Disclaimer: Don't own pokemon! A/N: Okay, here's chapter 6! Oh, by the way, panda boy helped me with this chapter, so enjoy!!! School Days Chapter 6 "Dear Ash, I need to talk to you. Its extremely important. Meet me at the park at noon. Love, Misty" Ash read aloud, smiling at every word he spoke. He looked over at his clock and noticed that it was a quarter til 12. He stuffed the letter in his desk drawer and grabbed his jacket. "Hey Mom, I'm going out for a while. Be back soon." He called out to his mother, who was cooking in the kitchen. "Okay, sweetie. Hurry back. Lunch will be ready soon." She replied. "Sure thing, Mom." He said heading for the door. "Hey buddy, you wanna come with me?" "Pika pikachu." (No thanks.) It answered, too engrossed in the TV show it was watching to look up. Ash shrugged and then left for the park. Meanwhile... "Jason, Chris, Andrew, Brandon...good, your all here." Announced Jared, counting his gang. "Wait a second...where's Tommy?" "Right here! Sorry I'm late." Apologized a young teenage boy. "Sorry isn't good enough. Where were you?" Asked Jared. "I had to take care of something at home." He explained. Jared just shrugged and motioned for his gang to be quiet. "Follow me." He said. "Where are we going?" Asked Jason. "The park." Replied Jared coldly. "Why?" Asked Brandon. "Just follow me and stop asking questions!" He demanded. 'Alley, park, make up your mind.' Thought Chris, sensing his best friend's temper rising. "Jared, what was this unfinished business you had to take care of?" He suddenly asked curiously. "You'll find out when we get there." Smirked Jared as they continued to walk in silence. At the park... Ash sat down on the park bench in front of the lake to wait for Misty. He wondered what she was going to tell him that she couldn't do over the phone. 'Hmm...I hope everything's okay.' He thought. Just then, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. Thinking that it was just a wild pokemon, he ignored it. "Your early...good, I like punctuality." Smiled Jared. Ash whipped his head around and saw Jared, as well as his gang. "Oh, what do you guys want?" He asked, disgusted. "I'm here for you." Smirked Jared. "Sorry, but your not my type." Ash countered sarcastically. "You think your so funny, don't you?" Sneered Jared. "Yeah, I thought so." Said Ash as he rolled his eyes and turned back around. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Yelled Jared, grabbing Ash's collar. "Jared, look, I'm waiting for someone. So, if you could be so kind as to leave me alone, I'd really appreciate it." Explained Ash, getting out of Jared's grasp. "Oh, your waiting for someone, are you? And who might that be?" He asked, smiling knowingly. "None of your business." Ash answered back. "It wouldn't happen to be Misty now would it?" He smiled. Ash ignored him, knowing that Jared was only trying to make him upset, but he couldn't help but feel that Jared had something up his sleeve. "News flash...I'm the one who sent you that letter." He smirked as he watched Ash's shocked expression. Ash shook his head and then sighed. "Now why doesn't that surprise me? Well, I'm here now. What do you want?" "So, are you and Misty going to the dance together?" He asked, glaring at Ash. 'He knows...' Thought Chris, who was thinking back to his conversation with his girlfriend the previous night. "That's none of your business." Answered Ash. "What I do doesn't concern you." "Oh, is that so?" Sneered Jared. "Well, I have some news for you...Misty's mine. You got that?" "Oh please...I don't have time for this." Ash muttered, getting up out of his seat. "Hold it Ketchum! Your not going anywhere." Jared insisted, pulling Ash back down. "I'm not done yet. Now, do you remember your first day of school?" Ash nodded and sighed, knowing that this could take a while. "Do you remember how I told you to stay away from Misty?" He asked. "Yeah, sure. Is there a point to this?" Ash asked, a little irritated. "I gave you a warning. Most guys would've given up by now, but not you. Its too bad you ignored my warning, so I guess--" "Look Jared." Ash interrupted. "What is your problem? Your not with her anymore. You just have to accept that, no matter how much it hurts." "Oh no, I don't accept that. I'll never accept that, because its not true." He