Disclaimer: Nothing is mine but the creativity and storyline. All rights and characters go to original owners.
A/N: Uh, hey! :D The trailer for this fanfiction is now on YT, if you want to check that out!
.com/watch?v=b6ri2vjdSSM
When Ash woke up that morning, he felt strangely content. Apart from the fact that – due to his lack of actual sleep the night before – the bright, midday light bouncing in through his bedroom window burned his eyes.
Groggily rubbing them, he swung his legs out of the bed and sat up, all set to get ready for another slow day.
But as the covers moved from over him, something white glided down to the floor. It landed face-down, so Ash couldn't see if it had anything written on it, and wondered how it had gotten on his bed.
Maybe he'd had it in his hands last night and had forgotten about it?
He sighed and bent down, reaching out to pick it up. "It's probably just the electrical planning or information about the gas or–," But Ash stopped short when he'd saw what it was.
Because when he'd turned it over in his hands, his heart stopped beating.
Only one other person knew where he'd put this.
For on that piece of paper, was a drawing. One of Ash's drawings. Something he'd drew in the presence of his best friend – a Pokémon. Something he'd buried away six years ago.
It was crumpled of course, and he now noticed that closer up it still had traces of dirt on it. It had obviously been patted down in an attempt to make it a little more presentable – and his heart jumped at the thought of who it might have been...
Ash just stared down at it in disbelief, his mouth hanging agape in horror.
28th July 1997
Dear Diary,
So... he got it. He delivered it to me.
I knew it was only a matter of time.
On the paper – the picture Ash had drawn – four smiling faces beamed up at him, seeming at bliss forever. Once he'd felt like that. For a long period of time, actually. And he wished so badly to feel like that again. His heart yearned for it just as much as his head.
He'd never actually been able to draw them right. He'd gotten their noses completely wrong, and their heads seemed oddly proportioned for the size of their bodies. But overall, he'd been pleased with it at the time, and spent many a minute laughing at it. But now all he felt like doing was crumpling it up in his rage and letting the tears fall as he threw it into an open flame and watched as each flake of burnt paper flew away in the breeze.
If I ever set eyes on it again, diary, it would be a lifetime too soon.
On the paper, stood three people and a Pokémon. In the middle, Ash had drawn himself. With his hair all askew under his cap, his hand raised to show off a shining Pokéball – sporting his favourite green fingerless gloves. On his left was...
OK... OK, diary.
I'm just gonna write it. I knew I'd have to at some point.
Um... right. So...
Brock was stood on his left. His tanned skin always an envy-point for Ash, and he didn't even feel like smirking at the memory of Brock drooling all over every pretty girl he saw. Brock's brown, spiky hair was maybe a little too spiky, but Ash hadn't minded when he'd drawn it. Why is it that he cared so much about it now?
In front of him, popping just into the frame was Pikachu, of course. Always there; his best friend. He'd spent a while trying to get his ears right, and the smile on his face correct without messing up his face. Pikachu had been watching over his shoulder at this, of course. He remembered Pikachu snatching the pencil from him from time to time and correcting things, frustratedly.
Good old Pikachu.
And to his right stood–
NO!
No! I am not writing it! I'm sorry, no! Just one big, fat, NO!
...
Misty.
*sigh*
Even to this day he'd wished he'd drawn her better. He'd never quite gotten the curve of her jaw right, or the cuteness of her small nose. Even her lips seemed wrong to him. They weren't plump enough, weren't the right shape, and something was odd in the way she grinned up at him; her girly grin – a smile he once hoped was just for him. He supposed he'd drawn her scruffy ponytail OK, he'd just coloured it in a shocking orange. The little boy inside of him still laughed at her outfit; the shorts with the red suspenders, and the yellow top showing her slim navel. But he'd focused on her eyes the most. He'd made them large, each with little white squares to show the shine. He'd coloured them an amazing aqua-blue, and spent ages perfecting every curl of every eyelash.
It took all I had not to tear the paper into lots of tiny pieces.
It is things like this that make me think of Pearl.
Pearl. Ash had almost forgotten about her.
Pearl was a woman in his work. She worked in the office like him, but a few floors up. She was the manager's under-study, and ran around every day doing jobs for him. Ash would often see her bumbling in the hallways, juggling mugs of coffee and a huge stack of files or papers.
She'd fallen over once. The coffee drenched the files, and she dashed off to tell her boss before Ash had any time to help her. He'd hoped to catch her with that thing he often sees in the movies. You know, when the girl falls down and has to pick up all her papers, and the hero goes to help her, and their hands end up touching, and there is this awkward moment when they just look at each other – and it's from that moment on that they realise they want to be together.
But, that never happened, of course. Pearl didn't even know Ash existed. He would always run off like a chicken whenever girl-trouble arised. Or he had his chance to woo her. Funny really, how he would be willing to dash in front of a moving van for a Pokémon, but when it comes to girls he is a total coward!
Deep down, however, Ash knew the real reason he'd never been able to get anywhere with Pearl.
And that reason was staring up at him from the paper, grinning up at him her girly grin.
I tried the park at noon. Again.
I didn't even bother to throw on anything presentable; I practically went out in my sweats after breakfast (with shoes, of course). All I cared about was finding Pikachu, not what people thought of me.
But then something happened...
When Ash had almost reached the fringe of the wilderness part of the park, he heard some bushes rustle, and froze on the spot, listening.
Then he saw it. A small, yellow figure running away into the forest.
"Pikachu!" Ash yelled, dashing out after it. He only caught sight of its tail, that's how fast it was moving, but it was definitely Pikachu. His Pikachu. "Hey, Pikachu – wait up!"
Pikachu led Ash quite a far way out, through bushes and dodging twigs, jumping over logs and swatting away bugs. But Ash never stopped, not even for a second. He didn't care how fast his heart was beating, or how much he wanted to rest. He just cared about Pikachu.
But then the unexpected – and unbelievable – happened.
I need to work on my reflexes a little, Ash thought as he watched Pikachu dash round a tree trunk and into a corner. He was quick behind him, of course, but he came smack-damn into something; something hard.
He fell onto his butt, and held his head in his hand. "Ow," he grumbled, steadying himself and opening his eyes as he pulled his hand from his head. He thought he'd hit the tree until he looked up and saw what he'd actually hit.
A girl with flame-orange hair and bright aqua eyes was gazing down at him, her full, perfect, pink lips forming a shocked 'o'. She wore three-quarter length jeans – with red suspenders – and a green top, coming to just over her naval.
They both remained frozen, just staring at each other wide-eyed for a while, before a magical voice came from the girl's mouth. A voice he'd desired to hear for at least six years.
"Ash?"
A/N: *screeeeeeeam*! Oh my God! Cliff-hanger! I feel bad! :O
You enjoy it, though, right? ;) You like how I leave you hangin'.
Once again; trailer link here, people. I made it myself!
.com/watch?v=b6ri2vjdSSM
Reviewers get to bump into their long-time crush in a deserted forest after a Pokémon of their choice leads them there. :)
Kelly xxx
