DISCLAMER-I Don't Own Pokemon!.
A/N Ok guys sorry about the delay, And now. with a tanned sass in austraila, this is the Geodde saying away we go!.
Chapter Twenty - So backstabbers run in the family.
Things pretty much snowballed from that first phonecall. Ash and I couldn't go outside due to the sea of media camped outside his house and the magazines and TV were full of it.
"World's Youngest Pokémon Master Knocks Up Youngest Waterflower Sister."
"Master of Disaster - Ash Ketchum's Biggest Challenge Yet."
"Misty-eyed and Ashen-faced."
You get the picture. None of it was pleasant and the New Year only brought new miseries to both our individual lives. Mom called in absolute rage over all of it, especially when I accused her of being the one who leaked it, but she fiercely denied that it was her. I was forced to stay inside for nearly a month until Ash announced that we would hold a press conference at his house and then that would be the end of it. No more questions, no more pictures.
Poor Ash had it ten times worse than I did. He was far more in the public eye than I had ever been and now this only made the monstrosity of it all increase. And it wasn't just the media who were making his life miserable.
A week before he was due to leave for the League and two days before the scheduled press conference, he got a phone call from Adam Wilding, the head of the Indigo Plateau, who was livid Ash hadn't told him earlier. I didn't actually hear the conversation because I was holed up in my room tapping away an email to my father on Ash's laptop, but it was impossible to deny something was wrong when he slowly walked into my room and closed the door behind him. I genuinely thought he was sick, he was that pale.
"Ash? Do you feel alright?" I asked worriedly as I stood up to face him.
"I feel like shit" Ash hoarsely croaked out. He sat down on my bed and buried his face in his hands, and I was shocked to discover two rivers of tears staining his cheeks.
"What's happened, Ash? Come on, you have to tell me" I urged.
"I have to…I h-have to…" He sniffled and wiped his eyes before continuing. "That was Adam on the phone. This tournament is gonna be my last" he quietly announced.
"WHAT?!" I shouted. "You're giving up your title?" Ash nodded and for a moment I was too flabbergasted to speak. "But why? Surely it doesn't have to come down to that?"
"Adam just told me that they can't have a Pokémon Master with an illegitimately pregnant girlfriend. The fact that I slept with you underage is illegal and could wind me up in a lot of trouble and they don't want that. They're all getting hassled for answers up there, it's getting outta control. Not to mention the fact that he's absolutely pissed I kept this from him. So he's said if I wanna keep my title I hafta give up you. I said no way."
Ohhh shit. My mind was going back to that conversation I'd had with him about whether he would choose me over the League. Shit shit shit, what had I done?
"Ash…oh God, Ash you don't have to -"
"Yes I do, dammit! I already lost you once because of that damn League and I was more depressed than I will be at losing the title, so screw it. I'd rather lose the title and the hassles and the media than lose the love and happiness I have with you" Ash explained.
"Happiness? You call this happiness?" I asked, standing up and throwing back the curtain to be greeted by shouts of questions and demands for pictures. I vacantly stared out the window at the reporters and Ash walked up beside me in plain view of the cameras.
"No. That's not happiness. This is." And with that he initiated a long kiss between us, one that drove the photographers crazy and one that I was panicking about regretting later. Then again, what harm was there in a kiss? I returned it with all the love and passion he was bestowing on me and broke away with a dazed smile on my face and tears brimming my eyes.
"Please don't give up the title, Ash. I'm sorry I was so selfish in asking you to choose, I don't want you to be unhappy."
"If you don't want me to be unhappy then you won't mind me giving up the title. It's going, Mist. As soon as this tournament is over we can try and regain some sort of normality in our lives" Ash said. He pulled the curtain back, much to the disappointment of the media and looked me square in the eye. "I love you. I'm happiest when I'm with you. That League is a hassle, and sure, I've wanted the title for so long, but it's only a temporary prize. I want you for the rest of my life."
"Then I declare you utterly and hopelessly insane" I whispered as a tear spilled over.
"You can do that if you want, but I'm declaring myself utterly and hopelessly in love" Ash replied, kissing me again before a knock on the door interrupted us. Delia had become a bit more conscious since the last little incident when she walked in my room.
"Misty, you've got a visitor" she announced.
"It's not another reporter, is it?" I asked warily.
"Do you think I would let reporters into my house? Although…" Delia turned her head behind her suspiciously for a second and spoke to us in a whisper when she turned back. "He's claiming to be a relative. Tread carefully hun, those people are vultures."
"I know. Thanks Delia" I smiled.
"Uh, Mom, do you think you could stay here a minute? I've got something to tell you" Ash said nervously. I gave him a quick reassuring squeeze of his hand and almost flew down the stairs at a speed that brought my crutches to even more shame. Walking into the lounge, I froze in my tracks as I instantly recognized who was visiting me.
"Misty, gosh, it's been a while since I've seen you. Well, unless you count the dozens of tabloids that are splashing your face everywhere" Mark greeted me. He had that same oily smile I knew my cousin to have so well and, I noticed in puzzlement, he was wearing designer jeans. How the hell had he been able to afford those? His family wasn't particularly well-off.
