Wrongly Accused and Never Refused
"James, you idiot. What have you done now?" Jesse said in an almost inaudible whisper. She watched her friend vanish over the horizon. As he disappeared from view, Jesse could have sworn that he had just slightly turned his head to look back. She saw his lips part slightly and he whispered something back at her that she begged the wind to carry to her with it, but it just wouldn't do. "James…"
Jesse watched the sun set over the horizon, its blinding light blocking her best friend from view. Once again she pleaded with the wind to carry a message, this time from her to James, but again it didn't work. Come back, James, come back… She watched and waited, hoping to see blackness in the blaze rushing towards her, that would slowly turn into James, and she could tell him how dumb he was for doing whatever made him feel so bad. She wasn't trying to be mean, for it was just her way.
As it was evident that he wasn't going to be running back to her, Jesse looked down at the ground below her feet and noticed her limp arms still grasping something. She stared at the folded piece of paper in her hand and slowly lifted it up. As she unfolded it, she had the strangest sense that it would be with her for the rest of her life. Only then did Jesse solemnly begin to read.
To protect the world from Devastation!
To unite the rivals within our nation!
To denounce the evils of truth and love!
To continue our promise to the star above!
We are the lovely and charming villains!
Team Rocket shines like the light of the stars!
To show that we are greater powers!
She smiled as she silently folded the paper up into the quarters that were now familiar to it and placed the vow into her pocket. Her piece was interrupted as she saw a familiar shadow appear on the ground and a horrible voice joined in.
"What're you doing, reading love letters from your boyfriend?"
Jesse looked up, straight into the turquoise eyes of her greatest rival. Her blonde hair reached down just like Jesse's, but was in two parts, like pigtails. They stretched trait towards the ground and at the end they were decorated with larger tufts of hair. She recognized the new girl's well make-upped face. It was none other than Cassidy, her former best friends. Jesse rolled her eyes as the girl began to strut proudly around her, each girl having their hands on their hips.
"Boyfriend?" Jesse asked. "Oh, you mean James? He's not my boyfriend and if you start making up rumors again I'll-"
"Oh, temper, temper!" Cassidy reminded her friend as she continued to walk in circles around Jesse like a dog going in for the kill. "We wouldn't want to have anymore accidents, now, would we?"
Jesse scowled at the newcomer. She had done this before, and Jesse knew that she would do it again.
"That's right. We wouldn't want any more wild stories from you about where you were when things like, oh, say, a fire happened?" Cassidy was getting enjoyment out of this, so she would keep it up for as long as she could. "And we don't want all of the evidence found to point to you now, would we Jesse?" The girl smirked at her. "Would we?"
Cassidy's smirk turned into a venomous smile. All that Jesse could do was watch…and wait. "I know that you started that fire." Jesse could only say those words, the whole truth of the worst thing that everyone that she knew…but one…thought was all her fault. She glared back at Cassidy, hoping that hearing the crime would make her fall backwards a bit. No such luck.
"Oh, really? Where's your proof?" Cassidy was getting cocky, even for herself. "The gloves were yours. The motive was yours. And the record…that fateful record of your poor childhood…that was yours, too. Face it Jess," the girl stopped to stare into the blue eyes of her former ally, "you'll never amount to anything more than an ugly little poor girl who can't do any better than to hope to enter someplace where you can get a job better than begging for quarters on the corner."
Pain shot through Jesse's pale blue eyes. It was right; she guessed…for it was what had been told to her for her whole life. But she was determined to beat it. She would overcome, like she always had. But alas, she knew this. Cassidy was going to get a near-perfect score, not as good as James but still, better than Jesse could do. She turned away, hoping that the pain would turn with her, but there was no luck.
"What's wrong, Jess?" Cassidy walked in front of her turned gaze. "Can't handle the truth?"
"You can't speak the truth…" Jesse began to trail off, "for you have failed to recognize it yourself." She was being very poetic, one of the few things that she could shadow Cassidy in.
"Fine," said Cassidy, as cool-headed as ever, not reacting at all to the other's thoughts or words. "Be that way. But remember," she said defiantly, "you're the inferior. You don't truly deserve to live. You're just a despensible poor kid who there are way to many of in this world." She tossed her head again and looked off to the person next to her. "Come on Butch." She looked over her shoulder again. "See ya, Jess."
Jesse watched them as they walked off. She clenched her fists and grimaced, holding back tears of utter hatred. She had taken it for so long, and there was nothing that she could do. After what seemed like an eternity the duo dissappeared over the horizon, just as James had done, but the other way, into the twilight, into the night. She raced off to her dorm room and hid between her bed and the wall. She was alone to think. Alone to cry.
{[START FLASHBACK]}
"Oh, come on, Jess?" the blonde pig-tailed girl said as her evil in the grin became more and more noticable. "Are you a coward? Come on! Let's go."
Jesse looked back at her "friend" and continued to rethink her plan. "I won't, Cass." She had decided to stand up for herself for the first time in her life, especially to someone who she considered a friend. "I won't do it."
"Oh, come on, Jesse. Are you a coward or something?" Cassidy was losing her patience. They sat crouched at the wall of their school, hoping to avoid being seen during the summer holiday.
