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Chapter 9: Bugs, Confessions, and Pancakes.
Misty woke peacefully from the light shining in. Still groggy, Misty reached her hand out to grab her bag from the nightstand. But what she felt didn't feel like her bag. It felt slightly fuzzy, but also slimy at the same time. Misty knew this feel, and it wasn't good. She opened her eyes despite her mind telling her not to.
"WAHHHHHHHHH!" Misty screamed and jumped out of bed. Ash's head shot up and he screamed as well, only to see a terrified Misty in a fetal position in the corner of the room. Confused, he looked over to the nightstand that she pointed at shakily. There looked a disappointed Caterpie. Relieved it wasn't anything harmful, Ash laughed and shook his head.
"Still not over your fear of bugs, Misty?" Ash said with a chuckle and picked up the stray Caterpie. Misty squealed when he did so and he had to resist the urge to come closer to her, like old times.
"A-Ash, p-put that t-thing away! G-Get it o-outside n-now!" Misty said with a shakily voice. Ash laughed and pet the sad Caterpie before setting outside on the windowsill. Then he walked over to Misty and sat down next to her in the corner.
"Oh Misty. I love to see you scared, especially when it comes to bugs. It doesn't make sense why you hate them, you know." Ash said and laughed. Misty grew red and slapped his arm lightly, much to his surprise.
"Ash, I have a very good reason. My parents were killed by bug pokemon." Misty said bluntly and looked away, trying to hide tears. Ash looked shocked at this sudden confession and hugged Misty.
"Oh Misty, I had no idea. How come you never told me before?" Ash said softly and grabbed Misty's hand in a comforting way. Misty looked at him with a frown and held his hand tighter.
"It's because you would have laughed when you were younger. You always shoved bug pokemon in my face, so I didn't tell you. But even though it was a swarm of Beedrill that got them, all bugs are despicable to me now. I just wish I could remember my parents as well as my sisters do..." Misty said, trailing off. Ash looked into her deep, complex eyes with sympathy and brushed away the tears that were forming on her cheeks.
"Misty, even if I was only ten, you don't think I would have felt sorry? I would have stopped if you just told me it hurt that bad. Plus, even back then I liked to get a cute reaction from you." Ash said and winked. Misty smiled and looked down. Then she turned around and hugged Ash roughly and started crying. She buried her face deep into his neck and he could feel her body shaking from her tears. Ash hugged Misty back as tight as he could and whispered, "I'll be here. Always." She cried out happily and broke off from the hug to caress Ash's face. He smiled and began to tear up himself, while Misty began to wipe the tears away.
"Oh don't you cry too, you big softie. I'll be fine, as I always am." She said and giggled. Ash giggled as well from being called a "softie" and held Misty's face gently.
"Misty, you know you can tell me anything. Remember, I'm your boyfriend second and you're best friend first!" Ash said and laughed along with Misty, who had stopped crying.
"Thanks, Ash. I love you." Misty said and kissed Ash quickly before standing up. Ash stood up as well and as if on cue, his stomach growled. Looking embarrassed, Misty sighed.
"Well I was going to ask if you were hungry, but I guess I don't have to, do I?" She said and poked Ash in the stomach. He chuckled in embarrassment and shook his head.
"Well, I'll make you breakfast, Mr. Bottomless Pit." Misty said sarcastically and took his hand, dragging him down the stairs. As they reached the kitchen, they noticed that Ash's mom was nowhere to be found. Looking around but not exactly worried, Ash slowly sat down at the table, slightly suspicious. He figured that his mom was off somewhere with Professor Birch again, and he sighed. Then he heard a loud Thud! in the kitchen, and ran over to investigate. Misty looked embarrassed, and Ash noticed the unopened bag of flour on the floor. He was glad that it didn't spill.
"Heh, Ash you don't need to run to me whenever you hear something." Misty said and attempted to lift the heavy sack of flour. Ash just sighed and bent down to lift it up for her. Surprised, Misty noticed how little effort it took from Ash to move the big bag. She also noticed how his biceps in his arm moved as well, and she blushed a little. As Ash set the bag on the counter, he looked over to see Misty gawking at his bare arms coming out of his black tee. He then got a bit cocky and flexed his biceps. Realizing she was caught, she grew even redder and looked away fast. Ash laughed at her childlike embarrassment.
"Like what you see?" Ash said and pinned her to the counter, showing off his muscles even more. Misty actually was freaking out a little on the inside, having never seen this side of Ash before. She gulped but reached out to feel his arms. Her hands then trailed off to his shoulders, then his chest, and down to his abs. Blushing and lusting for Ash, Misty almost reached for his pants, but didn't.
"A-Ash, I have to u-uhm...M-make you s-some food..." Misty said with a stutter. Ash chuckled and grabbed her face lightly.
"Not before you kiss me first." He said slyly and brought his face to hers. She welcomed the distraction and wrapped her arms around his neck. He put one of his hands through her hair and leaned the other on the counter to prevent them from falling over. After a minute or two, Misty pulled back and slid out from underneath him. He turned around to see her go back to cooking, and he was a little disappointed. But Ash's stomach growled again, so he walked over to her to help cook.
"So what are you making Misty?" Ash said and noticed she was stirring the flour with sugar, water, and chocolate chips in a bowl. She smiled and shook her head.
"Can't tell, huh? Its chocolate chip pancakes. It's one of my favorites, but I hope you like them too." Misty said and smiled at Ash hopefully. Ash just laughed and grabbed an apron.
"Misty, its food with chocolate in it. It can't be bad, especially coming from you." Ash said and winked at her. She laughed and tossed him the bowl.
"Keep mixing that while I start up the stove top." She said and turned on the stove. He kept mixing the batter, but had the naughty urge to eat some of it. While she wasn't looking, Ash slowly brought the spoon up to his face and stuck his tongue out in time for Misty to turn around.
"Ash Ketchum! You can't wait five minutes for me to cook them? Geez!" She said and slapped his wrist playfully while take the bowl away from him. He laughed and shook his head.
"I'm hungry..." He said in a quiet voice. She just laughed and sighed. Then Misty grabbed the spoon as well and poured the batter onto a hot skillet. He then looked over her shoulder, eyeing the browning batter hungrily. She turned around and pulled his ear, dragging him out of the kitchen.
"Just sit down at the table. I can't have you eating the pancakes before they even cook!" Misty said and plopped him in a chair at the table. He looked embarrassed and blushed.
"You must know me too well, because that's exactly what I was gonna do." He said and smiled a cheesy grin. She just laughed and went back into the kitchen. About five minutes of fidgeting in his seat, he saw Misty step out of the kitchen with a big stack of pancakes. Ash looked incredibly happy and smiled at her, then ran to grab some syrup. She just shook her head and chuckled. You'd think that boy loved food almost as much as pokemon...or me. She thought to herself and smiled at their duel confessions a few nights before. As she did, Ash sat back down and hastily poured syrup allover his huge stack of pancakes. Misty only had about two or three pancakes, but she was content with that. Ash, on the other hand, had about six or seven. He then passed her the syrup and chowed down. Misty was still amazed at how fast he could down food, no matter how sticky it was. Misty drizzled some syrup on her own and began to eat. As she finished her first pancake, Ash put his fork down and patted his belly.
"That was awesome, Misty! It hit the spot." Ash said and smiled while wiping his face off. She just smiled and continued to eat. Ash, expecting some sort of reply from her mouth, looked at her curiously.
"Uhh, you ok Misty?" Ash said and looked over to her picking at her food.
"Err...Uhm, yeah..." She said, daydreaming...