So I didn't post on Sunday. Sorry readers, but I wanted a break, and let my imagination tank refill. Haha... I've noticed a trend where I add a flashback every chapter.. sorry thought I'd say that:P Hehe... Also noticed that the word count in here is even more than the chapter before this... huh... Sooo... Here we go!
Iris clenched and unclenched her fist, letting her her anger simmer out as they sat in Iris's house.
"Hey, Iris," Misty said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You gonna be okay?"
Iris looked at her woefully, and shook her head.
"No... How am I supposed to get Ash to like me? He already thinks I'm weird and knows I criticize him a lot," she said, a tear slipping out, surprising them both "How am I supposed to compete with Serena? She's prettier, nicer, and they have the whole, 'Camp-love-story-I-wanna-be-with-you-forever- thing! Oh man, why did I agree to do this?" she clenched her fist, barely feeling her nails bite into her skin, and Misty had to pry each finger off, leaving a moon shaped imprint.
"Look, I know you can do this. This should be a piece of cake! You're a Dragon Master for Arceus's sake. You tamed Dragonite in only a few months!"
"Yeah, a few months." Iris said bitterly, and raised her arms, letting Misty help her escape her dress that was feeling a bit tight. "I only have two weeks, and Ash is no Dragon." An image floated up into her head, and she quickly shut it down, both blushing and tearing up at the same time. "That's it. I'm officially going to have to give up Ash forever." Suddenly Misty spun her around, and grabbed her shoulders, looking her straight in the eye.
"Iris. We are going to win over Ash's heart, and we will beat Serena. I promise you." She said, conviction in her voice, and Iris felt her hopes rising a little.
"You'll help me?" She said quietly, and Misty nodded firmly, stripping the last parts of the outfit off, leaving her with a tank top and leggings.
"Go shower and go to bed. We'll discuss our battle plans tomorrow." Misty said, an evil glint in her eyes, and Iris smiled, thankful she had help. She trudged to the shower as Misty put her other clothes in the hamper, and turned the water faucet on. She took everything off, and let the warm water cascade over her, loosening her tense muscles. She rubbed her face, and sighed deeply, before running her fingers through her hair, and took her shampoo, getting the shampoo through her thick hair, and let her mind wander. Would flirting work? She thought, squeezing the last of the shampoo off. How would I get enough alone time with him to do that? She quickly got her scrubber and a bar of soap, and scrubbed frantically as the hot water began to run out. Finally, she twisted the knob, and stepped out, wrapping her giant towel around herself, and grabbing a separate, smaller one, and dried her hair meticulously.
"If this thing gets frizzy again..." She muttered, grabbing the hair dryer. Finally she stepped out of the bathroom, clean and sleepy, and staggered to her bed, barely having enough energy just to pull the covers over her head, and conked out, done for the day.
Iris woke up to see Ash's Pokeball on her dresser and Misty in her living room.
"Hey, you left that Pokeball inside your dress. It wouldn't open, so I left it there, along with a necklace holder, so you can wear it." she said, sipping the cup of coffee she apparently brewed for herself. Iris rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and yawned, stretching.
"Yeah, it won't open for me either. Wonder why... " Iris said, her stomach grumbling. Misty ogled her stomach, bewilderment in her face.
"That was you?"she said, amazement in her voice. Iris just shrugged and grabbed a piece of toast.
"So, what's the game plan?" she said, chewing, and Misty's eyes lit up.
"Oh, yeah! So, we're going to go to a Pokemon Contest, and I've made reservations for you and Ash," she grabbed tickets from her pocket, and Iris wondered how she could fit so much in those tiny pants of hers. "You'll just flirt with him, and I'll watch from a distance. Report to me when it's over, so I have a clear understanding of what happened." she said, as if they were in the military.
"Okay, yes ma'am." Iris said, saluting, before they both collapsed into fits of laughter.
