Part Four

      At the sound of my alarm clock ringing through my ears, I blinked sleepily and then slowly sat up in bed, stretching. I slapped the top of my alarm clock. Sighing, I collapsed back onto the bed and closed my eyes. Today was Christmas.

      Why had I woken up at 1:00am on Christmas again? Oh yes. To buy Ash a Christmas present. Stupid me.

      My eyes flashed open. I couldn't fall asleep. No, not now. Instead I urged my body to get up, forcing my arms to swing around and grab my clothes. I changed into them as quietly as I could, hardly daring to breathe. Then I ran my fingers through my tangled hair and pushed it back into a side-ponytail, not bothering to watch myself in the mirror.

      I paused a moment in front of the door, my hand already reaching out to grab the doorknob. Would the door squeak when I opened it? Taking a deep breath, I took a hold of the doorknob with one trembling hand and twisted it, slowly pulling the door open. I winced as a long echoing squeak raced through the air and paused yet again. But no other movement could be heard throughout the house. I let the breath I had been holding the whole time out. For the first time in awhile I felt relief.

      During the whole time I left all the lights off, letting the moonlight sparkling down on the milky-white carpet guide my way. Yet at the same time I could see small specks of shadows wafting down from the skies. I ignored these shadows and continued my way downstairs on tip-toe. The eerie silence seemed to be choking me. The only thing I could hear was the soft wind from outside brushing against the side of the house. The trip downstairs seemed to go on for miles, but before I knew it I was just standing there on the carpet, gazing out the windows. I gasped.

      It was snowing.

      Sure, it had snowed here plenty of times before. But not like this. There was a little patch of crystal clear sky right in front of the moon, bathing the snow already on the ground in a sparkling white color. It almost seemed to glow. It was just a slightly heavy snowfall. Looks like we were going to have a white Christmas after all. How magical everything seemed at the moment.

      I couldn't let the snowfall distract me though, for only one word trickled through my mind. Ash. And it was that one single word that made my legs carry me over to the closet. It was just that one word that made my arms reach out for my coat, gloves, scarf, hat, and boots. And then there I was, standing in front of the doorway. Only then did I realize people did some of the craziest things for those whom they loved. I guess I was on that list now too.

      Taking a deep breath, I slowly reached my hand out to grab a hold of the doorknob of the front door. It was cold to the touch.

      Here goes nothing.

      I quickly pulled open the door, revealing a huge gust of wind being pushed into my face. I winced. I hadn't expected it to be this cold. Did I really want to do this? Ash. Yes, yes I did. And that was why I closed the door behind me and took my first steps forward, into the snow. It almost shocked me how deep it was already. It was just a few inches away from my trembling knees.

      If I thought the snowfall was magical from inside the house, it was nothing compared to actually standing there in it, looking up at the sky. My breath seemed to have been taken away as I listened to the silence. It was so quiet. Even the wind seemed to have suddenly died down.

      "Get moving, Misty. The weather is only going to get worse the longer you wait." I hissed at myself. I forced my legs to keep carrying me through the snow, closer and closer to the stores near-by. There was one store I knew of that I was sure would be open at this hour, even if it was Christmas. Crazy, I know. But I guess I seemed pretty crazy myself, trudging through the snow at one in the morning on Christmas. If it wasn't for Ash I would've turned back by now. Oh how I longed for him to comfort me, to put his arm around my shoulders, to whisper softly into my ear that everything would be alright soon. But he wasn't there, and he would never end up doing that unless I found a Christmas present for him. It was because of these thoughts that I hardly noticed the mixture of wind and snow sting my cheeks.

***************************************************

      Ash wearily sat up in bed, blinking sleepily. He rubbed his restless legs, looking around the pitch-black room.

      "Pikachu, are you awake?" He whispered into the darkness.

      "Pika!" Came a weak reply from the corner of Ash's bed. Ash couldn't help smiling.

      "You'd think I'd be able to sleep through the whole night now, with me being seventeen and all." He told the electric mouse. "But I guess I just can't help thinking about... things." He was going to say Misty, but decided not to. Why did she have to get so mad at him? 'I guess it's my fault, really. I broke a promise I made to her six years ago.' Ash sighed and stood up on the cold ground. He slowly trudged over to the window and brushed back the curtains. At the sight from outside, his breath was taken away. "See that, Pikachu? It's snowing outside." Ash said softly. Small quick thumps on the ground told him that his Pikachu had run across the ground to stare outside the window with him.

