Wow guys…I'm sooo sorry for this absence! I just had to do so much in school. Tasks, exams and college entry, you name it.

Anyway, this chapter is shorter than the previous few chapters, but the good news: The next chapter is almost done and will be posted by next week.

I also want to thank everyone for reviewing and please leave reviews after each chapter you've read. Your reviews are what keep me writing.

Let's be honest, this story sucked in the beginning because I didn't really plan. I just typed as I went along. But now that I started planning ahead, my writing and layout has improved don't you think?

I'm also thinking of maybe rewriting the first few chapters. Improving the grammar etc. Tell me what you think about it!

Once more I apologize for the long delay…really sorry.

Changing ways: Chapter 12: Realizations:

"Come on Misty, hurry up!" Ash yelled as he turned his head to look back at Misty while starting to go into a light jog down the street as the gang made their way back to the Cerulean Gym.

"Pika Pika Pikachupi" Pikachu added his insight to the situation from on top of Ash's shoulder by encouraging Misty to move faster.

"Ash," Misty began as she jogged slightly behind Ash, clearly looking irritated. "The Gym isn't going anywhere, so would you please slow down!" she yelled slightly harder then she would have wanted.

People who were walking on the street turned their attention to the source of the racket, which was Misty.

"Uhm Misty," Ash began as he looked at Misty with his head tilted slightly to the side. "Why'd ya shout like that…" he continued as he looked around at the people giving them awkward stares.

"Oops!" Misty said as she giggled nervously and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly while giving a quick glance to the people on the street staring weirdly at the trio. She sighed aggravatedly. "Just come on…" she mumbled to Ash as she grabbed him by the hand and started pulling him down the road towards the Gym.

"Alright now we're talking!" Ash yelled excitedly. "At this rate we'll be at the Gym in no time!" he added as he fist pumped the air with his free hand.

"Pi Pikachu" Pikachu exclaimed from Ash's shoulder while mimicking his master's actions and also doing a fist pump.

"Ugh…" Misty moaned as she face palmed and continued dragging Ash down the road. "At least you're not hungry, because I would never hear the end of the complaining then…" she thought out loud.

"Now that you mention food…" Ash began. "Those waiters sure were weird, weren't they Misty?" Ash pondered as he frowned at Misty, waiting for her opinion about the matter.

"I know Ash, I bought that topic up way back at the restaurant, remember?" Misty responded impatiently as she rolled her eyes. "By the way Ash…" she started.

"Yeah Misty, what's up?" Ash asked as he tilted his head to the side at Misty out of curiosity.

"Well I was just wondering," Misty started as she turned her head back towards Ash. "Why'd you volunteer to pay for lunch back there?" she asked him and frowned at Ash's unnatural show of politeness at the restaurant.

"I don't know?" was Ash's well-thought reply. "I guess I just wanted to treat you guys a bit, you know? To thank you for all the adventures we had together, and sticking with me all the way through my journey, and letting me stay at the Gym of course…" he trailed off and sub-consciously smiled as memories started flooding his mind.

Misty was now staring back at Ash while she was also sub-consciously smiling sweetly at him. 'Ash…' She then gave his hand which she was still holding onto a light squeeze, which caused Ash to look up at her.

Ash felt that weird, tingling sensation in his stomach again when he noticed that he and Misty were still holding hands. His cheeks started turning a more crimsonish red and he instinctively held tighter onto her hand. 'Wow, her hand is so soft and warm…mine is probably rough…' Ash thought as his eyes grew wide after realizing how his hand must be feeling to Misty. He quickly let go of her hand and shoved both his hands as deep as possible into his pants' pockets.

"What's wrong Ash?" Misty asked Ash while frowning at him as he made his way next to her, his hands still deeply shoved into his pockets.

"Uh, n-no I just wanted to walk next to you instead of being dragged…" Ash said as he giggled nervously and then started whistling to avoid any uncomfortable silences.

