Misty awoke to the familiar screech of the alarm clock. She fumbled attempting to turn the offensive noise off. Misty pried her eyes open to locate the elusive device but couldn't locate it on the bedside. She was reluctant to leave the cocoon of blankets to search for the alarm, yet she had a nagging feeling that she should find it but, not because it was disruptive to her sleep. She just couldn't place why she felt she should search for it and silence it as soon as possible.

And then she heard a loud thump followed by the sound of plastic skidding across the nightstand, the siren of the alarm silenced. Misty jumped at the sudden sound. The warmth around her increased marginally, a comfortable pressure enveloping her. She instinctively leaned into the warmth.

Suddenly, realization dawned on her. The sheets she was wrapped in were silk and the bed was plush, unlike in her room where she made do with starched sheets and an almost too firm mattress. It was then she realized that she wasn't in her hotel room, but Gary's. Why was she in Gary's?

Misty's mind raced at a mile a minute, trying to recall the night before. She didn't drink anything. There had been no wild parties that she could recall. Oh yes, she had agreed to hang out with Gary for the evening.

Wait… Okay, all clothing is in its appropriate place.

"Mmm. What time is it?" Misty mumbled now that she had gained her bearings.

"Too early," was the gruff reply mumbled into her shoulder blades.

"What time is it, Gary?" Misty asked again.

"Why does it matter? We don't compete today. We can just stay in bed and sleep."

It sounded nice. It sounded inviting. Logic told her that people would gossip, that Ash would be furious when he found out, that her friends would worry when she didn't show up right away. But, her body told her to stay. It was comfortable here. She could just stay in bed with Gary and enjoy this little slice of time where she didn't… Where she didn't have to… Hm… Warm…

/

The night before had gone much like any other: a lot of joking and a few moments of seriousness. Gary mentioned that his sister, May, was planning on joining him as the contest progressed.

Misty stood in the hallway before Gary's door. She was dressed in her typical pajamas, a complimentary hotel robe wrapped around her, to keep the hotel's frigid air conditioning from overly affecting her. Part of her was excited to be spending her evening with Gary. Sure, her new friends were great, but it had been awhile since the two and hung out alone, nearly a month, now that Misty thought about it.

The day had been fairly exciting. Winona had done well in her battle and advanced to the next round, though it was a close battle. Brock had competed in the final battle of the day. Misty was sure his round would have started smoother had he not been so distracted by battling with Jasmine as his partner. It had been a difficult battle, but Jasmine's Steelix saved the day. May had seemed rather torn in her cheering between Brock and a boy on the opposite side with a white hat, though Misty didn't dwell on the thought.

Ash still wasn't talking to her. When they'd returned to the stadium after lunch, he'd seated himself as far away as he could from her in the competitor's seating area, next to Norman towards the very front. Something seemed off about him, Misty had realized, as he happened to be within her line of vision. He wasn't himself. He wasn't even paying attention to the battle, and Ash loved battles, whether he competed or not. Moments that caused the crowd to gasp and cheer left him completely unaffected. It was as though he wasn't seeing the battle at all. Past that though, she hadn't really seen much of him.

Misty was startled out of her reverie by Gary opening the hotel door and beckoning her inside. His room was considerably larger than the one Duplica and she shared. It was still a hotel room, but clearly one of a considerable higher class. The couch looked softer than the usual hotel couch, microfiber in a neutral taupe, the cabinetry in the kitchen was made of mahogany with a sizeable granite breakfast bar. Large stained mahogany doors led to a lushly designed sleeping area, decorated with deep red satin curtains and sheets.

Misty spun around the room, her feet sinking into the plush carpet. "You have this whole place to yourself?"

"Heh. Yeah. For now at least. Assuming I do well in the tournament, May might be coming and staying with me as the tournament progresses." Gary said, leaning against the wall, a smirk lingering on his lips.

"Your sister?" Misty asked, facing him.

"Yea. Once she shows up, there won't be room for me."

Misty chuckled, settling into the couch. It was even more comfortable than she'd thought it would be. She couldn't fight the contented smile that rose to her lips as she surrendered herself to the couch from heaven. "High maintenance?"

"Well, she's not as bad as your sisters, but she certainly rivals them. Seriously, how do you stand them? May is bad enough, but you have three sisters that are all worse than May."

"I'm a saint," Misty said with a straight face. "It comes with the territory."

"A saint? As if! You're too hot headed to be a saint! Not to mention the lack of a miracle or any overwhelming virtues." Gary scoffed, plopping down beside her.

Misty playfully smacked Gary's arm. "I'm virtuous! I am self-sacrificing."

"When it suits you."

"I'm strong in the face of adversity!"

"As long as there are no bugs around."

"I am honest."

"When you're not lying."

"And if putting up with my sisters and Ash after all these years without someone dying isn't a miracle then I don't know what is!"

"True. I'll have to grant you that one. Ash is a handful. But, if that's the case, then I have achieved a miracle as well, and I'm far more virtuous."

