K.I.S.S.I.N.G (Comashipping)

K.I.S.S.I.N.G

xxxxxx Ash and Pauline , sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g;
"Hey, Misty? Did you hear us or not?" Asked an irritated male voice.
Her head snaps up abruptly at the sound, and she shots a glance over towards the dark skinned boy, who was putting soup into the bowls with the help of Dawn, Ash's Sinnoh female companion.
The redhead blinked her green eyes.
"Umm... What?"
The blue haired girl heaves a theatrical sigh, clearly exasperated with her. "We said, go find Ash and Pauline. Tell them that lunch is almost ready."
"Oh...oh, yeah. Sure." She stands up from the couch, passing Serena, May, Max, Iris, Cilan, Clemont, and Bonnie as she exited the Ketchum's household, yellow and red sneakers tapping against the ground as she made her way down the street. Route 1 was her destination. She toke her time, letting her mind wander and not paying much attention to anything else.
Ash had just arrived from Kalos with Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, and... Pauline... just days before to celebrate Ash's almost-but-not-quite victory in the league. And after all, Ash always returned to Pallet eventually. Misty gives a sad smile at the thought; Ash hadn't even considered visiting her. Delia was the one who had practically forced her to make the trip from Cerulean, along with May and Max.
A sharp pain stabs her chest, but she brushes it off with a quick shake of her head.
'I'm happy for Ash. He was so close to winning,' she told her for the millionth time. 'I'm happy he got to leave and see Kalos and almost win the League, met new friends and got the chance to see...her...again.
Regardless, she was happy for Ash, really and truly, considering the last the young trainer had won anything close to this was back in the Orange Islands. Misty herself was there to see that. She remembers those days when she was traveling, instead of spending her hours at the gym with her sisters and Tracey...sure, the Cerulean City gym want terrible...but is wasn't the same. She was happiest when she was with Ash.
Ash. Speaking of him, he'd certainly matured since the last time she had seen him. He was with May and Max then, and when she saw him that time, Ash was still just as immature as she had left him when she became a gym leader. But now, she's come to notice, something's changd. Its strange, really... He barely responded when Misty teased him about the "almost" party of his victory. Instead, he rolled his eyes at her and said something along the lines of "Next time I'll win." Maybe Kalos did something to him...or maybe it had to something with Pauline...
The gym leader wrinkled her nose, wanting to smack herself in the face for thinking something as ridiculous as that. She swore she wouldn't go there, but oh, she's going there.
She couldn't help it. She was a bit (very) envious of the girl. Pauline was...well, she was gorgeous. With her long, silky, amethyst hair, eyes that matched her hair, soft healthy-looking skin, a tall figure with the right amount of curves in it, and a beautiful face, she was the exact image of beauty and perfection.
Apparently, Pauline went to Kalos to challenge the gyms there and compete in the Kalos League (which she won). When she arrived in Lumiose City, with no Pokemon except for her Froslass, she met Professor Sycamore and told her she could choose her Kalos starter.
Shocking everyone, she chose a female Fennekin. After a few weeks of training and gym battles, Fennekin evolved into Braixen, and then later into Delphox.
After winning two badges, she went to Lumiose City and met up with Sycamore again, who told her that she could pick a Kanto starter. She chose a male Squirtle.
From there, Ash and Pauline saw each other and she got to meet his new traveling companions. After a little while, they all decided that Pauline could travel with then.
Ash and Pauline are close...very close, she admits in her head, choosing her words carefully. But at the same time, it was strange. If she remembered correctly, those two were rivals and they absolutely hatred each other. But then again, she also heard that after Pauline's defeat in their battle at the Sinnoh League, they ended their unhealthy rivalry and decided to become friends.
But...it still unnerved her. It wasn't like this with May, Dawn, Iris, or Serena...and it wasn't like this when she was around either...
But then again, the others already had their respective partners.
May had Drew, her main contest rival.
Dawn had Lucas, Professor Rowen's assistant.
