Chapter 6

Brock sat on the living room sofa, staring at the strip of photos that he had kept in his sock drawer. He didn't know why he hadn't thrown them away yet. They were just stupid photos that he and Misty decided to take on a whim at the mall, but he still couldn't throw them away. It reminded him of a time before he screwed things up, before he played with her feelings. A time when she still loved him as much as he loved her.

By now, it was very clear to him that he had made a huge mistake. He couldn't even make love to Felina without thinking about Misty anymore. He started to cry, for the first time in his life, he actually began to cry over a girl. Not the usual kicking himself in the ass for making a fool of himself to impress a girl, the actual kind of crying that hurt his eyes and his whole body shook with sobs.

He looked at the clock. Felina would be headed home in about 20 minutes, and for some reason, he didn't want to be around when she did. He grabbed his keys off the coffee table and walked out the front door, locking it behind him and headed down the beach.

It was dark out now, getting quite late. He knew it was fall time, early October, but it didn't feel like it or seem like it here. The days never really changed in the length, the weather stayed 70 degrees, the leaves didn't change, the Pokemon's hibernations habits didn't change. Nothing changed. Ever.

The wind dried the tears on his face as he walked along the shoreline. He eventually came upon a Tiki Restaurant down by the boardwalk of the beach. It was dark inside, but Brock could see people inside. Some were playing pool, some were sitting by the bar, drinking. He decided he would go in and take a look at their menu. He wasn't hungry, and he didn't take his usual interest in cooking something like he normally did. He didn't have an interest in a lot of things lately. He just wanted to get out of that house and away from Felina.

He saw a boy behind the counter, around his age, his height, and even looked liked him a bit. He was busy serving other patrons baskets of fries and chicken strips, taking orders for cocktails and collecting money from people who were leaving.

Brock walked over to the bar and sat down. The man behind the counter smiled.

"Good evening, Sir. I'm Jeremy, I'll be your server tonight," he was twisting his towel-covered hand around in glasses to dry them as he spoke. "Can I start you off with a scotch on the rocks? Perhaps a beer?"

"Oh, I'm only 18," Brock said.

"Plenty old enough to drink," Jeremy said. "Well, in the Orange Islands at least."

Brock smiled. Well, he needed something to get Misty off his mind. "Scotch on the rocks, please."

"Coming right up," Jeremy said, enthusiastically. Within minutes, he sat down a glass of scotch with ice in front of him. "Any food?"

"Not at the moment," he said.

"Ah, so you are here to just drink away girl problems, eh?" Jeremy nodded his head. "I've been there."

"Mine's a little more complicated than that," Brock said, taking a sip of the scotch and making a face. It tasted absolutely awful. He coughed a little.

"Anything you want to talk about? I've heard it all, I promise," Jeremy laughed a little and leaned on the bar.

Brock smiled, almost not believing he was about to tell a complete stranger about his problems. "Well, there's this girl and I can't stop thinking about her."

"So ask her out," Jeremy said, shrugging.

"I told you, it was more complicated than that," Brock said, taking another sip of his drink. "I have a girlfriend, and we have been together for almost 6 months. Now, this girl that I can't get off my mind, we had a night together and the next morning, I made the biggest mistake of my life and I chose another woman over her."

Jeremy looked at him. "Did this girl happen to be a redhead, extremely pretty and be traveling around with a boy with a Pikachu?"

Brock looked up at him, in disbelief. "Yes."

"And you left her for Felina Ivy?" He asked, to clarify.

"How did you know?" He asked.

Jeremy chuckled. "That was me, three years ago. I also dated Felina Ivy, and it was a huge mistake."

"What happened?" He asked.

"Well, I had this girl that I liked, and we were friends. One night, things got really serious between us," Jeremy poured him more scotch as he spoke. "We had sex, and it was incredible. I mean, it was the most amazing sex I've ever had in my life. A week later, I was hanging out on the beach, and Felina came up to me, and I was a stupid, stupid kid and we started making out and the girl I liked...or loved, actually, caught us."

