Rating: PG-13, I guess. There's some violence, and a little language... not much, but still...

Other: Hi-ho, hi-ho, once again to the past we go/ They're both thirteen now ain't that keen?/ Hi- ho, hi-ho...

Jessie and James had been wandering around the mainland for three years. Now they took a break in Sunny Town to celebrate James' thirteenth birthday.

"Not that I'll get what I really want," James sighed, laying back in the grass. "To grow a couple inches."

James, who was just under four feet, was more than a head shorter than Jessie's five foot five.

"Don't worry about it," Jessie said cheerfully. "You're bound to hit a growth spurt one of these days, like I did. You said your parents were tall."

James shuddered. "Don't remind me about THOSE TWO. Not today." Jessie only laughed. James eyed her oddly. "What's with you??"

Jessie played with something behind her back. "Oh, nothing. I was going to give something to someone who was actually happy about today, since he is a teen now, but since you're not interested..."

"You got me a present??" James wondered, scrambling off the ground. Jessie held the small box up high, just out of his reach. It was a trick she loved doing. "C'mon Jess! I really don't wanna kick your butt today."

Jessie handed over the gift. "In your dreams little man."

James ripped the mottled wrapping paper off much like a five-year old would. He squealed in pleasure. A shiny new Pokéball, with the inscription "Koffing" on the side sat in his hand.

"Oh my God! Jessie, I can't believe you got this!"

"Well, I knew how much you wanted a Pokémon, and you were always going on about how great Koffing was..." Jessie began.

James, caught up in the moment, gave her a hug. "Did I ever tell you how much I loved you?!"

Jessie shoved him off. "Many times. Happy thirteenth."

James stopped short. He raised an eyebrow. "But wait a sec... how'd you get the money?"

"Not that it's any of your business," Jessie hesitated, then continued quickly. "I traded my Magnemite."

"Really?" Jessie nodded. James blushed. "You didn't have to do that."

"Sure I did," Jessie insisted, "and it's not like I liked it that much anyway." She punched James playfully on the shoulder. "C'mon, let's go get some dinner. I swiped some cash off the sap I traded with, so we can actually eat real food today."

After a satisfying lunch, the duo decided to wander through town and enjoy the atmosphere. As they were walking down a backstreet, Jessie noticed a bike laying in a dark corner. Curious, she went to check it out.

"Sa-weet!" Jessie exclaimed excitedly.

James ran over to see what she was talking about. "What? It's just some broken bike."

Jessie kneeled down next to the handlebars, running a hand over it possessively. "Not just any bike. It's a Mountaineer 5000, with top-speeds of 75 miles an hour, ten gears and brakes that'll stop on a dime!"

"But it's broken," James pointed out, utterly bored by the entire thing.

Jessie held up the bike chain, "It is now, but if I can fix this we'll be riding like kings and queens to the next town!"

James leaned against the wall, yawning. "It doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me. And if the bike's so great than it probably belongs to someone."

"If they're stupid enough to leave this baby out in an alley alone then they deserve to have to stolen," Jessie justified.

"So, I'm stupid huh?"

Jessie and James involuntarily jumped. Turning sharply, they saw the silhouettes of ten teenagers, all of whom were at least a year older than they were. The tallest stepped forward, soJessie and James could see him clearly. He was a big guy, more muscle then fat, with blue-spiked hair and a dog collar. He looked like he was about twenty, but he couldn't have been much older than sixteen.

"What're two little maggots like you doin' around here?" he snapped. "This here alley's Dragon Gang territory, which means yer trespassin' on MY property."

Jessie mustered up enough courage to speak. "And who are you?"

"Spike," he introduced. "Leader of the Dragons. And I think you've got yer dirty hands on my Mountaineer."

"Oh! This is yours!?" James babbled nervously. "I'm so sorry, we didn't know. Um, real nice bike and all, we'll just be on our way..."

"Not so fast!" Spike growled. "No one touches my stuff and gets away with it. Whadda ya say gang, should I teach 'em a lesson?"

"Pokémon battle! Pokémon battle!" the bikers cheered.

"Well, that doesn't seem so bad," James commented.

"Ha! We play differently around here," Spike laughed. "Tell 'em the rules Evian!"

