Story has been rechecked and fixed. More punctuation added and a better read overall - hopefully. I'll be doing the same to the other chapters later on, those require more work. I hope my readers will look as this story as less of a fanfiction and more of daily stories that can happen in their lives as well.

-PRJackWalker

A Previous January- Chapter 1

I never would've thought that it'd be so easy to fool me again. I knew it was the right choice when I'd made it. We had our own places to go and I bravely tipped my hat at our decisions. Sure, it's difficult to find someone who you enjoy being around but I'm not her owner. Her lover. Her boyfriend. She could do whatever she pleased. I smiled and grinned at the changes all around me. As always, sighing secretly, shedding a tear in the back of my mind as once again my friends and I parted ways.

She was special to me, as all my friends are. I knew that at some point we'd all have to say goodbye to each other. Strangely, I had grown attached to her, to tell you the truth. We've always poked fun at each other every now and then. I'd just like to remind you that, yeah: I'm a boy. I don't see what difference that really has to do with anything. She liked to point that out all the time. Girls have their own secrets I'll probably never understand. I'm just trying to be nice. You'd think she would cut me some slack, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

She can be incredibly courageous but still pretty irritating. She'd go wild over any romantic gesture she'd see but at the first hint that she herself was in a relationship, she'd make you regret the moment the thought crossed into your mind. Behind closed doors, I thought that was pretty adorable. I've thought about it for awhile now, how she seemed so enthusiastic at attempting to have her own romantic moment. I really hope she does, despite her reservations, she deserves it. Don't we all?

Us together? No, we haven't had anything like that happen to us. Well, the closest we've had to having one of those moments, was a long time ago in Hoenn. It was us five: Brock, Max, May, Pikachu, and I. You know why I still hold it so close to me? It's the only thing I have left of her. To cherish. To love and to cry upon. I haven't let it out yet. Told anyone about it yet, I mean. I'm thinking about it. I'll see how it all feels later on.

May visits from time to time and I have the ribbon that we both won, but this just holds more than you'd ever know. You'd've had to have been there to really know what I mean.

The ice was beginning to melt away from the branches of the trees as spring was beginning to approach. The winter clouds still loomed over head, obstructing the bright sun from raining down upon Hoenn. A chilling gust blew against me, as I walked down the streets of the city. My friends and I had just arrived.

I hugged my sweater tighter around me as I carried Pikachu in my arms, shielding him from the wind. I didn't want either of us to get sick. I didn't want any of us getting sick.

"Pika-Pika,"

"I know buddy," I said. "I'm cold too. Don't worry we're almost there."

I looked over, Brock was walking beside me. He wrapped his brand new brown scarf a few times around his neck, shivering. I remembered Brock had just bought that scarf at the last town we were visiting. He came prepared. I toyed with the idea of buying one as well, but we had left in such a rush to avoid the weather that I had missed my chance. It was too late to feel guilty now.

Our other friends, May and Max, walked behind us. Every time the wind blew I turned back to look at them. May had her arms wrapped around her brother. Max though seemed calmer than the rest of us as he stared captivatingly at his PokeNav. He certainly knew how draw his attention away from the cold.

My eyes drifted towards May catching a glimpse of her. She had her eyes closed, not tightly shut but just gently closed. Her nose and cheeks were red, matching with the rest of her attire, standing out from her adorable pale face. Unexpectedly- I guess sensing my gawking- she opened her eyes. For an instant we gazed at each other, an inexplicably silence. I uncomfortably turned my head around as quickly as I could. My face burned despite the sheerness of the climate. The breeze swayed a soft giggle through to my ear unannounced. I recognized it immediately.

"Even though it's not snowing anymore," Brock said to me. "You wouldn't even be able to tell the difference with this wind."

I sniffled, taking a look around at my wearisome friends. I've sort of had a cold for awhile now. It didn't seem to want to give up. My Mom always used to say to me when I was younger, that rest and juice was always the best antidote. Those were the days. Unfortunately I had no time to rest, I was really behind in my Pokémon training and I wanted desperately to catch up.

