Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ When Hearts Are Aglow ❯ Landscape View ( Chapter 7 )

[ A - All Readers ]

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. Pokémon and all of its characters belong to Satoshi Tajiri and Nintendo.

Chapter 7: Landscape View

The moment Ash had been waiting for had finally arrived. In a matter of seconds, Misty would know exactly what he felt for her. He cleared his throat, intent on confessing it all. But before he even got to say anything, they both heard the sound of a car reaching the house, its lights entering the living room through the big window. Ash couldn’t believe his luck. Was fate playing some sick joke on him? All these interruptions were driving him crazy.
Misty neared the glass and pulled back the curtains on time to see Delia emerging from a jeep along with a man. Someone she had seen before.

“Oh, Gosh. You have no idea who your mother is dating.”
“Who?”

At that precise moment the main door was opened and it revealed a mature but young-looking woman whose expression changed from happy to shocked when she saw her son in front of her. Misty, who was at her right, immediately remembered she was wearing Delia’s former necklace and decided to hide it under her shirt to avoid unnecessary explanations.

“Oh... Hello, kids... I thought you’d be somewhere else.”
“Actually, we were just heading right back,” he lied. “So... see you later, mom.”
“Ash, wait! Now since you’re already here... can I ask you to stay? I want you to meet my friend.”
“Uh... sure, but where is he?”
“Just picking up all the things I took to the picnic. He insisted on carrying them all inside by himself...”
“Ok, no problem.”
“Well, I think I should go now,” Misty said.
“Oh, but you can stay if you want, Misty,” Delia told her.
“Thanks, but they may be waiting for me...”
“Alright then, just give me a second.” She stuck her head out of the door and yelled, “Dear, Misty needs a ride back to the place she’s staying at. Can you take her there, please?”
“Of course,” a male voice came from the outside. Through the window Misty saw a pair of legs below a large pile of trembling plastic containers nearing the house, only to freeze for a second and slowly turn around to go back to the jeep.
“No, thanks,” she rejected the offer. “I don’t want to bother...”
“Oh, don’t worry. He won’t mind,” Delia reassured her.
“Go, Misty,” Ash said to her. “We can keep talking tomorrow.”
“Fine. Don’t forget there’s still something you have to tell me,” she said as she winked at him.
He sighed. As if he could forget about it... “Sure, I won’t. Well, I guess I’ll call you tomorrow?”
“Yeah, goodnight Ash. Goodnight, Mrs. Ketchum.”
“See you.”
“Goodnight, Misty,” Mrs. Ketchum replied.

Minutes later, Misty was being taken back to Sakura’s house by Delia’s new love interest. She knew she had known this man before, and he recognized her as well.

“So, Misty. How have you been?”
“I’ve been fine, thanks.”
“Delia told me you and Ash have been working together for some time now. She thinks he’s very happy there with you.”
“Really?”
“How long have you been friends?”
“About seven years.”
“Well, I think that’s enough to really get to know each other, huh?”
“Actually I think it’s never enough.”

He laughed but something suddenly caught his attention. Some meters before them, breathing heavily on the road, was an apparently badly hurt pokémon.

“Oh, no!”
“Is that a Pidgey?” she asked.
“Yeah, and it looks like it’s been attacked. I’d better take it urgently to the Pokémon Center.”
“The closest one is in Viridian City, about an hour from here.”
“It’s ok, I should have a potion here somewhere,” he said as he opened the glove compartment. “But I’m taking it to the Center, anyway.”
“Do you need any help?”
“Um... I suppose I won’t make it to Delia’s tonight. Would you call her and tell her that? I’ll call her again when I get the chance.”
“Sure, you can count on that.”
“Thank you.”

They stepped out of the jeep and picked the Pidgey up. The man quickly took Misty to the house and continued his path towards Viridian. Shortly after, the redhead informed Delia via telephone where said man had gone to, and that he’d have to spend the night there.

