A/N: Ok, so for the longest time, I was actually planning on deleting this story, but a good friend of mine convinced me otherwise. So, I finally finished it. This story is dedicated to my friend "Nom". J
Chapter 1
Brock looked down at the firewood tossing it down onto the circle of rocks he had collected for the campfire. Ash arrived with more useless, damp logs.
"Dinner almost ready?" He asked, laying the firewood down and Brock just sighed.
"Ash, we can't use this firewood. I mean, come on. Look at it." He picked it up and wiped the damp bark off his hands onto his jeans. "It's too damp. Your going to have to go back out and find something dry."
Folding his arms, Ash turned his head. "No way. I'm not going back out there. It's way too cold and it's about to rain. Plus, I just spent an hour gathering this wood."
Looking up at the sky, Brock could see the sky had turned solid gray. Ash was right. It did look like it was about ready to rain. Even if he did find useful firewood it would be difficult to start a good fire in a storm.
"Why don't you make her go out and get it?" Ash pointed towards Misty, who was busy feeding Togepi an early dinner. She held a brown pellet of food to it's mouth as it clutched it in it's tiny hands.
"Why me?" She asked, scowling. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Well, you're going to eat the dinner Brock cooks too, aren't you?" Ash questioned, already knowing the answer. "You need to pitch in, too. Why do us guys have to do all the work?"
Brock tried once again to unsuccessfully light the damp logs. He knew it was futile and useless, but it seemed to be the only choice he had. "Ash, leave her alone. She's a girl, we can't expect girls to do a man's work."
Misty looked up at him, picking another pellet of food up from Pikachu's bowl and putting it to Togepi's mouth. "Oh, is that so, Brock?" She asked with a mischievous smile. "Well, I can do anything you two can do and I can do it better."
Standing up, Brock folded his arms across his chest defiantly. He knew that would get her going, he knew he had to challenge Misty, instead of demand her. "Prove it."
Misty rose from her position by the tree and handed a well-fed Togepi to Brock. "I'll be back with firewood before you know it." She walked ahead of them, her feet crunching through the dry, fall leaves.
Ash watched in surprise and Brock leaned against a tree, wondering how far she'd actually go before chickening out or seeing a bug. As if Brock's timing was right on cue, he watched her stop in her tracks and turn around.
"I-I-I'm…" She stammered and chewed on her finger and she tried to defy the blush the threatened to make itself known.
Chuckling, Brock pushed himself from the tree. "Scared?"
"No!" She denied, furrowing her brow. His arrogance was revolting sometimes. It wasn't fair how Ash and Brock always treated her like she was beneath them just because she was female. Hell, she was probably smarter than both of them combined.
"Relax." Brock reassured her, handing Togepi to Ash as he passed by the catch up with Misty. "I'll go with you, alright? I know where I think we can find some firewood. I would go by myself, but I'm gonna need two people to carry it and since Ash is being hardheaded I guess that person's you."
For some reason, Misty was blushing for a whole different reason. Reluctantly, she agreed. Her first thought was wondering if Togepi would be alright with Ash, but she figured under the watchful eye of Pikachu that it would be ok.
Her second thought was she was alone with Brock, in the middle of nowhere and it looked like it was about to rain. The sky grew darker and the few stars that were in the sky were starting to disappear and she instinctively stayed closer to Brock.
She could barely see where they had settled down for camp now and Brock was hopelessly searching for something useful to burn. Misty didn't know what she was supposed to look out for, or what he was searching for exactly so she just followed aimlessly behind him.
She could see up through the tops of the trees, red and orange foliage barely hanging on to it's branches. A few leaves fell in front of her and onto the already leaf-covered ground. The only sound was the rhythmic crunching of their shoes on the leaves. They didn't speak for a long while until Brock finally stopped.
"Alright, see this area over here? It's shaded by a pine tree, so any sticks or logs you find should be dry enough to burn." Brock expertly explained as he approached closer to the tree. It was dark and she could barely see her hand in front of her face. She could see his silhouette as he stood by the tree.
