Driving Me Crazy chapter 4
***
Hi, everyone! It's me again ^-^ Hmmm. maybe I shouldn't be trying to write romance in such a weird mood. I can tell I'm in a weird mood because I just finished singing a Celine Dion medley to my TV. Hehe- and this isn't even close to how weird I get when I get really weird! Oh well, it should be okay since it's not really romantic yet. Don't worry, love conquers all! (eventually)
Happy reading!
***
After about another half hour of driving, Ash finally noticed that the next thing in front of them was not a city, but a very big cave. Since there was no road leading through the cave that wouldn't completely ruin the car, he pulled onto the shoulder and cursed quietly. Misty looked up.
"What?" she asked him, one of the first civil things she'd said to him all day.
"There's no paved road leading through the cave. Even though it's gonna take longer, we're going to have to-" he checked the map- "go back to Cerulean, go south to Saffron, then Vermilion, and from there we can go east to Lavender Town." Misty looked at him, obviously annoyed.
"That's gonna take forever," she moaned.
"It should be a day or two," admitted Ash.
"This is all your fault, Ketchum," she said sullenly. "We all know you aren't exactly a rocket scientist with a map."
"Misty?"
"What?"
"Shut up."
Misty felt lower than the muddy dirt road. She felt about two centimeters tall. "I'm such a jerk," she sighed to herself.
Ash abruptly turned the car around and sped off toward Cerulean.
They finally got back into the largely populated area at 3:30 pm. Misty was asleep, and had leaned the seat back (AN: Pikachu's on the driver's seat side- I'm not gonna squish him!! ^-^) so that she could sleep. Ash glanced at her once they were at a stoplight. (AN: Has anyone else noticed they never had stoplights in the cities either? At least, I never saw any, does anyone know if there were any? Hehe- I could do more of this kinda thing: "Stop stop stop, stop stop stop, red light, red light!" I think every appliance should have to do that. Microwaves, answering machines, car horns... ^-^)
"Amazing," he thought, "she looks so sweet. I finally understand how looks can be decieving." He pushed the accelerator as the light turned green ("go go go, go go go, green light, green light!"). Then, realizing he didn't know where to go next, he got out the map. Looking at the labeled cities, he estimated another hour to Saffron and decided they could get a hotel there for the night. He knew that they wouldn't get good hotels in main Vermilion, because of the port there, the best rooms are all on the ships and since that's what most tourists come for, the land hotels aren't too favorable. And the distance from Vermilion to Lavender Town was very long, so they wouldn't be able to make it there.
He nodded, turned right at the exit which said "( Celadon City; Saffron City/Vermilion Seaside (" and sped off towards Saffron.
Just then, Misty woke up. She looked at Ash, and yawned. "Hey."
"Hey, Misty," he said cautiously.
She didn't say anything more, and there was silence.
And more silence... and more.
Finally there had been silence for around an hour. Ash had begun to have a nervous twitch in his left eye, and he finally cracked and turned the radio on.
I think he should have known better.
"Ash, is this the kind of crap music you listen to? I hate this station! How can you listen to this? I guess you have no taste on top of everything else." The verbal abuse started again, almost immediately. He snorted and tried to concentrate.
Ash looked out the window and noticed a hotel. He jerked the steering wheel sharply to the left, causing Misty to fall forward briefly, then sit back again.
"I should have put my foot down when you got in the driver's seat," she grumbled. (AN: Grumbled is a funny word, isn't it? It sounds like some kind of a big mean monster... ok sorry I'll shut up)
He didn't even bother replying. Pulling into a parking space, he said, "We're staying here for the night." She didn't complain, much to his surprise. "Fine," she replied, and hopped out of the car, walking briskly towards the lobby.
They got inside, and the first thing they saw was a big, crystal chandelier. "Wow,"said Misty, "this is sure a nice place." Ash nodded, and they walked towards the front desk.
"Hello," said Ash to the lady at the desk, "um, we don't have reservations or anything, but-"
"Oh," answered the lady, smiling, "that won't be a problem. I'm sure we have a room available for the Pokemon master and his young lady friend." Ash smiled at her: ah, the perks of being famous.
"Jessica," the lady called, and the two of them saw a tall, thin, slightly exotic-looking brunette turn around. She walked over to them, and answered, "Yes, Ms. Anderson?"
