Hello again! I'm back with another chapter. Once again, I'm going to warn you all about the mature content in this story. If you are sensitive about heavy drinking, swearing, or child abuse, I highly recommend turning away now. Shoutouts for this chapter:

Aaml mania - Yes, Ash's father is extremely abusive. But hey, maybe there's some hope with that new girl.

JordanMax - Yeah, hopefully one day when he's older Ash will muster up enough courage to retaliate for all the pain his father caused him.

Alina 122 - Thank you!

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The featured story for this chapter is Fanfiction is SO Cliched by Bittersweet Romanticide. "Cliches are the backbone and life blood of fanfiction, they're what keeps a steady stream of new writers pouring in. Even for veterans of the site, these horrible tropes will catch up to everyone sooner or later. All pairings and most suggestions taken." Okay, so I've read three or four of these shots already, and they're hilarious! Not all are PokeShipping, but that's okay.

"Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad." ~

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I closed my locker, trying to ignore the laughter that was going on all around me. Just moments before, one of the big jock kids, Paul, had tripped one of the nerds in the hallway. The nerd had fallen, dumping his books everywhere and breaking his glasses. Paul had then picked him up and thrown him in the nearest trash can. The rest of Paul's jock friends had all gathered around to point and laugh at the little scene.

It pissed me off, of course, but what was I supposed to do? After what happened with Gary, I wasn't about to go meddling. Especially not when the principal had threatened suspension if I should get in another fight. I could only imagine what my father would do to me if that happened.

Skirting around the chaos, I shuffled toward my next class. Chemistry. My favorite class.

I was one of the last kids to arrive. Everyone turned to look at me as I walked in, the bell ringing alongside my entrance. The teacher, Mr. Gavin, gave me a look of disapproval. I ignored him and sat down at my desk in the back of the room.

As soon as I was seated, Mr. Gavin began going through attendance. "Lexi Addams."

"Here."

I leaned against my desk, already bored.

"Benjamin Array."

"Here."

"Kelsey Bea."

"Here!"

I yawned. I never could figure out why teachers did attendance. Sure, it mattered the first day, but after that? Why couldn't they just do it themselves? It had been three weeks since the start of school. They should know everyone's faces by now.

"Ash Ketchum."

"Here," I muttered.

As Mr. Gavin continued droning through the attendance, I took my pencil and resumed yesterday's work. I'd been working on a little art project for the past three school days. After being fascinated with the drawings on and etched into my desk, I'd decided to add my own. After some thought, I'd decided to etch the word "Chemistry" in the wood, only to then cross it out. I know, I know. Not much in the way of protest. But it was something.

I was just finishing the "m" when someone came crashing in through the door. I looked up.

I dropped my pencil.

There, completely out of breath and carrying a typical load of textbooks, was the red-head from two days ago. What was she doing here?

Mr. Gavin looked equally surprised. "Can I help you, miss?"

"Is this Regents Chemistry?"

He nodded. "Yes, it is, but... I don't have you on my roster."

She blinked. "The office told me that I was to come here now, since there was a mix-up in my schedule that put me in the wrong Science class."

I snorted. Typical.

Mr. Gavin shrugged. "If you say so. Please, take a seat anywhere. We were just about to go over last night's homework."

She nodded and began scanning the classroom, looking for a good place to sit. I crossed my fingers, praying that she wouldn't choose the one next to me.

But of course, she did.

"Hi," she whispered. "Remember me?"

I ignored her.

"It's me," she pressed. "The girl who helped you with your Trig homework at the park." She leaned closer. "You must remember me."

I snapped my head to look at her. "Yeah, I do. You're the girl that decided to barge into my life and tell me how to do my Trig."

She looked rather taken aback. "I was being helpful."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you were welcomed."

"What's the matter with you? Treating someone who was just being nice to you so poorly? No wonder you don't have any friends."

I flinched. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're an inconsiderate jerk!"

