A Jewel in Water

Part 23

A/N: Is there even a way to salvage this story?

May paced back and forth in front of Ashs' door. Was leaving going to fix the problems growing inside her? Was it just going to be her running away from the things that scared her? And why did it scare her so much in the first place. Why was being around Elliot making her heart beat irregularly and her stomach do flips? Contrary to what it sounded like, May knew that that there was more to this than just a little crush. But she had been hurt before, and was too young to handle it well. The only person she could trust enough to talk to was Ash. But even then, she hadn't seen him for over 5 years. But 5 years changed a lot. She was drifting through life, not enjoying anything anymore. It felt like she was in a phunk that was impossible to break out of. She just needed to get her feelings off her chest. It felt like the only way that she was going to attain any clarity in her life at the moment.

"Ash is taking his sweet time," thought Brock, as he sat outside with his head in his hands, trying not to think about Iris. With her long dark hair and ebony skin. Ever since he first met her when she was travelling with Ash she had become so much more mature. She had swapped her bunches for a sleek ponytail and although she wasn't classically pretty Brock had fallen hard. Not immediately, it took years for him to finally notice her. But the story didn't end with a happily ever after they got together.

"Stop." Brock said to himself sternly, making Caterpie look up at him apprehensively. Brock didn't notice however as he continued talking to himself. "Don't think about it. Just don't. You don't want to go back to tat place. Its not worth it. It was never worth it." One day he would be able to go back to it. One day he would be able to overcome his feelings.

Elliot peered around the corner. She was there. Damnit. She was sitting there at a computer, doing whatever she needed to do. It was going to be dinner time soon. Maybe if he timed it right then this could work in his favour. Hit and run. He knocked on the door. She looked up. His heart tightened. With every passing second the awkwardness grew. It grew and grew until:

"Prince Elliot…" said Misty cautiously, "Are you okay now?"

Ever since his chat with Ash, Elliot had reflected a bit. Why was he prolonging his stay here? Especially since Ash was here, he would have no worries on trying to be rejected. Misty looked at Elliot in his new do. If this was his way of coming out to her then what else could she do but gracefully accept it? But she wasn't expecting Elliot to get down on one knee. Not so fast.

He got down and tried to make some sounds but his heart was leaping out of his chest. "Prin-Princess." He took a huge gulp, "Would you do me the honour…" took another deep breath, "of accepting my proposal."

Misty stared at him for a few minutes. So he went out, got transformed, and came back here all for the sake of proposing? She didn't know what to say. Obviously she was taken aback by the storm of things that happened to hit her within the last few minutes. But the speed of collision had made her suspicious. She knew Elliot a bit by now. There was no way that he would have expected her to say yes to him. "Why?" she asked, looking at him with her brows furrowed. Elliot was taken aback. He was expecting an immediate no from her. "Um… because I think we are compatible?" he tried.

"No, I mean why are you trying to get me to say no?" she said more forwardly. He paused for a few moments. Perhaps he could tell her everything he was thinking. Maybe it would be okay.

"I just… have my reasons." He said finally.

"I'm kinda offended" she told him plainly. It was not a nice feeling to know that you were being rejected, even if it was in such a round about way. "I'm not sure if I'm feeling benevolent enough to let this slide." Elliot sighed in exasperation. Slowly but surely his gentle façade was breaking. "Tell me the real reason why you are doing this."

"Can't you see already?" he said, almost yelling, "I can't marry you, I don't want to marry you, I don't want to be part of this trial anymore. I just want to go out and be me. Can't you just understand that?!"

May had given up waiting for Ash to come back to his room. She had waited for over 30 minutes to no avail. She got her phone out and tried to ring him but there was no answer. Maybe Brock would be more useful? She went onto her contacts to find his number and dialled. One ring was all it took before he picked up.

"Hello? Brock?"

"Hi May, whats up?"

"I was wondering if you were free for a chat? I've been looking for Ash but I can't find him."

"So I'm number 2 go to guy?" he tried to say jokily but it came across as rather bitter due to the mood he was it. May stayed silent. There was nothing she could say; it was true. "Hey, why so serious! It was a joke. Sure I'm free, come to the garden and lets chat." He decided not to add in the fact that Ash was also headed over, in case it came across as bitter again. She appeared within a couple of minutes, and was a bit apprehensive as to what to say to him when he seemed to be in a bad mood, but she felt like this was way more important at the moment.

"Brock!" she called as she sprinted over. Caterpie was sitting on Brocks lap and he looked up and waved.

"Hey May! What's up?" she ran over to him so fast, breathing heavily as she doubled over to catch her breath.

"Why did you decide to go on a journey with Ash even though you had a perfectly good gig as a gym leader?" she said, still panting. Brock looked thoughtful, then serious.

"I guess it was the realisation that I had the opportunity to see the world, and not seizing it would leave me in so much regret, I don't think I would have been able to cope afterwards." May was quiet, and Brock knew better than to interrupt her. He watched as her eyes darted from one place to another and her brows furrowed.

"You see, I was really apprehensive about going on my journey at the start." She said finally. "I felt like I was doing things to please my father, things that didn't suit my interests at all. Then I started doing contests and I felt like life was worth living again. But suddenly I feel like the drive is gone."

"It's not suddenly though is it?" Brock ventured "You've lost it ever since Drew disappeared."

"You know huh?"

"Yeah, I just noticed that after he left, your performances became a bit more lacklustre."

"I mean it hurts to hear but I can't deny it. I barely made it to the top 64 in the Grande Festival that year."

"So you are looking for drive again?"

"You can say that. Or not. The only drive I could find was Drew. Once he left it was like things weren't worth doing anymore. How pathetic is that? How can I become so hopeless, just because I don't have a guy in my life?"

Then from out of the blue came Ash:

"If you feel so hopeless, then less of your heart iss devoted to contests than you think."