"Could you give me a room key for Mr. Ketchum?" Jessica bit her lip and answered,
"Uh- I'll do my best, but tonight is the Silph Co. convention, and that's going to be 100 minimum, you know. Hang on- let me go check." She ran off, her high heels clicking every step.
Ms. Anderson facefaulted. "Mr. Ketchum, if we don't have anything there are other excellent hotels I could recommend."
"Thanks, Ms. Anderson. But let's wait until Jessica comes back, I mean, there might be something." Ms. Anderson nodded and smiled. "Yes, probably. We have quite a big hotel here, you know."
Just then, Jessica came back, beaming. "Well, Mr. Ketchum-" here she turned to Ash- "you're in luck. We have one room on the eighth floor, suite 100A; one on the fifteenth, suite 186B; and, well, one other suite, but I don't think you'll be wanting the honeymoon suite?" Ash laughed. "No." *I wish.*
"And-" Ash began-
"We'll take both of the other two," cut in Misty, "thanks." Ash's eyes got downcast, and he sighed quietly and nodded.
Luckily for him, an executive at Silph was getting his briefcase in order just then, and he walked over to the desk.
"Excuse me, ma'am. I'm Jim Silph, Jr., grandson of the founder of Silph Co. I liked the suite I stayed in so much last time, I think I'd like that one again, if it's possible. I wasn't planning to stay here, but I just recalled-"
"Oh, of course, Mr. Silph, sir!" cut in Ms. Anderson. "Do you recall which suite was yours?"
"Yes, actually," answered Mr. Silph, "it was suite 100A on the eighth floor."
"Well, what a coincidence!" cried Ms. Anderson. "That suite is available right now." And snatching the key from Jessica, she chirped, "Here you are, sir. Enjoy your stay!"
"Thanks," Mr. Silph smiled, and walking by, he winked at Ash, who gave him a big grin. "Thank you, Mr. Silph," he whispered.
Ms. Anderson turned back to them. "Sorry, you two, but I guess it's just 186B."
"That's okay," answered Ash. Misty tried very very hard not to put any expression at all on her face. Jessica handed Ash the key and, hoisting up their things, the two of them walked toward the elevator with Pikachu on their heels.
"Wow," murmured Ash when the elevator's gold doors opened. There was a mini-TV in it. Ash glanced at Misty. "We never got places like this traveling, huh?" She shook her head.
"You weren't rich then, either," pointed out Misty. Ash shrugged. "I'm not rich. I just get master bonuses and stuff."
Ding. The elevator said, in a mechanical voice, "Fifteenth floor." Ash and Misty exchanged another raised-eyebrow glance.
They walked down the hall silently. "158...178B...186A...here it is, Mist- er, Misty." Misty felt another harsh pang of guilt. Ash inserted the key and twisted it, and the door opened.
The room was done in shades of aqua, green, and a little bit of lavender. The bathroom walls were marble, and the bordering on big-screen TV sat on a mahogany wardrobe. A picture of the sea hung on the wall, and the queen bed-
Wait. Misty stopped and stood stone still in the doorway. *Queen bed?* As in, one bed and not two!?
She debated on whether she should be deliriously happy or completely horrified.
Finally, she decided on a little bit of both. "AAAAAHHHHH!" she screamed, and Ash, who had been examining the mini-fridge, came over to her. "What?" he asked.
"Bed," she answered shortly, and Ash looked at her quizzically, then eyed the bed. "Yeah," he said, confused, "it's nice."
"Exactly," she answered.
"Huh?"
"*It's* nice."
"Yeah..." he said, looking at her strangely.
"IT! As in singular, as in one, as in NOT TWO!"
"...oh. So what you're saying is, you would rather die than sleep in the same bed as me." *If only you knew, Ketchum*, thought Misty, biting her tongue so the words would stay only in her thoughts.
"Well, since I have no choice, I'll live with it. But don't you try anything, Ketchum."
"What is your sudden obsession with calling me 'Ketchum' instead of Ash?"
He got no answer from that except a rude gesture from his female companion.
"Real mature," he muttered as he walked toward his bag to unpack his stuff. She hopped onto the bed and grabbed the remote.
