Chapter 10
"Why do we always go out of our way to hold on to the wrong ones
and let the right ones slip right through our fingers?"
--
The afternoon wore on and eventually evening came. Ash sat at the table of at Francesco's, dressed nicely for the occasion as well as the formality of the restaurant. He waited patiently and checked his watch; it was only a matter of seconds before Misty was scheduled to meet him. He looked up toward the entrance to find Misty arriving. Just like her, right on time, he thought wistfully while standing up to speak to her.
"Hey," she greeted him cheerfully and just like many times before Ash took a longer time to respond for he was taken aback by her beauty. She was wearing a simple navy dress which highlighted her figure very nicely and her hair was worn down like usual, framing her face like perfect picture.
"H-hey," he managed to say while holding his hands out and gesturing for her to take a seat. Misty did so and as she sat, she could not help feeling like they were actually a couple on a date and that this was not just two friends having dinner like they had done many times before. She felt a wave of guilt wash over her, as she secretly wished that the former rather than the latter was the truth.
"Gee, Ash, could you have picked a more expensive place?" she commented after opening her menu and glancing at the rather high prices.
"Doesn't bother me," he shrugged. A somewhat impish grin formed on his face as he spoke his next words. "I am a master, you know."
Misty rolled her eyes. "Like you would ever let me forget."
Just then, their waiter for the evening approached with a pad in his hand which he was prepared to right on with a pencil. "What can I get you guys?"
"Okay," Ash began to speak up for both of them. "For the appetizers can we just get two small salads?" The waiter nodded and wrote down the order on his page. "Oh, and can you make sure to put extra carrots and peppers on her's?" he requested and immediately delivered a hard kick in the shins from under the table.
"Ash," Misty growled through clenched teeth, obviously not amused by his apparent humor.
Ash
scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Heh,
just kidding," he told the waiter before sinking back down in his chair
with a smile, inwardly commenting wittily to himself. Nice to see some things never change.
--
An hour or so later Ash and Misty were just finishing up their dinner, laughing and giggling amongst one another just like the rest of the night had been. Momentarily, Ash had put reality behind them, pushing all thoughts of the wedding and the secrets he had gathered behind him. It was just the two of them, like the good old times. The times they spent around the campfire, gazing intently into one another's eyes and basking in the radiance of the warmth while secretly wishing they could speak the words they each so longed to hear.
They were impishly indulged in one of their usual playful banters before the waiter came over and placed the check in front of Misty. Her eyes widened as she looked at it.
"Wow," she muttered, while glancing at the price. "Well, this officially cleans out my pockets for the next month," she added, chuckling slightly. Ash displayed a similar glance and being the nice guy he was, reached into his wallet and pulled out his credit card.
"Don't worry, I got it," he offered, while taking the check from her.
"Oh, Ash, I can't..."
"Hey, it's fine," he reassured her while holding a hand up.
Misty smiled. "Always the gentleman, aren't you?" she inquired in a playful tone which Ash grinned at. "Although, Mr. Ketchum, I have been dying to ask... if there is any particular reason of why you took me to this specific restaurant tonight?"
He looked at her, confused by the impish glance she was displaying. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on, Ash. don't tell me you don't remember. This was where we had Brock's twenty-first birthday party." Ash nodded at the fact, still not sure why she was reminding him of something he was perfectly aware of.
"So?"
"Ash," Misty muttered, exasperated by his denseness. "Don't you remember? That was the night we almost..." she trailed off, not wanting to further continue due to her embarrassment and hoping he would catch on to what she was insinuating which he thankfully did.
A look of realization formed on Ash's face as the memory dawned on him. That particular night came running back into his mind and he secretly wondered how he ever could have forgotten it. At the party, Ash, as well as Misty had both had a little too much to drink. When they got back home, a heated make out session had occurred due to their drunken states. They had both winded up passing out into an alcohol-induced slumber before anything more could happen. Each awoke with a terrible hangover and an expression of embarrassment when realizing what most likely would have ended up doing.
"Oh yeah..." he groaned as it all came back to him.
Misty chuckled somewhat nervously. "Good thing we both fell asleep, huh?"
No, Ash immediately thought, his male pride overtaking his logical thinking of what one night of passion could have possibly done to their friendship. "Yup," he muttered under his breath.