"How much further is the Pokémon Center Max?" I turned and asked him.

"Not much further now," Max pushed his glasses back as he escaped his sister's clutch, running up between Brock and I. "The PokeNav says its right around the corner."

"Max come back, you don't have your jacket on," His sister rushed up to his side, embracing him.

"May get off me." Max protested. "I'm fine. It isn't even that cold."

"Excuse me; I'm just trying to make sure you don't get sick."

"Man," I shook my head and ran up ahead, hoping to cut short another sibling argument. I stopped just before reaching the corner of the street. "Finally," I sighed with relief. "There's the Pokémon Center guys!" Maybe I could get in some training before it snows again, I thought to myself. It's been snowing around this part of Hoenn for the last few days. On again and off again. The snowstorm of the century was due at any time.

"Thank goodness we're here." I looked back. May held Max by the arm and pulled him, despite his objections. Brock walked behind them, hanging on to his scarf with his hand to keep it from blowing away.

May had pulled her bandanna off of her head, probably to tighten it up; but she seemed more attentive towards the Pokémon Center. "The wind is blowing really strong to-Ahh!"

A gust of wind hit us all; Pikachu pressed his head deeper into my chest, trying to shield himself. May threw her arms around Max and held him close; unfortunately she didn't hold on to her bandanna as close as she did her brother. Another gust blew toward us and knocked it out of her hand

"Oh no, my bandanna!" she yelled out. It broke my heart the way she said it. That bandanna must have been really special to her. Without thinking, I just knew I had to get it back. I ran after it, reaching out with my unoccupied arm to try and get a hold on it. I missed and then it got away from me. I watched it float away, disappointingly.

"Darn, I almost had it." I was surprised by how frustrated it made me feel. It was an easy grab, how could I miss?

"Pika-pi," Pikachu, who had been watching from the inside of my sweater where he was shoved, raised his head from my chest and crawled up to my shoulder, gently licking my cheek.

"It's alright Pikachu; I must've been squeezing you pretty hard wasn't I?"

"Pikachu," he nodded.

"Sorry."

May ran up to my side, dropping to her knees in displeasure. She sighed heavily and fell to her hands as well. "My bandanna..." she whispered.

"May, I'm sorry." I knelt beside her. "I tried to grab it, but I couldn't ...I'm sorry." I repeated.

She brushed her hand gently against mine and smiled at me. "It's ok Ash, thanks for trying. But we have to find it; I've had that bandanna ever since I was a little girl."

"I doubt you've ever taken that thing off since then, May." Her brother teased as he walked up.

"Max, I swear, I'm-" I put her hand on her shoulder, catching her by surprise. She blushed, tense, looking over at me." Ash..."

"Come on May, What are you waiting for? We have to go out and find it, don't we?" My encouragement seemed to work. She nodded in reply and stood up.

"Right, no time for hitting you on the head Max, we have to go and find it."

"Wait you guys," Brock came and helped me to my feet; he wrapped his scarf around his neck again after it was blown messily around his shoulders by the wind. "While you guys go out and search, I'm going to go ahead and check in at the Pokémon Center."

I nodded, "Good idea Brock. We'll meet up with you once we find it alright?"

"Yeah, take care of yourselves and don't get lost ok?"

"We won't," we all replied at the same time.

"Don't worry Brock; I'll make sure they won't get lost." Max called back slyly, "I have the PokeNav to help us get back."

"Great Max, I'll be here waiting for you guys, take care." Smiling, Brock hurried inside the Pokémon Center. I suddenly felt deceived. He was inside that warm building, while we're out here in the cold. Maybe the heavens will decide to treat us with a good day. Not only will we have better luck finding May's bandanna but I can get actually get some training in before it got dark. It'd lift everyone's spirits instead of spinning them around in this flustered weather.

It was nearly impossible finding her bandanna in that big city, especially with all the wind blowing around. The weird part was that I didn't mind putting my training on hold for the moment. Of course, I wasn't too pleased about it at first, but just looking at her, I could tell that bandanna meant a lot to her. Looking into her eyes, gleaming as her tears rolled down her cheeks, falling onto her thin wrist. I watched as she gently rubbed it into her skin. I forgot about my own turmoil and reached out grabbed her hand.