"Um, hi Mark. Do you want a drink or something?" I politely offered.
"No thanks Mist" Mark replied, aloofness his ultimate exterior, as I sat opposite him on the other couch.
"So what are you doing here in Pallet?" I asked. I knew full well that he lived in Saffron City and that he had no connections with Pallet Town at all. Unless you counted me, but I was somehow doubting that my sixteen year old cousin who had sprung Ash and I on Mom had driven all the way from Saffron for a chit-chat session.
"I just thought I'd drop by and thank you" Mark said.
"You want to thank me?"
"I sure do. You and your little beau have made me the richest kid at Saffron Central High, so my humblest gratitude goes towards the both of you" Mark grinned. The words froze my blood with an anger and hurt I had never felt before. Not even my mother's insults could level with this, and I stared at him with my head spinning.
"It was you…" I whispered in disbelief, though I don't know why I was so shocked. He was notorious for spreading rumours and leaking news. I guess I never really thought he would sink so low as to tell the media. "But…Mark, why?"
"Oh I don't know, money, glory, the look on your face right now…" Mark replied casually. How many times would my heart break before it stopped functioning altogether? My cousin, my own blood relative, was out to ruin my life for his own personal gain. He smiled deviously and lit a cigarette, blowing a huge puff of the toxic smoke in my face.
"Put that out" I feebly commanded.
"Why? Is it bad for the bastard baby?" Mark asked sarcastically. It's bad for the bastard who's smoking it, I thought darkly, but kept silent as I watched him draw in another drag. "It was a bad idea telling your mom. You know what she's like, and how close she is to me. You would've been safer just running away without telling anyone. And now look at the mess you're in."
"Mark…" I gulped back my tears and tried to put on a brave face. "Do you have any idea the amount of trouble you've caused for us?"
"Nope. Why, is there more trauma?" Mark asked excitedly. "C'mon Mist, you can let me in on it. Nothing could get worse than what's going on out there." I felt like I was going to throw up at his words.
"I am never, from this day onwards, going to be able to speak to you again. You've betrayed me twice, first at Washbay and now with this, and I don't give a rat's ass if you're even slightly related to me. It doesn't necessarily mean it's compulsory for me to face you again, do you know why?" I asked, my voice rising by the second.
"Oooh, she's never gonna speak to me again. That's easy Misty, you don't wanna speak to me again cos I spilt your guts a week before the Pokémon League, boohoo" Mark said mockingly.
"No." I shook my head, calmly stood up, walked over to where he was sitting and slapped him with all the fury and hurt that had developed because of him. "Because you're a fucking lousy human being and I don't enjoy being near scum. In fact, I find it a hazard to my health. And since that's what you are, you can piss off and leave us all the hell alone" I spat out. Mark, who was still reeling from the shock of me having the guts to slap him, stood up and faced me with cold eyes.
"I hope you have that much courage in the next few months. With a mother like yours, you're gonna need it."
"What are you talking about? She's in another town and I never talk to her" I pointed out.
"She's got worse tricks up her sleeve than I do. Toodles, cousin dearest."
His departing words sent shivers to the core of my soul and I drew in an unstable breath to somehow calm myself down. He was just being stupid, trying to scare me like that. He couldn't do anything more and neither could Mom. So what was I panicking about? Nothing.
I slowly walked back to my room to find Delia and Ash locked in a hug with Delia whispering words to her son that I only just managed to pick up.
"I'm so proud of you. You've grown up so much."
I smiled when Delia noticed me and furiously wiped at her eyes to destroy the tears they were drowning in. "Aren't you two the luckiest, seeing me blubber like this" she laughed. A rare glimpse into your true emotions, I thought. It was quite refreshing to see her being true to herself, as I had learned to do in such difficult situations.
"Well you've seen us do it enough" I sighed.
"Who was the visitor? Wasn't a very long visit" Ash noted. I groaned and flopped down on my bed, desperately wishing the last ten minutes hadn't transpired.
"Does the name Mark sound in any way familiar to you?" I asked.
"Um…sorta, yeah. You're gonna have to jog my memory" Ash said.
"Well, he was Mom's tipster. And now he's done the same with the press. He just thought he'd come over and gloat about all the money he's made off us."
"You're kidding" Ash asked in astonishment.
"God I wish I was."
"That's terrible!" Delia exclaimed. "Misty, I'm so sorry, I won't let anyone else into the house until this all blows over. He actually gloated about what he'd done?"
"Yup. Don't stop people from coming over, that's just a little bit drastic. Things will blow over soon enough, especially after this press conference, and then we can all just get on with it" I said.
"I hope so" Ash said quietly. "Cos this has gone on long enough. Don't you just wish you could run outside for the hell of it?"
"Even though it's about two degrees and there's snow everywhere?" I laughed. Ash shrugged and smiled at the same time.
"Well after that horrible incident and Ash's remarkable bravery I think we should all have a hearty lunch" Delia proclaimed. Bravery? Okay, so she made him sound like a soldier in a huge war, but I guess in a way she was right. For three years he had battled against the rules of the plateau, and now he was bringing them down by walking out on them. They wouldn't be happy.
"Lunch sounds tremendous" Ash said.
