Nobody in the group was more excited about the talent show than Misty. She had auditioned to sing. Ash had wanted to listen
to her practice, but she had refused to let him. He was a little depressed due to this, but quickly cheered up when he decided
to enter the talent show as well, and ran off with Pikachu to think up what they could do. The only thing he could come up with
was for Pikachu to do tricks on command, which Pikachu agreed to after he was bribed with a promise for a whole bottle of ketchup.
Ash had just finished peforming and the crowd was cheering. Pikachu had done splendidly and, to Ash's surprise, had even improvised a few tricks that Ash had not taught him. He grinned as he looked at the pokemon, bowing for the audience. "Good job, pal," Ash said to him. "Pika!" said Pikachu. "Don't worry. I've got the ketchup in my backpack. We'll go get it now." And with that, Piakchu and his trainer (and best friend) bowed one last time, walked off stage, and walked over to their seats in the crowd. Ash got the ketchup out for Pikachu, who began drinking it immediately. Ash paid little attention to Pikachu, however, as Misty was performing next.
He gasped along with the rest of the crowd as she walked out from the wings and took center stage. "Pikachu, she's so...beautful." Pikachu looked up from his ketchup binge long enough to glance at her and agree. "Chaaa" he said, then resumed eating. Misty was wearing a low-cut dress that was the same color as her eyes. It was slit up one side to reveal her silky-smooth leg. Ash began to drool. "Wow," said Brock, taking a seat next to Ash, "you might wanna wipe your chin off there, buddy." Ash shook himself back to reality. "Brock, I've always thought Misty was cute, but I never knew..." Ash was too stunned by her appearance to put it into words.
Then she began to sing. Ash didn't hear the words to the song, and to this day he wouldn't be able to tell the title of it to save his life, but he never forgot her voice. He listened to her sing, enraptured for what seemed to him like hours. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. Apparently, the judges agreed. She won best in show. Ash won a small ribbon for Pikachu's performance, but he told Pikachu it was his, since Ash hadn't really done any of the work himself.
Ash walked over to Misty after the show was over and was about to tell her what he had said to Brock, when a man dressed in a snappy suit cut in front of him and grinned at Misty. "Young lady, I haven't heard a voice like that in years! Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Jack Stone, producer and owner of Stone Records. I'd like for you to audition for my company. If the other execs like you (and I assure you, they will) we can start you recording a solo album!" Misty was stunned. Her? Recording an album? It was too good to be true. Ash waited patiently behind the businessman, confident that he would soon go away after hearing Misty refuse his offer.
Misty's mind raced as she thought of her dreams come true: fame, money, a life of luxury. Misty began to stutter, "Umm..Umm.. Ye..Umm.." Then she thought of Togepi, Brock, and Pikachu...and Ash. She thought a lot about Ash. "Sorry, but no..." she said quietly. "Are you sure? Well, it's not like I can force you...here's my card if you change your mind." And with that, the well-dressed man turned, shaking his head sadly, and walked off.
"Wow, Misty! You were great! I's never heard you sing until now, so it took me completely by surprise! Your voice was so...beautiful," Ash stammered. Misty's face brightened up. "Really, Ash?" she asked coyly. "Yeah! I was completely stunned! I couldn't even make out the words, I was so taken by your voice," Ash admitted. "You couldn't make out the words? What do you mean?" she asked, getting angry. 'Uh-oh,' Ash thought, 'that probably wasn't the smartest thing to say.' "I was just kidding Misty! She looked angry, but said "Okay, whatever."
"Hey, guys! Let's head over to the pokemon center!" they heard Brock yell. "Okay, Brock!" Ash was relieved that Brock had broken their conversation. He didn't want to make Misty mad again. He'd been doing that a lot lately, unintentionally, of course. Still, he had to wonder why she was always getting upset with him...especially when he was talking to other people, mostly girls, now that he thought about it...
