Protection and Comfort

Chapter 4: Beyond the Rules

Summary: Ash and May don't understand the fans' thoughts: to the fans, it seems like Ash and May could never match up and only belong to Misty and Drew, respectively. However, Ash knows that this isn't true and that the rules of the fans can never hold them back.

One morning in Pallet Town at Ash's house, Ash had just gotten up and looked out the window to find that several people had crowded around the house. Ash stared puzzled, wondering what exactly all those people were doing here, but then he turned around to see May come inside to see him.

"Morning, Ash." May smiled, but then she noticed all the people outside and came over to have a look as well. "How come all these people are here?" May asked, as she looked over at Ash.

"I'm not sure. They weren't here last night, and now it just seems like they showed up out of nowhere. I'm think I'm going to go see what's going on." Ash said, and headed downstairs where his mum, Delia, was. When Delia turned to see Ash, she brightly smiled.

"Good morning, Ash! Did you sleep well last night?" Delia asked. "Yeah, I did. But I had a look outside and saw that all of these people were surrounding the house from outside. They weren't here last night, and they've just arrived." Ash explained. Delia was having some thought about that, but then she and Ash could hear some voices from outside.

"Is that who I think it is?" One person asked. "It has to be! It's Ash!" Another person responded. The rest suddenly started squealing from excitement, while Ash and Delia stared at the door and May had just come downstairs to hear what was happening outside.

"I think there are a few people who would like to see you, Ash. Why don't you go meet them?" Delia suggested, looking down at Ash. Ash remained silent for a few seconds, but then he went to answer the door and found that several people had crowded around the door, almost as if they had been waiting for someone they wanted to see. Ash took a few moments to have a look around; there were certainly a lot of people there.

"Can I help you?" Ash asked. Almost as if he had prompted a stampede, everyone started screaming from excitement and it almost caused Ash to fall over from fright. But he was able to keep himself under control, and stared at the crowd in silence.

"I knew it was him! I told you all we were in the same place!" One person smiled. "I can't believe it's him!" Another person called out. As Ash had a closer look, he could see that almost all of the people in the crowd were girls. He figured as much, since he was aware that girls could often get extremely excited about most things, but he didn't expect to see something like this.

"W-who are all of you?" he asked. The girls immediately gasped, seemingly shocked that Ash had no idea of who they were. "We're your fans, of course! You won't believe how excited we are to finally meet you." One of the girls at the front responded.

"Fans? I didn't realise I had fans." Ash commented. "Of course you do, silly. We've been cheering on you every step of your journeys, and we've seen every official tournament you've been. I guess you can call us your cheerleaders as well as your fans." The girl at the front explained. Ash nearly stepped back; he could understand having support, but this just seemed to be going a bit too far to him. May then came over to him since she had been watching this on.

"Ash, what's going on?" she asked. "These girls say that they're my fans. Apparently, they've been cheering me on wherever I was." Ash explained. The two then looked back at the group to notice that they had stopped as soon as they saw May; it was almost as if they had never seen her before.

"Who's this girl?" One of the girls near the back asked. Ash then smiled; he had looking for the chance for other people to meet May. "I'd like you to meet May, everyone. She's an experienced Pokemon Coordinator and my girlfriend." Ash responded. May brightly smiled and she happily wrapped her arms around Ash in a tight embrace. Ash smiled and returned May's embrace, but then the two looked back at the group to find that they were almost completely wordless.

"This girl...is your girlfriend? No way! What about Misty? Don't you like her?" The girl at the front asked. Ash knew that he was going to get in trouble soon; it seemed like these girls had a different view on who was right for him.

"Actually, Misty only really liked me, but I never returned her feelings. I guess that's because I was young back then and had no idea of what love was." Ash explained. There was silence for a few moments and, assuming that things would be under control, Ash closed the door.

"What was that?" May asked. "I'm not sure. I guess those girls thought that me and Misty ended up together. Am I glad that didn't turn out to be true, because I don't think it would have lasted very long." Ash responded. He probably should have watched what he said, because he and May could suddenly hear the girls screaming from outside.

"That can't be right! You hate that girl! You and Misty belong together!" The two could hear one of the girls yell out from outside; it sounded like they were getting a bit out of hand after hearing that. Ash had heard about people like this; they were always the sort who stuck by their beliefs and wouldn't accept reality. They were the sort who tried to convince others that their views were right and wouldn't accept any other opinion. But this bunch was the worst; this bunch were the ones who wanted to see their ideal match-up and were heavily opposed to one person in their match-up ending up with anyone else.

"That's right! May belongs with Drew, not Misty's man!" Another person called out. Ash and May both looked at each other in worry; they knew that they were going to be attacked for this.

"We need to go, May! We need to get away from those girls and get them to leave us alone." Ash said. May nodded in agreement and the two started to rush upstairs while Delia watched on, wondering what was going on.

Ash and May rushed upstairs to Ash's room, and then Ash opened the bedroom window so the two could get out from there. "Come on, let's go!" Ash said. The two jumped out the window and landed on the ground safely. But then they realised that their landing space was pretty poor, since they noticed that the fans were there and they turned around to notice the two.

