Author's Note: Ok, so second FIC in a row, but this is in complete dedication to my boo Mandy (Ameriboo) who was cute enough to request from me some Egoshipping with the prompt of "Things you always wanted to say but never had the chance" which is so beyond beautiful to me and I can't wait to fulfill in this little multi chaptered thing I'm trying out XDXD But also please be sure to check out her gorgeous FIC that she was sweet enough to write for me, "The First Night of The Summer Of Love" It's one of my favorite things on this planet right now!

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.. All Our Tainted Stars

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Chapter 1

It starts off like all the great love stories do. Too much passion, too many promises, and not enough reasons to constitute staying.

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Misty knows full and well that she's just another blank face in the sea of regulars who are ravaging yet another one of Andrew Hayden's infamous soirees—blissfully letting go of any and all woes, while relishing in the irresponsible frivolity and debauchery of youth. The ambiance is thrilling if Misty's being at all honest. The throng of people are all swaying and jiving in the center of Hayden's imposing yard, the chill of the night tickling exposed skin, while frothy laughter pours out of there scotch tainted lips.

Misty knows that considering her position as one of the most eligible young Misses in the state— with a blood line scaling back to some of the first folks to ever set foot on this land from the old world, and the youngest daughter of the much beloved and revered baron of wealth, Myles Sheffield— that she has no reason to be swallowed up in this whirlpool of new money gents and flapper gals who are merely looking for a good time composed of outlawed booze and flamboyant dresses that they dawn themselves in as if a new sort of Napajan royalty that would even put the Kalosian monarchs to shame… But then again, , Misty has always chafed under the propriety her regal but strict mother had imposed upon her and all her sisters since youth. So when her most dearest and darling friend, May — the eldest born to one of the most prominent families in the regions by her mother, and the ever illustrious second term Hoenn Senator by her father, (dressed to the nines in some sort of frilly, skirt contraption, and bright eyes accented by a charcoal liner) —had pleaded for Misty to join her in attending the festivity, "I just know the whole talk of the town will be there, and I've already rallied Dawn in coming. Oh please Misty, will you join!" well she was loath to say no.

From the moment they stepped into the residence, all eyes caught on them, not an irregular occurrence— after all they are quite well established as a tight knit group that always aws onlookers, three beauties who've always been attached by the hips, and who can dole out sparkling words that would mesmerize even the coldest of folks. They'd always been the center of attention for any gathering, constantly complimented for their good wit and amiable charm, as if they were the three muses of ancient times over just simply three outrageously beautiful and exuberantly wealthy girls of the Regions. Dawn the brilliant one, May the most striking, and Misty somewhere in the middle. ("The perfect angel every fella wants to claim as his own." "But too good for even a saint.") May and Dawn would tease during one of their countless nights spent regaling to one another their dreams and hopes of the future… Which alas for a woman always ultimately lead to discussion of her eventual husband.

Dawn and Zoey have been skirting around one another for going on a year at this point, only

awaiting the blessing by Doctor Berlitz for as long as it behooves Dawn. Misty knows full and well that her bright and liberated friend would run off and wed the athlete whenever she feels it fit— even if it is an elopement, and for her part Zoey would follow at a moment's notice.

In the same vein, despite her flighty tendencies and flippant nature of juggling the affections of one paramour to the next, May has always held a soft spot in her heart for the heir of the incomparable Hayden fortune, a boy whom they've all been intimately acquainted with since their juvenescence, but whom's always held May in his highest esteem and only treated her like the finest of porcelain he's thankful to even glance upon. There's absolutely no doubt in Misty's mind that Drew would give the world a million times over if May would only smile his way for only a sparing moment, and she's just as sure that May longs for that sort of soft intimacy.

Misty sometimes feels left behind by her friends' romantic endeavors, sometimes reasons that it would do her well to just except the hand of one of the fine suitors who are at her beck and call, even if she may not feel the same fervor in her fancy towards them as they do her. Just so that she and May and Dawn could all continue on the same page as always.

