Hey guys, what's up? I'm truly and very, very sorry that I haven't updated for about four months! DX I've just been really busy, and it's kinda tearing me apart! Thankfully, I'm not too busy anymore – since our basketball team just lost nationals (we don't have to train anymore! :3). Also, spring break is in two weeks for me, so I'll have two weeks completely free! It's gonna be great!

Last chapter, we learned that Lyra has a fear of beautiful men! This chapter, we're having some Misty action! ^^ Oh, but first, I should get onto the reviews!

Pokegirl185: I feel sorry for Lyra, too. Thanks so much, though, girl!

deant33: By having 'beautiful' instead of 'handsome', I was trying to add humour into the chapter. So that's why I put beautiful down.

Moonlightgirl258: OMG AWWW THANKS GIRL! XD

Kohana-San: There will definitely be more May and Drew… Definitely. :D Sorry for the really long wait… I'm not surprised if you've abandoned this little thing. :/

jayfeather12345: Believe me, that 'obstacle' is going to be a pain in the ass for her. :D But, she'll just have to live through it, won't she?

Cutiepiepo2: Awwwwwww, thanks so much! I wish you would get an account we I can thank you! You motivated me to write this, y'know! I'm really sorry for not updating, then. My world is so busy, though… I'm glad that I'm trying to relax more. Thanks again for all the compliments you give me! ^^

Mistress Katt: Hahaha, yes, the beautiful men. :3 Yeah, I've really tried to improve – my writing was absolutely terrible before all of this (so…many…grammatical…mistakes *dies* DX). But I'm glad that you noticed! May generally does that, it's just that she doesn't even want to think about her love life! :D Too bad that Drew's around, huh? XD Thanks so much, Katt! ^-^

xXMaddie: Thanks so much! Here's the new chapter!

Pikachaaaa: Nah, that's fine, girl! =) Yeah lol I've heard of that reference. :P Thanks so much for reviewing!

Alyssa: Awwww, thanks! (^3^)

MelodyOfSecrets: I'm trying to write from the other characters' perspective more, so you guys understand everything better. Thanks a lot, girl, here is my update.

mer-celebimew: PM me about it, because that doesn't sound like a bad idea! So PM me! ^^

Guest: The next one is here. XD

Hilda: Awwww, you're too sweet! Here's the update! And I totally will add more Contestshipping in this. In fact, there's a tiny moment in this chapter as well!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Chapter 12: Relaxation and Jealousy

Misty's POV

"Guys," May moaned, rolling over in bed. "I'm boooooreeed!" We all rolled our eyes. May might have been the one with all the ideas to do something fun, but she still got bored very easily. She would also complain about it far too much. Usually, we had something to do, since we had the performance planning. But today, we were completely free (and it felt really weird). I had to pry Leaf and Lyra away from their notebooks, since their creative flow was scaring me a little. Any free time they had, they would be scribbling ideas down. Once a week, they met with each other to write part of the script.

Fortunately for us, they had just finished the first draft of the script. There might be a few alterations after May tries to stage it all, so we all have pretty open minds for the moment.

May groaned again, eyeing us and she propped her head up with her hands. She wanted us to notice her, to ask what was wrong, and why she was bored. May was such an attention seeker sometimes. "I said that I was bored!" May added, putting emphasis on her words to make them more noticeable. We all paid her no mind. Well, all of us did except Lyra.

"Why are you bored, May?" she asked quietly.

We all knew the answer - it was always the same. I have nothing to do. I thought. "I have nothing to do!" May complained, and I grinned in satisfaction – she is too predictable.

"Why don't we ask the boys?" Zoey suggested, checking her phone for texts. "Kenny told me that they always have fun stuff to do. Maybe their ideas will rub off on us."

"Yeah!" Dawn squealed. "Let's do that!"

"No!" May shouted. "Grasshead always frustrates me to the point where I want to rip his fake green hair off of his head! He just… Aggggh!" She clenched her fists and frowned at the floor angrily.

"I wanted to go, though," Leaf piped up, nodding her head slowly.

