Equanimity Chapter 14: Week Eleven
May called Ash, which was weird. Also, she apparently wasn't aware of the time difference, because she called in the middle of a really good dream, and Ash was drowsy, half asleep, and convinced it was Misty calling; not May.
"Mis-May?" he regurgitated when the brunettes voice echoed through the speaker.
His surprise when May's voice bellowed from the other end of the phone was endless, and he blinked tiredly.
Have you seen Max? Is he doing okay? Was her opening line, in a shushed, whisper of a voice. Ash replied to the best of his ability. It had been a few weeks since he last saw the blue-haired trainer, but he was fine. Last he checked. May ended the opening conversation with a short rant about how he hasn't called her, and Ash remained silent...Was he supposed to say something? Max was almost an adult now; she needed to give him some breathing room.
Then unexpectedly, she hammered Ash, that's right, she asked Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, for relationship advice.
"Uhh... am I the most qualified person you know for this?" He questioned, glancing at his digital clock, and stroking the length of his face; it was only a quarter after five, what in the world did she want at this hour?
"Well, I was going to ask Dawn, but she's currently dominating in the Johto region, and Misty won't pick up her phone."
"You too?" he scoffed, having been unable to reach the redhead the last four days.
"Besides, I was going to ask Brock, but he does that whole gushing thing and then depression, and I don't really want someone to make a big deal out of this..."
While she rambled her reasons away Ash removed his phone from his cheek, looked down at the advanced touch screen, and clicked speaker while she vented about why she couldn't call someone else. That she was whispering because her parents were crazy, and she was home in Petalburg for the first time in years and was going nuts. Ash took the opportunity to shoot a message to Misty.
Hey, you haven't called in awhile; what's up? He text her, clicked the speaker button, then placed the receiver back to his ear.
"...So the reason I'm asking you is because you're the only one of our friends that has dealt with your parent about the whole relationship, thing, you know? You have first hand experience."
Ash snorted. "I wouldn't call it first hand experience."
"Ash, your mom loves Misty. She had no problem at all with Serena or Misty; you have to tell me your secret."
At the reminder that he brought Serena home first, Ash pinched the bridge of his nose and then laid back in his bed. "I don't know? My mom was probably just excited I was bringing a girl home at all." Ash deduced, recalling Delia's happiness with Serena, followed by the exuding joy when he told her about Misty. Weirdly enough she didn't care that he switched in quite literally three days-she was happy if Ash was happy.
...Though, he hadn't brought Misty over officially since they started dating, either. Plus, Delia knew Misty since he was a kid—the situation was all different, and he tried his best to explain that to May.
"That doesn't help!" She shrieked, then covered her mouth. "My parents want to meet Drew."
"..so?" Ash asked, clearly missing the point.
"My parents are crazy, Ash. My mom has already picked out a wedding dress, and my dad has been contemplating which knife he's going to use to cut him open for not asking him before we started dating."
"...Oh, that's rough." Ash then chuckled, making light of what was clearly a very serious situation. "For once, I'm glad Misty doesn't have parents." Ash muttered, though May swore.
"She has sisters, that's worse. When Max starts dating, he's going to have hell with me."
Panic filled into Ash's chest, recalling Misty telling him that she had an 'eye opening' conversation the other day, and he shot forward in his bed. "What do you mean hell?"
"Simply that. I'm going to scare off everyone he tries to date." May said nonchalantly. "But that's not the point, I need help now. Give me some advice."
"...Uh." Ash started, wracking his brain—he thought first what Misty would say: Just be himself, but Drew had a way of coming off pretentious and snooty, so he scratched that idea, and then followed up with some bold advice from Brock.
"Speak when spoken to, and she's always right." Ash echoed Brock's long lost advice, and May inhaled.
"But I'm not always right, and my dad isn't going to talk, he going to stare him down, Ash."
Flustered, Ash scratched his head. "Well, damn May, I don't know. I'm still trying to figure out my relationship let alone my mom and her sisters! I haven't even thought about that stuff yet!"
"Well you should! It's terrifying!" Needing to change the subject from such a serious tone, Ash rubbed his face.
"Why are you home anyways? Weren't you in Hoenn?" Ash questioned loudly, waking pikachu who was asleep on the make-shift bed of Ash's clothes on the dresser across from them. Home and asking him hard questions and putting seeds of doubt in his mind. When do other people's opinions matter in a relationship? Her parents will be happy if she's happy—that's how it's supposed to work, right? Surely that's how Misty's sisters would also work...right? Why was he suddenly thinking about Misty's sisters?
"I'm taking a break from contests." May announced. "Just.. for a little while."
Ash swallowed, drawn to the conversation of pokemon much more than relationship talk. "Oh? How come?"
"I'm just not feeling it anymore. I haven't won since last year, even after I win the match." May explained, and Ash pursed his lips.
"Maybe you should try to battle instead? You have a great team for it." Ash assured her. May smacked her lips, and cocked her head to one side, checking down the hall for her sleeping parents.
"You think so?"
"Yeah, it's always good to try different things; maybe you're stuck because you don't remember why you fell in love with contests in the first place?" Ash questioned her, and May paused for a long time.
"Well, even though you give horrible relationship advice, your pokemon training tips are still on point; maybe all this champion stuff is paying off." May mocked, then snorted. "Sensei Ash."
"Shut up." Ash snorted, rolling his legs off the side of his bed. "Can I go back to bed now?"
"Oh, I forgot about the time change, I'm sorry!" May shrieked. "Thanks again, I'll talk to you later."
