Being Second
An Egoshipping Fanfiction
by: i need sleep

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. If I did, Gary would have more screen time.

A/N: Yay, I managed to do it! A new chapter, wherein Gary and Misty talk, and Delia buys food. :)

Chapter 4: An Ally Of Sorts

Gary had offered to drive them to the locations, of course. Scarlet had been quiet, which was quite unusual because whenever he saw her with Ash she was either threatening him or screaming bloody murder for no reason whatsoever. Frankly, when he had seen her he was shocked, and wished she was only there for a short visit. Much to his displeasure, Delia had invited her as well, hoping that she would be able to provide a lot of help. As he drove through the almost desolate road, he cast a glance at Misty who sat that the back, while Mrs Ketchum prattled on excitedly at the front.

Scarlet was looking out the window, her hair blowing with the wind. He had left the top down, favouring the natural breeze over the artificial air offered by the car's air conditioner.

Eventually, they arrived at Celadon, after a 2 hour drive. It was around lunch time, and Delia had offered to treat them both to lunch.

"Well," she started, as she stood in front of the counter in one of Celadon's numerous fastfoods. "Which one would you kids like?"

"Mrs K, I can pay for it," Misty tried to reason again, but the older woman shook her head defiantly. "Alright…"

"Yeah, are you sure, Mrs Ketchum?" Gary, this time, had asked. He had been silent for the past few minutes, looking at the menu. She nodded this time.

"This is the least I can do, seeing as I dragged you two out while you probably have better things to do!" She gushed, as she smiled. "So, we'll be doing a lot of walking—this is Celadon after all. You two need lots of food!"

Gary nodded, and looked for the cheapest meal. He didn't feel like eating, and he didn't want her to spend too much on him. "I'll just grab a regular burger meal."

Misty seemed to have done the same thing, as she had followed suit with a "Me too, please."

Delia nodded, and ushered the both of them away. "Go on, get us some seats! I'll take care of this!"

Coolly, Gary walked over to a corner booth which had four seats. Misty followed, relunctantly, as Gary sat by the window, his chin resting on his hand. "Well," he said, as he raised his eyebrow at her, watching through the glass' reflective surface. "Take a seat."

She obeyed and took the seat across from him, opting to watch people from the window. They both stared outside, more interested in the people from across the street than the one across the table; it was so much easier to stare at people who weren't as close.

The gym leader spared a glance at the handsome young man across from her. Time has fared him well; his hair was as astounding as she had remembered. His complexion was clear and free of blemishes. His eyes, she noted, were green as ever, like the lush moss. Looking away, she sighed, attracting the attention of the younger Oak.

"So," he started, getting bored of staring at the people outside. How was he meant to talk to her? She was Ash's friend, after all. Almost his girlfriend, he had guessed. Should he be mean to her? Should he be flirty?

He decided to be civil. After all, they were both going to help Delia – a little allegiance would make the job so much easier for them.

She turned to him in acknowledgement and raised a well groomed eyebrow. He was tempted to ask how often she plucked it, and if she had done so in the past two days. He bit his tongue back and welcomed the thought which had inhabited his mind before. "How are you?" he asked; it was the polite thing to do, and it was a common ground between the both of them.

She looked shocked. Gary Oak just asked her how she was! When he had opened his mouth, she expected insults and teases to come flying out—however, that didn't seem to be the case. Surprised, she stuttered, "I'm fine. Yeah. Definitely."

He grinned a cocky grin. Some things just never change, Misty thought, as she decided to ask him the same question, "How about you, Gary? How's life treating you?"

The brunette shrugged, leaning back on his chair. "Been better, that's all I know."

"How's your researching going?"

His eyes lit up. Good, Misty thought, something to fill in the awkward silence. "Good," he said, and he leaned forward, as if telling her a big secret. She leaned forward involuntary to hear him better.

"I'm doing a report on other potential Eevee evolutions!" he said proudly. She looked shocked once more, twice in the past thirty minutes.

"You mean there's more?" she asked, astonished. "Eevee must be the most versatile Pokémon I have ever known."

