High School Never Ends

[Angelique]

High School Never Ends

High School Never Ends

Multishipping, PG-13 Comedy/Romance/Drama/Angst

By Angelique



Author's Note: Yearly Exams finally done, blah-blah-blah. xP Anyway, I'm finally back and with a new fic. A Pokemon one that's multishipping to boot. XP This story is basically taking the Pokemon characters from all different media (i.e. the TV show, the Special Manga, the Games, the other manga, etc.) and making them normal. Pallet High is a high school located in southern California. I picture them sort of in a place like LA, you put them wherever you want. Also, there will be no Pokemon or mentioning of Pokemon in this fic. Think of this fic as a bit like Romance 101... except it's not in script-form, and it's totally different. XP

For the ships... hee, hee, you'll have to guess but let me just say that this IS multishipping, and the ships that start out may or may not be the ships in the last chapter. A bit like real life, really. Just keep in mind that I like "generic" ships involving "conventional" pairings, although I do have some weird taste sometimes and am quite fickal and liberal with ships.

Also, the ages of the characters here may or may not accurately reflect canon so yeah. XP

The characters of High School Never Ends who appear in this chapter. This is in order of appearance, and only a very small portion of them are actual main character. Some, in fact, won't appear for another ten chapters. XD

Drew, Storc, Michael, Flint, Misty, Buck (who is Flint's younger brother in this fic)
Lucas, Brawly, Hank, Gary, Tracey, Wally
Blue (the girl from the Special Manga, who will be called Vanessa "Ness" in this fic because I have never actually met a girl called Blue in real life), Dawn, Pryce, Whitney, Morty, Professor Elm, Zoey

Thank you Pokesho for the Sprites and the Art used in my banner for this fic!


I'll add a chapter index with hyperlinks for easy access later on, and I'll upload chapter roughly ranging from every three days to once every fortnight. So yeah. Enjoy!

Chapter One: First Day Back

°°°Drew°°°

"Get up, you!"

I curled up into a tight ball, trying to keep warm despite the cold draft that was drifting in from the broken window. I felt around for my covers, but seeing as Aunt Storc had so graciously yanked them off of my bed, I searched all in vain.

"Come on you lazy little brat!" my aunt, who resembles a horse so much that I can probably sell her to Lucas's sister Liza, who breeds horses, and get away with it, yelled a short distance away from my ear.

"I want breakfast made in fifteen minutes!"

You know, it's also remarkable how much my aunt sounds like a horse as well. Maybe if I offer her a carrot she'll shut up?

"GET UP NOW!"

THUD! My aunt, who is normally quite weak and feeble, some how managed to muster up enough strength to lift my mattress, which is quite springy by the way, and send me falling, a bit harder than I would have liked, to the floor.

"I'm up, I'm up!" I mumbled more to the floor than to my aunt, who looks nothing like the flower she's named after.

She walked around the bed and kicked me, much harder than I thought imaginable, in the gut before leaving the room with a loud, "Humph!"

And that's how I started my first day of sophomore year.

My day improved a great deal as I was standing by the bus stop with a small group of kids from my block.

A kid named Michael was babbling on about the newest issue of National Geographic, which, he pointed out, had some remarkable pictures of an unknown moss growing on a rock in South America.

Michael, who only came up to my chin, and that's with his (mind-bogglingly) red hair spiked and everything, looked around at the rest of us, who were all pretty much ignoring him. He stuttered a bit and began to frantically flip through the pages, trying to find something that would interest us.

"There's, uh, also some fascinating pictures of ...uh...HORSES!"

A couple kids snorted at the remark. One even spat out his Sunnys. Michael began to tremble and issue a series of small squeaking noises as he did so.

"Hey Mouse, let me take a look at those horses!" I called out as an attempt to make the little squirt feel better.

"My name's Micha..."

"I know what your name is!" I said, trying hard not to roll my eyes. "For now on I'm going to call you Mouse."

"M-Mouse?" he asked, cautiously making his way over to me and handing me the magazine.

"Well, would you rather be called Squeaky?" I questioned, flipping through the pictures of horses.

"Mouse is fine, I guess. What kind of horse are you looking for?"

"An ugly one!" I replied.

"Well there's this one...here!"

Mouse pointed out a full page picture of a skinny roan horse whose coat was extremely dirty and shaggy.

"Great! Can I have it?"

Mouse looked dumbstruck for several moments.

"Well, I don't know," he said testily. "I love the angle that this shot was taken in. Wouldn't you rather have a picture of a topless tribe?" he offered hopefully.

"No thanks, those pictures scare me. Besides, I've got Playboys at home."

"You do?" Mouse breathed, his eyes growing so wide they took up half his face. "Listen, you let me have one picture, just one picture, from one of your Playboys and I'll give this to you."

"Fine!" I said quickly, tearing out the page and pocketing it.

Puttering down the street at a relatively slow speed was a beat up old station wagon. My ride had come.

A redheaded senior stuck his head out of the front passenger side window.

"Drew!" Flint yelled, as the beat up piece of metal drew nearer. "You're going to have to jump! The brakes won't...brake!"

I mumbled a quick goodbye to Mouse and ran out into the street. The car was puttering by with it's backdoor open. I threw my book bag in, then hurled myself head first in the car's general direction.

I must have looked like an idiot, with my legs hanging out of a moving vehicle, but my predicament inside was much greater, for my face had found Misty's lap.

"Hello, Misty," I stuttered, sitting up right and closing the door.

"Hi," she whispered.

I noticed that her face was about as red as her hair. I figured mine probably was too.

Flint and Buck smiled slyly while Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Sorry we're late," Lucas apologized. "Thought you were living with Noland. So, uh, why aren't you?"

"Stupid judge won't let me live with an ex-convict." I muttered kicking my book bag.

Noland is my uncle that I just found out that I had about four years ago. See he was in jail for murdering my parents before that. Then two years ago he escaped and with my help (and the help of my friends) was able to prove that he was innocent by revealing that the true villain, Domino, was still alive. For a few moments it seemed as if my life would be better forever. My parent's death would be avenged and I would leave Aunt Storc (who I still can’t believe shares DNA with my father) and go live with Noland. But unfortunately, Domino escaped and went into hiding. And the judge decided to leave me with Horsewoman until he was fully certain that Noland was harmless, and capable of raising a 16-year-old boy.

The others shook their heads in disbelief of the judge's stupidity as we pulled into the Pallet High parking lot. Flint slowed down considerably and we all jumped out. Misty fell on top of me and for a few seconds I was lost in her brilliant cerulean eyes and flaming dark red hair. My mother had red hair. It was a comforting thought.

°°°Lucas°°°

"Wanna cigarette?"

"No, man, you know we quit two years ago!"

"Quit? I don't call one or two a day even starting!"

Flint and Buck shrugged. They were standing a little ways away form me and the rest of the guys in the boy's bathroom, with their friends Brawly Dewford and Hank MacMack. No, seriously, that's his real name. Brawly's cool, a lot like the Stark Brothers, a practical joker but basically a good guy. Hank's a whole different story. The cheese slid off of his cracker a long time ago! The only reason Flint and Buck hang out with him is because his dad can get them into any concert, and he's always good for a laugh.

The guys and I were just standing around, eating late breakfasts and comparing schedules. I just got done comparing with Wally Greene (we had two, History and Spanish) when Drew turned to me.

"Probably don't even have to ask," he said smiling. We've had the same classes since Kindergarten. Drew began rambling off his schedule.

"Health, Geometry, PE with Lt. Surge, Engl..."

"Wait!" I interrupted him. "I don't have Health first period! I have History!"

Drew began to frantically look back and forth between the two schedules. Turns out all of our classes are the same except first and seventh periods, (History and Health).

"You have Health first period, Diamond?"

