Hi everybody! It's been awhile since a put up a new fic, and this idea just popped into my head, and I wanted to get it posted up. I suspect that this story is only going to be a few chapters long.

Disclaimer: If I owned Pokemon, Ash and Misty would have gotten together ages ago.

Note: This story takes place in the Johto region.

Claustrophobic

By:

Quynh Nhu

"Ogni cuore ha il suo segreto."
Every heart has its secret.
-Italian Proverb

Chapter 1 – Secret

Red, yellow and orange flames sent thick black smoke into the cool night air. The six-year old girl could faintly hear the sounds of sirens wailing and people screaming. But she ignored them. Her mind was currently occupied with a much more important task.

"Mommy!" She screamed. "Daddy, where are you?" The only answer she received was the snapping and crackling of the flames. She kept running, searching the rooms that weren't burnt into black crisps by the inferno yet.

"Mommy! Daddy!" She yelled more desperately. "Please come out! I'm really afraid!" That's when she saw them. Though the smoke was making her light-headed and dizzy and slightly nauseous and though her vision was slightly hazy she could see the unmistakable outline of two large unconscious figures splayed out across the carpeted floor.

Realization dawning to her, she began to run towards them as fast as her legs would carry her, but no matter who much she ran, she didn't move a single inch closer to her parents. She opened her mouth to call out to them, but not even a whisper trickled out.

Suddenly, a string of flames shot out in front of her, separating her mother and father from her line of vision. Then another line of fire shot out of the ground from behind her. More flames erupted from her left and right. She was surrounded. Moisture filled her eyes, as they darted everywhere, looking for some kind of escape route. She found none. She took a deep breath, trying with all her might to stay calm.

Then, as if somebody had opened a pipe line filled with gas underneath the fire, the flames soared upwards surrounding her like walls. Her panic levels rose dramatically. She blinked.

The flames of hell disappeared, and the little girl was now surrounded by four solid concrete walls. Though she could see no fire, but the smell of smoke still filled her nostrils, and the intense heat of the inferno still remained with her. 'Where am I? Where are my mom and dad?' she thought frantically. 'I have to find them!'

Her eyes darted around the tiny room. The walls held no doors or windows. She was trapped. She ran the nearest wall and began to kick at it, hoping she'd be able to knock it down. She had no such luck.

She balled her hands into tiny fists and began to hit the wall as hard as she could. No dents were made, not even a tiny scratch appeared. Tears of panic and fear trickled from her teal blue eyes onto her white nightgown, her flame red hair was flying everywhere. Her panic levels began to screech out of control.

She pounded harder, suddenly, her chest tightened, then she felt her breathing slow, then stop altogether. The walls disappeared and she saw nothing but black. She felt as if she was drowning and began to kick and flail her arms and legs like a swimmer kicking towards the surface… She crashed the surface.

---

Misty sat upright in her head, nearly knocking her head against the top bunk as she did so, her eyes were wide, and she was gasping for air. Clutching the blanket tightly to her chest, she glanced around taking in her surroundings.

Togepi was sleeping peacefully on the other side of Misty's bed. Her baby pokemon had thankfully, not been disturbed by her trainer's tossing and turning.

Letting her gaze wander, she saw that Ash and Pikachu were sleeping soundly on the opposite end of the room. After listening carefully for a few moments, she determined that Brock was asleep from his silent breathing.

Once her heart rate had returned to normal, she looked at the alarm clock on the night stand next to her bed. It read 12:07 AM. Was it really that early? She had gone to bed a bit earlier than usual, because she had a light headache. She expected to sleep throughout the night. However, she was wide awake now and she knew she wouldn't be able to fall sleep for a good long while.

Sighing, she shifted her body into a more comfortable position on the mattress. Her thoughts returned to her dream. No. Nightmare. The night of her parents' deaths hadn't plagued her dreams for so long. She had no idea what had brought them up. It was almost like a warning, and little did she know, Misty was in a sense, correct.

That fateful night had been over eight years ago, and even now, she could only vaguely remember the details. The single thing she could recall was the sound of the fire alarms' incessant beeping, waking her from her slumber. She had thrown back her covers, leaped out of bed, run out of her bedroom, and then her dream would take place.

That evening… was a blur, it made her head hurt to think about it. She had awoken in Cerulean City's local hospital four days after the incident. The firemen that had found her claimed that she had been discovered unconscious in her home's hallway closet. She had no idea how she had gotten there. They later told her that she and her three sisters were the only ones who had survived.

She had missed her parents terribly and she still did. And Misty couldn't shake the feeling that if she'd woken up just a few moments earlier, she could have saved her parents. But she did not. And she couldn't go back in time and repeat the whole night, no matter how much she wanted to.

Misty wasn't one hundred percent certain, but is she had to pinpoint a time and place where her claustrophobia began, that would have been it.

That's right. Misty Waterflower was claustrophobic. Misty Waterflower, the tom boy who never ever admitted she was scared of anything other than bugs, and bug pokemon was afraid of enclosed spaces. She had never told anyone about it before, and she doubted that she ever would. It was her little secret. All hers.

And besides, it wasn't like she was going to be trapped in a closet ever again in her entire life.

Out of the corner of her eye, a sudden movement caught Misty's attention, causing her to look to the right side of the pokemon center's bedroom. Ash had rolled over in his sleep. His light breathing had turned into soft snoring. His eyes were closed, his mouth was open, and his jet black hair was slightly messier than usual. Misty couldn't help but notice how unbelievably cute he looked when he slept. She couldn't help but smile at his peaceful expression. He just looked so innocent.

She watched him for several moments, completely unaware that any traces of her earlier dream had subconsciously faded away.

A yawn trickled out of her mouth, and she rubbed one of her eyes slowly. With one last glance at her best friend, she laid back down on the bed, gently placing her head onto the soft white pillow. She suddenly realized how tired she really was, so tired, that she couldn't ponder why her heart had swelled to twice its normal size just a moment ago. She rolled onto her side and pulled the blanket over her shoulders and fell into the arms of a dreamless sleep within minutes.

---

A loud gun shot caused Misty to sit up straight in her bed for the second time that night. This time however, she wasn't as lucky. With a big 'thump' her head made contact with the top bunk. She swore loudly.

"Owww…" She grumbled.

"Misty are you okay?" Ash's voice asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, rubbing her forehead. She was going to have a nasty bruise tomorrow morning, she could just feel it. She glanced at the alarm clock once again. She felt like she had only been asleep for a few seconds. The clock read 2:11 AM.

"Hey, you guys what's going on?" Brock's voice asked.

"I dunno… but we better go check it out."

Well, there's chapter one. I'm going to work on chapter two this weekend, so hopefully I'll have it posted up by Monday or Tuesday.

Any mistakes? Typos? I know there are some in there, but I'm not sure where. It was short, I know. I'll try to make the next chapter longer.

Please leave me a review!