MUCH ADO ABOUT A CRUSH I don't own pokemon and all that jazz ********************************** Ch 9 The Same Day, A More Decent Hour: Unlike the previous morning, I was awoken on the morning of Ash’s birthday by sunlight streaming in through the pale blue curtains of one of the guest bedrooms. Sure, it wasn’t as disconcerting as Ditto’s ‘wake-up call’, but it didn’t help that when I opened my eyes, Pikachu was sitting next to me, staring me square in the face… I blinked at him. He blinked back. ‘Pi-ikachu-uu!!’ he cried happily upon seeing me awake. ‘Do all you pokemon enjoy waking up before we do…?’ I asked, irritably, as I propped myself up on my elbows. In reply, Pikachu hugged me and cooed, ‘Pi-iikaaa!’ delightedly. I sighed, hugging him, staring into his big, chocolate-brown eyes, realizing how much he was just like Ash… Then, I realized that Pikachu probably remembered Ash’s birthday. Ash’s birthday…party…surprise party….shi-it! I dashed around my room, cleaning up, getting dressed, putting on make- up (something I wasn’t good at, for lack of experience) while making sure not to look like I was readying myself for any sort of occasion. All the while, Pikachu watched quietly as I scurried across the room, following me carefully with his eyes and enjoying a packet of ketchup I had fished out of my bag for him. When I was done and ready, we left the room together, Pikachu on my shoulder, as I tried my best to explain to him what a surprise party was all about… I arrived downstairs to find that everybody was already sitting down for breakfast. ‘Good morning Misty,’ said Duplica, dry sarcasm playing along the edge of her words. ‘Glad you could join us.’ ‘Good morning dear,’ Mrs. Ketchum chirped as she placed a rather alarming stack of pancakes on the table. ‘Good morning,’ I replied politely. We all ate our breakfast in silence. I glanced at Ash more than once during that never-ending meal. He wouldn’t look up from his plate. It hurt me to see him so upset but there was little I could do. So, I comforted myself with the promise of the successful birthday surprise awaiting him. Suddenly, in the middle of my third pancake, someone kicked me hard in the shin. I glared at the only plausible culprit. And Gary glared right back…He stared at me pointedly for the rest of the meal and I wanted to punch him, but I didn’t. I assumed that he had something to say that he couldn’t say in front of Ash. That was why, when Gary offered to take the dishes to the sink, I offered to help. In the kitchen, Gary grabbed me by the arm and started whispering to me urgently. ‘We need your help,’ he said, ‘to get Ash out of the house…’ ‘What? Why?! I want to stay here and help you set-up for the party!’ ‘No, Red. We’ve got everything covered. It’s just that, when the cake arrives and when we’re decorating the house, Ash has to be as far away and as distracted as possible.’ ‘And what makes you think that I can distract him?’… (Was Gary onto us??) ‘Well…ah…you’re a good friend of his and we trust that you’ll find a way to keep him from thinking about how everyone has ‘forgotten his birthday’ and all that…’ I sighed. What could I say? ‘Fine. I’ll go. Just tell me when you want us out of here and when we need to be back, okay?’ ‘Great,’ said Gary, looking genuinely pleased. I knew I had been right. Gary was a good friend. Ash and he were rivals, not enemies. And this party would be the perfect way to show Ash that Gary wasn’t a “sleaze-ball”…well, at least, not all the time! After we had finished washing the dishes, and I had gathered details of the plan from Gary, we returned to the living room where everyone was sprawled out watching a movie…I think it was “Go west, young Growlithe”…I’m not sure. ‘Sooo…I’m pretty-much pooped. I think I’ll *hem hem* step outside for a few minutes…for some fresh air…anyone coming with?’ ‘Me.’ ‘Yup.’ ‘Count me in.’ ‘Sounds good.’ And, so it was, that Tracey, Duplica, Richie and Brock walked casually out of the room, thinking nothing of the fact that I was now left alone with a boy who was possibly depressed beyond all measure on account of how all of his friends had so easily forgotten his 16th birthday. But, I was his girlfriend and, despite the fact that I was also pretending to forget his birthday, I was sure that I could find SOMETHING we could do that would cheer him up…I owed it to him…even if it meant making-out until we were scheduled to come home for the party!! ***************************** Professor Oak’s Lab: ‘…and, that’s how pokemon eggs are made. Amazing, isn’t it?’ asked Professor Oak, as if we were as excited as he was…yeah, right… ‘Fascinating, Professor,’ Ash and I replied