***Author's Note***

AAAH 100+ reviews!!!! You all have made me one ridiculously happy writer! Thank you so much!

Disclaimer: Always the same. Don't own what I don't own.

Misty the Matchmaker

Chapter 11: The Snapping of Mr. Snap

"I had a wonderful time tonight," Misty was saying as Serena returned to their table from the ladies' room.

Serena took a seat as Rudy turned to her friend and said, "It doesn't have to be over."

"What did you have in mind?" Misty asked and Serena would have kicked her for sounding so ridiculously suspicious if Gary hadn't broken all her toes thanks to his massive feet.

Rudy appeared to not have noticed. "A walk on the shore?"

Before Misty could give her reply, the waiter appeared with two sets of black leather check presenters and handed one to each of the men. Rudy quickly deposited his credit card inside and held out a hand to Misty. "One last dance milady?"

Eagerly, Misty accepted and they returned to the dance floor leaving Serena and Gary alone to stare at their bill. Serena snuck a glance over in the direction of the dancing pair and satisfied that Misty's attention was nowhere near focused on the table, she leaned over to try and grab the presenter.

"What are you doing?" Gary asked holding it away.

"I told you, I'm paying for myself."

"Little Maria, I would like nothing more than to watch you slave away in my building's restaurant washing dishes for the rest of the month, but I have my pride and reputation as a man," he replied.

"And I care about that because?"

Gary sighed and handed her the presenter. "Suit yourself."

Serena reached out and opened it. "Which one is mine?"

Gary pointed at a number and her eyes slowly widened, her mouth falling open. Forget not eating for a few days! She wouldn't be able to eat for a few weeks! "Why is my meal so much more than yours?"

"You ordered the Blue Fin Tuna."

"Yeah? So? Isn't tuna fish supposed to be cheaper than other fish? That's why I ordered it."

Gary burst out laughing. "Wow. You really are an ignorant little nun."

"I do not appreciate you laughing at me nor do I appreciate you calling me weird names!"

"Aren't you curious to know why I'm laughing?"

"Do tell," Serena said crossing her arms with a frown.

"Well Little Maria, while tuna is probably the most consumed fish in the world, that's regular tuna. The one you consumed tonight, however, is probably one of the most expensive fish in the world."

Serena bit her lip and looked down at the large figure once more and slowly said, "I can still pay for it." She'd just work overtime when she got back home.

Gary snatched the bill back and pulled out his credit card.

Serena took her own card out from her purse and handed it to him. "Here."

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"It's to pay for my half."

Gary rolled his eyes and as the waiter returned to the table, handed the presenters back to him. He then flicked the card back to Serena who was glaring at him. She wanted to punch him but the jerk would probably actually like that.

"What?"

"I told you I would pay for it myself!"

"And I told you I have a reputation to consider!"

"As the Playboy Prince? Please. If I paid for myself you don't have to worry about me spreading that around. As if I would tell people I went on a date with you. I have a rep to consider too."

"Can't you just take a take a good thing and accept it? Are you the kind of fortune teller that just predicts misfortune and death?"

"First of all, this date was not a good thing. And second, I"ll have you know that I am quite sought out for my accurate and positive predictions. I might predict misfortune and death for you, however," Serena replied darkly and pushed away her chair to stand up as she noticed Misty and Rudy coming back at the end of the song.

"Ready to head out?" Rudy asked cheerfully.

"Beyond ready."

The waiter came back and handed the credit cards back to their respective owners. As the men signed the receipts, Misty informed Serena that she had accepted Rudy's invitation for a walk along the shore. She asked if her friend wanted to join them.

Serena shook her head. "I think I should go home. It's been a long day."

This was a wonderful development! Misty and Rudy were really hitting it off and Serena was ecstatic. Her mind might be blown from having to keep Gary company and her poor toes might need weeks to recover from his brutal assault of revenge but it had been worth it to sit and watch the exchanges between Rudy and Misty go from polite to playful over the past few hours.

"Would you like a ride back?" Rudy asked as the four adults exited the restaurant and headed towards the glass elevators.

Serena shook her head. "No you two go have fun at the beach. I'll grab a taxi."

