SORRY GUYS AND GALS…MY COMPUTER BROKE DOWN, SO I COULDN'T UPDATE AS SOON AS I WANTED TO. BUT HERE IT IS.

Author's Note: If you have the song "This I promise you" by NSYNC, plz get it ready to be played. If you don't have it, I highly suggest you get it. No, scratch that. GET IT. DON'T EVEN READ THE CHAPTER YET UNTIL YOU GET IT. I SPENT SO MUCH TIME SYNCING THE SONG WITH THE STORY (u'll see later in story). PLZ GET IT. YOU'RE GONNA MISS THE HUGE ENHANCEMENT TO THE CHAPTER IF YOU DON'T. So, yea. Just get the song for my sake and for your better reading experience. Now, don't play the song. I'll tell you later when to play it. When you do, the way I placed the lyrics and the dialogue fits almost perfectly, u'll figure it out. And don't worry if you read slow. I read the thing in many speeds, and even very slow works. However, don't try to test me by reading extremely fast or extremely slow just to prove me wrong. It defeats my purpose of adjusting it so that it fits nicely for most readers. Just read at an average speed. Anyway, back to story. Enjoy

One-sentence summary of previous chapter for those who don't remember-Ash, Brock, and Pikachu arrived in Cerulean City, met Misty, and are headed Misty's gym to stay for the night.

Our heroes are on our way to Misty's gym when something not-so-unexpected happened: Ash's and Pikachu's stomachs grumbled loudly. Both Pikachu and Ash put their hand behind their head, giving an embarrassed smile.

"Hehe," Ash said, "I guess we're hungry. We haven't had any decent food for the past two days. We only ate crackers. Well, Pikachu also had ketchup, but that was it.

"I told you I should've brought some things that I can cook," Brock said in that "I told you so" tone.

"Yea, but there's no stove on the boat, and I'm definitely not letting you set my boat on fire," Ash responded.

"I can always bring an electric one."

"I don't want you to kill the battery. We can't use anything else once it's dead. It's not easy to change one either."

"Then we could've brought some frozen food. There's a freezer and microwave on you boat."

"But frozen food sucks!"

"Better than crackers. And get yourself a better boat. Apparently, yours sucks." Ash stood there silently. He opened his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. He had lost.

"Shut up…" That was all Ash could say. Misty laughed and said, "Wow, for once, it's not me and Ash arguing. That's a change."

"So, are there any restaurants around here?" Ash asked. "This place keeps on changing every year I come back."

"Well, there's a pizza parlor two blocks down. You guys want pizza?"

"Sure!" They said.

"Pikachu!"

At the pizza parlor, Misty ordered two slices of regular cheese pizza, Brock ordered three of Hawaiian, and Ash ordered two whole medium pies, one was "The Works", which included all toppings, and the other "Meat Lovers", which included all meat only.

"You haven't lost your appetite a bit, eh?" Misty questioned.

"Nope. It's still the same," Brock answered for Ash.

"Oh. Well…how are you doing in Hoenn, Mister Pokemon Master?" Misty asked.

"Well, it's the same, really," Ash responded, "Still a lot of paperwork, and I have to make all these stupid speeches all the time. It's a good thing the media got over me too. I hate crowds. I also have to advertise for these pointless products these 'inventors' invent. I wonder how any of the things I do even relates to my title as Pokemon Master. More than half the work isn't even Pokemon-related.

"Wow," Misty said quietly. The waitress came with the pizzas. Instantly, Ash, Brock, and Pikachu started to eat the pizza (Pikachu just took some of Ash's).

"Maybe you should just give up your position, if you dislike it so much," Brock suggested.

"Never!" Ash yelled. He then realized he had stood up and was yelling, holding a slice of his "The Works" pizza in his hand. Everybody at the restaurant was looking at him. "Sorry," he said lightly. He sat back down. "It just pays too well, you know? Without that money, I can't manage everything that I have now."

Misty thought about something and decided to change the subject. This whole subject has been on her mind for a while now.

"So, how's your love life?" She asked carefully, "You seeing anyone lately?" She watched his every move to see how he would react to this question. Little did she know that he was already expecting it.

"It's good," he responded coolly. It was his turn to do the observation. "In fact, I'm going out with May now. You remember her, right?"

Misty was shocked. Of course she remembers who May is. She was the one who constantly flirted with him, even though he didn't seem to notice (as dense as he was). Misty met her two years ago, when Ash introduced May and told her May was following him around for practically the same reason she did.

She couldn't speak. All she could manage to say was "Oh…" and looked down in sadness, having no appetite now to finish her second slice. Brock saw this coming and tried to prevent anything bad from happening.

"Umm…we should get going. It's late now. Lets head to the gym." The other two agreed. They paid the bill and left.

