Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Best Days of Our Lives ❯ I'm Here for You ( Chapter 3 )

Best Days of Our Lives

By Kawaii_Cherry_Blossom

***

Wow, a new chapter and it's only been like a week! O_O Hehehe, I'm on a roll here, but don't get used to it. I've had a lot of time on my hands because it's been too hot to do anything.

***

NOTES:

I'd like to say thank you to Myst_Lady for the great review. :) Oh, and yes, it gets VERY confusing to write with so many different characters! :S LoL. I hope you keep reading! I promise this fic is going to get HEAPS better. Oh, and I'll think about Brock and Mina for ya. :D

The song is 'Perfect' by Simple Plan. All credit for the song goes to them.

***

Chapter 3

I'm Here for You

"What is your problem Ash?" Misty asked loudly as she spun around, causing Ash to have to stop quickly in order to avoid bumping into her.

Ash looked shocked at her sudden outburst. "What...? What do you mean?"

"You kept staring at me in assembly!"

"Oh… Well…I'm worried about you Mist…"

Misty scoffed, as if his care meant nothing to her. "Worried? Well isn't this great. EVERYONE is worried about me!"

Ash didn't answer, but instead locked his eyes on hers, searching desperately for some sort of answer as to why she was acting so strange. However, her eyes appeared emotionless.

"I can take care of myself", Misty said coldly, before proceeding to turn away.

Ash acted quickly, however, and shot his arm out to grasp her wrist. Gently but forcefully he pulled her back to face him.

"Misty", he said worriedly. "Of course you can take care of yourself, but you don't have to. We all want to help you with whatever is going on. Please don't push me away… Talk to me…" he asked in a serious tone, one which he rarely used.

Ash thought he saw something change in Misty's eyes, just for a second he thought that she was going to give in to the anger that was consuming her and tell him everything. However, it disappeared just as quickly as it had come. Misty pulled her arm back, glared at Ash coldly and walked away abruptly, leaving Ash stunned once again.

Walking up to Ash slowly from her spot a few metres back, Sakura gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Ash", she said in a soothing voice. "She's angry, but soon she'll see that she can't keep it all inside forever."

Ash was silent. 'God Misty… How am I meant to help you…?' he asked himself sadly.

***

"Congratulations, Captra!" Ami said as she hugged her friend. "I knew you'd get it."

"Thanks Ami. I'm very happy. But I still don't understand why you didn't go for a leadership position, you would've been great!"

"Well thank you, but I'd much rather concentrate on my studies this year. I don't want to take too much on. I've already got chess club and tutoring classes."

Captra smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right. You do too much!"

Ami laughed, smiling brightly at her friend, and a small blush developed on her pale cheeks. Shocked at the feeling, Ami panicked. "Um…I have to go. See you later!" she said, before running off, leaving Captra standing there, unsure as to what had just happened.

***

Li felt himself blush as Sakura smiled at him on the way to their classroom. As he neared the corner where he had to turn, he heard her call out his name. He stopped in his tracks, shocked and not knowing what to do. When it came to Sakura, Li was hopeless. He had fallen for her, and hard. Turning around, he saw her wave to Ash, who was walking back to his own classroom. She ran to catch up with him, smiling at him again. He turned his burning face to the ground and muttered a 'hello' to her when she greeted him.

"So, are you nervous about school?" Sakura asked.

Li shrugged a little. "Yeah, I guess so. But I don't think it will be as bad as everyone makes it out to be."

"Oh?"

"Everyone makes year 12 out to be hell, but I think that as long as we keep up with our work we'll be fine."

Sakura smiled. "Yeah, you're right". She paused. "At least I hope so!" she said, before giggling slightly.

He couldn't help but smile at her cheerfulness. It was always hard to not laugh around Sakura. She was one of the few people who could make him smile and laugh. Whether it be her cheerful spirit, smile, beauty or ungracefulness, when he was around her he just felt…happy. At that moment, as he walked beside her in silence, Li felt himself fall even more in love with her.

***

Upon arriving back in their classrooms, the year 12's were given their timetables for the first semester, along with their textbooks and school diary.

Ash laughed at Duo as he watched his eyes grow larger and larger with each textbook that was piled on his arms. By the time his teacher had finished, Duo couldn't see over them. However, their laughter was increased as they saw Serena drop all of hers, somehow falling over in the process. Through his laughter, Ash helped her pick them up. When they had quietened down, Serena looked at Ash seriously. "Hey Ash…what's up with Misty? Is she okay?"

