A/N: Yep, as the title says, this is a Contestshipping AU set at a modern day high school. The fic is PG-12/PG-13, with a high dosage of fluff and sarcasm, so if you don't like it, leave. It's set at a Pallet Town in a universe where Pokemon don't exist, and there are two different high schools there - Pallet East and Dunkirk Preparatory, so yeah.
Oh, and Misty and Drew are cousins in this, BTW.
Here we go!
The bell rang, signaling freedom for all the students in the school. Almost all of them, that is. A few unlucky souls had to stay for detention. However, Drew Rose was not one of those people. He was unlucky in his own special way.
As soon as the teacher dismissed his class he grabbed his things and fled the coup. He was in a particular hurry today for one horrifying reason.
“Drew!”
“Oh no,” Drew muttered and walked faster, making sure to keep his eyes trained on the floor.
“Drew Rose, don’t you dare run away from me!”
By now Drew was practically sprinting to the door that was standing between him and his freedom. He had almost made it when a strong arm reached out and grabbed his shirt. The sudden change in direction caused him to stumble but he somehow managed to keep from falling. As soon as he was able to compose himself he turned to glare at his cousin. Misty Waterflower simply smirked and tossed a long glossy strand of red hair out of her face.
“You forget, dear cousin, that I’m just as fast a runner as you are when I want to be.”
“I didn’t forget.” Drew turned away. “I just thought that the will to get away would somehow make my legs go faster.”
As expected, Misty punched him on the arm for his smartass remark. “You thought wrong.” She brought her hand up to tap on her temple. “Or maybe my will to get to you was stronger than your will to get away. After all, you promised.”
“I know.” Drew raised his arms in the universal sign of surrender. “But it was worth a try, right?”
“You just wasted both of our time,” Misty said melodramatically, making him chuckle. “To think that I’m not going to get to see my favorite cousin for a whole week! Besides, a little trip to a psychic isn’t going to kill you.” She looked at him pointedly. “But I might.”
That was his cue to give in. Misty grabbed his backpack off the floor and together they began the short trek to the psychic shop that she had been dying to go to for some time now. Although she had been wheedling him for months, only recently had she been able to convince Drew to go with her.
The two of them had always been close. They were the youngest in the family so they naturally gravitated towards each other. Misty was one of the few people that Drew even bothered to talk to and she was certainly the most… energetic.
Spring Break had finally arrived. Drew was looking forward to rest and relaxation while Misty was going out of town with her sisters and his mother. Drew was originally supposed to go with them since he would be left at home alone, but his mother relented. He was sixteen now, after all. It was a good thing too, in Drew’s opinion. He wasn’t sure if he could handle spending a week stuck in some hotel with his mother, three boy-crazy cousins, and Misty. Perhaps his threat of jumping off the hotel roof had something to do with his mother’s change of heart.
That was actually why he was in his current predicament. Misty guilted him into it by talking about how much she would miss him. Even though Drew knew it was a trick to get him to do something, he fell for it. And now here he stood looking up at the lamely named Love’s Future Psychic House. He groaned loudly.
Misty on the other hand, beamed up at the neon sign before bounding inside, leaving him to follow. It smelled strangely musty and was dark inside, save for a few strategically placed lamps.
It was no doubt in need of a good scrub down, Drew thought disdainfully. He had never been very fond of messes. Maybe living with five women had something to do with that. Either way, he couldn’t wait to get out of the place.
Wasting no time, Misty walked up to the clerk and smiled. “Hi, I’m Misty Waterflower. I have an appointment for four o’clock.”
The slightly older girl looked down at her schedule book before nodding and pointing at a door decorated with fabric and beads. “Madam Jessie LaBelle will see you now.”
Drew snorted and received withering glances from both Misty and the clerk. He didn’t care. Madam Jessie LaBelle? That name was just screaming fraud in his humble opinion.
Not voicing his thoughts aloud, he pretended to cough and gestured for Misty to go ahead. His cousin rolled her eyes before grabbing his wrist and dragging him with her.