spat out. "I have no doubt in mind that Misty loves you, but just as a friend. I know what you used to do to her." Ash stated. Jared looked up in disbelief and anger. "That wasn't my fault!" "So, who's was it?! Huh?!" Ash yelled. Noticing that his anger was rising, he calmed himself down and spoke gently. "It wasn't Misty's fault." "I know that!" Yelled Jared. "Jared, calm down." Warned Brandon. "Shut up! Keep out of this!" Jared warned. "Listen to me Ketchum, I want you to stay away from her." "Why?" Ash suddenly asked. "So you can protect her? Oh, that's real safe. What are you gonna do?" "You just dug yourself into your own grave." Hissed Jared. "You wanna know what I'm gonna do? I'll kill you, that's what." Ash just shook his head in disgust. "I'm gonna be truthful with you Jared...I love her and I'm not gonna let you hurt her." 'Not smart Ash.' Chris thought, looking at Jared's reaction. "Your gonna regret ever saying those words." He said angrily, reaching for a pokeball on his belt. "Jared, what are you doing?" Asked Tommy. "I said keep out of this. Its between me and him." He sneered. "Go Rhydon!" 'Great, just great. I really pissed him off now.' Thought Ash as he looked at the massive pokemon. 'And me without Pikachu and the others.' "Jared, wait." Ordered Chris. "Don't do this." "Chris, this guy's taken Misty away from me and I'm not just gonna stand here and do nothing." He replied. "Kill him, Rhydon!" It roared in response and started its attack. Seconds later, Ash was thrown against a tree. "Jared, what the hell are you doing?!" Yelled Chris, since the other gang members were too shocked to speak. "What's it look like? This was my unfinished business." He smiled. "You can't do this." He said as he ran over to Ash. "Ash, are you okay?" "Y-Yeah, I-I think so." He said as he slowly got up. Just then, the Rhydon turned its attack on Chris. He hit the ground with a deadly thud and tried to comprehend what had just happened. "If your not with us, your against us." Jared announced. "And I always thought you were my best friend." "I-I am Jared, but I'm against what your trying to do. Your letting your temper get the better of you." He warned. Rhydon roared, not liking the fact that its trainer's best friend was turning against him. "Ignore him Rhydon. Attack him!" Jared ordered, pointing at Ash. It nodded and tackled Ash against the little wooden bench, which broke under all of the pressure. Ash laid there, motionless. "Nice work Rhydon. Now, finish the job." He demanded. Despite the pain coursing throughout his body, Chris managed to get up and reach Ash before Rhydon did. "Go Espeon!" He called, releasing a pokeball. It cried out and got into a battle stance. "Use psychic!" Ordered Chris. It obeyed and stopped the Rhydon in its tracks temporarily. The Rhydon shook off the psychic attack and continued to charge at the two boys. "Espeon, get us out of here! Teleport!" Chris yelled. Just before Rhydon made contact, Chris, Ash, and Espeon had disappeared. "Damn!" Screamed Jared, returning his pokemon. "Well, he learned his lesson. Ketchum will know not to mess with me. Let's get outta here." The three other boys exchanged unsure glances and followed without a word. Meanwhile... "Nice work Espeon." Panted Chris. It nodded and licked its trainer on his hand to show its affection. "Where are we?" He asked, leaning the badly injured Ash against his shoulder. "Cerulean City..." Whispered Ash. "Cerulean? That means..." Chris trailed off, looking around for Misty's gym. "There it is! Espeon, go find Misty." It nodded and headed off in the direction of the gym while Chris attempted to walk Ash over to the entrance. "How you holding up Ash?" He asked. "I could be better." He said, giving Chris a weak smile. Just as they reached the door, it swung open to reveal Espeon, along with five other girls. All five girls swarmed over to them, confused and scared as to what they were witnessing. "Ash, what happened?" Asked a very concerned Misty. "We'll explain it all inside." Answered Chris. "Are you okay?" Asked Sarah as she rushed up to her battered boyfriend, giving him a hug. "I'm fine, really." He reassured, returning the hug. "Come on. Let's get them inside." Ordered Melissa. Without another word, everyone was ushered inside. "Chris, could you bring him