Iris had Cilan, who she had liked for quite a while now.
Serena had Calem, her childhood sweetheart and friend.
Bonnie had Max, May's little brother.
Even Clemont, Bonnie's brother, had someone. And that someone was Korrina, the Shalour Gym leader.
But Misty...well...she had no one.
...Wherever. She's art Route 1 now, green eyes scanning for two familiar figures. Ash wanted to show Pauline some of the local Pokemon, and they had run off just an hour before. They said they weren't going to venture any further into Kanto, but, Misty realizes as she walls around, they're nowhere to be found. Hmm, maybe she should head on up to Viridian and take a look around, just to make sure---
That's when she hears it. His voice. From above...? Oh. They're in a tree.
She moves around around a little until Misty can see them but they can't see her. Ash was still wearing his Kalos traveling clothes while Pauline was wearing a tank top made out of a thick white fabric, black short shorts, black fashionable running shoes, and a mega bracelet on her wrist.
Ash looked really pale and nervous, sweating bullets as he looked at the purple haired girl. Said girl was looking at him with a curious expression on her face as she petted the Eevee that was resting on her lap.
"There you two are..." But she trails off, because he's not talking to her. He's talking to Pauline...
"H-hey, listen."
"Yeah?" Pauline asked. Something tells her she should turn, turn and run back all the way to the Ketchum household...
"I-I...need to tell you something..." Misty's eyes are wide now.
"Yes?"
"I...u-uh..."
Her heart stops beating. What...? H-he couldn't possibly be...
No. No, it can't be. This was Ash freaking Ketchum she was talking about here. Same old dense-as-a-rock Ash Ketchum.
He won't say it.
But then the next words are falling from his lips, and she's only heard a little bit, but her eyes are closing together very tightly and she's clasping firm palms over her ears before the rest of his sentence can invade them. She can't liston to this, because she knows what he's going to say. He's going to say those same words she's only dream of, those same words she's hoped and wished and prayed he would say to her one day...
So she ruins. She'll just tell Brock and the others that she couldn't find them.
////
Xxxxx first comes love;
Ash Ketchum has returned from his journey.
The very words are everywhere she looks; as she picked up a copy of some local newspaper, "KANTO TRAINER BECOMES POKEMON MATTER" glare in big block letters amongst tiny scattered print. Even his face is everywhere. He's brown eyes are sparkling on a PokeTrainer magazine a person carelessly tossed on a bench. She leans down to take it, but when she looks up into the window of a nearby store, she immediately takes note of the hats for sale: they are the current trademark cap of Kanto's beloved new idol. There's a long legged girl in there trying one on hesitantly, face red, almost reminding Misty of herself. The magazine and newspaper fall from her hands, forgotten.
Two young boys'chatter float into earshot.
"Did you see Ash Ketchum best Cynthia of Sinnoh and Diantha of Kalos?" One of them says eagerly.
The other one is just as exuberant. "No, I missed it! He beat them? Woah, Ketchum's amazing!"
"Totally! I want to be a Pokemon Master just like him..."
Misty squeezes her eyes shut.
She ignores the empty feeling that cloaks her whenever someone says his name. Pays no attention to the way her hand trembles when he so much as speaks to her, which had happened a lot ever since he returned home. It initially puzzled her that she was even being spoken to, especially when the other girl was around, but, hmmph. Misty then put two and two together and came to the conclusion that he was feeling guilty for neglecting her all those years, and now wants to compensate for his sins with small talk.
She told her eyes. Idiot.
Two days later, when the doorbell rings and its him, asking politely for a spare fishing lure (did he lose her special one after all these years...?), she knows she's gone crazy. Because despite her harsh words, despite her tough exterior, when she saw him outside the window she could hear her heartbreak quicken and saw confession scenes playing out in her mind. He was going to drop to a knee, admit his lifelong attraction to her, and beg for her hands in marriage...she was sure of it.
Except she wasn't. Beside of course that didn't happen, and she hands over what he needs with a blank expression. He turns and leaves with a lifeless "goodbye" to seal the deal, while she brokenly shuts the dirt and crumpled into a heap on the ground.
