Equanimity, Chapter 7
During the drama that followed Dawn, Misty forgot completely about calling her sister back.
Actually, as she and Ash drew closer to the extravagant Richissime hotel, she thought about it even less. Would they spend the night in the same room, or did Ash have one scheduled for her? If that was the case, how much would it cost? Then again, would save them both time and money to share a room—they shared a sleeping bag, so sharing a bed had to be more or less the same.
Except, the last time they shared something, they hadn't nearly fornicated on a forest floor, on the third date, after being upset with him. Needless to say, Misty's sweaty palms and racing heartbeat were the only thoughts in her head.
Ash didn't share her wavelength. Already, he mostly forgot the incident as he was busy making sure his hoodie covered his hair, and that pikachu was appropriately tucked away in his backpack, so that no one would spot him. Misty wore a cap, but given her shorts, and yellow vest—and bright red hair, she stuck out like a signal flare. Rubbing his face, he couldn't stop replaying how pissed off the league would be with him, if they found out he falsely called in sick.
This weekend, he was supposed to be attending some kind of opening with Siebold and an interview that he rescheduled for the following week. Honestly, he hoped that calling in sick this Saturday would have saved him from the event—but not likely. Everyone wanted to know everything about him, and his higher ups were eating whatever positive press they could get about the young man.
Having been caught up in their own thoughts; neither of them spoke for nearly and hour outside of directions, and the occasional 'oh, pretty'.
Misty was the first to break the ice as the hotel came into view over the next line of buildings, and she was beginning to inwardly panic.
"So...what are the sleeping arrangements?" Misty asked while zipping up her vest a bit. A nervous habit.
"Hmm?" Ash wondered, having to re-process her question. Honestly, he hadn't thought about it. "I dunno. I thought you'd just sleep in my room?"
"Oh.." Misty hummed quietly, looking ahead and keeping her arms right close to her body. Ash shrugged his shoulders.
"Did you want your own room?"
"No, not at all. I was just curious." she replied quickly, her words running together and her back straighter than usual. Ash chuckled at the reaction, though he wasn't quite sure why she was having one.
"If you wanted to though, we could go swimming before hand."
Apparently, that hadn't prevented her panic, because she swallowed hard. Swimming was wonderful, she did a lot of that. But swimming also meant having minimal clothes on, and the way she felt all torn up inside about it—she didn't want to be the next Dawn calling Brock in the middle of the night. She used this moment to point at a restaurant.
"Aren't you hungry?"
Ash barely glanced at the restaurant—it was some Kalosian phrase he wasn't familiar with, but he shrugged.
"Starved, but there's amazing room service at-"
Misty ran forward, pointing to a sign. "But this is food based on famous Paris dishes which Kalos is known for."
Ash scrunched up his nose. "Also a bit pricey."
"That's alright, I'll pay."
Ash scowled, "I didn't say you had to pay."
"Funny, you used to beg me to." She furrowed her eyebrows, which brought a blush to Ash's cheeks, and he sighed in defeat.
"Alright, we'll go."
When Ash grabbed the door, Misty let out a very loud sigh she had been holding in. Thankful for the temporary distraction, at least they were taking a detour. Funny, she would have never imagined trying to avoid the Richissime this morning, but just the name signaled dread through her veins.
After the entered, the enchanting lights swallowed them whole. The restaurant was lined with velvet walls, and gold and silver tapestries on top of dark shades. Taking on the appearance of royalty, and less of a business. The lights glowed like candles in the night, and Misty tugged at her collar. Usually, she would swoon over such a place, but at the moment, Misty couldn't smell food and the romantic ambiance, given her current predicament, made her stomach knot. Although, she was grateful that the allure would more than likely go right over Ash's head.
"It's really dark in here."
And it did. She would have pat him on the back, had the server not come around the corner, wearing a completely black attire, matched with a small white apron and bow. Her hair was neatly tied away from her face in eccentric braids, her nails and make-up very posh and trim.
