Back From Before
Chapter 9
Hi... *awkwardly waves*
First things first, I apologize for the long wait. It's been a while but things have been busy for me, and still are. I know many of you were anticipating an update, so here you go! :) I finally did it! :)
Reviews-
QUEENSPELLER67: :) Well, who's better to tell the story than the girl herself? :D We'll find out soon! Thanks for sticking around!
Leaffeather: Haha, yup! I didn't really know what was going to happen when I first started writing this either. This was originally planned as "Imaginary Girl", who would have thought I would end up here? :D Wait until I get to Leaf's backstory! Anyways, sorry for the long wait. Water: Hey! I'm going to catch you! *uses Aqua Jet for speed* Tag!
PH: Thank you! So am I, haha. I'm working out the details, but you'll find out soon! :)
PolarDawn: Yep! Really? That's good, I'm glad I finally clear things up. :) Looks like everything might be smooth sailing from here on out! Or... at least until the end of this chapter! XD
Aureillia: Thanks for the spam of reviews! XD I'm assuming you're enjoying this story? Sorry for the wait and any former confusion! :)
KicksAndKisses: I know! So many feels for Gary! *hands over tissue* Let's hope he does. :) Thank you so much! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon
"That's not my story to tell."
"What do you mean?" Gary pressed.
Leaf just offered him a comforting smile. "She'll tell you on her own time. It wouldn't be right for me to tell you. As for now, I need to go."
"Wait." Gary grabbed onto her arm. A flurry of emotions flashed in his eyes, happiness, sadness, hope, regret, pain, love... Everything emotion he was able to relate back to Leaf. Letting the moment drawl for a moment longer, he finally spoke again. "Am I... going to see you again? Ever?"
Gently caressing his cheek with his hand, the brunette gave a small shake of her head. Although not a word was said, Gary knew the silence spoke plenty. It was time for her to go. For the first time in eight years, Gary was able to accept the truth and let things move on. It had taken him so long to reach where he was, he hoped he could move on. No more pushing the facts aside, he was a researcher after all.
She put her hand on over his heart. "I'll always be here, even if I'm not actually with you."
He leaned in, resting their foreheads together. Closing his eyes, a few tears slipped out as he tried to hold onto the last remaining moments.
"It's time for you to wake up now, Gary," Leaf softly whispered. "Good luck and... good bye."
"Bye," Gary choked out, giving her a slight nod. The brunette, took a small step back and lifted her hand to wave. As the world around him started to blur, Gary felt a sense of reassurance wash over him before everything faded into the darkness.
...
Opening his eyes, Gary flinched at the sunlight had peeked through his curtains. With everything that happened in his dream, he wondered how much rest he actually got. It didn't matter too much, he had finally seen Leaf, his imaginary friend, again. It was worth it.
Rubbing his eyes, he sat up to listen to the sounds of Pidgey chirping. A slight dampness was on his cheeks, and Gary knew after all that had happened, perhaps it was time to move on.
Throwing off the covers and swinging his feet onto the cold ground, Gary gave himself a determined nod.
"Come on, Oak. Things change, you just need to adjust." He claimed, as he gave himself a pep talk. "A new day means a new start. Nothing will stop me from trying. I can do this. I can do this."
Knocking on his room door echoed for a moment before the door opened. Professor Oak poked his head in, looking over at his grandson.
"Ah, I thought I heard your voice from down the hall. You're up early today, Gary," the professor chuckled.
"Oh, morning, Gramps," Gary responded. He ran a hand through his auburn hair as he glanced at his clock. Seven thirty. He mentally laughed, knowing Leaf would've purposely waken him up early. "Uh, yeah. I guess I was ready for a day of working in the lab."
"There's no need to overwork yourself, don't forget you get tomorrow off since I'll be at an interview about Pokémon." Professor Oak added, nodding approvingly. "Well, I'm going to head to the lab now. I'll see you soon."
"Got it."
As the professor left, Gary stretched his arms over his head before standing up and heading off to prepare for his own day. Hurrying with his preparations, he soon found himself sitting back in his usual desk in his grandfather's lab.
Stretching back in his seat, the auburn haired teen noticed a small folded up piece of paper resting on his desk. Reaching out and unfolding it, a small smile reached his face when he saw the message.
'Remember.'
The one word that use to confuse him to no ends finally brought him a sense of understanding. The word he hoped he could grasp and see clearly, now with both eyes open.
"I'm trying," he whispered to himself. "I'll keep trying until I remember everything."
Turning back to his computer screen, he looked back on his report of the Furret of Route 1. Even though he had been working on it for the past few days, little progress had been made since his head was in the clouds of distraction. Knowing his grandfather would want the report soon, he made himself as comfortable as he could get in his chair and started to type.
...
"I really hope I'm not third wheeling," Leaf proclaimed, walking next to one of her childhood friends and his girlfriend.
Wait. Scratch that. 'His former travelling friend who was visiting over the summer.' As much as the two denied it, Leaf was starting to suspect the raven and orange haired duo had strong feelings for each other and neither would confess. No, she knew something was going on between the two.
Whatever was happening between them, she was just glad they were both happy and unconsciously holding hands. Heh, she wondered just how long it would take them to notice.
