Amourshipping:The Girl By The Lamp Post.

Chapter 1: The Rejection.

"I'm sorry Ash... but I see you just as a friend."

Those words were playing back in Ash's head constantly, almost like they were teasing him.

"You want a second glass, Ash?"

"No, I'm fine Brock. If I've more than one, I'll probably be sick."

"You know Ash, if you keep thinking about her, it will just make things worse."

Ash knew Brock was right. The bartender always had great advice, but if you had just been rejected by the love of your life, then you probably would be having a hard time not thinking about them.

"Ash, life is too short to be worrying about girls all the time. Relax and have another drink. It's on the house." Brock said in a polite tone. It was obvious that he was concerned about how depressed Ash was.

"I think I'll just go home, Brock. I have work tomorrow." Ash said in a rather depressed tone. He was dreading going to work tomorrow, even though he loved his job.

"At least take one for the walk home." Brock suggested as he pushed the pint of Guinness towards Ash.

"Thanks, Brock." Ash said as he picked up the glass and walked out the door into the cold wintry night.

As Ash walked down the street, he saw loads of happy couples dancing, partying, and just enjoying each other's company. Ash felt a sense of loneliness as he watched those couples, knowing he was going back to his cold apartment with no one there to talk to, or hug, or watch TV with. He felt really lonely. Oh, how he wished he had someone to call a girlfriend.

As he walked through the alleyway, he saw a thin figure sleeping by the lamp post. On closer inspection, he saw that it was a girl with honey blonde hair, wearing a dirty white shirt and a pair of black shorts.

"Shorts in the middle of goddamn winter?" Ash thought to himself.

Was the girl homeless? Ash wondered. It wasn't uncommon to see homeless people in Kalos, but to see a girl who looked barely eighteen homeless was unexpected.

"Maybe I should take her home and clean her up." Ash thought to himself again, "A girl this young doesn't deserve to be homeless." 

As Ash was questioning himself whether he should help the girl, he saw a plastic bag besides her filled with all sorts of junk. A box containing a sandwich and a bottle half full of water. It was obvious that whoever this girl was, she didn't have a lot of supplies to survive even a couple of days on the streets.

"It's the right thing to do, Ash." Ash said to himself. If he didn't help the girl now, she would probably starve to death in the streets. It was clear, he knew what he had to do. He picked up the girl and walked the rest of the short journey to his apartment.

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Ash was in the kitchen in his apartment making soup for the teenage girl while the said girl was sleeping on the couch where he laid her. 

Ash tuned off the gas as he finished cooking. He transferred the soup into a bowl and walked towards the girl.

Ash took a moment to look at her. She looked like an angel, her honey-blonde hair covering her heart-shaped face as she slept on cutely.

He set down the bowl on a nearby table, near a glass paperweight. His hand suddenly hit the paperweight and it fell down, breaking into pieces. 

That noise was enough to wake the girl up. She opened her eyes and looked around and started when she saw Ash.

"Where am I?" The girl asked him.

"You're in my apartment. Drink this and not too fast, it's really hot." Ash said, giving her the bowl of soup. The girl wondered why the man was so nice to her. After all, she was just some homeless teenager.