Disclaimer – I don't own Pokemon.
I realized as I put the last chapter up that I forgot to say that the full moon has no real significance in this story, I just think that its romantic and there for so does Misty. I also noticed that I haven't thanked you guys for all the reviews in ages, so thanks for all of them especially seeing as I've only gotten one flame.
Reasons of the Heart – Buses and Trains
Misty walked cautiously through the forest. She froze at every sound and jumped at every shadow. She hated this more than anything else in the world. She hated being alone.
She stiffened as she felt a powerful arm wrap around her waist. She sighed contently, relaxing into the sweet sensation of his muscular body next to hers.
"Don't worry Myst," he whispered almost seductively. "I'll protect you."
She shivered contently feeling his warm breath tickle the back of her neck softly. She loved the feeling she got from being in his arms, even if it was only for a second. It was like suddenly she was whisked away to a perfect world and everything bad just faded away into nothingness. It just felt right.
"I know," she told him turning her head so she could smile up at him.
'That's what scares me' she thought to herself.
Suddenly, Misty felt her foot catch on something. She closed her eyes waiting to feel the impact as her body fell to the ground, but it never came.
She opened her eyes cautiously only to be met by his beautiful and worried chocolate brown.
"Are you ok?" he asked as he lifted her up to face him.
She nodded dumbly. She couldn't draw herself away from those chocolate brown eyes no matter how she tried to. They were so close, their bodies pulled against each other, she was afraid he would hear her pulse echoing through the silent night.
"Misty, I . . ." he stuttered looking into her blue green eyes as though he could see all the way into forever just from one look. "I love you," he told her finally finding the courage to speak.
"No Ash, you can't," she said turning away from him before he could see the tears welling in her eyes. Ash moved to her side quickly putting a comforting arm around her shoulder.
"But I do," he told her a slight urgency eminent in his voice, slightly confused by her reaction. He had expected many things, rejection mostly, but his was something else.
She squeezed the tears from her eyes. "No you don't," she said defiantly as she turned around. "You can't, you just can't." With that she lowered herself to the ground and wrapped her arms around her legs as she tried to hold back fresh tears.
Ash kneeled down on the ground in front of her trying to get her to look him in the eye. Tears flowed freely down her face as she had given up trying to hold them back. "Why can't I love you?" he asked her gently.
"Because," she whispered finally looking up at him, her aquamarine eyes filled with tears. "Because, then that would mean that I love you."
Hey ma! Why didn't you tell me?
Why didn't you teach me a thing or two?
Did you just let me go, out into the world?
You never thought to share what you knew
So I walked under a bus
I got hit by a train
Keep falling in love
Which is kind of the same
I sunk out at sea
Lost my care gone insane
But it felt so good I wanna do it again
Hey ma! Why didn't you warn me?
Cause I thought boys were something I should have known
They're like chocolate cake
Like cigarettes
I know their bad for me but I just can't leave them alone
So I walked under a bus
I got hit by a train
Keep falling in love
Which is kind of the same
I sunk out at sea
Lost my car gone insane
But it felt so good I wanna do it again
Hey ma! Since were talking
What was it like when you were young?
Has the world changed, or is it still the same?
A man can kill and still be the sweetest thing
So I walked under a bus
I got hit by a train
Keep falling in love
Which is kind of the same
I sunk out at sea
Lost my car gone insane
But it felt so good I wanna do it again
So I walked under a bus
I got hit by a train
Keep falling in love
Which is kind of the same
I sunk out at sea
Lost my car gone insane
But it felt so good I wanna do it again
('Buses and Trains' Bachelor Girl)
The heavy patter of rain hitting the roof awaked Ash.
It was strange. It seemed like only a few hours ago the sun had been shinning brightly. The whether had been perfect. But now the sky was grayer than a London morning and everything about it looked angry and foreboding.
Ash was actually glad that his friends had convinced him not to go. After a few hours rest and some time to think about it he finally understood why it was such a bad idea.
The pouring rain did however have a huge impact. He was glad that he and Misty weren't caught in that and more importantly that she was sitting safely in her room out of the terrible whether.
A loud clap of thunder sounded followed quickly by a flash of lightning only making Ash more certain that he had made the right decision.
Misty pounded on the door angrily as she waited for one of his fellow frat brothers to answer the door. She couldn't wait to see his face.