"What did she do?" He asked.

"She left. I started dating Felina," Jeremy said, absently playing with a disposable coaster a past patron had left. "I was so miserable with her, that I ended up having sex with one of her assistants for a good while. Hope, I'm sure you've met her."

"Oh, I've met her," Brock said laughing. "I think she's trying to get me to sleep with her."

"That wouldn't surprise me," Jeremy said. "Anyway, Felina found out about it, and we split up. I eventually found out that the girl I loved so much had moved on in that three years, and she was married with a baby on the way."

Brock furrowed his brow and looked down at his drink. "Misty could have a boyfriend..." He said more to himself than to Jeremy.

"Dude," he replied. "With the way she looks, she probably has several and maybe even a marriage proposal. I'll admit, I was seriously trying to get with her."

"Damn it," Brock sighed, and buried his face in her hands.

"I'm only doing my job as a bartender when I tell you this," Jeremy said. "You are an idiot for letting that girl get away. It might not be too late though. From what I saw in her eyes, she loves you. A girl that has that kind of look in her eyes when she talks about a guy who just ripped her heart out, she's not going to just move on that quickly. Brock, listen to me, don't let her get away. You only get that feeling once in a lifetime and once that girl slips away, and she will slip away eventually, you won't get her back."

Brock looked at him for a long moment. He knew what he had to do.

"I've got to find her," Brock said, putting down his glass. "I have to find her. Jeremy, thank you for calling me an idiot. I needed to hear that. I have to go. Thank you!"

He practically ran from the bar and jogged out onto the beach. He eventually made it back to the house and when he walked in he saw Felina sitting on the couch. She sipped a glass of whiskey and looked over at him.

He looked at her for a long moment, and somehow he knew that she knew what was coming next.

"Brock, I've asked you to be honest with me," Ivy said, shaking her head. She pulled from her side the strip of photos of him and Misty together.

"Felina, I'm sorry, I just-"

"You're still in love with her?" She stood up and slammed her drink down on the coffee table. "I knew you were. This whole time I knew you were!" She raised her voice to him.

"Felina, I'm leaving. Tonight. I can't do this anymore..." He raced upstairs and she followed him.

"Brock, no, Please..don't..." She grabbed onto his arm and he spun around.

"Felina, let go of me," he jerked his arm away from her and began to pack his bags. "I can't stay away from Misty anymore. This is eating me alive."

Felina sat on the bed and began to cry. "Brock, please, don't leave. I love you. She doesn't love you like I do. She will never be able to!"

"Felina, please don't cry," he zipped up his suitcase, not bothering to fold his clothes. "I can't love you the way you want me to love you. I'm sorry, but I just can't..."

He heard her sobs all the way through the house as he walked down the stairs. Charity, Faith and Hope were standing in the kitchen watching him leave. Hope looked at him right in the eye and nodded her head. She knew, she had always known, and perhaps she was the only one who had seen it this whole time.

He belonged with Misty, and he just hoped it wasn't too late.

...

The Orange League was in it's last battle. Misty and Tracey had been on the sidelines supporting Ash all the way through it, and now here he was, battling his last championship battle. Misty was actually grateful for the distraction of the whole event. She was surrounded by so many people, and so many things were happening, that she hardly even had time to think about Brock. Of course, that isn't to say that she didn't think about him at night, when everything was quited down and she was alone, but over the past month, she had really come to accept the fact that he wasn't going to ever come back.

The battle was coming down to the wire, and she felt Tracey close his hand over hers, as they both watched with nervous tension. She looked down at his hand, then up at his face and she smiled.

"He's got this, Misty!" Tracey said, both of their eyes glued onto the field.

"C'mon Ash!" She cheered.