Ash sighed. He knew that Serena was only being her caring self but he hated being reminded about it by everyone. "I don't know, Serena. She won't tell me anything."

"Oh…" Serena said quietly. "Well, I don't know if this will help, but…"

"What is it?" Ash asked hastily. "Do you know something?"

"I'm not sure if it has anything to do with this, but near the end of the holidays, I was visiting my cousin in the hospital, and I saw Misty and her sister Lily there…"

Ash nodded, urging her to go on.

"They were sitting outside one of the doctor's offices, and Misty looked really upset. Her sister was comforting her but she was crying. She didn't see me and I didn't want to interfere, so I didn't say anything…"

'What could she have been at the hospital for…?' Ash thought. 'Could this have to do with why she's so upset…? Oh God… What if she's sick… ?'

"Ash?" Serena said, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Oh, sorry", Ash answered, snapping out of his train of thought. "Thanks for telling me."

"No problem. I hope Misty's okay…"

"Me too…" Ash said worriedly.

***

"Alright kids, sit down please", Professor Elm said calmly. Once his class had seated themselves, he spoke. "It is a well-known fact that year 12 is a tough year. I'm sure that many of you are worried and anxious about the way this year will turn out", he paused, looking at Gary, who was trying pull Lita's ponytail out.

Mrs. Mackenzie looked around her class. "However, it is good to begin on clean slate. The fears that you have right now will undoubtedly hold you back, and prevent you from giving it your all as you're afraid of the outcome, especially at the beginning of the year. Also, you may be experiencing some personal problems that could affect your work. So…"

"What us teachers want you all to do", Ms. Haruna explained, "Is write down all of your fears and troubles about this year, as well as anything else that is worrying you at the moment, on a piece of paper. Then, fold it up and give it to someone that you trust. That person will then keep your worries locked up so that they can't escape and give you trouble, and you will keep theirs".

The students were left with this advice as the bell went, signifying that it was recess.

***

Jessie sighed as she sat alone in the cafeteria. She didn't usually come here at recess time but she didn't really have anywhere else to go. She'd just had a fight with Duplica, and she couldn't stand Cassidy, so sitting with her 'friends' wasn't an option for her today. The cafeteria was pretty much deserted, save for a few 'nerds' who came to work, and some people buying food. People usually spent recess outside, especially in the nice weather like they were having today, and came to the cafeteria at lunchtime for the horrible food that they served up.

"Mind if I sit here?" she heard a male voice ask. Looking up, she found James Williams staring down at her. Snapping out of her state of self pity, she nodded. She and James weren't friends. She couldn't stand his group of friends, Jessibelle was an even bigger bitch than Cassidy, and Meilin and Butch were her pathetic sheep. At the moment, however, Jessie could care less. She needed someone to talk to.

James sat on a chair across from her, putting a few textbooks down on the table.

"Hi", she said simply.

"How come you're not sitting with your friends?"

"I don't have any", Jessie said sarcastically. "You?"

James shrugged. "Me neither."

"I don't know how you could ever have considered those losers friends in the first place."

James smirked. "I had no choice. Jessibelle was a friend of the family."

Jessie laughed. "Poor family."

'She always wears such slutty clothes but she's really pretty. I never noticed it before…'James thought as he laughed at her comment.

"So what are you gonna do next year?" James asked, trying to make small-talk.

Jessie shrugged, appearing as if she could care less. "I dunno. I want to be an actress…"

"Then you should. I've seen you in the school plays; you're really good at it."

"Thanks…" Jessie smiled. "But…"

"But what?"

"My father is dead-set against me becoming one. Says I should do something worth his time and that he didn't spend his money raising me to become an actress. He says it's a joke's job."

"Oh…" James said quietly. "Well…I kind of know how you feel…"

"I doubt it."

"Every generation of my family have become lawyers. So, of course, I'm expected to be one too. It was fine with me until last year when I realised I really don't want to be a lawyer. But, you know, I have no choice."

"That's bullshit."

"No kidding."

Silence overtook them for a few moments, neither of them knowing what to say.

"Hey Jessie?" James said, looking up at her.

"Yeah?"

"I think you should go for it. Become an actress and be happy."

Jessie looked at him for a moment, studying the emotions in his eyes. Strangely, she couldn't find any…

She smiled meekly. "Well…maybe", she said. "Thanks".

He smiled back, but Jessie noticed that there was still no emotion present in his eyes. They just seemed to be emerald pools of…nothingness. There was no spark, no energy. Just…nothing.

***

"So, what do you think of Saturday night?" Raye asked Destinee and Mina.

