Sorry that I'm so slow at updating. I'll try and write a chapter that's worth the wait.
Congrats to malory79080 for being my 100th reviewer!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. If I did, I wouldn't have made a 6th generation. Or probably a fifth generation for that matter. No offense to those of you who liked those Pokemon.
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"So what's going on with Misty, Leaf, and you?" Drew asked May as they jogged along the beach.
"It all started this morning," said May. "Leaf and Misty have both been having horrible mood swings and they just totally attacked each other. I've never seen them fight like that before. They've been best friends forever. Even before the four of us all crossed paths."
"And what about you? Why are you mad at Leaf?"
"She made a comment about Brenden- said that I need to get over him and move on. She said that he was just a boy. Leaf didn't say it to comfort me. She said it in a mean way. She was attacking me."
Drew slowed and then stopped jogging. May did the same. He looked into her blue eyes. "She doesn't know," he reminded her gently.
"I know..." May said quietly, looking down. "It just took me by surprise. And she was so hostile towards me."
Drew gave the brunette a hug. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that. If I ever meet this Brenden guy, I promise I'll kick his face in."
"You don't have to do that," May said dully. It's okay. Really. Sh*it happens."
"You're really going to play a 'sh*it happens' card?" Drew asked.
"You don't understand. He ruined my life. He took my virginity. What man is going to want me now that I've been used? They'll be afraid that I'll have trauma problems. They'll be afraid that I'm not able to fully love someone. I'm damaged goods."
"There are good guys who will like you and understand. I'm one of them."
May looked up and met his eyes. They were wide and green, as he realized what he had just said.
"May, that's not what I meant," Drew stuttered.
"I know," May responded, giving his hand a squeeze. "Let's get back to running."
Drew complied, but in his mind he was thinking about how he had fully meant the words he'd just said.
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"I can't believe I have to jog with you," said Leaf. "I'd much rather be jogging with my friends."
"Really now?" said Gary with a smirk. "From the looks of things, you don't have many friends. They're all piss*ed at you. Except for Dawn."
"Shut up," Leaf snapped. "You know nothing about what's going on. And I'm certainly not going to tell you."
"Wouldn't expect you to," said Gary. "But maybe it's your cold attitude that's driving everyone away. You're always bit*ching about everything and everyone hates it."
"You can't speak for everyone," Leaf retorted. "And you must not hate it too much, because you still flirt with me."
"Well, maybe I'll stop now that I've realized your such a bit*ch."
Leaf slapped him hard. They both stopped running to stare each other down, Gary holding his cheek.
"I am not, a bit*ch," Leaf said. "I have been testy lately, but only because I have good reason to be. You can't understand. You never will. You don't know me and you don't know what my life is like."
"Stop making excuses. Everyone has problems, Leaf. The difference is in the way people handle them."
"Shut up! I'm not making excuses! My problems are real!" With that, Leaf turned and stomped down the beach, planning to head back to the hotel.
Gary sighed, pinching the part of his nose between his eyes. He let her get a little further ahead, and then he followed her.
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"I'm sorry, you know?" Ash asked Misty. She didn't respond. He wanted to apologize for kissing her when she wasn't ready. He wished he could take it all back. Misty wasn't making that an option.
"Really, Misty, I am. If I had known that you didn't want it, I wouldn't have done it." The redhead remained silent still; the only sound she made was the steady breathing of her lungs as she ran.
After a few moments, Ash decided to try a different approach. "Misty, what is it that you want me to do?"
They both knew that it was pointless to keep running, and as though their minds were in sync, they both began to slow at the same time.
Panting, her skin beaded in sweat, Misty looked into Ash's eyes. He was genuinely sorry. She knew that.
"I want you to stop apologizing," she said.
"Okay," Ash responded, hoping that she would continue.
"And now, I want you to listen. It's not that I didn't like kissing you. Actually, I liked it very much. However, you're right; I was not ready to take that step. It's not your fault at all though. I could have pushed you off of me much sooner. I was the one who failed to read my own feelings."
