***New Acquaintances, New Friends, & Old Rivals***

***Part 3***

Note: Well I’m updating this one since lot’s of people wanted the next part! So thanks to all who read and reviewed this so far! Love ya! (Well no, not really…LoL. O_o)

Characters:

Ash: 17

Misty: 17

Sharon: 17

Brock: 21

Lily 2: Misty’s Pikachu

Lily 1: Sharon’s Pikachu

A/N: We have a song, “Graduation (Friends Forever)” By Vitamin C.

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Sharon stood by the pool. She watched the Pokemon as they played. She sighed. It had been three days now since they had all returned to Cerulean City, and all she had done was clean the house and battle. She had battles two trainers and still hadn’t lost a battle yet, but always came close, to losing. Her Pokemon had been sent to the Pokemon Center immediately afterwards. But right after having her Pokemon healed, she had gone straight back to work.

Everyone was relaxing except for her. Lily, Daisy, and Violet were always going out to who knows where, Misty and Ash helped sometimes but spent most of the time kissing and such. Brock helped most of the time but there was still a lot of work to do. Lily, Daisy, and Violet didn’t seem to care at all that their house was rather messy.

Sharon went into the kitchen where Brock was with her cousins, Kimberly, Junior and Maryanne. Brock was giving them tips on training their Pokemon. Sullenly, Sharon sat down and put her face upon the table covering it with her arms, miserably. She had of course been working all day because she was trying to organize the mess her sisters had.

Brock upon seeing that she wasn’t feeling good, told the three to go outside and train. They did so with laughter and giggles.

“What’s wrong Sharon?” Brock asked once the three children had left.

“I have been working all day….” Sharon muttered. “Didn’t rest at all…”

“I made lunch for us since the others said they want any yet…” Brock suggested gently. “C’mon let’s eat….”

“Thanks Brock… You know what?”

“What?”

“You’re like the older brother I never had…” Sharon answered smiling. “I wonder, why is that…?”

“Maybe cuz I’m good with kids.” Brock replied thoughtfully.

“I’m not a kid!” Sharon exclaimed indignantly.

“C’mon let’s eat. I’ll help you clean a bit.” Brock smiled. “I’m sure you need some help.”

Quickly they served themselves the rice and chicken, Brock had made and as they were finishing, Lily, Daisy and Violet came in. They took one look at the food and made a face.

“Hey Shar, can you like make us suttin to eat cuz that’s full of calories.” Daisy asked.

“Yeah then you could wash our clothes.” Lily added

“Don’t you guys think it’s a little too much?” Brock asked. “She’s worn out. Why don’t you try it yourself?”

“Oh…” Violet looked at Sharon, worriedly.

“Sorry Sharon… We’ll try do some things…” Daisy added.

“Sorry for making you work so hard…” Lily apologized.

“It’s okay.” Sharon replied smiling.

“C’mon on girls. Let’s wash our clothes ourselves.” Violet ordered.

“How hard can it be?” Daisy smiled.

And with that the three left for the laundry room, talking happily. Sharon smiled as she shook her head. Sure her sisters were lazy but she had to give it to them, at least they tried…

“Well… I guess I should cook ‘em up something… My cousins haven’t eaten either… But I guess they’ll like your food… Still Ash and Misty have to eat… I’ll make them that chicken I had saving the freezer…” Sharon said thoughtfully.

“Want me to help?” Brock asked.

“Nah… but you could clean up this kitchen… It looks like pigs live here…”

***

Sharon was already baking the chicken in the oven and Brock was cutting carrots for a salad at the counter, when Ash and Misty came in, all dirty and covered in dirt. Ash was bouncing a dirty soccer ball as both he and Misty walked in laughing and talking.

“Hey Sharon, what are we gonna eat?” Ash asked as they sat at the counter.

“Chicken…” Sharon answered absentmindedly.

She quickly looked at the timer as she opened the opened the oven to look at the chicken. As soon as she was done she looked up at ash and Misty and disgust filled her eyes as she saw the footprints of dirt they left as they walked.

“You guys! I just cleaned the floor!”

“Oops… Sorry...” Misty apologized as she looked down.

