Ah, Damn it all! I've never felt such a mix of emotions. I'm a guy, you remember. Guys don't understand emotions too well, because we're not supposed to have a lot of them. So if you ever ask us what love is; it's a tall beer, twins, and a football game. But now, I would give those all up just to talk things through with Misty. I'm not sure what's going on exactly in her head. She's such a unique person. That's one of the reasons why I believe I love her.

Someone clears their throat behind me. I turn around to face Lily again. I didn't really mean to call her a bitch. It just came out in the heat of the moment. She's a decent girl, really. She just needs to work on not using people.

"Lily,.. I, um…" I didn't know what to say.

Lily holds up her hand to make me stop stuttering. Closing her eyes, she sighs. I couldn't help but notice how her chest puffed out before going back to its normal posture.

"There's nothing to talk about now." Lily says.

"You don't want to get out anything?"

Lily stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me. Being a bit confused for some reason, I hug her back. I was a couple inches shorter than her, so I felt like her little bother just then. Lily pulls away, raises her hand, and slaps me across the face. All women must be bi-polar. That's it… yappari hen da…

"O~kay." I say.

"The slap was for a calling me a bitch." Lily clarifies. "The hug was for giving me a chance. I'm sorry I didn't give you one."

Most sincere thing I've ever heard from Lily.

"One more thing," Lily continues.

"Uh, Hai?"

"My sister is a dolt. Don't make me come after you later because of it."

First sisterly comment I've ever heard from Lily.

"Kodomo ja nai no yo." I mumble.

"I know that, Ash." Lily replies. "Just scram before I change my mind about being so nice about a break up. I usually don't take these things adequately."

She stood there with her hands on her beautifully and perfectly shaped hips. Everything seemed to fall silent and the sun stopped in its midday position so it could shine on her just right. The waves in her pink hair, sparkles in her magenta eyes, cambers of her collarbone sticking out from her skin-tight shirt, Lily was the textbook definition of woman. Even though that is desirable in every man's mind, I give her a small smile and turn away from her. I get into my car and drive off as she continued to stand in her driveway, her poise sculpted into my mind.

What a summer…what a summer…

My dashboard clock blinked on after telling me the track the CD was in the middle of. It was almost three in the afternoon. Misty said she got out at six, and that's when I wanted to get there. If I showed up when she was working, I wouldn't be able to talk to her the way I wanted to. I needed to do this properly. I needed to get rid of my jerk reputation. Otherwise you might as well slide me into the center of a Twinkie covered in cheese whiz. I'm not quite sure what that saying means, seeing I heard it from my pen-pal overseas. Those Americans…

The car automatically drives me home and it soon glides right into the parking garage. I lock the doors and go inside the house. Just as I was taking off my shoes, putting on my slippers, and depositing the keys on the hook, the phone rings.

I pick up within two rings. "Hai, Ketchum-desu"

"Ash! How are you? I haven't heard from you in such a long time. I'm sorry I haven't called, but I've been caught up in so much work!"

It was my mother.

"Hey, Mom! I'm doing okay…how about you? Besides the work, I mean."

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Don't need to hear more about me, do you? I have your picture on my desk and all my fellow workers say how cute you are." Mother giggles. "You're only okay? What's the matter?"

I didn't say great, so she worries. Oh well, can't lie to my mother. "Things have been a bit strange over the summer, that's for sure."

"Care to talk about it? I'm done for the day, so I have all the time in the world. I miss talking to you so much!"

Heh. "There isn't really much to explain. Guy stuff…"

"Guy stuff, huh?" Mother sighs. "Who's the girl?"

She knows everything, she does. "This girl I met while on my delivery runs."

"Ah! Fast Food Fondling, are you, my son?"

"Mother…" I mutter.

"What's her name?"

"There are two of them. At least there were." I reply. "Her name is Lily and we just broke up, because I sort of fell for her younger sister over time…"

To my surprise, my mother burst out laughing. I had to hold the phone away from my ear or else she would break my eardrum. Of all things, I thought Mother would scold me or at least ask how I managed to do that. Mother was Mother…she doesn't laugh at love affairs.

"Ash, Ash," She says. "You're just the little mamono, aren't you?"

"Mamono?" I repeat, shocked. "How does that make me a mamono."