The elevator doors slid open and they stepped in as Gary said, "I'll take you home."

"Oh that's an excellent idea," Rudy agreed to which Misty nodded.

Serena tried to protest, saying she was perfectly fine taking a cab but Rudy pointed out that at this time of night, for a woman to be out alone, especially one so dressed up, it just wasn't safe. Misty pleaded with Serena to take up Gary's offer so that she wouldn't worry and Gary even made her look bad in front of the others by saying, "Maybe she just really hates me," to which Serena finally gave in with a sigh, wanting to bash Gary's head against the elevator walls as he smirked down at her.

Finally, they reached the first floor lobby. The valets brought both men's cars around to the front and the women were pleasantly surprised to see they were sleek sports cars.

As Rudy held the passenger door open for Misty, Serena gave Misty a quick hug and whispered, "You get him girl!"

Misty rolled her eyes, a slight blush tainting her cheeks prettily as she slid into the car. Rudy shut the door and with a final wave to the other pair, jumped into the driver's seat and sped off. Immediately Serena turned and started walking the other way.

"Later fool," she called out, using her evening purse to wave casually over her shoulder.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"To call a cab," she responded not looking back.

Gary grabbed her arm. "Oh no you're not."

Serena glared and tugged her arm out of his grasp. "Look we already know you hate me and I hate you. And it's bad enough that I owe you for the meal but I don't want to owe you for a ride as well."

"Why can't you just think of this as a date and not someone owing somebody something?"

"Maybe if the guy were not a perverted playboy who probably has two girls waiting at home and one at work, then I would consider this a date," Serena countered, walking again.

She heard Gary groan and smiled. She would win this one. They were tied now, since she had kicked him out of the shop but failed to pay for her meal. She would absolutely not take his ride. She had already learned her lesson with Damian and vowed that after tonight, she was never going to accept another blind-date again. Maybe even skip out on dating altogether seeing as how luck never seemed to be on her side in this game of love.

Oh there's one! she thought as she saw the yellow vehicle come closer. She raised her hand to signal to the cab driver but just as he skidded to a stop by the curb, Serena felt herself being lifted off the ground. The next thing she knew she was tossed like a sack over Gary's shoulder and found herself staring upside down at his back.

"What the -!?"

"I promised both your friend and Rudy that I would give you a ride. And Gary Oak does not break his promises."

As she was carried away from the cab and towards the black sports car, Serena hollered out everything she could think of, calling Gary a pervert among several other things, beating on his back, struggling and twisting, poking and prodding, to get him to drop her. But no amount of effort did the trick as Serena realized sadly that Gary was both bigger and stronger. She tried to catch the eyes of the valet drivers standing out front but they turned away knowing that the man who held her was Gary Oak and essentially, owned them.

Wimps, Serena thought as she felt Gary's arms loosen around her but only to dump her unceremoniously into the passenger seat and promptly slam the door shut. She didn't have a chance to collect herself and jump out before Gary took his seat beside her and hit his foot on the gas pedal hard.

"I hate you," Serena said, poison dripping in her voice. She attempted to fix her dress which had gotten slightly crumpled in her fight to escape and just hoped that Misty was having a better time than she was.

"Yeah yeah. Now put on your seat belt Little Maria."

~*~

Unfair. Ungrateful. Unreasonable.

Three things Duplica knew she had been and knew that Ritchie had each and every right to be completely angry at her. But really, who could blame a girl in love?

She certainly didn't hold herself responsible. In fact, she'd rather pin the blame on Todd Snap, that's who. If that dimwitted dense boss of hers would just wake up and smell the photo acids, then all would be right in their little world.

Duplica knew that Ritchie was getting annoyed playing her boyfriend, especially with the demands she made and the skimpy outfits she gallivanted into work with. Despite their brother-sister friendship over the years, he was still a man, Duplica reasoned. And to have to fake the relationship must have been harder for him than it was for her.

Besides, Ritchie was a terrible actor. He had never done even half as well in theatre class as Serena who would laugh every time she had tried to say her lines when they did Shakespeare.