Ash was quiet for a moment, taking in what she had said. Then, he completely surprised her.
"It's because I'm so sexy, isn't it?" he asked.
"What?"
"I'm so attractive that you just couldn't resist kissing me."
Misty smirked. "Right, Ash. You're absolutely right." The two of them suddenly burst out laughing. Misty even gave the boy a hug, which he gladly returned. "I do really like you, Ash. And I'm thinking things through, okay? I promise I won't keep you waiting too long, but I need time to make sure that I'm really ready to move on."
"I can understand that," the raven-haired boy responded.
"I'm glad," said Misty. "Because if you didn't, you wouldn't stand a chance."
"So you can demand respect from me, but not from the other guy?" Ash asked with a teasing tone of voice.
"It's different with him," Misty explained. "I guess with Rudy, I just know better than to expect it."
"Then what's the point in pursuing that relationship?"
"I don't really know."
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"Where are we going?" Dawn asked for the fifty-billionth time. Paul was about ready to slam his head into the nearest brick building and end his misery. The girl hadn't left him alone since they'd left the beach.
"You know, usually when a girl gets kissed by a boy she doesn't like, she avoids him," he said.
"You're an exception," Dawn said.
"Lucky me."
Soon, they arrived at where Paul wanted to go.
"A bowling alley?" Dawn questioned, lifting an eyebrow quizzically.
"Got a problem, Troublesome? I like to bowl."
"Are you any good?"
"Seeing as you aren't showing any signs of beating it, I'd say you're about to find out, right?"
Dawn huffed and followed Paul inside. They both paid for two games and rented the special bowling shoes. She had decided if she was going to be here, she might as well play too.
Once everything was set up, Paul went to roll his first ball. He got a strike.
Well, I'm certainly screwed, thought Dawn, taking his place on the lane. She took a few steps and swung the ball, watching it roll down the lane and knock down seven pins. Not bad. At least it wasn't a gutter ball.
When her bowling ball returned, she took her second throw and knocked down the three remaining pins. "I got a spare!" she yelled triumphantly.
"Not bad, Troublesome," said Paul. "But if you're planning on actually competing with me, you've got another thing coming."
We'll just see about that, thought Dawn. She was still mad about losing to Paul in that Pokemon battle, and this could be her chance to make up for it. She was determined to beat Paul at his own game.
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"We should all go out clubbing again tonight," suggested Gary.
"In your dreams," Leaf said. "But I like that you're trying. I like a guy who tries."
When Leaf had gotten back to the hotel, she'd gone up to their room and changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt. All the events of the morning had left her feeling depressed, and she felt like watching television and drinking soda. The chocolate bars May kept in her drawer were helping too. May was going to be so angry when she found her chocolate missing though. Leaf figured it didn't really matter, since May was already upset with her. What's a little more gasoline on the fire going to do? It's still a fire. Just bigger.
Gary had knocked on the door and Leaf had let him in. Did it really matter if he was there to annoy her or not? Now he was trying to make her feel better, but wasn't having much luck.
"You're creeping me out, Leaf. Do you know how weird it is for a guy to watch a girl consume three bars of chocolate and four cans of soda? Aren't you worried about getting fat or something?"
"Nope," said Leaf, opening another can of soda.
"You can't just sit around feeling sorry for yourself. You need to just be happy."
"Just be happy? You can't just stop being sad and make yourself happy."
"Sure you can. All you have to do is-"
Gary was cut off as Leaf turned the volume up on the television. She didn't want to hear his magical solution to her problems. He didn't even know what her problems were! He didn't know... that the problem was him.
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"I can't believe you're tied with me right now," said Paul.
Neither can I, thought Dawn to herself.
"You sure you haven't played before?"
"Of course I've played before," Dawn snapped. "But not very much. I've just bowled on occasion."
"Prepare to lose," Paul said, stepping up to roll his tenth frame. These next few rolls would determine his chance of winning. He rolled his bowling ball and got a strike, which gave him confidence. Now he would have two rolls for the extra frame. He rolled again, and knocked down nine pins. If I can knock this one down, I'll probably be safe, he thought.