"You're not third wheeling," Misty exclaimed, shaking her head. "Ash and I aren't dating, and besides we like spending time with you."
"Yeah!" Ash chimed in. "Isn't that right, Pikachu?"
"Pika," Pikachu responded, nodding. Even with that answer, Leaf and Pikachu shared a knowing look between them. Excuses, excuses.
Enjoying a walk around town with happy chatter, it wasn't until they were sitting near the river that something had brought up the topic of Leaf's crush. When they arrived at the river, Ash announced his state of hunger. Going to reach for his backpack, it was then Misty and Ash noticed their hands were intertwined. Blushed rose on both their faces as apologies were thrown and flustered reactions filled the air.
Giggling at the situation, Leaf sat down in the lush green grass, looking out at the sparking water. Reminiscing about her childhood playdates that happened here, Leaf was so lost in thought, she nearly jumped when something bumped into her leg.
"What's this?" she asked, holding up half a pokeball. Seeing that Ash had half of the contents from his backpack everywhere, she guess it belonged to him.
Catching the attention of her friends who were still flustered, Ash was the first to respond.
"Oh, that's mine," he said, accepting it from Leaf. "It has an interesting story with it, too."
"Like what happened to the other half?" Misty guessed.
"Yep!" Ash nodded. "Gary has it actually."
"Gary?" the brunette echoed, interested.
Ash nodded, looking down at his half of the pokeball. "It was when we were eight, Gary and I were fishing around here. I think it was because Gary had been acting moody after you left, so I tried to get him to do something fun. We ended up fishing up the broken pokeball and arguing over who got to keep it. Man, I can't believe so much happened after you left, Leaf."
"What happened?" the said girl responded.
"Well, you were usually the peacekeeper, but since you left, that argument also split the friendship I had with Gary. At least, until a year ago." Ash looked up thoughtfully at the clouds in the sky. "I wonder if things would have been different if you were there."
If I was there, the brunette thought. Things would have been very different if her father hadn't accepted that job back then, but where would she and Gary be standing now if things were different?
"So that's why Gary and you were rivals," Misty noted, snapping Leaf out of her thoughts. The water type trainer eyes narrowed when she spotted something lying in the grass. Snatching up a small fishing lure that looked like a miniature version of herself, she held it up to Ash. "You still have this?"
Sensing the need to leave the two alone and hoping something might finally happen between the two, she stood up and quickly announced her departure out loud.
"I have to get going, guys. I'll see you around!"
Skittering off, she walked off alone thinking about the story Ash had just told her.
"Gary had been acting moody after you left..."
Something about his statement made her think back to what Professor Oak had said to her when she first saw Gary.
"He's changed a bit since you left, closed off to himself for the most part."
"Looks like we've all been suffering through the changes," she muttered, thinking back to Gary's pained expression the first time she had seen him in ten years. The expression troubled her, and the urge to go see him sparked within her. Feeling her heartbeat pick up its pace, she gripped her hands close to her chest.
She wanted to go see him.
This was one of the few things she was certain of, even after so many years of losing contact with him. Seeing Ash and Misty made her think of chances she was missing. Time that she had missed over ten years, maybe she could make it up and spend some of it now with him.
Determined to do exactly what she wanted to do, she headed towards the Pokémon Lab.
...
Checking over the final details of his report, Gary nodded in content and hit the save button. Finished with the report, he spun around in his seat and stood up. It was way past lunch time, probably late afternoon—he glanced at the time, five o'clock—or evening. He scratched the back of his head and stifled back a yawn, he hadn't anticipated time to fly by so quickly.
The sound of thunder rumbled throughout the building, causing the teen to look out a window. Heavy rain poured down with dark clouds filling the sky, limiting his view.
"Evening, Gary," one of his grandfather's assistances greeted him. "Looks bad out, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," he answered. "You heading home?"
"I probably should before it gets worse, you should too. The professor already left for his interview and Tracey is going to lock up tonight," the assistant explained. "I'll see you around."
Deciding it was time he hurried home, he headed over to his desk and grabbed his jacket and spare umbrella. Lucky for him, imaginary Leaf had reminded his to keep an umbrella at the lab for emergencies like now.
Pulling on his jacket and popping open his umbrella, he stepped out into the night. With the state of the rain coming down, it was hard to see anything beyond a couple meters. Stumbling along the path he took to get home, he was halfway there when he heard a whimpering sound nearby. Heading towards the sound, he spotted the figure standing under a tree.
"Hey, are you okay?" he called out.
There a pause before a quiet voice answered his call.
"Gary?"
He stepped closer. "Leaf? What are doing here?"
"I-I was come t-to look for you until it-it started to rain," she stuttered, flinching at another flash of lightning.
Upon closer inspection, Gary could see she was shivering. Taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her, he pulled her under his umbrella.
"Come on," he urged, guiding her to where he knew his house was. "Everything will be alright."
Incoherent mumbling in an approving tone met his ears as they head to shelter.
"Everything will be alright."
Again, sorry for the delay, but I hope you guys liked this chapter. :)
As you all might have noticed, I've written a lot of emotion into this story. Prepare yourself for some more soon! Leaf's side of the story is coming up next and I'm plotting it as I type. :)
Thanks for reading and have a beautiful day!
~Skitty13
