Chapter 8

Ash and I met twice in Vermilion. The first time, we had Misty and Gary along with us too. Ash took us to a nearby Safari Zone. The safari zone had many different types of Pokémon, some maintained a distance where as others seemed friendly.

Every time I spotted a Pokémon, I threw a poffin in its direction. I was sure they were going to love it. Misty's parents allowed us to go anywhere we liked as long as Gary accompanied us. They believed him to be mannered and matured- only we knew how much of a myth it was. Misty never tried to break the wrong idea her parents had. She sure loved the freedom.

Gary was busy noting everything down. I guess he couldn't help himself as he was a professor in practice. There were some marshy lands too and some mangroves sticking out here and there. The place was a real feast to the eyes. I closed my eyes to capture every moment.

By then, Ash had made it pretty clear that he had eyes only for me, so Misty calmed down a little bit. I was relieved.

The next time he took me out, it was a proper date. He called and asked whether he could take me out. Strangely, I felt I had to take permission form Misty's mother, I was staying at their house after all.

Mani didn't make much fuss. She just warned me to stay safe. I was grateful that she cared. I wonder what my mother would had done. I am pretty sure she would have been happy to have me out of the way.

Misty was too ecstatic. She wanted me to dress up properly.

"You have a decent dress right?" She asked.

Honestly, I didn't want to make it such a fuss. He had told me before he doesn't do relationships. So I didn't want him to get the wrong idea. However, I sure wanted to take whatever we had to a new level.

If Misty would not have poked her nose, I would have showed up in my jeans and a tank top but she claimed a date needs proper dressing. She made we wear a skirt with white top. I wore sneakers with them and she almost ripped my head off saying a skirt demands heels. I ignored her completely.

"It is not that he is going to take me to a five star hotel or something where I need to be perfect and polished!" I said.

He took me to a waterfall. The place was so beautiful, as if it had been picked up from a picture book. The place was covered with thick undergrowth so it was impossible to see the sun. The roaring sound of the cascading water was melodious too. The sweet smell of freshly blossomed flowers was covering the area.

"How did you find such a place like this? I thought it is your first time here?" I asked.

"Ever heard of anything called maps?" He teased me. I stuck out my tongue and said,"Well, who told you about the place?"

He sheepishly replied it was Duplica's idea. "She suggested me to take you here, when I told her I was taking you out," he said and handed me a sandwich from the tiffin box he was carrying.

"You came prepared I see," I smiled and he nodded too.

"This place is amazing," I had to say.

"Not as much as you," he said and it was the first time we had kissed. I was neither shy nor did I feel awkward. Moreover, he tasted so good.

I wanted to go for more and I knew he wanted that too. I could tell by the bulge in his pants. But he stopped,"Not in a public place Dee."

So we had to be content by kissing and hugging each other.

He left the next day and very soon I found myself back in my busy school life again. Those were the days of emails. So, we decided to keep in touch through it.

Rosewood academy allowed us to use the internet for half an hour daily. Earlier I hardly paid any attention but now it was a daily routine. I was the first one to log into the computer.

Sometimes there were mails and sometimes, there were none. He was travelling and I presumed he was busy. His mails were short and to the point. He told me he had defeated Brandon, the pyramid king. He always kept me up to date with all the recent happenings in his life. My replies were long and brief. I used to say about every little thing that happened when he was not here. Eventually my replies became short too, I was trying to fit in his way of mailing.

Whenever there were no mails for more than two days, I became disappointed. But whenever he replied, I almost wanted to text him back immediately. But blame it on my ego or stubbornness, I tried to reply late.

He remembered my exam dates though. And before every exam, there lay a text wishing me and Misty luck.

Once the exams got over, Misty did something unexpected. She said she wanted to visit LaRousse. Whenever I talked about LaRousse, I never painted a happy picture. She was leaving in four months and wanted to spend every single possible moment with me. I could hardly refuse, after all I had spend all my childhood in her home.

"We have four months to ourselves! We will spend two months in LaRousse and two in Vermilion. Won't it be nice?" She had said.

When I told my Mom she was coming over she was more than happy. She picked us from the airport and drove us home. Misty said she looked like my elder sister. Well, I guess having a cold heart makes you preserve your youth.

Misty was awestruck by the busy life of LaRousse. I missed this life too but life at Twinleaf was much better. I had piplup and buneary with me, they decided to follow me as I was leaving Vermilion before the final exams. I was happy and ecstatic, they were cute as well as helpful.

I was amazed when my Mom told she wanted to spend the whole day with us. I refused but Misty angrily glared at me and said we will accompany her. Once we were alone in my room, she shut the door and angrily asked,"At least your Mom is trying Dee, why are you being so stubborn?''

"You have known her for just one hour, and she has already bought you with her money I see,"I reciprocated her anger. She was my soul sister, my closest friend. I could not lose her.

She calmed a little and explained,"You know that is never gonna happen. Stop speaking like a spoilt brat."

She was brought up in a loving family, had great friends and supporting sisters.

Couldn't she see I only had her?