"Me? What about you!? I'm not the one who barged into your life! You barged into mine, and now you're doing it again! Just leave me alone!"

"You're seriously pushing away the only person that's probably ever tried being nice to you?"

"Yes, I am."

She stared at me incredulously before huffing and turning back toward the front of the room. Mr. Gavin was drawing out an s orbital and explaining the answer to one of the homework problems. I hardly could pay him any attention, for I was too mad.

What the hell is her problem? Why can't she just leave me alone? I don't need her. I don't need friends. I've been perfectly fine just the way I am for eleven years. My life may be broken, but that doesn't mean it needs any fixing.

"Mr. Ketchum!" Mr. Gavin's sharp voice broke through my angry thoughts.

I sighed. "Yeah?"

"Don't 'yeah' me, mister. I told you to do something."

I just looked at him.

He groaned. "Come up here to the board and draw out the electron configuration for question number nine."

Although I looked nothing more than annoyed on the outside, inside I felt a flash of panic. I almost always got the homework questions wrong. Not because I was stupid, but because I found it hard to concentrate with the threat of my father looming over my head. Feigning confidence, I pulled out my homework and walked up to the front of the classroom.

With the eyes of Mr. Gavin and all of the students on me, I began to write. I forced my hand to stay steady as I drew the arrows and marked them appropriately. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest I thought it was going to explode. By the time I pulled the marker away from the board, I was almost certain I had suffered a heart attack.

Mr. Gavin studied the answer I had written for several moments. I held my breath for all of that time, wondering. If I got it wrong - which I probably did - then my classmates would laugh and my teacher would scowl. I'd be sent back to my seat with the assurance that I'd fail the Regents at the end of the year. And, new to me this day, I would be forced to sit through another argument with that girl.

Mr. Gavin smiled. "Correct."

I stared at him. Correct? "What?"

He chuckled. "I said, correct. Well done, Mr. Ketchum. You may return to your seat."

Still in a daze, I walked back to my seat and put my homework away. As I passed the red-head, I thought I noticed some wetness on her cheek. Shrugging it off as me seeing things, I sat down and tried to focus on my teacher.

However, as the time ticked by and Mr. Gavin chugged through a lesson on mixtures and compounds, I started hearing sniffling. At first, I ignored it. However, it became progressively louder, eventually drawing the attention of the students in front of us. One of them even turned around and told her to go blow her nose or something. She didn't, of course, which only lead to more snuffling.

Finally, fed up with it, I turned toward her. "Will you cut that out?"

She looked at me, her eyes red and puffy. "What?"

"Cut out the snuffling. It's distracting and annoying."

She turned back to the front of the room. After several moments, she said, "You really have a way with words, Mr. Ketchum."

I stiffened. However, she said nothing further.

Only five more minutes had to pass before the bell rang. As we walked out the door, Mr. Gavin handed us all that night's homework assignment. Ten questions from the textbook. No surprise. That guy lived off of textbook questions.

I put my textbook and folder back in my locker, pulling out my lunch in its place. Since my dad was concerned more about his alcohol than he was about me, he had never bothered to buy me an actual lunch bag. Rather, I had to bring my lunch in either a brown paper bag or a plastic one. Fun.

I walked down to the cafeteria and took my place at my usual table. As you probably have come to expect by now, no one bothered to sit with me. Of course, I didn't care. The less I had to socialize with the other students, the better. Especially that stupid girl.

Speaking of stupid people, Gary and his friends came in not too long after me. They were all laughing about something. Gary was holding the hand of some girl, probably a cheerleader. She looked bubbly enough to be one. I watched as they all settled around one of the tables.

"So then I was like, 'dude, do you even lift'?" Everyone burst out laughing at Gary's statement. I rolled my eyes.

"Dude, that's like, totally awesome." One of his friends punched him in the shoulder. Gary reacted by taking the salami off of his sandwich and throwing it at his friend. What a waste.

