Hello :P It is the 23rd March and I am back to upload this little birthday fic for my best friend, AAML-TAML :3 This is a special little AU chapter actually. And I am happy to have written this unique chapter for Shannon. During work and quiet periods, I began reading this childhood book of mine called "Love Aubrey". The dynamics between Aubrey and Marcus when they go to school together reminded me so much of Ash and Misty that it was very easy to write this. And of course I couldn't help but add James in there too. It's an AU where Ash, Misty, Jessie and James all go to a school in Alola for their various issues and this is their alternate meetings/interactions. I really hope you enjoy this but especially you, boo :P Happy Birthday!

Ages:

Ash: 11

Misty: 11

Jessie: 17

James: 17

Disclaimer: I own only the story :3

I breathed out contentedly to myself as I sat on the drinks trolley in the busy school lunch hall. My ears were ringing from hundreds of conversations but it was one of the best feelings in the world. Aside from being chosen to battle with one of these kids, of course. I had been there a few years now but since the most recent term started, I knew this one was the start of even better years to come. I didn't know why and I didn't know how and I didn't understand why I was feeling this. But I felt it. And that's all that needed to be accepted.

My eyes swivelled and watched two students enter the lunch hall from the room just off it where you collected your school lunches. I had seen them both around quite a few times. The younger orange haired female was there when I was one of the home room's class pet and I knew her pretty well. She always gave me good cuddles and tickles under the chin. She was a nice girl. I didn't know the much older lavender haired boy. He was in one of the remaining two years and much taller than his female friend. I had seen him around and thought him to be quite shy. I didn't know anything else about him. I sighed contentedly to myself as I licked a splash of water that had dropped onto my paw and honed in on those two's conversation.

The lavender haired male glanced sideways down at the shorter female and smiled at her, both his hands fixed on the lunch tray he was carrying.

"Where do you want to sit today, somewhere quiet like normal?" he asked casually as if he was letting her pick but his shy manner about him and tone made it quite obvious she would agree to picking a quiet spot.

Misty rolled her eyes fondly and I knew she too had noticed he wanted to pick a low-key spot of the busy lunch room. She was about to make a joke when her eyes went distant and her mouth opened before shutting again. I furrowed my brow, watching her. She was a relatively new student but she had mixed in well. She was smart, she was confident and people liked her. She was an all-round good kid. But like many of the children in the Alolan school, she had her issues. I had heard the teachers discussing her on her first day. Something about a dead parent and a missing one and neglectful sisters. Something also about being from Kanto and now staying with a relative. On that occasion, I didn't like to eavesdrop too much. She was a kid and she had struggles like many of us did in this world. That's all I needed to know. I just wanted to her to like me and be her friend.

The lavender haired male noticed his friend had gone quiet and turned around to look at her properly instead of glancing at her like before. When he looked at her, his round green orbs were laced with concern.

"Is something wrong, munchkin?" he questioned, his own brow furrowing as he tried to spot any indication of what could be wrong with her.

I didn't know it but the red headed female swallowed and fingered the secret note in her pocket. She took a deep breath before swallowing again. She smiled bravely, flicking her bangs out of her eyes with a gesture of her head.

"No, I just remembered I haven't done my assignment for the guidance counsellor this week and I'm due for another session tomorrow."

James' worried expression soon faded at her words and he gave her an understanding smile and a nod of his head. He didn't want to pry and ask her what it was so instead he asked:

"Do you think you can manage it before tomorrow or do you need an extra week?"

Misty went quiet once again and thought to herself. I assumed it must have been hard and was taking longer than normal because of the loudness and chaos of the lunch room. She was a kid who recovered quickly and soon smiled again, nodding her head. She breathed out and took a step further into the lunch room, her eyes scanning and looking around.

James didn't say anything but he copied her, taking a step forward and his own eyes scanning and looking around. When he did it, he was trying to spot what she was looking for.

Misty smiled somewhat shyly and balanced her lunch tray on one hand while she reached to poke the inside of James' arm with her other hand. When she had gotten his attention, she quickly pointed to a table that was empty except for one raven haired student the same age as Misty was, eating his lunch. She began leading James over to the table towards the tanned young boy, explaining as she walked.

"My assignment was to sit with someone at lunch I've never sat with before. He's in a couple of my classes and he doesn't look too bad."

And with that, Misty gave a reassuring nod of the head to herself and took a seat opposite the boy known as Ash. James hesitated and didn't sit down with his orange haired friend just yet, his eyes looking further out into the room. I wondered if he was looking to find someone or to hide from them. His eyes just weren't giving anything away.

Ash gave Misty a cheerful smile as she sat down and didn't shoo her away, despite the fact they had never sat together at lunch together before. It was also quite surprising for kids their age to voluntarily do this because a lot of the children in their year thought the opposite sex were gross and yucky.

