A/N: Here we go, Chapter 3! No notes, really. What happened? Will Ash and Misty ever be? Or is it forever Misty and Misa? AND BROCK NOT OGLING OVER A GIRL?!?!?!? What strange things will we discover next in:
It's Between Two Hearts
Chapter 3: Parade of Pain
Ash cringed at the shrill cry. Once he opened his eyes, he noticed Brock gripping the remote with a deadpan face. He was staring intently at the TV, not betraying any emotion. Misty was sitting beside him, mouth opened slightly in shock, eyes bugged out, and her suspended in the air where they had been tickling Misa moments before.
Misa was standing, deathly pale and stiff, mouth still opened in the now silent scream with tears pouring out of her eyes.
Ash finally fixed his eyes on the television screen. There were sandslashes, sandshrews, digletts and dugtrios digging through a plane wreckage, trying to carry bodies out of the now smoldering aircraft.
The text at the bottom or the screen read "Flight 687 Taken Down by Microburst."
The group only listened long enough to hear that no survivors had been found, or were expected to be found. Brock turned off the TV, very slowly lowering his arm afterward. They all stood frozen in shock until Misty's sisters came running into the room.
"My god, we heard the scream, like, what happened?" Lily frantically asked. At that, Misa bolted out of the room, bawling her eyes out. The three girls watched her run out, painfully confused. Finally, Ash broke the silence.
"Misa's parents….their plane crashed, and…..there aren't any survivors." They all gasped at the news. Misty, as if she had just noticed Misa was gone, ran after the girl. Brock in turn ran after Misty, and Ash would've followed if Daisy hadn't stopped him.
"Don't, Ash, trust me. Misa needs Misty most of all right now, they're closer as sisters than we are." Ash could feel his face pale, but gently shrugged off Daisy's grasp and slowly walked in the path of the others. Daisy sighed.
"You know what he's thinking, don't you?" Violet asked.
"Of course, isn't it obvious? We've all been thinking it since Misa came back six years ago." Lily shook her head in disbelief.
"She can't be, I mean, all our teasing about Ash had to have had some effect! Why would she have traveled with him and Brock for so long?"
"Did I hear my name?" Brock was walking back toward them, being told to leave Misa and Misty alone by a forlorn Ash.
"Brock, what do you think? You know, about Misa and Misty's….friendship?" Brock looked confused.
"What do you mean? Their friends, what more to it is there?" The sisters waited. "I mean," he continued, "yeah, they're a little more…comfortable around each other than most people I know would be around same-sex friends, but other than that, there's really nothing." Daisy thought for a moment.
"Well, like, how does she usually treat Ashy-boy?" Brock looked surprised. It wasn't a question he expected.
"Well, it took a while, but they finally started being nice to each other. The closest I ever saw them was just in a hug, or with Ash's arm around her shoulders. No where near as close as those….two…." he trailed, finally getting the pieces of the puzzle put together.
"And how has she been treating him since Misa showed up?" Brock was floored. Tiny little Misty, a lesbian? It just couldn't be!
"She hasn't really paid him one scrap of attention. Not even as a fight," he whispered. "She surely isn't in love with Misa, is she?" The girls looked at each other, not knowing what to say. "You mean you three don't even know?!"
"We're just not sure. They've been like this since Misty's suicide threat. Misa would call here, asking how Misty was doing, and Misty'd do the same. Constantly. We figured you guys knew about it."
"Maybe that's why she never told Ash," Violet added.
"Maybe," Lily replied quietly. The four of them sat and pondered.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ash didn't care what the Sensational Sisters said, their idea wasn't so sensational to him.
He quietly walked toward the sounds of the sobbing Misa, and the soothing words that Misty offered. Once he found the room they were in, he silently stood outside the door and peeked in.
And nearly blew his cover by gasping.
Misty was holding Misa to her chest, softly stroking the shaking girl's hair while whispering, "Shhhh's, It'll be okay's, I'm here for you's," and so on. Occasionally, she'd kiss Misa's hair, rubbing the traumatized girl's back as the sobs decreased.
When Misa finally quieted down, Misty held her a few moments longer until her breathing came normally, not the short, truncated gasped they were at the moment. Ash watched it all, heart breaking piece by piece to the point it was nearly a fine powder. Finally, Misa pulled herself away from Misty, somehow managing a smile through the pain of losing her parents two hours before she was supposed to pick them up. It vanished quickly though, and she fought the urge to break down and cry again.
"How could that have happened, Misty?" she managed to croak out. Misty just shook her head.
"Microbursts are unpredictable, Misa. Most times, they're not even detected until the plane is already in it. It was just a freak accident." Misa shivered a little more.
"How am I gonna get through this, Mist? I mean, it took me so long to find you again. I'd really thought I'd lost you. Now, I find you and my parents…." She stopped, for fear of choking. Ash fumed at someone using the name that Misty had only ever let him use before. Misty lifted Misa's chin with her hand, looking into her eyes with that same, loving stare.
"I'll be right here, Misa. I'll always be here for you, no matter what." The two girls embraced. "We'll never be that far apart again."
Ash could feel the fine powder that was now his heart, blown away by his love's own breath. So he thought. In fact, with those words, the fine powder was only swept into a pile.
It was when Misty gently kissed the girl's forehead, then her lips, that the small pile was lit, left to burn throughout the night.
Ash left, his now non-existent heart flaming in a pain that spread through his soul.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Misty had actually shocked herself by doing that. She had intended to kiss Misa's forehead, but once she looked down and saw Misa reaching up, she had no idea what came over her.
It's okay, though, she thought. I love her. It wasn't like a display of passion or anything. I was just calming her down. And the kiss had its desired effect. Misa, in a state of semi-shock herself, had sufficiently recovered. She eventually looked up at Misty again and smiled.
"Thank you so much, Misty. I don't know what I'd do without you." They hugged once more before Misa decided she'd give in for the night. Misty gave the impression of tucking her in, before leaving. Then, to both their surprises, Misa asked, "Misty, would you….kiss, me again."
"I…..I guess, but why?" Misa thought about it.
"Well, I'm not sure. It's just like….it makes me feel comfortable. I guess it's kinda like I have my own older sister now. You don't have to, ya know." Misty shook her head.
"No, that's ok. I know what you mean," she whispered as she bent down to kiss her.
Brock quietly squeaked in shock.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Misty pulled away, smiling warmly to a yawning Misa.
"I'll see you in the morning, 'kay Mis?" Misa simply nodded before making herself comfortable. Misty quietly walked out of the room, gently shutting the door. She (somehow) didn't notice Brock plastering himself again the wall, trying to hide from what he'd seen. As Misty walked past, he held his breath. Sweat drenched his brow as she stopped, having barely past him, to yawn and stretch. Slowly, she continued moving down the hall and eventually turned the corner into her room.
Brock, stiff, fell to the floor in the position he was in.
Once he shook of the cramps, he shook off the shock. With a giddy smile on his face, he tip-toed back toward his room.
"Wait till the girls hear about this in the morning!"
*~-_-~*~-_-~*~-_-~*~-_-~*~-_-~*
Uh oh! What's gonna happen when Misty's sisters find out about her little "escapade"? And what's Ash gonna do about it? Find out when chapter 4 comes out!
