Disclaimer – I don't own Pokemon.
I would like to start by thanking you guys for all the reviews, when I asked for 200 reviews I seriously didn't think I'd get them, but I did. So thanks a bunch and I hope this chapter was worth the wait.
Reasons of the Heart – All I've Ever Wanted
"What makes you think that I'm Ash?"
Misty gasped.
'Don't panic,' she reminded herself trying to keep her breathing steady. She had enough problems breathing regularly and keeping her heart rate under control when she thought that it was Ash's arm wrapped tightly around her waist brushing her bare skin between the bottom of her top and the top of her shorts. Now that she knew it was a complete stranger who was majorly giving her the heebie jeebies it just got harder.
She took several deep breaths trying to calm herself. She slowly turned around to face her attacker. She didn't want to, she could feel the fear trying to suffocate her, but she just knew that she was at a disadvantage with her back to him.
She gasped again as she turned around.
"Ash you prick," she yelled angrily as she whacked his head. "I thought you were some kind of serial killer."
Ash smiled at her. "Next time you'll think before sending your Pokemon after me," he told her with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Do you not realize how scared I was?" she asked hitting him again.
"Of course," Ash replied. "You were shivering like hell but I put most of that down to the cold."
Suddenly Misty realized that she wasn't shivering anymore. She didn't feel cold and she still felt Ash's powerful arm wrapped around her waist.
"Don't you have even one ounce of sense in that oversized head of yours?" she asked glaring at him angrily. She could already feel a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth but she held it back so she could see Ash squirm under her angry gaze. He looked so sweet when he was trying to be apologetic.
She wondered if he realized that his arms were still around her. If he did would he take them away? They were so close and it all seemed so perfect. All she wanted right then was for him to kiss her. The memory of their first kiss was fresh in her mind and all she wanted to do was to share that feeling again.
"I'm sorry Myst," he said looking up at her flashing an apologetic smile. "I guess I just got carried away, I really thought it would be funny."
"Well you thought wrong," she told him finding it harder and harder to be mad at him. It wasn't just the scare that she felt the urge to forgive but everything that had happened.
"I'm really, really sorry," he said smiling at her. "But even you have to admit it Myst, it was kind of funny."
Misty smiled. 'Is it just me or is he a lot closer than he was before,' she thought to herself. "I guess," she giggled lightly.
"Does that mean I'm forgiven?"
She nodded.
Ash let go and Misty suddenly felt the cold return. He hopped out of the pool and held his hand out to Misty lifting her out of the pool.
Misty shivered and felt her teeth chatter slightly.
"I think it was a lot warmer in the pool," she whispered quietly.
"Here," Ash said draping his soaking coat over her shoulders.
"I don't think that's helping," she said with a laugh. "I think we should relocate our meeting to a warmer climate."
"Your place or mine?" he asked.
Misty thought for a second. She knew that she would never hear the end of it if she brought Ash back to their house. Nobody would stop teasing her and they'd probably tease her to Ash's face. But then she needed dry clothes and she knew she'd be much worse if she came back wearing Ash's shirt.
Plus her place was closer.
"Mine," she said as she ran off knowing Ash would follow.
He did.
He raced up behind her and caught her in a huge bear hug as they reached the stairs. He carried her through the door and she had to resist the urge to curl up into his chest. They both laughed glad to find the warmth of the sorority house.
Misty told Ash the directions to the lounge where a fire was always burning in the colder months. He dumped her on the couch and she laughed as he fell down next to her.
"You know you're a lot heavier than I remember," he told her.
She hit him on the arm but laughed in spite of herself.
"You know after awhile that really starts to hurt."
She hit him again just for good measure.
"I'm going to go get changed into some dry clothes," she told him getting up. "I'll see if I can find a shirt or something. I think Sabs has a couple of Brocks or something."
She took a quick glance back before climbing up the stairs to her room.
She quickly pulled on a pair of pale blue sweat pants and a warm woolen jumper. She then crept into Sabrina's room and stole a shirt hoping it was the right size.
"Misty," someone said.
'Please don't be Sabrina, please don't be Sabrina,' she thought to herself. She glanced over at the door. "Thank god," she sighed.
"What are you doing?" Anya asked. "And why are you soaking wet?"
"I got in a fight with the sprinkler system," she offered innocently. "You should have seen me. I was out numbered but I held my ground and everything."
"No really?" she said sarcastically.
"Ash tried to drown me?" she said hoping it would do.
"Misty," she said warningly.
"I was at meeting with Ash and he pulled me into the pool and now he's sitting downstairs soaking wet which is why I'm taking a shirt," she said so quickly that you could barely tell one word from another. "Please don't tell Melody or Sabrina," she pleaded resuming a regular pace. "They'd never stop teasing me about this."
"Promise," Anya said crossing her fingers over her heart. "Now hurry up down there," she said. "You're guest is waiting."
Misty smiled thankfully and quickly went to grab a towel and a couple of blankets.