Misty couldn't help but smile back at the cheerful boy and she watched him as he picked up his lunch burger in both hands and took a bite right out of the middle. She couldn't help but giggle when he roughly swallowed the first bite before sticking his tongue out after, blowing air onto his face with his hand.

"Ah, hot hot!" he pulled a face, leaning back on his chair to show his hurt before reaching for a cup of water and gulping it down. As his arm reached out for a second cup, he almost sent it flying but luckily Misty caught it and saved half of its contents.

She laughed comfortably and slid the half cup of water towards him before realising this was only just her first proper engagement with his boy. She coughed quietly to herself before making her forehead crease in a somewhat aloof way.

Ash didn't notice her change of expression and wiped the wetness off the table with the bottom of his school shirt before taking another bite of his burger, not learning from the first time and burning his tongue again. This caused the female to relax once again and even take the opportunity to do things properly.

"Is it okay if I sit here?" she asked casually between pretending to giggle as Ash lapped his cup of water like a dog to cool down his tongue.

The raven haired male didn't consent to it with words but he nodded his head quite vigorously so it was clearly okay. I smiled to myself and watched them have their first interactions. I was very fond of the orange haired female and I was especially fond of the raven haired male. Our first days at the school were on the same day and I was the class pet in almost all of his classes. We had a great bond and would chat away together, making scenarios that when he left when he was old enough, that I could be his Pokémon.

After a few moments of silence and a few moments of me thinking, Ash's tongue finally cooled down enough and his goofy side toned down a little bit. He smiled at Misty, glancing to where she had been standing with her lunch tray earlier that day before back with her.

"You asked if you could sit here but you didn't mention anybody else. Weren't you standing over there with someone? Or did they ditch you? I wouldn't blame them."

Misty narrowed her eyes and pulled a slight face but chose not to retaliate when Ash let out a goofy laugh and held his hands up to her to show he was teasing her. She rolled her eyes and sighed loudly but answered him pleasantly enough.

"I was with someone but it seems they have scarpered. Be back in a sec."

And with that, Misty stood up and left her lunch tray on the table with Ash before walking around the lunch hall trying to find James. Ash shrugged when she left and rested his arms behind his head. He continued smiling but I couldn't notice that his chocolate brown orbs grew sad and lonely looking. I forgot that he was one of the troubled and sad kids too. He knew lots of people and had some friends but most of them had heard things about his family and his life at home. They would never get too close to him. That was okay because he was close with me. And he told me lots of things. I couldn't begin to think about the young boy's troubles when Misty came back, dragging her teenage lavender haired male friend by his belt and forcing him to sit down next to her.

He pouted when she caused his lunch tray food to get all mixed up and she glared at him before turning to smile sweetly at Ash. The way she was smiling so sickeningly at him made me believe James had told her some (not unkind) things about Ash on the way back to his table and wanted to annoy James by sucking up to Ash.

Misty was about to speak sweetly to her new potential friend when she suddenly looked down at her lunch tray, noticing something was wrong. She looked over at Ash and met his innocent, round chocolate eyes. Her own eyes went down and met his cheeky, grinning chocolate mouth.

Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance and she banged her hand on the table. James had to pull her back from lunging at the younger male.

"Why did you steal my chocolate pudding, Ketchum?!"

The raven haired male yelped upon hearing this and he quickly wiped his mouth on his tanned arm when he saw me gesturing to him. I couldn't help but smirk slightly at this, even though I suggested it. Like that would make Misty forget about it. As Misty's eyes narrowed even more, Ash's voice got even higher. He decided to focus on something else instead of the matter at hand.

"How do you know my name is Ketchum? Have you been stalking me or somethin', Williams?"

Misty took a deep breath to calm her pre-teen frustration and was about to make a smart mouth comment about her knowing his surname from being in classes with him when she stopped, growing silent. Ash smirked at this and folded his arms, licking the chocolate from around his mouth. Before she could irritably ask him why he was looking so smug, he answered for her.

"I'm looking smug because you were about to make me feel bad for not remembering why you know my surname when you just did the exact thing. I know you're Williams because we share classes, dummy."

I couldn't help but shake my head in awe as I continued watching those two interact. They had just met but the amount of sass was unreal. There was something special there and it wasn't just a mutual love for snide comments. I didn't dare want to label it just yet. But I knew they were destined for greatness. Even if they were destined to be just friends, it was going to be one awesome relationship either way.

When I came back to my thoughts from thinking about how those two broken kids bought out the sass in one and other, I saw that peace had been restored now that James had given Misty his pudding from his lunch tray and hesitantly given Ash some of his chips.

Instead of Ash thanking James for the extra food, he leaned back in his chair and stuck his tongue out, deciding to be obnoxious with him as well.

