"Jessie," I asked, "where are we going? You never said." I looked at her expectantly. She was leaning up against the side of the basket, looking down at everything we passed over. She was taking her time in answering as well. I shifted my feet nervously. Maybe she didn't know where we were going either.
"Well," she finally replied, "my uncle has a little house a ways from the beach, just in case of emergency. I suppose this is close enough to an emergency, even though he never said I could use it. He's crazy," she added with a shake of her head. She resumed her former pose of staring at the countryside.
"I don't understand," I said. "Why's he crazy?"
After a bit she replied, "It's in case a volcano ever erupts and his house gets covered in lava." She snorted in derision.
I thought about that for awhile.
"Jessie," I asked again. "But wouldn't your uncle be... SMART to think that far ahead?" Before I knew what was happening, she'd whipped out that darned fan and slammed it down on my head.
"Ouch," I muttered, "what was that for?" I gingerly rubbed the lump that was growing on my head.
"James, you ARE an idiot," she snapped angrily. "There isn't a volcano within a thousand miles of here!"
Her glare could've turned a Charizard to ice. I lowered my head in embarrassment.
"Oh," was the only think I could think of to say. She turned her back on me, muttering something under her breath.
I stared at her sadly before I turned around and looked down the way she was. With Jessie being in such a bad mood, this was going to be much harder than I thought. Our "vacation" hadn't even begun yet and she was already mad at me. I resolved to try not to say anything stupid again to make her even more upset. But I wasn't about to give up yet. The first order of business would be to get her in a better mood...
I followed. The door was locked, of course. Jessie was undisturbed by this; she fished under the doormat and produced the key.
"Typical," she muttered, pushing the key in the lock. No sooner had she stepped inside the door than she whirled around, placing a hand on my chest. I stopped in midstride and stared at her, wide-eyed. My face flushed faintly and I hoped she didn't notice.
"My suitcase. I'll need it."
With that, she turned and walked into the house as I fell flat on my face. Picking myself up slowly, I reminded myself not to be stupid, and went out to get the suitcases. She at least could have asked politely anyway.
Moments later I had dragged them into the hall and left them there, until I knew where to put them. I continued along the hall and poked my head in the first door I came to, to see if Jessie was there. It appeared to be the main room, with several couches and chairs placed around it, a bookshelf full of books, and even a television. And Jessie WAS there, laying on her back on the biggest couch, her eyes closed and one hand on her forehead as if she had a headache. I wanted to comfort her, but I knew that now probably wasn't the right time, so I tiptoed past to continue exploring the house.
The first thing I found was the kitchen (of course). I had been wondering what we were going to eat, but there seemed to be enough food in the freezer, as well as some canned food, to last for a week (if I didn't get TOO hungry). I continued my exploration, passing a bathroom, a laundry room... until I came to the last room. The door was only slightly open, so I pushed it slowly and peeked in. Just as I suspected, it was a bedroom, the only one in the house apparently, and it looked pretty nice, with a bed that looked like it could hold three people. I just stood there, vaguely wondering whether Jessie would consider sharing a bed with...
My eyes bulged and my face burned bright red. When I came to my senses, I angrily smacked myself across the face a few times (since Jessie couldn't do it for me at the moment). I said aloud in my best imitation-Jessie voice, "Don't be an idiot James, you know it's never going to happen." I sighed heavily and headed back to the kitchen, rubbing my cheeks to take away the sting. I should've known I'd be spending a week sleeping on the couch anyway.
When I got there, I sat down at the table to think of what I could do first for Jessie. I remembered that she looked like she had a headache, so I went rummaging through drawers to find some aspirin (luckily there was some). I took a few of them, then poured a glass of water, adding some ice. I then walked very carefully (so I wouldn't spill the water) back to the main room. I looked in and she was still in the same spot. I tiptoed in nervously and stood in front of her, hoping she wouldn't be mad if she was sleeping and I woke her up.
"Jessie?" I whispered cautiously. "Jessie?" I said a little louder. I figured she couldn't hear me, so I crouched down so that my face was nearly level with hers.
"Jessie," I tried again, in a normal tone of voice. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at me in confusion.
"James, what..."
I anxiously held up the aspirin, saying, "I thought you could use these."