All the 'honeys' and 'darlings' that came out of Ritchie's mouth this week truly lacked the conviction required to prove they were a couple. If anyone other than Todd had witnessed their put-on, they would not be convinced in the least. Luckily, Todd was as slow as a sloth when it came to these things. Or rather, unluckily because he still had yet to show a shred of true jealousy.

As she walked down the streets, Duplica pondered the actions of both men she had been associating with all week. She had to admit, at least Ritchie did go along with everything she asked. And it couldn't have been easy to have to fake his relationship with her while really working with Todd on his project. Maybe her selfish request had been too much. Especially since Todd's reactions were so slight that he might as well of not reacted at all.

Perhaps, Duplica thought sadly, this was a sign for her to give up. She had waited far too long and if Todd wasn't going to respond now, then he'd never think of her as more than his assistant.

With a sigh, the young woman trudged on, trying not to let her emotions overwhelm her. She decided that before accepting that Todd just wasn't going to reciprocate her feelings, she needed to find Ritchie and apologize. He was, after all, one of her oldest friends. She had known him even before Serena and Misty their freshmen year of high school and it would be completely idiotic to let their friendship fail because of her crazy emotions.

If she had thought to bring her cell phone, a simple call would have done the trick and she could've found Ritchie instantly. After her friend had stormed out of her apartment, she had rushed out moments later and tried to follow him. She had lost him in a crowd a few blocks ago and was now hedging her bets to find him.

As she turned a corner, she spotted a couple kissing, half illuminated by the lamplight, half consumed by the darkness of the night. She smiled at the warm scene but her smile soon turned to a gasp as she watched another young man jump out from nowhere, yank the other man away from the woman and punch him. The woman shrieked and the two men began to shout.

Duplica was too far away to hear what was being said and wondered if she should cross the street to avoid the tussle until she thought she heard "-plica!"

Eh?

With one foot still on the curb and the other on the road, Duplica turned, squinting at the trio. The young man who had done the punching stepped forward into the light and Duplica drew a sharp intake of breath.

She'd know that ridiculous hat anywhere!

She might not be able to see his face because she was still too far away but that stupid bright yellow hat with a blue embroidered camera outline was unmistakable. What on earth was Todd doing, going around punching people? She had never seen the docile, mild-mannered owner of Snap Shots ever lose a nerve.

Duplica quickly rushed over and as she got closer to the group, she noticed that the young woman looked similar to the one who had been singing at The Indigo the night before but her face was streaked with tears of confusion so Duplica couldn't be sure it was her.

"I can't believe you!" she heard Todd shout and turned just in time to see him take another swing but the other man caught his fist and shoved him away.

"Ritchie?" Duplica exclaimed, not having recognized his silhouette from the back.

He shot her a glance and Duplica gasped as she saw blood trickling down the corner of his mouth. He swiped it away with the back of his hand and said to her sarcastically, "Hey honey."

"Duplica! Your boyfriend over here has been cheating on you with this woman! I just witnessed them kissing!"

Duplica's eyes went wide with shock as she looked between the silently crying woman and Ritchie. Well, maybe that's why he had been so against playing her boyfriend. Who knew Ritchie already had a girl? As Duplica stepped forward to attempt to explain the situation, the young woman behind her finally spoke.

"What," she started in a low voice, "is going on? I don't even know you people!" She pointed a finger at Ritchie. "I only met you this morning and you kiss me? While you're going out with her?" she turned the finger towards Duplica. "And I can't even begin to think how you fit into all of this!" the finger landed on Todd who was gaping.

The young woman finally put her arm down and shook her head, angry tears leaking from her eyes. "I don't know what is going on but leave me out of this! I've already had my heart broken tonight and I don't need to be pulled into some stupid love triangle!"

With that, the young woman ran off as the remaining three were left to watch in open-mouthed astonishment. As she disappeared from their sight, Duplica finally turned back to Ritchie with a raised eyebrow.

"You met her only this morning?"

Ritchie nodded.

"And you kissed her?"

Nod.

"I see. I never pegged you for the type to go around kissing women you barely know."

"I know she's the singer from last night," Ritchie explained rubbing his jaw which Duplica suspected had to ache from Todd's hit. He might look like a bit of a wuss but Duplica knew Todd had certainly developed some muscles from carrying around all his photography junk.

