From: PikachuGirl2538@aol.com

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon belongs to Gamefreak, Creatures
Inc., etc. I only own Kim Firestar.

Email PikachuGirl2538@aol.com with comments or questions.

A Clash of Hearts
Part 2 -- Ready or Not...

    Ash knocked on the guest room door. "Misty, I need to talk to you."

    "Well, I don't want to talk to you, so go away!" Misty yelled at Ash
through the door.

    "Are you made at me?" Ash asked her.

    A muffled "Go away!" came through the door. It sounded as if Misty was
crying into a pillow. Ash knocked on the door again. "Misty, please! Open the
door! I'm really worried about you now!"

    "Ash, I don't want to talk to you!"

    Ash started to get irritated. "Misty!"

    No answer came from the opposite side of the door. "Fine, then! Don't
talk to me!" Ash shouted, then he stomped to his bedroom and slammed the door.

    Brock had come walking through the front door, whistling a happy tune. He
raised an eyebrow as he heard yelling from upstairs. He slowly walked up the
stairs and saw Ash slam his bedroom door. He figured it was another, infamous
"Ash and Misty Fight", so he knew not to get involved.

    He went to his room and locked the door. He sat on his bed and turned the
TV on. "Finally, some peace and quiet," Brock said to himself. He sighed and
continued to watch Real World on MTV. He reached for the telephone and
proceded to dial. "I wonder what Suzie's up to?"

*********************

    Kim whistled as she set the table. Her happy little tune started to come
out as a song. "Gary, Gary, he's my man..." Kim trailed off as she realized
what she was singing. "No, Kim," she mumbled to herself. "You can't like him!
He's different now...After everything Ash said about him, I can't! Ash is my
best friend and I trust him."

    The doorbell rang, knocking Kim back to reality. She walked to the door
and answered it. "Hi, Ash! Mrs. Ketchem!" Kim said, as she nodded at them.

    "Hello, Kim. Thank you for inviting us to dinner. Where are your
parents?" Mrs. Ketchem asked.

    "Oh, they're in the living room. They're expecting you." Kim gestured to
the living room. "Go ahead."

    Mrs. Ketchem smiled. "Thank you, dear."

    Ash and Kim went into the kitchen to put the finishing touches on dinner.
"You know, Ash, we still have to catch up on a lot of things."

    Ash smiled. "Yeah, we didn't really get a chance to talk earlier."

    "Well, Ash...I've been meaning to ask you...Are you and Misty, you know,
a couple?" Kim asked.

    Ash chuckled uneasily. "Well, uh...no, we're not."

    Kim grinned. "Oh...What about Misty and Gary?"

    Ash laughed. "No...definitely not...they hate each other."

    Kim's grin widened. "Ok, cool."

    "Why?" Ash asked as he raised an eyebrow.

    Kim blushesd. "Oh, I was just wondering...that's all...What about Gary's
cheerleaders? Is he going out with any of them?"

    Ash began to understand. "Kim, you like Gary, don't you?"

    "Me? Like Gary? Oh, no...no, no, no...I don't like Gary."

    Ash grinned at Kim. "Yes, you do," he teased. "Kim likes Gary! Kim likes
Gary!"

    Kim ran around the table and placed her hand firmly over Ash's mouth.
"Ash! Shut up!"

    Ash pulled her hand off. "Ha! So you do! But why do you like him? He's
such a jerk. He's changed, Kim. He's really changed since he left," he said,
quite seriously. "Please don't get attached to him."

    Kim could tell Ash was really concerned. She pouted, then finally smiled
at Ash. "Ok, Ash. I promise not to get carried away."

    Ash smiled and nodded. "Good."

    Kim smiled too and gave Ash a hug. "Thank you, Ash." She gave him a kiss
on the cheek.

    "Ash Ketchem!" Misty shouted from the kitchen doorway.

    Kim and Ash jerked their heads up from the chairs at the kitchen table.
Kim automatically let go of Ash and blushed. Ash just looked shocked. "Hi,
Misty...what's up?" he said.

    Misty narrowed her eyes at Kim. "Nothing much, Ash...but I see things
here are really heating up."

    Ash looked at Kim then back at Misty. "Misty, it's not what you think."

    "Oh? Really? I don't believe you!"

    "Wait a second...why would you even care? All you wanted from me was your
dumb bike...Why should you care what I do with my own life?" Ash qusetioned.

    "You know what, Ash? I *don't* care! You can do whatever it is you want
to do...In fact, the reason I came here is to tell you that I'm going back to
Cerulean."

To be continued.........

-------------------------------
Comments? Questions?
Please be nice, I can handle criticism, but not when people are yelling at
me. For example, "You suck! Don't ever write anything ever again!"
Okay so maybe that's a little harsh, but you get the idea.

Kim Firestar -- PikachuGirl2538@aol.com