mechanically. Ok, so a biology lesson by Professor Oak, based on his thesis entitled “The Study of Pokemon Reproductive Habits”, hadn’t exactly been my first choice of “distraction” for Ash. But, circumstance had called for it. After dragging Ash out of the house, I had blanked out as to where to go. And, I had to think fast, because the moment we had left the proximity of his house, Ash had asked me, ‘Where are we going Mist?’ in this depressed way, like he didn’t really care… I suddenly realized that he might, at any moment, bring up his birthday…so I had said, ‘To meet the Professor. We didn’t exactly see him yesterday and I want to meet him before…um…I leave…’ Which was probably a bad way to end the sentence because his expression slipped further (something I didn’t think was possible), going from depressed to downright miserable. So, I had grabbed his hand, kissed him fiercely and yanked him to the lab…where the Prof had promptly gone off into a monologue about ‘genetic development’, ‘mutation theories’ and ‘cellular symbiosis structures’…whatever THAT meant! Ash was gazing out of the large observation window forlornly…I wanted to cry…or scream! I looked at the clock. Luckily, we would be able to leave in a few minutes…“I hope those guys are ready for us…” I thought to myself. ‘…what is your opinion of that?’ said the Prof, causing me and Ash to snap back to reality… “Oh, no. What was our opinion of…what, exactly??” ‘I think that’s great,’ said Ash, as if he had been listening (which I know he hadn’t because he had been so busy looking forlorn…and could you really blame him?). I thought that Ash’s reply would satisfy the Prof into thinking that we were actually listening and that he would just continue babbling about his thesis. But, apparently, Ash’s answer was the wrong one, because the Professor’s eyes grew wide and then narrowed as a sly smile crept across his face. He was scrutinizing Ash as he said, ‘Oh? And does your mother know what your opinions are on the subject, hmm?’ he asked. Shi-it. Professor Oak’s question had obviously been something about reproductive habits…and now, I didn’t even want to think about what he thought Ash’s “opinions on the subject” were… Well, God has a way of balancing out a person’s good and bad luck. And so, seeing as poor Ash had been having all that bad luck all morning, Lady Luck finally decided to take his–I mean our–side. Just as Ash and I were exchanging frantic and panicked glances, the Prof’s clock struck 10…time to go home. I was opening my mouth, all ready to say “Well, will you look at the time. We’d better be heading home, before Mrs. K sends someone out to look for us!” when the Prof checked his watch and cried ‘Oh my, I have some very important work! If I’m not back in a few minutes, you two won’t mind letting yourselves out will you? All right, see you later, children.’ Then he left…after throwing me a VERY meaningful glance…he wasn’t coming back…he was going to the party! I turned back to look at Ash, suddenly very excited. In just a few minutes, his painful frown would be turned upside-down and everything would be back to normal, wouldn’t it? He looked up at me and, to my surprise, he started sniggering. At first, I didn’t get it. What exactly was so funny? Then I remembered the thesis and the question the Prof had asked…and started laughing too. Because, the Prof hadn’t known what was going on between me and Ash, and had been asking questions that apparently should concern his mother! God, what if he went and told her…whatever it was Ash had said was so “great”? And, when Ash and I told everyone in that room about our feelings for each other, what would she think then?! Which reminded me…we were supposed to spill the beans to our friends today, in just a few minutes actually…and I couldn’t even tell him because then, I’d have to tell him about the party…which I couldn’t, obviously! ‘Hey, you know what,’ Ash continued, ‘let’s just go before the Professor comes back and starts telling us about “nature’s great cycle” or something!’ ‘Yeah, let’s go,’ I sighed. ‘We should be heading home anyway.’ And so, we headed back to the Ketchum residence, little knowing that things were not going to go according to plan…not at all… *************************************** A/N: Hey all you pokemon tower frequenters!! Pichu Lover here! Okay, so this story is finally coming to an end…only a chapter or 2 left to go! I had lots of fun and met some great people along the way! I’m hoping to write another fanfic…let’s see how that turns out…it’ll probably be a lot more serious that this one, though. So, thanks for your loyalty…and keep reading!! *****************************