Close your eyes ~ Chapter Four
By Kristina
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon, so don't sue me! That would be pointless anyway, since I'm broke.
A/N: I am so very sorry for taking so long to get the next chapter out! I had computer problems, and then real life had been a major pain… So I hope you'll have forgive me. Will you? ^_~ Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the next part! And thanks a lot for all those nice reviews! I promise the next part won't take me that long to write it! If I don't keep my promise, don't be shy to nicely remind me that I need to write it! ^_~
C&C is more than welcome. You can email me at
~*~*~
Chapter Four ~ The Journey Begins
"You have to eat this! Don't be such a baby!"
Misty glanced furiously at her best friend and ignored the bowl of food she presented her. There was no way she was eating that stuff! The potatoes had a greenish coloration and the steak looked as hard as a rock. "I am not eating this! I'd rather starve to death than even think of eating hospital food!" Misty then crossed her arms on her chest, a look of stubbornness on her face.
Krystal sighed. "You have to eat something if you want to get any better!"
"I am better! I even don't know why I have to stay in that damn hospital any longer!" Misty groaned. She took the bowl of food and threw it in the garbage near her bed before Krystal could force the food in her mouth.
Ash chuckled. He was leaning against the room's wall and had been observing the scene for awhile now. He had to admit, it had been more entertaining than he thought. The girl had a temper matching the color of her hair and he was damn glad not to be in Krystal's shoes at the moment.
Misty eyed him angrily. "What's so funny?" She then ignored him and turned back to Krystal. "I'm outta here. I feel better, so there's no meaning for me to stay here," she said, determined. She balanced her legs out of the bed and slowly got up on her feet. "Let's go."
Stunned at first, Krystal then grabbed her arm. "Hold on a sec. You aren't going anywhere."
Misty shot a death glare to her friend. "Just watch me. I am not staying one more minute in this hospital." She grabbed her backbag and headed for the door. She almost ran into Brock, who just entered in the room.
He looked at her, surprised. "Where are you going?"
"I'm leaving. I don't need to stay here anymore." Without another word, she left the room, leaving the black-haired girl and the two guys behind.
Krystal glanced at Brock and Ash. "She has always been stubborn," she explained. She then ran after Misty. "Don't you have forms to sign before leaving?" She shouted to her, as low as possible.
Misty, at the end of the corridor, turned around and shrugged. "Who cares about forms to sign? Let's just get out of here!"
Ash stepped next to Krystal, a smirk on his face. "Stubborn you said? I think it's even worse than that."
"I heard that," Misty mumbled, impatiently waiting for the elevator to come up. Krystal, Brock and Ash joined her soon, and she looked at Ash. "If you'd been in this hospital for three days, you'd be in a hurry to leave too."
Ash just chuckled. He probably wouldn't have stayed a complete day, but he kept that from himself.
Once in the elevator, Krystal cleared her throat and gave a quick look at Brock and Ash before lowering her eyes. "So, where are the two of you going?"
Ash shrugged. "Nowhere in particular." Brock and him talked about it often, about what and where they should do and go, but they couldn't come to a solution. It seemed they had nothing to search for anymore. No more badges to win, no more gyms to visit.
"We'll probably take the first road we come across with and see where it will take us," Brock added. The elevator arrived to the first floor and its door opened slowly. Brock stepped out first, followed by Ash, Krystal and Misty. "What about the two of you? What are your plans?"
"We'll continue to visit new places to get better trainers, I guess," Misty answered.
Krystal nodded. "And we also wanted to search for someone who maybe could answer the questions I have about the…feelings I get, why they suddenly appeared. But we didn't find that person who could help us. We asked around, but no one seemed to know who could help us."
"Well, maybe I can help…I heard once about a man who studies stuff like visions and premonitions. Maybe he could help you," Brock told her.
Krystal's eyes lit up. "Really? What's his name? Do you know where we could find him?"
"His name is Dr. Whedon I think, but I don't know where he lives."
Misty grabbed Krystal's arm. "We can try to find his address on the computer. There's one in the lobby."
They left Ash and Brock behind. Ash turned to face Brock and sighed. "I know that look on your face and I know what you're thinking."
Brock jumped, and his cheeks turned red. "Wha-What do you mean? What look on my face?" He shook his head. "It's not what you think, Ash. I'm not interested in that girl." He swallowed. "Well, she's nice, she's cute, but that's all, you know."
