Hey guys, I told you I would be back but this story took longer than I thought it would to wrote, also its longer that I thought it would be but that's the way life goes.
It's a sad romance and its my version of why Misty left the group the second time.
The song in the story is called " You don't see me" And its from "Josie and the Pussycats" which is a movie I love.
When I heard the song I thought it would be perfect for this story, its also great for when you like someone who doesn't even know you exist and you're bummed out about it I don't own the characters, any of them or the song but I do own the story so please don't use it without my consent, if you want to use it for whatever reason or want to get in contact with me, you know my email address, if you don't its in my profile.
Hope you enjoy it.
Please read and review
Lots of love Nibbs

The sun burned brightly in the azure sky and the clear water rushed through its course creating the bubbling brook sound.
Pidgeys chirped and as usual the small group of youths were wandering through the lush forestry trying to find the closest town.

"You wanna' know what I think?" a small boy with dark green hair began.

A taller, slim girl beside him sighed.

"No Max, no one wants to know what you think" she replied.

"I think the only reason your Pokemon are still weak is because you never battle and if you never battle you can never win any experience points and you can never become a Pokemon Master" Max continued.

"Newsflash Max I have no intention of being a Pokemon Master and I don't have to take the advice of a squirt who doesn't even have a Pokemon"

"I'll get a Pokemon someday!"

"Awhh sorry Max but they don't give Pokemon to little losers like you"

"They do too! I mean I'm not a little loser"

The two siblings continued squabbling while their two companions watched , both had given up any ideas of stopping them.

"Were me and Misty ever"

"Yup"

"Really?"

"Every single day except I usually distracted you both by pointing out how you liked each other"

"We didn't"

"Yeah you did"

Ash fell silent and stared at the ground surprising Brock who looked at him in concern.

"I miss her" Ash said softly.

"I do too" Brock admitted. "Things were never boring with her around"

Pikachu charged towards them interrupting their reveries.

"Pika ka chu chu pika!" he cried out pointing over at the path they were taking.

Ash listened intently and then burst out in a joyful laugh

"Hey guys! Pikachu says that Domark City is just over that hill" he cried out racing up the path leaving his friends chase after him, calling out to slow down.

Domark City was beautiful with gleaming buildings and clean streets. Tree's dotted the city and large oaks gave the city an very open feel. People milled about laughing and smiling.

"ALRIGHT!" Ash cried out, pumping his fist in the air.

"I'm gonna go straight to the Gym and I'm gonna get another badge!"

Brock was about to say something when a vision caught his eye.

A tall, slim girl wearing a baseball hat was studying the map on display in the City square.

"Oh boy, here we go again" May muttered.

Max waved his hand in front of Brock's face and shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

"He's gone"

"I have a date with destiny, please don't try to stop me" Brock gushed practically floating towards the girl.

"We'll see you afterwards" Ash called out disappearing into the gym, closely followed by May and Max.
Ash looked over at them again before he went through the doors, he had to admit that girl was kind of cute

Brock could feel his heart thumping in his chest .
As he drew closer he could make out more of her.
She was wearing a pair of denim pedal pushers and a yellow halter neck top which ended above her navel.
She had a very slim build but seemed muscular, not in a weightlifter sort of way but more of a person well used to looking after themselves.
The girl pulled off her hat and ran her hand through her gleaming red gold hair, tossing it back before tugging in back over her head.

"Hi" Brock began and then straightened his back. " I lost my phone number, can I borrow yours?" he asked, flashing his most charming smile.
The girl didn't even look at him.

"I have heard them all and that was especially cheesy, that's quite an accomplishment" she answered in a monotone voice.

Brock started at the girl in disbelief. He knew that voice and that sense of humour as well as that disdain of boys sometimes corny flirtation.

"Misty?" he asked carefully.

The girl snapped her head towards him in suspicion.
Her eyes widened when she recognised him and she let out a laugh.

"Brock?" she asked, grinning at him.