Mother lets out a low whistle. "So, how many years younger is she?"

"Which one?"

"The second one."

"She's my age. Lily was actually about two years older than me." I inform.

"Ah, I see. I need a second name, dear. The one you're going after now."

"Misty."

"Aw, how cute." Mother giggles. "Ash and Misty. Sounds better than Ash and Lily if you ask me. Ash and Lily sounds like you're going to burn down a memorial garden."

"That's the strangest analogy I've heard in a long time, Mother." I reply.

"Well, you know me. I love my gardens."

"Mother, you're a girl," I say. "Are guys really important or do you just say you love them for the sake of having a boyfriend?"

"Ash," Mother hesitates. "That's a stupid question. Stupid!"

"Uh, I'm sorry?"

"You should be." Mother says. "If someone says they love someone, they love them. You can definitely tell if they're faking it when they do."

"What does it feel like when it's true?" I ask.

Mother clears her throat. "Let's see…you feel like you're soaring. Like your heart is a balloon and it's blown up to its limit. Chills running down your spine, can't feel your legs, and you get that sensation of dizziness. Of course, it's different for every person."

"I understand what you said." I clarify in a muffled voice. She embarrasses me sometimes.

Mother giggles. "You're becoming more like your father every time I talk to you. If only he could see how grown up you actually are."

"But, uh, Mother…how does the other person know that you're sincere about it?"

Mother sighs. "You can't always make them see the truth, my son. You just have to trust that they will."

I didn't really know what to reply.

"Get on your computer and e-mail me a picture of this Misty! I want to see how cute she is." Mother interrupts my thoughts.

"Mother…" I sigh. "I don't have a picture."

"Oh, Gomen!" Mother says loudly, rich in sarcasm. "Can you blame me for acting motherly?"

I sigh again. "No, Mother, no,"

"Well, you have a nice night, okay? I'm going to be home this weekend, so you better clean the house."

"You're coming home this weekend?" I ask slightly baffled.

"Yes! My case is finished and I don't have any more clients that I know of, so I'm coming home," Mother says.

"That's great," I reply. "I'll see you then."

"Tanoshimi ni," Mother says before hanging up.

Well, one surprise definitely leads to another. This has been a day like no other so far. I professed to Misty in the morning, she said the same thing to me in the afternoon, I broke up with Lily officially right after that, and to top things off, I got a phone call from Mother and she's coming home. I can't help but be a Mama's boy since I don't remember much of my father. Oh, well!

I lounge around the house for most of the early evening, watch a few of the game shows, make myself some instant noodles and put them in a bowl of ice water for hiyashi soba. I somehow manage to wiggle off of the recliner at about five o'clock to go take a shower. Being the only person in this house for about a year now, it didn't smell too lovely. I'm a lazy guy, I tend not to clean up. So, the upholstery held in the stench. That and I sat in the same chair most of the time, so either I smelled like the chair or the chair smelled like me. Either way, something needed to be scrubbed down pretty bad.

The water in the shower ran for at least a half an hour that night. No matter how hard I scoured, I could still smell that stupid recliner. Ah, heck, it's just smell of a guy living alone for a long period of time. Nothing cologne couldn't cover up. Make that a whole bottle of cologne. Do I even own cologne? Ah, who needs it anyway.

After putting on the same clothes I had on before, I sit in the kitchen and watch the digital clock above the range. Once it blinked over to five-forty-six, I could wait no longer. I hate waiting, you know that. I jump into my car and take off towards the small strip mall only five minutes away. I wasn't in the music mood, so I turned off the power completely. If I got bored at a stoplight, I'll just sing a cappella.

I turn into the parking lot and pick a spot a little farther down than usual. The door slammed, almost catching the seam of my shirt, and I walked up to the MizuNezumi. Kanako, the girl who usually runs cash register and delivery when I'm not working, was behind the counter looking about as excited as the day the next Hideki CD came out. And I'm being sarcastic.

"Ketchum-sempai," Kanako's voice cracks from not being used for a while. "Why are you here?"

"I just stopped by to talk to Tiko," I walk behind the counter to see a stack of Shoujo Mangas that Kanako must have been reading due to the lack of customers. "Brushing up on love tactics, Kanako-chan?"