"I thought she looked familiar. So what's the deal?"

"Well. I sort of fell in love with her. And saw her tonight crying. Then I couldn't stop myself from kissing her."

"Uh huh. Do you even know her name?"

Ritchie shook his head dejectedly and Duplica sighed in sympathy. She came over and put an arm around him in camaraderie. "Wow you messed that one up."

"Want to know what's worse?"

"There's more?"

"She was going out with Ash Ketchum. My friend! I fell in love with my friend's woman! Even though they broke up but still. And to top it off, I don't even know her name."

Duplica didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Ritchie's lack of judgment and clear misfortune. "Well, looks like she's single now. You can always try again if you can manage to get her to talk to you."

"Excuse me, but that woman was right to ask, what is going on?"

Duplica and Ritchie looked up. Todd was staring at them as though Duplica was the Bearded Lady while Ritchie was her second head. Shoot. She had completely forgotten about the photographer during the discussion of the mysterious woman Ritchie had kissed and Todd was probably confused beyond reason.

How to explain this one? Duplica wondered, pulling her arm away from Ritchie and looking up at him. Poor guy, she thought. He looked like some abused little puppy and made a decision.

"Mr. Snap? No- Todd," she said and Todd's eyes widened as she used his first name for the first time to address him directly. "I'd like to introduce you to Ritchie Kirk. One of my best friends since high school."

"Best –"

"That's right. Best friend. Not boyfriend."

"So then –"

"Because I had to."

"So he's not –"

"No he is not cheating on me and is completely free to kiss whomever he likes. However, he probably should use a bit more discretion and pick his partners at least after he knows their name."

She saw Ritchie roll his eyes before turning her full attention back to Todd who was processing this new information. She watched as his face went from confusion to wonder to acceptance and finally, when he looked up, all those emotions had melded into anger.

"You mean, I saw your fake boyfriend kissing another woman and got so upset that he was cheating on you that I dropped my best camera? Not only that, but I actually used violence against him? And all week I have been agonizing over the fact that you had a boyfriend that you never mentioned to me!?" Todd shouted, his voice getting louder and louder with each word.

Though she knew he was beyond livid with her at the moment for realizing she had lied the entire week, Duplica could not help but think that an angry Todd was positively amazing. She had never seen this side of him before and wanted to preserve the moment in her memory bank.

Yes, she really was crazy about him. Something just had to be done about that.

Before she could defend herself, Ritchie put an arm out in front of her protectively. "Hey dude, this is all your fault anyway."

"My fault? How is her lying to me my fault?"

"Why don't you think about what you just said and then think about the reasons she might have had to pretend to have a fake boyfriend?" Ritchie said and then lowered his arm. He reached over and squeezed her shoulders before saying, "Alright. Look I'm going to see if I can find my mystery woman. I owe her an apology. You okay here?"

Duplica nodded mutely. Ritchie really was a true friend. She smiled and hugged him, whispering a quick thank you. He nodded and said he was proud of her for confronting her problem head on then walked off telling her to call him if she needed him. Duplica turned back around to finally face her boss.

No more lies.

Only the truth.

Even if it did end up hurting her in the end.

~*~

Misty took a deep refreshing breath, the air hanging near the shore was tinged with the salty sea waters with a hint of the scent of seaweed. She and Rudy walked along in silence, her bare feet being softened by the grainy particles of the sand sifting through her toes. She could hear the waves rolling over and over, crashing into one another and finally settling into onto shore. It was amazing and reminded her of the beaches back home.

Though she had only come here the night before, the atmosphere was certainly very different. Her friends had been wild, trying to toss each other into the frigid nighttime waters but never really doing so and struggling to make sand castles in the damp sand with only the moonlight to guide their architecture's construction.

With Rudy, however, there was a sense of serenity. They had talked on the short ride over, laughing at their friend's antics during dinner and wondering just what was up between Gary and Serena. When they had finally reached the beach, Rudy had parked, helped Misty out of the car like a perfect gentleman and escorted her down the steps and onto the sands. When she had slipped out of her painful heels, Rudy had even offered to hold her shoes as they walked but with a laugh, Misty had declined, saying it was fine.

