Last time...

After they got the Wobbuffet in exchange for their tickets, Teari and Tracey come to the table where they came across three smiling teens. Well, Tracey did anyway. Teari was kinda hidden behind her enormous prize.

"What's up?" Tracey asked his friends.

"The sky." Said Misty.

"The ceiling." Said Brock.

"Oxygen, mixed with other elements." Said Ember, who earned laughs from all around.

~

"But seriously, what have y'all been up to?" Teari asked, setting down her Wobbuffet before sliding into the booth seat, purposefully bumping into Tracey. "Bump!" She childishly grinned, before scooting over so he'd have room.

"Well..." Misty started, hoping that either Ember or Brock will pick up that she didn't want them to know what had happened.

"We've just been playing games." Ember smiled.

"We didn't really get enough tickets to get something worthwhile, so we didn't get anything. That's all." Brock mentioned, hoping to steer away from the previous subject.

"Oh really now, Brock." Teari accused, Tracey soon mimicking her aura as he shared the same smirk.

Misty's reaction was surprised once she saw his face turn red. It was priceless once she realized that Ember was blushing too.

"Don't think we didn't notice." Teari taunted them, getting an unsure response from Misty, but you could tell that if whatever suspicions she had were true, she'd have a reaction.

"Holding hands when Misty looked the other way." Tracey threw in.

"Gigging." Teari added.

"You guys were WHAT!?" Misty fumed, although the surprise in her voice overpowered her anger, disbelieving it all.

Brock and Ember had no comment. They were blushing messes.

"Holding hands." Teari repeated what Tracey already said. "When you looked away." She grinned.

"You mean, to tell me, that Ember actually fell for his flirting!" Misty exclaimed with utter disbelief, as if they were actually lying to her.

"Shut up!" Ember squeaked, which is extremely uncharacteristic of her, as she clutched her knees to her chest and hid her face. "It's not like that!" She shouted, sounding like she was about ready to let tears fall if provoked.

Though Teari very much enjoyed it when she was bothering them when it was funny, but now she was nervous. Please don't let them have seen it! I really hope that she didn't see it and I really, really, really, really hope she won't get back at me... at us... for teasing them... Teari thought. Oh Arceus! What have I done! She's going to tell! She's going to tell!

"What do you mean it's not like that!?" Misty yelled, not even close to helping the situation. "That's all Brock has ever done! Flirt with almost every pretty girl he mets that he has at least a 15% chance with! That's the way it's always been like with him! Flirt! Flirt! Flirt!"

By now, you could see Ember shattering with every claim that barks out of Misty's mouth, her lips quivering. Teari and Tracey were frozen with guilt and anger, but couldn't find it in them to stop her. All they wanted to do was tease and embarrass them, not break them.

"It's the way it's always been! Brock the hopeless flirt! Joy after Joy! Jenny after Jenny-!"

"MISTY, THAT'S ENOUGH!"

They all stared at him, frightened. Misty's face was pale with fear and shock. Tracey and Teari's were stunned. His tone was deep and angry, locking their attention at his absolute hatred toward her. No one but him dared to move when he brought Ember closer to him in a protective manner, who clung to him through her sobbing. Brock's looks that were ready to kill were stabbing daggers at Misty, as if she were a wicked sorceress that poisoned his princess. Broadly, he glared at them all and made sure his message was understood by focusing his sight straight through Misty's eyes.

"People can change, Misty. Many things can cause that change. Even to the most egotistical of us, or even the most flirtatious. They can change. Even if it's aways been the same thing for that person. Things that are important to someone can make them change—I've never found a Nurse Joy or an Officer Jenny that was more important to me than what to make for breakfast, because they were everywhere—I wouldn't change because of them—Some changes are because of an event that made someone realize that they needed to change. Sometimes it's because they're growing up and can't think for themselves—But when I say that I've decided to change my flirtatious ways, I mean it, and I owe it all to Ember. She is the most beautiful girl I've ever met and I can't think of myself being with anyone but her, and I love her with all my heart—I don't give a Shinx about us only knowing each other for less than 12 hours, I love her more than every Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny combined."