"Oh yes. The ego maniac is dripping with good virtues that surely win him the highest level of sainthood!" Misty said sarcastically.

"Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?"

"Why no, Gary. Whatever gave you that idea?"

They dissolved into laughter cuddled on the couch.

Throughout the evening, Misty avoided any mention of Ash, though Gary still tried to breech the subject, but accepted Misty's avoidance without question. Eventually, the two fell asleep in each other's arms, exhausted, in Gary's bed.

/

"I can't believe we slept until noon!" Misty yelled back at Gary as they ran across the courtyard towards the stadium.

"You should have gotten me up then if you were so concerned!" he yelled back.

"How could I know that you broke the alarm clock?" she asked, running past the blue haired man from the previous day, who was carrying yet another heavy looking box.

"I still don't see why you're so upset! We don't compete today, so it's not like anyone even missed us!" he called as they began ascending the stairs to their seating section.

"We have friends who are competing, though!"

"So?"

Misty stopped at the top of a flight of stairs and stared down at him. "So? They are our friends, Gary. That means that we are there for them when they need us."

"How does standing in a crowd help them exactly?"

"Honestly, why do I bother, sometimes?" Misty asked, frustrated, continuing up another flight of stairs.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Gary asked, chasing after her.

"Nothing, Gary," Misty grumbled.

"Oh no," Gary said irritated. "I know that nothing. It's the 'I'm mad at you, but don't really want to tell you why I'm mad at you, so I have a reason to be pissed when you don't magically know why' nothing."

"Or, it's the, 'the reason is so obvious that a slowpoke could see it' nothing!" Misty yelled, turning on him.

"I'm not a mind reader, Red. I honestly don't know why you're so upset all of a sudden."

"I just—it matters to me, alright? I want to be there for my friends, to show them support. And it may not help them in the battle, but at least they know that they aren't alone."

"Whatever. Go ahead. I'm going to go grab us a bite to eat," Gary said walking down a corridor behind the stands.

Misty turned to walk to her seat in the stands when she ran into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said apologetically.

"Misty?" Ash asked.

"Ash? I'm sorry. I didn't see you there."

"Big surprise," he said, elbowing past her.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Misty asked, turning towards him, her hands on her hips.

"Oh nothing, Misty. I just thought it might be nice if my supposed best friend paid attention to me once in a while."

"Pay attention to you? Ash, I have paid more attention to you through the past three years of my life than I have to myself. Maybe, if you paid a bit more attention to me you would have noticed that."

"Well, I've certainly noticed that you're hanging out with Gary all of a sudden."

"I'm hanging out with Gary for a reason Ash! One you might understand if you took five minutes to see things from my perspective! And it wasn't sudden at all, despite what you may think. We've been hanging out for months."

"And what about what we've had for years? Does that mean nothing now that he's here?"

"Of course not! But, you're not here most of the time and I can't just walk away from my responsibilities at the gym," Misty said passionately. "I have to have friends outside of you."

"Why can't you leave the gym? Your sisters are back. That means you must be able to travel with me again!" Ash said, hope filling his eyes.

"Ash… It's not that simple. I can't just leave. I'm not 12 anymore. My place is in Cerulean now."

"No! It's with me! Don't you see that? It's always been with me!"

"I hate to interrupt," a dark green haired boy said, interrupting their conversation. "but, I believe my partner and I need to get ready for our battle."

"Battle?" Misty asked.

"Oh yea! I forgot. Sorry about that Johnny. I guess I got a bit… distracted," Ash said, glancing at Misty.

"Understandable. Johnny, from Azalea Town," Johnny said to Misty, his hand extended.

"Misty of Cerulean City. Well, good luck you two."

"Thanks. And good job yesterday," Johnny said, before heading to the stairs.

"This..." Ash started. "We're…" then he ran off after Johnny.


I am amazed at how many people were adamant about Misty not apologizing to Ash. I thought people would just wait it out, but you guys surprised me with how many of you were vocal about Misty not apologizing. It's nice to see my readers having an opinion about the characters' choices, whether I plan on following your opinions or not.

And yet again, I suck. I had started this chapter and just, I don't know, it just got to the point of having stuff I would rather do and not being entirely sure how I wanted to proceed. And then I just got so caught up with schoolwork that even though I wanted to write, I couldn't find the time to really sit down and dedicate myself to the task. So, thank you guys for being so incredibly awesome and patient. I know I sound like a broken record but it's the truth. And there's nothing like getting an amazing review out of nowhere to get my fire started again, so thank you to all of you who sent me such sweet reviews out of nowhere and remind me why I love writing this again. Again, I apologize about how long it's taken. I feel very guilty about that. With any luck I'll have a chapter out around Thanksgiving, and if not then around Christmas.

Thank you guys so much for putting up with my long lulls between chapters again. You truly are all fabulous and I appreciate each and every one of you who reads this.