"I'm going swimming," he announced after she decided to turn on some sappy talk show. "You coming, Pik?" The mouse shook its head and hopped onto the bed beside the redhead. Ash shrugged and walked into the bathroom to change.
After he left, Pikachu hopped in front of Misty and looked at her sternly.
"Pikachu chu chu pi pika Pikapi? Pi pika pika pikachu chu, pika pika." Why are you doing this to Ash? And don't pretend you don't understand me, I know you can.
Misty sighed. "Are you going to tell him about this?" The rodent shook its head and gave a "Pika's honor" sign. She half-nodded. "Okay."
"Do you remember when I used to do this to him when we were kids?" It nodded. "Same thing."
"Pi!? Pika pi, pi pi chu?" Huh?! You mean you still like him? She shrugged and nodded.
"Pi, pikachu?" Then, why?...
"Because he doesn't lo-"
"Pool's closed," announced Ash, sighing and flopping down onto the bed absentmindedly. Misty, who had been suddenly and sharply affected by a wave of sadness, didn't even notice, though she felt the gentle bouncing of the bed as he got on.
He, though, noticed her reaction, or, rather, her lack of reaction. "Misty, are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, Ash," she sighed. "I'm okay." Abruptly, he flipped over, grabbed her by the shoulders, and told her, "You haven't tortured me at all since we got back in the hotel room, and you seem immensely depressed. What did Pikachu do to you?" She knew that was supposed to be a joke, and that he expected some comment about how he hadn't gone to the pool at all, but to look at a dictionary and find 'immensely depressed', but she just shook her head.
"It's nothing. It was clarified for me a long time ago," she added, glaring at him. Then, when she saw no reaction, she added, "And for God's sake, you could at least look guilty. The Professor's right, you were my best friend and I know you have a conscience." And with that, she walked into the kitchenette and got some food, then sat down on a chair and began to eat.
Although he hadn't understood that last conversation at all, he concluded Misty had been acting weird for the past two days and maybe it was PMS.
He grabbed the remote.
***
(the next morning, after a few more sarcastic insults, a lot of silence, a few shocks from Pikachu, a few minutes of fighting about who got which side of the bed, and a lot of secretly freaking out about sleeping in the same bed as their love interests, they fell asleep and woke up...)
...at 11 am.
Misty sat straight up, looked at the clock, and yelled at her companion, "ASH! IT'S 11 IN THE MORNING!"
Ash blinked at the sudden change of light and mumbled, "Oh. Yeah, so?"
"Well, we wanted to be on the road by 9..." Ash sat up too.
"Oh, that's right," he answered calmly. "Oh well."
"God damn it, Ash, how can you be so calm? Our time is going to be so bad now." He looked at her.
"So we slept in. Big deal. I was tired. I'm not used to getting up so early like I did yesterday. Besides, we're already at least halfway, and we should be there by tonight. Chill, it's going to be okay." (AN: Not if I have anything to do with it! *evil laugh* uh, anyways.)
Misty calmed down a bit, and then Ash said, "We should eat and get dressed, then we can go. Okay?" She nodded. He hopped out of bed and went into the bathroom. She sighed, stretched and thought about him.
***
(one hour later)
Misty ran out of the lobby, got in the driver's seat, scowled at him as if daring him to defy her, and started the car. Ash just sighed and got in the passenger's seat. It just wasn't worth it. *Why the hell do I love this girl?* he thought to himself.
At least, he thought he did.
"Pika pi pi." answered Pikachu, giggling. Because you're crazy. Ash didn't pay attention to what Pikachu had said, all he needed to know was that it had started with 'because'. Uh-oh-
"Um, Ash?"
He composed himself, knowing this was gonna be bad. "Yes, Misty?"
"Why did Pikachu call you crazy?" He sighed.
"Wait-" he stuttered. "T-That's all you heard? That's all?"
"Yeah," she answered, bewildered. "What was that all about?"
Ash laughed nervously. "I dunno, you know Pikachu, always saying weird crazy stuff." Misty gave him a strange look. "Sure, Ash. Whatever you say."
After that, they drove along in silence, yet again, for a long while. Ash finally got a chance to sleep, and Misty drove, glad for the distraction. As they came upon the beautiful seaside, the water glistening with the sun's reflection, she looked out at it, thinking about how beautiful it was. *I wouldn't mind a few days here,* she thought, then stepped on the accelerator and kept going.
