I'm gonna keep on keeping on. Here's the next chapter. Ash gets to be the main character for a chunk of this chapter, then we switch back to May fora bit. As for "Why do I keep putting up two at a time?" the reason is I start to type a chapter, but don't end it before I type TWO chapters worth of material.
So, I'm gonna stop typing, and let you all read.
Ash walked through the bustling streets of Cerulean, looking for the store he had seen in the phone book. It claimed itself a small store that carried the "hot accessories that everyone wants." Ash cringed at the description. He could only imagine what the store looked like. The store he imagined had neon lights set up in a display right in the door. All of the walls would be painted black, and you'd be hard pressed to find an angle you could look in the store without seeing some form of perverseness or profanity. He always avoided even looking at stores like that when he walked by.
"Pika…" the small Pokémon called as he plodded behind the trainer. "Pika pika Pikachupi pika?" he asked.
"I didn't want her to worry about me, Pikachu," the boy explained to his partner. "If Misty knew, she'd tell Mom, and then Mom would never leave me alone. She already worries about me. I don't need to tell her that I've gotten hurt by my own Pokémon."
Pikachu sighed, conceding the battle. He knew Ash would have to tell everyone eventually. The Pokémon hopped onto Ash's back and stood on his backpack, trying not to hurt the boy's shoulders. Ash stepped around a corner and saw a small building. He peered at the letters on the side of the building. He glanced down at the paper, noting that the address was the same as what was given in the phone book. The wooden frame of the building was not the image Ash created for himself in his imagination. The building looked like it needed a new coat of the pea-soup green paint. The paint had been chipping away, and the sign was not neon lights, but wooden and painted. A picture of Vaporeon with a bright purple ribbon was painted on the sign, with the words 'HIP THREADS' written in a yellow, cursive font. The sign was worn, paint chipping all over the picture. A small sign on the green door noted that they were open. He uneasily walked up to the door. He turned the knob, and stepped inside. He heard a bell ringing. Upon stepping inside, he saw that the inside of the building was faring much better than the outside. The walls were painted a pale blue, with racks of clothing sitting in the rear left-hand corner of the store, from the direction Ash was facing. Opposite the clothing racks, on the rear right hand corner of the store was a middle-aged woman. Her dark blue hair was done up in a bun, bifocal glasses sitting across her face. She smiled as she polished a gleaming golden pocket watch. The sunlight reflected off of the watch, reflecting on the woman's clothes. She wore a plain brown dress with a white apron tied around her waist. Between the woman and the clothing racks was a closed, oaken door. The other half of the building must be where she lives, Ash thought. He walked up to the woman and began to speak. The woman looked up and almost dropped the watch in surprise.
"Are you okay, miss?" Ash asked her.
"Misses," she corrected the trainer, showing off a silver wedding band, "And I'm okay. You just look familiar, that's all." She closed her grey eyes and shook her head. "How can I help you, sir?"
"Well, I was actually coming here to buy something for a friend of mine," he said, "You see," he said, placing his pack on the table, unzipping it, "My friend and I were out in the wilderness recently, and I got cut pretty bad." He pulled May's torn bandana out of his bag. It was stained with his blood, but Ash thought of the caring girl who had destroyed it for him. He placed the halves on the table and continued, "She had to tear her bandana up to bandage me. Anyway, I was wondering if you all had something about the same size." He tried to place the tears alongside each other, so that the woman could get a good idea. She shifted her glasses, staring at the material.
"I think we have something like that," the woman said, stepping out from behind the counter. Her heeled shoes clicked as she walked around the store. In the front of the store, right behind the dusty windows was a hat rack. Ash glanced across the rack. He saw hats from sports teams, like the Electabuzz and the Starmie, sitting among a few headbands and berets. The woman reached up and pulled down a single, green headband. The pattern was similar to May's red bandana, but the white Pokéball pattern was in a different spot. She walked back up to the counter and started tapping buttons on the cash register. The antiquated machine displayed $15.00 as the price for the bandana. Ash thought that such a simple piece of cloth shouldn't have cost so much, but he laughed it off, reminding himself how little he knew of fashion. He dug into his pocket and pulled out the money. She placed the bandana thoughtfully in a box, folding it gently. She handed the small box to the boy in exchange for the money he held in his hand. The cash register's bell rang out in the quiet store, startling the young trainer. He smiled as she handed him the box.
"Thank you, ma'am." he said to her.
