Here goes chappie 5.—Enjoy!

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Chapter 5

It's funny how time speeds up as if you were in a movie sometimes, and your life gets reduced into a flash of sequences for viewers to delight in; time can fly by so fast you barely even know it's there. Also, the exact opposite could happen. Days could also take so much longer than they should in going by; that when the night arrives, you feel like crawling into a ball and whimpering.

Also, it's funny how these two things can happen simultaneously under the same roof. He couldn't help but to think he was sinking, and he hated it than whenever he spoke to her he felt closer and closer to the surface. An Oak never needed any help and he wasn't about to start proving himself wrong. He fiddled with the edge of his shirt and drummed his fingers against the table of the kitchen. It was mid day, and he was painfully overly conscious May wasn't home. It was probably just another date. He was far too used to his sister's busy agenda to raise an eyebrow now.

He looked unconsciously to the hallway leading to the laboratory. A slight frown settled on his face, disturbing the seemingly cool aura surrounding him. His relationship with his grandfather had never been the greatest one. In a way, he blamed him for his parents' departure. He blamed him for not having a paternal figure; he blamed him for being just as absent as his own father. He blamed himself for blaming him. It wasn't his fault and deep down, he knew it.

The drumming stopped as he clenched his fist and clenched his jaw. He ran a hand through his spiky brown hair and sighed. He felt like he had to get out of that house that sometime was so unnecessarily big for him, it made him vomit. It's why he envied Ash when he was little, and perhaps a little now. Ash did not have all the luxuries he had when he was growing up, It's why he was still so eager to grow up and had something to look forward to. Ash had established a pretty high goal, and Gary had imitated him, hoping to find some of the fire Ash had in his eyes. The journey he embarked upon helped momentarily. But at the end of the day, not one thousand cheerleaders compared even one friend Ash had.

It's funny how life can be so curious sometimes, throwing opportunities right at your face because she had arrived there, out of the blue, and he had felt it. Some of the fire he had spent all of his life looking for in her eyes as well; he wanted to get it. Clenching his jaw again he stood up from the stool and made his way up the stairs, not even knowing what he was going to say, acting on nothing but impulse—It felt... new.

It came out a little bit more violent than he would have hoped for, because as he opened the door he pushed it too hard and it slammed against the wall, making her head jerk in his direction with obvious exaltation. She looked at him, wide eyed, and he stared back at her, just as surprised. But then Gary grinned and she seemed to relax a little. He took a few steps forward where she was and swiftly picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder. Misty was in shock for a moment and stuttered

"What!" She finally yelled out, punching his back. "Have you finally lost it!"

Gary smirked. "Hey Misty, I'm bored. Let's go out" the monotone voice of his voice only accentuated the mockery of the obvious dismissal of whether she agreed to or not.

As he carried her down the stairs she rolled her eyes. "Gees, I don't know. Let me get back to you" She spat out bitterly, giving up on loosening his grip. She elbowed him hard on the back one last time, and he winced trying not to let it show it had actually hurt and then chuckled. "Where does the damsel want to go?"

She let out a breath as her hair was all over her face. She snorted disregarding how unladylike that was and he smirked. "More like hostage..." She mumbled out.

Gary smirked triumphal. "Coffee it is!" He walked hurriedly through the living room, with Misty over his shoulder, grinning like an idiot, and mentally scolding himself for doing something he would probably regret later. But in that precise moment, as ridiculous as they looked, his worries were meaningless.

He only let her down when he was outside his car, and she looked at him with a raised eyebrow waiting for an explanation. He was on thin ice. Her eyes only told him that the wrong word would unleash hell on him. He almost flinched as he struggled to find the right words, when he saw himself failing, he just opened the passenger door and motioned her inside, as any other gentlemen that did not kidnap girls would. She silently glared at him and looked back at the mansion. Maybe, just maybe, if she hadn't been just as bored, she would have walked away.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

Misty huffed and ducked as she got into the car, sitting and folding her arms over her chest. She was still a little pissed off, but frankly, she was just as intrigued. Gary closed the door and walked over to his side, getting on the car. Misty looked straight ahead, but kept him monitored from the corner of her eye. Her arms were still folded and silently deadly.

"I know this great place that sells the best mocha—"

She had a unique talent to destroy other people's sentences. "Why are you doing this exactly?"

He paused. "I was just... tired of today"

Misty squinted her eyes. "Don't you have any researching to do?" He seemed to shrug. "Not while gramps still hogs the entire lab"

She seemed to relax a little as she let some of the ice wall melt. "Does he really need the entire lab for one research?" Gary just grinned and chuckled, as he turned right in the avenue. "God, no. I think he's just trying to make me rest a while. I was working on pretty big projects before the entire Togepi thing"

A sudden flash of the pictures she had seen two days before ran through her eyes, as she remembered how a smile on him could lighten up his entire face. He had a serious expression on now, concentrated on the road, and clenching his jaw, making his cheekbone just a little more noticeable. His eyes glimmered as he felt her gaze, turned his head to see her and saw her looking away, but dismissed it.

