Chapter 6

They were back in their room at the Pokemon Center. It was almost dark now, and May didn't know why they had to go camping right at this moment.

"Guys, can't we go like when there's daylight outside?"

"Why? Awww, is May scared of the dark?" asked Brock mockingly.

"NO! I am not! … It just doesn't make any sense, that's all, and I don't see why Misty would want to go now either. She didn't seem so eager to be with you guys when we were in front of the store, so what's the sudden change-…"

"Change in what?" asked Misty who just came into their room.

"Uh…change in…in temperature!" said May.

"I didn't feel a change."

"Well, it's not that much, just a little…"

"Okay…so, are we going? I'm ready!" said Misty enthusiastically.

"Yeah almost. Ash still is getting something. Hey Ash! Are you coming or not?" asked Brock.

"Uh, yeah! Just a sec!"

A second later Ash came out of the room and saw everyone waiting for him in the lobby. When May saw him coming, she started to worry. He had a big smile on his face, which could only mean that he was happy about spending time with Misty. What did he see in her anyway? She took Misty aside by the arm so that Brock wouldn't hear them.

"Misty, what are you, a pokemon gym leader, doing going out…camping?"

"WELL," she took May's hand off her arm, "I just felt like it, okay? And who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do? Besides, you're just a little girl. You know nothing."

Misty gave her a mean smirk. Ash saw that Misty and May were talking. He couldn't believe that Misty was really here. After so long, but something still nagged him about her. Well, he was going to find out what it was sooner or later, so he decided to put that worry to the back of his head.

"Hey! I'm not a little girl! For your information, I-…"

"What's going on you two?"

"Oh nothing Ash! I was just telling May here all about my gym! Right May?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay, well Brock's waiting, so we should start going before it gets completely dark outside."

"You're absolutely right Ash! We should go!"

Ash smiled at Misty and went over to Brock. As he did this, Misty looked over her shoulder at May and smirked. May pouted angrily because she knew she couldn't say anything. She looked over at Ash and saw that he and Brock were heading out the door. May quickly smirked back at Misty and then made a mad dash to get to the doors before her.

"Wow! They seem excited about going!" said Brock as Misty and May ran past him and Ash. Pikachu perked up his ears and pointed to the closed doors.

"Pika Pi!"

"Yeah…hey! We should catch up to them!"

The four of them were now just outside of Lilycove City. The path happened to be the same one as the one that they used to come into the city. May looked more irritated than ever; most likely because she was walking by all by herself, behind Ash, Brock and Misty.

"So, do we know where we are headed?"

May peeked her head over Ash's shoulder and bumped Misty aside.

"Um, I don't know, I guess any-…"

"OH! I completely forgot to tell you about this place I know!" interrupted Misty.

"How do you know-…" May asked suspiciously, but was interrupted.

"There is this lake and it's not far from here! Come on, let's go!"

"Waaaa!" Misty pulled Ash's and Brock's arms and left May to go running after them. All of this seemed really weird to her. Hadn't Ash realized she couldn't know a place in the middle of a forest if she had just gotten there?

After a few minutes of running through the forest, they found the lake, just like Misty had said there would be. It had gotten dark just as they found the lake, so Brock went to go find some firewood, leaving Ash alone with Misty and May. There was only one log to sit on and three people. Ash sat down, but then Misty sat right by him. May saw this and did the same thing. Ash started to feel uncomfortable and stood up.

"Why did you stand up Ash? There's enough room for you," said Misty.

"Um…no, that's okay. You two should sit. I'll just…sit on the grass."

"Well, while Brock gets the firewood, we should spread ourselves out," suggested May.

"That's a good idea!" said Ash, happy to be doing something.

They took out their sleeping bags and looked around to find a good place to put them. May put her things down by the lake, and Misty put her things just before the forest started to become dense. Ash went by Misty and smiled. He put his things down by her, but then she took her sleeping bag and put it on the grass about five feet away. Misty then went to the lake to wash her face. Ash became more puzzled than ever. At first, it seemed like Misty didn't even care that he was there, and then she suggested that they go camping and she clings on to him like he's her security guard. Now, she went back to ignoring him. This was definitely not the Misty he remembered. Just then, Misty and May were coming back from the lake, and Brock came back from the forest.

"I got plenty of firewood to last us a while. May would you like to do the honors?" asked Brock smiling.

He put down the firewood and May snickered. She looked at Misty and smirked.

"I'd love to Brock! Go! Torchic! Use Ember!"

"Torchic! Tor!"

May's Torchic used Ember and now a fire was lighting the campsite. Misty's jaw dropped as she had no idea that May had pokemon. But as quickly as it had dropped, it became a smile.

"Wow May! I didn't know you had pokemon! That Torchic is so cute!"

"Why thank you Misty."

"You know though, it looks a bit weak."

"My Torchic is not weak!" yelled May.

"Well maybe not, but you should have left it back there at the convention so it could become stronger."

Now the anger inside of Ash came out again.

"Misty! How could you even say that? How could you agree with what Rudy said?"

Before she could answer, May jumped in with a question of her own.

"Oh yeah! Rudy! Why didn't Rudy come with us?"

"Oh…uhh…Rudy! Right, he… he had to… stay to run the convention!" said Misty trying to sound convincing.

"Oh…that's too bad… so… Brock, what are we having for dinner?"

Pikachu looked at May and smiled. May was shocked because lately it seemed like he didn't like her that much. But since Pikachu was being nice, she smiled back and then looked back at Brock.

"Well, I was thinking some soup. Is that okay with you guys?"

"Yeah…I guess that's fine…" said Misty.

"Sounds great Brock!" said Ash enthusiastically.

They waited patiently while Brock cooked. Misty just sat there, bored out of her mind, but May was playing with her Torchic. Ash looked at the two of them and got chills up his spine. As he looked at them, he could have sworn that May was Misty and Misty was May. It was like they totally switched personalities. Ash got tired of thinking so he just looked at the vast lake.

"Alright guys! Soup's ready!"

They all ate in silence, listening to the night around them. After they were done, they sat in their sleeping bags, waiting for the fire to die out.

"Goodnight Brock, goodnight May, goodnight Pikachu…goodnight Misty" said Ash.

They all responded with goodnights except for Misty. The fire went out and Ash felt cold. He curled up with Pikachu by his side and let the sadness sweep over him until he fell asleep.