Title: Possibilities
Author: Chibi/Warlordess
Notes: Oi, I'm so sorry about the extended wait on this chapter! If any of you have failed to notice my postage on "Perfectly Imperfect", I've had a bad, BAD case of Writer's Block, and am still in the middle of it. I forced myself to type this up because a few... Choice... Readers told me that if I didn't continue and complete this ficcie, they'd never read my stuffs again! ((Sob!)) So thankies to MistyLover87 and AbsolKitty for their... Er... Profound and slightly creepy loyalty to me! It was much appreciated!
Summary: The sequel to "Closure". That oh-so-common 'Two-and-Two' are coming together inside of Ash's head, and he has a plan... But is it just one big mistake after another..?
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. I don't own Ash and Misty. I don't own Pikachu. I don't own the flashbacks, unless (and this is most-likely) they are from my last ficcie. Now can we please stop with the interrogation?
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Chapter Two: Jail-Break!
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I told you that I would visit you again, Misty. And... I wasn't lying... Ash thought as he stood in front of the vid-phone in the Ketchum home hallway. He picked up the receiver and began dialing.
There was a click and a very muffled voice, strangled by the cries of younger-sounding ones in the background, answered him. He smiled, knowing that at least things were normal at one of his friend's homes.
"Hey, Brock; it's me, Ash." There was some scraping, some yelling, and some vulgar language from the ear piece, and then Brock's face appeared on the screen facing him.
"Oh, hey Ash." There would have been more time for excitement if Brock wasn't being used as a human Totem Pole by his siblings and if he and the fifteen year old boy weren't... Well... Guys, "And to what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Uh..." Ash looked away for the moment, knowing that trying to distract Brock from the truth would be pointless, and then he looked back, "Um... What would you say if I told you that I might be in love with Misty?"
"Oh, just a little something like 'I told you so.' And so here we go; I told you so, Ash." The older boy smirked at Ash's expression, a mix of anxiety, embarrassment, and anger all in one, "So, how did this startling revelation come about? I mean, I know that you're nowhere near smart enough to figure it all out on your own, so..."
"...HEY!" Ash stated, burned by the comment, "I am so! Just because this time I had a little help from Misty's diary doesn't mean that I couldn't have figured it out by myself! I mean, I'm perfectly capable of working things out! I mean, how could I not? Especially when she was acting all weird that week at the gym--"
"--You spent a week with Misty at the gym and you never told me?" Brock looked disconcerted and, eyes as wide as he could make them without actually opening them, he leapt forward like a teenage girl would and asked in a valley girl voice, "Like, spill! I want all of the details! I mean, how did you even end up in Cerulean?"
"Well, you see; it was like this..." And, sighing at how many times he'd had to do this, Ash began to recount his story.
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"Oh, uh, yeah." Ash cleared his throat and seemed to come to a certain decision before bowling on into something that was under a completely different topic , "Uh, hey Misty... Do you think that I can come to the Gym and stay there a few days?" This question left Misty feeling plenty of scattered emotions and, for some reason that she was unsure of, pleasure wasn't exactly one of them.
She was glad that Ash would want to visit her but, well, this was sort of sudden for one thing, and it was almost too much to think that his mother wouldn't want to see or hear from him first.
"Er... Why would you want or need to stay here at the Gym, Ash?" It was at this point that he gave one of his sheepish "Heh"'s that almost always meant he'd done something wrong and Misty's eyes narrowed knowingly, "What did you do, Ash?" Her voice was now no longer confused or hopeful or in any way positive. Quite to the contrary, she seemed to be holding back the urge to strangle him through the screen.
"'Do'..? I didn't 'do' anything, Misty..." He broke off there and then apprehensively continued, turning scarlet, "... Except maybe confuse a ferry schedule or two..." He gave a nervous cough and went on, "I-I mean, it was really confusing! There was the blue route and then there was the yellow route and then the red and violet! And they all went to different places and the map with the color-coded arrows was really jumbled up and I ended up getting on the boat to Cerulean Bay instead of the one to Pallet Port..."
"Ash, we've taken the ferry a million times! How could you possibly mess it up? And why don't you just stay the night in the Center and then take the next ferry in a couple of days? They run more than just once a month, in case you don't remember..." She muttered, no longer very happy to hear from him, "Or maybe, you know, you could start walking now..."
"Well, see, about that. There's been a few problems along the way. You see, I was going to buy another ticket for Thursday's ferry to Pallet but the guy said that they'd closed down the harbors all over Kanto for the rest of the week because we're supposed to have fierce storms and negative weather patterns through next Monday." It was obvious that he was quoting because Ash could never speak so smartly, "And, for the same reasons, I wouldn't really wanna risk walking... And the Center was all ready full of other travelers and trainers when I got there so there's no room. Actually, that's where I am now and..." His face moved out of the way and cleared the view so that Misty could take notice of about thirty sleeping bags on the Waiting Room floor, "...As you can see, not much room for another person..."