The next room was even darker than the lobby and was only lit with a few candles. The scented candles almost covered it, but Drew was pretty sure that he could smell old smoke, probably from cigarettes. He cringed. In the center of the room was a small round table (thankfully with no crystal ball on it) and two chairs meant for the visitors. A third chair was occupied by a woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties. She wasn’t ugly but she was wearing too much eye makeup. She had her long, mauved red hair pulled out of her face by a piece of cloth, exposing her large hoop earrings. When she lifted her arm to motion at the chairs Drew could see that she wore many rings and bracelets that clinked together when she moved.
Misty plopped down on a chair and told Drew to do likewise.
“You’re Misty?” Madam Jessie asked, looking at Misty. Drew was sorely tempted to say ‘No. I am’ but he restrained himself.
At his cousin’s nod, Madam Jessie smiled slightly and asked, “What is it that you want to know about your future?”
“Well…” Misty sat back in her chair, deep in thought. “I heard that you specialized in love fortunes. I guess that’s as good as anything else.”
Drew suppressed his amusement. Sure that was a spur of the moment choice. He was willing to bet all of his saved allowance that a love fortune was the only thing she ever intended to get.
Madam Jessie nodded before taking Misty’s hands in her own and shutting her eyes. She murmured softly under her breath, occasionally squeezing Misty’s hands and running her fingers along the lines in her palm. She reopened her heavily painted lids at last and said, “You will meet someone very soon. You will develop very strong feelings for each other. In the end, it may work out or it may not. You must understand that that reading futures is a very uncertain thing. Still, I see great potential for you and this boy.”
Drew looked out of the corner of his eye to see if his cousin was buying any of this bull.
“Really?” Misty asked breathlessly. Apparently she was buying it. “What does he look like? How do I meet him?”
“He will have hair the color of burnished ebony and eyes the color of the scintillating amber. When you meet him, you will not be at your best. You’ll be drenched and unhappy.”
Drew snorted loudly, wanting to be heard. He just couldn’t stay quiet this time. Madam Jessie and Misty both turned to look at him sharply.
“And just what is so amusing?” Misty demanded.
“Hair of ebony? Eyes of amber? Please!” Not only was it corny, something struck him as odd about ‘scintillating ebony’. If only he could put his finger on it…
Misty looked embarrassed at his outburst but Madam Jessie didn’t even bat an eye. “And just who might you be?”
Drew jerked his thumb in Misty’s direction. “I’m her cousin.”
“And do you not believe in fortune telling?”
“Not really. Especially for twenty bucks.”
She looked at him coolly. “Let me ask you something, young man. Do you believe in true love?”
Drew crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. “As a matter of fact, I don’t.”
Madam Jessie smiled softly, as if that was just the response she had been expecting. “That’s a shame. Perhaps your cynicism stems from the fact that your parents got a divorce shortly after you were born? Leaving your mother to take care of two children by herself?”
Drew was torn between shock and anger that she knew those things. Still, there had to be a reasonable explanation, he was sure.
“I don’t have to take this,” he said, rising to his feet. Misty winced at the angry scraping of chair against tile. “Especially not from a crackpot psychic.”
That comment finally seemed to penetrate Madam Jessie’s placid surface and her eyes narrowed. “That’s a hasty assumption,” she said dangerously.
“Uh huh. Sure. I’m going now, Misty. And by the way Madam Jessie LaButch,” Drew said her name mockingly, “you might want to go easier on the eye makeup. You might accidentally paint your eyes shut.”
Drew turned to exit but in a flash Madam Jessie was in his path, blocking the door. “You need a wake up call,” she said icily.
“You’re right. This little escapade has bored me to tears.” Drew tried to brush past her, but to no avail.
He watched, annoyed, as she shut her eyes and mumbled under her breath in hurried tones. She finished quickly and grinned at him like a shark. “The next time you wake up your life is going to be turned upside down. I would give you a bit of advice but I think you can have fun trying to figure it our on your own, smartass.”
“Okay,” Drew mocked. “Now would you move?”
When she finally got out of his way Drew grabbed his stuff and walked out the door, Misty at his heels.
Before Misty left the room she turned around to face Madam Jessie. “I’m so sorry about this. I hope you can forgive us.”
“Don’t worry about it, dear. You’re welcome back any time. And good luck with your future encounter!”
Misty nodded and left before any more could be said. Alone in the room, a smirk slowly slid across Madam Jessie’s face. Despite the fact that he had never told her his name she murmured, “Good luck, Drew.”
