Why Can't You See? - chapter 3
Authors Note: Looky here, I added a final chapter! Yippee! I really *hate* it when fanfics are left and insert name here and insert other name here never actually get together, so I just thought "ah, what the hell?". It's actually written in the third person this time, plus, I actually added FLUFF into it. That's right, it has fluff!
***
Misty shivered slightly, as the chill in the air bit through her thin jacket. Her eyes lowered to the uneven ground beneath her feet, and she walked slowly forward, paying little attention to her surroundings. To any casual observer, she appeared to be just another young girl in her middle to late teens, taking a short walk along the beach. Misty's eyes roamed the length of the beach stretched in front of her, but she stared vacantly, her mind elsewhere.
~~~
Day after day
Time passed away
And I just can't get you out my mind
Nobody knows
I hide it inside
I keep on searching but I just can't find
~~~
How long has it been since she'd spoken to him? She missed him immensly, but couldn't stand to speak to him for fear of making the situation worse. It was tough, constantly searching for ways to avoid him, but somehow she had gotten through. Over the past three days, not a word had been spoken between them. Despite her vow to forget about her feelings towards Brock and to continue as they always had before, it was if they'd made a silent pact to avoid each other like the plague. She wasn't really that suprised if he *was* ignoring her. She had been a total bitch over the past few days, and she hadn't tried very hard to disguise her dislike - no, *hate* - for Kara, the woman he spent every waking hour with.
"Why does he even bother with me?" she whispered to herself, scuffling the toe of her trainer across the sand. The weather had taken a turn for the worse since that sweltering day at the beach, and the true September weather was finally settling in. Shoving her hands into her jeans pocket, she drew a deep breath of sea air. She felt a pang of home-sickness as she did so, and for the first time, she started to consider returning home.
'It would be a lot easier' she thought to herself, turning her head sidewards to look at the waves crashing on the shore. At least at home she had family, who never judged her and gave her unconditional love. Unlike Brock.
Misty clamped her eyes shut and shook her head vigorously. Why did her train of thought always return back to him? For the past few days, her mind had been in turmoil over him. He was the last thing she thought about when she went to sleep, and the first thing when she woke up. She felt like one of those pathetic women she read about in books, the 'tragic heroine' who spends years agonising over an unobtainable man. Misty had had many boyfriends before, but she was relatively new to the whole 'love' concept. How was it possible to have such strong feelings about a person who didn't return them?
~~~
The courage to show to let you know
I've never felt love like this before
And once again I'm thinking about
Taking the easy way out
~~~
A sudden breeze blew from the sea, blowing some strands of long red hair into her mouth. Misty angrily wiped the unruly wisps away from her face and tucked them behind her ear. She hated herself for not going on with her life. For not getting over Brock. For still feeling that undescribable feeling of jealously whenever Brock and Kara so much as looked at each other. There were many times that Misty felt on the edge of tears, but she refused to let herself cry. Even now, she could feel tears prick the back of her eyelids, but she would not let them show. She knew no one would ever know should she choose to cry, but she had grown up to believe that she had to be tough, and that tears were weak. Old habits die hard.
Misty's solitude was broken as her shoulder forcefully connected with something warm and solid, and she was thrown back a few feet. Staggering to keep her balance, she waited a few seconds to get her bearings.
"Hey, why don't you watch where you're going, you....". Misty's ranting was cut short as she instantly recognised the face staring back at her.
"Oh. It's...you" she said in a flat tone, putting her hands back in her pockets. Brock's expression, which at first was one of sympathy, changed as he saw who he had knocked over, to match her uninterested one.
"Yeah. Hi".
"Hi" Misty replied, looking down uncomfortably at the floor. A few seconds silence passed, both standing and looking at each other awkwardly. The tension-fuelled silence was soon too much for Misty to bear. "Well....gotta run" she shrugged, moving to walk past Brock.
He let out a sigh, and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Misty, we've got to talk" he said firmly, stopping Misty in her tracks. Misty just shrugged her shoulders again in reply. "Nothing to talk about" she answered casually, moving to step forward again. This time, Brock grabbed hold of her arm. Misty halted and glared at Brock.
"Yes there is. Let's just take a walk. Please?" he asked quietly, a pleading tone creeping into his voice. Misty looked ready to snap back again, but reluctantly nodded her head in reply. Brock managed a weak smile and loosened his grip around her arm. "Good. It's..... a start" he muttered, taking his hand away and replacing it in pocket.