"...A table for—oh my..." She muttered, looking up and down at the two wood-rats. Misty gave a quick once-over to Ash, who looked more put together than she did.
Misty usually hated when people judged her based on her attire—but a nice place usually called for a nice outfit, and neither of them were dressed for the part.
"Hi." Misty said, blinking.
"...Are you... tourist? We don't have public washrooms." At this, Misty nearly turned her head at a ninety degree angle to observe the sheer ignorance of the server, but Ash beat her to a punchline, by pulling off his hood.
"Actually we're guest." Ash blinked at the woman who's eyes nearly bugged out of her face watching him. Words did not need to be passed, as she was staring right at Ash frickin Ketchum! Only the most popular 'celebrity' in the league at the moment. Her jaw didn't drop, but Ash grabbed onto Misty's shoulders, as if putting her on display as he added.
"We'd like a table for two, away from the crowd. Please."
"Y-yes. Thank you." She stammered, gathering a menu while Ash gently guided Misty around the corner.
A bit confused, Ash lead her around the restaurant to a corner with higher booths that was tucked away, and near a window. Away from over half of the other customers. Misty saw a few famous actors, and other some-what familiar faces as they moved to their seat, and promptly sat down. Worst of all, people turned their noses up at them for the way they looked. Suddenly, she thought that stopping here wasn't such a good idea.
Instead of sitting on the opposite side of her, like any normal person would, Ash took a seat beside her, and released pikachu to the opposite side for freedom. The mouse took cover in a small booster seat near the wall of the table, and sniffed around for some ketchup while the server placed down the menus and started kneading her hands.
"Can I get you something to start?"
Ash glanced at Misty who was still tongue tied—so he answered: "Water, please."
Unfolding one of the menus, just as she was leaving, Ash also added: "And maybe judge a bit less next time."
"Really, if someone can pay for the food, who cares what they're dressed like?" Ash grumbled. It was the first time she remembered that like her, Ash was not familiar with the lavish nature of this region. In fact, he carried more disdain in his voice than she did.
"...Yeah." She managed weakly, to which Ash finally looked at her, lips slightly pursed while she was patting down her hair.
"You look fine, Misty."
"Don't lie to me." She hissed, bringing a small laugh and smile to his lips.
"Well, we did spend the last few hours in a forest. We're not going to look tip-top, and it shouldn't matter, anyways."
Misty dropped her hands to the table stubbornly, taking the menu in her hands.
"Don't tell me what to do..." she whispered defiantly, though she had definitely started looking over the menu. So many dishes were priced near one-hundred dollars, Ash made scowling noises as if nothing on the menu was appetizing and shot glares at the man sitting diagonally from them.
Probably some famous person Misty didn't know, but he was whispering among his friends about how Ash and Misty probably didn't deserve to be in such a high class restaurant. Misty really regretted this decision. Way to make her feel like dirt.
"You know, this place looks nice, it's a shame the people who run it and eat here are such... You know what I'm saying?" he tried again to poke at the fire in her soul, and this time, she agreed.
"You would think they'd be a bit more hospitable." Misty tossed out, shutting the menu.
"Wanna leave?" Ash offered while tapping his fingertips on the table. Misty quickly nodded.
"Yes."
"Awesome." He scoot out of the booth, then offered a hand to help Misty, while a squeaking pikachu crawled proudly onto his shoulder. As they were standing, the server, still starry eyed and holding two glasses of water, abruptly stopped.
"Where are you going?"
"We decided to go someplace a little less judgmental." At that, Ash smiled to the man that glared at the both of them, but wouldn't make his complaints known, and then lead Misty out of the restaurant without missing a beat.
"Well that was a waste of time." Misty grunted, glad to be out of the lavender scented place, but also nervous, because she was right back where they started.
"It's alright. The ladies in the hotel's restaurant are way nicer anyways." Ash laughed, though Misty avoided his touch. Maybe she was the only one being weird. After all, they were dating now. Kissing and touching and hugging were part of the deal—she had no reason to be acting so aloof.
"You're right. We'll just go there—then... hot tubs?"