Misty smiled, her back turned to him, as she looked out of the window. "So..." She started. "How did Togepi behave while I was gone?"

He seemed to hesitate. "Just fine, I guess" He answered dryly. Misty picked up on it and nodded wryly. "I'm glad" She answered smiling. Gary was taken aback. It was like the smile got burnt into his brain and as his eyes returned to the avenue, it stuck with him. He could even feel her grinning for some unknown reason to him, and it was something he couldn't quite shake off. Why couldn't he read her like all the other girls he read so easily? The thought alone crept under his skin.

He pulled over; hitting the breaks a bit too hard as he almost drove right past the coffee shop. Misty just glared at him as he tried to look apologetically.

So she just smiled and rolled her eyes.

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"Okay, enough with the kidnapping, I said I was sorry!" He said exasperated as they drove back from the coffee house. However, his face betrayed him. He was in a much better mood than his words might suggest.

"Psycho" She muttered, grinning. "You're good at kidnapping though, Are you sure it's the first time you do it?"

Gary raised an eyebrow and smirked at the intentions beneath the question. "Course it is. Every other girl goes willingly"

Misty laughed, trying to shake the bitterness from her voice. "Can't imagine that happening." She threw back. "But given that I don't wanna pop your overly big ego since it would unleash some sort of world wide explosion, I'll just pretend I believe you". Gary half smirked at her words. He reached out and flicked her head lightly, making her roll her eyes. "Has anyone told you you're annoying?" she asked lightly.

"You'd be the special first one to say that, Red" he answered honestly. "You know, not counting May"

She chuckled softly. They soon arrived to the front yard of the mansion and got silently out of the car, too aware that the day was almost over. It was a day that had rushed by, and Gary was amazed it was even growing darker. He had lost track of time, something he hadn't been able to do in a very long while. They walked together to the front gate and let themselves in. "Well Red, that was surprisingly fun" He said, smirking.

Misty just shook her head, and looked towards the stairs. "Thanks" She said doing the peace sign. Gary noted it and immediately associated it with May. "You're not the jerk I thought you were"

He seemed baffled. "Don't know whether I should be flattered or insulted" Misty smiled and he rolled his eyes. "I'll let it slip—this time, Red" He waved goodbye as he turned to walk away, swaying with his usual trademark confidence that made his walk seem like he was on a prowl. Misty let out a breath and turned around, making her way to the wing that had her bedroom in it.

That would be a day she would remember.

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Author's Gratitude towards:

Maia's Pen: Oh my gawd. Your review blew my mind away, especially that 4th paragraph, I'm so glad I can portray this Gary Oak as I want him to. Not the spoiled little rich kid that is constantly hinted in fanfiction, but what I want him to be, the dejected lonesome brooding cutie covered with a nice frosting of sarcasm and a handful of defensive mechanisms enough to hide himself behind them. He is not drawn to material things, rather, dislikes the wealth he lives in. I'm glad you could make his shape out from the mist . I love it how we share the Gary-crazyness that keeps us yearning for egoshippyness. Yay! Your review made my day! Several of my days, actually.

MagCat: Ah yes, isn't the having to explain that something to someone annoying? It kills the arguing mood. Of course there are certain things that have to be explained. XD But not all of them. I have a friend that never gets my sarcasm. xD It kills it. Hehe, but It's okay, he's still fun, in that ingénue way.

megs626: Egoshipping more popular than before? Gawd, I hope so. Maybe not more popular, since it's still got a very little fandom, but we're daring to write more egoshippies lately. We even have a C2! It's a great breakthrough! I used to dig through tons of files of fanfiction dot net to find egoshippies and could never get more than 8 or so. And we've got many more now!

Michelicious: Sonic's faster than light? Hehe, never knew. I always played the game but never could get into anything else, really. xD But I do know the guy. And yes, that was a light speed update, because I had time to update ahead of schedule, but those time bonanzas are rare, sadly ;;. I'm so happy you like my humor! Since I can't get rid of it or anything hehe.

DarkAngelTorchic: Well, the bot might have eaten your review, It happened to me all the time! It was so annoying, especially when they were long and crafted. I'm ecstatic that you like May Oak. Since it's my personal take on her, and I put a little extra effort into making her dynamic and lighthearted. She's gone missing this chappie, but she'll be back! I Did find the one shot, but for some reason it was only loading half of it (Stupid Internet Explorer ;;) But I'll try again until it loads entirely. I love the first half of it though, and I'm sure I'll love the second half of it!

Author's note: Ah yes,m May Oak went M.I.A this chapter, but she and Professor Oak will be back next chapter. A new conflict introduced; Gary's relationship with his grandfather which was subtly (I hope) hinted before. Also, my mind may be failing, but the first (I think? XD) reference to the flame, of where the title of this fic "The flame and the ember" comes from.

Til next week? Maybe, whenever I say that, it seems to backfire. XD

Midnight Mist

All that flour, strawberries and reviews make a great pie!