"Pikachu!" Pikachu said happily as Ash patted his head and scratched that spot behind his ears. "Hey, you like that, huh?" asked Ash, laughing. "Chu!" affirmed the little electric pokemon. "Well, I'm gonna go get something to eat. I'll pet you some more later," Ash promised. "Pika Pikapi! (Ok, Ash!)" said Pikachu, stretching as he prepared to follow Ash down to the Cerulean City pokecenter's cafeteria. "Oh, are you coming, too?" asked Ash. "Pika-pika! Pikachu!" answered Ash. "Yeah, I bet they do have some ketchup," chuckled Ash. He opened the door and let Pikachu out, then followed his friend downstairs.
Ash's stomach growled as he entered the cafeteria. He heard someone laughing at one of the tables, and saw Brock sitting there grinning at him when he looked to see who it was. "Hungry?" Brock teased. "Boy, am I!" Ash replied, "What's there to eat around here?" Brock's grin widened, "Not much left, besides ketchup!" "What?!" Ash asked, crestfallen. "Pika!" Pikachu said excitedly. "Just kidding, Ash, though they do have some ketchup packets," he added, winking at Pikachu. (Brock winked? Damn, I missed it!) "Oh, good! I'm gonna grab some food, cause I'm *really* hungry," said Ash. "Hurry up, Ash. I'm bored and I want somebody to talk to. Nurse Joy went out on an emergency call, so I've been sitting down here bored out of my mind!" Brock rambled. Ash payed little attention as he wandered over to the vending machines and searched for something large enough to satiate him.
"Pikapika!" Pikachu said, reminding Ash that he needed to get some ketchup as well. "Okay, Pikachu, I'll have some for ya in a sec!" replied Ash, rolling his eyes. He selected a light dinner for himself: a double cheesburger, two bags of chips, a few pastries for dessert, and a bottle of lemonade to wash it all down. 'I hope this fills me up,' thought Ash, 'or I'll have to raid the cafeteria later tonight for a midnight snack...guess I'll probably do that anyway.' "So Brock," Ash said as he sat down at the table across from his squinty-eyed friend, "What was the emergency?" "What emergency are you talking about?" questioned Brock. "The one that called Nurse Joy away. I hope it wasn't an injured pokemon!" said Ash, who then began stuffing his face as though pokemon were the last thing on him mind. "Chu!" said Pikachu, demanding attention. "Mmmfkay Pikmmmchu," Ash muttered through a mouthfull of cheeseburger. He tossed Pikachu a few ketchup packets. "Chaaaaa..." Pikachu sighed contentedly as he ripped the packets open and began gulping down the red liquid inside.
"Pikachu, careful to not get that in your fur," said Brock, "Ash is tired of cleaning it out everyday." "Pika." "What the heck does that mean?" said Brock, clueless. Ash may be able to understand Pikachu, but it was an art that Brock had proven himself quite inept at. "He said, 'alright'," explained Ash after he swallowed another bite of burger, chips, and lemonade. "Don't eat so fast Ash. It'll give you stomach cramps," teased Brock. "Yeah, whatever. Misty says I have a cast-iron stomach," Ash said haughtily, "I think I can take a few chips and some lemonade."
"You *do* know I didn't really mean that as a compliment, right Ash?" Misty asked as she entered the cafeteria. "Oh, hey Mist," Ash greeted her. "Hey yourself," she replied, grinning. "Got enough food there?" "Actually, I was thinking about seconds," he told her. Misty sweatdropped. "Ash, how can you eat so much?" asked Brock. "Well, I guess all the walking we do, plus all the pokemon training I do just adds up. I'm *always* hungry when I'm on the road." "Yeah, but that's because you don't eat as much or as well as you do when you're at home," commented Misty. "Wow, I never thought of that!"
Misty shook her head as she headed over to the vending machines and selected a fruit salad and some juice. "While we're talking about food, Misty, I don't see how you can eat so little and not be hungry," said Ash. "I'm just trying to keep me girlish figure." "From what I can see it must be working," Ash said quietly aside to Brock, who nodded in response. Ash then looked back over at Misty to find she had a few veins popping out of her head. "Umm...Misty? Did I say something wrong?" Ash sounded more than a little nervous and began edging out of his seat. To his surprise, she didn't even yell at him. She simply turned her nose up with a little "Huh!" and stormed out of the breakroom with her food.