"They have a great one on the third floor—there's this slide that goes around a corner like a wave pool and there is a huge slide that goes three floors-"
This was Ash, of course. She was getting worked up over nothing. He clearly wasn't as worried about their 'moment' out in the forest, so she shouldn't worry about it, either.
"It's a good thing I bring my swimsuit everywhere then."
"True, and it shouldn't be busy, so you can show me how you manage those insane dives you pull off."
Narrowed eyes found him as they started their trek back to the hotel, forgetting their need to be hidden as pikachu joined in the conversation with squeals of agreement. For an electric pokemon, he sure loved the water.
"How did you know about my diving?"
Caught him red handed, his scratched his neck. "Well... a news station did a coverage of you and I saw pieces of it. I honestly didn't know you were so good."
"Well I spend almost sixteen hours a day around a pool." Thoughtfully, she added, "Why did they do a cover of me?"
"Because you're my girlfriend." Ash stumbled over his words a little bit. Particularly, the word girlfriend getting stuck on his tongue, as if he were trying to get used to it still. After all, he didn't throw the word around a whole lot. Misty snickered.
"Oh, I see. I'm finally recognized for my accomplishments, only because I'm dating a champion."
"Hey, everyone forgot about my accomplishments because I was kissed on camera after my final battle."
Misty shook her head ironically. "It's a cruel world we live in."
Ash nudged her, snaking his hand down into hers. Not minding that her palms were probably sweaty from her previous panic. "I don't know much about competitive diving, but you were really good."
"...Eh. I never really won one though. Never fully committed."
"Doesn't mean you weren't good. That's like saying I was a terrible trainer just because I lost a few leagues."
Misty coughed, "five."
"Hey." He scowled, laughing with her.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it." He responded immediately moving closer to her as they walked more comfortably than they had in the last hour.
Yeah, Misty thought happily, she was definitely overthinking the situation too much. Nothing was probably going to happen anyways. More importantly, if she was uncomfortable, it was nice to know that Ash wasn't dense enough to miss her vibe. He was sweet and a little oblivious, but he was kind. She had to remember that.
"Whoa, hey!"
Ash stopped Misty, recognizing the voice beside them instantly. A wide grin tugged at his lips as he released Misty's hand to wave cheerfully.
"Max!" Ash shouted as the blue-haired trainer wearing glasses ran up the street to greet them both. Even though they had only seen him a few weeks ago, he somehow looked different. More independent. His shorts were replaced with brown slacks; but he still wore a green tee-shirt and overly-large glasses.
"I thought it was you two! Pikachu gave you away." Max pat the rodent on the head, then glanced to Ash; and his glasses flared. "I almost didn't recognize you without the hat."
Offended, Ash smacked his lips; which Misty dropped the hat she was wearing onto his head.
"It's an iconic look, truly."
"And there's Misty." Max crooned, going in for a hug that Ash wasn't all to happy about. Max's little crush on Misty was nothing more than a school-kid crush, but for whatever reason, it bugged him. It bugged him back when they traveled together in Hoenn, it would probably still bug him until Max married, or one of them died.
"How have you been?"
"I've been great! I've learned so much about the pokemon here. I haven't... battled too much, but I've learned a lot by spending so much time around Clemont—he's so smart."
"Clemont's here, too?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, they're at the south pokemon center getting rooms."
Misty twitched. Ah, anxiety—there it was again. At the mention of Clemont, the next question was...
"Bonnie and Serena are there, too. They'd all probably love to see you guys."
"Not sure love is the word I would use." Misty muttered before she could pull it back in. Naturally, her hands would have covered her face, but lucky for her, the comment went over Ash's head, though Max offered a concerned look.
"I'm glad that everyone is doing well...but Misty and I had plans."
"Oh pssh! You get to see us way less than her. You have to come see me battle—at the very least, Bonnie. She's a prodigy. It's terrifying."
Intriguing. Ash resisted for a minute, then did the unspoken rule: he looked at Misty with brown, doe eyes that made her heart do a back flip. She sighed.
