Hey everyone! Here's my after-Thanksgiving update ^_^ My friend Monique that I've known since kindergarten is here visiting!!! So everyone say hi ~.^

This is a VERY long chapter. . .it's doubly long the amount that usually consists of a chapter. I guess I got a bit carried away with this one and didn't know where to stop. ^_^;; But I like it. It's a gooood chapter. . .well of course I say that, I'm the writer!

Hmm. . .we have our Christmas tree up already. Can you believe that? Seems like only yesterday it was last Christmas. . .-sigh-

Well, enjoy your SECOND update for this week! ^_^ -throws out sugar and salt-

YAY REVIEWERS!

~Chapter Eleven~

Two months later. . .

~*~

"So you don't want a. . .goodbye party or anything?" Ivy asked, sprawling out on my rug. She had to be careful not to smack her leg into one of the many boxes crowding my room, holding most my stuff.

"Nah," I sighed. "That would be. . .too sad. And I really have no one I want to say goodbye to other than you guys."

"Ooo, 'Miss Popular' is too snooty to say goodbye to her pitiful little classmates," Steve teased.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Besides, isn't it a bit late for that anyway? I mean. . .we leave this weekend," I sighed.

My room was silent for a minute. I guess we were all thinking that. . .it was time, yet. . .it had seemed so far away two months ago.

Someone suddenly knocked on my door. "Ivy, your mother's here!" Mom called through the other side.

"Okay!" Ivy called back, and slowly stood up. "Well, I guess I have to go," she said unnecessarily. "I'll definitely come by to see you off." Ivy gave me a quick hug and scurried out my door.

Steve and I watched her go in silence. After she left, I stood up and kicked one of the boxes out of the way.

"There's still a lot of stuff here," Steve said quietly.

"Yeah, but we're just renting out the house, remember?" I replied. "So that means I don't have to take all my stuff. Just everything that's important."

Steve peered inside one of the open boxes and smiled, taking something out. "Heh, look at this," he smiled. "Your album."

I sat down next to him and looked over his arm. Yeah, like it said it was my 'album', basically weird pictures of us.

Something furry suddenly hopped on my lap, and I looked with some surprise to see it was Kitsune. Of course. He strained to also see over Steve's arm.

"You're in here too, silly," I told him, stroking his soft Eevee fur. I watched Steve flip through the album, of pictures showing us through so many years.

Thirteen years. It seemed so much shorter than that, though.

Steve stopped at one picture and laughed. I glanced at it and burst into giggles too. It was a photo of me holding Joker's lead rope, and Kitsune was in his head. Joker was tilting his head rolling his eyes and trying to get Kitsune off without hurting him.

"I remember that," Steve smiled. "My mom looked out the window and thought it was just about the funniest thing she had ever seen, and told me to go take a picture."

"Your mom's always frantic about having pictures of every little thing," I smiled.

"Yeah, well it comes in handy. Ivy and I can talk to a picture of you until you come back."

I smiled. "That's, uh. . ."

"I'm really going to miss you," he interrupted quietly. "Hey, how could I not, we've practically lived our whole lives together. . ." He sighed and slammed my album shut.

I blinked. This was really unlike Steve. . .I was expecting him to say something like, "Eh, I'll tough it out, I got my girlfriend, ha, ha, ha!"

I smiled again and playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Ivy was right, you really do have a big heart for a guy."

"And what, may I ask, is wrong with that?!" Steve cried, swinging his arm around my shoulder.

"Oh no!" I cried. "Not a---"

"Noogie!" Steve laughed, well, while giving me one.

Kitsune hopped out of my lap and into one of the boxes to stayed away from this 'terrifying' scene. "Eeee!" he barked.

"Ste-e-e-e-e-e-eve!" I complained.

"Hey, you needed one more," he winked.

~*~

This was probably one time in my life I was actually not looking forward to the upcoming Saturday. Because, of course, Saturday was the day Mom and Dad were taking me away from Johto.

Of course since I was dreading the weekend, the week sped by. Everyone in the school knew I was moving, so they all wished me good luck and told me they'd call, blah, blah, blah.

Yeah, right. Like I'd actually care if anyone but Steve or Ivy called.

Saturday morning I awoke to an unusually bright and cheery day.

"Nooooo," I mumbled, slamming face first back into my bed and jamming one of my pillows over my head.

Moving day. Oh, great.

"Lindsey!" Dad called from all the way downstairs, and yet I still heard him. "The movers are coming soon! You need to get up!"

