fanfiction; pokemon; the perfect cast;
Title: The Perfect Cast
Author: mintyspeedstar
Fandom: Pokemon
Characters/Pairing: Jack Walker & Chloe Hart
Table: Relationship
Prompt: #10 Your Choice
Rating: K or G
Warnings: None.
Word Count: 1682
Summary: Chloe's father breaks another engagement because of a business trip and leaves his daughter in tears. Jackie tries to cheer her up and fails miserably until...
Notes: I do not own Pokemon. It is coprighted by Game Freak and Nintendo. No copyright infringement is intended.
It was supposed to have been their special day together.
Chloe stared up at her father with her violet eyes wide. “Do you have to go?” she stuttered. Disappointment leaked through her voice as the lump in her throat grew. “Can’t you stay a little longer?”
“I’m sorry, darling.” Ashton stood up and took his daughter’s hands into his. His gentle smile faded into a frown as he bent over and kissed the child’s forehead. “Good bye.”
“Good bye, daddy.” Chloe sighed and another tear streaked down her face. She stood in the open doorway with her head hung low and her dark hair scattered in every which direction. Her face was smeared with snot and stale tears as she ambled back into the neighbors’ house; she was a wreck.
Jackie, the neighbors’ son, sat at the end of the sofa with Ashton’s abandoned fishing rod clutched in his hands. Only three years older than Chloe, Jackie had assumed the role of older brother because of her father’s frequent absences.
He turned his head toward Chloe and grinned. “If you want, I can go fishing with you.”
“I don’t want to go any more.” Chloe moaned and seated herself at the opposite end of the sofa. She heaved another long sigh and curled up into a ball.
A grim, determined frown replaced Jackie’s grin.
“Come on, it’ll be fun.” Jackie crawled across the cushions and poked his finger into her side.
“No!” Chloe whined and swatted at the boy. She stuffed her face into the sofa and refused to acknowledge Jackie’s pathetic attempts at trying to cheer her up.
Jackie silently plopped onto the cushion beside her and crossed his arms over his chest angrily. ‘I was only trying to be nice,’ he thought with a taut expression.
Five minutes passed and neither had spoken a word to the other. Occasionally, Jackie would glance over to see if Chloe was still sulking at the other end of the couch. His resolve hardened each time he watched her miserable form shudder from hushed cries.
If it was the last thing he did, he was going to make her smile.
“Oh, Chloe, are you still crying?” Marian, Jackie’s mother, had walked into the family room to check up on the children. She sat between the two of them and rubbed Chloe’s arm as a comforting gesture. She leaned over and whispered, “You should be outside enjoying yourself. That’s what Ashton would want.”
Chloe’s sobs came to a sputtering halt at the mention of her father. She sat upright and wiped her face with the back of her hand. “He would?”
“Of course he would,” Marian replied in a cheerful tone. She stood and pushed Chloe closer toward Jackie. With another smile, she added, “You should go fishing with Jackie.”
Chloe sniffed and flipped her head to the side to stare up at Jackie. She always enjoyed his company, but he wasn’t her father. She turned her attention back to Marian and groaned, “I’ll go.”
Jackie grasped Chloe’s hand and leapt from the couch with an enthusiastic cheer. The front door was thrown ajar as the awkward pair headed toward the city’s small harbor. Jackie hadn’t noticed much of a change in Chloe’s demeanor and it dampened his energetic spirit. He paused at the island’s shoreline and released his companion’s hand. He observed her languid gait as she crossed over the docks to where the boats were tied.
“Can we go already?” Chloe asked with a dry voice, intent upon forgetting about her father’s absence for a moment. Turning around, she clasped her hands behind her back and shut her eyes. A steady, saline breeze broke over her quivering form and brought another stream of tears from her eyes.
Jackie approached her from behind and extended his hand to pat her shoulder sympathetically. Another icy blast of wind stopped his charitable gesture. He knelt over and untied the rope tethered his father’s boat to the docks.
Jacob Walker, Jackie’s father, was a Naval officer and was also away from home. Oft times, he’d have to reassure his young son that he would return and spend some quality time with him, but that wasn’t always the case. Still, Jackie had learned to see through the disappointment and busy himself with other activities while his father was away. If only he could teach her the same.
“Chloe, the boat is ready.” Jackie whispered and tapped her shoulder.
Chloe nodded and slid off of the dock into the boat below. Huddled against the boat’s stern, she continued to stare out at the ocean. She only glanced over when Jackie made his way into the other end of the boat with a gentle thud. A false smile hinted at her lips before she turned back to the hypnotics waves below.