"We can go."
"Yes!" Ash cheered, pumping up his fist. "But we can't be too crazy. I'm supposed to be sick today."
As Max turned away, he stroked his chin. "I see you've become a rebel, dear Ash."
"Hardly." Ash grumbled, forgetting to grab Misty when he followed.
She didn't need to be lead by the man, but the touch would have been more comforting now than before. She hadn't seen any of his Kalos friends since the party—and none of them were big fans. Bonnie made amends with Misty, but the little girl was also the reason Misty's hair was chopped back off at her shoulders; and Serena...well... there was a lot of ground to cover there.
The only person she hardly spent time with was Clemont, but he was on Team Serena and Misty was not ready for this. Suddenly sitting at home watching re-runs of Journey Stories sounded better than an prompt visit with friends. She had to remind herself: it was over, they were all good. She need not worry.
Yet, gravity felt a lot heavier now than it did before.
XOX
"I have a surprise for you all~" Max sang as he came around the back of the pokemon center. A request made by Ash, who said he couldn't be seen at the entrance, otherwise he could be swarmed by rapid fans. Max was eager to please, and told Ash to meet him around back, and he would gather their friends.
Misty felt sick—or hungry. Either way, when the opportunity to sit down came along, she took it. Sitting at one of the concrete park benches while the meeting was about to unfold, she tried to keep it together. How would they react when they saw her? She hated being in these types of situations.
"Hey guys!" Ash answered her comment by waving to the small group of people, that squealed in happiness.
"So you've finally made time to see us!" Clemont's voice carried after a weird combination of a high-five and a handshake ensued. Bonnie hugged Ash with a sister-like embrace, and only Serena hung back, offering a kind wave and shifting her gaze over to Misty, who was trying her best to smile, but probably looked like she was growling. No one else seemed to notice Misty, too enthralled with telling Ash everything that's happened up until this point.
Out of the group, Serena changed the most. Her blue eyes weren't as welcoming as they once were, and her blonde hair was chopped into a pixie cut. Her attire screamed mature in bland comparison to Misty. She wore a knee-length black skirt, a white take-top, and a pink jacket, with matching stockings. As much as Misty looked at her, Serena seemed to return the gaze, probably making the same comparisons.
Misty reminded herself again how much she hated this.
"Max said you've learned a lot, Bonnie."
"Yes! And I recently caught a froakie. He's going to be so much stronger than your greninja."
Ash snorted. "Well I doubt that, but you're more than welcome to try."
Their conversation carried on, about battling and new experiences, but as one retelling turning into gloating, Serena slowly moved from the group and as if the ground wouldn't swallow her fast enough, approached Misty, and took a seat opposite of her.
"How are you?"
"I'm..." Misty swallowed, remembering who she was. She wasn't some homewrecker that stole Ash like the tabloids painted her. Ash chose her; from the very start. She had nothing to feel bad about.
"I'm okay. And you?" She added more confidently, and Serena shrugged.
"Okay... Not entirely sure where to take my career since performances aren't as well known around the rest of the world."
"Kanto tried them once. They didn't stick." Misty tried to comfort her, but while her voice was well-tuned and practiced; her heart hammered behind her chest. To make matters worse, she couldn't get a read on Serena.
"I read about that. For now I've just been helping new trainers prepare for shows. Giving out tips. I've thought about maybe helping out around Clemont's gym."
"Running a gym is a lot of fun."
Serena smiled, and Misty tried to keep her gaze seated on her blue eyes, but they shifted only once to Ash that stood behind them. A small cry for help? Maybe some acknowledgment that the two of them were talking and Misty needed to be saved? The moment she did, Serena placed her elbows on the table and her chin on top of her folded hands. Her head titled, and her eyes closed.
"I see that you and Ash had some alone time."
Misty remembered in that moment, the marks Ash left on her neck, and zipped up her vest to her neck to hide most of them.
"That's none of your business."