She walked into the lounge to find Ash almost in a trance as he watched the fire. One that only she had the power to break.
"Ash," she said. He snapped his head to face her straight away.
"I was just thinking about something," he said not sure why he felt he had to explain himself.
Misty smiled. "Let me guess, it was unfamiliar territory and you got lost?" she asked.
He looked at her with a smile. Usually he probably would have retorted even though it was Misty, that was just more reason to, but he was in such a good mood right now that he didn't care. He knew it was all in good humor anyway.
She chucked him the shirt and pointed him to the bathroom. He went to change and was back in a few seconds. He laid his wet shirt and jacket in front of the fire and hoped they would dry in time.
She passed him a towel to dry his face and a blanket. She wrapped her own blanket around her shoulders and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him like a little kid waiting for a story.
"Okay so we've figured out the dance floor thing," she said bringing out a pen and paper.
"What about electricity?" he asked.
"The quad is connected to a power line but you have to hook a generator up to it to use it," she told him.
"Well that sorts that problem," he said. "What we need to figure out is the music."
"Actually I was thinking of this band on campus," she said. "They do great cover versions and they come with a DJ so they do a mixture."
"That sounds great," Ash smiled. "Do you have anything of theirs so we can check?"
"Actually yes," she said. "I'll be right back."
Misty rushed upstairs again and came back with a tape. She pushed it into the stereo and pressed play. A female voice came on almost straight away backed up by a few other voices.
If you only knew
What I feel for you
If you only lived for me
The way I live for you
I'd be heaven
My dreams would come true
Cause all I've ever wanted
Is you
And you alone
And I love you so
More than you could ever know
All I've ever wanted
Is you
If you were my own
To caress and hold
I would shower you with love
And drown within your soul
Because I live and breathe for you
And I really need to know
That all I've ever wanted
Is you
And you alone
And I love you so
More than you could ever know
All I've ever wanted
Is you
Everything I do is for you
You are every part of me
And I don't want to face
Another day
Alone
Without our love
Cause all I've ever wanted
Is you
And you alone
And I love you so
More than you could ever know
All I've ever wanted is you
(Mariah Carey 'All I've Ever Wanted')
The song came to an end.
Misty sighed realizing just how close to home this song hit her. It was as if the writers had just stolen part of her life for their own creative purposes and turned into an enticing love ballad about a girl and a boy. She always thought that her life was like a soap opera, now it was a musical too.
While Misty's mind jumbled with thoughts the tape continued to another song.
Take my handTouch my face . . .
Misty sighed. "I love this song," Misty said as she walked over to the stereo and turned it off.
"Then why are you turning it off?" Ash asked her.
'Because,' Misty thought to herself, 'it means too much to me, and it says almost everything I've ever wanted to tell you since the day we met so simply that I'm afraid you'd find out. I don't want you to see me cry.'
But then of course she didn't say that.
"I remember couple of guys that use to complain constantly about me listening to the band that wrote this," she told him.
Ash shrugged. "Have it your way."
Misty smiled, thankful that she hadn't had to explain her real reasons to Ash. "So what do you think of the band?" she asked changing the subject to one much more easier to deal with.
"They sounded good," Ash told her. "They don't just do love songs do they?"
"Of course not," she said. "Does that mean they're it?"
"Definitely," Ash nodded.
"Great," Misty said happily. "I'll go talk to them tomorrow."
"So, what next?" Ash asked.
Misty looked down at her pad and noticed that everything had been ticked off. She tried to ignore the tiny hearts doodled subconsciously across the page and in the margin and hid them from Ash.
"That's all," she said a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Oh," Ash said his voice also lacking its usual cheer. He always felt ten times happier with Misty, but leaving was always the worst part. "I guess I better go," he added praying she would ask him to stay.
He knew he was expecting too much. They were barely friends; he was lucky she hadn't just left him in the pool.
"I guess," Misty said nonchalantly.
Ash couldn't help but notice the regret underneath her nonchalant tone. 'Maybe, just maybe . . .' he thought to himself as he stood up. 'Forget it Ketchum, she couldn't, it's just not possible.'
Suddenly it seemed as though he had just lost all control of his own body. He bent down from his standing position and lightly wrapped his arms around Misty's shoulders and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
'What have I done?' Ash thought to himself as he looked into Misty's shocked expression that mirrored his own.
"Uh . . ."Ash started nervously. "See yah Myst."
He made for a quick get away. He didn't want to wait around just so Misty could yell at him. At least this way he could pretend that she didn't mind, and he could tell himself that they were friends and that that was just something friends do.
"Bye Ash," she called after him quietly as she finally found her voice.
Ash stopped and looked back at her flashing her a nervous smile before he headed out the door.
Misty stared intently at the fire waiting for it to answer her questions.
'It was just a little peck on the cheek,' she told herself. 'Nothing special.'