A nearby stall door burst open with a loud bang and out stepped Gary Oak. The single most annoying person in the school. Even more so than that Harley guy who stares at my *** all through Geometry!

Gary pulled his schedule out of his overpriced, designer clothes and started comparing with ours. Turns out we'll be seeing a lot of the little prick this year. Furious, Oak kicked the wall.

"Careful, Gary! You don't want to scoff up the new shoes that your mommy bought you!" I called out, pocketing my own schedule.

"At least we can afford new shoes, Diamond! You and your stupid sister can't even afford cigarettes!"

I wanted to jump at him, but Flint and Buck gave me a warning look. If any of us got caught fighting, we'd be kicked off of the soccer team.

Luckily, the bell rang. Well actually, our bell is more like a long buzz that sounds like the TV bleeped out a very long swear word, but whatever floats Principal Rowan's boat.

Wally, Buck, Tracey and I headed off to History, while Drew and Gary trudged off the opposite way to Health.

It was going to be an interesting year. Does high school ever end?

°°°Dawn°°°

"Ness! I don't need you to braid my hair!"

I was sitting at my desk trying desperately to get my things organized. My pencils were sharpened, my pens uncapped, my highlighters were color coded, and my notebook was slanted at precisely a 45° angle. And yet Vanessa insisted on jerking my head back my head to French braid my hair. I gave up and sat still while she worked her magic on my thick mane, all the while wondering where Zoey was. Usually Ness saved her hair and make-up tricks/torture-tactics for her.

"Where's Zoey?" I asked, as Ness finished my braid and was fumbling around her pencil box for an elastic.

I heard a great deal of exaggerated whimpering behind me.

"Health," Ness replied between stage sobs. I rolled my eyes, and turned around in my seat to face her.

She smiled good-naturedly and picked up her red marker-pen and began to draw hearts all over her notebook.

"At least I have Tracey with me," she sighed, her voice saturated with adoration.

Then, at that moment, almost as if Ness had some sort of power that summoned people to her, Tracey walked in. He was closely followed by Lucas, Buck and Wally.

"Hey, Ness!" Tracey greeted, sitting across from the uncontrollable bag of giggles.

The others smiled and shook their heads as they sat down.

Lucas plopped down in the desk next to mine. He looked considerable grumpy as he ran a hand through his already spiky hair.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked.

"Drew's in Health," he replied morosely.

I shook my head. Honestly, those two were as bad as Whitney Goldenrod and Morty Ecruteak, Pallet High’s “It” Couple.

"And," Lucas added darkly, "Gary Oak is in three of my classes."

"I'm sorry," I apologized. Gary was a pain in the...well...you know.

"S'ok," Lucas slurred, finally turning toward me to acknowledge my existence.

A small smile crossed over Lucas's face, as his blue eyes skimmed up and down my frame.

"What?" I asked. I have been getting that response a lot today. I mean, ok, so I did finally decided to straighten my hair and experiment with makeup. And yes maybe I did do a little school shopping. All right, all right, a lot of school shopping. But just because I'm wearing a way over-priced skirt, doesn't mean that peoples' opinions are going to change about me, right?

"You just look really pretty today, that's all," Lucas retorted quickly. Finding the sudden need for distraction, he pulled out a magazine and a candy bar, leaving me to stare dumbstruck at him for several minutes.

"Alright, you little bags of hormones that are most likely going to drive me insane over the next year," came Mr. Pryce's usual start of school greeting. Come to think of it, it's the only greeting he ever gives us. "Now I want all of you who actually want to learn, open your books. Yes books!" he yelled at the bored glares that most of the class was giving him. "You know those things that you hardly ever read!"

"Hey, I read!" Whitney Goldenrod shouted out, hurt. "Like in second grade, I read that one book. What was it called? Charles Dickens?" She paused thinking it over for a few moments before shaking her head dismissing the question. "Anyway, it was about a whale."

Lucas and I slowly turned our heads toward each other. Our mouths open with disbelief at Violet's stupidity. Buck and Tracey, who were playing poker, snickered under their breaths. Morty blushed scarlet and sank down in his chair, trying to hide his face with his hands.

°°°Drew°°°

"My foot hurts, can I go to the nurse?"

I could hardly believe it. Elm had barely even gotten through roll, and already Gary was trying to get out of class. I shook my head; Elm never let anyone out of class. As a matter of fact, he once tried to keep us inside during a fire drill. It was that fact alone that kept me from hitting Oak upside the head.

"Go right ahead, Mr. Oak."

I spat out the pen that I was absentmindedly chewing. How could that happen? Gary looked over his shoulder and smirked at me before taking his books under his arm and strutting out of the classroom. He didn't even bother to fake a limp to make his assessment more believable.

"Yeah, my foot hurts too. Can I go to the nurse?" I called out, hoping to push Elm's buttons.

Elm looked up from his desk and sneered at me.

"Why the devil, Mr. Andrews, would I ever care about your foot hurting you?" Elm asked in that cold, icy voice that he has.

I grabbed my stuff and walked up to his desk, leaning over to look him right in the eye.

"Because Noland will be the one who comes to my parent/teacher conferences for now on.

I saw Elm's pupils grow smaller and beads of sweat break out upon his forehead. Noland used to bully Damien Elm a bit when they went to school, and Elm was obviously still a bit scared of him.

"Get out of my sight," he spat, returning to roll call.

"Gladly," I replied. I was out of the door with in two seconds.

I dropped my books off at my locker and started toward the nearest bathroom. It was dangerous walking the halls without a pass. I was halfway there when I heard a commotion. There was a female voice and a drawling male voice, which sounded a lot like Gary. Did I even want to know?

"I'm sorry, Oak, I..."

"No, it's ok, really..."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing, my friends just...well...you're not what I expected you to be."

"And what did you expect me to be like?"

"Not like this."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't always believe what your friends tell you."

I heard the sound of Oak's over priced shoes walking away as I came around a corner, running into Misty Waterflower as I did so. She was the one that Oak was being nice to? Oh, that isn't good. Without even thinking, I grabbed a hold of her and dragged her into the nearest room. It was the janitor's closet. Misty looked at me strangely. I didn't know what to say.

"Misty, I..." I paused trying to think of what to say. "What are you doing out of class anyway?"

"I got lost," she admitted with a scowl. "My sisters made this map of the school for me. I should have known that they'd lead me into the boy's locker room for first period.

I looked at the map that she was holding and sure enough according to Violet and Lily Waterflower, Misty had first period in the boy's locker room, second in the kitchens, third in this janitor's closet... I made a mental note to scold them for being so cruel to their baby sister. You would think that they would have had enough when they directed me and Buck into the girl's locker room last year.

"Sorry about that Misty," I said, throwing the useless map over my shoulder. "Listen, I'll walk you to your first class, just promise me that you'll steer clear of Gary Oak for now on."

"I mean, I know you guys say he’s an arrogant jerk and al,l but he doesn't seem that bad," Misty explained. "I ran right into him and he wasn't even mad. He even helped me pick up my books!"

I was silent for a few seconds. See, Misty’s my age and she’s in my year, but this was her first day at Pallet High – before that, she went to some posh prep school with her eldest sister, Daisy. So it was my moral duty as her friend to steer her away from the murky parts of Pallet High that she knew so little about. A.k.a Gary Oak. That dirt bag probably just wanted to get into Misty’s pants anyway. Not that they were horrifically ugly pants…

"He's only nice when he wants something, Misty," I explained, hoping that the dark closet covered my blush.

"But I don't have anything," Misty reasoned, meaning money and other material things.

"Believe me, you do," I replied trying not to stare at anything other than her face.

Misty smirked. Smirking should be made illegal.