A girl Spike's age, who seemed to be the second in command stepped forward. "If you win, 'Mad Dog' Spike let's ya walk free. But if ya lose-"

"Then I get to pound yer faces into the cement!" Spike interrupted. Most of the gang broke out into wicked laughs.

"Uh, Jess, I think this is the part where we haul outta here," James whispered.

"Not an option. The alley's a dead end, and that gang is blocking our only escape," she flashed a malicious smile. "Besides, if it comes down to a fist-fight, we can take him. We've done it before."

"Yeah, but Ryan wasn't nick-named Mad Dog!" James argued. He sighed. "Maybe we'll just win the Pokémon battle and won't have to worry about it. And at least I'll get to try out my Koffing."

Jessie gave James one last encouraging smile, then turned back to Spike and Evian. "Sounds good to us. How do we play?"

"I'm feelin' generous," Spike told her. "You two can use one Pokémon each, and I'll only use one."

"Fair enough," Jessie agreed. She and James threw out their Pokéballs, ready to fight.

"Go Kangaskhan!" Spike shouted, sending out his Pokémon.

Jessie cursed under her breath. "Those things are good. Ekans, poison sting!"

She elbowed James, who added hastily, "Koffing, sludge attack!"

Ekans' poison sting was right on the money. It hit Kangaskhan full force, but the Pokémon just shook it off. James' Koffing, however, wasn't the most accurate gas cloud (the fact that he didn't have much battle experience didn't help either). His sludge attack went wild, hitting Spike on the head.

The gang gasped. Spike didn't move. Jessie and James called back their Pokémon, unsure of what was going to happen now.

Spike ran a hand through his hair, trying to get out some of the sewage. He wiped his eyes clean, glaring daggers at James. "You did that on purpose!"

"I, I-"

Faster than the eye could follow Spike had pulled out a switchblade. He tossed it from one hand to the other. "Oh, you shouldn't have down that. That was a major mistake punk."

"It was an accident, I didn't-"

James never finished his sentence. Spike charged, blade held out and ready to slash. Height and speed were the only things that saved James. He rolled away from the enraged gang leader, escaping untouched. Spike turned, ready to attack, but he never got the chance. Jessie slammed the forgotten bike chain into Mad Dog's face, knocking him out cold.

"Anyone else?" Jessie asked, twirling the chain boldly.

James stood up, gasping for air.

"You okay?" Jessie wondered.

James never answered. He was staring open-mouthed at the defeated gang members. Jessie followed his gaze.

The group, with the exception of Evian, who had run over to Spike, was kneeling in front of them, helmets to their chests and heads bowed.

"What's going on?" Jessie demanded.

"You've beaten our old leader, Mad Dog," Evian answered bitterly. "The law says that you two are now the new leaders."

"The what!?" James yelped. "Hold on a sec, we can't-"

"It's the Law of the Bikers!" the crowd chanted. "The leader and their second-in-command must step down and leave the gang forever!"

"I don't think that's going to happen," Jessie stated.

"It has to! It's the law!" they continued.

Two of the members, a boy and a girl, stood up. The girl was short, even more so than James, with wild green eyes and brown hair that stayed back in a braid. The boy, a good three inches taller than Jessie, had arms and legs too long for his body, calm hazel eyes and a mop of black hair that wouldn't stay down. All in all, they didn't look much like the biking type. The two made their way over to Jessie and James.

"What are your names, Dragon Leaders?" the boy asked.

"Jessie."

"James."

"James? Jessie?" the girl snorted. She kept her voice low so the group wouldn't hear her. "Those aren't biker names. Now, Jess and Jim... that could work..."

The two bikers had a whispered conference, then turned to the others. "Long live Big Jess and Little Jim!"

"Big Jess and Little Jim!" came the reply.

"LITTLE JIM???" James questioned. "Of all the-"

Jessie elbowed him none-too-lightly in the ribs. "Shut up. Just humor them until I figure out how to get out of this mess." With that said, she turned to the boy and girl, saying in a royal manner, "And who exactly are you?"

"Lauren," the girl replied.

"Kyle," answered the boy.

"Your humble servants," they added in unison, bowing low.

"But seriously," Lauren began, "we're supposed to train you two on how to be the leaders. This is gonna be weird- we've never had two leaders at the same time."