Kanako giggles and picks the first one off the heap. "I can read one of these in about ten minutes. I'm just refreshing my memory."

"Oh, and what have you learned?" I ask.

"Ranko is so blind! She can even see how Taichi and Akiro are fighting over her! And then her friend Saeko…mou, kono ama! She's trying to …"

"I've heard enough," I hold up my hand for her to stop.

By that time, Tiko heard my voice and came out from the kitchen, still smelling strongly of soy sauce and garlic. "Ash, what are you doing here?"

I glance at my wrist watch. "I have a few minutes to spare."

"What are you waiting for?" Kanako asks.

I couldn't help but smirk a little bit. "I have to meet up with Misty soon."

"The girl who works at KawaiiYuki?" Kanako leans over a little bit. "I love her red-orange hair," Kanako runs her fingers through her black hair, the light catching the blue tint. "I'm envious."

Tiko laughs with his gut. "She must be the thing you were so jealous over Hatsu with."

I lift an eyebrow. "Not exactly."

Kanako snickers. "Ketchum-sempai, do you have a crush on Misty-san?"

I could feel my eye twitching. "I already told her how I felt…we just haven't come to a mutual agreement completely. We both said what's on our minds…that's about it."

"Your life could be a Shoujo Manga," Kanako holds up one of her books.

"One thing, Kanako-chan, guys don't like Shoujo Mangas. So we don't want to be in them," I reply.

"Aw, you're not fun," Kanako pouts.

"Go have fun with a different guy," I suggest. "Maybe Hatsu will be interested."

Kanako sticks out her tongue. "He's weird."

"But he's a good guy," I admit, feeling a little awkward while doing so.

"Anyways," Tiko coughs into his fist with cynicism. "You finally spit it out to the girl?"

"It was a hell of a lot harder than I thought it would be," I sigh.

Tiko pats me on the back hard. "At least it's out, boy."

"Aah," Kanako sighs. "This is so romantic!"

"How?" I ask.

"If you ever read Shoujo Mangas, you'd know," Kanako replies.

"Am I reminding you of Taichi or Akiro or something?" I ask.

"Nope! You're reminding me of Haru," Kanako says.

"It'd ignore the Kanako-chan right now, boy," Tiko whispers out of the side of his mouth, behind his hand. "Just go to KawaiiYuki."

The clock read a few minutes after six.

"Yeah, I should go. Wish me luck," I wave as I walk out the door.

Kanako and Tiko wave back, but I couldn't hear what they said as I left. Hopefully they were actually wishing me the luck I asked for.

KawaiiYuki was a mere three stores down the walk. I could even see the neon sign in the window changing colors from here. Was Misty waiting for me inside? Or was she going to walk out that door any minute, calling a good-bye to her friend Hatsu. What were we really going to talk about? I couldn't think of anything, to tell you the truth. My mind was almost blank. The words 'I love you' both came from our mouths. How would we each react when we see each other again?

I walk past the glass walls and door, seeing nobody in the front. I take a deep breath, exhale loudly, reach for the door handle, and let the bell above ring as I enter. I stand in the little lobby for a few minutes, looking down at the white and black tile floor. Jamming my hands in my pockets casually, I just wait. But that idea didn't last long. I'm impatient.

"Hello?" I call.

Hatsu comes out of the back room. "Sorry, we're closing up…Oh! Hi there, Ash."

"Hey, Hatsu,"

"I take it you're here for Misty," Hatsu puts an arm up on glass case surrounding the ice cream.

I simply nod.

Hatsu gives me the usual smile. "She'll be out in a minute. Being the nasty person I am, I asked her to put the paper cups away for me."

I just stare.

"Just kidding," Hatsu chants. "She's in the back room fussing over the fact that she has hat hair. But she will be out in a minute. Trust me. Just talk loud enough."

"Why do I have to talk louder?" I ask.

"So she'll hear you."

"That doesn't make much sense," I reply.

"Not a lot does."

"Misty?" I tilt my head past Hatsu toward the door to the back room.

"O-hime-sama!" Hatsu sings.

"O-hime-sama?!?" Misty's voice erupts from the back.