"Cheer up May, we'll find it." I smiled, hoping to somehow lighten her spirits. I succeeded. She gently squeezed my hand back and smiled at me. You never would've known she squeezed back. It was really light, but somehow I knew she did. She melted me, right there on the streets.

"Yeah May, don't worry," Max spoke up, coming in between us and pushing our entwined hands aside. "We'll find it sis, besides your head still looks perfectly normal without it."

"Gee, thanks Max." She chuckled, "that really cheers me up."

"Maybe it flew into the park over there," I suggested.

The park was bigger than it looked from what Brock had told me earlier. His travel guide called it "a place where Pokémon and people could interact with each other". Half of the park was an undisturbed region of habitat where Pokémon from all over the world lived. The ones that could migrate usually left around this time of year to warmer climates.

The other half of the park was where people walked and appreciated the wonders of the Pokémon world. There was a history museum, a carousel, and a small park for the younger kids. It was a great place to be, especially in the winter time. The trees there were still frozen with ice hanging from their branches. When the sun peaked behind the clouds a drop of melted water would sparkle and glisten until it hit the ground.

We appreciated the sights but we continued our search, searching behind every tree and underneath every bench, even in the sky to see if it was still hovering above us.

"You see May's bandanna anywhere Pikachu?" I asked him.

"Pika - Pika," he shook his head.

I sighed, it seemed hopeless after a while. One little bandanna lost in the bright lights of the big city, the odds were against us. We still had time. I wasn't going to give up that easy. "We still haven't found it May, but we're not-"

I was talking to myself. She wasn't behind me. "May?"

"What's wrong Ash?" Max was just ahead of me, his sister wasn't with him.

"Where's May?"

"Wasn't she behind you?" he asked.

"Not anymore Max, where did she go?"

"We have to find her. May! May where are you?"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu stood on my shoulder calling out to her. "Pikachuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

Max and I retraced our steps through the park. Not only had May's bandanna gone missing but she had as well. I really began to worry. How could I lose herof all people? I was so intent on finding her bandana, that I had lost track of May. I was such an idiot I-

"Ash, there she is!"

He was right. There she was, near the carousel. We ran up to her, out of breath and out of patience. "May, where did you go, we looked all over for you and-"

She wasn't listening to me. Her eyes were hypnotized by the carousel. "May, can you-" I asked again with no luck. There was a thin smile on her face as she watched the carousel with childish curiosity.

"I haven't seen a carousel in so long." she whispered. "Oh Ash, can we go on it?" She turned to me, her eyes lighting up as if she'd just seen a toy she really wanted.

I was dumbstruck. "But… May what about your bandanna?"

"Oh, we can take a little break can't we Ash. Please?"

I sighed and I agreed. It meant I would only get further behind in my training but I suppose it was a small sacrifice we could make. "Ok May, we can go on it."

"Yippee! Let's go." She ran up ahead to the ticket booth and quickly ordered our tickets. Max and I we're left standing there in disbelief.

"I can't believe May would get so riled up over the carousel," Max shook his head, and smirked, adjusting his glasses. "That ride's for babies."

"Aw come on Max. You remember how they you used to get us so excited when we were younger. I guess it must mean a lot to May to get to ride it again. You know I haven't ridden one of those things in a long time myself..."

"Fine," sighed Max, "I'll get on with you guys."

"You guys come on!" May yelled at us, she had already gotten on. "I got the tickets already. The ride's about to start! Hurry up!"

"We're coming!" We both called to her. May handed over our tickets to the ride conductor and we climbed aboard. She went well ahead of us, circling the ride over and over again, gazing at the variation of Pokémon that she could choose to ride from.

"Come on Ash, help me pick a Pokémon to ride!"

"I got this one," Max pointed to a Treeko in his running stance. I helped him climb on and he grabbed hold of the pole in the middle on his ride. "All right let's go. I'm all ready."