Later that night, Drew sat in his living room reading and munching on a bag of chips. The house was the quietest it had ever been. Shortly after he and Misty left the psychic house, his family had to rush to catch their plane. Now he had the whole week to do blissfully nothing.
He was technically supposed to go to school the next day but his mother had called the main office and lied that he was going on vacation. It was pointless to go to school on the Friday before Spring Break anyways. They were just going to be watching movies in all of his classes.
He scowled when he remembered the encounter with the psychic. “What a crock of baloney,” he mumbled, setting his snacks aside. It really had been a long day. He knew he should get undressed and go to his bed, but the task just seemed too daunting. The events of the day took their toll on him and he fell into a restless sleep on the sofa.
Unknown to him, that little bout of laziness was going to be the only bit of luck he would have in the next few days.
It was unusually bright when Drew woke up, even for the living room. He groggily cracked one eye open to look at his surroundings. Startled out of his wits, the other eye flew open.
“WHAT THE HELL?!” he cursed, jumping to his feet. This was definitely not his living room.
The familiar public park surrounded him on all sides and Drew thought he was going to have a heart attack. How did he get there? Had he developed a sleepwalking disorder? He gave himself a once over to make sure everything was intact. After a quick inspection, he came to the conclusion that he was okay physically.
It was lucky that he fell asleep fully clothed that night. That thought was quickly dismissed when he noticed that he was wearing his oldest sister’s fuzzy pink house slippers. He had put them on the night before to spite her, since she reminded him numerous times not to touch her stuff while she was gone. He sighed. They were a little too small but at least he wasn’t barefoot.
Oh well, he had bigger problems than fashion at the moment. Even in his confusion as to how he got to the park in the first place, he knew he needed to get home. He rose to his feet and started the walk back to his house.
Being in a hurry, he dodged around all the people in his way until he came upon a group taking up the whole sidewalk. Bushes were lining the walkway so there was no way to go around them.
“Excuse me,” Drew said patiently. When no one answered him he tried again. No answer. Figuring they just hadn’t heard him, he tapped one guy on the back. The guy whipped around and looked right past Drew.
“Is somebody there?”
Annoyance about to burst through the dam he had constructed, Drew waved his hand in front of the guy’s face. “Me. You’re in the way. Move.”
The guy just raised his eyebrows and turned around to join his friends. Through with being polite (or as close to being polite as he got) Drew just shoved a couple of the boys in the group out of his way. All of them looked thoroughly confused, but he didn’t have any time to hang around.
Turning his walk into a jog and then into a sprint, Drew was exhausted by the time he got to his house. He tried the front door but no luck. Of course the one time he actually remembered to lock the door had to be yesterday. He tried the back door but came up with the same results. Too bad his family didn’t leave a hidden key outside. By the time he checked all the windows he was extremely annoyed.
He realized in the back of his mind that if there was no way to get into the house, that meant there was no way to get out. That brought up the question – then how did he manage to get outside? But he ignored it. There were some things he really didn’t want to think about just yet.
His whole family was out of town so there was no one he could call to help him out. He was stuck. There was no other way in. Unless…
Deciding that there was really no other choice, Drew grabbed a rock and hurled it at the nearest window. It didn’t even make a noise when the stone connected to the glass. Confused, Drew tried again and again. The window didn’t even crack. Out of growing frustration, he banged his fists against the window. Nothing happened. No matter what he did, he couldn’t break the window. A string of obscenities left his mouth that would have made a sailor gasp in outrage.
Feeling drained of energy he sank down to his knees in the grass. What was going on? It was at that moment that another disturbing thought occurred to him. Had those boys in the park… not been able to see him?!
He knew it was a ridiculous thought, but still… realization dawned on him. The psychic! He didn’t know how, but he knew that she had something to do with this. In a flash he was on his feet and running as fast as he could in the direction of Love’s Future Psychic House.
Drew entered the all too familiar lobby and glared at the clerk. She was the same girl from the day before. “I was here yesterday. Can I talk to Madam Jessie?” The girl didn’t say anything and continued to smack her gum and file her nails. A cold dread settled in the pit of his stomach. She couldn’t see him either. “Damn it, listen to me!” Dread boiling over, he slammed his fists down right in front of her.
