(edited.2020.04.01)
Locked Away, Chapter 14
Maybe Ash was spending too much time with her. He was starting to notice little things that he shouldn't have, things that made him uncomfortable, and other times very happy. The way she scratched the side of her head aggressively when she was upset, how her eyes twitched when she was unimpressed, the way her lips would curl in just the right way when she was prideful.
...and her body language when she lied.
Now, to say that Misty lied often would be a massive overstatement. If there was anything that Misty valued more than water pokemon and her sisters, it was honesty. Blunt, nerve-wracking, honesty. She was known for it mostly because she hated being lied to. Luckily, Ash had only ever been in her good graces which meant having never needed to lie to her about anything. There were a couple of times since he moved in—he stammered, mentally correcting himself—started cohabiting with the red-head and her sisters where his roommates would get into large, intense screaming matches because one of Misty's older sisters lied.
Usually, she let white lies go: who ate the last slice of pizza, who didn't replace the toilet paper—things like small lies were a cakewalk. It was the massive ones that got under her skin such as the time she found out Violet was lying about spending gym revenue on schooling when she was actually spending the money on paying off out-standing bar tabs. They spent almost the entire night screaming at one another, most of the time, Ash had no idea what they were saying. Needless to say, he and togepi spent the night terrified, staring wide-eyed up at the ceiling.
The one time he caught her in a lie was indirectly, and only because she slipped up by quickly venting her frustrations out against the gym wall when she thought no one was looking. Ash happened to have just finished cleaning the filters when he stumbled upon this incident. He and togepi turned and walked away quickly—unsettled by her tantrum. He could only deduce by her careful choice of words that it was over Daisy's most recent boyfriend.
Really, the only time Misty lied was when the truth would effectively cripple the person it was associated with.
...So when he caught her lying yesterday evening—he was more than disturbed, he was restless. Surely she wouldn't withhold important information from him, would she? That was one of the things she fought so hard for Ash to have when he was in the hospital: honesty.
When night came, he turned in early, feigning a stomach ache from whatever restaurant they went to while visiting the village to purchase more gym badges. Misty did not seem affected by his accusations and nonchalantly waved him off the way she so easily did on most occasions as of late. She seemed almost distracted the rest of the evening, which only added to his mental confusion: what could Misty have to lie about?
The only thing he could think of was his mom. Gary mentioned her during their first meeting, but then never brought it up again—Ash was too nervous to ask, but stupidly, he trusted someone he barely knew. Ash's eyes snapped open at his own hostile thoughts, sitting upright in his bed and pressing his hand to his forehead. That was wrong; he didn't barely know Misty. If anything, she was the only person that helped him out without asking for anything in return... well, mostly. He thought about his out-standing debt to her, not asking for anything outside of reason. So what was it now? What was so detrimental to his health that she would lie? Whatever she was lying about.
Maybe she wasn't lying. He denied, balling his sheets up into his fists, listening to the quiet purr of the egg pokemon sleeping beside him. Maybe he was being paranoid? Should he ask? Unable to draw to a conclusion, he sprung out of bed, wearing his black pajama pants and a red tank top as he approached the window in the center of the south wall. He exhaled, peering outside the window before slowly cracking it. The winter wind stung his flesh by pressing gooseflesh over his entire body. Moisture was in the air, and he had no doubt the rolling clouds from before would be bringing yet another thunderstorm.
Adding that to his reasons why he couldn't sleep, on top of everything else, it was going to be a long night. Glancing at the clock, he grimaced at the time. A quarter after midnight and all he accomplished was a headache and jitters. Perhaps it wasn't too late to sneak some tea if he was quiet? Shutting the window as quietly as he opened it, he stuck out the cold winter night and stalked out of his bedroom.
The bedroom floors were carpeted in nice, lavender hues. A shag carpet that tickled his feet on the worst days. Contrasted directly outside of his bedroom, was the cold wooden hallway of the original floor. Worn down from years of walking on it, the floor still remained firm under his feet, although, a bit rough around the edges. Misty often talked about replacing it with tile someday, but never found the money or the time.
It was dark in the house. Daisy had long since fallen asleep, she had classes in the morning, while Violet and Lily were most likely out on the town. Misty never stayed awake longer than eleven, so when he saw the kitchen light on still he was at first started until the smell of fresh-brewed coffee filled the air.
Unless some robber decided to set up a pot of coffee, he was sure he was fine. He stepped into the living room, which was the central hub of all of the sisters antics—where he shared many memories; mostly ones where Misty would subdue him to sitting and watching long documentaries or movies. Always using the excuse "You're living here for free, the least you can do is watch some television and relax! You could do for some culture." Misty would groan. "and not the news! You listen to the news too much!" And so he was able to catch up with a lot of the films that he had no idea existed—something to 'help him grow up' and better understand social situations.