"What about Evian and Spike?" Jessie asked. She turned her head in the direction of the two, but they were already gone. "Hey, where'd they-"

"Fallen leaders never hang around for very long. It's kinda embarassing, I guess," Lauren shrugged. "As to your other question, Evian was just Spike's chosen second-in-command. She really didn't have much power, except that she was Spike's girlfriend."

"Seems like enough power to me," James muttered.

Kyle laughed. "If you'd prefer Jim, you could be the second. Usually the girlfriend takes that place but since Jess is the one who really did beat Spike-"

"Hold up!" Jessie interrupted. "What do you mean by that 'usually it's the girlfriend' thing?"

"Well," Kyle said slowly, choosing his words, "you're... you know..."

Lauren, who didn't seem to be the type who thought before speaking, blurted out, "You're dating, aren't you?"

Dead silence.

James stood there, not sure how Jessie would react. He had a feeling that things could get nasty- when Jessie was embarassed she tended to get violent.

Jessie threw back her head and laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

"Er," stuttered Lauren, no doubt shocked by her reaction.

Jessie jerked a thumb at James. "'Jimmy' over there is a lot of things- my best friend, my partner in crime, and my fighting buddy. But he will never- I repeat, never- be my boyfriend."

Though it seemed like an odd thing to do, the way Jessie and had handled the situation was actually the best. Everyone seemed to loosen up a bif after that, getting up from their kneeling positions and going back to get their bikes.

"Oh! Right, bikes!" Lauren exclaimed, remembering the most important thing a biker had. She gestured towards the broken Mountaineer. "That, my friends, is the bike leader's cycle. Handles like a dream, smooth as glass."

"The only problem is," Jessie stated, "that it's completely useless."

Kyle blew out a shrill whistle. In moments a kid about a year or so older than Jessie and James came racing around the corner with a box of tools and a bike chain.

Jessie held up the chain she had used to beat Spike. "You don't need a new chain, all you have to do is put this back on-"

"No," Lauren insisted. "You keep it. Who knows? It might be useful."

In a few minutes the bicycle was back in order and ready to ride.

"The only question is: who gets it? Jess or Jim?" Kyle thought aloud.

"Jessie," James piped up immediately. Seeing everyone's looks, he explained quickly, "she was the one who wanted it in the first place. I'm not that excited about it anyway."

The decision made, Lauren and Kyle, followed by Jessie rolling her new bike, showed James out to where his cycle was.

"This one," Lauren said, patting the seat tenderly, "was Evian's. Mountaineer 4000, not quite like the ol' 5000, but still quite a prize. We'll have to switch your seats around, but that won't take too long."

Another whistle from Kyle, and the mechanic was once again at work switching the boy and girl's seats to the right bikes.

"This is Sam," Lauren introduced. "But you can call him Wrench. He's at your beck and call; our own free mechanical genius."

Wrench nodded politely, but kept to his work.

"Does he talk?" James wondered.

"Course I do," Wrench answered for himself. "I just got work t'do is all."

"Now that's dedication," Lauren said, giving Wrench a gentle slap on the back. "There's others in the gang, too. Like Wheels and Hawk and Jet... but you'll meet them later."

Kyle glanced anxiously at his watch. He whispered something to Lauren, whose eyes widened in surprise.

"What's going on?" Jessie questioned.

"Kyle just reminded me that we were supposed to have a fight with the Gyrados gang on the other side of town. If we don't show, they'll say we bailed and grab some of our territory," Lauren said, biting her lip. "I hate to put this on you on your first day, but..."

Jessie was immediately on her Mountaineer and ready for action. "No problem. I'd love to give this baby a try."

Lauren clapped her hands happily. "Great! I'll get the rest of the gang and head 'em out. Don't just stand there Jim, you've got a gang to lead!" And with that she had disappeared down a street, apparently off to find the others.

James, who'd hardly said a word throughout all of this, still seemed reluctant to get on.

"What's wrong?" Jessie asked. "Hop on, you'll love it."

"Maybe I'll sit this battle out. After all, I did just get attacked by a giant."

"And I just attacked a giant," Jessie pointed out. "So? Get on."

James mumbled something unintelligble under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I... I can't ride," he confessed. "I never got past training wheels when I was younger."

James expected a laugh from Wrench, or at least Kyle, but neither of the two seemed to think his problem was funny. In fact, they acted like it was totally normal.