They had exchanged comments on the scenery, laughed as a couple chased after their loose puppy, and stopped for Rudy to sign a few autographs for some teenagers who recognized him. But now, they had fallen into a comfortable silence, each pondering their own thoughts about the evening.

Misty had not lied when she told Rudy earlier that she had a wonderful time. Even now, she was quite enjoying this stroll along the beach. The entire evening had been absolutely romantic, something straight out of one of the paperback romance novels she loved to read as a guilty pleasure. The next step in such a situation was always a kiss. First, a light, hesitant one. Then one filled with the growing passion they felt for each other.

But that was it. That was the problem. After finally experiencing an evening that Misty had only been dreaming of since middle school, shouldn't she be falling head over heels in love for this perfect man? Shouldn't the prospect that she had finally met the ultimate gentleman be enough to satisfy her for all time? Where was the flame of burning passion, she thought as she glanced sideways at Rudy who was running a hand through his hair.

Immediately, the most despicable face popped up in her mind.

Oh no.

She tried to shake it away but Alvin Ketter's mesmerizing brown eyes and full smirking lips would simply not vanish from within her mind. His voice started to seep into her brain now, his comments playing back in her memory like an old home video and she remembered his captivating gaze as he had told her he was "interested in the matchmaker."

She had continually labeled him a playboy in her mind, pushing him away, purposefully encouraging the match between him and Melody. Which now, thanks to a certain someone, was ruined. Misty stopped walking. No. It wasn't Alvin's fault. Not entirely anyway.

She had been the one who had known Alvin's true flirtatious behavior, had known that despite all her denials, there was a sense of truth in his words when he had come on to her. He had even tried to kiss her! Yet she practically threw him at Melody and now, the poor woman was heartbroken because the man she loved was probably in love with the matchmaker and here was the matchmaker herself, on a date with a wonderful man yet thinking of someone entirely different.

Despicable.

But it wasn't Alvin Ketter to whom she referred.

It was herself.

"Misty?"

She looked up and noticed that Rudy had gotten a few feet ahead of her and was gazing back. Shaking away guilt-conscious thoughts, she responded, "Yes?"

He stood where he was, shuffled his feet in the sand and asked, "I want to thank you again for agreeing to a date with me. I hope you had a good time."

Misty smiled genuinely. "Of course I did. It's been nothing but perfect! I want to thank you Rudy, for inviting me."

Rudy grinned back and the moonlight bounced off his white teeth. "I'm so glad. So maybe, um, you would like to have brunch with me tomorrow?"

Misty hesitated before answering. Brunch? While no doubt it would be another splendid moment with this great man, Misty couldn't but wonder why she wasn't more excited. It was as if a friend were asking her out instead of a potential boyfriend. Her heart did not jump, her stomach did not tingle, and her mind did not race.

Instead her mind flashed a stillshot of Alvin Ketter again.

Stupid mind.

Before she could give the waiting man a response, she felt a faint vibration coming from her purse. "One minute," she told Rudy. "Sorry."

Setting down her shoes on the sand, she clicked open her slim purse and pulled out her phone from its tight fit. She didn't recognize the number but it had the Viridian area code. Who was randomly calling her now?

"Hello?" she said answering the call.

"Mist?"

"Rena?" she exclaimed. Where was she calling from? She saw Rudy step forward in concern. "Are you using Gary's phone?"

"No. I'm…well." Serena cleared her throat and continued in a small voice. "I hate to bother you but, um, can you please come get me?"

***Author's Note***

Several cliffys in this chapter! Sorry to keep you dangling but don't let go yet! Answers will slowly be revealed and couples slowly broken apart or made as we draw closer and closer towards the conclusion. But not too close as we have still six more chapters plus an epilogue.

Also, this chapter is the only one after all this time to feature every single character except Brock! I must say, when I first started this, I thought it would be easy to balance so many characters but I'll admit, it has been a bit of a struggle. Sometimes while writing, I've written Ash's name instead of Alvin or Ritchie instead of Rudy or forgotten what Melody thought two chapters ago and written something completely different only to have to go back and fix it. But it's been fun trying to keep each character's voice true to their own persona and manipulating their lives so they are all intertwined. ^_^ It's certainly been great practice for me as a writer and all your motivational and encouraging words are a real help!