"Well... Then..." Misty spluttered, trying to think of another excuse. She didn't really wanna sleep in the Gym with Ash, believe it or not. It could lead to all sorts of possibilities and now that she was finding it so much harder to avoid her feelings for him, it would be a really stupid thing to do, inviting him to stay the rest of the week just so she could give him plenty of chances to guess what was up with her, "Then take your own sleeping bag and sleep outside! You're a trainer; you can take it!"
"Misty, have you listened to anything I've just said? The guy says that the weather's supposed to be REALLY bad. Do you actually wanna risk me drowning out there and then have to deal with the guilt, not to mention the charges pressed by my mom because you let me die?" Ash was turning slightly red with embarrassment again, "Besides, I, er, forgot my sleeping bag on the boat and it's all ready left again."
"Well, you're just spouting holes on all sides, aren't you?" Misty stated, sighing exasperatedly. She couldn't help it. She didn't want him to drown, she didn't want to get sent to Juvenile Hall for 'Inhumanity', and she didn't want to feel guilty about him sleeping out in that weather anyhow when she had the nice, warm, comfy Gym waiting right down the road, "Oh..." She moaned, "...Fine, Ash. You're welcome to stay here." A smile instantly appeared on his formerly shying and desperate face, "Just don't expect me not to give you some type of work while you're here! I'm not gonna be any cheaper than the Center!" Immediately, his smile was gone but she'd all ready hung up on him.
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"I... Uh... I see, Ash." He knew Ash had never been the brightest of bulbs, but his means of dragging Misty into such a situation were sort of crude and thoughtless, "But she actually ended up letting you stay with her? Well, what did you do while you were there?"
Ash blushed red and then looked away for a moment, "At first, she sorta confused me. We talked when I arrived... And she mentioned how I could always count on her if I needed a friend, and someone to help me get stronger as a trainer. And then she gave me a bucket and mop and told me to get started on my room and board payment!" His hand swept to the back of his neck and he gave a small, "Heh," from embarrassment, but Brock nodded, almost in understanding.
"She probably wasn't counting on your arrival. She didn't have anything planned, and no way to fend from your closeness as you stayed with her for a week or so. If you think about it, Ash, she's loved you for awhile. It may seem slightly unnatural for her to act the way she did, but in some cases, that's just how girls will react to things. She had hoped that not traveling with us would give her a rest from acting so subtle about how she cares for you; she never suspected a visit from you, and it came so suddenly. She just acted without thinking."
Ash raised an eyebrow. And all of those times when Misty would reprimand him for his leaping without looking, and there she was, doing the exact same thing.
"Anyway, it all turned out for the best, didn't it? You know she loves you, she knows that you know; and then you know that you love her, and of course she knows, so I don't see the prob--"
"--But she doesn't know, Brock." If Brock actually had eyes that were able to be open, they'd have popped out of their sockets at that point, "I didn't really know what to say when she told me... I told her that I didn't know how I felt, but that... If I ever realized, I'd get back to her on it... And then... We just sorta left it at that. And now I know, but it seems to stupid to wanna call her up and just... Say it. You know what I mean?"
"Ash, you do know that you're acting almost like..."
"...A coward... I know. But what would you do in this situation, Brocko? And I mean something that your hormones wouldn't be in control of."
His older friend seemed to be thinking very carefully, and then he replied, "Well, I can't exactly speak first-hand because I've never been in love with someone. Maybe it's best for you to experience this yourself, without other people's help, but just say how you feel. Actually, do that now. Close your eyes and pretend that I'm Misty and tell me how you feel about... Erm... Me."
"Um... But isn't that just kinda creepy and unusual, Brocko?" Ash could feel his legs start to turn to jelly. This was a little more than strange, and to say it to Brock, of all people?
"I know it is, but I can't determine the seriousness of your problem unless I get deeply involved. Now you go as deep as humanly possible and I'll see how bad you've got it for her."
"Er..." Ash made sure to look around the room, and into the hallway, just to be sure his mom wasn't snooping, and then looked back at the screen, "Ok..." He sighed and closed his eyes, imagining Misty's vibrant red hair and blue-green ocean-like eyes staring back at him, "Misty... I told you then that I didn't know, and that I didn't understand what it meant to be in love with someone. I didn't even feel that I could fully take you seriously, because of our age; but I think I get it now, just a little bit better than before. I know that I feel differently for than any other person I've ever met before, and I know that this feeling has been inside of me for awhile, and it won't go anywhere; ever. Not even when I die. All I can say is that it's always been a strange thing for us to be around each other, but not with each other, and I know that I was wrong not to see it before. I know now, though... Misty, I love you with all of my heart. I've loved you forever... And I will love you forever."
