Chapter 31: Fortune Telling

Daniel

How could she want her parents to have no idea who she was? I frowned, thinking fast. If I was Emma, I'd totally try to convince my parents to treat me differently or at least give them an inkling of how they might treat their kid in the future. My dad forcing me to carry on the family legacy and my mom not paying any attention to me... that would all change if we'd met one of them instead of Ash and Misty.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

Ash walked in. "Oh, hey Daniel. What are you doing?"

"Being an idiot," I answered tiredly, sitting down in a chair.

Ash blinked. "Uh, what do you mean?"

"I just wanted to change things for the better, but I've been told I'm going about it all wrong."

"Change what? Battle strategies?" Ash asked, confused.

"I was thinking about changing life," I said, feeling pretty dark for once. "The future."

"Well, I know what my future has in store," Ash said determinedly. "I'm going to be a Pokémon Master. There's no way anyone's going to change that."

I blinked in surprise. "How do you know that? I mean, it's not like anyone knows what's going to happen."

Ok, fine, I knew what was in store and I was lying, but I wanted to hear his answer.

"Because I trust in my Pokémon to help me get there." Ash smiled. His answer came so easily.

I looked down at my feet. "Wow. Ash, I just wish I had your future. It's so complete. And I have no idea what I want."

He really DID have it all. He had friends, he grew up with the girl he loved, married her, and then had a family that worked together so beautifully that I felt a surge of jealousy run through me. I locked my jaw as if to hold the feeling back.

He shrugged. "You have plenty of time to figure it out. I mean, that's why you're on a Pokémon journey, right?"

"Yeah, you're right." I looked into his black eyes and blurted out, "What do you want to do after you become a Pokémon Master?"

"Oh." Ash looked at my blankly. "Uh, I don't know. I'm just happy with where I am now. I'm not worried about it."

"So if you had the chance to know your future, would you want to?" I asked quietly.

Ash laughed. "I just found out recently Xatu can't even predict the weather, so to me it doesn't matter."

"Right." I nodded, not sure what to think.

"I'm going to go train outside. Want to come?" Ash grinned.

"I'm going to clean up this mess first. I'll meet you out there soon." I sighed, looking at the blankets strewn across the room.

"Ok. See ya!" Ash ran from the room and I heard his footsteps fade away.

As I began remaking the beds, Misty came in, carrying her crooning Togepi. It felt like everyone wanted to visit me today.

"Hey, Misty. What's up?" 

"I was just wondering where everyone was. What happened to your room?" She touched one of the blankets that was on the floor with her foot.

"I got a little carried away with making a fortune telling tent." I smiled. "Just thought I'd see if my Psychic attacks are up to standards."

"Have you ever told a fortune before?" Misty asked.

"No, but I'm very good at predicting certain events," I tried to be honest.

"Like what?" Misty set Togepi down on the desk and sat down on the bed I just made.

"Uh." I sat down next to her, too tired of holding back secrets to watch what I was saying. "Listen, Misty. I just know things. I can't explain how I know them, I just do."

She looked smug. "I don't believe you."

"And you wouldn't if I told you anything either," I said.

"Try me." Misty looked at me expectantly.

"Really?" I laughed. "You want to go there?"

Her blue eyes remained calm and patient. Not to mention daring.

I hesitated. Emma would kill me if she found out. But then again, I was annoyed with her. She could never have any fun and she also couldn't be serious about the things I ever wanted to be serious about. What could pretending hurt? Besides, telling Misty about her actual future seemed like the best way of getting her thinking about it more. She loved her life in the future and I couldn't imagine her feeling differently just by thinking about it more now as something that could happen. She said herself she didn't believe me. "Give me your hand."

Instead of questioning me, she held her hand out, palm up. I traced the lines like I'd seen in fortune telling movies, feeling absolutely ridiculous. "Ok, I don't know anything about palms, but I'm going to tell you what I know. Kind of."

"Look." I pointed to where a line on her palm crossed another at her wrist. "This line is you. The left one, and the other is your soul mate."

