Ages : Ash - 18, Misty - 19, Brock - 23.


AAMRN. When, in a moment of weakness, two friends go too far, can they ever regain the trust they once had in each other and themselves.


Too Far?

By cultnirvana


********Chapter One*********





Misty threw herself upon her bed, glad to finally be home.  It had been yet another disastrous night, another date that had went dreadfully wrong, another 'Can't we just be friends?' false platitude. It was the forth time this month alone. It was beginning to get ridiculous. Maybe she should just forget about the whole dating scene altogether.  She knew she couldn't find what she desired there.

With a long sigh, she pulled out her small blue gem earrings, placing them upon her bedside cabinet.  As she was about to bring her hand away, she noticed the framed photograph next to where her earrings now sat.  She picked it up and looked at the two people contained within it.

It was her and Ash on the day he had been declared a Pokemon Master, almost a year before.  He looked so handsome, his long ebony hair tussled in the wind, his baseball cap in his hand where it couldn't obscure his perfect features. He had his arm wrapped around her shoulder, which had caused her cheeks to glow a bright red.

They were still best friends.  He worked for the Pokemon League now, based in Indigo Plateau, but instead of living in Pallet, or even in Viridian, when she moved back to Cerulean, he decided to move to the city as well.  He had told her that he couldn't stand not seeing his closest friend everyday, and that, with his Pidgeot, it only took him a few minutes to get to the plateau anyway.  And since they had moved to the big city, they had lived their life that way, always, at least, sharing lunch together everyday without fail.

She, of course, was undoubtedly devoted to him.  She did love him after all.  Not only as a friend, but much more.  However, he had no idea.  She was too afraid to tell him, worried that it may destroy the cherished friendship they shared.

He was the reason for tonight's disaster.  Every time she went on a date with another man, she ended up doing something wrong, subconsciously damaging any chance she had with them.  She kept pushing the men away, and after one date, they didn't want anything to do with her.  It wasn't their fault, of course. They all seemed like nice guys. But they just weren't Ash.

However, she didn't want to live the rest of her life alone.  She wanted to eventually get married and have kids, but how could she settle down with another man when she was still in love with Ash, and doubted those powerful feelings would ever leave her.  And there was no way she would marry without love. But, then, where did that leave her? It would leave me as a spinster for the rest of my life.

She sighed once again, no closer to a solution to her problem.
******************


Ash knocked upon the front door of the small residence next to the Cerulean gym.  After a few seconds, Daisy opened the door.

"Hi, Ash," she greeted with her usual high-pitched, chipper tone. "Come in."  She moved away from the entrance way, allowing him to walk into the hall.  "Your looking for Misty, I guess?"

"Am I that predictable?" he laughed.

"Well, I don't exactly think you're here to see me, Lily or Violet. She's up in her room."  She moved closer to Ash and almost whispered, "Watch out.  She, like, had another bad date."

"Hmm.  I know the feeling."

She tutted, shaking her head. "If both you guys are having problems with your love lives, why don't you just date each other."

The notion made a subtle blush rise over his face. "Ah, I really don't think that would work."

"Why not? She may not be as good-looking as me, but she is pretty cute."

"She is beautiful," he uttered, almost under his breath, before raising his volume to it's normal level. "I'd just be...awkward if we did."

"Ah, but you do fancy her," she teased. He was never able to avoid this when he came to Misty's home. Whether it was Daisy, Lily or Violet, one of them would always taunt him about his feelings towards Misty.  But then, he guessed, it really did show that they cared about their baby sister, even if they hid it the vast majority of the time.
*****************


A rap at the door echoed throughout her room, bringing her out of her own little world.  Sure it was one of her sisters, she slowly sat up and placed the frame back onto the cabinet, before half-heartedly asking, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Mist," she heard a far from unfamiliar voice answer.

As soon as she heard it, a smile spread across her face.  She quickly looked into the mirror on her vanity unit, making sure the little make-up she wore was still straight. "Come in, Ash."

He walked into her bedroom, closing the door behind him while looking towards his friend.  She was wearing a dark blue dress that highlighted her curvaous figure perfectly, and her hair was elaborately arranged upon the top of her head. She looked beautiful per usual.  "All dressed up with nowhere to go, ne?"

"I guess you could say that."  She sighed again, laying back once more upon her bed.  "I'm never going to be able to settle down."

Ash laughed.  "What are you talking about?  You've got plenty of time to find a man. You're only nineteen."

I've already found the man I want, she thought.  "Remember, my twentieth birthday is but two months away. I'm starting to get old."

"Twenty isn't old."

"It feels it sometimes. You'll understand in a year or so." She paused for a moment, a trace of despair regaining it's hold upon her once again. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong.  After one date with a guy, they never call back."