"Yeah, I think it's actually a good idea," I said quietly. The girls turned to stare at me, and I shrugged a little. They were probably surprised, since I never want to go out (other than to the gym). The boys were most likely going somewhere where I felt uncomfortable, so that was also a big shocker for the girls.

"Oh, I asked Kenny, and the guys are going to the mall," Zoey mused, tapping rapidly on her iPhone, grinning to herself.

I immediately gulped, looking away from the others. Going to the mall made me feel out-of-place. I generally hated going shopping, since I always found it so boring, but it didn't help when I wanted to shop for video games instead of bikinis. Whenever I used to buy something, it was very sporty, and I was bullied about my taste in fashion. To be honest, though, I didn't even consider myself to have fashion.

Leaf, Lyra and I weren't great with shopping, but they had their own reasons. Leaf liked going to the bookshop, buying clothes that only felt comfortable to her. Lyra liked going to music shops, but she didn't like shopping for clothes at all. She was always too scared that people would judge her if she picked out the wrong thing. We were all victims to bullying, so we all understood each other in situations like that.

Lyra and Leaf, even if they had a problem with going to the mall, would never say no. They were too scared to speak up. Fortunately for them, I wasn't.

"On second thought, I change my mind," I told them, glancing at May, Dawn and Zoey. "Shopping's not my scene – and it's not like the guys are going to watch our bags get heavier."

"And our money decreasing," Leaf quipped.

"So that's a no from me." I yawned, laying back on my pillow, staring at the ceiling.

I suddenly felt a lump jump on me. "Whaaaaat?! Misty, c'mon! You have to come out with us!" Dawn whined, trying to persuade me. "It'll be so much fun! There are lots of things to do at the mall!"

"Nope," I said sternly, crossing my arms in a huff. There was no way on earth that I was going to go to the mall, hanging out with the boys, AND feeling uncomfortable with everything I pick.

"Oh, that's too bad, then," Dawn murmured, twirling her hair and looking away. I almost gasped – it wasn't like Dawn to give up so easily.

"Yup." I knew she just wanted me to accept because she looked sad. It wasn't going to work.

Dawn growled underneath her breath, but then brightened up, grinning. She walked over to my wardrobe, opening the doors. "Misty, if you don't come with us, your Jordan's will suffer." She took my new red and purple Jordan's and took her new pink lipstick. "Pink is a good colour, right?" she mocked.

My face paled. I may not be the best in the wardrobe department, neither do I care for that area, but my trainers/sneakers were my life! I had so many that I couldn't count! Sometimes, I would clean them to make them look sparkling clean. I was obsessed, and I would kill anyone who tried to hurt my trainers.

"Don't. You. Dare," I seethed, narrowing my eyes.

The lipstick went closer to my Jordan's. Dawn hummed, grinning even wider. "Come with us, then~!"

Just before her lipstick touched the heel, I screamed, "Fine! I'll come along!" She laughed, throwing the shoe to me. I caught it with ease, cradling it a little. "I almost lost you…" I whispered, making sympathetic noises. I'm sure that if those shoes could speak, they would be crying.

"Let's go, then," Lyra suggested, standing up and stretching her limbs.

"This place gets more crowded every time I come here," I complained, motioning to the people milling around, shouting and laughing. I nearly bumped into a woman with a stroller, who was trying to lug around a drink and all her shopping bags. I rolled my eyes, turning away. I already hated that day, and it had barely started!

"Where should we go to first?" Leaf asked, as we walked to the middle of the mall, sitting down at the chairs next to the fountain.

"The guys are meeting us here," Zoey informed, checking her phone again. "Look! I can see them now!" She stood up, pointing and waving.

We all thought that we would see their usually calm and laid back faces (except Paul), but we were surprised, when we saw how stressed and pissed off they looked. "What on earth happened?" I demanded, eyeing Ash closely.

"Them," he groaned, stepping out the way. We were then face-to-face with Brianna's bitches. My fists clenched as they came closer, a smirk on their faces. They all looked dazzling, and that angered me so much.

"How nice it is to see you, Misty," Melody claimed, her icy voice chilling me to the core. I glared at her. "What a lovely surprise." Anyone could tell that she didn't mean it.

