4/10/11- Hey! Welcome to Pokemon: Crossing Over, my first fanfic. For those of you who've seen this floating around or read this earlier, you may notice a few changes. This first part of A New World has been rewritten. The rest of the chapters will also be rewritten and posted ASAP. It's thanks to feedback that I've been able to improve on writing this. If you feel lost on any chapter, let me know so I know what to rewrite and add. Enjoy the first chapter and happy reading! Check my profile for news, updated every Sunday! And also, a quick shout out to aXis Elric, formerly known as The Mysterious Riolu! He got a new account, and ever since, people haven't given him much feedback on his story, Wings of Success. You guys should read it too, and give him feedback! :)
"Whoo-hoo!" My shout echoed as I rode a giant light blue bird with long shimmering blue tail feathers. The bird soared gracefully through the air as the full moon shone, making the chilled air around the bird shimmer and twinkle in response.
"Wow..." I thought as the beautiful scene passed through the air. Time seemed to be nonexistent as the bird and I continued to soar endlessly, until something strange happened. A sudden shaking and rocking occurred underneath me. It grew from a slight vibration to a more violent rumble. Something was wrong!
"Hey, what's wrong?" It felt like time slowed down as I leaned forward to look at the bird's face. It's eyes were drooping shut and it was losing consciousness! My heart skipped a beat as I started to feel a sudden falling sensation.
"Oh no!" I tightened my hold on the unconscious bird as we plummeted, hoping the bird would somehow save us both. I felt the air being sucked out of my lungs as we fell. It was only a matter of time before we collided with the ground. But suddenly... the plummeting sensation stopped.
"Hey Ryan," Someone said as they shook my shoulder back and forth. I slowly opened my eyes in response, while my heart was still pounding and my head was still registering what had happened.
"Ride's over!" Carter told me, wearing a smug look on his face. I looked around. Carter and I were strapped in sturdy looking harnesses. I nearly forgot I was at an amusement park, worse yet, a roller coaster.
"Hey, we'd better go get Taylor, she's probably having loads of fun with her secret admirer back there!" Carter ended in a singsong tone. I nodded, but I honestly had no clue who it was. He mentioned something about a secret admirer earlier, but he never told me who it was! Then again, I don't think he knew either, otherwise he would've told me in a heartbeat.
I saw Carter figure out how to unlock the harness and get out, so I followed his lead. "The sooner I'm off of this thing, the better..." I thought as I quickly unfastened my harness.
Ryan followed Carter out of the roller coaster cart and stepped into the waiting area where many people were standing in a long line, for a turn on the roller coaster. Ryan's jet black hair was moist with sweat as he followed Carter.
"I wonder where Taylor could be?" Carter asked as he looked around at the many people surrounding them. Some of the people walking past them seemed to share the same perspiration Ryan had.
"Ryan, you see her? Cause I can't," Carter said to Ryan. Ryan slightly looked up at Carter's face to respond. Carter was definitely taller than him, especially with his taller and skinnier frame.
"Believe me, if you can't see, I wouldn't be able to either," Ryan said, crossing his arms. Carter simply shrugged, knowing how true Ryan's statement was, and went back to peering around for their missing friend.
"Maybe we should wait outside, she might be-" Ryan stopped mid sentence as he heard something behind him. It sounded like someone was asking someone for an autograph, and a female voice obliging.
"That sounded like Taylor!" Ryan turned around to confirm his suspicions. His suspicions were correct. Taylor was standing next to her secret admirer! She reached into her jeans' pocket and pulled out a black permanent marker and asked where she should sign. Taylor swept her beautiful shoulder length hair aside as she began to write her autograph with a smile.
"The secret admirer's a little boy?" Ryan had imagined something else when Carter had mentioned a secret admirer. He had imagined someone older... and a bit geekier to be the secret admirer. The admirer was an innocent little boy, who seemed to be one of Taylor's fans.
"And I thought it was someone else!" Ryan stopped as he noticed Carter wasn't paying attention. He knocked Carter's arm with the back of his fist, which got his attention.
"Taylor's right there," Ryan said as he pointed to where Taylor was finishing her signature on the back of the boy's white shirt.
