Chapter Ten: Water Breaking

The next day went about uneventfully. They had spent it down by the beach. Ash had tried his hand at fishing, but nothing was biting, only adding to his internal frustration. The sun was scorching as he sat there, trying to suppress his yawns. He had been able to fall asleep easily, but staying in that state was another story all together. He had been tossing and turning all night, thinking of nothing but Misty.

What was he going to do about her? He was here to attend her wedding—something that he secretly hoped that she would cancel. It was so frustrating. The worst part about it was that he kept getting the inkling that there was something between them—some chemistry that one couldn't force. It was just so easy being with her. He didn't have to think about what he was doing or stress about what he wanted to say. He could just be.

She seemed happy with Rudy, though. That was the problem. Though he had witnessed them in a heated argument and Ash tended to hate the guy, she appeared to be far from miserable. She was getting all that she ever wanted. It was the only reason that he was able to sit back and watch her go. If she gave any indication that she felt anything for him or was unhappy, he would fight for her in a heartbeat.

"Hey, you okay? You've hardly eaten anything."

Ash looked up from his half-eaten hamburger to see Brock staring at him intently from across the table. They were sitting in Misty's kitchen, eating dinner, or Pikachu's case, a whole bottle of ketchup. The girls were upstairs getting ready for Misty's bachelorette party. Ash didn't reply, taking another bite of his hamburger. He chewed it slowly before swallowing. It slid down his throat, but did nothing to clear the lump he had been feeling all day.

"Misty?"

Ash nodded.

"You know you can always leave."

"You know I can't," he replied. "I made such a scene even coming here in the first place. It would raise questions if I were to leave now. Not to mention, Misty would be pissed at me, and I can't have that. That would make things so much worse."

"Worse than watching her marry another man?"

"Yeah," Ash replied. "Because in that world, she hates me."

"You're hopeless."

"I know."

"So Rudy's also having his bachelor party tonight."

"And?"

"You should come. I'm sure he's having a few strippers. It'll be a lot of fun. It might get your mind off of things."

"No way."

"Oh come on, Ash."

"I'm not about to go to the bachelor party of the guy who is marrying the girl I'm in love with."

"Okay fair point."

Brock stood and walked his empty plate to the sink. He turned on the water and proceeded to wash it, leaving it in the strainer when he was done. His stomach churning too much to continue with his meal, Ash cleared off the rest of his plate into the trash and proceeded to do the same. Brock took Ash's plate and washed it for him, placing it next to his in the strainer.

"Well, I'm going to head out," Brock said. "I'm going to crash his bachelor party. I'm not going to pass up the opportunity of strippers."

"Traitor," Ash said, half-jokingly.

"Like I said, you could always—"

Ash shot him a look, and he immediately backed off.

"All right. All right. I get it. I'll go."

Brock left the room as Ash plopped back down in his seat. Pikachu was still happily eating his ketchup. He sighed and rested his head in his folded arms. What was he going to do?

It was well past sunset. Blackness surrounded the group of young women camped out on the beach. The moon was full and round, the stars danced around it as it provided their only light other than the large bonfire that blazed in the middle of the sand. It was quiet. The sole sounds that could be heard were the waves crashing gently against the shore and the faint crackling of the fire. It burned bright, casting a circle of light that extended to the women sitting in the sand, clad in bikinis and cover-ups. Half-empty bottles of tequila were littered across the beach around them.

Misty pulled her wrap-around dress around her tighter. It was plain, aqua with ruffles on the shoulders. A chill ran through her as she threw on the thin white shawl that had been lying next to her. She took a swig of her own bottle, staring mindlessly into the fire. This was her sisters' idea of a good time? She half-expected at least something fun, like some male strippers or something. Without the alcohol, the night would have been a total bust.

She glanced at her sisters, who were happily chatting away with a Gina and Victoria—two of her friends from the island. Misty couldn't understand it. How could they be so laid-back and have fun just sitting here? Misty groaned. She half-expected that they would have taken her to a club on one of the neighboring island at least. Were they trying to kill her with boredom? She eyed her sisters suspiciously. Daisy probably thought that she had had enough fun on her own over the last few days, or something.