It helped a lot, mostly. Unless he was tricked into sitting through a romance story with the sisters. Typically, he was the one leaning over the armrest fading in and out of consciousness while Daisy and Misty gushed over the characters. Ash didn't understand their infatuation with romance movies—they all had the same premise. Besides, most, if not all of them had these horribly drawn-out kissing scenes that made him extremely uncomfortable; plus there were those ones where the characters would do things and Misty had to awkwardly skip through the scenes because Ash would literally blackout. She tried to notion once that he needs to stop acting like such a baby, but, he couldn't help it—not really.
He was just ten, sort of. Actually, he wasn't sure held as much value anymore.
The more he thought about, the less he felt that way. His mind wasn't occupied with fantasy stories and pokemon battling; it was stuck on more adult things, like how in the world he would pay Misty back if he left the gym. He had no real skills, and pokemon battling in this world wasn't as rewarding in his. First off, he had to win major battles to get money, and second of all, it was extremely expensive to be a trainer. Primarily because after last year, visits to the Pokemon Center were no longer a free-trade agreement. Every visit costed money. The Pokemon League passed the law as a way to prevent pokemon abuse, but really, all it did was hurt pokemon trainers from all walks of life.
...Yeah, maybe he did watch the news too much.
He couldn't help himself though. Somehow, he always thought that somewhere, he would see his mom there—dead, alive—incarcerated. There had to have been a reason, not just that she moved, as to why she wouldn't see Ash. There also had to have been a reason his awakening didn't go regional as it should have. Everyone knew when he went down into a coma—but it hardly seemed like anyone else cared now. Recalling Agatha's point, his eyes went wide. He spun around from his position at the back of the couch—he had forgotten entirely about the gift she had given him until now.
The long draw of a sigh pulled his attention back towards the kitchen, and after brushing his fingers against the emerald green sofa in the center of the room, he trekked into the open door of the kitchen. Sitting at the table was Misty; her hair let down, resting a short way past her shoulders. Black rings under her eyes and she wore her light blue pajamas which consisted mostly of an over-sized blue button-up and a pair of matching pants. Even in the goofy attire, a tone of seriousness purged the air between them. Holding her favorite blue coffee mug in her hands, she pressed it to her lips for a short drink while staring down humbly at a folded—partially ripped parchment against the table.
"Misty?" he called after her meekly, snapping her sea-green eyes to him so quickly he saw her head spin. She slammed her hand against the note and tucked it away into her pants pocket without folding it properly.
"Hey!" She stammered, setting her coffee mug down as if trying to sort out her life. "Why are you up?" She asked shortly after, inhaling once to regain her lost composure.
While usually catching her in a jittery position made him chuckle, tonight, with the clouds swirling overhead, seeing her jittery only made him more anxious than he already was. Without speaking, he pressed forward to the chair at the table perpendicular to hers, and slowly scoot it out, looking over the official documents she spaced out. He didn't speak until he looked over each parchment title, some of them with his name—others bills; one in particular from the hospital caught his eye—but she was sure to gather that one before he got a better look at it. The abrasive nature of her hands slipping documents into proper order brought his attention to her concentrated face and he exhaled.
"I couldn't sleep." He admit honestly, watching her eyebrows rise.
"It does seem like it's going to storm outside; so, I'm not surprised." She exhaled softly as her nimble fingers discarded unneeded work. While she had a desk to work on, she always preferred the open lighted area of the kitchen—the office was too stuffy, and at least in here, she had the window of the kitchen sink wide open. He heard the whip of the wind outside, and shivered from the chill in the room, wondering briefly how she managed to cope with the cold.
"You know about that?" He asked embarrassingly and Misty shrugged.
"It's just a thunderstorm, but getting electrocuted in one could mess with a person. I assumed that's why you were weird around them." She didn't make eye contact with him as she seemed to find the paper she was looking for, taking it out, she placed it down in front of him.
"I didn't know it was that noticeable."
"It wouldn't have been if you didn't try to call me in the wee hours of the morning while you were still sleeping in the assisted living home—or, you know, getting up and down from bed a million times in the middle of the night." His face flushed red at her callous tone and he pouted.
"How did you know about that?"
"The walls are very thin. I hear everything." She whined, tugging on her cheeks to wake herself up. Sitting back, she brought the coffee back to her lips before Ash replied.
"Sorry." but what could he do?
"Don't apologize. I'm just glad you're not like normal boys. Otherwise I don't think I could stand it." She confirmed sipping her drink. Ash eyed her suspiciously.
