My Coney Island Baby

My Coney Island Baby

Part 5

by Spruceton Spook

Ash and Mrs. Ketchum mounted the first horse, Ash seated in the front. A single rubber rope was flung around them to keep them on, but they also had to hold on tightly. Brock and Misty got onto the horse beside them. Misty felt the familiar shock go through her body again as Brock put his arms around her, squeezing a little more firmly than he had before on the slide. She smiled nervously, but for some reason, she felt content.

Jessie and James were seated beside them, and a few other couples mounted the rest of the horses. Some looked queerly at their Team Rocket uniforms, but Jessie and James felt it was best to ignore their stares.

"Good luck!" the operator shouted, and pulled the lever down, releasing the horses. The horses took off immediately, rolling rapidly down the first dip, the steepest.

Ash was screaming the loudest as they went down. In the beginning, the horses raced down together, eight abreast, never really separating. Ash looked up at the track before them, noticing that the four farthest away tracks suddenly took a detour up a hill. He wasn't sure whether or not that determined the outcome of the race, but at that moment, he didn't care much. He was having too much fun.

Jessie was feeling anything but sick as she and James realized that they had taken the lead. It was only a small lead, but to Team Rocket, any kind of taste of victory was enough to satisfy them. They hollered whoops of happiness as they rolled over another small hill, throwing them a little out of their seats.

Brock and Misty's horse took the hill right after them, making them scream as they rose out of their seats, too. For such a mild ride as it had looked when they weren't on it, turned out to be a wild one at that. The Steeplechase covered a half-a-mile in roughly half-a-minute, making it one quick ride.

The first curve came around quickly, and the rest of the horses returned. Brock saw some of them were ahead of him and Misty. The wind whipped forcefully in his face, though it was invigorating. He could hear Misty laughing in front of him, gripping on tightly to the metal horse's neck. Lowering his head alongside hers, he shouted in her ear.

"Come on Misty, we can win this thing!"

Misty turned her head slightly to show him that she had heard, and without being told another thing, lowered her body to resist the wind. Brock lowered with her. Misty could feel his warm body press against her back, sending another shiver throughout her body. Only this time, it made her feel wonderful. She knew that Brock could not see her face, otherwise she would not have smiled as wide as she did.

Their sudden positions seemed to affect the horse greatly. They could not feel themselves going faster, but as soon as they reached another hill, they sped swiftly past Jessie and James' horse going back down.

"Yeah!" Misty shouted, looking at Jessie and James, who seemed a little disappointed.

"They're going to beat us in this, too?" Jessie screamed in disbelief.

"We'll see about that!" James said, and together he and Jessie copied Brock and Misty's riding stance, letting the wind blow right around them and over their backs. As they began to pick up speed, Team Rocket smiled widely. James, (who was sitting behind Jessie), turned his head around to see where the other riders were. In a small mish-mosh of horses were the people they did not know, one couple who's horse was considerably slow. Then he spotted Ash and Mrs. Ketchum, who had also ducked down to resist the blustering, wild winds. Only Brock and Misty were in front of them.

Suddenly, he looked ahead, and decided that he didn't care about winning. It wasn't a contest after all, for God's sake! James closed his eyes for a moment and lifted his head, letting the winds blow his long hair behind him. If Jessie wanted to win, that would be okay. But for him, it was supposed to be fun. And that was the way he was going to feel. He gripped Jessie tighter, and lowered his head beside hers.

"You like this, Jess?" he screamed into her ear.

She giggled excitedly, and replied, "Of course! This is great!"

"Then don't be so tense!" James called back with a grin. "Loosen up. This isn't a contest. Let's have fun . . . relax!"

Jessie's eyebrows raised in confusion. She had thought James wanted to win as bad as she did. She lifter her head, and twisted it around to look at James. Glancing ever so quickly into his green eyes, she smiled when he smiled at her, and she returned her attention to the race. Although winning was not in her mind any longer, she lowered her position again and whooped loudly in happiness. James did the same.

A couple of horses back, Ash and Mrs. Ketchum were undoubtedly having the times of their life.

"We're not gonna win," Ash said to his mom. Though he sounded upset, he really was not, saying the statement with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. He had never been on a ride like this in his entire life. It was so unique, so exciting, so . . . , well, much fun.

Mrs. Ketchum smiled. "You don't have to win! Come on, look ahead! Brock and Misty are in the lead."

Brock and Misty did stay in the lead till the end of the race. Ahead of them, they could see a flat straight-away, obviously for the horses to slow down and stop. There was no visible finish line, but Brock and Misty's horse was the first to stop when they got there. Not to mention that they had been clearly winning since the middle of the ride.

