Leaving your heart behind
Chapter thirteen: "Tangled tales"
Disclaimer: I don't own pokémon…
God, I'm getting angry with myself, this story seems to be stuck in the same place! I better start working and move to the actual action, because this is supposed to have adventure… Anyway, sorry for taking so long to update…
Thank you time:
Isis-Ishtar123: Yeah, that's right, a love triangle to make things a bit more interesting… And don't worry, this fic won't be an Ash/May because I don't like her… I've always supported Ash/Misty pairings… Keep reviewing please, I'm glad you liked it!
alexis: Hi! Well, I never knew that Misty drunk alcohol too… Until this chapter! Now, what did she say at the pub… That's for me to reveal in the next chapters… For now you just have to guess!
SM together: Thank you for reviewing! Well, here you have the new chapter, I hope you like it and review again!
Duplica: Thanks! I'm glad you like the story!
The story…
It had already passed a few minutes since Misty entered the kitchen, when she peered through the door again. Ash and Gary were cleaning the Gym floor silently, trying their best to leave their rivalry behind and act like two normal human beings.
Misty sighed again. Why did men have to be so dense?
She returned to the table where she had put the presents Gary brought her. It was sweet of him to care, even if they weren't really dating… No one ever did that for her, and it felt good. At least it proved that he could be nice when he tried…
"But he has to try really hard…" she said with a small chuckle.
Anyway, she still hadn't figured out who brought her home the night before… It wasn't Gary, or else he would have said something… He would certainly tease her or brag, so it couldn't be him… It couldn't be Ash either, because he would be too shocked to visit her after what she told at the pub…
She was sure she had told everything about her old childhood crush to the person who was with her… She babbled and babbled, cried and screamed with frustration… And it would be extremely embarrassing to discover that Ash had found out about her feelings… And, worst of all, that he had found out everything through a drunken Misty…
"Naaah, that didn't happen…" she thought to herself.
But who could have been then? She couldn't remember anyone she knew who would be at a pub that late at night… Maybe she had returned all by herself… That was it! She had returned alone! And the humiliating show she gave was certainly observed by only the barman… Ok, that wasn't exactly good, but it was obviously better than revealing her most inner feelings to someone she knew… At least some stranger guarded safely everything she told… Because he didn't hear her, surely…
Well, the best thing she could do then, was forget that horrible night and move on… And that's what she was going to do.
"Time to face them and defeat Gary again…" she thought with a small smile.
Misty left the kitchen quietly and approached the two boys.
"Hey guys…"
While Ash was drying the floor, his mind wondered to the previous night, when he found Misty at the pub…
Flashback
Immediately after Misty left the restaurant, Ash understood that she was too disturbed to think straight and quickly left to follow her. He knew that she would probably do something stupid and intended to stop her… Besides, he had to take her home; he couldn't let her go to the gym alone, it would be dangerous…
But where would he find her? He stopped by the few shops Misty showed some interest in, but all of them were closed, much like the rest of the shopping mall… And when he had finally given up the hope to find her, when he left the mall and started walking in the streets of Cerulean City to calm down a bit and try to forget his guilty conscience, he passed by a pub and there she was… Yes, it was Misty: her unmistakable red hair stood out from the rest of the people inside the bar, although her attitude was easily mistaken by someone… Drunk?
Ash entered the pub planning to get her out of there as quickly as possible.
"Misty… Misty!" he had yelled, pushing is way through the huge crowd filling the small bar.
Misty hadn't even looked. She just kept drinking, and drinking, mumbling numerous words to the barman, who remained nodding in response, although he wasn't listening to her.
Ash finally reached Misty, and sat down in a bench beside her.
"Misty, what are you doing to yourself…? Come on, I'll take you home…" he said in a low tone, touching her shoulder in a reassuring manner.
"I don't want to!!! Leave me alone!!!" she spat out, pushing him harshly, and grabbing another drink fiercely.