"Well, it sort of is, since Ash is still my friend." Serena smiled; and this time, Misty wouldn't look away. She wasn't sure what on earth Serena was playing at—or maybe she was trying to be friendly and Misty was the one reading into the moment, either way. Misty wasn't about to be the one to back down. From the corner of her eye, she heard a buzz, and then a flash, but she didn't think much of it at the time. Ash still gave Bonnie pointers near the exit of the pokemon center, so she had to accept that there was no rescue coming.
"If you ever hurt him, I'll never forgive you."
"Haven't we already done this song and dance?" Misty muttered, looking as unimpressed as she felt. "I am not going to hurt Ash, and besides the point; what happens in our relationship is our business. Doesn't matter if he's your friend or not."
Apparently, Serena forgot Misty's brashness in the last few weeks, because she seemed surprised and had to recover.
"Regardless, love makes people blind and..."
In Misty's back pocket, her phone started to ring again, and she had honestly never been so happy to hear it. Raising a finger to Serena, she pulled her phone out simultaneously, seeing that the caller was once again Daisy, and grimaced.
Shit, she forgot to call her back.
"Hello?" Misty finally answered, and when Daisy didn't immediately reply, she knew she was in for a world of pain.
"Where on earth have you been!? I've called you at least a dozen times, and left you a million messages!"
"I went to Kalos to see Ash since you canceled our plans." Misty replied dully.
"So I get a little cold feet and you jump a couple continents!? Clearly I was still going to show up!"
"I'm sorry that 'I'm sick and can't go' sounded like a pretty definite answer when I asked you about the venue." Now, anger reached Misty's voice and she looked down at her hands, where her fingers tug into her palms, she was clutching them so tightly.
"Yeah, well I'm feeling better—and what do I know—my sister cancels the booking entirely!"
"Yes, because the next available appointment was in four months! You're getting married in five!"
Her yelling caught everyone's attention. Misty was also standing, as if the motion helped with her anger.
"Well thanks to you, I have no venue now and I have to start at square one!"
"You!? I was the one that hunted that-" "Don't you get self-righteous on me!"
For a moment, incoherent yelling went back and forth while the two sisters bickered over the phone. Bonnie politely asked Ash what was going on, but he didn't have an answer for anyone.
"What so you expect me to do, Daisy!?"
"Not to cancel my plans!"
"I was the one that made those plans!" Misty hissed in a tone vile enough that shivers ran down her cohorts spines. Ash had to pull his hoodie back over his head, because her insistent shouting was drawing more attention than need-be. However, he was grateful it wasn't directed at him for once.
"You know what? You can consider your little holiday over. Because I'm going to go tell the league you're not actually out on family business, and the gym is closed for unauthorized reasons!"
Misty stumbled for a minute, pale.
"You wouldn't dare..." She hissed.
"I would, and I'm going to! You ruined my weekend, and I'm ruining yours!"
"Daisy so help me Arceus if you hang up-"
Snap.
Misty literally broke her phone in two after the affronted older sister hung up on her, against either of their better judgment. Daisy could be so petty and immature! She was a damn child and an idiot if she thought for a minute that Misty would let her get away with this. Daisy couldn't have been so stupid to think that this was a good way to get back at Misty for leaving. Daisy was the one that canceled!
White noise filled Misty's head and she could have hit someone. Would have hit someone had she not still been surrounded by people she actually liked. Instead, she breathed, adjusting to the stares, ignoring the feet rushing to her side and the stinging in her left hand. Breaking the pokegear cell-phone at the flip joint was probably not a good idea.
"What's going on?" Ash asked while Misty swallowed her complete freak out down into the whirling vortex of her emotions, and compressed the overwhelming rage with a forced smile.
"I need to leave." She said abruptly, using that moment to hastily walk away from Ash, and the rest of his friends. When they moved to follow, she heard Ash offer up a 'I'll take care of it, I'll see you guys later' and jog slowly to her side.