She peered at the line with a scrutinizing expression, but didn't say anything.

"They're apart by a couple centimetres, then cross together. That's when the two of you meet. Judging by the length of the lines, you've met already. You know, if I know what I'm talking about. And since your hand is red there, it means you were mad when you met. He must have done something to really upset you." I watched Misty blush. "Then the lines stay close together, so you see him all the time for years. And you see that space where they're apart?"

"Yeah. What does that mean?" Misty asked.

"It means you'll be apart from awhile. Years, maybe. But you see that they join back together and stay that way across your entire palm? That means you'll be together for life," I finished.

"All this from two lines?" Misty raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we can stop if you want." I didn't want to push it.

"Wait, what about the other lines?" she asked quickly, her blush deepening.

I couldn't really believe she was buying this, but I was having too much fun to care. "You see that line that comes after you and your soul mate become close again?"

"What does it mean?" She seemed excited.

"What do you think?" I pressed against the line. "It's a dark red, so that means it's a baby girl."

Misty remained quiet.

Right then, Emma opened the door to find me holding her mom's hand and froze.

My heart stopped. "Emma-"

"I told you not to," she said firmly, then turned around and slammed the door, making the frame rattle.

I breathed inward deeply, my shoulders drooping. I'd screwed up.

"What's she mad about?" Misty asked. "I mean, I thought she wasn't your girlfriend and even if she is, we're just friends."

I sighed.

Misty exclaimed quietly, "She likes you."

"Does she?" I asked just as softly.

If that's what Misty thought Emma's reaction meant, then maybe it was best that I said nothing more on the subject.

"You know, I'm sorry, but we should stop," I said suddenly, dropping Misty's hand and standing up. "I shouldn't have told your fortune."

"What are you talking about?" Misty stood up too. "I mean, it's just pretend. It's not like that'll actually happen."

She sounded unsure herself.

"Listen, Misty. I really like you, as a friend, and I don't want any of this to mess with your head," I said firmly.

"How would this mess with my head?" She began, then stomped her foot. "Ugh! I'm sick of boys. Why don't you just tell me what's going on so I'm not left in the dark?"

"Hey, I'm trying to be nice-"

"If you were trying to be nice, then why did it only confuse me? You're acting really weird. There's something off with all of you, now that I think about it. I mean, how would you know I was mad when I met-" She became too flustered to speak for a second, then roared, "I'm going to find out just what's going on!"

Misty stomped out of the room. I rubbed my neck. Great. Now two people were mad at me.

Emma

After running from their room, I'd gone to grab something that I liked keeping with me at all times- my dad's hat. I usually wore it to remind me that 

I was a Champion's daughter and that my family cared for me, but with my family nonexistent as of yet, it was the one shred of hope I seemed to have left to know there was a future where everything made sense that I still belonged to.

With the hat clutched tightly in my hand, I ran outside of the Pokémon Center and crawled into some bushes. I was pretty well hidden and trying to remain so. I was as invisible as a Vaporeon in water, except I was hiding in a bush with at least a couple of twigs trapped in my hair. I needed to sit here, out of sight and mind, to recollect myself.

I breathed deeply, watching Ash battle from afar. He was training with Anthony and neither of them noticed me, too set on their battle to see there was a strange girl sitting in the dirt behind some foliage.

After a minute of thinking of nothing, I began allowing thoughts to flow through my brain.

As soon as I'd seen Daniel with my mom, I'd freaked out. I'd practically seen red like a Tauros. I'd told him not to do that with my mom. I'd learned my lesson about saying he liked her in any way, but at the same time I had just told him not to go doing future telling stuff. And there he was, toeing the line that could destroy our futures. I snorted in disbelief.

Why did Daniel have to be so infuriating? He didn't listen, he questioned everything I did, and he always had to get into my personal business.

Why did we have to be stuck in such a horrible situation?

I pounded my fist into the ground.

Why, oh why, did life have to be so difficult?

I felt water slide down my cheek. I angrily stuffed my dad's hat onto my head, the visor part pulled down low to hide my tears. It didn't help. They may be hidden to everyone, but I still felt my eyes sting and felt the hurt and confusion in my heart that had started the leak in the first place.