"Stop Misty, you're just making a fool of yourself!!!" Ash replied angrily, trying to take the glass of her hands.
She looked at him for a few seconds, her eyes shimmering with resentment and pain.
"I don't care if I look like a fool!!! This can't get any worse!!!" she paused for a few moments, taking a deep breath and clenching her glass tightly "I've always liked him, since I was a child, and I never told him… Because he liked her, not me who had been always by his side for so long… Noooo, he loved her, and I had to hide my feelings and forget them for years… To have them bursting through again and ruin my peace!!!! I don't deserve this, and I'm just tired of suffering!!!" Misty yelled furiously, letting a few desperate tears fall.
Ash blinked a few times confused.
"What are you talking about Misty, you're not making any sense!" he replied, looking at her puzzled.
"I feel so weary…" she muttered, abandoning her glass and hugging Ash deeply, finally giving up and letting all her tears fall loosely.
"Misty…?" Ash gasped amazed, watching her completely bewildered.
Silenced hovered between the two friends, only interrupted by a few soft moans coming from Misty.
"I'll take care of you, don't worry…" Ash whispered gently, stroking her hair soothingly, and slowly guiding her out of the bar.
They entered his car, and now word was pronounced after that.
End of flashback
Ash peered over his shoulder, after feeling strangely observed, and ended up looking at Gary for a few moments.
"Was Misty talking about him?" he asked himself, turning his gaze to the kitchen door.
"No, it doesn't make sense… They almost didn't talk until now, it can't be… So, who can it be?" he thought worriedly, as Misty entered the room.
"Hey guys…"
Gary exhaled once more, as he swept the floor with a towel.
Something was wrong and he could feel it… He just didn't know what exactly…
Ash and Misty were behaving strangely, that was obvious, but he wanted to know why they were doing it… Perhaps something had happened the previous night?
He had noticed that Ash left rather quickly after Misty stormed off the restaurant… But only now he began to understand why he did it.
He went after Misty.
It was so clear, why hadn't he seen before…? Ash probably went to comfort her, and then something happened…
Ketchum was dead.
Gary looked at Ash furiously, clenching his fists firmly, but remaining silent.
It was better not to rush things… First, he would talk to Misty… And then, when everything and they already left the gym, he could punch Ash with all his strength.
Only then.
Anyway, he still had to beat Misty to face the next Gym Leaders, if he still wanted to have time to train a bit more before he challenged the Elite four…
So he better take it easy and stay calm for a while because getting in a fight with Ketchum and infuriating Misty again didn't certainly served his purposes.
It was right then that he heard a soft, timid voice coming from the kitchen, and he turned just in time to see her enter the room.
"Hey guys…"
"Are you calmer now?" Gary asked with a small smile, trying not to sound too sly.
"Yes, I'm much better now…" Misty replied, frowning slightly but adding delicately "Oh, I forgot to say thank you Gary… The presents were really nice… You were very nice…"
Gary grinned wider and looked discreetly at Ash before answering:
"You're welcome Misty… Everything for the girl I love…" stressing the word 'love' significantly.
Misty blushed a little and tried her best not to look at Ash before she said:
"Yeah… So, I came to tell you that I accept your challenge… Each one of us will use one pokémon… Is that ok with you?"
"Sure, it's just fine… After the battle I'll take you out for dinner, to console your poor ego… Is that ok with you?" Gary asked with a sneaky smile, watching as Ash stiffened.
Misty ignored is comment and glared him angrily.
"Let's go ok??"
"Sure… Ladies first…" he replied, bowing slightly.
"Oh, and Gary… Don't be so confident, because you lost before, and you will lose again…" Misty added, smiling diplomatically.
"Let's see about that…" he answered, as he thought to himself "This time, I'll do anything to win, so be careful…"
From his place near the arena, Ash remained strangely quiet.
Finally done!
I'm sorry, the battle will be on the next chapter, and hopefully things will get more interesting after that…
I hope you liked this chapter and please review!
Cosmik