Chapter 5

"If you have reasons for loving someone, then you are using your mind, but if you love someone for no reason, then you are using your heart."

--

Misty plastered another fake smile on her face and murmured another thank you as some old acquaintance she had maybe seen once in her life sauntered over and congratulated her. Although she and Rudy were already several months into their engagement and only had another few more to go until the wedding, they were having a somewhat belated engagement party in the lavish party room located in some restaurant not too far from Rudy's office building.

For some unknown reason, Rudy had come home about a week or two ago, announced they were having an engagement party at his work, an idea suggested by some of his fellow coworkers, and that was the end of it. Despite the fact that Misty was in no mood and never would be in the mood to go and mingle with a bunch of Rudy's friends, some of whom she'd never even met , or with distant friends and family, she was obligated to show up to this ridiculous affair.

Smoothing the fabric of her dress she had to spend her own money on for the night, Misty ran her hands through the waves in her hair which the hair dresser had forced into her natural straight style with a curling iron and a brush. Even as an adult, Misty hated getting all fancied up. She never saw the point in spending a whole day preparing herself with an ensemble she would be wearing for just a couple of hours. A usually uncomfortable ensemble at that. It was when things like this came about that Misty's tomboy personality as a child came bubbling to the surface. It was that very fact that made her dread the morning before her wedding when it hadn't even happened yet.

Tapping her fingers against the bar with the French manicure that she also had to pay for, Misty's eyes lingered to her fiancé who was chatting with the same blonde woman who he had been talking to at the beginning of the party. Rudy had vaguely mentioned something about an old business associate being in town just minutes before they left for the party. Misty, however, realized as soon as he saw the interaction between the two that they were much more than just coworkers and was beginning to suspect that this woman (whom Rudy had not even introduced her to) was the real reason that he decided to put together this spur-of-the-moment affair.

She didn't mind as much as most engaged women would. Rudy was very smooth with the ladies, Misty knew that for a fact considering it was his charm that had wove her in. She was not that bothered with him talking to a most-likely ex-girlfriend of his as she once would have. She had come to the conclusion with herself that if Rudy loved her enough to be marrying her, a little flirting here and there with other women was no big deal. She sure as hell did with Ash 24/7 so there was no point of being a hypocrite.

Misty searched the party room for more familiar faces. She spotted a semi-intoxicated-most-likely-to-be-completely-drunk-off-his-ass-by-the time-he-got-home Brock chatting up seventeen year old Mahri at the other end of the bar, completely unfazed at the fact that the age difference made him a felon in parts of the country. Her sister, Daisy, was obviously very glad that her divorce had been finalized considering she was surrounded by about three men. Violet was sitting with her husband at a table while, giving an extra long lecture to the baby-sitter that was watching her son on her cell phone. Last she had seen Lily she was hanging all over a waiter and there was a 99% chance that she was making out with him in a bathroom stall at the moment. Melody and Tracey were having a friendly chat somewhere near the back.

And then she saw him.

He was sitting at one of the tables by himself; a beer in hand which he would take sips of at random intervals. He was staring off into space, his chocolate eyes not focusing on anything in particular but just seeming to be in a pensive train of thought.

Misty straightened out her dress and hair once more before taking a large gulp of her wine. If she was going to survive the rest of this night, she was going to have to get at least a little drunk. Picking up her glass and trying to gracefully balance herself on the heels she was wearing, she sauntered over to where Ash was sitting.

"Ugh," she groaned sliding into the empty seat next to him, startling him for his daze and making him aware of her presence.  "Well, I am just having the best time ever, aren't you?" she asked, her voice dripping with obvious sarcasm that surprised Ash slightly.

"Oh yeah," he muttered in response, his tone matching her previous one.

"I just absolutely hate parties like this," she went on. "All the dressing up and the mingling and the small talk with people you don't even know..." she trailed off, sighing in exasperation. "None of it bodes well for me."

"Hmm," Ash made a noise of understanding. "Maybe it's not the party you don't like," he spoke up. Misty looked at him in confusion. "Maybe you're just really antisocial?" he suggested, his semiserious demeanor turning into a joking one.

"Oh!" Misty exclaimed, shooting his a dirty look. "I have half a mind to throw this right in your face," she informed, referring to her drink she was holding up. Ash watched as she downed half of her wine not even a second later in one gulp.

"Whoa, easy there, missy" he said, easing the glass from her lips.

"Sorry," she apologized breathlessly. "I just need something to get me through the night."

"Yeah? Well, at this rate you're gonna be an alcoholic in a couple of years, because I have a feeling you'll be going to a lot more of these parties once you're the wife of a highly respected businessmen," he teased her.

Misty groaned loudly at the realization and rested her head in her hands. "Wonderful," she muttered sarcastically.

"Hey, but look on the bright side," Ash said gently, making Misty take her head out of her hands and look at him. "I'll always be there to take you away from it all whenever you want me to. I'll always give you an escape."

She looked at him, her aqua eyes filled with uncertainty and desperation. "Really?"

Ash rested his hand onto of her's. "Really," he reassured, and the slightest of smiles formed on her face. He returned the grin, the only reason for him being happy was because she was. He had noticed how stressed Misty had been lately and even though she was slowly slipping away from him, some things had never changed. He was still the only one who could make her smile when she was down.

The stared intently at one another, basking in the serenity of the moment. Suddenly, another voice pierced the air, interrupting them just like all the other times.

"Misty!"

Misty whirled around at the sound of her name, breaking her eye contact with Ash. She was slightly surprised as well as annoyed to see her fiancé approaching her.