"Pika!" the Electric-Type added, smiling. Suddenly, his ears twitched and he looked to the back door. It had creaked open with a set of blue eyes gleaming through the small opening. The woman looked back at the door, a hint of fear on her face.
The door slammed open, shaking the store. A young girl, looking much like a Nurse Joy stood in the doorway. The girl's stature would be considered short. She looked about even to Max, maybe shorter. She wore a small, blue dress with tiny, black dress shoes. Her dark-blue hair was in braided pony-tails, lying down her back, but her blue eyes and facial features obviously matched those of the famed family of Pokémon Nurses.
"It's you!" She exclaimed, pointing at Ash. "I-I can't believe it!" The girl bounded up to him and looked at his face closer. "It really is you!"
"Um…" Ash backed away, "Do I know you?"
"No, but I know you!" the small girl jumped up and down. "I'm Cyndi, your number one fan!" she pointed at him.
Ash looked surprised. "You're my fan?" he asked her.
The girl nodded. "I've been following your exploits ever since I saw you back in the Indigo League! You were so cool! In your first league competition, you got to the best sixteen!" Cyndi squealed with delight, and then frowned. "I bet you would have won if your Charizard would have obeyed you. That really sucked."
"Cyndi!" the woman stomped over to Cyndi and grabbed the girl by the ear. "What have I told you about that language?"
"Ow!" the girl cried, "Ow! Sorry Mom, I won't do it again, please!" the young girl begged.
The woman let go of her daughter's ear and looked at her through her glasses. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to know…" she bowed respectfully.
"What do you mean?" Ash asked her.
"Let me introduce myself," she began. "My name is Raine, and the child here is my daughter, Cyndi. Ever since we saw you live in the Indigo Pokémon League, she's been a fan of yours."
"And then I read in the paper that you beat Drake, the leader of the Orange Crew!" Cyndi was ecstatic. "And your Pikachu was the one to knock out his Dragonite." Her eyes looked up to see the yellow paws clinging tightly around his head. "Is…is that Pikachu?" she asked.
Pikachu hopped down and walked up to the girl. At the sight of the Pokémon, Cyndi began to shed tears of joy. She ran up to him and picked him up, embracing the mouse Pokémon in a hug. "It is!" she laughed and smiled. "It really is Ash's Pikachu!" She danced around with Ash's Pokémon for a moment. Pikachu wriggled out of her grip and began to lie on her head. Cyndi laughed as the Pokémon's warm body heated her head.
"After that, she followed your progress on the internet, always wanting to hear more of what you'd been doing," Raine continued. "She followed your exploits around Johto and for her 7th birthday, her father and I took her to the Johto League Silver Conference."
"You were awesome there, Ash!" Cyndi hugged his leg with Pikachu still perched precariously on her head. "You got to the top eight, beating a lot of good trainers! You even beat Gary Oak, grandson of the famous Professor Samuel Oak!" She nuzzled his leg, and then got a depressed look on her face. "Then Harrison and his Blaziken," she added, mocking Blaziken in her voice, "knocked you out in the next round. I'm glad that guy got what was coming to him, losing right after he beat you."
"Actually," Ash pried her from his leg and kneeled to face her, "I learned a lot from my battle with Harrison. If it wasn't for meeting him, I would have never gone to the Hoenn Region. I made a lot of good friends there and caught some amazing Pokémon."
"Yeah, but I wish you could win a big tournament someday," Cyndi said dejectedly, "so everyone else can see how great you are."
"Well, it's been great meeting you two," Ash told them, backing out of the store.
"It's been great meeting you, too!" Cyndi waved to him. "If you're ever nearby, you can come and visit!"
"You know where to find us," Raine bowed respectfully to him.
Ash walked out the door and began to walk down the street. Pikachu hastily ran through the door as it was closing and leapt on to the trainer's back. He decided now would be a good time as any to go to the ice cream parlor. He had hoped May wouldn't beat him there. He didn't need to look more suspicious than he already did.
May walked out of a pharmacy, resupplied and ready for sweets. She turned down the road to the ice cream parlor near the park. The building was made of brick and looked rather new. May knew she would have to wait for Ash to show up, but she would rather wait in an air-conditioned building. "He's probably off watching a Pokémon or something," she laughed to herself. May open the revolving door and was surprised at what she saw.
The floor was black and white tile, in a checkerboard pattern. Around the building, there sat tables of varying sizes and shapes. Cushioned booths for two lined the walls with round tables in the booths at each corner, presumably for parties or family outings. But that wasn't the surprising part.