He was greeted by sniffles, and opened his eyes to see Brock staring back at him, tears leaking from his eyes.
"Ash, that was..."
"AGH!" Ash hadn't even realized that he was lost in his envision of Misty, and had forgotten that he was really talking to Brock. He leapt back from the screen and fell to the floor, then got back up and stared at his older friend.
"...Extraordinarily beautiful..." Brock didn't seem to care that Ash had yelled upon opening his eyes and seeing his face. He wiped at his eyes and whipped a tissue out of nowhere to clean his face and blow his nose a bit.
"Was it..?" Ash's heartbeat seemed to have returned to normal, and now he was looking slightly ill at the thought of saying all of that to Misty, "Do you think that it was enough for her to... Forgive me?"
"Forgive you? Did something else happen that I don't know about yet?"
"Not really anything big. But I just feel that I've dealt her such a serious blow, and then we've talked a few times on the phone and I know that I've let her down, because I've acted like... Almost like nothing ever happened, and that nothing is different now." Ash looked down, seemingly embarrassed at the thought of his idiocy.
"Well, Ash; don't forget that every wrong can be righted."
Ash looked up again, a small smile coming to light his features, "You think? You really think that there's anything I can do to make it up to her?"
"Sounds to us like the only thing she wants from you as repentance is... Well... You." Mrs. Ketchem stepped out from behind the door and smiled at her son, "Sorry, honey, but when a mother finds out that her son may be in love, she wants to know all of the details."
Ash's jaw dropped. If she'd been there the whole time, then that meant that she...
"I'm letting you off of your grounding early, but only to go to Cerulean and tell Misty how you feel in person. It would break the girl's heart if you just mentioned it casually over the phone. And when you get back..." Her eyes narrowed slightly, "We'll have a nice, long talk about this misinterpretation and lack of mentioning that there were no guardians during that week-long visit."
...It would mean that she overheard him mentioning to Brock that it had been only the two of them. Yup; she knew. Ouch. The burn of her glare had nothing on Misty, but that didn't mean that it wasn't painful.
Never-the-less, Ash smiled.
"Thanks, mom; and Brock. You guys helped me out more than you know..." hugged his mom and said goodbye to the breeder-in-training before pressing the Vid-Screen Off button and then headed for the door, "I'm going to get Pikachu, and my bag; and then, we're heading to Cerulean City!"
...And to you, Misty, because these thoughts deserve more than to be playing over and over in my mind... I'm gonna relay everything that I feel about you, to you...
"And don't forget your clean underwear!"
"MWAH!"
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"Okay, so... You're absolutely sure that you're ready to go?" Mrs. Ketchem tore Ash's backpack from his back and dumped it onto the table, looking through everything inside, "Let's see... Comb... Check... Shirts... Check... Toilet paper, soap, and toothbrush... Check... Underwear..."
Ash, blushing vibrantly, pulled the bag and the essentials currently being listed away and stuffed them inside, "Yes, Mom, everything's there!"
"Well, then," Delia stared evenly down her nose at her son, and then beamed proudly, wiping a newly revealed tear from her eye, "Oi... My little boy's all grown up, and in love with his best friend of almost four years!" She sniffled and then raised a quick eyebrow, "Wow, whoever couldn't see this coming has about the brain capacity of an insect, now don't they?"
"Ah... Uh huh; yeah, Mom."
"Well, anyway, since you're going to be on the road for a bit... I mean, I know that it's horrible to spoil you; especially when these years on the road can be so helpful for maturing you for later in life... But I didn't want to send you off..." Mrs. Ketchem removed a cloth from on top of the counter next to the front door, "...Without sending a little insurance, just in case."
There were about five different containers of foods. They were all marked as "Pokemon Food", "Breakfast", "Lunch", "Dinner", and "Snacks".
"Oh, wow Mom; thanks! This'll be good for us!" Ash galloped to the door and began throwing everything into his bag, loading it on top of his apparell and making sure that everything was closed securely, after his mom's order to do so.
"Well, if that's all..." Ash opened the entrance/exit way and took one step outside before turning back, "Thanks a lot, Mom. I really mean it."
"I know you do... And I want you to mean it just as much when you tell Misty how you really feel."
Ash smirked, looking almost as confident as he did on the day he started out on his journey, "You can bet on it!" And then he was gone, on his way to Cerulean City.
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Notes: Okay, not my best chapter. I'm sorry, everyone, but it's really, really, really, really, REALLY hard to force yourself to write in the middle of Writer's Block. Yes, this means that I dunno when the next chapter will be up so don't ask me unless you're hoping to be hit a bit over the head by Misty's mallet.
Anyway, review and give me lots of confidence so I can feel empowered, just like Ash, and refuse to give up on something, just like Ash, and finish out what I started on, just like Ash! Lol!