Looking closely, the carousel wasn't the gorgeous attraction it once was to tell you the truth. It looked older than we were. The paint was peeling off of some of the Pokémon where numerous kids had sat and ridden on before. Gum stuck to the bottom of the floor, darkened by everyone who had stepped on it. I sighed heavily. I wasn't too thrilled about getting on such a depressing ride. I still had my doubts.

"Come on, you slowpoke." May ran back and quickly grabbed my arm.

I couldn't help but smile as she said that. I guess I didn't really mind as long as she was happy.

May continued pulling my arm around the carousel, looking at all the Pokémon. I guess she was looking for one that she really liked. Finally she settled an old fierce looking Ponyta, its fiery woodened hair flowing as if at any moment it would jump and run off. I knew the ride was about to start, so I took the seat next to her on this worn Pikachu. My Pikachu, on the other hand, excitingly cheered as I had chosen him to ride.

"Pika! Pika-pi!"

"That's right, I choose you, buddy." I pulled him off my shoulder and hugged him, our cheeks pressing against one another's.

The ride took off just as I had sat down. The chilling breeze blew against our faces. I wasn't feeling so excellent. I felt my cold coming on. The sniffling that I had for the past few days came back to me. My throat dried as the wind suddenly began to calm.

May, on the other hand, couldn't keep a smile off her face. Her head spun as she kept gazing around as we rode. Gently moving, watching as the world spun around us. "I remember when I was younger," she said, "I used to love riding these things."

"So did I," I admitted. "But to tell you the truth, I never really liked sitting on the Ponyta's." I said craftily.

"I did, I loved to." She ignored my sarcasm and continued her transient flashback. "Only if it was the one that I liked though would I ride on it. But sometimes I just sat on the benches." She laughed, as she always did.

Her laugh was special to me. It wasn't as annoying as some other laughs that you'd hear from other girls. Some girls had a nice smile and a rotten laugh. The little things I guess made much more of an impression than anything else. It was a soothing type of laugh, the kind that really warmed you up. I enjoyed hearing her be happy; it made me almost fall in love with her. It really did.

I nodded in response to what she had said. "Yeah, I did too. I always just wanted to sit by myself on those benches. But whenever I tried there would be a couple sitting there in each other's arms. I guess it must have gotten into my mind somehow that you could only sit there if you were with someone else." I shrugged.

The carousels usually had a decorative bench for the romantic couples who would rather sit next to each other than on the Pokémon. I felt bad, almost as if denying a part of myself whenever I looked at an empty bench on a carousel. Whenever I looked at the benches, I could never imagine myself sitting there with someone else. I imagined if I sat there by myself I would look like a desperate boy just waiting. Waiting for something, not for any specific thing but just sitting there, waiting.

May's face twisted as we continued to talk. "Me too, I thought it wasn't fair. I had one of my cousins go on with me and we sat together, it was nice. I stared at the world as it spun past; I watched what others were doing."

I hadn't realized just how much we had in common with each other. It wasn't any specific thing or interest but a mutual feeling. Had I never suggested we come here, I might have missed this all. I knew I would eventually miss this moment again someday but as we sat on our Pokémon, I just couldn't help but smile at her.

"Yeah, come to think of it, I never did sit on a bench." I told her. "I was an only child and no one ever came to visit. We lived far away from everyone." I laughed. It came out irregular and I regretted having laughed in the first place but I continued. "And by the time I did have someone, I out grew it and the thought hadn't crossed my mind until now."

She sat and thought about that for a while. She was really quiet. I wished she would say something because my sniffling had gotten really loud. I couldn't have looked too cool at that moment.

May then suddenly smiled and jumped up. She grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. "Well, come on! Let's go sit on the benches!"

She ran off into one of the nearby ornate benches and sat down, dangling her legs off the carousel a bit, humming as she did so. I sat there astounded at her spontaneous answer. "Um sure...Wait for me." Managing to catch my senses, I ran off to the bench and sat down next to her. Pikachu nestled into my arm; his eyes peeked out, watching the bewildered sights only made possible by the ride.

"Is it different than on the Pokémon?" She asked me.