"...what do you mean normal?" he questioned, eyes narrowed. She flushed a cute red and shook her head vehemently.
"Don't worry about it." She assured him, wagging her hand in his direction. He knit up his eyebrows and blinked his confusion.
"Anyways," She motioned to the paper she placed in front of him before. "I got everything finished earlier, so all you have to do is sign at the bottom." She pointed to the signature line and he blinked at it.
"Really? But shouldn't I have filled everything out?" He asked, taking one of the pens off the table and reading through everything to make sure it was correct.
"It's fine. I know most of your information from the hospital anyway and at least this way it's legible," she said with a wistful grin.
"My handwriting has been improving." He pouted, squinting his eyes at her before reading the rest of the document outlining his responsibilities as a student of the Cerulean City Gym.
He was not allowed more than two pokemon at any given time. He must report back to his Gym Leader via letter or email and will be held accountable for his representation of the gym. He cannot battle for money, he cannot enter tournaments—league or not. He is only able to participate in battles which are his pokemon versus wild pokemon unless authorized by a league official; not his gym leader. Excess pokemon will be returned to the gym leader, who will then hold custody of said pokemon. All pokemon unaccounted for will be taken from his wage.
"I get paid?" He exclaimed, happily reading the last line. Misty pursed her lips uncomfortably and narrowed her eyes.
"I'm taking a portion, for your debts." She warned him, pointing at him.
"You don't show any mercy." He grinned, scratching his cheek gently before clicking the pen and signing his name at the bottom—a much better signature than his garbled one from his first time at the hospital.
"I really appreciate this." He grumbled into the night while she took the application from him, signed her name below his, and then dated the paper.
"I know you do." She said, sounding partially depressed the way her voice pulled on each word. She swallowed hard, glancing over everything and then pat the paper as she slipped it into her briefcase.
"I'll send that in tomorrow morning, and if you're lucky it will be here within the next few days..." She added, licking her teeth and looking down at the table. He leaned forward and hummed at her, placing his elbow against the table and cupping his face in his hand.
"So what were you reading earlier?" He pegged, watching her chest rise and fall, as it usually did when she was stressed; or to calm her nerves. She used the technique a lot during battles.
"It was nothing," she replied half-heartedly, swishing the coffee in her mug thoughtlessly.
Ash quirked an eyebrow. "It didn't look like nothing. You were pretty tense."
However, her reply was not what he expected; "You can tell when I'm tense? Jeeze, maybe you do stare too much." She challenged him, raising her eyebrows and smirking. Frazzled, his face turned red.
"I do not stare." he denied quickly, almost dropping his head against the table in surprise.
"You do so," She argued back, grinning. "It's kind of creepy, but in an endearing way—because you're like ten, mentally."
"It's not my fault you're pr-" pretty to look at. Ah, damn, maybe Brock was his alter-ego to regulate his frustrations; his face turned beet red once again, steam rising from his cheeks.
"I'm what?" She pressed, leaning forward slyly, in a mocking way. The twist of her smile made his stomach flip and he sucked back air to calm himself.
"...pretty lame." he finished confidently, burying his blush with an over-zealous head nod and smile. But Misty only gave him a knowing smile; as if his ten-year-old comebacks were no longer effective. Catching her charming gaze only suited to make his heart run faster, and he looked down at the table where his hands were folded. He panicked and looked away, casting a glance back at the open window where the thunderstorm roared in the sky.
"So why are you up, anyway?" he asked, changing the subject with a heaved sigh. Misty stiffened again and she pursed her lips.
"Gary called."
"Oh?" Ash asked quickly, a little too quickly. He eyed her as she smacked her lips. "What did Gary want?" he asked, having only seen his old-enemy-rival-friend; actually, he wasn't sure what he and Gary were. They seemed to get along so well now but when they were kids, they used to fight tooth and nail... perhaps that was just how kids were.
"Ahh, just about the license..." She admitted awkwardly. Shifting in her seat, she placed her mug onto the surface of the table and licked her lips. "About your mom...You're...ah... You're sure you want to go?" She regained her confidence, attempting to look him in the eye.
He looked up casually, blinking twice.
"Yeah, I'm sure," he said. "But I'm a little nervous. Going alone and all," His eyes shifted away from her once more. "but! I will be fine." He assured her confidently realizing he didn't want her to worry, earning a sweet, tired smile.
"You sure have changed a lot in the last month." She gushed positively.
He blushed, scratching the back of his neck modestly. "Thanks," he said.
Standing up, she scooted her seat out from the table and marched towards the counter where she took another mug out of the cupboard. Off the top of the microwave, she removed an instant packet of hot chocolate and dumped it into the mug before running water in the glass. Intrigued, Ash watched her as she bound from the microwave to the window above the sink and snapped it shut to keep the sound of pouring rain out, as well as the sound of the thunder.
