Hello everyone! I am so sorry for updating late! School's just keeping me so busy! I hope I can eventually make up for the lateness, but currently, school has conquered nearly all of my free time. But, against all odds, I'll try to emerge victorious!
Okay, some of you might have noticed that I posted a one-shot a while back, and might be wondering how I had time for that but not for this. Truth is, I didn't. I had started that one-shot a long time beforehand, so I only needed a short while to polish it off before posting it. But for this, I update once a week, so I usually have only a week to write a chapter, so if I don't get time during that week, I have to update late.
Enough of my blabbering! On with the chapter!
Here is today's topic, which was suggested by Veronica17! One Gary-focused chapter coming up!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape or size!
Gary And The Cupcakes
(Summer before) Kindergarten
Gary (5), Leaf (5), Ash (5)
Gary worked meticulously as he applied more vanilla icing. The usual arrogance was absent from his eyes, replaced by a focused gaze, as he steadily worked, moving the spoon back and forth, spreading the icing on the top of a chocolate cupcake.
Finally, he straightened out, and observed the little treat before him. He cocked his head thoughtfully. It didn't look as neat as when his sister did it, but it would have to do. Anyways, he had done the best he could on it, as this one was for his bestest friend Leafy. Actually, he had done a much better job on the one he had prepared for himself. Carefully, he set the cupcake off to the side, and got to work on the next one.
He and his older sister Daisy had worked together (with Gary doing most of the work, in his opinion) to bake twelve delicious-looking chocolate cupcakes. However, after she had taken them out of the oven, Daisy wouldn't ice them, saying they were still too hot. After waiting patiently (or rather, impatiently), when they had finally cooled down, Gary had asked his sister if they could ice them now.
But his sister was busy. She hadn't even bothered waiting! Instead, she had started chatting with a friend on the phone, and irritatedly told her brother to leave her alone, not even listening to what he was saying.
The injustice! Gary knew that when his sister got her hands on the phone, she could talk for years, nonstop. At least, that's what it seemed like to him. So what was a five-year-old boy supposed to do?
Which was why, he had gone and taken out the box of cream himself, and, with a spoon, gotten to work. After all, Leaf was going to be here soon. There was no way he could present her with an incomplete cupcake! That would be a horrendous crime!
Done. He was done icing his fourth cupcake. He placed it next to the other three he had already finished with. There was one for himself (of course), one for his grandpa, one for Daisy, and last but not least, one for Leaf.
He smiled proudly at his work. He had done it all by himself, without even Daisy's help! Too bad there wasn't anyone there to praise him for it. Oh well. He'd brag about it to someone later.
*Ding dong*
The bell rang, and the spiky-haired boy ran at top speed to the door. His best friend was here! She was finally here! His grandpa, Professor Oak, was already opening the door.
"Hello, Delia!" the man greeted.
"Hello, Professor!" a woman's voice said in return.
Gary froze. Delia? It didn't sound familiar. Although his grandpa might have mentioned it once...
"And hello! You must be Ash!" his grandpa continued. Gary scowled as a cheerful-looking black-haired boy entered, smiling widely.
"Hi, Professor Oak!" Ash replied.
"Gary!" The scientist's attention was drawn to his grandson. "Why don't you invite Ash in? You two can play together!"
Gary scowled and folded his arms. He didn't want to play with the boy! He had never seen this new kid before in his life! His grandpa just always expected him to get along with everyone his age, but in truth, Gary always found that other kids had minds of their own, and usually messed up his fun. No, he'd rather have all of them playing exactly the way he wanted them to. That way, he could play the way he wanted, and maybe have other people playing with him without ruining everything. The only one whose company he legitimately enjoyed was his next-door neighbour's, Leaf's.
"Go on, sweetie, go play with your new friend!" Delia encouraged her son, who enthusiastically went up to Gary.
"Hi!" he said, waving.
"Hmph!" was Gary's only response.
"Wanna play?"
"No! I don't want to play with you!" Gary thought he looked like the type who would mess everything up.
"Oh..." Ash looked a bit disappointed. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head while the two stood in silence. The grownups had already gone to sit in the living room, so they were both standing by themselves now.
"So what're we gonna do?"
"Nothing! You do nothing! I'm gonna make cupcakes!"
Ash's eyes lit up. "Cupcakes? I want one!"
"No!" Gary was getting irritated. Those cupcakes weren't for just anyone; they were for the four most special people in the world! He wasn't going to just hand them over, especially to someone he had never met before!
"Please?"
"No!"
"... Can I make some too?"
"No!"
*Ding dong*
Gary's eyes lit up. Leaf was here! Forgetting about the other boy, he ran to the door, eager to greet his best friend.
Meanwhile, Ash just stood in place, watching him as he ran. He wondered why he had gotten so excited all of a sudden. Maybe someone else was coming over too. Ash grinned. He would love to make another new friend!