The waiter then came back over and collected the check and money from Ash. "Thank you again for paying," Misty said to him once again.
"Not a problem," he grinned.
"I've just been a little short on cash lately," she continued. "You know with the wedding and all..." Ash's face darkened at the comment but Misty thankfully did not notice it for a revelation had just dawned over her. "Oh, speaking of which, that reminds me of what I had to ask you."
He shrugged aimlessly, prepared for some casual question. "Shoot."
"All right, you're aware of the whole situation with my parents, right? You know, how my father abandoned us right after I was born and I haven't seen him since I was like six months old?" she queried weakly and he nodded in response, silently wondering how she could speak so casually about her tragic past. "Okay. Well, you see I haven't had any contact with him or his family ever and my mother was an only child so I don't have any uncles or anything," she went on and Ash narrowed his eyes, unsure of what she was getting to. "So, I was kind of wondering..." She inhaled strongly before tentatively asking; "...if you could be the one to give me away?"
Misty held her breath, cautiously awaiting his answer. Ash just stared at her blankly, not able to comprehend that she was actually asking this of him. There was no way in the world that he would be able to complete a task that would hurt him more than having to watch her marry someone else. He was supposed to be the one waiting for her at the end of the aisle, not walking her down it.
"Oh, Myst..." he sighed, looking down so he would not have to meet her hopeful gaze. "I don't know..."
"Please," she interrupted him, her eyes displaying an expression which clearly said that she would be crushed if he did not agree to do this. "It would mean so much to me."
Ash hesitated for a moment, unable to find a way to let her down easy when she was so desperately clinging onto his agreement. "Why can't you have Brock do it?" he asked finally.
Misty looked taken aback by his question as well as his refusal to do what she wanted him to. "Because I don't want Brock to do it..." she told him, with a surprised tone in her voice. "...I want you."
He bit his lip and tried his hardest to block out the hurtful visage that was about to move onto her face because of his rejection. "I'm sorry," he apologized, "but I can't."
"What?" She let out an incredulous half-sigh/half-laugh. "Ash, this is very important, why won't you do this for me?"
"I already told you I can't, all right?" he interrupted in a somewhat harsh tone. He stood from the table and moved the napkin off of his lap. "Let's just leave it that," he spoke while walking in the other direction, hurriedly paying the bill and exiting the restaurant leaving a stunned Misty still sitting at the table.
Ash made his way out onto the dark street, walking at an extra fast pace. It wasn't long before he heard Misty scampering to catch up with him, calling his name in the process.
"Ash!" she repeated once more as she struggled to walk at the same pace as him. "What is the matter with you? Why can't you do this?"
"Because it's too much for me to handle, that's why," Ash shot back in response.
"What is there to handle?" Misty questioned in exasperation. "You walk me down the aisle and go to your place. I don't think that's too hard..."
"Yeah? Well, I think it is," he interrupted her as he stopped walking and turned around to face her. "Misty, it's too much for me to handle... emotionally."
She looked at him confusedly. "Okay, Ash, you're gonna have to explain this to me a little better."
He sighed before speaking in a slightly calmer tone. "Look, Misty, I'll do a lot of things for you. I'll help plan your wedding. I'll help pick the florist. I'll give my input on your dress. But to actually be the one that hands you off to another guy... that I can't do." He shook his head toward to himself before muttering the last words under his breath. "Especially when it's a guy who you can do so much better than."
Her eyes narrowed as she overheard Ash's last comment. "What did you just say?"
He ran a hand through his hair and silently prepared to tell Misty what he had been trying to that morning. "All right, here's the deal," he started slowly. "This morning when I came over to your place I actually did have something to tell you." He exhaled heavily and struggled to continue. "I was coming over to tell you not to marry Rudy. Misty, he-he's not the right guy for you. He's not faithful," he told her gently.
"Ash, what are you talking about?" she asked, staring at him in disbelief.
"Myst, believe me, all I want is for you to be happy and I would not be doing this if I didn't have a good reason behind it," he told her seriously. "Rudy told me so himself about how he sleeps with other women does behind your back and about how he plans to keep doing it even after you are married. I'm so sorry to have to let you find out like this. But still its better you know now rather than later."