Soon enough May was whisked away by Drew to try her hand at the new dance of the day that still made Misty's cheeks blush with it's impropriety in public— her mother's teachings more ingrained into her than previously thought— and Dawn's gaze caught on a fiery redhead twirling around in the center of the gazebo soon after that, promptly leaving Misty in the dust to wander around on her own. Which of course isn't exactly a difficulty. She knows how her face looks, knows the way her dress hugs her soft curves in the exact right breath that makes gals and guys alike track her path, some with envy and others with coquettish intent. Misty's never been left alone, not really, not for long. People are always more than willing to drape themselves over someone as beautiful and affluent as one of the heirs of the Sheffield legacy. (Only a stone of which composes the crown Jewels of Napajan antiquity).

A quarter of an hour in and Misty finds herself being chatted up by some rather handsome brunette—Richie, or Reggie or what have you. She's demure in the way that has always been perfected with practice, each flip of the hair and squeezing of the shoulder deliberate. And he's eating it up quite lavishly, if Misty's got anything to say about it.

"Tell me more about your employment good sir, I reckon it fairs well in these most prosperous times?" She asks with a crooked grin, one brow cocked ever so slightly, making a distinctly pink hue tint his cheeks. He's smiling down at her with all his teeth, eyes shimmering as if he thinks her to be the most delightful creature he's ever encountered in all his time, equal parts captivated and besotted.

"To easy," Misty thinks to herself with a derisive sneer. She could never fathom spending more than a date onto the town with him, but then again that's all she's ever searching for… And maybe she should start expanding her horizons if she wants to keep in pace with her practically betrothed friends.

"Perhaps we can discuss it more after grabbing a couple drinks and strolling around the Hayden estate," Richie— or Reggie, she still hasn't a clue— croons with a leer, and God he really is handsome, isn't he? — eyes like Gilbert, (John), and a finesse like Fairbanks, (Douglas). He's the exact sort of fella that would charm her mother, and speak of the most recent elections with her father. Someone to spar words with a bold Daisy, and to listen to Lily's daydreams of a beau who could match all her most ardent desires, while maybe even playing a round of tennis with a beaming Violet who's always been the best athlete of the Sheffield crew.

Does it truly matter if Misty doesn't feel anything worth anything for him?

"I've never seen one so… big." He continues, eyes crinkled with intent and hand squeezing her much smaller one in an indelicately insinuative manner.

Misty swallows any sort of retort that's coded with steel, instead dimples up at him sweetly, forcing herself to be malleable to his charms that teeter on boastful.

"Sounds like an invitation I can't pass up," she says with a deliberate squeezing of her arms to feign shielding herself from the wind, giving him an eyeful of her abundant cleavage while still coming across as demure as her mother trained her to be, and he's entirely spellbound.

Too easy.

After a moment of him gaping, he offers his arm for her to hook her's around, speaking on his business as a law clerk for the esteemed chief judge of the Region's supreme court, though the only problem that arises with their conversation is how all attention given to Richie/Reggie by Misty is promptly thrown out of the god forsaken window when they swagger up to one of the elaborately put together drink tables and she suddenly finds herself dumbfounded. Stricken and petrified when drawn to the sight of a beautiful boy standing besides a gorgeous, dark skinned girl. And for the first time in her life Misty feels like she's standing on the precipice of something bigger than herself—something that can alter her world so thoroughly that it'd leave her windswept and dazed.

It's probably a full minute of Misty not so inconspicuously staring until the beautiful boy finally turns around to lock eyes with her, the corner of his mouth curving upwards into a small, welcoming grin, while his impossibly piercing eyes dart up and down Misty's physique. In turn she suddenly feels over exposed, and severely lacking when compared to this enigma of a man. Like she was never good enough, like she could never be good enough for him.

With clenched fists of tension, and the release of a tight breath she hadn't even realized she was holding, Misty pivots on her heals, and scurries away from the beautiful boy, and all the promises he radiates.

Feeling already half in love with him, and not ready for any of it.

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Author's Note: Thank you gorgeous soul so so much for reading! I would adore you for an eternity and a day if you left me a comment down below letting me know what you thought of this! Seriously and truly, leaving a review for an author makes their entire day and inspires them to continue on writing3

So hope o hear from you soon ;)

All My Love

~Len