"Hmm… Do you think that will be enough time?" Mina questioned.

"I think so. I mean, it's only Monday. We have plenty of songs that we can do, and we can always learn some new ones in the next week. We can use the gym, so there's no trouble there. All we have to do is ask the principal if it's okay", Raye said.

Destinee nodded. "Great, so it's all planned. I'll do some fliers tonight so we can give them out and stick them on the year 12 noticeboard."

"Sure, and I'll book the music room so we can practice. How's tomorrow and Thursday after school?" Mina said.

"I'm working Thursday night. Can we make it Friday after school?" Raye said.

"Sure", Mina nodded.

"Should we ask some people if they want to decorate?" Destinee added.

"Yeah… I'll put it on the fliers and people can come to us", Mina said.

"I'll go and find Duo and tell him, since he's drumming. Mina, can you go and find out if Madison wants to do it? And Raye, can you go ask Gary?" Destinee said.

Raye looked hesitant, groaning. "Can't someone else find Gary…?"

Destinee grinned, winking at Mina. "How come?"

"Yeah Raye, how come?" Mina teased.

Raye looked down, blushing. "Just…because…"

"Do you like Gary?" Destinee asked inquisitively, still grinning.

"No! No way! Not in a million years!" Raye said defensively.

Mina laughed. "Then why are you blushing?"

"I am not blushing! He likes me! I don't like him back!"

Destinee and Mina walked back to their group of friends, laughing at Raye who was glaring at both of them.

***

Duplica smiled as Ritchie pulled his lips away from hers. He smiled into her brown eyes and moved so that he was sitting next to her. She smiled at him again.

Suddenly, Cassidy plopped herself down beside them, ruining their moment.

"Well, it's official, Jessie has officially lost it", she said, waving her hand in the air.

"What?" Duplica asked.

"I just saw her sitting in the cafeteria, talking to James Williams!"

"Are you joking?" Ritchie asked, not believing her.

"No way. I saw it with my own eyes. They were talking and smiling at each other. It was madness." Cassidy paused for a moment. "I think we should kick her out of our group".

"What?! Why?!" Duplica asked, shocked.

"She's obviously crossed to the other side! She's a traitor! And also, this morning I was talking to her and she was calling you a stuck up bitch. She's totally lost it!"

Duplica looked shocked.

"Are you serious?" Ritchie asked. "Wow…"

"Yeah, very. As much as it pains me to say it, I just don't think we should be friends with Jessie anymore. She's only going to hurt us with her bitchy ways…" Cassidy said, faking her care.

Duplica looked sad. "I can't believe Jessie would say that…"

Cassidy smirked, and then put on a sad face. "I'll go and tell her I guess… I think Tracey will agree as well, since she called him a fag…"

Duplica's eyes grew wider, and Ritchie hugged her as Cassidy walked away.

***

Ash glanced over at Misty. She was sitting with Destinee, Duo, Gary, Sakura, Lita, Mina, Serena, Videl and himself, however she seemed withdrawn and in her own world. She hadn't spoken a word to anybody, except when somebody asked her something, and even then her answers were mostly mumbles or grunts.

"So have you guys written your fears for year 12 down yet?" Lita asked.

Everybody shook their heads.

"Nah, I'm gonna wait till tonight so I can sit down and think", Duo replied.

"I think it's a good idea", Destinee added.

"So is the dance! I can't wait!" Sakura said excitedly.

"Yeah, it's gonna be great", Mina agreed.

Misty glanced around at her friends. 'I can't stand this… They're all so happy… It's making me sick...' she thought. Suddenly, she got up and walked away, without a goodbye, leaving everyone in shock, looking at each other worriedly. None of them were surprised when Ash stood up and followed her.

"Misty!" Ash called, trying to catch up to his friend, and catching the attention of the students around them.

Misty didn't reply, she was too busy concentrating on trying to lose Ash, but was quickly realising that he wasn't going to back down. She stopped and turned around to face him.

"Just leave me alone. How many times do I have to tell you?" she yelled at him.

Ash looked heartbroken, but didn't give in. "Misty, you're my best friend! Why won't you talk to me?"

"What's there to talk about?"

Ash sighed. "What's wrong?"

"Why would anything be wrong?"

"Misty, please!"

Rolling her eyes, Misty turned her back to him. "Just stay out of it, Ash. I don't need or want you here", she said coldly, before again walking away.

A dejected and worried look in his eyes, Ash stood there and watched her leave, not taking his eyes off of her. Students sitting nearby were talking and whispering, and a few guys were whistling at Misty as she walked past, but Ash didn't notice.

