Flowers

Misty eyed the beautiful centerpiece on Delia's kitchen table – an assortment of tulips, irises and hydrangeas made for the perfect indigo combination. The flowers may have seemed like a minor touch in the already stylish home, but they were instantly the focal point of the room. When she arrived at the Ketchum residence a mere 20 minutes before, she walked in on Delia cutting the stems so the arrangement could fit perfectly into the vase. She took note of the care that Delia gave each flower, she could tell they were a gift.

"I've never gotten flowers before," Misty wondered aloud. She wasn't sure why it mattered, they would just die eventually, but she couldn't help but feel a little envious of the nice gesture. She stared at the flowers and noticed how each flower complimented the other so well. If she had to take a guess, whoever bought them for Delia probably had a little help from the florist with picking them out.

"Hey Misty, come on! We're about to cut the cake!" She snapped out of her trance at the sound of the familiar voice. She turned around to see a cheerful brunette standing in the doorway. Misty quickly accompanied May back into the living room where they met with the rest of Ash's friends. The smallish living room could barely accommodate the mass of people gathered around the table full of treats. Ash had made several friends over the years and now here they were, all 18 of them, gathered in the small living room of the Ketchum residence to celebrate his birthday.

Misty only recognized a handful of the faces in the room. She obviously knew Brock, Gary, and Tracey. She met May and Max in the Hoenn region. She figured the bluenette who was waiting on May to return must be Dawn, Ash had mentioned her while he was traveling in the Sinnoh region.

Unfortunately, after his adventures in Sinnoh, Ash's updates were less frequent. She did get to meet his classmates from Alola on two separate occasions but neither of these meetings were arranged by Ash himself. She noticed a blonde girl who seemed eager to cling to Ash's presence and she noticed how uncomfortable the girl seemed around the large group of people. Misty wondered if this was her first time in Pallet Town.

Misty did a quick surveillance of everyone in the room. She wondered how many of them were first time visitors to the Ketchum residence. She wondered if Ash had personally invited them out here for his birthday. Misty had received her invitation from Delia, but could Delia possibly keep track of the rest of Ash's friends? Did Ash bother to keep in touch with his newer friends in favor of his older ones?

Misty became so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice she wasn't singing along to the 'happy birthday' song until everyone started cheering, indicating the end of the song. Although she couldn't see his face very well, she was sure Ash was blushing of embarrassment but grinned through it for his mom's sake. This entire party screamed of his mother's doing. Apparently, Ash managed to weasel out of a party celebrating his status as Alola league champion, so Delia insisted on a big birthday celebration to make up for it.

Ash becoming the champion of Alola was another thing he failed to mention to her. She once again glanced around the room. Everyone was smiling and making small talk, yet Misty couldn't fight the frown that had made its way to her lips. Ash was such a huge part of Misty's life and yet she was sure he had forgotten about her altogether.

Suddenly, she didn't care to be a part of the celebration. She was sure no one would notice if she slipped away so she made her way outside onto the back patio. The sun had set about an hour ago and Misty took the moment to appreciate the night sky in front of her. One thing she had always admired about the small, country town of Pallet was how clearly you could see the stars at night.

As she gazed at the stars, she heard the sound of the door creak behind her. She looked behind her shoulder expecting to see Brock, the only person she was sure who would notice her absence. Surprisingly, it was May who had come outside to join her. Misty didn't really want to be bothered but May has never been anything less than kind to her, so the red head slid her arms to the left of the railing she was leaning against to make way for the brunette.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Just admiring the view," Misty replied as she looked back towards the sky. May followed her gaze and then nodded in agreement.

"Wow! It sure is beautiful."

The two continued to look up in silence until May turned to face Misty and cocked her head to the side in worry.

"Misty, why don't you come back inside? Everyone's waiting for you."

"Waiting for me? May, I don't even know those people."

"Well neither did I until I started making conversation with a few people I didn't recognize. They're all lovely, I think you'd like them."

Misty frowned in response to May's enthusiasm. She probably would like them, but she didn't want to.

"I bet they are lovely. Maybe that's why Ash keeps in touch with them." Misty heard the jealousy in her own voice and instantly regretted her choice of words.

May looked as if she wasn't quite sure how to respond. She stared at Misty for a moment and then gave her a slight smile.

