I am back through high demands of this story. Thank you all so much! It really warms my heart when I hear off you guys :)

Anyway, in this chapter things get a little awkward and of course fluffy for our little boys ;) I think this fluffyness is making me go all mushy inside. So as you are all well aware Gary is going to be living with Ash, I wonder what great and yet awkward situations I can come up with.

I will leave you with this exciting instalment, and remember... share the love!

Chapter Four: If I tell you, would you listen?

The taxi ride home was surprisingly silent and it was making me feel a little nervous. I had no idea whether it was the deafening silence that caused my apparent heartache, or the fact that Gary had not uttered a single word since we had gotten inside.

His lab coat was still tightly draped over my shivering shoulders and I clung to it like a lifeline. It still smelt of him, luckily.

My eyes gazed out of the window, aimlessly watching all the scenery pass us by. I wished he would just talk, even if he would just tease me or mock me, it would be better than this.

Had I upset him maybe? Ever since I thought to myself that I might like him more than just an Ex rival, or former childhood companion things seemed to be different. Was it awkward between us? Man, I hoped not. It's not like I was in love with him or anything.

"Gary... are you okay?" I asked cautiously, turning my gaze to his as the taxi went over a bump in the road causing me to leap up in fright. He smiled softly and chuckled;

"I think I should be asking you that question,"

I scowled and folded my arms;

"There is nothing wrong with me, so what I got a little spooked, big deal,"

He continued to smile at me so I ended up turning away once again, looking back out the window at the scenery.

The taxi driver was deathly silent and just kept himself to himself, much to my delight. I didn't want some stranger enquiring about us, that would really make things awkward.

It was now I noticed that it was beginning to rain outside, the water droplets smeared on the window pane as I grumbled.

Now I was going to get soaked as well as cold. Great, just great.

I could not help but occasionally steal a glance at a very reserved Gary, who just sat with his head rested back against the seat, his emerald eyes looking up at the ceiling of the taxi.

Was something on his mind?

"You know, if things are troubling you, you can talk to me. I know I might not be much of a help right now, but it does help to talk to someone," I consoled, watching as the spiky haired boy looked right at me. He seemed almost shocked at my outburst, and to be honest I shocked myself as well.

"I am fine, just thinking about some things," He replied.

"Like what?" I enquired curiously, receiving a raised eyebrow in response.

"Nosey aren't we?" He mocked.

I felt my face twist into discontentment once again. Sometimes I wished he would just be straight with me. I wasn't being nosey, I was just genuinely concerned, but I wasn't going to let him know that.

Shuffling my body so I had my back facing him I turned to the window once again and sighed.

My heart was starting to feel incredibly strange. It seemed that being with Gary, like this, just the two of us was making my emotions run a little haywire. I even wanted to cuddle him a few times and it had crossed my mind, but I digressed. If I actually did that he would probably knock me out there and then. Come on, it's Gary, he is hardly the sensitive type is he?

Whilst lost in my own thoughts I felt a nudge in my back. Slowly and somewhat reluctantly I turned around, my eyes focusing on Gary's face. It was not as stern as I was used to, in fact it was soft and kind, and even sincere. He smiled at me;

"Come on Ashy-Boy, don't be like that. Sometimes I just like to keep things to myself and sort them out in my own time,"

I looked away, once again feeling my face start to burn.

I wish he would stop calling me by that name, for an odd reason it always made me blush like a damn pansy.

Nervously scratching behind my head I replied;

"It's okay, I just wanted you to know if you need to talk then... I am here,"

I felt his long narrow fingers gently tousle my hair as his chuckled;

"Silly, I already know that,"

The blush on my face intensified and instinctively I moved my head away, using my own hands to flatten the hair he had so willingly messed up. Once again he chuckled at my actions.

It is bad enough that I am sitting so terribly close to him, and now he goes and tousles my hair? Does he know what that does to me? God damn it! I just wish these thoughts would go away, ever since I heard of the news about my Mom I have just been constantly melting like ice under his flame and soon I was bound to turn to mush. It was inevitable.

As we finally reached my house Gary kindly paid the taxi driver and we stepped out into the abomination that was Mother Nature's fury. The rain was hammering downwards like a waterfall on my head, so instinctively I placed Gary's coat above my head.

Well, I had to keep some of my body dry.