Jackie gazed into the breaking dawn and attempted to make conversation. “There isn’t a cloud in the sky. It’s a great day for fishing, huh?”
Chloe simply bobbed her head; not the response Jackie had hoped for but she did acknowledge him. He revved the boat’s motor and continued in a spritely voice,
“I have a feeling we’ll catch a big one today!” he grinned as the boat sped away from the city suddenly.
“I guess.” Chloe mumbled and drew her knees into her chest. Her father’s fishing rod lay across the boat near Jackie’s feet. She couldn’t take her eyes off of it. More mesmerizing than the rolling ocean, the rod’s simple mystique cheerily reminded her of Ashton’s sudden departure.
“Aw, don’t be such a grump, Chloe.” Jackie twisted his mouth and leaned against the boat’s sturdy frame. “It’s not like Ashton went away forever. He’ll be back.”
Chloe pursed her lips and glared up at Jackie with misty eyes. Upset by yet another memory of her father’s abandonment, she shouted across the void, “He’s not here right now!”
An ugly, contemptible silence crept into their midst and strangled all possible conversation out of the atmosphere. A smaller island off of the coast of Mossdeep came into view as the boat’s engine sputtered to a halt on the shoreline.
It was their favorite spot to fish and it was known only to them. The adults never left the city to go fishing on one of the smaller landmasses surrounding it. Jackie and Chloe, however, had an insatiable hunger for adventure and enjoyed leaving their sleepy hometown behind.
Jackie was the first to hop out of the boat and onto the sandy hideaway. He disregarded Chloe’s outburst from earlier and helped her out of the boat. He stood aside and watched Chloe mope over to the edge of the island to flop onto the sand.
‘Why can’t I do anything?’ Jackie thought to himself as he sat beside his little friend and baited the hook of Ashton’s rod. He had tried twice and failed miserably. His last pathetic endeavor had also upset Chloe even more. Frustration replaced determination as Jackie pondered other methods of breaking the ice.
“I’m sorry.” Chloe muttered suddenly before casting her line out into the water.
Jackie flinched at the sound of her apology and palmed his forehead. Instead of helping, he had made matters worse. He laid the pole aside and scooted closer to Chloe. Nudging her in the arm, he spoke gawkily, “It’s okay, I know you miss him. But, let’s try to have fun, okay?”
Chloe murmured in a faint voice, “Okay.”
Jackie wasn’t convinced. His third attempt had gone down in flames like its predecessors. He groaned and folded his arms across his chest again with a horrible look plastered upon his face. He turned his green eyes towards the horizon and the rising sun. It seemed like such a frigid morning.
Jackie dropped all manners and inhibition as he leaned back on his hands and opened his mouth to speak, “I know what it’s like. My dad’s always gone, even more than yours. I hate seeing you this way!”
Chloe’s line suddenly jerked her forward and thrashed around in the open sea. Her eyes went wide with shock as she tried to process Jackie’s lecture and the catch at hand. She feebly tugged on the rod and tried to reel it in. Instead of moving backwards, she was being yanked towards the ocean.
Jackie’s hands clamped over hers as he twisted the rod back with every ounce of strength he possessed. His frustrations had manifested at the other end of the line and he was determined to overcome. As he hauled the catch in with Chloe, he yelled, “I’m not going to lose this one!”
A gigantic pokemon sprang out of the sea and flopped onto the edge of the island. The sudden reversal of forces sent the kids flying backwards into a shallow grove.
Chloe rolled off of Jackie and yelped at the sight of the huge pokemon.
“What is it?” Jackie struggled to sit up and stared up at the strangest sight he had ever seen.
A giant magikarp floundered and flipped around the island’s shore. Chloe doubled over and giggled. Soon after, her quiet giggles erupted into an outrageous fit of laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Jackie circled around her backside and tilted his head to get a closer look at the beached pokemon.
“We couldn’t even pull in a magikarp!” Chloe’s words stumbled through her laughter.
Jackie succumbed to his friend’s infectious laughter and started to chuckle himself. As the magikarp barked and hollered for mercy, the children began to feel sympathy toward it.
“We should probably let him go!” Jackie giggled and fell onto the sand clutching his achy ribs. He’d never laughed so hard.
“Poor magikarp!” Chloe plopped beside Jackie and wiped tears away from her face with the back of her hand. She gasped to catch her breath and smiled up at Jackie. “At least the biggest one didn’t get away!”
Jackie snickered and sighed in response. He threw his arm around Chloe’s shoulders to steady himself as he stared up into the sky victoriously.