Not amused by the fact total strangers might've seen me in my pajamas, I quickly jumped up and threw some clothes on. Hmm. . .it was nine-thirty. Steve and Ivy said they were going to come over around an hour later and we'd hang out until. . .well, until I had to leave.

I slowly walked downstairs, taking in everything---the pictures, the cracks in the paint, any peeling wallpaper. Kitsune, who had woken up around the same time I had, sleepily followed me.

I didn't know how Kitsune was feeling about the move, but since we were going to be together and Joker was coming along too, I was sure he wasn't going to think it was any different.

Lucky Kitsune.

I finally made my way to the kitchen, where, to my surprise, Steve and Ivy were already there, enjoying some of my dad's pancakes like they ate breakfast here every morning.

"You guys!" I cried. "What are you doing here so early?"

Ivy grinned. "Like we'd want to waste one second not being here!"

"Yeah, and not to mention these are really good," Steve added before shoving in a mouthful of pancakes. "Thansshblstertaber!" he 'said' with his mouth full.

"Ewww!" Ivy complained, poking his arm with her fork. Steve swallowed and repeated, "Thanks Mr. Tamer!"

"Sure thing," Dad replied.

"Lindsey, hurry up and eat!" Ivy grinned again. "Weeeeeeeeeeeeee've got stuff for you!"

I blinked. "Huh?"

"Presents, you idiot," Steve winked. He shoved the last forkful of pancakes in his mouth and stood up. "You ready? I swear, if we don't give them to you in the next minute, Ivy's going to explode."

Ivy just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure," I smiled. I looked at Dad. "Sorry, I guess. . .I'm just not that hungry. Is it okay if we go in the den?"

"Of course," Dad smiled, and stared back down at his food, shaking his bangs out of his eyes.

I stared a little. My dad shook the bangs out of his eyes. . .just like Steve.

Mom suddenly came in---from outside, I guess---and sighed when she saw me. "Lindsey, you have GOT to help me get Joker in his Pokeball. I have EVERYONE else but him ready to transport over to Slateport City, but he's being so. . .so stubborn!"

I glanced at Ivy, who was waiting impatiently, and Steve, who was just staring into space. Like I could leave them. This time, Joker would have to come second.

"Later, Mom," I said. "We have all day. He'll listen to me."

"If you're sure," she sighed. Then she did the strangest thing: She looked at Steve and nodded, and apparently he saw because he nodded back.

How weird.

~*~

Ivy was about to burst the second we were stretched out on the comfy chairs in the den. I just noticed she was carrying a bag with her---full of her presents, I guess.

"Okay, first one from most of the people in our class," she grinned, handing me a flat, square package.

"Most?" I laughed, carefully tearing off the paper. When it was off, I nearly cried at what I saw: a homemade autograph book. I flipped through the pages, seeing all sorts of signatures and goodbyes written in different colored ink.

"Yeah, Betsy and Brooke didn't want to sign it." Ivy rolled her eyes, and I smiled to myself. Betsy and Brooke have, for some reason, always hated me since Poke-PreK.

"Oh, oh, and now this one from me!" Ivy cried, handing me a quite bigger package. I tore through the paper a little more quickly this time and found myself staring at a ceramic statue of a Ponyta with an Eevee on its head---just like Joker and Kitsune!

"Ivy!" I squeaked. "How. . .?"

"I made it," she smiled. "All those years of pottery class paid off!"

"It's incredible," I whispered. "It looks just like them."

"I'm sure Kitsune will do that to Joker's head, no matter where you guys are," Ivy laughed as Kitsune scurried into the den and rubbed up against her leg. "But that's just to remind you it started here."

"Oh Ivy," I started blubbering.

"You still have one more," Steve muttered before I could get too carried away.

"Oh?"

Ivy pulled out a long, thin box and handed it to me. "This is from both of us." Ivy glanced at Steve and smiled.

I opened up this last gift, which was a long silvery belt. It was made up of crosses, and in between each cross were five rhinestones.

I gasped. "It's beautiful!" I cried.

"And that fact that if you ever walked out of the house in just a jeans a T-shirt, you have something to spice it up," Ivy laughed.

I looked up. "Thank you. . .thank you so much you guys." I dropped the belt in its box and ran to my friends, getting another group hug.

~*~

Ivy and Steve stayed with me until every last box was packed into the moving truck, and even when I tried for an hour and a half to get Joker in his Pokeball.

Mom sighed as I handed her the ball. "I swear, that Ponyta. . ." she muttered. "Well, anyway, I have to hurry over to Professor Elm's---he has a special machine that'll let me transport all these guys at once." Mom held up the bag all the Pokeballs were in. "I'll be back in a few."

