Chapter Two:
Caution:  this chapter may contain a slight amount of Copyshipping.  ^_~
   
    The ancient-blue and mediocre sky rested blankly above their heads.  Not a cloud drifted by, it seemed altogether empty; hopeless to eternity.  In fact, if you looked directly above, to the sky, it would seem as if the sky was falling.  It was a very hypnotizing morning...

And as if this morning wasn’t embarrassing enough, breakfast has to be worse…  As they sat, most of their friends sat beside them, watching them suspiciously.  A few, including Duplica and Tracy, had wide grins spread across their faces.  Misty blushed and cleared her throat, then she peered up at Ash, he had his League cap tilted over his forehead to cover his shamed eyes.  His arms were crossed and he leaned backwards.  Misty licked her dry lips.  No words were spoken.

    Forty-five dreadful minutes later, Brock announced slowly, breaking the chilled silence, “I’m done.”  And he stood, taking his food away.  The rest of them edged closer to the blushing two on the other end.
“Well, what happened?”  Tracey bravely asked.
“Yeah, why weren’t you two talking?”  Todd asked.
“Well… why weren’t you guys talking?”  Misty asked, crossing her legs.
“I wasn’t talking ‘cause nobody else was.”  Duplica said.
“Why did Brock have to round you two up like a couple of sheep?”  Tracey asked.  “What were you two doing that you couldn’t hear Brock yelling for you?”
Duplica giggled.
“We couldn’t hear him okay?!”  Ash said, sitting erect and tossing his cap aside.  He stood upright.  “Why don’t you mind your own business?!”
“Um… sorry.”  Tracey said, holding his hands in motions of defeat.
“Leave us alone.  What we do is none of your business.”  He glared at Tracey.
Ash looked from one friend to another, not once at Misty by the way, and turned and walked away.  Tracey, Todd, and Duplica sat puzzled and shocked.  Misty shook her head in humiliation and jumped to her feet running after Ash.
“Ash!  Ash, wait up!”  Misty called out.
He paused in his tracks, looking down at the edge of the sand where the water slowly enveloped the tips of his shoes.  Misty stopped at his heels.
“Ash, what’s wrong?”  She said quietly.
He fell to his rear, almost landing on Misty’s feet, and began to slip off his shoes.
“What are you doing?”  She asked while he pulled off his socks.
He didn’t answer her while he took off his shirt and tossed it aside.  He briskly took in a fresh breath of the clean air that surrounded them.  His arms were chilled, but his forehead and cheeks felt feverishly pyretic.  The water that he rested his feet in was a fine lukewarm. 
“Come on!  Hurry up, we might miss something!”  Duplica whispered loudly to Todd.
Todd readied his camera and held it in his right palm as he ran, trying his best to avoid all of the darn trees in his way.  He jumped over a large vine and stopped short as Duplica stopped.
“There they are.”  She muttered.
Todd laughed lightly to himself as he zoomed in on them.
“This is perfect distance.”  He said.
“Ash?”  Misty asked, wondering what to do.
“You know what?”  Ash asked.
“…what?” 
Ash slowly stood and faced her.  He bent forward and kissed her directly on the lips.
The kiss being but a mere second longer than the last, Ash backtracked.
“That’s what.”
Misty reddened.  “What was that for?” 
Ash chuckled and held out his arms behind his head.  He fell instantly into the lake, back-first. 
“Ash!”  Misty gasped.
She, of course, ran straight for water and jumped in after him.

Brock jumped up from the archaic tree stump, dropping the plate he had been wiping off and letting it shatter all over the ground by his feet.  He had heard Misty’s desperate scream for help. 

“STOP!”  Misty screamed, her voice cracking with laughter.
“Hahahahahaha stop stop st-stop!”  She yelled again, feeling Ash’s fingers dig deeper into her ribs.
She kicked frantically, causing more and more water to splash up into the air.  Todd took picture after picture while his camera snapped, clicked, and whirled all sorts of tiny sounds.
“Oh!  This is great!”  Duplica said, whipping out a video camera and instinctively stabbing down the ‘record’ button.
“I didn’t know you had a video camera.”  Todd said admiringly.
“Yeah, I carry it around with me all the time.”
“Where do you keep it at?”
Duplica smiled and winked.   “Trait secret.”
She hummed and continued to watch the two through the small eye hole.
“Oh, this is great.”
“How many times will you say that?”  Todd asked.
“Until I get tired of it.”  She replied.
“When would you get tired of it?”  He asked, slowing to a stop.
“When you get tired of asking questions.” 
“… Fair enough.”  He continued to rapidly take pictures.
“Oh, this is-“
“Great?”
“No.  Amazing.”  She giggled.
“What is so awesome about that camera?”  Todd asked.
Duplica stared down at Todd’s squatting position.
“It’s not the camera.  It’s the both of them.  In love.”
Todd looked up at her.  “What?”
Duplica blushed.
“Take a look.”  She said, handing him her camera.
He took it, slipping his hand through the small strap on the side on top of hers.  She slowly pulled hers out and stuffed it into her pocket.  Todd grinned.  He pulled the camera to his gaze and stared at the two.  He was so amazed at what he saw that he nearly forgot to push the ‘record’ button.
“This is great!”  He exclaimed as he zoomed in on the two, splashing water all over within a ten-mile radius and Misty screaming with laughter as Ash tickled her.
“You see?”  She asked, sitting down on the natural cushion of fallen tree leaves.
“Yeah…”  He said slowly.