The girl looked up, wide-eyed, and whipped her head in every direction, trying to see the culprit. Drew groaned and stomped over to the room where he knew Madam Jessie was hiding. When he tried the doorknob it was locked so he just pounded on the door. The clerk let out a shriek and ducked for cover.
Drew was just preparing to kick the door down when it swung open. At the sight of Madam Jessie’s over painted face, he wanted to pound her into the ground. “You!” he sputtered, not caring if she could see him or not. “I don’t know how you did this, but I know it was you! I can’t get into my house and no one can see me! What the hell did you do to me?!”
Instead of looking around in confusion, her gaze went directly to Drew. “Please my little twerp, settle down and come inside.” Startled into silence, Drew obeyed. “Have a seat.” He eyed her wearily. Madam Jessie just smirked. “We have all the time in the world. Be difficult if you want, but you’re the one with the problem.”
Realizing that she was right, Drew sat down and glared at her.
“Now let’s get down to business, shall we?” Madam Jessie pulled out a deck of tarot cards and shuffling them like she was about to play poker. Drew eyed them nervously.
“What are those for?”
“Nothing. I just like having my hands occupied while I talk.”
Drew rolled his eyes but didn’t comment.
They sat in silence for a long time until Drew just couldn’t take it anymore. “Well, aren’t you going to fix it?”
“Fix it?” Madam Jessie asked blandly.
“Yes!”
She gave him a look that clearly meant he needed to calm down. “There’s nothing I can do.” She paused thoughtfully. “Well, there is, but I’m not going to do it.” She laughed at Drew’s incredulous expression. “Tell me, Drew, what makes you think I can do anything anyways? What was it you called me yesterday? A crack pot psychic?”
“I’m sorry,” Drew mumbled, losing the last shred of dignity that he had been able to hold onto.
“Yes, I would be too.”
Drew bit his tongue to keep from saying the things he knew would just make the whole situation worse. Madam Jessie gave him a knowing look, as if she could hear what he was thinking. Maybe she really could do things like read minds? He still doubted it. His facial expression was probably just a dead give away. The way his lips were pinched together, he was sure he looked like he had just eaten a lemon.
Madam Jessie’s smile widened. “Sorry twerp, but you need to figure out how to fix this on your own. It’s not my problem anymore.” She swiftly stood and pulled him to his feet. She was a lot stronger than she looked, Drew discovered. She managed to drag him out of her room, through the lobby, past the confused clerk, and out the front door.
“Nice slippers, by the way. You have fun now!” And with that, the door slammed shut and Drew’s hope evaporated.
It couldn’t have been too long after seven in the morning, but Drew was drained. After the event at Madam Jessie’s place he decided to return to where he woke up that morning, hoping against hope that there might be some clue as to how to get back to normal. But as luck would have it, there was nothing. Nada. Zilch.
He was annoyed, angry, frustrated, and tired. Not a good combination for the next person who happened to cross his path.
Drew was resting on a park bench when it happened. Some guy was walking with his face in a book and was about to sit on him. Quickly losing his temper, Drew kicked the back of the guy’s knees, causing him to fall to the ground. Once he was down, Drew grabbed his book and hurtled it as far away was possible. The guy scrambled to his feet and chased after the book, looking over his shoulder in fear. Seeing nothing was there frightened him even more and he hightailed it out of there.
Drew chuckled a little. At least this invisible thing had a few perks. He was about to lie back down but something caught his eye. A girl stood not too far away and was looking at the guy who was running away. She had short brown hair cut into an interesting style and was wearing a backpack and a uniform. She didn’t go to the same school as Drew, but he recognized her uniform. It was from Pallet East High or something like that, Misty’s school. When she turned to look in his direction he noticed she had bright eyes.
Hmm… pretty. He would have stared at her a bit longer but he had heavier things weighing on his mind at the moment.
Sighing, Drew lay down and shut his eyes. Maybe a quick nap would do the trick. Who knew? He could wake up and be back in his house. For all he knew, the whole morning could be a horrible nightmare. Just as he got comfortable, a shadow fell across his face. Great. Not another person trying to sit on him, he thought grouchily.
He cracked one eye open and saw the girl with brown hair. Now that she was so close, he could see that her eyes were a startling blue. She was standing over him with her arms akimbo and an angry expression on her face. He sat up slowly and her gaze followed him.