All of a sudden Sharon heard screams. All of them froze as they stared in horror at the basement door. Sharon and Brock both knew that Lily, Daisy and Violet were there. They looked at each other, mouths open in horror. There was running heard and then the door opened revealing the three sisters, all of whom were covered in “Ariel” soap.

“The washing machine blew up!” lily, Daisy and Violet wailed miserably.

“Oh…. My… God…” Sharon whispered as she went to look at the soap suds and bubbles coming out of the washing machine

Sharon turned away from the door, holding her pounding head. To make matters worse, Kimberly, Junior, and Maryanne rushed in yelling, “We want food! We want food! We want food!”

Sharon closed her eyes and tried to calm down. That was all she had to do. Sighing she opened her eyes, calming her self She heard the little bell ring, signaling that the chicken was ready. She went over to the oven and with over mitts she opened the oven and began to slowly and carefully take out the chicken.

She stood up and turned around with the pan that held the chicken in hand. Kimberly, Junior and Maryanne were running around and around her yelling, “We want food! We want food! We want food!”

Suddenly one of them collided with Sharon’s elbow causing her to lose the grip she had on the pan and slide the chicken off. She watched in horror as the chicken fell… The chicken seemed to fall in slow motion before Sharon’s eyes. So slow that she might have said that time had stopped in that second in which the chicken fell and that someone was just rewinding the scene. But Sharon had to face the cruel fact that the chicken which she had cooked was never to be enjoyed by her family and friends. The pan feel out of her hands with a clang! as did the chicken with a flop!

Everyone stopped talking at this. No one moved. No one said a word. They just couldn’t. Instead they just stared. Stared at what was once the chicken and was now just a terrible mess. They all stared at Sharon whom had tears in her eyes. Sharon looked up at them miserably and they looked back equally miserable.

“Why?” she asked quietly and she ran, just as a tear came rolling down. “Why?!” She continued in a shout as she ran up to her room. “Why did I come here?! I thought I was getting away from my misery by coming here but now I see I was wrong! Why?!”

They heard the door slam behind her. They winced. None of them had meant to hurt Sharon but apparently they had done so without knowing it. Brock stared at Lily, Daisy, and Violet and they stared back. Ash and Misty stared at each other worriedly. Kimberly, Junior and Maryanne stared at one another guiltily.

“I feel bad…” Maryanne said quietly breaking the shocked and miserable silence.

“So d I…” Kimberly and Junior added.

“Me too…” Misty replied.

“We should all go and apologize… Let’s cook lunch ourselves…” Ash suggested.

“Don’t think that’s gonna happen unless we clean this place up.” Daisy replied shrugging.

“Yeah, we owe Sharon that much.” Violet agreed.

“I think it’s best we left her alone for a while before we go up and apologize…” Brock ordered. “Let’s clean this place up.”

They all nodded miserably. Sharon was upset and she rarely was ever upset like that to actually cry… Actually it had been a good while since they had all seen her cry like that… And they each knew that it was in a way their fault.

******

Sharon slammed the door behind her and sank to the floor miserably, crying softly. All her hard work for nothing… It had always been like that and although it bothered her greatly, she didn’t understand why she had had that kind of a reaction… maybe because she had had enough. Sharon couldn’t take it anymore. She had to find a way to relax…

She got up, went to her bed, put on her headphones and turned on the radio to the radio station she used to listen to all the time with her best friends, in her hometown. Sharon got her laptop and began to read her email. She looked down the list and her breath caught in her chest. And email from Damien… her secret crush for 4 long years… She opened up the email and read:

Hey Sharon! Just thought I’d email u 2 tell u that I’m gonna b staying @ ur house 4 a while b4 I get a place of my own okay? Steph and the whole gang told me to tell u to listen to Pokemon City Radio Station 101 @ 3 kay? Well I better go nerd!

Sharon felt a smile touch her lips. She looked at the Spongebob clock on her bedside table and saw it was a quarter to three. Sighing she proceeded to write back to her long time crush, smiling all the while.

Byes & L8Rs!

Sharon (your one and only girl and nerd! Like always… :]! )

Sharon yawned and pushed the send button. Sighing loudly she turned up the volume of the radio and laid back in her bed.