Ash cracked a smile. "Oh, really?" He turned serious. "We met those girls four days ago, we stayed with them in this hospital. Now we're all leaving and we have no idea where to go." He sighed. "Maybe we could go with them."
Pikachu popped his head out of Ash's backbag and looked stunned at its trained, his yellow long ears moved from left to right. "Pi pika?"
"Yeah…Ash, this isn't like you. Why the sudden change of heart?" Brock then sighed. "Never mind. I stopped trying to understand you a long time ago. If they agree to travel with us, I think it could be…interesting."
The two girls then reappeared, smile of satisfaction on their face. "He lives in River town. It's one week at foot from here," Misty announced. "So, I guess this is the time to thank you both for saving my life and staying here."
"Ash and I talked while you were gone searching for his address, and we decided that we both would like to go with you, if it's okay with you two of course," Brock stated, crossing his fingers behind his back.
Misty and Krystal exchanged looks and they both immediately nodded. "That would be okay," Krystal answered, grinning.
~*~*~
In the shadow, behind a tree, he observed them leave the hospital, chatting happily. He frowned, his eyes darkening. That wouldn't last. He'd make sure of that. He eyed Ash. His body shook with hatred. He watched him, receiving a not so friendly slap on the shoulder from the red-haired girl after a comment he made. He watched as Ash raised his both hands in a sign of peace.
He tapped his foot angrily on the ground. He had to control himself. Soon, Ash would pay. Ash will pay for all the humiliation he caused him. And when he was done with him, Ash would have nothing left. Nothing.
He smiled.
~*~*~
They'd been walking in a straight road for more than two hours now. They had chatted happily about their pokemons, which gave them a chance to get to know each other a little better. A small sound got their attention and they stopped walking.
"What was that sound?" Krystal asked, searching the area for any movement.
Ash blushed slightly, and scratched the back of his back. "Huh, that was my stomach. You see, I'm a little hungry…"
"Well, I guess we could stop for awhile to eat," Krystal said as Brock laughed at his friend.
Misty rolled her eyes. "I should have known you had a noisy stomach."
Before he could answer, Brock told them to follow him. He spotted a nice place where they could eat. "I'll take care of the food. Go explore the area while I cook. I don't want any disturbance." He looked at Ash while speaking.
"Why are you looking at me? Do I have to remind you that I'm not twelve anymore, Brock?"
Brock only answered by a smile and then started to empty his bag, searching for something good he could cook.
"Do you mind if I help you? I'm a not-so-bad cook," Krystal asked him as she walked to him.
"Sure, no problem. As long as Ash doesn't help us. He'd probably put the whole forest on fire!"
Misty grinned as she watched Ash getting redder. "So there is something you're not good at. I was wondering…"
Ash chose not to answer her. "Fine. I'm just gonna sit there."
"And I am going to see if I can catch any fish," Misty told them.
~*~*~
Misty sat near the river, enjoying the peaceful sound of the water flowing. A soft wind caressed her face mixed with the hot sun of the afternoon. She removed her shoes and put her hurtful feet in the river. Never mind the fish, she was too tired to try to catch one. And it felt so good just to stay there. The cold water helped her to relax and she was about to close her eyes when she heard a sound behind. She turned her head and her heart jumped in her chest when she saw Ash. He came to sit next to her and observed some fishes swimming in the river for a moment.
She spied him a moment, between two locks of her long hair. He was handsome, she couldn't deny it. His features were the one of a young man, but his eyes were older, wiser. Probably because of things he had to go through to become a pokemon master. She wished she knew him better, but he wasn't the kind of person easy to read. She wasn't good at reading people anyway.
He suddenly turned his head toward her and caught her watching him. Misty lowered her eyes, a light red coloring her cheeks. She silently hoped he wouldn't notice. Crossing her arms on her chest, she took a breath of air. "Why did you decide to come with us? What is only because you had nowhere else to go?" Misty asked softly. The question had been hanging in her head since they left the hospital and she thought that now seemed be a good moment to ask.
Ash shrugged. "I always wanted to meet Dr. Whedon. Brock too," he simply answered. How could he tell her a reason he didn't understand himself? He just hoped she would be satisfied with his simple answer. It was partly true. Pr. Oak had talk about him so that he meant he had to be someone important.
