Moments Alone, Chapter Eight: Miss You Most

By Ellie

Outside the Trainer's Compound,

Later that Evening

"I'm sorry, ma'am, it's just against procedure."

"Who made up what is procedure and what isn't? A member of the Mahogany Four?" Misty growled.

"Yes," the guard replied.

"I am a member of the Mahogany Four!" she argued, flashing her ID card once again.

"I realize that, but I don't feel right letting you in without an official change to the rules. Especially at this time of night."

"Why should this be different than any other time? And what's more official than me?" Misty questioned. "And besides, I don't believe that this is an official rule. If it is, I've never seen it anywhere."

"It is."

"Do you have some sort of handbook, maybe? I'd like to see that in writing."

"Look, curfew is almost up, anyway. I'm sure we can work something out in the morning," the guard said, attempting to compromise.

Misty sighed. Her body was aching from exhaustion and she had a headache the size of a Snorlax. "Fine," she said, giving in. "May I leave a note for Ash Ketchum then?"

"Absolutely," the guard answered. She handed Misty a slip of paper and a pencil.

"Thanks." Misty quickly jotted down, 'Ash- We should talk, I'd love to see you. Drop by sometime. -Misty.' She folded it in half, wrote his name on the front, and handed it to the guard. "If you could get this to him as soon as possible, it would be much appreciated."

"No problem. Have a lovely evening, miss."

"Likewise," she said, though her expression was one of defeat. She plodded to her car and hopped in.

Within seconds, she was gone. And within a few more seconds, a rental car pulled in. Ash Ketchum stepped out. He rushed up to the guard station.

"Hey," he said in greeting. He was out of breath. "I'm Ash Ketchum. Did anyone stop by for me tonight?"

"Yes, actually. One of the Mahogany Four, in fact." The guard passed him the note. "She left this for you."

"So I missed her?"

"By just about a minute," the guard said with a nod.

"Thanks," he said, disappointed. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," the guard said as she watched him walk into the Trainer's Compound, his nose buried in the note.

Ash returned to his room, excitement running through his veins like electricity. He hopped onto his bed, his eyes still glued to the note. He repeated each word in his head: 'Ash- We should talk, I'd love to see you. Drop by sometime. -Misty.' Her handwriting was beautiful. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen it. It was elegant and loopy, yet almost artistic. Just as he began to put the note on his dresser, there was a knock on his door.

"Ash, you there?" came a familiar voice from the other side.

"Yeah, Brock. Come on in," he replied.

The door opened to reveal Brock with a questioning look on his face. "Where were you all night?"

"I was looking for Misty."

"Did you find her?" he asked, his voice hopeful.

"No. I kept missing her. Who knew Misty could be so elusive?" he asked, rhetorically. "Actually, it seems that she went looking for me, too: this note was left for me at the guard station."

Brock read the note that was passed to him. As he scanned it, a smile crept on his face. "This is definitely a good sign, Ash!" He handed the note back to its rightful owner. "I know. I think I'll go to see her tomorrow morning. Maybe I can catch her before her match," he said, smiling.

"Well, good luck, Ash. I hope you can find her. I think I'm going to take a cue from Pikachu over there," he said, pointing to the snoozing Pokemon on the edge of the bed. "I'm off to bed."

"Goodnight, then."

"You should try to sleep, too. Seriously. I know you're excited, but you have a match tomorrow."

Ash chuckled, then looked up at Brock. "Sure thing," he said. "Sleep well."

"You too," Brock replied as he left Ash's bedroom.

Once the door was closed, Ash put on his pajamas, brushed his teeth, and got into bed. But before he turned off the lights, he read the note once more and smiled. Tomorrow he would see Misty.

As she pulled up into her driveway, Misty sighed. She parked the car and got out. The night had been a bust, and she was disappointed. She wasn't even sure if Ash felt the same way about her as she was realizing she felt about him. For all she knew, he could care less about her. Or he could even still be angry. She had no idea. But that look he had on his face when he saw her on stage during the opening ceremonies seemed like something more. She decided she needed to at least find out. She desperately hoped he would come to see her.

She stepped inside the Mahogany Four's house, finding four women seated on the white couches of the living room. Cath had come to visit. She had probably driven Vesta home from Ho-Jon's.

"Hey everyone, " Misty said, kicking off her sandals and setting down her purse.

"Hey Misty," a few of them said together.

"Did you find Ash?" Vesta asked, turning to face her.

Misty walked into the living room and fell into one of the large white couches, next to Silvia. "No," she said sadly.

"Well, he came here to find you, Misty. But you had already gone out to dinner," Beryl informed her, smiling.

"He did?" Misty asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, and he said something really sweet about you, too," Silvia said.

"What?" Misty asked, excited.

"Well," Beryl chirped, excitement evident in her tone, too. "We were describing Vesta for him so he could find you in the Sushi bar."

