A Visit Home Part 2

MADDIE: AGE 16

"So I guess I owe you dinner," Grant reminded me as we left the Pokemon Center. After going to Gary's lab, we had stopped there for a few hours to recover. It was about 5:00 now. "What would you like? I don't know what kind of places are here, but I'm sure we can find something good."

Unlike him, I knew all the restaurants that Pallet had to offer, my favorite being the little diner that served hamburgers and milkshakes. Whenever my dad and I would hang out, he would always take me there and we would split the largest milkshake the place had to offer. It seemed like that had been ages ago, and I couldn't help but want to relive that moment at least once. But now things had changed

"I know a place," I told him. "I heard it's supposed to be good."

"Really? What's it called?"

"Uh..uh.. Red's," I quickly answered.

"Red's? Well, okay. Give me the map and I'll find it."

"It's not on the map. It's a new place so they haven't put it there yet," I made up.

"Oh."

Before he could ask anymore questions about Red's, I started walking toward my house and away from the actually city part of Pallet. I could tell he was a little confused at first as the stores and restaurants disappeared and houses and hills started to appear.

"You sure you know where you're going?"

"I'm positive," I assured him, continuing to walk down the path.

When we reached the end of the path, I turned left and walked up the little path that led to my house. Stopping in front of the white picket fence, I observed my house from afar. Nothing had changed about it, it still being the little white house with a black roof and a big red door. The window to the kitchen was opened and I could see Noah with his back facing us as he sat at the kitchen table talking to someone else in the room. As I looked in the driveway, I let got a breath that I had been holding, relieved that my dad's car was not in the driveway. So far I was safe.

"This is a house," Grant stated.

"Thank you captain obvious," I teased, pulling him with me up to the front door. Taking a deep breath, I looked at him before I opened the door. "This is my house."

"You-you-live here?" he stuttered.

"This is where my family lives when they aren't fighting super villains."

"What?"

"I'm kidding," I told him, shaking my head as I walked into my house. He stayed where he was, trying to take it all in. "You coming?"

"Oh! Yeah," he quickly replied, stepping into the house as I shut the door behind him. "So do I get to know your last name now?"

"Not quite," I replied, tapping his nose with my finger.

As we were slipping off our shoes and setting down our stuff, I heard someone walk into the hallway, causing Grant to gasp a bit. "Hey! You're the kid from the lab! What are you doing in her house?"

"I live here," he stated.

"Wait," Grant blurted, flicking his finger back and forth between us. "Let me get this straight, you and Noah are brother and sister?"

"Duh," Noah scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Be nice, Noah," I snapped.

"Or what?" he shot back.

"I'll tell mom."

"Ooo. Well if you tell mom, I'll tell dad about your friend."

Had had me there, and he knew it. I huffed in anger as I stomped away into the kitchen. I was stopped in the kitchen, though, when I saw my mom at the sink finishing up some dishes. That must have been who Noah was talking to.

"Mom?" I asked, my voice cracking a bit.

She dropped the dish she was watching, the sound of it crashing into the sink echoing off the walls. "Maddie?" she asked, turning around. Before I could take another step, she ran over and engulfed me in a hug. "I can't believe you're here. I've missed you so much!" As much as I had missed my mom, I was a bit more concerned about the lack of air from her hug.

"Mom, I can't breath."

"Oh! I'm sorry," she apologized, jumping back a bit. Placing her hands on her face, she did that think all moms did. "Oh, look at you! You've grown so much. I can't believe it's been so long. You really should have visited more often."

"I know," I replied, letting my body sag a bit. I really had wanted to visit more before, but I didn't want to with Grant around.

"Well, don't worry about that. You're here now and that's what matters. Dinner is almost ready, would you like to join us?"

"I would love to," I grinned. "I brought my friend Grant, too."

"You did?" my mom asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Yeah, I, uh, ran into him in Viridian City. He had to come to Pallet to drop some stuff off to Gary so I came with him."

"Does he know?"

"No," I sighed. "Not yet. He met Noah, though. And that's all he knows."

"Oh, okay," she nodded. "Well I'll make sure to have Noah set out an extra plate. Speaking of which, where is that brother of yours?"

"In the hallway interrogating my friend."

"I'm sorry," she frowned at me. "Noah! Come set the table."

"But mom, I'm talking to a Pokemon Trainer!" he whined.

"Noah Ryan. Table. Now," she ordered. Thankfully my mom had not said my brother's last name.

"Coming," Noah groaned from the hallway, his feet dragging across the floor as he walked into the kitchen.

As Noah was walking into the kitchen, I noticed Grant wasn't behind him. "Where's Grant?"

"Bathroom," he stated before grabbing the pile of plates that were sitting on the counter.

My mom and I talked a bit about everything that had been going on since I was gone while Noah set the table, making a point of setting the plates on the table. Just as Noah was about to set the last plate, I heard the front door open and close, all blood draining from my face. There was only one other person who had yet to arrive and I'm pretty sure he just did.

"Dad's home," Noah said, a smug smile on his face. I just glared at him, seething with anger. When had my brother become such a brat?

"Holy Lugia!" I heard Grant gasp from the hallway. Great... it was definitely him. "You-you-you're him! You're the Pokemon Master!"

"Pika?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm him, but I don't know who you are," my dad replied.

"I'm Grant Rowser. I'm from Viridian City."

At this point in time, I had tiptoed to the door to the kitchen so I could look through the little crack without being seen.

"Are you a friend of Noah's?"

"What?" Grant asked, recoiling his hand. "No. I'm a friend of Madeline's."

