Ash eyed himself in the mirror gloomily. "This is the most horrible thing
I've ever had to deal with in my whole life!"
Brock grinned. "The tux?"
"The whole thing!" Ash moaned, slumping back into a chair. "Brock, how can I take Misty to that ball?"
"Put on a tux, lead her to the ballroom, and dance with her all night long," Brock answered casually. "Oh yeah," he added, teasingly, "and don't forget the goodnight kiss."
"How could I ever forget that?" Ash buried his face in his hands. "I'll never survive this! Misty won't let me forget it, either. She'll probably be gloating all night."
Brock patted his shoulder. "It won't be that bad, Ash. Misty's not really as cruel as you think. I bet you two will have a lot of fun tonight."
"She'll have a lot of fun," Ash corrected. "And she'll do it by forcing me to suffer. You know Misty. She probably caught me just because she wanted to torture me."
Silence answered him. Looking up, Ash caught the odd look Brock was giving him. "What's the matter?"
"Do you really think that's why she caught you?" the older boy asked, almost incredulously. "You think she followed you, waited for you to come out of hiding and then took you by surprise -- just to torture you?"
"Would you put it past her? This is Misty we're talking about!" Ash felt almost defensive. Why else would Misty want to catch him?
Brock shook his head. "You've got a lot to learn, Ash."
"What do you mean?"
A sigh. "Misty likes you, obviously!"
Ash blinked. "Yeah, so? She likes you too. So why didn't she try to catch you?"
"Wha... but..." Brock sputtered for a minute, then shook his head. "That's not the same kind of 'like'!"
Ash made a face. "Brock, sometimes you're really confusing."
"And sometimes you're really frustrating," Brock growled.
This is it. Ash slouched miserably in his rented tux. No more stalling. He raised a fist that felt like lead and knocked on the door of Misty's hotel room.
The door swung open almost immediately, and Ash found himself facing a girl he'd never seen before. "You must be Ash." She looked him up and down, then smiled. "Nice to meet you."
Ash blinked. "Who are you?"
"My name's Tammy." She opened the door wider. "Misty's not quite ready yet. Come in and sit down."
Her words had a kind of practiced note to them. Ash sat down, feeling bemused. What was going on? Was Misty planning some kind of trick on him? He was starting to feel nervous.
"You look a little tense," Tammy noted, sounding amused. "Too much coffee, maybe?" She covered a smile.
Ash frowned at her. Was everyone laughing at him? "Maybe I should go lie down," he said, jumping up. "Tell Misty I'm sorry I -- erk!" He was brought up short by Tammy shoving him back into his seat.
"Oh, relax," she told him. "I was just kidding. Anyway, you wouldn't want Officer Jenny after you."
"I guess not." Ash slumped forward.
"Cheer up," Tammy said. "You look like you're going to a funeral."
"I am," Ash answered gloomily. "Mine."
She grinned and shook her head.
Another girl stuck her head out of the bathroom door. "Tammy?" she called, crooking a finger. She glanced over at Ash and giggled. Tammy headed for the bathroom, tossing a mischievous smile back at the unfortunate trainer.
Left alone, Ash couldn't help worrying. The whole thing felt like a well-rehearsed play. What is Misty up to, anyway? he wondered suspiciously. Not for the first time, he had to question whether or not he would survive the evening.
The door opened again, and Tammy walked out, followed by the other girl from before. Grinning, they stood on either side of the door. Ash watched them warily.
"Your date for the evening," Tammy announced grandly, and opened the door.
Ash blinked. The girl standing in the doorway was definitely Misty, but she was -- well, polished. Her hair had been done neatly in a twisting arrangement of braids on top of her head. Her face was... enhanced, almost. For some reason, her eyes seemed more blue than usual. She had picked out a typical sort of gown: sleek at the top and loosening at the waist to flow all around her in soft blue waves. And, to top it all off, she had silver jewelry sparkling at her ears and around her neck. The effort put into the whole thing was obviously huge; it looked like she'd spent hours slaving over it.
Almost immediately, Ash felt guilty for his earlier thoughts. I guess she's really taking this whole 'ball' thing seriously. He realized he was staring, and blinked again.
"Sorry it took so long," Misty apologized sweetly, looking expectantly at him. She spread her arms a little. "What do you think, Ash?"
"Wow..." Ash felt he had to say something that would make all that hard work worth it. "You look really nice, Misty," he said honestly. It wasn't enough -- but he meant it.
She smiled, almost triumphantly. "Thank you. You don't look half-bad yourself."
"Uh... thanks." Ash blinked. "I guess we should go now. We're kind of late."
"All right." Misty grabbed his arm and tucked hers into it. "Lead the way."
"Have fun at your funeral," Tammy laughed, as they went out the door.