The sun had finally risen and the day began.
Author: mintyspeedstar
Fandom: Pokemon
Characters/Pairing: Jack Walker & Chloe Hart
Table: Relationship
Prompt: #10 Your Choice
Rating: K or G
Warnings: None.
Word Count: 1682
Summary: Chloe's father breaks another engagement because of a business trip and leaves his daughter in tears. Jackie tries to cheer her up and fails miserably until...
Notes: I do not own Pokemon. It is coprighted by Game Freak and Nintendo. No copyright infringement is intended.
It was supposed to have been their special day together.
Chloe stared up at her father with her violet eyes wide. “Do you have to go?” she stuttered. Disappointment leaked through her voice as the lump in her throat grew. “Can’t you stay a little longer?”
“I’m sorry, darling.” Ashton stood up and took his daughter’s hands into his. His gentle smile faded into a frown as he bent over and kissed the child’s forehead. “Good bye.”
“Good bye, daddy.” Chloe sighed and another tear streaked down her face. She stood in the open doorway with her head hung low and her dark hair scattered in every which direction. Her face was smeared with snot and stale tears as she ambled back into the neighbors’ house; she was a wreck.
Jackie, the neighbors’ son, sat at the end of the sofa with Ashton’s abandoned fishing rod clutched in his hands. Only three years older than Chloe, Jackie had assumed the role of older brother because of her father’s frequent absences.
He turned his head toward Chloe and grinned. “If you want, I can go fishing with you.”
“I don’t want to go any more.” Chloe moaned and seated herself at the opposite end of the sofa. She heaved another long sigh and curled up into a ball.
A grim, determined frown replaced Jackie’s grin.
“Come on, it’ll be fun.” Jackie crawled across the cushions and poked his finger into her side.
“No!” Chloe whined and swatted at the boy. She stuffed her face into the sofa and refused to acknowledge Jackie’s pathetic attempts at trying to cheer her up.
Jackie silently plopped onto the cushion beside her and crossed his arms over his chest angrily. ‘I was only trying to be nice,’ he thought with a taut expression.
Five minutes passed and neither had spoken a word to the other. Occasionally, Jackie would glance over to see if Chloe was still sulking at the other end of the couch. His resolve hardened each time he watched her miserable form shudder from hushed cries.
If it was the last thing he did, he was going to make her smile.
“Oh, Chloe, are you still crying?” Marian, Jackie’s mother, had walked into the family room to check up on the children. She sat between the two of them and rubbed Chloe’s arm as a comforting gesture. She leaned over and whispered, “You should be outside enjoying yourself. That’s what Ashton would want.”
Chloe’s sobs came to a sputtering halt at the mention of her father. She sat upright and wiped her face with the back of her hand. “He would?”
“Of course he would,” Marian replied in a cheerful tone. She stood and pushed Chloe closer toward Jackie. With another smile, she added, “You should go fishing with Jackie.”
Chloe sniffed and flipped her head to the side to stare up at Jackie. She always enjoyed his company, but he wasn’t her father. She turned her attention back to Marian and groaned, “I’ll go.”
Jackie grasped Chloe’s hand and leapt from the couch with an enthusiastic cheer. The front door was thrown ajar as the awkward pair headed toward the city’s small harbor. Jackie hadn’t noticed much of a change in Chloe’s demeanor and it dampened his energetic spirit. He paused at the island’s shoreline and released his companion’s hand. He observed her languid gait as she crossed over the docks to where the boats were tied.
“Can we go already?” Chloe asked with a dry voice, intent upon forgetting about her father’s absence for a moment. Turning around, she clasped her hands behind her back and shut her eyes. A steady, saline breeze broke over her quivering form and brought another stream of tears from her eyes.
Jackie approached her from behind and extended his hand to pat her shoulder sympathetically. Another icy blast of wind stopped his charitable gesture. He knelt over and untied the rope tethered his father’s boat to the docks.
Jacob Walker, Jackie’s father, was a Naval officer and was also away from home. Oft times, he’d have to reassure his young son that he would return and spend some quality time with him, but that wasn’t always the case. Still, Jackie had learned to see through the disappointment and busy himself with other activities while his father was away. If only he could teach her the same.
“Chloe, the boat is ready.” Jackie whispered and tapped her shoulder.
Chloe nodded and slid off of the dock into the boat below. Huddled against the boat’s stern, she continued to stare out at the ocean. She only glanced over when Jackie made his way into the other end of the boat with a gentle thud. A false smile hinted at her lips before she turned back to the hypnotics waves below.
