"I walk this empty street, on the boulevard of broken dreams, where the city sleeps, and I'm the only one and I walk alone" - Green Day "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"

6 The Floating Buizel

After another few minutes of chatter with Professor Teak, May noticed that it was almost six and we were supposed to meet Yata. Paul still hadn't returned. Brock, of course, recited a long, romantic farewell worthy of Shakespeare, only to be dragged away by a disgruntled Misty. Drew struck up an argument with May on our way out, Max catcalling after them. I told Teak that I liked her mugs, realized how absolutely perverted it sounded, and raced out of the house to join Misty.

"This is a very tight knit town, huh?" Misty remarked. "Everything's stuck between everything else, except for the stadium."

I nodded my agreement. "It kinda sticks out, doesn't it?"

She gave me a funny look, as if trying to decipher a double meaning behind my words. Quickly I went over them in my head, looking for one. After all, I wouldn't want some strange innuendo in my speech. She just might start calling me Casanova.

"Yeah," she said slowly. "It does."

"Pika pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, pointing.

I followed his tiny yellow fingers to see Yata waiting impatiently outside the Floating Buizel, standing in a stance worthy of Paul. "Yata!" Brock cried, sprinting towards her. He knelt down in front of her with tears of joy streaming down his face. "Oh, how I've missed you since we were apart! You're still as beautiful as ever. Give me a command, for I am your slave! The stars do not shine without you, my love. Many nights I sat alone. The silence wasn't so bad, until I looked at my hands and felt sad, because the spaces between my fingers are right where yours—."

Max and Misty each took an ear and pulled him back. Dawn looked insulted, and closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see Brock. "To quote Owl City in such a terrible way… that hurt me, Brock. That really, really hurt."

A Glameow slunk around Yata's legs, purring when it saw Pikachu. "Is this yours?" I asked, curious.

Yata nodded, the sour look still on her face. "Nice of you guys to show up," she said brusquely. She turned, smacking me in the face with her hair, and marched into the restaurant.

I blew some hairs out of my mouth angrily. "What's her problem?" I asked again, pulling a particularly stubborn hair off my tongue with disgust. Her Glameow followed with a seductive mew towards Pikachu, beckoning him with her tail. I grabbed his before he could follow her. "Remember, buddy," I told him sternly. "She's a cat, you're a mouse. Most likely she's luring you into being her dinner."

Pikachu stuck his nose up in the air with an indignant "Pi!" and sauntered after the Glameow.

Dejectedly, I shook my head. "I try and help him and this is what I get," I said to Misty.

Drew came up and clapped me on the back. "Don't worry. He'll listen when you start taking your own advice." He glanced at Misty furtively and strolled in the restaurant, simpering.

"At least I have a decent haircut and don't have to flip my bangs every two seconds!" I called.

He whirled around, his bangs flying in what girls call the "emo hair flip", causing Misty to double over in a fit of laughter. "It beats looking like I just rolled out of bed!" he retorted.

Misty saved my dignity by coming up with a reply. "Are you kidding? This is sex hair! The ladies go crazy for it!"

Drew narrowed his eyes. "That's sad that your girlfriend had to jump to your defense," he growled.

"Why don't you get yours and we can have a double battle?" I responded. "May loves a good fight!"

I wish I'd had a camera, because his expression was so the Kodak moment. Drew looked like a Christmas tree, his green hair in stark contrast with his beet red face. "What was that?" May called from where she had been chatting with Dawn. "I heard my name."

Drew spun around and stormed into the restaurant, steam blowing out his ears. I grinned at Misty before following him, Dawn, May, and Max trailing after us.

"I don't know what became of Paul," Dawn said to May, feigning concern. "Whatever he left on the boat must have been important." Suddenly the two burst into giggles. "That's what he gets for calling me Troublesome!"

"That was truly genius," May congratulated. "I mean, really, really brilliant. Now we all know how the Immovable Paul acts on caffeine."

Misty hung back and joined their conversation, leaving me to walk alone. "I always wanted to see that," she said nostalgically. "Thank you, Dawn, for giving me that wonderful memory."

I didn't want to be by myself, so I caught up with the fuming Drew. "Wait till Paul crashes," I scoffed. "He'll go out like a light.

Drew still looked pissed, but he had to smile. "I'm going to laugh so hard if he falls asleep on his food."

"If he even shows up," I said, grinning. "I wonder if he just collapsed out there?"

He went to flick his bangs, then thought better of it. "Can you imagine Paul running on a caffeine high?" He put on Paul's scowl and sprinted in place. We took our seats at the table Yata had found us.