"Well, if we're both up, we might as well do something constructive with our time," she suggested, wiggling her eyebrow.
"What did you have in mind?" He smiled in return.
"Pranking my sisters?" She offered slyly and very slowly Ash's mouth twitched up into a large grin.
"Always."
XOX
Last night, Gary had mentioned more to Misty than she mentioned to Ash, mostly in a request that she did not let Ash leave the gym in search of his mother until he had more time to smooth things over. What was she supposed to tell Ash to keep him here? She knew that if she was in his situation, she would have been gone weeks ago. How he managed to patiently coexist with her in the gym for an entire month was absolutely astonishing. The fact that he waited so long to even suggest going out on his own mesmerized her to no end. What made her more concerned was that he asked her to join him.
Yet, she was worried sick.
Even after their late-night charades of preparing morning pranks for her sisters; they ended up winding down by sitting on the couch talking about which pokemon he would bring.
He wanted to bring togepi, only togepi. In fact, he insisted that what better time to practice with the pokemon than when he could devote his full attention to it? She worried the egg pokemon was going to be dead within the week, especially after watching that incident with friggin' oddish. That morning before anything else, she printed off a set of moves for the hopeful trainer. Misty did not want to see him, or the pokemon hurt in any way.
Even though she fell to bed exhausted last night a little after 3:00 am, she still didn't sleep; the thunderstorm raged outside well into the sunrise, and she heard Ash getting up countless times. She felt bad for him, the nerve endings associated with every crack of lightning. But if he was up, she was up. That was just the unfortunate set up of their bedrooms.
She did, however, notice that after she informed him that she could hear him, he tried to be a little quieter.
They had to share the bathroom between their rooms; something that took them only one slip up to perfect. Misty woke up at 6:00 am and got the early bird shower, regardless if Ash was up before her or not. She always showered first. This morning, however, she had a hard time getting out of bed. The lack of sleep pushing her shoulders deep into the concave marks of her soft, cushion bed.
"Misty, are you getting up or what? It's already a quarter to seven. So if not, I'm going to..." Ash's voice bellowed from their co-showers, trailing off near the end.
"Hrmmm." She grunted, launching whatever was on her nightstand directly at the bathroom door with one swift motion. It shattered but succeeded as she could hear Ash shirk away from the door, alarmed, but she could care less.
No sleep and gym opening in an hour made for an unhappy Misty.
A Misty without coffee made for an unhappy Misty.
...A Misty when one of her only friends was leaving made for an extremely unhappy Misty.
She turned over in her bed, listening to the shower water turn on. She couldn't be upset, but she felt wrong.
Gary begged her not to tell. He told her that it was in Ash's best interest that he did not know. Yet, here she was, plagued by guilt that her only friend was running off on a wild goose chase when the answer was right beside her; in her night draw, with her cellphone. She sat up, rubbing her red hair between her fingers. Her orangey tone returned at the roots; giving a blend of fall colors into her otherwise deep red. She tugged at her nightstand, ripping open the draw to look inside, folded inside was the note Gary gave her; a note she had torn, crumpled, and otherwise disregarded as prominent evidence. She felt like she was the witness, Gary was the judge, and Ash was the boy on trial. She had the evidence to let him out, and yet she stood at the stands and lied. Straight to his face.
Several times.
Loathing was not the proper word for how she felt about herself right now. But she was close to it. Misty pushed the drawer shut after collecting her phone and laying back in her bed, fluffing her pillows so that they propped her up and her head rested against the headboard. Perhaps it was not proper for her to be depressed, but she could not help herself. Toppled with the guilt of what she knew and Ash leaving, she also felt bad for turning down his offer to travel with him—she could have managed at least a little while away from the gym... but how was she supposed to join him on a quest to find someone that was already found?
"Let's go this way, Ash! Not the direction where we will actually find her!"
Yeah. Misty could do that.
Not.
Groaning, she clicked on her screen, crossed her legs at the foot of the bed and listened to the rush of water. The storm ended just before six, now the careful sound of wind brushed the trees outside her window. Soothing, if she was not in such a sour mood already. She scrolled through her news on the application she used to find Ash's imaginary friends the first time, taking a small chance at looking at Dawn's page once more.
The coordinator was still moving forward, standing in front of large crowds no matter where she went; blasting out constant 'selfies' and new profiles pictures that accented her fabulous life of traveling, contests, and overall lavish style of living. It was hard to think that someone like that at one point fought tooth and nail for trainer-equal-rights... but she supposed after Team Rocket, fighting over who was the better trainer counterparts didn't seem as important.
