Chapter Three: Present

I packed my bags before I even told my mother what I was planning to do, hiding my duffel under my bed whenever she came into the room. It didn't matter whether she told me yes or no—I was going to Mt. Silver with or without her permission. I knew she wouldn't really appreciate my running off, but this was something I needed to do.

The opportunity of meeting someone just like me was just too great to ignore, and the fact that he was a former Champion, too, was even better. What were the chances that two of the Champions of the Indigo Plateau, in the last ten years, were mutes? It wasn't as if there were millions of Champions—there were four of us: Blue, Red, Lance, and me. And half of us were mute.

It was like it was meant to be.

I didn't even have to meet the boy to know that he was something special, and I was getting really pumped up to meet him. He was the only person on earth who probably understood exactly how I felt, the only person I could ever relate to. I had a voice, and Red had to know that I could use it. We just didn't use it the same way as everyone else.

There was a knock on my bedroom door, and I scrambled to my feet, kicking my bag back under my bed and sprinted over to my computer. Just as I sat down in my desk chair, my mother opened the door, walking into the room with her hands on her hips. If I had to fear anything about my mother, it was this right here: her "mom" look.

"Lyra, honey, why does food keep disappearing from the fridge?" she asked, and I furrowed my eyebrows. Well, all right, it was true that I had been trying to subtly steal some food from the refrigerator; I didn't know how long I was going to be gone, and I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. And I liked eating. Who didn't?

But I couldn't tell my mom that, obviously. Well, I could, but she wouldn't let me go if I did. I was much better off leaving and telling her where I was when I returned. Because if I told her now, she would find some way to contain me to my room, and if I told Ethan to tell her while I was gone, she would probably send someone after me. So, I would just head over to Mt. Silver for a little while, send some quality time with Red, and then return and tell her.

I was eighteen—what could she do, ground me?

Ethan, I signed, my special symbol for my best friend's name forming so naturally on my fingers. You know how much that kid eats.

Well, all right, blaming it on my best friend probably wasn't the best idea. But a girl had to do what a girl had to do to catch a break. And I wasn't completely lying. First of all, Ethan totally did eat a lot. If a refrigerator was in sight, he was probably at it. It was like he had twenty stomachs, but he was so skinny that it didn't look like it.

And secondly, was it a lie if it wasn't spoken?

But my mother still looked doubtful. "He's not even here. He hasn't been since yesterday, and there was plenty of food when I made dinner last night. What are you hiding?" She walked closer into my room, but I just smiled innocently. As long as she didn't look under my bed, she wouldn't find anything.

I had to admit, it was frustrating that I was treated like such a child when I was technically an adult. In fact, the only reason she had ever let me go off on my journey was because she knew Ethan was going, too. She actually wanted me to go with Ethan, but my best friend and I decided to go at our own paces instead.

It wasn't that my mom was overprotective, but she was just worried about me. And that didn't bother me so much—it was the fact that I felt like I had let her down. I was, after all, her only child, and I couldn't talk. She put so much into trying to get me better, like this was a disease, not a speech disorder, and it wasn't working.

I didn't mind it, so why did she? Sure, it was an easy question to ask, but it was a thousand times harder to answer. Sometimes she looked at me with this sad expression, like she was disappointed that she had given birth to this defected child. And those were the moments I would change everything—give everything up—for a voice. Like maybe my life would be normal, like maybe my mother would be proud of me.

But she would never be proud. Even when I returned home as Champion, she didn't even act like she cared.

Which was why I needed to find Red—I needed to find someone who actually cared.

"Lyra, what are you planning?" my mom asked, her voice hard. I averted her gaze, trying to think of another excuse on the spot. If my mom kept being this persistent, she would never leave my room, and I would never be able to make my escape. I just needed to give her something that she would believe, but after lying, I wasn't sure she would.

So, I stuck out my pinky and index fingers of both my hands, circling my hands twice. Then, I curled my fingers back into my hands, bumping my knuckles together so the bottoms of my palms were touching. Signing Ethan's name last, I looked at my mom expectantly. This, I figured, was a little more believable.

"Camping?" My mom raised her eyebrows. "This weekend? It's supposed to rain."

I shook my head, sticking my pinky and thumbs out from both of my hands and bouncing them once. I unfolded my hands, sliding my right hand over my left arm in a kind of diving motion, my left arm nearly parallel to the ground against my stomach.

My mother crossed her arms, not looking pleased by this. "You've got to be kidding me. Don't you think you should have told me beforehand that you were going camping tonight? This is a little short notice, and I'm not very happy about it." She didn't look it, either. "When were you planning on telling me, Lyra?"

I shrugged in attempt to come off nonchalant about the whole thing. It was impromptu, I signed, and my mom narrowed her eyes. Don't blame me. Ethan was the one who suggested it. Which, really, all things considered, wasn't entirely a lie. Ethan was the one who suggested I go to Mt. Silver. He just never suggested camping. We're just going to the campsite in Cherrygrove.

"Well… I'm not very happy that you didn't tell me. But if you want to go, and you'll be with Ethan, then I suppose it's all right." My mom sighed, and I smiled at her. "You should start acting a little more mature, though. Take initiative and responsibility. All right, Lyra? And you should go shopping on your way back from Cherrygrove since you took all of our food. Goodness knows why you need that much food for the two of you…"

She left the room, and I relaxed against my chair. Lying was hard work. I didn't have any idea how people who did it regularly could even handle it, but they were all geniuses. Coming up with even a single good lie was harder than it seemed. But it didn't matter—as long as my mom bought it, it was completely worth it.

