Where You Are: Epilogue

AN: Thankyou! Thankyou so much for all of your support and all the reviews. My goal was to receive 50 reviews and last I checked I had almost 60! I'm so happy that I got the response I did on my very first fiction. Sadly, this may be my first and last fic I'll write, but I'm not positive yet. I did have fun writing this and may find time and the motivation to write another, hopefully sooner than later. Anyway, thanks again and I also wanted to share that my email address has changed to singLF@yahoo.com. Bye!



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The warm breeze carried the sound of a horse's soft stride down the meadow path. The ponyta came to a stop as it's passenger dismounted by a single oak tree and sat down under it's branches. The boy leaned back against the massive trunk of the tree and tried to relax as much as possible in his current situation. Sincere apologies had never been one of his strong points, and he knew it. He grabbed a blade of grass and began twiddling it between his fingers. He looked up into the cloudy sky where rain clouds had been forming all morning. Without taking his gaze away, he took in a deep breath and sighed.
"Hey."
"Hey..." A simple response that held so much more. The girl causing him such grief was also leaning against the trunk of the tree staring at the sky. The boy turned to look at her and sighed again. "Looks like it's gonna storm soon."
"It's nothing I can't handle."
"I know."
They remained like that, silent, for another minute or two until...
"I'll be back to help at the lab soon, Ash. Don't worry."
"That's not what I'm worried about."
"I know."
"..."
Silence again.
"I'm sorry I hurt you."
The girl turned slowly to look at Ash with confused eyes.
"You hurt me? Ash, I should be the one who is sorry."
"Yeah, well, I think we both have things we regret. My regret is the way I treated you last night."
Ash shifted uneasily. "Crystal, you told me some of your most painful and darkest secrets that night. You bared your soul and I ignored you and left you. I kicked you when you were down, when you had done nothing wrong."
"What are you talking about? I didn't tell you the truth. I lied about Chad, Alex, and my past..."
"You didn't lie, you just didn't tell the whole truth."
"It's the same thing."
Ash looked off in the distance. "Maybe, but you did it because you thought it was the right thing to do, right?"
Crystal paused and looked down as she took it in. She nodded and said, "Yeah, I guess I did. I wanted to protect you guys and make sure the same thing didn't happen to Misty."
Ash looked at her and smiled. "And I'm grateful you made the right decision in the end. If you hadn't, who knows what would have happened..." he trailed off in bitter recognition. "And I am really sorry. I was so scared and worried about Misty..." he stopped, "but that's no excuse. I shouldn't have yelled and been so hard on you. I still want us to be friends."
Crystal turned and grinned, "And what makes you think I want to be your friend after you dumped me for that red-head."
Ash just stared blankly and confused. "Huh?"
She giggled and shoved him, which he followed back with his own shove and laugh. He stood up and turned towards her, grinning.
"Whatever, I'm heading back. You can stay out in the rain for all I care." He shot back playfully, then he made his way to the ponyta he had ridden and was about to get on when,
"Ash?"
He turned toward the sound and saw Crystal smiling back at him with the most genuine smile he'd seen all day from her.

"Thanks."



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(A few months past)
"Professor! Welcome back home!"
"Thankyou, Ash. It looks like all went well while I was away," he stated as he gazed around at the lab. Misty was the next to notice Professor Oak's arrival. "Hi Professor Oak!"
"Well hello Misty!"
"Togeprriiii."
"And togepi."
"Pi!"
"And pikachu of course," he laughed. "I was just telling Ash how wonderful the lab looks. You both must have learned to really work together while I was away."
Ash and Misty just looked at each other and smiled as Ash put an arm around Misty.
"Ha! I'll say!" Came a nasal-toned voice from the doorway. Gone unnoticed before, Gary stood leaning against the doorframe with a smirk on his face.
"Gary? What are you doing here?"
"Need I remind you that I live here loser!"
Ash's face fell a bit. Same old, same old.
"I met up with Gary in the Orange Islands," the Prof. began, "He had gotten my message and found me there. He decided to stay there with me and help out until the problem was resolved. He was actually quite a bit of help."
"So while you were here babysitting, I was out saving the world." Gary stated with his nose in the air.
Ash frowned, "Whatever..."

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(Later that night)
"Well, Prof. I guess this is goodbye. I'm leaving early tomorrow to go onto the next league. Heard the new one is even tougher than the last three combined!" Ash's eyes glazed over in excitement. Misty rolled her eyes and smacked him upside the head lightly to snap him out of his reverie. "Goodbye Prof.! Bye Crystal! Bye Chad! We'll come visit soon!" Misty yelled and waved, along with Ash, as they headed toward his home. Chad and Crystal, arm in arm, stood next to Prof. Oak waving with smiles on their faces. Leaving were two people they would never forget.
The next morning, after a good night's rest, Ash and Misty set off to new adventures. As they were heading through the nearest forest, Ash looked at her lovingly, took hold of her hand and kissed it gently. She turned and looked into his eyes. Her smile spoke a thousand words. Through one of the most memorable summers they had ever had, their love overcame all obstacles and prevailed. They were where they were meant to be. With each other. ~