Judging By Your Smile
By A.P. aka LilCupidjr.     …so far…
READ: I don't own Pokemon. 

:: It’s dark.  The blazing fire burned beautifully as the flames reached so high as if wishing to catch a single star in remembrance of being alive that one night of life that burned within its fiery pits.  The sky was amazingly clear; as black as an evil soul of the Underworlds, dotted with magnificent patterns of bright stars that seemed to encircle the moon in a mysterious dance of jubilee and freedom.  Some whipped against the blackness of the universe in curled reformation that stung at the tips with a shooting brother, whose tail would glisten amazingly as it was being dragged along the godly sky helplessly.  There was a slight, low voice that repeated over and over announced the incoming night, and then its wings would carry it elsewhere, maybe to a place of wonder and excitement, where only the bravest of all pokemon could and would venture.  Six friends connected by mind, spirit, and soul sat around the dancing fire laughing as they played a little game of truths and dares.  It was Misty's turn to go.  Dare, it was.  And Brock was the Darer.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!!"
Brock laughed whole-heartily.
"Aw, c'mon Misty.  You know we're all friends here."  Tracy urged.
"Yeah, Misty.  Just do it."  Duplica smiled.
"Ditto!"  Her Pokemon agreed, followed by a "Pika!" and a trilling "Toge!”
Misty hesitated for a second, looking at all of her so called 'friends'.
"Pika pika."  Pikachu said simply jumping on Ash's head.
"Hey!"  Ash protested, trying to shake off Pikachu, who was getting kinda heavy in the past few weeks.
Pikachu pulled Ash's hat off his head and wore it as he climbed onto Misty's shoulder and kissed her cheek.
"Pika-pi Pikachu Chu-pi” Pikachu said strictly, waving a finger at Ash in a teacher-like motion.
Every laughed crazily.
"No, no Pikachu.  The lips!"  Brock said, still chuckling. 
Pikachu sweatdropped and threw off Ash's hat, running towards a tent in retreat.  Everyone laughed again.  Ash sat in confusion.
"Pikachu pika pik-chu Pikapi!" 
"Uh-- what'd he say?"  Todd asked.
"I think he said, 'It's all up to you, Ash!'"  Duplica answered, laughing.
"Ah.  Let's just get this over with.  I can't wait to dare Todd."  Tracy said evilly, glaring at the photo master.
"I can't believe you people!  You guys are twisted!"  Misty said disapprovingly.  "I'd rather kiss Todd than this wannabe pokemon trainer!"
Todd, whose smile had now immediately faded into a frightened, more freaked out expression, moves farther and farther away from the fire, away from Misty.  Ash didn't like being called some 'wannabe' of anything for anything by anyone, but could easily avoid the anger as he focused on nothing but Misty's rage and embarrassment and how trying so hard to shield it with a bunch of pink blush wasn't working.  She looked like she was choking, seeing as how much redder she was turning every second.  Maybe sharing a first kiss with her wouldn't be all that bad. 
'I mean... we are friends, right?  And it is just a dare.  Nothing else.  There shouldn't be a problem.'   Ash thought to himself as he stared directly to Misty, trying so hard to fight her friends in defending her personal feelings.
Suddenly, she turned to face him.
"Well Ash?!"  She was undoubtedly upset.
"Wha--” He blinked to break the steady trance.
"What about you?!  Don't you have anything to say about this?!  You are part of this too, you know!"
"I..." 
Ash looked at Tracy, Brock, Duplica, and Todd, who were all waiting eagerly for an answer from him, obviously not getting enough out of Misty's own mouth, but had to get something out of his as well.
'Keep it short.  And simple.  Be honest.'  He thought to himself before answering.
Ash placed both hands behind his head and leaned back with a relaxed expression on his face. 
"I don't care." 
Everyone around the campfire face faulted.
"YOU DON'T CARE?!!"  Misty sweatdropped, blushing furiously.
"You see Misty?  So what's your big problem?"  Duplica asked, leaning over a large, old fence that creaked as her elbows rested against it.
"You-- You people are so psychotically insane and drunk that it's not even funny!"  Misty shouted.
"Hey!  This is not beer, it's grape soda!"  Tracy said defensively, gripping the small glass bottle. 
Everyone stared blankly at Tracy.
"Tracy.  You're only thirteen."  Brock said.
"I know.  It's grape!"  Tracy said blushing and holding up the glass bottle.
Duplica stared at the liquid inside.
"What is it?  Sparkling white grape?"  She asked.