Brock laughed and held his arms out to hug her but was almost caught off guard when Misty lept into his arms.
He spun her around in the air and they both laughed with delight..

"It's so great to see you" Misty cried once Brock has set her on the ground.

Brock let go of her and held her shoulders at an arms distance..

"Let me get a look at you " he commanded.

Misty had grown taller and had developed curves that made her look much more lady like than she had when they were with her.
She was still very slim but it wasn't scrawny anymore.
Her muscles were toned leading her friend to believe that she had been travelling for a while .
Her hair was kept in better condition and now hung freely down a little past her shoulders and she was even dressing more grown up.

Her pedal pushers rested above her hips but below her bellybutton and her yellow top didn't cling to her but the material rested in the right way to show off her figure.
Two thick straps held the top up and ran around her neck leaving her neck, shoulders and little below and her back bare.

She wasn't showing cleavage which satisfied Brock but it did end above her navel. Scruffy red runners adorned her feet and a bright smile lit up her face as she looked up at Brock with bright sea green eyes.
Ash's old Pokemon League cap sat atop her head

"You look great" he complimented.

Misty blushed.

"It's a long story…where's Ash?" she suddenly asked.

"In a gym battle, I can't believe I was gonna hit on YOU"

"You wouldn't have gotten anywhere"

Brock slapped his arm around his shoulder and trapped her in a headlock, both of them laughing as they did.

Misty whipped her head out and tackled Brock to the ground.
There she sat on his stomach until her gave in.
She smirked down at him.

"Ready to give in yet, you'll have to breathe at some stage"

Brock pouted and giggled as she helped him up Misty laughed out loud when Brock leapt in front of her, hiding her from the stares of some boys that were passing by.

"Get your Ya-ya's some place else" he warned them.

"Yeah, that'll teach em' but how do you propose I get my ya-ya's if you keep scaring all the boys away?" Misty asked, pouting at him.

She laughed at him again when she saw his look of shock at her.

"I'm joking, it's ok. No ya-ya's here" she giggled.

"You still have a sadistic sense of humour" Brock complained.

"Its not sadistic, its just not sweet"

Misty laughed and punched him playfully on the shoulder.

"You think cause I changed clothes, that meant I got a personality switch?" she teased.

"Well it was really more like praying you got a switch, ahh lets get going red, I've got some questions I need to ask"

"So how's your little female Ash doing?" Misty asked, trying to hide the spite in her voice.

The pair were walking along the streets, catching up on old times.

"Who? May? She's doing great... and your jealous!"

Misty folded her arms and glared at Brock

"I am NOT jealous"

"Oh really, then why are you showing all the signs of the green eyed little monster we all love and hate" Brock teased.

Misty sulked some more and when she realised that she had no defence, she threw her hands in the air in exasperation.

"Did you really think I wouldn't be, I was the only girl in the group and then as soon as I'm gone, this pretty little Ash clone joins up with her little brother give me a break I'm only human" she cried.

Brock chuckled and then flicked the peak of her hat.

"Trust me, Misty, they've got nothing on you"

Misty smiled gratefully up at Brock who had stretched a few inches since the last time she had seen him.

"Thank you, Brock" she sang out in a childish voice.

Brock smiled at her and the two friends fell into step having a chat over everything that had happened during their separation.

Ash stared down at the badge in his palm, his mind bubbling over with things to say.
He had been in so many battles and had seen so many things yet he was always awed by gym battles and badges.
He admired Gym trainers so much for knowing everything that they did.

Given that his best friends in the world were all related to gym leaders or were gym leaders, it was always going to command a certain amount of respect from the youth.

"Hey is that…Brock?" Max asked, placing his hand over his eyes and squinting towards the pair who were walking towards the gym.

"Yeah and that girl is still with him, that HAS got to be some sort of record" May added, staring at the pair.

Ash didn't really mind if Brock had found someone who wouldn't back off slowly when Brock started talking to them, there was bound to be someone who found Brock's unusual style of flirtation appealing but he did envy his friend.