“That was mean,” she said. “What did he do to you?”
Oh, and Misty and Drew are cousins in this, BTW.
Here we go!
Chapter One: Insulting Frauds
The bell rang, signaling freedom for all the students in the school. Almost all of them, that is. A few unlucky souls had to stay for detention. However, Drew Rose was not one of those people. He was unlucky in his own special way.
As soon as the teacher dismissed his class he grabbed his things and fled the coup. He was in a particular hurry today for one horrifying reason.
“Drew!”
“Oh no,” Drew muttered and walked faster, making sure to keep his eyes trained on the floor.
“Drew Rose, don’t you dare run away from me!”
By now Drew was practically sprinting to the door that was standing between him and his freedom. He had almost made it when a strong arm reached out and grabbed his shirt. The sudden change in direction caused him to stumble but he somehow managed to keep from falling. As soon as he was able to compose himself he turned to glare at his cousin. Misty Waterflower simply smirked and tossed a long glossy strand of red hair out of her face.
“You forget, dear cousin, that I’m just as fast a runner as you are when I want to be.”
“I didn’t forget.” Drew turned away. “I just thought that the will to get away would somehow make my legs go faster.”
As expected, Misty punched him on the arm for his smartass remark. “You thought wrong.” She brought her hand up to tap on her temple. “Or maybe my will to get to you was stronger than your will to get away. After all, you promised.”
“I know.” Drew raised his arms in the universal sign of surrender. “But it was worth a try, right?”
“You just wasted both of our time,” Misty said melodramatically, making him chuckle. “To think that I’m not going to get to see my favorite cousin for a whole week! Besides, a little trip to a psychic isn’t going to kill you.” She looked at him pointedly. “But I might.”
That was his cue to give in. Misty grabbed his backpack off the floor and together they began the short trek to the psychic shop that she had been dying to go to for some time now. Although she had been wheedling him for months, only recently had she been able to convince Drew to go with her.
The two of them had always been close. They were the youngest in the family so they naturally gravitated towards each other. Misty was one of the few people that Drew even bothered to talk to and she was certainly the most… energetic.
Spring Break had finally arrived. Drew was looking forward to rest and relaxation while Misty was going out of town with her sisters and his mother. Drew was originally supposed to go with them since he would be left at home alone, but his mother relented. He was sixteen now, after all. It was a good thing too, in Drew’s opinion. He wasn’t sure if he could handle spending a week stuck in some hotel with his mother, three boy-crazy cousins, and Misty. Perhaps his threat of jumping off the hotel roof had something to do with his mother’s change of heart.
That was actually why he was in his current predicament. Misty guilted him into it by talking about how much she would miss him. Even though Drew knew it was a trick to get him to do something, he fell for it. And now here he stood looking up at the lamely named Love’s Future Psychic House. He groaned loudly.
Misty on the other hand, beamed up at the neon sign before bounding inside, leaving him to follow. It smelled strangely musty and was dark inside, save for a few strategically placed lamps.
It was no doubt in need of a good scrub down, Drew thought disdainfully. He had never been very fond of messes. Maybe living with five women had something to do with that. Either way, he couldn’t wait to get out of the place.
Wasting no time, Misty walked up to the clerk and smiled. “Hi, I’m Misty Waterflower. I have an appointment for four o’clock.”
The slightly older girl looked down at her schedule book before nodding and pointing at a door decorated with fabric and beads. “Madam Jessie LaBelle will see you now.”
Drew snorted and received withering glances from both Misty and the clerk. He didn’t care. Madam Jessie LaBelle? That name was just screaming fraud in his humble opinion.
Not voicing his thoughts aloud, he pretended to cough and gestured for Misty to go ahead. His cousin rolled her eyes before grabbing his wrist and dragging him with her.
The next room was even darker than the lobby and was only lit with a few candles. The scented candles almost covered it, but Drew was pretty sure that he could smell old smoke, probably from cigarettes. He cringed. In the center of the room was a small round table (thankfully with no crystal ball on it) and two chairs meant for the visitors. A third chair was occupied by a woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties. She wasn’t ugly but she was wearing too much eye makeup. She had her long, mauved red hair pulled out of her face by a piece of cloth, exposing her large hoop earrings. When she lifted her arm to motion at the chairs Drew could see that she wore many rings and bracelets that clinked together when she moved.