Misty stood there in silence as soon as Ash had dropped the bombshell on her. She simply stared at him with an unreadable expression before a heavy sigh escaped her lips. Rudy's words suddenly came shooting back to her, the little voice in the back of her mind becoming louder and louder, overriding her logical thinking once again.
"..it's funny how you can think you know a person and find out… that you really have no idea who they are at all."
No, she reminded herself. It wasn't a possibility. Ash was the opposite of a stranger to her and never had she ever doubted any words he were to speak to her. However, she found herself being convinced, slowly but efficiently and her mind drifted back toward her and Rudy's little conversation that afternoon. It actually did make sense when she took it into perspective. Rudy had told her what Ash had supposedly said the night before and here he was doing exactly what her fiancé said he would. Ash was protective of those he cared about, and she had witnessed before what lengths he would go to in fear of losing them. Maybe, her marriage was sending insecurities within him and he thought that after she married, the separation between the two of them would be inevitable. She had noticed his reaction when she asked him to give her away and that only decreased her belief in him. If he only wanted her to be happy then why couldn't he complete a task that was so simple yet important to her? Could it be possible that Rudy was right? Was Ash really having such a hard time watching her move on with her life that he was going to try and stop her from doing so?
Misty cleared her throat, indicating that she was about to speak for she and Ash had been in silence for almost a minute now. He stood there, his eyes locked on her face, desperately awaiting whatever her reaction may be. However, it was not what Ash had hoped, and the next words left Misty's mouth in a barley audible tone. It was hardly even a whisper but still, they were firm nonetheless.
"I-I don't believe you."
Ash looked taken aback and for a moment wondered if he had heard her right. "W-What?"
"I said that you're wrong," she continued, not even knowing where her words were coming from. "He would never do that to me."
"Misty, the guy told me to my face that he cheats on you," Ash informed her, somewhat incredulous to her denial of the very true fact. "If that's not enough for you than what is?"
Misty turned her head away from him, not answering him but simply shaking her head. An exasperated murmur of amazement came from Ash as she once again refused to believe what he told her.
"Am I suddenly completely untrustworthy all of a sudden?" he asked no one in particular as he threw up in hands in astonishment. "God, first Brock now you. Do I have some sort of history of lying that I am not aware of?" he continued to question sarcastically. "Because I'll have you know, Myst that every word I have spoken to you during our fourteen years of friendship have been nothing but the complete truth." He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, looking at her with pained eyes. "How can you not believe me?"
She sighed, her shoulders sagging hopelessly. "I don't know what to believe anymore."
A look of recognition formed on his face as a revelation dawned over him. "I see what's going on here," he concluded, nodding to himself knowingly. "I should have known what would happen. You're too wrapped up with Rudy to see any fault in him. You're too in loovee to see what's right in front of your face or to accept the fact that I am not lying to you." Her expression darkened at his sarcasm. A humorless snicker escaped his lips as he muttered the next words under his breath. "And you called me dense..."
"Ash, what the hell is your problem?!" Misty shrieked, anger filling her for no apparent reason at all, it was only the fact that he was yelling at her that caused this sudden outburst. It was an instant reflex, not a logical reaction. She was known for her short temper which was bubbling at the surface during the present situation. But she was confused. The ideas Rudy had put in her head had caused her to question her faith in Ash. Her mind had been toyed with to the point that she was actually turning on Ash, doubting him when she never had before. "You say you want be to be happy and instead here you are feeding me all of this shit and doing the exact opposite of that. Can you try and comprehend for once in your life that you actually might not be right about something?"
"Misty, this is not about me or my pride," he told her. "It's about you and about how you won't let me prevent you from making the biggest mistake of your life."
She shook her head. "No, Ash, this does have to do with you. Maybe you can't except the fact that you're scrawny tomboy best friend actually found someone before you did. Maybe you thought that you'd be married first. Or maybe you really don't want me to be happy at all. You just want me available so you have someone to be alone with." Every word she spoke dripped with sarcasm but still held a sense of seriousness although it was something she secretly knew was not true at all. Ash just stared at her with an expression of shock and hurt on his face before eventually speaking up.
"Is that what you think?" he asked in a low voice.
Misty sighed and looked at him feebly. "I…" she began, but Ash cut her off, already knowing what the answer would be and not wanting to have his heart stomped on again by another comment from her.