"Soda.  Sparkling white grape SODA."  Tracy nodded.
"Whatever.  Look,” Brock said pointing to Ash and Misty, “Just do this one dare.  I'm sure it'll be one big joke tomorrow!"
"Yeah!  Everyone'll be laughing it all up tomorrow morning, including you."  Duplica said optimistically.
"Yeeessssss...... everyone.... Everyone in Celadon...."  Tracy said evilly, rolling the bottle between his palms in deep thought as the liquid sloshed around the inside.
"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?  For us to do this thinking it's all one big joke, but then it'll somehow get back to us in the future--"
"But maybe in a good way."  Brock interrupted Misty.
"Ash.  I just know you don't want to do this."  Misty said harshly, leering at the boy next to her.
Ash licked his lips then wiped them off of his sleeve only seconds before closing in on Misty like a tiger to injured prey.  Misty began to lean back with the most confused and questionable expression, away from his face as it got closer to her each second.  The entire crowd around them became silent, not breathing the least bit, not blinking once as they watched.
    It happened so suddenly.  Their lips met for mere seconds then parted.  Ash was reluctant.  Misty was completely frozen in horror or shear surprise.  Ash sighed wearily as he announced, "All right guys, I'm going to bed.  See ya tomorrow...” picked up his hat and walked off.  Misty was still completely silent.  Some people "Oooooh"'ed and a few people cheered, jumping immediately from their seats like crazed football fans 'whoo'ing "Way to go, Ash!"
Duplica looked around at everyone grinning.  "I knew it all along."
"I'll bet I know more than you do."  Brock said.
"No I do, I was there when she admitted it."  Tracy said proudly.
"As if!"  Duplica scoffed.
"Ditto!"  Her ditto agreed.
"Remember in the Orange Islands?  I was there."  Tracy said with a thumb in his chest.
"What are the Orange Islands?"  Todd asked.
"Well, I was there when they fell in love!"  Brock stood up.
"You weren't there when they met."  Duplica teased.
"It doesn't matter when they met!  I was still there when they starting liking each other.  In fact, if it wasn't for me, they'd be tearing each other into shreds by now!"  Brock spat.
"Are you saying that they're in love because of you?!"  Duplica asked Brock.
Suddenly everyone broke out into an argument.  Todd jumped onto a giant rock waving around a handful of photos screaming "I've got proof!!!”  That was the moment were everyone jumped on top of him grabbing at the proof pictures. 
"This is stupid...”  Duplica said, standing up and wiping the dirt off of her shirt.  "Well, that's what I get for hanging around with a bunch of… boys...” she walked over to the togepi in the freaked-out Misty's arms.  (Yes, it was still in her arms, not in her lap *unfortunately*  ^.~)  "Isn't that right, Togepi?"
"Togeee!"
"Hey Misty."  She said softly, sitting down next to Misty, whose eyes were yet unblinkable, and whose face was still completely red. 
"Hey, you okay?"  She asked, worriedly.
"No-no, I'm fine..."  Misty muttered, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her wrist. 
Misty chuckled falsely and shook her head.  "I just can't believe… Ash… did that... and… what he said..."
"Ash is growing up, Misty."  Duplica stated, putting a hand on her shoulder.  "He didn't care ‘bout some dare.  I mean, it's just a game, and nobody got hurt.  I think the freaking out was kinda one-sided, don't ya think?"  She asked.
Misty nodded.  "I can't...” she said her voice lowering.  "I just don't know... what it is..."
"Toge?"  Her togepi looked at her in question.
"Love is a mystery, right?  'Love isn't always easy'?"  Duplica teased.
::::in case you didn't know, that's Brock's famous line from "The Heartbreak of Brock" episode from a famous 92.9% Pokeshippy moment::::
Misty gasped.  "Ack, how'd you know?!
Duplica grinned.  "Brock told me about it!  He said it 'proved his theory'!"
Misty looked at the dusty, bare ground beneath her shoes as she shuffled her feet around in the dirt.  Her eyes strayed to the dog-piled males across the fire and centered on Tracy jumping up shouting "I got 'em!  Hey wha--...  That's not them!  It's... Oh god, Todd, you sicko!"  And throwing the pictures at the boy in the sand.
"Huh?"  He asked.
"Ooooh, lemme see!"  Brock shouted, diving for the pictures.
"Wait a sec!"  Todd suddenly grabbed the photos and shoved them into his pockets.  "Heh heh...  I could've sworn I threw those away."
"Oh, I'm so sure!"  Tracy said sarcastically.
"Misty,” Duplica began, "Get some sleep."