So, I didn't have to worry about sneaking out anymore. Later that night, I walked right out the front door, giving my mom a quick wave and heading out. I had warned Ethan that I used him as my scapegoat, thanking him and saying a quick goodbye through a text. He hadn't responded, but I knew he wouldn't mind covering for me.

Or so I thought.

"You're not telling your mom where you're really going?"

I jumped, not expecting to see Ethan standing outside my house. He had clearly been waiting for me to leave, but I just pursed my lips, grabbing a PokéBall from my bag. But before I could send out my Pokémon, he grabbed my wrist. I stared at him, trying to pull my arm away, but he had a firm grip on it that I wasn't getting out of.

"You need to tell someone where you're going—someone other than me. I don't want to be the one to tell your mom or Lance or whomever that you went to Mt. Silver because they'll flip a shit at me. So, you either go tell your mom where the heck you're going," Ethan demanded, "or I'm coming with you."

I yanked my arm away as he loosened his grip, quickly responding, I can't, and you can't.

He didn't look very pleased with this. But what was he expecting me to say? He wasn't allowed to come with me, and if I told anyone where I was going… well, they wouldn't understand. Professor Oak was the only one I could tell, and I knew he would tell my mom if I told him. So, no one else was allowed to know.

I turned away from him, sending my Fearow out. I climbed on its back before Ethan could stop me, but he didn't have to physically hold me back to make me hesitate this time. He just had to use the power of speech.

"You're planning on coming back, aren't you, Lyra?" His voice was soft, quiet, and I glanced back at him in surprise. "You're not going to… become like Red, are you? Hide up there on Mt. Silver because you don't have anything left back here? You do, Lyra. You know that. You have me left back here…" He paused, and I averted my gaze as he looked up at me. "Lyra."

I just curled my hand and circled it across my chest.

Taking off before he could say anything else, I hugged my Fearow's neck, knowing that I should have given him more of a response than that. But what could I have said? I didn't exactly know what I was doing. Maybe Red knew something that I didn't. I would just have to wait and see—whatever I was going to do, it was still a mystery to me.

I felt bad, though. Flying towards Mt. Silver, I couldn't stop thinking about Ethan. He had, admittedly, always been there for me, even taking the time to learn sign language for me. How many friends would do that? But I hadn't always been the best friend back. He had done so much for me, and I couldn't even give him an answer.

Mt. Silver came into sight as the sun was starting to rise the next morning, and as Fearow set down in front of the Pokémon Center, I knew that I couldn't start my expedition to find Red just yet. I needed to rest a little bit, to clear my mind from all of these things, and then I'd be good to go. Fearow needed a rest, too.

I woke up when it was dark out again, but since I was going inside a cave, it probably didn't matter if it was dark or light out, anyway. Packing my bag back up, I started over to the door when I heard my name. I paused, walking towards the television and seeing my face on the screen. That hadn't happened since I became Champion…

"Oh, Miss Lyra!" the nurse called, and I strained my ears to try to hear the television. But the clicking of the nurse's heels distracted me, and I turned to look at her as she rushed over towards me. "It seems that you've been deemed 'missing'. It just came on the breaking news—ex-Champion Lyra missing on Mt. Silver. Have you run away?"

I grabbed my pen and pad of paper from my bag, scribbling a quick response. Can't run away if you don't have anything to run from. The nurse furrowed her eyebrows, and I wrote some more: No. I'm just climbing the mountain. I might have forgotten to tell my mom, but I don't want anyone to know that I'm really here. I came to avoid being found.

"Like Red?" the nurse asked, and I smiled. Then it was true! Red was definitely here! "Well, I have a feeling that the Johto authorities are going to be here shortly. I'll do my best, but some of them might try to come looking for you. You better go now if you want to make it to the summit, okay? Good luck!"

I nodded, shoving my pad of paper and my pen back into my bag and then hurrying out of the Pokémon Center. I had already been found out? Ethan hadn't wasted any time telling my mom where I was, and clearly my mom hadn't wasted any time making sure that I was okay. Grabbing my PokéGear, I could see that she had already left six messages.

Deleted.

What are you trying to do? You're the one who suggested I come to Mt. Silver. Are you trying to get me in trouble? I wrote to Ethan, sending the message before I could stop myself. I just hoped that I wouldn't regret sending that message later.

He didn't take long to respond. I was nearing the entrance of the cave as my PokéGear rang, and I flipped it open before going in. As soon as I was inside the mountain, I probably wouldn't have any service, so it was now or never if he wanted to talk. And even though he responded, it didn't really sound like he wanted to.

Still sorry? he wrote.

I frowned, snapping my PokéGear shut without responding. Well… I did have him back at home. But if he couldn't understand, either, what else was there to go back to?

Author's Note: I tried to make it unclear until the end—unless you actually know sign language—what the word was that Lyra said to Ethan after he was asking if she was going to come back. I don't know if any of you missed it or didn't pick up on it, but the word was "sorry". That's why Ethan texted her, "Still sorry?"

Aw, Lyra, Ethan just cares about you! And so does your mother! You should be nicer to people! XD Well, fine, go find Red if it makes you feel better.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.