"Oh!" Carter exclaimed as he looked at Taylor. His eyes widened as they went from the smiling boy to the beauty who offered her hand to the boy. "That's the secret admirer?" Carter blurted out as Taylor and the boy approached them.
"Hi mister!" The boy waved to Carter, who returned the greeting with a smile. The boy's eyes lit up as he looked at Carter's red T-shirt and recognized the black logo on the front. "My big brother likes your music!"
"That's awesome to hear little guy!" Carter fist pumped in his head. "Say, what's your name?" He asked the boy.
"I'm Sam!" Sam introduced. Taylor patted his head as she added:
"He's my little cousin!" Taylor pulled her pink cellphone out from her pocket and pressed a button, illuminating the screen. A digital time was displayed, along with a wacky background picture of her, Carter and Ryan. "Oh, it's almost seven thirty! We'd better get you back to your mom!" Taylor pocketed her cellphone and began walking, holding Sam's hand.
"Sounds like a plan," Ryan nodded as the group began walking away from the roller coaster attraction. Light poles started to glow, as the sunset was almost gone, leaving orange and purple shaded clouds in the sky. Night was creeping in.
"Taylor, you should have seen the look on Ryan's face during the ride... It was priceless!" Carter chuckled as Ryan rolled his eyes.
"Come on Carter, drop it. I mean..." Ryan began piecing together a defense for his fear.
"You know I'm only kidding!" Carter laughed. Taylor nudged him on his side, while Sam was confused. Sam tugged on Ryan's black windbreaker to get his attention.
"Mister, why are you afraid of roller coasters? They're fun!" Sam asked him. Taylor and Carter looked at each other with panicked looks.
"Well, uh... I guess so," Ryan rubbed the back of his head as he looked around. The lines of various carnival stands ended as they came to an open plaza, which stood in the middle of the amusement park. A fountain, with a stone figurine of a sitting wolf looking up, stood at the center of the plaza. The flowing water from the wolf's mouth went into the fountain, where various coins were scattered at the bottom.
"Hey, I'll be right back," Ryan added suddenly as he noticed a restroom sign across the plaza. He wiped away a sweat bead that started to fall down his face.
"Okay. We're gonna go get Sam to his mom and meet you here," Carter told Ryan, who nodded and walked off towards the restroom. Taylor looked concerned, but she decided to wait until later to worry. She led Sam by hand and went to look for his mom. Carter followed alongside Taylor.
"Carter, is he alright?" Taylor asked with a hint of worry in her voice. "I know we said we'd try to get him over his roller coaster fear, but do you think we went a little too far?" Carter shook his head.
"Nah, he's fine! He was sweating, but nothing too bad," Carter told Taylor, who didn't seem convinced. "Besides, we did everything the psychology teacher said, it's all up to Ryan to get over it," Carter added.
"I guess so... but I still can't help but worry," Taylor said to Carter's amusement.
"Jeez, aren't you the dedicated mom?" Carter chuckled, but was silenced with a deadly glare from Taylor. Sam was curiously listening in and decided to ask a question he had asked earlier:
"Why is that man scared of roller coasters?" Taylor and Carter hesitated to answer as their thoughts wandered to a movie night a couple of years ago. It was almost like it had happened yesterday.
"Come on guys! We're going to be late!" Taylor said as she dragged Carter and Ryan, by hand, down the sidewalk.
"It's not like we're gonna miss much," Carter replied and added in a slightly mocking tone: "Besides, wasn't your boyfriend supposed to pick you up?"
"Ugh, don't remind me," Taylor said, hiding most of her frustration. "He said he had nothing to do tonight, but then this party 'suddenly' got scheduled!"
"Maybe he's too embarrassed to be seen next to a Drama girl?" Carter lightheartedly suggested. Ryan's eyes widened in response.
"Shut up Carter... It's probably not the best time for this," Ryan whispered as he motioned towards Taylor. Her face was blank of expression as Carter's words seemed to take their toll. Ryan quickly decided to change the subject, before the night ended in complete disaster. "Hey, there's the theater!" The three friends slowed their pace in order to examine the movie posters on the movie theater's wall.