Still, Misty scrolled; finally stopping to return to her own page where she read through a few old posts from her sisters, the odd one from an old friend or two, and finally, a few pictures she had taken of Ash; and a few pictures that Daisy had taken of them. One in particular that caught her eye was when they were sitting on the couch watching some ridiculous action-thriller where everyone was stuck on a giant ryhorn, and if they jumped off, they would die. Ash was leaning forward, pointing at the screen with an expression she remembered as pure confusion and frustration with the characters. Beside him in rather close proximity, Misty mimicked the pose, only reversed; she leaned back in the couch with her face contorted into something like disgust or aggravation; she remembered that movie vividly... Mostly because that was the first time she had seen Ash so enthralled in anything before. The picture posted right beside that one was of them at the gym together; she saw an assortment of her pokemon in the background, but it was an action shot essentially outlining Ash's inability to safely manage anything in his life. He was falling into the pool. Ash slipped on a puddle caused by one of the gym matches, and Misty tried to grab him but was laughing so hard that she only buckled over in laughter.
Smiling, for once, she was glad that Violet was such a free-spirit—she took pictures of everything; Misty's twenty-second birthday where they all went to the bar only to realize that Ash was not ready to drink so they tried to take him bowling and he threw the ball into the other lane—or the time Violet tagged along to one of Misty's monthly tournaments and Ash had gotten lost in the stadium.
Somehow, he always found trouble; even if it was never intentional. Her favorite picture, however, was taken about a week ago at a meet-and-greet pokemon party for new trainers where someone took a picture of the five of them standing together. Ash and Misty knelt in the front, grinning about something they probably shouldn't have been laughing about; with Violet, Daisy and Lily standing above them with their arms slung over shoulders. For the first time in years they felt like a family again. A horribly weird, slightly dysfunctional family; but family, nonetheless.
Misty sighed tiredly, sitting up and turning her phone off as she glanced at the washroom door where the tap came to a squealing halt and she heard the shower curtain slide open. She sighed, looking down at her hands pathetically. Gary begged her not to tell, he reasoned with her that he needed time; but that wasn't what she felt guilty over.
No, she felt guilty because she simply did not want to tell Ash the truth. The deepest, darkest part of her wanted him to stick around. He wasn't always great company, and he was awkward at most times, and his social skills were sub-par at best, but he was nice. Plus, he treated both Misty and her sisters like actual people; not gym leaders, not adults, not even 'sensational'. Just people. After everything, she was struggling to let go on her side more than she would ever admit.
It wasn't that she didn't understand what he was going through; it's that she understood what he would go through the moment he found out.
Sighing, she kicked her feet over the side of her bed, her silk pajamas cold against her flesh. Winter really was the worst. Rubbing her toes in the carpet below, she pursed her lips and tapped her fingers against the mattress of her bed thoughtfully. She should tell him. No, she needed to tell him... but how?
XOX
Ash was mostly packed. Unfortunately, he wouldn't have the chance to say goodbye to any of the older sensational sisters because they weren't up yet. Usually they didn't even start to stir until long after eight. Even Misty sleeping in was odd... but they had been up for hours, goofing around. Probably the last time he would get to.
Sighing, he pushed his green backpack open, packing away an extra set of everything; but also leaving some of the hand-made clothing that Lily made for him on the dresser beside the bedroom door. The rest was going with him. Because it was a Saturday, the gym wouldn't open until 10:00am which gave him plenty of time to do chores, but also say his goodbyes before 'Gym Leader Misty' made an appearance. Glancing at the washroom door, he finally heard the tap turn on. About time.
As quickly as he packed his items, togepi ripped them out.
"Stop that togepi." Ash scolded lightly. It growled at him silently, sitting back against the comforter of the bed while he refolded the shirt, and then gently tucked it away into the crevices of the backpack.
"We have to go." He chimed, picking up the pokemon and putting it on the pillows of the neatly made bed. "I need to find my mom, and if we get lucky, you might make a friend when we do." He said confidently, closing his eyes to smile brightly at the pokemon.
His joy didn't seem to improve togepi's mood because he sighed and remained unimpressed while Ash put away his unmentionables and a few camping supplies that he collected from the measly twenty percent he was left over after his payments. Misty figured if she gave him nothing he would be running around without proper clothes, so, she gave him a fraction of what he worked for, but it was worth it. The sooner he could repay his debts, the better!
As fast as it had turned on, the water turned off. She was always exceptionally quick at having a shower, so he was not surprised to hear the screech of the curtains drag to one side after such a short time. He wondered what he should say for goodbye, for that matter, what an appropriate goodbye was in this situation. Should they hug? Should he buy her a thank you gift? Should they ki- His face paled and then from his neck to his forehead he turned an awful shade of red. Where did he even get that idea? If Ash was unsure of himself now, he was positive that Misty and her sisters subdued him to one too many girly movies.
