A/N: Thanks to everyone for all of the reviews. I do read every single word. May I remind everyone briefly, however, that this story has been planned out from the start and nothing is going to change my intentions for how the plot is going to turn out. That being said, there are only two more chapters left of this story. I'm trying to get them done as soon as I can. I might end up posting them together at the same time.

Anyway, enjoy the next chapter.

Sarah

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters.

Chapter Thirteen: Parting Ways

The following night fell quickly upon all of them. The sun was setting, casting rays of scarlet and gold over them as they all stood out by the cliff going through the wedding procession. They were behind schedule. Her sisters had taken too long getting ready for the rehearsal dinner. Misty glanced down at her watch, waiting at the end of the rows of chairs. They had to hurry this up. They were due to meet about fifty guests in about forty-five minutes.

She hadn't seen Ash all day. He and Brock had run off to do some last minute errand. She strongly suspected that Ash realized that he needed something decent to wear at the last minute. Typical Ash. It was one of the things about him that could really get under her skin. However, at the same time, she did find it kind of endearing, deep down.

One more day, she told herself. That's how much longer she needed to get through. One more day and she would be a married woman. She had fewer than twenty-four hours left. She could do this, she thought as the music played for her to walk down the aisle.

Ash sat next to Brock at one of the tables adorned with white linen tablecloths. He stared at the full buffet in front him, his stomach making obnoxiously loud gurgling sounds. If only he could just pick off something without anyone noticing. Just a piece of ham or something—anything to settle his stomach before the meal. He surveyed the area. It was no use. The place was teeming with wait staff as more guests started arriving. He sighed looking down at his empty plate. What good was coming here if he couldn't even indulge in the food?

He looked over at his best friend. Brock's concerns were of a different matter completely. His attentions were taken by the beautiful women who kept walking by them. They were all dressed up with their glittering jewelry and evening gowns, some of which had plunging necklines and high slits on the side. No wonder Brock was distracted. If circumstances had been different, Ash might have been as well.

The place was swarming with people, buzzing with excitement. However, everything stopped the moment she arrived. Everything went silent around him as he watched her walk past, arm linked around Rudy's. Everything about her was beautiful. She was wearing a full-length turquoise dress with strappy heels to match. Her hair was done in a fishtail braid and then secured against her plait, resulting in an intricate and elegant up-do. He hardly recognized her as the tomboy that he met when they were kids. His heart sunk a little bit when she passed them without as much as a glance.

Once the couple had settled into their place at the table reserved for the wedding party, the guests were allowed to grab food from the buffet. Ash wasted no time. He snatched a plate from the end and filled it up to the brim. Might as well get as much as he could from this, he reasoned. Misty caught a glance of him from the corner of her eye. She internally groaned. Typical Ash, she mused. At least this time, he had bothered to put on something decent. He honestly cleaned up pretty nicely. Her cheeks felt flushed as she turned away from him.

Ash returned to the table to find Brock chatting with a woman that he recognized as one of Misty's island friends. He sighed and turned to his plate, from which Pikachu had already started stealing food. Brock was his only friend here, and if he chose to ignore him all night, well Ash didn't know what he was going to do. He didn't really have anyone to talk to, and how was he meant to know which guests were actually Rudy's? It didn't seem like socializing with other guests would be a good idea, giving his current predicament. He scanned across the room, his eyes stopping at the bar on the far end. Yeah, that was it. Getting drunk seemed like a good option at this point. He got up and walked over to the bar.

"What can I get for you?" The tall blonde asked him from behind the counter.

"Your strongest drink, please."

"Somebody's ready to have a fun night," she said with a smile as she grabbed a clean glass.

"More like someone's madly in love with the bride."

"Oh," she said. She placed his drink down in front of him. "This one's on me then."

"Thanks," Ash muttered as he sat down on one of the stools and took a sip.

He stayed there for a while, ordering another drink as soon as he was finished with the previous one. He had been gone for a reasonable amount of time now. Surely Brock would have noticed by now. He looked back at their table and saw Brock trying to flirt with one of the girls, oblivious to her narrowed eyes and fingers drumming against the table. Ash sighed. Obviously, he had been wrong about that. Brock hadn't realized at all. He panned over and observed Pikachu greedily eating everything off of his plate. Some great friends he had.