'Sure tell that to the butterflies,' the annoying little voice in her head told her. She didn't want to admit the voice was right, her stomach was full of thousands of tiny little butterflies trying to escape, but that didn't mean anything, right?
'It was just a little peck,' she argued with the voice. 'Friends do it all the time.'
'So now you're friends,' it replied maliciously. 'Isn't it strange how quickly you've changed you're tune.'
Misty sighed, giving up on arguing with a voice inside her head. She already knew she was a head case, but talking to voices in your head is definite affirmation.
"Why are things so confusing?" she sighed to herself.
From the moment Ash Ketchum walked into her life he just flipped the whole thing upside down and had been driving her to the point of insanity ever since. She had the feeling she was finally there.
All he had done was kiss her on the cheek, nothing special, yet it had this amazing affect over her that she could hardly explain. She felt this yearning deep with in her soul; she felt as though she needed him, that he was her breath, that he was the only thing holding her down to earth. She felt excited, she could feel her pulse racing through her veins, her head wanted to explode and all she could think of was him. She felt happy, happier than she had ever felt before, and it was strange to think that Ash was the key.
Well not really. If she was honest with herself, she wasn't the least bit even remotely surprised that Ash was the main cause of her happiness. He always had been, and she got the feeling that he always would.
She could remember times in their journeys together when she would feel so low and so sad that she would just mope around, and Ash would do everything in his power just to make her smile again. He usually succeeded.
Half the time he would just say something and no matter how lame and stupid it was she would be clutching her stomach and laughing within seconds. He had a power over her that he didn't realize. He didn't realize how strong it was or what it could make her do or that it was even there, but it was there and it could make her do it all.
Maybe it was something in his eyes, or maybe it was his smile, she didn't know, but the only thing she knew was that something about Ash Ketchum made her smile without a doubt. There was something about him that could only be captured with one word.
Ash.
It was such a simple thought. He was just so . . . he was Ash and that was all that really mattered to her. Part of her felt the need to explain it all. Part of her felt that she had to have reasons to love him, and that love had to be explained as if it were some kind of equation or problem she need to solve. The rest of her knew only one reason, and felt that any others only enhanced that one important reason.
He was the reason, and all others were just more things for her to love about him. Love wasn't math; it wasn't quite that simple. You don't put your names on paper and search for the answers, if it was she would have found hers years ago.
Ash = Misty. Misty = Ash.
No, love wasn't nearly simple enough. So what if they were meant to be, that didn't necessary mean they would. The equation added up perfectly, the answer was obvious, and yet still they were apart.
'He's the reason he'll never know.'
Misty blinked at the strange thought that had just come to her head. True he was the reason; he was the reason for everything she did. He was the reason she got up each morning, the reason she fell asleep at night, the reason she didn't just give up, he was the reason for her every breath. He was what she lived for, but the reason he'll never know? It just seemed too much, too deep, and at the moment while her thoughts were still consumed by the meaning of a supposedly innocent kiss, too much to comprehend.
Ash kissing her, even on the cheek, was something she thought would only ever happen in her dreams. She never once even played with the idea that Ash could be as in love with her as she was with him; she never thought about the reality that he would want to kiss her.
Now it was all she ever thought about, the feel of Ash's lips against hers, the silky sensation that warmed her right through, the soft caress of his hand against her skin. Nobody knew how much she wanted to share that feeling with Ash again, especially not Ash.
The words of her mother's favorite song flowed through her head. Her father used to sing it to her whenever she was upset. He used to tell her how much her mother loved that song and how beautiful she was and how much Misty reminded him of her. The words seemed more appropriate now.
It was a simple song about love and about not being afraid. It was definitely something she needed to think about. She was afraid to love, and she knew that wasn't a good thing.
Again she thought about that kiss, the pleasure of his warm lips against her skin.
She sighed and rested her head in her hands, finally diverting her gaze from the twisting flames of the fire.
"Great," she sighed. "Yet another thing I can add to my list of reasons why I can't look Ash in the eye."
~ to be continued ~
This has got to be my longest chapter yet, well almost. I thought she knew is longer by about 208 words not including disclaimers and the screwed up bits I put at the end.
I know you all wanted it and were expecting Will, probably because I said it would be him, but then I remembered what a total wimp Will is and the fact that he's afraid to even go near Misty because Ash would beat the crap out of him for just looking at her. Yes I do realize how interesting Will Fox (Simmons) having the crap beaten out of him, why else do you think I read Sweet Valley Seniors? Cancel that, I read them for all the Jessica and Jeremy romance, but I still get to read about Will getting the crap beaten out of him in anything before the knee injury.
Anyway please review, I really want thirteen reviews for this chapter, it's a good number for me.
Also, if anyone can guess the song that started after the full one then you will get a special early edition (by this I mean when I finally put it up which I reckon will be quite a way away seeing as its about the third to last chapter you will probably have a totally different chapter apart from the few main details) of My 'What if?" chapter. Just write in the review or send me an email at virgochick87@hotmail.com.