"Well alright…I guess…" Misty said half-heartedly and sighed softly. For some reason Misty felt kind of disappointed now, but she just tried to shrug it off as tiredness because of the walking. She took a quick gaze in Ash's direction. "Well...thanks anyway Ash." She said as she smiled sweetly at him.

"Huh? Thanks for what?" Ash asked as his whistling stopped and he looked at Misty in confusion.

"For paying the bill for lunch of course..." Misty said as she continued smiling at Ash. But are you sure you don't want me to help out? It's no problem really…" Misty added as she frowned at him.

"No Misty you don't worry about it…" Ash started. "It's no problem at all, it was my treat." He said as he smiled at Misty.

"Thanks Ash." Misty said as she smiled sweetly at Ash. "That was sweet of you…" she added as she softly grabbed Ash's forearm and gave it a light squeeze in gratitude.

Ash and Misty soon found themselves staring into each other's eyes again, with everything around them fading out, until…

"Pikapi Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed from Ash's shoulder to get his trainer's attention.

"Huh?" Ash snapped out of staring and looked up at Pikachu. "What's all the yelling-"Ash began, but he was cut off when his forehead connected with the unforgiving steel of a street lamp right in front of him, resulting in a loud thud and caused Ash to fall backwards and land flat on his back.

"Are you okay, Ash?" Misty asked as she raised her brow at Ash's painful, yet slightly funny predicament.

"Uh my head…" Ash mumbled groggily as he rubbed his forehead and sat up.

"Pika, Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed with an annoyed look on his face as he stood on the ground beside Ash with his arms crossed.

"Thanks a lot Pikachu…" Ash mumbled as he started to get up onto his feet.

"Pi-ka…" Pikachu started as electricity started sparking from his cheeks.

"Alright already," Ash started as he backed off a bit from Pikachu. "You helped a lot and tried your best, just don't shock me!" he yelled as he swung his hands defensively in front of him to escape the wrath of his little yellow pokemon.

Misty giggled at the pair's silly antics and shook her head in amusement. "Ahem…" she cleared her throat to get Ash and Pikachu's attention.

"Huh…" Ash said as he turned to Misty. "What's up?" he asked as he tilted his head to the side.

"You two can goof around at the Gym…" Misty said with her head held high in the air. "Besides…I want all my pokemon to be together for a change…" she continued as she started drifting into her own little world.

"What do you mean Misty?" Ash asked as he lifted his brow while looking at Misty, awaiting an answer.

"Pika…" Pikachu enquired as he tilted his head to the side while frowning at Misty.

"Well," Misty started as she turned to the boys while smiling half-heartedly. "Although I always had pokemon with me on your journey Ash, not all of my pokemon has been together at the same place before…and I miss those I have to leave behind at the Gym whenever I leave home a lot…" she trailed off while her hand sub-consciously moved to her chest as she stared at the ground before her.

"Yeah I know what you mean…" Ash said as he looked down at his feet and frowned. "Charizard, Squirtle and all of those pokemon I had to let go…I really miss them. It isn't easy to let go, but I know in the end that it's the right thing to do…" Ash trailed off as he bit his bottom lip.

Misty looked at Ash with sincerity evident in her eyes. 'Poor Ash…' she thought as she watched him. 'It must really be hard for him to see his pokemon go...No one I know is as deeply bonded with their pokemon as he is, so it must break him to see them leave or stay behind…' she concluded as she looked sadly at Ash.

"Pikapi…" Pikachu exclaimed unsurely as he patted Ash's shoulder.

"Hey buddy…" Ash said as he looked up at Pikachu and smiled half-heartedly.

Misty sighed and moved a bit closer to the two and punched Ash playfully on the shoulder.

Ash turned to Misty and tilted his head to the side in curiosity. "What's up Misty?" he asked her as he frowned.

"Come on Ash, I'll race you to the Gym!" Misty yelled as she took off down the street with a big smile on her face.

