A/N: Ah, that was one blasted weekend of hell. No matter, new update!

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Chapter 10

Telling May about every sordid little detail had not been an easy task. May had worked her most torturous methods of interrogation until Misty finally blurted out, out of despair, that they had kissed just the night before. As suspected, above all, she was hurt in her lack of trust, but like an Oak, she quickly overcame it, perhaps feeling sympathetic at the red headed girl that had her face buried in the cushions of the couch of one of the abandoned rooms no one ever went into and had a thin layer of dust covering everything; even the walls.

Misty sniffled, not because of tears but by the heavy amount of dust irritating her nose. "God, May, what am I going to do?"

May threw her perfectly manicured hands up in defeat. "I just don't get ya, girl. You want him, you don't. You like him, you hate him. Is there something you're scared of? Cause I don't see what's wrong with you getting together with my bro." she said, sighing. "Although I can't get what you see in that rock head of 'im" she mumbled out in dismay.

Misty raised her head from the dust infested pillow and glared at her. "It's just that..." she started struggling for words. "I used to belong with my best friends. And then suddenly I didn't" she tried her best to explain, but in her weakest hour, her eloquence vanished. "And just like that I had to leave. But I guess I'm scared it'll happen again. I don't want to..." she mumbled. "to..."

May winced at her friend's pathetic attempt of an excuse. She had witnessed her break into pieces and dig up in her mind the brightest words she could think of, and feel the frustration of not finding them. She had seen her falter and make absolutely no sense, talk incoherently but saying nothing, and she smiled, understanding. There was no deep reason to her constant fleeing. There was no solid excuse, there was nothing but tangible commotion, verified confusion and above all, fear. Misty was just scared and it was so obvious it made May smile.

Even though May was older than Misty, she never truly felt older nor wiser than her until that very same moment. When Misty was broken and she was still standing, being for the first time a supporting shoulder for a friend. May let out a breath. "Look, hun. Whatever, don't mind me. Whatever suits ya'" she said, desisting. "If you don't want to face him again, don't—I'll help you avoid him or whatever, okay?" She said tenderly looking at her from afar. Misty sniffled again trying to breathe properly in the dust.

"Thanks, May" She said honestly at last. But she knew she couldn't run forever. Not in a time like that one. It was only a week until his birthday, and she gritted her teeth as she reminded herself of that particular fact. Not a week ago, she would be so excited about that very fact, but for the time being, she had no other choice.

So Misty avoided him, getting up late, going out in the afternoon, returning when she knew he was working and going directly to her bedroom. Some days May took her out to dine out, or out for breakfast or even lunch. Sometimes, the whole three meals at once, and in that meaningless routine, she felt the days slip by. One right after the other, she tore the papers out of the daily calendar. Her absence was so abrupt; it didn't even go unnoticed to Professor Oak, king of the oblivious. Who more than once commented about it to his grandson, without getting a reply that wasn't an unintelligible mumble or a brand new topic to change the subject.

Gary Oak grew sombre. He spent his days and nights working in the lab, resembling his grandfather who was acting more like himself for being able to get a night's sleep when his grandson was on a shift. But Gary outworked himself in a way his grandfather never did. He barely even spoke in breakfast and perfected his brooding. May espionage led her to believe it was the stress of the workplace, and the dread of his birthday coming up that had him in such a bad shape, but Gary never confirmed nor denied her inklings.

That remaining week slid by with no further setbacks. But the day had arrived when Gary turned 18, and May only confirmed what Misty already feared. "I'm sorry Red. There's a bash Samuel's throwing for him, against his will, Might I add—But I kinda have to be there. Can't cover for you" May looked guilty and bit her bottom lip. "And I think you should be there too"

Misty nodded helplessly. "I know" she replied dryly as she sank into her thoughts. May stopped biting her lip, as it turned red for a flash. "I have a black dress you can borrow that'll look stunning on ya!" she said, gaining back the happiness her voice always carried.

So she soon found herself standing alone in her yellow room, the dress lying in her bed, as she nervously looked at the sky outside her window. The day was growing into the night as the party seemed to be about to start. She sighed in dismay and started to get dressed up. In an instant, she was standing in front of the mirror, trying to get over the image of herself clad in dress that hugged her waist perfectly. She thanked god the cleavage wasn't too revealing, but she couldn't say that for the back. As she turned around, she saw the dress revealed almost her entire back and she blushed, deciding to let her hair down, grateful of its new length. It would make her back feel a little more covered.

After May came on banging at her door, fretted over what to wear and complemented her looks, she felt herself be dragged to the backyard, and her worries faded for a brief instant, astounded at the beautiful light decoration that seemed like static fireworks all over the backyard. It was almost mystical. "Whoa" she said, stunned.

"I know" May said, bewildered "Samuel went over the board with this one" she mumbled out but regained her composure as she walked in perfect balance in her high heels over the lawn. Misty, less used to such things, barely kept up with her without tripping every so often. But the backyard was already getting filled with people Misty would bet Gary had never even seen before in his life, all dressed up and ready to have a nice time.

Maybe this evening would be something enjoyable after all.