"Wrench," Kyle directed, "you know what to do."

Wrench pulled a pair of training wheels out of his backpack and immediately began screwing them on. Noticing James' red face, Wrench assured him, "It's not the end of the world Little Jim. Training wheels don't make you a bad rider."

"Exactly," Kyle agreed. "I only got off them myself a few years ago."

It was an obvious lie, but it made James feel better. He climbed onto the 4000, gripping the handlebars confidently. Kicking away the stand, he nodded to Jessie. "Let's go."

Lauren had done her mission. Before long the entire gang was following Jessie and James, who were getting directions from Lauren on where to go. Finally, they arrived on a deserted street in the ghost part of town.

"It's kinda spooky," James said quietly.

Lauren nodded. "We prefer to have our little battles here, that way no one gets hurt."

"No one one but us," Kyle muttered.

"No one but us," she echoed, smiling cockily.

They heard them before the saw them. The Gyrados' came roaring up the street, howling like animals and drawing as much attention to themselves as humanly possible. A tough-looking girl, who must have been the leader, pulled up a few feet from Jessie and James.

The girl spat contemptuosly. "Who're you?"

"The new leaders," Kyle explained.

"Ha! Nah, really. Where's Spike?" she cackled at the joke, taking a puff of cigarette.

"Spike," Jessie began bravely. "Just got defeated a little while ago- by us."

The cigarette fell out of her mouth as she laughed even harder. "You!? Beat him!? And you expect me to believe that?" She looked Jessie and James up and down, smirking. "You look like a couple of runaways. Better go back home to mommy before she gets worried."

The gang broke out into screeching laughter.

Jessie's eyes blazed. Without a second thought she swung the chain that she still held on to and hit the gang leader across the back. She yelped in pain.

"Runaways, huh?" James growled. "Oh, there'll be someone running away today. But it isn't gonna be us!"

Then all hell broke loose. The fight of the century, some bikers would later call it. Those on the winning side, anyway. Jessie used the chain with deadly accuracy, and since James didn't have to balance himself as much as the others, he was able to maneuver better. Between the two, the beat up at least half the gang.

Kyle and Lauren had sprung alive the moment the fight began. The two normally laid back teens showed why they were in such high positions in the gang.

Before long it was all over. The Gyrados' leader, clutching a broken nose, ordered a retreat. The street was empty as quickly as it had filled.

James looked around. "We won?"

A cheer burst from every throat of every member. Even Wrench was going wild.

Jessie couldn't help but smile. "What's so great? You've won before."

Lauren slapped Jessie on the back. "Not to the Gyrados crew! They always beat us, and they always take some of our territory! Now we get it back!"

"Not bad for a first battle, huh?" Kyle chuckled, elbowing James in the ribs.

"This calls for a party," Lauren declared. "Everyone, to the Down Under!"

Jessie and James, caught up in the excitement, followed the yelling bike squad down to a small, beat-up pub. The bartender, who seemed to be on good-terms with the gang, heard the good news and offered free drinks to everyone. More than a few ordered a beer or two, but Jessie and James stuck to legal drinks.

Lauren stood, holding her mug high. "To Chainer Jess and Trainer Jim! May they lead us to a thousand victories!"

Not a single person didn't drink to that.

Later that night, after all the gang was asleep; exhausted by the day's activites, Jessie and James sat out by the lake, enjoying a little bit of quiet.

"This is great!" Jessie commented, stretching. "We've got power, food, and best of all people who love us! Pretty good birthday present, doncha think?"

James nodded. "Yeah, but it can't last, you know. All gang members end up getting in prison eventually. We should probably split as soon as we can."

All he got was a noncommital shrug. "I'm trying to figure out a way to break the news to them."

There was still one thing troubling James' mind. Earlier that day, when Kyle and Lauren had asked about their relationship, Jessie had burst out laughing. Did she think it was that stupid of an idea? Not that he was interested...

James looked over at Jessie; really looked at her. His eyes widened. Jessie was pretty. Not just a normal, "oh, she's cute" pretty- really beautiful. It was the first time he'd ever thought about it. After all, she was a girl...

Jessie felt him looking at her. "What's up? Something wrong?"

"No, not really. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

James blushed. "About what Kyle and Lauren said earlier. About us."