"Wait what?" Ash asked as he watched Misty fading into the distance. "Hey wait up!" he yelled as he took off after her, with Pikachu clinging onto his shoulder for dear life.

'Hopefully this will cheer Ash up. I really feel bad though…this is kinda my fault…' Misty thought as she paced down the street. She looked behind her and saw Ash steadily starting to catch up to her 'Well I guess it worked!' Misty thought with a sigh of relief.

"Hey Misty, wait up will ya!" Ash yelled as he chased after Misty.

"Pika Pika, Pikachupi!" Pikachu yelled from Ash's shoulder as he bounced up and down.

"Yeah Misty...listen to Pikachu!" Ash yelled at Misty again. "He says he's gonna fall if it goes on like this!" Ash yelled as he started laughing at Pikachu, who was now clinging onto Ash's hat for grip.

"Well if you want to be a pokemon master; you and Pikachu will have to get into shape you know!" Misty yelled back as the Gym started appearing in the distance.

"And who says we're not fit already!?" Ash yelled back confidently as he picked up the pace and pretty soon ran right behind her, the thrill of competition starting to course through his veins.

Misty could hear rapid footsteps coming up from behind her and, curious about it, turned her head to see who it was.

"You're not winning us Misty!" Ash yelled as he started overtaking Misty from the right, a grin of determination plastered on his face all the way.

"We'll just see about th-AAAAH!" was the last that came out of Misty's mouth before the front of her shoe struck a rock, causing her to trip and started sending her on an one way meeting with the pavement down below.

Everything went slow-motion from there on through Ash, Misty and Pikachu's eyes…

Ash looked on as Misty started falling. 'No…Misty!' he thought as his eyes grew wide when he realized that she was in real trouble because of the speed at which they were running at was giving her a lot of extra momentum. The thought of Misty being in danger just didn't seem right to Ash these days, and he was determined to save her…

Misty knew that she was trapped. One way or another; she was going to hit the ground and it was going to hurt! She closed her eyes tightly and prepared herself for inevitable pain that was going to occur in just a few moments.

Ash carried out the only action he thought was appropriate for the current situation; he threw himself forward and somehow got his body beneath Misty's while she was falling.

There was a loud thud as they connected with the hard and unforgiving ground below them.

Pikachu flew off Ash's shoulder and landed right in front of the Gym's front door.

Misty still had her eyes shut tightly, waiting to feel the pain from her collision with the ground. Strangely; Misty didn't feel any pain whatsoever. She did however feel a slight landing, which was surprisingly soft and it was accompanied by a steady, safe grip around her body. Curious about the situation; she slowly opened her eyes and found herself on the ground, in a pair of arms. She directed her gaze upwards and found her face on someone's chest, inches away from another face, Ash's face…and she was lying on top of Ash…in his arms!

"Uhhhh…" Ash mumbled as he groggily opened his eyes. He then found himself staring right into Misty's gorgeous, startled sea green eyes when his own eyes started focusing again. "Misty…?" he asked uncertainly.

Misty was lying with her entire body on Ash's with her chin resting on his chest, his arms firmly wrapped around her. She was staring wide-eyed up at Ash with her mouth partly open out of shock. "A-Ash…?" she stumbled out as her cheeks started darkening into a light pink color.

Ash's cheeks were now also darkening into a deep red color as he stared wide-eyed back at Misty, but he didn't let go of her. In fact, he tightened his grip on her sub-consciously, out of instinct. "I uh…I…" he started staggering out, but was soon just staring at her again with his lips parted slightly.

Misty stared into Ash's eyes momentarily and then found her eyes redirecting their gaze to his partly-open lips. With her cheeks now a deep pink color, she sub-consciously crawled slightly up against Ash's upper body, bringing their faces only mere inches from each other.

Ash's eyes grew even wider as he watched Misty's face coming ever so closer to his own. He could feel his heart banging aggressively in his throat because of his nervousness and was accompanied with pure and utter shock.