"Bye, May." Then she ended the call.
Left to his own silence, he tossed his phone onto he night stand, and glared at the clock. It was too late to go back to bed, and too early to get up; so, he opted for a shower. With pikachu's head dipped low once more with the conversation between old friends over, Ash stripped out of his pajamas; which were essentially boxers and a white tank top, and climbed into the shower were his forehead hit the wall.
Ash didn't care that the water was cold at first, that it needed a good five minutes before it heated up. He was used to the hotel room to the point it had become something like a second home. When he went to new towns, they even held the room for him so he wouldn't have to keep moving his items. Perks of being the regional champion, he supposed. When was he going to bu a house? People kept asking him. After the tournament, his first victory as a league champion, he didn't leave Lumoise City. He was trapped there, filing papers and attending meetings in preparation of the start of the next league.
Since Kalos was a mega-evolution country, the league was a bit harder to join than the likes of Kanto, so the area was far more prestigious and organized. At least, this was what Ash was told upon becoming champion. He had to work harder because the entire league was better than everyone else. What a way of thinking!
However, such a mindset meant his pay was outrageous. When Ash first arrived in Kalos eleven weeks ago, he never imagined the salary he would make during a single month would break his bank account—if he wanted to, he could pay off his mother's house so she could quit that part time job at the flower shop. If possible, he could buy a house of his own! Instead, Ash spent most of his money on food and luxury items; like a collection of master balls, the newest pokedex, several kinds of pokemon potions, and of course, plane ticket money for his dearly departed.
He opened his eyes when the water drizzled down his face and back, warming finally. Misty most likely worked twice as hard as he did working at the gym, for only a fraction of his pay check—he, of course, never told her how much he made, because he never wanted her to date him for that. Not that she would, they were of course already dating, but Ash saw what money could do to women; ask Gary's fan girls, and newly, Ash's fan girls. They went nuts!
Sighing, Ash washed his growing hair, and body, then stepped out of the shower. He was never one for long thoughts under the spray of water, but the steam relaxed his sore muscles. However, since he stopped traveling all the time, his body was never sore anymore, except when he sat in a stuffy office room for six hours; then his butt hurt a lot.
Then again, according to her most recent voicemail, she was working longer hours to help Daisy pay for the wedding, and trying to also get out of the debt her sisters put the gym in. What right did he have to complain? Maybe her could make an anonymous donation? Did Misty want the help? Or would she punch him in the face for even suggesting it?
He hated not knowing! And he would know if he could see her, but of course, since his last cancellation; it was like she was avoiding him. That was some advice he should have given to May, don't make promises to see each other, because neither will keep it!
...whoa, did that just come from him? He rubbed his neck at the volatile thought and then glanced down at the floor of the bathroom before getting dressed. No more thinking. Ash moved from the bathroom, shut the lights off, and collapsed on the bed, thinking of the early morning, and rest of the day that remained.
He was supposed to see her in Kanto—the first time since they started dating; well, aside from the time he canceled before the league meeting.. but, that didn't count, did it? She sounded so upset last time. Why don't you ever visit me echoed through his brain and he buried his face into the pillow. Ash never visited people, that wasn't his thing. People usually came to him, this whole situation was different and he was still getting used to it. Now toppled with the busy work of being a champion, he simply didn't feel comfortable leaving the region. What if something happened while he was away?
Groaning, Ash mindlessly pawed for the remote control on the night stand, and clicked on the television to Battle Royals, the Kalos region battle channel. When his mind wouldn't settle, he would watch the most recent top-tier battles to ease his mind.
That was one thing he wasn't getting used to; constantly thinking about Misty, his actions, and his relationship. His brain, which was once full of pokemon tactics, battle specs, and strategy, was now a mess of business protocol, hormones, Kalos league regulations, impure thoughts and, is...was that Gary?
Ash sat forward and clicked the volume button, during a news cast break: Misty was in the headlines. Only, not because of Ash but because of... Was that Gary Oak?! Ash's mind yelled at him, staring down the image of what appeared to be Misty walking with the pokemon researcher. He didn't care what the news presenter was saying—something about assisting in research, but after listening to his constant threat of 'affairs' whenever he was in the public eye, he knew there must have been more to the story than that.
Ash's mind glared red while he grabbed his phone. First, he needed to think rationally; this was Misty, after all; there was no way she was going to cheat on Ash. They had that stupid childhood, former rivals, love-thing going on, and according to Brock, such a relationship was unbreakable. But...she has been screening his calls; was she mad at him? Was she avoiding conversation in order to soften the inevitable blow?
Ash's breath stopped, and he clicked her familiar number, and tried calling her once; but it went straight to voice mail.
"Misty, when you get this, give me a call back? Is everything going well? We haven't talked in awhile." Ash spoke into the mic, then ended the call; how odd a feeling. Ash spent four years without speaking to her at all; and now he could barely go four days? He was clearly something else, or needed intense psycho therapy.
Agitated and watching the muted television play images of a dolled up Misty in front of the Cerulean City gym only made him more worried. What was she getting dressed up for? Misty only got dressed up when she was, well, never usually! Oh man, screw phone calls—he was going to Cerulean City right now!
For the first time since earning his position as champion, he didn't care if some kind of punishment followed his absence. He might have been acting crazy, but, he wasn't going to let Gary weasel in between them—because that's what he was probably doing, right?! Looking for an opening, when Misty was at her lowest.