Paul rolled his last ball, and Dawn was delighted to see him miss.
"Now I've got you," she said to herself. Paul was about to go down.
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"Oh. Hey, Gary," said Misty as she entered the hotel room. She was surprised to see Leaf dressed in her old sweatpants and a T-shirt, especially when the brunette had been dressing so nicely around Gary. The boy looked slightly amused, but also a tad bit concerned. Misty guessed he couldn't decide whether to be concerned about Leaf or not. She decided he should be, because she was.
Misty wanted to talk with Leaf privately, but she didn't want to ask Gary to leave.
"Leaf, can I talk to you in the bathroom for a minute?" she asked instead.
"Wow. That sounds like a les*bian make-out cover up if I've ever heard one," said Gary with a smirk. (A/N: I don't know if my computer would have a problem with that word or not).
"Ugh," said Leaf as she rolled her eyes, but she got up and went into the bathroom with Misty anyway.
They closed the door so Gary wouldn't hear them.
"Listen. I'm sorry about this morning. I was just upset because of Ash, but we talked and everything is fine now," Misty explained.
"It's okay," Leaf said, looking down. "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean any of those things I said."
"I forgive you. But why have you been acting like this lately. Is anything wrong?"
"Yes, but it's nothing with you guys. It's Gary."
"Getting on your nerves?" Misty guessed.
"Yeah. That's all," Leaf said.
"I'm sure he's a handful," Misty giggled.
"He sure is."
"Let's go back out there," said Misty. She opened the bathroom door and they went back out. Somehow, she knew that Leaf wasn't telling the whole truth.
"So I see you two are getting along again," Gary observed. "Does this mean we can go out clubbing tonight after all?"
"We're going clubbing again?" May asked excitedly as she came in the door. She had caught the end of Gary's statement.
"If we can convince Leaf," he said.
"Awe, please, Leaf? It was so much fun last time!" May seemed to have forgiven Leaf already from earlier. She got right up in the brunette's face and chanted "Please, please, please," over and over again until the girl groaned and gave in.
"Yes!" May cheered. "I took Drew shopping after we ran and I got this awesome new outfit."
"So Drew is probably still recovering from shopping trauma. Guess I'll go tell him and the other two that we're going out tonight."
"And we'll call Dawn and tell her," Leaf said. "Now beat it, Spikes."
"Awe, you gave me a nickname!" Gary cooed.
"Get out!"
Gary laughed as he dashed out the door.
"So everything's back to normal now?" May asked.
"Yeah. I'm sorry for earlier, May."
"Me too. But we're all friends again, and that's what really matters."
"May, there's something else I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
"I ate your chocolate."
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Dawn stepped up to the lane, completely focused on what she needed to do to win. She had taken two rolls to knock down the first set of pins, so she needed to get a strike right now or she would lose. She was pretty sure that Paul was sweating in his seat.
Taking a deep breath, she rolled the ball. It sped down the lane, heading right for the spot that's best for getting a strike, and nine pins fell down. The tenth one was teetering back and forth.
Both Dawn and Paul held their breath as they watched, waiting to see if the pin would fall or not. A few more sways, and then the pin fell over.
"Yes!" cheered Dawn. "I won! In your face, Paul! How does it feel to get beat at your own game by a girl?" She turned around to see if Paul was crying, or more likely scowling, but he was no longer in his chair. She caught a glimpse of him just as he walked out the door.
Quickly, Dawn changed her shoes and returned them, and then she ran after Paul.
"You're such a sore loser!" she whined when she caught up to him.
"I let you win, Troublesome."
"Did not!"
"Did to!"
"Did not!"
"Did to!"
Just then, Dawn's Pokegear rang, and she flipped it open to see that May was calling. She turned away from Paul as she answered.
"Hello? Really? Okay, I'll be there soon." She closed her Pokegear and turned back to Paul. "We have to get back to the hotel. We're going clubbing again tonight."