"How about this one?" Taylor suggested as they stopped and looked at the movie poster titled, 'Roller Coaster of Doom Three'.
"Really?" Carter simply remarked as his eyes bounced between the cheesy monster and his soon to be victims, a man dramatically holding an attractive woman.
"Well, he looks dreamy..." Taylor said as she looked at the man on the poster. Carter slapped his forehead and continued to talk to Taylor while Ryan stood aside, silently getting chills up his spine.
"Roller coaster? Ugh," Ryan shook his head. "But, it's for Taylor! I guess..." Ryan sighed and walked over to the ticket booth.
"Excuse me, could I get three tickets to Roller Coaster Three?" Ryan asked the clerk in the booth as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. The tickets were on him, since Carter and Taylor were still talking in front of the poster.
"I wonder if I should be spending the money dad left for movie tickets? He left a lot of it, enough to last a week, but..." Ryan was lost in his thoughts. "I wonder where dad is anyways? All he said was he needed to go on 'official business'..."
The clerk coughed to get Ryan's attention.
"Oh! Sorry..." Ryan rubbed the back of his head as he blushed. The clerk handed Ryan his change and the three movie tickets. Ryan pocketed his change and walked over to Carter and Taylor, who were still talking.
"Hey guys, decide on a movie yet?" Ryan asked as he subtly hid the newly bought tickets. Carter and Taylor looked at each other in slight annoyance.
"Well, I've been trying to tell her that movie is beyond terrible," Carter said as he pointed to the Roller Coaster Three poster. "Even though the rest of the band already saw the movie and told me about it, she's not convinced!" Carter continued as he presented indisputable evidence.
"You'll never know until you see it yourself, Carter!" Taylor retorted. "Besides, maybe they're all exaggerating!" Before Carter could say anything, Ryan cut in.
"We're gonna have to find out ourselves," Ryan said as he revealed the movie tickets to Carter and Taylor. Taylor looked at Carter and grinned while Carter slightly rolled his eyes in response.
"Okay, I guess you win," Carter sighed as Taylor smugly nodded. "Just let me get some popcorn, gotta enjoy something," Carter added in slight humor. The three friends walked into the movie theater's lobby. A humble concession stand stood next to the dimly lit hall where the movie showing rooms were.
"Hmm, I might get something too," Ryan thought as he looked at the display of various candies and treats shown off. Carter and Ryan approached the concession stand while Taylor kept her distance.
"Taylor, you want anything?" Carter asked while smirking. He knew she hated movie popcorn, especially the extra buttery kind. Taylor glared at him, erasing his smirk nearly instantly.
"No, that's kind of why I'm back here," Taylor pointed out while she crossed her arms. She shuddered as she watched Ryan and Carter get a giant bucket of buttery popcorn. "You know that's not even real butter, right? It's just oil," she pointed out. Ryan and Carter looked at the 'buttery' popcorn, at each other, and shrugged.
"Meh, it's still good popcorn," Carter said as he took a kernel and popped it into his mouth. Taylor shivered at the sight as they began walking down the dimly lit hallway and into the movie showing room.
"Told you it was awful. We're the only ones here!" Carter said as he looked around the empty room. "I guess we should take the good seats, while they're still there," he added with sarcasm as they walked towards the back row of seats and sat down. Ryan and Carter sat next to each other, sharing the huge bucket of popcorn while Taylor sat next to Carter. She rolled her eyes.
"Boys," Taylor thought aloud as she turned her attention to the movie screen. Carter's ear twitched in response while his mind prepared a witty remark. He shook his head, having a second thought as he remembered earlier and instead turned to Ryan and whispered:
"This might be a long night," he said as the movie introduction began. The roaring surround sound didn't allow Ryan to respond, so he simply nodded.
The popcorn was gone a half an hour into the movie. Ryan began watching the movie, while Carter yawned at the boring plot development scenes. He didn't know what was happening. "Psst! Taylor, what's-" Carter began to ask her, but she kept her eyes peeled onto the screen and said:
"Shh! I need to see if they're going to get together!" Taylor said with excitement as she watched the couple dramatically talk to each other. Carter took one look at the screen and quickly looked away, disgusted. They were talking in a row boat, while the sun was setting. Was this a monster/slasher flick or an awful cheesy romance?