The trio walked in silence. Misty was down, and Ash seemed a little sad as well. Brock was walking slowly behind them, observing the two. He felt a tug on his pants. Looking down, he saw Pikachu.

"Pika pi chu Pika pi pi ka?" (Why are Ash and Misty sad?)

"Ash never told you?"

"Pika…" (Nope…)

"Well, I don't think I should be the one to tell you then."

"Pi?" (Please?)

"Okay, fine. But remember, you did not get this from me, okay?"

"Pikachu!"

"Okay. Now…where should I start?" Brock started to think. "Ah, I know. Wait…Let's get something straight. You do know Misty loves Ash, right?

"Pika." (Yeap)

"Good. And you do know Ash loved, if not loves, Misty as well, right?"

"Pika." (Yeap)

"Good. Now, this all started a year ago…"

It was a warm spring night in Cerulean City. Brock had to go back to Pewter City for a couple of days to watch over his own siblings. Ash stayed to keep Misty company, since he didn't have much better things to do. So Ash and Misty decided to go out to eat for the night. They dressed up and went to a fancy five-star restaurant. Misty was gorgeous that day. Ash could remember every detail. She wore a red dress that hugged every one of her curves and revealed most of her back up to her hips. She had matching red earrings and red shoes. She had her hair down, shoulder-length (then again, she has been letting her hair down for like, a few years). Ash just couldn't stop staring at her.

"Hey Mist. You-you look beautiful!" Ash complimented. Misty smiled.

"Mist? Where did that come from?"

"I don't know," Ash put his hand behind his head, chuckling nervously.

"Well, I like it. That'll be my new nickname and only you can call me that, alright?"

"Alright."

"Thanks. You look very handsome too." Ash had a tuxedo on, with a blue tie and actual formal shoes, not his dirty old sneakers, and HE ACTUALLY COMBED HIS HAIR! (What are the chances?). He was blushing. "Thanks…"he said. "Well…um…lets get going then." They walked to the restaurant.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they noticed it was packed. Luckily, Ash already made reservations, and they got a table. They ate and talked about random unimportant things.(PLAY SONG NOW, AND RESUME BACK TO STORY IMMEDIATELY. READ ABOVE FOR INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE PLAYING IF YOU HAVEN'T) The upbeat music suddenly turned slow, and Misty realized it was her favorite song. Ash knew this, and decided to ask her.

"Hey, Mist."

"Yea?"

"Care to join me in a dance?" He was already standing up, holding out his arm, smiling down at her. How could she resist?

"Of course," she happily replied. She held his hand and they walked to the dance floor. Ash put his hands on Misty's waist, Misty put her hands around Ash's neck, and they slow-danced. They just stared into each other's sparkling eyes and danced.


When the visions around you

Bring tears to your eyes,

And all that surround you

Are secrets and lies

I'll be you strength,

I'll give you hope

Keepin' your faith when it's gone.

The one you should call

Was standing here all along…

And I will take

You in my arms

And hold you right where you belong.

Till the day my life is through,

This I promise you

This I promise you


I've loved you forever

"Ash?" Misty called out. The smile was gone.


In lifetimes before

"Yea?" he responded. He noticed her expression changed. "What's wrong?"


And I promise you never

"I-I need to…tell you something."


Will you hurt anymore?

"I'm listening. What's up?"

"Ash, whenever I'm not with you, I feel empty, lonely. You're always there for me, you make me feel happy even during my worst moments. You make me feel whole, alive. Ash…"


And with this vow

Forever has now begun

"I love you."


Just close you eyes

Each lovin' day

And know this feeling won't go away

Till the day my life is through

This I promise you

This I promise you

"Misty…" Ash looked into her eyes.


Over and over I fall (over and over I fall)

When I hear you call.

Without you in my life baby

I just wouldn't be living at all.

"Misty, I would always be there for you. I will always help make you feel better whenever you're down, do whatever it takes to make you happy. I will always comfort you when you need it. I care for you a lot…as a friend.

"Only a friend?" Tears were forming in Misty's eyes.

"I'm sorry…only a friend." Misty started to cry and ran out.

"Misty!" Ash yelled. Everyone was staring at the crying Misty, then at Ash. He sighed and started to run after her.

Outside, Ash saw Misty getting into a cab. "Misty! Wait!" She ignored him and the cab drove off.

"And you remember what happened, right? Her sisters kicked him out and you guys left back to New Bark Town immediately."

"Pika…Pi chu ka chu…" (Yea, I was wondering why…)

"And my guess is that Ash still loves Misty, and is only going out with May to get his mind off her."

"Pi…"

Little did Brock know he was right.

Plz review. What did you think of the song enhancement, by the way?