°°°Gary°°°

I sauntered down the hallways of Pallet High pretending that I was totally oblivious to the stares of longing that girls were throwing my way. Yes, I am gorgeous! And I was particularly happy this fine afternoon. School had gone by just peachy and now I was off to soccer practice. Same team as last year.

Drew Andorks.

Diamond.

Stark Ugly.

Stark Ugly Junior.

The Lesbian.

Vanessa.

That Tracey guy.

And of course...me. The huggable, schnugable, me.

I threw open the locker room doors dramatically, making sure that no one would miss my entrance. Sure enough the others looked up. Too bad Vanessa wasn't there. She had their own locker room with the lesbian; such a great inconvenience to the rest of the soccer team.

Stark Ugly and Stark Ugly Junior went back to what they were doing; however, Andorks and Diamond seemed to be angry with me. They were glaring at me much more than usual today. Perhaps I have grown even more gorgeous over the summer and they were jealous.

"Stay away from our friend, Oak," Diamond uttered as I opened my locker.

"What, sorry?" I asked, throwing an innocent look his way.

"Misty Waterflower," he repeated. "Stay away from her."

Misty Waterflower? Oh, yes I believe I accepted her into the Gary's Newbie Playtoys category earlier today.

"Don't worry, Diamond, I'll be done with her soon." I thought that that would calm him, but it seemed to have an opposite affect...

°°°Drew°°°

I was about ready to punch Gary for that remark, but Ron beat me to it.

"Damn it, Diamond, you’re clogging my pores!" Gary shouted. Lucas was gearing up for another blow, but Flint and Buck grabbed a hold of him.

"Well now my eyebrows hurt!" Gary whined. "I'm going to the nurse."

And with that he was gone. Missing soccer practice just because he doesn't want to give us the satisfaction of seeing his cheek swell up from the blow that Lucas had just given him.

Flint and Buck released Lucas, who turned toward me, anger written all over his face.

"Drew, seduce Misty!"

Well there's a sentence one doesn't hear everyday.

"What?" I asked, thinking that I must have heard him wrong.

"You heard me!" he exclaimed, and even the Stark brothers seemed to be backing him up on this. "She likes you, Drew, and you could take care of her and her bloody temper better than that!" Lucas pointed to the door that Gary had just left.

"Lucas, I..." I didn't know what I wanted that what I was.

"Listen, Drew, I know that you don't think of her in that way," Lucas started.

Actually, I have been thinking of Misty "in that way" for the past month. It was one of those crushes that just sneak up on you from out of nowhere and you don't even know why you suddenly like the person. Of course Lucas had no clue of this new feeling I had for his childhood friend. If he did know about some of the fantasies that I've had about Misty, his bestfriend since nappies, he would have punched me even harder than he did to Gary.

"...just make her think of you more than Gary," Lucas finished.

"All right, Lucas," I replied, trying to suppress a smile. "I'll flirt with her a bit."

°°°Misty°°°

First day at a new school. Couldn’t get any better. I didn’t really mind the fact that I had to suddenly swap from posh, private Pewter Academy to the rundown Pallet High – my family been low on money ever since Dad died, so I understood. Besides, my bestfriend since babydom, Lucas Diamond attended Pallet High with the Stark Brothers (the funniest redhaired siblings on earth) so I couldn’t complain. But then Violet and Lily gave me that stupid fake map of the school, and got me late to my first class ever. I swear, the next time I see Lily I’ll tear her bone marrow out.

Anyway, after Drew kindly helped me out, I bumped into Vanessa Bluebreeze and realized we were in English together with Buck Stark… and Gary Oak.

Although I still didn’t know what to think of Gary, Vanessa’s reaction to his name was pretty funny.

“Gary Oak is the stupidest, ugliest and evilest piece of meat to call itself a human being,” Vanessa announced very loudly as we walked to English together. I cocked an eyebrow and folded my arms. “Really?”

Ness narrowed her blue eyes and nodded vigorously. “Uh-huh. I don’t understand why girls go ga-ga goo-goo over him. Hormones aren’t everything, you know!”

“Is this coming from the same person who said Brad Pitt equals smutt?” I asked dryly. Vanessa just glared at me.

“Misty, if you know what’s best, you’ll avoid him,” said Vanessa. She slid into a seat next to a solemn-looking girl with dark hair and a short skirt. When I opened my mouth tried to say something, Vanessa shot me another glowering look and I shut up immediately.

After English, during which I had to work with Buck (who had the literary talents of a brain-dead squid) and some kid called Tracey Sketchit on a creative writing task, somehow I found myself drifting towards the football field, where I knew Lucas and Drew had soccer practice. What I didn’t know was that Vanessa and Gary were also members of the soccer team. Ness was talking to a butch girl who I vaguely recalled as being called Zoey. After noticing Lucas and Drew were clearly in a deep conversation that they were in no rush to end, I sighed and approached Vanessa.

“Hey, Misty!” chirped Vanessa, flicking back her spiffy ponytail as her eyes turned towards me. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I just wanted to watch some soccer. You know, since my life is that pathetic and I have nothing better to do,” I replied half-sarcastically.

“Well, unfortunately, it’s been cancelled today since the Coach is sick, Gary is bludging, and Principal Rowan doesn’t care enough to get a substitute,” blurted the butch girl Vanessa was talking to. The butch extended her hand towards me, a wordless offer of a handshake, and flashed me a toothy smile. “Oh, and I’m Zoey, by the way. And you are Misty…?”

“Waterflower,” I finished for her. “Misty Waterflower. I’m new here.”

“Zoey here is another member of the Soccer Team, so you can say she’s another member of the SAGOA,” added Vanessa, a creepy smile flitting across her face. I felt my face scrunch in confusion. “SAGOA?”

“SAGOA – The Society for Anti-Gary Oak Activities. Drew Andrews founded it,” explained Zoey. “The whole soccer team is practically a member.”

I blinked a few times in confusion and frowned heavily while trying to make sense of it all. Vanessa rolled her eyes and wisely changed the topic. “Talking about Drew, he’s looking fiiiiiiiiiiiiine this afternoon. Those eyes and that hair… I could swoon all day about him.”

“And please don’t. You’re Ness Bluebreeze, not Whitney Goldenrod,” snapped Zoey. Vanessa stuck her tongue at her and wheeled around at me, eyes glinting ominously.

“You agree with me, don’t you, Misty? That Drew Andrews is looking fiiiiiiiine today and I have the right to flaunt truisms like that?”

I blushed wildly and cast my eyes to the floor. I didn’t know what to think of Drew. He had always been my friend, possibly my closest friend after Lucas, but could he be something more? He was awfully cute… I smiled. Maybe I could give him a chance. Maybe.

End of Chapter One

Another Author's Note: Be sure to review and tell me what you like and dislike about this story. Also, if you like, you could also tell me what pairings you would prefer happen in the story. Of course, I may not actually do what you tell me to do since a lot of this fic is already planned out, but I'll keep you guys in mind as I write the next load of stuff. So yeah. XP

[Celine_Dion]

Oooh, a high school fic. This should be interesting. It all sounds very exciting so far. The writing is casual and fetching in a humorous kind of way only possible with First Person POV. I especially liked Gary here. "Stark Ugly" lol. XD

I also love how open-ended the ships are here. I AM sensing Waterflowershipping, Egoshipping and OldRivalshipping coming into play though. OldRival, because mainly of how Gary didn't give a funny/rude nickname for Ness (Blue) and also because of Ness's reaction to Gary's name. I noticed how Ash, May and Brock are notably absent in this chapter. The former two are particularly promenient in ships around the place. If you intend to put them in later, it's going to be humongously exciting and funny, considering how Waterflower, Ego and OldRival have already taken root. XD

Love the fact you included Lucas in this fic, and love how you portrayed him. Lucas needs more love. XD And oohhh, I sense Fortuneshipping! XD

Anyway, continue writing and keep it up!