Sighing, he smacked his forehead and shuffled the last of his business into his pack. Including a toothbrush, a few pokeballs he purchased when he was out with Misty's older sisters on the weekend, and finally, the gift from Agatha—still unopened.
"Open it when she's not around," the old woman told him, but he never found the time... perhaps, on his journey to find his mother he should visit the woman? He zipped his bag confidently, glancing once over at himself. He wore a pair of blue jeans, black and red boots, a black t-shirt tucked into his jeans, and an unzipped blue and white vest with a popped collar over his shirt—the same one he wore the day he left the assisted living home.
Man, he was really doing this. He was so anxious and tired from lack of sleep the night before as well as the thunderstorm. He hardly had time to think about Misty's concerning lie—whatever it was, she probably had a good reason to keep it from him. He was going to let it go, he decided last night. He trusted her enough to know that she wouldn't keep anything detrimental from him. Humming to himself, he swiped through his spiky hair—kept freshly cut by Lily—and placed his hat on his head. From the bed, togepi cheered for him and he grinned back.
It was different, for sure.
But it was a start.
On the top of his bag, he stuffed a hiking sleeping bag and clicked his tongue. Togepi sprung from the bed and onto his shoulder when Ash leaned towards the pokemon. For the first time, it landed without falling; earning a huge grin from Ash.
"Great job." He rewarded the egg pokemon with a traditional high five and then walked out of the bedroom door.
For possibly the last time, his feet scuffed along the wooden floorboards of the hallway. Gliding his hand against his door and then briefly touching Misty's doorknob on his way toward the living room, Ash inhaled to calm himself. He heard her shuffling to get ready and let out a soft chuckle. If she was bad without coffee on a full night's sleep—the object she threw at the door was only a small indication of what was to come. On his way to the living room, he was surprised to see Lily and Violet already sitting at the couch, dressed in their housecoats and their faces covered in a nasty, green-goo covered, but they were there, smiling at Ash. From the kitchen, he smelled the waft of freshly cooked eggs and bacon and his mouth salivated.
"Daisy's cooking." he moaned as the other girls nodded their support.
"Like, she wanted to make sure you left with something decent in your stomach—not charred food like Misty's cooking." Lily tossed from the couch, filing her nails. Ash only managed to smile as he approached the kitchen and slipped inside to see the table mostly set, and Daisy preparing for the day.
"Good morning!" She chirped, setting down a plate at the edge of the table for him.
"Is this for me?" He asked happily and Daisy grinned.
"Well, for everyone; I figured we should, like, have at least one last meal together." She coached while wagging the spatula, spraying pancake batter on the back of the counter that Misty would no-doubt have to clean up later in a fit.
"How did you even know that I was leaving?" He rubbed the back of his neck as Lily and Violet shuffled in beside him.
"Because, like, Misty wouldn't shut up about it when you went to bed last night. Apparently you're one of her students now or something and that's..."
"Shh!" Daisy hissed, jabbing Violet in the side as she growled. "Misty mentioned it."
"Oh." Ash said, none the wiser to Violet's previous statement, far too distracted by the smell of intoxicating food. He dropped his bag at the door and with togepi still on his shoulder, he slipped into his seat and inhaled.
It smelled wonderful.
Moments after his plate was thrown together, Misty spilled through the kitchen doors—having done nothing but tie her hair up into a side pony-tail. She was not even wearing traditional gym attire; instead, she wore a yellow sports tank top and black yoga pants.
"Jeeze Misty. I think we need to have a talk about your wardrobe." Lily commented, looking horrified at her sister's choice of clothing for the day.
"Everything else was dirty." She whined. "And most of my clothes are pool safe."
"What about the skirts we made for you?"
"I'm not wearing a skirt," Misty argued flatly, plopping into the seat beside Ash where togepi, as it did every morning, jumped from Ash's shoulder and directly into her lap.
"Good morning, togepi." Misty chimed naturally, habitually, patting the small pokemon on the head before throwing some pancakes onto her plate.
"You look so nice when you dress better. Just because you run a pool doesn't mean you have to dress like it all the time." Lily whined, but Misty was having none of it. She pursed her lips unhappily; morning coffee had not been a thing yet, after all.
"It's practical. I don't care if I look nice or not." She admitted, and Lily frowned deeply.
"But Misty, how are you going to find a nice boy if you don't look nice? You're not like, into girls or anything are you?"
Oh no. Ash scoot away from Misty instinctively, togepi followed the same actions, slipping down Misty's legs and walking back to Ash where he picked it up, and if possible, pushed his chair further away from the impending explosion that was Misty. But, it never came, actually, she sucked in air and released it through her nostrils to calm herself.