"You know he doesn't do it on purpose. You know him." She made sure to put emphasis on that last sentence. She then put on a hand on Misty's shoulder and gave it small squeeze before continuing back inside.

What was meant to be a reassuring gesture made Misty feel small. She knew it was pathetic to be envious of Ash's newer friends. It wasn't their fault Ash was so damn friendly or that he was horrible at keeping in touch. A small part of her wondered if he was really that bad at communication, or if he just didn't care to keep in touch with her.

Misty felt a pang in her chest. She knew coming to this party was a mistake. She knew she couldn't trust her feelings anytime Ash Ketchum was involved. She contemplated going back inside to say her goodbyes to Delia and Brock then just heading home. Before she could make up her mind, a small flash of something in the distance caught her eye.

Misty walked over to far-right corner of the backyard where she came across an array of gorgeous flower bushes. She couldn't quite make out the colors in the darkness, so she picked one to get a better look. It was a beautiful tiger lily. She palmed the delicate petals, admiring the work of mother nature.

"You know, my mom would kill you if she saw you picking her flowers." The voice had caught Misty off guard and she immediately smashed the petals in her hand out of fright.

She turned on her heel and she was met with a familiar face sporting a friendly grin. For whatever reason, Misty's mind went blank in the moment. Normally she would greet her old friend, but she spent all night feeling contempt towards him and now she suddenly couldn't form a polite sentence if her life depended on it.

Ash's smile morphed into a look of confusion. It was then that Misty remembered that Ash didn't know she was mad at him, and she felt a little childish for expecting him to read her mind.

"Um, Misty?" She could hear the hesitation in his voice.

She noticed Ash's shoulders had grown a little tense. Clearly she wasn't responding how he had expected her to, and it was making him uncomfortable.

"Yes."

"What are you doing out here? I've been looking for you for half an hour.."

Knowing he had been searching for her warmed her a heart a little, but she quickly tossed that feeling to the side and reminded herself that she was still upset with him.

"How did you find me?"

"May told me you were out here."

"Oh."

Ash wasn't sure how to respond so he nodded his head shyly. The two stood in an awkward silence until Misty turned back around to face the flower bush again. It was much easier to stare at pretty flowers than to look Ash in the eyes.

Confused, Ash walked up behind her and followed her gaze.

"Um, those flowers are nice and all but the party's inside."

Misty tensed as she felt Ash's breath on her shoulders. She chose not to respond to his statement and instead, she unclamped her fist and released the petals she had squeezed so tightly.

"Are you mad at me?"

Misty scoffed at the obvious question. She wanted to respond with spite but instead she relaxed her shoulders and took a deep breath.

"If the party's inside then why aren't you inside enjoying it?" She had intended for the question to come out in a calm tone but was surprised at the shaking of her own voice.

Good question, Ash thought. He didn't understand why his friend seemed angry with him and quite frankly, he was growing annoyed. Sure, Misty was infamous for her temper, but he could tell it was personal this time.

Ash gritted his teeth. He really didn't have time for Misty's attitude. Yes, he wanted her to come inside and join the rest of his friends, but it was his birthday and he was starting to wonder if he was wasting his time by trying to convince her to come back inside.

"I already told you. I came outside looking for you."

"Well. You found me."

Ash stared at Misty in disbelief of her tone. Seriously, what was her problem?

Misty felt a little guilty for her hostility.

Before Ash could respond, Misty spoke up again but this time, there was huge shift in her tone of voice and she even looked apologetic.

"Look, I'm sorry Ash, I'm just not in the mood. You should go back inside and enjoy your party."

She gave him a weak smile and continued, "Go hang out with your friends." Her last line confused Ash.

"Misty, you're my friend. And you're out here."

"So?"

"So I guess I'm staying out here too." Ash looked into her eyes and gave her a sincere nod. He wasn't sure what he had done wrong, but he couldn't leave her out here knowing she was mad at him.

Misty felt herself overcome with emotion. Here he was, trying to make her feel better while missing his own birthday party, and yet she still felt so angry with him.

"Why don't you ever call anymore?" She spat out the words so fast, Ash could only blink in response.

"I barely know any of those people in there! You didn't tell me about them, you didn't even tell me you won the Alola league!" Misty could feel the heat in her face as she continued.