~~~
But if I let you go I will never know
What my life would be holding you close to me
Will I ever see you smiling back at me
How will I know
If I let you go
~~~
The two started to walk slowly across the sand, walking close together but still keeping a foot long gap between them. For a while, neither said anything, and a heavy silence hung between them. The tense atmosphere between the two was becoming almost unbearable to Brock, so he made the first attempt to strike up a conversation. "So," he said lightly. "How are you doing?".
The words sounded alien coming from his mouth, even to his own ears. For years, he had spent nearly every waking hour around Misty, now here he was speaking to his best friend as if she were a stranger. Misty glanced up at him warily, the same thoughts obviously going through her head.
~~~
Night after night I hear myself say
Why can't this feeling just fade away
There's no-one like you
You speak to my heart
It's such a shame we're worlds apart
~~~
"I'm... I'm good. And you?" she asked, hating how they sounded like two strangers having a polite conversation. "Oh, I'm ok" Brock shrugged, raising his eyes to the sky. "And where is Kara?" Misty asked, an edge of bitterness in her voice. Brock lowered to his eyes to the ground, suprised at the unwanted feeling of guilt that was suddenly overwhelming him. "She's back at the hotel. We're not joined at the hip, you know" he muttered. Misty raised her eyebrows. "Could have fooled me" she said quietly, instantly regretting it afterwards. Brock glanced over at her questioningly.
"Look Misty, what's going on?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes. Misty glared at him defensively. "I don't know what you're talking about" she lied. "I'm talking about us, Misty" Brock frowned, his patience wearing thin. Misty looked up at him in suprise.
"I mean, this time last week we were best friends. What happened?" he asked, his voice softening. Misty gave a defeated sigh and shook her head. 'Kara happened' she thought to herself, but instead chose to say, "I don't know". Brock was silent for a second, before biting his lip nervously. "Is it anything to do with Kara?" he asked quietly.
Misty's eyes flew to his face in shock. "Um...no. No, of course not" Misty quickly protested, shaking her head rapidly. "It is, isn't it?" Brock sighed, shaking his head. Misty turned her eyes away, realising that denying it wasn't fooling Brock at all. "Why? What is it you hate so much about her?" Brock demanded, his face clearly showing the confusion he was feeling. Misty looked him shamefully in the face, and rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. "You wouldn't understand" she murmered quietly, yet loud enough for Brock to hear. "I would! I would understand! Just tell me what's wrong!" he asked angrily, clutching her arm.
~~~
I'm too shy to ask, I'm too proud to lose
But sooner or later I gotta chose
And once again I'm thinking about
Taking the easy way out
~~~
Misty pushed him back angrily, not forceful enough for it to hurt, but enough for her to get her point across. "No!" she yelled, backing away from him. "You have no idea what's wrong because you obviously don't care about anyone but yourself and your bitch of a girlfriend! Ever since she came along, you've changed! You don't even notice Ash or I are alive and it's like you're like a totally different person! And I don't like what you've become!".
Brock looked at her oddly, before shooting her a venomous look. "What are you talking about, Misty?" he shouted, gesturing wildly with his arms. "I am exactly who I was before! You think I've changed just because I've got a new girlfriend???". Misty glared at him angrily, but didn't shout back. "You have to me" she spat, her voice quiet. "And I want the old Brock back. My Brock".
Brock's face softened, and he lowered his arms to his sides. "I am the old Brock, Misty. But all I want to know is what's going on here. We don't speak anymore, we don't do stuff anymore....it's like we've become strangers. What happened, Misty? I thought we were best friends....".
"We were! I mean, we are!" Misty stammered. "Are we? Because it doesn't feel like it anymore. I used to be able to talk to you about anything. Now I have trouble keeping up a five minute conversation with you" Brock sighed. Misty glanced at his face, then drew in a deep breath. "Maybe you're right, Brock. I guess there is a lot to talk about" she said, lowering her voice. "Let's sit down". Brock nodded, and followed Misty to the steps leading up off the beach.
~~~
But if I let you go I will never know
What my life would be holding you close to me
Will I ever see you smiling back at me
How will I know
If I let you go
~~~
Misty silently sat on the third step, her feet resting on the sandy bottom step. Brock sat beside her, resting his arms along his legs. "So..." Misty started, prompting Brock to re-start the conversation. "So..." Brock replied, unable to think of what to say. "...uh...where should we begin?" Misty joked feebly, wringing her hands together in front of her. "Well, we could start with you explaining why you've been avoiding me..." Brock prompted, turning to look at her. Misty smiled weakly. "I was afraid you'd say that". Brock half-smiled, and waited patiently for her to speak.
"Well, I guess there's no point in lying. Half the reason I've been avoiding of you is because of.... Kara" she admitted guiltily. Brock nodded slowly. "I thought as much".