"Yeah, it's very d-different -" I said. I can't remember why I was stuttering. Whether it was the fascination of sitting on the benches or the enchantment of sitting next to her, I didn't care. "Kind of, w-well, I don't know."

"Hard to describe?" She asked. A thin smile appeared on her face as I looked at her.

"Yeah," I smiled back. "I'm glad I managed to sit on one finally."

"I'm glad that you were able to experience something new, Ash".

"Thanks to you," I replied.

"You know, I bet my Eevee would really like this," she said, pulling out one of her Pokeballs. "Come on out Eevee."

"Vee..." she yawned. Eevee must've been sleeping in her Pokeball. Pikachu's ears perked up, brushing against my arm.

"Pi?" He jumped off me and sat next to Eevee. "Pika- pika-pi- Pikachu."

"Vee, Eevee."

Those two seemed to be really close, about as close as she and I were, perhaps closer. I watched them for a while. Pikachu seemed like quite the conversationalist. Every time he spoke Eevee seemed to giggle. Once in a while a small breeze blew across them and Eevee shivered. What surprised me was that Eevee stood up and cuddled next to Pikachu and Pikachu gently placed his arm around her. That's my buddy. I looked over at May and strangely I had the intentions of doing the same

But I noticed something behind her. Carved into the worn out bench were names, thousands of them. Each of them carved into the bench, a couple had an entire heart drawn around them. Others had Xs and Os and small pictures.

"So many people carved their names into this." I whispered.

May raised her eyes to meet my own and looked down to where my fingers were carefully tracing over the markings. "It's their way of remembering the first time they rode here," She said.

"I wish we could put our names on it, but I don't really want to damage the carousel any more. It should stay here forever so everyone can enjoy it."

"Great idea As-s-s-h-h-h," She was shivering, the wind blew much more forcefully compared to being on the ground. "I love the ride, but it's so cold here."

More and more with each passing turn, she inched closer to my arm. Like Pokémon-like trainer, she had the curiosity of doing the same as had Eevee with Pikachu. Her eyes occasionally met with mine again. Whether the cold had frozen me in place or her gaze had, I couldn't move then. Every time she did look at me her eyes said," If I shiver keep me warm." I wanted to do just that. But I didn't, I just let her move as close as she wanted. I let her and I didn't protest. Not even when she laid her head on my shoulder or when she reached up and grabbed my hand and pulled my arm around her. We stayed like that until the end of the ride.

That ride ended much faster than I had wanted it- well, much faster than I expected it to. Before long everyone was jumping off. A few parents helped their kids off as they spoke of the coming snowstorm.

May smiled and squeezed my hand again as she stood up. A really light squeeze like before, that was her specialty. "I had so much fun." She said.

"I did too May."

"Hey Ash, May" Max walked up to us, and embraced his sister, "That ride was so cold but I loved it."

"Didn't I tell you it was amazing? You want to get some hot chocolate Max?" she suggested.

"Okay," he happily agreed.

"Awesome, come on Eevee," May awoke the two Pokémon from their comfortable slumber on the edge of the ride. Pikachu looked down, as Eevee looked back up to him.

"Pika-chu" He said nervously scratching his head.

"Vee," she leaned forward and licked his cheek, before jumping into May's arms.

"Did you enjoy the ride Eevee?" She asked, brushing her ears back.

"Vee, Eevee"

"That's great, let's go get some hot chocolate to warm us up."

Just as I had left my seat, I started back and curiosity got the best of me. Gently, with my fingers, I scratched off the paint from the bench. I had finished the heart surrounding the first two letters of her name: "MA" written. The white paint lightly curled and glided to the floor. This would be my little secret, I thought. Like everyone else who had written here before I did.

"Ash, come on!"

I looked up and saw the siblings waiting just past the bottom of the stairs. "Uh, I'm coming," I called back. I picked up Pikachu and jumped down to her side. I could still see what I had written. All I had managed was just that heart, "MA", and a scratch that looked like a plus sign in between. Although I didn't notice it at the time, I felt embarrassed because I'd left it unfinished and I regretted having carved it in the first place.