"Tremendous? Big words for small brains" I teased as I walked behind him towards the kitchen.
"Gee Mist, you crack me up every time" Ash said sarcastically, but he couldn't hide the grin on his face. I had to wonder if the smiles and the brave face were a shield from the pain he was no doubt feeling. In a month he would no longer have the title he had strived to hold for so long. It would have shattered my soul, but so far he seemed to be bearing alright. Maybe that was because his decision was only a few minutes old. His time at the League would probably bring on the tears and the pros and cons.
But for now we had to prepare for this press conference. There would be so much media there, so many questions and so many flashbulbs going off, I went dizzy at the thought of it. All we had to do was answer questions as honestly as we could, clear the air, and announce Ash's departure from the Pokémon world.
Sound like cake? It did to me too. But then again, I didn't have a clue what I was in for.
*******
What does one wear to one's first press conference? This was the question that was plaguing my mind an hour before the conference was due to start. Already the writing media were queuing up outside (what else was new) and the television cameras were being set up. Ash had instructed me not to go downstairs until he came to see me and, after a polite request from the both of us, Delia had made herself discreet by staying in the kitchen. We wanted her there, God we would've loved her support, but we also didn't want her dragged into this any further. She had been the one taking the phone calls and answering the door, she had done more than enough.
I eventually settled on a not-so-bad-looking maternity dress, one that wasn't overly huge and that I would probably freeze to death in but probably the best out of the bunch. My ankles were slightly swollen, which was definitely not what I needed on that particular day, and I felt overwhelmed with the pressure of what was about to happen.
Questions ran through my mind as I sat on my bed, trying to pass some time. What would they ask us? Would they be rude? Would they try and get to the very depths of our personal lives? And how the hell would they react to Ash giving up his title?
A knock sounded on my door and I shouted that it was open about a second before Ash poked his head in.
"Hey. You ready?"
"Not in the slightest" I mumbled. "But I guess this is about as ready as I'll get, so let's just get this over with." I stood up and walked over to him with an apprehensive sort of smile on my face.
"It'll be okay. They should leave us alone after this, there's nothing else they can find out" Ash reassured me, grasping my hand with the same comfort his words had in them. I nodded and walked beside him down the stairs to be welcomed by shouts and general mayhem as cameras flashed their bulbs and tape recorders starting whirling.
Bloody hell. What had we gotten ourselves into?
We sat ourselves down behind a table - who the hell had supplied that anyways? - and Ash was the first to speak once the initial commotion had died down.
"I'd like to thank you all for coming here today. This conference has been called to clear the air and dissolve any rumours that might be running round, so please direct any questions you may have to either myself or Misty."
"Steve Davidson, Global Gossip Weekly" one guy proclaimed as he stood up, tape recorder in tow. "When is the baby due and what do you plan to once it's born?"
"Um…what date was it again?" Ash muttered. I nearly burst out laughing at the lapse of his memory and fielded the question myself.
"April 22nd. The baby will be adopted out and we haven't really discussed anything beyond that point. Our focus right now is to make sure it goes to a loving home where we know it'll be looked after."
The questions were pretty standard, asking Ash if he considered himself a good role model after having unprotected sex, asking me if I'd volunteered to leave home and similar background stuff. It was one question later on, after we'd cleared up that we weren't getting married nor were we planning to fake our deaths in order to leave the public eye (I don't know where that came from) that really tripped me up. One question that I hadn't expected at all.
"Misty, how are you responding to your sisters' claims that you're ruining their careers?"
"What?" I choked on the word, not quite sure if I'd heard the reporter properly. "What are my sisters' claims?"
"I quote one Daisy Waterflower in our tabloid last week: 'I can't believe Misty has let this slip. Our audience numbers have gone down, people are giving us strange looks in the street, journalists keep asking us questions as if we were the ones committing the crime. She needs to learn to be more responsible. She has no one to blame for in this disaster but herself and Ash, and it's almost as if people think that because we're related we'll get up to the same things. But we can't be that irresponsible with a career like ours in the picture. I guess we can only be grateful she left home, things would be undoubtedly worse if she'd stayed at the gym.'"
I stared at the reporter with a blank face. I never even knew my sisters had talked to anyone about this, or that they felt the way they did. Maybe, I thought with a slight glimmer of hope, it was a misquote.
"Are you sure Daisy said that?" I asked in a whisper.
"I interviewed her myself, Miss Waterflower. She's worried that people will think they support you in this and that they'll look down on them as a result."
My throat went dry and Ash glanced at me worriedly. I felt like screaming out something along the lines of "THAT'S BULLSHIT!" but kept those words to myself. How could Daisy say such things when she and the other two had seen me off themselves, had consistently cautioned me to be careful and were so excited when I confessed that I did in fact love Ash? And how would this ruin their careers? Those three and myself were two completely separate things.
"Um, well…I-I…"
"I don't think Misty should be answering such questions" Ash interrupted. I gently placed a hand on his arm and smiled weakly at him.