Gary did not seem to care much about the rain and once he had paid the driver we made out way to my front door. Hurriedly I snatched my keys from my jeans pocket and rammed them into the lock. I needed to get out of this incessant rain and dry off, also Gary was just getting soaked to the bone and did not seem to have a single care in the world.

"How can you just stand there and get soaked?" I questioned the taller boy. He shrugged;

"It's only water Ash, it's not like I'm going to burn and melt away if it touches me,"

I rolled me eyes.

I asked a stupid question so I got the stupid answer. Typical.

As I turned the key in the lock I quickly pushed the door open and we both walked inside the dark house.

My arms reached around the wall for the light switch and eventually found it releasing a ray of light into the walls. I breathed in the scent of home and it made me suddenly feel nostalgic. I hadn't been home in such a long time, and everything was exactly how I left it, it seemed Mom wanted everything to be the same for when I came back.

It was times like this where I missed her most.

"Do you mind if I grab a towel to dry my hair?" Gary asked, interrupting my melancholy thoughts. I nodded and watched as his slim, and now, very damp figure retreated to the bathroom.

I released a sigh, wishing Mom would just appear out of nowhere and start fussing over me like usual. Of course that was not going to happen.

Removing Gary's extremely wet lab coat I hung it on the radiator to dry off. It was the least I could do.

"You alright? You seem kind of off with the fairies," Came a soft and familiar voice.

I turned my attention to direction to the voice to meet Gary's figure, rubbing his spiked hair with a towel.

Weirdly enough I was starting to feel strange, like slightly aroused? No, no! This is not how I am feeling! I mean, I guess... seeing him like that kind of caught me off guard, or something. Yeah, that was definitely it.

"Ummm... yeah I'm... good," I mumbled, diverting my gaze away from him and deciding to settle my body onto the sofa.

I needed to preoccupy my mind right now, it was not good that these demonic and also very WRONG thoughts were creeping into my mind.

Absent mindedly I grabbed the remote and switched the television on, hoping to find something to bore the emerald eyed boy with.

"You're acting strange, is it something I have done?" Gary continued bombarding me with unanswerable questions. I winced and bit the inside of my lip.

"No, I guess I am... just tired," I lied, trying to flick through the channels to take my mind off him.

Every hair on my body stood on edge as I felt him sit beside me, a little too close for comfort. I swallowed hard and tried to ignore it, continuing to find something to watch. Gary eased into the comfortable embrace of the sofa as he stretched out, obviously glad he had the opportunity to rest after a long day.

"Go to bed then," He returned to me. I glanced at him, watching how he had his head laid back on the sofa, eyes closed, looking so relaxed and at ease.

Go to bed? It was just not possible, not with these thoughts crowding my mind, and besides I could not sleep knowing Gary was here. He was the guest after all.

Fidgeting nervously with the remote in my hands I decided to conjure up a rational excuse for not wanting to sleep yet, even though it was actually pretty late.

"You're the guest, it's not like I can just let you sleep on the sofa,"

Gary looked perplexed at my comment;

"So where am I going to sleep? And more to the point, where are you going to sleep?"

I wanted to kick myself for saying this, and usually I would never give up my bed for anyone, but seeing as it was Gary I decided to let him have it;

"You can use my bed, I'll sleep here,"

I heard him chuckle as he continued to relax on the sofa. Slightly confused I raised an eyebrow at him.

What was so funny?

"Wow, I must be special if you're giving up your bed for me," He teased, continuing to chuckle. I scowled in annoyance.

He just had to spoil it didn't he?

It was about five minutes after I had stopped messing around with the remote I had finally noticed I had left it on a horror film, and I hated them. They always made so so jumpy, and with Gary around that was not a good thing.

"Shut up, I'm just being nice," I replied callously, turning my stern gaze to the television, trying to hide the fact I did not actually want to watch the film, but anything was better than melting under his fiery gaze.

I wonder if he had any idea about what I was currently feeling? Actually, did I know what I felt? Was it all in my head, or was this actually real? I never actually ever felt proper feelings for anyone, not even Misty, or May, or even Dawn. I just put it down to me being fussy when it came down to girls, but this was different. With Gary I could be me, and I know he would torment me for life but I could deal with that. He accepted my flaws, and that was something I loved.

I settled a little more into the sofa's embrace, doing my utmost to ignore the fact that Gary was sitting right beside me and I could easily feel the warmth that generated off his body.

It was both unsettling and comforting at the same time.