"Did you enjoy the ride Max?" I asked him.

He looked at me with cheerfulness in his eyes. "Yeah, can we go on again?"

"Max, I thought you said that this ride was for babies," May spoke up.

"Uh, well I changed my mind okay?"

I smiled, "You guys go get your hot chocolate while I go buy the tickets okay?"

"Okay, we'll be right back Ash." May said to me, before hurrying off.

As I walked back to the ticket counter, I sneezed. That one hurt a lot. My hands ached. They were red and chapped. I had forgotten my gloves back at the Pokémon Center at the last town. I was forgetting a lot of things nowadays. "Pika-pi"

Pikachu jumped onto my shoulder, brushing his tail against my cheek. I guess he grew tired of my arms. He nestled into my shoulder. He's always kept me warm wherever we went.

"Did you enjoy the ride, buddy?"

"Pika-pika,"

"I did too, more than I thought I would. I guess there are some things you just never outgrow, huh?"

"Pikachu?"

"What makes you say that?" I looked at him; he had a serious look on his face. I paid for the tickets and walked back toward May and Max.

"Pikachu, pika-pika-pi"

"I was cold, I'm sure she was too, that's why I-"

"Pikachu?"

"Y-yeah that was the only reason why Pikachu."

May ran up to my side, in her hand was a foaming cup of hot chocolate. Eevee was curled up on her shoulder. "That was fun wasn't it Ash?"

"Yeah, thought I grew out of it, but turns out I really missed it."

"Yeah," she sighed, looking down at the dark pool of chocolate in her cup. "I...this time around...it wasn't like the last time. This time it was special."

"Yeah, " I said, astonished. "It really was...Oh uh May, I got the tickets for the next ride."

"Awesome," Max walked in between us again; sipping cheerfully his hot chocolate, leaving a russet colored moustache on his lips. "Let's go now."

"Max," She giggled, "Since when did you have facial hair?"

"Hmm," He looked down and quickly licked it off. "There I got it."

"A moustache doesn't look too bad on you Max," I said to him jokingly. "Here are your guys' tickets."

"Wait, aren't you riding too Ash?" May asked me.

"Nah I'll be fine, besides someone's got to hold on to your hot chocolate for you."

"Well if you sure, be careful ok." She handed me her and Max's cups and I handed them their tickets.

"I'll be fine May; hot chocolate isn't too hard to watch over." She sighed as I laughed. I knew what she had meant. The snowstorm would hit any minute now and she didn't want me to freeze.

"Ha Ha, very funny Ash Ketchum."

"Yeah, I'm hilarious; now hurry up the ride's about to start. I'll be waiting right here for you two, okay?" She nodded and they both ran up the stairs back on to the carousel. Max this time picked out a Tailow and jumped on. He stretched out his arms courageously to the side, as if he was preparing to fly. May, on the other hand, stuck with her first choice, her beloved Ponyta.

"Pika-pi?"

"What is it Pikachu?" Pikachu has pointing down to the cups of hot chocolate I was holding, and shivering, he demonstrating to me that he was cold. "You want a cup of hot chocolate too?"

"Pikachu" he nodded.

"Ok, let's go Pikachu."

As we walked back from the food stand, Pikachu proudly held his hot chocolate, taking short sips every now and then. "How's your hot chocolate Pikachu," I asked him. "Good?"

"Pikachu- Pika-pi."

"You're welcome buddy." We sat back down on the benches surrounding the carousel. I put the cups of hot chocolate on the ground beside me as May and Max laughed as they rode on the ride.

They smiled and waved to me as they spun around. I smiled and waved back to them. This time as they did, something else caught my eye. At first I thought it was a sheet of paper or a flyer that had blown in and caught itself on my leg. But as I picked it up, I realized it wasn't what I thought it was. It was May's bandanna.

I jumped out of my seat and ran toward the carousel, waving the bandanna in my hand. Another strong wind could've sent it back in to the midst of the city, but I didn't cared. I was so happy and I knew May was going to be as well. "May, look I-"

"This is so much fun!" I heard her laugh again happily, her brunette hair flowing in the winter gusts, the snowflakes gently caressing her as they flowed and entwined through her hair.