Anyways, I've gone on long enough. You know the drill, review! ^_~

AngelicFairy aka *Maura*

Preview of Chapter 12:

Gary sighed, ignoring the fact that Ritchie was glowering at him. "After dinner, Rudy and Misty went off on their own to –"

"Misty?"

"Can you people stop interrupting me every five seconds?"

Ash leaned forward and grabbed Gary by his loosened tie, pulling him towards the center of the table until they were almost nose to nose. "Misty?" he repeated.

Gary put a hand on Ash's face and shoved him back violently. "Man what is wrong with you?" he shouted. "I've had enough abuse tonight as it is!"

"Rudy's date. Her name was?"

Ritchie interjected by asking, "Are you talking about Misty Waterflower?"

Review Responses - You are all beyond amazing!

AzureKite4: Oh yes. Things are about to get worse. Much worse as you shall soon see in the following chapters. Hehe.

Syed Talal Ahsan: Ah I'm glad you're liking the humor and Gary's part in it! I love writing his playboy parts! Thank you!

GreenGoblin15: Hope you liked this chapter just as much. We got some more Serena and Gary arguments goin on and more to come between all the characters!

Death's Serenade: Serena and Gary are still in the hatred phase as you can see. Haha…Trovita's good points only keep increasing because yes, Ash is Ash. As for the drunken singing, you shall have to wait and see. ^_~ Hehe I think everyone's curious as to when Ash and Misty meet. Soon. Very soon.

licoricejellybean: Well Ash and Misty have yet to run into one another. It's coming soon though! And you were dead on with your predictions for the whole Ritchie/Duplica/Todd mess. Nice. Except the Todd sweeping her off her feet thing. You'll see what happens. ^^ Sorry, no Ash in this chapter but he'll be back in the next. With so many characters, I have to rotate them per chapter.

Cara Miro: I'm very glad you encountered my story and thank you for reviewing! And as you are a certified Ash and Misty shipper, so am I. Except I like to torture them and keep them away from each other before getting them together. Hehe.

Judy-Licious: By far, you win for submitting the longest review yet! Haha. I was totally smiling as I read it and am really glad you decided to take a chance on it. I totally understand what you mean about some stories with characters over 20 not having the cleanest material. I assure you, I like simple and clean and no racy junk….Ah I can't believe you read all the chapters so far in one go in the middle of the night! I do that a lot for some addicting fics so it makes me super happy to realize that my fic can make someone keep going like that. ^_^ Sorry you didn't get sleep tho. Heh. I'm glad you like Serena and Ash in this fic! I definitely did not get bored reading your review. I will love reading anything you have to say because you've been very kind. ^_^ Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the continued Serena and Gary interaction.

Ronmione x3: At the moment, Serena and Gary don't agree with you about them making an adorable pair. Since they still hate each other. Haha…Yup. Ritchie got beat. By the one and only camera carrying freak Todd.

StrawberryStoleYourCookie: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

PokeshippersShadow1: The bad date just never ends for poor Serena. And you would be correct to assume that Misty's gonna discover 'Alvin's secret soon because it's coming. Not in this chapter but we're almost there.

shut up and read or go away: Well I'm glad you were surprised that Gary was the date cause it means I was sorta able to keep the suspense. ^_^ And your guess is quite close. Won't say which chapter exactly Misty finds out but yes, it's soon.

bluejay511: Haha. Yeah if only more guys were like Rudy but sadly we girls keep falling for the jerks like Gary. It's a mystery someone needs to solve one day. Glad you like it so far!

Guibin: Yup it was Todd. ^_~ I didn't leave much suspense there. Heh. And yeah, Ash already left the restaurant. You'll see what happened to him next chapter. I couldn't fit him in here cause there's so many characters that I have to rotate them per chapter.

ShadowMario45: How'd you like Serena and Gary's "getting along" in this chapter? Heh…Well I'm glad everyone's feeling sorry for Melody but right now, Melody doesn't really like Ritchie for kissing her on a whim as you can see. As for Misty's anger when she finds out who Alvin really is, it's coming soon.