Deep down, Ash must have known that Misty was feeling insecure, because his own insecurities flared up like like the common cold during winter,
"Pikachu, wake up!" Ash shouted, tugging on his sneakers and buckling his belt. The mouse yawned unhappily, watching his trainer frantically dress himself. Already, the short blurb about Misty had passed, leaving pikachu with no clue of what was happening. The mouse twitched, tapped his small claws on the dresser and made his way to Ash who yanked on his hat, and tugged on a blue light coat.
"...cha?" the mouse questioned.
"We're going to Cerulean City."
"...pi...? Pikachu pi!" The mouse cheered, realizing the connection between going to Cerulean City, they were finally going to visit Misty, and the mouse couldn't have been more excited because it jumped onto Ash's shoulder and cheered.
They were leaving now. Right now. A quarter to 6:00am. He wasn't supposed to leave until midnight, but damn it. He was going now.
Once he grabbed his door knob, the unforgettable sound of snoring penetrated the hard wood door, and Ash looked worriedly at pikachu. Was someone asleep outside of his door? Sometimes his fans became a little rowdy, which led to having to lock his things up on a regular basis, but Ash squared his shoulders in preparation, then with a strong inhale, he tugged open the door, to reveal lavender hair spilling into the bedroom.
Followed by swearing, and drunken slurs.
"...James?" Ash questioned aloud, watching the man's green eyes open, then close, then shoot open. He was on his feet, albeit, wobbly and falling into the door frame and wall, but he was on his feet none-the-less.
"Listen 'ere twerp!" James hiccuped, slamming his fist against the wall. Ash took a full step back. Now that he was older, James was only a few inches taller, but drunk, James looked much more threatening, mostly because he smelled of piss and vomit, and Ash wanted neither of those anywhere near him.
"I..." James started, his voice cracking. That shrill cry came, then the flood of tears, and suddenly he was barreling towards Ash, crying. "Jessie left me!" he screamed, tackling Ash and pikachu. The three of them fell to the floor with a sharp thud, and Ash let out a deep cry of frustration when James snotty tears were rubbed into his shoulder.
"Ugh!" Ash whined, feeling the wetness through his clothes.
"She and Meowth, they both left and I-" he sniffled, "Don't know what to dooooO!" he whined, his words meshing together. Ash didn't understand him, he was concentrated on getting the man off of him before anything else—the last time he saw Team Rocket they were still up to their no-good tricks! Now this? What in the hell was going on?
With a great deal of effort, Ash escaped James with the help of pikachu, who handed Ash a pillow to slip beneath the lavender haired man. Once there, Ash immediately removed his light jacket and threw it as far away from him as possible. It shared the same stench as James, and Ash felt the need to shower again; several times. Then again, that might have been the pungent stench oozing from the drunken Team Rocket member.
Ash never thought he would say it, but he missed when they would repeat the same motto everyday over this. What was he supposed to do? Ash had never taken care of a drunk person before! ...but he knew someone who has.
Then, as if the heaven's opened up to give him an answer, his phone rang in his back pocket, and he reached in to see the ever-wonderful name of his girlfriend and he swiped to answer, leaving James whining, and muttering under his breath. The door was wide open, so while Ash exited the small room south to stand in the balcony, pikachu swung the front door closed.
"Good morning!" Misty cheered into the phone; her happy voice calming Ash instantly. "Did you sleep well?"
"Well, ah, I slept okay." Ash spoke worriedly, glancing through the closed glass window to look at James, who, aside from the shuddering of his shoulders, didn't move.
"It's been...sort of a weird morning though."
"Oh?" Misty questioned. "Have you finally accepted what puberty will do to you? You're not running away from a little morning sturdiness are ya'?" She teased in a very blissful tone, rather than the tired, defeated Misty of the last few weeks. She sounded invigorated and happy. On the other hand, Ash was beyond frazzled.
"Misty!" Ash snapped, red faced. "That's not it at all!" She giggled at his response, knowing him better than that, but he wasn't going to give her anything.
Inhaling, he began. "May called early this morning, asking for relationship advice." he figured starting from the beginning would be safest.
"...Why? Did something happen with Drew?" her playful tone died down, replaced instead with worry.
"No, her parents are crazy." Ash said quickly, pacing the balcony. "Then, I saw you on the television with Gary!" His voice was accidentally accusatory, but luckily for him, Misty was in a playful mood.
"What about it?" she challenged, and he could imagine just the way her eyes would quirk.
He accepted her challenge with a strangled tone. "Why don't you tell me?"
"Oh, relax." She sighed. "It's just Gary. Besides, he was only helping for a day. He's been gone for the last two weeks—somewhere far away in Johto, I'd imagine."
"Oh." Had it really taken Ash that long to hear about this news? Whatever help Gary was offering.
"Mmhm." Misty hummed, and Ash could hear her rolling her eyes.
"Anyways!" He snapped embarrassingly. "I was, well, err. I was on my way to the airport when you wouldn't believe me if I told you..." Ash looked back in at James, who had started wailing his problems to pikachu, who pathetically pat the man on the head. Ash blinked, terrified, then stared down at the streets of Lumiose below his tenth story hotel room. "James is drunk, and sleeping on my floor."
She snorted. "pfft, what? You're joking right?"
"No." his tone was try. He couldn't sound more serious if he tried.
"Look, Ash, if you're too busy to come down, you can just say so." She tried, though that familiar strain pulled on her vocals and he shook his head.
"That's not it! I'm still coming." He told her quickly. "It's just that... James is here. On my floor. I don't know what to do. I think he's drunk? And he smells like pee."
A long pause followed, as if Misty was trying to decide to believe him or not. Ash was, after all, the master of excuses—and he was even better at selling them. However, after a time, she decided to receive his complaint.