"Oh, that!" Jessie laughed. "Pretty crazy, huh?"

"I don't think so," he said quietly. "Is it really that stupid of an idea? I mean, we've been friends forever-"

"Exactly!" Jessie emphasized. "We're friends! Just friends! If you want a girlfriend I could probably set you up with Hallie. She adores you."

"No, that's okay. Forget I said anything."

After a moment of silence, Jessie remarked, "Come to think of it, EVERYONE adores us."

"Even so, we should figure out how to get out of this," James reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm working on it."

Jessie never did "work on it," and James eventually stopped mentioning it. The simple truth was that they were enjoying themselves too much. Idolized by everyone, feared by other gangs, and wanted by police, they lived the life of something close to a celebrity.

They wouldn't find out until much later, but after they left the gang stories would still be told about them. It was claimed that during "The Era of Jess and Jim" the Dragon Gang never lost a battle. That very well might have been true.

Jessie and James got into the swing of gang life, learned to live by the law of the gang, and were finally accepted by the other leaders around the area. Everything was going great. For a while...

James collapsed on the old velvet couch that sat in the corner of the Down Under. "Nothin' like kicking the crap out of the Gyrados crew to make you thirsty, huh Jess?"

Jessie nodded, taking a seat in a chair.

Lauren grabbed a Bud Light and sauntered over to the two. "I've got some interesting news for you."

"What's up?" Jessie wondered.

"We've got a couple teens outside askin' to join the gang. Jackson and Rita."

"More?" James questioned. "God, the gang's already packed."

Lauren shrugged. "You can always use more members. An' these two look pretty tough. Kyle's bringin' 'em in... oh! Here he is right now! Hey hun, did you get 'em?"

Kyle jerked a thumb at two kids about Jessie and James' age. The girl had blonde hair tied back in a tight ponytail, with bored, hazel eyes, but it was the boy who caught everyone's attention. He had jet-black, ear-length hair and bright blue eyes. A little taller than James (who'd finally hit his long-awaited growth spurt), the teen reeked with good looks and charm.

Jessie practically flew to him. "Hey! So you wanna join the Dragons?"

Jackson nodded, smiling winningly at her. "Of course. This is the best gang, and I can see why. With a leader like you how COULD they lose?"

Jessie blushed like there was no tomorrow. Lauren and Kyle exchanged knowing looks.

James frowned. "There are certain qualifications, you know. Do you know anything about gangs and the laws?"

Rita flounced over to him, plopping herself down next to him. "Well, for one, I know you're the cutest thing since the Backstreet Boys."

James wasn't impressed. "But what do you know about GANGS???"

"Everything," Jackson answered. "We were in one at our old town."

"Pretty high up on the social ladder too," Rita added.

"You're in," Jessie said before James could add any more input. "I'm Jess, this is Ja- er, Jim. That's Lauren, Kyle, Wrench, and-"

"We have plenty of time to learn they're names," Jackson said softly. "Right now I'd like to learn a little about you. If that's okay with you, of course."

"Hell yeah," Jessie agreed. "Follow me."

The two had disappeared into a back room before anyone could blink.

"How sweet," Lauren said melodramatically. "Love has hit our Chainer! But then again, Cupid's arrow strikes without warning..."

"I think it's done that for me too," Rita cooed, looking meaningfully at James.

James shrugged. "What? You like Jackson too or something?"

"I was talking about you."

"No crap. I was being sarcastic." He stood up. "Oh, and Rita? I'm not interested."

He left the pouting Rita and partying gang to take a walk down the lake coast. Sometimes, when everything got a little too noisy, he and Jessie would do this. James had a feeling they wouldn't be doing much of anything together and alone anymore.

Two days later, James, Kyle and Lauren sat out on the dock, watching the boats pass.

"That Jackson's really something, huh?" Lauren commented suddenly. "He's got Jessie head over heels for him."

"I don't think he's that great," James argued. "I mean, what does everyone see in him? What's he got that I don't have?"

"Charisma, charm, mystery-" Lauren began.

"A good two inches over you-" Kyle continued.

"Love handles that were made for grabbing, and deep blue eyes that scream 'I need you, I want you'," Lauren finished. She chuckled at the last ones.

