A/N: We're baack…*^_^*;; If you're wondering about the chapter title…Heh…It's not a real phobia of Misty's (it IS a real phobia though), but it fits the best out of phobias that I could find…*^_^*; Anyways…Oh yes…If you're looking for Togepi…check the eggnog that Brock made…hehehe…That's the only reference to the rest of the cd that I'm gonna make I think…*^-^*;;;

Misty

Where is that boy!!? I can't believe this…First he runs off like that…and that certainly was something, in and of itself…but now he's gone and disappeared! It's been over half an hour too…Argh, sometimes, I really don't understand what's going through that little brain of his…

It's bad enough that he took off like the devil himself was after him after I pointed out that we were under the mistletoe, but…vanishing into thin air? I think not, Ash Ketchum! You had better show your sorry little face down here if you don't want me to pound it in…and believe me, I will! You have no idea what you just did…

I didn't even try to kiss you yet!…Yes, yet…Oh, I don't want to think about what you would've done if I had tried, looking at what you did when I didn't…but…that…hurt…I guess I should've been expecting it…It's okay though…I'm over it…or at least I will be when I'm through with you…Heheh…

I don't understand how someone can be soo dense!? You'd think he thought I was going to kill him or something. If it really bothered him that much, he could've just politely backed away from that particular spot and said he didn't want to be kissed. That would've been perfectly fine with me…I've waited this long, I guess I can wait a little longer…I guess…It wouldn't explain why he was standing there in the first place…unless he really didn't know that he was under the mistletoe…but how can someone not notice something like that? It's usually one of the first things people take note of when they walk into a Christmas party. That boy…sigh…

…I wonder where he is…!? He couldn't have gone far…If he went downstairs someone would've noticed him…I already checked in our room…I don't think he climbed out the window…so where is he!? This is starting to really get on my nerves…

…I hope he's okay…I am going to kick myself if something happened to him…Not that it's my fault…He's the one who was standing there, he was the one who ran away and trashed the refreshment table and the tree…Still…

…Why hasn't he come down yet? Is he scared? What could he possibly be scared of…? Ash? Scared? Those two words don't go together. Not in my book…Not usually at least…He's always trying to act so brave and bold…It's not much of an act, actually…Well, he is brave…and a little more than bold. I don't know what I did to scare him…There's nothing scary about me

I wish he didn't run away…Not because of what happened after he did…but because of what could've happened if he didn't…I…It would've been my first…real…kiss……and I think it's pretty obvious it would've been his too…but that's no reason to run away…I guess he is still young…but…I think…or I would like to think…that he would've liked it…I'd like to think that I would too…

…Of course…neither of us will find out if he's vanished from the face of the earth! Now where is he!?

Maybe…the closet!? I swing the door open to see…a lot of cleaning equipment…but no Ash…Unless maybe he's hiding under something…?

"Ash?" I call…but there's no answer…Not even any shifting, like he was trying to make himself more invisible…Guess he's not in there…I close the door and frown. This is getting increasingly frustrating…

I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and see Brock come up with Pikachu trailing beside him. Brock's cheeks are a little red from being out in the cold. They went to check outside.

"Did you find him?" he asks.

I shake my head no. Now I'm really beginning to worry…It's not like Ash to disappear for so long…Maybe he crawled into a really tiny space and got stuck…or…maybe he fell somewhere and got knocked unconscious or…

Great…That is NOT helping, Misty…Concentrate on finding him first, then decide whether or not you need to worry…

"Brock, you think he's okay?"

What? Where did that come from? Waitasec, did I say that!? No, I'm showing concern for him again! Argh……Oh well…I think Brock already figured it out anyway…At least Ash isn't here…He'd probably freak out again or something…sigh…

"Knowing Ash…? He's either in really big trouble or he's just fine…"

"Well, gee, thanks Brock. That's comforting…"

He shrugs. "It's the truth…"

I groan loudly. "This is not how I wanted to spend Christmas Eve…Ash just has to go and cause trouble for us, doesn't he?" The last sentence came out in a growl. Everything that's gone wrong today had to do with none other than Ash Ketchum. First that unbelieveable mistletoe incident…and the then the refreshment table and the Christmas tree…and now…I have to go find him…because no one else wants to spend the time it takes to do that…Besides, there's still some mess downstairs to pick up…When I find him, I am going to give him a piece of my mind…maybe a taste of my mallet too if he's still acting stupid when I find him…

…I hate this sometimes…It's so much easier to get mad than to feel sorry for him…Especially when he's being an idiot, like now…

"…Misty…?" Brock asks quietly, breaking me out of my reverie once again.