Kris waved at us from behind Candice, and we all smiled at her. She was just too sweet. "Don't wave, Kris," Brianna ordered, noticing our private greeting. Kris stopped, nodding and giving us a shrug. I had to force myself not to roll my eyes – Brianna had Kris wrapped around her little finger.

"Why don't we split up?" Dawn asked, avoiding Ursula's narrowed eyes.

"Yes, let's do that," Gary murmured quickly. "I'll go with Leaf – c'mon, then!" He grabbed Leaf's hand, and pulled her off into a random direction of the mall. We heard Leaf's voice of protest as they made their way past people. Giselle fumed, before flipping her hair away from her eyes.

"I'll go after them," she announced, though no one really cared. Giselle scuttled off, her tiny skirt flapping up and down.

"I'm taking Zoey!" Kenny exclaimed, pulling Zoey away.

"Hey, don't go so fast!" Zoey shouted as they ran off. A gleam appeared in Candice's eye. She grinned, twirling on the spot, before zooming off after them.

"June, you're with me," Drew ordered, taking May by the hand.

A rosy colour grew on May's cheeks when their hands touched, but she frowned soon after. "It's MAY, you idiot! M-A-Y!" she reminded him as they started to walk off.

"Whatever," Drew said with a smirk. "It's all the same."

"But it really isn't!" May fumed.

"That bitch," Brianna muttered, walking to their direction. I face palmed – how stupid could this get?

"Lyra? Would you like to come with me?" Ethan questioned. Lyra blushed but nodded. I almost squealed, since he was the only one who asked. They also looked so cute together. "Let's go, then." He held out his arm, and they linked quite quickly. He noticed Kris' face of longing, and she smiled at her softly. "Want to come along as well?" Kris nodded shyly, and trailed after them, her hands behind her back.

"MISTY! FOOD!" Ash shouted, grabbing me by my shoulders. He started to push me in the direction of the food court, as I screamed at him to slow down. Did that boy only ever think about food?!

"Yes! The food has finally arrived!" Ash whispered loudly, digging in to his pizza. I nodded, thanking the waiter as I started to eat my lasagna quickly. When Ash had dragged me to all the restaurants and cafes, I didn't expect him to bring to me an Italian restaurant. Unfortunately, Melody followed us there… She wanted Ash all to herself… That dim-witted girl. Melody frowned at me, digging in to her salad. "Aren't you hungry, Melody?" Ash then asked as he stared at her food.

"Oh, yes, I am," she told him, grinning.

"Then why did you get a measly salad?" Ash laughed, finishing off his fourth slice. Melody turned red, clearly embarrassed. Ash had always liked a lot of food, so I had no idea what she saw in him. He was cute, yes, and he was quite fit…but he was dense, valued food and video games too much and couldn't keep a secret! Ash then looked at my food. "That's more like it! Lasagna is a lot more filling!"

Despite myself not wanting to, I blushed. Okay, maybe I just liked getting the approval or respect from other people – was that so bad? Even Ash is a person, so he counted too.

"Misty, I don't think you should have that meal," Melody piped up. "You're getting a little…fat…and I don't want you to get even fatter!" She laughed evilly, smirking, and I looked away.

I'm not going to cry. I told myself fiercely, but a tear escaped from my eye. I wiped it away quickly, before standing up. Without a proper explanation, I walked off to the toilets. "Misty!" I heard Ash shout, but I ignored him.

I barged into the girl's toilets, but no tears would fall. I looked at myself in the mirror, staring at my body. Was I fat? I mean, I had put on some weight since the start of my sophomore year… But was I really that big. I put a hand to my stomach, contemplating.

No.

I wasn't fat.

Melody can't knock me down like that!

I should just ignore her – she's way too dumb to even have my time of day! All she does is rely on her friends… What doesn't kill me makes me stronger, right? I should stand a little taller…

Grinning, I marched out of the toilets, my head held high. I spotted Ash talking to Melody, and I walked over to him which his back turned away from me.

"Melody, that was very rude. You were being a bitch, and I have no idea why." I refrained myself from gasping. Ash never swore, so this was a first. "I think you should leave." I saw Melody gasp dramatically, before turning away. A wave of jealously flew across her face, as she stomped off. Ash then turned around, found me staring, and smiled. Before I could say anything, he suddenly hugged me, picking me up.