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Her table was a very lively one. To her right, there was Professor Ivy, Sabrina, two scientists she didn't recognize and Delia Ketchum engaged in a merry conversation. She started out interested, participating in the party, but soon, her attention drifted from the table, and her input was reduced to a nod here and there. Gary was standing across the backyard, but she could see his brown spiky hair stand out in the crowd. She couldn't see his face, but recognized him immediately. He was standing next to a table with beverages, talking to a leggy blonde something that appeared to be raw comedy, for she seemed to be giggling insanely, casually resting her hand on his arm every now and then.

It was irking her in a way she couldn't explain. She tapped her foot against the ground and folded her arms over her chest. There was something familiar in that blue eyed blonde that looked at least a head taller than herself. And then something flooded her mind. She used to be one of Gary's infamous cheerleaders. The thought alone discouraged her even more as she got up trying to suppress a groan. Her feet were in pain, how did May get away with wearing these shoes everyday? Stealing one last glance at Gary, she turned around, deciding to go fetch a glass of water to the kitchen. Trying to hide the limp in her walk, she pushed the backdoor open, and tried to suppress certain memories as she walked past the back hallway where May had walked in on them. She pushed the last door and went into the dining room, then into the kitchen.

Misty leaned against the wall, and took her shoes off. It felt immensely relieving to feel the cold tiles of the kitchen against her sore feet, and she sighed, as she instantly loss about 8 centimetres of height. Walking to a cabinet she fetched a glass, filled it with water and gulped it down greedily.

She looked around finding herself alone in the darkness of the still room, leaning against a cabinet, she couldn't even finish her glass when the door was violently pushed open again.

It was him, who seemed startled she was even there. It had been almost a week since he had last seen her, and he had never seen her look more beautiful. Misty froze, not knowing whether to approach him or run away, but she didn't have to make that choice, since Gary didn't even acknowledge her presence there. Gary stalked past Misty and opened the freezer next to the fridge, retrieving a pack of ice. She couldn't help but to feel a bit disappointed and stuttered as he walked past her again, making his way to the door to leave.

"Gary" she called after out of pure impulse, not even knowing what she was going to say. Maybe she should apologize, maybe she should say how much he meant to her, and how she had missed him, maybe she should beg for forgiveness and get rid of the distance that had settled in between them, but as her heart started pounding, she felt herself loose all the sense of bravery she had accumulated over the last week.

Gary didn't even turn around, but merely stop walking, the pack of ice freezing a hole into his hand and dripping to the floor.

"Happy birthday" she finished, in defeat, and a silence engulfed the scene. Gary turned around and looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Right" he nodded, coldly, acknowledging her and leaving in a swift second. Misty found herself alone again, and let out a breath.

She was such a coward. She scolded herself mentally. She was alone, but amazed; it wasn't because of the cold tone of his voice or his seemingly bitter attitude, it was because she had seen through that. She knew him just a little better than that.

He was hurt, she had hurt him. And she felt helpless as she just now realized she had been so selfish in making up a plan to save herself, but thinking about how he would feel about it. She had been selfish, and she had harmed him. Perhaps it had all been lost.

Misty felt the house get a little bigger, the room get a little darker, and she felt herself grow lonelier.

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Gratitude to:

Maia's Pen: Hehe, I actually sneaked off to a computer to read your review hundredths of times in the weekend I had to go away. Hehe, I'm glad you like the character of Professor Oak in this fic, though I may assure you, his arc in the story is not over yet, and the opinion on him may varie. Nyaah. I hope this chappie relieves you of some of the unbearable suspense! It was kinda dramatic, but fast paced! To get things deeper and going on a little more faster. Thanks for your constant support! (p.s: I am officially in a WYB withdrawal syndrome. I see babies crawling over my roof now. I've lost it xD (hugs). And update soon!)

Jenvaati: Yes, I do realize May is some kind of comic relief. xD But we do get some insight on her as the story goes by, at least, I hope. Haha, I'm glad you liked that last quote, but it isn't mine or anything, it world wide famous! xD Live fast die young... Yup. Pretty darn famous. Hehe, of well, thanks for the review!

MagCat: Yes, he isn't too much on the perceptive side, even though he should be! He's a scientist of all things! ... Maybe he's got a lot on his mind (Evil snicker). And yes, I do enjoy to torture you people. Hehe, Maybe I should get help or something xD

Librastar: yay! You're back BACK!. Hehe, listing all my fav rock bands here would be ENDLESS! But let's just say: Old school. xD Nothing too brand new and hardcorey. This was Gary's birthday, what did you think about it?

Egoflux: (Blush) Hehe, I'mglad you thought it was sexy! XD I tried to make it come out that way! So if you thought so means I got my point across! Yayness!

Author's Note: I liked how this chapter turned out. If you were expecting a loud confrontation in the birthday with lots of drama and angst, I just hope I didn't disappoint ya. I try not to overdo the drama, sometimes silence can say more than one hundred words. Plus the new narrative that included some kind of flashforward-ness because time speeded up a little there. But not time's back to normal, don't fret xD

Stay tuned!

Midnight Mist

I see review people...