:::enter dream phase:::

:::: This is no attempt for a lemon.  NO ATTEMPT.  I don't write that stuff.  I never will.  So, don't get any ideas 'bout it.  >_<  Actually, it might be a good beginning for one, but… eh… NO!  ^.^ ::::

    Misty walked into a dark bedroom, dragging behind her was a veil and draped skirt embroidered in silver and tiny emeralds.  The soft-toned walls softly glowed in luminescence that gently lightened up the darkened room.  She closed her eyes and raised her arms to the glass ceiling, where the tiny pings of raindrops tapped in an ironic symphony of delicacy.  She sighed meekly as the lenient veil slid off her shoulders to leave her in the silver evening gown and she slowly looked towards the vast, spherical bed to her right where there lay a young man in boxers and black shirt above the glistening silver sheets that flowed across the room to her toes.  She recognized him immediately and smiled angelically as she walked slowly to him, hearing the rain bear down harder and harder on the ceiling and watching a veil of water flow along the sides of the ceilings.  As she approached the bed, she sensed him smiling warmly to her.  He softly wrapped an arm around her side as she lay down beside him and whispered tiny fragments of lovely nature into her ear brushing her cheek with his lips.  She grinned, bringing his fingers up to her mouth and daintily kissing the tips in a polite manner.  He faintly rubbed her belly before sighing and lying back down against the soft pillow beneath them.  She listened to the shallow breathing of his as she closed her eyes.

:::end dream phase:::

Misty woke with a start, pulling the rough material of her sleeping bag to her chest and for once appreciating the warmth of the tent in which she and Duplica were sleeping in.  She looked over to her friend, facing her back, and figuring she was asleep.  Misty sighed. 
“I really need to talk to him.”


:::re-enter dream phase:::

Ash sleepily opened his eyes and yawned.  He stared lazily towards a window in which he faced, watching the partially invisible pillar of dust swirl inside a ray of sunlight that strung through the half open window.  The walls were a pale yellow and the floor was clean, except for a couple of clothing strewn across the room… there was a sports bra on the TV antenna…  Outside, a distant jackhammer played, along with a couple of car honks and the slight rumble of a large semi every now and then.  Next to him was a girl wrapped in his arm whose red hair flowed across his skin and hers.  He couldn’t see her face, yet knew who she was, for her face was settled into a pillow.  Her bare back was a milky white, shown easily against her hair.  At their feet was a yellow sheet that was twisted around their exposed legs.  He tried to shake her shoulders in order to bring her to life, but she only flipped over towards him in order to snuggle against his bare chest.  She slightly moaned peacefully and he smiled, pulling her closer and whispering “alright, maybe just a few more minutes.”  Then, his eyes fell shut.


:::end dream phase:::

Ash’s eyes opened to a dark world around him.  He looked around the rather large tent to all his buddies: Brock, Tracey, Todd, and Pikachu-all asleep.  He sighed and lay back down, cradling his head in his arms, missing the feel of that girl in his dreams…  That girl…
“I need to talk to Misty…” he mumbled.
After ten minutes of tossing and turning, Ash just knew he’d never get to sleep…
“I wonder if Misty is awake.”  He whispered thoughtfully.

:::back with the girls:::

“Guess you had another dream about Ash, right?”  Misty heard Duplica say as she turned to her side to face her.
“What?  No…”  Misty blushed.
“Oh really.”  Duplica said in a sarcastic tone of voice, “Why are you blushing, then?  Oh, come on.  Don’t act so darn innocent.” 
“It wasn’t a dream about ASH!”  Misty said offensively.
Duplica burst out in giggles.
“So what happened then if you ‘claim’ that it wasn’t a dream about him.”
“I don’t want to talk about my dreams about Ash to you, okay.”  Misty said, rolling over and pulling her sleeping wear with her.
“So it WAS about Ash!”  Duplica gasped.
“…duh.”  Misty ‘tsk’ed.
“Oh, please, please, please, please tell me!  I promise I won’t tell!”  Duplica begged.
“Shh…  You’ll wake up Togepi.”  Misty said.
“Pleeeease?!  I swear I’ll keep it secret!”  Duplica whispered.
“Why am I having a hard time believing you…?”  Misty sweatdropped.
“Oh, come on.”  She whined.
“Go to sleep.”  Misty said quietly, lying down.
“Oh… all right…”  Duplica groaned.