He sniggered. "You mean indecisive?"

She giggled, "Well, yes."

His eyes glimmered as he launched into a tirade of what he had found so far. So far, they had gathered many other stones to test on Eevee, and he was studying Eevee's genetic make-up. He really likes this stuff, she thought, as she continued to watch him talk animatedly.

He paused after talking for a fair bit. "Wow, Delia sure is taking long."

Misty nodded, "Yeah, but the lines are as long as Onix."

"Hmmm," he hummed as his fingers drummed on the table. "So," he fiddled with a straw, "What have you been up to, Red?"

'Red' frowned. "My name is Misty," she corrected, "in case you didn't know. I've been busy around the gym, beating little dreamers."

"Crushing their hopes and dreams..." as his whisper faded into nothingness, Gary snickered. "Sounds like you, alright."

"Oak!"

"Waterflower!"

"Quit it!" she hissed, sighing inwardly in her head. Just when she thought he was nicer...

He leaned back on his chair, muttering, "Sorry." Misty's head snapped up as she heard his apology. Did she hear him right? Did I just hear The Great Gary Oak apologize? To me? She looked absolutely incredulous that Gary had to laugh. "You know, Misty, if you keep your mouth open like that, you'd be having a meal of flies."

Closing her mouth shut, she eyed him suspiciously. "What do you want?"

He looked shocked-not shocked at her tone, no; he expected that. But he was shocked at the fact she knew he was up to something. He smirked, "Well," he ran his hands through his hair again. "Let's say, for this whole planning to work, we need to forge some sort of allegiance."

"An allegiance?" asked she, before giggling. Whoever says that anymore? "What kind of allegiance?"

His glared at her playfully, "Haha, Scarlet, very funny."

"My name is-!"

He interrupted her with a finger to her lips. "I know what your name is, Misty, I was only kidding with you." He leaned towards her, his arms on the table. "To make this thing work, we have to avoid ripping each others' throats out. So what do you say to a truce? We remain friends while planning this whole thing. After the party, I can be back to The Great Gary Oak and you can be the scary, unattractive gym leader."

She glared. "Who says I'll form a truce," she spat the word with such venom, "With you, Oak?"

He smiled smugly, and she was immediately reminded of his ten year old self. "Well, the party is for Ashy boy... And I know how much you like him."

She blushed. "I do not!" She said loudly, trying to convince the scheming young man in front of her. He has a point, she thought, as she continued to glare. It would work better if we don't insult each other as much... And it is for Ash...

"Well?" he pressed on, with a charming smile he knew most ladies loved, "What do you say, Misty? Friends or not?"

She gave in with a sigh, "Fine." She stretched her hand to him and he took it, kissing the back of her hand. With another blush, she pulled it away, as he continued to sit smugly, acting as if the plastic chair was a throne.

The two sat in silence, contemplating.

Delia Ketchum arrived a few minutes later, tray in hand. In the tray were three chicken burgers. "I knew you both like chicken burgers," she said, as she handed them their food. Gary excitedly dug into his, as Ash's mother sat next to the young gym leader.

"Thanks, Mrs. K," Gary said, after he took a bite. Ah, the sweet taste of chicken burger. "You really didn't have to."

"Nonsense!" She said once more, brushing him off. "It's the least I can do!"

The red-head took a sip of her drink while the brunette took a sip of his too. "So, Mrs K," Gary began, as he placed his drink back down on the table. "Where do we start?"

A/N: Longer than my former chapters. Hopefully, this'll be the start of more long chapters to come! Like I said, we're moving houses tomorrow, and chances are, the internet won't be reconnected til next Sunday! :( I'm sorry, guys, but I guess you'd have to wait. is banned from school computers, so no to that. But I promise, I'll write as much as I can in between the moving and packing and unpacking and everything, so I can upload at least... Two, three chapters when I come back?

On a side note, my boyfriend got me the first season of Pokemon (the best one, I think) and I'll probably be watching that to pass the time over at the new house. A nice, fun way to brush back up on characterisation, hey? ;)