Chasing the Dream (Hop × Reader)

Chapter Four

   Hop looked more surprised than anything. "Your dad?"

   You nodded. "Yeah." No other words came out. You didn't really know what to think yourself.

   "Do you want to open it?" You stared at the envelope, not moving.

   Do I?

   "(Y/N)?"

   You shook your head, trying to clear the fog that was trying to block it out, crawling at the edge of your thoughts. You can do this. "Yeah, I think I'll try."

   "Are you sure? We can wait until we are in a less public place," Hop suggested. It was a smart idea, but you wanted to read whatever was inside. Some voice inside of you was telling you it was important.

   "I can do it now," you breathed, trying to urge yourself on. you felt like you lost control of your fingers, and it took a moment before feeling returned to them. You began tearing open the envelope carefully, not wanting to rip it. Suddenly, this letter was the most important thing to you. You took out the neatly folded piece of paper, your heart skipping a beat when you saw your dad's handwriting.

   Before you could actually start reading anything, the overhead speaker came on. A female voice started speaking. "Attention all passengers. A road block ahead has been detected. We will be making an emergency stop at the train station in the Wild Area. We will notify you as soon as things clear up. Feel free to hang around in the station or explore around."

   "A road block?" Hop tried looking out the window, confused. "What could block the road? Er- track, I guess."

   " I don't know. " You slipped the note and present back into the bag, secretly happy you didn't have to read it right now. You weren't sure what would happen if you did. Based on what happened earlier, you probably would break down crying. In all honesty, you didn't want to find out.

   Slowly the train came to a halt, and the passengers were escorted off. You peeked around the front of the train, noticing a bunch of Wooloo. They were scattered all over the tracks, completely oblivious that there was a chance they could've all been killed.

   "Wooloo! Who would've guessed?" Hop laughed, waving to a few of them as if they understood the human gesture.

   You gave him a playful nudge. "Maybe you should go and get them off, Wooloo whisperer."

   "Me?" Hop turned away quickly, his interest being dragged elsewhere. "Of course not! Do you see where we are? There is no way I want to pass this opportunity up!" He ran off in one direction, forcing you to follow. You stopped on the other side of some fences, and took a deep breath.

   Ahead of you, the wilderness seemed to extend for forever. There were trees all over, and large patches of tall grass. Pokémon were running around freely, not having a care in the world. There were lakes dotted around, with rivers running around them. The only mark of civilization were the occasional bridge and larger structures leading to the cities.

   "This is amazing...," You echoed his thoughts, your breath taken away and troubles slipping away.

    Hop looked as if he were about to start running again. "Isn't it? The Wild Area is huge! And we are going to explore it all!"

   "All of it? Today? It is going to take us at least an hour and a half, if not more, to walk over to Motostoke!" You exclaimed, squinting to see the brick gate on the far side of the lake. It was quite a distance away.

   "We can just take the train, it's much faster than walking." Hop stated walking, and you followed besides him. A slight breeze was tumbling through the trees, pressing gently against your skin and providing a relaxing feeling. The sun was a little bit past the middle of the sky, suggesting it was about one or two in the afternoon.