The next morning, Ash, Brock and Pikachu sat in the living room eating while watching the TV, as usual.

“Hey, guys.”

Misty’s voice seemed gentler than it generally was. Ash looked up at his friend from his food, and almost choked. She had changed from her normal clothes into something more feminine. She wore a long black skirt and a purple silk shirt that just revealed the bottom of her belly. Pikachu, realizing his master’s problems, hit him a few times on the back, to help to dislodge the lump. After a few seconds, Ash, recovered, looked back towards his friend and awkwardly said, “Hi.”

What is with me lately? First I catch myself dreaming about her when I’m with someone else, and now I almost choke looking at her. But then again, she does look pretty cute.

Misty giggled into herself. Maybe he did like her, even if it was only physical attraction. But she was intent of distracting him away from Stasi. She couldn't watch him drool over another girl. It was too painful. She had to stop things between them, even though she knew she could hurt Ash by doing so. She didn't want it to go any further. She had to have him for herself.

She hated being jealous. It was a very unattractive facet, but her love for him prevented her from worrying to much about what she was doing. “Ah, I’m going to do a little bit of shopping. I want to get something to wear for tonight. You guys want to join me?”

“Na, I’m still tired. Didn’t get to sleep until late last night,” Brock explained.

“Okay.” Thanks, Brock, she said inwardly. She hoped for that response. She turned back to Ash and Pikachu. “What about you guys?”

“What do you say, Pikachu?”

“Pika,” he replied happily.

“Great. Lets get going."

They all walked out of the apartment, leaving Brock to watch morning cartoons. She didn’t mind Pikachu coming (he knew exactly how she felt about Ash), but if Brock had come too, another unknowing human would have ruined it for her.

They left the Pokemon Centre and headed down to the main shopping district within Viridian.

“So, is it solely fashion shopping today?” Ash jokingly whined.

“Well, not all day. We could get some souvenirs and stuff. I’m actually surprised you came with me. I though you hated shopping.”

“Well, I want to get something for my mum, and I thought this would be a good opportunity. And...what’s wrong with spending a little time with your friend.”

“Nothing, I’m just surprised you want to spend some time with me.”

“Your my friend. I know we fight and all, but we are still pretty close.”

“I know." She smiled at his comment. Ever since he'd come back from his date yesterday, he had been unusually nice to her.

"So, you going to help me pick out a dress?”

“Sure. I don’t have much of a sense of style, but I’ll try.”

“Great! Come on. I saw the perfect little shop yesterday. It’s just down the street.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him down the avenue.

He couldn’t help but blush, feeling her warm hand in his, happily watching her excitedly run towards the store. He didn’t fully understand why he was blushing (although she had made him blush before), but give up on analysing the reasons and just enjoyed it.

The night was pitch black, but the half moon and stars glistened, casting a natural light over the area. Kinda romantic, Misty thought, before letting out a happy sigh.

Today had been so perfect. They had never fought, never mocked each other. She even thought that he had enjoyed shopping. He had complimented her on how she looked in the long blue dress she'd picked out, and she was sure she had seen him blushing. Maybe there was something between them. People always commented on how they looked like a couple before. Maybe, just maybe, he felt something for her too.

She walked back into the hall, where the disco was being held, and the smile instantly dropped from her face. There he was, her in his arms, the two both as close as possible, swaying slowly to the music. They were still chatting, looking directly into each other’s eyes. It seemed that to them there was nothing else in the world. Her hopes were instantly dashed.

“Hi.”

She turned around at the voice to see a handsome guy about her age looking at her.

“Do you want to dance?” he asked confidently.

“No thanks,” she replied quickly and rudely.

“O-okay.” With that he swiftly left, much to her relief.

She again turned her attention to the two dancers. Every second they seemed to get closer.

She felt another presence next to her. “What?” she said coldly.

“Sorry.” The voice was familiar.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Brock.”

“You okay, Misty?”

“Yeah. I must be a little tired or something.”

“Yeah,” but he didn’t believe her. He knew exactly what was wrong, but now wasn’t the time to bring it up.

The song ended and the two began to walk towards their friends, laughing the whole time, his arm around her waist. "Hey guys, why aren't you dancing?" Ash asked.

"Ah, well I just got rejected again," Brock said, to which Ash just laughed.

"What about you, Mist? I thought you loved dancing."

"Oh, I do, I'm just not really in the mood." She gave him a forced smile.

He could see the sadness behind it. She walked away from her friends, taking another bottle of drink from the table. Ash turned to Stasi. "Stasi, do you mind if I ask Misty for a dance? She seems a little depressed and I want to find out what's wrong and try to cheer her up a bit."

Stasi hesitated slightly. The suspicion that Ash had feelings for Misty raised it's head again. She was unsure what to say, but although they were dating, she had no right to tell him what to do. "Okay."

"Thanks." And in a flash he had moved from her side to Misty's. "Hey, Mist?"

"Yeah, Ash," she replied while sipping on her soda.

"You want to dance?"

"Sure!" She knew that was too quick a response. She had sounded needy, and although that was how she felt, she didn't want him to know that.

"Okay." He took her hand gently and lead her onto the dance floor. "Are you okay tonight, Misty?"

"Sure. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you just seem a little depressed and distant, but you were okay earlier today. I was just wondering if something happen."

"I'm okay. I just have something on my mind that I have to sort out."

"If you need to talk, I'll listen."

She stared straight into his dark eyes, loving hearing those words of genuine concern coming from him. "Thanks, Ash, and hopefully someday I'll be able to tell you what's wrong, but...not yet."

He was confused by her last statement. What was she talking about? But he decided to let it go. If she needed his help, he was sure she would come to him.