"You know," Silvia continued, "we said she was tall, thin, blonde, beautiful. Every guy's dream girl."

"Shut up!" Vesta protested.

"Let's not even go there, Vesta," Cath told her.

"Guys, guys. That's not the point! So anyway, Ash says, 'Not my dream girl. Misty is my dream girl,'" Beryl finished with a sort of cross between a squeal and a squeak that struck Misty as uncharacteristic.

"Are you serious?" Misty questioned.

"Yeah, Misty!" Silvia exclaimed. "I was witness!"

Beryl cleared her throat, and slipped back into her normal tone. "It was quite cheesy, actually," she said, hoping to cover up for her earlier girly outburst.

"I don't believe it," Misty said, a smile beginning to form on her face. "Well, what happened? Did you guys see him at Ho-Jon's?"

"We did," Cath answered.

"We told him that you went to find him, but I guess you missed each other anyway," Vesta said.

"I guess," Misty sighed. "I went to the Trainer's Compound, but the guard was adamant on not letting me in. I was really mad. But I left him a note. I told him I wanted to talk."

"The guard didn't let you in?" Silvia snapped. "That's ridiculous. Can we fire guards?"

Misty laughed. "No, Silvia. It's all right. I don't think he was there anyway. But now I just wish I had stayed a little while longer."

"Oh, Misty," Vesta started. "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll come here tomorrow. Especially if you left him a note. But I'm going to bed, my dears, I'm exhausted." She patted Misty's shoulder as she said, "Good night."

"I should probably go," Cath said. "I've got to get up early tomorrow."

"Good night, girls," Misty said, smiling at them. "And thanks."

Cath smiled at her as she slipped on her sandals and started out the door. "Bye," she said.

"See you later, Cath," Silvia said. "Good night, Vesta."

After the door had shut, and Vesta had gone up the stairs, Beryl stood up. "Want some cookies, Misty?" she asked. "I made some today."

Misty smirked. "You made cookies?"

"Well, the dough was pre-made. I'm no Martha."

"That's for sure," Silvia quipped.

"Shut it! I didn't see you making any cookies today! Pre-made dough or not!" Beryl responded.

"Okay, okay, okay. You win. Now get us some cookies," Silvia said with a smirk on her face.

"Yes, your majesty," Beryl said sarcastically as she bowed. "Your wish is my command."

Beryl disappeared into the kitchen. Misty laughed at their antics. "What kind of cookies did she make?"

"Pillsbury's chocolate chip ones, I think. I stole one earlier- they're pretty good!"

"Great, I could use a cookie," Misty replied.

A silence settled between the two women. After several seconds, Silvia spoke up: "You gonna be okay?"

"I'm fine," she said with a sigh. "I'm just confused. About Ash."

"Didn't expect this kind of reaction from him, did you?"

"I don't understand," she said, her face troubled. "He hasn't seen me in years. How does he even know I'm the same person?"

"He remembers what you were like back then, and he knows that you can't have changed too much. Which I know you didn't," Silvia argued.

"But he didn't have feelings for me back then! I was sure I was in love with him- and he just didn't understand. And being the child I was, I dealt with the issue as best as I knew how: I teased him. He took it the wrong way, of course. I'm sure he thought I hated him. He probably hated me."

"Well, that can't be true," Silvia said. "He's got feelings for you now. He can't have hated you, even if you teased him. What he's feeling now had to have grown out of something. There must have been something special about your relationship that you're not taking into account."

Beryl walked into the room with a tray of cookies and three glasses of milk. "What are we talking about?" she asked, setting the tray on the coffee table.

"Misty is doubting that Ash's feelings are genuine," Silvia explained.

"Ah, Misty! Trust me. The man's in love," Beryl said.

Misty picked up a cookie. "He hasn't seen me in six years, Beryl! How could he be?"

"Well, for one thing, you're gorgeous," Beryl started.

"Oh, stop."

"Come on, Misty," Silvia protested. "The last time Ash saw you, you had been going through puberty! You're an adult now, and you are very pretty. You were special to him then, and you're still special to him now. There's really no point in speculating, either, is there? You'll find out everything straight out of his mouth sooner or later."

"She's right, Myst. And I'm sure once you talk to him, and reminisce with him, you'll fall in love all over again."

"You think so?" Misty asked, though she knew the answer.

"Yes!" Beryl and Silvia said together.

"Okay, okay. I'll talk to him tomorrow," Misty said. She took a bite of her cookie. "Hey, not bad, B."

"Yeah, thanks. 'Cept all the work was done for me."

"B! Don't doubt yourself. I can taste the love that you put into these cookies!" Silvia said with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Misty smiled as her friends began to argue playfully. She thought about the day that lay ahead of her, and silently hoped that all would go well.