"Well, fine," he spat out bitterly. "If that's what you choose to believe than so be it. Do what you want, marry Rudy for all I care. Go right ahead, I'm not stopping you," he continued in his harsh tone. "You won't have to worry about your terrible friend who just wants you to be miserable any more because I'll be out of your hair once and for all."
"What do you mean?" she inquired quizzically.
"I'm being relocated," he informed her bluntly. "The League wants me to work in their position in Johto."
Misty gulped. "J-Johto?"
"That's right."
"You're-you're not gonna go, are you?" she stammered somewhat nervously. The actual reality of Ash not being right by her side was something that terrified Misty more than anything. She had grown so accustomed to him always being there that if he was not it would be unbearable to her. She anxiously awaited his answer, silently praying that despite the heated fight they had just experienced, he would not be leaving her and confirming one of her greatest fears at the same time.
"Why
shouldn't I?" Ash queried with a shrug of his shoulders. "I
sure as hell don't have any reason to stick around here anymore." A
few dreaded moments of silence passed before Ash swallowed the lump in his
throat and struggled to keep his emotions in check. "Have a nice life,
Myst," he choked out before turning and slowly making his way down the
street. Misty could do nothing but watch his departing figure in stunned
silence, trying to ignore the harsh reality that it may have been the last time
she ever saw him.
Everything's so blurry
And everyone's so fake
And everybody's empty
And everything is so messed up
Pre-occupied without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl
You could be my someone
You could be my scene
You know that I'll protect you
From all of the obscene
I wonder what you're doing
Imagine where you are
There's oceans in between us
But that's not very far
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
Well ya shoved it in my face
This pain you gave to me
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
Well ya shoved it my face
--
Misty climbed the stairs to Rudy's apartment building, her footsteps heavy just
like her heart. She didn't know why she was going to talk to him now.
Ash's accusations had shocked her to her core but she had shocked herself by
secretly believing them a little bit. She felt completely torn... between
her past and future.
Ash was her best friend and every word that had come out of his mouth through their fourteen years of friendship was always one of truth. But then there was Rudy, the man she supposedly loved and the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with. He would never do that to her... or at least that's what she hoped. And Misty could not help feeling terrible that she was not going to see her fiancé to have him console her, but to see if Ash's claims about him were true.
Misty tiredly ran a hand through her ginger locks once she reached Rudy's apartment door. She fumbled in her bag for the key to his apartment. They were supposed to move in with one another several months ago, but Rudy for some reason had thought it'd be better if they wait until after the wedding for her to live with him. That piece of information had puzzled Misty, engaged couples normally were roommates and she could not contemplate the reason why he did not want his future with as his.
Misty shook her head once more, trying to clear the pondering from her head and twisted her key in the lock. She opened the door and instantly her eyes widened and shocked gasp escaped from her lips upon the sight before her. There her husband-to-be lay naked in his bed with another woman next to him without clothing as well.
"Oh! My God! Rudy!" Misty cried out in disbelief. Rudy immediately noticed her presence and jumped up from the bed, still tangled in the blankets and a guilty expression washing over his face reminding him that he had just been totally busted.
"You-you said you were gonna be out all night!" he blurted out for some apparent reason although his excuse just angered Misty even more.
"Oh, that's right!" she exclaimed while sarcastically looking at her watch. "I am early! Please... finish!" she shrieked while spinning around and exiting his apartment.
"Misty, wait!" Rudy yelled out after her although it was pointless considering she had already slammed the door shut. He winced at the sound before feebly asking a question which at the moment proved who insensitive those members of the male species could actually be.
"Can I at least get my ring back?"
--
Everyone is
changing
There's no one left that's real
To make up your own ending
And let me know just how you feel
Cause I am lost without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl
You could be my someone
You could be my scene
You know that I will save you
From all of the unclean
I wonder what you're doing
I wonder where you are
There's oceans in between us
But that's not very far
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
Well ya shoved it in my face
This pain you gave to me
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
Well ya shoved it my face
This pain you gave to me
--
Ash dragged his feet up the stairs of his apartment building, relief invading him as he finally reached the floor he lived on. He began to walk down the long dingy hallway but wound up stumbling and smashing his elbow into a nearby wall. A smirk escaped his lips and he ignored the throbbing emanating from his arm, he was completely oblivious to any pain at the moment; physical that was.
