A/N- and then more phone calls happened
Chapter 2 Beauty and the Beasts
Misty is sitting at the phone desk in the main gym when it rings, surprising her enough that she drops the washcloth she'd been using to rid her face of makeup. The gym has been closed all day—a national holiday in Kanto—but they'd gotten calls throughout the celebration. So many trainers came from outside the region and didn't know the traditions, usually they were all too happy to join the festivals and explore the local culture but sometimes they just wanted to collect their badge and move on. Misty had been answering the phone all day in between celebrating with her sisters and the people of Cerulean City. She breathes out slowly and puts a bright smile on her face.
"Cerulean Gym will be accepting challengers beginning tomorrow at noon, Misty speaking, can I help you?" She begins before the screen even resolves.
"Misty?" the response comes uncertainly from the screen. "This is Dawn. You're friends with Ash and Brock right?" Misty looks closely at the screen and is surprised to find a blue haired girl staring back at her. She racks her brain trying to recall the name 'Dawn'. She feels like she should remember it—and then it hits her. This is the new girl Ash and Brock have been traveling with. Misty looks at her again. She's pretty and so made up. Misty scrubs her face harder. Of course Ash would find a girl who could train with him and look like she walked out of a magazine at the same time. She was fairly close to their age too, if Misty remembered correctly. Somewhere around 14 to their 16 yet somehow just starting out on her journey. Apparently in Sinnoh they started later. "Misty?" the girl on the screen asks again and Misty realizes she must have been staring at nothing.
"Sorry, long day. Dawn? What's up?" Then, suddenly, Misty's eyes grow wide. Why would Dawn be calling on her own? Misty has never spoken to her not even with Ash and Brock. Arceus, are they ok? "Are Ash and Brock ok?" Dawn looks down and Misty feels her heart speed up. "What happened?"
Dawn looks up quickly enough that her hair whips back and shakes her hands back and forth. "No no no no no no," she says, repeating the words so fast that it becomes one sound. "They're fine, they're just….no this is silly. Thank you for talking to me Misty. I'll let you go."
"Dawn." Misty says firmly, and the young blue haired girl pauses immediately in her reach to hang up. "What happened?"
"I don't know. I was with them all day and they just started yelling!" Her voice cracks as she talks in the same way Ash's does when he's not telling the whole story. Misty raises an eyebrow. "Ok, I was gone for five minutes." Her voice cracks, Misty purses her lips. "Ten minutes?" Another crack, Misty puts her chin on her hand. "Ok, fifteen minutes. I wanted a milkshake."
"It's ok, Dawn. It's not your job to babysit them. But, why are you telling me this, exactly?" Dawn looks away and mumbles under her breath, flushing as she does. "What to try that one again?" She tries to keep her voice calm as she speaks, but Misty can hear the anger seeping through.
"Because they're afraid of you." Dawn repeats in a firm voice. Misty rubs her temples feeling the beginnings of a headache she suspects will only grow during this chat.
"And?"
"Fix it?" Dawn declares. Misty rubs her temples again and breathes out.
"What, exactly, happened?"
"I don't know."
"How," Misty says, in the calmest voice she can manage, "can I fix it if you don't know what happened?" Dawn visibly shrinks in the camera screen and Misty sighs. "Sorry. Just, what do you know?"
"They were yelling?" Misty swallows a scream.
"Before that?"
"I went to the café counter to get a milkshake." And then her voice brightens. "Oh and some napkins to clean up the ketchup." Misty takes a deep breath.
"What. Ketchup?"
"Well, the ketchup that Pikachu got everywhere." Dawn replies as though surprised Misty didn't know. Misty rubs her temples.
"So, they were fighting about Pikachu making a mess?"
"Of course not." Dawn shakes her head. "Pikachu gave them the ketchup to try and get them to stop fighting. Of course, Pikachu was really excited and made a huge mess in the Pokémon center lobby."
"Wait, I thought you guys were in the café?"
"We were. But they asked us to leave after Onix knocked over a table." Misty's eyes widen. What in the world was Onix doing out in a café? Brock's Pokémon were so well trained, they'd never come out unless called and Brock wouldn't call them in a café unless he was in trouble.
"Why was Onix out?"
"I don't know?" Dawn sounds confused and Misty clenches her hands.
"You," a breath, "don't know why the giant rock snake was out in the café?"
"No."
"OK. Were they fighting about Onix?"
"No, they weren't yelling yet though"
"When did they start yelling?"
"I don't know. I went to go get my milkshake and when I came back half an hour later, they were yelling." Misty blinks. Half an hour. Hadn't Dawn said fifteen minutes? Misty raises an eyebrow and Dawn wilts. "So, maybe I was gone longer?"
"You think?" Misty can barely keep the venom from her voice, Dawn shrinks back until she is barely in view of the phone.
"Sorry." Dawn sobs. Misty rubs her temples, there is no avoiding this migraine.
"It's fine Dawn. Just. Put them on the phone." Dawns face brightens.
"OK!" she giggles out, skipping away to get them. Misty stares open mouthed at the empty screen. Had Dawn just?
"Wow," Misty breathes.
"Wow what Mist?" Ash's voice asks before he sits down in front of the screen.
"Nothing… Dawn is just… Really good-" Misty cuts off as Ash starts nodding in admiration. Misty can feel her blood pressure rising and the threatening headache blooms behind her eye. Admiration, from Ash? That…she should have stayed with him. What can this little….thing…possibly have done to earn—Misty blinks. This, right now, isn't going to help anyone.
"You okay there Mist?" Ash sounds concerned. "You look like you saw a Ghastly."