Misty felt Ash's heart pound against her body and for some reason completely out of her comprehension, she pressed her body up against his, causing her heart to pound out of control as well. With their hearts beating simultaneously against one another serving as fuel to the fire; she tilted her head slightly to the side and slowly moved her lips towards Ash's as she slowly started closing her eyes.

Ash stared wide-eyed as Misty's lips got closer and closer to his and, almost instinctively, started closing his eyes and parted his lips a bit more while lifting his head to grab Misty's lips on the way…

"Pikapi, Pikachupi?" Pikachu called out as he scampered over to where Ash and Misty were lying, ever so close to sharing a first, passionate kiss.

"Huh…" both Ash and Misty exclaimed simultaneously. Ash lifted his head out of surprise, causing a painful clash of heads between Misty and himself. "Ouch!" they both yelled simultaneously once more as Misty rolled off Ash and sat on the4 ground next to him, rigorously rubbing her wounded forehead.

"Pika, Pikachu?" Pikachu inquired as he tilted his head to the side in confusion because of Ash and Misty's weird antics.

"What's the big idea Pikachu?" Ash asked Pikachu with tears in his eyes because of the pain as he rubbed the red bump on his forehead.

"Yeah, why'd you sneak up on us like that?" Misty added as she grasped her now-aching head with both of her hands and glared at Pikachu with one, half-open eye.

"Pika Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed hastily as he waved his paws defensively in front of him.

Pikachu's antics proved futile as Ash and Misty got closer, soon hovering over him. They both pounced on the poor yellow mouse, resulting in a brawl accompanied by a cloud of dust.

"Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu's cries of pain could be heard from within the cloud of dust.

The dust eventually cleared as Ash and Misty made their way into the Gym, dusting their hands off satisfied and accompanied by an "hmph" from each of them.

"Pika Pika…" Pikachu mumbled as he lay on the ground, with swirling eyes and a goofy smile on his face because of the beating handed to him.

"Pikachu," Ash started as he stuck his head out of the door from inside the Gym.

"Pika…?" Pikachu stuttered out dizzily as he sat upright and looked over towards the door.

"Are you coming buddy?" Ash asked nonchalantly, as if nothing even happened.

Pikachu face-faulted dramatically, with his hind paws twitching in the air. He soon recovered though and sighed exasperatedly. "Pikachu…" He exclaimed irritated as he made his way over towards the door.

The two of them made their way into the living room to find Misty, but she wasn't in there.

"Misty?" Ash called out as they looked around the living room for any sign of Misty.

"Pikachupi, Pika Pika?" Pikachu exclaimed with his paws cupping his mouth.

"Misty, where are you!?" Ash yelled as he made his way through the living room with Pikachu following close behind.

The two of them walked into the pool area of the Gym and they spotted Misty sitting on one of the pavilions that surrounded the pool in the middle of the room.

Misty was staring out in front of her, seemingly deep in thought. 'Out there, on the ground. Did me and Ash almost…kiss?' she thought to herself as she bit down on the tip of her thumb and frowned while she stared at the water in the pool in front of her.

"Pikachupi," Pikachu exclaimed excitedly as soon as he spotted Misty and almost immediately scampered over to where she was sitting.

"Huh?" Misty mumbled as she turned her head in the direction from which the noise as coming from, laying her eyes directly on Pikachu who was rapidly approaching her. "Pikachu!" she said as a big smile made its way onto her face as she held her arms open for the little mouse.

"Pika," Pikachu exclaimed as he leaped into Misty's waiting arms. He crawled up and nuzzled his cheek affectionately against hers.

Misty giggled childishly at the little mouse's show of affection towards her. "Pikachu, if this is your way of softening me up…it sure is working!" she said in between giggles as she scratched Pikachu softly between his ears, earning a coo from the yellow mouse.

Ash slowly and casually approached the two of them while smiling brightly at the happy-looking sight of them in front of him. He crossed his arms over his chest and his smile soon transformed into a smirk of some sort. "Ahem…"

"Huh?" Misty exclaimed as she turned her attention towards Ash, who now had a clear smirk evident on his face. "Oh hey Ash, what's up?" she asked Ash as she turned herself completely towards him with Pikachu still nuzzled up against her cheek, cooing softly in delight because of Misty's soft touch.