"There they are. After them!" One of the girls called, and the group started to run towards Ash and May. Noticing the trouble they were in, Ash and May quickly started to make a run for it. As the two were rushing off, they looked back to see that the group were chasing them down intent on separating them.

"What is wrong with those girls?" May asked. "I don't have any idea. But we need to find somewhere to hide." Ash responded. He then smiled when he saw a tree just ahead and when they got close, Ash immediately grabbed hold of the tree and started to climb up, with May quickly following him soon after. The two then watched as the fans stopped their pursuit, not being able to find them anywhere.

"They're gone!" One of the girls said, as they were looking around. "They won't be able to hide for long. When we find them, we'll be able to get them back to their proper loves. Those two could never match." Another one of the girls responded. Ash and May could hear their conversation from their hiding place, and they started to become worried.

"Those girls are really serious. It really sounds like they can't even stand the thought of seeing us together. But, why is it that they think I should be with Drew and you belong with Misty?" May asked. Ash had some thought about it for a few seconds, and then something suddenly clicked in his head.

"I think I know why." Ash said. May looked over at Ash, wondering what the problem was. "The reason they think this way is because they notice the roses Drew gives you, and that's a clear sign to them that Drew has feelings for you. Since they also noticed the few indicators on your side, that must mean to them that you and Drew should be together and I'm the one thing that's getting in the way." Ash explained.

"Well, I never really had feelings for you like I do for you, Ash. Drew's more obvious about his feelings for me, yes, but you make them more evident for me to see." May said. Ash brightly smiled at this comment; he had to agree that May was right about that. "What about their thought about you and Misty, though?" May asked.

"Their reasoning about me and Misty belonging together is that they notice the arguments we have and think of it as a way of hiding our feelings for each other. Since almost everyone beforehand could tell, that also means to them that me and Misty are meant to be." Ash explained. However, the two didn't realise that the group could hear their conversation until they looked down to see them crowded around the tree they were hiding in.

"There you are, you two! You come down here and tell us who you really belong to." One of the girls said, pointing up to Ash and May. "We already told you, May and I are both together. I never liked Misty, and all she did was yell at me. Drew only uses the roses as a cover-up for his mocking of May." Ash responded.

"Don't lie to yourself! We know that you like Misty, and her arguments are an indicator that she likes you. Drew only mocks May to tease her, and he clearly loves May. Misty would be at your throat if she found out that you were with her love, May." One of the girls near the front called.

"May and Misty never hated each other! True, Misty was a bit irritated when she found out that May and I had gotten together, but she never hated May. In fact, May and Misty are both close friends." Ash responded. He and May looked at each other and, deciding to handle things themselves, jumped down from the tree to face the group.

"You can't be serious. Misty would have torn May apart by now, and Drew would have been furious with you when he found out." One of the girls said. Just then, they could hear someone familiar approaching and turned to see that Misty had arrived, and she was glaring down at the group.

"Could one of you mind explaining to me what's going on?" Misty asked. Ash and May both started to smile, seeing that one of their friends was here. "Hi, Misty." Ash said. The group then started to smile, seeing that Misty was here.

"Misty, it's so great to see you're here! Now is your chance to save Ash from that girl." One of the girls said, and then pointed at May accusingly. Misty looked at Ash and May for a few moments, and then she looked back at the group.

"What are you talking about?" Misty asked. "Can't you see, Misty? She's stealing your boyfriend away. He belongs with you, not her. This is a good chance for you to save Ash and tell him the truth." The girl responded. A frown slowly appeared on Misty's face and then she stepped forward staring the group straight in the eyes.

"What is wrong with all of you?! Why can't you just leave Ash and May alone? I can think of people that don't approve of love like this at first, but all of you are just the worst example! Trying to tear a wonderful match like this apart?" Misty asked. The group were stunned, and so were Ash and May; it had been so long since Misty had ever lost her temper. The group remained silent for a few moments, and then they started to look down in dismay.

"We just want to what's best for Ash and May." One of the girls at the front said after a few moments of silence from everyone. Misty's frown then faded and a soft smile appeared on her face. "Well, maybe they're what's best for each other." Misty said. The group looked up at Misty after hearing that and then they turned around to see Ash and May step forward.

"Misty's right. There really isn't anything wrong with loving a certain match, but you also need to accept what happens in real life. May and I both really love each other, and we've both been that way for a while. Sure, we have had arguments sometimes and there are also times that we've never really gotten along well, but that doesn't mean we don't like each other. We just experience the regular things any couple goes through. Your fantasies can be a reality in your own world, but you shouldn't force your dreams to become real. Misty found someone that she didn't expect, and Drew will probably do the same thing. Because they love us, they were willing to let us find our own happiness, and we found it with each other." Ash explained, and he and May both smiled at each other. Misty watched the two on with a smile, and she nodded approvingly. The group were almost wordless, and they looked at Ash and May.

"Ash, May...we're really sorry for all the trouble we've caused you! We won't ever try to come between you two again!" Everyone in the group said in unison. Ash and May both smiled at this; there were people who wouldn't be too thrilled, but they were glad that there were people who understood that they were happy with each other.

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