Mom walked out to her car and nodded at us, and then drove away.

I turned to my friends, my new belt glittering around my waist. My autograph book and statue were already packed, but I couldn't let them take my belt. After all, I was just wearing 'jeans and a T-shirt'.

"I don't believe this," Ivy muttered, and she glared at something. I knew it was her mom, coming to pick her up.

"She always comes at the absolute worst times!" Ivy blubbered. "I was planning on staying here until you turned the corner, but nooooo!" Ivy burst into tears and flung her arms around my neck. "Lindse-e-e-e-ey!" she blubbered.

Steve gave her a Look. "Um, isn't she supposed to be the one crying?" The she meaning me, I supposed.

Ivy sniffed and just looked at me. "Oh Lindsey, you're one of my best friends. I can't believe this is really happening. . .you can't go away! You just can't!"

I returned Ivy's hug. "Hey, how many times have we been through this?" I sighed, trying to calm her down. "It's not forever. And you can come visit me during vacations and stuff."

"It's not the same," she sniffled. "I'm going to miss you soooooo much! And who knows how long I'll last with just Steve around?"

I could almost hear Steve rolling his eyes.

Ivy's mom honked the car horn impatiently.

"I guess I have to go," she whispered. "Oh Lindsey, I'll call all the time, even if mom yells at me about the bill. Whenever you come back, why, it'll be like you were here the whole time!"

That huge lump from months ago suddenly reappeared in my throat. I didn't even try to swallow.

"Goodbye. . .Ivy," was all I whispered. She slowly walked to the car, but her mom sped away. I waved until she turned the corner.

When the car was gone, I turned back to Steve. "That was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be," I admitted.

"This is hard for all of us," he whispered, digging in his pocket. "Oh. . .I have something for you. I mean, your mom wanted me to give it to you."

I looked up and saw Steve take something out of his pocket. He grabbed my hand with his free own, put whatever it was into my hand, and slipped his away. I looked back down at what was now in my hand.

A golden chain.

With a key attached.

The key was really weird looking; it had a funny little design on it and twirling around it was a. . . Dragonair. I held up the chain, causing the key to spin around. The sun glittered off the shiny gold. "Interesting," I commented. "Did she say what it opened?"

He shook his head. "Just that I should give it to you. . .and I did."

I continued staring at the key. After a minute, thought, I noticed it wasn't glittering at brightly. I frowned, but suddenly saw a fleck of green. My head shot up towards the sky, but it was as sunny as ever---and when I looked back down, the key was as glittery as before.

"What?" Steve asked, noticing my weird behavior.

I smiled. "Nothing."

Though I did know---that Dragonair from so many years ago was watching me. . .like a. . .friend.

~*~

As promised, Mom was back in a few minutes. I immediately ran up to her and asked her about the key, but she got really quiet and told me just to put it on and never, ever lose it.

"Why would I?" I muttered as I slipped the chain over my head.

Dad came out of the house. "Lindsey, the movers are just about done, so you'd better get in the car."

I froze. This was it. . .we were really going to leave.

Steve appeared at my side. "Well, I guess we better say goodbye," he said, shuffling his feet.

"How do I say goodbye to you?" I sighed. "Ivy was hard enough."

Steve grabbed my shoulders and spun me around so fast the ponytail my hair was in flapped against my back. "Oh this is stupid," he muttered. "We all know it's not really goodbye. You'll be back." He leaned forward and wrapped me up in a hug. "Heck, even if I have to come get you myself, I promise you'll be back."

"Oh Steve," I sighed. 'You dork,' I added in my head.

I don't know how long we hugged, but it must've been quite awhile because Mom suddenly did her 'I'm-Getting-Impatient-Miss-Lindsey-Tamer' cough, and Steve and I let go.

Kitsune came bounding out of the house and climbed up onto my shoulder like a little Aipom. "Eeevee?" he squeaked.

Steve smiled a little and gave Kitsune a pat on the head. "You take care of her," he muttered to Kit.

"Isn't it the other way around?" I smiled.

"Yeah, well, whatever." Steve smiled back.

Mom did her little cough again, and I sighed. "I guess I better go," I whispered.

"You'll be back."

"I know."

Before Mom a chance to do her cough again, I jogged to the car and opened the door. Before getting inside, I stared at our house one more time.

"Home," I whispered. I looked at Steve before finally getting in the car. "I'll be back.

"We promised."

~*~*~

Awww. . .

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