Beneath the moonlight of this night

An angel sat to gaze

Upon the starry truth of light

Which turned hours into days…

She turned over, frowning, arms flung about her face. The covers had long since been kicked off, but it made no difference. She turned again, opening her eyes. This time, her gaze fell upon the sleeping figure across from her, a Pikachu by his side. She lay there, staring for a moment. There was nothing on his face to suggest discomfort. She smiled slightly, raising an arm as if to reach out for him, but it fell with the smile as reality kicked in.

How long had she been the companion by his side now? Too long, it seemed, for he never appeared to notice her, to care for her, in any way more than a friend. Just a friend. There was nothing else there. They were merely friends. That was as deep as their relationship went, and there was little she could do about it.

As the thought crossed her mind, not for the first time, she sighed in frustration and sat up straight on her bed, shaking her head side to side in an attempt to rid herself of these ideas. When that didn't work, a low growl of annoyance escaped her lips as she perplexedly attempted to forget. Resisting the urge to scream, she slipped out of bed and into the cold night air.

As the cool wind hit her, she closed her eyes and smiled slightly, enjoying the breezy atmosphere for a moment, before continuing on her walk. Her hair, left untied at night, was caught in the wind and blew about her face lightly. Slowly, she pushed her hair back gently, away from her closed eyes and mouth. When she did open her eyes, she gazed up at the brilliance of the full moon. It's beauty, its tranquillity, its loneliness…

This time, the sigh slipped through her lips before she was able to do anything to prevent it from forming as she reminisced of the many days she had shared with Ash. Their first encounter, where he had stolen her bike in a desperate attempt to rush Pikachu to the safety of a PokeCentre. The day they had met Brock, whose father had obligated him to train as the next Gym leader in between taking care of his many younger siblings.

The various unwelcome meetings with Team Rocket. Jessie, the supposed leader of the trio who'd felt she was superior to all; James, the run away rich kid whose intelligence remained hidden due to his being thicker than the Ilex forest, and Meowth, the unique little talking feline with a mind only on money. What had happened to them, anyway? Their last meeting had been filled with encrypted messages, which had ended in a proposal from James, to Jessie. Really, now that she thought about it, it was rather odd.

Nevertheless, that had been… a long time ago. A very long time ago. Now, Ash was about to collect the last of the eight badges required to enter the Jhoto league. Along the way, they had, by some misfortune, managed to pick up a stray. Rather, what Misty would like to think of as a stray. Instead, she was considered a friend and a companion, and already it seemed Ash treated that… creature, with a much higher regard than he would ever bestow upon herself.

Watching them together, talking… joking… laughing… As if they'd known each other forever. As if they were the closest of friends. It made her sick. There was nothing more that she hated than a try hard, and Keya was just that. Keya… She remembered, now, just the other day as the two walked before her, enjoying one another's company, what she had been thinking.

"Tryhard," she muttered out loud.

She didn't care, though. Why would she? There was no need for her to care. No reason for her to. Nothing. She just didn't like the girl. That was all.

Liar…

She shook her head furiously, desperately trying to ignore her heart. She wasn't jealous of Keya at all. Not one bit. Absolutely not. After all, who was she, anyway? Just the person who had begun this journey with Ash, that was all. Just the one who had looked after him when he was ill, nothing much. Just the person who had helped him through his problems, nothing really. No one at all. Just the one person who Ash should truly be grateful for, damn it!

Keya… In all ways, she was perfect in anyone's eyes. Her blonde hair shone golden in the sunlight. Her blue eyes, the colour of the sea, were always shining with delight and over enthusiasm from one of Ash's performances or another, whether it be winning a badge or helping her set up camp. Her perfect smile, sickeningly sweet… There was no way she, Misty, could compete against that.

The unfortunate thing was, that Keya knew this. She knew all of this and, the moment Ash vanished, the act would disappear and her true colours would show. An arrogant flick of her hair, a sinister sneer, a superior look, all designed to make her feel degraded. The worst part was, it worked. It wasn't that she wanted it to work, nor because she didn't resist, but she really quite honestly could not help but let the comments get to her.