'She doesn't want me here…' he thought sadly. 'Misty's never told me she doesn't want me here…' He sighed as the bell went, telling him that he had to get to his first class. It was English, with Misty.

***

James got up to leave as he heard the bell ring, noticing that Jessie was in no hurry to get to her first class. He looked down at her and thought of something.

"Hey Jessie, do you want to meet here for lunch also?"

Jessie looked up at him in surprise. "Well…sure, okay. I'd love to…"

James smiled, his first smile in quite a while, and nodded. "Great, I'll see you then. Good luck in your first class."

Jessie nodded. "Thanks, you too." As she watched him walk away, she noticed her worries about class fade slightly, and found it easier to get up and walk to class. Biology was boring, but at least she could look forward to talking to James at lunchtime. She'd never really given him a chance before, believing that he was just like his stuck up, snobby friends. But there was something about him that made her want to spend time with him. Sure, he was good looking, but there was something more. He could hold up a conversation about more than lipstick and fashion, which was great in Jessie's book. She was sick of talking about the same old trivial things. Also, it seemed as if James wanted to spend time with her too, and didn't just want to use her for sex or her looks.

'Then again… I've only talked to him once. First impressions aren't always what matters. And if he's been friends with Jessibelle for so long, he's probably got an evil side too…' she told herself cautiously. Jessie had been hurt one-too many times by boys who appeared to be nice but turned out just the opposite.

***

Misty was already sitting in the English classroom when Ash walked in. She glanced up at him from her desk as he stood in the doorway, but looked back at her table almost instantly. She could tell that he was upset about what she had said. Although he was rarely serious, Ash was very sensitive and it was easy to hurt his feelings. 'At least he won't sit near me or bother me for the rest of the day…' Misty thought to herself. Which was why she was so surprised when Ash sat down in the next to her and began to unpack his books. She glanced at him in astonishment for a moment. His head was turned down and his eyes were sad, but he turned and gave her a soft smile nonetheless. She looked at him for a moment, but then turned back and stared at her desk once-more.

At that moment, their teacher, Mr. Hillburn, entered the room, and the students quietened down and sat at their desks. As he started talking, Misty tuned out, listening to her own thoughts instead. 'Why is he so stubborn...? But then again, Ash has never not been stubborn. But I really don't want him to make a big deal about it… I can do this by myself.'

Misty was interrupted from her train of thought when a note was placed onto her desk. She looked over to Ash, who nodded at her slightly. Looking at the piece of paper, she was unsure if she should open it, however she couldn't help but give in to her curiosity and unfold it slowly. Written in Ash's sloppy handwriting in the middle of the page were the words 'I'm here for you'.

***

Trowa smiled slightly as Destinee sat in the seat next to him, in their first class for the year - IT. Next to her were Duo and Gary, who were passing the time waiting for their teacher to arrive by laughing rather loudly about whatever was on funnyjunk.com. Destinee rolled her eyes at them and looked at Trowa. "How are you going?"

Trowa looked away shyly. "Um…good I guess."

"I don't think you were in my IT class last year. You like computers?"

"Yeah, they're okay… I'm only really doing this class because my father made me…" he seemed to go into his own world at that moment, as he trailed off. Suddenly, he snapped out of it, shaking his head. "What about you? I wouldn't think you were into computers."

Destinee laughed. "I love computers. In fact, I'm a total computer nerd, would you believe." She smiled at him cheerfully and for the first time in a long time, Trowa found himself laughing, even if only slightly. It felt good to him. He'd never really known Destinee personally, but he'd always known that she was a really nice person. 'She just has this presence about her… It's like…you can't help but be happy when she's around…' he thought to himself. Destinee stuck her hand out all of a sudden, grinning. "Well, good luck to you this year, Trowa!" she said enthusiastically.

He sceptically shook it, feeling strangely warm at her touch. He couldn't help but smile. "Thanks. You too."

Trowa noticed as they shook hands that Destinee seemed to be staring at him inquisitively. Not used to being stared at, he looked away shyly, but turned back when Destinee started to speak again. "You know, you have a really nice smile! You should smile more often."

Looking away again, Trowa was stuck for words. He didn't receive complements very often and never knew what to say when, on a rare occasion, somebody said something nice about him. "Thanks…" was all he could manage to say, and Destinee smiled at him once-more, before turning away and paying attention to the teacher, who had just walked in the room.

***

"Gary, can I talk to you for a sec…" Raye asked hesitantly. It was lunchtime, and she had wanted to catch him before he went to sit with his friends, as to avoid Mina and Destinee's grins while she and Gary were talking.