"Yeah…" Misty shakes her head, and smiles at Ash. She'll just show him who's in charge, and it'll all be fine. "So… Dawn tells me you and Brock were fighting in a cafe?" Ash crosses his arms and glances away from the screen in an all too childish gesture and Misty wishes all over again that she'd never left. This is impossible over the phone. "Ash Ketchum, you look at me this second or I swear I will call your mother." He turns back around. "Good. Now what were you fighting over?"
"A girl." Brock supplies, shoving Ash sideways to share the screen. His vest is stained red and there is what looks like some dried ketchup in his hair. They push at each other for a few moments until Dawn sits between them, blocking their hands.
"A girl?" Misty asks, raising her eyebrow. "A girl made you release Onix in a café?"
"Well," Brock says, scratching the back of his head. "Dawn did that actually." Dawn laughs, a high pitched giggle of embarrassment. "So I guess, yes?" Misty glares at Dawn who raises her hands in defense.
"I thought you didn't know who released Onix?" Misty replies, rubbing her temples. Brock is sure that it's not a good sign. Dawn shrugs and Misty's face goes red as she tries not to scream at the younger girl. "So were you fighting over Dawn?" Both boys shake their heads as Dawn flushes and ducks hers.
"Gross, Misty." Dawn squeaks out. "They're both way too old for me."
"Then Paul must be ancient." Ash replies in annoyed tone. Both Dawn and Brocks jaws drop open.
"Feel free to hit him," Misty laughs. Brock takes her up on the offer, smacking Ash around Dawn's back. Ash, having grown in his years traveling, hits Brock back starting a shoving war that knocks Dawn from between them. She stands up and shoves at both of them and the three of them shove and hit one another like children in some playground squabble. Misty calls their names and waves her hands and finally whistles in the same way she does to get Gyarados's attention. The three of them stop. Brock has Dawn's hat in his hand, just out of her reach. Ash is tugging Brock's vest, pulling him down and Dawn is somehow holding one of Ash's shoes. All three stare at Misty on the screen. "Sit." Misty says, tone dripping venom. All three sit instantly. "Good. Now you are going to tell me, one at a time what happened? Clear?" All three nod. "Ash, start."
"Brock was going to stay with some girl."
"She was not some girl, Ash." Brock cuts in. Misty raises her eyebrow and Brock shrinks down.
"She was. You met her that morning and were going to stay with her. And why? Because she was cute? Brock it's just like-"
"Ash, don't." Misty cuts him off, wincing.
"-like Ivy." And that's when Brock punches him. For a few moments everyone is frozen until Ash launches himself at Brock. They're yelling now. Misty looks at her nails wondering if she should paint them. They would chip within a day with her work at the gym, but…the one time Ash had said anything about the way she'd looked, it had been a comment about her nails which had been blue that day. Her internal count reaches ten and Misty sighs, takes a deep breath and whistles, loudly. Nothing happens. . The boys are still yelling and Misty can hear Dawn squealing over the din. She starts her count again, Ash definitely deserves this. He did bring up Ivy after all.
A ten count and Misty whistles. Nothing. That's…hold on…she whistles again and not even Dawn, who has fallen out of view of the phone, acts likes she's heard the sound The yelling still hasn't stopped. Misty can only parse a few words, but those she hears are ones that break friendships. 'You don't trust me.' 'I can make my own decisions' 'throw your life away' Until Misty is able to catch Dawn's eye. "Hit them both." Misty mouths and Dawn, too shocked to argue smacks both of them with open palms. They retreat to opposite corners of the table in front of the phone. Misty scrubs a hand over her face, thankful they've stopped. The boys breathe heavily for a few moments, chests heaving as glare at one another across Dawn before Brock breaks the silence.
"She's nothing like Ivy. And even if she was, I'm old enough to make my own mistakes. Not that this would have been. Not that I was even going to stay. She invited me, Ash. She invited me to apprentice with her and her husband at the Pokémon hospital." Brock spits.
"She was married?" Ash asks, surprised. Brock nods. "And you weren't going to stay?"
"No, and if you had given me a chance to talk before you started accusing me of, I don't even know what, you'd have known that."
"Ash," Misty asks quietly, "What were you upset about? Brock's left before."
"He left, yeah. But he came back so…" He turns to Brock. "You came back so sad. And you didn't want to be a breeder anymore and….I didn't want you to stop wanting…what do you want?"
"I don't know. But trying out new things and studying with new people is the only way I'm going to learn. I'm not leaving now, but I may soon. Is that ok?" Brock won't meet his eyes and Misty takes a deep breath. Ash says nothing for a few beats before breaking into a smile and rushing around dawn to hug Brock.
"Of course it's ok, you'll be the best at whatever you want to be Brock!"
Misty let's out the breath she'd been holding. "So, you two are ok?" she asks. Both boys nod and Misty smiles. "Good." It's not a good smile and both boys shiver in fear of what is to come. "But if you ever do that again, I swear to Mew I will fly to Sinnoh and mallet you both. And don't think you can hide it, Dawn will tell me. Are we understood?"
"Yes ma'am" Brock and Dawn chorus.
"Ash?" Misty asks dangerously, he smirks.
"So, if we fight again…you'll come to Sinnoh?" Ash asks. Without waiting for a response, he turns and smacks Brock before running off through a silent lobby. Brock blinks at the phone.
"So I guess I'll see you on the next flight then?" He asks, running off after Ash. Misty puts her head in her hands wishing half-heartedly that she'd never pulled Ash out of that river.
"Misty?" Dawn asks quietly. Misty hums in response. "Thanks, for the help." Something crashes distantly and Nurse Joy begins yelling. Dawn cringes. "I better go stop them." Dawn reaches forward to turn out the phone when an angry Pikachu echoes through the center and the lights flicker. "Or maybe I'll go get an ice cream." And she hangs up.