"Ash, it's okay, I'll answer it" I whispered. He looked unsure but nodded anyway, and I turned back to the reporters, careful to consider my words before I answered. "I never knew my sisters were making such claims. I guess the only way I can respond to that is to ask the public not to look down on them because of me. Their careers should not be ruined by something like this that's happening to me, not to them. If their careers are gonna be ruined at all, it should be because of their lack of talent, which they don't currently have. They are brilliant performers. My life and their lives are separate, and should not affect each other in manners such as these."
"Nice one" Ash muttered approvingly as the media started jotting down notes. "You handled that well."
"No I didn't" I mumbled. I wasn't handling it well at all. My sisters had always been so supportive, they had encouraged me to go out with Ash because they could see, plain as day, that I was in love with him and that he loved me too. And now here they were, accusing me of being irresponsible (which they could also claim to be too, after their various antics at Washbay) and the reason for their declining audience numbers.
It was at that moment that Ash chose to announce he was leaving the Pokémon League after the upcoming tournament and that if no one defeated him, then the runner-up would take his title. It was a sad statement to make, and the media went nuts, firing more questions at the unexpected announcement. Overall, the conference went okay, and we knew that everything that needed to be cleared up had been. They could stop hassling us now.
When the reporters had left and Delia had hugged the both of us for being so brave, I was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at my hands with tears once again invading my eyes at the thought of my sister's words. I never knew Daisy could be so hypocritical. I wondered if the other two felt the same, and came to the conclusion that there was only one way to find out.
I slowly walked down the hall, nearing the phone and nearing the answers I needed so badly. Mom probably wouldn't be home, it was errands day, and my sisters would be taking advantage of her not being home by not practicing. I dialed the familiar numbers and kept it off the video phone, in case Mom picked up. To my mixed relief and sadness, Daisy answered chirpily, as though she hadn't just deceived the sister she had told she was gonna 'miss so much.'
I guess we can just be grateful she left home…
The words rang in my ears and for a moment I forgot to reply back to her greeting.
"Hello? Like, is anyone there?"
"S-sorry" I stuttered. "Daisy…it's me, Misty." There was a long pause and Daisy's tone instantly went frigid.
"How are you?" This was not her at all. This was not the sister I had left behind, and I choked back the tears as I asked her the doomed question.
"Why did you say what you did?" I asked meekly.
"Because it was all the truth, little sis. You've caused us to get the worse reps, the whole gym is now threatened thanks to you" Daisy announced, her tone still glacial.
"But…but when I left, you said you'd miss me, and at Washbay you wanted me to go out with Ash so bad, you helped us, Daisy!" I shouted on the verge of tears. "We owe you so much after everything you did for us!"
"You're damn right you owe us. You owe us our careers, our reputations, you owe us our lives back, and until you can pull that off don't expect any of us to be talking to you." With that the phone went dead, and I stood there, hopelessly clutching onto the receiver like a lifeline.
I couldn't believe she had turned her back on me so quickly. After the heartfelt letter she and the others had written with my present, after all the emails which, I suddenly realised, had stopped about two weeks ago…how could she? I wasn't set out to ruin their careers, I hadn't wanted this to leak.
I slammed the receiver down and stormed up to my room. So three people in the whole world were on my side - Dad, Delia and Ash. I thought my sisters would always be there, and this had made me realise that people can change their tunes so easily. What if Ash did the same? What if he came back from the League and got all depressed because he'd never go back and blame it on me? Well, he'd probably have a right to, after I'd pressured him to choose between me and the League.
"Hey Mist, are you -" Ash stopped himself in mid-sentence as he noticed me sitting on my bed cutting up photos into tiny bits of unrecognizable material. "Misty, what are you doing?" he asked in shock.
"Cutting up every image I have of my sisters. They hate me" I replied calmly. Snip. There goes another one. Ash strode over to my bed and snatched the scissors off me, much to my horror and dismay. "What the hell are you doing?!" I exclaimed.
"They don't hate you, okay? They don't. They're just upset" Ash said.
"They're not upset. They never wanna talk to me again, I'm ruining their lives and the gym. So why should I have any reminder of the people who backstabbed me worse than I could ever imagine?"
"You called them?" Ash asked. I nodded and met his eyes in worry.
"I bet you're next" I said softly.
"I'm next? I don't know what you're talking about" Ash replied.
"You'll come back from the League, you'll remember how much you love it up there, how much you love the battling and the challenges and all that, and you'll come back announcing you've kept the title and I have to leave. And don't start promising me that you won't" I said when he opened his mouth to speak. "Because you can't promise me anything at the moment. My sisters promised me they'd be there for me and look at them now."
"Uh-huh, okay" Ash said calmly. I was surprised he wasn't defending himself. "You're right, that could very well happen. Then again, I could come home and I could be incredibly depressed at the idea of never going back to Indigo, but then I could see your face and remember how much I love you and how much we need each other. I dunno, that's just a possibility."
There was a silence after he'd spoken and I looked at the cut up photos. I knew I wasn't being too drastic. My sisters' turnaround had made me more wary of people and what they were capable of. Nonetheless, neither of us spoke until Ash turned to leave.
"I love you. If you love me, you have to trust me." Those were his last words before he closed the door behind him and left me in a state of confusion, surrounded by cut up photos and a knife being twisted in my heart.
A/N Alright guys more on way soon, but for now, thanks for all your kinda words and reviews are alwasy welcome!.
