Chapter 3
"Misty!!" The two of them screeched happily. "Ohmygod it's you!!!"
In an instant, the two girls were into a rambling conversation that contained exclaims such as "I haven't seen you in years!" or "what the heck are you wearing?". It confused their audience beyond all thought. After a while, they both stopped for air simultaneously and continued to talk excitedly amongst each other. Both Adrian and Ash exchanged awed glances, as did Brock and.. that other guy.
'They must… know each other, I guess.' Ash thought, still dazed at how much one resembled the other.
"-So! I guess you retired your old wardrobe, huh?" Misty asked.
"Yeah, ever since I've visited the North Yuke Region, it's been a whole new me!"
"Liar," Adrian piped in, "It wasn't North Yuke that made you 'you', it was meeting me when you decided that you needed a change."
Misty glanced at the boy over Misty's shoulder curiously, making Misty nervous. "is he your… boyfr-?"
"Yes! Adrian is my… good friend." Misty nodded agitatedly.
The other boy standing next to Adrian sweatdropped. "They've been getting… that.. a lot."
"And just what are you trying to say, Brad?" Misty spun around, clenching her fist in a threatening position. "Just because we act close doesn't mean that we're that close!" Adrian sweatdropped nervously, finding himself at a loss for words.
The day lagged onwards as time seemed to pull itself forward into a lazy future, filled with more summer afternoon sunshine. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The warm breeze skipped along a dirt path, bringing dust springing into the air and into the cool fluttering grass that was beating against the brick wall of the Poke'Center. The door slid open and two groups, sans Brock and each one accompanied with a separate twin, walked out exit.
"Well, it's been nice meeting you again." Misty said, wishing she didn't have to leave her old best friend.
"Yeah, same here. Hey, where're you guys headed? I thought you couldn't leave town 'cause of your toge- uh, thing." Misty asked.
"Well, we were going to visit the gym in the next town, since it isn't so that far away."
"Oh, you're not going to find the Syris Gym Leader," Brad interfered, "He's on vacation. We already checked."
"Brad?" Nurse Joy asked, walking out of the Poke'Center, "Are you going to help this afternoon?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure." Brad said, walking back inside with Joy, "I promised Nurse Joy that I would help out in the Poke'Center for my training records, this week." Brad informed his friends, "You guys can go on without me."
Pikachu sighed pitifully at Ash's feet. Ash looked down disappointingly at his pokemon, but smiled tiredly. "I guess we really should take a break."
Pikachu caught Adrian's attention, "Hey Ash, I didn't know you had a pikachu." He said, "I got one, too. Her name's Julia. But she actually likes her pokeball."
"Pikachu is my very first pokemon. I've had him for three years." Ash said proudly.
"Really?" Adrian asked, surprised, "Julia was my first pokemon, too!"
"Let's battle! One on one!"
"Sure!"
The Misty in the punk-ish black tee with pink skull yawned and rolled her eyes. "I'm already bored. Hey Misty, you wanna go get some ice cream while we wait for them to finish?" She asked, pointing to a small diner down the road.
Misty, standing by Ash's side, hesitated for a minute. Then, she nodded and followed Misty down the road.
"Hey, Mist! Where are you going?" Ash called out behind her. "You're gonna miss it!"
"I'm just going to get some ice cream." She replied.
Ash sighed disappointedly, but smirked at his opponent, nevertheless engaged in battle like nature had intended his spirit.
Misty grinned at Misty, "He gave you a nickname?"
"Eh-" Misty blushed, caught completely off guard. "Um… Well, we've just known each other for so long, y'know?"
Misty giggled, "From now on, I will call you Mist." She teased.
Misty gasped and her little blush grew. "You can't call me that!"
"Why not?"
"Eh… 'cause.. because… because you can't!"
"Oh, I get it. It's that special sort of thing."
"Gross!" Misty felt her face turn from pinkish to red. "Don't even think that accidentally!"
Misty played with her sleeves, still grinning from her previous teasing. "Hey, I have an idea."
"It isn't about Ash and me, is it?"
"No… Do you think you could… start calling me Ann?"
"Ann? Why?"
"Well," Misty said, looking up to the sky. "It would be like the good 'ol days. Misty-Ann Pearich. Do you remember when everyone would call me Mis-Ann just to tell us apart?"
Misty laughed, "I remember that. Okay, Mis-Ann, what kink of ice cream do you like?"
[A/N: Now you can tell the difference… The confusion hopes to stop here! Misty= the one ya'll are used to, 'Mist'. Mis-Ann= the new Misty, the look-alike. The technique seems crumby, but I promise to try to do my best with it. Oh, also, I don't like to write out battle scenes… (sorry!) If you've read my other stories, you might have noticed. I usually end up writing the outcome, instead-]
Feeling disappointed, Ash returned the pokeball back onto his belt with a sigh of defeat. The victory of Adrian loomed over his mind like a ravaging swarm of authority. "You win."
Adrian grinned and returned Julia. "I can't believe I beat the famous Ash Ketchum. It's amazing."
"Don't get too cocky." Ash said, removing the cap from his head and absently untangling his hair. "You're lucky my inspiration isn't here."
"Huh? Your inspiration?"
His grin faded and he let the battled-out pikachu climb his shoulder. 'I don't think I can even battle by myself anymore…' he thought, 'It's like I've become dependent on Misty's company each time I battle. What will it be like if she has to go home, again? I might have to just quit…' "How do I do this without her..?"