"It's not like I have anything against the girl personally," Misty continued. "It's just that.... Oh God, this is going to sound so stupid".
"It's ok, go ahead" Brock gently persisted.
"Well," Misty explained nervously. "It's just that I... I have trouble accepting her. I mean, I was so used to the way things were that I didn't like it when it all changed. We never do stuff like we used to anymore, because you're always too busy doing something with Kara. It's like you have no time for me anymore, and I guess... I just feel like she's taken you away from me. And Ash too". Brock listened intently as she said this, before sighing deeply and shaking his head.
"Well, I... I don't know what to say. I had no idea how you felt about this". Misty put her hand to her forehead. "I know, I know, it's stupid!" she moaned. "No it's not, it's just... have I really been ignoring you?" he asked disbelievingly. Misty rolled her eyes. "Brock, you've been ignoring everyone; me, Ash.... you don't even flirt with other women now".
"I'm sorry" Brock muttered. "I guess I've just had a lot on my mind recently".
~~~
If I let you go, baby
Once again I'm thinking about
Taking the easy way out
~~~
Misty glanced over at him questioningly, but chose not to pursue the matter. "Look Brock, now that we've cleared the air, maybe it's time we started getting back to normal" she offered, managing a small grin in his direction. "So... you want to be friends again?" Brock asked, a smile creeping onto his face. "Yeah, I do. I've really missed you" Misty smiled, getting onto her feet. She held her hand out to Brock, which he took to pull himself him. "Yeah, so have I" Brock smiled, still gripping onto her hand. "But there's one thing that still bothers me...".
"What's that?" Misty asked. "Well, when you were talking about how things had changed..." he said, frowning slightly. "You said that was only half the reason. That means there's something else you haven't told me".
Misty looked at him silently for a minute, before lowering her eyes to the ground. "Well... uh... I can't say" she said quickly, avoiding his gaze. "Please? Just tell me. We're friends, right? Friends have no secrets" Brock shrugged, tilting her head to one side.
~~~
But if I let you go I will never know
What my life would be holding you close to me
Will I ever see you smiling back at me
How will I know
If I let you go
~~~
Misty looked at him wearily, before sighing in defeat. "Fine, you want to know? I'll tell you, but don't tell me I didn't warn you". She drew in a deep breath and glued her eyes to the floor. "The reason I hate Kara is because... I...". She clamped her eyes shut. "Because I guess you could say I'm.... jealous... of her". Brock looked at Misty, puzzled. "Why? It's not as if she's prettier than you or anything". Misty gave an exasperated sigh. "No, I don't think you quite understand, Brock. I'm jealous of her because of her boyfriend" she persisted. "Don't worry, you'll get a boyfriend one day, Misty" Brock smiled cheerfully, patting her on the shoulder reassuringly.
Misty shook her head in disbelief. "Have you just got become dense as you got older, or are you spending too long around Ash?" she yelled. "Why can't you see, Brock? I'm jealous of her because of *who* her boyfriend is!".
Brock's eyes widened. "Oh. So... you..."
"Yes. I do..." she said quietly. Brock stood motionless for a second as various emotions flitted across his face. Misty stood for what seemed like an eternity, her eyes fixed on Brock's face.
"You know, it would be nice if you said something right about now" she joked weakly, although there was a deadly serious tone beneath her attempted humour. Brock shook his head to bring himself back to reality, and opened his mouth in an attempt to answer. But he found himself completely speechless. Looking at Misty's increasingly anxious face, he realised that he had to give an answer in some form before she got upset. Misty meanwhile, had taken his silence as a form of rejection. She shook her head sadly, yet smiled weakly to try and cover her disappointment.
"I... I understand Brock. You've got Kara, and it was wrong of me to ever ask you when you're so obviously happy with another girl. I hope we can still be friends, just like we were before. In fact, let's pretend this never happen-"
She was cut off as Brock pressed his lips against hers, silencing her mid-sentence. Misty froze rigidly in shock for a second, then slowly relaxed and closed her eyes, letting herself be drawn into the kiss. Seeing it as a sign of encouragement, Brock slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.
~~~
But if I let you go I will never know
Will I ever see you smiling back at me
How will I know
If I let you go
~~~
As Misty wrapped her arms around his neck and the two continued to embrace, neither noticed a girl with platinum blond hair turn around and run, tears streaming down her face.
***
Authors Note: Well... there it is. I haven't wrote a fanfic where they do they actually do the kissy-kissy thing, so... uh... forgive me if it wasn't great. Heh heh ^_^