I pulled my own sandwich out of my bag, a PB&J one I had made that morning. Ever since I was little, PB&J had been my favorite. My mom always used to make it for me when I was hungry. She'd even be willing to make it when I wasn't. I guess that memory was part of the reason why I brought it for lunch every day.

"Eating peanut butter and jelly again, Ketchum?"

I looked up. Gary and two of his friends were standing at my table, looking smug. Before I could react, Gary snatched my sandwich right out of my hands.

"Hey!" I cried. "That's mine!"

He waved it around. "What'cha gonna do about it, Ketchum? Punch me like you did the other day?"

His friends snickered.

I stood up. "Maybe!"

He laughed. "Yeah, you do that. I'd just love to see your ass get suspended. Right, guys?"

His friends nodded their agreement. I balled my fists.

"Aww," Gary cooed. "Is the little Ashy-boy upset? D'aww, look boys! I think he's gonna have a temper tantrum!"

I made a grab for my sandwich then. Gary moved it out of reach, holding it high above my head.

"Careful, Ketchum. Don't wanna get in trouble again."

I clenched my teeth.

"What's going on here?"

Everyone turned. One of the lunch ladies, Judy, was storming over to us. She looked pissed. I opened my mouth to say something, but Gary beat me to it.

"Ash dropped his sandwich on the floor and then tried to eat it again, so I took it away from him. You know, to keep him from getting sick."

Judy looked at me, appalled. "How disgusting!"

I gawked at her. She wasn't about to buy this shit, was she?

She took the sandwich from Gary, who handed it to her politely. "I'll be disposing of this in the trash." She waved the food at me. "Don't eat food off the floor, Ketchum. It's unsanitary."

I watched in complete shock as she walked over and threw the sandwich in the trash. Gary smirked at me and walked back to his table. I glared at him as he left, furious.

Gary Motherfucking Oak.

Angry enough to punch a wall but not stupid enough to do so, I sat back down. Ripping open my bag of chips, I took out my anger on those. Every snap of a chip brought with it fantasies of Gary's neck snapping in my hands. Oh, how sweet that would be.

I had almost finished snapping every chip into tiny bits when something plopped down on my table. A sandwich. Confused, I looked up. The red-head was walking by, clearly the one who dropped the food onto my table.

She's still trying? Seriously?

Finding that fact comical, I unwrapped the sandwich and bit into it hungrily. I watched over my sandwich as the girl settled down at a table with one other girl- a brunette named May. They immediately began laughing, popping cookies into their mouths. I felt angry at that.

Had May put her up to that? Had she dared her to give me her sandwich or something? Was that why they were laughing? Was she only being kind to me as some part of big, elaborate dare?

I was pretty sure by that point that was the case. And of course, it bothered me for the rest of the day. So much so that, during dismissal, I waited outside the high school for her to emerge.

She eventually did, still with that girl May. I stood up, ready to ambush her as soon as she was alone.

Finally, she was. A smile crept its way onto my face as May got into a car and was driven away.

I stalked over to her and pushed her rather roughly. She stumbled, turning to look at me.

"Why the hell did you give me your food?"

She blinked.

"I asked you a question!"

She sighed. "Calm down, Ketchum. I only gave it to you because I was trying to be nice. I saw what happened with that kid, and I felt bad."

"Is that all? Or is there something more?"

"Why would there be something more? Seriously, you need to stop being so judgmental."

"I'm not being judgmental."

She laughed coldly. "Oh really?"

"Really. I want to know. Is this whole kindness thing real? Or is it just one big joke for your own entertainment?"

That pissed her off.

The next thing I knew, I lying face-down on the concrete. I groaned and turned over. The girl was standing over me, her hand raised in a fist. She stared at me for several moments before huffing and walking away. I sat up, glaring after her.

Fuck her and her theatrics. Seriously.

On the way home, I kicked over a total of three trash cans, trampled one flower bed, and screamed four times.