[Angelique]

Celine_Dion: Aw, thank you! At this point, I can't really confirm whether or not Ash and May will be joining this fic, but like I said before, anything's possible so don't count it out yet!


Anyway, characters that are introduced in this chapter, in order of appearance (thanks Pokesho for the images):





Noland, Professor Rowan, Lily, Violet, Lorelei (Prima), and Giselle.

Giselle doesn't really make an appearance but I felt like adding her anyway. XD Oh, and any character that is introduced is then liable to appear in any other chapter after that. This means I don't have to continuously re-introducing some characters. So it's free-game for everyone. The only constants in this fic are the main characters, who you should be starting to guess are Drew, Lucas, Blue, Dawn, Misty, Gary... and possibly one or two more right now. XD

Anyway, let's get this started!

Chapter Two: Dancing Receptionists and Janitor's Closets

°°°Drew°°°

The first week of school is always the longest and mine, excluding the first day back, was highly uneventful. I hadn't made any moves for Misty yet, and Lucas was becoming impatient. I just wanted to take my time with Misty, that's all.

But I wasn't thinking about Misty this morning. The only thought that crossed my mind was, "My foot hurts!" and it did. Thank God that it was Friday and we didn't have practices on the weekends.

I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Birds were chirping outside my window and I wondered vaguely why Aunt Storc didn't rouse me with her usual beating and yelling. I put on a pair of jeans and went downstairs to get a clean shirt from the washer.

"Drew, sweetie, would you come in here, please?"

Aunt Storc has never talked to me in such a sweet tone. The only time she uses that tone is when she wants to go shoot bunnies, or something. I was scared.

I entered the kitchen to find Aunt Storc serving oatmeal to a man sitting at the table and drinking coffee. The guest grinned from behind his coffee mug and his dark spiked hair and playful brown eyes suddenly revealed his identity to me: Noland.

"Sorry about his disheveled appearance," Aunt Storc apologized, eyeing me with distaste, "Don't know why boys these days find showing their underwear as fashionable."

Noland just smiled and ruffled my hair.

"Well, boys will be boys..." he said.

Aunt Storc threw Noland a withering look. Noland didn't notice; he was too busy staring at a large bruise on my arm.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, pointing to the bruise.

Aunt Storc narrowed her eyes at me, warning me with a wordless threat. I flinched and tore my gaze away from my Godfather.

"Oh, uh, Lucas hammered me with the soccer ball yesterday at practice," I lied, as Aunt Storc handed me one of my better shirts.

Noland looked like he wanted to press the question some more, but decided against it.

"What brings you here anyway?" I asked, pulling the shirt on over my head.

Noland smiled.

"The judge is allowing me to have you for the weekends," he said nonchalantly.

Were I not sore, I would have danced a jig.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he continued. "Get your stuff."

And I did.

°°°Lucas°°°

"STUPID...USELESS...THING!" I muttered under my breath as I frantically tried to pry my locker open. You see, my locker has an identity crisis; it thinks that it's a secret vault holding treasure instead of my beat-up old locker holding my beat-up old books. Drew was leaning against the locker next to mine. He already had his books. His locker doesn't have an identity crisis.

"Trouble in paradise, Lucas?" he asked.

I glared at him.

"What about you, huh?" I asked as I began my combination again. "I caught Misty talking to Gary yesterday. What's taking you so long, man?"

Drew smirked.

"Well you know," he stated, looking at me devilishly, "I'm looking for the cheapest motel to get her into."

My locker opened and delivered a powerful blow to Drew's head. I didn't mean for that to happen, but I congratulated my locker none-the-less.

"Shit, that hurt!" Drew cursed stumbling around the crowded hallway.

"Careful," I said, "don't want to end up with another scar on your forehead."

Drew fell off of his bike when we were kids and acquired a few jagged scars around his forehead. They’re very light, but still there.

"I guess I deserved it," Drew said, rubbing his nose. "Shouldn’t have joked about Misty like that. If she heard that, I would be minced right now."

"And you damn well should be!" I exclaimed, taking out my huge, enormous, colossal history book along with the newest issue of Motor Trend and a poptart. "Misty DOES NOT have a sex life. And I'll die from traumatization if anyone tells me otherwise."

Drew smiled vaguely and didn't make eye contact with me.

"He was a skater boy...She said see you later boy..."

My attention was turned away from Drew's odd behavior as Flint and Buck walked by bobbing their heads simultaneously as they sang that Avril Laviguine song. Nutters, both of them. Nutters? When did I start using that word?

The bell beeped and Drew and I went our separate ways. I walked into the history room and sat down next to Dawn. She was looking pretty again today. I mumbled my usual hello and began my poptart.

Mr. Pryce used a new approach for greeting us today. Instead of yelling at us, he simply walked in and held up a sign that had "SHUT UP!" scrawled upon it. Man's a friggin' genius. We were in the middle of class and I was in the middle of my magazine when Principal Rowan walked in with a book balanced on his head. It took Mr. Pryce several moments before he realized that Rowan was there and shut up.

"Yes?" he asked our elderly principal.

"I read in the newspaper this morning that balancing a book on your head improves your posture," Rowan replied, looking important.

"And...?" Mr. Pryce coaxed, obviously perturbed.

"And I've been balancing this book on my head all morning."

Rowan left then, leaving Mr. Pryce to stare at the door blankly. We heard him mumble something about retirement before he continued on with the lesson.

I was debating on whether I should finish my magazine or take my morning nap when Dawn flung a note at me. I could have died with shock. The only notes that Dawn ever writes in class are ones that actually have something to do with the lesson. If the fact that Dawn wrote a note would kill me, then what the note said would have killed my ghost.

Meet me in the janitor's closet third period.

I wanted to interrogate Dawn about her note, but the bell beeped and as I was trying to stay on her heels so I could talk to her in Geometry I got called to the office.

"Damn!" I cursed to myself as I watched Dawn disappear from my view. Why would Dawn want me to meet her in the janitor's closet? There was only one thing that students did in the janitor's closet, but could Dawn actually want to...? We didn't even really know each other; we were always around other people and went out in big groups. We probably only had two or three conversations to ourselves. Maybe Dawn was just horny? I laughed out loud at that as I came into the office.

Our office smells strongly of coffee. I heard Elvis playing faintly in the background and our three elderly secretaries were dancing on their desks with their arms in the air and whispering, "Chick-a-poo, chick-a-poo," over and over again. I cleared my voice. Finally one noticed me.

She jumped off of her desk (an incredible feat for someone her age) and grabbed a hold of my hands, placing one on her waist and holding the other out in front of us. We tangoed all the way to Rowan's office. She released me from her death grip when we got there and moon-walked back to her desk. I have a funny feeling that I'll be repeating this someday in the future therapy that I'll be needing.

"Ah, just the childhood friend that you wanted," said Rowan as I closed the door to his office. Sitting in front of his large desk was Misty. She had a cut on her forehead that the nurse had already patched up. Ness Bluebreeze was sitting next to her, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"What happened?" I asked sitting down in the chair next to hers.

Misty just sighed and shook her head; she looked annoyed, as if she didn't want to talk about this with any of her friends. Vanessa rolled her eyes and sighed loudly.

"Misty got into a small fight with another girl," Rowan informed me. "Misty asked for you since she considers you as family. We tried looking for Misty’s older sisters, figuring that they're the ones in charge of looking after their youngest sister, but alas," he added, "we are unable to find them."

"AAAHHHH!"

Lily Waterflower just fell out side of Rowan's window behind the desk. Rowan didn't even need to turn around. He sat at his desk, looking forward, hands folded, with a smile plastered on his face.