The surprising part came when she saw who was working at the counter. A man with blue hair who was adjusting the paper hat on his head, trying to look professional, stood behind the front counter. A woman with long, red hair tirelessly cleaned the ice cream dispensing machine. And a small, feline Pokémon scrubbed under the tables around the room with a small rag.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" May exclaimed, getting the attention of the familiar trio. They all looked up and saw the girl. The team all screamed in surprise. "What are you guys doing here?"
"If you want ice cream, we won't give you trouble!" The woman began.
"Instead of a single scoop, why not try a double?" the man looked to May.
"A sweet taste as old as the galaxy!" she posed dramatically.
"Sent here to fill your tummy!" the man followed suit.
"Wait!" the Scratchcat Pokémon cried, "I'm not ready yet!"
"To denounce the evils how low-quality treats!" the red haired woman spun around.
"To extend our reach with delicious sweets!" the blue-haired man caught her.
"Jessie!" the woman looked up.
"James!" The man also turned to May.
"And Meowth are da- OW!" the Pokémon leapt up, hitting his head on the table he was under.
"Whenever you want some after lots of hard labor…" Jessie raised her hand to the ceiling.
"Team… Creamer" James said, awkwardly.
"Will be dere…" Meowth crawled out from under the table, his paw on the lump on his head.
"With a new ice cream flavor!" The trio brought it together.
"Wobbuffet!" The Pokémon came out of his Pokéball, also wearing one of the paper hats.
"Team…Creamer?" May could barely contain her laughter. "What are you guys up to?"
"Meowth," James turned to his Pokémon partner, "you'd better explain. Jessie and I need to stay at our posts."
Meowth and May walked over into a corner booth. She sat down and scooted over, making room for Meowth to sit. The cat Pokémon began to tell the story. "Ya see, after our Weezing Air-Mecha was destroyed, we were blasted off to land in Cerulean City. We tried to call da Boss, to ask for some more money, but he wouldn't give us any. We used all of our money on the Weezing Air-Mecha; we even drained the food budget. Without any money, we wouldn't be able to eat. We were down on our luck when the guy who runs this joint needed some new employees. He agreed to hire us and give us our first weeks pay, upfront. After, of course he got us to sign a contract. He did a background check on Jessie an' James, but thankfully we got off clean enough to pass. But Cerulean is known for all da cops that roam around here. If it gets out that we're from Team Rocket, we'll be thrown in the slammer!"
"I don't get it…" May furrowed her brow, "Why do you have to keep a low profile? In Hoenn, you guys didn't seem to worry about being noticed…"
"Dat's because Hoenn an' Kanto have two different criminal elements," Meowth explained. "Team Rocket is known all throughout da Kanto Region as the top organized crime ring. Our influence even extends into the Johto Region. We're one of the most powerful criminal organizations on da planet," he boasted. The Meowth became embarresed. "But we don't got anything going on in da Hoenn Region. That's why no one thought we were bad guys until we showed 'em."
May hummed and thought. "So, you guys needed the money to eat, so you all got a job here in the parlor?
Meowth nodded. "That's about the size of it. Please, we're beggin' ya! Don't turn us in! We'd rather work for money than be in jail!"
May nodded, a frown on her face. "Fine, but you guys owe me!" she pointed to Meowth.
Meowth rubbed his paws together. "Alright, we owe ya. Thank you!" he leapt into May's lap and gave her a hug.
May pried him off of her and held him by the fur on his back. "I think we're close enough," she said.
The bell on the door rang as a trainer with a Pikachu on his back walked in through the door. He immediately assessed the situation.
"Team Ro-" he managed to get out before May covered his mouth.
"I'll explain what's going on. Meowth needs to get back to work." May told him, guiding Ash with his mouth covered to a booth made for two. She sat him down across from her and began to talk to him about the plight Team Rocket was in. He agreed to let them work, but added the same 'you guys owe me' sentiment that May did. Meowth nodded, thankful that the twerps would keep their secret. They turned to Meowth and ordered some ice cream. May ordered a brownie sundae, and Ash ordered a banana split. The Pokémon took their order and ran it up to his partners. They sat down, with Pikachu sitting on the table, waiting for his part of the banana split.
"Hey, Ash, I wanted to ask you something?" May broke the silence. Ash looked up from something in his lap.
"What is it, May?" he responded.
"When we were telling Misty how we ended up in Cerulean, why did you keep interrupting me?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" Ash gulped. He hadn't known she had noticed.
