Butch Kidd sat outside his partner's door.
Inside, he could hear the sound of pen writing roughly against paper. She
was still thinking up ideas for separating Jessie and James. She had been
doing this all last night and this morning. Butch wanted to go in and brainstorm
alongside her, but there was some hesitance. Despite how happy she was
at their new mission, hours and hours of getting absolutely nowhere can
make a person a bit grumpy. Cassidy in a grumpy mood isn't the loveliest
sight. Rubbing the back of his head, Butch stood and started to walk away.
"I think I'll just wait for her to call me
when she's thought of a plan," he muttered, but then he stopped.
If he left now he wouldn't have any part in coming up with the final,
brilliant plan to make Jessie and James miserable for the rest of their
lives. Thus, Cassidy would have all the glory and he would have to let
her gloat about it forever. Hence, leaving now would be a very James-like
thing to do. Shuddering with this thought, he turned back and opened the
door—to be greeted with a crumpled up piece of paper.
"Hello to you, too," he grumbled crossly,
tossing the paper in her wastebasket.
"It's about time you got here," Cassidy growled
as he came up to her desk.
Butch smirked.
"I knew you'd need my help, Cass."
"Shut up and think," she snapped. "I thought
when we reported the lovebirds to the boss, he would do all the separating
work."
"That takes all the fun out of it for us,"
Butch remarked, taking a seat on the bed.
"That's true," Cassidy agreed, setting her
pen down and turning sideways to look at him with a smirk. "Won't it be
great when Jessie comes down for breakfast in the cafeteria and she looks
so depressed and stares into her coffee all lonely and crap and won't eat
anything?"
"She already doesn't eat anything for breakfast,
neither do you. That's why you're both as thin as sticks."
Cassidy frowned and poked him.
"So what? Some people don't like to weigh
over 130 pounds at 18 years old."
"It's all muscle, baby," he said, flexing.
"Whatever."
"Besides," Butch remarked, "she might not
even come down to the cafeteria. She might lock herself up in her room
and cry all the time."
Cassidy shook her head.
"No, not Jessie. She's too proud. She wouldn't
want anyone to think she was actually affected by the separation."
She stopped and scoffed.
"Not like anyone won't notice, though. It'll
be obvious she's hurting about it. Remember how Annie was when she and
Oakley were split up after being found out?"
"Oh yeah," Butch nodded, lying back on the
bed.
"There's nothing more depressing than being
in love with your partner."
His head perked up at this comment.
"Really? How would you know?"
Cassidy scowled and turned her head from him. He wondered if it was
to hide a blush, perhaps?
"Well, obviously I wouldn't know from experience!
I just imagine it wouldn't be a very good feeling knowing you've fallen
for someone that you couldn't possibly be truly together with without fear
of being torn apart or even killed!"
Butch sighed, those words definitely hitting home.
"Yeah, I guess it wouldn't…"
After a strange silence, Cassidy cleared her throat.
"Anyway, it will be great to see her so depressed."
"What if we actually caught her crying?"
Cassidy grinned.
"Oh, if we did I could blackmail her for years!"
Butch grinned as well.
"Jessie will be so sad and melancholy and
James will be sent to another base. We won't have any more problems with
them ever again!"
The two laughed maniacally, sending shivers down the spines of young
Rocket trainees that walked by the room.
"We do, however," Cassidy said after calming
down, "need to think of something worse than just sending James to another
base."
"Ahh, so it is to be torture, then?"
"Oh yes, my dear partner. I really want to
break their hearts."
"As soon as we can find a way how."
With that, the two of them were silence and left to thinking.
Later that day, when the sun was threatening to set,
Jessie sent Arbok and Wobbuffet down to get the mail. They returned and
slid all the mail onto the table where Meowth was sitting. Jessie and James
were in the kitchen.
"So what we got here?" Meowth asked, taking
a look at the mail.
"Bill, bill, death threat from Pikachu, bill,
letter of complaint from da Gym Leaders Association, and…ah look—the newest
edition of "50 Ways To Fall Out of Love With Your Partner Before Your Boss
Finds Out and Kills Ya"! As if Jess and Jim need dat, heh!"
Arbok cast a thoughtful look at the closed kitchen door.
"Cha…" (Well…)
Meowth looked up at her.
"Huh? Yous don't t'ink dose two could be a
couple, do ya?"
Arbok and Wobbuffet looked at each other. Wobbuffet shrugged.
"Wobba wobba fet!" (Stranger things have happened!)
