The last ten, guys. It's been fun!

She cleared her throat, hands crossed tight over her chest and eyes refusing to meet his. "I'm, uh, supposed to invite you to Cerulean, if you want to go. It's not very fun. I wouldn't be offended if you wanted to stay or just go to Pallet. Since, uh, Pallet's a lot cooler anyway."

"No, it'll be fun." He grinned. "I'd love to go."

She glared at the wall. "It'll only be me and you aside from my family. You're the only one I'm inviting. So, really, if you don't want to go, it's fine."

"It's alright. It might be more fun if we go alone. Give us some time to talk about…about stuff."

She blushed, eyes flicking over for just a second to see he was blushing too. "Don't say it like that. People are listening."

"Maybe they should be," he said uncertainly. "Maybe we've got something interesting to say."

"Don't say it."

He swallowed. "Something happened. Maybe you want to ignore it, but I don't. I want to talk about it. So…yeah. I'll see you in Cerulean."

"Don't laugh!" she shouted awkwardly, making him jump. Then, quieter: "When I have to do that stupid show. Don't laugh."

"You can't go yet!" May cried. "You have to tell me how to ask guys out! I can't listen to Dawn! Every time I ask she just rants about how no one would ever turn her down!"

Misty sighed, setting down her bags to grab May's shoulders. "I have a train to catch. It is not hard to ask a guy out, especially when even you know he likes you."

"What if he says no out of spite?" she whined.

"May."

"But what if he does?"

The whistle blew, and Misty groaned, looking over her shoulder at the train briefly before looking back at her. "May, listen. You promised me I'd do fine with Ash. If I can do this, you can do this. We'll text every day and we'll get through this together, I promise. May, I promise you can do this."

She hugged her tight. "You'll be fine, you bush hider."

May hugged her back just as tight, and May let her go, sighing as she ran off.

"Drew, go out with me. Sunday."

"You're not supposed to do this on the phone."

"Come on, I'm asking you out," she snapped. "Can't you cut me a little slack?"

"No."

"Drew, my best friend just got on the train to go and find making out happiness with a hot guy. Dawn's got…Dawn has everyone. None of my other friends count enough. Even if it's not a date, I want to go out with you. So…so can you just not be a jerk for once and just go out with me Sunday?"

He sighed. "Sure. Why not? I'll even pay."

She giggled getting up to her tiptoes with glee. "I shouldn't like you as much as I do! You're such a jerk!"

"Hey, we all know who's getting the short end of the stick."

"Drew! I asked you not to be a jerk."

"You asked me not to be a jerk for once. And I was. Once. Never again. See you Sunday."

"Dawn said a lot of people make out on trains," Misty said, trying to break the awkward silence. "I think that's a lie."

"It's really public. It'd be embarrassing," he agreed.

She muttered, "Oh, because you're not embarrassing enough? Why didn't you just tell everyone we made out?"

"Why are you so…so conservative?"

She gasped. "I taught you that word! You can't use that word against me when I taught you about it!"

"You taught me it so I could use it, and it described you great right now. So we kissed, it's not like we slept together."

"It's wasn't just a kiss. I've kissed people and that was more than a kiss," she argued.

"Well, if you're so embarrassed about it, maybe you should have kept your tongue in your own mouth. Then we wouldn't have this problem. But we do, because we kissed. We really kissed." He grinned proudly. "You never got this way because Gary kissed you."

"Gary never kissed me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like there was something more than kissing to do," she hissed. "Ash. It was scary! I like to be in control-"

"Oh really? I hadn't noticed."

"And I wasn't in control. I wasn't in my right mind. I wanted to make a bad decision."

"Like robbing a liquor store?" he suggested.

"You know what I mean!"

"Yeah, but I want to hear you say it."

She gritted her teeth. "I wanted to have sex with you."

He beamed. "Me too. This trip's going to be fun!"

"You're the boy?" Violet gasped, catching his chin and tilting it up to gawk at him. "Oh, Mew. You're cute! Misty didn't say you were cute. I never thought she could catch a guy like you. Mew, have you guys seen him? He's cute!"

"Yeah, Vi, we saw him. He's very cute," Daisy giggled back.

"Oh, I could kiss you! You're so cute!"

"Would you keep away from him?" Misty snapped. "Gees. You're crowding him. Look at how he'd blushing."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to steal him." She winked. "I like you, though. I'd be happy to have you around. Can you act?"

"Violet no!" Misty shouted. "Don't you dare! I don't need your help with this so crawl back into your little romance hole, okay? He can't act and he doesn't want to be in a play!"

He smiled. "I wouldn't mind. I don't have a lot of lines, right?"

"Oh, no! Not at all! In fact, I don't think you have to say anything at all! You just have to fake die!" She squealed. "Will you do it? It'll be fun!"

"Sure, no problem."

"Shake on it," she demanded, holding her hand out. "You're really important even if you don't say anything."

He shook. "I promise I won't back out, okay?"

"Alright. You have to make out with Misty too, no taksies backsides!" she cried, then dropped his hand with yet another squeal.

"Violet! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Haha! You have to make out with your not-boyfriend!" she shouted back.

"Kissing shouldn't be a punishment!"

"Wouldn't be a punishment for me," Violet agreed, eyeing him over again.

"Violet!"

Their lips touched for just a moment before the boy tugged back, Misty saying her final goodbyes to Ash's fading life.

"No. Nuh-uh. I don't care what you guys are denying or whatever. This is a show. From what I heard you two managed to get together pretty hot. At the very least, you two are friends, right? Ash, kiss her like you'll never see her again. Misty, he's dying. Kiss Ash like he just got hit by a bullet, alright? I want to see passion. Do it again."