Lily dug out a box of graham crackers and a bag of marshmallows out of her bag. She began to open chocolate bars while Violet procured some sticks. Some of the girls snatched them eagerly, sticking marshmallows on the ends of them and thrusting them into the fire. Misty rolled her eyes. S'mores and tequila? Her sisters really sucked at planning bachelorette parties. Or maybe they just sucked at planning her bachelorette party. She had a half mind to run back up to the cottage and snuggle in bed with a good book and some hot chocolate. Maybe see what Ash was up to—anything but here.

She sighed, kicking off her sandals. She stood, brushing the sand off of her legs before walking across to the shoreline, her feet sinking with every step. She got to the water's edge, the water flowing over her toes. It was chilly. She looked out at the vast ocean in front of her. It was calm, peaceful. It was unlike her tumultuous thoughts, which couldn't seem to leave her alone.

It was as though the universe were reading her thoughts. As she stared wistfully out into the distance, something else caught her eye. She glanced to her right. Out in the distance a few hundred feet away, she saw someone sitting on a large rock, peering out at the ocean just as she had been. Taking a bit of a closer look, she realized who it was—Ash.

She paused, contemplating her next move. She glanced back at the girls. No one was paying any attention to her. No one would care if she snuck away for a few minutes. Adjusting her shawl, she silently made her way over to him.

"Ash?" She asked tentatively as she approached him.

He jumped at the sound of her voice. He turned his head to face her, looking distressed by the fact that she had caught him out here, which begged the question—why was he out here to begin with?

"Come to crash my bachelorette party?"

Ash was alarmed by her statement. "N-no! I just came out here to think."

"I see." She raised her eyebrow at him. Sitting down next to him, she was determined to get to the bottom of that statement. What did he need to come out here to think about? She had to know. Besides, it beat anything her sisters would come up with at her lame excuse for a bachelorette party.

"Where's Pikachu?"

"Back at your house. I couldn't tear him away from the bottle of ketchup."

"I think that you need to get him enrolled in some rehab then."

"Maybe," Ash chuckled.

They sat together on the rock, not saying a word to each other for some time. Misty gazed out at the ocean. She watched as it gently kissed the shore, breaking a little more roughly against the small rocks that were below them. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest. She felt his gaze scorching her skin. It was too dark to see the blush etched across her face, though.

"So, why are you really out here?"

"I wasn't lying when I said that I came out here to think."

"Yeah, but—" She scooted a bit closer to him. He swallowed his heart back down. "That doesn't tell me what's wrong."

"Who said that there's anything wrong?"

"Ash—"

He exhaled. What could he say to her? How much could he tell her before it revealed his dark secret—that he was hopelessly in love with her? She's getting married, he reminded himself for the hundredth time that day. That was the truth of the situation. She was getting married and wouldn't want him anyway.

She couldn't take her eyes off him. The suspense was killing her. What was he going to say? The only sound she could hear was the pounding inside of her chest. Why was she feeling this way? Ash looked back at her, their eyes locking. Misty was entranced by those chocolate brown eyes-always full of wonder, and this time, muddled with despair. Ash cleared his throat suddenly, startling her slightly.

"Do you ever get the feeling that something is missing in your life?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like you've gotten everything you could have ever dreamed of, but for some reason, it's not enough. There's always something that you need that's not there, but the problem is that you don't know exactly what it is."

Misty inhaled sharply. She understood what he was talking about—that insatiable hole that could never be filled, never leave you satisfied. She knew it very well. She felt like that every single day.

"I understand," she said, bringing her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them. She rested her chin on her knees. Even though her heart was beating out of her chest, being with Ash was extremely comforting. When she was with him, she felt like she could say anything to him, and he wouldn't judge her. She could never do this with Rudy. She was too afraid that he would say something to make her feel bad, even if it were unintentional.

Being around Ash was completely different. She could say whatever she wanted, and she knew that he wouldn't judge her. She could really be herself when she was with him.

"You do?" he asked

"Yeah," she said. "I've been feeling kind of that way lately, you know. I think with the wedding and everything, it's been really stressful….but I don't know. I mean I love Rudy, but sometimes I wonder if I chose the wrong path. I mean what would my life have been like if I hadn't stayed in the first place? I'll never know."