"Are you sure it's safe?" Misty asked curiously, trying her best to look over his shoulder as he leaned down to pull a log out of the dry dirt.
"'course it's safe." He responded, turning around to face her. "Hold this. I'm going to look for some more."
Misty held the dry log in her arms, making a face at the gritty, dry dirt she could feel on the underside of it. So, maybe Ash and Brock were right, this wasn't a woman's work.
Brock had gathered an arm full of firewood and had disappeared behind the tree. She could hear him still shuffling around, but she looked to her right, then to her left, then behind her. It wasn't until now she realized she was surrounded by trees and that at any moment something creepy, crawly, and slimy would slither out and--
She let out a shrill scream and threw the log she was holding down onto the ground. "Brock!"
Brock peered out from behind the tree and almost grinned when he saw Misty had gotten frightened over a tiny little Caterpie. "Hey, hey, what are you so scared of?'
Misty couldn't even form coherent English, all she could do was shudder and shiver and stare at the tiny green bug that was seemingly fascinated by her. It outstretched it's body from the branch it was perched on as if to get a better look at her.
"Get it away!" She begged him, and he stacked the gathered firewood into a pile before standing behind her and placing a hand on the small of her back. Suddenly, the caterpie didn't exist.
"It's not going to hurt you, Misty." Brock shook his head and allowed his hand to rub the small of her back gently. She shivered at the feeling of his rough, warm skin.
After what seemed like minutes of just staring up at the curious bug Pokemon, Brock finally turned back to the firewood. "That should be enough to get us through tonight. We better head back before it starts raining."
"Right." She agreed as Brock stacked a few logs of firewood into her arms and he hauled the majority.
"Uh oh…" Brock's voice sounded almost distant and Misty looked over at him, wishing he would start leading her back to camp already, her arms were becoming tired from just merely holding this bulk.
"What do you mean 'uh oh'?" She asked, obviously irritated.
Brock turned back to her, holding his share of firewood with ease. "Do you remember the direction back to camp?"
Misty felt her heart sink. "Are you telling me you don't know the way back to camp?"
"Well, If we turn back around we should find our way back. Unless I got us off track somehow." He stated, seemingly calm. Misty just seethed.
"Are you saying we're lost?" She asked, feeling a lump rise in her throat and her anger rise within her.
"No, no. Not lost, just disoriented." He could tell Misty was angry. He was always good at reading her, even if she didn't know what she was feeling at all times.
Scoffing, she dropped the firewood and kicked the damp leaves out in front of her. "How can this get any worse? I'm stuck out here, it's cold, I'm hungry and tired and now I won't even have a nice, safe place to sleep…"
A few cold drops of rain fell on her bare shoulders and she growled in frustration. "And now it's raining."
It was then that she fell to her knees and started to cry. She wasn't much for vanity, but she knew the rain would do nothing but ruin her hair, at least back at camp she had a tent to take shelter in.
Brock put down his firewood and walked over to her. "Hey, look, everything's going to be alright. If worst comes to worst, there's a little village not too far from here. I've got our travel funds in my backpack. I can rent us a room at an inn or maybe even a Pokemon center for the night and we can look for Ash in the morning."
"The morning?" She asked in disbelief. "Brock, Togepi can't survive without me that long. It needs me."
Brock placed his hand on her shoulder and rubbed her reassuringly. "Relax. Togepi will be fine, but we can't possibly find our way back with this rain. Our best bet is to find that village."
The rain had seemed to speed up since it started and Brock ran his fingers through his spiky hair in sheer frustration. "C'mon Misty, let's go."
She just stared at him, the rainwater spiked his hair more. He squinted against the rain at her. "Misty?"
She seemed to be brought back to reality at the sound of his voice. For the past few moments she had just been lost in the sight of him, getting soaked from the rain. Misty was aware Brock was a very attractive man, she had always been aware of that, but something about the rain made something inside her quiver.