Misty is a complete and utter wreck, torn apart by some fool of a man that won't reciprocate-let alone acknowledge- her feelings. Every time he does something little sweet, or touches her in the littlest way, or does anything that yanks her heartstrings, he falls into Pauline's arms at the very end. Every goddamn time.
"It's always been Pauline." She mutters shortly after she's regained herself, sprawled across the couch with the magazine she saw on the bench earlier. As soon as she says it, she knows the truth the statement holds. The words leave an ugly aftertaste on her tongue.
There was nothing special about the amethyst haired girl. After all, Pauline was just another girl, just another traveling companion. Misty was the first. She was special. Right?
But that was just wishful thinking. Of course Misty's fears came true. She always had the worst luck. A few months later after he achieved his life time goal,.Ash started making regular trips to Sinnoh. Not Cerulean City. Sinnoh, to Veilstone City, to see Pauline.
Because he loved even then.
As if to just send Misty into a spiraling pit of depression, she flips the page of the gossip magazine she's reading only to see the cursed purple haired trainer smiling at her secret crush with her slim arms around his neck with Ash's strong arms around her curvy waist. "Dating rumors are flying after Ash Ketchum, Pokemon Master, was spotted with Pauline Harris, winner of Kalos and Sinnoh League also winner of the Grand Festival of said regions..." the captions reads, but she can't bear to go any further.
The redhead swears violently as she sends the magazine flying (just like those dating rumors! She adds bitterly) into the trash bin.
////
Xxxx then comes marriage;
It's...perfect.
She spins, relishing the feeling of fabric floating lazily along with her. A smile graces her lips as she tests it out again, whirling in a full circle, staring down at her body in awe as the white sparkly ocean fans out.
The dress was absolutely gorgeous. It was a High-low beaded chiffon with cross back halter long dress featuring flowing chiffon with a subtle high-low effect. The bust was decorated with a mixture of clear and multi-toned stones and it was in the color of polished ivory. The whole dressed glowed a faint layer of silver, similar to the rays of the moon.
Just wearing it made Misty feel like she was a princess, even though the dress once belonged to a princess. Apparently, Princess Salvia, Dawn's look alike, gave this to the bride as a wedding gift since the bride was having trouble picking a wedding dress along with a bride's bouquet of garcidea flowers. In return, Salvia was invited to the wedding.
It really was perfect. It's almost as if it actually belonged to her. Which it should...it definitely should...
"Misty? Are you in here? Are you in your bridesmaid dress yet?" A muffled voice interrupted her hazy fantasy.
Pauline's wedding dress falls limp beneath her and her heart meets her stomach; she was to lost in herself to hear Serena enter the dressing room...how long had the other girl been there? Whatever, she didn't see a thing, and Misty thanks Arceus that the honey haired girl failed to catch her twirling around in someone else's bridal gown.
Back to real life now. "U-uh, almost," she calls out reassuringly, taking the beautiful wedding dress off, hurriedly picking it up off the ground and places it back to where she found it...on that hanger full of dresses, right behind her very own bridesmaid dress. Bridesmaid. The weird his her like a ton of bricks all over again.
"Ok, well, Pauline's almost finished with her hair and makeup, so we'll be the first people to see it!" She hears the other girl burst out in excitement.
Misty tries not to sound too irritable. "I wouldn't count on it. You know the others are going to be here as soon as they can." That, for one, is completely true.
'No one can resist the chance to "ooh" and "aah" over the bride,' she thought spitefully.
Despite her angry thoughts, she slipped into her real dress; it was...pink. Didn't Pauline know that redheads look absolutely horrible in pink?
"Alright, I'm ready!" She yelled out to Serena. But the honey haired women wasn't looking at her, because she has entered the room.
"Oh...oh, Pauline. You look so beautiful," Serena breathing in wonderment, and the amethyst haired women's cheeks turn a delightful pink. Misty couldn't help but note that pink is much more flattering on Pauline than on her.
