4-1 Terrible Reminisces


The group turned to see a boy walking toward them with a big grin on his face. Chad frowned, "God Alex! I told you not to follow me here!"
"Hey dork. Nice to see you too. I wanted to see this great pokemon lab you were talking about. Nice." he said as he gazed around at the giant building down the hill a ways and the pastures and fields surrounding them. "I also wanted to reunite with an old friend and say hi." he stated as his gaze turned toward Crystal. "Congratulations, sugar, on a great battle. You looked great out there, as always," he winked at her. She turned away, seemingly upset by his gesture.
"Ash. Misty. This is my brother, Alex." Chad introduced his sibling to them in a monotone voice.
"Older and better looking brother you mean." Alex scoffed as he shook Ash's hand. He stopped at Misty and kissed her hand. "What a beautiful name. Misty."
"Charm must run in the family," Misty smiled and blushed. Crystal tried to stifle a laugh.
"Well," Ash began, "Now that the match is over and we have a winner, this means that Chad won't be helping out at the lab right?"
"Yeah..."Chad frowned. "I know...I'll let you guys get back to your work. I have to go to the pokemon center anyway and heal my pokemon."
"Oh there's no need for that. You can heal them here at the lab." Misty suggested.
Chad turned toward Crystal and sighed. "No, that's ok. I can walk there from here. It won't take that long."
Crystal looked down and then back up at Chad, "Misty is right. There's no point in going there when you can do it here. Follow me and we'll heal them up for you." She said as she began walking back toward the lab.
Chad looked at her with surprise. "Well, what about you Alex? Are you coming or are you gonna head home?" Chad asked.
"I guess I'll head home. I'm getting tired." He said yawning and stretching. "Nice meeting you all." He waved to the group as he turned to leave, "I'll be seeing you later, Crystal." He grinned at her before he left. She just stared after him with cold eyes, and then turned again to go back to the lab. Ash had noticed the silent battle between the two and looked on curiously.
Once at the lab, Misty decided to show Chad where the Pokemon Care room was and heal his pokemon. Ash and Crystal went on to continue the chores they were doing. He decided this was as good a time as any to get some information from her. "So how well do you know that Alex guy? Is he an old friend of yours too?"
She just blinked and turned away. "No. I just worked with him too on the ranch." She said as she finished checking off the pokemon that they just got done feeding.
"He seems like a nice guy."
"Hmm." She grunted.
"Ya know...I think he also has the hots for Misty. I'd sure like to see a fight between those two brothers. I'd enjoy seeing him cream Chad. Wouldn't you?" He laughed.
Crystal paused what she was doing and growled, "Alex better not touch her. Keep him away from her, Ash. For Misty's sake..."
This both scared and bewildered Ash. What was that supposed to mean? "Why? Is he a real heartbreaker or something?" He asked.
Crystal just gave him a sad look and said, "I wish that was the worse case scenario, Ash. I really do..." Then she quickly gathered up the papers and left without another word.