"Come here there's some people I want you to meet," Rudy explained, tugging Misty's arm and getting her to stand up from her chair before letting her get a word in.

"Wha- Rudy," Misty spoke up, causing him to stop and look at her with a quizzical expression. She gestured toward Ash who was still sitting there and tried to indicate to Rudy just how rude he was being.

Unfortunately, however, Rudy was no better at catching on to things as Ash was.

"Oh," he exclaimed as he noticed Ash sitting there and acknowledged his presence with a nod of his head. "Hey, man." Ash mumbled an incoherent response as he took a sip of his beer. Rudy turned back to Misty. "Let's go," he demanded before going in the other direction, assuming Misty was right behind him.

Misty sighed as she watched his departing figure. The blonde woman he had been talking to had left the party apparently, giving Misty an explanation of why Rudy now wanted her own attention. As much as she did not want to go and mingle with a bunch of Rudy's snobby coworkers she knew she had no choice. She could not exactly ditch her fiancé and sit with Ash, especially since a couple of people had questioned if their had been any romantic history between them at the beginning of the party.

With an apologetic smile, Misty turned to Ash who had also realized the situation she was in. "Forgive me?" she asked him feebly.

Ash forced a grin onto his face before answering as sincerely as he could. "How could I not?"

With that, Misty offered him a grateful expression before picking up her wine and dragging her feet over to where Rudy was standing along with another couple.

"Well, well, well," an older man with a beard that Misty knew to be her fiancé's boss spoke up as soon as she approached. "Is this the lovely Misty I've heard so much about?"

Misty opened her mouth to reply but Rudy snaked an arm around her waist, holding her in a way that made her feel like he was claiming her as his possession. "Yup," he answered for her. "Here she is."

"It's nice to finally meet you dear, I'm Bob Hillman," he introduced himself, offering out his hand.

She shook his hand and tried to reply as politely as she could. "Nice to meet you Mr. Hillman."

"Oh, please, call me, Bob," he laughed and Misty forced herself to chuckle along. "I can't have my best worker's wife calling me Mister, now can I?" he added while heartily slapping Rudy on the shoulder.

"Well, we're not husband and wife just yet, Bob," Rudy reminded him.

"Oh, that's right," Bob's wife, who was also amongst the group, spoke up. "How long until the big day?"

"Um, about two to three months," Misty answered.

"It's coming up. Are you nervous yet?"

Misty chuckled uncomfortably. "Not just yet."

"Don't worry," Bob's wife continued. "You will be." She laughed loudly, finding her tiny joke hilarious for some reason. "I'm sorry, dear, don't mind me, I just let all that champagne go straight to my head." Misty continued to giggle uneasily and took sip of her wine after Bob's wife clanked her champagne glass to her own.

The others began to drift off into other conversation that Misty was not a part of. She took the opportunity to turn around to look back at Ash. He was still seated at the table, drinking a new beer, the empty bottle disregarded. His gaze met her's and he offered a weak smile at her, one which she managed to return.

Suddenly, it felt as if Ash were a lot far away from her than he had been before. She knew he had not moved his position and the size of the room had certainly remained the same size, but still, he seemed further from her, more distant.

And that was when it hit her. In reality, she was slipping away from Ash. By falling into this marriage which she didn't even really want she was losing him as well as everything else she once had known. Misty would not be herself anymore. She would be simply known as Rudy's wife. Her husband would be the person that she had to be with 24/7, not her friends.

Misty stared at the couple she was standing amongst, not familiar with either of them. She watched as they laughed a joke she had not heard that she probably would not have found amusing or understood, anyway. It was then she realized that this was what all of her Saturday nights would be. Accompanying Rudy to various affairs, being forced to speak and become friends with people she didn't even like or know. But still, that was she had been subjected to now.

Misty felt a cold shudder of dread run through her body as she glanced back at Ash and then back over to the people around her one more time.

This was the first day of the rest of her miserable life.

I've got it all but I feel so deprived
I go up, I come down and I'm emptier inside
Tell me what is this thing that I feel like I'm missing
And why can't I let go

There's gotta be more to life
Then chasing down every temporary high
To satisfy me
Cause the more that I'm
Tripping out thinking there must be more to life
Well it's life, but I'm sure
There's gotta be more
Then wanting more

I've got the time and I'm wasting it slowly
Here in this moment I'm half way out the door
Onto the next thing, I'm searching
For something that's missing

There's gotta be more to life
Then chasing down every temporary high
To satisfy me
Cause the more that I'm
Tripping out thinking there must be more to life
Well it's life, but I'm sure
There's gotta be more
Then wanting more

Than waiting on something other than this
Why am I feeling like there's something I missed

There's gotta be more to life
Then chasing down every temporary high
To satisfy me
Cause the more that I'm
Tripping out thinking there must be more to life
Well it's life, but I'm sure

There's gotta be more to life
Then chasing down every temporary high
To satisfy me
Cause the more that I'm
Tripping out thinking there must be more to life
Well it's life, but I'm sure

There's gotta be more to life
There's gotta be more to life
There's gotta be more to life

TBC

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A/N: I apologize for this chapter. I kind of used it as a filler because it was originally much longer but I decided to split this part up with the upcoming one so it wouldn't be too long. Anyway, I hope no one was disappointed, I promise the next one will be much longer and more detailed.  Btw, the song is There's Gotta Be More To Life by Stacie Orrico. Thank you for all of you who have reviewed so far and I ask that you please continue to do so lol =)