The girl he was with was pretty, well she was from a distance and they seemed to be getting along great.
From what the three friends could see , Brock and his lady friend were talking and laughing, the girl even punched him playfully which made Brock throw an arm around her shoulder.
Ash suddenly remembered something and shouted it out regardless of Brocks might be girlfriend.

"HEY BROCK, I WON A GYM BADGE!!!!!!!!!!!"

Brock and the girl both paused and looked towards the group and then to the surprise of Ash, May and Max, they both started jumping and cheering.
Something clicked in Ash's mind.
He had seen this before, he had seen these people jumping and cheering for him many times in the past and the girls baseball hat, it was a Pokemon league cap, those were really rare and Ash had given his to ….

"Misty?" he called out in uncertainty.

The girl let out another cheer before stopping and laughed.

"Yeah?" she asked with a little smile and then placed a hand on her hip with a smirk, a posture Ash knew so well.

"MISTY!" he yelled out in joy before charging at her and tackling her to the ground in the process.

Misty laughed and sat up and they hugged tightly, her cap falling off as they did.
Ash pulled away with a noticeable blush.
Misty giggled at this.
Ash eyed her with suspicion.

"You look like a girl" he said in an accusing tone.

Misty rolled her eyes.

"I'll give you one guess why" she replied.

Misty definitely wasn't the rugged tomboy who had left them to return home, instead a young woman with a feminine figure was standing in her place.

Her eyes seemed so much deeper, like there was much more going on behind them now and her face seemed slightly older.

He loved the way her hair now framed her face instead of spiking out in an uneven fringe.
The spikes formed bangs which were swept to the side of her face but were short enough to fall over her eye which gave her a tough spunky look, which was a trait that would always be in Misty and would always be reflected in her appearance somehow.

"What are you doing out of Cerulean City?" he asked with a grin.

"You make it sound like I was trapped there"

"Well you were, kind of" Ash pouted.

Misty smiled and started at the ground.

"Hey Misty" May and Max said in unison.

Misty looked at them briefly.

"Hey guys" she said as casually as she could, but now without a sharp edge to her tone.

Neither May nor Max picked up on it though, while Brock threw Misty a disapproving glance.
Misty looked at him helplessly and shrugged as if to say there was nothing she could do about it

"Misty!" a shrill voice rang out and they all turned to see a young girl the same age as Misty running towards them.

When she reached them, she paused to catch her breath.
She had long spiky blonde hair which gleamed in the sunlight and reached down to her waist, probably longer if she straightened her locks.
Wild brown streaks ran down her hair which was held back into ponytails.

She had flushed cheeks and the warm brown eyes and was wearing a short white tee shirt that ended above her waist with long floppy blue sleeves and was also wearing baggy black pants.
She looked at Misty with a bright smile.

"Misty! I got a gig, I'm gonna be singing in front of a read audien..." she trailed off as the words sunk in and her knees went weak leaving a startled Misty to catch her under the arms and try to hold her up.

The girl took a deep breath,

"I'm ok, I'm cool" she said trying to calm herself more than the others.

"Look Tara, why don't we check out the hotel and you can see where you're singing and you can rehearse" Misty suggested, soothingly.

The blonde girl nodded and let out a relieved sigh.
When she straightened herself up, Brock had thrust his hand out to shake.
Tara took his hand but instead of shaking hers, he kissed her hand gently with a small twinkle in his eye.

Misty sidled up to Brock and while she smiled at Tara, she crushed Brock's toes underneath her heel.
Brocks face was turning red from not shouting out in pain.

Tara gave Brock a strange look but carried out towards the hotel , May and Max following suit.
Ash stayed back to be with Misty and Brock .
Brock shot Misty an accusing glare but before he could open his mouth, Misty pointed at Tara's disappearing form.

"Tara -off limits" she said simply and glared at Brock warningly.

"Its my job to keep an eye on her so forget it, Casanova"

"Man, you sure missed some great adventures, Misty" Ash began.

Misty grinned at him and fell into step with him as they followed the others.

