"You can't make someone love you, all you can do is stalk them and hope with time they panic and give in."
Disclaimer – I don't own Pokemon, happy now? Now please just go read my story while I try convince myself that there's nothing wrong with not owning Pokemon.
Beyond the Shadows – Unrequited Love
"C'mon Myst," Ash called to her from the other side of the door.
"Just one more second," she called back as she tried to decide how to do her hair. She decided to let it down remembering how Ash had once told her she looked pretty with her hair down.
'What would I do without you?' she asked him silently with a content sigh. She pulled a brush through her hair one last time then opened the door.
"Done," she said.
For a brief moment all they could do was just stare at each other. Ash was taken aback by her beauty, not that that was an unusual occurrence, but Misty hardly ever wore her hair down.
"So you're ready?" Ash asked when he finally found his voice. He cursed himself on the inside for asking such a stupid question.
Misty, thinking that he was trying to be smart, just glared at him. She didn't realize he was just trying to break the silence even though he didn't want to ruin such a perfect moment.
"Well for that I may just make you wait an extra five minutes," she said defiantly.
"Misty I didn't mean it like that . . ." he started. Talking always seemed to ruin things for him because he always ended up saying stupid things and just making Misty angry.
"Don't worry," Misty said putting on a smile. "I was just joking, I know how much this match means to you. Just let me grab my things."
Ash sighed with relief.
Misty smiled to herself as she headed to get her red knapsack from the bed. She loved when Ash called her Myst but when he called her Misty she always felt like he was trying to protect her from something. He only ever called her Misty when he was worried or when he thought she was angry with him.
"Ready," she said pulling the knapsack over shoulder and cradling Togepei in her arms as she walked back towards the door.
"Great," Ash said enthusiastically grabbing her free hand and tugging her down the stairs to where Brock was waiting. Ash tried not to react to the electric spark that passed through him as their hands touched but he couldn't help pausing for a second. It was an amazing feeling, one of bliss and he never wanted to loose that feeling.
As they got to the entrance Brock looked at them and smiled.
Ash looked down to where his and Misty's fingers were entwined together. He blushed and let go of her hand despite the fact that all he wanted to do was leave it there forever. Both sighed as the feeling that had held them together disappeared replaced by a sadness that told them the other would never feel the same.
"Why so down?" Brock asked them both with a knowing smile. Neither answered. "Well I guess we better go," he said. "Goodbye Nurse Joy."
"Oh," she said from behind the desk with an unsure smile. Most of them were afraid of the young boys misplaced affections, those that weren't hadn't met him. "Goodbye," she said hoping she wouldn't have to resort to a restraining order like the Vermilion City Nurse Joy.
The three of them, five if you included Togepei and Pikachu, walked out the door of the Pokemon center carrying everything they had with them as they headed for the Hazelton gym to earn the kowhai (A/N: Maori for yellow) badge.
The kowhai badge was supposed to be one of the most intricate and beautiful badges in any of the many leagues. It seemed to be made of amber and incrusted with a beautiful gold flower said to be the source of its name. It was also said to be one of the hardest badges to get, but Ash was ready for anything that could be thrown at him.
"Good luck," Brock said as they got to the gym entrance.
Ash and Misty turned to him with confused stares.
"Aren't you coming in?" Ash asked.
"Sorry," Brock shrugged. "I've got something important I've got to do."
Ash and Misty both got the feeling that Brock had intentionally planned things this way but kept their mouths shut.
Ash was upset that Brock wasn't going to be there, but then he still had Misty and there wasn't a battle yet which he had won without her. He felt as though she was his lucky charm and he couldn't win without her at his side or in the crowd cheering.
"Don't worry Ash," Brock said, "you've still got Misty." He shot both of them the sort of look that made them blush with embarrassment.
Ash felt as if Brock had read his mind, or maybe it was really that obvious. Most people hinted at it, it seemed sometimes that Misty was the only one that didn't already know how he felt about her.
Ash tried to look disappointed for both Brock and Misty's benefits, but it was hard not to be excited knowing that he was going into battle and that he would still have Misty there by his side.
"See yah guys," Brock said flashing them both a knowing smile. "Good luck, and remember, don't do anything I wouldn't do." With that Brock ran off before either of them had the chance to comment.
"What was that supposed to mean?" Misty asked playing dumb.
She knew exactly what Brock meant, she only hoped Ash didn't know. She wasn't sure who it was aimed at but she presumed Brock meant her because it wasn't like Ash even thought about her in that sort of way, he may be fifteen next month but Ash never really struck her as anything but an oversized five year old.
Ash shrugged and pulled his hat down a little further and his collar up in an effort to hide the blush that was creeping onto his cheeks.
"I don't know," he said, "but I'm having trouble trying to figure out what exactly it is that Brock wouldn't do."
Misty chuckled and resisted the urge to reply 'small animals and children'. (A/N: the truth – I chuckled and resisted the urge to make Misty say small animals and children)
Misty smiled at Ash and looked towards the gym. "You ready?" she asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be," he sighed.