The redhead stood up and threw the matches to the ground. "I will not. This is just going too far." She pulled off her white gloves and chucked them at the ground. She left them in the face of her stunned friend who was still kneeling. "You do what you want, but I'm gone. This isn't worth it."
Cassidy still looked up at her former companion. She was practically in shock, for no one had ever done anything other than what she had commanded them to. "Fine. Go ahead. See if I care."
Jesse marched off, sure that she had won. She knew that she had beaten Cassidy once and for all. She triumphantly walked back to her simple yet wonderful home. She was now sure that she could take anything that could come up against her, and she wouldn't be bossed around by Cassidy any more. She looked back over her shoulder not to see Cass walking off in despair, but only saw a brilliant blaze only a few hundred feet off. Frantically Jesse ran to the nearest payphone and called the fire department.
{[END FLASHBACK]}
She kept crying into her soaked hands which rested on her now-tattooed pants. They were speckled with her tears that reminded her of her pain. The tears that reminded her of her horrid past, her painful present, and her dark, dreary future. Nothing would change that, she thought, until she remembered the note that was still in her pocket. That was the light which suddenly appeared in her dreary, tearful life. James. He was like a brother to her even though they had only known each other for a few days. Maybe he was even better. Her crying slowed, and soon she could hold back the tears again. Jesse looked up at the cramped world of her dorm room, but saw the only light that was available. The shining silver light that would never perish. The soft, calming light of the moon, a jewel in the near jet-black sky, giving the rest of the sky speckles of its wonderful dust of the stars. She stared out the window and looked at the wonderful sky, her escape. She again felt comforted by looking at it, moreso than just what it was before. The same feeling that she had before when she and James had just met and when she ahd looked at the sky. She was comforted, and she vowed never to think of Cassidy again…unless it was for her much deserved revenge.
([MEANWHILE])
James gazed off at the sky, and also was comforted. But he was thinking to himself. Did I do the right thing? James was still unsure of whether what he did was really for the best. Am I just hurting her? Am I hurting myself? Is everything going to be okay? He then stopped thinking about it. It would be best to just wait for another time, for the night sky was just so beautiful he could be nothing more than in awe of it. The sky seemed to want to tell him something, but he just couldn't make it out. Ultimately unfulfilled, he fell asleep after spending most of the night uneasily trying to make out his purpose as he gazed at the awesome sight.
{[NEXT SECTION]}
"As you can see, children, your scores are posted up on the board. Now, everyone, you get only a few seconds to check yours and then move on, for it's getting late."
The voice on the speaker was the same as that of the green-haired secretary that James had seen so much in and learned so much from even though they had only seen each other for the few minutes. He learned from observing and she had shown him all that he would ever need to know in his life. James glance up at Jesse and flashed a smile to her as she stared at the ground with a worried look on her face. It was approaching their turn up to the board of destiny, to determine both their present and their future. Jesse looked up at the panel on which all of the scores were. There were two names at the very bottom with letters in bright red next to them. She recognised her name and raced off. No beauty of the skies could stop her pain this time.
It was James's turn. He already knew his score and where he would be on the chart. He stared, his expretion not changing at all, until he realized who was running off.
Darkness was falling on the campusgrounds and James was chasing after Jesse, even though she wasn't aware of his deed, or the fact that she was being stalked. He followed her trail of tears into the girl's dorm and then watched as she disappeared to where he could know nothing of how she felt or what she would do.
"Jesse…" he whispered to her window. James began to sob, too. As he put his head in his arm, he began to whisper again. "Jesse. When you know what will happen, all will be well. All will be well…"
Soon everyone was back in their rooms, everyone but James. He hid in the bushes under her window, knowing that her pain would do the worst. Even though they hadn't known each other long, he know what he mustdo for Jesse. "I love you," he began to whisper, "and I know what I must do to help you."
Very carefully and quietly James began to climb up the vines which covered the wall. He climbed into Jesse's open window and softly landed on the floor. He walked over to her tear-stained pillow and looked at her hurt face which seemed to glow in the moonlight. He found himself mystified at the beauty of this girl, and he stroked her face to awaken her. Slowly Jesse's eyes opened to see James's smiling green eyes looking into her ice-blue ones. She watched as he outstretched his hand.
"Come with me," he whispered, looking to her like she was more than anyone, anyone else in the world could see. He smiled a great smile to welcome her. Jesse took his hand in hers and began to whisper back.
"I'd be honored."
Author's Notes: James is not…umm, how shall I say, asking her to…well…that's not it! He's inviting her to share with him the journey of a lifetime through their wonderful world where they can find others like themselves. Like in the normal anime, they're more like brother and sister than anything else (until later in the series) and James isn't trying to be a pervert like some of you out there probably think. He is undeniably a crybaby but I'm going against his coward and stupid status to do this. I tried to include more Jesse in this than in the ones before, even though next to no people responded to it! And this is where they start on their own adventure where I can do whatever the heck I want with them, like put them in any situation 'cuz they aren't going straight to the bike gang, even though I will include that. Please please PLEASE!! I'm begging you! Review this story! Please! Oh, and thanks, Chibimousse for responding when no one else would.
PokeMaster
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