He nursed his drink as the DJ started playing and people were filing onto the dance floor. He should have left the bar to find some gorgeous girl to ask to dance. He should have been doing something to move on and forget about Misty. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He watched bitterly as she and Rudy stepped onto the dance floor. The alcohol burned his throat as he couldn't keep himself from staring at the dancing pair.

This went on for nearly an hour. The alcohol was pumping through his veins. He was buzzed. Screw this. He had to do something, even if it meant punching something or someone. He couldn't just idle. He needed a distraction of some sort.

When the next song finished, he chance came. The music stopped, and the pair paused and clapped. Rudy whispered something in her ear, gave her a quick kiss, and left. Now was his chance. He slid off the chair, making a beeline for where she stood alone. His heart was hammering. He had to be swift. He didn't know why Rudy had left and how long it would be until he returned.

He waltzed over to Misty, her back turned. He reached over and tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around, her eyes widening at the sight of him.

"Ash, what are you doing?"

Ash extended his arm out. "Wanna dance?"

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea," she said.

"Why not?" he huffed. "We're still friends aren't we?"

"Oh okay," she said, wavering. "I guess one song won't hurt."

He took her hand into his own, letting the other one rest around her waist. She placed her free hand on top of his shoulder. The music began to play again as they swayed back and forth. Ash kept casting his eyes down at the floor, determined to keep her toes intact. Being a Pokemon trainer for so long didn't allow for many dance lessons. He swallowed. Other than a few times with his mother before he had even started his Pokemon journey, this was the first time he was truly dancing. The fact that it was with the girl whom he held above all others made it all the more nerve wracking.

She started wistfully out into the distance at the other couples—couples that were dancing much closer together than they. They didn't have to deal with the fear of the ramifications of getting too close together. He caught her eye for a second and she responded with a warm smile. They could be friends still. She knew that she didn't want him out of her life. They had to make it work somehow.

He needed to talk to her. Alone. She needed to know that he hadn't intended for this to go this far. She was his friend. He wanted her to be happy. That was all that really mattered to him at the end of the day. If he couldn't be the one to make her happy, he wasn't about to get in the way of the one who could.

He steered her away from the dance floor, breaking away and clasping onto her wrist. He led her to a more secluded area, hidden by a few trees which lay at the edge of the forest. He glanced around. No one seemed to take notice of them. Misty raised her eye brow. What was he doing? She was about to question him when he opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," he said, casting his eyes down.

Misty was slightly taken aback. Of all the things, she hadn't been expecting this. Maybe they would be okay after all.

"It's all right."

But it wasn't all right. Nothing about this was all right. He was longing for her. He knew that she must be longing for him too underneath all of the bull shit ideas of how her life was supposed to be. He knew—probably better than she—that she was most likely in love with the idea of Rudy. He could be that man for her. He could do everything that Rudy could and more, if she would only give him the chance.

"I—never mind …"

She faced him fully, her eyes sparkling. She was so beautiful in the moonlight. He wanted to grab her by the shoulders and kiss her with passion right then and there. It took him all of his self-restraint to not touch her in that moment. The memory of her rejecting his last advances were fresh in his mind, causing an aching tug on his heart.

"What is it, Ash? You can tell me."

"Is this what you really want?"

"Ash, we talked about this. I'm getting married."

"You don't have to, you know."

"I made a commitment," she said. "I love Rudy, Ash. I'm not going to just leave for—" she made a jester between them with her hands. "For whatever this is."

"Really, Misty? You're going to be like this?"

A frown formed on her face. "Ash, we kissed, like twice. It doesn't mean anything. You can't seriously—"

"Don't you dare deny that there's nothing here between us. I feel it and I know you do too."

"I—"

He couldn't take it anymore. He pulled her close to him. He could hear her heart beating against his chest. It was fluttering like a little bird. He pulled away slightly, hands firmly pressed on her shoulders. He gazed at her face in the moonlight. Her cheeks were bright and rosy, with a hint of shock in her eyes. Her make-up was subtle. From a distance, he would not have been able to tell that she was even wearing it. He lifted one of his arms and cupped her chin. His hand tilted as he ran it along her jaw line and one of her cheeks. He brushed his thumb against her bottom lip.