Quickly, Misty walked through the street, making a line directly to the airport where she had been previously in the day. She couldn't believe that Daisy would act this way. First, Daisy pretended to be sweet and sisterly—then all of a sudden they were ten again and she was being pushy and vindictive! What had gotten into Daisy, she didn't have time to figure out. She did know, however, that she had to get back to Cerulean City before the snobs from the plateau made their way to her humble gym, or else she would get into trouble! Nothing life threatening, or serious, but enough to throw a wrench in her plans.
"Wait up!" Ash cried out finally catching up to the young woman.
Despite the anger in her heart, and the frustration with her sister; the last object of tonight was hurting Ash in any way.
"Sorry." Misty faced him quickly, her hair floating around her face as she came to a complete stop.
"What happened?" He asked, reaching out to grab her shoulder.
"Daisy happened. She... Is the most petty person alive." Petty being the only nice word she could think of in that moment.
"Seemed a bit more than petty to me..." he trailed off, tugging her away from the middle of the street, and away from prying eyes.
"She is going to call the league and tell them I'm shirking my duties because she's upset about me canceling her venue appointment."
After they were ducked behind a wall, Ash's eyes fluttered. "Didn't she say she was sick?"
"Yeah, but apparently I was supposed to know that she was still going." Misty threw up her arms and ran her hand through her hair, messing up the short bob even more. "How was I supposed to know?"
"You couldn't have."
She gestured to Ash, because he was right, and Daisy was clearly crazy.
"She doesn't usually act this way. She must have a good reason."
"...so that's why you're leaving?"
Misty sighed, curling her shoulders. "I don't want to."
"But you have to."
"...kind of."
Ash kicked the ground with his foot, he could hear the rest of the group nearing. He tried to be mature, given this was a surprise trip and all. Misty wasn't even supposed to be here. Ash should have been grateful that he was able to see her at all, and yet—selfish as he was, he didn't want her to leave yet.
"...Right away?"
"If there's a flight available at the airport, yes. If not..." She touched his hand. "I'll wait."
XOX
Of course there would be a flight available, and leaving in less than a half hour.
The universe had no compassion for Ash Ketchum's joy. More so, it was hard to believe that only twelve hours ago, she was arriving off the plane for the first time. Where did all that time go?
Stomach tied in knots, he walked with Misty to the ticket booth to purchase her ticket, helped her gather what little luggage that she had, and avoided stares. Even so, Ash had a sinking feeling that the jig was up. The way people looked at the two of them and slowly took out their phones told him everything he needed to know about where this event was going to end up.
Max, Bonnie, Clemont and Serena followed them to the airport once they caught up. Max wanted to say goodbye to Misty, too, because they hadn't gotten time to catch up. Ash wished they would have stayed behind, because it was crowded enough, without the four of them giving their disguises away. Misty had a single escalator trip to the security gates; and as quickly as she came, she would leave.
"I won't be able to call you until I get back to the gym."
"I can't believe you broke your phone." Ash laughed sadly though Misty wasn't as impressed with herself.
"I can, and it was stupid."
"Who would you be if you didn't have a temper?" He grinned ear to ear, while Misty shook her head.
"I'll see you next time, I guess." She winked, "It was fun."
"It was." Then without much thought, Ash pecked her on the lips. Bonnie grumbled something about it being 'gross' while the rest of the group turned away. Misty's nose crinkled,
"You have to come see me next time."
"I'll try my best." He grinned and Misty leaned forward to kiss him a second time before stepping away from the group, offering an awkward wave along with an uncertain look as to why they followed them here, and then settling on the journey ahead of her.
Meanwhile, Ash knew entirely why the group followed him; and Max made it known immediately.
"We need to battle now!"
XOX
Since leaving the airport, Serena felt sick—watching the sweet moment unfold between the two lovers. A gentle kiss. One that brought all the memories of her and Ash's moment together. Worst of all, they appeared so happy, and despite what she would say: Serena hated it. Yes, she realized that Ash doesn't love her the way that she loves him, and yes, Misty was a nice person.
Rejection, however, was never sweet.