His tone was lashing out out them, but meaningful. Misty could no longer return his gaze. She wanted to stab herself repeatedly, cause she figured that it couldn't be much worse than how she felt right now. She wanted to jump off a cliff and just die in a pit than face her own guilt. She felt so stupid and so f**king guilty for assuming that Ember stupidly fell for him instead of rejoicing for him that he found someone to love him back. She prayed that he was done with teaching her the lesson. And she prayed to hard.

Brock moved to the other two attackers.

"To think, here I was thinking that you two would understand exactly what I was talking about. A kiss after about 2 weeks of finally reuniting after 4 years apart."

Teari stopped inhaling her current intake of air. Her core both shattered and sunk. She wasn't sure which way to go. She had been struck by more than one dagger from his words. Especially the way he said it. With distaste, disappointment, disgust. Like it was a bad thing that she kissed the boy she loved and cried for 4 years, every time she picked up his old pencil, saw a photo of them together, and every time she watched the children outside her window... smiling... playing... laughing... while she couldn't do a thing about it. She wanted to sink into a pit of her memories of the dark times that she had to face. She wondered why it was that horrible... to show a small sign of the feelings that grew in their time apart. She loves him, and couldn't help but let Brock's words stab her heart. Not to mention the realization that they knew what she did.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves." Brock scolded one last time before standing up with Ember and walking away.

They looked down at the floor, as they listened to them walk away, wincing when they heard Ember's cries and sobs. There was no way they weren't getting unwanted attention by now, but they didn't care.

There was an unwelcome silence around them all, as they keep their own thoughts to themselves. Hurt was the only thing stopping them from going off at each other. They could tell that no matter what the other two they were feeling was because of Brock and their own regrets. They knew that they couldn't take anything back now. They went over the line, and he made sure they knew that, and went over theirs.

They knew that it wasn't Brock's fault. They knew that Brock was only defending for Ember from Misty, because she went over the line.

Misty thought it was her fault, but Teari and Tracey knew that she was just overreacting and couldn't stop herself until it was too late.

Teari thought it was her fault because she engaged it into conversation and continued being smug about when she learned that Misty didn't even suspect it, but Tracey knew that it wasn't her fault that Misty reacted the way she did, and knew that Misty regretted what she has done and felt like a horrible person.

Tracey on the other hand, knew that if anyone was to blame for what happened, it was him. He was the one that joined in with Teari when she started to accuse Brock and Ember about the secrecy of their relationship. He was the one that helped Teari when he should've stopped her, but couldn't because of his own selfish and childish reasons to be appreciated by his best friend that already does. He was the one that didn't stop them, and he was the one that let it happen.

Tracey knew that it was his fault. He was a bystander. Even though he felt it was his fault, he knew that they were blaming themselves and that they needed someone to listen to them. He knew that they believed that they're the ones responsible for this, and were thinking awful things about themselves. Then he realized... that he was the one designated to help them, because universally speaking, he was the least likely one to be blamed and hurt from this. But another realization that came to him... he could only choose one of them. Sure, he'd pick Teari first and foremost, but he realized... that no one would comfort Misty. The only other people who could comfort her, are the ones who at mad at her.

She was always used to being comforted by Tracey because of how often he came over to the Gym. He was always there for her when she thought of how much she missed Ash. If Tracey never met Teari, he thought that he would probably get a crush on her.

Tracey raised his head slightly, to see that they were both silently crying to themselves, when he noticed the wet streaks on his own cheeks. He looked up at Teari, who barely moved.

After about a minute, she looked back at him. When he saw her red, puffy eyes, her soft quivering lips, her nose withholding no snot, letting it run down her upper lip, and her tear stained face, he froze completely. Seeing her so vulnerable like this, broke something inside of him, but he couldn't understand why.

It never hurt him like this when he took care of Misty or anybody else... only when they were younger was it like this. Back then, when it came to girls crying, Teari was the only girl, the only person even, that he really cared about.

Teari saw how he looked at her, and died on the inside. The way Tracey looked to her, scared her. He looked like he was shocked, hurt, broken. She didn't know what it meant. She was confused and scared, and mistook it for disappointment.