'I can't believe I fell for a jerk like him,' she thought angrily. 'I can't believe that I fell in love with him all over again. I can't believe I let Melody and Sabrina convince me into giving him another chance. He's had more than his fair share of second chances and there is no way he's getting out of this one alive.'
"Misty," Brock gaped astonished as he opened the door.
"Where is he?" she asked.
"Let me explain . . ." Brock started.
"Where is he?" she asked again cutting Brock off.
Brock cowered behind the door. "I don't know," he stuttered.
"Don't play dumb with me Slate, I know he's in there and you're only delaying the inevitable by not telling me where he is," she said threateningly taking a step forward.
Brock cowered further behind the door. He could almost see flames burning in her eyes and her hair seemed unnaturally red. He nervously pointed towards the living room where Ash was.
Misty stalked away in that direction without even giving Brock a second thought.
'He stood me up to watch TV,' she thought angrily as she watched the boy flip channels. 'He better have one hell of an excuse.'
Misty angrily stepped in front of the TV. From one look at Ash her eyes softened and the fire dulled to a tiny insignificant flame.
"Misty," Ash said only able to hide the happiness in his voice by the sickness, which caused his voice to strain. "What are you doing here?"
"You look terrible," she told him gently.
He smiled at her. "If its any consolation, I feel terrible too and you're not the first person to notice that," he mused. "But what about you? you're soaked. I'll go get you a towel."
Misty smiled sheepishly as she realized what he meant and began to shiver noticeably. In her anger she had barely even noticed the pouring rain and the fact that she was freezing cold.
"And a blanket," he added with a smile.
"I'm ok really," she told him.
"Why do you always have to be so stubborn?" he asked as he came back with a towel and a couple of blankets. "You can never accept help from anyone."
"I can to," she said taking the blanket and towel from him just to prove her point. "Anyway," she added, "you're not one to talk. You have got to be the most stubborn person I know."
"Well that must make you more stubborn because you have got to be the most stubborn person I know," he replied.
"And how exactly does that work if I'm the most stubborn person you know and you're the most stubborn person I know and I know me?" she asked.
Ash's look was one full of confusion. "Let's just say were even?" he suggested.
"No way," Misty said defiantly. "I'm far more stubborn than you are." She smiled with satisfaction. "So why are you looking after me when you're the one that looks like The Night of the Living Dead, Dracula and Frankenstein all rolled into one."
"I take it that's a good thing," he said hopefully. She shook her head.
"Lie down," she told him.
"I'll be alright," he said sitting back down on the couch so that Misty wouldn't realize how dizzy he felt.
"Now who's being stubborn?" she asked as she placed the back of her hand against his forehead. "I'll be right back," she told him as she headed to the kitchen.
"Why am I doing this?" she muttered to herself as she hustled around the kitchen gathering ingredients.
"Misty please don't tell me you're making soup a la Ash," Brock begged.
"No, I'm making Ash soup," she told him.
"That's just as bad," Brock cried.
"Forget it Brock, can you just pass me that pepper?" she sighed.
"Ash used to love pepper in his soup," Brock sobbed.
"I guessed that he still does."
"Not anymore, you cut him into little pieces and threw him into a stew pot."
Just at that moment Ash decided to walk out into the kitchen.
"You're alive," Brock cried happily wrapping Ash in a hug.
Ash gave Misty a sort of 'what-the-hell' look over Brocks shoulder.
"Don't ask," she mouthed in response. "I thought I told you to lie down," she said.
"But it smelt so good," he offered smiling goofily at her.
Misty knew she couldn't resist that smile. Ash never realized what power it had over her or what he could make her do from just one flash of his puppy like brown eyes.
She sighed. "Go sit down, it's almost done," she replied.
"Am I missing something?" Brock asked as soon as Ash was out of the room. "I thought you came here to yell at Ash and basically kill him, not to make him soup and play nurse."
"You have twisted mind," Misty said as she poured Ash a bowl of soup. She knew that Brocks sick mind meant that 'playing nurse' as he put it so foundly, was not a good thing. "You want some?" she asked.
"Sure," Brock said. "So what changed your mind?" Brock continued from the previous conversation.
"Nothing," she sighed exasperatedly. "I just realized that I was being hasty and when I saw how sick he was I understood that it wasn't his fault."