      Ash then trudged back over to his bed, picking up the remote control to his TV on the way there. "I might as well check the weather since I won't be falling asleep any time soon." Ash muttered. Collapsing back onto his bed, he quickly surfed through the channels until he came to a weather station.

      "Looks like we'll be having an unfriendly Christmas morning, folks." A male voice came from the flashing screen. "With a major cold front rushing in, temperatures will go a fair amount below zero. Big wind chills will make it even colder. The main part of the snowstorm will soon be coming in, maybe causing some white-out conditions. We suggest you stay in a sheltered area until the storm dies down at about 2:30am."

      "Wow, a blizzard." Ash murmured. Now there was even less of a chance that he would fall asleep. He laid his head back down on his pillow and closed his eyes, only to once again meet the image in his mind of Misty's angry glare. Ash's eyes flashed open once again. "Pikachu, do you think Misty's lying in bed awake, just like I am right now? Do you think she's thinking about me right now, just like how I'm thinking about her?" Ash asked in just barely a whisper.

      His Pikachu gave no reply, but instead just sat there, blinking up at him. Ash couldn't blame the poor thing. If Misty was thinking about him right now, she was probably thinking about the broken promise. What a way to spend Christmas. Not only did Ash not want his Christmas to be like this, he also didn't want Misty's Christmas to be like this.

      Ash sighed. "Pikachu, I have to apologize to her. To Misty, I mean." He said firmly. "And the sooner I apologize to her, the better. I'm going to check if she's awake or not." And with this Ash stood up and quietly walked out of his room, his Pikachu carefully following. Time seemed to stand still as he stood there, staring at the door to the guest room, hardly daring to breathe. With one trembling hand he took a hold of the doorknob. 'Calm down, Ash. There's a good chance that Misty's asleep, and you don't want to wake her up if she is.' Yes, this was true. Misty was probably asleep. Then why was he doing this? An image of Misty peacefully sleeping with the covers tightly wrapped around her waist and her silky orange hair lying limp at her shoulders appeared in Ash's mind. There was no time to give himself the answer to his own question, for he felt himself slowly turn the doorknob and pull the door open. Ash carefully took a single step into the room, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness.

      Misty's bed was empty.

      Ash felt his stomach drop. "Misty went downstairs, Pikachu." Ash said quietly. He hoped he hadn't said that too fast. He hoped that his voice didn't sound scared and frightened. Yes, of course. That's all it was. Misty had woken up and decided to go downstairs, perhaps to look at the Christmas tree. 'Believe your own words, Ash. Please believe them.' He told himself. But he couldn't hide that dreaded feeling in his heart.

      Ash stepped out of the guest room, not bothering to shut the door behind him. He raced down the stairs, shattering the silence that had been choking him the whole time. He didn't even stop to gaze out the window at the heavy snowfall getting rougher as the seconds quickly ticked by. He only stopped when he reached the living room, the lights on the Christmas tree glowing throughout the room. Misty obviously wasn't downstairs, either. Ash felt his stomach drop even more. Where was she?!

      That's when he turned his head to look out the window. He didn't notice the snow, but instead the footprints etched throughout the snow. Ash's breath was taken away.

      "The main part of the snowstorm will soon be coming in, maybe causing some white-out conditions."

      "Pikachu, you stay here." Ash softly told his pokemon, searching the closet for his winter supplies, ignoring the fact that he was still in his pajamas.

      "Pika?" Came Pikachu's frantic reply. Ash paused for a moment to stare at the electric mouse, and then turned his head to once again gaze out the window.

      "I'm going to get Misty."

***************************************************

      Time seemed to go by so slowly. Yet there it was. The store. And its lights were on too. I could've shouted out in joy. By now I wanted to reach the store not only to find a gift for Ash, but also to escape from the deadly cold. But of course I didn't. Instead I ran as fast as I could through the snow, towards the store's front doors.

      My heart seemed to leap up to my throat as I halted to a stop.

      "Closed for electrical repairs. Have a happy holiday!"

      I just stood there for a moment, staring at the blood-red sign in disbelief. The lights inside the store were on, weren't they? If the store was closed, they should've been off. And if they were having electric problems, the lights shouldn't be on anyways. What was going on?!

      I rested my forehead against the window of the door and closed my eyes as a sudden gust of cold wind raced through my tangled hair, sending large snowflakes sweeping down from the sky. The snowfall had turned into a snowstorm during the time it took for me to walk here. It was freezing cold. The store was closed. I still didn't have a Christmas present for Ash. And today was Christmas.