Misty plopped down on a chair and told Drew to do likewise.
“You’re Misty?” Madam Jessie asked, looking at Misty. Drew was sorely tempted to say ‘No. I am’ but he restrained himself.
At his cousin’s nod, Madam Jessie smiled slightly and asked, “What is it that you want to know about your future?”
“Well…” Misty sat back in her chair, deep in thought. “I heard that you specialized in love fortunes. I guess that’s as good as anything else.”
Drew suppressed his amusement. Sure that was a spur of the moment choice. He was willing to bet all of his saved allowance that a love fortune was the only thing she ever intended to get.
Madam Jessie nodded before taking Misty’s hands in her own and shutting her eyes. She murmured softly under her breath, occasionally squeezing Misty’s hands and running her fingers along the lines in her palm. She reopened her heavily painted lids at last and said, “You will meet someone very soon. You will develop very strong feelings for each other. In the end, it may work out or it may not. You must understand that that reading futures is a very uncertain thing. Still, I see great potential for you and this boy.”
Drew looked out of the corner of his eye to see if his cousin was buying any of this bull.
“Really?” Misty asked breathlessly. Apparently she was buying it. “What does he look like? How do I meet him?”
“He will have hair the color of burnished ebony and eyes the color of the scintillating amber. When you meet him, you will not be at your best. You’ll be drenched and unhappy.”
Drew snorted loudly, wanting to be heard. He just couldn’t stay quiet this time. Madam Jessie and Misty both turned to look at him sharply.
“And just what is so amusing?” Misty demanded.
“Hair of ebony? Eyes of amber? Please!” Not only was it corny, something struck him as odd about ‘scintillating ebony’. If only he could put his finger on it…
Misty looked embarrassed at his outburst but Madam Jessie didn’t even bat an eye. “And just who might you be?”
Drew jerked his thumb in Misty’s direction. “I’m her cousin.”
“And do you not believe in fortune telling?”
“Not really. Especially for twenty bucks.”
She looked at him coolly. “Let me ask you something, young man. Do you believe in true love?”
Drew crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. “As a matter of fact, I don’t.”
Madam Jessie smiled softly, as if that was just the response she had been expecting. “That’s a shame. Perhaps your cynicism stems from the fact that your parents got a divorce shortly after you were born? Leaving your mother to take care of two children by herself?”
Drew was torn between shock and anger that she knew those things. Still, there had to be a reasonable explanation, he was sure.
“I don’t have to take this,” he said, rising to his feet. Misty winced at the angry scraping of chair against tile. “Especially not from a crackpot psychic.”
That comment finally seemed to penetrate Madam Jessie’s placid surface and her eyes narrowed. “That’s a hasty assumption,” she said dangerously.
“Uh huh. Sure. I’m going now, Misty. And by the way Madam Jessie LaButch,” Drew said her name mockingly, “you might want to go easier on the eye makeup. You might accidentally paint your eyes shut.”
Drew turned to exit but in a flash Madam Jessie was in his path, blocking the door. “You need a wake up call,” she said icily.
“You’re right. This little escapade has bored me to tears.” Drew tried to brush past her, but to no avail.
He watched, annoyed, as she shut her eyes and mumbled under her breath in hurried tones. She finished quickly and grinned at him like a shark. “The next time you wake up your life is going to be turned upside down. I would give you a bit of advice but I think you can have fun trying to figure it our on your own, smartass.”
“Okay,” Drew mocked. “Now would you move?”
When she finally got out of his way Drew grabbed his stuff and walked out the door, Misty at his heels.
Before Misty left the room she turned around to face Madam Jessie. “I’m so sorry about this. I hope you can forgive us.”
“Don’t worry about it, dear. You’re welcome back any time. And good luck with your future encounter!”
Misty nodded and left before any more could be said. Alone in the room, a smirk slowly slid across Madam Jessie’s face. Despite the fact that he had never told her his name she murmured, “Good luck, Drew.”
Later that night, Drew sat in his living room reading and munching on a bag of chips. The house was the quietest it had ever been. Shortly after he and Misty left the psychic house, his family had to rush to catch their plane. Now he had the whole week to do blissfully nothing.