"Alright, what's he saying?"
"I don't know. It's some kind of drunk mumbo jumbo. He's talking to pikachu right now..." Ash watched and Misty sighed.
"...Really, Ash?"
"No, listen!" then he held the phone through a crack in the door.
"...It's not fair, we've been after you for so long and you escape us. It's not faiiiiiirrr." James whined, sniffling grossly through mucus build up. Loud enough so Misty could hear.
"... pika..." The mouse offered, patting his head while he whined into the pillow, staining it with the sins of his tears. Ash returned the phone, shut the balcony door once more, and tucked the phone to his ear.
"Help?" He asked sincerely, and Misty opened her mouth, then closed it.
"Is this was you wanted to talk to me about before?" She asked instead, and Ash shook his head violently.
"No, this just happened."
Her voice paused, "oh."
"Yeah..." He inhaled. "What should I do?"
"I would call hotel security. He's not supposed to be in there, is he?"
"Uhh.." Ahs looked in, realizing that the man had stopped moving, and his face scrunched up. "He's not moving anymore."
"Is Jessie there? They might be trying to trick you or something." With that in mind, he moved inside again, keeping his voice low while he checked James, using his foot to move him back and forth. He passed out. Pikachu looked at Ash with confusion and worry and Ash shrugged.
"No... I don't think so. I think he said Jessie left him or something. Besides, he's really out cold now." Ash said, lifting James arm and letting it fall back down like a limp noodle.
"..Oh no..." Misty started. "Poor guy... He might need to visit a hospital if he's drank too much. Maybe you should call security and the ambulance?"
"Yeah, but Misty, he's a member of Team Rocket, and he's still wearing the uniform; they'll put him in jail."
"...Okay... what's bad about that?" Misty questioned, still remembering their betrayal that resulted in her being tied to a chair on a ship a few months ago.
"They're not bad people!" Ash offered. "They...well, you know. They have done a lot for us."
"Chu!" The mouse spoke in agreement; and it was true. Team Rocket became more of a running gag, a comfortable blanket to remind Ash he was moving forward in his life. They were there since the beginning, and even though they didn't always get along, they were sort of friends and companions.
"I know. But he could be really sick." Misty offered quietly, albeit, worriedly.
He wasn't going to call security, or the ambulance. No, he was going to use Misty's expertise for once. "Well, walk me through it."
"Can you lift him?"
"Greninja and I might." Ash muttered, fetching the pokeball.
"If you can move him safely, put him in the bathtub." Misty ordered.
"What, why?" Ash asked, astonished—what if he wanted to use that after this?
"Because that way if he throws up, it's not on carpet—plus, you can run cold water on him. Also, if he might have alcohol poisoning, so you're going to want to keep an eye on him and keep him on his side." Misty spoke, as if it were the most natural thought process in the world to have.
Ash snorted. "What's the difference?"
"If he has it, he's not going to move much; if not, he'll probably start spewing nonsense again. It's just to be safe. I still think you should just call someone." she said, but Ash scoffed at her, held the phone between his shoulder and cheek like his mom did when he was a kid, then after calling out greninja, they lifted the man from the floor—still clutching the white pillow—and carried him into the bathroom. He fell into the tub with a loud thud that rang into the phone and Misty yelped.
"Don't drop him!" Misty screamed. "You'll give him brain damage."
"I didn't drop him." Ash argued, and pat greninja on the shoulder before smiling and recalling him. "What now?"
"I don't know. Wait until he wakes up?" Misty suggested, wracking her brain. "Is he breathing?
"Yes." Ash said naturally.
"Throwing up?"
"No." his eyebrows rose.
"Then he should be fine. Just let him sleep this off. If he starts acting funny, turn the cold water tap on. And if you won't call an ambulance, at least call me." Her tone was low, scolding him; which made him smile.
"...Are you sure?" Ash smiled, brushing his fingers through his hair.
Recalling her time spent drunk, she snorted. "I'm sure."
"Sissy, we need to head to the department store, and you have an interview in thirty minutes, let's go!" It was Daisy's voice, the valley girl accent he would never forget.
"An interview?" Ash asked, and Misty sounded a bit flustered, yelling back at her sister and muffling her phone's mic.
"Yeah," Was all she managed for a response, and while Ash left the bathroom to take a seat on his bed, he could hear her closing up the gym with a pop and then a lock.
"What for?"
"Oh, I'm applying to host a tournament here. That's what I had Gary in town for, he vouched for me."
"Pffth. I could have vouched for you." Ash snorted, shaking his head as if calling Gary was super-unnecessary.
Then, with a hushed, annoyed tone from her sisters yelling at her, she said: "You'd have to be here in person to do that."
"...oh." Ash said quietly. "Why didn't you tell me about it?"
"It was sort of a last minute decision. You know, trying to rebuild my reputation and such." Misty explained shortly, swatting her sisters hands away from her phone. Ash knew, because he could hear slapping, and cursing. He tried to stay focused.
"What's wrong with your reputation?" Ash asked, he had no idea about the attacks Misty faced daily because of his decision to start dating her, being the heart throb that he was. Kalos didn't advertise that she was being harassed. Misty licked her lips and then smacked them.
"Oh. Nothing, it's just for some extra money, too, since I'm the one technically paying for my sisters wedding and all. Daisy, let go of my-" Once again, the urge to offer his assistance ran through him, but he bit his tongue, trying to hold his laughter in.
"Is that why you've been so busy?"