4-2 Unwanted Changes


Misty decided to take a short ponyta ride around the fields and forests surrounding the lab. It was a beautiful day and the wild flowers and grass all around her gave off a fresh summer smell. She walked along the narrow path, gazing at the wildlife around her. The flowers were in full bloom, the sky was clear, and the sun was bright and warm. It was a perfect day to just get outside and relax for a while. Ash and Crystal were left behind to work at the lab while she took a small break. Crystal, as usual, whined about how there was too much to be done and how Misty just could not take a break. But she left anyway. She felt she deserved one and she also needed some time to think. She used the excuse that she was going to give the ponyta some exercise to get out of there.
She rode the horse-pokemon over towards a big maple tree and dismounted. She sat down next to it and sighed in a breath of air. Taking care of all the pokemon at the lab was a lot of work and she couldn't understand how Prof. Oak could handle it all by himself. But she did enjoy it and felt it was all worth it. Having the opportunity to care for so many different pokemon was enjoyable and she wished she'd never have to leave. "I wish I could stay here in Pallet...," she said to no one in particular. As soon as she realized what she had said, she chuckled. 'You mean stay in Pallet with Ash...,' She mentally told herself. She shook her head and frowned. 'Like that would ever happen! Stop thinking crazy thoughts, Misty!' She sighed a deep sigh and started to get up to leave when she heard the sound of footsteps coming her way. Hoof steps to be exact. The sound of another ponyta was coming toward her. She turned around and saw Ash riding toward her with a small smile on his face.
"Howdy ma'am?" He said in a southern accent as he pretended to tip some invisible cowboy hat. Misty's heart flopped at the cuteness in the gesture. She smiled and walked toward him as he dismounted.
"I decided to get out and enjoy the weather for a while."
"I can see that."
"So what are you doing out here? I'm sure Crystal going crazy running the lab right now alone." She giggled.
"Nah, she can handle it for a while." They walked a little ways up a hill in the middle of a wide-open prairie. "I wanted to get out for a while too and see what you were up to and if you were ok," he told her. His concern for her touched her and she looked down and smiled. When she looked up again she noticed a house somewhat in the distance.
"Hey wait a sec. Isn't that your house?" she realized in surprise.
Ash looked in the direction that she was and nodded. "Yeah. Our house has a great view of this field." He said. Misty suddenly realized this was the exact same field that she would gaze out her bedroom window at and daydream about. And now she was here was someone. Ash. This made her very uncomfortable.
"Um, I'm getting kinda tired. I think I'm gonna head back now." She said as she turned around away from him and started back toward the lab. Ash frowned. He had come out here because he wanted to spend some time with Misty and talk since they hadn't had much of a chance lately.
"Tired? Why are you tired? Don't you feel well?" He asked.
"No. I'm fine. Just a little hot and tired."
Ash stopped in front of her, blocking her path. He placed his hand on her forehead and then moved it down to her cheek. She closed her eyes and shuddered, but not enough for him to notice. When she opened them again he was staring straight into her eyes with a caring, almost loving expression. Her breath caught as he moved closer to her.
"You're not warm, but your face is a little flushed." He concluded without taking his gaze off of hers. "Do you feel faint at all?"
"A little," she said honestly. Her heart was racing. She had to stop this before she...or they...did something they would regret. "No. I'm fine. Really. I just need to get back inside the air-conditioned lab and cool off." She said as she turned away. Ash sighed.
"If you say so..." He said as he too followed her back toward their ponytas' and the lab. All of a sudden Misty tripped over a small rock and fell to the ground. Ash, thinking she had fainted, came running to her side. "Misty are you ok?" She sat up and laughed at herself. 'How embarrassing...' she thought to herself. She looked up at Ash and saw him laughing too. "Hey it's not funny!" She giggled as she shoved his shoulder.
"Well I thought it was down-right funny, darlin'." He said in his southern accent, which only made Misty laugh harder. He grinned down at Misty and both stopped laughing as they stared in each other's eyes. Ash bent down a little until they were only inches apart, their breathing heavy. "Ya know something, Misty? Your eyes shine the same color as the sea when they're in the sunlight. I never noticed that before..." He whispered huskily as he finally closed the distance between them. Lips met upon lips as they shared their first kiss. Misty gasped a little from surprise but quickly overcame the feeling and returned the kiss. Ash placed one hand in her hair and the other on her face as he slowly began caressing it. Misty wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in closer as the kiss deepened.
Just as soon as it had begun, it ended as Ash pulled away and got up quickly. He turned away from her and then turned back. "I'm sorry, Misty, I can't do this." He said with an apologetic look before he turned to leave. Misty just sat there and stared after him as a single tear rolled down her cheek. As soon as he was out of sight, she lied down in the long grass and cried.




4-3 Feelings For You

'There was no excuse for it. You don't accidentally kiss someone. Not like that...' Ash thought to himself when he arrived back at the lab. 'And there was no excuse for what I did...to her.' He mentally kicked himself. 'Damnit! What's wrong with me? She just looked so sweet and ...and...' He couldn't finish his thoughts. He wouldn't let himself. 'This is stupid. Why would she go for me when she has two other guys that she likes who are after her? I'm nobody special. She probably was disgusted by that kiss. And what do I do? I just leave her there with no explanation or anything! What kind of a friend does that? I am such a dumbass! I don't deserve her...' He thought to himself painfully. He sighed and walked the ponyta toward the stables. He knew this was going to be a long day.
'What's wrong with me? Why did he turn away? Does he think I'm not good enough for him? Too scrawny an ugly to deserve him?' Misty pondered to herself a few minutes after Ash had left her. She could still taste his lips on hers. The more she thought about the kiss, the more she yearned to have him in her arms. Another sudden realization came to her mind and she curled up in a ball with a dazed look in her eyes. "Why must love be so painful...?" She closed her eyes and looked up at the setting sun. "Why can't I be where you are?"...



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Yeah I know that last part was kinda...um...short, but I wanted to end it there. It's such a touching part...isn't it? ::sniff sniff:: Anyway PLEASE R/R. I love hearing what others think of my stories. And I know it's been a while since I last updated but that's because of school. Now that it's summer I'll have more time to work on it and maybe finally finish it. YEAH! So expect the next chapter up in a bout a week or so. Oh and I also don't have a site anymore per-say. It was...um...shutdown. BASTARDS! ::ahem:: ^_^* So don't try to go there. Ok? Bye bye!