Misty gave Ash a quizzical look. "What did she mean by that?"
"Ah... nothing," he said, a little too quickly, then changed the subject. "Just to make sure, you know that I don't know how to dance, right?"
"Don't worry so much, Ash," Misty replied nonchalantly. "It's not hard to learn. I'll teach you."
"Great," Ash mumbled.
Misty laughed. "Oh, don't be such a downer! We'll have fun. You'll see." She stopped then and turned to face him. "I know you're not happy about this, Ash, but could you please at least try to enjoy yourself tonight."
Ash looked at her in surprise. She actually looks sincere "OK, Misty," he said finally. "If it means that much to you, I'll try to have fun, but only on one condition."
"What's that?"
"We eat first."
She laughed. "Come on, let's go."
"I don't like this."
"Come on, it's not that hard. Put one hand here -- "
"I know that part; it's the steps I don't get!"
"Oh, you just follow a rhythm. One, two, one two..."
"I'll walk all over your feet!"
"Oh, honestly, Ash!" Misty frowned. "The only way you're going to learn is if you try! Remember what you promised me?"
"I had lots of fun eating," Ash told her defensively.
"I know." Misty rolled her eyes. "But you can have fun with this too, if you want to. You did say you'd try."
"All right," Ash agreed dubiously. "If you're sure you don't mind having me step on your feet." He took her hand again and put his other hand on her waist. "Now what?"
"Hey loser!" Gary sneered, from where he was dancing effortlessly with his cheerleader. "Maybe you should let your girlfriend lead!" He laughed. "You obviously can't handle it!"
Ash's face burned. "I'll show you who can't handle it!" Grabbing a surprised Misty, he spun her onto the floor and tried to imitate the other dancers. After stumbling a number of times, he managed to find a decent style -- or, at least, refrain from making too much of an idiot of himself.
"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Misty grinned, eyes sparkling.
"I guess it didn't kill me," Ash agreed. He was surprised to find himself enjoying it. There was more to dancing than holding a girl and pretending to be all sappy. "This is kinda fun, isn't it, Misty?"
"I told you you'd like it," she answered, looking pleased. With a sigh, she slid her arm around his neck, leaning against his shoulder. "I should do something nice for Gary sometime," she murmured happily.
Ash nearly stumbled, but caught himself and looked around for help. His eyes found Brock nearby, similarly burdened with the brown-haired girl who'd caught him. Oh great... he's the last person I want to see right now. He looked around again and spotted Gary off to one side. Well, second last.
"Hey Ash," Brock greeted him, dancing over. He grinned. "Looks like you're having fun."
Ash blinked, and thought that one through. "I guess I am," he answered, surprised at the conclusion. Wow. I hadn't thought I'd enjoy this, but here I am having fun... "And I owe it all to Misty. I mean, if she hadn't caught me, I wouldn't be here. That must've been your reason for catching me all along, right, Misty?"
"Well, part of it," she admitted.
"I know the other part," Brock teased.
"You keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you, Brock!" Misty retorted. He laughed and moved away into the group of dancers.
"So what's the other part?" Ash asked curiously.
"Well..." She shifted. "I mostly caught you because I wanted to have fun tonight. Understand?"
Ash struggled with that comment for a while. "Not really," he admitted.
She sighed, then pulled him closer and laughed softly. "Ash, you're really frustrating sometimes, you know."
"You know what? Brock said the same thing when we were getting ready. I wish I knew what you guys found so frustrating. Sometimes I don't understand a word you're saying."
"I'll explain it to you some day," Misty promised absently. "Don't worry about it right now."
"If you say so," Ash agreed dubiously, but he couldn't completely forget. Just what exactly was it that he was missing?
"Isn't it nice out?" Misty sighed, looking over at the small lake they had to pass in order to get back to the hotel. She tugged at Ash's arm, which she'd already hooked around her own when they started walking. "Come on, Ash! Let's walk by the lake."
"Walk by the lake?" Ash repeated. "What for?"
"Because it's nice out," she answered. "Look how pretty everything is! It'll be fun, come on!"
"In this?" Ash plucked at his tuxedo. "If we get these things dirty, we'll have to pay for them, remember?"
"Oh yeah." Misty frowned. "Well... there's the hotel! We can get changed and then come back out here. What do you say, Ash?"
Do I have a choice? "Sure, I guess so."
"Great! Then it's settled!" Misty said happily.
It was settled a long time before she asked me about it, Ash thought, as they entered the hotel.
"Don't you forget, Ash Ketchum," Misty told him, opening the door to her room. "The date's not over until you give me that goodnight kiss!" She darted into the room and shut the door on him.
Ash stared at the door in shock for a minute, then forced his numb legs to start walking. I forgot about that part! he thought miserably. I was hoping that she would too!