"Well, when I was going to tell Misty that you got hurt, you interrupted me and started talking about us camping. You moved on to eating berries, then the center!" The hurt in May's voice was apparent. "Why did you try so hard not to let Misty know?" she asked him.
"Well…" he started.
"And then you go on and get me to leave the room just so you all can have a private conversation!" she exclaimed. "What was that about?"
"May, are you jealous?" Ash asked her.
A small blush came over her face. "No, but I thought you said you liked me…" Her face became embarrassed. "and I didn't think you could be interested in me and still have feelings for Misty…"
"Is that what you're worried about?" Ash laughed. May looked up to his face. "You're concerned about nothing!"
"Huh?" May was confused now. "Then why all the secrecy?"
Ash blushed, placing his hand behind his head. "I guess I better come clean then, huh?" he said. May blinked. "The reason I was talking to Misty alone is because I wanted to ask for her advice."
"About what?" May asked him.
"About…" he turned bright red for the first time since he had admitted to May, "about love. I know that I'm no good at being 'romantic', so I asked Misty for help. She's the one who convinced me to tell you."
Ash recounted his conversations with Misty about love to May. He told her about their meeting after the Hoenn League before she showed up in Kanto. He also told her what he talked about when he sent her away.
"But why did you want to keep it secret?" May asked him.
"So you would think all the sweet things I would do would be my idea," he admitted, "I thought that if you knew I was asking for help, then it wouldn't mean as much."
"Okay…" she said. Then a bright smile crossed her face. "So, Ash…where's that new bandana you got for me?" she asked.
Ash had realized he let the cat out of the bag from when he recounted his recent conversation with Misty. He reached into his lap and placed the small, pale box in front of her. She opened it and took the green bandana out.
"They didn't have any red ones…" he smiled, embarrassed. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind green."
"Oh, it's so cute!" May squealed. She took Ash's hat off her head and tossed it to Pikachu. She placed the cloth on her head and began to tie it in the back.
It really does look cute on her, Ash thought, not realizing what he was thinking.
"There's something I wanted to say, too," Ash added. "I wanted to apologize."
"Now you have to apologize?" May laughed. "For what?"
"When I told you how I felt…" Ash began. He was interrupted by Meowth placing their ice creams and a bill in front of them. They thanked Meowth, who bowed and walked to take care of further patrons. "When I told you how I felt about you, I don't really think I was ready," he finished his thought.
"Hmmm?' May looked at him inquisitively, hot fudge and whipped topping on her cheeks.
"I was following Misty's advice to try to keep you with me…" Ash explained. "She told me not to let you get away. And I was kinda in a bind. I even stooped low enough to get Pikachu to spy on you." The mouse Pokémon gulped, his hands and face sticky with ice cream from Ash's banana split.
"Don't worry, Pikachu," May calmed him down, "I already figured that Ash sent you to spy on me." Pikachu, now calmed, continued to eat Ash's ice cream.
"Well, anyway, I wanted to apologize for that," Ash said.
"Apology accepted!" May beamed a smile at him.
"Oh, and May?" Ash asked her.
"What?" she said, dropping the second half of her brownie back into the plastic bowl.
"Can we sleep separate tonight? I mean, I didn't really mean to fall asleep with you last night, but that's just how it happened." He explained.
"What's wrong?" May's eyes flickered, her spoon sitting in her mouth. "Are you afraid I'll try something funny on you while we sleep?" she asked him suggestively.
The images from Ash's nightmare earlier that day came flying back to his mind. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "Well, kinda. That is, umm… I don't think it'd be appropriate for us to start sleeping together. We're still young, and not even officially a couple or anything yet!"
"Calm down, you baby!" May laughed, "I was just kidding! I was actually thinking the same thing earlier today. I don't think it would look to good if Max and Brock come in during the night and see us sleeping together. Can I ask you something, then?"
"What now?" he asked.
"Why did you sleep with me last night?" she asked him, blushing over her empty ice cream bowl.
"I was trying to comfort you, I guess." Ash looked out the window. "You seemed upset, and I know that you'd normally hang on to Max when you'd be like that. I was trying to help you feel better."
"Well, thank you," May commended him. "You did a great job."
"Like I said, May. Anytime," Ash reminded her.
I thought that that was a good place to close this chapter. I also belive that this is the longest current chapter.
So what'd yall think? Like anything in this chapter? Don't like something? Send in a review, I suppose. I'll keep on keeping on untill this story reaches its end.