"Maddie?" my dad asked very confused. "Did she tell you to stop by because she's not here? She's on her Pokemon Journey. I'd tell you when she's getting back, but I don't know."

"Uhh..." Grant stuttered, his mouth open like a Magikarp.

"Here, I'm sure my wife could help you. I bet she knows where you could find her."

"Your wife?" Grant squeaked.

"Ha ha," my dad laughed, something I hadn't heard in a long time. "I promise she's not that scary." Putting his arm around Grant's shoulder, he led him to the kitchen. I don't think it was my mom who Grant was afraid of. I think he had finally figured out my last name.

Snapping back from the door, I sprinted back to the table where my mom and brother were already seated. My brother, being the little brat he had become, just smirked at me from across the table, while my mom gave me a sympathetic smile, assuring me it was all going to be okay.

"Misty! I'm hom.-" My dad froze where he was, dropping the bag he was holding. "Maddie?"

"Hi dad?" I squeaked just like Grant had.

"DAD?" Grant blurted, his eyes widening to size of Pokeballs. "HE'S YOUR DAD? YOU'RE LAST NAME'S KETCHUM?"

"Yeah."

"And here I thought your family was super heroes."

"He likes to hallucinate," I told my family after they started giving Grant some confused looks about the superhero comment.

"What? I DO NOT hallucinate. If you hadn't kept this all from me than I wouldn't have to make up these theories, Madeline. Or should I say, Madeline Ketchum," he snickered at me.

"Come on Grant, super heroes? Have you even met one before?"

"No, but I bet unlike you they can actually read a map."

"Hey!" I snapped. "Enough with the map reading. It was one time!"

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure if it wasn't for me you would be stuck in those woods forever. How about that time on our way to Fuchsia city?"

I just glared at him, holding my fist in the air ready to pounce if I needed to. "You were the one who got us lost, dimwit."

"Oh, ha ha, yeah," he laughed nervously as his face turned red. "But you got us lost plenty of other times. You either had the map upside down or you somehow got us chased by wild Pokemon. Remember the Gyarados?" You just HAD to go and make it mad." He threw his hands in the air. "Thank god I had my bike or I would have been a goner."

"Enough!" my mom yelled, her voice arching over ours.

Grant quickly went silent, looking at my mom who was fuming with anger from her chair. He didn't stay quiet for very long, though. "I'm sorry Ms. Ketchum, but your daughter can't read a map." I snapped my head back at him, glaring in hopes he would burst into flames on the spot.

"I know," my mom sighed. I quickly turned to her, my mouth gaping in shock at my mom's betrayal. Grant on the other hand was clutching his stomach as he fell over laughing. Even Noah had started laughing from where he was sitting. "And I'm sorry you had to deal with that for four years."

"Mom!" I whined.

"Wait," my dad's voice broke through. "how long did you travel with Maddie?"

Uh oh. I was busted.

"I met Madeline when she was lost in the woods outside Vermilion. That was about six years ago. I traveled with her all through Kanto and Johto, but I had to go back home after my mom got sick, so that was a total of four years. I ran into her in Viridian City and since we were both headed to Pallet, she tagged along with me. I didn't know she lived here, though."

"Four years?" I could sense my dad was starting to get angry.

"Yep," Grant nodded. Dummy. Why couldn't he keep his big mouth shut?

"Dad, I can explain-"

"You never told him?" Grant asked me, wide eyed. "Do you keep secrets from your family, too?"

"No!"

Glaring, he folded his arms over his chest. "Yeah right. I bet your lying. You had no problem lying to me for six years, so I don't see why keeping secrets from your family is any different. Are you ashamed of whom you are? Because I'm pretty sure most kids would be proud to be the daughter of the Pokemon Master."

"What? No!" I cried. I was never ashamed of who I was. "You wouldn't understand."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I thought I was your friend Madeline. I could understand if you wanted to keep your identity from me, but I didn't know I wasn't important enough for you to tell your family about me." The glare that was once on his face, quickly turned to a look of hurt and a little betrayal. "I'm going to pass on dinner. I'll be at the Pokemon Center until tomorrow if there's anything else you need to tell me that you forgot to before."

"Grant, wait!" I called after him, but he had already walked away, the door slamming shut behind him.

Now that Grant had left, my dad was free to express his anger. And express he did. "Four years, Maddie?" he growled. Sensing his anger, Pikachu leaped off his shoulder. "You kept this for me for four years? Did you know about this, Misty?"

"Yes I did," my mom nodded in reply.

I think my dad looked more shocked that my mom had known about this. She didn't usually keep stuff from him like this, so he was a bit taken back. Instead of getting mad at my mom, though, he turned back to me.

"Madeline Claire Ketchum. You better start explaining." Normally I would try and explain to him, but I could care less what he thought because in my eyes, this was his fault.

"No!" I shouted causing Pikachu to run under the table. "This is all your fault!" I screamed, pointing my finger at him. My entire family stopped what they were doing, shocked by my sudden out burst. "If you hadn't gone and become the Pokemon Master then I wouldn't have had to hide who I was from everyone! I wouldn't have to lie about who my family was or constantly worry about if someone liked me for me or just because my dad was famous. And now the only real friend I ever had is gone! And it's all your fault!"

Pushing past him, I ran out of the kitchen and upstairs to my room, slamming the door shut and locking it behind me. For once I had finally found a friend I could trust and who understood why I kept things hidden, but because of my dad he was gone. I had never hated my dad and his title as much as I did now.