"Found them!" Rowan announced brightly. He turned in his chair and opened his window. I rushed over. Lily stood with her arms raised, screaming loudly. There was ink all over her designer Armani shirt and someone had written the word “Queen Bitch” on Lily’s arse. Looking up, I saw Violet Waterflower and the rest of their chemistry class (Ms. Prima included) on the floor above cheering loudly.

"YOU GOT INK ALL OVER MY SWEET HINEY, YOU BITCH!" Lily shrieked at her Chemistry class. Violet just gave her the finger.

Rowan sighed.

"I see I have some work to do. You two have some hot chocolate and get things sorted out, and when Ms. Waterflower is better, everyone may go to back class."

Rowan smiled and patted both of us on our heads before exiting the room. I saw him do a sort of shuffle as the door closed.

"Hey, dorks! What are you two doing in Rowan's office anyway?" Violet asked, leaning in the window. "Misty, where did you get that cut on your forehead?"

None of us answered.

"Don't you two give me the silent treatment! I'm the oldest Waterflower in this school, and I demand to know..."

"Ms. Waterflower! I'm giving you two minutes to get into this classroom before I call your sister!" Ms Prima bellowed from above us. Rule one to being a student at Pallet High: Never get Daisy Waterflower involved.

Lily looked startled and stopped screaming.

Violet chewed on her lip and waved from the window "I'll deal with you two later! Anyone who messes with my sister messes with me...and occasionally Lily too, if she isn’t too busy making out with Morty – "

“That’s it, Violet! I’m going to rip your throat out and – ”

"Ms Waterflower! And Ms Waterflower!"

"Coming, oh big-breasted one!"

Violet shut the window and Lily sashayed back into the Science block to face Ms Prima. Then, there was silence.

I shook my head and sighed. Misty was already helping herself to some hot chocolate. I grabbed one of the complementary suckers on Rowan's desk instead. I wasn't good with those friend-to-friend talks and didn't know where to begin.

"So..." that's always a good way to start, "who did you get into a fight with?"

"Giselle Gapp," Misty replied, sipping her chocolate.

I froze, sucker halfway to my mouth.

"Sorry, wha?" I asked.

"Giselle Gap!" Vanessa butted in, seeming rather annoyed.

Here's my knowledge of Giselle Gap. She has a nice rack, she wears short skirts, she's the slutiest girl I know, she has a nice rack, she's the closest thing to a girlfriend that Gary Oak will ever have, she has a nice rack...

"What did you do to piss her off?" I asked, hoping that I didn't already know the answer.

"Just about the worse thing you could do to shove a stick up that girl’s ass" Ness said, drumming her fingers on the desk. She shot Misty a waspish look, which made her flush red and clench her jaw.

Misty started toying with her hot chocolate “What did I do wrong? I just said hi to Gary in the hall and then that whore started banging my head against my locker."

I winced, I had hoped that it wasn't that.

"Misty, I told you not to talk to Gary!"

"I'll talk to whoever the hell I want to talk to!"

"Fine!" I said throwing up my hands in defeat. Then I stormed out of Rowan's office, mamboed my way through the office, and stormed into geometry fifteen minutes late.

"Got called to the office," I explained to Ms Ivy as I took my seat next to Drew. Drew seemed to be having some problems. He was trying to draw a circle with his compass, unfortunately the compass moved and he got a spiral instead.

"Oh I give up!" he said at last, throwing his compass down upon his desk. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "So what did they need you in the office for?" he asked.

I was busy getting my homework out to hand in to Ivy.

"Misty got into a fight," I replied. "Rowan thought that she'd need moral support, and Lily Waterflower was busy trying to figure out who she hated more: the guy who invented carbs or Violet Waterflower."

"Huh?"

"Long story about the Waterflowers, but they'll probably have detention after school."

Drew nodded in agreement.

"Listen, Drew. Giselle's after Misty. She knows that Misty is getting close to Gary."

Drew nodded again.

"You have to do something!" I said.

"Alright, alright!" Drew replied. "Is Misty coming to Vanessa Bluebreeze's party tonight?"

"I could make her," I suggested.

"Alright, I'll put some moves on her there. We'll work out the details in PE"

I nodded and started on my new assignment. But then I remembered Dawn's note. Third period. PE was third period.

"Uh, Drew, you'll have to do that with out me."

Drew looked up, confused.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm going to the janitor's closet."

Drew smiled slyly.

"Oh, the janitor's closet! So who's meeting you there? Your imaginary girlfriend?"

"Dawn Pearl."

Drew's jawed dropped.

"No way."

"Yes way."

"No, there's no way that Dawn would skip a class and go to the janitor's closet, especially with you! No offense."

I showed him the note. He looked over to Dawn. Dawn smiled at me. I swallowed a huge lump in my throat.

"This isn't right," he said slowly.

"Why?" I asked him.

"Because, you and Dawn are almost always fighting, and I don't know!" he seemed frustrated.

The bell beeped.

"Have fun in PE!" I called over my shoulder as Dawn ran out of the room ahead of me.

"Have fun in the janitor's closet!" Drew shouted back much louder than I would have liked. Morty overheard and shouted out the same thing. I hoped he didn't tell Whitney – the whole school would know by lunch if he did.

I dropped my books off at my locker and tried to look casual as I slid into the janitor's closet just as the late bell beeped. She was there.

"Dawn!" I said with a devilish grin as I leaned in to kiss her.

She placed her hand over my mouth and smiled.

"I didn't come here for that," she said softly.

Lucas, you're an idiot! I thought to myself, mentally whacking myself on the head. Repeatedly.

"Oh," is what I actually said, plopping down to sit miserably on the floor. Dawn sat across from me.

"I wanted to talk to you about Misty Waterflower," she said.

"Misty? When did you two become friends?"

Dawn looked hurt.

"Since first grade," she said. "Don't you remember me spending the night at your house? Misty and I just didn't spend too much time with each other last year because we went to separate schools."

"Oh, yeah, I remember now," I said. The last time she spent the night, we were about thirteen and she kept grabbing my arm during that one movie... The Blair Witch Project. How could I forget about all those times? I guess we did spend a lot of time together. Only an ass like me would forget it.

"Listen," she continued, "Misty is developing a...thing...for Gary."

"Yeah, I know."

"You do?"

"Yeah, don't worry, I've got Drew on the job."

"On the job?" she asked, confused.

"Yeah, he's gonna flirt with her a little. Go out with her, keep her mind off of Gary. Drew’s the King of Flirt and the only one with enough nerve to stand a PMS-ing Misty – he's the only one who can do it."

"Lucas, do you think that this is a good idea?"

I thought that it was a friggin' brilliant idea.

"Why wouldn't it be?" I asked.

"Well, is Drew ok with this? Surely he doesn't want to spend a good long while carting the new girl in school around."

"He agreed right away."

"Really?" Dawn began smiling like a mad woman. "Aw, that's so sweet!"

"What, Drew taking care of a bipolar redhead?"

"No! Don't you see it, Lucas?"

This is what I saw: I saw a broom, a mop, a bucket, and Dawn. And that's all I saw.

Dawn grew impatient and blurted. "Drew has feelings for Misty!"

"WHAT?!" I forgot to keep my voice down. Luckily no one was outside. "No he isn't, he's just doing me a favor, that's all."

"Think about it Lucas! Would you agree so willingly to take a girl out just because someone asked you to?"

"Yes."

Dawn through her hands up and shook her head.

The bell beeped.

°°°Drew°°°

Noland seemed disappointed at first when I told him that I was going out the first night that I was staying over at his house, but then I told him everything about Misty and he became excited, giving me some dating tips.

"Be sure to hold the doors open for her. And always tell her that you love her smile. And, um, here."

He handed me some condoms.

