92.
chapter ninety-two:
I, Ash Ketchum,
take another oath.
this time, to
better myself for
her.

The car quieted down, the vibrations ceasing with the motion. I inhaled sharply, mentally voicing positive affirmations. She wanted me to become an optimist.

I got out of the car in a clumsy action and, with a tap, locked it. She wanted me to lock my jealousy behind bars.

Misty's home wasn't as grand as Gary's. It was just like mine but with three stories and a swimming pool outside instead of a wide lawn. Stepping stones led to the door, which had elaborate designs of mermaids carved over them. A nameplate hung to the side, the name of her elder sister, Daisy, embedded into it.

I approached it slowly, contemplating my steps and coming up with appropriate sentences to speak, even though a part of my mind knew it was futile; I was going to forget them the minute I saw blue. She wanted me to quit being reckless and mull words over before uttering them to the world.

Bringing my knuckles up, I rapped at the wood. She wanted me to smile, to hear me laugh, to see me grin.

I heard hustling before the door creaked open to reveal Misty in a dress. I quirked an eyebrow at her, and she mirrored the action.

"I never knew you wore dresses on days other than special occasions. What's special today?" I asked, to which she rolled her eyes and let me in.

"I'll take that as a compliment. The special occasion today is the presence of your exquisite-in-fashion-taste girlfriend. We were having our girl time, and you decided to walk in. What's the matter with you, dude? You do realize she might not wish to see you right now, don't you?" Misty harrumphed, crossing her arms and giving me a piercing glare.

"I do, and I'm only going to steal her for five minutes. You can continue with your 'femme fatale time' after that," I retorted, urging her to lead me to the one I wanted to meet. Misty snorted but nevertheless obliged.

"The last time I checked, Gary and you are the male fatales of our gang."

I choked in disbelief but didn't retort, instead choosing to complete my list of affirmations. Remember to keep your word, and try to be a better guy.

In a few moments, we were standing in front of yet another door on the second story. On the way, I encountered her sisters, Daisy and Lily, but only managed to finish small talk before being whisked away by my best friend.

"Look," Misty started, eyes blazing as she let her hands rest on my shoulders. "Whatever you're gonna do, I pray you don't do something stupid because whenever you're worried, everything you do is idiotic."

I winced at her words. "Thanks for the note of positivity, Misty, but I'm clear in the head."

She regarded me for a minute before opening the door and peeking in. She yelled something I could not quite make out, as, despite my sarcasm, my mind had fled its enclosure of sanity.

Misty threw the door wide open, strode in, and then came out with her arm looped around a perplexed Gary's. I briefly wondered if Misty and Serena's 'girl time' involved Gary. The very thought would have provoked a violent snicker if only I hadn't been elbowed into the room.

The windows were agape, just like her face, which looked aghast as if she had sighted a rare occurrence or a paranormal spirit like a ghost. I hesitated before Dad's voice rang in my mind: "Else, I'm afraid to state you'd lose her forever."

Steeling myself, I trotted forward to face her but stopped short three feet away. "Can I please have five minutes of your time?" I started and only continued when she nodded. "Serena, I realize that you want us to take a break so as not to ruin our relationship."

"Yes."

"In that case," I dragged, clenching my fists. The precise words and sentences I had thought of before this very moment collapsed into nothing, leaving me stranded on an approach I was foreign to.

"I, Ash Ketchum, swear that I'll be a better person the next time we meet. If I do match your expectations, will you... take me back?"

Serena's face had turned comical with the extremely perfect gasp of "Oh." Should the situation be any lighter, I would have laughed. Thankfully, my chest was weighing any other positive emotion down, especially seeing how long she was taking to answer.

After what seemed like an eternity of rocking back and forth on my heels, she whispered, "I guess... I can love you." The colors I had seen upon her sight threatened to turn all dark again. I spoke up to beat the pessimism down.

"But I can't change without your help!"

Serena's face softened. She stood up from her chair and walked to grab my hand. We looked down at our intertwined hands, exchanging the other's warmth, identical smiles breaking out across our faces. My gaze slid to her, but she was still looking down.

Her gaze lingered on my bandaged palm; nevertheless, she didn't question what I had been up to. Either way, she looks adorable from this angle.

I felt myself falling into a deep trance. I had no idea when I'd get the chance to see her up so close, so I took to burning every feature of hers into the back of my eyes.

Those soft, honey curls that barely grazed her shoulders, the beautifully lined eyelids that housed an ocean that would need more than just echo detection to find the way out, her cute button nose that scrunched up whenever she sniffed, and the barely moisturized lips that drew me in.

"Yes, Ash. I'll be with you with every step of your transit."

I smiled widely and stepped away reluctantly when she dropped my hand. The warmth immediately fled to the future, but her essence still lingered on my skin.

"That's all I need because I can't imagine a life without you in it," I said earnestly, giving her one of my biggest grins. She didn't reply, but an identical expression lit up her face.

I realized, in that moment my heart picked everything it had and pumped the highest level of blood to my cheeks, that she made my days lovely and my nights brighter by a mile.

Oh, I was down bad for that smile.