Jackie gazed into the breaking dawn and attempted to make conversation. “There isn’t a cloud in the sky. It’s a great day for fishing, huh?”
Chloe simply bobbed her head; not the response Jackie had hoped for but she did acknowledge him. He revved the boat’s motor and continued in a spritely voice,
“I have a feeling we’ll catch a big one today!” he grinned as the boat sped away from the city suddenly.
“I guess.” Chloe mumbled and drew her knees into her chest. Her father’s fishing rod lay across the boat near Jackie’s feet. She couldn’t take her eyes off of it. More mesmerizing than the rolling ocean, the rod’s simple mystique cheerily reminded her of Ashton’s sudden departure.
“Aw, don’t be such a grump, Chloe.” Jackie twisted his mouth and leaned against the boat’s sturdy frame. “It’s not like Ashton went away forever. He’ll be back.”
Chloe pursed her lips and glared up at Jackie with misty eyes. Upset by yet another memory of her father’s abandonment, she shouted across the void, “He’s not here right now!”
An ugly, contemptible silence crept into their midst and strangled all possible conversation out of the atmosphere. A smaller island off of the coast of Mossdeep came into view as the boat’s engine sputtered to a halt on the shoreline.
It was their favorite spot to fish and it was known only to them. The adults never left the city to go fishing on one of the smaller landmasses surrounding it. Jackie and Chloe, however, had an insatiable hunger for adventure and enjoyed leaving their sleepy hometown behind.
Jackie was the first to hop out of the boat and onto the sandy hideaway. He disregarded Chloe’s outburst from earlier and helped her out of the boat. He stood aside and watched Chloe mope over to the edge of the island to flop onto the sand.
‘Why can’t I do anything?’ Jackie thought to himself as he sat beside his little friend and baited the hook of Ashton’s rod. He had tried twice and failed miserably. His last pathetic endeavor had also upset Chloe even more. Frustration replaced determination as Jackie pondered other methods of breaking the ice.
“I’m sorry.” Chloe muttered suddenly before casting her line out into the water.
Jackie flinched at the sound of her apology and palmed his forehead. Instead of helping, he had made matters worse. He laid the pole aside and scooted closer to Chloe. Nudging her in the arm, he spoke gawkily, “It’s okay, I know you miss him. But, let’s try to have fun, okay?”
Chloe murmured in a faint voice, “Okay.”
Jackie wasn’t convinced. His third attempt had gone down in flames like its predecessors. He groaned and folded his arms across his chest again with a horrible look plastered upon his face. He turned his green eyes towards the horizon and the rising sun. It seemed like such a frigid morning.
Jackie dropped all manners and inhibition as he leaned back on his hands and opened his mouth to speak, “I know what it’s like. My dad’s always gone, even more than yours. I hate seeing you this way!”
Chloe’s line suddenly jerked her forward and thrashed around in the open sea. Her eyes went wide with shock as she tried to process Jackie’s lecture and the catch at hand. She feebly tugged on the rod and tried to reel it in. Instead of moving backwards, she was being yanked towards the ocean.
Jackie’s hands clamped over hers as he twisted the rod back with every ounce of strength he possessed. His frustrations had manifested at the other end of the line and he was determined to overcome. As he hauled the catch in with Chloe, he yelled, “I’m not going to lose this one!”
A gigantic pokemon sprang out of the sea and flopped onto the edge of the island. The sudden reversal of forces sent the kids flying backwards into a shallow grove.
Chloe rolled off of Jackie and yelped at the sight of the huge pokemon.
“What is it?” Jackie struggled to sit up and stared up at the strangest sight he had ever seen.
A giant magikarp floundered and flipped around the island’s shore. Chloe doubled over and giggled. Soon after, her quiet giggles erupted into an outrageous fit of laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Jackie circled around her backside and tilted his head to get a closer look at the beached pokemon.
“We couldn’t even pull in a magikarp!” Chloe’s words stumbled through her laughter.
Jackie succumbed to his friend’s infectious laughter and started to chuckle himself. As the magikarp barked and hollered for mercy, the children began to feel sympathy toward it.
“We should probably let him go!” Jackie giggled and fell onto the sand clutching his achy ribs. He’d never laughed so hard.
“Poor magikarp!” Chloe plopped beside Jackie and wiped tears away from her face with the back of her hand. She gasped to catch her breath and smiled up at Jackie. “At least the biggest one didn’t get away!”
Jackie snickered and sighed in response. He threw his arm around Chloe’s shoulders to steady himself as he stared up into the sky victoriously.
The sun had finally risen and the day began.