    They slowed to a stop as Misty gripped Ash’s arms and easily flipped him over her forehead.  He went soaring through the air, falling face-first into the water before wading upwards.
“Jeez, Misty.  How’d you get that strong?”  He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Talent.”  She said.
“You know we should get out soon…  They’ll get worried about us if we don’t.  …And I’m soaked…”  Misty said pulling weakly at one of her suspenders and letting it slap back to her shoulder with a stinging force.
Ash cleared his throat and slowly waded towards her, the frigid water measuring up to his collar bone and stopped in front of her, a solemn look on his face.
“Misty.  Where are we?”  He asked.

“Ooh!  Ooh!  Look, I think they’re going to kiss!”  Duplica whispered loudly to Todd, “Make sure you get this!”
“Yeah, yeah…”  He muttered, looking away from them to check to see if the tiny red dot in the screen was blinking.
“It’s recording.”  He assured.
Duplica was highly skittish as her hands shook with a fidgety energy.  She nervously shuffled her feet, causing the large amount of dry leaves to make loud crunching sounds and small twigs snapped.
“Calm down or they’ll see us.”  Todd warned.
“Oh, you calm down.”  She snapped back at him.

“What do you mean, Ash?”
“I mean… never mind…”
“No… I’m serious.”  Misty said solemnly.
“It’s just-  that-  what I’m-…”  Ash stuttered.
She smiled.  There should have been a time in every girl’s life to enjoy something as sweet as this.
“See-“
“Ash?”
“Hm?” 
Misty abruptly threw her arms around his neck and kissed him directly on the lips.

“Ooh!”  Duplica stood upright.  “Did you see that?!”  She asked.
“Yeah, yeah.”  Todd replied, zooming in.

“Mmm…”  Misty moaned happily, leaning into Ash.
“MmmMisty?”  Ash asked, dazed, his arms were out to the side as he tried to keep the both of them balanced.
A stray magikarp sluggishly swam by, its fins brushing the back of Misty’s knee.  She screeched and jumped, causing the two of them to fall into the water.

“Oh.”  Duplica groaned, smacking her forehead.
“What a dope.”  Todd chuckled.

“What a dope…”  Brock laughed, shoving away the many small leaves.
“Hey!  Let me see!”  Tracey said, pushing Brock to the side.
“Ugh!  Watch it!”  Brock grunted.
Tracey tripped over a large moss-covered rock and fell backwards into a tree.  It shook wildly and fell into an even weaker tree, which, unfortunately, was struck by lightning last week, and the tree fell into the water.
“What was that?!”  Misty sprung from the water.

“…Oops.”  Tracey muttered, standing up.
“You idiot!  We’re going to get caught if you don’t quit dancing around!”  Brock whispered.
“Sorry.”
“Shut up!”  Brock whispered loudly.

“That sounded like…Tracey and Brock.”  Ash said, standing in the water.
“Yeah... They were close, too.”  Misty’s eyes narrowed.
“Brock?!”  Ash called out.
“Run.”  Brock said, grabbing Tracey’s shirt and speeding off towards camp.
They ran back to camp.

“What a couple of chickens...”  Todd said, following them with the camera.
“No kidding.  Clumsy, too.”  Duplica remarked.

“We should really get back to camp.  That might not have been Brock and Tracey.”  Misty said.
“I doubt it.  You know how nosy they are.”
She smiled.  “Let’s just go.”
She turned to walk, but a cold, damp hand grabbed her arm in alarm.
“Wait.”  Ash said.
“What?”
“Let’s just... stay here a while.”
“Why?”
“Because...  Let’s just stay.”  He said quietly.
Misty trudged through the soft underwater sand towards Ash with a serene look on her face.  She looked calm, at peace; the kind of look a professional nurse exhibits at the side of a feverish toddler.  Her tranquil look could settle a war; could turn the most venomous demon into the sweetest angel.  She gently embraced him.
“It’s fine, Ash.  It’s perfect.”  She whispered.
She could feel his breathing in her ear grow soft and shallow and his hands delicately touch her back.  One feebly trailed up her back to the back of her neck where he pulled her closer.
“This is the only place where they can’t stare at us, bother us.”  He sighed.
“I know.”  She whispered.
“Well... actually, there’s the... well, never-mind...”
“What is it, Ash?”  She asked, looking up.


“Hey.  Where’re they going?”  Duplica said.
Todd looked up from tying his shoe.
“Huh?”
“They’re going somewhere.”  She reported in an irritated tone.
Todd looked up to the two teens climbing out of the lake all dripping wet and jogging towards the campsite.
“It looks like they’re going back to camp.”
“Well, they’re going pretty fast!”
“Yeah, I guess...”  He mumbled, not even paying attention.
“Come on!”  Duplica grinned, grabbing Todd’s shirt collar.
“Wha-?”  He choked, feeling the ground slide beneath him.
“Let’s follow them!”  She said, picking up speed.
“Why do we have to follow them?!  We know where camp is!”  He cried out, swinging the camera’s sling around his neck.

End Chapter 2.