"I thought this was about roller coasters and monsters? Oh well, I'm not complaining," Ryan thought in silent relief. He didn't know what it was about roller coasters, just... he didn't like them.
"How the heck does this even come close to relating to roller coasters?" Carter thought as he set his head back on the seat. The melodramatic dialogue shifted to a lullaby that slowly caused Carter's eyelids to eventually close. The lullaby in Carter's ear faded to nice silent peace. The silence slowly evolved into a steady drum beat. A dynamic melody quietly emerged and quickly sped up, getting louder and louder. Then it suddenly stopped. BOOM.
"W-What?" Carter shook, waking himself up. He looked at the screen. 'The End' was written in dark red with blood effects around it as the credits began to roll. He had slept through the entire movie!
"Carter, you're finally awake," Taylor noticed as she looked at him. Carter stretched his arms and yawned.
"Yeah, I'm not a fan of terrible movies," Carter turned to where Ryan was before he dozed off. "Where did Ryan go? He probably couldn't stand it either! Huh?" Carter chuckled at first, but quickly stopped as he saw a worried look on Taylor's face.
"That's the thing, we were talking a lot during the movie, trying to guess what would happen next," Taylor paused as Carter looked confused. She continued, "but then, there was this last part where they went on a roller coaster, and he suddenly stopped. He seemed to be sweating, and... well, he looked like he had seen a ghost!" Taylor paused as she and Carter realized:
"You don't think..." Carter and Taylor both said to each other.
"Where is he?" Carter asked with concern in his voice. Taylor pointed in the direction of the dimly lit hallway.
"He suddenly got up and shouted restroom when he left," Taylor told him. Carter nodded and quickly rose out of his seat. Taylor and Carter quickly left the showing room and looked down the hallway. A restroom sign hung on the wall in between two doors, at the end of the hallway. They walked over to the restroom doors.
"Ryan, you in there?" Carter knocked twice on the restroom door. There was no answer, but there was light shining through the crack at the bottom of the door. He repeated the knock after a couple of seconds, with the same result. As they began to walk away:
"The movie's over?" Carter and Taylor heard Ryan through the restroom door. They quickly ran back.
"Yeah, you okay in there?" Carter said as he and Taylor pressed their ears on the door. They heard him shutting a faucet off. Ryan unlocked the door, making a click noise. He opened the door as Taylor and Carter looked at him with concern. Ryan's red face was damp with sweat as he looked at his friends.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, we'd better go," he told them as he began to walk off. "Roller coasters..." Ryan shivered as he muttered the word.
"Why am I so afraid of roller coasters?" Ryan thought as he splashed a handful of water on his face. He quickly dried it with a paper towel before his black windbreaker could get wet.
"I gotta get over this, but why is it so hard?" Ryan threw the used paper towel into a trash can and looked in the restroom mirror in front of him. He performed a face check; color had reappeared on his face, his blue sapphire-like eyes weren't dilated or anything, and his face was slightly damp, but he figured it would dry soon.
"I wonder," Ryan's thought was interrupted by a rhythmic vibration in his jeans' pocket. He pulled out his cellphone and looked at the screen. "Taylor's calling," Ryan thought as he answered the vibrating phone. "Hey Taylor, what's up?" he asked.
"Ryan, we can't find Sam's mom. Can you help us find her?" Taylor asked as the background noise started to get louder.
"Yeah, meet me at the fountain. I'm still here," Ryan said as he walked out of the restroom.
"Okay. See you there," Taylor said as she hung up. Ryan pocketed his phone and walked over toward the fountain in the center of the plaza. The orange and purple clouds in the sky gave way to a dark blue as the moon began to shine. The moonlight gave the fountain water a unique shine that seemed fitting with the wolf statue.
"It looks gorgeous," Ryan thought as he looked around and saw passerby taking a picture or two of the sight and walking away. He suddenly felt someone tug his jeans, so he turned around to look.