When Ash still didn't respond, she looked down to the ground, trying to hide the sadness she knew would be obvious in her expression.

"I wonder if you ever even mentioned me to them," she added in a tone just above a whisper.

Ash felt like the air had escaped his lungs. Multiple emotions ran through his core at once, mostly just shock and sadness. Now he understood why she was outside, avoiding everyone. He had unintentionally hurt her, and he felt awful for it.

Misty was the first person that Ash and Pikachu met on their journey. Yes, Ash made several other friends along the way, but none of them were like Misty. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be the trainer he is today. He never meant to make her feel undervalued.

"Misty, I- "

"Forget it!" Misty stormed off. She felt embarrassed for saying anything in the first place but mostly, she was embarrassed of her own jealousy. She knew it stemmed from something much deeper within herself. Misty wasn't naïve to her own feelings; she had always cared about Ash on a level that she wasn't sure he would ever understand. Years have passed and yet no one has made an impact on Misty the way that Ash did.

But seeing all of Ash's new friends just reminded Misty how unimportant she was to him. She felt the tears well up in the corner of her eyes. She knew the best thing to do would be to walk around the house instead of passing through, as to not be seen by anyone.

Before Misty could continue with her escape plan, she heard the sound of panting and fast-moving footsteps behind her. Before her mind could register what was happening, she felt Ash's hand wrap around her wrist and pull her backwards to face him.

"You can't just leave without giving me a chance to explain myself!" The look on his face was stern. She recognized this look – it was the kind he would have when calling a meeting with his Pokemon before an important battle.

"You're right, I don't call and you have every right to hate me for it, but you have to understand!" Ash's tone changed from demanding to pleading. His eyes were full of regret.

Ash took a moment to catch his breath, but he never released the grip he had on her wrist.

"I've met so many great people on this journey. I've made some lifelong friends," he smiled as he reflected on his own words. He quickly dropped the smile to look Misty in her eyes, as if to demand her full attention.

"But none of them are like you. I-I think about you all the time Mist.." he broke eye contact and turned his head to the side, shying away but he continued to speak.

"I would have never gotten this far if I wouldn't have met you." Misty could feel her heart swell as Ash finally acknowledged the importance of her role in his life.

"And I know I don't call or write enough and believe me, there have been plenty times when I wanted to reach out to you. I see little things all of the time that remind me of you. But when I start thinking about you, it's just…I just.." he looked back up at her, as if asking her to complete his sentence for him. Misty was in shock. She didn't know how to respond; she just gave him a knowing look.

Ash took her silence as an invitation to slide his grip down from her wrist into to the palm of her hand. He slid his fingers through her's and gave her hand a squeeze. The two trainers stood there, refusing to break eye contact while saying nothing.

Misty could feel her heart pounding and she just knew her face was red, but she didn't care. Ash's palm was unusually sweaty, and she was certain he felt exactly as nervous as she did. But it was a good kind of nervous.

"Hey Ash! Ash! Where'd you go?" They broke free from each other's grasp at the shock of Brock's voice.

"Oh yeah, my party." For the first time the entire night, Misty smiled sincerely while Ash chuckled nervously.

A week passed by since the night of Ash's party. Ash once again left Pallet Town to return to Vermillion City and continue his training for the PWC.

Ash and Misty didn't speak much about the moment they shared in Ash's backyard that night, but he made sure to call her every single morning since then.

Misty was enjoying a salad in the lobby of her gym when she heard the doorbell ring. She rolled her eyes, thinking it was another challenger who clearly ignored the sign that said she was on lunch. She contemplated ignoring whoever it was at door but then the bell sounded again. She sighed and made her way to the door.

She was surprised not to see a challenger, but instead it was a man holding a bouquet of flowers. Misty wondered what poor sap her sisters had gotten to this time.

"Delivery for a Misty Waterflower?"

"Huh? Are you sure it says Misty?"

Surely, this must be a mistake.

"Yes, that's what it says ma'am." Misty took the bouquet from the man and thanked him before sending him on his way.

As soon as she closed the door, she wasted no time ripping open the card that was attached.

'Hey Mist, you really seemed to like these so I thought I would send you some to let you know I was thinking about ya. – Ash'

Misty looked over at the bouquet again; tiger lilies. She couldn't stop herself from smiling like an idiot. Finally, someone bought her flowers.