"Do what without whom?" Adrian said, "You're starting to confuse me, man." He began to grow tired of Ash's strange talks and his washed out expressions. It looked like something had been on his mind so heavily that he couldn't concentrate on anything else, including his ever-so-famous battles. "Are you thinking about Misty?"
Ash blushed and jumped at Adrian's inquiry. "Wah—why would I think about Misty? What makes you think that??"
"Whoa, chill, man. You told me you liked her, already. Remember, that night outside the Poke'Center?"
Ash felt himself relax. But he still wasn't comfortable with how someone whom knew Misty and his secret at the same time… He just didn't trust Adrian well enough. Heck, he didn't even trust a book (his diary) well enough, why would he trust a person? It could be used as blackmail! Damn… Pikachu started to snicker from atop his shoulder. But… hadn't Adrian told him something, too?
"So, you don't think about Misty when you're battling?" Ash asked.
"Think about her? Nope, neither one." Adrian smirked, "I have to think about battling, not girls, if I want to get as good as you."
Uh-oh.. Ash suddenly felt as if he wasn't a good example, pulling off battle strategies from the inspirational thoughts of a girl. How could that make him look any better to people that looked up to him? Sure, if he was a novice trainer it wouldn't be as bad, but now that the journey in yet another country has begun and since his name had rank the highest of the most famous league training camp in this new country, the name 'Ash Ketchum' would most likely be very famous to every pokemon trainer across the land. And he battled, selfishly thinking about a girl, like a dependant coward?
"Well, I don't think about her either." Ash lied, "I'm just surprised I lost… Maybe I didn't get good sleep last night." It would be okay to think about her if she was.. his girlfriend… BUT she isn't. Maybe thinking about her was nothing but wishful thinking? "I'm hungry."
Suddenly, Brock came walking out of the 'Center. "Oh, you guys are still here? I thought you all had headed to Syris by now."
"You looked a little hesitant when I started to leave. Why?" Mis-Ann asked, swirling her spoon in her chocolate ice cream.
"I just don't usually walk out on a battle. When Ash is battling, that is." Misty admitted, "I wouldn't look like a good friend."
"So… you think of Ash as a friend? But you've known him for so long!"
"Well, what about you? What do you think about Adrian?" Misty asked. Mis-Ann stared at her blankly for a while… Suddenly, her face lit up and she shoved a heap of chocolate ice cream in her mouth. Misty chuckled. 'It's about time you ran out of stuff to say.'
After a good gulp of melted ice cream, Mis-Ann let her hair down from the ponytail it was lately accustomed to. "I hate my hair being up. It hurts my head." She saw Misty staring at her hair and haltered, "W-what?" She nervously combed her fingers in her hair, "Is there something in my hair?"
"You should keep it down. It looks good on you."
Suddenly, Mis-Ann laughed. She reached across to Misty and crudely pulled the band from her hair. "What looks good on me-"
"Looks good on me." Misty said, now catching up to why her friend had been laughing at her. She grinned. "I miss doing that."
"Mm." Mis-Ann nodded, "It has been a while. But most of all, I miss the 'girl' talks. I can't enjoy that sort of thing because, well, that's the outcome of traveling with two guys for three years. Never did I have the chance to talk about dreams, hopes, clothes or crushes." She stopped, aware of Misty's amused face and almost knew that the question would pop up again. "I'm gonna go get some more ice cream." She excused herself and hastily moved away from the table.
Upon Mis-Ann's return, Ash, Adrian, and Pikachu all entered the small diner on the side of the road. Ash looked around to find Misty, but Adrian found Mis-Ann immediately. He approached the small booth accompanied by the twins.
"Miss me, ladies?" Adrian welcomed himself among them and threw an arm around Mis-Ann. She tilted herself away from him with a disgusted look on her face.
"Who invited you?" Mis-Ann asked, scooting away from him.
"My, my, aren't we rude today?" Adrian teased. Just then, Ash arrived with Pikachu on his shoulder. He sat down next to Misty with a sigh.
"What's wrong?" Misty asked Ash.
"Nothing."
"He's upset because he lost to me." Adrian smirked, holding a proud thumb into his chest. Mis-Ann gasped.
"No way! Now I've seen everything!" She said, leaning over the table to Ash, "And you lost to a loser like Adrian??"
"I'm not a loser!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
Ash looked over to Misty with a confused frown, "Why do I feel like I've seen this before?"
She shrugged and shook her head, "It must be a common thing these days, because I'm getting the same feeling."
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Actually," Ash began, "they kinda remind me of us when we fight."
Misty slightly cocked her head to the side and grinned, "Y'know, I think you're right."
"Are too!"
"You can't prove it!" Adrian dared.
Suddenly, Mis-Ann leaned forward and quickly pecked him on the cheek. Adrian froze, continuing to stare at her with wide eyes. "You see? Loser." She sighed and held up both empty hands, as if in defeat.
This sudden, and frank, dare of Mis-Ann's had caught both Ash's and Misty's attention. How could someone be so… well, blunt? It looked as if it hadn't bothered Mis-Ann at the least bit as she continued to shovel down ice cream, but Adrian… well, he looked as if he had just seen God. Then it had suddenly occurred to Misty that her friend had just suddenly kissed her crush, and without an ounce of embarrassment. Was it possible? Maybe Mis-Ann had just known Adrian so long that she could predict what would happen?
"Uh, could I just get a cheeseburger with fries?"
His voice, more or less Ash's food order, had snapped Misty back to reality, and she realized that an impatient waitress had been standing by their table tapping her shoe against the floor.
**