Misty sat in La Casa Agua, Cerulean city's newest and richest restaurant. People waited for months to get a reservation in the fancy restaurant. Tonight, the restaurant was flocked with couples. At least two men had proposed to their blushing girlfriends since Misty had gotten there. Love was definitely in the air. Misty wasn't feeling it. The restaurant was meant for lovers- proposals- new beginnings- etcetera. Misty wasn't there for that. Misty put her head in her hands.

'How could I do this to him?' She thought to herself.

Behind her, someone pulled Misty's now medium-long, choppy layered, red hair to the side and kissed her cheek. Misty closed her eyes. 'This is it…'

"I'm sorry I'm a bit late. I was on campus and the power went out. Some pokemon was sucking the power from a generator somewhere. " The boy was David Leangrass. He was two years Misty's senior. David was a junior at Cerulean City University and Misty had met him at a deep-sea diving seminar. David was studying to become a Marine Pokemon Biologist. Misty was going to start the same course next fall and decided to attend the seminar for fun. David recognized Misty and immediately approached her. It took only minutes for Misty to agree to a date. Misty typically intimidated guys but this one surprised her. Both of them were busy, Misty with the gym- David with his classes, but they still found time to spend together. The relationship had been going on for two months and Misty felt that David wanted to get serious. In the two months, Misty had not gone farther than she wanted to and David understood that she wanted to take things slow. He was however, getting a little impatient. He tried not to show it but Misty could tell. This was not, conversely, the reason that Misty was doing what she had to do tonight.

"It's fine," Misty said with a small, forced smile. David sat down across from Misty.

"You look beautiful," David said admiring Misty in full. She was wearing a plain black halter dress and her hair hung loosely around her shoulders.

"Thank you David." Misty said looking away. A waiter walked up to the table. He smiled like he was wishing he could be anywhere but in the restaurant. 'You and me both buddy.' Misty thought.

"May I start you off with drinks?" The waiter asked.

"Well— " David began.

"Actually could you give us a few minutes?" Misty interrupted.

"Of course," said the waiter bowing a little then hurrying off.

"Is something the matter?" David said putting his hand on top of Misty's. Misty pulled her hand away.

"No—I mean yes. I mean…" Misty sighed. 'Here goes nothing…' "David—"

"You're breaking up with me aren't you," David said studying Misty's face.

"I'm sorry." Misty said.

"Don't be. I knew it was coming." Misty stared at David in disbelief. "You've never really let me in. You act like you like me but then I still feel like I'm being pushed away. Like you're looking at me but you're wishing I were someone else. Someone I can't be, though I've tried to. I really have."

"David, you're an unbelievable guy. Don't change who you are. It's just that, I don't have time for a relationship right now." Misty said.

"Don't give me that. There's always time for a relationship. I'm just not the person you want to be in a relationship with."

"That's not true." Misty said slowly reaching for her purse at her feet.

"It is Misty. Don't give me that crap about time. I accept that this is ending. I wish it wasn't but I accept it."

"David, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. We've already established that." David stood up and kissed Misty on the cheek. "I still want us to be friends. And I'm not kidding about that. I'll see you around." David walked out of the restaurant.

Misty burst into tears. People in the restaurant turned to stare at her. Couples expressed signs of pity and fiancés expressed signs of sadness for Misty. The waiter from earlier came back.

"Can I get you anything miss?" he asked sympathetically.

"Call a cab," she said.

Misty arrived at the gym and immediately her Corsola greeted her. "It's late, you should be asleep with the other pokemon. We might have a few battles tomorrow." She said to the pokemon. Corsola nodded and bounced off to the pool exclusively for all of Misty's pokemon. Misty climbed the stairs to the second floor where her penthouse was. She threw her bag on a kitchen table then headed to the den. She sat at her computer and clicked on her mailbox. NO NEW MESSAGES flashed across the computer's screen. Misty went back to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Scanning the items, she grabbed a piece of blue cake that sat on the top shelf, remnants of her birthday two weeks ago. She had just turned eighteen. Misty had a simple birthday with only her sisters and her pokemon. Mist sighed realizing just then that she did not even think about inviting David. She doubted he even knew about her birthday. On that day, even if family surrounded her, Misty felt lonely. She had no real friends in Cerulean. On that day, she missed most of all Ash and Brock. Her best friends. Ash's mother called Misty and wished her a happy birthday, but Misty heard nothing from Ash himself. She waited all day. Just hearing his voice would be the best birthday present ever. He never called. He didn't even e-mail her. Maybe he was just caught up in training. Maybe he was in the middle of nowhere. Maybe he could get to a phone. Maybe he couldn't get to a computer. Maybe he forgot. Maybe…just maybe…he didn't care. Misty drove herself mad thinking of all the reasons. Couldn't she just contact him herself? No, it wasn't that easy.

It had been years since they last saw each other at the Togepi festival. It had been years since she said goodbye to him when she had to come back to Cerulean. It had been even more years since the day she met him, the day he "borrowed" her bicycle, the day their lives began together. After the Togepi festival, Misty and Ash had kept correspondence. Slowly, as the years and months passed, the talks and e-mails got shorter, less frequent, until they eventually stopped. Misty wrote a hundred letters trying to tell him that she missed him, that she wanted to keep talking to him, that she wanted him to visit, but she could never send a single letter. It's not like he tried to send anything to her. But oh, how Misty longed for him. Longed to be with him. Longed to hug him, kiss him, anything, as long as it was with him.

Misty knew she should have never started something with David. She had used David. David was a tool to make herself believe that Ash wasn't the one for her. Misty wanted to forget Ash and to move on but she couldn't. Whenever she kissed David, she thought of Ash. Whenever David held her, she wished she were with Ash. She was lovesick.

When her sisters came home in between tours, they noticed the change in Misty. Before, she was always loud and outspoken. Now she quietly ambled about. They could see the sadness in her eyes. Misty drove herself into her work. She took any battle that came to her at the gym and she would crush as many new trainers as she possibly could. On the battlefield, she was coldhearted. She poured her pain into winning almost every match. Some trainers even skipped Cerulean and came back after their pokemon had evolved enough to beat her. Every battle reminded Misty of her battle with Ash, the second time, when he had beaten her. Thinking of this, Misty put the cake back in the fridge. She climbed the ladder to her loft bedroom where she collapsed on her bed. A tear shimmered down her cheek.

'I'm such a mess. Why am I crumbling so easily? Is it my fault that I feel this way?' Misty pulled her pillow from beneath her head and hugged it.