Merry Christmas!(Happy New Year!) part 4

Disclaimer: You all should know the drill by now. Nintendo, Game Freak, Satoshi Tajiri, please don’t sue me and I’ll buy your stuff forever and ever and ever...

Summary: It’s the annual Pallet Town New Year’s Eve bash! Let’s party!

Speech. Thoughts. Pokémon.

Traditions.

“Wow, this is pretty cool!” Misty exclaimed. “Yeah!” “I’m gonna head over to the food table.” Misty rolled her eyes as Ash moved off. “Figures.” She shrugged. “Some things never change. Oh well, hey, is that egg nog?!” she moved off towards the drinks table. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Ashy-Boy.” Ash turned around and quickly swallowed his sandwich. “Oh, hi Gary.” “I see you brought your friends with you. Including Red.” Ash shrugged. “Yeah, what about them... oh you mean Misty. Yeah, so?” Gary smirked. “So, how far have you gotten with her?” “Huh, what do you mean?” “You know, how ‘far’ have you gotten with Red?” he winked. Ash choked on his sandwich. “Whoa, wait, we’re, we are NOT like that, okay? We’re just friends, okay?” Gary winked again. “Yeah, sure man, whatever you say.” He rolled his eyes. “I dare you to kiss her. By the end of the party.” Ash stepped back. “Whoa, no way!” “What are you, chicken? Are you a man, or a puny little Caterpie?” Ash blushed and glanced over at the dance area, where Misty was moving gently to the beat. “I don’t know. I mean, she’s my best friend...” Gary smirked. “I bet you, 2000 Poké that you’ll chicken out.” Ash glared. “Fine, you’re on. I’m not a coward. I’ll kiss Misty by the end of the party. You’ll see.” “Yeah, sure man. Whatever you say.” “I will...”

Sometime later, Ash was still trying to figure out how he was going to get Misty to kiss him by the end of the night. “Man, if I try, she’ll probably kill me. But if I don’t, Gary will never let me live it down. He’ll probably tell every other guy in town that I chickened out. What am I gonna do?...” “Hey Ash.” “Aaahhh!” he leapt onto the air and spun around. “Misty?! Wha-What are you doing... how long have you been standing there?!” Misty shrugged. “Just now. Why, what’s wrong?” Ash blushed. “Nothing! No-nothing’s wrong!” he stammered. ‘Thank god, I don’t think she heard me.’ Misty looked at him, unconvinced. “Uh-huh. Anyway, you can’t spend the entire party hanging around the food table. Well, this is YOU we’re talking about here, Ash, so quite possibly you could spend the whole time just standing here stuffing your face, but...” she giggled as he rolled his eyes. Misty’s ears perked up as the song ended and a new one began. “Oh, hey, I love this song. Come on, Ash, come dance with me.” He stepped back. “Huh, what?” Misty grabbed his arm. “I said, come dance with me, Hat-Boy.” She giggled and led him out to the dance floor. “Uh, okay.” Ash squeaked.

After a few songs, Misty finally let him take a break. She kept dancing, however. Ash went out to the veranda. “Well, I see you’re making your move already, Ashy-Boy.” Gary leaned against the railing next to him. “Huh, oh um, yeah, I-I guess.” Inside, Misty took a breather between songs and glanced out at the veranda. ‘Huh, well there’s something I never thought I’d live to see. I wonder what they’re talking about out there.’ Quietly, she made her way towards the door and stood just inside, listening hard above the beat of the music.

“Look, Gary, I’ve been thinking about this and, well, the deal’s off.” “What in the world are you talking about, Ketchum?!” “You know, that deal we made. Well, it’s off. I-I can’t do it. It, just doesn’t feel right.” Gary smirked. “I knew it. I knew you’d be too much of a coward to go through with it. Itty-bitty little Ashy too afraid to kiss a girl? Ha!” Inside, Misty inhaled sharply. ‘What?!’ Ash shook his head. “No, it’s not that. I just, I like being friends with Misty, and I don’t wanna ruin that. I may be pretty stupid sometimes, but even I’m not dumb enough to mess things up with her. So, the deal’s off, Gary. Take your money, and your bet, and shove it.” Gary scowled. “Fine. I didn’t think you were such a coward, Ashy-Boy. At this rate, you’re never gonna be much of a man.” He turned and walked back inside. Misty stood there, in the shadows, stunned. ‘Ash had, made a bet, with Gary, to, kiss me?!’ she stared out at him. ‘And he turned it down, because of our friendship?!’ she ducked further back as Ash came through the door and slowly made his way back to the food table. ‘Oh, Ash!’

“Okay everybody, it’s almost midnight! Gather round for the count-down!” “Hey Ash.” He turned and found Misty standing next to him. “Oh, um, hi Misty. You having a good night?” She nodded. “Yeah, pretty good so far. You?” He shrugged. “Yeah, about the same.” “Here it is, folks, ready? 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Happy New Year!” Everybody shouted and cheered. To Ash’s surprise, everybody suddenly paired up and started kissing. “Er, what’s going on?!” he squeaked. Misty giggled and glanced at him. “Don’t you know, Ash? It’s a New Year’s tradition.” “Huh, what do you mean, Misty?” She giggled again. “Well, it’s considered to be good luck to kiss the person standing next to you when the clock strikes midnight. A sort of, blessing, for the following year kind of thing.” Ash scratched his head. “Oh, okay then. This is the first time I’ve been up for midnight, so it’s the first I’ve heard of it.” Misty nodded. “Yeah, it’s one of those silly little traditions where no-one really remembers how it started.” She shrugged. “Oh well. No sense in breaking a perfectly good tradition...” Misty leant over and kiss Ash gently on the lips. Giggling, she turned and walked off towards the dance floor, leaving Ash standing there, stunned. ‘Did she just, kiss me?!’ He shook his head violently and almost ran to joined in the dancing with her.

Wow, happy new year indeed! For Ash and Misty at least. Next time, ‘Auld Lang Syne’. I have no idea if that’s the correct spelling... anyway, it’s the next day and everyone is dealing with the aftermath of the previous night. There will be quite a few surprises, so don’t forget to check it out.

AUSSIE WOLF

18-Oct-08. (fixed)