"Nah," Meowth said, shaking his head. "Dey
would make a decent couple, but I don't t'ink so. I mean, Jimmy's done
a lot of dumb t'ings, but fallin' for Jess isn't one of 'em, heh!"
This comment received a very mean glare from Arbok.
"Not dat dere's anyt'ing wrong wit' Jessie!"
he added quickly. "I just doubt dat she would allow herself to fall for
a guy like Jimmy-boy! 'Sides, you know how she doesn't like ta upset her
dad, and he hates it when his members have relationships."
"Charbok." (That's true.)
"Wobba wob." (That's too bad.)
"Yeah, a real pity. Now let's read dis death
threat…"
Arbok and Wobbuffet looked up as Jessie and James walked into the room.
"Charrbok!" (We got the mail!)
"Good girl," Jessie praised, sitting at the
table and stroking the snake pokemon's head.
James sat beside her and smiled a little. Meowth pointed to the "50
Ways" book.
"Da boss evidently decided yous two needed
a little reminder, heh!"
Jessie and James exchanged glances and seemed to suddenly become very
nervous.
"We also got a death threat from Pikachu.
I'm about ta read it. Ahem, let's see…"
"Meowth," Jessie interjected, "there's something
we need to tell you first."
Meowth set down the letter.
"Oh? A team meeting, huh?"
"Yeah, sure," Jessie nodded.
Meowth leaned back in his chair.
"All right. What is it?"
Jessie turned to look at her partner.
"James?"
James smiled at Meowth nervously.
"Well, um, you see, Meowth…"
He took Jessie's hand and she gave him an affectionate, reassuring
squeeze. Arbok shot her trainer a questioning glance and received a small
smile in response.
"Go on, lay it on me," Meowth prompted.
James stumbled over a few more incoherent sentences and Jessie sighed.
"Meowth, James and I are in love."
A stunned silence filled the small room as the pokémon took
in her statement.
"Char…charbok!" (That's…wonderful!)
"Wobba wobba fet fet!" (I knew it would happen
one day!)
The two pokémon happily embraced the couple, who smiled. Meowth
just stared at them.
"Char, char charbok char?" (Meowth, aren't
you going to congratulate them?)
"Con…congratulate dem? Congratulate dem for
what? For bein' complete idiots?"
"Meowth!"
"How can you say that?"
"Whaddya mean?" Meowth said, placing his paws
on the table. "Are yous two nuts? Da boss will be furious when he finds
out!"
"Well, what makes you think he's going to
find out?" Jessie shot back.
"You aren't going to tell him, are you?" James
asked in a fearful voice.
"If I didn't tell him, but he finds out I
knew, he'd kill me!"
Jessie scowled.
"Meowth, you're so damn self-centered!"
"Well, so are you!"
He pushed the "50 Ways" book to them.
"Quick! Read, read!"
James sighed and reached for the book. Jessie slapped his hand away.
"Don't be ridiculous! No book is going to
make me fall out of love with James and it's not going to make him feel
differently about me, either!"
"I don't t'ink he'd need a book for dat, personally…"
the cat uttered before being whacked with the book and Arbok's tail.
"Hmph. Well, no matter what you say, James
and I are sticking together," Jessie said, putting her arms around her
blue-haired partner, who eagerly returned the gesture.
"Wobba wob wobba?" (Didn't you say you thought
they'd make a decent couple?)
Meowth rubbed his head.
"Yes, I did. And I am happy for yous. I'm
just worried about what'll happen when da boss finds out."
He paused, his midnight blue eyes becoming laced with tears.
"I remember what happened to Annie and Oakley.
I don't want our team ta be split up…"
"Oh Meowth," Jessie sighed, her expression
softening. "There is one simple solution…"
"Don't tell him," Jessie and James said in
unison.
"But he'll probably find out eventually, so
I might as well," he argued.
The two leaned across the table, real close to Meowth and made big
puppy dog eyes.
"Please don't tell him, Meowth! Please!" they
begged pitifully.
Meowth sighed.
"Come on, Meowth. You can't do that to us,"
James said. "We're your best friends!"
"Yeah," Jessie added. "And besides, if you
do tell, I'll rip that charm off your head and st—"
"All right, all right!" Meowth cut her off.
"I won't tell, yous can trust me-owth."
They grinned and threw their arms around the scratch cat.
"Oh, thank you, Meowth!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Meowth grumbled.
But despite himself, he smiled. He knew the two of them would make
a cute couple.
Together forever, he bet.
Beneath them, in the boss' private quarters, the picture of the embraced, happy couple was placed in a roaring fireplace. The flames licked at the photo, burning a rip between Jessie and James, separating them indefinitely.
End of chapter two