"You know what Lily... I know you can't help it; so I'm just going to let that go today." Misty muttered, biting into her pancakes as Daisy dropped a mug of dark coffee beside Misty who tossed a short thank you. The room breathed a sigh of relief as they dug into breakfast.
Her response was not simple enough, Lily frowned: "Ash, you tell her. Tell her how silly she looks." Lily whined and Ash's turned pale as the moon.
"Don't you throw me under the bus." Ash grimaced, looking at Misty with wide eyes. They stared for a moment, challenging Ash's remark. There was only one correct answer: eat until they stopped staring. After a few moments, the plan succeeded because they went on with the normal conversation. Ash was saved.
An hour after breakfast, Misty walked Ash to the pool of the gym; having said his goodbyes to the rest of her sisters before they started their morning rituals. It was nice and unexpected of them to be up so early to bid him farewell... it was nice. Ash couldn't stop smiling. Misty guided him around the gym one last time.
"You could take one of the pokemon from the gym if you wanted."
"No, I think togepi and I can manage." At Ash's beaming confidence, Misty grimaced once again for the safety of the egg and knit her eyebrows.
"If you catch anything other than a water type, you need to tell me before you transfer it. I'll have to release it if you don't tell me before paperwork." Misty said while putting her hands on her hips. Ash smiled at her.
"Okay."
"And I'll mail you the official card once I receive it in the mail. So make sure you call every other day or something. Do you still have my numbers?"
"Of course." Ash said, feeling the familiarity of the conversation.
"And you know to shower and brush your teeth every day—just because you're traveling, you will still need to stay clean." She echoed, turning on her heels to continue her trek through the gym. Ash chuckled.
"I can take care of myself." He assured her, but she paused and looked back at him, amused.
"Says the boy who electrocuted himself." She joked, repeating herself from their previous goodbye at the assisted living home; noticing that, he grinned himself. For a moment, he stared at her; how her hair had grown out, particularly the orange tints at the roots of her hair, and the twist of her lips every time he caught her staring. How odd was it that this was normal? He shifted his gaze away, cracking his own smile as he tapped his toes on the gym tiles.
"We're friends aren't we?" She asked suddenly, knocking the wind out of him. He blinked up at her, cheeks rosy.
"Of course." He grinned, feeling togepi slip down from his shoulder and into his arms.
She smiled weakly and then walked painfully slow towards the stands. She sat at the bench closest to the exit doors but gave a full view of the crystal clear gym. Ash followed her quietly unsure of how to respond to her sullen behavior.
"I appreciate that you stuck around for as long as you did." She confessed, licking her lips. He sat beside her, placing togepi between them as he crossed his arms and legs, staring at the shift of the water due to the pokemon swimming below. It was nice, tranquil. When he wasn't helping her scrub the floors, or feed the pokemon, or any other chore, he enjoyed sitting here under the glass dome roof with the rays of daylight and watching the water twist.
"I was glad to help—but really I should be thanking you."
"...No... no, you shouldn't." Misty grimaced, catching Ash's attention. Her posture changed as she leaned forward, pressing her elbow into the tops of her knees and holding her chin in her palm.
"Ash, if I kept something from you that was... Well, that I should have told you." She clarified. "Would you hate me?"
Ash's throat hit his stomach. Oh no.
The tone of her voice made his palms sweaty. Trying to dry them off on his knees, he ground his fingers against his jeans. "I could never hate you." He confessed sincerely, matching the color of her dyed hair. Misty, however, didn't notice or reflect the same anxiousness. She simply looked...sad. Worn out.
"What if it was something really big..." She scrunched up her face with a large frown.
"I could never hate you." He reaffirmed, this time with a weird, assuring smile. "Why...What's going on?" he asked, heart racing.
Watching sadness only sink further into her eyes as she sat up, she paced for a bit and then removed the crumpled note from last night from her front pocket. Every so often, he caught her staring at the paper when she thought no one else was around, often right before she would explode in a fit of frustration. She thumbed the note and then studied Ash's chocolate eyes. She chewed the inside of her lip, feeling her heart drop to the pit of her stomach at the idea of even giving him the note.
"...Gary wrote this down that day in Pallet Town." She said sadly, sticking the note out for Ash to grab.
There was a strange moment of hesitance from him. A part of him did not want this note. Not if it made her look that sad, not if it was anything that would hurt him the way it apparently hurt her. His breath caught in his throat but he reached to grab the parchment. Tugging gently, she did not release it at first until he tugged a little harder and her fingers slipped, letting the beaten paper rest between his own fingers.