"And probably missed some great comments of ideas to mock you over" she added.

After much discussion, nightfall rolled about the group was getting ready for Tara's show.

Misty was carrying something heavy across the stage when Ash who was helping her started up a conversation he had thinking about all day.

"You know, Mist. I'm glad we have you back, I mean its gonna be weird travelling in a big group with your friends with us but I think it would be kinda cool" Ash began, cheerfully.

Misty practically dropped the instrument she was carrying and somehow managed to set it down on the ground.
She sank to her knees and Ash followed suit.
She couldn't meet his eyes and she spoke softly, barely above a whisper.

"Ash, I'm not, I mean you don't have to.. I'm not coming with you"

An tense silence filled the room.

"What?" Ash demanded, looking angry and heartbroken at the same time.

Misty rose to her feet, head bowed and the peak of her hat disguising her face, like it had done for Ash many times in the past.

"I can't do that, I just can't" she choked out, before hurrying out of the room leaving a heartbroken Ash.

Brock was unpacking his clothes when Ash stalked in, slammed the door and then in contrast with his angry gestures, slid down the door and sat his elbows on his knees, head down.

"Something up?" Brock asked, carefully.

"She's not coming with us" Ash spat out, wiping his eyes furiously.

"Who? Ohhh" Brock trailed off, trying to hide his own disappointment.

"Why?" he asked eventually, after the news had sunk in.

"I don't know, she didn't exactly give a in depth report. She said she wasn't coming and then left.
How can she not go with us?
We're her best friends, she followed me for months , we were there for each other since we began. How can she...?" Ash trailed off, and swiped at his eyes again.

Brocks face clouded over.

"I don't know Ash" he lied and then excused himself in search of Misty.

Misty sat in a small corner hidden away in the hotel somewhere, trying desperately not to burst into tears.

"Well?" a voice demanded.

Misty's head jerked up and Brock's expression softened slightly when he saw the tears running down her face.

"This is about May, isn't it?" he carried on.

Misty jumped to her feet, defensively.

"Because Misty if it is, that would be so very childish of you that I'm ashamed of you"

"I... it has nothing to do with the Ash clone, I don't care about her. You think if I really wanted to go with you guys, I'd let her stop me?!" Misty demanded, her face betraying her hurt.

"Then what is it?" Ash's voice demanded.

Brock turned around and Misty stared at him in shock.

"I mean you managed living with us for a couple of years why can't you try it again? Was it that bad for you?"

"Things are different" Misty answered helplessly.

Ash turned around, ignoring the cries of his friend and walked right out of the hotel.
When he felt he was at a sufficient distance from the hotel, he sat down leaning back into a tree and let the tears fall.
It wasn't long before he heard a voice calling out to him and footsteps running towards him.

"Are you even gonna to try and listen to me?" a voice asked.

Ash knew who it was without even looking up.

"Why?" he muttered.

"Because I was your best friend for three or four years, I think I deserve a chance to tell you!
I mean you might be happy to leave this go and just hate me for the rest of your life but I want you to at least have the actual reason for it"

With that, Misty sat down in front of him and tried to start but she stuttered or couldn't get out the right words.
Ash looked at her, angrily.

"Well?"

"Knock it off, Ash! This is hard!"

Ash had to smile in spite of himself. This was definitely Misty.

"Look when I travelled with you guys, I had so much fun and I learned a lot.... through you"

"Whatever that means"

"I mean that everything we learned was in relation to you.
It was your journey which I understand, I mean I tagged along for it and I had the best time of my life, but when I went home I saw that I was so dependant on others for everything."

Misty took a deep breath.

"When I left home first, maybe I was too hot-headed about things but when I got out there by myself I was so scared, I latched onto you so that I wouldn't have to face the world on my own and I did that for years.
Instead of going out there and being brave, like you were, I followed you guys and let someone else have all the adventure and I never faced the world.
When I went home and I was there by myself, I learned how to do things completely on my own. I grew up a bit and when my sisters came home, I wanted to go back to you guys so badly but I couldn't go back to following someone else's lead.
I couldn't be living as friend in your life, I had to follow my own dreams and I was scared but I had to do it and then we met with you guys and I was so tempted to follow you guys and take up where we left off but we're different now"

Misty looked at Ash who was hanging on her every word.