In a wave of emotions crashing against the sand, he grabbed the other side of her face and kissed her. Their lips met, pressing against each other as though they had never experienced another human being before in their lives. She pushed up against him, moving her lips. What was one more? She had this one last night of freedom to give into her desires, and she was going to make damn good use of it.

Every emotion that he had ever felt for the women in front of him was put into that kiss. Every time he set his eyes upon her and felt that everything was as it should be. Every time he had a battle and won and all he could think about was calling her. Every memory that he thought of late at night fondly and suddenly wished that she was with him then. How long had he been in love with her all along?

In a flash of lightning, he realized that with that kiss, he was also saying goodbye.

He would never have her fully. She would always be behind a glass wall—only to view, never to touch. She would never be his. There would always Rudy digging his claws into her. Even if she were to leave with Ash right now—to run away and never look back, the guilt of destroying Rudy's world as he knew it would always be hanging over her head. There was only one thing he could do. He withdrew from her, pulling his body away, stepping back.

"Ash—"

"I love you," he said as the tears began to form in her eyes. "But clearly you've chosen your path, so I'm going to have to let you go. I wish you a world full of happiness. Goodbye, Misty."

He gave her a kiss on the cheek, his lips lingering on her skin for a moment. Misty's breath caught in her throat. This was it, wasn't it? Their final goodbye. The tears that had formed in her eyes began to fall.

He walked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he went.

"Ash, wait!" she shouted. He never looked back—never hesitated. He kept on walking. It was no use. He was gone.

The tears began to flow more freely as she returned to the dance floor. She made to sneak away to the bathroom to cry it out without being seen, but she was unsuccessful. She felt someone catch her wrist as she tried to move past. She glanced up and saw that it was Rudy, concern plaguing his eyes. She stopped and he let her arm drop.

"What's the matter, Misty? Why are you crying?"

"It's nothing. Rudy forget about it—"

"It's that Ash Ketchum, isn't it? I saw you two dancing earlier," Rudy said, crossing his arms. "What did he say to you?"

"Nothing, Rudy. It's fine."

"If he said something to hurt you, I'm going to kill him."

"Rudy, don't be ridiculous—"

"I knew that guy was nothing but trouble from the moment he kept calling here asking for you years ago."

She stared at him, wide-eyed. "What are you talking about Rudy?"

"Uhhh…"

"What-are-you-talking-about?" She demanded through gritted teeth.

He said nothing, realizing his fatal error. He had never told her about all of the phone calls from an enthusiastic, but horribly oblivious raven-haired sixteen-year-old. He hadn't told her because well, he was very obviously jealous of this carefree raven-haired trainer.

"I can't believe you!" She shouted at him.

"Misty, I'm sorry—"

"How long?"

"Huh?"

"How long was he calling and you never told me?"

"I don't know. Maybe a couple of years before the asshole got the message and gave up."

"Rudy!"

"I said I was sorry!"

"Two years?"

"I'm sorry. I was jealous and an idiot, okay? It's quite clear that he's always been smitten with you, even if you both couldn't see it."

Misty stared at him in stunned silence. How could he have done this to her? Her heart sunk. She had grossly misjudged Ash. He had been trying to be in her life all along. Rudy had sabotaged her friendship with him. What kind of guy does that?

"I need some space."

"Misty—"

"No," she said firmly. "I am going for a walk to clear my head. You better not follow me or you can forget the wedding tomorrow. It's going to take a lot for me to forgive you for this."

She stormed off towards the woods never looking back. She clenched her fists, her manicured nails digging into her skin. Hot tears spilled over and onto her face. How could he have done this to her? What he did was inexcusable, and should have been unforgivable. However—

Misty sighed as she came to a ravine. She kicked a rock into the water. It fell in with a plop. She fell to the ground, not caring if her dress got dirty. She inspected her toe, which got scraped when she had decided to kick that rock. It was only bleeding slightly. She bent over and dipped her hands into the water. She cupped her hands into it and poured the water over her throbbing toe, providing some temporary relief.

She wiped her runny nose with her wrist. She leaned over and cupped water into her hands once more. She splashed it across her face, relishing the coolness it brought to her cheeks. She understood why he did it. He was jealous of Ash and of the connection they had shared as kids. But he didn't have to drive him away from her life like that! He should have known that she had stayed on Trovita for him. She had made that choice more than a decade ago.