Just yesterday she had glowered as she watched Keya diving in and out of the lake they'd decided to stop by. She certainly knew how to get a guy's attention. There was never a spare moment when she wouldn't be calling on Ash to watch her dive into the water below. Misty had imagined a Gyarados swallowing her up as she dived into the clear blue water and sighed, mildly annoyed at herself for thinking such sadistic thoughts. Too bad Brock didn't seem to notice her, and so couldn't drive her away with the insanity he called his obsession.

Misty sighed in frustration, wondering about the future. What could she do? Nothing. Deep down, she knew she liked him, but couldn't bring herself to admit it. She didn't want to like him, but she did. The feeling of such a lack of self control scared her, although it would take quite a lot before she'd admit it. She despised the thought of having no control over her emotions. She hated being in this dilemma. She hated Keya for conceiving such a dilemma. She hated her for ruining everything. She hated Keya.

As the anger and frustration she'd previously kept locked up began to break free, she screamed. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as her piercing cry shattered the peace of the night sky. She felt her whole body shake and crumble into a seating position on the bench located outside the PokeCentre as she began to weep.

"Hey, you okay?"

Misty almost jumped, startled as a hand was placed onto her shoulder. She spun around to meet the gaze of Ash Ketchum ((sp?)). Cursing herself inwardly for what she must look like, she bowed her head, nodding furiously, desperately wishing her tears weren't tear stained and that her eyes weren't puffy. Ash frowned in mild confusion, bending down in an attempt to face her. He reached out a hand and gently lifted her chin so that she was staring directly at him, mesmerised by the concern in his hazel eyes.

"Hey Ash! What are you doing up so late?" asked a shrilly cheerful voice.

Misty tore her gaze away, looking in the opposite direction to seethe at a passing Hoothoot who, upon noticing her glare, hopped away as fast as it could, fearing for its life. Ash blushed, taking away his hand quickly as he faced the speaker.

"Hey Keya. I was just checking up on Misty, that's all," he replied quickly.

'Yes, that's all,' thought Misty bitterly, 'That's all it ever is.'

"Oh, Misty's here?" asked Keya, pretending to look straight past her.

Finally, Misty turned around, suppressing a glare with sufficient difficulty. She forced something which seemed torn between a scowl and what you could supposedly call a smile in her direction.

"Right. Hey," she said dismissively before returning to Ash, "Ash! Look at you! You're freezing. Why don't we go inside so you won't catch a cold, hmm?"

The sweetly deceptive smile. Ash's vague and almost displeased response? No. Just her imagination. Why would there be such a tone in Ash's voice when speaking to the world's best potential girlfriend? Even if she was a lying backstabbing little cheat. Nevertheless, Misty vaguely wondered how she could manage to make a collective noun sound so… excluding. Stupid, lying…

"Come on, Misty, we better go inside," he said, holding out a hand, smiling.

Misty smiled weakly and shook her head.

"You go ahead. I want to stay out here for a little while longer."

For a moment, it seemed he was going to argue with her. However, whatever thoughts he had of opposing her decision seemed to vanish as he nodded and walked back inside. Misty glanced wearily at Keya, who threw a withering glare in her direction before flouncing after Ash. Misty blinked at this display blankly, trying to figure out what didn't seem to fit in this picture. Eventually, she just couldn't be bothered.

"Show pony," she muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Hey all! I know I've already posted this story, but let's just say I felt that the plot was completely disorganised and the writing was tragic. So I'm cutting bits and pieces, rewriting others, putting in various complications and taking out useless ideas... or elaborating on them. I'm not sure which just yet, but I'll figure it out eventually. So please bear with me, because my friends and I all agree that my last attempt at this story was... distasteful, to say the least. Thank you for reading; comments would be much appreciated. Thank you!

AngelSkykitten