With a bolt of lightening from Pikachu, Ash took the victory and the stadium went wild. The defeaning screams filled the air, and Tracey grabbed Misty and kissed her passionately on the lips. After a few seconds he pulled away, looking into her eyes, the screams continued around them.

Neither of them spoke, as if either of them could even hear if they did. She immiedately stood up and ran into one of the gate entrances to the seats, and Tracey excused himself through the crowd to follow her. The screams were muffled from above them.

"Misty, are you OK?" Tracey asked.

"Y-yes, I'm just...You...kissed me," she said, still in shock from his bold action.

"I'm sorry if that upset you, Misty," Tracey said, feeling himself start to blush. He was never very good at talking to pretty girls, which is why it took him nearly 6 months to finally make a move.

"No, it didn't upset me," she walked towards him and grabbed his hands. "I liked it."

He felt his heart pound in his chest as she pulled him forward and kissed him again. It was time to finally move on from Brock, and she felt confident that she could. She pushed him against the wall and kissed him deeper, allowing him to explore her body with his hands.

Ash stopped in his tracks when he saw them, and a deep red blush came to his cheeks. "Uh...guys?"

They heard his familiar raspy voice and jumped apart. Tracey was clearly aroused and he didn't meet Ash's eyes.

"Uh, Ash...congratulations!" Misty said, running over to him and hugging him.

"Thanks!" Ash smiled and hugged her back. "I can' wait to get home and see my Mom and show her my trophy. By the way, where you and Tracey just making out?"

Tracey laughed a bit and walked over, wrapping his arm around Misty. "I've been crazy about you for months," he told her, kissing her cheek softly. "I'm just not as bold as some guys are about it."

Ash shook his head and looked over at Pikachu. "Everyone is interested in dating, I don't get it!"

...

Samual Oak poured a couple drinks for himself and Delia. He settled back into the Jacuzzi and handed one of the glasses to Delia Ketchum. She sipped it and relaxed a bit.

"I got a call from Ash earlier tonight," Samual said. "He won first place in the Orange League. They have decided to spend an extra week in the Orange Islands before heading home."

Delia smiled and leaned forward. "That means we get an extra week alone?"

"Oh yea!" He said, kissing her passionately. She put her drink down beside the tub and pulled him into her, kissing him with even more passion. Just then, the doorbell rang, and she was momentarily distracted.

"It's probably just someone selling girl scout cookies," Delia said, laughing. "They'll go away.

Just as her arousal peaked, the doorbell rang again. Samual sighed. "I'll go get rid of them."

"Hurry back," she said, watching him get out of the tub, dry himself off, and slip on his white robe. His hair was still wet as he walked down the staircase towards the front door, but he was in shock when he saw who was there.

It was pouring rain outside with rolling thunder, and Brock Harrison stood there, soaked to the bone with a small luggage bag behind him.

"Brock?" He asked, offering him to come inside.

"Professor Oak? What are you doing here?" He asked, surprised, seeing that he was dressed in only a robe, he had somewhat of an idea why he was here at almost 11 P.M.

"I- uh..." Samual didn't want to tell any of Ash's friends that he was having a sexual relationship with his mother, but he knew Brock was old enough to know better. "It doesn't matter why I'm here. I thought you were all the way on Valencia Island with Professor Ivy."

"Felina and I are done," Brock told him, shivering. Samual offered him a towel from the linen closet.

"I'm sorry, my boy," Samual said, patting him on the back. Delia came down the stairs a moment later, fastening the sash around her pink silk robe.

"Oh, Brock! Sweetheart, what are you doing here at this hour? You are going to catch your death out there!" She said, closing the front door. "You go into Ash's room and change out of those soaked clothes before you catch a cold. Does your mother know you are here?"

"No," he said, putting his backpack on the floor. Carrying it all the way from the Ferry Boat port was not an easy task, even for a guy like him. He had accumulated so much more luggage than he had left with.

"Do you need me to call her? You look exhausted, Sweety. I'm sure your dad wouldn't mind coming to pick you up," she said, watching him pull out a pair of sweatpants and a white tank top.