Iris sat nervously in the auditorium,and anxiously searched through the giant crowd milling about, talking to one another. Ash hadn't showed up, and Iris was beginning to get worried, looking down at her outfit and hoping it was good enough, when Ash showed up.
"Hey. Why do you look so nervous?" Ash asked, and Iris's head snapped up.
"Uhhh... No reason." she said, chuckling Ash took his seat, and Iris took a deep breath, before turning to Ash. "So, why are we here?" he said, and quickly changed his next words as Iris gave him a saddened look. "Not that I don't mind being here. Iris grinned, leaning closer.
"Because Ashy boy," she bopped his nose lightly with her finger, "we're going on a magical journey, where we watch Pokemon use their moves to capture us!" they both froze, letting the words Iris just said settle in, and Iris could feel Misty shaking her head. Iris! What was that?You can flirt better than this! She said, settling back to her seat, the air between the two now suffocatingly awkward. She fingered the Pokeball that hung around her neck, and watched silently as the curtains opened, to reveal... Dawn?
*flashback*
"Iris, are you ready for camp?" Dawn said over the computer. Iris smiled and lifted her camp bag, showing it to the screen. "Man, I can't wait to go!"
Iris grinned, "It'll be fun to make new friends, but I can't wait to meet up with you and Serena and May! It's been so long since we've moved away!" and Dawn nodded, grasping her own camp bag tight.
"But no matter what, we'll be friends forever." Iris said suddenly, her face suddenly serious. Dawns own face showed the same determination, and they both nodded to each other, before signing off.
"Friends forever..." Iris trailed off, looking at the bank screen, and smiled even wider. "Friends forever"
*flashback ends*
Dawn grinned and her Piplup and Pacharisu started off the show with an bubble/thunderbolt combo.
"Welcome to the fifth annual Unova special Pokemon Contest!" She said as the crowd went wild.
"I'm your host for today, and I will also be competing as well, for your entertainment. Please hold onto your hats, because we have some very competitive trainers here today!" She exclaimed, and the curtains opened with fanfare. The trainers there grinned too, and the show started, Iris staring dejectedly. Looks like her flirting wouldn't work… The rest of the show distracted her, and she watched with amazement as the trainers put together moves that she never would've thought of. Even Dawn surprised her, bringing out a Togekiss.
"Since when did she have that?" Iris said, and Ash leaned over, trying to talk above the screams of delight from the fans.
"She's had it for a while now, and it's been a while since I've talked to Dawn since we stopped traveling together." the moment those words came out, she froze.
"You… you traveled with Dawn?" She said, her jaw set in silent fury. How many girls has he traveled with?...
"Yeah, with Brock too. It was quite the adventure!" He said, still mesmerized by the pokemon's movesets, and Iris finally gave up, dejectedly sitting in the chair. This wasn't going to work….
The lights came back on, and as people were getting up out of their seats, Iris saw a quick flash of blue, that disappeared on stage.
"Ash, did you see that?" Iris said, moving closer to the stage, Ash in tow.
"No I didn't. We really shouldn't be doing this…" he said nervously, looking around and she grinned evilly.
"Who's the nervous one now? And besides, we're sixteen! I think we can take care of ourselves." Iris climbed onstage, and saw the flash of blue again, before it disappeared again. "Come on! This way!" together, they wove and weaved through the long hallways backstage, the only guide they had was the flash of blue, before it disappeared. Finally, they arrived at a door, and Iris burst in, expecting to see a pokemon. But instead…
"Iris!" Dawn yelled, and flung herself at Iris, returned with a hug. The two stood there, just holding one another until Ash cleared his throat, and Dawn looked up, realization on her face.
"You. Get out. Now. Wait outside the door." She commanded, and Ash shrugged, closing the door, and Piplup followed, the blur of blue waddling out the door. Dawn guided her to a chair and sat down, removing her dress.
"So, what are you doing here?" Dawn asked excitedly, grabbing her own casual attire.