"Err..." I stated. Noland and I talked a lot through out the years but we never actually discussed this topic. He wasn't making eye contact.

"I'm supposed to tell you to wait until you’re married and scare you with statistics but that's what school's for," he said rocking back and forth. "I would appreciate it if you would wait, but you know, just in case," he said trailing off.

"Thanks," I replied, throwing them into my nightstand drawer. "But I'm sure that I won't be needing them for awhile. I’m not a big fan of Hep. B."

Noland smiled.

"So are you ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied. The Bluebreezes had a hot tub and a pool so I was wearing my trunks and a shirt.

"Alright then," Noland replied, whipping out the keys to his black convertible. "Let's go!"

°°°Ness°°°

See, I like to call myself a rebel. An anarchist in the making! See, one of my bestfriends, Dawn Pearl, once said that the best way to hide is the hide in plain sight. So, that’s exactly what I do – hide in plain sight. I wear the color pink. I ramble on about Brad Pitt’s abs. I take offense when people can’t tell the difference between Prada and Pravda (one’s a spawesome designer, and the other’s a Russian tool of propaganda, people!) But I’m no Lily Waterflower – at least I hope not.

Karl Marx once said anarchy is when people use stereotypes to contort and validate contradictions within the dysfunctional ruling class. That’s what I like to think I do. I topped my Math Class, for example. What kind of a cheerleading bimbo tops Math when most just assume Algebra’s a Greek island? Defying stereotypes to fight against bourgeois fascism, call 922-1803 for help NOW!

Me being an “indefinable rebel” was the reason why I decided to join the Soccer Team and kick male chauvinist *** – and probably was the same reason why I decided to host a party while my parents were off visiting Uncle George in San Francisco. I know that one of my pet peeves is drunken partying (I so do not want Hank MacMack slobbering over me like last time) but it was a spur of the moment thing, and hey, I’m a teenager – we’re designed to disappoint our parents. It’s our job.

Besides, I really needed to exploit the new Jacuzzi my parents got and I was getting sick and tired of playing Stepford Daughter to my mother’s mahjong group. I knew I shouldn’t have aced that English quiz – about time to play down the “nice Class Rep” image. It’s suffocating.

Anyway, after peddling a few lies to my departing parents that still made me feel incredibly guilty (“Yes, mother, I’ll get my hair done tomorrow.” “Yes, father, I won’t tip Rosita the maid more than I have to”), I immediately picked up the phone and invited Misty Waterflower over. She was new to school, and I had only known her for a few days but I liked her already. Mutually despising Lily Waterflower bonds people together. Misty, keeping to her word, was ringing the doorbell within minutes. I grinned and opened the door.

“Ness, your parents must be loaded. Your house – this is huge!” exclaimed Misty, her eyes gleaming like my mother’s after a sell at 17th Avenue. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

“I guess. Anyway, that’s not why we’re here. You came here because we need to discuss something of fundamental importance,” I said as Misty shot me a strange look. I grinned and put my hand on her shoulder. “Your love life.”

Instantaneously, Misty blushed red and started flailing her arms. “What do you mean? I have no love life, no sir, I don’t! W-W-What?! Stop talking nonsense!”

My grin widened. “Oh? So you just like staring at Drew Andrews and his hiney whenever you think no one’s looking. You know, just for kicks.”

Misty’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Ah, the poor girl. Perhaps I was pushing it too hard. What I didn’t expect her to do, however, was then throw me a smile so wicked, I shrank to return.

“I haven’t done anything to Drew that you wouldn’t have already done to Tracey Sketchit,” said Misty brightly. “Or should I say, Tracey BLUEBREEZE?”

I frowned and looked pointedly at the floor. Misty realized she hit the jackpot and pressed on: “So are you admitting that you and Tracey have “got it on”?”

“For your information, Tracey and I aren’t dating. I mean, I THINK he’s interested in me similarly to how I’m attracted to him, but that’s about it,” I confessed with a sigh. I avoided looking at Misty and began hiding away the more expensive wall furnishing for the party.

“Then, are you dating Gary Oak instead?”

When Misty asked me that question, I think I choked on my own spit. Was that even possible? Misty folded her arms and smirked again, inferring my inability to speak as an admission of guilt. “So, you are?”

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!” I screamed, causing my ears to ring with my own voice. Misty, instead of wincing, just smirked even harder. She waggled her eyebrows in such a suggestive way that my Great-Aunt Brutella would probably have a heart-attack if she were here. Not that I care about that beached whale.

“I – I mean, I hate that jerk! He’s the biggest, crabbiest, nastiest scumbag to have ever stepped inside this house!” I declared loudly. Gary Oak… was one of my mother’s favorite “potential suitors” for me. The only time she actually served tea was when that arrogant braggart was around. Gary was handsome, I suppose… but in a completely out-of-this-world, Nightmare on Elm Street kind of way. I would have to get my retinas checked the day I consider him nice on the eyes.

I gritted my teeth and whirled around to Misty, and in my most determined voice, said: “I will NEVER date or even consider Gary Oak, as long as I live!”

I was sure about it, wasn’t I?

End of Chapter Two

[Master of All]

this is pretty funny
its not often you see a highschool fic on this site that doesn't include pokemon
count me in

[TurtwigFan1]

This is really great, and it's hilarious. I love the shippings, like Fortune and OldRival! Keep up the good work.

[Angelique]

Lol, I thought I was late but I DID say I would post a chapter at least once every week so I'm fine? XD Anyway, thanks for the reviews so far, guys, and here's Chapter Three!

Characters introduced this week:

Wallace: In this fic, since the Waterflowers are orphans (how they were orphaned will be revealed in the fic in a plot twist), Wallace is their cousin with whom they live with. Although he's not a main character, he's a recurring one so expect to see him every now and then.

Image credit goes to Pokesho, as usual.

Chapter Three: Awkward?

°°°Dawn°°°

“Dawn!” Ness and Misty squealed as they opened the door. It was seven o'clock and I was one of the first guests at Ness's "We're Back in School, Bitch!" party. Vanessa ushered me in, commenting me on my swimsuit and offering me chips and dip. The Bluebreezes' rec room is very nice. They have a huge flat screen TV with surround sound, a pool table, and a fully stocked bar. Two seniors were already opperating at the bar.

A junior and three sophomores were playing pool and a group of ten or so freshman was clustered around the couch. I recognized a short, redhaired boy that says hi to Drew a lot tentatively taking a sip of what I assumed was an alcoholic beverage.

I spent the next ten minutes or so talking to Ness and Misty until a large group of upperclassmen rushed into Ness's backyard and jumped into her pool. It was actually kind of amusing.

Many more people started coming and before long I was lost in a sea of teenage bodies. I was beginning to feel claustrophobic.

Back in junior high I used to hide out in the bathrooms at parties. When I was eleven I hid in Ness's bathroom at her Halloween party for most of the night because Lucas Diamond said that I looked better with my face covered in a horrible mask. I have absolutely no idea why that upset me so much, but I guess as a preteen, everything seems much worse. I was about to ask Ness where her bathroom was when Drew showed up.

“Dawn Pearl, where do you think you're going? The party's this way,” said Drew mischievously. I shot a glare over him, which he ignored entirely as he dragged me (without permission) away from the bathroom I so desperately needed to salvage my dignity.

Grinning, Drew forced me into Ness's gigantic pool. I was rather reluctant to go into the glunk of chlorine because I had to take off my shorts and people were staring. I felt self-conscious even though Drew told me that they were staring in a good way.

We splashed around for a little bit and started talking about school. I asked him how soccer was coming along and he made me promise to come to their first game. Then he brought up the subject of Lucas.

“So are you two a couple?” he asked, lazily floating on a beach ball. I almost choked on my own spit. “Lucas didn't say anything about your little rendezvous during PE today.”