Ash looked over at Brock with an expression of confusion and concern. "Brock, when has Misty ever acted like that?" "Since never," Brock said, his own brow knitting together in worry. "Do you think I should go apologize?" "No, I'd give her a little while to cool down..." said Brock. "Hey, Brock, why do you think she did that?" "I don't know. Personally I would have thought she would take that as a compliment." "That's what it was..." Ash said in dejected tones. 'Why is she always angry at me?'
Ash sighed heavily as he stood up, his food forgotten. "I'm gonna go for a walk. I'll be back later," he told Brock. Ash stepped through the cafeteria door with Pikachu in hot pursuit. The worried look on Brock's face didn't disappear as Ash left. In fact, it became even more grave. 'They've been fighting more and more lately. I don't know what to do about it anymore...' Brock decided he should take a little time and think long and hard to find a solution to this problem. 'I need some help with this one,' thought Brock, 'I can't do this on my own...'
"Like, what are you doing here Brock?" asked Daisy in her bubbly voice. "Gaaa..." Brock started drooling at the sight of Misty's elder sister. 'Gotta focus...' Brock told himself. 'Discipline! Discipline! Disci...pretty...' "Ummm...I need to talk to you about your sister," Brock began shaking himself to clear his mind. He had decided that the best course of action was to seek help from his friends' relatives. Daisy seemed the best choice to talk to about Misty, as she was the least bubbly of the Sensational Sisters, so Brock had left for Cerulean, leaving a note explaining that he would be gone a few days for Ash and Misty to find. He hoped he had made the right decision, but knew that it was too late to change his plans now.
"What? You mean, like, Misty?" asked Daisy. She began to look concerned. "Is everything, like, okay?" Brock was suddenly embarassed at making her worry. "Well...Misty's okay of course, but she and Ash are fighting. I mean *really* fighting, not the stuff you've seen. They don't just argue anymore. They've not been on speaking terms for a few days. I'm really worried about them," Brock said, getting straight to the point. "So, like, why are you here instead of helping them out?" "I don't know what to do anymore, Daisy. I've tried everything I can think of and nothing has worked so far. You're Misty's sister. I thought maybe you would have some ideas..." Brock's voice trailed off, knowing there was little chance that Daisy could really help him out.
"I could, like, talk to her about it I guess," Daisy said ponderously. "Other than that, I don't have a clue." "Thanks, Daisy. I knew if any of Misty's sisters could help, you could." Brock turned to leave the Cerulean gym. "Wait, Brock. Are you, like, leaving already?" "Yeah," he said, continuing toward the exit, "I still have to talk to Mrs. Ketchum, so I'm heading to Pallet Town. "Oh...." said Daisy sadly. "Ummm...Brock?" Brock paused just inside the doorway. "Yeah?" "Do you...want to stay here tonight? You can, like, leave in the morning." Brock turned to look at her and she suddenly looked a little flushed. "I mean, you can like, leave in the morning or whatever. It's just that you're traveling alone and all, so I don't really like the thought of you wandering through the woods at night..." 'Wow, I never noticed how, like, cute he is. I guess it's because he's always been with Misty and her "boyfriend".'
"Umm, sure Daisy," said Brock, blushing at the attention he was receiving from her. "So, like, have you eaten dinner yet?" she asked. "No..." 'Is she asking me out on a dinner date? That can't be right...' Brock was getting a little confused. He was also doing exactly what he told himself he would not do: he was losing his focus on his mission. "You wanna go out and grab a bite?" she asked shyly. 'What? I can't believe she said that! Oh, happy day!' Brock tried to calm himself down as his heart thumped in his chest. "Sh-sh-sure!" he finally stammered. "Great. Maybe we can, like, go to a movie afterwards?" she asked hopefully. She too had completely forgotten about Misty's problem.
Earlier, back at the Cerulean City pokecenter, Ash was just returning from his walk. "I wonder where Brock is?" he asked Pikachu.