"Good enough for me," she said tugging him through the door.
(A/N: I totally suck at battle scenes so I'm just going to skip to the end of the match)
Ash held his breath as he waited for the swirl of smoke to clear. He could make out a silhouette put it was so faint and unclear he couldn't tell whether it was Pikachu or the gym leaders powerful ghost Pokemon.
The smoke cleared a little more he could make out a pair of pointed ears and a long tail shaped like a bolt of lightening. And as the smoke finally disappeared you could finally see the small yellow mouse like Pokemon standing weakly over the large ghost Pokemon that lay on the ground.
The people around him gasped seeing the gym leader defeated.
"Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town is the winner," someone announced.
Misty ran to his side and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You did it Ash," she cried out joyfully.
"I did it," he smiled back at her hardly believing the news himself. He wrapped his arms around her waist almost subconsciously as if his body was out of his control and hugged her back.
Misty pulled back slightly so she could look him in the eyes. She loved his eyes. She loved the way the smooth chocolate colour of his eyes would draw her in. And the way that he always seemed to be searching as if he was looking for something in her and that he could see all her secrets of love for him.
She loved the way he held her against him, as if there was nothing that could tear them apart. And she loved the way his warm breath felt against her skin as their faces moved closer. She loved the sweet caress of his touch as he drew her closer to him until there was only a tiny millimeter left between them and in only a matter of seconds there would be . . .
"Pika pi," the Pokemon called running into Ash's arms despite its weakness.
Ash and Misty immediately pulled away from each other and blushed furiously at the sound of the Pokemon's voice.
Misty stared at the ground not wanting to meet anyone's eye, especially not Ash's. They had been so close, they almost kissed, and she had never wanted anything as much as she had wanted to kiss him as he held her in his arms right then.
Maybe that was why she felt like a small part of her died as he pulled away. It was only the size of her fist, but it was enough to bring small tears to the corners of her eyes. She suddenly felt as though she couldn't live without him.
Ash picked up Pikachu in his arms trying to stop thinking about Misty, even for a second and concentrating on congratulating his Pokemon on a great battle.
"You did great little buddy," Ash smiled stroking its head.
"Chaa," it smiled happily.
"I must say," the gym leader said striding towards Ash and handing him the kowhai badge. "That was an amazing battle. You are an excellent trainer. I hope we battle again someday."
"Thank you," Ash said modestly looking down at the kowhai badge. It was a beautiful and as intricate as people said it was. He almost felt like giving it to Misty, he knew she would love it. It was a shame that he would have to hand it over to the league when he entered the competition in about 6 months.
"You're the first trainer to win this badge in two years," the gym leader continued smiling at Ash proudly. "You deserved it young man."
Ash blushed with embarrassment. "Thank you," he said again not trusting his voice to say anything else.
The gym leader nodded towards Misty and smiled. "Don't let her slip away," the older man warned. "She'll wait forever, longer if she has to, but what happens when forever's come and gone?"
Ash sighed as the gym leader walked away. Yet another perfect strange giving him advice on his life, Misty's too.
"What did he say?" Misty said quietly from behind him still looking at the ground not daring to meet his eyes.
Ash put on a smile even though he was sure Misty wasn't going to look up anytime soon. "He was just telling me how I was the first person to win the badge in two years."
"You did great Ash," she said with a little more conviction in her quiet voice than before, "but I think we should get out of here before that oversized head of yours gets any bigger."
"I resent that," he said swatting at her playfully.
"Does that mean you're not coming?" she asked. "Cause I was going to treat you to some hamburgers." She began walking out the door, Pikachu on her shoulder, Togepei almost asleep in her arms.
"I didn't say no," Ash replied, "I just said I resented it." He chased after them hoping Misty wasn't planning on not feeding him too.
As he caught up to her he changed his speed to a slow steady walk. He tried to make his movements seem relaxed and normal not as edgy and anxious as they felt. His hand brushed against hers now and then sending shivers of pleasure up and down his spine and make a blush tingle on his cheeks.
As they sat down to eat he thought about the kiss they had almost shared. God, how he wanted to kiss her. He felt this longing deep inside of him. He wanted to kiss her, even if it was just for a second. He needed to kiss her, he felt as though he would die if he didn't.
But then he couldn't risk it, could he? He couldn't risk that she might not want to kiss him. He couldn't risk hurting her. He couldn't risk losing her.
'But she didn't pull away,' his mind told him a hint of hopefulness to the voice inside of his head. It was true she hadn't pulled away, she hadn't struggled to free herself from his embrace and she was still here, she hadn't run away from him yet.
Maybe, just maybe, she wanted to kiss him too. And maybe his wasn't the only heart that longed for their best friend.
And maybe love isn't quite as unrequited as he thought.
~ to be continued ~
Well now that I'm done, what did y'all think? Good? Bad? The biggest load of shit you've read in a long time? Oh well it can't really be that bad if you're reading this.
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