"Well, that and I'm remodeling the gym. I finally squeezed the league into giving me a league subsidiary to repair the water system. Get this, I'm installing an outdoor pool." her voice ended in a happy note that made his worries amplify.
Ash was ashamed he didn't know any of this. "..That's...great." he managed weakly, a bit envious of her sudden growth.
"Isn't it? Anyways, I do have to get going; you'll be okay?"
"Yeah, I should be."
"Great, I will see you sometime tomorrow then!" However, a dull sensation impeded his heart and his gnawed on his lower lip.
"wait!" he shouted, hearing her stall. Do your sisters like me? Are they causing hell? May mentioned something about sisters being crazy... the thoughts flooded his system, but instead of rattling them out: "Can I call you later?"
She hesitated. "...Yeah, I guess so, if you want. If you're not busy."
"Okay. I...will see you around then?" He cleared his throat, suddenly finding it hard to breath.
Nonchalantly, she replied: "Yep, talk to you later."
A pause, she didn't have the phone near her ear anymore when she yelled at Daisy to bring the car around the front not the back. Ash's lips curled downward; what was tthis feeling?
"I love you...?" he added surprising himself with the confession; he was always the worst at throwing the word around. If he couldn't show her his feelings, he always hoped to tell her. That way, they would never have a misunderstanding like last time, because he did love her. Even if he could never do anything else right.
"Me, too! Anyways, I'll talk to you later, kay? Bye!" Misty said quickly, then her voice was gone.
Me, too. Ash echoed in his mind, listening to the sound of James finally coming back into consciousness, throwing his arms around in a drunken, stewing panic, and sounds of puking.
Misty never said it back, did she?
XOXs
Over the next few hours; he sent her thirteen text messages, and one video message. He spent the better part of the morning torturing James. He was complaining of a headache, and Ash and pikachu drew on his face and put his hair in pig tails. They took a picture of it, and sent it to Misty, who didn't reply.
Whatever she was doing, she must have been busy. He wondered if this was how she felt when he never answered. It wasn't very often that Ash didn't have much to do, so given the opportunity, he was kind of hoping he could have spent the day lazing around with Misty; but, they were at different points in life, when Ash wasn't busy, she was, apparently.
At some point, James moved from the bathtub, to humping the toilet, and Ash sat at the edge of the bathtub to talk with James. Ash was bored, and pikachu was busy playing a game on his phone—mostly to prevent him from sending anymore text messages to Misty, but also because he liked to slice at pretend flying fruit.
"You know..." James finally croaked, the first coherent word the man muttered since arriving at Ash's door six hours ago.
"We were a family." He expressed, face resting on the toilet seat. "You, me, Jessie, Meowth and I." Ash counted on his fingers James' mistake, but chose not to say anything as the man continued.
"You were the annoying, bratty child, and Jessie and I were the uncles. Meowth and pikachu were our children." He sniffled, and Ash nodded, not quite following along, but it beat watching the news.
"We were in love, all of us." he cried, whining to himself.
"...I don't think so." Ash rephrased, suddenly wigged out by James expression.
"I never thought she would go, you know? And when she did, I thought it would be for a day, or two. She's never been gone longer than a week." James whined, and Ash suddenly realized it wasn't them he was talking about, it was Jessie specifically. James was using everyone else as a buffer.
He wheezed, blowing out a foul stench from his mouth. "It's been four weeks!" he whined, throwing himself onto Ash's knees. The boy panicked, and against his better judgment, pat James on the head before the man fell comatose to the floor, writhing.
"I thought she would realize we are nothing without each other; but then... but then... she began preforming again, and now she's a hair stylist at the Grand de Motel for the loveliest men and women in Kalos. She didn't need us after all."
Before Ash could speak, James grabbed both of his hands, and looked into Ash's brown eyes, his own filling with tears. "Have you ever been in love?" He asked, and Ash's stomach leaped from his core to his heart, to his throat and he looked away.
"Never let go of it! Never!" James whined, rubbing snot into Ash's jeans while slumping back to the floor and crying loudly. This might be the first time Ash ever gets a noise complaint from the hotel's other guest, he thought while curiously thinking of Misty.
Me, too, echoed once more in his mind, and he felt undeniably uncomfortable; trying to recall the last time Misty said it.
The only time he could remember was seven weeks ago; the night he never showed up to a fancy party that, according to her, made her look pathetic, and weak, and a laughing stock. After that, it was literally the last time they saw each other; before the small spats; but now she seemed distant and that worried him. He wasn't used to her being busy; but she always had been, hadn't she? That's how the gym managed to grow so much in the first place, how her entire life fell into line and she became the battler that she is. She worked as hard as Ash did, this wasn't something new.
...but why did he feel like she was slipping away?
XOXs
Since Ash had nothing better to do than sit in his hotel room, he and James had a bonding moment once he was sober enough to eat, relax, and stop throwing up everywhere. Ash even let James borrow some of his real pajamas so he wouldn't be in that sweaty, stinky Team Rocket uniform—oh, and pikachu forced him into the shower; Ash wasn't getting anywhere near that.
Like brothers, James laid hopeless on the right side of the king size bed, pikachu took point, and Ash was on the left side. They flipped through the battle channels, mocked some 'reality' television, and had a legitimate heart to heart.
"I feel like Misty is outgrowing me." Ash blurted out somewhere between Journey stories and the weather update.
"It always feels like that." James replied, not helping out at all. Ash's face grew darker.
"It's just that she has been so distant and moody lately. We don't get to see each other and..."