Laughing and jumping up and down from the "win," Brock and Misty got off to the sidelines of the ride.

"We did it, Brock!" Misty cried happily and excitedly. All of sudden, as if on instinct, she leapt into Brock's arms, embracing him in a tight hug. "That was great!"

Though caught a bit off guard, Brock quickly grabbed her, holding Misty a little off the ground. He laughed and whooped for joy as she did it. He hopped up and down in place. Despite the look of happiness he had, deep down he was confused as he held Misty in his arms. His heart had taken a sudden leap when she had hugged him, and he had sweatdropped remarkably, also. Misty hadn't noticed this, thank God. But he was still unsure. He lowered her softly onto the ground.

Misty looked up at him and smiled, but the smile slowly turned to a bewildered expression when she saw the look of confusion in Brock's face. Brock was looking deeply into her eyes, making her quiver slightly.

What's the matter with him? she thought.

For some strange reason, Brock found it hard to talk. He opened his mouth, but nothing escaped. He wasn't sure yet what he wanted to let escape, or in any case, if he should let it escape. Misty was looking up strangely at him, waiting for him to say whatever he was holding back.

"Misty. . . ," his voice trailed off and he lowered his gaze to the ground. "I. . . , uh . . ."

"What?" Misty asked, concerned. "Are you all right?"

Brock smiled nervously, a small blush running across his cheeks. Misty twitched at this, and Brock could feel it. He was still holding onto her from hugging her, his hands resting gently on her waist. She felt so nice to hold. He wasn't sure if he wanted to take his hands off, yet. Maybe he would never be able to hold her like that again.

"Oh, man," he groaned, removing one of his hands from Misty to rub his forehead.

Misty was greatly worried now. She looked with a hint of concern into his face, which he seemed to be shielding from her sight. Misty gently clasped his hand, and pulled it away from his face, revealing that Brock was blushing extremely now.

"Are you all right, Brock? What's the matter?" Why are you blushing like that?

Brock took a deep breath. God, this was awkward. He lifted his eyes to see that the others were getting off their horses. Only about twenty seconds had passed since he and Misty dismounted, but it had seemed like an eternity. He knew that if he was going to say something, he should say it quick. But it was hard. Plus, he wasn't sure if it was right, either.

The memories of that day flashed before his eyes in an instant -- the way Misty had cheered for him when no one else did, the fun he had with her on the rides, the way her beautiful face lit up when he would casually glance at her on a ride. It had only occurred to him then that he liked her. He guessed he had always liked her, but maybe the silent situation between her and Ash had been stalling him. He quickly clutched at his senses. Daring the ultimate, which is what he considered it at this point, he looked seriously into Misty's blue eyes, and smiled again nervously.

"Misty, I had fun today," he said rapidly, Misty barely catching the words. He knew that he had said that too fast, and froze to take another deep breath.

"So did I," Misty replied, a small smile curving on her lips.

"No, but I mean--" Brock stumbled on his words and thoughts again. "I -- I mean that I had a really good time today. . .with you."

Misty's heart suddenly began to beat faster and faster. Was she really hearing this? Was Brock really saying -- well, trying to say what she had been pondering herself the entire day? She sweatdropped, and looked away. This upset Brock for a moment, but before he had to really worry, she looked up at him again. She smiled softly, and the faintest traces of a blush took over her face.

Meanwhile, Jessie and James and Ash and Mrs. Ketchum had dismounted a couple minutes ago, and were making their way to the exit, where Brock and Misty stood. They were about to congratulate them and talk about the ride, when suddenly Mrs. Ketchum, who was leading them, halted. Startled, the others stopped as she held out her arm.

"What's the matter, Mom?" Ash asked, noticing that she was looking at Brock and Misty. He looked himself, and saw that for some strange reason, Brock and Misty were looking at each other as if they were engaged in a deep conversation. Only, their smiles were something to think about, and the way they constantly kept looking at their feet modestly.

"Just -- I think we should leave them be for a second," Mrs. Ketchum answered. Ash turned his attention back to Brock and Misty while Team Rocket looked on their own. Brock and Misty did not feel their gazes, they seemed to be too preoccupied.

Jessie and James smiled and looked at each other. They knew what was going on. James nudged Jessie and she nudged back, their bodies trembling with excitement. Unknown to what Brock and Misty were saying, their expressions were very obviously distinguished.

Misty was beaming a little humbly, trying to hide her sudden surprised emotions. Brock was smiling back down at her. "What do mean?" she asked him, grinning mischievously at him. A rapturous shiver cascaded through his body.