He got changed in a hurry and draped the fancy clothes across a chair. I wonder what Brock's going to think if he comes back and finds my clothes here but not me! He grinned at the thought.
"What's so funny, Ash?" Misty asked, when me met her outside.
"Oh, nothing." He chuckled. "I was just thinking, if Brock comes back first and finds my tuxedo, he's going to think someone kidnapped me and left my clothes behind!"
She laughed. "Maybe your kidnapper didn't want the rental people to come after them!"
"Makes sense." Ash smiled. "All right, let's go."
For some reason, Misty had left her hair and face as they had been, even though she'd exchanged the dress for her usual clothes. And for whatever reason, Ash thought it looked interesting. He tilted his head a little as they walked and studied the effect. It was nice to look at.
Misty noticed his gaze. "What are you looking at?"
"Huh?" Ash blinked. "Oh. I just... Your hair looks nice like that, Misty."
"She smiled and raised one hand to touch her hair. "You think so? It takes a long time to do, so I can't wear it like this every day... but it is nice. Thank you, Ash."
"You're welcome." Ash glanced over at the lake. "What's so great about this place anyway? It's too dark to see anything."
"Don't be silly, Ash," Misty answered. "There's plenty of moonlight for us to see by. And everything looks so pretty. Isn't it nice out?"
Ash looked at the lakeside area. "Sure, I guess so. Say... I wonder if there are any Pokemon hiding around here! Maybe I could catch some!"
Misty sighed. "Don't you ever stop thinking about Pokemon?"
"Well... no." Ash blinked, surprised by the question. "I'm going to be a Pokemon Master one day, remember? I have to stay focussed." Misty harumphed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hey, what's the matter?"
"Can't you just forget about that for tonight?" Misty asked, looking irritated. "This is my night, and it's gone great so far! I don't want it to end with us fighting."
Ash sighed. "OK, fine. You caught me, and it's your night. But I've been doing my best to have fun like you said, and I thought I could find something to do by the lake that I'd like. You said I should try and enjoy myself, remember?"
Misty frowned, then looked thoughtful. "Well, I guess you do have a point." Her face suddenly split into an evil-looking grin. "I know! We can go swimming!"
"Swimming?" Ash backed up a step, not liking the look on Misty's face. "But I don't have a suit!"
"Oh really?" Misty took a step forward, and Ash took another step backward. "Well, that's too bad. Your clothes are going to get awfully wet!" She suddenly shoved Ash backward, and he fell with a splash in knee-high water.
"Hey! That wasn't fair!" Ash shivered. "It's cold in here!"
"Some Pokemon Master!" Misty laughed. "Afraid of a little cold water!"
"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you come in here!" Ash challenged. "Unless you're afraid of a little cold water!"
"Hah! Water Pokemon trainers are used to cold water!" Misty splashed to a seat beside Ash. "Yikes! It is cold!"
"I thought Water Pokemon trainers were used to cold water," Ash said teasingly.
"We are! But that doesn't mean I have to like it!" Misty stood up, dripping water. "Come on. I want to see the hotel manager's face when we walk in and drip water all over his nice, clean floor!"
Ash laughed. "He'll go through the roof!" He stood and eagerly followed Misty back to the hotel.
"Well, that was lots of fun! See you tomorrow!" Ash tried to make a dash for his room, but was brought up short (once again) by Misty's hand grabbing his collar.
"Hold it right there!" she commanded, grinning wickedly. "Aren't you forgetting something, Ash?"
"Uh... I don't think so." Ash studied the ceiling. For some reason, he found it absolutely fascinating.
"You owe me a kiss," she reminded him sweetly. "Or had you forgotten already? You're not getting away without paying up!"
Ash groaned. "Couldn't you take an I.O.U.?"
"Not a chance!" Misty grinned evilly. "I want my kiss now!"
Oh great... Ash sighed, and tried for a super-fast peck on the cheek. Misty, however, had other ideas. She turned her head and caught his lips in a full, mouth-to-mouth kiss. Ash's arms and legs went completely rigid, and his eyes opened as wide as they could go.
"Hey, Ash, did you...?" Brock's voice trailed off.
Misty pulled away and smiled sweetly at Brock, as if nothing had happened. "See you guys tomorrow morning!" she said cheerfully, then walked into her room and shut the door right in a shocked Ash's face.
He gaped after her.
"Well, that was interesting." Brock grinned at Ash. "I guess your date with Misty wasn't as horrible as you thought it would be, huh?"
Ash put one hand to his mouth and blinked, still staring at Misty's door. "Did you say something, Brock?" he asked, seeming distracted.
Brock grabbed Ash's shoulders and turned him around. "Our room is this way, Ash," he informed the younger boy, leading him in the proper direction.
"Uh huh." Ash had a goofy grin on his face.
Behind her door, Misty smiled.