First time writing modern day style so I hope I did good.

Since I'm not exactly sure which grade holds which age, I'm going like this:

15 year-old – Forth year student

14 year-old – Third year student

13 year-old – Second year student

12 year-old – First year student

-:-

RING!

The bell rang, signifying the end of class and the end of school. The students shuffled out of their desks and headed to their lockers, glad that the day was over and that the weekend started tomorrow.

"Oi, Ashy Boy! Wait up!"

The raven-haired boy looked over to see his childhood friend running over to his location.

"What do you want, Gary? And I've told you to call me Ash!" growled Ash, glaring at his friend.

"Man, what crawled up your ass? Anyway, need to borrow my notes? I saw you spacing out in class," said Gary as they started walking towards the exit.

"Was not!"

"Sure you weren't," teased Gary with a grin on his face. "So what were you thinking about this time?"

"None of your business."

"Wait, let me guess. You were thinking of Anabel, weren't you?" asked Gary, another grin on his face.

"You mind saying it a little louder? I don't think everybody heard you," growled Ash.

"At least you don't deny it," said Gary as they went outside.

As soon as they went outside, Ash was pounced by a young brunette girl who had her hair in what could only be described as pigtails.

"Oi, May," greeted Gary.

"Oi, Gary, Ash. So what is it that Ash doesn't deny? Is it about him liking Anabel?" asked the Second Year.

"Oh for the love of…does everyone know about this?" demanded Ash, glaring at his friends.

"Just the ones that know you," replied Gary, not affected by the glare. The trio then started to walk home. "By the way, why do you like Anabel anyway? Yeah she's cute, but other than that, I don't see a reason."

"That's because you only go for looks, Gary," stated May.

"Says the girl who fawns over that white-haired Brendan kid," shot back the older brunet.

"Y-You leave Brendan out of this!" yelled May, blushing a deep red.

"Leave her alone, Gary. At least she's not fawning over that Third Year student, Drew," said Ash.

"He's that green-haired kid, right?" asked Gary.

"Yes. He creeps me out. One time, he just randomly gave me a rose and wanted me to be his girlfriend," said May, giving off a shudder of disgust. "As if!"

"Want Ash and I to beat him up for you?"

"Thanks, but no. I think I can handle it," said May. She then turned to Ash. "Anyway, Ash, you were going to tell us why you liked Anabel?"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes," answered his two friends.

"Grr, fine, but I swear if you tell anyone…" he pointed to May. "I'll give Drew your number…" he then pointed Gary. "And I'll tell your Grandpa that you used his computer to look up inappropriate material."

Gary and May looked at Ash in fear. Would he really go that far?

"You wouldn't!" yelled Gary, hoping it was a bluff.

"Watch me."

The look on Ash's face was enough to show that he was serious. The brunet and the brunette sighed in defeat and agreed to the terms.

"Fine. We won't tell anyone," they both said. Gary then added, "You're an ass, you know that?"

"Bite me. Anyway, the reason why I like Anabel is because of how…innocent she is."

"Innocent? Why Ash, I didn't think you were the type of guy to take advantage of a girl? What would your mother think?" joked Gary.

"Grr, you know damn well what I meant!" yelled Ash. "She's just…so pure-hearted. She's not like most girls our age, you know?"

"I know. Could you imagine what Anabel was like if she had Misty's personality?" asked Gary. Ash gave off a shudder.

"Loud and violent do not suit Anabel at all."

"Isn't Misty that orange-haired girl whose dating that Paul guy?" asked May.

Ash and Gary stopped in their tracks upon hearing this. After a few moments, they burst out laughing.

"Oh man! Whom do you feel more sorry for in that relationship?" laughed Gary, tears in his eyes.

"My guess, neither!" said Ash, getting his laughter under control. "Paul most likely treats her like garbage and Misty most likely cheats on him. As bad as it is to say, it all evens out."

May could only shake her head at her friends' attitudes. The trio continued on their way until they reached the crosswalk, where they had to part ways. May had to cross the street to get home while Ash and Gary turned down the street.

"You know, you really should talk to Anabel," suggested Gary as they continued walking home.

"Are you insane? I can't do that. What if I get shot down?" sulked Ash.

'If only you knew,' thought Gary.

"Get shot down by what, Son?" asked a voice.

Ash and Gary turned to notice that they reached Ash's house and out sitting on the front lawn was a tall man with long silver hair.