He was technically supposed to go to school the next day but his mother had called the main office and lied that he was going on vacation. It was pointless to go to school on the Friday before Spring Break anyways. They were just going to be watching movies in all of his classes.
He scowled when he remembered the encounter with the psychic. “What a crock of baloney,” he mumbled, setting his snacks aside. It really had been a long day. He knew he should get undressed and go to his bed, but the task just seemed too daunting. The events of the day took their toll on him and he fell into a restless sleep on the sofa.
Unknown to him, that little bout of laziness was going to be the only bit of luck he would have in the next few days.
It was unusually bright when Drew woke up, even for the living room. He groggily cracked one eye open to look at his surroundings. Startled out of his wits, the other eye flew open.
“WHAT THE HELL?!” he cursed, jumping to his feet. This was definitely not his living room.
The familiar public park surrounded him on all sides and Drew thought he was going to have a heart attack. How did he get there? Had he developed a sleepwalking disorder? He gave himself a once over to make sure everything was intact. After a quick inspection, he came to the conclusion that he was okay physically.
It was lucky that he fell asleep fully clothed that night. That thought was quickly dismissed when he noticed that he was wearing his oldest sister’s fuzzy pink house slippers. He had put them on the night before to spite her, since she reminded him numerous times not to touch her stuff while she was gone. He sighed. They were a little too small but at least he wasn’t barefoot.
Oh well, he had bigger problems than fashion at the moment. Even in his confusion as to how he got to the park in the first place, he knew he needed to get home. He rose to his feet and started the walk back to his house.
Being in a hurry, he dodged around all the people in his way until he came upon a group taking up the whole sidewalk. Bushes were lining the walkway so there was no way to go around them.
“Excuse me,” Drew said patiently. When no one answered him he tried again. No answer. Figuring they just hadn’t heard him, he tapped one guy on the back. The guy whipped around and looked right past Drew.
“Is somebody there?”
Annoyance about to burst through the dam he had constructed, Drew waved his hand in front of the guy’s face. “Me. You’re in the way. Move.”
The guy just raised his eyebrows and turned around to join his friends. Through with being polite (or as close to being polite as he got) Drew just shoved a couple of the boys in the group out of his way. All of them looked thoroughly confused, but he didn’t have any time to hang around.
Turning his walk into a jog and then into a sprint, Drew was exhausted by the time he got to his house. He tried the front door but no luck. Of course the one time he actually remembered to lock the door had to be yesterday. He tried the back door but came up with the same results. Too bad his family didn’t leave a hidden key outside. By the time he checked all the windows he was extremely annoyed.
He realized in the back of his mind that if there was no way to get into the house, that meant there was no way to get out. That brought up the question – then how did he manage to get outside? But he ignored it. There were some things he really didn’t want to think about just yet.
His whole family was out of town so there was no one he could call to help him out. He was stuck. There was no other way in. Unless…
Deciding that there was really no other choice, Drew grabbed a rock and hurled it at the nearest window. It didn’t even make a noise when the stone connected to the glass. Confused, Drew tried again and again. The window didn’t even crack. Out of growing frustration, he banged his fists against the window. Nothing happened. No matter what he did, he couldn’t break the window. A string of obscenities left his mouth that would have made a sailor gasp in outrage.
Feeling drained of energy he sank down to his knees in the grass. What was going on? It was at that moment that another disturbing thought occurred to him. Had those boys in the park… not been able to see him?!
He knew it was a ridiculous thought, but still… realization dawned on him. The psychic! He didn’t know how, but he knew that she had something to do with this. In a flash he was on his feet and running as fast as he could in the direction of Love’s Future Psychic House.
Drew entered the all too familiar lobby and glared at the clerk. She was the same girl from the day before. “I was here yesterday. Can I talk to Madam Jessie?” The girl didn’t say anything and continued to smack her gum and file her nails. A cold dread settled in the pit of his stomach. She couldn’t see him either. “Damn it, listen to me!” Dread boiling over, he slammed his fists down right in front of her.
The girl looked up, wide-eyed, and whipped her head in every direction, trying to see the culprit. Drew groaned and stomped over to the room where he knew Madam Jessie was hiding. When he tried the doorknob it was locked so he just pounded on the door. The clerk let out a shriek and ducked for cover.