After Misty had run off, Ash didn't give his brain time to try and process what had happened. He turned around and briskly strode right back into Francesco's this time taking a seat at the bar and consuming anything alcoholic that he could afford. Five beers, four tequila shots, and three gin and tonics later Ash found everything a lot easier to handle.
And now, as he drunkenly tried to insert his key in the door to his apartment, Ash desperately tried to keep the reminding thoughts which were beginning to surface even in his intoxicated state. He could not recap what had gone on several hours before, it was too unbelievable, too hurtful. It was his greatest fear come true, her betraying him for another man, him letting her walk out of her life to continue it with someone else. He had once said he couldn't live without her friendship but now he was going to have to, and the initial heartbreak was too much from him to deal with at the present moment.
Ash opened the door, finally managing to get it opened after several failed attempts. He went to throw his keys on the nearby table, something he did every time he re-entered his home, but his intoxication caused him to miss and throw them onto the floor. He tripped on his shoelace while trying to shut the door, a snicker escaping his lips. He turned around, expecting to see the usual shadows that came alive in his apartment during the night, but instead he came face-to-face with a very surprised Melody.
"Ash!" the brunette exclaimed, her voice unnaturally high and airy. "Oh my god, I-I didn't expect you to be home yet," she blurted out, feeling completely idiotic once she had done so. She searched her ex-boyfriend's face nervously, expecting to see anger forming on his usually calm features but instead his face remained expressionless, and he averted his weary eyes to meet her wide ones.
"Mel, what the hell are you doing here?" he asked, his voice coming low and gruff, no trace of any emotion within it.
"Um, I was cleaning my apartment and I ran across a bunch of stuff that you left there when… we were together," the last part of her sentence came out in a strangled tone and she momentarily closed her eyes to overcome the pain that was beginning to wash over her, she hadn't known this would be so difficult.
Their breakup had been healthy, there was no throwing things or screaming, Melody understood Ash's feelings and tried to be the bigger person by ending their relationship before things got ugly. It wasn't until now, with her standing in his apartment, giving back his possessions, that she realized just how much she had missed him the past couple of weeks.
"Um," she stammered, self-consciously running a hand through her chestnut locks. "I-I still had my key but don't worry I left it there with everything else," she added hastily, "I was just going to leave the stuff here and write you a note." Melody exhaled loudly when she finished, fidgeting with anticipation as she awaited his response. To her surprise Ash seemed barley phased by any of the things she had told him and did not register any bit of shock or guilt upon seeing her again.
"Whatever," he mumbled before beginning to walk in the other direction. Melody watched him, pieces clicking in her mind as she saw Ash trip over his coffee table and land ungracefully on the couch.
"Are you drunk?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing together confusedly.
He looked up at her with bloodshot eyes and she immediately felt stupid for not realizing his current situation earlier. He sighed dramatically, cocking his head to the side before answering with a sigh. "Yeah." Ash leaned back against the sofa, trying to rest his legs on the coffee table which had always been too far away from anyone to do so. His feet flopped to the ground and a laugh escaped his lips. "I must be getting shorter."
Melody groaned, moving over toward him. "Oh, Ash," she muttered in exasperation. She remembered during the midst of their relationships when she had to drive him home when he had drank too much and wound up being the one who made sure he got tucked in safely. Her annoyance increased each one of the few times it had happened, Ash was never one to hold his liquor that well. She glanced over at where he was still attempting to rest his feet against the table with no such luck. She knelt down in front of him, and carefully undid his shoes, leaving them disregarded on the floor.
"WhatchadoinMel?" Ash slurred.
She sighed. "What I always do when this happens."
"Oh," he answered in understanding. "ThanksMelyourethebest."
Melody bit her lip, surprised at the tears that had suddenly formed in her eyes from his simple drunken statement. "No, I'm not, she is," she muttered under her breath and Ash looked at her curiously.
"WhatdyasayMel?"
"Nothing," she sniffled, standing up from her position on the floor. "Look, I guess I'm gonna be heading off, um, it was nice to see you again, I guess," she mumbled awkwardly looking over at Ash for a sign of recognition to her words. Her ex-boyfriend, however, was currently trying to undo the button on his left sleeve with his left hand and was having little success in doing so. Shaking her head toward herself, she made her way out of his apartment, her hand was clasped on the doorknob when Ash's voice quietly pierced the air.
