DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon. I don't own much actually. So yeah, don't sue.

A/N: This is a sorta short chapter. In fact it's really short - it's four pages long! And it's mostly dialogue. But oh well, at least it's a chapter. I don't really know what else to say so I think I'll just let you read now…

Chapter seven - When Harmless Fun Develops.

Another night, another party. I sighed at my reflection, wanting to cry thanks to my never ending inner conflicts. Could it really have only been 24 hours ago that Ash and I were sitting on a bench, ready to kiss away our confessions? Oh God help me.

My sisters had left an hour ago, looking like three perfect Barbie dolls, ready to go snag themselves some Kens. I smiled at that thought. At least they were having a good time. Plus the Ash saga seemed to keep them entertained, although since last night they had noticeably kept their distance. It was a blessing, but at the same time it confused the hell out of me.

Another blessing - Mom hadn't called. I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to face her again, so I had no complaints in that department.

Ding dong. There goes the potentially fatal doorbell. I snapped out of my thought cramped state and rushed to the door. Not too eager, not too eager, my mind repeated, and my opening of the door was much slower than my way of getting there.

"Bon soir, mademoiselle" Ash greeted me slyly and I had to laugh at his poor French accent.

"Good evening to you too" I replied politely. I shut the door and, with even more giggles erupting, I linked arms with him and nearly went into hysterics at his pompous expression and suddenly straight posture. I'd forgotten how much this guy had made me laugh. "So what's with all the formalities?" I asked.

"I dunno" Ash shrugged, his posture instantly relaxing at his casual words. "Guess I wanted to impress you. C'mon, we're going this way." He started pulling me in the opposite direction of the party.

"Uh, party's that way" I literally pointed out.

"I know" Ash said non-chalantly.

"So…where are we going?" I asked cautiously.

"We're getting dessert" Ash announced with a grin.

"I don't have any money" I sadly confessed. Damn. Dessert had sounded so good too.

"Oh. That's too bad" Ash said quietly. "I guess you'll just have to make do with a walk along the beach then." His grip on my arm got tighter and I smiled to myself.

"That's okay with me" I confirmed.

"Good, cos the truth is I have jack all in terms of money and I stuffed myself at dinner" Ash explained sheepishly.

"Ohh, I see" I said knowingly. We slowly meandered along, knowing we were both thinking about the incident the previous night but neither of us daring to bring it up. How could we? It was probably something that shouldn't have happened, something that hadn't been controlled by will but by hasty emotion.

The temperature had soared up in the last few days and it was still lingering around, even at that hour. I had to remove my intertwined arm from Ash's to take off my cardigan.

"Phew, it's hot" I commented lightly.

"Hmm" Ash replied, nodding and turning his gaze to the ocean. He then turned back towards me, a sly expression on his face, and it didn't take me long to click.

"Oh no, no way, I am going nowhere near that damn ocean" I said. Okay, maybe that was a tad forceful coming from me, but something was telling me my chances of drowning increased on a pitch black almost deserted beach.

"C'mon Mist, surely you can just dip your feet in?" Ash said teasingly.

"But what if…what if, um…" I was losing words, and excuses, and Ash only grinned wider.

"What if your feet get wet? Ooh, the horrors" he said sarcastically. "Don't tell me you're afraid of dipping your little toe in the water."

"N-no" I stuttered. "Of course not." Geez, could I be any more pathetic? No, my head answered. You love the water. What's holding you back? One bad experience? Come on, it's in your blood. Hence your surname. "Let's go." With that I ran toward the waves, randomingly flicking my jandals off and laughing at Ash's feeble attempts to catch up to me.

My feet connected with the water and, like it was the balm my conflicted mind craved, I exhaled deeply and embraced the feeling that was only on my feet but spreading throughout me at the same time. I don't usually get so caught up in things, but, despite nearly drowning in it, water is a part of me, a part of my soul. I can't control it.

I was so wrapped up in the moment I didn't notice it had all gone quiet, or how unlike Ash that was. Well, I didn't notice until he provoked me to open my eyes. He successfully achieved that by splashing me with the substance I loved so much. I screamed in surprise and anger, and met his hysterical form with flashing eyes.

"You little bastard!" I shrieked. "I can't believe you!" No more words passed my lips as I responded by kicking more than a few drops in his direction. Direct hit, he was practically saturated! I silently prided my aiming skills.

Ash copied my tactic and our feet proceeded to do battle with the water as the weapons. A winner had to be determined. And I was determined to make it me.

"C'mon Mist, that was pretty wimpy, even by your standards" Ash retorted.

"Alright Ketchum, you damn well asked for it." I lunged towards him, my objective of shoving him over into the ocean seeming easy. But I was in for a shock when he struck up a defense, holding me at arm's length. My attempt to shove him was failing and my feet had to become the offensive. I kicked but never actually made contact while he continued to hold me at bay and laugh at my weakness. Well at least his legs got wet. It would've been more satisfactory if he had been wearing designer jeans or something, but I had to make do with the shorts he was wearing.

"I don't remember you being this easy to fend off" Ash snickered. When the hell had he gotten so strong?

"I'm not!" I insisted, still hopelessly kicking away. I don't know how it happened, but Mom always said I never had my feet firmly on the ground. I guess I proved that when I lost my footing and felt myself falling. I screamed, knowing the water would be freezing. Damn Ash for persuading me to come out here, damn him for provoking me to a splash down, damn him for…

Catching me in mid-fall? What? He had caught me, his hands around my back and preventing me from being completely saturated. He must've picked up some fast reflex skills since I'd gone.