Ash, presently, began to snore. Misty became increasingly annoyed, and so she finally nudged him, hard, and he woke up. "Wha- are we there?" he mumbled.
"No," she sighed. "You were snoring so loud I couldn't hear myself think." But her tone wasn't especially condescending, and even bordered on playful teasing. It surprised him.
"Oh," he answered, "sorry." She shrugged. "'S okay."
"So, where are we?" he asked.
"We passed Seaside already. We're on the route now, but it should be a while."
"What time is it?" She blinked and looked at him for a few seconds.
"Well, how am I supposed to know? There's a clock right up there, and don't expect me to look at it, I'm driving, half-wit."
"Sorry-" he sighed.
"Yeah, you should be. You can't figure anything out yourself."
"For God's sake, Misty!" Ash yelled. "What is your problem? Have you suddenly turned twelve again? You're constantly insulting me, and despite the fact that you claim I'm your best friend, you appear to hate me very much! You've done it this entire trip! What's wrong with you?" She looked at him angrily, this time not just for a few seconds.
"I can't believe how comfortable you are with this trip! It's no secret you obviously want nothing to do with me-"
"What? Um, maybe you should watch the road, Mist-"
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT! And it's not like you were my first choice to go with, either, because even if you were, you couldn't be. So go back to your girlfriend and money, and just leave me alone."
"Misty, watch the freaking road! You're going to get us both killed!"
Then- BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP.
The car coughed and finally stopped comfortably in a ditch on the side of the highway. Misty panicked slightly and wrung her hands a bit, groaning. Ash sighed and rested his head against the dashboard.
"Nice work," he said, looking at her. "What do you propose we do now?"
***
I know, another cliffhanger. And I know I get the parts out fast. That's mostly because of two things: 1) I type really fast and 2) I have no life. ^-^ Anyways, pleeeeeeeeease review and I will... um... love you forever. Okay? Okay, so now I have other things to do, which will probably not be interesting, just eating and sleeping. See you in chapter 5, when lots of THINGS happen! (hooray, random events!)
*lavenderespeon*
***
Hi, everyone! It's me again ^-^ Hmmm. maybe I shouldn't be trying to write romance in such a weird mood. I can tell I'm in a weird mood because I just finished singing a Celine Dion medley to my TV. Hehe- and this isn't even close to how weird I get when I get really weird! Oh well, it should be okay since it's not really romantic yet. Don't worry, love conquers all! (eventually)
Happy reading!
***
After about another half hour of driving, Ash finally noticed that the next thing in front of them was not a city, but a very big cave. Since there was no road leading through the cave that wouldn't completely ruin the car, he pulled onto the shoulder and cursed quietly. Misty looked up.
"What?" she asked him, one of the first civil things she'd said to him all day.
"There's no paved road leading through the cave. Even though it's gonna take longer, we're going to have to-" he checked the map- "go back to Cerulean, go south to Saffron, then Vermilion, and from there we can go east to Lavender Town." Misty looked at him, obviously annoyed.
"That's gonna take forever," she moaned.
"It should be a day or two," admitted Ash.
"This is all your fault, Ketchum," she said sullenly. "We all know you aren't exactly a rocket scientist with a map."
"Misty?"
"What?"
"Shut up."
Misty felt lower than the muddy dirt road. She felt about two centimeters tall. "I'm such a jerk," she sighed to herself.
Ash abruptly turned the car around and sped off toward Cerulean.
They finally got back into the largely populated area at 3:30 pm. Misty was asleep, and had leaned the seat back (AN: Pikachu's on the driver's seat side- I'm not gonna squish him!! ^-^) so that she could sleep. Ash glanced at her once they were at a stoplight. (AN: Has anyone else noticed they never had stoplights in the cities either? At least, I never saw any, does anyone know if there were any? Hehe- I could do more of this kinda thing: "Stop stop stop, stop stop stop, red light, red light!" I think every appliance should have to do that. Microwaves, answering machines, car horns... ^-^)
"Amazing," he thought, "she looks so sweet. I finally understand how looks can be decieving." He pushed the accelerator as the light turned green ("go go go, go go go, green light, green light!"). Then, realizing he didn't know where to go next, he got out the map. Looking at the labeled cities, he estimated another hour to Saffron and decided they could get a hotel there for the night. He knew that they wouldn't get good hotels in main Vermilion, because of the port there, the best rooms are all on the ships and since that's what most tourists come for, the land hotels aren't too favorable. And the distance from Vermilion to Lavender Town was very long, so they wouldn't be able to make it there.