She looked it all over, the aspirin, the water, and my nervous face, then gave a brief nod and sat up. I watched her swallow the aspirin and then drink the entire glass of water. She gave me the empty glass and lay back down.
"Do you want more water?" I began. "Or a pillow or blanket, or maybe--"
"No," she cut me off with, rolling over so her back was to me. I gaped, then sighed.
I stood up slowly and walked to the kitchen to put the glass on the table. I felt dejected, for some reason. I wasn't sure what to do then, so I stumbled outside and sat on the porch, leaning up against the railing, and wondered what on earth I could've done wrong this time...
"James, are you going to sit out here and pout all night?" she demanded.
"I am NOT pouting," I said indignantly. She brought her face down level to mine and pointed at my mouth. I realized that my lower lip was sticking out and quickly pushed it back in.
"You should know better than to try to fool me James, I know you," she continued, sitting down next to me on the step. I still refused to look at her. After all, SHE was the one who'd been rude to me. What happened next was totally unexpected.
"James," she said slowly, "I'm sorry. I should have said thank you for what you did for me, I know you were trying to help."
At this point she laid a hand on my knee. My whole leg started to tingle. I'm not sure why. I was glad for the semi-darkness that hid the blush creeping up on my face. The fact that she was touching me without the intent of doing me serious bodily harm was almost too much for me.
"So forgive me, okay?" This last part had a hint of a threat in it, and I sighed. That was more like the Jessie I know.
"Okay, I forgive you," I said. I turned and looked at her. And kept looking.
She didn't have her Team Rocket uniform on. She must've got her suitcase and put it in her room. She was wearing a short pair of white shorts and a red tank top. I'd never seen the outfit before, but she looked... beautiful. I knew that my face was turning as red as her shirt as my eyes traveled from her legs all the way up to her...
...flaming eyes that looked hot enough to melt an Articuno.
"What are you staring at!?" she yelled.
"Eep!" was all I managed to get out before ducking my head into my arms to avoid getting slapped. So she whacked me across the back of my head instead.
"Owww..." I moaned, holding my head as I looked at her. "Was that really necessary?"
"Oh stop whining," she said as she stood up and folded her arms. "You deserved it. Now, are you coming in or not? We should eat something."
"Eat?" I asked, forgetting the pain for a moment.
"Mmhmm," she replied. "I knew that would catch your attention. And why don't you change out of that uniform, it's awfully hot to be wearing that out here."
With that, she was gone. I scratched my head. Things HAD seemed to be going better... but I couldn't think for the moment of what had gone wrong. I shrugged and followed Jessie inside. Next time I was sure it would be different.
"What do I do with this?" I asked, indicating the suitcase.
"You can just put it in by the couch, since that's where you'll be sleeping," she replied.
"Then where do I change?" I demanded.
"In the bathroom," was her calm reply as she turned to go back to the kitchen. I muttered something I thought was incoherent under my breath as I went into the living room.
"What's that?" Jessie yelled from the kitchen.
I paled, then yelled back, "Nothing!" as I hurriedly opened my suitcase, selected the clothes I wanted, and dashed into the bathroom before she could pursue the topic further. After all, I didn't want her to hit me again or nothing.
I took my time in peeling off my uniform, which WAS beginning to get a bit hot. I looked at the clothes I'd picked out, and hoped Jessie would like them. I began putting them on, a short-sleeved white shirt that buttoned up the front and a pair of blue jeans that fit me just right, my favorite pair. I admired myself in the full-length mirror, pulling out a rose and posing briefly. Grinning, I gathered up my uniform and exited the bathroom, dumping the clothes on the suitcase as I went through the living room. I then headed toward the kitchen. I could see Jessie as I approached the door. Her back was turned to me, so I thought I'd suprise her. I pulled out the rose again and closed my eyes, holding it up to my nose. I started to lean back against the doorframe, trying to look dashing and nonchalant.
A look I could've pulled off too, if I hadn't missed the doorframe completely and landed flat on my back on the floor.
The next thing I knew, I opened my eyes and Jessie was staring down at me. Her first words were: "What... in the world... are you DOING?"
My face flushed in embarrassment. The rose had landed on my chest. She leaned down to pick it up, and stood there holding it, waiting for my explanation.