      I choked out a small sob as I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I wanted to cry my eyes out right then and there. Yet that single tear was the only thing that escaped out as I slowly trudged over to the bench by the store and brushed off the snow that had been lying on it. I sat down on it and hugged my knees to my chest. That's when the rest of the tears came out.

      "I'm just going to sit here forever in the snow." I sobbed. "I'm just going to sit here until I freeze to death. Then Ash will be happy." I sniffed and stared out at the snowflakes racing towards the ground. The moon had disappeared. "Then this will be a Christmas everyone will remember. It will be known as the Christmas stupid idiotic Misty died on, alone, with a broken heart as her only companion." I buried my head between my knees this time.

      "Misty!"

      The familiar male voice seemed to echo through my ears as my head shot up to stare out at the figure emerging in the distance. I opened my mouth to cry back in reply, but nothing came out. I only watched as the figure came even closer. Ash?! I stood up, gawking. Had he actually come all the way from his house in the blizzard just to find me?

      "Ash..." I whispered softly. Ash continued running through the heavy snow, only coming to a stop once he reached me. He bent over, staring at the ground while breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath.

      "Because of all the new snow I was starting to not be able to see your footprints and-

      "Ash." I repeated yet again, interrupting him. I didn't know what I was feeling, only that I got the incredible urge to do something, anything. And so I did. I ran up to him, ignoring the snow prickling my face, and flung my arms around him with all the force I could carry. I felt my stomach leap to my throat as we both lost our balance and tumbled backwards into the snow. I hastily let go of him and stood back up, not bothering to brush the snow off my hair.

      "Ash!" I repeated for the third time, except this time I was louder. I wanted to say his name over and over again until I died. "Why did you go outside in this blizzard to get me?! It's my own stupid fault I'm out here. It's my own stupid fault I haven't bought you a Christmas present yet!"

      "You came out here because you hadn't bought me a single Christmas present?" Ash asked softly, standing up to look into my eyes. Why did he have to do this to me? I didn't want to see that hurt look in his eyes ever again. That was why I didn't bother to search for a hidden emotion in that look he was giving me.

      I started sobbing yet again. Why, of all times, did I have to cry right now? "Yes, I didn't, okay?! I'm sorry! I just... I just couldn't find the right gift for you no matter how hard I looked. And now look at me!" I said. "Look at me!" I repeated, shouting my lungs out. "I've been such a jerk towards you, and today's Christmas!"

      There was silence.

      Then Ash finally spoke. "Misty, I don't care if you don't buy me any gifts for Christmas. You are all I'll ever want for Christmas. You yourself is a gift I couldn't live without." He whispered softly.

      "But Ash..." I replied. I wasn't sure what else to say. Why was he being so kind towards me?

      "I had to repair a broken promise, didn't I?" Ash said, smiling.

      Of course.

      I didn't know whether to laugh or sob even harder. Instead I just stepped backwards and sat on the bench, continuing to gawk at Ash. He sat down next to me. For some reason I couldn't feel the deadly cold anymore. The only thing I felt was the shy warmth that was spreading throughout my body.

      "Ash, I'm sorry." I said softly.

      "But Misty, I already told you-

      "No, I'm not talking about that." I told Ash, sighing. "I'm sorry for breaking the promise. I broke it too, you know. You have no idea of the secrets I've been hiding from you all of these years."

      "Oh." Ash said simply, staring at the ground. We just sat there for a moment in nervous silence. I took a deep shuddering breath.

      "Ash, when a promise made together is broken, you can't have only one person attempt to repair it. You need both of them to repair it." I told him. My face grew into a soft yet nervous smile. I couldn't help it. The words that I had been dying to tell Ash for years now were about to come to life. I could already feel them forming at the tip of my tongue. I couldn't hear the sound of the wind racing through my tangled hair anymore, but instead the one single sentence etched in my mind.

      "I love you, Ash."

      The silence seemed to last forever as Ash gazed into my eyes. But I couldn't feel it choking me this time. Instead I felt a mixture of relief and pride surge through my veins. A third emotion was lurking inside my heart too, but I couldn't make it out.

      I felt a wave of warmness race down my spine as Ash put is arm around me. "I love you too, Misty." He whispered into my ear.

      I rested my head against Ash's shoulder and closed my eyes. "Merry Christmas." I whispered back.