Pauline looked gorgeous. A lot more gorgeous than before.
"You really think so?" She asked and her maid-of-honor nods eagerly.
"Of course!"
At that moment, the rest of the bridesmaids stumble in, just as Misty predicted. May, Dawn, Iris, Bonnie, Korrina, Maylene, all pretty in pink, immediately showered Pauline with complements and hugs and cooing and, certainly not for the first time, Misty feels envious of her.
"Will some of you help me put on my dress?" Pauline asked then, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "I doubt I can put it on myself without messing up all this." She explains, motioning to the elaborate purple curls neatly piled atop her head.
"Sure. Hey Misty, can you get the dress?"
And suddenly they all turn their heads to smile at her, the girl standing in the corner watching Pauline's perfect life from a distance...the redhead's tempted to say no, but would that too out-of-character for someone who's not jealous? Because they can never know the truth. She'll take it to her grave.
A seconds worth of a pause, and then---"...Mmmhmm." And her stomach sinks as she hands the dress-- the dress that she should be wearing-- of to the bride-- the bride that should be her.
////
"Hey Misty, do you want to dance?"
"No, thanks. Not right now." She waves him off. Whoever he is, it doesn't matter. He will never be him.
Misty, let's go get some cake!" Iris, who has momentarily tamed her wild hair, pesters her, tugging a little at her hand.
"No, thanks."
"Are you sure?" A green haired man in a messy suit pipes up from behind her. "I'll get you something," Cilan offers gentlemanly.
"I'm fine, thank you."
"...Ok. Let's go, Iris." He says finally, taking his purple haired fiancé's hand and leading her away and towards the other girls, who where dancing with their own fiancés. Misty's sharp eyes pick up the faint pink tint that glows on Iris's face, and she smothers a scream. Damm it, why?! Couldn't everyone stop being so freaking in love?! She tears her eyes away from the scene, instead focusing on the carpet, lost in her own thoughts.
Eventually, another being prods her, but she shakes her head at the faceless person, too. Because the redhead's busy. Busy fantasizing that this is her wedding, this is her reception, that if her diamond ring on Pauline's dainty little finger, and, most importantly, that Ash was her husband. All hers. As it should be.
She's having a flashback then...a time when all was well and all WAS as it should be.
"Look at those two argue...like a married couple, eh?"
"Certainly they'll be a couple one day. Oh, I can see it now..."
She remembers how pleased she was when she heard those words exchanged by Delia Ketchum and Professor Oak. She was crouching by the door, ears pressing close to the wood. She grinned for days.
"They're lovebirds!" The Team Rocket Meowth's words melt over the former scene, and suddenly she's seeing herself, a lanky tomboy in shorts and suspenders. She sees the capped boy next to her, watches as she and Ash duck their heads, red staining their faces as soon as they hear his words.
But it was all wrong. Everything had changed...
The lighthearted music quickly turns into a slow-dance, as if to represent the change itself.
And to her absolute horror, which she hides well behind a mask of indifference, the bride and the groom made their way over to the dance floor. They smiled and giggled and looked into each other's eyes...all drugged up by love.
The redhead makes a face. They're the real lovebirds, and she's a wallflower, she realizes, as everyone keeps on dancing as if nothing's wrong.
"But EVERYTHING'S wrong," She tells herself again as tests threaten to break free; but she can't let it show. So she chokes back a sob as she lets a blur--is it Tracey?-- take her hand.
Xxxxx then comes a baby in a baby carriage;
Misty loves the baby.
The way he coos when she tickles his feet...how he gurgles in delight as she pulls a funny face at him...her eyes dance and she tries to hold back her giggles.
"You'd look much better better with red hair," She murmurs to the child, tugging at a strand of Pauline's purple hair, and beaming as Ash's brown eyes stare at her as she talks.