Ruffling my hair a little I yawned quietly, obviously feeling the effects of the long flight here and the long day at the hospital. Gary had also noticed;

"Do you want me to let you sleep?" He asked, looking at me directly in the eyes. I shot up right, trying to hide the blush that I felt creeping across my face once again

"NO!" I accidentally called out, making the emerald eyed teen jump.

"-I mean... no, I am alright," I returned, trying to hide the real reason why I did not want him to leave just yet.

I knew that with him here the house did not feel as lonely as it would if he were to leave, I would not feel his warmth or know that he was right beside me. I would feel the chill of loneliness begin to consume me, and I knew that was something I hated.

"You are one strange kid, you know that?" He teased, once again ruffling up my hair playfully. I just accepted it this time, trying my best to not scowl at him and just try to lighten up, even if it was very difficult. The noise from the television was merely in the background as the only thing that seemed to have my attention right now was him.

"Tell me something new," I returned, trying to smile to show that nothing was wrong, that I was feeling fine.

If anything if I went to sleep I would've preferred actually sharing the bed, not just because I would want to be near him, it would just be for comfort. After all, it was kind of cold all alone down here. Man, saying I want to share a bed with a boy makes it all sound so gay.

About an hour passed and Gary and I just talked to each other to pass the time. I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could before he retired to bed and if that meant talking about random things then that was the plan.

Soon enough it was midnight and we really needed to get some sleep otherwise we would be no good for anything in the morning.

"Well, I better get some sleep," Gary said, albeit rather sleepily as he yawned loudly. I gave a weak nod, knowing that I actually did not want him to leave, but I was not that selfish to make him stay.

I watched as the tall slim figure of my childhood companion stood up and stretched. I found my eyes meeting the carpet in sadness.

I wished at times like this I could just open up and tell someone exactly what was going on through my messed up mind right now.

"You're sleeping here?" He enquired and I nodded;

"Yeah, I'll be fine don't worry,"

I forced a smile and luckily for me he mistook it for genuine as he smiled back.

"Alright then, I'll see you in the morning. Try not to let the sofa bugs bite you Ashy-Boy" He teased, bobbing his tongue out before he left the room leaving only me in it.

My body immediately felt extremely cold without him being beside me, or at least knowing he was here. Suddenly I felt alone, and I did not like it. As I turned off the television and got up to switch the light off I wondered to myself.

Would I actually be able to sleep knowing Gary is in my room? Why couldn't I just tell him? Would it actually be that bad? I mean, if I said 'Gary, I kind of like you' do you think he would go mad at me? Yeah, he so would, he would so punch me for sure. I think I'll stick to this self inflicted pain thank you very much.

As my fingers gently switched off the light switch and darkness consumed the room I felt my heart begin to sink once again.

Why was it so hard to just say that? It's not like I loved him or anything, I just liked him, and that could be as a friend.I was pretty sure at this point though that it wasn't, I mean people don't pine like dogs after their friends, not even their best friends. This was something more than that.

Sighing I found my way to the sofa and settled down, my ears detected the rain lashing against the window pane in sheer anger. I was almost sure it would actually break through the glass and assault me even more.

Go on Mother Nature, give me your best shot! Nothing you an do can make me feel any worse than I do now.

Cursing at my stupid emotions I laid my head down on the pillow and tried to get some rest, even if it was extremely difficult. A tall, emerald eyed boy kept weaving his way into my mind about a thousand times, preventing me from actually drifting off to sleep. I just accepted that tonight there was no way in hell I would be sleeping.

Throughout most of the night I had constantly drifted in and out of consciousness and it was starting to aggravate me. I loved my sleep so when I could not sleep it annoyed me to no end. All I wanted was to be at ease, yet my stupid mind wouldn't even allow that.

Sitting upright I allowed my eyes to get used to the dark void that had consumed the room, it was now I noticed that the sound of the rain was a lot quieter than it was a few hours previous.

At least that was a relief.

I wonder, is Gary sleeping right now? I bet he is, he has no idea what he does to me, it is so unfair. Why can't I be more like him? So reserved and cool, not letting anything bother him. Me on the other hand I freak out or get flustered about anything. Stupid damn emotions.

Glancing in the direction of the stairs I swallowed hard.

A part of me wanted to see if he was actually asleep, and if he was what would I actually do? I could not just stand there and watch him like some sick weirdo, that is just not me.

I bit into my lip, my limbs wanting to just climb up the stairs and see his face once again, to be near him even if he was asleep. I guess I just wanted comfort, and I felt lost when he wasn't at my side.