"I... uh... well... I...." I stammered, looking everywhere but straight at her. "I tripped... and... fell," I finished lamely. I closed my eyes tight, waiting for her to kick me or something, but when I looked again, she was just shaking her head. She bent down and grabbed my arm, hauling me to my feet.
"Well, if you weren't so clumsy, it never would've happened," she scolded.
I scowled. She pointed to a chair at the table and simply said "Sit." I sat down and rested my chin on the table, thinking how unfair it was that she had called me clumsy for something that was just an accident.
"I thought I told you to stop pouting." Her voice interrupted my thoughts as she set a bowl down in front of me. I realized that darned lip HAD been sticking out again, but didn't care as I now had food, and I was absolutely starving. I grinned and peered into the bowl. Tomato soup. I made a face.
"Jessie," I began, "I don't even LIKE tomato soup that much, you should have known tha..." I trailed off as she pinned me with a look that would've made an angry Beedrill back off.
"James," she said in a deadly calm voice I knew all too well, "you're whining again. You better just eat what I made you, you're not getting anything else."
She stared at me until I started eating as fast as I could, but decided to slow down once I'd burnt my tongue. She calmly ate hers, blowing on each spoonfull. I put my spoon down in my empty bowl and watched her. She managed to look so elegant and graceful no matter what she was doing. I looked down and sighed at my bowl. It was no wonder she probably wasn't interested in a clumsy, idiotic guy like me. I pushed my bowl away, feeling more than a little upset.
"Is something wrong?" Jessie asked suddenly. I noticed that her bowl was still half full.
"Umm... no," was my reply.
"Do you want the rest?" she asked, gesturing toward the pan. "I know you can't be full yet, not with that bottomless pit of a stomach you have."
She smiled almost fondly as she said it. I nodded and poured the rest into my bowl, saying, "It really IS good Jessie, you did a good job with it."
"James, it came out of a can," she said. But she inclined her head slightly and smiled as if she was embarrassed. I suddenly thought how much better it would taste with a little more salt. I looked for it, and spotted it not too far from my left hand. Which in turn was not too far from Jessie's right hand. Which in turn made me wonder what it would be like to my put my hand over hers.
I realized that my knees were shaking.
But the next minute I'd talked myself out of it, for fear of her hitting me, and so I just reached for the salt instead.
It seems she had the same idea too.
I wasn't sure what happened when our hands brushed together. It was as though time had just stopped; all I could feel was the touch of her skin, and all I could hear was the sound of my heart beating more loudly than it should be. I'm also sure that my face had turned pink and my mouth was hanging slightly open. I'm not sure how I know that, I just do.
After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only a few seconds, our hands moved back to our own sides of the table, the salt seemingly forgotten. I suddenly became embarrassed and started shoveling the rest of my soup in my mouth as fast as I could. Jessie maintained her calm pace and we both finished at the same time. I slowly sat back and stared at the table, waiting for her to say something, maybe to yell at me for touching her hand. But nothing happened. I looked up then, and saw that she was fighting not to fall off her chair. I leaned forward.
"Jessie," I whispered. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "I'm just... tired, is all."
"Then you should go to bed," I suggested. She nodded again and stood up, slowly heading for the bedroom. I watched her until she was about halfway there, then I suddenly remember something very important.
"Wait!" I said loudly, and began looking. Now where had I put it... I blinked. There it was, in a vase on the table. The rose I was going to give Jessie before I'd messed it up. I vaguely remembered seeing that empty vase on the table when I'd sat there before, but I hadn't noticed that she'd put the rose in it. I plucked it out of the vase, turned, and strode over to her.
"Here," I said shyly, holding it out to her. "I meant to give it to you before, only it didn't turn out right."
She took it from me, and without saying a word, slowly moved her hand up to brush the hair from the side of my face. Her fingers touched my cheekbone, then she trailed them down all the way to my chin, smiled faintly, almost sadly, and turned to walk into her room, shutting the door behind her.
I think I stood there for all of 15 minutes before I realized she's gone. I moved a bit stiffly, turning all the lights out in the house before collapsing on the couch. I realized that I was still wearing my clothes, so I fumbled through my suitcase until I found my blue pajamas and put them on, then re-collapsed on the couch. It took me quite a while to get to sleep, because I kept remembering the feel of her fingers sliding along my face. But when I finally did drift off, I dreamed of doughnuts and Jessie. But mostly Jessie.