Drew was just preparing to kick the door down when it swung open. At the sight of Madam Jessie’s over painted face, he wanted to pound her into the ground. “You!” he sputtered, not caring if she could see him or not. “I don’t know how you did this, but I know it was you! I can’t get into my house and no one can see me! What the hell did you do to me?!”
Instead of looking around in confusion, her gaze went directly to Drew. “Please my little twerp, settle down and come inside.” Startled into silence, Drew obeyed. “Have a seat.” He eyed her wearily. Madam Jessie just smirked. “We have all the time in the world. Be difficult if you want, but you’re the one with the problem.”
Realizing that she was right, Drew sat down and glared at her.
“Now let’s get down to business, shall we?” Madam Jessie pulled out a deck of tarot cards and shuffling them like she was about to play poker. Drew eyed them nervously.
“What are those for?”
“Nothing. I just like having my hands occupied while I talk.”
Drew rolled his eyes but didn’t comment.
They sat in silence for a long time until Drew just couldn’t take it anymore. “Well, aren’t you going to fix it?”
“Fix it?” Madam Jessie asked blandly.
“Yes!”
She gave him a look that clearly meant he needed to calm down. “There’s nothing I can do.” She paused thoughtfully. “Well, there is, but I’m not going to do it.” She laughed at Drew’s incredulous expression. “Tell me, Drew, what makes you think I can do anything anyways? What was it you called me yesterday? A crack pot psychic?”
“I’m sorry,” Drew mumbled, losing the last shred of dignity that he had been able to hold onto.
“Yes, I would be too.”
Drew bit his tongue to keep from saying the things he knew would just make the whole situation worse. Madam Jessie gave him a knowing look, as if she could hear what he was thinking. Maybe she really could do things like read minds? He still doubted it. His facial expression was probably just a dead give away. The way his lips were pinched together, he was sure he looked like he had just eaten a lemon.
Madam Jessie’s smile widened. “Sorry twerp, but you need to figure out how to fix this on your own. It’s not my problem anymore.” She swiftly stood and pulled him to his feet. She was a lot stronger than she looked, Drew discovered. She managed to drag him out of her room, through the lobby, past the confused clerk, and out the front door.
“Nice slippers, by the way. You have fun now!” And with that, the door slammed shut and Drew’s hope evaporated.
It couldn’t have been too long after seven in the morning, but Drew was drained. After the event at Madam Jessie’s place he decided to return to where he woke up that morning, hoping against hope that there might be some clue as to how to get back to normal. But as luck would have it, there was nothing. Nada. Zilch.
He was annoyed, angry, frustrated, and tired. Not a good combination for the next person who happened to cross his path.
Drew was resting on a park bench when it happened. Some guy was walking with his face in a book and was about to sit on him. Quickly losing his temper, Drew kicked the back of the guy’s knees, causing him to fall to the ground. Once he was down, Drew grabbed his book and hurtled it as far away was possible. The guy scrambled to his feet and chased after the book, looking over his shoulder in fear. Seeing nothing was there frightened him even more and he hightailed it out of there.
Drew chuckled a little. At least this invisible thing had a few perks. He was about to lie back down but something caught his eye. A girl stood not too far away and was looking at the guy who was running away. She had short brown hair cut into an interesting style and was wearing a backpack and a uniform. She didn’t go to the same school as Drew, but he recognized her uniform. It was from Pallet East High or something like that, Misty’s school. When she turned to look in his direction he noticed she had bright eyes.
Hmm… pretty. He would have stared at her a bit longer but he had heavier things weighing on his mind at the moment.
Sighing, Drew lay down and shut his eyes. Maybe a quick nap would do the trick. Who knew? He could wake up and be back in his house. For all he knew, the whole morning could be a horrible nightmare. Just as he got comfortable, a shadow fell across his face. Great. Not another person trying to sit on him, he thought grouchily.
He cracked one eye open and saw the girl with brown hair. Now that she was so close, he could see that her eyes were a startling blue. She was standing over him with her arms akimbo and an angry expression on her face. He sat up slowly and her gaze followed him.
“That was mean,” she said. “What did he do to you?”
End of Chapter One