A rustling sound came to my left. I dried my eyes with my fists- the first thing to instinctively come to mind if someone was going to find me in the bushes. I didn't want to look like a big crybaby.

"Emma?" It was my mom. She crawled into the bush and knelt next to me, staring at me wide eyed. "Is that Ash's hat?"

"What?" I asked blankly. I'd been expecting "Why are you crying in the bushes?"

"The hat you're wearing." Misty pointed to my head.

I gasped internally, gulping. "Um, yeah. He let me try it on."

My heart clenched as my lie made its way through her brain. Was it believable? I knew my dad was crazy about his hats and had huge pet peeves about practically anyone but himself wearing them. As far as I knew, the only people he'd let wear them on occasion other than himself were my mom (once they started dating, at least) and myself. Pikachu too, of course, but he wasn't exactly built to wear hats. My mom would know Ash's obsession with his hat. I waited fearfully for her response.

Misty frowned. "Wow, he's never done that before."

"Yeah, well," I said awkwardly, sniffing. I still sounded like I'd been crying.

"Did Daniel and I upset you?" she asked.

"You didn't do anything to upset me," I said quickly, then added, "But Daniel, well, he did."

She gave me a worried look. "Listen, I don't like him. I mean, he's great, but-"

She sighed.

"I get it. Don't worry. I'm not exactly Miss Touchy Feely either, so you don't have to tell me anymore. That's an Amanda subject," I grumbled, yet again remembering she was probably leaving. All because I fight with Daniel and she felt left out.

"So are you still mad at him?" Misty's red hair blew in the soft breeze. "I mean, you're crying in a bush."

"I'm not crying," I said strongly.

Misty shrugged. "Just trying to help."

"Sorry, Mo- Misty," I stammered. Cursing mentally as I watched her give me another appraising glance, I continued, "Well, you could help by telling me what Daniel was telling you."

"Oh. He was just messing around with fortune telling." Misty avoided my eyes as she answered.

"Did he tell you to say that?" I asked seriously. I never knew what to expect from Daniel.

"No," Misty answered firmly. I stared into my mom's blue eyes, confirming that it was the truth.

"Ok."

"Why are you so mad about that, anyway?" Misty frowned.

"I have my reasons." I sighed. I peered out of the bush again to watch my dad's Chikorita battle Anthony's Carracosta.

"What are you looking at?" Misty peered out of the branches. She inhaled sharply, her body tensing.

"What's wrong?" I asked quickly, looking harder at them battling to figure out what had scared her.

"Ash is still wearing his hat." Misty pointed.

I stared at Ash, his hat backwards as he battled and gestured dramatically. I placed my head back against the wall of the Pokémon Center and closed my eyes tiredly. I'd messed up.

"Emma, how do you have that hat?" Misty pushed my shoulder. "That's an official Pokémon League Expo hat. I'm with Ash practically twenty-four, seven and he boasts about everything- I should know."

I frowned. "I won it, ok? I'm one of the hundred people who won the contest."

"Then why haven't you been wearing it?" Misty wouldn't stop looking into my eyes as hard as I tried to avoid staring back.

"I just don't, ok? It's very sentimental and people always ask if I'll sell it-" Misty reached for the visor and I yelled, "Hey, stop!"

Before I could do anything to stop her, she pulled the hat off my head and found the tag inside and read aloud, "Pokémon League Official Hat. Winner, Ash Ketchum."

The hat dropped from her hand as if it had stung her.

"Misty, I can explain," I shouted, but she'd already gotten up and run inside the Pokémon Center.

Shinx!

I stood up, running after her.

Because life couldn't get any more complicated.

Thanks a lot, Daniel. GOSH. Ruining everything, isn't he? He couldn't just stop with the mustache. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Pokemon Question of the Day: How would you blend in while time traveling and being around either adult family (past) or your children (in the future) in the Pokemon world?

As Aang says, flammio, my good hotmen. 

-Flips