Finally, we made it! Misty thought. She stepped up to the door and rang the bell. Mrs. Ketchum answered the door.
"Hi, Misty, Brock. What brings you here to Pallet?" she asked them.
"We're looking for Ash. Have you heard from him? He left us almost two months ago," Misty said.
"Ah, yes, he sends me letters weekly, would you like to see them?" They accepted eagerly and stepped into the house. "Make yourself comfy while I go get the letters," Mrs. Ketchum told them.
Five minutes later she was back with some papers. She handed them over to Misty. Misty unfolded one, and started to read.
Dear Mom, How are you? Don't worry about me, I'm fine. I left Misty and Brock yesterday, I didn't want to, but I didn't want to get hurt. You have always known about my feelings for Misty. She doesn't know, Mom, and if she knew she would laugh at me. Just last month she was pretty nasty. It hurt my feelings, although I said some pretty mean things back. Believe me, I'm sorry. I love her. And she doesn't love me back. It would hurt to see her walk away after I've given her bike back. So I left. I am headed to Mount Moon for a month or so, then I'll decide where to go next. Anyway, Mom, I love you. I'll write weekly. Love, Ash
Misty dropped the letter in surprise. ' Ash loves me?' she thought. She curled up into a little ball and wept. She had to find Ash.
Ash thanked Nurse Joy and clipped the pokeballs back on his belt. He was just passing the door when he saw a notice on the bulletin board.
Ash Ketchum, I'm sorry if I did anything to make you leave. I didn't mean to. I was in a bad mood that day. You've got to believe me. Please come back, please? Misty Waterflower
Ash sighed. So Misty was looking for him. He mulled over what he should do as he walked down the street and into the forest. It was about an hour later that he realized he was in the same spot where they had camped the night he left. Ash almost walked past it, but stopped and looked over his shoulder. Pikachu was already sniffing around. Ash slowly walked back and sat on a large rock. He picked up a pebble and tossed it into the pond. Ash turned around and saw a flash of color. There, lying on the ground, was Misty's hair ribbon she had used all the time. Ash lifted it and held it delicately. Memories of Misty flooded into him. Her ribbon still even smelled slightly of her. He inhaled the scent and then tied the ribbon around his wrist. Now Misty would always be with him.
"Okay, Ash. I'll be at the Pokemon League next week to cheer you on!" Mrs. Ketchum said excitedly. "This is the first time you've called, you've always written letters before." They were all sitting at the kitchen table at the Ketchum residence. Misty dropped her fork at the mention of Ash's name. Mrs. Ketchum saw her and winked. Then she silently handed the phone to Misty.
"Hello, Ash," she said quietly. There was silence on the other end of the line.
"I'm sorry," Ash's voice said. Then there was a click, and the line went dead. Misty hung up the phone softly, tears streaming down her face. Then she ran up to the room she was staying in.
"Guess Ash hung up on her," Brock commented.
Ash sat on the couch and just thought. Misty had come on the line so sudden. He wasn't prepared to hear her voice. He guessed she and Brock were staying with his mom. Ash stroked the sleeping Pikachu and suddenly knew that Misty would be there at the league. He frowned. He would have to see Misty again. Not that that was a bad thing, but once he saw her, his feelings about her would tumble out.
"Guess I'll just try to avoid her," he said.
Jessie frowned. Why was the twerp not with the girl and older boy twerp? He had always been with them before. Team Rocket had spotted Ash a month ago and was just going to make an attempt at Pikachu when they noticed Ash was alone. Curiosity got the better of them and they just followed him instead, trying to figure out why. Right now they were in a café and James was making a big mess. Jessie swatted him with a rolled up newspaper.
"Sorry," he muttered.
"You two look like a couple," Meowth commented. Then he had to face the glares of two VERY ticked people. "Uh oh," he said the split second before he was kicked ten feet high.
The torch was lit. All the participants in the League stood proudly looking at it, tears in the eyes of some. Ash stood quietly, while the national anthem was played. He glanced around the stadium and spotted Misty. She was sitting in the stands with his mother, Brock, Snap (he had come just for the League) Professor Oak, and practically all of Pallet Town. Ash looked away and instead went to find Richie and Gary. They were over to the left. Ash walked up to them and tapped Richie on the shoulder. Richie looked up and smiled.
"Long time no see," he whispered.
"Yeah, we last saw each other a year ago," Ash whispered back. "So, remember our promise?"
"Uh huh. One of us just HAS to win this year!"
Gary walked over to them. Ash had made peace with him two weeks ago and now they were friends again.
"Good luck, you two," he said. "But I'll still win!" Gary grinned.
"We'll see about that!" Ash and Richie said at the exact same time. They all burst out laughing. Then everybody filed out of the stadium for the first match to begin. On the way out, Ash looked at Misty again. She was searching. For me, he guessed. He turned away quickly and ran to catch up with his friends, eyes brimming. This was too painful. Ash caught up with Richie and Gary and tried to look happy so they wouldn't guess. It didn't work. Gary slowed down and looked at Ash quizzically.
"You know, I just noticed your friends weren't with you anymore," he said. "What happened?"
"We sort of, uh, got in a disagreement," Ash replied.
"I bet it was the girl. Misty," Richie said. "You love her, don't you?" Ash stared at him.
"How did you guess?" Ash wondered. Richie snorted.
"Believe me, it was really obvious. I noticed it last year. If you love her, you have to tell her."
"I can't face her again," Ash said quietly. Gary broke in.
"You have to."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Feedback would be appreciated! ^_^ Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on part 1 I posted today. There WILL be at least 1 more part. I'm trying to figure out how to write it. I got most of it done, but the confrontation between Misty and Ash is puzzling. I'm trying to figure it out, and keep them in character, but as you all know, that's pretty hard to do. I started writing this... oh, say 6 months ago, but I still haven't got the last part figured out. Well, it will be posted soon though. I'll try to get it posted within a week. Thanks! (I also have another fic in the works, one with a lot more description)