But had his fears been unwarranted? She had done exactly what he had feared years ago, days before their wedding, in fact. Was she any better than him, betraying him and hurting not one, but two men in the process? Her stomach clenched. No, perhaps she wasn't. Maybe they deserved each other then.

What could she do then? Ash was probably gone—a lost cause. If she called off the wedding, she would break Rudy's heart, and for what? She would be alone. She shuttered. She had never been alone in her life. She wouldn't even know how to cope with all of that.

There was only one thing that she could do. She would get married to Rudy. There was nothing else she could do at this point. They would get married and work through this. They had gotten through tough times before; they could get through this, right?

She picked herself off the ground and brushed the dirt off of her dress. She walked back toward the cottage, firm in her resolve. She could see the party still going on in the distance. No one seemed to notice her absence. She thought about heading back, but decided against it in the end. She needed to just get to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

She reached the cottage, surprised to see Daisy and Brock chatting in front of the main door. They turned to face her as soon as she approached. Daisy looked at her with a certain softness in her eyes. Had they been waiting for her this entire time?

"You okay, baby sis?" Daisy asked tentatively.

"Yeah, fine," Misty muttered.

"Rudy was looking for you."

"Well I'm not looking for him," she huffed.

"Misty—"

"Just let him know that I'll see him tomorrow at the altar. Can you do that for me?"

"Yeah, sure."

Daisy strolled away in the direction of the party. At least she didn't have to face Rudy again that night. She needed the space away from him. At least for one night. One night to clear her head and walk towards the path that life had for her.

Brock was still there, teetering on his heels. What was he doing there anyway? She got why Daisy had been waiting for her, but why Brock? What did he need? Probably to let me know that Ash flew away on one of his Pokemon and never wants to see me again, she thought bitterly.

Brock cleared his throat, causing her to jump.

"About Ash," he said.

"He's gone already, isn't he?"

"Well," Brock replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Not exactly. He's back at the gym right now...but he is leaving on the first ferry tomorrow."

"I see."

"Quite a mess you've made, huh?"

"Would you lay off, Brock. This isn't easy for me either."

"Anyhoo," Brock replied. "He wanted me to give you something on his behalf."

Misty watched curiously as Brock disappeared to the backside of her house. After a minute or so, he re-emerged leading a red bicycle. Attached to the front was a bow made from golden ribbon.

Her breath caught in her throat. He didn't, did he? There was no way. There was no possible way that he had remembered after all this time. She stared at it, mouth agape, as Brock parked it, pulled out the kickstand with his foot and letting it lean against it.

"Your wedding gift," Brock said curtly.

"Ash, you wonderful idiot," she whispered, choking back tears. He did remember after all. She wasn't dreaming.

It had been her bike that had started it all. He had destroyed her first one—burnt it to a crisp. At that point forward, she had been determined to follow him around until he paid her back. Eventually, their travels ended up here, and she chose to stay with Rudy. The bike had been forgotten.

Apparently, Ash had remembered it all along.

"There's a note," Brock said, handing it over to Misty.

She took it gingerly in her hands. The word 'Misty' was written in sloppy handwriting that could only be Ash's. She slid a finger into the corner of the seal. Her finger glided across in a 'v' shape to the other side, ripping the paper in the process. She reached in and pulled out a letter written on heavy stationary. She unfolded it, revealing more of Ash's messy handwriting.

Mist,

Misty inhaled sharply at the sight of her nickname.

When I started my Pokemon journey all those years ago, I never expected to meet anyone quite like you. You saved my life (and Pikachu's) that day, but you have done so much more than that. You taught me how to have a cooler head, about strategy, and most importantly—that there is more to life than Pokemon. I would not have made it to wherever I am today if it weren't for your guidance in the beginning. I owe everything to you.

I had this plan to make this grand gesture, but I realized that you chose your path long ago, and doing that would only be selfish on my behalf. So here is my repayment to you, no strings attached. I should have done this years ago, but I guess I've always been a little late to the party, especially when it comes to my feelings for you. I love you with all of my heart. I always have, and I always will. I hope that someday when this all dies down, we can be friends again. Either way, I wish you a lifetime of health and happiness.

-Ash

She looked up from the letter, her hands shaking

"Brock, what have I done?"