"Dad…what are you doing?" asked Ash, his eye twitching in annoyance.

"Meditating."

"Can't you at least do that in the house?" demanded Ash.

"…No. Now, what were you saying about getting shot down?"

"None of your business!"

"Ashy Boy's worried that he'll get shot down by a girl," said Gary. Ash turned his glared to him.

"…Did you forget my threat?"

"No, but I think your dad can help you out on this subject. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get home to delete some certain files."

With that, Gary ran off home.

"So, my son has a crush on a girl, huh?" grinned Ash's father. "This is great! My son has become a man!"

"Would you be quiet?" hissed Ash. "Look, can we talk about this inside?"

"Of course!"

The man stood up and, along with Ash, went inside the house. Inside, a beautiful brunette woman greeted them.

"Welcome home, Ash. How was school?" asked the woman.

"It was good. Then I got home," muttered Ash.

"Silver, what did you do to Ash this time?" asked the woman.

"Nothing, Delia, I swear! Ash was just telling me that he had a crush on a girl at school!" grinned Silver.

"Dad!"

"Ooh, Ash, I'm so proud of you!" exclaimed Delia, hugging her son. "Wait, its not that Misty girl, is it?"

"No…" answered Ash.

"Ooh, Ash, I'm so proud of you!" she exclaimed again.

"Mom! You're embarrassing me!" whined Ash.

"But I'm just so happy that you finally have a girlfriend!"

"Now, Delia, the boy doesn't have a girlfriend yet. He hasn't even talked to the girl yet," said Silver, trying to calm his wife down. "By the way, son, what's the girl's name?"

"Oh would you look at the time! I just remembered that I promised Brock I was going to help him today! I'll see you later!" yelled Ash as he ran out of the house.

Silver and Delia blinked in confusion as they watched Ash run.

"Did he just ditch us?" questioned Silver.

-:-

Ash made his way into town and walked up to the local veterinarian's where his friend worked. Upon walking in, he met up with his friend.

"Oi, Brock!" grinned Ash. The squinty eye man looked up from the clipboard he was reading.

"Afternoon, Ash. Glad to see you here," smiled Brock.

"So what do you want me to do first?" asked the fifteen-year-old.

"In my office I have some files that need to be sorted…"

"Say no more!" said Ash as he walked past the twenty-year-old doctor.

The day went by as Ash did the assignment he was given. Soon it was closing time and Brock went to his office to see how he was doing.

"How'd it go, Ash?"

"Just about done. I sorted the files by both date and alphabetical, if that helps," replied Ash, looking up from what he was doing. He then placed the last files in its place. "Done!"

"Great!" grinned Brock as he hung his white coat on the rack. "Come on, I'll walk you home. It is getting a bit dark out."

The two walked out of the building and headed towards Ash's home. It was silent for a bit, but Ash decided to break it by asking for some advice.

"Brock, I need some help on something."

"Sure, Ash. What do you need?"

"I need help trying to get a girl's attention."

Brock turned to the younger boy, surprised by this turn of events. In all the years he's known Ash, not once did the boy show any interest in the opposite sex.

"I was wondering when you'd take interest!" laughed Brock. "When did it start?"

"I think it was when I started Junior High," admitted Ash.

"That long? You're good at keeping secrets, you know that?"

"Doubtful. Gary and May already know I like this girl and so do my parents," muttered Ash. "I can trust Gary and May not to say anything, but Mom and Dad would embarrass me to no end if they knew who the girl was."

"You sure you want my advice though? As you know, I was a bit of a womanizer."

"Yeah, but Lucy seems to have mellowed you out," grinned Ash.

"Yeah," said Brock with a perverted grin.

"Mind out of the gutter, Brock. I really don't need to hear about your private life," said Ash. "So you going to help me or not?"

"Tell you what, since it's Saturday tomorrow, come over to my place and I can give you a crash course on how to get a girl!"

"Thanks, Brock!" grinned the boy. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

With that, the two split ways and Ash ran the rest of the way home. Brock could only chuckle at his friend's enthusiasm. He then went on his own way home, hoping that his wife had on something lacy.

CHAPTER END.

-:-

Yohohohoho! What could Brock possibly teach Ash that won't probably backfire in his face?

Next chapter will take place at the same time as this one, but will feature Anabel and her day.