A/N Ok guys sorry about the delay, And now. with a tanned sass in austraila, this is the Geodde saying away we go!.
Chapter Twenty - So backstabbers run in the family.
Things pretty much snowballed from that first phonecall. Ash and I couldn't go outside due to the sea of media camped outside his house and the magazines and TV were full of it.
"World's Youngest Pokémon Master Knocks Up Youngest Waterflower Sister."
"Master of Disaster - Ash Ketchum's Biggest Challenge Yet."
"Misty-eyed and Ashen-faced."
You get the picture. None of it was pleasant and the New Year only brought new miseries to both our individual lives. Mom called in absolute rage over all of it, especially when I accused her of being the one who leaked it, but she fiercely denied that it was her. I was forced to stay inside for nearly a month until Ash announced that we would hold a press conference at his house and then that would be the end of it. No more questions, no more pictures.
Poor Ash had it ten times worse than I did. He was far more in the public eye than I had ever been and now this only made the monstrosity of it all increase. And it wasn't just the media who were making his life miserable.
A week before he was due to leave for the League and two days before the scheduled press conference, he got a phone call from Adam Wilding, the head of the Indigo Plateau, who was livid Ash hadn't told him earlier. I didn't actually hear the conversation because I was holed up in my room tapping away an email to my father on Ash's laptop, but it was impossible to deny something was wrong when he slowly walked into my room and closed the door behind him. I genuinely thought he was sick, he was that pale.
"Ash? Do you feel alright?" I asked worriedly as I stood up to face him.
"I feel like shit" Ash hoarsely croaked out. He sat down on my bed and buried his face in his hands, and I was shocked to discover two rivers of tears staining his cheeks.
"What's happened, Ash? Come on, you have to tell me" I urged.
"I have to…I h-have to…" He sniffled and wiped his eyes before continuing. "That was Adam on the phone. This tournament is gonna be my last" he quietly announced.
"WHAT?!" I shouted. "You're giving up your title?" Ash nodded and for a moment I was too flabbergasted to speak. "But why? Surely it doesn't have to come down to that?"
"Adam just told me that they can't have a Pokémon Master with an illegitimately pregnant girlfriend. The fact that I slept with you underage is illegal and could wind me up in a lot of trouble and they don't want that. They're all getting hassled for answers up there, it's getting outta control. Not to mention the fact that he's absolutely pissed I kept this from him. So he's said if I wanna keep my title I hafta give up you. I said no way."
Ohhh shit. My mind was going back to that conversation I'd had with him about whether he would choose me over the League. Shit shit shit, what had I done?
"Ash…oh God, Ash you don't have to -"
"Yes I do, dammit! I already lost you once because of that damn League and I was more depressed than I will be at losing the title, so screw it. I'd rather lose the title and the hassles and the media than lose the love and happiness I have with you" Ash explained.
"Happiness? You call this happiness?" I asked, standing up and throwing back the curtain to be greeted by shouts of questions and demands for pictures. I vacantly stared out the window at the reporters and Ash walked up beside me in plain view of the cameras.
"No. That's not happiness. This is." And with that he initiated a long kiss between us, one that drove the photographers crazy and one that I was panicking about regretting later. Then again, what harm was there in a kiss? I returned it with all the love and passion he was bestowing on me and broke away with a dazed smile on my face and tears brimming my eyes.
"Please don't give up the title, Ash. I'm sorry I was so selfish in asking you to choose, I don't want you to be unhappy."
"If you don't want me to be unhappy then you won't mind me giving up the title. It's going, Mist. As soon as this tournament is over we can try and regain some sort of normality in our lives" Ash said. He pulled the curtain back, much to the disappointment of the media and looked me square in the eye. "I love you. I'm happiest when I'm with you. That League is a hassle, and sure, I've wanted the title for so long, but it's only a temporary prize. I want you for the rest of my life."
"Then I declare you utterly and hopelessly insane" I whispered as a tear spilled over.
"You can do that if you want, but I'm declaring myself utterly and hopelessly in love" Ash replied, kissing me again before a knock on the door interrupted us. Delia had become a bit more conscious since the last little incident when she walked in my room.
"Misty, you've got a visitor" she announced.
"It's not another reporter, is it?" I asked warily.
"Do you think I would let reporters into my house? Although…" Delia turned her head behind her suspiciously for a second and spoke to us in a whisper when she turned back. "He's claiming to be a relative. Tread carefully hun, those people are vultures."
"I know. Thanks Delia" I smiled.
"Uh, Mom, do you think you could stay here a minute? I've got something to tell you" Ash said nervously. I gave him a quick reassuring squeeze of his hand and almost flew down the stairs at a speed that brought my crutches to even more shame. Walking into the lounge, I froze in my tracks as I instantly recognized who was visiting me.
"Misty, gosh, it's been a while since I've seen you. Well, unless you count the dozens of tabloids that are splashing your face everywhere" Mark greeted me. He had that same oily smile I knew my cousin to have so well and, I noticed in puzzlement, he was wearing designer jeans. How the hell had he been able to afford those? His family wasn't particularly well-off.
"Um, hi Mark. Do you want a drink or something?" I politely offered.