I started laughing. "I feel sorry for anyone who gets in his way."

Misty sat down on my other side, May on hers, with Dawn across from her and one chair away from Yata. Brock took the seat on Yata's other side, and Max sat down next to him, ready to yank his ear if necessary.

"Hello!" said a cheery young man. He had a huge grin plastered on his face and ears that gave him the impression of an Phanpy. "Welcome to the Floating Buizel! My name is Matt and I will be your waiter for tonight. Our special today is the filleted Magikarp with a raspberry salad, served with our custom seasoning and your choice of side," he rambled as he passed out menus. "I'll take the orders for your drinks now so you can have refreshments while you order."

We all ordered a soda of some sort, except for Brock and Yata. They were old enough to drink, so no one but Max thought anything of it.

"So the other day at the gym, I was blah blah blah," went Misty to the other two girls. Brock proceeded to try to woo Yata, and failed miserably. Max entertained himself by pulling his ear every time he opened his mouth.

That left Drew and me, all by ourselves, with our root beer and Sprite, to talk.

"So Ash," he began, sipping his Sprite, "have you thought about what you're going to do about Yacaeli?"

I had been watching Pikachu flirt with the Glameow and wasn't paying attention. "What?"

Drew rolled his eyes. "What are we going to do about our problem?"

"What problem?"

He sighed, annoyed. "We came here for a reason," he explained. "That reason is…?"

"To kill Yacaeli!" I exclaimed, feeling remotely like Dawn.

"Exactly!" Drew congratulate, patting me on the head. "You're so smart, Ashy!"

I made a face and went back to my root beer.

"So what are you going to do about it?" he pressed.

"God, I don't know!" I replied, frustrated. "Whack her with a rock? Get Pikachu to shock her? I don't think either of those will work."

Drew shrugged. "You could just get Misty pissed off and point her in Yacaeli's direction." He paused for a drink. "She'll destroy anything with that mallet of hers."

I smiled at the thought. "That'd be so funny," I replied. "Hey, did you see the professor's mugs?"

"Pardon?" Drew said, his expression aghast.

"No, no, not those!" I said hastily. "Her coffee cups, you perv!"

"Oh, yeah, I saw them," he laughed. "I thought you said—."

I cut him off. "I know, yeah. Jeez, I can't believe you." I picked up the menu, blushing from the crudity of his remark. "What are you getting?"

"Embarrassed, Ash?" Drew said playfully. "Wait till Misty hears you were looking at—."

Again, I interrupted him. "I think I want the smoked Feebass," I stated loudly. Everyone halted their conversation to stare at me, and I shrunk down in my seat, blushing even more.

Thankfully, the waiter arrived at that instant. "Okay, one down!" he said happily. He looked down at Drew, grinning expectantly. "And for you?"

Drew blanched and immediately began skimming the menu. "Uh… same as him," he mumbled, and handed him his menu.

"Okay, two Feebass," Matt confirmed. He glanced down at Misty. "And for you, gorgeous?"

I clutched the table so I wouldn't leap up and sock Matt a good one. How dare he refer to Misty in such a way?

To my complete surprise, Misty giggled and looked away in embarrassment. "Um, just a salad. I don't eat seafood."

"Why not?" Matt cried, flabbergasted.

"Because she's a water Pokemon Trainer, that's why!" I snapped, and instantly regretted it. I wished my seat would sink into the floor so I wouldn't be subject to the curious eyes of the other restaurant customers.

Misty raised an eyebrow at me but said nothing. Matt shrugged and moved on. "Bandana?" he asked May.

May sneered and told him in a very clipped tone what she wanted, and he moved on with a shiver.

"How about you, Blue?" he said to Dawn.

Dawn, of course, took it as a compliment. "Oh, thanks!" she replied, grinning. "I want the…" I didn't hear the rest.

Matt went around the table, taking everyone's order. The only other one I noticed was Yata's. He didn't bother asking, just said, "The usual, right Yata?" and moved on.

Drew nudged me. "Hey, I need that twenty back," he muttered.

"What? No, you lost the bet, it's mine," I said.

"Yeah, but I need to pay for my food!" he retorted.

I stared at him. "What do you think I need the money for?" I replied.

"What? You're broke?" he cried. "You mean even if I'd won the bet, I wouldn't have gotten anything?"

I shook my head. "No, I would've written you an IOU and paid you when we got back to Pallet Town."

Drew sneered furiously. "Hey May!" he called down the table. May looked up from her conversation with Dawn, an annoyed expression on her face. He put on a cool expression and flipped his bangs. "Care to buy me dinner?"