      I thought back to Ash's words about how he didn't care if I bought him any Christmas gifts, and that he only cared about being with me. Just sitting here with him, alone, I could say the same thing. Every Christmas I had enjoyed opening my presents from Ash and watching him eagerly open his presents from me. But not a single Christmas had ever felt like this before. There were both the things that I could feel, and the things that I couldn't feel. I couldn't feel the cold sharp prickles on my face from the blizzard anymore. But I could feel Ash's arm around me.

      "Misty?"

      "Yea?"

      "We're sitting under a poisonous plant."

      I blinked my eyes open, a sudden sleepy feeling drowning my thoughts, and looked up. Where there was a long wooden pole above us, mistletoe hung covered in a thin sheet of snow.

      "I never knew mistletoe was poisonous." I said, yawning.

      Ash grinned. "Yea, it is." He replied. "But only if you eat it."

      I had a sudden urge to close my eyes and fall asleep right then, but I managed to stay awake. "I wonder why they have people kiss under a poisonous plant." I said softly, gazing at the snow now fluttering from the sky. It seemed to have gotten lighter.

      "Misty?"

      "Yea?"

      "We're sitting underneath it. The mistletoe, I mean."

      There was silence as I felt my face seem to burn and prickle. I felt myself get dizzy as the whole world seemed to spin. Was it because I was so tired? Or perhaps it was because of something else, something I always had the urge to do whenever I saw Ash's soft face smiling down at me. He took his other hand that wasn't around me and held my chin up slightly so that I stared directly into his eyes. I felt Ash's face get closer to mine as he slowly closed his eyes. I couldn't bare to watch, yet excitement swelled up in my chest. I closed my eyes too.

      Then I felt it. Coldness and warmth mixed into one soft light touch on my lips. It felt like a dream that you'd never want to wake up from. But that was the thing - it wasn't a dream. It was as real as anything. Ash's words. His arm around me. The kiss. Everything. I opened my eyes as we separated. A wide grin was etched on Ash's face and on mine too.

      "Merry Christmas to you too, Misty."

      I wanted to laugh and sob all at the same time. But I didn't. Instead I once again rested my head against Ash's shoulder and closed my eyes.

      "What time is this blizzard supposed to end?" I asked softly.

      "About 2:30am." Ash answered.

      I didn't even bother to look at my watch to see what time it was. Maybe because I was too tired. No, of course not. It was because I didn't care if the blizzard lasted forever, for I wanted this moment with Ash to last forever. Just us two, sitting here on the bench outside, underneath the mistletoe. What had started as a light magical snowfall and then turned into a heavy deadly blizzard was now the magical snowfall again.

      The last thing I felt myself whisper was Ash's name, and then I fell asleep.

      But not for long.

      "Misty." Ash whispered softly into my ear a moment later. "Misty, wake up."

      I blinked my eyes open sleepily and stretched. "What is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. Good. Everything hadn't been a dream.

      "It's past two thirty in the morning. Three, to be exact. The blizzard is over." Ash answered.

      I smiled. "Let's go home." I whispered.

      Ash nodded. "Yes." He agreed. "Our home." And with that we both stood up and started trudging our way through the snow towards Ash's house, holding hands.

      What had seemed like an hour trip towards the stores at one in the morning seemed very short now, with us two heading towards home. We didn't say anything the whole time. Instead we just smiled. I wondered was Ash was thinking about. I opened my mouth to finally say something, but closed again at the sight of the front door standing right in front of us. Ash fiddled with some keys in his coat pocket and then unlocked the door, stepping inside the house full of warmth. We were greeted by the sight of Dellila, Brock, and Ash's Pikachu.

      "Ash! Misty!" Dellila cried out as she gripped us both in a tight hug. "Brock told me you'd both be okay as long as you stayed together, but I... I was so worried about you!" She said in one long breath. She stepped back. Her eyes wandered down to our hands which were clasped around each other. Eventually Brock and Pikachu saw us holding hands too. Everything was silent as a mix of wonder and relief filled everyone's faces.

      Finally, Ash spoke. He only said three words, but nobody cared. Today was the best day of my life.

      "Merry Christmas everyone."

Note From Author: Yep, I finally finished my first AAMRN novel. ("Do You Love Me?" is just a song/poem.) I hoped you enjoyed it as much as I did. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to finish it in time for Christmas, especially with all the homework we've been getting in school, but I managed. I wasn't able to update this part last week because I didn't finish it and was going through so much stress. It was just one of those days where you want to shout "Take control of your life for once!" at yourself. I even fell asleep on the bench right before swim team with all of my winter stuff on - coat, scarf, gloves, etc. Meh... I feel better now, though. So to everyone who's reading this, happy holidays!

~Kitten >^.^<