The baby was absolutely gorgeous and looked exactly like...like his mother. He had his mother's silky purple hair, soft pale skin, and face. The only difference were the eyes. The eyes that were exactly like his father's. Just by looking at him, you could tell that he was Pauline's and Ash's.
But...
This child should be hers.
She's wasted her while life fawning after his father, so she's had a lot of time to think. This child should have red hair, her skin, and her face. She knew that this is a fact with every fiber in her being. It was always Misty and Ash. Always, always, always. And this child should represent that...but no. The truth is staring at her coldly. The truth that life didn't turn out the way it was supposed to, and that destiny, in fact, was a big fat lie made up by some lonely broad probably similar to herself.
Now, every time Misty sees purple, she feels compelled to stab something.
"Misty...? Are you in here?"
She snaps out of her dazed state, whirling around, staring blankly back at the very person who breaks her heart on a daily basis.
"Oh, um...Ash. What do you want?" She says awkwardly.
"Just checking to see if you had the baby," He answers, and she watches his face light up at the word. He's so happy. She's so miserable. This can't be happening.
"I'm... happy for you," Misty manages, feigning a smile. Ash replies with a dazzling grin of his own, and the redhead has to blink the stars from her eyes.
"Thanks," He says, and he means it. "I feel like...everything's so perfect, you know? Everything's worked out... awesomely." A part of her old self cringes at his use of adjective, but her new shell-of-a-person cannot get past the fact that he just said everything was perfect.
Perfect.
Prefect.
She's been silent for too long. She sees Ash's face change into an expression of concern. "Misty, is there...something wrong?"
Something breaks inside her then. She can't help it. Her voice is drenched in sugar with a very large helping of poison when she says, "Nope, everything's perfect! Butterflies and sunshine and shit, you know?" Because he is really that much of an imbecile if he can't see the way she's feeling right now.
And he just called it "perfect".
How the hell did the guy expect her to react? But he jumps back, as if stunned. The words slowly buzz in his mind before he can wrap his head around what she just spit out.
"What's your problem?" He demands then. Typical Ash, getting angry because he doesn't understand.
She feels suppressed fury, rage, building up, crawling up her throat and out her mouth. Typical Misty, doing things without thinking.
"What's my problem? What's my PROBLEM?"
The fuming woman steps forward, jabbing a hard finger into his chest. She has to look up at him to flower into his brown eyes; Ash had caught up to and even passed her height a while ago. It had initially pleased her, as they finally looked like a couple, but none of that matters anymore. The fact that she thought the stars had painted a path for them to follow, a trail that would lead up to happiness for the both of them, had withered away along with her self-control.
She regains her furious composure, and yells, finger pressing into his chest with every syllable.
"My problem is, buddy, that I've spent my whole life being so in love with you, and yet you don't even reject me properly! NO! Instead, you choose to show off your perfect little life right in my face, which is completely worse!"
Ash's angry expression folks within itself, and now shock is the only thing on his face. Eyes wide, mouth agape, staring at her.
"Say something!" She screeches. "I've waited at least eleven years, might as well start talking!"
He's silent for a few moments more, still dumbstruck. Then he shakes his head, as if to clear his thoughts, before sputtering a weak apology.
The redhead looks at him in disbelief.
"What?"
"I-I said... 's-sorry."
...Arceus help her. Take her soul and send her deep into the fiery pits of Hell, where she could live in internal damnation. She'd still be happier, so much happier, than she was right now.
Rather than taking out a knife and stabbing black, rather than purple like she planned, Misty just laughs and laughs and laughs in way that leaves of the man across from her shaking in fear.
"My... whole... life..." she blurts out amidst uncontrollable laughter, "spent... on complete... fool..." She throws her head back, leaving a trail of bright red hair that looked like fire from Hell. "HA! HA-HA!"
The hysteria-strained words race out of her lips and send a sword through Ash's stomach. His eyes are so wide she can picture them falling right out of the socket. The mental image only makes her laugh even harder, before suddenly she stops.
She makes sure not to forget to punch him squarely in the face before leaving Ash Ketchum's life and slamming the door behind her.