"Wow, who ever said that you don't have a softer side sure was wrong…" Ash said as he grinned knowingly at Misty.

"Ash…" Misty started with a dangerous tone of voice as her gaze intensified into an irritated glare. "If I weren't so tired from all of that running I would ki-"she said before stopping midway through as she took a better look at Ash.

His arms were full of scrapes and scratches. He had a cut on his left cheek which was starting to bleed slightly and there was a tear in the sleeve of his black t-shirt, close to his to his left shoulder. To be honest; it was only a few mild scrapes and scratches, nothing too serious…

"A-Ash..." Misty stuttered out as her eyes grew slightly wider. She looked at the tear in his shirt and, to her horror; she noticed blood trickling down his shoulder.

"What?" Ash asked as he frowned at Misty because of her sudden, weird behavior. "Misty, what is it?" he asked again, but with more nervousness evident in his voice. He took a step forward towards her, but it came to a sudden halt as Misty came lunging at him, almost knocking him backwards onto the floor.

"Ash…y-your arm…look at your arm!" Misty yelled wide-eyed and hysterically as she took hold of Ash's wounded arm.

"Pika, Pikachu?" Pikachu inquired dizzily as he sat upright. Misty sudden change of demeanor caused the poor little mouse to fall flat on his face onto one of the pavilion's seats.

"My arm, what do you mean my ar-OUCH!" Ash yelled as Misty started rolling up the sleeve of his shirt to examine the wound more thoroughly and because of some blood that dried already; it caused the shirt to pull his skin along with it.

"Yes your arm Ash! What happened to arm!? Oh gosh…Ash, are you okay!?" Misty panicked frantically as she held Ash's arm in place while examining the gash on his right shoulder.

"Well uh…I don't know actually…" Ash said as he laughed nervously. "I only noticed it after you did." He added. "I guess I must…have gotten hurt…in…the…fall…" Ash slowed down and stared at what Misty was busy with…

She was now sub-consciously stroking gently over Ash chest while she was examining the wound. She quickly noticed it afterwards however because she could feel his heart beat quickening dramatically, causing her to jolt her head up and stare wide-eyes into Ash's eyes. "I uh…I…" she started stuttering out, but kept quiet after a while as her cheeks started darkening deep red. She started backing away backwards from Ash and suddenly tripped over the poor, still-recuperating Pikachu, causing her to fall solidly on her backside.

"Misty!" Ash yelled as he took a step closer to her, but she quickly got back on her feet again however.

"Don't worry I'm fine!" Misty said as she giggled nervously while scratching the back of her head.

"Pika Pikachupi," Pikachu moaned as he rubbed his head, slightly irritated because of bumping it and then falling on his head twice in the space of a few minutes.

"What's wrong now Misty? Ash asked as he scratched the back of his head in confusion and frowned at Misty.

Misty on the other hand, slapped her forehead with her palm in utter disbelief. 'WOW…Ash really is a dense fool sometimes…doesn't he remember what just happened?' she thought aggravatedly. She then looked at Ash, who was still staring at her in confusion, causing her to sigh in exasperation. "Nothing Ash…just stay here; I'm going to go look for a first aid kit 'kay?" she stated as she turned and walked away, disappearing through the doorway that led to the living area of the Gym.

"Sjeesh, what's up with Misty today?" Ash wondered out loud as he frowned at the doorway through which Misty disappeared just a few moments ago. "Oh well…" he figured as he took a seat on the pavilion.

He stared out in front of him at the water in the pool…and then he remembered something. "Hey I almost forgot!" he yelled as he rose to his feet again.

Well not a very long chapter, but the next one is definitely longer and almost finished.

If you guys know any beta readers, please pm their names…I need a beta reader!

Till next time