"But we don't even know him," James insisted. "I mean, why would Jessie go nuts over someone she barely knows when there's a million guys in this gang who would jump at the chance to date her?"

"Women are confusing," Kyle told him. "That's what I always tell myself."

"And why are you freaking out over this any-" realization struck Lauren. "Oh! I get it!"

"Get what?" both James and Kyle asked.

Lauren elbowed James in the ribs. "Romeo over here's got a major crush on our own little Juliette. Am I right, or am I right?"

James blushed a deep red. "Well, maybe just a little-"

"Please," Kyle interrupted. "Look at him! I've seen tomatoes a lighter red than that!"

"Shut up, so what if I do like her?" James snapped. "It doesn't really matter anyway. She's got Jackson now."

"Why haven't you ever said anything?" Lauren questioned. "To her, or us?"

James shrugged. "I tried- once. Back when we first joined the gang. She laughed and said it was a crazy idea."

"Only once?" Kyle started laughing. "Idiot! If I'd only tried once Lauren here never would have given me a second look. But I was persistent, and-"

"You annoyed me so much that I went ahead and said yes just to get you to shut up," Lauren finished. "But then I decided that I kinda liked ya. And here we are!"

"Yeah, well, people screw up sometimes, you know?" James argued. "Besides, she seems pretty happy with what's-his-name anyway."

"She seemed pretty happy when it was just the two of you," Lauren argued. "Come on Jim, take a chance. Shoot for the moon-"

"Even if you miss you'll land among the stars," Kyle finished philosophically. "Or come crashing back down to Earth in a giant fireball. Either way."

"Thanks Kyle," James grumbled. "That makes me feel muuuuch better."

"What he's trying to say," Lauren said, giving Kyle a sharp elbow to the ribs, "is that you'll never know unless you try. Just go on up to her and tell her what you told us- except romantically. Some girls dig that mushy crap."

James stood up. "Maybe I will. Thanks you guys."

He left the two teens cuddling up to each other and made his way over to where Jackson and Jessie were sitting.

"All right," he said to no one. "Here's my chance. I go over, and I say... Oh God, what am I gonna say? I'm not a freakin' poet or anything!" He took a breath, walking closer to the secluded spot where the two usually went. "No biggie. I'll just be like, 'Jackson, can I talk to Jess real quick,' and then tell her what I wanna say. She says no... I melt into the ground, build a time machine and go back to ten minutes before Lauren and Kyle talked me in to this." Finally, after what seemed like days, James stood before the quiet dock. "Here goes nothing."

James started to walk into the moonlit clearing, but stopped suddenly. There, on the lakeside dock sat Jessie and Jackson, talking quietly. Suddenly, Jackson pulled Jessie's face towards his and kissed her lightly on the lips. Jessie made no move to stop him, and returned the gesture with her own.

James stomped off into the surrounding shrubs, trying to hold in his anger and distress.

"So what happened?" Lauren asked him the next day. "Nothin' good, judgin' by your face."

"Shut up, I don't wanna talk about it," James growled, hopping on to his Mountaineer 4000.

"C'mon Jim, give us a little info," Kyle persuaded.

"Don't we have a battle today?" James asked, changing the subject. He looked around for Jessie. "Do you know where my co-leader is?"

"Talking to Jack-" Laurne began, but stopped when she saw James' look. "Oh, that bad huh?"

"Yaa," he agreed. "Let's just drop it and pretend nothing happened, okay?"

"Cool with me," Kyle and Lauren said simultaneously. They looked at each other, laughing.

"Dude, it's like we've got ESP or something," Kyle joked.

James sighed. He and Jessie used to do that too.

"Hey, Jim!" Jessie exclaimed, panting as she wheeled her bike up to him. She stopped half an inch from hitting him, grinning happily. "Ready to rumble?"

"Whatever," James muttered. "Let's get this over with."

"What crawled up your butt and died?" Jessie wondered, half-teasing.

"Your boyfriend," James said under his breath, making sure Jessie didn't hear him. "Everyone's waiting for us to give the signal. Come on."

And they were off, a confused Jess and a grumbling Jim leading the way.

The fight was a short one- the Dragons won, naturally- but the count of injured on Jessie and James' side was higher than usual. Their leader's odd moods had affected the rest of the gang; still, a win was a win, and all cuts heal eventually.