"Sorry." She apologized quickly and caught up to him. They continued to walk through the forest, underneath the large pine trees that reminded Misty of large, undecorated Christmas trees. The leaves beneath their feet had become soaked and soggy and no longer made any noise except for a soft, mushy sound of mud.
It had only been a few moments of walking through the forest, but he ground seemed to be getting softer, the leaves,deeper and the rain, colder. Misty shivered involuntarily and wrapped her arms around herself in a futile attempt to keep warm.
Suddenly, she felt his arm circle around her waist and bring her close to him. His clothes were just as wet as hers, but his body was warm and his scent was invigorating. She closed her eyes and allowed him to hold her close as they walked in almost perfect unison.
"Warm now?" He asked and she could hear the smile in his voice.
She made a soft sound from the back of her throat and nodded against him. It seemed like they had walked forever through the forest and Misty prayed that by some miracle they would somehow find their way back to their campsite.
The soft, soggy ground beneath her feet was becoming hard to walk in. She separated herself from Brock's warm embrace just so she could continue to trek through the soaked leaves.
Her leg muscles began to ache and she could have sworn they were now walking up a slight hill now, and Brock was beginning to walk just a little too far ahead of her. That figures. It always seemed to happen. The two boys always seemed to have more energy and stamina, more strength and endurance in their bodies than she did and normally she just kept quiet about it, but in the pitch black of the forest and the danger of bugs crawling out from the most surprising places, this was one place she didn't want to lose Brock.
"Can you slow down?" Misty pleaded as she mustered the strength to run and catch up to him. "You're walking too fast and I can't keep up."
He stopped and looked back at her, he could barely see her through the thick blackness but he could tell by the sound of her voice that she was still pretty close. He could see the faint outline of her as she approached him.
"Sorry, I didn't realize I was going so fast." He told her genuinely and then offered his hand. "We better make sure we stick together so we don't lose each other."
Misty stood there, in the pouring rain and looked down at his offered hand. Hold his hand? Was he serious? Did she look like she was five years old? Then again, it could be kind of nice. His hands were warm, hers were cold and she would feel safer if she knew they couldn't be separated.
Brock's hand was much larger than her own and much warmer. His grip was firm, yet gentle and reassuring and Misty found herself blushing for a reason she wasn't aware of yet.
She could see him a bit more clearly now that she was close to him. Dark eyes stared straight ahead, confident poise, square defined jaw and soft, warm lips. His shirt clung to his chest and she was so distracted by him that it took her by complete surprise when she fell over a tree root.
Landing face first in muddy, water-logged leaves she couldn't help but feel more embarrassed than in pain. She grumbled and pushed herself up, only to yelp when she felt the sharp stab of pain in her left ankle.
"I told you to watch out for the tree root." Brock said, sighing and leaning down to where she was. "Weren't you listening?"
Well, no. Not exactly. She thought to herself. And why wasn't she listening again? Oh because she was too busy checking him out. He was knelt in front of her, his hand outstretched to help her up.
"Can you walk?"
"I don't know." She said, taking his hand and with ease he lifted her up, but when she put pressure on her ankle she hissed and leaned against the same tree she tripped over and held her foot up. "It hurts too bad to walk…"
Frustrated, she tore the purple band from her hair and threw it carelessly to the ground. She covered her face with her hands and began to cry. "Brock! This is all your fault!" She accused, looking over at him.
"My fault? How is it--" He stopped in mid-sentence when he saw her. His throat went dry and he was somehow no longer aware of the rain pounding on his head.
Misty waited for him to continue and crossed her arms when he just stood there, staring. "What are you staring at, Brock? Do you have a problem?"
He shook his head and he once again heard the rain water hitting the soft ground beneath him and he was aware that his suddenly gorgeous companion was quite angry with him. "Sorry, I just never knew you could be so beautiful."