"I can't go back to following your lead and being a small part of your adventure. I need to continue my adventure"

"If that's true, then why did you make your own group?" Ash pointed out.

"Because it's lonely out there.
And I needed to follow someone else when I first left and I think they do too.
They'll leave and go off on their own someday but until then I'm glad to have the company and to pass on what I've learned." Misty answered gently.

They both fell silent again, Misty was searching Ash's face for a clue of how her explanation had gone down.

Meanwhile Tara was up on stage, getting ready she searched for her friends but seemed disappointed that Misty wasn't there.
Taking a deep breath she began anyway, knowing that her other friends were there for her.

"This is the place where I sit
This is the part where I love you too much
This is as hard as it gets
Because I'm getting tired of pretending I'm tough

Misty broke down and started sobbing and Ash couldn't stop a few tears trickling down his cheek.

I'm here if you want me
I'm yours you can hold me
I'm empty and aching
I'm tumbling and breaking

"Misty , I like you, I mean really, really like you" he confessed, figuring that it would be his last chance.

Misty shook her head.

"I wish I could believe you"

Because you don't see me
And you don't need me
And you don't love me
The way I wish you would
The way I knew you could

"What?" Ash asked, somewhat stunned.

"I don't know if you're saying that because you mean it because you're trying to make me stay"

I dream a world where you understand
But I dream a million sleepless nights
I dream of fire when you're touching my hand
But it twists into smoke when I turn on the lights

Ash let out a long sigh and looked down.
"Whether you believe it or not, I do. I have for ages and I never told you and then you left just like that I never told you and I think this is probably my last chance."

I'm speechless and faded
Its too complicated
Is this how the book ends
Nothing but good friends

Misty leaned forehead and kissed him on the lips.

"I believe you, Ash but tell me that again when we meet up again someday and you're not trying to talk me out of something"

Because you don't see me
And you don't need me
And you don't love me
The way I wish you would
The way I knew you could
The way I wish you would

"So this is it , you like me and I like you and we're walking away from it"

"Guess so"

This is the place in my heart
This is the place where I'm falling apart
Isn't this just where we met
Is this the last chance that I'll ever get
I wish I was only
Instead of just lonely
Crystal and see through
And not enough to you

Ash shook his head and stood up after a white.
He held a hand out to Misty help her which she accepted gratefully.
They both made their way back to the hotel.

"Hey Ash?" Misty asked shakily.

"We're gonna meet up again someday right? When we're done with all this travelling and we're ready to settle down?"

"We'd better, my Mom told me that the only girl who should ever see you in your underwear is the girl you're gonna marry and you've seen me in my jocks way too many times "Ash joked feebly.
Misty laughed half heartedly and then sniffed.

Because you don't see me
And you don't need me
And you don't love me
The way I wish you would
The way I knew you could

The pair arrived back in time for the end of Tara's song and they cheered and clapped for her as best they could.
The next day when they were saying their goodbyes, Brock made her promise to name him as godparent for the kids they would have someday and Misty nodded, unable to speak.
As Ash hugged her he whispered.

"I hope you find what you're looking for"

Misty kissed him on the cheek and as he walked away with Brock, May and Max in tow, she whispered to herself.

I already have, I'm just not ready for it, yet"

With that she walked back to her own group who made their own way out of town and into their own next adventure.

The end

Well there you have it folk, there's a little bit of hope in there.
Not much more I can say about this so please read and review.
Thanks for. having a look
Oh Yeah I hate May, I really do!
I think she is just like a female version of Ash, only dimmer so thats why her and Max weren't portrayed very well in this story but I hate them so thats the way I wanted them to be.
Lots of Love
Nibbs