He nodded, turned right at the exit which said "( Celadon City; Saffron City/Vermilion Seaside (" and sped off towards Saffron.
Just then, Misty woke up. She looked at Ash, and yawned. "Hey."
"Hey, Misty," he said cautiously.
She didn't say anything more, and there was silence.
And more silence... and more.
Finally there had been silence for around an hour. Ash had begun to have a nervous twitch in his left eye, and he finally cracked and turned the radio on.
I think he should have known better.
"Ash, is this the kind of crap music you listen to? I hate this station! How can you listen to this? I guess you have no taste on top of everything else." The verbal abuse started again, almost immediately. He snorted and tried to concentrate.
Ash looked out the window and noticed a hotel. He jerked the steering wheel sharply to the left, causing Misty to fall forward briefly, then sit back again.
"I should have put my foot down when you got in the driver's seat," she grumbled. (AN: Grumbled is a funny word, isn't it? It sounds like some kind of a big mean monster... ok sorry I'll shut up)
He didn't even bother replying. Pulling into a parking space, he said, "We're staying here for the night." She didn't complain, much to his surprise. "Fine," she replied, and hopped out of the car, walking briskly towards the lobby.
They got inside, and the first thing they saw was a big, crystal chandelier. "Wow,"said Misty, "this is sure a nice place." Ash nodded, and they walked towards the front desk.
"Hello," said Ash to the lady at the desk, "um, we don't have reservations or anything, but-"
"Oh," answered the lady, smiling, "that won't be a problem. I'm sure we have a room available for the Pokemon master and his young lady friend." Ash smiled at her: ah, the perks of being famous.
"Jessica," the lady called, and the two of them saw a tall, thin, slightly exotic-looking brunette turn around. She walked over to them, and answered, "Yes, Ms. Anderson?"
"Could you give me a room key for Mr. Ketchum?" Jessica bit her lip and answered,
"Uh- I'll do my best, but tonight is the Silph Co. convention, and that's going to be 100 minimum, you know. Hang on- let me go check." She ran off, her high heels clicking every step.
Ms. Anderson facefaulted. "Mr. Ketchum, if we don't have anything there are other excellent hotels I could recommend."
"Thanks, Ms. Anderson. But let's wait until Jessica comes back, I mean, there might be something." Ms. Anderson nodded and smiled. "Yes, probably. We have quite a big hotel here, you know."
Just then, Jessica came back, beaming. "Well, Mr. Ketchum-" here she turned to Ash- "you're in luck. We have one room on the eighth floor, suite 100A; one on the fifteenth, suite 186B; and, well, one other suite, but I don't think you'll be wanting the honeymoon suite?" Ash laughed. "No." *I wish.*
"And-" Ash began-
"We'll take both of the other two," cut in Misty, "thanks." Ash's eyes got downcast, and he sighed quietly and nodded.
Luckily for him, an executive at Silph was getting his briefcase in order just then, and he walked over to the desk.
"Excuse me, ma'am. I'm Jim Silph, Jr., grandson of the founder of Silph Co. I liked the suite I stayed in so much last time, I think I'd like that one again, if it's possible. I wasn't planning to stay here, but I just recalled-"
"Oh, of course, Mr. Silph, sir!" cut in Ms. Anderson. "Do you recall which suite was yours?"
"Yes, actually," answered Mr. Silph, "it was suite 100A on the eighth floor."
"Well, what a coincidence!" cried Ms. Anderson. "That suite is available right now." And snatching the key from Jessica, she chirped, "Here you are, sir. Enjoy your stay!"
"Thanks," Mr. Silph smiled, and walking by, he winked at Ash, who gave him a big grin. "Thank you, Mr. Silph," he whispered.
Ms. Anderson turned back to them. "Sorry, you two, but I guess it's just 186B."