"You don't fool me Misty," Brock told her. "When you trudged through that door you looked just about ready to kill the first man you came upon. You called me 'Slate'. That was beyond hasty, and you've never been one for admitting your faults."
"Then I have one less fault to admit to," she said smugly as she grabbed the bowls and took them through to the dining room. "Here you go," she said cheerfully as she placed a bowl in front of Ash.
Ash slurped up a big spoon of soup. "Tastes great Myst," he told her.
"The Ash Ketchum seal of approval," Brock mused. "Must be edible.
"Tastes just like my mom's," Ash commented.
"It should," Misty replied taking delicate sips of her own soup, "its her recipe."
"You know you never told me why you're here," Ash said in between mouthfuls of soup.
"Lets just say that I spent an hour waiting for you at the ice cream parlor before I finally gave up," she told him.
"But Brock and Parker said that they'd call you just before I nodded off."
"They didn't," Misty replied turning to Brock waiting for an answer.
"I can explain that," Brock said. "See when we called you had already left."
"And none of you thought to, I don't know, go and get me?" she asked.
"Well no," Brock replied. "Anyway we didn't know where you were, Ash never told us, he was fast asleep and you know as well as I do that nothing can wake Ash up."
"Do I ever," she replied.
"So," Ash piped up upon finishing his soup, "so should we get straight to business." He motioned for Brock to leave by cocking his head to the side while Misty wasn't looking.
Brock nodded affirming he got the message. "I'll leave you guys alone, I've got a paper due," he lied winking at Ash.
"Oh," Misty stuttered, "good luck on that."
Brock nodded and left the room smiling happily to himself. 'Looks like things are finally working out for those two,' he thought.
"You know maybe we should hold this off until you're better?" she suggested looking at him nervously trying her best not to make eye contact. She was afraid if she looked into his eyes, that he would look into hers and be able to read everything she felt deep inside underneath the pain and heartache. All he would see would be the love and adoration shining through.
The whole idea of not meeting his eyes reminded her so much of the times when they were younger and she would avoid his eyes at all costs. She remembered the times when they were traveling together and every once and awhile she would sneak a glance in his direction all the time secretly hoping that he was looking too.
He looked at her and smiled across the table. "Well it just so happens that I'm feeling better already," he told her. "Come on," he said as he got up taking her hand and leading her back to the lounge.
"So," he said as he settled down on the couch and Misty sat in an armchair across from him.
"I got the quad booked," she told him.
"Did you remember to make sure the moon knew he's supposed to be full that night?" he asked jokingly.
"Funny Ash," she said mockingly holding back laughter. Ash could always make her laugh, no matter what he did, even if it wasn't the slightest bit funny she always felt like she would just collapse into a fit of giggles if she wasn't careful. He was just too cute for words.
"C'mon, you've got to have better than that," he replied defensively.
"Sorry, I don't prey on the weak and suffering anymore," she said with a smile.
"Aw Myst," he sighed jokingly his hand on his heart, "that really hurt."
She smiled. "Be serious now," she said warningly. "We have a lot of work to get through in just over three weeks and we haven't even finished planning exactly what we have to do."
"Sorry Myst," he said reverting to his a serious tone. "No more jokes, Pokemon Masters honor." He held up his three fingers and gave her a Cub Scout salute.
"Why do I go through with this?" she sighed her voice already losing its serious tone as she let out a soft giggle.
~ 2 hours later ~
"I think that's it," Misty sighed looking up from her paper.
Her eyes rested on the sleeping Ash. He had his pen in his hand and his pad had fallen to the floor. He was laying on his side his mouth slightly open.
Misty tried not to stare. He looked so amazing and cute when he slept. He looked so innocent, like the ten-year-old boy she fished out of the river. It was hard to draw herself away from him as she felt herself drifting into a trance.
But she did.
"I guess he wasn't feeling as good as he thought," she mused to herself.
She leaned forward and lightly kissed his forehead just as she had before. She smiled down at him as she grabbed her bag from the floor beside him.
"Sweet dreams my prince," she whispered as she gave him a quick and gentle kiss on the lips before pulling a blanket over his sleeping figure and headed back to her dorm.
"I love you, Misty," he whispered in his sleep.
~ to be continued ~
And you all thought that I was going to kill Ash off. If I did that I wouldn't have a story now would I?
I hope you liked that chapter, please review. Ten will do.