"Pika," his pokefriend replied. "Yeah, let's check the room," said Ash. He walked up a flight of stairs to the guest rooms,
fumbled in his pocket for his room key, then opened the door. "Brock?" No response. "I guess he's downstairs. Maybe Joy came
back..." Ash said in a pittying tone. 'Poor Joy. Brock *always* hits on her. ...I wonder if she gets annoyed, or if she actually
enjoys it,' thought Ash. "What do you think, Pikachu? You think Joy likes Brock?" "Pika..." "You're right. I don't think *anybody*
could like Brock as much as he likes women."
"Ash & Misty,
I've got some stuff I've gotta take care of,
Brock
P.S. Please try to not fight while I'm gone."
Ash just stared at the note. "Well, guess it's just you, me, and Misty, huh Pikachu?" Pikachu nodded, then took the note
back from Ash. "Pikachu, pikapikachu," he said. "You want to take the note to Misty? Okay, sure." Ash opened the door so
Pikachu could head over to Misty's room. "Just knock when you want back in," he told Pikachu, "and if I'm asleep, have
Misty let you back in." After standing in his doorway and watching his first pokemon to make sure Misty let him in her room,
he shut his door, laid down, and promptly went to sleep.
Meanwhile, Pikachu walked over to Misty's bed and hopped up on it next to her as she sat back down. "Toge, toge!" said Togepi
excitedly as it caught sight of Pikachu. "Pika!" said Pikachu in greeting. Then he turned his full attention to the red-headed
girl sitting next to him. "Pika..." he said, holding out the note. "Oh, what's this?" She read the note. "So, Brock's gone
off, huh? Guess it's just us then, huh Pikachu?" "Pika-pika! Pikapi!" "Oh, yeah...and Ash..."
Pikachu was starting to get worried. Misty didn't seem like herself lately. 'I need to find out what's going on...' Pikachu
thought, 'too bad I can't pilfer through Misty's stuff...I'm sure whatever's bothering her is in her diary, but those dresser
drawers are *way* too heavy for me to pull out!" Pikachu sighed and decided there was nothing he could do at the moment. He
walked back over to the door and asked Misty to take him back to Ash's room.
Misty walked Pikachu back down the hallway. Pikachu lightly tapped on Ash's door. Misty knocked louder when they got no
response. "Ash? Are you in there? Are you okay?" Misty asked. Pikachu looked up at her. She looked concerned. 'Well, that's
a good sign...' She tried the doorknob and discovered that the door wasn't locked. She opened it and let Pikachu in the
room. "Good night, Pikachu," she told the little mouse-like pokemon. "Pikachu," he replied.
Just as Misty turned to leave, she heard Ash talking in his sleep. This was nothing unusual, but what he said caught her ear,
mostly due to the fact that he said her name softly. "Misty....hate you!..." he muttered. She didn't hear anything but those
three words, partly because she was out the door in a flash, partly because she had started crying.
To understand what happened next, we have to look at what Ash was dreaming about.
Ash was frantic. She was gone. Really gone this time. It hadn't just been a threat. She had left him, and he didn't know
what to do. He had to find her...somehow. He raced through city after city, town after town, but nobody had seen her. Just
as he was giving into despair, he found her. He didn't know where he was, didn't know how far he had run, but he knew that he
had finally found her again. "Misty!" he cried out. She turned, staring at him with cold, emotionless eyes. "Ash, why did you
come here? I know you hate me! Why can't you leave me alone?!" Ash was shocked. He couldn't say anything for a few moments. He
just stood their with his jaw hanging loose, not believing the words he had just heard. "Misty...I don't hate you! I could
*never* hate you, because I love you! I can't stand not being around you! Please, don't leave me alone again!"
Ash awakened with a start. His clothes were drenched in cold sweat. 'A dream...Thank God it was only a dream!' He heard the
door to his room slam suddenly. The force of it brought him completely awake. "Pika!" said
Pikachu, running to the door. "What's wrong Pikachu?" Ash asked. "Pikapika! Chupikachu!" "Huh? Misty just ran out of my room?"
