We left the Pokemon center to enter the city and go find a restaurant because nobody wanted to eat the food in the center's cafeteria. Pikachu refused to leave me alone as he jumped back onto my shoulder, hitching a ride. In the city we were able to find a nice little café that served all kinds of foods from salads and sandwiches to burgers and hotdogs. Ash, of course, ordered a hamburger while Brock and I ordered sandwiches. We chatted a little bit about their adventures in Hoenn while we waited for our food. Thankfully, they hadn't asked me much about my travels, but I had a story ready when they did. When our food arrived, I started to eat my sandwich, but was stopped short by the sight in front of me.

Ash, who had ordered three hamburgers, was gulfing them down at an unseen speed. Although this was something I had seen all the time, I acted like I was appalled, using some tricks from the acting classes my sisters had forced me to take. I think it worked, too because Brock took it upon himself to quickly apologize for Ash's behavior. "Ash, slow down. Where are your manners? I'm sorry. He enjoys eating…"

"He he. Slow down, Ashy boy. The-" Whoops.
"What did you just call me?" Ash asked, his hamburger frozen in mid air for the time being.

"Nothing," I answered quickly.

"No. You called me Ashy boy."

"Maybe?"

"That name.." he trailed off. "She…always called me that to make me mad."

"She?"

"Nobody," he stated. He set his burger back down and got up without a word. "I'm going to take a walk. I'll.. I'll be right back." And with that he left the table and headed towards the exit, Pikachu in tow.

I had a feeling I knew exactly who he was talking about, but I had to pretend for the time being that I didn't. "Will he come back?" I asked Brock, all part of my act.

"Yeah. He does this sometimes. Don't worry, though, he will be back shortly." Although he told me this, I could see some worry hidden on his face.

"Whom was he talking about?" I asked.

"You mean the girl?" Brock asked, turning back to me.

"Yeah."

"It's our friend Misty. She used to call Ash that a lot when she was around. It drove him crazy because his rival would call him that. Misty always knew how to push his buttons. Then again, Ash knew how to tick Misty off just as much. They were really close friends even if they appeared to hate each other."

"Hate each other?"

"Yeah. They argued all the time. About everything from what food they wanted to have for lunch, to whose fault it was that we had gotten lost. It seemed to never end between those two. Granted, I have siblings who argue all the time, but nobody argued like those two. I had to stalk up on Motrin each time we went to a new town." He laughed a little, thinking of the memories and the money he had to spend on medicine.

"It was that bad?" I asked.

"Yeah, but despite the arguing they both cared a lot about each other. They were always there for each other. I would always tease them about liking each other. They would get so mad, but it was true and everyone could see it but those two. The day Misty had to leave, I thought one of them would say something, but neither did."

"Oh." I had thought about saying something to Ash before I left that day, but the fear of rejection stopped me in my tracks.

"Yeah. Ever since she left, he's never been the same. He gets silent whenever she comes up and randomly decides to take walks. Whenever I try to confront him about it, he denies it happening, claiming that nothing is wrong."

"What do you think is wrong?" Obviously Brock was concerned about Ash's behavior.

"I think he misses her more than he thought he would. It's a lot different without her and I think Ash is having difficulties adjusting to that change. It only convinces me more that he cares for her more than just friendship."

"If he misses her, why doesn't he call her?" I asked. He never called me once since I had left. It always had bothered me that he promised to keep in touch, yet never did. I always tried calling him, but I would always miss him or he would tell Nurse Joy he was busy and to have me call back. Even the letters I sent were never replied to. I just didn't get it.

"I don't know. I've told him to call her. She's even called many times herself, too. Even sent letters. He just ignores the calls or sticks the letters in his backpack unread. It doesn't really matter anymore, though, because she gave up almost a year ago. I don't blame her, either. Like I said, though, he doesn't seem to be dealing well with the change."

"Yeah. I guess so."

Brock and I finished up our meals as we waited for Ash to return from his walk. It was a time like this when I wished that I could tell them both the truth and end the sadness Ash was feeling, but if I wanted to know the truth, I couldn't blow my cover just yet. I knew there would be a day when I would have to reveal myself to them or at least leave and never come back as Maddie, but for now things would have to go along like this.

While in the midst of finishing my sandwich, I heard footsteps come closer to the table. I looked up just in time to see Ash sit back down and finish up his meal. He didn't say anything when he came back about where he was or if he was feeling any better, but neither Brock nor I decided to push it. After we finished up and paid the bill, we decided to head back to the Pokemon center so Brock and Ash could get their Pokemon back.