"No thanks Mist" Mark replied, aloofness his ultimate exterior, as I sat opposite him on the other couch.
"So what are you doing here in Pallet?" I asked. I knew full well that he lived in Saffron City and that he had no connections with Pallet Town at all. Unless you counted me, but I was somehow doubting that my sixteen year old cousin who had sprung Ash and I on Mom had driven all the way from Saffron for a chit-chat session.
"I just thought I'd drop by and thank you" Mark said.
"You want to thank me?"
"I sure do. You and your little beau have made me the richest kid at Saffron Central High, so my humblest gratitude goes towards the both of you" Mark grinned. The words froze my blood with an anger and hurt I had never felt before. Not even my mother's insults could level with this, and I stared at him with my head spinning.
"It was you…" I whispered in disbelief, though I don't know why I was so shocked. He was notorious for spreading rumours and leaking news. I guess I never really thought he would sink so low as to tell the media. "But…Mark, why?"
"Oh I don't know, money, glory, the look on your face right now…" Mark replied casually. How many times would my heart break before it stopped functioning altogether? My cousin, my own blood relative, was out to ruin my life for his own personal gain. He smiled deviously and lit a cigarette, blowing a huge puff of the toxic smoke in my face.
"Put that out" I feebly commanded.
"Why? Is it bad for the bastard baby?" Mark asked sarcastically. It's bad for the bastard who's smoking it, I thought darkly, but kept silent as I watched him draw in another drag. "It was a bad idea telling your mom. You know what she's like, and how close she is to me. You would've been safer just running away without telling anyone. And now look at the mess you're in."
"Mark…" I gulped back my tears and tried to put on a brave face. "Do you have any idea the amount of trouble you've caused for us?"
"Nope. Why, is there more trauma?" Mark asked excitedly. "C'mon Mist, you can let me in on it. Nothing could get worse than what's going on out there." I felt like I was going to throw up at his words.
"I am never, from this day onwards, going to be able to speak to you again. You've betrayed me twice, first at Washbay and now with this, and I don't give a rat's ass if you're even slightly related to me. It doesn't necessarily mean it's compulsory for me to face you again, do you know why?" I asked, my voice rising by the second.
"Oooh, she's never gonna speak to me again. That's easy Misty, you don't wanna speak to me again cos I spilt your guts a week before the Pokémon League, boohoo" Mark said mockingly.
"No." I shook my head, calmly stood up, walked over to where he was sitting and slapped him with all the fury and hurt that had developed because of him. "Because you're a fucking lousy human being and I don't enjoy being near scum. In fact, I find it a hazard to my health. And since that's what you are, you can piss off and leave us all the hell alone" I spat out. Mark, who was still reeling from the shock of me having the guts to slap him, stood up and faced me with cold eyes.
"I hope you have that much courage in the next few months. With a mother like yours, you're gonna need it."
"What are you talking about? She's in another town and I never talk to her" I pointed out.
"She's got worse tricks up her sleeve than I do. Toodles, cousin dearest."
His departing words sent shivers to the core of my soul and I drew in an unstable breath to somehow calm myself down. He was just being stupid, trying to scare me like that. He couldn't do anything more and neither could Mom. So what was I panicking about? Nothing.
I slowly walked back to my room to find Delia and Ash locked in a hug with Delia whispering words to her son that I only just managed to pick up.
"I'm so proud of you. You've grown up so much."
I smiled when Delia noticed me and furiously wiped at her eyes to destroy the tears they were drowning in. "Aren't you two the luckiest, seeing me blubber like this" she laughed. A rare glimpse into your true emotions, I thought. It was quite refreshing to see her being true to herself, as I had learned to do in such difficult situations.
"Well you've seen us do it enough" I sighed.
"Who was the visitor? Wasn't a very long visit" Ash noted. I groaned and flopped down on my bed, desperately wishing the last ten minutes hadn't transpired.
"Does the name Mark sound in any way familiar to you?" I asked.
"Um…sorta, yeah. You're gonna have to jog my memory" Ash said.
"Well, he was Mom's tipster. And now he's done the same with the press. He just thought he'd come over and gloat about all the money he's made off us."
"You're kidding" Ash asked in astonishment.
"God I wish I was."
"That's terrible!" Delia exclaimed. "Misty, I'm so sorry, I won't let anyone else into the house until this all blows over. He actually gloated about what he'd done?"
"Yup. Don't stop people from coming over, that's just a little bit drastic. Things will blow over soon enough, especially after this press conference, and then we can all just get on with it" I said.
"I hope so" Ash said quietly. "Cos this has gone on long enough. Don't you just wish you could run outside for the hell of it?"
"Even though it's about two degrees and there's snow everywhere?" I laughed. Ash shrugged and smiled at the same time.
"Well after that horrible incident and Ash's remarkable bravery I think we should all have a hearty lunch" Delia proclaimed. Bravery? Okay, so she made him sound like a soldier in a huge war, but I guess in a way she was right. For three years he had battled against the rules of the plateau, and now he was bringing them down by walking out on them. They wouldn't be happy.
"Lunch sounds tremendous" Ash said.
"Tremendous? Big words for small brains" I teased as I walked behind him towards the kitchen.