James watched the others celebrating, not much in a partying mood himself. Jessie and Jackson remained glued to the hip, only parting when one of them would go up to the bar to get a drink. James rubbed a quickly forming lump on his kneecap- normally he and Jessie didn't get hurt, because they were always looking out for the other one, but today Jessie had been protecting her beloved Jackson.

He took a swig of beer irritably (J&J had long since gotten over their illegal drinking fear), glancing over to where Rita was sitting, gossiping with a few other girls. She looked over at James, smiled, and winked. James pulled down an eyelid (which, in Japan, is like flipping someone off) and shut the flirtatious girl up.

Jackson stretched. "I'm pretty beat. D'you mind if I hit the sack a little earlier than usual, Jess?"

Jessie shrugged. "Go nuts. I'll hang out here for a little while longer."

The teen walked off, and Jessie sidled over to where James was sitting.

"You okay?" she wondered. "You seem sorta out of it today."

"I'm fine," James said lightly. "I guess I'm just a little tired or something; I stayed up pretty late last night."

"You're such a party-guy," Jessie teased.

James forced a smile. It wasn't a complete lie, anyway. He had been up half the night- for some reason after seeing the girl you'd had a crush on for two years kissing another guy made you a little restless.

A few minutes later Jessie noted that Rita too excused herself from the party and headed towards camp. She raised an eyebrow. Even though Jessie was positive that Jackson loved her, she always wondered if the two had at one time had a thing and Rita might try to make a move...

"Hey, Jim," Jessie said after a couple seconds. "I think I'm gonna go to bed too. Don't get too drunk, okay? We've got another fight tomorrow."

Another fake smile, then, "Okay. See you in the morning."

Jessie headed towards where Jackson normally set up camp. As she neared the spot, she heard two familiar voices: Rita's and her own boyfriend's.

"Are you making any progress with him?" Jackson demanded so harshly that Jessie wondered if maybe it was a different guy talking. He was usually so soft-spoken.

"Not a thing. I swear, Jim is either gay or in love with someone else, 'cause everytime I put the move on him he answers with an insult." That came from Rita. "What about you and Jess?"

"In the palm of my hand. You know how great of a charmer I am," he said smugly. "And how much of a genius I am too."

"Can't argue with that, sugar. I don't know how you ever thought this one up. It's utterly perfect! Before long the two of us are gonna be livin' large as the leaders of this pack."

"Not unless you start persuading Jim to get with you! I can't do all of this myself, you know. The idea is that each of us get on their good sides and we both become co-leaders at the same time. Or did you forget that, O Airhead Beauty?" Jackson said teasingly.

"I never forget nothin' you say, Jack-o," Rita cooed.

Jessie didn't want to hear anymore. She didn't want to have heard any of it. Jackson and Rita were trying to knock her and James off the top spot? The hell they would!

Jessie stomped into their campsite, catching the two totally by surprise.

"Nice plan," she said coldly. "It only has one flaw- you didn't keep your fat mouths shut about it."

Rita and Jackson both jumped up, completely off-guard.

"Hi Big Jess! Whatcha doin' here?" Rita asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Give it up girl. I heard the whole thing," Jessie snapped. Jackson tried to say something, but Jessie stopped him with a few harsh words. "Just get out of here. Both of you. We don't need people like you hanging around here."

"Hey, Jess, it's not what it looks like," Jackson started to say. "I really do like you-"

"Cut the crap, Jack-ass. Normally the whole gang'd beat you to a bloody pulp if something like this happened, but I'm feeling generous today. You've got ten minutes to pack up and leave or I'll tell everyone exactly what's going on behind our backs."

Wordlessly the two traitors did as she said.

"Out. I don't care where you go. Get as far away from me as possible."

The duo picked up their bags, nodded, and walked off, leaving Jessie alone.

She felt her eyes begin to well up with tears, but immediately made herself stop. Crying was pointless- it wasn't as if she hadn't gotten her heart ripped to pieces before.

"I'm a moron," she thought to herself. "I still haven't learned my lesson, have I? Guys are all jerks- I'm through with them. Fed up, and completely through."

She headed back to her own campsite, threw on some pajamas and went to sleep, vowing that the next guy who tried to get near her would get his brains beaten in.