"I see." Misty sighed. She suspected it wasn't the only reason, but that was all she would get out of him. She suddenly felt uncomfortable, sitting next to him. Not knowing what to say, Misty closed her eyes. And everything that happened since four days came back in her mind so suddenly that she almost yelled, but only a gasp escaped from her mouth. When she opened her eyes, Misty saw that Ash was staring at her, a strange look in his eyes. Was it…worry? Misty almost laughed at herself. Why would he be worry about her? They weren't even good friends! She just met the guy. She probably misjudged the look in his eyes. Yeah. Blinking, she groaned in frustration when she realized she had a headache. Great. Just what she needed.
Ash turned his head toward her, intrigued. "What happened?"
Misty forced a smile on her face. "I just thought a bug or something was on my leg. But there was nothing, just my imagination playing with me. You see, I have this…hate for bugs. I can't stand the sight of them, so when I thought one was on me…" Misty stopped, realizing she was babbling. That happened from times to times when she was nervous. She didn't understand why she was nervous. There weren't any reasons for her to be.
Lie. She was nervous because it seemed Ash could read her like an open book, a feeling that she didn't like. Mostly when she couldn't read him at all. That wasn't fair.
Ash could tell she was lying because her eyes avoided him and she was talking too fast. He didn't know how to react, if he should push her to tell him the truth or if he should act like he noticed nothing. He wanted to let it go, but found he couldn't. He needed to know. It must have been something important if she needed to lie. "Tell me the truth," he softly asked.
Misty shuddered, knowing she didn't have a choice. "Every time I close my eyes, I-I only can see myself, on the hospital bed and h-him trying to kill me," she whispered, hugging herself as she suddenly felt cold. "It's all I can see. It's like it's happening again and again each time I close my eyes. It doesn't want to go away." She was close to tears, but she controlled herself. She wasn't going to start crying in front of him. She didn't want his pity, didn't need it. "But it's okay," she then declared, trying more to convince herself than him. If he believed her, she didn't know, but she really wanted to believe herself.
"You don't have to pretend it's okay. I know it's not, your friend knows it's not and you know it too. Lying to others about how you feel, it's understandable. But lying to yourself isn't the right solution," Ash told her. He then shrugged and gave her a small smile. "I'm not really good with that stuff. I'm mostly repeating what I heard Brock say before."
Misty felt herself relaxing a little. She had been so tense those last past days. She really wanted everything to turn back to normal. And it seemed that Ash wanted to help her. Why, she didn't know. He barely knew her! Yet, he talked to her like they had been friends since forever! Misty didn't understand, but it felt…good. Really good. She wanted to ask him to help her, but her pride kept her from opening her mouth. So she remained silent, her eyes locked on the water.
"I-I could help you get those bad memories away from your mind," Ash suddenly said, breaking the silence. "It's one of Brock's technique and it works very well. Do-do you want to try?"
Misty glanced at him, curious. "What kind of technique?"
"Oh, it's simple. First, you have to be in a comfortable position."
Misty nodded slowly and sat down more comfortable on the grass. "Next?"
"You have to relax your body, your every muscles, your mind. Everything needs to be relaxed. Then, close your eyes. Concentrate on your breathing. Don't mind the wind, the birds or the water. Just your breathing."
Misty did as he told her, as she let his voice guide her. She never realized he had such a nice voice, soft and deep. Yes, indeed she liked the sound of his voice. How could she concentrate on her breathing when he was talking to her like that? Strange things happened to her stomach as he kept on talking that she didn't understand. She'd think about it later, now wasn't a good time.
"Now, imagine yourself in another place. A forest, the beach, a desert island, you choose. A place where you feel good and safe. A place where you like to go. Do you see it?"
"Yes, I see it," Misty whispered.
"From now on, every time you'll think about what happened to you, think of that place. Think how about beautiful it is, how good you feel there." Ash stopped and looked at Misty. She seemed so peaceful now. Since he first met her, it was the first time he saw her without her eyes full of pain, fear and worries. She was….
'No Ash, let's not go there,' he reminded himself. "You can open your eyes now," he told her rapidly. He needed to get away from her, his thoughts about her weren't what they were supposed to be. Maybe going with them wasn't such a good idea after all… But he wouldn't leave, not yet. Not until he knew for sure she'd be fine.
TBC…