As Ash began heading to the door, he was distracted by a delicious smell. A chocolatey scent was flowing through the air, calling him to the kitchen. Ash hesitated. Gary had told him he couldn't have the cupcakes, but it wouldn't hurt if he just went to look, right?
He found himself standing in the kitchen, staring at a batch of freshly baked chocolate cupcakes. Four were iced in vanilla cream, and were set off to the side. They looked sooo good...
"Ash, honey, where are you?" Ash snapped out of his trance when he heard his mother call him, and he hurried off to answer to her call.
She was standing next to Gary's grandpa at the front door, and looked ready to leave. She gave him a cheery smile when he arrived.
"Ash, I need to go run some errands. You don't mind staying here with Professor Oak for a while, do you?"
"Okay, Mom!"
"And you can have fun with Gary and his friend while you wait!"
"Yeah!"
"Bye, sweetie!"
As she left, Professor Oak spoke up.
"Well, Ash my boy, why don't you go have some fun with Gary? He went to his room with his friend Leaf! I'm sure the three of you will have a great time!"
Ash thought so too. The man led him to Gary's room, where the spiky-haired boy was talking rapidly to a girl his age with brown hair and green eyes.
"Now you three have fun!" Professor Oak said as he left, not wanting to disturb their play.
"Hi!" Ash said brightly, waving.
"Hello!" Leaf greeted in a bubbly voice. "What's your name?"
"I'm Ash!"
"I'm Leaf!"
"Leafy, let's play," Gary grumbled, not liking how Ash had taken the attention off him.
"Whatcha guys playing?" Ash asked curiously.
"We don't know yet," Leaf answered. "You wanna play too?"
"No!" Gary spoke up. "He can't play with us! He doesn't know the rules!"
"What're the rules?" Ash wondered.
"You can't ruin my fun, and you have to do what I want to do!" Gary answered hotly.
"But that's not fair!" Ash protested.
"I didn't know those were the rules." Leaf crossed her arms, frowning. "You never said so before!"
"Because we always play fun stuff, so I never had to tell you," Gary justified.
Leaf huffed, but let it go. She didn't want to waste her time being angry. "What do you wanna play?"
"I don't know..." Gary rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Let's play hide-and-seek!" Ash suggested energetically. "It'll be so much fun!"
"No! I don't think it will be!" Gary declined, not because he didn't want to (as he thought it was a very fun game), but rather because he didn't want Ash to be the one choosing. He wanted to be the one to pick what they were going to play.
"I think it'll be fun," Leaf interjected, siding with Ash to Gary's disapproval. "Right, Gary?"
"N-no, it won't!" Gary was stubbornly holding his ground. He did want to play, especially after Leaf made it clear she did as well, but his stubborn nature prevented him from agreeing.
"Then we'll play without you," Leaf proclaimed, a knowing glint hidden in her eyes. She knew Gary would submit sooner or later.
Gary's mind was in turmoil. He was used to having his way. He was Gary Oak! He always deserved the best, everything from being the one to pick the tastiest looking treat, to always getting what he wanted. And, most importantly, always being the one to decide what to play.
"Come on, Ash!" Leaf gestured to him to follow. "We'll play hide-and-seek by ourselves! Who's gonna count first?"
"But it won't be that fun with only two people," Ash pointed out.
"That means I have to play," Gary said quickly, seeing his chance. "I don't wanna, but I have to, 'cause it's the rules."
"It is?" Ash inquired, puzzled. He couldn't remember any rule saying you had to have more than two people for hide-and-seek. Nevertheless, when Gary did not answer, he decided that it must be true.
"Who's counting?" Leaf asked.
"Ash can count!" Gary declared. "Cuz he was the one who said we should play this."
"Um, okay..." Apparently, Ash didn't really have a choice in the matter.
As he began counting, Leaf and Gary ran off to find the perfect hiding spots. Gary ran into he living room, where he squeezed himself in the small space between the back of the sofa and the wall. No one would ever find him there! He always was the best hider!
A while later, he heard Ash complete his counting to ten, and say, "Ready or not! Here I come!"
But you won't find me! Gary thought triumphantly. He was sure of it!
After a while of waiting, Gary was starting to get bored. His back was aching from crouching over for so long, and he really wanted to shift out of the position. But if he did, he might get found! But still, he hadn't even heard Ash yell out "Found you!" to Leaf yet. Was Ash just that bad at finding?
Suddenly, he heard some giggles. They sounded like both Ash and Leaf. He frowned. Wait... so had Leaf been found? Why weren't they searching for him?
Finally, his curiosity got the better of him, and he left his hiding place, heading for where the other two's voices were coming from. Which turned out to be his room. He scowled and crossed his arms when he saw what they were doing. They weren't even trying to look for him! All they were doing was sitting on his bed, talking and giggling at something.
"Hey!" he angrily got their attention. "I was waiting for you guys!"