Once a wild Dodrio announced it was time to get up, Misty opened her eyes to a new day. A cold, cloudy, new day. The first thing she did, was recalling what had happened the night before. Again, they had been so close to a kiss. Maybe if Mrs. Ketchum hadn’t arrived at that moment... But she could think of that later. Right now she had to focus on something else. Just one more day to go before Christmas, and she still had to prepare Ash’s special present. It won’t be anything he could get to imagine, but indeed something that will undoubtedly make him happy. She didn’t tell Sakura or anyone else, but his present was the reason why she spent the whole morning outside, somewhere only she knew, not taking the risk to be followed by any of her friends. Her whereabouts for a few hours were unknown to everyone.

When she came back she was told that certain pokémon trainer had called to talk to her, so she returned the call. It turned out to be that he just wanted to go for a walk with her, and they agreed on a specific time later in the afternoon when he could pick her up.

It was five to four when Ash was in front of the main door.

“Hey, Ash. You’re early.”
“Hi, Misty,” he said as he extended his hand towards her. “Here, I brought you a flower...” he hesitated before adding, “from mom’s garden.”
“Oh, why, thank you! I love it!”

As Misty took the orange flower, Satsuki appeared behind her with a horrified expression.

“Oh, my God! You ruined my garden!” she accused him.
“What?” Ash asked, confused. “Oh... yeah... sorry ‘bout that,” he apologized as a wave of heat ran though his body due to his embarrassment.
“I thought it was Brock who had been stealing my tulips but now I see it’s you!”
“What?! Wait! I didn’t do it. I mean... not before this time.”

Ash looked at Misty fearing that she would be angry at him for lying about where he had gotten the flower from, but she was just giggling.

“Yeah, sure...” Satsuki said.
“Hey, I’m saying the truth... Anyway, we have to go. See you later, Satsuki.”
She sighed. “Have fun you two,” she finally said as she saw them walking away.

“So, where are we going?” Misty asked.
“You’ll see...”

Just being by his side was enough for Misty to bring back memories of the previous night, again. He still had to tell her something. Something very important.
He interrupted her thoughts.

“Where were you this morning, Misty? When I called Sakura told me you had gone out, but she didn’t know where...”
She thought for a moment, as if not sure of what to answer. “I went to visit some friends.”
His curiosity was aroused. “What friends?”
“Well, you don’t know them...”
It seemed like that would be all she was going to say for the moment, so he let it go. “Oh, ok...”
“Just so you know, I’m going to see them again tomorrow, and I’ll be back around noon.”
“Hey, can I go with you?” he tried.
“No!” she shouted, startling him. “I mean... I’ll be there just for a little while, so... if you want to see me I can go to your house later.”
“But I want to meet them, Misty. Any friend of yours can also be of mine, right?”
“Right, but... I’d rather go alone,” she said with a slightly sad smile for having to reject him. “Don’t worry, Ash. You’ll meet them. Just not yet.” Her serious expression told him that there would be no further talk on the topic for the moment.
He pouted. “Fine...”

Still, he wondered who these people were, and started to contemplate the idea of secretly following her the next day, even if she had clearly stated that she didn’t want him there.

“Guess what,” she said. “Sakura said last night that she would like to make a new pokémon journey next year. That made me recall all those moments we spent together with Brock and Tracy... I felt so free by then, so... good.”
“Hey, it’s not like you can’t feel like that now.”
“Of course, but... I miss travelling... I really miss it.”
“Yeah... I miss it too, I must say.” He crossed his arms behind his head and looked at the sky, remembering his past excursions and exploits. “Those were the best years of my life... we had so much fun...”
Misty noticed the hint of nostalgia in his voice. “Why don’t you try it again, then? You could start from the beginning in a new region,” she proposed.
He lowered his arms back to his sides and shook his head. “No. I couldn’t do that. Not without Pikachu by my side.”
“Ash, I think Pikachu would be happy for you if you did it. I know it wants the best for you, and if pokémon journeys make you happy...”
“It doesn’t matter, anyway. I don’t need to travel to be a Pokémon Master. Besides... that’s not the only thing that makes me happy.”
“What else does, then?”
“I don’t know... everyday things; a good meal, a joke, a challenge, spending time with my friends... staying with you at the Gym...”
She blinked. “Staying with me makes you happy? I’m glad to hear that!”
“Well, of course. We’ve known each other for so long, gone through uncountable adventures, and you’ve always been there for me. I know at first we couldn’t stop fighting but our friendship has been growing from the beginning... and look at us now! I like to think that we get closer by the minute. That’s why being with you is so important to me.”
Misty was blushing widely, having never heard such things from Ash. Oh, how much she loved him! “You’re very sweet, Ash,” she said timidly, avoiding his eyes. “I’m also happy when I’m with you. And thanks... you were always there for me, too.”
“You’re welcome.”