The next day, after another successful fight, people asked Jessie where Jackson and Rita had been.

"I didn't see 'em- they sick or something?" Jet queried.

"You would know, he's you're boyfriend an' all," Hawk added.

"I'm not his keeper or anything," she replied a bit too harshly. "I found a note on his sleeping bag saying that he and Rita were on the run from the police and had to move on. They're gone, and we can all move on with our lives."

Of course, this brought even more attention to Jessie, who just wanted to be left alone, as people told her how "sorry they were that she'd lost her true love."

Jessie was finally able to break away from the crowd and find a little peace on th secluded dock where she and James used to hang out. When she got there, she found James laying back, staring at the clear sky.

He looked at her when she sat down. "Hey Jess. Finally get away from your fanclub?"

She nodded. "What're you doing out here?"

"Prob'ly the same thing you are. Getting a break from life." He paused, then added, "Sorry about Jackson. I know how close you were."

Jessie stiffened at the name. "Whatever. Life goes on."

He shot her an odd look. "You don't seem too sad about it." Another hesitation, then, "That's not the real story, is it? Something else happened, huh?"

Jessie was about to tell him, then stopped. She looked at her lavender-haired best friend, the one person who she had told most everything to, and wanted to smack him. Wanted to smack him for being so nice all the time; wanted to smack him for caring about her... wanted to smack him for the same reason she wanted to hit Jackson- because he was a guy. And all guys were jerks.

"Even if it did, it's none of your business!" she snapped, back-handing him.

James fell backwards, one hand touching the spot where he'd been hit. Jessie had shoved him around before, but nothing like this. He just stared at her, unsure of what to do.

Jessie felt sorry the minute her hand connected with his face, but didn't let it show. James was just another guy, just another jerk. The only difference was that he was still her friend, and Jessie couldn't help but like him.

"What was that for?" James screeched.

For being too nice to me, Jessie wanted to say. For letting me think that someone actually cares. For giving a crap about my life.

But all she told him was, "For asking stupid questions that have nothing to do with you! Now shut up- I don't want to talk to anyone."

They sat there like that, in awkward silence for a few minutes, as Jessie cooled off and James tried to figure out what was happening to his friend.

Jessie's anger died down soon enough, but she knew she would never apologize to James. She never did. Instead she stood up, turning to James. "You know, I'm sick of this gang. It's been fun, but I'm ready to move on. What do you say we ditch this place?"

His eyes met hers, and for a split second it looked like James was going to hit her too, but all he did was nod and say, "Yeah. Let's go tell Lauren and Kyle to find some new leaders."

"Great," Jessie said. She offered James a hand. He took it and stood up.

James knew that in that offering of politeness Jessie had just apologized for everything. She could never say it, and James knew it, but she would show it in other ways. He just had to look for the signs.

"Thanks." James said, following her back to the main campground.

That was James' way of saying, "Apology accepted," Jessie thought with the tiniest bit of a smile.

But he was still a jerk.

"Hurry up, we don't have all day," Jessie yelled at him suddenly. "If you walked any slower you'd be going backwards!"

James sighed. She was still his best friend, and he knew she always would be, but at the same time he realized that things would never be the same again.

Because something had happened last night that could never be undone.

"It's gonna be weird not having twenty people at your beck and call, not being able to ride around on a Mountaineer, and not having just about anything you could want," Jessie commented as the two strolled down a street in Sunny Town. "I hope Lauren and Kyle can train those Tyra and Chopper kids well. They seem like they have potential."

"Jessie, are you regretting leaving?" James asked. "I thought you wanted to move on."

"I do... but I don't want the gang to fall apart either," Jessie justified, secretly feeling exactly what James had accused her of.

"They'll be fine," he assured her. "It's for the best, I'm sure. And you know, I'm almost glad we left that place."

"You are? Why?" Jessie wondered curiously.

James smiled. "I always hated being called Jim."

Author's Note: So, how was it? I thought that seemed pretty realistic, and it explained why Jessie always beats James up now. A little more dramatic than I had first planned...oh well. And yes, I did find out after writing this that James' Koffing was a Christmas present, not birthday, but I was too lazy to change it, plus it fit the storyboard. So, if you wanna write and complain about how lazy and dumb I am, feel free to at my address, Jayhawkfan35@yahoo.com