“Couple?” I squeaked in a voice two octaves above normal – I was taken off guard. I didn't really think about the consequences when I wrote that note. I wasn't really thinking clearly, definitely. Probably high on life, or some side-effect from being too much of a valedictorian-***-prude.

“Friends with benefits?” Drew suggested, playfully tossing the ball my way.

“No, it's nothing like that!” I said. I felt my face heat up. God, I was blushing.

“So what did you guys do in there?”

“Well, we, uh...”

We talked about your love life, Drew that's what we did.

“Nevermind, I don't want to know. So do you want to do the nasty, I mean, with Lucas?” he asked, acting all innocent.

“Lucas!?”

I probably shouldn't have stated it that way.

“What's wrong with Lucas?” Drew looked hurt on his friend's behalf.

“Well, he's Lucas!” I reasoned. "Okay, so yeah he's nice, and funny, and he looks really cute with his hair all messed up, and he has deepest, most thoughtful silvery eyes, and...”

I stopped, realizing exactly what I was admitting to Drew and to myself. I just did something stupid. Drew was smiling at me devilishly. I needed a stiff drink. Then I realized that I didn't drink. I thought about asking someone to knock me unconscious.

'Oh what the hell, I'll just hide in the bathroom!'

“Please don't tell Lucas!” I pleaded, placing my hands on Drew's shoulders.

“I won't,” he said. “That's your job.”

Then he left.

'Now, where's that bathroom?'

°°°Lucas°°°

Flint and Buck were in flip-flops and swimming trunks...and nothing else, though Buck rubbed some sunscreen on his nose. Why? I didn't know because the sun already went down but that's Buck Stark for you. They had the music cranked up and were dancing about in their seats as the station wagon that Flint had deemed “Old Betsy” puttered down Vanessa's street.

“Shit, there's no place to park!” Flint cursed, gripping the steering wheel.

Buck stopped bouncing and pondered our predicament for a few moments before waving Flint off saying, “Just park in the front yard.”

In the backseat, Tracey and I slid down, covering our faces. Tracey glanced over at me and I knew what he was thinking because I was thinking the exact same thing - how are we friends with those two?

So Flint parked in the middle of Vanessa's front yard and as soon as the engine was turned off the brothers jumped out and ran into the backyard, heading toward the pool, exclaiming that the party had arrived. Tracey and I merely got out and stepped away from the vehicle.

It seemed as if most of the school was already there. Loud music was blaring, people were screaming, a senior was already passed out on the porch, and a large group of freshmen led by that one mousy kid that says hi to Drew a lot were streaking through the yard.

I was about to find Drew when I realized that I would have to give him space and avoid him tonight if he was going to have a shot at making a move on Misty, so I just stood there instead.

“Aren't you coming?” Tracey asked as he made his way to the backyard.

“No,” I said, feeling rather stupid. “I'm just going to find, um, Dawn.”

Tracey looked at me weird, as if he couldn't understand why on Earth I would want to find Dawn Pearl for, and I myself was pondering that same question; however, he merely shrugged and walked away – probably to get into Vanessa's shorts, or something.

I went inside and a senior offered me something to drink at the bar. I took it and began looking around for Dawn. Where would she be at a party like this?

“Probably the bathroom,” I blurted out loud.

“W-What?” Wally Greene, who was passing by, asked. He was looking at me weirdly, as though if I were planning to eat his nonexistent children.

“Nothing, Wally. Keep on walking,” I responded, handing Wally my drink and going off to find the nearest bathroom. Misty and Vanessa Bluebreeze were standing outside of it, banging on the door and whispering reassuring words to it. Yep, that had to be the one – or else Misty was more whacked than I thought.

“Come on, Dawn,” said Vanessa, knocking on the door again with an exasperated face.

“You can't stay in there forever,” added Misty.

“Hello ladies,” I announced loudly, walking up to them with a little flounce. They wheeled around and sighed audibly. I think it's safe to say that they looked relieved to see me.

“Lucas, tell Dawn to come out!" Misty said in that no-nonsense voice that you would find impossible to say no against.

Suddenly, Vanessa unlocked the door from the outside and pushed me in.

Dawn was sitting in the bathtub with one of those eye mask thingers on and was tossing a rubber duckie up in the air. She sighed when I came in.

“I guess you're going to try to make me get out, huh?” Dawn intoned quietly.

“Actually, I have no idea why I'm here,” I said truthfully.

“What?” She sounded confused.

I sighed.

“Well, Drew's going to flirt with Misty a bit, so I can't be hanging around either of them, and Flint and Buck are planning to put food coloring in the pool, so I'm steering clear of them until Vanessa Bluebreeze finds out and blows her top. So I had a choice between you and Tracey. I picked you.”

Dawn snorted.

“I feel so special,” she said sarcastically.

“You should,” I replied, sitting up on the basin counter. “So what made you hide out in here anyway?”

She blushed and looked down.

“I said something stupid to Drew.”

“You said something stupid?” I asked, actually flabbergasted. “Well, there's a first time for everything.”

Dawn smiled appreciatively.

“You want to leave?” I asked her. "I mean, I could really go for a pizza right about now and Joy's Pizzeria won't be closing for another three hours.”

She flashed me a mega-watt smile that stumped me into a daze. “Sure.”

“G-Great! We'll just have to tell the Stark Brothers, my ride, that I'm leaving, then we can go.”

°°°Misty°°°

I walked around the backyard feeling very out of place. Ness left me to go yell at the Starks, and most of my other friends weren't outside with me, except for Wally. But well, he was currently a bit intoxicated.

“I'm the king of the world!” he shouted, jumping into the pool with a shower cap on his head...and nothing else. Needless to say that everyone in the pool got out.

Among those was Drew. He climbed out with a very disgusted look upon his face, his wet hair dripping in his face. He smiled when he saw me.

“Hi Misty!” he said, coming over to me.

“Hi,” I said back, a weird squeak entering my voice.

“I would ask you if you wanted to go for a swim but...” he trailed off, looking over his shoulder to where Wally was splashing about, now joined by Michael the Mouse and Hank MacMack. The former was pretending to be Ariel from the Little Mermaid... and the latter was humping a beach ball, clearly thinking it was Carmen Elektra.

I snorted.

“Ah, that poor kid. His reputation's now ruined,” Drew commented, gesturing at Michael, who was now singing some tuneless song. Drew smirked and suddenly grabbed my shoulder.

“Why don't we go to Joy's Pizzeria and get something to eat?” he asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Pizza? How very. Are you sure that's how you're meant to treat a lady?”

Drew blinked a few times, then grinned. “Ah, so you want to go that way? With roses, girdled skirts, and all that fanfare?” In spite of myself, I grimaced at the thought of me in one of Daisy's dresses. Urgh, clothes like those should only be worn during aerobics class, not where people could see you.

Drew noticed my shudder and his grin widened into a smirk. “So I'm assuming you don't want anchovies on your pizza?”

I threw my hands in the air, defeated. “Sure, why not.”

“Cool,” he said. “Hey Buck, Flint!”

The redhead brothers were on the roof dropping water balloons on people.

“Yeah?” they called back.

“Taking Misty to get some pizza. If you see Lucas, tell him 'I'm on the job', okay?”

“Whatever. Oh, crap!”

Flint had just run out of balloons and realized that they had no way of getting down. Buck started swearing loudly and yelled shrilly at Flint, asking where he put the ladder. A crowd, attracted by the commotion, began to confluence at the base.

“Come on, let's get out of here,” Drew said, taking my hand.

Holy mother of cow, he was holding my hand. The last time we did that, we were in preschool, too young to realize the implications of it all. Flying hell, Drew was holding my hand!