May gaped at him. If he'd been within range I'm sure she would have slapped him silly. "No, you pompous grass head!"

"Please?" he begged. "I'll pay you back, I swear!"

Dawn giggled and whispered something in May's ear. Whatever she said caused the brunette to turn bright red and Misty to burst out laughing. "Fine!" May barked, but she didn't look happy about it. She turned and glared angrily at her drink, her face so red I could practically feel the heat radiating off her.

"Thanks!" Drew replied gratefully. "If I had a rose, I'd give it to you."

This caused her to blush even harder and focus even more intently on the bubbles in her soda. Misty and Dawn exchanged a knowing look and started laughing again.

I heard the door of the restaurant open with a ding, and I looked around to see who the newcomer was. A huge grin split my face. "Hey Drew," I said quietly. "Here comes Mr. Coffee now."

Drew swung his head around so fast I was in danger of being whipped by his bangs (he punched me when he saw me laughing). Paul came stumbling into the restaurant, looking like a train wreck. He tripped on his way over to the table, ran into a waitress and caused her to spill the tray she was carrying, and stole a glass of water from the nearest person. Basically he acted—and looked—like a drunken idiot. His hair was a mess, his jacket was half off, and he couldn't walk right. He was dowsed in sweat and looked ready to puke.

He staggered into the open chair between Dawn and Yata, and met Dawn's eyes with an exhausted scowl. "You," he gasped. He swallowed, trying to avoid vomiting. "Are a dead woman," he finished. "I am… never… doing that again."

"Ya look great, Paul," I complimented, trying not to burst into laughter.

Paul turned his deadly, tired eyes on me. "You're—," he paused to swallow again. It was really kinda disgusting. "You're next, Ketchum." He drained the glass of water, some of it running off the sides of his mouth.

"Not dignified at all," Drew scolded, tsking.

"I don't… care." Paul ran a hand across his sweaty face, brushing away the hair that was sticking to his forehead. "No wonder my parents never let me have that stuff."

Misty whistled. "Jeez, Paul. You're acting like someone going through withdrawal, not a caffeine crash."

"I think that's the most I've ever heard him talk at once," May said, awestruck. "Maybe we should spike his drinks from now on."

Paul's venomous black eyes burned holes in the girls. "You two," he said, pointing with weak fingers, "can be buried in the same hole Troublesome over there will be in. Keep each other company in the grave."

Dawn snickered. "I think we actually pissed him off." She and Misty high-fived.

Seeing that his harsh words and death threats weren't working, Paul fell silent.

"So how was Paul's super speedy adventure around Oupavos?" Drew asked, smirking.

The purple-haired boy ignored him. I shook my head. "Hungry?" I imagined he would be after such a run.

"No," he growled.

Misty leaned over and whispered in my ear. "If he pukes his guts up while we're eating, I'm going to kill Dawn."

"Oh ho, what's this?" Drew teased. "Whispering sweet nothings, are we?"

"You should take notes," I snapped. "May would sooner kill you than grant you such a pleasure as this."

Misty laughed a laugh that I loved so much at Drew's face, a perfect imitation of Paul's. May, of course, started counting the bubbles in her soda again, much to Dawn's amusement.

"Oh shut up," May said after a few minutes of Dawn's snickering. "We all know you're going doe-eyed for Captain Caffeine over there."

Dawn stopped her giggling immediately and studied her drink with an intensity to rival May's.

"Who's winning the bubble count?" Misty questioned.

"Can it, ginger," the two girls barked together.

Misty pursed her lips and scooted away from them, much to my pleasure (i.e. away from them meant closer to me :D). "So," she began, wary of May and Dawn's villainous glares, "are we leaving tomorrow morning to… you know."

It took me a few moments and a flip of Drew's hair to remind me exactly what she was talking about. "Oh… oh yeah, sure. Soon as we wake up."

She looked a little uncomfortable but didn't say anything. I was about to ask her what was wrong, but at that moment Matt returned with our food, and I was completely distracted. All thoughts of Misty's discomfort were forgotten.

*AN: TADA!!! Chapter 6! I'm back from the nerd trip and updating! I make Ash so good with comebacks and quick witted and... almost clever, huh? It's not good, but I'm going off the fact that people DO mature and I can't STAND making my main character an idiot. I think he deserves a little credit. Besides, even the dense Ash Ketchum has SOME dignity. Even if it's only a smidge.

Thank you for reading, I'm having so much fun writing this, and I love hearing what you think of my fun writing. Au revior and till next time, my wonderful readers! (I have over 70 people reading all my chapters, which is THE GREATEST THING EVER!!! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!!)*