"I . . . I mean I realized that I enjoyed your company today," he said. "I enjoyed it more than I ever had with you . . . or with anyone else for that matter."

Misty blushed.

Brock continued, her pleased face encouraging him to the fullest. "I like you, Misty. A lot."

There. He said it. A wave of pleasant relief swept through him. Before Misty could respond, he spoke up again.

"Of course, you know, if you don't . . . well, you know, want to. . . . then you don't have--"

Misty stopped him abruptly in mid-sentence. "I like you, too, Brock."

"You do?!" Brock looked half surprised, half overjoyed. He looked over Misty's shoulder and saw the others, who as soon as they realized he was looking over, turned to each other to pretend that they weren't listening. He shrugged mentally, and lowered his face down to Misty's.

"But, don't you like Ash?" he whispered quickly, as if to get that out of the way as soon as possible. He body clenched and his heart raced as it came out of him.

Misty half-smiled. "Well, yeah I do, but . . ." She smiled up fully at him. "I like you more. And it didn't start today, either. I've liked you . . . for a long time. Maybe I always have. I guess, well, I figured that you wouldn't be interested in me, so . . I -- I didn't try much to show it."

She trailed off silently as she uttered the last few words, looking at the ground, wondering if what she said was wrong. Suddenly, though, Brock placed his hand softly under her chin and lifted her face to face him. He was smiling. Misty smiled, too. He wanted to show her that what she said wasn't wrong . . . it was just the answer he was looking for.

They stared into each other's eyes for a long time, till finally they embraced into a tight hug. Misty wrapped her arms strongly around his neck, and buried her hot, blushed face into his shoulder. In turn, he clutched her closely to him, and rested his chin gently on her head. Both had their eyes sealed shut and with happiness.

Ash was astonished, but happy. His heart jumped when he saw them hug, partially out of shock. He looked at his mom, then Team Rocket, who were smiling joyfully at them.

"I guess that old saying is true," Mrs. Ketchum said, gazing fondly at Brock and Misty, who were still hugging.

"What's that?" Jessie asked.

Mrs. Ketchum grinned. "Someone once said about the Steeplechase: 'Guys like it 'cause it gives them a chance to hug the girl. And girls like it 'cause it gives them a chance to get hugged.'"

Brock and Misty finally released from the hug and stared passionately into each others' eyes. Their warm smiles soaked into each other. Their beating hearts were beginning to finally slow down. Casually, they turned to the others, who were strolling over to them. Nobody said a thing as they exited the ride, but Misty and Brock knew that they knew. Perhaps dozens of people in Coney Island did, also.

Ash nudged Brock's shoulder again, just as he had done before the ride. Brock became nervous at this, but when he looked down to see Ash smiling and nodding a "good job, buddy" look, he was relieved. Ash had no problem about it. He was kind of shocked that Misty and Brock did like each other, but he was happy for them. People find love in the weirdest ways, he figured, and maybe it was just that ride that had topped it.

The sun was beginning to sink behind the ocean, the bright blue sky turning gradually to a deeper blue with streaks of orange in it. Seeing this made Mrs. Ketchum anxious. As much as she wanted to see Coney Island illuminate in its brilliant spectrum of light when the sun went down, she knew that they would have to desperately search for a psychic Pokémon, even if it meant asking around.

"We need to find a psychic Pokémon fast," she told the kids. "We can't stay here for long."

"But where are we gonna find one?" Brock asked, clenching Misty's hand tightly. He and Misty had been holding hands ever since Steeplechase. "I haven't seen hide or hair of one all day!"

"And that's not good," Misty added, sweatdropping. "What are we going to do?"

Jessie and James looked at each other. Meowth joined in on their puzzled recollection of the day. They knew that they had seen that Pokémon somewhere.

"Wasn't there an Alakazam at that freak show?" James asked Jessie. This immediately caught the others' attention.

Jessie grinned and snapped her finger. "That's right!" She turned to Ash, Misty, Brock, and Mrs. Ketchum. "There's a green Alakazam at this freak show. We saw it earlier today!"

"That's great!" Ash exclaimed. "Where was it?"

Jessie moaned. "By that blasted roller coaster."

"The Thunderbolt!" Ash, Misty, and Brock said at the same time. In an instant, the six took off towards the Thunderbolt. Their ticket home!

STAY TUNED FOR THE CONCLUSION!

I'm sorry this isn't the end. I thought it would be but I got too involved with the Brock and Misty situation. This is my first crack at romance ever, so if it's bad, please don't kill me. I'm a horror and drama writer basically. This is new. There's one more short part to go. Please stay tuned for the conclusion! Will they ever get out of Coney Island? (Wow, that was corny!)