Misty sighed and sat back in her seat. She hadn't spotted Ash anywhere. And there were fewer participants this year than last. She should have been able to spot him quickly. The first match was starting. She didn't really want to watch it, but the rest of Pallet Town did, so she just stayed. The first match was a girl from Pewter City against a boy from Lavender Town on the Ice Field.
"Voltorb, GO!" The girl yelled.
"Dodrio, I choose you!" The boy yelled.
Misty watched unenthusiastic, her head in her hands. The girl really knew her stuff. So did the boy, but the battle was over quickly as the boy only had flying types and the girl had electric and ice types.
"Yeah, I WON!" she yelled. They boy hung his head and walked out of the stadium while the girl cheered and jumped around.
"Just like Ash," Misty thought. "He was like that last year." Then the girl, too, left and the next battle started.
"Excuse me," Misty said, and got up to leave. She walked to the check in desks and asked the lady there, "What time is Ash Ketchum going to be on?" The lady smiled and said,
"Hey, I remember you from last year! You had that annoying friend. Brock, I think it was." Misty grinned. This lady was one of the many older females that Brock had slobbered over.
"Ash Ketchum? Hmm, let me see.. he'll be on tomorrow morning at 9:00, on the grass field."
"Thanks," Misty said. She walked back to the stadium where all of Pallet Town was still watching the fights.
Ash stepped onto the field. His first match was starting. This made him nervous. "I lost last year", he thought. "And last year I wasn't so distracted". He took out bulbasaur's pokeball. Ash looked down at it.
"We're back, my friend," he said faintly. The pokeball shook in response. Well, time to meet my opponent, he thought. It was.. A.J?
"Greetings, Ash. I requested that we fight each other first so I could see how much better you've gotten. My sandshrew is a sandslash now and you don't stand a chance," A.J. said. Ash gulped. He tossed bulbasaur's pokeball and it opened, sending out a red beam that solidified into a frog-like creature. "Bulba-bulb-a-saur!" the small green monster cried.
"Sandslash, GO!" A.J. yelled, tossing out a pokeball. "Sandslash!" the pokemon cried.
"Bulbasaur! Razor leaf!" Ash called to it. A.J. was tough. Ash wasn't sure if he could beat him. Bulbasaur sent out a flurry of sharp leaves, blinding A.J's Sandslash while also wounding it.
"Sandslash! Dig!" A.J. commanded his pokemon. In response, Sandslash dived out of the leaves and into the ground. Ash groaned. There was nothing bulbasaur could do. Suddenly a voice cried out from the stands. Misty.
"Ash!! Don't give up!"
Ash cringed when he heard her voice, but it did give him a bit of a mental boost. He looked to where her voice came from and their eyes locked. He stared into those pools of blue that intrigued him so much. They were filled with determination and, well, just plain stubbornness. And a bit of desperation, too. Ash felt himself melting again but looked away hastily. He glared at her sideways and yelled out to her in a rough voice,
"I don't need YOUR help!"
Immediately he regretted that. Misty's eyes filled with shock and tears. She got up and ran up the bleachers and out of the stadium. Ash looked away, his own eyes filling with salty wetness. He forced all thoughts of Misty out of his head for now, but he couldn't help seeing Richie and Gary looking at him with disappointed looks. They clearly meant, "Go after her!" But Ash shook his head. He chastised himself harshly after that, but turned back to the battle and called out bulbasaur's next attack.
Ash sat under a weeping willow tree that night and buried his face in his hands. He started crying, even though he tried desperately not to give in to them. The reddish autumn leaves swirled around him, dancing; they seemed to taunt him. Everything around him taunted him it seemed. They cried,
"You though your life was SO easy, didn't you. But look at what a mess of things you've made!"
Ash swiped a hand across his face and sat, his arms wrapped around his legs, head on knees. A lump rose in his throat. Ash never noticed the sound of approaching footsteps until they stopped directly above him. He never looked up, but he knew who it was.
"Misty," he acknowledged quietly. She sat down beside him, and the two sat in silence for what seemed like hours. They looked at the waxing moon but there was a feeling of uneasiness in the air. Finally Ash growled,
"You want something, spit it out!" He meant to anger Misty into leaving him alone, but she just smiled a twisted smile and said bitterly,
"What a romantic night for us. I always wished that when this time came it would be like this. But one thing is wrong. The setting is right but the feeling is not." Ash looked at her quizzically, a frown furrowing his brow.
"Did I hear you correctly?" He scowled and looked away. "No, it couldn't be. You never cared about me, you never saw! I loved you Misty, BUT I WAS NEVER GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU!! You always found something to hate about me. Even when you didn't insult me, you were looking at another guy. I did everything for you but you never saw. Did you hear me? I LOVED you!" He choked, the lump rising in his throat and tears threatening again. Finally he mumbled, "I love you still."
"I know. I read the letter you sent your mom," she said quietly. She looked away. "I love you too," Misty whispered. Ash laughed sarcastically.
"The irony of it all. It's a bit too late for us, don't you think? All that happened…" Misty stood up quickly and glared down at him.
"I know I hurt you Ash. Why else would I look for you, all these weeks? But it was not only me! YOU were the one with the grudge. If you had only TOLD me what was wrong, I would have, would have…told you the fight was…" she sighed, and slumped down wearily, almost defeated. Then a fierce glint came into her eyes. "YOU were the one who left! I didn't tell you to leave, you insulted me too, but you left and I came after YOU! I never brought that up."
Ash stood up too, the pure fury in his face making Misty shiver. His once laughing warm brown eyes now were dark and hateful. He grabbed her shoulders tightly, almost too tightly. She winced under his grasp. He noticed this and looked straight into her eyes, unflinchingly. She only gazed back with sad eyes, longing for him to understand. His gaze changed from a malevolent one to one filled with sadness.
"I wish things could've been different. Too much has happened for us to just carry on as if it never occurred. I was trying to find out a way to tell you," he said. "But all that we were, all we are, is ended. We can never go back. I'm sorry," he said, and he walked away stiffly, his chin lifted, but his shoulders slumped. Misty looked after him sadly. "That's where you're wrong," she whispered quietly, as she gazed at the retreating form of the boy she loved. ~*~*~
*Author's Note*
I admit, they aren't always in character. It's too hard for that. I hear you say, Ash is usually funny, right? But I think under these circumstances, no one can laugh about that. Everyone hurts at one time or another. The ending is a happy one, I will disclose that much. Anyway, I am trying to get the next part done. I have most of it finished. Thanks, all of you, for your feedback.