When Ash returned to the pokemon center with Max and Bonnie to battle and deal with the press, Serena decided she would take a walk. No one questioned it, especially Ash who only nodded in an understanding way that made her more sick.
Frustrated, Serena pulled out the berets in her hair, and threw them onto the ground, before quickly slumping into the metal bench down the road from the pokemon center. Recalling the moment how Ash's fingers were entrapped in Misty's like they melded into one being. It made her blood run cold. No matter how much she tried, she could never get Ash to look at her like that—to develop that same spark he had in his eyes when he was around Misty. Where Serena had to ask for attention, Misty just had to show up for Ash to start pining for her attention.
It might have been a little dramatic to accuse, but Serena thought Ash was a different person entirely when Misty was around. He was still himself, caring, battle-crazy, brave and a little dense—but he was also easily flustered, a bit egotistic. He was almost childish, but in that overly-cute way: mesmerized was probably a better word. Misty wasn't any better, however, she acted tough, even a little callous; but deep down, Serena could see the intense fixation on Ash was endearing. As much as it pained Serena to admit it; they were in love.
Only Arcues knew how long, and she got in the middle of that and paid the price. Ash's dopey, snark and goofy attitude was his mysterious way of flirting with the red-head; and damn it, it worked. He didn't act that way with other people; it simply did not work.
What was she even doing here? Ripping her heart out again?
"Did you hear that the champion was at the southern pokemon center?" A young trainer crossed in front of her, walking in the direction of the center the were staying at tonight—Max and Bonnie insisted on staying there rather than Clemont's gym. Something about authenticity.
"I wonder if his girlfriend will still be with him?" The girl beside the trainer chimed in, whistling.
This question made Serena's ears burn. How long had it been since Ash arrived? Maybe a little over an hour? People were already lining up to greet him and the plane to Kanto probably hadn't even taken off yet. It was amazing to think of how fast word spread in this city.
Curiosity got the best of Serena, as she removed her tablet from her pouch, and typed into the search engine: "Ash Ketchum news". Funny to think that this small boy, who was no more than a simple trainer a few months ago was now trending online.
Lovers caught in the act: Ash and Misty's secret rendezvous. Headlined an image of Ash and Misty leaving what appeared to be a restaurant. Probably the one Max said he found them outside of, earlier. Serena scrolled again.
Ash Ketchum's girlfriend at war with Serena Yvonne. A picture of the two sitting at the picnic table outside of the pokemon center was captured, as well as the moment when Misty stood up angrily to take a phone call from her sister. Of course they would twist that into something that it wasn't.
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Serena sighed loudly. Lately, she couldn't go a day without someone in a magazine, or on the news comparing she and Misty. Writing about Misty swooping in and stealing Serena's boyfriend. Couldn't make it a day without her brief fling with Ash being brought up. Didn't they have something better to talk about? Like everything that Ash did for the region during the Team Flare chaos? Honestly, their disruption is probably why they were focusing so much on romance and drama—it distracted the people who were still effected by the damages that Flare left behind.
However, her goals and talents being overshadowed by her former-relationship with the new champion was starting to get to her. Probably not unlike how it effected Ash.
Famous by association. Seems like everyone knew who she was, and everyone sympathized with the childhood sweethearts. Whether they agreed or not, Misty wasn't to be hated or bashed the way she was presented in magazines; and if Serena's stomach didn't tie into knots when she tried to talk with Misty, she maybe would have tried to help a little bit more. Now it looked like they were fighting, and Serena was the one who made them both uncomfortable.
Serena hunched over, cradling her face in her hands. Earlier, when she told Misty that it was her business, and she would never forgive her—what she meant to say was that she and Ash looked happy, and if they were happy, then Serena was happy. What came out instead sounded hostile, and she wasn't trying to be petty!
It wasn't Misty's fault that Serena was in love with a guy, who wasn't in love with her. It wasn't either of their fault that Serena was still trying to move past it, and understand. She needed time to heal. Not to have the information regurgitated a thousand times, or to have people like Palermo trying to push her into the limelight to talk about the experience 'because it would be great publicity'.