Deciding in my mind I stood up and started heading towards the stairs, feeling my stomach knot with every step.

Was I making the right decision here?

My heart seemed to get heavier and heavier as my feet came into contact with each step, trying to be as silent as possible. I could feel my hands starting to clam up with sweat as I thought more about what he would say to me.

Would he think me to be stupid to want to be close to him?

I swallowed hard as I stood outside my own door, breathing in deeply to steady my nerves.

What if he wasn't asleep? What would I do then?

Nervously I pushed the door to and looked inside.

The room was entirely covered in a black veil, apart from the soft moonlight that entered the room through a gap in the curtains. Lucky for me that moonlight was right on Gary's face, illuminating it for me to see. He was asleep, his hair all messy and his mouth slightly ajar as he slept, blissfully unaware that I was watching him. One of his arms was placed just above his head as he slept on his back, facing towards me.

All I did was smile, it was actually kind of endearing to see him so relaxed and almost cute when he slept.

Great, Gary looks cute when he sleeps. Now I won't get that image out of my brain for a long time. The way his mouth opens just a little, the way his hair messes up all over the pillow and how relaxed he looks. It is just... so God damn cute!

Placing my hand to my face I felt a cold sweat begin to consume me the longer I stared at my former rival. All I longed for was to be beside him, being near him while he slept and breathe in the fact he would always be here for me.

That was what I needed right now.

Whilst lost in staring at him sleeping I hardly noticed when his eyes actually flickered open and he rubbed them in a sleepy daze. Looking up at me through narrowed and tired eyes he mumbled;

"Ash? Is that you?"

I swallowed hard.

Great, he is now awake and probably wants to know why I am here. What the hell am I going to say?

"Ummm... yeah it is," I muttered, scuffing my feet on the carpet nervously.

I watched as he sat up, still looking as sleepy as ever and squinting to make out my figure in the dim light.

"What... are you... doing here?" He questioned, yawning loudly after his words.

I fidgeted on the spot, not quite knowing what I could come up with.

"I... couldn't sleep," I answered honestly, my head bowed down to look at the floor. I knew he would think I was a complete and utter idiot.

"Well, come here then," Gary said, sitting bolt upright in the bed.

Oh my God! As of this is actually happening? Did Gary just invite me to sleep in the same bed as him? Does he know how awkward it would be for me to sleep beside him and not want to snuggle him in comfort? Dammit!

Pausing to gather my nerves I slowly walked over to the bed, feeling my face burn the closer I got to the emerald eyed boy.

As I sat on the edge of the bed I shuddered suddenly. The realisation that I was actually going to share my bed with Gary was one thing, but it was only a single bed which meant there would not be much room for both of us.

The thought of us being close was starting to make me clam up with sweat.

"Ash, is there something wrong?" Gary asked, obviously concerned as I had just sat on the edge of the bed for like five minutes, just contemplating my next move.

I turned to face him and smiled, eve though I predicted he could not see me clearly.

"I am fine, don't worry,"

The moonlight illuminated his face perfectly so I could easily see every reaction on his countenance. His features were so relaxed and so at ease, he just looked so cute in that sleepy daze.

Uneasily I got into my own bed and lay down on the same pillow I used to sleep on when I was a lot younger. It was so nostalgic to sleep in my old bed and not have to sleep in the PokeCentre or in a tent.

As I rested my head and tried to steady my nerves I felt Gary also lay down beside me.

"You know, if you actually had said that you did not want to sleep alone I wouldn't have minded," Gary informed, now allowing his eyes to look upwards at the ceiling. Turning to him I replied;

"Seriously?"

"Well yeah, I mean you are like my best friend so I won't go mad at you will I?"

I could not help but smile, even if he was completely oblivious to how he made me feel this was good enough. Settling down a little easier into the embrace of my bed I closed my eyes, continuing to smile;

"Best... friend?" I mumbled quietly, liking how that sounded. I felt Gary shuffle a little so his back was facing me, obviously ready to sleep.

And as slumber was beginning to finally consume my body I heard him mutter;

"Best friend..."

Awwwww! God damn! Everyone probably wants to shoot me because they didn't kiss or anything. Yeah I know, well I don't want to rush to plot so give me time!

I love their little fluffyness, its so cute! Awwwww!

Please keep up the lovely reviews, they make me so happy and because of your guys I keep writing faster! I have more of a drive to write if I know I have fans.

Thanks again and ciao for now!