"Hey mister!" Sam was behind him, along with Taylor and Carter, who greeted Ryan. Ryan smiled and waved to Sam, who had some sort of device in his hands.
"Hey little guy, what is that?" Ryan asked as he looked at the device. It looked like it could be folded shut, whatever it was. Video game noises and music were playing rhythmically.
"It's a Nintendo DS! I'm playing Pokemon: Platinum! See?" Sam replied as he showed Ryan the Nintendo DS' screens. Ryan widened his eyes as his eyes bounced between the two pokemon on screen.
"Those are pokemon?" Ryan thought as he looked at the pokemon that looked like a penguin, called Piplup. The other pokemon was a small grey and white bird named Starly. Nostalgia was replaced with slight confusion."Wow, they look a little weird," Ryan thought as Sam ordered Piplup to use Water Gun.
"Whoa, those are pokemon?" Carter said in a surprised tone as he looked at the DS' screen. "They definitely don't make 'em like they used to," he remarked to Ryan. Victory music played from the DS as Sam looked at Carter.
"You mean there are more pokemon?" Sam asked Carter, who smirked and nodded. He seemed to be nostalgic as he answered:
"Yeah, the original 151 pokemon," Carter answered with a slight nod. Ryan noticed Taylor seemed to be lost in thought, almost if like Carter triggered some old memories. She suddenly felt her pocket with her free hand, like she had realized something.
"Wow mister, did you start with a Piplup back then too?" Sam innocently asked. Carter shook his head as he chuckled.
"Nope! We had to choose from three pokemon; a grass type that looked like a frog, a water type that looked like a turtle, and the best one was an orange lizard that was a fire type!" Carter put three fingers up as he listed the starter pokemon. Sam slightly tilted his head as he tried to imagine the starter pokemon.
"They sound kinda lame," Sam said as he imagined the pokemon the way Carter described them. Ryan shook his head in amusement and without thinking, he reached for a keychain on his belt and unclipped a small red and white ball. He tapped Sam's shoulder to get his attention.
"Well, here's the turtle Carter tried describing, Squirtle!" Ryan pressed the button on the ball, which opened it, revealing a small figurine of Squirtle. Sam's eyes instantly widened.
"Wow! Mister, you have a Pokeball? Cool!" Sam remarked as he examined the Squirtle figurine inside of the toy Pokeball. Taylor and Carter looked at Ryan's Pokeball in surprise.
"It's an old keychain I got when I was about your age," Ryan explained as he recalled how he got it. He looked at Carter and Taylor, who seemed to be lost in their thoughts. They couldn't help but grin when they recalled the very first time the three of them played together. The Pokeball was a childhood memento, reminding the three of them of their childhood bliss. Taylor stared off across the plaza and into space as she reflected on those times, until she shook her head and suddenly shouted, "Auntie!"
Ryan, Carter, and Sam turned to see a middle aged woman turned her attention from her phone, to Taylor and waved. "Taylor!" It was Sam's mother! She strode her way to where Taylor and Sam were and began to talk.
"Hey Sammie, did you have fun with Taylor?" Taylor's aunt asked Sam, who nodded. "That's great!" She turned to Taylor. "And thank you for doing this! He really likes your plays," Taylor's aunt thanked her.
"Oh, no problem auntie! It's the least I could do for one of my secret admirers," Taylor said, smiling at Sam, who seemed to blush a little.
"Aww, did you get your older brother Jerry to give that note to Taylor?" Taylor's aunt asked Sam, who blushed heavily and nodded.
"That explains the note in my locker. Jerry must have put it in there for Sam! Aww..." Taylor smiled.
"Well, we'd better get going, Jerry's going to throw a fit if I don't get home soon so he can go to his little party," Taylor's aunt told her.
"Okay, see you later!" Taylor said as they waved goodbye and walked away. Carter and Taylor looked at Ryan's Pokeball.
"Uh, I guess I'm the only one who kept mine, huh?" Ryan asked as he chuckled awkwardly. He looked around and saw Carter reaching deep into his pocket and took out a similar Pokeball.