"Awe crap," said Paul, facepalming.
"Don't worry. It's not a date this time, so don't feel obligated to hang around me all evening. You'll just ruin the fun anyways."
"I wouldn't hang around you willingly if you were the last girl on earth. I'd just let the human species die out and then Pokemon could take over the world as the dominant species. Arceus knows they'd do a better job of running it."
"Agreed," Dawn said. "But you would totally fall in love with me if I was the last girl on earth."
"Would not!"
"Would to!"
"Would not!"
"Would to!"
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"So it's Drew's turn to take on a dare," Gary said with a smirk. "Whatever should I force him to do?"
"No nudity!" Ash reminded him, shouting from the kitchen.
"When was that rule ever established?" Gary asked.
"Right now, because I figure the way things have been getting more intense, nudity was bound to pop up sometime soon."
"Ash, the last thing I need is to see Drew naked."
"You might've dared him to go streaking in the mall or something!"
"That's actually a pretty good idea."
"No nudity," Drew said. "It's three against one, so you lose."
"Paul never said anything yet."
"No nudity," the lavender-haired boy grunted.
"You guys are no fun!"
The boys were dressing for the club. Ash wore a navy blue polo shirt and tan shorts. Drew wore a green and white plaid shirt with black shorts, Gary wore a blue shirt with an open black jacket and a black Fedora with dark jeans, and Paul wore faded jeans and a purple and gray plaid shirt.
"Why did you dress like a pim*p, Gary?" Drew asked.
"I am not dressed like a pim*p. I'm dressed cool. This look is in."
"And the source of your fashion advice is...?" Ash asked, joining the others in the main room.
"Shut up. I need to focus on my dare for Drew. Hmm. I know!" Gary said, his face lighting up with evil genius. "I dare you to sing on stage tonight, but we get to pick the song!"
"That's goooooood," said Ash in admiration. But what song should we pick?"
"We'll consult later. That way it's a surprise."
"Oh no," groaned Drew.
"All of you shut up. We're late to meet the girls downstairs and this night is already going to blow anyway, and angry girls will make it ten times worse!"
"Pull your boxers out of your behind, Paul. We're ready, so let's go," Gary said.
When they got downstairs, the girls were waiting just like Paul had said they would be.
Misty was wearing an aqua tube top with white skinny jeans and white sandals, and a blue bow was clipped in her hair even though it was tied up as usual. It was the most girly outfit Ash had seen her in, and he thought she looked beautiful.
Leaf wore a black belly shirt with a green tank underneath, and a gray skirt that reached a little past mid-thigh. She had green leggings underneath and black flats on her feet. Gary was glad to see her all dressed up again.
May wore a red tank top with a short white sweater over it and black skinny jeans. She wore a head band instead of her bandana, and red flats. Drew loved how cute she looked. She looked innocent yet sophisticated.
Dawn was the real show stopper though. She had on a dress. It was pink with a black waist band, and the dress reached mid-thigh. Her hair was curled, and she had sparkly pink flats on her feet.
Paul was practically breathless at the sight of her, but he still managed to jeer a remark at her. "You trying to pick up boys tonight?" he asked rudely.
"No," she responded, scowling at him. "I just felt like looking pretty tonight.
"We'd better get going before Dawn punches him," Leaf joked.
"Or before Paul faints from the sight of her beauty," Drew added.
Dawn and Paul both turned red. Dawn because she was blushing in embarrassment, and Paul because he was angry at the green-haired boy.
Laugh it up, Drew. You won't be laughing later. I just thought of the perfect song for you to sing tonight.
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And there you have it! A bit of excitement coming up! What song will Drew sing? What is Leaf hiding? Will the human race die out and Pokemon will take over the world? (No. That won't happen.) Keep reading to find out!
Again, I'm sorry that updates are so painfully slow. I'm trying, okay? :)
All reviews are appreciated, good or bad! I love hearing what you guys have to say! If you just want to write about a dinosaur named Jeffrey or something in your review, that's cool too. Though I don't know why you would do that...