"She's not the best."
Melody whirled around, incredulous that the words he spoke were actually spaced apart. "W-Who's not?" she questioned gently, just to make sure they were on the same page and she was not about to make a complete idiot of herself.
"Misty," she heard him mutter, his tone shifting to one of severe remorse and pain. She froze for a moment, unsure of what to do in such a situation. To simply walk out the door seemed way too harsh when Ash was sitting there drunk and depressed, in desperate need of comfort. Despite of all that had happened, Melody could not will herself to stop caring about him. When the sound of Ash sniffling from the other side of the room came to her ears, her decision was made. Any plans she had for the rest of the night did no longer exist as she walked over and took a seat on the couch next to him just in time to notice a fat tear sliding down his cheek.
"I-I told her everything, Mel," he informed, his voice slurring. "I told her everything I knew and she just fucking threw it back in my face." Melody kept her mouth shut, not asking any questions, simply listening as he poured his heart out to her. Another tear slid down Ash's cheek, followed by another and another, each one of their paths leaving trails of water on his face. "She didn't even believe me for a second."
"Didn't believe what, Ash?" she queried gently but he ignored her, continuing to deliver his heartbroken words.
"He doesn't love her," he stated bluntly. "He can't. At least not like I do." He averted his gaze at to Melody, his chocolate orbs filled with indescribable pain as he said his next words. "Nobody can love her like I do."
Melody closed her eyes, trying to stop her own onslaught of tears which were beginning to form with increasing frequency. She hadn't thought it could happen back in the midst of their relationship. Ash had always seemed so distant from her, so preoccupied with everything that she was not a part of. She spent the majority of her time desperately trying to get his attention and make him come out of his shell, that he'd be the perfect boyfriend she wanted him to be, showering her with unconditional love. She hadn't thought it was possible. But she had clearly been wrong.
He was capable of being the man she wanted him to be. He was capable of love. He was capable of selflessness. Just not with her.
She wiped away a stray tear and looked over at him. His head was in his hands, his shoulders shaking with angry sobs. She raised her hand, resting it on the small of his back, rubbing soft circles on it in a comforting motion.
"I'm so goddamn stupid," he mumbled, angry and self-loathing evident in his words.
"No, you're not," she murmured. "People do crazy things when they're…" she swallowed, nearly choking on her words. "…in love," she finished in a strangled tone.
He looked up at her again, the same devastated features washing over his face. "She doesn't love me, Mel," he whispered, his voice barley audible, "S-She doesn't love me," he repeated before proceeding to burst into tears yet again, resting his head in Melody's lap and stretching his legs out along the length of the couch.
She sat there silently, looking down at him as he cried himself to sleep.
And then, she did the same.
Nobody told me what you thought
Nobody told me what to say
Everyone showed you where to turn
Told you when to runaway
Nobody told you where to hide
Nobody told you what to say
Everyone showed you where to turn
Showed you when to run away
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
Well ya shoved it in my face
This pain you gave to me
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
Well ya shoved it my face
This pain you gave to me
This pain you gave to me
This pain you gave to me
You take it all
You take it all away...
This pain you gave to me
You take it all away
This pain you gave to me
Take it all away
This pain you gave to me
TBC
--
A/N: Sorry for the delay! It's just that this was a hard chapter to write due to its length as well as importance to the story. Please don't tell me that Misty is OOC, I purposely added the scene with her and Rudy in chap. 9 and wrote it within the text of why she was skeptical to believe Ash. In situations like this one, people can tend to let what they hear override their logical judgment. I hope the fight was realistic and not overly dramatic or unbelievable.
Same thing with the part where Misty walks in on Rudy. I didn't want to make a whole big deal out of it but her feelings over his unfaithfulness will be described in the next chapter. I was going for a more humorous attempt for now. As for Melody, I decided to add her into the conflict instead of leaving her out of the whole fic once she had played her part. I tired to give a different atmosphere to her demeanor and show that she is a person with feelings, not just Misty's romantic rival.
Anyway, I think I've rambled on for long enough, it's just that I'm kind of nervous about this chapter. The next part will be up soon, but who knows how long it'll be until everything is resolved ;) The song is Blurry by Puddle of Mud, btw. Thank you for the reviews and happy new year to everyone! =)