The swing door flings open and you see Misty standing in the frame with a folding chair over her head and breathing hard. It scared me a little bit. I do love Misty, but I don't know the whole her. I still have stuff to learn. I suppose you can consider this a start.

"Hatsu!!" Misty's voice went to a baritone.

She notices me standing there and instantly drops the chair. It falls to the ground with a loud crash, probably denting the seat. Her face was almost as red as her hair. Hatsu was chuckling under his breath, tears forming at the corner of his eyes.

Misty closes her eyes tightly and mutters, "Kore ha chou dodaikii."

"Uh…," I mumble. "Ready for that ice cream?"

Misty looks up and smiles. "Yeah."

She scoops us each a waffle cone of ice cream. I had my usual Mint Chocolate Chip, while Misty chose Butter Pecan. We stroll out of the KawaiiYuki and just stop once we reach the parking lot. Misty lifts her arm and points toward one of the benches. There was a whole line of them facing the road just past the parking lot. Misty leads the way to one and sits down. I do the same beside her.

The day was slowly ending, orange-red sun setting behind us, staining everything a burnt saffron. The clouds were secluded purple-blue cotton wisps in the sky, drifting off to oblivion. The summer heat radiated off of the asphalt in misty waves. The trees were full with green leaves, rustling as the wind swept gently by. The only thing that could ruin this beautiful moment was if I said something really stupid. I'm famous for that. However, Misty was the first to speak.

"Hatsu always said I was shy and ran away from things. He's right. I do. If I wasn't that way, the row with Lily earlier could have been avoided."

I was a tad taken aback. "It wasn't really a fight, right? I mean, I was happy you told me when you did. It, uh…gave me some courage to say that stuff to Lily."

"You're not mad at me for not answering you right away?" She asks.

I shake my head. "As long as I got an answer sometime before I kicked the bucket, I was happy."

Misty laughs shortly and takes a lick or two of her ice cream. "So, uh, after I left…"

"Not much happened," I finish the sentence.

This was starting to feel a bit awkward. I didn't know what to say and it seemed as if Misty didn't either. I mean, I couldn't tell her that her sister called her a dolt. Misty is far from a dolt, if you ask me. If ever God came down to earth and christened the title 'Dolt' on her forehead, then she's one heck of a lovable dolt. At least from what I know.

My brain switched off and everything became a daze. My thoughts all swirled together into a enormous ball that bounced up and down inside my empty skull, creating a mild headache above my eyes. Is it normal for guys to think this much? Suddenly, I feel a very cold lump sitting on groin area. Brain-ball settling into a divot in the center of my head, I came back to reality and saw that my ice cream had fallen off of its cone into my lap.

Misty was squeaking like a chipmunk next to me, trying to keep all of her laughter inside.

"Deshou, sore ga miru masu…" I say bluntly.

Misty cracks and laughs loud enough to catch the attention of the cars sitting idle at the nearest stoplight. I start laughing as well. Laughter felt good. It pierced the tension in the surrounding air.

Misty stands up. "I'll go grab some napkins for you."

She starts walking back to the KawaiiYuki. I quickly stand and follow her. I had to jog to catch up with her, but once I was behind her, I stretched out my arms and hugged her from behind. My right hand held my left wrist around her stomach. Instinctively, I rested my head on the back of hers.

"Ash?" Misty whispered.

"Misty…tomoni to domari mashou?" I reply.

Misty bends her arms at the elbows, making my arms embrace her tighter. From my position behind her, I could see her place both hands, one on top of the other, over her heart.

"Hai, Watashi no Ou-ji-sama."

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Here, as requested, are the Japanese Romanji Translations! (in order of appearance)

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Yappari hen da- Definitely strange

Hai - Yes

Kodomo ja nai no yo - I'm not a child

Mamono - Devil

Gomen - Sorry

Tanoshimi ni - (I) look forward to it

Sempai - suffix used when addressing a superior (teacher, older student, class representative, etc.. in this case, employee that has worked longer than me)

Mou, kono ama - For goodness sake, that bitch

O-hime-sama - Princess

Kore ha chou dodaikii - This is just great

Deshou, sore ga miru masu - Would you look at that…

Tomoni to domari mashou? - Let's stay together?

Hai, Watashi no Ou-ji-sama - Yes, my Prince