"Mrs. Ketchum, I'm really sorry to show up so unexpectedly, but I just...had to get away from Felina...I mean Professor Ivy," he said. "I don't want my parents to know I'm here, not yet."

"Alright," Delia said, leading him up to Ash's room. "You can change in there. Come down to the kitchen, I'll make some hot cocoa for you."

"Thank you," Brock said, closing the door. He quickly changed out of his soaked clothes and put on the dry ones. It felt good to be warm and dry, his skin was still chilled by the fall rain. It was cold in Pallet Town tonight, unlike the tropical climate of Valencia Island.

Delia was pouring cups of hot cocoa for the three of them when Brock walked down.

"Hey, Brock, feeling better?" Samual asked.

"A little bit, yea" He said, taking his cup of cocoa. "Thank you, Mrs. Ketchum."

"Anything for Ash's little friends!" She said, smiling sweetly. She joined them at the table. "Sweety, why did you come here instead of just going home? Pewter City is just on the other side of Viridian Forest."

"I had to come here," Brock told her. "I wasn't sure if Ash was back yet or not from the Orange Islands. Have you heard anything from him?"

Samual nodded. "I bet you will be happy to know that he won the Orange League. He said they would be home in about a week. He and Misty, and that Tracey guy, that seems to be a big fan of me, are taking a small vacation before heading back home to deliver the GS ball."

"Tracey?" Brock asked, feeling sick to his stomach. "Who is that?"

"Oh, another one of Ash's little friends that they met out there," Delia said, cheerfully. "He seems to have quite a bit of a crush on Misty. Which I guess is a good thing, because I know nothing is going to happen between her and my little Ashy!"

Brock's throat suddenly felt very dry, and the warm chocolatey drink wasn't doing anything to sooth that.

"Uhm, Mrs. Ketchum, I know it's a big favor to ask, but can I please just stay here until Ash gets back home?" He said. "I don't want to go back home and tell my parents where I've been. They would be furious with me if they knew why I stayed with Felina. They think I've been with Ash this whole time."

"Of course you can," Delia said. "You can sleep in the guest bedroom, right next to Ash's room. You know you are welcome here anytime."

"Good, because I am so exhausted," he said, slumping in his chair.

"Why don't you get some sleep, Darling?" Delia suggested, putting her hand to his forehead. "You have a bit of a fever. You better rest."

He didn't argue with her. He didn't feel well at all, and he was grateful to be inside where it was warm, dry and safe. But his mind wasn't at ease. Whoever this Tracey guy was, he was falling in love with Misty and he just hoped she didn't love him back.

Samual and Delia watched Brock as he made his way up the stairs and they heard the door to the guest bedroom shut.

Samual shook his head. "Felina is a cougar. She likes those young cubs."

"She's a disgusting woman," Delia said, shaking her head. "Why doesn't she date men her own age? Preying on young men like that is disgusting."

Samual put his hand over hers and patted it comfortingly. "Brock's a confident young man. He'll be over it in no time. Besides, I don't think he's sad over him and Felina splitting up. He seems to be upset about something else..."

...

Misty laid out on the beach in her two-piece hot pink bikini. Finally, she could get some relaxation and some sun. It felt so warm on her skin, and the sound of the ocean was comforting. They had been on Tangelo Island for 6 days now. Misty had done tons of shopping, and today she just wanted to relax on the beach.

"Hey Sexy," Tracey said, standing over here and handing her a bottle of cola. "Thought you might be thirsty."

She sat up on her lounge chair and took the bottle from him. "Thanks, Sweety!"

He settled down next to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Well, we head to Pallet Town tomorrow. I'm glad we got this week at the beach though. It's been a crazy summer."

"Yea," she agreed. It had been six months since she had seen Brock, and she was pretty sure by now that Ivy was either pregnant or married to him. That thought depressed her, but then she looked over at Tracey. He was attractive, smart, and creative and he had just asked her to be his girlfriend a week ago at the Orange League Championship.