He didn't know what to do. She was still mad at him. "Pikachu, what am I going to do? She's still mad, but I can't
go apologize, because she won't even speak to me..." Ash was giving up hope. His dream was still fresh on his mind. It had
been to vivid...so real... He shuddered at the blank stare she had given him. That emotionless stare of utter contempt for him.
Ash began to cry. He wanted to apologize to Misty, for everything he had ever done and said to her. He wanted to scream. He
wanted to hit something. But mostly, he just wanted to be held...and cry. "Pika!" Pikachu yelled, not knowing what to do to
comfort his best friend. 'Why is this happening?' thought Pikachu. The pokemon's eyes began to water at the sight of his
trainer breaking down and sobbing uncontrollably, so he did the only thing he could do. He jumped up onto his trainer's lap
and snuggled against him, trying his best to comfort his inconsolable friend. "Pika--chu," Ash managed to get out between sobs,
"Why?" Then he lost all control of his vocal chords and began to softly wail as he cried.
Misty was fighting back tears in her own room. He had said what she most feard. The two words she had heard many times in her
nightmares. "Hate you." 'Why is this happening? Why? What did I do to deserve this?' She fought and fought with all her will
to hold back the flood of tears, but it was no use. They suddenly came pouring forth. "Togepriii!" yelled Togepi. 'Mommy!
Mommy! Don't cry! Don't!' The little egg pokemon waddled over to where Misty was curled up on the end of her bed and snuggled
against her neck. "Toge..." it said softly. "To--ge--pi," she sobbed. That was all she got out before the sobbing robbed her
of her voice.
Brock had really enjoyed his night with Daisy. They had talked and laughed over dinner, then had gone to a sappy romantic
movie. It was 11:00PM before they staggered back into the Cerulean gym, tired but happy. Now Brock was lying in the guest
bedroom, smiling in contentment, unaware of the problems that were worsening by the minute back at the pokecenter.
The next day Ash woke up. He had cried himself to sleep the night before. He felt like crying somemore, but his stomach was
stealing his attention. He felt physically hungry, but his mind just couldn't stay on food. "Morning Pikachu," Ash said sadly,
noticing that the electric pokemon was staring at him with concern. "Let's go get some breakfast." Ash got dressed and wandered
downstairs, heading for the cafeteria. He hoped Brock was there, but then he remembered the note. 'Brock, what a time to go
girl-chasing...' thought Ash, shooting a mental plea at Brock for him to hurry back. He sighed and picked up a packet of
cereal and a carton of milk. He drug his feet over to a table and began to eat. Pikachu sat in the seat next to him, just
watching him eat. He didn't even complain about not getting any ketchup. He was too worried about Ash to care.
Ash looked up as the door to the cafeteria swung open. He saw Misty step into the room. Then she spotted him, turned around,
and walked back out. Tears filled Ash's eyes again, and he pushed his cereal away, laying his head on the table and preparing
for another round of crying. He didn't notice when the door opened again, this time admitting Nurse Joy into the cafeteria.
She looked startled for a moment, shocked to see a crying boy sitting there with a Pikachu sitting on the table trying to
console him, but quickly regained her composure as she ran over to him. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly. Red eyes looked up
at her as he picked up his head. "She---*sob*---hates me," he managed to choke out before sobbing some more. "Oh, you poor thing..."
said Joy as she sat down next to him and hugged him caringly. "Shhhh, it's okay..." she said soothingly. Ash layed his head
on her shoulder and continued crying.
Joy began to rub his back, wondering what she should do. Counseling was not her forte, but she felt awful for him. Ash's sobs
began to lessen, then they slowly stopped altogether. He picked his head up and looked at Joy. "Thanks..." he said, sniffling.
"Don't mention it," she said, not quite knowing how to respond. She did feel badly for him, but should she get mixed up in
something that was really none of her business? Pikachu crawled into Ash's lap and looked up at him lovingly. Ash absently
petted him on the head as he told Joy, "Sorry you had to see that. I just...." He sniffed again. "Excuse me if I can't talk
about it right now." he finished.
