Chapter 2
Misty sat at a small round table inside the Tiki Restaurant. It was dark inside with recess lighting, Tiki masks decorated the walls. There was a bar, which was empty as this time of day, and a boy in a green shirt sat in the corner table, his eyes faced downwards, concentrating on something.
She had done her crying on the walk from the lab to the restaurant. But the time she got there, she was just pissed off. An attractive Hawaiian boy, who reminded her entirely way too much of Brock, came over and asked her what she wanted to order. She ordered an apple juice, but she wasn't hungry.
He bought her a cold glass of apple juice a moment later and smiled at her. He even smiled like Brock.
"I don't mean to be nosey, but you are entirely too beautiful to look that sad," He said. "My name's Jeremy. Your name?"
Misty blushed. "Misty."
"Nice to meet you," he took her hand into his and she noticed he had a warm, firm grip, just like Brock's. No matter what she did, she still thought about him, and she wanted nothing more in the world than just to forget about him, even for just one second.
"So, what's going on? I know you're not sad about a boy," Jeremy sat down across from her. "If I had a girl as pretty as you interested in me, I'd make you were always smiling."
"You're sweet," she smiled at him and took a sip of her drink. "It actually is about a boy, well...he's a man, really. He's older than me by a couple of years."
"Well, whoever he is, he's an idiot," Jeremy said, looking at her. "You are a fucking knock-out."
"I guess being a knock-out can't compete with being a Professor and having huge boobs," Misty said, bitterly.
"He left you for Felina Ivy?" Jeremy laughed, and she looked at him, confused.
"No, no, I don't mean to laugh at you, or anything," He quickly said, as to not offend her. "It's just...wow, he had you and he went for Ivy. I mean, Jesus...I'm just laughing at how stupid this dude is."
"I feel like the stupid one," Misty said, looking out the window.
"No, No, Babe, don't feel that way," Jeremy said, grabbing her hand. "You'll find someone. Someone who is worth it. Someone who thinks with something other than their dick. Hey, I'm single."
The boy in the green shirt looked up for a moment, and then back down at what looked like a sketchpad.
Misty smiled at him. "Thank you, Jeremy. I'm actually getting ready to leave the island and go back to Pallet town with my friend. We have to make a delivery to Professor Oak."
"Oh, so that's why you were on Valencia," Jeremy nodded his head.
The door bell dinged and Ash walked in, looking straight at Jeremy.
"Hey Misty, who is this?" He asked.
"Hey, Man, I wasn't hitting on your girl, I swear," Jeremy said, taking his hands away from hers.
"She's not my girl," Ash said, blushing. "She's just my friend. Nobody flirts with Misty, so don't sweat it!"
Misty scowled at him and Jeremy smiled at her.
"Well, I don't see why not," he said, taking her hand back in his again. "She's beautiful!"
Ash raised an eyebrow. "Yea...so, I'll have a number one combo meal. Extra eggs and extra sausage with extra gravy and a large coke."
"Gotta get back to work, Babe," Jeremy said, standing up and smiling at her. He headed to the back behind the bar and Ash took a seat in front of Misty.
"Hey, don't you think that guy kinda looks like-"
"Ash," She interrupted him and looked away. "Please...don't."
"Misty, are you that mad at him?" Ash asked, frowning. "I mean, he's just trying to learn more. Brock doesn't want to be a trainer like you and I. He wants to be a Pokemon Breeder or Doctor or something."
"That isn't why he's staying with her, Ash Ketchum," Misty said, sternly. Her eyes fell on the boy in the green shirt who was sketching in his sketchpad. She would catch him looking at her, but then he would look away.
"Why else would he be staying with her?" Ash asked.
"Ugh, you are so clueless," Misty finished off her apple juice and Jeremy immediately refilled it. She smiled at him as a thank you. He then delivered Ash's food.
The younger boy took a bite of his biscuit. "I still don't understand why you are so mad. I mean, if you think he stayed there to have sex with her, because we know how-"
"Ash!" She yelled, causing Jeremy and the boy in the green to look their way.
"What?" Ash asked. "I don't know why that bothers you so much. We know how Brock is. He's always trying to go at it with some pretty girl. He cares more about sex than Pokemon, which I don't understand."
"Of course you don't," Misty mumbled under her breath.
"Are you going to be this way all the way back to Pallet Town?" Ash yelled, and the boy in green stood up, closed his sketchpad and walked out.
"Uh, excuse me?"
Misty and Ash both looked at him.
"Did you say, Pallet Town?" He asked.
"Yea, we're delivering this GS ball to Professor Oak for study," Ash said, showing it to him.