"That's okay," answered Ash. Misty tried very very hard not to put any expression at all on her face. Jessica handed Ash the key and, hoisting up their things, the two of them walked toward the elevator with Pikachu on their heels.
"Wow," murmured Ash when the elevator's gold doors opened. There was a mini-TV in it. Ash glanced at Misty. "We never got places like this traveling, huh?" She shook her head.
"You weren't rich then, either," pointed out Misty. Ash shrugged. "I'm not rich. I just get master bonuses and stuff."
Ding. The elevator said, in a mechanical voice, "Fifteenth floor." Ash and Misty exchanged another raised-eyebrow glance.
They walked down the hall silently. "158...178B...186A...here it is, Mist- er, Misty." Misty felt another harsh pang of guilt. Ash inserted the key and twisted it, and the door opened.
The room was done in shades of aqua, green, and a little bit of lavender. The bathroom walls were marble, and the bordering on big-screen TV sat on a mahogany wardrobe. A picture of the sea hung on the wall, and the queen bed-
Wait. Misty stopped and stood stone still in the doorway. *Queen bed?* As in, one bed and not two!?
She debated on whether she should be deliriously happy or completely horrified.
Finally, she decided on a little bit of both. "AAAAAHHHHH!" she screamed, and Ash, who had been examining the mini-fridge, came over to her. "What?" he asked.
"Bed," she answered shortly, and Ash looked at her quizzically, then eyed the bed. "Yeah," he said, confused, "it's nice."
"Exactly," she answered.
"Huh?"
"*It's* nice."
"Yeah..." he said, looking at her strangely.
"IT! As in singular, as in one, as in NOT TWO!"
"...oh. So what you're saying is, you would rather die than sleep in the same bed as me." *If only you knew, Ketchum*, thought Misty, biting her tongue so the words would stay only in her thoughts.
"Well, since I have no choice, I'll live with it. But don't you try anything, Ketchum."
"What is your sudden obsession with calling me 'Ketchum' instead of Ash?"
He got no answer from that except a rude gesture from his female companion.
"Real mature," he muttered as he walked toward his bag to unpack his stuff. She hopped onto the bed and grabbed the remote.
"I'm going swimming," he announced after she decided to turn on some sappy talk show. "You coming, Pik?" The mouse shook its head and hopped onto the bed beside the redhead. Ash shrugged and walked into the bathroom to change.
After he left, Pikachu hopped in front of Misty and looked at her sternly.
"Pikachu chu chu pi pika Pikapi? Pi pika pika pikachu chu, pika pika." Why are you doing this to Ash? And don't pretend you don't understand me, I know you can.
Misty sighed. "Are you going to tell him about this?" The rodent shook its head and gave a "Pika's honor" sign. She half-nodded. "Okay."
"Do you remember when I used to do this to him when we were kids?" It nodded. "Same thing."
"Pi!? Pika pi, pi pi chu?" Huh?! You mean you still like him? She shrugged and nodded.
"Pi, pikachu?" Then, why?...
"Because he doesn't lo-"
"Pool's closed," announced Ash, sighing and flopping down onto the bed absentmindedly. Misty, who had been suddenly and sharply affected by a wave of sadness, didn't even notice, though she felt the gentle bouncing of the bed as he got on.
He, though, noticed her reaction, or, rather, her lack of reaction. "Misty, are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, Ash," she sighed. "I'm okay." Abruptly, he flipped over, grabbed her by the shoulders, and told her, "You haven't tortured me at all since we got back in the hotel room, and you seem immensely depressed. What did Pikachu do to you?" She knew that was supposed to be a joke, and that he expected some comment about how he hadn't gone to the pool at all, but to look at a dictionary and find 'immensely depressed', but she just shook her head.
"It's nothing. It was clarified for me a long time ago," she added, glaring at him. Then, when she saw no reaction, she added, "And for God's sake, you could at least look guilty. The Professor's right, you were my best friend and I know you have a conscience." And with that, she walked into the kitchenette and got some food, then sat down on a chair and began to eat.
Although he hadn't understood that last conversation at all, he concluded Misty had been acting weird for the past two days and maybe it was PMS.
He grabbed the remote.
***
(the next morning, after a few more sarcastic insults, a lot of silence, a few shocks from Pikachu, a few minutes of fighting about who got which side of the bed, and a lot of secretly freaking out about sleeping in the same bed as their love interests, they fell asleep and woke up...)