"Nope, you weren't," Carter said as he pushed the button on the front of the toy Pokeball. The top opened to reveal a small figure of an orange lizard standing on it's hind legs, named Charmander.
"Carter, you kept yours?" Taylor asked in slight astonishment. Before Ryan and Carter could ask, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her Pokeball. "Bulbasaur's still here!" Taylor said as she opened her Pokeball to reveal the green frog-like figure. A lighter shaded green bulb graced Bulbasaur's back.
"We all kept our Pokeballs, even after all of these years. Pretty sweet," Carter remarked as he looked at the Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur figures in the toy Pokeballs. "Charmander would still kick your Bulbasaur's butt!" he taunted Taylor, who simply rolled her eyes.
"And Squirtle would still kick your butt!" Ryan said to Carter, who shook his head and replied:
"At least Charizard can fly," Carter pointed out. Ryan rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, but Blastoise has cannons on his back. Who's cool enough to carry cannons on their back like that?" Ryan remarked with a smirk. Taylor couldn't help but smirk at the argument.
"You guys sound like kids," Taylor laughed as she recalled something. "Reminds me of when we first met, don't you think?" Everyone closed their Pokeballs and pocketed them away, minus Ryan, who clipped it back onto his belt.
"Yeah, and ever since, we've kinda stuck together like glue," Ryan noted.
"I'm glad we're still best friends, even after all of this time. We've all gone our separate ways, and grown up a bit," Taylor looked at Carter and smirked. "Except for a certain person..."
"Oh, we all know you haven't changed," Carter remarked as he saw an opening. Taylor huffed as she began to argue back. Playful arguing erupted as Ryan stood on the side.
"These two argue like an old married couple, which they might have to get used to," Ryan laughed in his head. "I can't believe Taylor thinks Carter doesn't like her!" His mind wandered to earlier in the day.
"We're finally here," Ryan stretched his arms in the air as he walked along with Taylor and Carter. He was still exhausted from last night's football game against his school's intercity rival. It was a hard earned victory, as his sore muscles constantly reminded him.
"Is that a band playing up there? Be right back guys!" Carter suddenly walked off towards the band that was set up outside of the amusement park.
"Hold on a sec-" Ryan was interrupted by Taylor, who pulled him into a photo booth. "Taylor, what gives?" He was confused as to why she just pulled him into the photo booth.
"Something up?" Ryan asked as he saw Taylor slightly blush. A small silence passed before Taylor answered.
"I don't know if I should be saying anything, even to you, but..." Taylor said, slightly frowning.
"Taylor, if something's up, you can let me know. I mean, we've been friends for a long time! I've known you and Carter longer than I've known my mom. Well, I haven't met my mom yet, but that's not the point," Ryan added in slight humor, causing Taylor to smile.
"Point is, I know you two like the back of my hand, and something's up. You and Carter have been acting a little odd lately," Ryan noted, causing Taylor's blush to slightly darken. "Anyways, if you ever change your mind, I'm here to listen." He ended smiling at his childhood friend. Ryan turned to leave the photo booth when he felt a tug on his windbreaker's sleeve.
"Actually, it's about Carter," Taylor started to say as they sat down.
"Carter? Did something happen?" Ryan asked her.
"Nothing happened to him," Taylor answered. Ryan thought for a second as he came to a conclusion.
"You have a crush on Cart-" Ryan began but Taylor quickly shushed him. "He's a little preoccupied with that band out front, and they're playing right now. He's not going to hear this," Ryan said as an electric guitar melody slashed through the air.
"Please don't tell him!" Taylor pleaded. Ryan looked at her and smiled.
"Don't worry, I won't," he said reassuringly. "Truth be told, I wondered when you two would get together. What's the big deal?" Ryan asked.
"Big deal?" Taylor repeated as she seemed astonished at his remark. She sighed and began fishing through her thoughts to explain her feelings. "I've felt weird around him for a while now, even before a couple of months ago. I didn't, and still, don't know what this feeling is. All I know is, it's more than a crush, but I don't know what it is. And then I realized, what if he doesn't feel the same way? It would destroy our friendship, and..."