Ash sighed and pushed up so Misty could hold his head, which he made limp with near death. Misty forced tears to her eyes by thinking of cute dead things, and whispered, "Please, please don't leave me. I know I haven't been there, I know you haven't been there, but we should get a second chance. We can make the second chance work but you have to be there for it. Don't leave me. Please."

He's dead. He's falling over a cliff, getting shot at, bloody and beaten, turned to stone. You'll never kiss him again. So she kissed him for the last time, eyes closed and lips desperate on his, and he pressed back and flooded her with warmth. She'd gotten the feeling from Gary, but not to the tips of her toes, not warming her from the outside in and back out again. And after he said her goodbye to the dead Ash in her mind, she pulled away and continued her line.

That was all Violet was after.

"Ash, I don't think I can do this," she said quickly. "I can't kiss you every day and pretend you're dying to get the right passion. All I can think about is how next year I'll be in the gym and you'll be traveling and so many travelers die and…and…"

He shrugged, tickling Pikachu under her chin. "I'll have Brock. He'll keep me from getting the crap beat out of me. Pikachu too."

"I want to be there," she whispered weakly. "I want to travel with you."

"You'd probably be giving up the League."

"I know, and I'd be really happy, too." She pressed the heel of her hand to her head. "I want to see the world, and I'd be really happy to do it with you and Brock. I've gotten really close to you. I can't…I can't think of anything I'd like more than traveling."

He laughed. "Okay, you can come."

"Ash, I can't!"

"Why not?"

"I have all my future stuff to think about," she said. "Going with you would mean that I'd have to give up all the stuff I'm supposed to do so I can be rich and famous and crap."

"Yeah, but I thought you said you wanted to travel more than you want that stuff."

"I do, but-"

"No buts. Just be like me and follow what you know will make you happy."

She rolled her eyes. "Ash, that's so juvenile."

"Yes. It is." He blinked. "What's juvenile mean?"

"Mew, that was so stupid."

"You did good, Mist."

"Yeah, but it was stupid. I hate getting up on the stage and having to be a dork in from of people."

"You'd rather be a dork in from of your friends, huh?"

"Stop. You know what I mean. I hate doing this. You had fun though, didn't you?"

"I got to die. You don't get to dramatically die every day. You have to have fun with that."

"I guess. Glad you had fun even if I didn't."

"You looked…you looked really pretty."

"In the dress? Yeah. It's a nice one."

"Yeah, but I was talking about really dramatic stuff. You looked pretty when you were acting. It looked like you meant it."

"I'm supposed to."

"Misty, can we kiss for real? Because I'd really like to kiss you, if you're okay with that."

"Do you want to get married?"

"Now? Mew no!"

"Then…yeah. I'm okay with that."

He picked up yet another box, eyeing it over. "I don't think men can have fun with a condom. They all say 'for her pleasure'. What about my pleasure? I have a right to pleasure."

"Ash, please shut up."

"I thought this would be embarrassing, but this is fun. They even have flavored ones and rainbow ones. Why would you need flavored ones, though?"

"Ash, why do you think?"

"Dunno. That's why I asked."

She blushed. "It's for oral, you dope."

"Oral what?" he asked, completely genuine in his confusion.

"What the hell do you think?" she shouted.

"But oral means-oh." He froze and blushed. "Oh. Oh right. You just choose a pair."

"Embarrassing now that you remember what they're for, huh?" She snatched a random box and handed it off to her sister. "Here just…just pay for these!"

"Don't complain. I wouldn't have to do this if you two weren't making out up…" She frowned at the box. "Hold up. Ash, what size are you?"

"I don't know. They have sizes?"

The older girl sighed. "Alright, well, we'll get several sizes and you'll wear whichever fits best. You'll have to try them on."

"Are you sure my mom's okay with this?"

"Please, she insisted. She said she knows how Ketchum men get carried away. That's how you got here, after all."

He laughed awkwardly. "My mom and Dad having sex. That's what I want to think about when I'm buying condoms with my friend and her sister."

The cashier raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think buying condoms will only encourage them?"

"Doesn't matter. They're all whores since they're form the House of Moltres."

"I can't believe you're the guy my sister's worried about me having sex with," she muttered, rubbing her temples.

"Hey, I might be good in bed. You never know."

She groaned. "This is bad."

"That's not what she said with me last night," Ash chimed.

She still thought it was a bad idea, and she still thought they'd get caught, but she didn't really mind that she was flat on her back with Ash's lips glued to her face and his hands glued to her swimsuited body. She was much too concerned about checking Ash for a tentacool burn, which was how the whole incident had gotten started. That aside, Ash was getting much, much better at what he was already pretty good at, and in the back of her mind somewhere a witty part of her made a joke about condoms.

They stopped for a moment, breathing heavily.

"What you said about traveling before," he asked, "Did you mean it?"

She propped herself up on her elbows. "Of course I did. I'd love traveling with you and Brock."

"Even though we're like this now?" he pressed.

"I don't want to suck your face off all the time, and we've been fighting since day one. We know how to apologize. I think I'd be fine traveling with you. And Brock being around will ensure that we…we don't need condoms."

"I think that Brock n' me will have more fun when you're there," he said.

"Well, I love hanging out with you two. And, as much as I like being alone with you, I think I'll have even more fun with Brock there."

"Me too."

"You'll come up with me then, right?"

She grinned. "If I've got to run away I'll do it! Of course I'll go!"

He laughed and covered her lips again, the couple kissing deeply before breaking apart once more. Breathless, she said, "'Sides, I have to keep an eye on you anyway. You still owe me a bike."

I hope you enjoyed! I only have one regret - I wanted to introduce Melody earlier on, having her selling tickets for the nonexistent school elevator to freshmen. It was the only thing I really didn't want to chop out, but had to in the end. -sigh-

Hugs and Love,

Natty