:::The Next Morning:::

    Misty held her breath, feeling the crisp morning air bite at her nose as she slowly walked out of the tent, zipping it up hurriedly.  She looked around in hopes to find no one else up yet.  Satisfied, she began her journey to the lake.

  Ash yawned peacefully, feeling lingering aches of last night in his eyes.  He never did get back to sleep…  He tossed the covers to the side and stretched his body as far as he could and relaxed, then stretched again.
“Morning guys.”  He said softly.
There came no reply and Ash looked around the dead tent for someone with eyes wide open, but everyone was asleep.
“Huh.  Well, that’s a first.”  He said slowly.
He walked out of the tent, pushing the sleeping bag material back inside, which seemed to have been stuck to his foot, and quickly zipped it back up, frowning.  He looked over to the girls’ tent.  It was still zipped up and no sign of movement had been made.  He looked around the small campus, but no one was to be seen, and shrugged.  They all must still be asleep.
‘I guess I’m the first one up this morning.’  Ash thought, feeling stranger than usual.  ‘Oh well… maybe…’
That’s when Ash got an idea.  The sun is already out and the air around him was getting warmer by the second.  No one’s awake, which meant total privacy… 


    Misty let her hair fall from its restraint and ran her fingers through it, feeling the pain slowly dissolve.  The sun beat down on the earth and the atmosphere was warming quickly, which was perfect for swimming.  Eager to dive into the water, she quickly stripped down to all but her underwear and dove in.  There was something just… perfect about the water today and she sighed pacifically.  Something suddenly entered her mind, like a horror film, and she looked around the entire lake, but saw no one. 
‘No… can’t be…’  She thought, shaking off the feeling.  ‘No one could get that fateful…’
Taking in a last breath, she lifted her chin to the sky and sunk beneath the water’s surface.


    Ash looked around the lake’s perimeter for another body, another soul, which could have been a spy.  Content with the outcome of his search, he stripped himself of his shirt, jeans, and underwear, lastly throwing his cap into the pile of clothes by his feet, and slowly waded into the water.  The surface felt a little warm, but the deeper he went in, the cooler it got.  He dipped his head into the water, energetically scrubbing his scalp free of any dirt or other microorganisms he didn’t know about.

   
    Misty opened her eyes to the aquatic ambience around her, nearby swam a magikarp and a tiny squirtle.  In the far distance she could see the outline of a seel.  With the rays of sunshine dancing upon the face of the rippling water, it looked like a dream.  But when she turned around to face the other direction that was when the dream had ended.
She would’ve gasped, but instead, water filled her mouth and nose, nearly choking her.  Strangling for air, she quickly returned to the surface.  Once she could breathe, she stared down at the side of the lake to conclude her hypothesis.  With a muffled gasp, she swam behind a large, looming rock, and she hid beneath the shadows without moving.  Why?  Why didn’t she just run out of the water and return to camp?  He wouldn’t notice, right?  No, she had to finish her bath, because… she was there first!  Yeah, that’s right!  She was there before him so why should she get out just because he comes in all naked… bathing…  Misty tried to avert her eyes to another direction, but they just seemed to keep drifting back to Ash.  She absently pulled her bra strap back up to her shoulder, as it kept sliding off.  She privately scoffed in her mind.
“It’s not like I can see anything, anyway.”  She thought, eyeing his figure from the waist up.
That was when an idea seemed to weave itself in her mind.  It took bravery, but since when was she ever a coward?  (Besides being around bugs, but what’s a little insect phobia anyways?  *As long as she didn’t have an ‘Ash-phobia’, she was fine*.)  Misty took a deep breath and began wading back out into the water, not once looking at Ash, but straight ahead, like a soldier in battle- no distractions when it comes it duty!

:Back at the campgrounds:
Brock was just waking up…  -_-

::Now!  Back to the Lake!::  (Don’t wanna keep you waitin’ that long!  ^.~)

