He sat and stared at the screen. A concert was on, starring Mia. He sighed, pained. It had been long. Too long. She promised she'd be back by now. Promised she'd be by his side again. But she wasn't. She was on some tour. She'd only returned a few times. Once for her brother's wedding, and once again when her tour had allowed it. The only other time he saw her was in Paris, when Brock married Keya.

The show ended. He turned of the television. There was nothing left for him now. Nothing left but memories. His own profession didn't allow for any leisure or holidays, either. His rival with Ash was over. He'd settled as a Gym Leader and owner of the night clubs around town. Occasionally he'd return to Pallet Town to meet up with Professor oak, but usually he didn't have time even for that.

He glanced over to the wall of his apartment, and couldn't help but smile. The last picture they ever took on that journey. Ash and Misty, Brock and Keya… him and Mia. Another fairytale gone wrong. She'd vanished out of his life. He waited for her that year, and she hadn't returned. Still he waited. He'd promised her that much. He'd waited, even if he wasn't completely devoted to her.

When she came for Ash's wedding, she'd told him to move on. Move on, forget her. And that was it. No explanation, no reasoning, nothing. When he tried to hold her, she'd moved away. When he tried to talk, she walked. When he tried to ask, she'd ran. Ran away from him. Tore his heart. Why? He still didn't know. So he'd gone on with his life.

Not, of course, that he hadn't already. He'd gotten drunk a few times and into a few one-night stands. Had the odd relationship with one girl or another in passing. But they hadn't meant anything to him. Without her around, he lacked the same control he'd acquired. He'd lost a lot more than that, but she still meant the world to him. And she'd trampled on his heart. Driven right over it without a care.

And yet, it wasn't that easy to rid himself of her presence. Of the memory of her. Of anything of her. The pictures remained in a photo album in his closet, collecting dust. The letters she'd continued to write to him since Ash's wedding lay in a bundle in the music box he was going to give her for her 13th birthday. The flute… His one complete connection with her. That he'd also kept. Although it had been a long time since the last time he'd used it. For three years, it lay untouched in its box on the mantle above his bed. A display and nothing more.

He flipped open his phone.

"Yeah?" he asked blandly and extremely to-the-point.

He sighed when the phone call ended. Why him? Why? It wasn't fair.

"Okay, what seems to be the problem?" he asked, looking pointedly at the two.

"He doesn't own me," spat Jay.

Once upon a time, she'd been such a sweet girl. After she was separated from her best friend, she couldn't handle everything with that happened with her boyfriend. Her attitude had changed. She'd grown thorns instead of petals.

"I never said I did," muttered Nick.

Gary shot him a warning glare, and he glowered at the floor. Jay was a member of the Vixens, and Nick was Gary's second in command in the Dragons. To put it simply, they didn't get along despite the alliance between the gangs.

Jay's black hair was done up in a high ponytail. The slither of hair which fell across her face was silver. She wore a black halter top and jeans. Her nails were painted red and her wrists were covered in silver bangles. She wore black sneakers and the whole look was rather odd. A mix between rough and deadly. Her arms were crossed and she leaned her weight onto her right leg, obviously waiting for a verdict.

Nicholas, or Nick, as he preferred to be called, was wearing a black t-shirt with jeans. His brown hair was gelled up stylishly messy and was currently swinging his legs as he sat on the bar, his own black sneakers only just touching the table. His back was hunched and his head down, although it was apparent that the expression on his face was one of complete loathing.

Gary sighed and turned to Marie, Jay's older sister, and raised an eyebrow. She sighed in return. Usually it was up to her to keep these two in place.

"They were having an argument on the table settings," she mumbled, hating to tell on her younger sister.

"… And…?" continued Gary, even though he knew what had happened.

"And they got into a fight," sighed Marie, "Nick was trying to get her to move the table upstairs, but Jay told him that there were enough there already."

"And were there?"

Biting her lip, Marie gave a slow shake of her head.

"At least, not according to the list," she tried to explain in her sister's defence, "But there was still a lot of space there…"

Gary put up a hand and she stopped. He turned to look at Jay.

"Jay, who's club is this?" he asked in a stern voice.

"Yours," she muttered back in reply.

"So when Nick tries to ensure my rules are followed, my staff should follow his instructions, right?"

She nodded again, obviously unwillingly. Gary sighed.

"Look, Jay. I know Mia leaving was difficult for you. It was difficult for all of us…"

"Like you care!" she snapped.

Gary stopped. His eyes narrowed. He folded his arms and glared down at her.

"What did you say?" he said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Like you care!"

Gary exploded.

"Of course I care! I…" he faltered, then ended with, "I cared."

"No you didn't."

He looked up angrily at her.

"Oh, and how would you know?"

Anger flashed in his eyes. Jay glared back with her own fierceness.

"It was your fault she left," she yelled, shocking everyone in the room.

"What…?" began Gary, confused.

"It was your fault," she repeated angrily, but softly.

"And how do you figure that?" he asked, attempting to steady his voice.

"She told me."

"And what exactly did she tell you?"

"She told me you were the cause. She told me she wanted to stay, but she couldn't. That it would've been too painful for her to continually see you."

"And why was that?"

"… Because you betrayed her trust," hissed Jay, before storming away.

"Jay!" called Marie, running after her younger sister.

Gary sighed and Nick clasped a hand around his friend.

"Don't worry, Gary. It's Jay. She's not in a right state of mind," offered Nick.

"It's because it's Jay who's saying this, that I'm worried. She was Mia's best friend."

"Is," Nick corrected offhandedly.

Gary stared at him. Nick seemed to realise what he said and tried to stammer out an excuse, but Gary cut him short.

"What do you mean, 'is'?"

"Well… you know. Mia still write to her, and sometimes even visits…"

Gary grabbed his friend by the front of his shirt.

"And you never told me?"

Nick shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, I didn't think you needed to know…"

"Try the other one, Nick."

"Okay okay. It's not my fault! Mia… Mia didn't want you to know. What was I supposed to do? Go behind her back and tell you?"

"Yes!"

Nick pushed Gary off him.

"Look. You know how it is, right? You know how she is!"

Gary sighed and grabbed a bottle from the counter.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do know."

Hey all!

This story follows Misty's Hope, but you don't really have to read it to understand the plot if you don't want to. Just an update on the ages, though.

Gary: 19... I think...

Mia: 15

Jay: 15

Nick: 19

Marie: 21

Not that all of the ages matter, but I just thought you'd like to know. Anyway, please read and review! Thank you!