"Well… It's a bit of a long story…" Iris admitted, but after another curious look from Dawn, she explained what was happening, and five minutes later, the room held a saddened silence.
"So, if you lose, Ash has to go wherever Serena want's and you're not allowed to see him. Hmm." She said, tapping her chin thoughtfully, before finally nodding. "Then it's settled. You're going to win. With my help!" Dawn agreed, and Iris watched, slack jawed as Dawn rushed to her closet.
"But… But I thought you liked Ash!" she exclaimed, but that just made Dawn laugh as she rummaged through her vast closet.
"No, I don't. He's just not my type. But I can see you two together, and it just makes me so happy!" She said, bouncing up and down. A slow smile began to light up Iris's face, and Dawn returned, with a new outfit, shoving it into Iris's face. "Here. Change into this" she commanded, and Iris wondered if she'd make a better military general with that stern voice. Chuckling softly, she grabbed the clothes, and looked at them for a minute, before looking back up at Dawn, her face frozen in confusion. Looked at the clothes, looked up.
"You don't expect me to wear this do you?" she pleaded, clutching the clothes.
"Uh, yes I do. Part of serenading the guy, is to dress up a little." She pointed out her normal outfit, and cringed. "While that looks comfy and all… it… just doesn't look as…. flattering." She said, carefully going over her words, and double checked she grabbed the right shirt. Awkwardly, Iris put on the clothes and reattached her necklace, when she caught Dawn looking curiously at the pokeball.
"Who's in there?" She asked, and Iris shrugged, uncomfortably pulling at her new pants.
"Ash said that it will come out on it's own time, so I'm wearing it so I can catch it in the moment." Iris said, and she shivered. "Do I really have to wear this?" Iris complained, and Dawn steered her to a full body mirror. The low v-neck that Iris wore felt just an inch too low, and the the pant's she wore were waaaay too high, rivaling the short shorts even Misty wore. "It feels… slutty almost."
"Don't worry about it. I think Ash will love it." she commented, pulling the gold bands on her hair a little tighter. "There. Now, one more tip of advice. Be a little more girly. Don't act like that tomboy Misty and fight with him. Wave and look pretty. Whisper behind his back and giggle. Do girly stuff." Dawn concluded, and the thought of Iris doing those things sent her head spinning. Can I really be girly? Iris thought as she wobbled to the door.
"AAAASH?" Dawn yelled, looking down the corridor, but the hallway sat empty. "He's probably at the lobby. Take a right, then left, then left, then right again, then left, oh, but don't forget that there's…" Dawn explained, but Iris's mind was elsewhere. How in the world am I supposed to be girly? I can't go five minutes with him without getting into a fight...she thought, when suddenly Dawn said a hasty bye, and slammed the door shut, two seconds later hearing loud pop songs blaring through the thin door. Iris raised her fist to knock the door, but thought twice, already thankful for the help, and she didn't want to disturb her any further, so she headed off, trying to remember the instructions Dawn had just given her ten seconds ago.
"Do you go left, or was it right here?" She said softly, when she ran into a man, who towered over her.
"Well well well...looky here. A little doll." he said, his deep voice reverberating through the narrow hallway."
"I'm sorry sir, if you'll excuse me," Iris said, head bowed, but the man simply moved in front of her. He shook his head and tsked.
"Now now, that isn't a proper way to talk to your elders. Maybe you need to be taught a lesson…" He said, tilting her head up, and grinning evilly. "Aww… you look like you haven't seen a day of high school. Well then little girl," he said, grabbing Iris's wrist. "I'm about to teach you what mommy and daddy does in bed." He said, tracing the v neck on her shirt, and Iris snapped, her patience already disappearing, and swung her leg up, aiming for his head.
To be continued
... whaddya think? This is my first story and my first time here, so I would love reviews and tips pleeeease! If you don't like it, or decide you wanna hate, my complaints bin is over there *points at trash bin* no hating please. Just nice helpful advice and tips. Thank you!