"So, I was thinking," Tracey said, leaning back and looking out at the ocean. "You should come and stay in my room tonight."

Misty blushed and pulled her sunglasses down. "Tonight?"

"Yea," he said, facing her. "I am not trying to push you into anything. I just want to hold you in my arms tonight, and if something happens between us, I promise you, I'll make it great."

"Tracey..." she smiled and looked away from him. "We've only been dating a week."

"I know, but Misty, I am crazy about you. I have been since day one...even when you went out with all those other guys, I was still crazy about you," he kissed the beack of her hand. "Please, think about it?"

"Alright," she reluctantly agreed and he smiled, standing up.

"Great. I'm gonna go play a game of volleyball with Ash. You want to join us?" He asked.

"No thanks, I'm just going to relax here," she replied, settling back on the lounge chair.

"Alright. I'll see you tonight."

...

Tracey heard a knock on his door just after 11 P.M.

"Come in," he whispered, careful not to wake Ash who was sleeping in the other room. Misty opened the door, and shyly walked towards his bed. She was dressed in light blue silk and her hair felt softly around her shoulders.

His mouth suddenly went dry.

"Wow," he walked towards her and took her in his arms, kissing her softly on the lips. "Let me see you." He pulled her silk blue top up a little ways and he massaged her breasts. A man hadn't touch her there in a long time, and it didn't feel the same when Brock had touched her. She started to feel uneasy.

"Tracey," she wanted to ask him if it was alright if they just cuddled and fell asleep together, but she was afraid he would get mad, so instead she asked him something else. "Do you have condoms?"

"I picked some up today," He said, opening the drawer beside the bed. "Just in case you wanted to do that tonight. I'm hoping you will want to."

She climbed onto the bed beside him and he pulled her down on top of him, kissing her and letting his hands explore her body once again. He gave her rear a nice, appreciative squeeze and then his hands traveled up her body to her breasts again.

She tensed up and pulled back from him. "Tracey, I'm not ready for sex. Not right now."

He was clearly aroused, but he surrendered and sat up straight. "Alright. If you say no, I know that means no. I'm alright with cuddling for now." He smiled at her and stood to his feet. "I'll go down to the lobby and get us some chips and drinks. We can see what's on television!"

"Alright," she said, adjusting her clothes and leaning back against the pillows. Tracey left the room and Misty wondered if he was angry or disappointed with her. She noticed his backpack in the corner of the room, with his sketchpad sticking out. She had always been curious about what he was drawing, she knew he drew Pokemon, but she never got a chance to really see how good he was at it.

She got up and picked up the sketchpad, slipping open the first page. It was a group of Caterpies and Kakunas in a forest. He drew Pikachu and Togepi enjoying a casual meal together. Tracey was extremely talented! He even sketched a picture of her Pokemon battle with Marina that she had a few months ago.

The next page was of her as well, building sand castles with Togepi. And the next one, was on her lounging by the pool one day. The next one was of her sleeping, and the next one was of her with a sad expression on her face, dated 6 months ago when she first met him. She kept flipping, but it was blank.

Why had he made so many sketches of her? He had been in love with her that long? She couldn't help but feel a little weirded out by it. Then she saw another sketchpad, she opened it up to the first page and it was a sketch of her and Danny sitting inside that restaurant he took her to. She flipped to the next page and almost dropped the pad. It was a sketch of Danny with a giant hole ripped in his chest. She screamed, and closed the pad, shoving it back down in the bag and looking around the room.

She heard Tracey coming and she quickly went back over to the bed. He walked in and smiled at her. "I got you a coke and a bag of potato chips, my love."

"Thank you, Tracey," she said, her voice sounded a bit shaky. What was that? What did she just see? She wasn't sure, all she knew was she couldn't wait to get back to Pallet Town.