Gary looked surprised, but happy. "Sure babe, what's up?" he asked.

Raye glared at him. "Don't call me that."

Gary shot up his hands defensively. "Sorry! I won't do it again!"

"Good…" Raye said, before pausing for a moment. "I was just wondering if you were interested in playing guitar for us again this year."

Gary nodded. "Yeah sure, I was going to offer my services again. It should be fun."

Raye nodded. "Okay, well we're going to organise some practices after school on Tuesday and Friday, so we'll get back to you on whether those are going ahead."

"Okay, great, thanks."

The two of them were then enveloped in an awkward silence, not knowing what to say. This was especially strange for Gary, who was rarely quiet.

Raye looked down at the ground. "Well…I better get going… My friends are expecting me."

Gary nodded. "Okay, bye Raye." He watched as she left, her long, jet-black hair flowing behind her. 'Man she's beautiful…' Gary thought as she disappeared into the crowd.

***

"Hey, Jessie!" Cassidy called out as Jessie was making her way to the cafeteria to meet James. Jessie stopped in her tracks and turned around, glaring at Cassidy when she came face-to-face with her.

"What?" she asked, uninterested in what her former friend had to say.

"The others and I have come to a decision", Cassidy told her, a bitchy tone present in her voice as usual.

"Oh?" Jessie answered, still uninterested.

"We don't want you to hang around with us anymore", Cassidy stated matter-of-factly.

Jessie froze. "What?"

"That's right, Jess", Cassidy smirked, pointing at Jessie. "You're eliminated."

Jessie glared daggers at Cassidy, who was walking away laughing a most annoying laugh.

***

Misty sighed as she walked out of the school gates. The first day was over, but all of her other problems certainly weren't. Glancing at the bus, Misty decided to walk home. She wasn't in a hurry and it was a nice day. In fact, she didn't want to go home at all, but she had no choice. And now that school had begun, she could lock herself up in her room and use the excuse that she has homework to do.

***

"Hey Dad
Look at me
Think back and talk to me
Did I grow up according to plan?
And do you think I'm wasting my time
Doing' things I wanna do?
But it hurts when you disapprove all along"

Pulling out a small piece of paper, James put it on his desk in front of him and stared at it for a while. He wasn't sure as to whether he should take the teachers' advice and write down his fears and worries at the present moment. Glancing around his room at the trophies, medals, and other displays of his perfection, he became angry. It didn't mean anything to him anymore. James had most-definitely changed recently. Now he just didn't seem to have anything driving him to succeed.

'What would I write?' he thought, glancing around his room again. He shook his head. 'There would be too much. It would end up taking about five pages to write it all down.' Shaking his head, he put the paper back into his drawer and closed his eyes, trying to pause the world for the moment. Suddenly, he heard a voice from outside his door. He got up from his chair and opened his door a little so he could hear the conversation. It was his father, on the phone to one of his acquaintances. James was about to close the door again when he heard his name.

"My James is brilliant! Perfect at everything he does. He will most-definitely get into Harvard next year", he heard his father's voice say. James sighed at the fact that the tone of his voice indicated that to his father, James was another piece of business that he had to take care of.

"If he doesn't? Well, that won't be a problem because it won't happen. James is going to be the President someday. I can see it now… He's going to carry on the Williams family tradition just like I did. Oh, yes, we've given him choices but this is his sole purpose in life. The boy wants it just as much as I do."

"And now I tried hard to make it
I just want to make you proud
I'm never gonna be good enough for you
And you cant change me"

James closed his door, blocking out his fathers' voice. He'd heard about enough. 'Can't he see that this is not what I want? It's not even near to what I want. Every time I try to tell him that, he pretends he doesn't hear me. This is so unfair…' James thought, and without thinking about it, sat back down at his desk, took out the piece of paper from before, and began to write.

"Coz we lost it all
Nothing lasts forever
I'm sorry I cant be perfect
Now its just too late
And we cant go back.
I'm sorry I can't be perfect"

***

Jessibelle sneered as she walked into the school gates the next day. She had spent her night concocting the perfect plan to make Misty pay. All she needed now was a time and place. As she glanced up at the year 12 noticeboard on the way to her classroom, she snickered, an evil grin making its way onto her face. "Perfect…" she said to herself smugly.

***

To be continued…

Well, the school dance is in the next chapter, and it should prove to be interesting. :D Stay tuned guys; the best bits are yet to come. :)

Lots of love and light,

Sarah.