"What is this?" He asked, briefly glancing at her to see her not only taking a few, nervous steps backward—but also that she was shaking. His eyebrows knitted together with concern as togepi watched him with a worried, panicked look that mimicked Misty's expression. Carefully, he unfolded the paper.
As she suspected, the moment he saw the words on the page his face contorted in a way she had never seen before; to be expected, given the information.
"What the hell, Misty?" he grumbled, voice low enough to send shivers down her spine—she wasn't even entirely sure what to tell him in defense... Mostly because she didn't have a good excuse; not really. He read it again, and again, as if he had messed up the first time but still came to the same conclusion; he was standing before he knew it.
"Every time I asked anything about it, talked about it: you stood there and lied to me!?" He screamed accidentally, his voice booming through the open gym, leaving a faint echo. Misty winced, and he recalled—well, never, actually—that the redhead appeared so terrified of his, and her, own actions. Ash held the note out again.
"Delia Ketchum, 1314 Opal Street, Viridian City, Kanto." Ash read aloud as if it would make more sense as to why she didn't tell him sooner, clear anguish passed over his cheeks. "Moved nine years ago" Ash added, and then found himself throwing the paper at her, only for the wind to whip it into the pool. He was furious, the kind that made him stupid. Blind. Fury.
"Why?" He yelled at her silence, demanding an answer. She flinched.
"Because Gary asked me not to say anything."
"You don't even know Gary, why would you take his side over mine?!"
She inhaled, trying to keep her composure in check, but the usual rise and fall of her lungs did anything but soothe him like they usually did.
"Because he said he needed to smooth things over with her..."
"Smooth things over? It's MY MOM." He growled. "The person I've asked about non-stop since I woke up!" He yelled, throwing up his arms for emphasis.
"Ash, she lives in Viridian City!" Misty proclaimed as if it made any sense. "Your face was plastered on every local news station, every newspaper for days after you woke up! You don't think that it's odd she never visited?" Misty argued, though not aggressively. She was trying to reason with him, maybe if she hadn't waited so long, he'd be more receptive to her.
Ash shook his head vehemently. "That's not for you to decide!"
"You took Pallet Town so hard, I didn't think you could-"
"That wasn't for you to decide!" He yelled again, making his point very clear. He heaved slightly. Misty grimaced.
"I didn't think that you were..." she tried again but he interrupted her.
"Misty..." He growled, rubbing his temples, he spun on his heels. The world was spinning. "I trusted you! I lived with you for an entire month!" He yelled, throwing his arms up again and bringing them down hard on his head—he couldn't even look at her. "How could you do this to me?!" He yelled. Ashamed, Misty looked down.
"I thought I was helping."
"No! Helping was when you fought to keep the people around me honest! And then you, of all people, lie to me about this! I knew you were hiding something, I just never thought in a million years it would be this!" He was distraught, somewhere between rage and anguish that he couldn't quite maintain.
"I'm sorry... I just.."
"Hell, Misty." He groaned. "If I didn't say I was going to leave on some wild goose-chase, would you have even told me!?" He stared hard at her, but the flinch in her eyes was more than no. "Were all of these nice things you did just a way of getting free help around the gym? That's all you seem to care about, after all!" He yelled, finally catching a spark of her anger.
"That's not fair, Ash." She growled, but Ash was shaking he was so angry.
"No! What isn't fair is the only person in this freakin' world I trusted LYING to my face every day about something I've been dying for an answer for, for months. Maybe that therapist was right about you!"
"I didn't want to see you get hurt..." She tried, shoulders drooping—seeing the sadness ring through her eyes again, his chest filled with a tempest rage that pushed him to grab a borderline crying togepi and his bag in one swoop.
"Well if that was your goal, you did a really swell job!" He countered sarcastically with a vicious snarl that made her shudder. He didn't speak again when he rushed for the door.
"Ash, where are you going?" She called after him weakly, hiccuping slightly at his broad shoulders throwing open the metal doors and running out.
Misty wanted to call after him, but as the doors came to a sudden, elusive swing; she inhaled, and then spiraled backward to the bench she had been sitting on to catch her breath. Counting back from one-hundred, she wiped her eyes with her wrist. She wasn't going to cry. This had always been an inevitable option, since the moment she decided to withhold the information from him she knew this was going to happen; it was only a matter of time before this happened. Or so she tried to tell herself to feel better. Swallowing, she beat back her tears before they formed. Ash was angry, but he would get better, wouldn't he?
If not... She wiped her tears again, this time biting back a sniffle.
She didn't need him, anyway.
Author's Note:
thank you for all the lovely reviews and for following this story thus far! (if you ever want to know why I chose to have characters react the way that they did during a moment, please PM me)