"Long distance relationships don't work." James interrupted Ash quickly, shaking his head. "One of you is never willing to sacrifice what they have, so both suffer. It doesn't work. I'm sorry, the red-head is as good as gone the moment some other nice, promising boy shows up."
Clearly, James was bitter, and at this rate, Ash was going to be too.
"...Gary was in town with her a few weeks ago... I feel like she might see him more than me." Ash let his insecurities spill out. "I feel a little selfish that we're so far a part, and I'm so stressed out all the time..."
"It never gets any easier."
"Are you intentionally trying to make me feel worse?" Ash snapped, looking at James who shrugged.
"I'm evil!" He tried, though he was not convincing. Noticing that Ash was clearly unimpressed with his statement, James added: "I'm devastated, why are you telling a hung-over man your problems anyways; don't you have a million friends you can talk to?"
"Misty is the one I would usually talk to." Ash explained, glancing away from James and back to the television.
Dawn was on the news again, she was ripping through Johto like a plague she was the first non official top-coordinator to be offered a position in the advanced tournaments, and while Ash was very proud, he often wondered what she called Misty away for—did that allude to Misty's deterioration? Or was it all in Ash's head?
When the duo wasn't watching the news network, they were catching up on chic flicks they told their 'girlfriends' that they hated, but secretly enjoyed, and eating as much room-service food as humanly possible. James was a glutton, for good reason; he skipped dinners for about a week, in favor of the all-you-can-drink alcohol benefits. An anxious Ash watched the clock like a hawk. He was to be on the plane by midnight, it was 8:00pm now, and he only had a few more hours to make it before he could finally see Misty and maybe straighten out the weird feelings he was getting.
Aside from the occasional grunt from James, and a sigh from Ash; they didn't have anything to talk about. On the outside, and inside, they were still enemies. Sort of. Enemies sharing a bowl of popcorn while James cried over the death of the husband in "P.S. I love you" and Ash was still trying to figure out how he planned everything—what dying man had time for that?
Then, half after, his phone started to ring, and naturally convinced that it was Misty; Ash answered without a second thought.
"Hello?" Ash answered, but it wasn't Misty, it was his boss.
"You didn't attend your meetings today, Mr. Ketchum"
"...yeah, I know. I had today off for holiday." Ash explained, sitting forward. He could feel a headache coming on.
"Uhmm, right." She sounded sarcastic. "I was calling to let you know that you have the annual Kalos region league party tomorrow at 5:00pm, and you must be in attendance as the league champion."
"What?!" Ash gasped. "What does that mean?! I told you guys I was taking this weekend off!"
"I'm sorry, I don't have any record of that..."
"That's not my fault, I'm not going!"
"Sir, they're hiring new gym leaders and crowning top performers. You have to attend. It's your duty." her voice was cold, and unforgiving. Natural for the secretary.
"No way." Ash argued. "The whole league doesn't give me nearly enough time to plan for a life outside of my job."
"If your life outside of your job is so important, perhaps you should consider resigning?" she snapped, but Ash couldn't do that—he was no quitter! He ground his teeth together, and clutched the bed sheets while James and pikachu stared at him with worried glances. What was that favorite phrase Misty used?
"Blow it out of your rear-end." Ash cleaned up the language, hanging up the phone and tucking it away. Shortly after, the buzzing was endless from the secretary attempting to call him back. He wasn't answering, and he knew damn well he couldn't be fired so her calling was just to make idle, lifeless threats.
"Sounds like it was pretty serious." James muttered, throwing back another sweet tart while pikachu exhaled and pat Ash on the thigh in support.
"Serious? Very serious. I have to cancel on Misty again!" Ash bellowed. "Or play hooky at some stupid party."
"Play hooky." James said quickly. "No party will ever be more important than your girl." he spoke modestly, the first real advice James offered him that night. Ash's face scrunched up.
"But I can't just stop my life to suit hers." Ash gasped, flabbergasted from James' response. He shrugged.
"You don't have to all the time—just every once in awhile, you need to bite the bullet—or something. Least that's what I have heard. Not like it worked for me." He said dryly, frowning, and looking down at his hands. Ash's eyebrows knit up worriedly, and as if the decision needed to be made right away, Misty started calling.
"Man, do you really think I should bail on the annual Kalos region league party?" Ash asked, to which James suddenly sat up.
"No!" He gasped. "Heavens no! That's almost as huge as royalty; you have to go." He said, changing his tune immediately, though that didn't help Ash's case. Besides, Ash's mind was already made up. He wasn't going to cancel on Misty again.
"No, James, I think you were right before-"
"Screw what I said before!" he inturpted, his voice shrill. "Jessie will be at that party! You have to go, and you have to take me with you!" He elaborated, striking the cord in Ash that was 'do good for others' and Ash was no longer so sure.
"...You can't meet her anywhere else?" Ash wondered, and James shook his head. Jessie was considered 'upper-class' right now, and James was, well, he was wearing Ash's pikachu pants; he was clearly a few ranks lower.
"I don't know James... Misty could be really.." Ash's voice was unsure, staring down at the ringing phone. Misty was always so good; knowing that Ash would get busy and take long periods to get to his phone, she would wait for him—because he never checked his voicemail.
"Then you hand that phone to me right now and I will personally vouch for you!" James lunged at him, and Ash jumped out of his bed, and held up his hand to James to stop him.
"Its...fine. Just. Stay there." Ash mellowed, dodging around the bed to the balcony, where he pulled open the door, and slammed it shut behind him. Pikachu and James being who they were, weren't going to give him 'privacy', no, no, they followed him to the door, ducked behind the curtained side while Ash answered Misty.
