The 'Outcast' - First Year

Part 26

Ash and Calem left Drew to be treated by the nurse following the nonsense that had occurred during lunch.

"I cannot believe those guys..." Calem said, clenching his fists. "I mean, what did we even do? That was our table!"

"Relax dude. I'm sure there was more to it. There's no possible way it was JUST the table. There has to be more to it..."

"That's right! Ash, didn't you get into a fight with one of those guys at the beginning of the year?" He questioned.

"Well, Yeah, but that can't be it. There's got to be more to it," Ash said. "You should probably head to your class now, Calem. I'll figure something out."

"Okay, sounds good Ash. And Thanks, I appreciate you," Calem smiled.

"Nah, Nah, thank you, Calem. If it mean anything, the second you and Drew stood beside me to fight them..." Ash said.

"Of course dude. When you stood up for me, I knew I had to return the favor." He smiled once again. "Only problem is Drew got hurt in the process... but hopefully he'll recover soon."

"Yeah, hopefully... anyways I'll see you later Calem. Take care," Ash waved. Calem left to his classroom leaving Ash alone in the halls. The bell for class still hadn't rung yet meaning lunch was still going on. As Ash stood in the hall deep in his thought he was startled by the lightest tap on the shoulder. He turned to see it was his Cousin Leaf and that stupid smile of hers. 

"Woah, you're jumpy today cousin," She said mischievously. "What's up?"

"Oh... you know what? Now that you're here I wanted to ask you something Leaf," Ash said.

"Ohhh? What is it? Advice about Love? Because if it is, I'm your girl," She claimed.

"No! Listen, I wanted to know if you know this guy by any chance. Blonde hair, a bit taller than me, kind of a muscular  build..." Ash said.

"Oh, you're talking about Jack. If you're worried about my love life, don't worry, I would never date him," Leaf told.

"Okay... well, I don't care who you date Leaf. I'm just asking if you know him. Or know anything about him," Ash sighed. She tapped her foot lightly trying to think.

"Well I don't know much about him... only that he has a massive crush on me," She revealed. This sparked Ash's interest a bit.

"Wait, Really?" Ash said, scratching his head a bit in confusion.

"Yup. At first I heard rumors about it, but then I discovered it for myself. Turns out, he's head over heels for me," Leaf said, giggling. Though Leaf found this all funny, Ash found this information a little shocking. It was starting to make sense.

"Seriously? Wait, but what happened then? You never got together with him?" Ash inquired.

"Absolutely not! I've seen the stuff he does to people in school. He has a horrible attitude, and he's just generally an unlikeable person. So no, I never got together with him, Ash," She explained. "He's also a very jealous guy from what I've seen. And I HATE jealous guys." Ash took in this information and it finally hit him.

"Well, that explains it," Ash said, dropping his hands to his lap in frustration. "Jack completely misinterpreted the situation."

"What are you talking about cuz? What situation?" She inquired.

"This guy came up to us during lunch and started to press us for seemingly no reason. One thing led to another and we ended up fighting," Ash explained furiously.

"Ohhh that was you guys? I heard some commotion going on inside the cafeteria, but I was with my friends and we didn't get to see what happened," Leaf told.

"Yeah. So, he must have seen Calem and I hanging around with you and got the wrong idea," Ash  said.

"If you say so...if you ask me though, I'd say that's a pretty dumb reason to pick a fight with someone. I wonder if he does this with every girl he falls for," Leaf wondered.

"There's always that one guy," Ash shrugged. "I don't really care who you date Leaf. You're older than me, you should be able to figure that out. Just make sure it's not some psychopath like him." 

Leaf smiled a little, happy that her little cousin was at least a little cautious about who she dated. It made her feel almost like she had the 'old' Ash back. "'Kay Ash, I will. Pinky promise." She put up her pinky finger.

"What the hell is this?" He raised a brow.

"It's a pinky swear. If I break my promise, you get to break my finger off." Leaf explained.  Ash could not tell if she was being serious or not. It was always difficult to tell with this girl.

"Well, Whatever, that sounds intense." He wrapped his pinky around hers engaging in the pact. After that was over with Ash dismissed himself from his cousin headed to his next class of the day.

After school

The bell rung meaning school was officially over for the day. Ash desperately wanted to look for Calem to tell him about the issue with Jack and the rest of his goons. Eventually he spotted Calem speaking with Paul through the crowd of students. He went over to them.

"Hey guys," Ash approached. 

Calem turned. "Ash, Hey. Did you get anything about him?"

"Yeah. I know exactly why he attacked us now. Apparently he has a huge crush on my cousin, Leaf, and seeing us talking with her I guess got him a little riled up," Ash explained. Calem was shocked while Paul just found the situation funny.

"So he acts all tough but deep down he's a simp?" Paul chuckled. Calem felt a pang of jealousy. Not only was there someone else who liked Leaf, but it was Jack of all people. The one guy he hated.

"And you found this out through you're her? She told you directly?" Calem questioned.

"Yeah, pretty much. Just a short conversation with my cousin. Thing is, she's in year 3 so I figured she might have known something about Jack," Ash said. Calem nodded understanding the situation.

"By the way Ash... I figure out who the Lumiose City gym leader is," Paul spoke.

"Did you? Who is it?" He inquired.

"Yes. It's some blonde haired dorky looking kid," Paul said.

"...Okay. What does he look like? And what's his name?" Ash Asked.

"He's got blonde hair, wears a blue jumpsuit most of the time, glasses... you'll know it's him when you see him, Ash," Paul said.

"I'm sure I will," Ash agreed. "Anyways, I've got to head home before my mom kicks my butt. Thanks for the information, Paul. I'll see you guys later."