“Helloo Pokemon City! It’s Wednesday, June 28^th and you’re listening to Pokemon City Radio Station 101! Stan Mcfeel here and it’s Dedication Hour!” the announcer exclaimed. “The first one we have here is for our one and only, special Sharon Anderson, one of the three gym leaders here. Sharon is currently at cerulean City in the Kanto Region with her family and relative! Her best friends Stephanie Winnstoc, Natalie Miller, Pooja Pelenstine, Sarah Nox, and Vanesa Deller are one the line with a special message!”

Sharon smiled as she suddenly heard the overlapping voices of her best friends.

“Hey Sharon!” Sharon heard Stephanie exclaim. “How’re ya?!”
“We miss you!” Vanesa added.

“Yeah come and visit!” Natalie yelled.

“We’re on summer vacation now so come on over!” Pooja giggled.

“Yeah girl! We wanna hear all about those boys!!” Sarah yelled into the receives.

Sharon laughed aloud.

“Well this song’s for ya Shar! It was played after the Graduation Ceremony ‘member?! We miss you!” Stephanie exclaimed once more.

Sharon felt new tears run down her cheeks and fall onto her shirt. She smiled in spite of herself. This was the song played after this graduation when everyone was taking pictures in the cafeteria, crying, and get last minute yearbook signatures… The very last song she and her friends had all heard together before saying their farewells. The whole event had caused her so much sadness and sorrow that she hadn’t even cried… She had gone numb with the pain and although the sobs and hiccups racked her body the whole while as she boarded the plane waving goodbye, she shed no tears. Now… she was… she was crying for those years she hadn’t shed a drop…

Sharon sang along in a whisper as the tears ran down her cheeks. She sighed, hoping against hope that no one would see her crying. Something both she and Misty had vowed again 4 years ago to never do at their mother’s grave…

So if we get the big jobs,
And we make the big money,
When we look back now,
Will our jokes still be funny?
Will we still remember everything we learned in school?
Still be trying to break every single rule?
Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man?
Will Heather find a job that won't interfere with her tan?
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye,
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly,
And this is how it feels…

She shouldn’t be crying like this. Why? Why was she crying like this? She shouldn’t be.. After all, her family couldn’t help it that they were helpless… They needed her and she knew that, hell at least they had the decency to admit it…

Chorus:

Yet the amount of work they had given her was too much. Sharon leaned back into the pillows, sighing, she needed a break. A break from all this work… She needed to go somewhere she could relax… somewhere she could be herself… somewhere she was surrounded by friends who weren’t lazy… She bolted upright with a sudden idea. Somewhere like Pokemon City!

La, la, la, la:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
La, la, la, la:
We will still be friends forever…

It was perfect! She could go back home and laze around like before! She could be herself once more! Sharon stood up, her headphone’s cable trailing behind her. She had to pack! Her clothes, her accessories, her CDs, her radio/CD player, her-what was she waiting for?

Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?
Can we survive it out there?
Can we make it somehow?
I guess I thought that this would never end,
And suddenly it's like we're women and men.
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?
Will these memories fade when I leave this town?
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye,
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly.

Sharon was grabbing her red and black suitcase and began to stuff it with her things. Smiling, she took her CDs and her brushes; she took two outfits, deciding that she would buy more when she got home. Suddenly she stopped, a though hitting her.

What about her cousins? They also hadn’t seen Pokemon City of their parents for over 3 years now since Sharon had invited them to train at Cerulean City… What about Lily, Daisy and Violet? They had also been to Pokemon City and loved it… And what of Ash, Misty and Brock? They all had a right to know about her childhood. After all they were friends and Misty was her sister…

What if…? What if she invited them to come with her…? Sharon sat on the edge of her bed, pondering the idea. What if she did bring them to her hometown? Then Misty could meet their other brothers and sisters, in person. Although she had talked to them over the phone, he had never actually met them… Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all…

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Note: Well what did ya think? Tell me! Oh and sorry if I haven’t replied 2 ur reviews but I’ve been so wound up in this game called The Pokemon Crater and I am in this Pre-college program so you can imagine how my life is rite now…-_-’ … so yeah… Well…

Byes & L8rs! :D

Reviews plz!

\~*DayDreamer*~/

They make me feel special! ;]