Hey!! I'm back with chapter 7! thanks for waiting, guys! I really appreciate it!! and thanks to all who reviewed: Dragoness, tmp, this person (ssjgohanltp@hotmail.com), aya-yahiko, KawaiiKaren, and TheAnonymousReviewer.
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Ages:
Ash-- 21
Misty -- 20
"..." Spoken Words
italics Thoughts
~~~~~~ Scene changes / flashbacks / change in P.O.V
(...) Author's Notes
Disclaimer: None of the following characters used in this story belong to me, k? Only the plot is mine, the rest....belongs to good ol' Japan ^-^
Links to the Past
Last Chapter review:
"By the way, Misty thanks." he said with a thoughtful smile.
"For what Ash?"
His smile widened.
"For being you...and for trusting me."
With that, he turned quickly again and jumped into the bathroom.
Misty smiled and shook her head at him before going into her bedroom to retrieve her unwashed clothes.
You're welcome, Ash...
Chapter 7: The Road to Self-Discovery
They spent a little over an hour packing and were ready to head off by 12:30pm. Ash (who had a very small suitcase) carried their baggage to Misty's Jetta (^^'), popped the truck and dropped them inside. He shut the trunk and Misty unlocked the doors.
"You've got the folder, right Mist?" asked Ash, opening the passenger side door.
Misty gave him a petulant look and raised an eyebrow.
"No, Ash. I threw it away earlier, didn't I tell you?" she responded sarcastically.
Ash shook his head.
"All right, all right, no need to be so touchy. Let's go then."
Misty nodded and opened the driver side door. She jumped in, closed the door behind her and inserted the key into the ignition.
"Let's get ready to rumble." she said starting up the car and backing out of her small, rocky drive way.
Ash was sitting, happily looking out the window when a thought came to him.
"Hey, Misty?" he said.
"Hmm?" she responded, still watching the road.
"What ever happened to that thing that was sleeping in your house when I met you?"
Misty gave him a 'huh?' look, then thought. He face immediately brightened.
"Oh! You mean Togepi. It's staying with my neighbor. I brought it over to her while you were taking a shower."
Ash nodded his head in recognition and resumed his window gazing.
Misty looked over at him and smiled before returning her eyes to the road.
"How long will it take to get there?" Ash asked suddenly.
Misty thought for a minute while biting her lip.
"Hmm...maybe three or four hours. Why, are you bored all ready? We've only been driving for fifteen minutes and I'm not even to the bridge yet."
Ash shook his head and continued looking out the window.
"Just wondering, that's all."
Misty shot him a calculating look.
"Why are you so soft-spoken all of the sudden, Ash?"
Ash looked over at Misty, who was staring back and forth between Ash and the road.
Ash sighed and shrugged.
"I dunno...didn't realize I was being that way. Would you rather me be loud and obnoxious?" he asked, smiling at her.
Misty shook her head and laughed while returning her gaze to the street before her.
"I want you to be who you are. Nothing more, nothing less."
Ash's smile faded when she said that. He sighed and watched her drive for a bit before fixing his black eyes in the same direction as Misty's.
"I'm scared." he said suddenly.
Misty looked over at him quickly then back at the road.
"Of what?" she asked softly.
Ash shook his head,
"I don't know. That's the problem. It could be...a number of things."
"Like what?"
"Like...seeing my family after all this time, following the loss of my memory. It's like I'm meeting them for the first time."
Misty sighed softly and looked over to her right to see of anyone was behind her. There was no one, so she moved her car off the road and onto a shoulder of dirt.
She turned the car off and removed her seat belt so she could face Ash in her seat.
Ash looked at her as if to ask what she was doing.
"Are you afraid they won't love you the same, or something?" she asked gently.
"Maybe...I mean that's a possibility, isn't it?"
"No. We're talking about your family, Ash. Why would they love you any less just because you've lost your memory?"
Ash sighed and shook his head.
"You're right...I don't know what I was thinking."
"It's ok to be nervous, Ash. Everyone gets nervous, it's part of life. I understand that you're scared of going back home, but you've got to face it some time. Why not sooner, rather than later?"
Ash looked at her and smiled.
"Thanks, Misty. I dunno what I'd do with out you."
Misty laughed and smiled back.
"You'd probably still be lying on the beach, getting eaten alive by seagulls."
Ash laughed, too.
For God knows how long they sat there just staring at one another. Then Misty broke the silence and the eye contact.
"We should get going. We'll never get there at this rate." she said, a pinkish tint staining her pale cheeks.
Ash nodded and went back to his previous activity of window gazing as Misty started the car back up and drove back on to the road.
What was that? thought Ash, It was like I just lost myself in her eyes...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The continued drive was uneventful and, at times, extremely quiet.
Every now and then, Ash would strike up a conversation and it would go on for several minutes, but never longer.
