I'll Take the Tears

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

So you take the smiles . . . from all of our years

. . . I'll take the tears . . .

I'll Take the Tears – Torn in Two

"I hate you Ash Ketchum," Misty Waterflower screamed at the fifteen year old Pokemon trainer before her. "I really do, I never want to see your ugly face again. You hear me!"

He scoffed at her remarks. "Don't worry, Mist', the feelings mutual," he replied still reverting to her nickname despite the unpleasantness of the whole situation. "Just go now I don't mind, you've got exactly what you wanted. You know if I never have to see your ugly mug again for the rest of my life, it will be too soon."

It all felt wrong, her words they weren't forced but they seemed unreal like they shouldn't be happening, but they were.

Misty slapped Ash across the face, she was too angry to cry about the words or even his disregard for her feelings; she was numb and she just didn't care anymore.

She had been taken over by instinct; all she wanted to do was make Ash hurt just as much as she was deep inside. But it seemed impossible for her to do so, her pain was deep and emotional that would never go away, the best she could do was inflict something physical that would hopefully leave a bruise.

But Ash was hurting just as much as she was, and not just from the slap. Her words and his own were inflicting wounds so deep that he knew that they would never heal. He didn't mean them, the words that seemed to escape his mouth with a mind of their own; he didn't mean a single one of them.

But Misty didn't know that, and it was already too late to take them back.

"Well then I guess I'll make both of us happy asshole," she replied. "God knows that that's all I've wanted to do all these years. Maybe I can travel with someone who actually has enough brains to know what he's doing."

"Go," Ash replied. "I heard Gary was looking for fresh cheerleaders - although what he'd want with a hag like you, I'd never know. I'd say good luck Misty, but frankly I just don't really give damn what you do."

Misty shot Ash a glare and pursed her lips as she pulled together her things. Togepei cried quietly in her arms as she tried her best to calm it, but all that it really wanted was for its mommy and daddy to be happy.

"Happy Birthday, Misty," she muttered to herself as she walked away from the campsite and everything that mattered in her life.

Ash watched the girl go regrettably as he searched for the strength to call her back and tried to remember when everything had just started to go wrong.

"I love you," he whispered so quietly that even those still in the campsite didn't hear his last words to the girl he loved.

He couldn't believe that his last moments with Misty, could be so bad. He knew that if she ever left it would be painful, but this; this was beyond painful. It was excruciating and all he wanted to do was lay down and die.

After all, he had no reason to live anymore. His reason had just ran out of his life, just up and left him with no one to blame but himself.

And he did.

He searched his mind, trying to recall how it had all turned so terribly wrong.

It had all started out so perfectly. He had woken Misty up bright and early before sunrise to wish her happy birthday.

"Surprise, Misty," he said as she awoke from a peaceful slumber. "I know you thought I forgot, but I didn't. Happy Birthday, Mist'."

She had been hinting at it all week trying to get him to say something so he just pretended to be the dense moron she always teased him to be and she thought this year wouldn't be any different from those when she went to her sisters in Cerulean City.

But he had remembered. He had been thinking about it for the past few months to make sure he got her something really special, something she really wanted.

He got her a bike. The electric blue 24speed that seemed to have been left behind at the campsite as a bitter memory of the girl it was supposed to belong to.

It all changed so fast and so subtly that they didn't even realise it had until they were yelling 'I hate you' at the top of their lungs.

But he didn't hate her, in fact quite the opposite. He was in love with Misty Waterflower and had been for sometime now and knew that he always would. And today he had planned to tell her that.

But then I guess that sometimes fate has a mind of its own because it seems this Ash and Misty were never meant to be.

~ to be continued ~

I'm just making slight changes now for consistency. Getting rid of the Shakespeare bit for starters, which I think was off-putting for most readers and gave a poor sense of the purpose of this story.

Please review.

Xx Kusanagi xX and Virgo Writer.