"What if these chips you gave me contained some special stuff that made it so you didn't have to go to therapy anymore? Well now I've eaten them. So maybe now I'm cured instead of you."

Ash beamed and nodded happily to himself as he chomped on the chips, glancing at Misty and expecting a beam back. He soon got bought back to reality when she narrowed her eyes and shook her head. She decided to give him an annoyed approach but I knew she was secretly covering up resurfacing feelings of shame.

Like many of the kids here, she had been mortified when she found out she had been recommended to see the guidance counsellor. But for once, she pushed past her stubbornness and had attended. She had been doing so for many months and I could see an improvement, even if she had never admitted to me or anyone that these sessions had helped her.

James saw Misty's inner emotion and decided to raise an eyebrow at Ash, leaning back in his own chair and speaking as he sucked on his straw.

"Well then that's unlucky for you because I guess me and Misty can now eat all the sweets in the jar that you normally nearly scoff all of in your sessions."

Upon seeing Ash's innocent and childlike look of shock and hurt, Misty couldn't help but relax and giggled. She laughed even more when she saw Ash's mind ticking to itself as he forgot that he had made up the joke about the chips and were wondering if they were really strong enough to stop his therapy sessions.

James rolled his eyes at the younger male and sat further up again, shaking his head and not in the fond way that Misty had already begun to do. He wasn't the biggest fan of the younger male but he was a kind soul and he gave him the rest of the chips anyway.

Misty had begun to relax pretty fully and she breathed out to herself as she continued eating her lunch. After she had finished a good half of it and after seeing the boys could joke yet be honest about therapy, she decided she could be too. She was about to open her mouth and say something when Ash asked the question she was about to answer. It's like their minds were one.

"How come you came to sit with me today? You normally go sit at a quiet table with just James but today you came to sit with me? Why was that?"

After Ash asked this question, James pretended not to be listening to those two but you could see him doing so as he chewed on his straw. Misty hesitated for a moment but she soon saw that it might have taken courage for Ash to ask this so she decided to have some courage to answer. She answered honestly.

"I get an assignment every week from the guidance counsellor and this week's was to sit with someone at lunch that I never have sat with before."

Ash nodded upon hearing this and he smiled in a childlike way, clearly not upset or annoyed that she was sat with him due to wanting to complete a task. I knew deep down she had wanted to sit with him, though. She had chosen him, after all. Him and no one else.

"I like the guidance counsellor, she's nice. I go and see her because of family troubles and stuff."

It was brave of the raven haired male to admit this and I don't think he realised this. Misty and James realised though and they both smiled but Misty smiled far more than James. Her eyes softened slightly towards him and she played with her bangs. She began to blush as she replied with as much honesty as he had.

"I go for the same reasons. Family troubles and stuff."

I liked how she used the same words as Ash and he did too. The way he was smiling softly back at her was melting my heart and I didn't know why. It was so stupid. They were human and I was a Pokémon. I should know nothing really about the human heart but I could tell theirs were warming to one and others and they were accepting each other.

I knew Ash was wanting to know more and to continue the honest chat but he didn't know how to. So instead, he kept the conversation going the best way he knew how. With a sly dig at James, of course.

He smiled innocently at the older male and pushed his lunch tray away from him before resting his arms behind his head. His eyes were innocent but his mouth turned into a cheeky smirk as he spoke.

"We all know what James' issues are. He's a dude in the second to last year but he has to sit at the littler kid's lunch table or else he has no friends or no one to talk to."

Misty narrowed her eyes in a jokey way upon hearing this and couldn't help but smirk slightly as she turned to look at her lavender haired friend. James sat indignantly up and was about to defend himself and open his mouth when a bunch of noises from his years and the year above filled the lunch hall and it was obvious they were directed at him. Some buff looking jock stood up on his chair and whooped, pointing towards James was sat with the two pre-teens.

"Oh look we found the blubber boy James at last! He should have been easy to spot with those two pip squeaks but at the end of the day I guess he does blend in. They're all losers."

I narrowed my eyes upon hearing this and both Ash and Misty did too but Misty more so than Ash. James just sighed wearily and continued finishing off his drink, clearly used to it and not feeling any energy to retaliate.

After the jock guys comments, there was a bunch of whooping and noises and many more comments directed at the lavender haired male. There was a bunch of whooping of a different kind when a pink haired female carrying a sign and a tray of her own walked across the lunch hall and made a beeline for James.

The hall was filled with noises and wolf whistles but James was unfazed by it this time and put his tray to one side, smiling up at the female.

"Hey Jess." He greeted, forgetting that he was sat with two other people and engaging completely in conversation with her. "I was beginning to think you were pulling a sickie today because I haven't seen you around at all."