Before enough time passed, Teari broke their gaze and sped away from him, and ran into the closest bathroom she could find. She didn't even care if she ran into the boy's room.

Tracey called out her name, but it was no use. His hand outstretched too late and missed her wrist. She was gone.

His heart clenched inside of him as he watched him return his hand slowly and put it to his chest. He couldn't hold back his sobs as he heard hers through the door of the family restroom that she ended up in.

He felt someone's arms wrap around his shoulders from behind and scoot beside him, resting their head on his shoulder gently. It was Misty. Tracey accepted her embrace and continued sobbing. He could hear Misty's quiet sobs from behind him as well, but couldn't think of anything other than the hurt in Teari's eyes.

He saw the painful strike in her heart when she looked at him before she ran. The moment played back in his head over and over again, only for the hurt and pain to intensify the choking of his lungs.

How did I do this to her?

Why did she look at me like that?

Why was she hurt?

Why did she look hurt when she looked at me?

Why did she run from me?

How did this happened to us?

How will we fix this?

Will she ever want to see me again?

"Tracey..."

He looked behind him to his left, to see that Misty had stopped crying, and instead had hurt in her eyes as well, but it seemed distant, like the hurt wasn't her own. Her frown showed longing, but again, it seemed distant and seemed to tell that she wasn't being selfish. She seemed like she was about to make a sacrifice. So Tracey listened, as if to bring all the pieces together to find out why she was this way. Misty took in a deep breath and tried her best to show a reassuring appearance.

"...go to her."

Tracey looked at her weirdly. His thoughts became cloudy and foggy in his head.

"But-"

"I'll be okay, Tracey." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I promise..."

"N-no... no you won't. Y-y-you'll-"

"I'll be fine, Tracey." Misty reassured, softening her voice as best she could. "The thing that's hurting me the most is seeing you go through even more pain... I can't begin to imagine what you are thinking to yourself..."

Tracey's thoughts seemed to fade away, to focus his brain to gather and remember this new side of Misty. Every word seemed to come from someone else, someone... with wisdom... and... such maturity... that it didn't seem like her at all.

"...but whatever it is, it hurts you more than my understanding... and I know that no matter how many times you tell yourself that only you know what you're feeling inside... there will always be someone else that is telling them self the same thing..."

Tracey listened to what she said, and tried to think about what she meant.

"...Tracey... I can't bare myself seeing you two splitting apart from each other... The more she's in there by herself, the more she wishes that this never happened..." Misty paused, and spoke to Tracey in the eye. "...and the more she'll put this on herself, and she'll over think the consequences..." She paused again, letting it all sink through. "...Tracey, she'll think she's let you down..."

He frowned, and let his heart sink to the floor.

"No... she doesn't feel that way about me... I-I'm not... that important to her."

"Even if she doesn't know it yet, it's still true, Tracey. She needs you! And every second you're wasting not being in there with her, is another second you're allowing her heart to break!" Misty replied, urgently. "I hate seeing you guys falling apart like this because of me. Just tell her you love her already, will you?" She pleaded, making it sound like she was asking him if he would.

Tracey didn't know what to say. It seemed to him that Misty really did care a lot about his relationship with Teari. He guessed that she had every right to be involved, because of how he's pretty much an open book to her, and has heard everything from the first time they met, to the last time he saw her before she moved away. Misty was always interested in what he had to say about his past, which made him feel better. But now, it seemed like she was trying to pay him back for all that he had done for her. It seemed, to him, that she was giving him relationship advice, and how to patch up the mishaps, and perhaps, encouraging him to strengthen his bond with her...

He considered it, and with a new sense of preparation, he replied to her with, "I will, I promise," nodding with a determined look in his eyes, and in his heart.

~

NEEEEEUUUUUWWWWW!!

Cliffhanger!!

Here I leave you with a heartbreaking chapter and cliffhanger, and that's all I really have to say other than vote and comment!

So I'll leave now before you all kill me.

~Teari Howl't!

P.S.~ PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! THE CLIFFHANGER WAS GOING TO BE MUCH WORSE, SO YOU BETTER BE THANKFUL THAT I MAY JUST GO AHEAD AND POST THE NEXT CHAPTER REAL SOON!!