"Ash!" I squealed, my eyes widened in shock. "Put me down!" Ash just laughed, twirling me around. I started to giggle as well, grinning. "Ash… Why are you doing this?" I questioned, feeling my face go red.

"I thought you had left… Misty, you're not fat! You have the best body I've seen!" I almost fell out of his arms when he slowly put me down. "Your body is flawless…" he told me, nodding. My face burned bright red. Could he…? "Your body is flawless like mine!" Everything stopped. Did he just…? I face palmed, before walking out of the restaurant. "Ah – wait Misty! I have to pay first! Don't actually leave without me!"

Leaf's POV

"Why did you drag me of all people?" I groaned, rolling my eyes as Gary and Giselle stopped flirting. "Why don't you just spend time with your girlfriend without me? I don't really want to be in the middle of your flirting." I eyed Gary, expecting an answer, and almost punched him when I realized that he hadn't heard a word I had said. He was…eying… Giselle's boobs! That time, I did punch him.

"Ouch!" Gary yelped, rubbing his arm. "What was that for, Leafy?!"

"Stop being such a pervert," I muttered, turning away from him. Gary smirked, which only made me feel even more uncomfortable than I already was.

"Oh, I don't mind," Giselle purred, pressing herself against him. Gary grinned like a hunter with a gun. It was as if he was the Cheshire Cat.

"Oh, go get a room," I muttered, walking past them. I made a beeline to the book store, hurrying a little. I was always a big fan of reading – all the genres excited me. I nodded at the guy at the counter, who I knew quite well. He grinned at me. "Hey, Red," I greeted, as I leafed through the books in the Sci-fi section.

"Hey, Leaf," Red said, giving me a little wave. Red's mom was the owner of this store, and on the weekends he would work there to get some extra money. When I had first stepped into this little store, I knew that it was amazing. I was also quite happy to know that Red was there. He was two years older than me, and a senior in Castelia High. He was one of the most popular people in the school, and everyone loved him. To be honest, when I first spoke to him, I thought for sure that he was going to be obnoxious like most guys, but Red was kind and helpful. What surprised me the most was when I passed him the halls and we were with our friends…he actually said hi to me. Of course, I said hello back, so we had a little mini conversation.

My friends were all jealous that I was friends with Red, since he's one of the hottest guys in Castelia. He was always so sweet to everyone, and was completely modest when someone complimented him on something. The thing was, I knew the real Red. Kids at school saw him as the popular jock who had the smarts to become something big (in the academic department), but I knew that he was different. To me, he was shy and quiet bookworm. He and I read the same types of books, which also surprised me when I got to know him. We even exchanged phone numbers as I started to become a frequent customer, but we hadn't texted much. I was too nervous to start a conversation, anyway.

"Has the new Fairy Tail manga book come out yet? You said last week that it should be delivered today." I turned to face him when I asked my question. I leafed through the shelves, hoping to find what I was looking for.

Other than my friends, no one knew about my obsession. I was Leaf – the smart nerd, the geek. I loved to read and write, as well as studying. But I also loved to play video games. The thing is, I didn't like those boy-ish video games, where you had to kill someone like on Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed. I loved animation games, like Persona, Virtue's Last Reward, Rune Factory or Professor Layton. Being me, I also loved manga books. It was usually very hard to find manga stores, so when I found a vast manga collection in this store, I fell in love. I now bought all my manga from this place, always with an excited grin on my face.

"It has – we got some delivered this morning," Red told me, walking behind the counter and ducking down to get something. When he reappeared, he gave me a sleek manga book. There was a note on it reading, 'For Leaf'.

I blushed lightly. "Did you… Did you get this specially for me?" I asked him eagerly, hugging the book tightly (I had waited for this volume for more than a month!).

Red nodded slowly. "I knew how much you wanted it, so I kept a copy at the counter for when you would come next."

"Awww – thank you, Red!" I smiled, before digging through my bag. I gave him the money, and watched as he put it in the cash register, then giving me a bag and my receipt.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you."