Things were starting to get a little awkward, so she chose to talk about something different.

“So... what about Gary? You sent the letter, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I already sent it... today. I feel kinda sorry for him, but I’m going to tell him the truth soon, so...”
“Will you ever tell me what kind of a bad joke caused all of this?”
“Uh... alright. But don’t you dare tell anyone about it!” he warned.
“Hey, it can’t be that bad.”
“You have no idea.”
“Well, just tell me already.”
“He... he invited me to a bachelor’s party of some friend of his. I didn’t really want to go because, besides him, I didn’t know anyone there, but he insisted. So when I got to the place, he said there would be a strip show...”
“Wait,” she stopped him. “I’m sorry, but... do I want to keep listening? I mean-”
“It’s not what you think,” he quickly replied.
“You don’t know what I’m thinking.”
He rolled his eyes. “Sure, whatever.” He cleared his throat and kept talking. “So most of the guys were excited about it, although it wasn’t that interesting to me...”
She snorted. “Yeah, right...”
“Hey, I’m not Brock!” he defended himself. “And I’m trying to tell you something, here...” he said, seemingly a little offended.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. So, what happened?”
“Gary said the girl of the show was... she was...”
“She was what?” she pushed.
“He said she was a very thin redhead from Cerulean City”.
“Well, what’s wrong with that? There are many girls in Cerulean.”
“Yeah, but then he said... she was a very skilled water pokémon trainer. He was obviously talking about you, Misty.”
“What?! But why would he-”
“I know!” he interrupted her. “I couldn’t believe him at first, but then... the music started and a girl appeared from nowhere... I hadn’t gotten to see her face because soon enough a group of people was surrounding her and blocking the view, but when I got a glimpse of her, I swear, Misty... she looked so much like you. I was so confused, and shocked, and even angry. I thought that you might have been drank or something and that you needed help.”
“Ash, you know I don’t drink.”
“I couldn’t come up with an other explanation at the moment, given the circumstances.”
“So, what did you do?”
“I took her by the arm and out of the house as fast as I could. Only once we were on the street I realized she was someone else... Then of course they threw me out.” He lowered his head in shame. It had been so embarrassing! He was suddenly startled by Misty’s hysterical laughter, though. He frowned. “It wasn’t funny, you know? You should have seen their faces.”
“Ok, ok, I’m sorry. After all you were just trying to help me,” she said in a mocking tone, followed by a little more laughter.
His eyes narrowed in annoyance, but decided to just drop it. “And obviously Gary knew it wasn’t you. It may have been a simple prank, but he never even apologized.” He smirked. “Now it’s time I turn things around.”
“You know, Ash... what you did was a very gentle gesture. Even though it wasn’t me... thank you...”

She planted a kiss on his cheek, and they both smiled. After that, they walked in silence the rest of the way.
Finally, they arrived to a sizable hill overlooking the town. They sat down on the grass very close to each other and enjoyed the landscape. All the houses, even the market stores, looked very tiny from that height. They got a full view of Oak’s laboratory, with pokémon running happily around the place. Although for Ash and Misty they seemed to be just colorful dots dancing with the wind. The trees were abundant, but they could spot livid gardens of blue, red, yellow and violet that definitely added a mystic touch to it all.