"Professor Oak! Oh my God! That guy is my hero!" The boy exclaimed. "I'm Tracey Sketch-it. I like to draw, it's my hobby. Mostly Pokemon, but sometimes people, too."
"Uh..." Ash blinked in confusion.
"Can I please come with you?" Tracey asked. "Please? This might be the one and only chance I have to meet Professor Oak and it's my lifelong dream!"
"Well," Ash looked over at Misty. "It would be nice to be a trio again, since we just lost Brock."
"Great! So I can go?" Tracey asked, looking at Misty and smiling.
"Sure, whatever," Misty said, standing up.
Ash watched her walk away, still not able to really figure out why she was in such a bad mood. Jeremy watched her leave, saddened by the fact he'd probably never see her again. He wiped down the bar and waved at Tracey and Ash as they followed after her.
...
Loud squeals came from the beach as the three of them stood in line to purchase tickets back to Pallet Town. Misty looked back and saw what looked like a Lapras on shore. The large blue Pokemon squealed again, and she grabbed Ash's hand.
"That Lapras is hurt!" She said, racing towards it. Tracey hesitated but followed them.
Two boys were on the shore, poking and hitting it with large sticks. They laughed at its pain, and Misty was the first to say something.
"Hey! Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?" She asked. A boy with spiked red hair and a bandana turned to look at her, and he smirked.
"Well, well," he said, looking at her up and down. "I suppose if you came a little closer to me, I could get my kicks some other way than beating this stupid Lapras to death."
A boy with dark hair laughed and crossed his arms. "You got a man, little lady?"
"Leave the Lapras alone or I'll kick your fucking ass! You do not want to mess with me today!" She yelled, jumping down from the ledge above the sand and landing on her feet.
Ash caught up to her. "Misty!"
"Oh," the red haired boy said, chuckling. "The independent type, I see. I like that!"
"I bet you are a better ride than this Lapras!" The dark haired boy said, whacking the Lapras hard with a stick, causing it to scream out in pain.
"That is it!" Misty raced towards the dark haired boy and pushed him backwards onto the sand, then pressed her foot onto his chest.
"Big Mistake, Red," the red haired boy said, grabbed her by the arms. She yelped in pain and Ash stood stupidly by the wall.
Tracey scowled and put down his bag.
"Get your hands off of her," Tracey yelled, pulling the redhaired boy off of Misty. "Don't touch her like that."
"Are you her boyfriend?" The boy said, laughing. "Control your bitch, she's in our way."
The dark haired boy sat up, panted for breath. They heard sirens down the street and they exchanged a glance.
"We better get outta here, Marty!" He said, standing up. "The coppers are here!"
"Shit, not again!" Marty, the redhaired boy said. "Make sure this useless Lapras dies!" He hopped on his motorcycle and raced down the beach with his partner by his side.
Officer Jenny stopped on the top of the cliff and jumped down, racing over the Lapras.
"They're getting away!" Ash said, pointing.
"Lapras' injuries are a lot more important right now," Jenny demanded. "We have to get it to a Pokemon center right away or he could bleed to death."
Lapras whined and looked at Misty.
"It's OK, Lapras. You're going to be OK."
...
Two hours later they sat in the Pokemon center lobby, Ash had picked up a late lunch and Misty still hadn't had an appetite. Tracey had tried to get her to eat, but between Brock playing with her heart like he did and the hurt Lapras, she just wasn't up for it.
"Thank you for protecting me back there," Misty thanked him as they sat on an uncomfortable bench just outside the exam room. Nurse Joy had been in there for at least an hour now.
"Don't mention it," Tracey said, blushing a little.
Ash leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "They better be glad Brock wasn't there today. He would have seriously kicked their ass."
Misty looked down at her feet. She wished he would stop talking about Brock already.
"Who is Brock?" Tracey asked, noticing Misty's reaction.
"Oh, he's our friend. He was traveling with us up until this morning, then he decided to stay at Professor Ivy's lab to learn more about the Pokemon that live here, since they are so unusual," Ash explained, Misty stayed quiet.
"Oh," Tracey said, his eyes never leaving Misty. Obviously, this Brock guy meant more to Misty than Ash knew about.
The doors opened and Joy stepped through, giving them a reassuring smile.
"Lapras is going to be A-OK!" She said, cheerfully. "A good night's rest should have him better by morning. Which one of you is Lapras' trainer?"
"Oh, uh," Ash scratched the back of his head. "We actually just found him. He was being bullied by these two guys and we saved him."
"That's very sweet of you, but I can't release this Lapras back out into the wild without a trainer," Joy said, shrugging her shoulders.
"We'll stay overnight with Lapras," Misty spoke up. "We'll take care of him after he's better, too. I will, anyway."
Joy smiled. "Great! I will get you three some rooms set up for the night."