Ash sat next to her on the bed, placing a friendly arm around her shoulders.  "Well, you are quite a bit of work, my dear."

Angered by his comment, but amused by his tone, she elbowed him hard in the chest.  "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, your loud, cynical, stubborn-"

"I'm not stubborn!" she interrupted.

"Point proven," he chuckled.

She nudged him again, making the same area even more tender.  "Hey."

"Ow.  I think I forgot violent."  He softened the tone of his voice.  "But you're also sweet, sensitive, cute."  He looked deep into her blue-green eyes.  "And when you meet Mr. Right, he will be willing to spend the time getting through that hard shell of yours to discover the true you. Any man not willing to do that doesn't deserve someone as wonderful as you."

She blushed, moved by his words.  "Thanks."

Reaching up to play with a loose strand of red hair, he brought her a little closer to him. "You'll meet a guy.  Don't worry."

"You're so sweet.  Why can't I meet a guy like you?  You're about the only descent guy I know."  She looked away from him, embarrassed at what she had said.  "Ah, well, you and Brock and Tracey of course," she corrected.

"There's lots of nice guys out there, and until you find one, you'll have me."

"Thanks." She sat there for a minute, before a terrifying thought came to her mind. "Ah, that girl, Christy was it.  How did your date go with her?"

"Ah," he began, awkwardly scratching his head. "I told her I would call her, and, well, that was a week ago."

Averting her gaze away from his view, she smiled slightly, and swallowed the feeling of guilt that was intensifying within her. "Ash, that wasn't nice."

"I know, it was rude of me not to, but well, we seemed to have nothing to talk to, nothing in common.  And, to tell you the truth, I think she was more interested in going out with me because of my position rather than for me myself. It's hard for me to trust the women I date because any of them could easily be doing the same. You're one of the few women in my life that I know where I stand with. I feel comfortable with you."

She placed her head upon his shoulder, subtly inhaling his natural scent mixed with aftershave, aftershave, if she wasn't mistaken, she had bought him for Christmas the previous year. "Did you just come over here tonight to make me feel better or something? Because, if you did, it certainly worked.

"I'm glad," he told her, gently placing a tender kiss upon her forehead. "Don't like to see my Mist depressed."

Her heart skipped a beat at that. His Mist. What did he mean by that? Please Ash, she thought. Don't say that type of stuff unless you truly mean it. You can break my heart so easily.

The two continued to sit in that position for several minutes, both secretly content. But Misty knew she had to get up. Her high-heeled shoes were beginning to pain her feet, and the mascara she wore had started to irritate her eyes. Regretfully moving from his side, she stood, making her way to her bathroom, but not before turning back round towards him, saying, "I'll be back in minute. I think it's best if I put some normal clothes back on."
******************


Ash turned the key in the lock to his apartment, pushing the door closed after him, causing Pikachu and Bayleef to take their eyes from the TV and refocus them upon their trainer.  "Pika pika chu chu (Over at Misty's, again)?" Pikachu teased.

Ash reddened slightly. "Ah, yeah."  He had been spending a considerable amount of time with her lately, almost every minute he found to spare. It sometimes seemed like he was rarely in his own home. He was always at work, at hers, or out on the town with her.

Pikachu and Bayleef gave each other a knowing look, making Ash feel incredibly awkward and embarrassed.  Ash had only told Brock about his feelings for Misty, and though he was sure his Pokemon would accept the fact that he loved her, he was still unwilling to share them. He guessed the reasoning was that it was something just too painful to communicate. It had even been hard for him to confide in Brock, his closest male friend.

He threw himself upon the couch next to his friends, and turned his concentration to TV. But the flashing images couldn't keep his attention.  His mind continually drifted back to Misty.  He was so in love with her.  He dreamed of being with her, to be able to hold her, kiss her, and for her to love him back.  But he knew that was impossible.  They were to close as friends for anything to happen now.

It hurt him so much to see her everyday and not be able to tell her how he felt.  And to see her date other men pained him even more, however, every time the dates went wrong, he felt so happy.  That made him feel even worse, that he was taking pleasure from her pain.  He knew it wasn't right, but he couldn't help it.  If she wasn't with anyone else, that would mean that he was still the most important person in her life, and he didn't want to be deprived of that status.

Ash sighed dejectedly.  He had no idea what to do, whether to say something to her or not, to take a chance or to go on with life always wondering what could have been.  He stood and began to pace to his room.  "I'm going to bed, guys.  See you in the morning."

"Pika/Bay (Night)," they called to him as he closed his door.  The Pokemon turned to each other, depressed visages upon their faces.  They could sense Ash's feelings for his friend, both being closer to him than any of the other Pokemon, but they were at a loss at what to do about it, how to help him with his problem.  All they could do was be there for him if he needed them.
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If you want to email me, my address is cultnirvana@hotmail.com.

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