"Are you okay, Mist?" he asked worriedly. Oh God. I was melting into those eyes again. Only this time, I immediately noticed, nothing was telling me to stop or feel bad. I couldn't feel bad looking into his eyes, being sucked in but loving it.

"I'm fine" I replied quietly. I put my hand to his cheek, noticing his face slightly tense as I did, and I started entering that world again. I didn't protest at all this time. I couldn't. I wanted this more than I had previously realized, and with the waves still lapping at my feet, I drew my face closer to Ash's and lost myself in a feeling I hadn't experienced in two years.

Our lips met and no hesitation crossed between us as we relished in what we had longed for for so long. Oh my God, I didn't want this to stop. It was me and Ash, in the middle of a popular beach but lost in our own world at the same time, with no one and nothing stopping us.

I don't know how long the kiss of my life lasted, but even if it had been longer it wouldn't have been long enough. We pulled away reluctantly, our eyes never straying from each other and stunned smiles dominating our faces.

"I did damn well ask for that" Ash said softly, and I laughed slightly at what I had said earlier in a different context. Ash stood me up, his hands now around my waist and mine around his neck.

"This is crazy" I whispered. It was. Only a month ago I had been cursing his name from dawn to dusk, and now here I was. Spinning in a place I had visited once before and now never wanted to leave again.

"No it's not" Ash replied, pulling my body closer to his. Oh I loved that feeling. Being in his arms, safe, warm - but above all, happy. Beyond happy.

He initiated another kiss and I easily responded to it. I know this one lasted longer, it was deeper, and we lingered over it, holding each other closer and tighter. I had to pull away as my need for air became bigger than my need for Ash. I was dizzy with pleasure and it obviously showed when I struggled to stay standing up. Had it not been for Ash's hands, I probably would have fallen in the water anyways.

"I wonder what your mother would be saying to all this" Ash suddenly commented.

"I honestly don't care" I replied, now thinking of ways to change the subject. I didn't want my mother ruining this for me, no matter how far away she was.

"Maybe you should care, Mist" Ash said, suddenly turning severe on me. "She wouldn't exactly be thrilled."

"So? What's your point?" I asked.

"My point is that I hope you're not going through this just to get back at your mom" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"No! Ash no, not at all!" I exclaimed desperately. "She is the last thing on my mind. You're the first, and you have been over this past month. Maybe these past two years even" I confessed, slowly stroking his cheek with one lone finger.

"No way" Ash said softly.

"Uh-huh. You drove me crazy, sent me through two thousand different emotions, most of them negative. But now that's all changed" I explained.

"When did it change?" Ash asked.

"I don't know. I guess…" I trailed off and bit my lip. "I guess I was in love with you the whole two years, but I was so wrapped up in my pain and bitterness that I refused to realise it. Seeing you that first night here, I just freaked."

"No kidding. So you were in love with me for those two years? Wow" Ash marveled. "Funny that, I was going through the same thing myself with you."

"Even when you were with Giselle?" I asked.

"Absolutely. I think, Miss Waterflower, that great hearts feel alike" Ash smiled. I couldn't repress the smile that hit my lips, so much so I was scared my cheeks would crack.

"I guess so" I replied. By now the party we had originally planned to go to was moving down our way, and I pulled away from his embrace, grinning like an idiot. "You wanna…"

"Bust this joint?" Ash asked mischievously. I nodded and we walked back to the shore, desperate to avoid our drunken peers this time. Our arms were clasped firmly around each others waists, as if we were locking in ourselves and all our emotions, and we slowly strolled along the beach towards my bach.

"Are you happy you came to Washbay?" Ash asked suddenly.

"Of course I am. It brought us back together, it's giving me three months away from my mother and it's slowly healing some old wounds. Why did you ask that?"

"I never really got the impression you were happy here" Ash said.

"I wasn't at first. But I guess that was just me being ignorant." I yawned as I finished speaking, and unexplainable onset of fatigue hitting me. "What would you say if I told you I wanted to turn in early tonight?"

"I'd say no problem cos look where we are" Ash announced. I slightly laughed as I saw my bach in front of us.

"How convenient" I mused.

"Or how inconvenient" Ash said, suddenly bringing me in for another kiss. I was losing myself to him. All self-control had evaporated. I sighed in both pleasure and regret as we pulled away. "Go get that early night you wanted" Ash smiled.

"Thank you, Ash. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Without a doubt." I gave him a brief final kiss as he finished speaking and slowly walked inside. I felt like I was walking either in or on a dream, one that I never wanted to wake up from.

I broke into a grin and, taking advantage of the empty house, squealed like a schoolgirl retelling an unbelievable story. This was highly unbelievable. But I couldn't help thinking it was so right too.

A/N: I admit, I loved writing this chapter too and I wrote most of it in my Stats class. How romantic, Stats. Urgh. But it finally happened! Woohoo! Okay, this is kinda important so read carefully. From the next chapter onwards this fic will be rated R. So you need to look out for it under that section. If you don't like reading R stuff you should probably stop reading. I'd rather get flamed for my skills than the content of my fics. Otherwise, read on! Thankies!