"...Hey." He squeaked, and a yawning Misty answered.
"Hey." She responded. "You never called, so I thought I would and see how everything with James went?"
Ash peered behind him, seeing James and pikachu spying behind them, and started to wave them off unhappily.
"They're uh.." he watched them slowly go back to the bed, and lowered his voice. "He's still here."
"Oh?" Misty chuckled, sounding overly amused. "You're too nice, Ash." She said and Ash couldn't phrase how right she was about that. It was impossible for Ash to say no to anyone; well, aside from Misty. He was getting really good at that, apparently. Zoning out, he forgot to make a reply while looking down at the dark, busy streets.
"So...look. I'm sorry for not calling as often, it's just been really, really busy here lately." Misty explained. "But I am really excited to see you tonight—well, it'll technically be tomorrow, won't it?" She asked, and Ash let out a loud sigh and his forehead hit the metal railing.
She knew long before he said anything, because if it wasn't the clear, greatly depressed sigh, it was the continuous banging from hitting his head on the railing.
"...Oh." Misty sounded depressed, hitting Ash with the finisher that made him snap up, grip the railing, and change his mind—he knew James needed help; but damn it, he needed to think about himself, too!
"Oh what? I'm excited to see you, too." Ash lied through his teeth, cursing at himself. He was too weak! Just tell her the truth! He pinched the bridge of his nose, and forced his mouth closed while spinning back to the door, where he saw James and pikachu once more, and then hit the window fitfully with his knuckles to scare them off.
"O-oh! Sorry, I was just expecting, well; never mind!" She laughed nervously, and Ash felt a small piece of himself break off, wither, then die.
"Cancel? Again? Naaahhh." Ash forced, and the lie was over; he had been caught. Misty could smell bullshit from a million miles away.
"You're lying." she said flatly, and Ash's shoulders slumped.
"The league called—the annual Kalos region league party is tomorrow." Ash tried to explain, but Misty sighed. He could hear her fall backwards onto her bed, which in his mind, he imagined was very comfortable—but he never made it that far. He didn't even know what her apartment looked like. For all he knew, she had some ugly green couch.
"You can't just blow it off?" She asked, and for a moment, Ash thought to call her selfish, but he was considering it himself; so was it really a selfish request?
"No, not this one. Unfortunately." He offered, hoping the idea that he would blow it off would ease her mind—but thus far, he hadn't blown off anything else, so why would she believe Ash would ever break the rules?
"Of course." She blew out air, drawing a long sigh.
"Don't sound so down about it." Ash let slip, accidentally jarring Misty's emotional button, which was not to be touched. She didn't like 'sadness' to be called out, because she quickly shielded it with anger.
"And why not? It's not like this hasn't happened before." She accused, temper flaring.
Desperately, Ash tried to defuse the situation. "I know—but, Mist, it's not like I'm not trying; and besides, I can't control what they throw at me."
"You have a calendar, don't you? Check it." She snarled, and Ash sighed. It wasn't that simple! Doesn't she get it!?
"Misty. I love you, but you can be so infuriating. I'm trying." Ash offered his best condolences, but misty snapped.
"I'm infuriating?" She argued, her 4:00am tone slipping. She clearly hadn't gone to bed yet, and so now Ash only felt worse. More than likely, she stayed up waiting for him to call again, and he had been so distracted talking with James, that he forgot about it. Well, not that he forgot; he was just eagerly waiting to get on the plane and out of this place for awhile.
"Ash, when was the last time you saw me? It's been three months, and I am the only one who has taken any leaps in any direction."
"Well, we were just fine not seeing each other for four years!" The words snapped from his mouth before he could reel them back in, and he immediately regret such a thing. It was a topic he knew Misty was still sore about, it was partially the reason he was supposed to be the one visiting this weekend, and the effect was not fruitless.
"You're right." Misty agreed, and usually, a more dim-witted, inexperienced Ash in this field would have been happy to know that she finally agreed with him, but now that they pushed that first barrier down, when she was upset reflected highly in her tone of voice. Mainly, in the way it would crack.
"I... didn't mean it like that, it's just—Jessie's there, and James needs to go, and..." He tried to ramble off, but Misty already shut down on her end.
"It's fine, I think you're right. It might be better if we just stop trying to plan things. We're no good at it."
His mouth opened, then closed, and he shook his head. "Why don't you just come here for the weekend, you can be my date to this stupid party and everything will be okay." He tried, but Misty bit down hard on her lip.
"...I better not." She answered, and now Ash was frustrated.
"Why not? What do you want from me?!" he shouted. "I offer you a solution and you don't want it; I try to fix it and it's not good enough; Mist, I'm going crazy! Just tell me what you want from me!" he yelled into the phone and for a long time, Misty remained silent. Beside the glass window, both James and pikachu looked generally concerned for Ash's well being, and a bit guilty.
Finally she responded. "...I don't know."
And Ash could have thrown his stupid, life-ruining phone down the balcony, to the end few the street, where it would explode into a small little pile of screws and smoke!
"I'm sorry I make you feel that way. It just reinforces the idea that I think we shouldn't be planning things out like this. Clearly, this weekend thing isn't working and..."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Ash managed, rubbing his head and cutting her off; he didn't want to listen to her rephrase everything that's been going on; he knows that it hasn't been working, he didn't need that reminder.
"I wish I could tell you that." She responded maturely, and Ash threw his head back. At least if she was angry he knew that she still cared about the situation—when she was calm like this, Ash didn't know what to think. He understood happiness, anger, and sadness; but this was like mental warfare; even if it wasn't intentional.