upstairs?" Asked Misty. "Sure. Lead the way." He responded, picking Ash up. She walked upstairs as everyone else followed. Chris set Ash down on top of Misty's bed and sat down on a chair. Misty ran into her bathroom and grabbed several small bottles and several towels. She made her way back into her room and handed Sarah a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a towel. "Here Sarah, you take care of him." Misty said, walking over to Ash. Sarah nodded and sat down in a vacant chair next to Chris. "Hold still." She ordered. "But I'm fine." Chris countered. "No, your not. Look at yourself, your bleeding." She replied, dabbing some of the liquid onto his exposed skin. He clenched his teeth in pain and then looked at Ash, knowing that he was experiencing twice as much pain. "What happened?" She whispered, finishing up what she was doing. Chris just shook his head, not knowing how to start. "Did you get attacked by a wild pokemon?" She whispered, not wanting the others to hear. He sighed and then looked up at her. "We'll gather everyone downstairs and then I'll tell you." Sarah looked at him with a concerned look on her face, not liking the tone in his voice. She nodded and then glanced over at Ash's sleeping form. Misty, who was just finishing with his wounds, gave out a sigh. She tucked him in her bed and kissed him lightly on the cheek, getting surprised looks from everyone in the room. "Chris, what happened?" Misty whispered. He motioned them to follow him downstairs. They all obeyed and soon they were all gathered downstairs in Misty's living room. Chris took a deep breath and looked at the group of girls before him, but his gaze was directed mostly towards Misty. Her face showed extreme pain and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty, knowing that he couldn't stop what happened to Ash. "Chris, what happened?" Melissa asked. Chris looked towards the ground, thinking about what he was going to say. Just then, he felt someone lightly squeezing his hand. It was Sarah and she was giving him a reassuring smile. He smiled back and then started with the story. "W-We got attacked in the park." He started. "By who?" Asked Anna. "J-Jared..." He answered back. Gasps filled the room as Chris looked around the group. He spotted Misty, who had a look of both shock and hurt. "W-What...?" She stammered. "He lured Ash into a trap because he found out that you and Ash were going to the dance. Jared got mad and sent his Rhydon on him...he was gonna kill him." He finished. "And then you used Espeon." Sarah figured, looking at the pokemon next to her. "Yeah, thanks to Espeon we're okay." Chris smiled at his pokemon. Misty now had tears in her eyes, not wanting to believe what she was hearing. "Mist, are you okay?" Asked Melissa. She just shook her head, still trying to comprehend the whole situation. Melissa gave her a reassuring hug. "Shh...its gonna be okay." She reassured. Misty looked up at her and smiled. She then got up and walked over towards Chris. She flung her arms around him, crying. "Thank you so much Chris." She cried. "I didn't do anything. I couldn't stop Jared from--" "No! You did so much. You prevented Jared from killing Ash." She interrupted. "I could've lost him...thank you." "Your welcome Misty." He whispered, hugging the girl back. Misty released him and looked around the room at her friends, who were all giving her sympathetic looks. They all got up and embraced her in a tight hug, whispering comforting words in her ear. Sarah kissed Chris on his cheek and smiled at him. "I'm so proud of you." She whispered. "You broke out of that gang just to save Ash." He smiled down at her, secretly praying that Ash was gonna be okay. "I think you need to be up there with Ash. He needs you." Commented Lauren. Misty slowly nodded and walked up the stairs into her room. "So, what made Jared loose his temper like that?" Asked Melissa. "Ash..." Chris smiled before continuing. "He said that he loved Misty." The room was filled with silence, as all eyes turned their gaze on Chris. "He...loves her...?" Asked Anna, shocked that Ash would reveal something so personal. He nodded and smiled at them. "Its about time..." Smiled Melissa. A/N: Done with Chapter 6! Okay, review, ask questions, send me e-mails, do whatever! Thanks guys! AAML Forever!