I walked back to the bench and sat back down. I then realized that it was snowing. I was mystified. That was when I came to this realization. I know this is going to be the hardest part of this entire story, but I have to tell someone, I can't tell her how I feel. Yes, I do like her. I'm not afraid of how she will feel in return or if she perhaps likes me as well. It's just… I love what we already have, our close friendship, the casual hints and jokes about each other, even our bickering I find to be entertaining and fun. If I tell her how I feel and bring love into this, it all might change. We might not focus on what's really important.

She's still growing and getting better and better each day. I know she messes up sometimes, but I want to be there to help her to continue. The same thing goes for me. While I motivate her and lend her a hand now and then she holds me back, to keep me from losing my head. My fist clenches sometimes when it really shouldn't. When May puts her hand on my shoulder, she cracks it open before I use it and lose my cool. No one has ever gotten to me in a way where I don't mumble under my breath things that I don't want them to hear.

So, I know the risk I'm taking. The risk of possibly losing her to someone else but at least I can still say to whomever I'll say, "You may have the most astounding and amazing person anyone could ever have. But you'll never have what we have: a close friendship unlike any other. Something that goes beyond the word and titles that we put on ourselves. This is something more."

I held her bandanna. I neatly folded it and just held it between my hands. It was warm, so warm, despite it being out in the cold. Poor thing. I cradle it gently, pretending it was an injured Pokémon who was lost. I smiled; my imagination was as hard working as ever.

It really started to snow, almost a blizzard as I sat there. All the while my sniffles were going crazy. I couldn't control them anymore. Everyone soon left the park and the carousel operator was the only one still out there with us. The snow really started to pile on my head. My nose turned red and my lips were sore. I sat there on the bench watching May ride on her Ponyta. A veil of fog had settled in and it looked as though she was floating in midair. The snow blew in my face harder as I still sat on that desolate bench, but I never left, never looked away. Pikachu finished his hot chocolate and he took his place between my arms again. Their hot chocolate cups were frozen then and there, and we completely forgot about them.

That night, the lake in the middle of the park froze out; the next morning I heard the laughter of the kids ice skating, and the chirping of the Pidgey as they left for the south.

As we walked toward the Pokémon Center that night, May was smiling the whole way. "May uh...you know we never found your bandanna." I told her.

Max looked up at me, his eyes wide open "That's right! Oh man, it's too dark to try and look for it now." He said, disappointingly.

"Hey Max, since when were you so keen on helping me find my bandanna?" she asked, a brilliant smirk on her face.

"Uh cause," Max hesitated, searching for an answer, "I'm just used to you wearing it all the time, I miss it, I guess."

Max distastefully crossed his arms on his chest, looking away from us with his eyes closed. May looked at me, and smiled for my approval. Without hesitation, she ran up and hugged her brother from behind, lifting him up from the ground.

"Oh come on May, Put me down!"

"Sheesh, I'm just showing you a little bit of love Max."

May was taking the losing of her head accessory really well, I wondered what was up.

"You really don't mind May? I know you were pretty attached to your bandanna," I said.

"It's alright Ash, I'm sure I could find another one soon, and who knows," she giggled. "Maybe it'll help someone else out more than me."

She giggled again, this time looking toward me "Come on Ash, I'm so energetic right now. I'll race you guys to the Pokémon center!"

Max laughed and ran behind his sister, shouting "You're not gonna win this time May!"

Just then I thought to myself, Is it just me or does May know something I don't? I gave them too big of a head start before I decided toponder it later. At that moment, I had a race to win. "Hey no fair, you guys got a head start!"

"Pika Pika"

"Vee, Vee" Eevee smiled and waved as Pikachu and I ran to catch up to them.

As we ran ahead to catch up, I stuck my hand into my pocket, my fingers protecting the object which would now would benefit me, keeping this memory of infiniteness alive. Sure I got back to my training later, much later on account of the cold I'd gotten, but work can wait, especially knowing that these kinds of moments were here and kept so closely. Here's to our estranged hearts.