...at 11 am.
Misty sat straight up, looked at the clock, and yelled at her companion, "ASH! IT'S 11 IN THE MORNING!"
Ash blinked at the sudden change of light and mumbled, "Oh. Yeah, so?"
"Well, we wanted to be on the road by 9..." Ash sat up too.
"Oh, that's right," he answered calmly. "Oh well."
"God damn it, Ash, how can you be so calm? Our time is going to be so bad now." He looked at her.
"So we slept in. Big deal. I was tired. I'm not used to getting up so early like I did yesterday. Besides, we're already at least halfway, and we should be there by tonight. Chill, it's going to be okay." (AN: Not if I have anything to do with it! *evil laugh* uh, anyways.)
Misty calmed down a bit, and then Ash said, "We should eat and get dressed, then we can go. Okay?" She nodded. He hopped out of bed and went into the bathroom. She sighed, stretched and thought about him.
***
(one hour later)
Misty ran out of the lobby, got in the driver's seat, scowled at him as if daring him to defy her, and started the car. Ash just sighed and got in the passenger's seat. It just wasn't worth it. *Why the hell do I love this girl?* he thought to himself.
At least, he thought he did.
"Pika pi pi." answered Pikachu, giggling. Because you're crazy. Ash didn't pay attention to what Pikachu had said, all he needed to know was that it had started with 'because'. Uh-oh-
"Um, Ash?"
He composed himself, knowing this was gonna be bad. "Yes, Misty?"
"Why did Pikachu call you crazy?" He sighed.
"Wait-" he stuttered. "T-That's all you heard? That's all?"
"Yeah," she answered, bewildered. "What was that all about?"
Ash laughed nervously. "I dunno, you know Pikachu, always saying weird crazy stuff." Misty gave him a strange look. "Sure, Ash. Whatever you say."
After that, they drove along in silence, yet again, for a long while. Ash finally got a chance to sleep, and Misty drove, glad for the distraction. As they came upon the beautiful seaside, the water glistening with the sun's reflection, she looked out at it, thinking about how beautiful it was. *I wouldn't mind a few days here,* she thought, then stepped on the accelerator and kept going.
Ash, presently, began to snore. Misty became increasingly annoyed, and so she finally nudged him, hard, and he woke up. "Wha- are we there?" he mumbled.
"No," she sighed. "You were snoring so loud I couldn't hear myself think." But her tone wasn't especially condescending, and even bordered on playful teasing. It surprised him.
"Oh," he answered, "sorry." She shrugged. "'S okay."
"So, where are we?" he asked.
"We passed Seaside already. We're on the route now, but it should be a while."
"What time is it?" She blinked and looked at him for a few seconds.
"Well, how am I supposed to know? There's a clock right up there, and don't expect me to look at it, I'm driving, half-wit."
"Sorry-" he sighed.
"Yeah, you should be. You can't figure anything out yourself."
"For God's sake, Misty!" Ash yelled. "What is your problem? Have you suddenly turned twelve again? You're constantly insulting me, and despite the fact that you claim I'm your best friend, you appear to hate me very much! You've done it this entire trip! What's wrong with you?" She looked at him angrily, this time not just for a few seconds.
"I can't believe how comfortable you are with this trip! It's no secret you obviously want nothing to do with me-"
"What? Um, maybe you should watch the road, Mist-"
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT! And it's not like you were my first choice to go with, either, because even if you were, you couldn't be. So go back to your girlfriend and money, and just leave me alone."
"Misty, watch the freaking road! You're going to get us both killed!"
Then- BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP.
The car coughed and finally stopped comfortably in a ditch on the side of the highway. Misty panicked slightly and wrung her hands a bit, groaning. Ash sighed and rested his head against the dashboard.
"Nice work," he said, looking at her. "What do you propose we do now?"
***
I know, another cliffhanger. And I know I get the parts out fast. That's mostly because of two things: 1) I type really fast and 2) I have no life. ^-^ Anyways, pleeeeeeeeease review and I will... um... love you forever. Okay? Okay, so now I have other things to do, which will probably not be interesting, just eating and sleeping. See you in chapter 5, when lots of THINGS happen! (hooray, random events!)
*lavenderespeon*