    Ash raked through his drenched hair with his fingers.  He looked ahead of him.  The sun gleamed forcefully, almost evilly into his eyes and he naturally squinted.  A strong breeze blew and, just as a cloud had been threatening to protrude the sun’s magnificence, the cloud completely shielded its glory, and Ash opened his eyes.  There, he saw an angel.  She was beautiful, skin glistening without the sunlight… he expected her to begin walking on the water.  Wait a minute… that looked like Misty!
‘Uh-oh…  I wonder if she saw me…’  Ash thought, panicked.
With strong hesitations, he ran as fast as he could to the nearest spot of land and grabbed his jeans,  slipping them on as quickly as possible.  Out of curiosity, he looked back behind him in search of Misty, the sun shone forcefully through a hole in the cloud and Ash shielded his eyes, but when he looked back, she was still gone.
“Huh… maybe it was just an illusion… My fears getting the best of me…”  He said quietly.
Just then, he spotted his underwear roaming the wide water range.  He blushed and quickly stepped into the water to scoop them out.  Thinking about her, he skimmed the water surface once more, but saw no one.  Just as he was about to walk out of the water, a strange hand tightened around his ankle and pulled him under into a much, much more deeper part of the lake.  He gasped, and was pulled under by the force.
    Wondering what the heck was going on, he looked around chaotically until he came across a mass of red hair floating beside him and Ash looked downward to see Misty’s smiling face.  He blinked, his mouth awed.  He wanted to smile back, but also needed to know what was wrong with her.  Suddenly, without warning, she shoved his shoulder and began to swim away, leaving nothing but millions of tiny air bubbles.  Ash, still befuddled about the whole situation, forgot the pain in his lungs until now, and rose to the surface quickly, gasping for air.  Shaking the water from his hair, he looked ahead of him to see Misty sitting on the rock she was recently hiding on earlier staring at him with both legs to her chest, one raised eyebrow and grinning devilishly.  She raised her hand like a sales woman in a furniture commercial and shrugged her shoulder, possibly asking him what he was going to do now.  Possibly daring him…
“What are you doing?!”  He called out.
Misty sweatdropped.  How in the world could he be so dense???  She wondered what to say.
“Well, what are you doing out here spying on me bathing?!”  She called back.
“I wasn’t spying, I didn’t even know you were here!”  He shouted.
Misty scowled and dove into the water.  Ash watched as her figure swam closer to him.  It stopped mid-way and she rose with a blank expression on her face.
‘Well?’  Ash thought, expecting her to say something nasty so that they could get the fight over with and he could get dressed, return to camp, and forget this whole thing ever happened.
All of the sudden, she smiled and splashed Ash with a tidal wave of water.
“Wha?!  What are you doing?!”  He asked, trying to shield himself, but couldn’t help but laugh.
“Have you ever heard of a water fight, Ash?”  She asked, still splashing him.
“Heard of it?  I INVENTED IT!”  He shouted, tackling her.
She screamed, grabbing at his arm with one arm and shoving his head under water with the other.  He managed to get his arm free of her grip and shoved her head under the water, seizing her waist with his other arm.  Misty struggled free of his grasp and managed to tie her legs around Ash’s neck, keeping his face underwater.  She reached for his thrashing arms and held them behind his back.
“Say Uncle!”  She shouted.
“Never!”  She choked out, his head now out of the water.
Misty, realizing her mistake, held her breath as Ash flipped onto his back, dumping her into the water.  He just lay floating on the water as she surfaced, gasping and laughing at the same time.
“You’re… crazy…”  She laughed, trying her hardest to stand on her toes as the bottom seemed to fall deeper and deeper.
“I’m crazy?”  Ash asked, standing on his toes.
She scoffed, still smiling.  “Come on.” 
Misty held Ash’s hand and led him to a shallower spot in the water where they could stand evenly.  Once at the location, a strong gush of water pushed Misty forward into Ash.  He nearly fell backwards into the water, but instead grabbed Misty’s shoulders for support. 
“S-sorry…”  she mumbled softly into his ear.
She tried to pull away, but it came out as a reluctant, slow movement.  Even when they were fighting, as they usually did, their faces were never this close…  So close, she could just feel his breathing on her chin.  The cloud in the sky cleared and the sun again shone forcefully, immediately heating up their skin with its strong rays.  Ash had a no-brainer response, and shielded both of their faces with his right hand without blinking.  Was he leaning closer or was she?  Whatever it was, Misty hoped for another outflow of water.  She had the guts to swim around in her underwear in front of the guy she liked, the naked guy she liked, but she couldn’t kiss him when the circumstances where so darned obvious.  All they needed where clothes, candles, and a starry night sky.  Even then, those where only objects.  Love wasn’t an object…
“I-“ 
“Shh…”  Ash’s response came immediately afterward and he drew closer.
“What’s going on here?”  Said a deep voice, causing Ash and Misty to look to their side in surprise.
“Brock?!”  They both asked in unison.


:::End Chap.  1:::
Whoop!  1 chapter down.  Questions/comments?—LilCupid40@yahoo.com  ^_^

~”don’t say you love me, you don’t even know me, and my singin’s crappy, so give me some time.”  ^.~ 
~A.P.