"Gee Mist, you crack me up every time" Ash said sarcastically, but he couldn't hide the grin on his face. I had to wonder if the smiles and the brave face were a shield from the pain he was no doubt feeling. In a month he would no longer have the title he had strived to hold for so long. It would have shattered my soul, but so far he seemed to be bearing alright. Maybe that was because his decision was only a few minutes old. His time at the League would probably bring on the tears and the pros and cons.
But for now we had to prepare for this press conference. There would be so much media there, so many questions and so many flashbulbs going off, I went dizzy at the thought of it. All we had to do was answer questions as honestly as we could, clear the air, and announce Ash's departure from the Pokémon world.
Sound like cake? It did to me too. But then again, I didn't have a clue what I was in for.
*******
What does one wear to one's first press conference? This was the question that was plaguing my mind an hour before the conference was due to start. Already the writing media were queuing up outside (what else was new) and the television cameras were being set up. Ash had instructed me not to go downstairs until he came to see me and, after a polite request from the both of us, Delia had made herself discreet by staying in the kitchen. We wanted her there, God we would've loved her support, but we also didn't want her dragged into this any further. She had been the one taking the phone calls and answering the door, she had done more than enough.
I eventually settled on a not-so-bad-looking maternity dress, one that wasn't overly huge and that I would probably freeze to death in but probably the best out of the bunch. My ankles were slightly swollen, which was definitely not what I needed on that particular day, and I felt overwhelmed with the pressure of what was about to happen.
Questions ran through my mind as I sat on my bed, trying to pass some time. What would they ask us? Would they be rude? Would they try and get to the very depths of our personal lives? And how the hell would they react to Ash giving up his title?
A knock sounded on my door and I shouted that it was open about a second before Ash poked his head in.
"Hey. You ready?"
"Not in the slightest" I mumbled. "But I guess this is about as ready as I'll get, so let's just get this over with." I stood up and walked over to him with an apprehensive sort of smile on my face.
"It'll be okay. They should leave us alone after this, there's nothing else they can find out" Ash reassured me, grasping my hand with the same comfort his words had in them. I nodded and walked beside him down the stairs to be welcomed by shouts and general mayhem as cameras flashed their bulbs and tape recorders starting whirling.
Bloody hell. What had we gotten ourselves into?
We sat ourselves down behind a table - who the hell had supplied that anyways? - and Ash was the first to speak once the initial commotion had died down.
"I'd like to thank you all for coming here today. This conference has been called to clear the air and dissolve any rumours that might be running round, so please direct any questions you may have to either myself or Misty."
"Steve Davidson, Global Gossip Weekly" one guy proclaimed as he stood up, tape recorder in tow. "When is the baby due and what do you plan to once it's born?"
"Um…what date was it again?" Ash muttered. I nearly burst out laughing at the lapse of his memory and fielded the question myself.
"April 22nd. The baby will be adopted out and we haven't really discussed anything beyond that point. Our focus right now is to make sure it goes to a loving home where we know it'll be looked after."
The questions were pretty standard, asking Ash if he considered himself a good role model after having unprotected sex, asking me if I'd volunteered to leave home and similar background stuff. It was one question later on, after we'd cleared up that we weren't getting married nor were we planning to fake our deaths in order to leave the public eye (I don't know where that came from) that really tripped me up. One question that I hadn't expected at all.
"Misty, how are you responding to your sisters' claims that you're ruining their careers?"
"What?" I choked on the word, not quite sure if I'd heard the reporter properly. "What are my sisters' claims?"
"I quote one Daisy Waterflower in our tabloid last week: 'I can't believe Misty has let this slip. Our audience numbers have gone down, people are giving us strange looks in the street, journalists keep asking us questions as if we were the ones committing the crime. She needs to learn to be more responsible. She has no one to blame for in this disaster but herself and Ash, and it's almost as if people think that because we're related we'll get up to the same things. But we can't be that irresponsible with a career like ours in the picture. I guess we can only be grateful she left home, things would be undoubtedly worse if she'd stayed at the gym.'"
I stared at the reporter with a blank face. I never even knew my sisters had talked to anyone about this, or that they felt the way they did. Maybe, I thought with a slight glimmer of hope, it was a misquote.
"Are you sure Daisy said that?" I asked in a whisper.
"I interviewed her myself, Miss Waterflower. She's worried that people will think they support you in this and that they'll look down on them as a result."
My throat went dry and Ash glanced at me worriedly. I felt like screaming out something along the lines of "THAT'S BULLSHIT!" but kept those words to myself. How could Daisy say such things when she and the other two had seen me off themselves, had consistently cautioned me to be careful and were so excited when I confessed that I did in fact love Ash? And how would this ruin their careers? Those three and myself were two completely separate things.
"Um, well…I-I…"
"I don't think Misty should be answering such questions" Ash interrupted. I gently placed a hand on his arm and smiled weakly at him.
"Ash, it's okay, I'll answer it" I whispered. He looked unsure but nodded anyway, and I turned back to the reporters, careful to consider my words before I answered. "I never knew my sisters were making such claims. I guess the only way I can respond to that is to ask the public not to look down on them because of me. Their careers should not be ruined by something like this that's happening to me, not to them. If their careers are gonna be ruined at all, it should be because of their lack of talent, which they don't currently have. They are brilliant performers. My life and their lives are separate, and should not affect each other in manners such as these."