"…Yeah?" I ask absently. He's staring at the ceiling for some odd reason or another and it's kind of freaky…

"Did you check the attic?"

"The…?" I look up. Sure enough, there was a door in the ceiling that I hadn't noticed before, complete with a little string hanging down to open it with. "No way, Brock! Ash can't reach up that high! I can't even reach up that high!"

"…His Pokémon can, can't they?"

Oh.

"Uhh…Yeah…" I say sheepishly.

Brock steps forward. "You think if I give you a boost you can get it open?"

I subconsiously step back. "Uh…Sure I guess…"

He grins a little. "Ash'll probably be up there. It's the only place we haven't looked."

He braces himself and cups his hands together to form a stepping stool for me. I climb up and steady myself by holding his shoulder as he slowly stands up so I can reach the string and pull it down. The door pops open easily, too easy actually. It literally catches me by surprise by whacking me on the head as it falls open, therefore causing both me and Brock to topple to the floor very ungracefully.

After general "ow"ing, we pick ourselves up and end up staring at the small staircase that isn't even half the height of the hallway.

"Uh…Misty, I think you might have to go this one alone…" Brock observes thoughtfully, "I'm going to have to lift you to get you up there again, and then…well it probably won't support both our weights…um…but the good news is-"

"Good news?" I interrupt impatiently, "Good news is good. Out with the good news."

"Well, the door popped open really easily right? That means it was probably used recently…"

"Ash…" I breathe…I'm not about to admit it, but I'm really happy that we've finally found him…Unless…he climbed up there…and then…climbed out the window from there or something…Or maybe Nurse Joy went up there a few days ago to get Christmas ornaments, or maybe…

"Are you going up or what?"

"What!? Oh! Um…Of course I am! Ready when you are!"

"Pika!" Pikachu interrupts and hops onto my shoulder. I take it Pikachu wants to come too.

"Alright, upsy-daisy…!" Brock does his little stepping stool thing again, and I climp up onto the steps and into the attic. Brock looks up at us. "Okay, Misty, I'll be waiting for you guys right here."

"Okay, Brock."

"Pikachu."

"Come on, Pikachu, let's find Ash…"

I look around the dusty, dismal space under the roof. Light's only coming in from one window and the hole in the floor where we came in, and it's getting dark outside, so it's hard to see anything at all.

"Ash!? If you're in here…say something…Um…Why don't you come out now? It's really creepy in here and I'm sure you don't want to stay here any longer than you have to, right…? Um……Ash?"

"Pikapi!?"

I stop to listen and Pikachu does too. It's quiet in here…too quiet…The only noise I can hear is our breathing…

"Is he up there?" Brock calls from below us.

"Shh! I don't know…" I reply anxiously. If Ash heard us, he should've answered…he would've answered…Unless he really doesn't want to be found…but why…why would he want to stay hidden so badly…?

"…Ash…?"

"Pikapi…?"

Now I'm getting kind of scared…I can just imagine all kinds of creepy crawly creatures creeping and crawling around in this place…It's giving me chills…

"Ash, come on! This isn't funny! Come out and come out now!"

"Pika!"

…Where is he…? I move forward slowly. I really don't want to be here…but if Ash is here…and he's not  gonna answer me, then I have to go find him…

"Ash…I'm serious…Stop hiding…" I'm pleading now. I really don't want to crawl through all this junk to look for him…and I'm also scared that maybe he's hurt or something…I really hope not…

If he's not up here and he made me crawl through all this stuff looking for him, I'm gonna kill him when I see him. If he is here and he made me crawl through all this stuff looking for him, I'm gonna kill him even more…

"Ash, where are you!?"

Why isn't he answering…!?

"Pikachupi!"

"Huh?" I look over at Pikachu. He's over by the corner and looking intently into an overturned box. Maybe…? "Ash!?"

"Pikapi."

I disregard my discomfort with this whole situation and stumble over random junk to join Pikachu. Now I have reason to worry. If Ash is really in that box and Pikachu's found him and he still hasn't said anything…I don't want to think about the possibilities…

I kneel next to Pikachu and peer into the gloom.

"Ash…!?"