“Oh, Ash, look at the view... Pallet is so beautiful... so romantic...”
“Yeah, perfect scenery for a kiss, huh?”
She turned her head so she couldn’t face him and smiled sheepishly. “You’re incredible. You weren’t like this when I met you, Ash. You’ve changed so much. Any girl could fall in love with you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You think so?”
“I know it.”
“How about you, then?”
She faced him again to understand what he had meant by that question. “What?”
“Could you fall in love with me?”
She froze. She had been caught by her own words. “I don’t know... I guess... it’s possible...” She noticed her heart had started to beat faster.
“It’s possible?” he asked a little too excited. “What should I have to do if I wanted you to fall for me?”
“I don’t know, Ash. Just... be yourself?” she suggested.
“But I’ve always been myself, so-”
“I mean... it doesn’t depend on what you do. I like to think that we can’t decide who we’ll fall in love with. It’s something both physical and spiritual, but we can’t reason with our feelings. We don’t have a choice about it.”

Talking to Ash about this sort of things wasn’t really helping her to relax around him. Their eyes were locked on each other, and he was so close to her that she could almost taste him. Misty would have kissed him right then and there, but she just couldn’t move... or speak anymore.

“Yeah, I get it,” he said. “Sometimes, when I’m with this girl I like so much... My heart rate increases way too fast, and it’s like... I can’t breath... or think for that matter.”
She nodded. “Have you ever imagined what it would be like if both of us-you!” she quickly corrected herself, “that girl and you... already knew what each other feels?”
“Well, actually I would love to know what it’s like. As it is, I can really connect with her, but... getting to be more than friends would be... amazing.”

This boy knew how to take her breath away. Again, she remained speechless for a couple of seconds, not having a clue on how to react. The tickles in her stomach were almost unbearable, so much she wanted to kiss him. But... how on Earth could that ever even happen? It wasn’t like her to take the next step. And it wasn’t like Ash either... or was it?

“What I believe is...” she finally managed to say, “once that special someone is finally with you... you can’t do nothing but allow yourself to embrace the moment. When time and space don’t matter anymore, because you get warm even in the cold, and you ran out of words but can express it all with a glance or a touch, that’s when you realize you’re in love with the right person. And when hearts are aglow, beating together as one, well... now that’s something I would love to experience, too.”
“Wow... you could inspire a novelist talking like that.” He chuckled, but Misty barely smiled. It bothered her terribly not knowing how to tell Ash that it was him she would love to experience all that with.
“Yeah, maybe.”
“Anyway... I think you’ve made the point there. I couldn’t have said it any better.”

Silence reigned over them and their smiles slowly faded. It was really awkward for Ash, being so close, having so much to say, and yet feeling unable to speak his mind. How could he break the ice?

“So... what’s your Christmas wish, Misty?”
She raised an eyebrow at the random question. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Oh, come on. It’s not a secret, is it?”
“Well, it kinda is...”
“Please tell me, I want to know.”
She considered it for a moment before responding. “I may tell you... if you tell me your wish first.”
“Hey, that’s not fair!”
“Fine. I’m not giving you my answer,” she said humorously, turning around and running her hand through her hair as if he were missing some interesting information.

Her graceful movement would have caught his attention any other time, but Ash only frowned, suddenly deep in thought. This could be his chance to put an end to his secrets. He was sure he had already made his statement to her, but she may had not realized it yet. Hadn’t their touches and conversations so far been proof enough? And what if she already knew how he felt, but it wasn’t reciprocal? No... she wouldn’t be playing with him if that were the case. Her love for him was in her eyes, he had seen it. Ash needed to make things clear, immediately.

“So what’s it going to be, Ash? Are you telling me?” Misty asked him. It was almost as if she knew what he’d been thinking. He needed her question so he could give her his answer. He nodded in response. “Well, then. What do you want for Christmas?”

This was it. His opportunity to tell her everything. He looked into her eyes and held her gaze with intensity. This time, nothing could stop him from saying it. Nothing...

“I want... you.”