Before I could answer, Gary barged into the store, and narrowed his eyes when he saw Red. "Hey, Leafy – I was looking for you," Gary informed.

"Oh? Who's this, Leaf? Is this your boyfriend?" Red questioned. Gary smirked.

"No!" I yelped, shaking my head quickly. "There is no way on earth I would ever be in a relationship with a perverted oaf like him." I pointed at Gary. "He's just an acquaintance."

Just then, Giselle wandered in. "There you are, Gary! When you went to look for Leaf, I got bored, so I'm here now." She wrinkled her nose in disgust when she glanced around the store. "What is this filthy place? A book store? Ha – that's funny!" She began to giggle. I wanted to slap her, but I knew I could never do it.

"This is more like Gary's girlfriend," I muttered to Red, and we chuckled. Gary noticed and started to frown – why was he doing that? It made him look mature, which is totally unlike Gary Oak. A pang of jealously swept across Gary's face, and I gave him a questioning look. He ignored me, and glared daggers at Red again. Noticing that Red was beginning to feel uncomfortable, I turned to him once again. "I better head off now… I'm getting a little hungry. See ya later, though, Red!" I hugged him, before walking off. Before I left the store, I turned back. "And thanks for the book."

Dawn's POV

"I guess I'm stuck with you two, then," Paul grumbled, frowning at both Ursula and I. Sticking my tongue out at him, I turned away from him – I wasn't too happy about the arrangement either. We just had to deal with it, though. "Troublesome," he then muttered.

"It's DAWN!" I reminded him.

"Nope – it's definitely Troublesome," Paul retaliated lamely. Ursula giggled, which only made me roll my eyes. She was an idiot – who could find something like that funny?

"Where are we going now, then?" I wondered, glancing around the mall. I loved shopping, so it was more of choosing which store to go in first, which was the problem.

"Let's go to Forever 21!" Ursula squealed, before pulling Paul's arm. I sighed, but followed after them.

When would this girl stop?

"Hurry up, Ursula," I moaned, lying back on the seat. I had already bought all of my clothes, but Ursula was still deciding. I had no idea why she couldn't just get both, since she was swimming in money back home.

"Oh, shut up!" she snapped, growling at me. Her demeanour completely changed when she started to speak to Paul, though. "Could you hold this for me? I need to choose something else to go with these shoes." She marched off, and Paul mumbled swear words under his breath. He still followed her, though.

Just as I was about to fall asleep from boredom (which is abnormal for me when shopping was involved), I heard a phone ring. It was Paul's phone! He must have left it next to me when he went off with Ursula. Knowing that I shouldn't be nosy, I looked away… But then temptation tugged me back to reality, and picked up Paul's Nokia Lumia. The person was someone called 'Reggie'… I contemplated whether I should answer it or not.

Paul would get angry…

That person might be in danger, though – or it could be something very important.

Against my good judgment, I answered the call, clicking the green button. "Hello?" I answered, an automatic lump in my throat.

"Paul…? No, that's a girl's voice – who is this?" Before I could say anything else, the person on the phone squealed. "Oh, are you Paul's girlfriend? Does Paul finally have a girlfriend?!"

"No! I'm just a good friend. My name is Dawn Berlitz, and I'm Paul's classmate… We're in quite a few classes together," I told him, feeling a little more confident. "Who are you if you don't mind me asking? A friend? An uncle, or something?"

Reggie giggled. "Oh, no – my name is Reggie Shinji." My eyes widened in shock. "I'm Paul's brother. I was hoping to talk to him since I need to speak to him – it's something quite important. It's to do with this weekend."

"This weekend?" I echoed, curious.

"Yes. This Saturday, it's a very special day for Paul."

"It's his sixteenth birthday."

OMG! I'M SOOOOOO SORRY ABOUT THE FIVE MONTH WAIT. I apologize deeply, and I know you're all probably really angry with me. I know for a fact that it won't take this long to update next time. Definitely not.

Anyway, it's Paul's birthday! He didn't tell anyone! You can bet that everyone would be shocked to hear THAT. :D

Please: review, review and review! ^-^