At one point, Ash asked Misty if he could turn on the radio. She agreed and Ash channel surfed but found nothing worth hearing, so he shut it off.
That had been a little over an hour ago and they only had a half-hour left. Ash was enjoying the scenery of the mountain roads they were taking and didn't think about anything but what was before him for the majority of the ride.
Misty was concentrating awfully hard considering she was only following a road. It seemed her mind had wondered off to something other than driving. Luckily for her, though, Ash was too busy sightseeing to notice.
The half-hour passed sluggishly, as if the whole world had decided to go in slow motion.
Neither Ash, nor Misty were too thrilled about this. They were getting a little agitated with this long drive, Misty mostly.
Wow...I know I said three to four hours but this is ridiculous. This has to be the longest day of my life. she thought irately.
But, then again, you've got to remember what you're driving all the way to Pallet for. Ash. He needs this, it's important to him, and you did agree to help him out. Besides, if you meet Ash's family, and they know you, then you'll know more about your connection with him.
Ash, meanwhile, had allowed his mind to stray from the scenery and was also thinking, but the subject was quite different.
Why does she make me feel this way? he thought helplessly, It's like she's got this mental hold on me and won't let go...or maybe...maybe I don't want her to let go... Ash gulped at this realization and wet his lips unconsciously.
But what would it mean if I really didn't want her to let go...does that mean I... his black eyes widened at the unfinished thought.
No way...I just met her! There's no possible way I could be... Ash shifted a little in his seat; he needed a new thought topic.
"Misty?" he asked softly.
Misty glanced at him to show she was listening and kept driving.
"Do you have any gum?" he asked quickly.
Misty nodded and reached for her purse, she threw it at Ash.
"It's in there somewhere. Check the front pocket."
"Ok..." he responded looking dumbfounded at the purse in his lap.
Ash looked in the front pocket and at once saw the gum. He pulled the package out and took a piece from it.
"You want some?" he asked Misty, showing the package to her.
Misty shook her head 'no' and immediately opened her mouth to show him she had come.
Ash nodded, placed the package back in its pocket and put the purse back in it's place.
"We'll be there in ten minutes, Ash." Misty suddenly informed him.
Ash looked up quickly and saw a sign that said 'Pallet Town: 10 Miles' (A.N: I figure if you've got a car and you're driving pretty fast, then it would only take about a minute to get through a mile...but I could be wrong b/c I'm car less and license less)
Ash smiled, then quickly frowned.
This is it...this is what I've been waiting for for a week now...I'm finally gonna know who I am...
Ash gulped silently and looked over at Misty, who looked a tad jumpy herself.
They finally passed a sign that said 'Pallet Town: 1 Mile'.
"You ready, Ash?" Misty asked shakily.
Ash nodded.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
"Are -- are you still scared?" Misty asked fretfully.
"A little...but I'll get over it."
Misty nodded and took the exit marked 'Pallet Town'.
Ash could feel his stomach come up in his throat.
"You've got your wallet, right?" Misty asked, slowing down as they entered the tiny town.
"Yeah, I've got it here somewhere. Hold on...here it is." he said fumbling through his wallet.
"Ok, what's the address?"
Ash looked at his license.
"Ok it's: 9034 South Sun Street."
"Ok, help me look for the street sign. You look right, I'll look left."
"Ok."
As they drove slowly down the main road, Ash found it extremely hard to look at only street signs. He was captivated by all the town's people. Did he really know people? And did they really know him?
"Aha!" Misty shouted triumphantly, making Ash snap back to reality. (A.N: 'Oh! There goes gravity.' sorry...I listen to too much Eminem)
"There's the street. Ok, what's the house number, again?" Misty asked, her voice a little shaky.
Ash gulped again and looked back down at his license.
"It's: 9034."
They drove a little more, passing house left and right, both Ash and Misty looking intently at each house number.
"Ash, I don't see it. Are you sure that's what it says?" she asked, unbuckling her seat belt and looking around once more.
"Yeah, positive...There's 9134." he said, unbuckling his seat belt as well.
Misty sighed.
"But you said..." Misty stopped abruptly.
"Ash..." she whispered nervously, "there it is...straight ahead."
Ash looked in the direction Misty indicated and saw it: His house.
He gulped anxiously again and looked at it: it was small and yellow with blue trim and a white roof. In gold numbers on the door was '9034'.
Misty stared, too. She saw that there was a little, white picket fence around the small front yard and a yellow mailbox by the entrance gate. To the right of the fence and mailbox, was a small, gravel driveway.
Misty breathed in heavily and pulled into the driveway. She turned off the car quickly and looked at Ash.
"It's now or never." she said erratically.
Ash looked apprehensively at her and nodded, apparently too worried for words.
Misty pulled the keys from the ignition and opened her door.
Ash opened his, too.
Well, this is it...here we go... he thought, trying to calm himself down.
He walked over slowly to where Misty was standing facing of the front door.