Jessie just smirked playfully and shrugged before shaking the box in her hands that was also tied with a strap around her neck. She gestured to the box and glanced at Ash and Misty before back at James.

"It's time for class president again and I'm running for the female leader. I know you'll vote for me, won't you?"

James was quick to nod and smile as he accepted his free badge and rosette from his pink haired female friend. Misty just shrugged and didn't have any sassy comments to say but Ash was clearly full of them. He pretended to shut his eyes as he looked smugly at the female who was much taller than his little self.

"I'm not sure I really want to vote for you, myself. I mean I only am aware of you because of James and aside from that because all the boys in my year find you hot. Apart from that, why should I pick you?"

James couldn't help but let out a laugh upon hearing the strong female had just got burned by a little boy but luckily she knew how to hold her own. She folded her arms above her tray and narrowed her eyes back at him.

"Don't be so full of yourself you little worm, I only know your whole year group exists because all the gross little girlies in your year fancy my friend James."

She paused, giving Misty enough time to breathe out disgustedly and nod her head in agreement while James didn't know whether to look grossed out, pleased or doubtful.

Jessie smirked at his reaction before going back to raising an eyebrow at Ash.

"Vote for me because I'm the tough one and James is the soft one and if you get associated with us, you'll have me to win your fights and him to give you free food."

This was certainly enough to sell Ash and he nodded his head like a puppy before happily agreeing to vote for the female as he too accepted his free badge and rosette.

Misty was about to narrow her eyes and mention that neither of them need help ending fights when the oldest two year groups had decided to go back to picking on James and start making noises and yelling towards he and his pink haired female friend.

The orange haired female was about to roll her eyes and ignore them when one male with a particularly bad haircut stood up on the table and pointed and yelled towards James. Half of the hall grew silent while half of them yelped in shock as he made quite the harsh comment about his childhood and called him an offensive name.

Misty was only eleven years old and she was one of the youngest children in the whole school but she had a lot of willpower and an even bigger mouth. As her eyebrow twitched with irritation, she slammed her hand on the table and yelled back at the almost technically adult man.

"Oh would you just shut your big fat mouth, Bitch?!" she roared at him, deciding to give him double damage by calling him by the wrong name which she knew he hated and also hitting him with a cuss word.

The lunch hall erupted again with whoops and noises but this time at Butch who had just been owned by one of the first years. It was obvious to say that upon hearing Misty's yelling and her saying a swear word, a teacher came running over to take her to the principal.

It was her first time and she had only been there a few months so she knew she was going to be held at a different level than everyone else. She also knew that they had read her files and might barely punish her at all out of pity. She was not ready for either. She was about to get herself in even more trouble by arguing the teacher when Ash suddenly did something glorious.

I hadn't noticed that Jessie had given Ash a free can of watermelon fizzy juice to drink because he was going to vote for her. I hadn't even notice that they had begun to toss it to one and other.

I couldn't help but notice, however, when Ash stuck the pin of his class president badge into the side of the fizzy drink and cause a mountain of juice and foam to spray out directly onto the teacher.

The teacher gasped with shock as the cold fountain hit him and he almost turned as red as the fruit that Ash loved so much. He didn't hesitate to grab Ash by the sleeve of his shirt and lead him with Misty towards the head teacher's office.

They tried their best not to make eye contact but when they did, they had to bite the insides of their cheeks to stop laughing. I watched as they secretly high fived behind the teachers back and saw how as they were dragged off to be punished, the door to the guidance counsellors opened and their guide teacher sussed out exactly what they had been up to. Both Ash and Misty assumed that their therapist had been horrified but I noticed that they looked very pleased indeed.

The guidance counsellor had assigned Misty to sit with someone knew at lunch and I think she might have set the exact same assignment to Ash on the exact same day. Misty was stubborn and likely to put it off until the last day. Ash was forgetful and likely to forget about it until the last day. Ash and Misty both went to that room for a chat every week and they were in many of the same classes. Did the teacher know Misty would be drawn to Ash? Did the teacher know that Ash would bring some sunshine into Misty's life and vice versa? Who knows? The only thing for certain is that after that day, Ash and Misty were both in for one hell of a ride. A ride filled with chaos, sass, admiration, respect and beautiful friendships. And one day, I'll tell you more about them and their wonderful journey.

The End.

There you go! Thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoyed but especially you, Shannon :3 It actually was so much fun writing about this AU and I really think I will write a little bit more about it in the future. I love writing about how even in an alternate universe, James is always soft and Ash and Misty are always sassy :P I also had fun writing about the gag in their pre-teens/teens because I normally focus on future stuff. I must write more like that! Thanks again for reading and Shay, I hope you had a really good birthday. My BFF deserves nothing less :P I will be back on the 28th with Dear Darlings so see you then!

AmyBieberKetchum signing out :P