"Wait, Gary," Leaf said distractedly. "I'm almost done telling Ash something."
"What happened next?" Ash asked eagerly, his mouth filled with a chocolate cupcake he was eating, his lips slathered with icing.
"Then, I said, 'Give up! Come outta your hiding place, Gary!' But he still wouldn't come, so his sister Daisy helped me look, and we found him. Do you know where he was?"
Gary's eyes widened in horror as he realized what Leaf was talking about. It was the time they had been playing hide-and-seek and...
"Where?" Ash urged her to continue.
"He was in a cupboard, but he was stuck in there!" Both Leaf and Ash burst out laughing.
"Leafy!" Gary whined, his voice mixed with outrage and embarrassment. He stomped his foot. "Don't tell him 'bout that!"
"But it was so funny!" Leaf giggled.
Gary's scowl became bigger, and a faint tinge of pink appeared on his cheeks. As much as he liked seeing his friend happy, he did not like her laughing at his expense! Suddenly he noticed Ash. Or rather, what he was eating.
"Where d'ya get that cupcake?" he questioned, dread filling his stomach.
"In the kitchen," Ash answered as he took another bite.
"You didn't tell me there were cupcakes, Gary," Leaf accused her friend. "I want one too!"
Gary, however, was more focused on Ash. "I told you you couldn't have one!" he yelled at him.
Ash thought for a bit, recalling what he had said before. His eyes widened in remembrance. "Oh ya... Sorry..."
As quickly as he could, Gary ran to the kitchen, Leaf and Ash following closely behind. He scanned the frosted cupcakes, and sure enough, the four cupcakes he had frosted were now down to three. What was worse was the fact that it was the one he had prepared for Leaf that Ash had eaten.
"Ash, you ruined it!" Gary screamed furiously. "That one wasn't for you!"
"Gary, what are you yelling about?" an exasperated voice said. Daisy had just entered the room, apparently having finished talking on the phone.
"He ate a cupcake!" Gary pointed at Ash.
Daisy raised an eyebrow. "So? There are plenty of cupcakes."
"But it wasn't for him! It was one with cream on it!"
"Oh, did you ice some yourself?" Daisy picked up one of the iced cupcakes. "This looks good." To Gary's horror, she proceeded to take a big bite out of it.
"That one wasn't for you!" Gary hollered. "It was for Gramps!"
"What was for me?" Professor Oak showed up at the scene. His eyes twinkled when he saw the baked treats. "Oh, is everyone eating cupcakes without me?" He picked up another one of the frosted ones and began eating it.
"That one was Daisy's!" Gary was on the verge of throwing a full-blown tantrum!
"Where's mine?" Leaf demanded. "I want one too!"
Gary realized what his dilemma was. There was one frosted cupcake left, but it was the one he had made especially for himself. He had put extra cream on it. But Leaf hadn't gotten a cupcake yet, because Ash had eaten hers! What was he supposed to do? There only seemed to be one option, but it wasn't one he liked. But at the same time, he didn't want to leave Leaf without a treat...
"Here," he said glumly, handing Leaf the last iced cupcake in self-sacrifice. "You can have it."
"Thank you!" Leaf chirped, not knowing that it had originally been meant for the boy.
As she began eating, she addressed him. "Where's yours?"
"I don't have one," Gary said grouchily.
"Oh, you want a creamy one too?" Daisy said, putting down the one she'd been eating. She picked up one of the plain cupcakes and, with a spoon, applied a large dollop of cream on the top.
"Here you go!" she said, handing it to her brother.
Gary took it instantly, and began wolfing it down without a thank you. His sister always put extra cream on his, because she knew that was exactly how he liked it.
*Ding dong*
"That must be Delia," Professor Oak said as he walked to the door. And sure enough, it was.
"Ash, honey, it's time to go!" she called, and her son came running up to her hurriedly.
"Hi, Mom!"
"Oh, look at you, having so much fun with your new friends!" she gushed. "Now say thank you to them for having you over!"
"Thank you!" Ash waved to everyone.
"Say, we should have Ash come over another time!" Professor Oak suggested.
Gary shook his head, but Leaf happily agreed with a "Yes!"
Gary scowled. He would have to put up with this Ash-boy again. And Ash had not left a good impression on him!
As Ash and his mother left, closing the door behind them, Leaf spoke up.
"C'mon, Gary, let's go play!"
"Okay!" The two hurried off to Gary's room.
Now that the other boy was gone, Gary would be able to have fun with his friend all by himself! And he was definitely looking forward to that!
And that's that! I decided to make this chapter one where Gary and Leaf meet Ash for the first time. It seemed to fit the story!
Sorry again for the late update. The upcoming week is going to be busy for me as well, so I'll try to update on time, but there are no guarantees.
Anyways, thanks for reading!
Bye bye for now! Have an incredible day, and be sure to smile all the way! :)