All three individuals in the cafeteria were too preoccupied to notice a pair of aqua eyes that widened in shock as they stared
through the small window in the cafeteria door. 'Now I understand,' she thought, sniffling. 'I hope you have a good life, Ash
...goodbye'
Misty turned around slowly, almost unable to tear her gaze from the one that she loved. When he was no longer in her field of
vision, she ran to her room and grabbed her things. "Toge! Toge!" said Togepi excitedly. He was ready to leave, and always
got excited when he got to travel with Pikachu. "Sorry Togepi," Misty said sadly. "I don't know if we'll ever see Pikachu again...
or Ash." She gave her little pokemon a brave smile, which quickly dissolved into a sad frown. "Let's go before I change my mind
Togepi. I don't know if I can take anymore heartbreak."
After Joy had told Ash he could talk to her anytime, or better yet, she could refer him to a counselor, he smiled sadly and
told her that he would keep that in mind. After that, he left the cafeteria and headed for his room. He noticed that Misty's
door was open a crack, but wasn't in the mood to go and shut it for her. The last thing he wanted right now was for her to
be more angry than she was now. He sighed and stepped into his room, closing the door behind him.
"Pikachu!" He heard the muffled cry coming through the door, which he quickly reopened. "Sorry..." he said as he closed the
door softly and walked over to the bed. "Pikachu..." he said as he stared at the ceiling, "can you think of something I could
have done that would make Misty mad at me. Lately, I mean." PIkachu thought for a moment, but couldn't think of anything.
"Pikapi, pikachu chu pipika," he said, which means "Ash, you've been really nice to her lately."
Ash sighed again. He hated what he was thinking, but could come up with no other explanation: she hated him. His nightmare
was slowly coming true. He was just glad she hadn't left yet.
The thought of her leaving hit him like a freight train. "Oh, no!" he yelled as he shot out of his room like a thunderbolt. He
raced down the hall to where Misty's door was tauntingly hanging slightly ajar. He froze as he reached for it, afraid of
what he might see on the other side, but his had began to move to open it. He had to know if his feared were justified.
He opened the door...and screamed. Empty. It was completely empty. No luggage, no pokemon, and most importantly, no Misty! He
screamed again, a horrible scream of anguish. That brought Nurse Joy running to see what was the matter. She found the boy
who had been crying at breakfast kneeling in the hallway and crying even harder than he had been only a half hour before.
She didn't know what to do. She felt like somebody had ripped her heart out. She felt terrible. She couldn't seem to say
anything, no matter how hard she tried. 'I don't know if a hug will help this time,' she thought frantically, 'What was that
he said earlier..."She hates me."? Oh, dear. I don't know what to do!" She just couldn't think of anything to do or say that
would possibly make him feel better, but her legs wouldn't work. She couldn't move forward to talk to him. She couldn't move
back to leave him alone with his pain. She just stood there, her own eyes beginning to tear up.
Suddenly, her paralysis ended and she ran to the crying boy and hugged him tightly. He held on to her fiercly, sobbing into
her shoulder as he had at breakfast. "It's okay...it's okay..." she said, trying to calm him down. Who was this girl he had
been talking about, and how could she leave him like this? She gently rubbed his back again, making shushing noises. He slowly
calmed again and looked up at her. "Thanks, Joy," he managed to say, giving her a sad smile. "Who.." she began, then shut her
mouth quickly. "Nevermind, I really shouldn't ask and you probably don't want to say it anyway," she said.
He looked at her with red eyes still wet with tears and nodded. "I think I need some time with somebody I'd feel comfortable
talking to...not that I wouldn't be comfortable talking to you, JOy, just not with something this emotionally important to me."
"I understand," she said, nodding her head in agreement with his assertion of seeking help. "I'm going home," he said as he
weakly got to his feet and headed to his room to pack.
TO BE CONTINUED
Yes, I know. It's sad. GET OVER IT! Just read the next part. It'll get better. (I promise!)
Send all flames to: jon_schug@yahoo.com (you can send comments, too!)
Sayonara,
so I'll be gone for a few days. I should be
back in under a week, but don't wait for me.
I'll call you tonight and tomorrow morning.
Kenshin