"Taylor, this is Carter you're talking about, you've been his best friend for twelve years! He wouldn't turn his back on you, not for a second," Ryan told her. Without thinking, he added: "Besides, he may feel the same way about you." Taylor's eyes lit up, even though she tried hiding it. "Really?" Ryan kicked himself mentally. He promised Carter not to say anything! Carter made him pinkie swear when he told Ryan about it.
"Uh, well... he always turns to you, especially when the fan girls rush him," Ryan quickly covered up his slip up.
"Yeah, but he knows me," Taylor reasoned.
"I personally think it's a sign, but I'll leave it up to you," Ryan mysteriously said. He sighed of relief in his head as he narrowly dodged a bullet. He might have even helped them get together without saying anything! A silence followed as Taylor was thinking. "Sounds like the band's wrapping up. We'd better get Carter and have some fun, right?"
"Yeah, we'd better get him, otherwise he'll critique that band to death!" Taylor said, causing the two of them to laugh. "Oh, and Ryan," She reached over and embraced him. "Thanks."
"Hey, no problem, that's what best friends are for, right?" Ryan said as they broke apart from the hug.
"What's wrong?" Ryan asked as he noticed Taylor was looking at his eyes. She shook her head.
"Nothing, it's just that you're like the big brother I never had," she said as they walked out of the photo booth.
"Earth to Ryan, are you there?" Ryan shook his head as he snapped back into reality. Carter and Taylor were both looking at him weirdly.
"Is something wrong? You were smiling while you were spacing out," Carter asked.
"Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about something, that's all," Ryan answered. "Anyways, what are we gonna ride next?" Dumbfounded looks appeared on Carter and Taylor's faces.
"Uh, what I meant to say was something for two people to ride, if you catch my drift. I've had enough of roller coasters for a lifetime," Ryan corrected himself. The dumbfounded looks on Carter and Taylor's faces subsided as they realized Ryan was fine.
"Hmm, I wonder what we should ride?" Taylor asked Carter, who shrugged. "Oh! Maybe the Mine Drop!"
"What's the Mine Drop?" Carter nervously asked. Taylor pretended not to notice the nervousness.
"Well, it's only a 220 feet drop in strapped seats. Nothing you can't handle, right?" Taylor ended in a playful, mocking tone. "Is the big bad rock star scared of falling?" Taylor teased when Carter didn't answer. She looked up and could have sworn she saw a faint light pink blush on Carter, but she dismissed it as wishful thinking.
"No way! I'll ride it with you! B-but don't get too scared, alright?" Carter said to Taylor, who leaned up against him.
"Okay!" Taylor winked. "Let's go then!" Ryan stood on the side and smirked at the whole situation.
"I'll wait here for you guys," Ryan suggested as he took a seat on a stone bench next to the fountain. Taylor and Carter nodded and waved goodbye as they walked off. Carter avoided Taylor's gaze by looking up. He wouldn't admit it, but he was nervous.
Taylor took the time to look back at Ryan and mouthed, "Thanks!" Ryan gave a thumbs up and mouthed back:
"No problem! Good luck!" Taylor turned back with Carter while Ryan cupped the back of his head, prepared to relax. He suddenly saw Carter put an arm behind his back and gave a thumbs up. Ryan smiled and shook his head.
"If only they knew!" Ryan thought as his friends disappeared from sight. He stared at the few stars that graced the night sky.
"Hmm? What's this I feel?" An old fortune teller clothed in fortune teller robes felt a sudden pulsing sensation. She turned to her wooden table which lay in the center of her tent. The fortune teller raised her hands over the crystal ball that lay on the table and spoke:
"Aura, what are you trying to tell me? Is the one near?" In response, the crystal ball emanated white light. Within the white light, images shuffled in seconds, too fast for the fortune teller to see. However, one image stopped.
"So, he's the one," The fortune teller looked at the image. It was a teenager with black hair, dimple on his nose, and sapphire blue eyes. She turned away and went to the back room of her tent. An ancient door with an indent in the center had a symbol over it that looked like a Pokeball.
"Arceus, what are you planning?" The fortune teller thought aloud as she peered at the ancient doorway.