Despite the drama that was created because of Misty and Serena, Ash seemed to be unaffected by the media. No one blamed Ash for the break up—when it was his decision to do the breaking. Most people displayed him as a hero, and the more raunchy magazines displayed him as a sex-symbol. With such a title, many people speculated that the 'second childhood crush' wouldn't be the one, either by constantly writing about fake break-ups or...whatever else they could dig up.
Ash out, spotted with another girl? Must be a new lover!
In all fairness, Serena felt horrible for Misty.
Honestly, Serena hoped by now, the media would have found something better to do, but everywhere Ash went, he stole the spotlight. He and pikachu were the highlight of events, even when Diantha made an appearance. Despite his hiccups—he was a personified hero.
Surely, the flames would die down soon, right? People couldn't be obsessed with Ash forever. At some point, the fans would stop caring, and people would move on, right? At that point, maybe it wouldn't matter so much who he was dating, or what for. People would simply...forget.
"I have to thank Clemont later for taking the heat off of me." Ash muttered, coming up from the treeline behind Serena, and taking a seat on the backside of the bench, his feet resting on the seat.
Serena didn't jump, she wasn't even surprised to see the young man appear.
"Hey." She managed a small voice, barely above a whisper while Ash rubbed his arm.
"We didn't get to talk before so..."
"What's there to talk about?" Serena asked with a half-smile, looking up at him. He wasn't as impressed with her response.
"Wanted to ask how you were doing?"
Always so caring, it was a shame his asking felt like he was rubbing her nose in it. However, lying wasn't going to help, either. She could say she was fine, put on the brave face she wears for her friends. Pretend like she wasn't hurt, but instead; she had to be honest.
"I've been better. Nothing that you can do, and don't feel bad about it... I just..." She inhaled shakily. "At some point, I'll be alright... but right now..."
She flinched, not wanting to sour the moment—in fact, she wished she could have stayed around to talk with him a little bit more, just like old times. However, this wasn't the old times, and they weren't exactly 'best friends'. Blinking back her tears, she kept her eyes forward, watching people pass by without a thought to the two people sitting on a park bench. With pikachu hiding in a backpack, Ash's most distinguishing feature was the 'z' marks on his cheeks, and no one was close enough to notice. Huffing, Serena swallowed and bit her lip, remembering the media's need to create something that wasn't there—wondering how long she would be stuck in the shadow.
"...I don't think we should be seen together right now."
By some miracle, she hoped that he understood the meaning, but even if he didn't, it was Serena that needed the time. Needed the distance.
"Alright." Ash nodded. "Then I guess I will see you around." As he got up to leave, he extended his hand to pat her shoulder, but then thought better of it. "Whenever you're ready."
Serena nodded silently as he walked the long trek back towards his hotel in the dark, and her fingers clutched tightly around her skirt as she leaned forward, heaving.
Whenever she was ready, huh? Serena recoiled, tucking her arms around herself. For so long, it was wherever Ash went, she went. That's what got her off the ground and moving to peruse her dreams as a pokemon trainer. Her feelings for him were the driving force and now, that was gone. He was gone. Sobbing, but without tears, Serena's heart ached.
"I just want to learn to stand on my own two feet..."
Author's Note: edited 2018-12-02
ANOTHER CHAPTER I CHANGED 90 PERCENT OF.
Serena's chapter was edited to be a Misty chapter. Sorry not sorry? Didn't happen intentionally, but since Serena literally has NOT OTHER role in the story after this chapter, I took her out of the title, and rewrote the chapter from Misty's POV. I kept Serena in at the end, just because I DO have one more Serena chapter after this, and without her being in this one, none of it would have made any sense.
Daisy is the reason Misty had to leave early, as well as Ash and Misty sort of being weird about what almost transpired, as well as what happened with Dawn, and Misty's view on the whole 'sex' thing that is briefly mentioned after their conversation with Dawn. Plus, Sister having a melt down that the venue wasn't booked and Misty screwed everything up and WHERE IS SHE, seemed way more believable.