"Misty..." He groaned, feeling mixed up inside, like someone stuck a blender in his stomach and turned it on max.
"We can still talk on the phone, but I think it would be better if we take the pressure off of meeting." She added, and while Ash agreed he replayed James's advice about long distance relationships and he didn't want to go without seeing her.
"Like you said, we didn't see each other for four years, and we're fine; so what's a few months...or so." Misty added, trying to make herself feel better, but Ash wasn't quite there. He inhaled.
"Because it is different now." he said quietly, barely above a whisper. It was shocking to hear himself say that, but even more shocking for Misty to hear.
"...Ash, let's just stop here, and think about this over night, okay? I'll give you call tomorrow." Misty mused as politely as she could manage. Misty wasn't stupid and she was far from terrible enough not to hear the pain behind Ash's words. This wasn't the best start to a relationship between them, that much they both knew, and if they kept going down this path then...
"Take James to that party, do what you need to do for the league, and then call me back after you're done, alright? We'll talk more after we've cleared our heads." Misty offered, and he hated this new mature side of her—but he adored it, too. She was trying. They were trying. But he still felt like crap.
"Are you mad..?" He croaked finally, and Misty let out a strangle laugh.
"Furious." Misty said nonchalantly. "But I do get it, I promise. But I will still get mad. It's just apart of the territory." Misty told him quietly, and Ash felt a huge wave of relief.
"Do you feel bad?" She followed up.
With a sigh, Ash said; "Yes."
"Well don't. It took years for you to reach this goal; don't stress out so much and actually enjoy yourself." Misty offered, and while she didn't say it; he knew behind her words she meant: Don't let me be the reason you can't enjoy basking in your well-deserved victory.
"I won't." He answered, and then after another pause, the last of their conversation; she inhaled.
"Alright, then I will talk with you tomorrow then. Get some sleep, and let me know how things go."
"I will. Don't let Daisy tell you anything weird." Ash murmured, recalling May's advice.
Misty snickered. "I won't."
Then he waited for the words to come, but they never did.
"...Bye?" She asked, trying to end the call, but Ash stubbornly remained on the line.
"Why don't you ever say it first?"
"...Say what?" Misty blinked her confusion. Ash's voice dropped a few octaves, suddenly very away with how red his face was.
"That you love me?" Saying it, he sounded like a spoiled, inconsiderate brat of a child, and Misty noted that, by snorting.
"That I love you? Do I have to say it all the time?" she questioned, and Ash's eyes fidgeted left to right.
Clearing his throat, he said: "Well...no, but it's just nice to hear." since they couldn't, well, Ash rubbed his temples.
"You know my feelings about it, as well as my feelings for you. Besides, I only say it when I mean it."
"...But don't you?"
Ash wasn't the smartest when it came to relationships, he was certainly far from the brainiest romantic partner—but he knew that it shouldn't have taken her so long to answer, the hesitation was like a physical upper cut.
"Yes, of course." She finally managed, broken from her stupor.
"You hesitated." Ash called her out, and a frustrated growl returned from her end.
"Ash, don't be such a girl." she snarled
"I'm not! I just don't think it should be that hard of a question!"
"I'm hanging up now, get some sleep."
"But-" "I love you, okay? Don't get weird about it." Misty finally offered her voice cracking from embarrassment, taking her jabs, but still, it felt so forced in Ash's ears.
"I love you, too." He awkwardly stumbled out, and then Misty exhaled. Why did he care so much?! What a stupid thing to be upset about! What was wrong with him?
"Okay, so I'll talk to you later then. Good night."
"..'night." Then she jerked the phone away, and ended the call without another word.
Meanwhile, Ash stood at the balcony, staring down the Lumiose city never ending traffic and exhaling. Misty made him so crazy, if it was humanly possible to suffer from every imaginable emotion at the same time while talking to a human being, that's what Ash felt when he was talking to Misty. When they were in person; this was a non-issue, what Misty couldn't, or wouldn't say, she would show him.
Ash never thought he would be the one saying it, but when it came to speaking and talking about their emotions; he was way better at it than her! Misty was dodgy, and gave half-truths and avoided certain topics; when she wasn't comfortable, she would shut down, and damn it, she could get mad at him all she wanted—but if Ash wasn't told what was expected of him, how was he supposed to know? Was he supposed to guess?
Groaning, Ash quietly reminisced how simple his life was only a few short months ago, and wondered if it was possible to roll back time just to the point right before he won the league. He was almost at the point where he would have sacrificed his victory if it meant getting his innocent, boyhood sanity back.
"How'd it go?" James wondered while sliding the balcony door open, his face scrunched up with pikachu attached to his shoulder. Ash whipped his head at James.
"You owe me big time." Ash warned him, stepping past James and into his room. Somehow, he was going to have this all sorted out by tomorrow when he and Misty were supposed to talk again!
Author's Note:
Poor Ash. ;w; It's always something, isn't it? -pats the fictional characters head-
Personally, I think Ash and James would kind of a bro-understanding if one of the other ever showed up at their door drunk and incapacitated. I also think Ash and James would watch embarrassing movies together that both would deny; and totally share a 'bonding' moment, that if it was brought up later, would totally deny. I thought it was funny, May and James putting little worms of doubt in Ash's head. Distance does weird things to people!
Just part of my "TR isn't really evil, they're just silly" mind set -shot-
Also, things get messy from here. -spreads mess-
See you soon!
NINT