Upon entering my home, I saw that my dad was in the living room. When I saw the clarity in his eyes, I took in a sharp breath. He wasn't in a hangover or in a drunken spell.

Why?

As if he could read my mind, he said, "Get upstairs and take a shower. Put on your best clothes. We're going out to eat tonight."

I stared at him, shocked. He glared at me. "Well? Don't make me repeat myself."

I darted upstairs.

We were going out to dinner? We never did that. I began to panic as I wondered what it could mean. Did 'going out to dinner' really mean getting a beating that would surpass all others? I tried to think of something that I had done. Had someone seen the girl punching me and assumed that we had gotten into a fight? Had Judy reported the incident at lunch? Was my father under the false belief that I was eating food off the floor?

I couldn't stop myself from shaking out of fear as I showered and changed. It had been ages since I had worn my suit, but I still fit into it. Barely, but it was enough. I shuddered as I thought of the torture I was likely to suffer in it. Hesitantly, I made my way downstairs.

My father was dressed up in a seersucker shirt and dress pants, which made this whole thing even more weird. I gave him a cautious look as I approached him.

He glanced at me. "Are you ready?" His voice was rough. Threatening a beating if I wasn't.

I nodded, swallowing hard.

He grunted. "Good. Now, be on your best behavior. I needn't remind you what will happen if you aren't."

No, he didn't.

Trying to fight back the fear that was threatening to overcome me, I followed him outside. I went toward his car, only for him to roughly grab me and shove me toward the sidewalk.

I blinked, confused. However, I did not question it. I simply continued to follow him.

I nearly screamed when I saw where we were going.

The old Hanley place.

I tried to back away, only for my father to grab my shoulder. He shook me harshly. "Behave," he snapped. "None of this nonsense about the Hanley place being haunted. There are new people living here, and you are to treat them with respect. Understood?"

I nodded, my eyes wide with fear.

My father walked up onto the old porch and knocked. I stood close to the steps, ready to run if something did indeed happen. I may not believe the axe story, but that didn't mean I didn't believe the stories about the gangs and the drug deals and the murders."

A few minutes later, a tall woman with brown hair answered the door. She looked to be about my father's age, maybe younger. She was wearing a stained apron over nice clothes. She smiled when she saw my dad and me.

"Ah, Mr. Ketchum. It's a pleasure to see you."

My father reached out and shook her hand, an odd gesture for him. I gave the woman a kind smile, remembering my father's warning.

"Please, come inside."

My father went in without a moment's hesitation, while I waited a moment. The idea of going into the Hanley place was terrifying, even if it was inhabited again. I couldn't help but wonder this woman's motives for moving into such a place as I stepped inside.

The entire first floor was washed in a dim orange. The living room was quite modernized for such a house. A flatscreen T.V. was mounted over the fireplace, and leather couches were placed around. A fancy rug sat beneath a mahogany coffee table.

The woman gestured toward the room. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. My daughter and husband will be in soon. They were just helping me prepare dinner."

My father gave her a kind smile, one that projected forth a man that was the complete opposite of who he was. I found myself growing even more agitated as he and I settled down on the living room couch, albeit far away from each other.

The silence between us was agonizing. I wanted so badly to turn on the T.V., so as to draw attention away from the silence. However, I did not. While my father would not say anything now, I knew I would be punished for it later. When we were visiting someone, I was not to do anything unless invited to do so first.

The silence was getting to the point where it was completely unbearable when something happened. Just as the woman had promised, her husband and daughter soon arrived in the living room. I turned to greet them in the polite way my mother had taught me. However, there was no need for such formalities.

The girl standing before me now, the daughter of these two people and my new neighbor, was the red-haired girl from school.

Dun dun dun! Ash's new neighbor turns out to be the exact person he can't stand. Perhaps things will begin to change now that he knows of this truth?

Stay tuned for more!

- Anonymous1O1