"Are you saying that you regret being with him?"

"Not exactly," she said. "I mean, maybe it's just some cold feet, but I often wonder if I've made the right decisions in my life. I always wanted someone like him to spend the rest of my life with, but at the same time, I always had dreams of becoming the greatest water Pokemon trainer. Being with him is great, and I really do love him, but at the same time it feels like I've had to compromise my other dreams in order to fulfill this one."

"But does that really make him the right person for you?"

"How can you say that?"

"Well," he said. "You shouldn't have to give up on your other dreams just to find love."

She unwrapped herself, lowering her legs and placing her arms behind her back, her hands pressed against the cool rock. She thought about his words. Could it really be that simple? In her heart, she wondered if this was the right thing, but she knew it was too late to change anything now. The invitations had already been sent out. The guests were going to be arriving any day. The wedding would still go on. She wondered though if in ten years from then she would regret doing this. Was loving someone enough to really mean that you are meant to be with them?"

"How would you know?" She asked. "What do you know about love?"

"Well I—"

"See!" she said almost accusingly. "You don't know anything about love, do you? I mean sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the one you love. It's all about compromise. But your love is only for Pokemon. You don't have to compromise with that, do you?"

"That's not fair, Ash said. Just because I haven't been in a relationship doesn't mean I don't know about love."

"Oh please," she said. "You don't know the first thing about it."

That wasn't true, he mused but, she didn't know that. What should he do? What should he say? He didn't want to do anything that would sway her decision to marry Rudy. She did mention she did say that she wasn't a hundred percent happy with the situation however he didn't want her to make the snap decision he wouldn't want it done that way. But how to tell her he knew about love without revealing the truth?

"I do know how it feels he said passionately. I know what it is to love someone."

"Really now?" she said, her stomach now in knots.

"There's this girl," he started. "And I've loved her for a while, but it took me a long time to realize that I have these feelings for her. And I want to tell her, I really do, but I don't think it would be the right thing to do. I mean it would just it would ruin things, and I don't think she would feel the same way anyway. So it's best I just keep it to myself."

"Why don't you just tell her?"

"I can't."

"I don't see why not."

"I just can't, okay?"

"Ash," she said. "Who is it?"

"I—"

She didn't know what made her do it. Maybe it was the alcohol flowing through her veins. Maybe it was the years of harbored feelings finally breaking to the surface. Maybe it was the fact that in a few days time, she would no longer be free. Whatever the reason, in the matter of seconds, she found herself leaning forward and crashing her lips against his like the ocean breaking against the jetty.

Ash's eyes grew wide. What was happening? What was she doing? She's supposed to be getting married. His heart was hammering. What did this mean? Once the initial shock had worn off, he started to reciprocate. He closed his eyes, embracing the moment. Wasn't this what he had been wanting?

His mind had shut down. The words 'she's getting married' faded away and became the dying embers that were his thoughts. There was no thinking, only feeling. He pushed his body against hers, deepening their kiss. He cupped her jaw as he let his emotions take over. If he could, he would have stayed this way forever.

Her whole body was on fire. Every inch of her was burning with desire. She just couldn't take it anymore. The tension was too much for her to handle. She had to do something about it. This was the only thing that her instincts could come up with. She needed to be kissing him. She needed him. In this moment, it was Ash. She couldn't live her life without him.

He groaned as she slipped in her tongue, gently exploring his mouth. He joined her, savoring every moment. Their tongues danced intricately as the waves crashed against their rock, gently spraying them with salty mist.

Feeling the ocean against her face, Misty quickly came back to her senses. What was she doing? Rudy would be furious of he knew, maybe even call off the wedding. How could she betray him like this? What kind of person was she? All she ever did was cause everyone else pain.

She broke away from Ash suddenly. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. Ash gazed back at her, his expression split between confused and concerned.

"I'm so sorry, Ash," she sobbed before scrambling to her feet. She stumbled as she jumped off the rock, speeding down toward the other end of the beach, headed back to the others.

Ash tried to call her back. It was no use. She was gone. He sat there with a hand against his lips, feeling more perplexed than ever. He had been left to stare out into the darkness.