"Do you want to knock, or shall I?" she asked, staring at the house's golden number.
"I--I'll knock." he replied.
Misty nodded and moved out of the way so he'd have a full view of the door.
Ash raised his right hand, clenched it in an uneasy fist, and slowly brought it down to the hard wood; it hardly made a sound.
"Harder, Ash, I doubt that anyone inside could've heard that."
Ash raised his hand again, hesitated momentarily, then brought his fist down hard on the door.
"Think that was loud enough?" he asked timidly.
Misty smiled weakly.
"Yes, that was fine."
Then, the doorknob turned...
To Be continued!
(j/k...I'm not THAT mean!)
Slowly the door opened and a short woman with brown hair and Ash's eyes appeared.
When she saw Ash, her face immediately broke into a wide smile.
"Ash! Oh my goodness! You're alive! We all thought you were....dead! Oh my son!" she cried, pulling him into a tight embrace.
"Um...Ms. Ketchum?" asked Misty, slightly regretting breaking up Ash's reunion with his mother.
The woman turned her head and met with Misty's clear, blue eyes. Her face suddenly lightened more.
"Misty! Oh goodness! I'm glad you're alive, too! Oh, everyone will be so happy!" she cried, tears of joy streaming down her pale face.
"Ms. Ketchum, there was an accident --"
"Yes, yes, dear. I know all about the shipwreck."
"No, not that, I mean, with Ash...and me..."
Ms. Ketchum looked at Misty quizzically.
"What do you mean, dear?"
Misty looked at Ash, his black eyes pleading her to tell his mother.
"Ash and I have Amnesia...We remember hardly anything, aside from what's happened since we were found. We--we came here to see if--if you could help."
Ash's mother looked distraught as she moved her gaze back to her son.
"You--you don't remember -- anything?"
Ash shook his head and looked at the ground.
"Ms. Ketchum, I just found Ash about a week ago...so he knows less then I do about certain things..."
"But I keep having flashbacks." he said, having spoken to his mother for the first time, to his knowledge.
"Well of course I'll help you two. I'll tell you anything you want to know, anything. Just ask. Oh, but please, come inside first. Have a seat over in that room..."
Ash looked at Misty before entering in after his mother; Misty followed closely.
The two bewildered young adults wandered into the room Ms. Ketchum had pointed out and sat down next to one another on a plaid couch.
Misty looked over at Ash.
"Are you all right?"
Ash turned his head to face her and searched her face with his scared eyes.
"Yes...I'm ok." he said unconvincingly.
Misty saw the discomfort written on his face; she had to help him feel more comfortable.
Then, as if by impulse, her hand gently took hold of his.
Ash looked at her, his breathing becoming normal now, and smiled.
Misty returned the smile and kept a tight hold on his hand; they were sharing another 'moment'. Then, Ash had a flashback:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was sitting at a table with two guys his age; one with brown hair and brown eyes, the other with brown hair as well and ...closed eyes... (A.N: gee, who could that be?) Then he noticed someone else at the table...a girl. He turned to meet her face and he finally saw it, the girl who had been in his two of his previous flashbacks: she was Misty, and she was holding his hand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ash? Are you all right?" said Misty's voice as he...snapped back to reality. (A.N: I won't say it this time, just go listen to "Lose Yourself" by Eminem) Her face was covered with worry.
"You were there." he said simply, thinking somehow she'd understand.
"What? I was where?" she asked, still holding his hand as if it were second nature.
"On the ship with me...and two other guys..."
Misty's eyes widened.
"Oh, you--you had another flashback...that's all you saw? Nothing else?"
Ash shook his head.
"No...just that."
Suddenly, Ash's mother reappeared, her arms filled with what looked to be a dozen photo albums.
"I thought these would help." she said, putting them on the coffee table before Ash and Misty.
"Oh, and Ash? There's someone here who'll be very happy to see you." said Ms. Ketchum, smiling broadly.
"Pikachu! Ash is home!"
Seconds later a little, yellow mouse-type animal scurried into the room, spotted Ash and leapt onto him for a hug. Here, Ash received another flashback:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was he, Misty, that guy with the closed eyes (^^') and...the animal his mother had called 'Pikachu'. He was holding 'Pikachu', or rather hugging it, and both he and the animal looked extremely happy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ash's face lit up.
"PIKACHU!" he cried.
He had finally remembered something.
~~~~~End of Chapter 7~~~~~
To be continued...
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yea!! after practically 2 months I finally got this done!! Hope you all liked it and that it was long enough for ya (it took me 2 days to type, ya know). and thanks for wishing me luck on my exams!! They're done and I'm on Christmas break so I'll have PLENTY of time to write now!! I have a goal to finish at least one of the two stories I'm writing at the moment.
thanks for reading!! see you in the next chapter!!!
silverserenity2000@yahoo.com
Storyline © Angel: da Newsies fan (formally 'Misty the Jedi Princess')