Rolling her eyes, Misty looked away from him, blushing. "Don't try to sweet talk your way out of this. I'm still pissed off that you got us lost! And now I can't walk. And it's all your fault!"
"Well," He said, daring to approach her. He almost pinned her against the tree and he leaned down until he was at eye level with her. "I could carry you."
Blushing, all her anger seemed to melt away and no matter how much her mind was screaming at her to decline his offer, she knew there would be no other way and camping out was out of the question, seeing as he left the tents back at camp with Ash.
"I-I'm probably to heavy…" She tried one desperate attempt to discourage him and just allow her to cope with the pain, but he ignored her argument and lifted her into his arms.
"Are you kidding? You're as light as a feather. I've got brothers that weigh more than you." He placed one hand at her back and one hand under knees.
She ignored the slight pain that shot through her foot as it dangled over his arm and she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck. Just as quickly as it started, the rain seemed to stop and Misty looked at Brock as he effortlessly carried her onwards.
She hadn't said much and she was still pretty frustrated that he had gotten her lost, but it wasn't exactly his fault she had gotten hurt. "I'm sorry, Brock." She finally apologized. "I shouldn't have gotten so angry with you."
The storm clouds had broken apart and the moonlight was so bright it almost seemed as if it was the middle of the day. He looked down at her and he could have sworn his heart skipped a beat.
"It's fine. It's been a stressful night for both of us." He stared at her for the longest time and every once in a while their gazes would lock and Misty would blush. Brock knew he had to be blushing too but he wasn't sure if Misty would notice.
When he looked up again, he was relieved to see a street light along with other various lights from buildings and homes. This must be the place on the map. Rowland Village.
"Is that the place you were talking about?" She asked, turning her gaze towards the sea of lights. It looked more like a city than a village.
"Yep." He responded as he stepped past the welcome sign. The village was obviously well-populated but with little cars on it's roads. "Let's find a place to stay for the night."
Misty was grateful that it was late at night, there weren't many people outside. Otherwise she might have gotten stared at for being in such an awkward position. She was far too busy looking around at her surroundings to even realize Brock had found a vacant room or pay attention to what he was saying when he was speaking with the landlord.
What she didn't realize was that he had found a cabin, complete with a working Jacuzzi. He sat her down in front of the door and unlocked it.
Misty hadn't realized just how cold she was until she hopped inside. Luxury was obviously quite important to the residents of this village. The plush burgundy carpet under her feet told her that much. The matching couches and wallpaper added sophistication and elegance. Suddenly, she wasn't the least bit angry with him anymore.
Plopping down on the sofa, she smiled and felt the soft cotton with her fingertips. "Oh, wow. Isn't this nice?"
"Yea. It sure is." He said, sitting down his backpack by the wall. His hair had somewhat dried but his clothes were still completely soaked. "We better get into some dry clothes before we wind up getting sick."
Brock peeled off his wet shirt that clung tightly to his muscled torso, then balled it up in his hands and looked over at Misty who was staring, wide-eyed and in awe. He pretended not to notice and dug through his backpack, retrieving a change of clothes for her as well.
She didn't even notice until he handed her a pair of jeans and a purple sweater and she recognized them as her own. "How did you get these?"
"I do your laundry remember?" He reminded her. "You need any help getting dressed?"
It took a few seconds to realized what he had just asked and she turned her head away from him, not sure rather to get angry or feel embarrassed. He had been acting strangely ever since they left camp. First, with the rub on the back and then that out-of-character remark he made about her being beautiful and now this not-so-obvious question. Not to mention his lack of modesty. Not that she had ever seen Brock without a shirt before…
"No. I can manage." She responded thoughtfully and didn't look away from the wall until she heard the bedroom door close. Misty stripped out of her wet clothes, realizing that the water-logged clothes were beginning to give her some kind of rash.
 | Review this Chapter |
No comments:
Post a Comment