We had to walk to Joy's Pizzeria since Drew couldn't drive legally yet, but it was only a few blocks down, so it wasn't so bad. We were about to grab a table when we saw Lucas and Dawn. They were sitting at a table and Dawn was laughing very loudly at something funny Lucas had just said. Wait a second, scrap that – she was snorting very loudly at something unfunny that Lucas had just said.

“Let's not disturb them,” Drew said once he managed to quietly compose himself from his shock. He took my hand once again and headed out of the pizzeria.

“Where are we going?” I asked him.

“Noland's,” Drew replied. “He can make a better homemade pizza than Joy can.”

°°°Dawn°°°

“Well, this is my stop,” I said, stepping up on my front porch. Lucas had walked me home from the closest thing I would have to a date with a boy. The pizza was nice, and Lucas was the kindest and sweetest – I know that he's not was suave or perceptive as Drew, and that he has the tact of an infomercial on fire, but he made it all up in humor.

I don't know why Ness says that Lucas is one of those people who think they're funny when they're not – Lucas is funny!

I coughed lightly and looked pointedly away from my house.

Lucas ogled at the doorknob.“Yeah, so it is.”

We stood there for about a minute or so not saying anything. Awkward silence foamed between us.

“Um,” I said suddenly, acting on impulse (something I would seldom do). “My parents are out of town tonight, do you want to come in and watch a movie or something?”

Lucas smiled.

“Okay.”

°°°Gary°°°

I'm a great guy. You know, perfect in most ways. Girls dig me for the right reasons: I'm handsome, rich, smart, dashing, rich, genteel, rich – did I mention rich? Anyway, despite the fact that it may appear that I am flawless and God's gift to women, I am human and I do make mistakes. Very stupid mistakes. One of them being Giselle Gap.

Yes, Giselle has a chest that could double as a corporate advertisement and yes, her parents are loaded, but her brain is like her breasts – inflated and full of artificial fillings.

I did pseudo-date her for a while (more like her insisting on calling our exam-cram sessions “dates”) but you reach a certain point where you have had enough twinkies, you need to eat some vegetables.

I needed vegetables. Fast.

“Gary, where are you? Gary-poo?”

The girl's like a velociraptor. When will she stop and let me live! I crept from my hiding place behind a big lounge chair to under the big, mahogany table on which Morty Ecruteak and Whitney Goldenrod were going at it like rabbits.

If I knew Giselle snatched an invitation to Vanessa's party by “convincing” Brawly Dewford to give her his, I wouldn't have come.

Suddenly, Giselle's sinister face popped up from the top of the table. Her eyes scanned the area underneath the table and sparked when they found me. Oh crap.

“Gary! Sweetie, what are you doing, hiding from me? Let's stop playing games and make-out!” squealed Giselle (or should I say 'Gazelle'?), her pudgy face puckering into a supposed smile. I almost puked right there and then, except I didn't want to ruin Vanessa's carpet. I didn't want to make life harder for her.

“Ah, I have to go to the, um, toilet. See you around?” I offered weakly. I swatted Gazelle's hand away from my crotch and tried to scamper away, but the shrew had clamped down on my leg.

“Come on, Gary-poo, just one kiss,” gasped Gazelle in what she probably thought was a “seductively” husky voice. Genuinely panicking and afraid, I writhed and flailed but she had an iron grip on my thigh. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the slobbering kiss that Gazelle had in mind. But it didn't come.

“What the hell are you two doing? Get off each other! Get OFF!”

And there's the reason why Gazelle wasn't upon me. Vanessa Bluebreeze was growling at us, her blue eyes transmuting into a deeper, angrier shade of indigo and her upper-lip curling into a furious snarl.

She grabbed both me and Gazelle by the collar and carted us out of the dining room. As soon as she got her bearing, Gazelle attempted to slobber on me again, but Vanessa pulled her away with a severe thrust.

“I don't want to know what you two do in your spare time, but if you're going to fornicate, I'd prefer it if you DIDN'T do it under my father's favorite dining table.” Vanessa practically spat the words out. Judging by the state of her fury and the way her lovely brown hair was tussled askew, she had already caught several couples “doing it”.

“Urgh, you're such a killjoy, Bluebreeze. Fine, we'll stick by your rules,” drawled Gazelle. Vanessa's eyes narrowed while Gazelle said in a puke-inducingly gooey voice: “Come on, Gary-poo, let's finish what we were doing away from this bitchy prude.”

“Go wait outside, Giselle. I need to say something to Vanessa,” I muttered. I rolled my eyes when Giselle tensed up. “Don't worry, I'll be quick.”

Gazelle bit her lip, as though she wanted to say something, but she kept mom and sashayed out of the room.

Vanessa was annoyed. “Why don't you go after your bimbo? I'm sure you two have a lot of ground to make up, after what I saw.”

“Gapp's not my bimbo. I hate her,” I said very quickly. Vanessa put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. Flustered, I felt my characteristic and absolutely fantastic charm drain away. Vanessa Bluebreeze, a girl I had known since childhood, always had that odd way on me.

“Then why don't you break up with her? She's obviously no good, even for a slimeball like you,” averred Vanessa.

“You don't understand. She's like quicksand – the more you get involved with her, the harder it is to get out.”

“Then I suggest you get on with it before it's too late. Happy hunting, Oak.”

Vanessa patted me on the shoulder as she whisked past me, her hair whipping behind her and leaving some sort of flowery scent at the aftermath.

I blinked a few times, trying to comprehend what Vanessa had just said. Vanessa had always intrigued me, a complete mystery really. Her parents and mine were friends, so naturally they tried to matchmake us. Vanessa vehemently swatted away their attempts and I had no real interest in coercing her into a marriage, to be honest.

She was always such an entrancing enigma though, and I wondered how she felt about me... She and Misty Waterflower, that ravishing new redhead, had that refreshing, blunt quality in common.

Suddenly, I grinned and called after Giselle, only one thing on my mind.

“Hey, Giselle. I have some bad news for you.. It's about us...”

°°°Drew°°°

Eating pizza with Noland and Misty was nice, although Noland kept on throwing in innuendos like “do you want some MEAT between the bread?” and “try not to choke on the salami”. After Misty had managed to get over the shock of how crass Noland can be, she finally began to laugh at his jokes and get along with him, which was nice.

After desert (defrosted ice-cream from the supermarket), Noland offered to drive Misty home and I decided to along for the ride. I sat in the back with her and currently was holding her hand. She had the biggest smile the whole drive over. So did Noland.

Misty, an orphan, lived with her sisters at her cousin's place. Wallace Waterflower ran a store for water equipment such as surfboards and such, so the Waterflowers live in this cool house along the beach. It's one story with a bunch of big widows. I love it there.

“Bye Misty,” I said, squeezing her hand slightly.

“Bye,” she replied softly. She didn't get out of the car, and just stared at me. I stared back. There was a long pause. Noland, impatient as always, couldn't handle long pauses and blurted out.

“Just kiss her already, Drew!” he shouted out from the front of the car.

When we both didn't move, Noland covered his eyes and said, “Look, I'm not even looking!”

I smiled and touched Misty's cheek. I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. She looked dazed by it all and slowly got out of the car.

°°°Misty°°°

I watched the car drive away, then I walked slowly inside. I seemed to be in a dream. Wallace was in the kitchen finishing up the last of the dishes. He turned around.

“Misty?” He seemed confused and looked as if he wanted to know where my sisters were when I shouted:

“Drew kissed me, Wallace!”

He looked shocked.

“What? When, where? Did you use protection” he asked.

And I told him the whole story.

End of Chapter Three

[Master of All]

great chapter
i hope to see more like this, and yes i am not those who comment on every mistake, i don't really like those people.

[bigbro123]

this is very good amazing chapeter nice imagination