nasty cold. He exited the room once he was sure Dawn was snuggling nicely to her bed and went to check on Misty, who seemed to passed out on the sofa. Annoyed that he has to play the roll of caretaker, Ash rubbed his temples.
'Are you serious right now? My first night and I have to take care of two drunk girls?' He dearly hoped this wasn't a daily occurrence, maybe that's why the previous roommate left? Ash paused for a few seconds, wondering if he should carry Misty to her room since Misty was already slept soundly.
What if she suddenly wakes up? She might accuse him of molestation when they were vulnerable and unconscious. He mull over his choice before sighing to himself like an old man. He was just being nice and he was certain that Misty would understand if she does suddenly wake up. Begrudgingly, he carried Misty with his arms, grunting slightly when he realized that his arms wasn't as strong as he thought it were.
With gentleness and carefulness akin to diffusing a bomb, Ash laid Misty down and stared at her jacket that she was still wearing. He thought about whether to remove that cumbersome jacket for her, dreading that he might be unintentionally taking advantage of her. He shook his head, he was nice enough to bring Misty to her bed and ensuring that she wasn't puking, something trivial over a jacket in a bed shouldn't be his concern. Similar to Dawn, he placed the blanket over Misty and turned on the with the AC controller, knowing that a stuffy room would lead to sweating. He took a brief moment to glanced at her room that were filled with posters of various water type pokemon and pictures of her family by the pool.
'Guess she really likes water types.' Closing the door behind him, Ash went to check front door to ensure that it was lock tight before rubbing his aching shoulders, a little bit of lifting and he was already sore? He grumbled to himself and glanced around the sofa, relieved that the girls didn't threw up. Otherwise, his acts of kindness would be replaced with begrudging anger and annoyance.
He paused when he was just outside his room door, and decided that it was a good idea to check on the girls one last time just to make sure they didn't throw up in their sleep. Once he finished his checkup, Ash pushed opened his door and welcome the cold air conditioned room to his somewhat sweaty skin. He sat on his beloved gaming chair and placed his headphone, relieved that his friends kept true to their word and was waiting for him.
"Yo I'm back, let's go."