"Nice one" Ash muttered approvingly as the media started jotting down notes. "You handled that well."
"No I didn't" I mumbled. I wasn't handling it well at all. My sisters had always been so supportive, they had encouraged me to go out with Ash because they could see, plain as day, that I was in love with him and that he loved me too. And now here they were, accusing me of being irresponsible (which they could also claim to be too, after their various antics at Washbay) and the reason for their declining audience numbers.
It was at that moment that Ash chose to announce he was leaving the Pokémon League after the upcoming tournament and that if no one defeated him, then the runner-up would take his title. It was a sad statement to make, and the media went nuts, firing more questions at the unexpected announcement. Overall, the conference went okay, and we knew that everything that needed to be cleared up had been. They could stop hassling us now.
When the reporters had left and Delia had hugged the both of us for being so brave, I was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at my hands with tears once again invading my eyes at the thought of my sister's words. I never knew Daisy could be so hypocritical. I wondered if the other two felt the same, and came to the conclusion that there was only one way to find out.
I slowly walked down the hall, nearing the phone and nearing the answers I needed so badly. Mom probably wouldn't be home, it was errands day, and my sisters would be taking advantage of her not being home by not practicing. I dialed the familiar numbers and kept it off the video phone, in case Mom picked up. To my mixed relief and sadness, Daisy answered chirpily, as though she hadn't just deceived the sister she had told she was gonna 'miss so much.'
I guess we can just be grateful she left home…
The words rang in my ears and for a moment I forgot to reply back to her greeting.
"Hello? Like, is anyone there?"
"S-sorry" I stuttered. "Daisy…it's me, Misty." There was a long pause and Daisy's tone instantly went frigid.
"How are you?" This was not her at all. This was not the sister I had left behind, and I choked back the tears as I asked her the doomed question.
"Why did you say what you did?" I asked meekly.
"Because it was all the truth, little sis. You've caused us to get the worse reps, the whole gym is now threatened thanks to you" Daisy announced, her tone still glacial.
"But…but when I left, you said you'd miss me, and at Washbay you wanted me to go out with Ash so bad, you helped us, Daisy!" I shouted on the verge of tears. "We owe you so much after everything you did for us!"
"You're damn right you owe us. You owe us our careers, our reputations, you owe us our lives back, and until you can pull that off don't expect any of us to be talking to you." With that the phone went dead, and I stood there, hopelessly clutching onto the receiver like a lifeline.
I couldn't believe she had turned her back on me so quickly. After the heartfelt letter she and the others had written with my present, after all the emails which, I suddenly realised, had stopped about two weeks ago…how could she? I wasn't set out to ruin their careers, I hadn't wanted this to leak.
I slammed the receiver down and stormed up to my room. So three people in the whole world were on my side - Dad, Delia and Ash. I thought my sisters would always be there, and this had made me realise that people can change their tunes so easily. What if Ash did the same? What if he came back from the League and got all depressed because he'd never go back and blame it on me? Well, he'd probably have a right to, after I'd pressured him to choose between me and the League.
"Hey Mist, are you -" Ash stopped himself in mid-sentence as he noticed me sitting on my bed cutting up photos into tiny bits of unrecognizable material. "Misty, what are you doing?" he asked in shock.
"Cutting up every image I have of my sisters. They hate me" I replied calmly. Snip. There goes another one. Ash strode over to my bed and snatched the scissors off me, much to my horror and dismay. "What the hell are you doing?!" I exclaimed.
"They don't hate you, okay? They don't. They're just upset" Ash said.
"They're not upset. They never wanna talk to me again, I'm ruining their lives and the gym. So why should I have any reminder of the people who backstabbed me worse than I could ever imagine?"
"You called them?" Ash asked. I nodded and met his eyes in worry.
"I bet you're next" I said softly.
"I'm next? I don't know what you're talking about" Ash replied.
"You'll come back from the League, you'll remember how much you love it up there, how much you love the battling and the challenges and all that, and you'll come back announcing you've kept the title and I have to leave. And don't start promising me that you won't" I said when he opened his mouth to speak. "Because you can't promise me anything at the moment. My sisters promised me they'd be there for me and look at them now."
"Uh-huh, okay" Ash said calmly. I was surprised he wasn't defending himself. "You're right, that could very well happen. Then again, I could come home and I could be incredibly depressed at the idea of never going back to Indigo, but then I could see your face and remember how much I love you and how much we need each other. I dunno, that's just a possibility."
There was a silence after he'd spoken and I looked at the cut up photos. I knew I wasn't being too drastic. My sisters' turnaround had made me more wary of people and what they were capable of. Nonetheless, neither of us spoke until Ash turned to leave.
"I love you. If you love me, you have to trust me." Those were his last words before he closed the door behind him and left me in a state of confusion, surrounded by cut up photos and a knife being twisted in my heart.
A/N Alright guys more on way soon, but for now, thanks for all your kinda words and reviews are alwasy welcome!.
