Familiar Strangers || Fire & Misty
July 24th was a day celebrated all throughout Cerulean. Whether it was because the citizens truly cared, or just saw it as another excuse to drink up. Either way, it was Misty's birthday. In fact, not just any other birthday, this year she was turning eighteen, or, as she liked to call it, "becoming a woman." A seemingly big, but not entirely all that she expected it to be, step in her life. Now she could go to clubs, stay out late without having to find an excuse, flirt with men. No, wait. She did most of those things already. Either way, it was her birthday, and she was going to party like there's no tomorrow regardless. Because after today, she believed her life was going to change drastically.
And oh, will it change.
The party was held at her parents' place, which she was all for, considering they had a large fenced in yard, providing a pool, and irreplaceable home cooking by her father on the grill. Not just people in Cerulean were invited, but anyone who was, well, anyone! Invites were sent out a month prior to make sure people had time to make preparations to come, which turns out nicely. There was a considerably big crowd consisting of Kanto and Johto League members, close friends, exes (that she was on good terms with), and close family. Good people. All except for a specific group that was pretty much obligated to come-- her sisters.
Yep, the gang was all there. The Sensational Sisters, Daisy, Violet, and Lily. And they were certainly making sure it was known that they were there. They even went the extra length to invite some of their own friends, to Misty's party. Talk about rude. They still went to fraternize with Misty's friends, if even just to spite their younger sister. Misty, however, tried to turn a blind eye to it all. This day was far too special for them to spoil. Plus, after years of tolerance, she'd become quite good at ignoring them.
Misty was spending most of her time in the pool, which wasn't much of a surprise to the guests. She had everything brought to her by the poolside. Her food, drink, even greetings in the form of hugs. Once she began to notice her skin getting a little on the pruney side, she decided it was time to get out and walk around to spend time with the non-swimmers at the party.
As she walked about, she realized her parents weren't outside, and although it was nice to be able to get away with a few things that she wouldn't be able to if they were around, it was odd. They usually liked to be a part of the festivities. Maybe they were stocking back up on food? No, the tables were full of hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and drinks for everyone. Perhaps it was just too hot for them, but they could have easily cooled off in the pool. Curiosity overwhelmed Misty, and she decided to go find out for herself, and to make sure something wasn't wrong.
She grabbed a towel, drying herself off enough to not dribble water onto the carpet then pulled the slide door open enough for her to squeeze her way inside, seeing her father leaning his back against the counter as her mother sat at the dinner table, both having concerned faces. Misty stopped just in front of the door and the wave of bad energy hit her as they both looked at her with their melancholy eyes. She reached back to grab the handle of the door as she spoke uneasily "I can go.."
"No, actually, we were just talking about you, sweetheart." Rose said, almost cutting Misty's short words off. "I think you should sit down."
Misty gave a quick nod and inched over, sitting across from her mother as Frank had a seat beside Rose, clasping his hands together in front of him on the table and flashed a tight, hardly believable smile. "We can hardly believe you're already eighteen, you know. Our youngest little girl is almost fully grown."
Misty blurted out quick laugh "Almost? I'd say I am now!"
Frank shook his head, chuckling under his breath. "You thought you were grown long before you turned eighteen, anyway. But listen, we have a few things we've been meaning to tell you that we've waited to do for far too long. It's about time we told you, since you're an 'adult' and all, right?"
Misty's expression and overall mood suddenly dropped. She was all for doing tons of adult things, but she suddenly realized that maybe she wasn't quite ready. Not for this news at least. Her parents' cheery personalities were nowhere to be found in them at the moment. The last time she had seen them like this was when her great uncle had passed. As if the dull mood of the room wasn't enough, Misty noticed a glint in her mother's eye. Rose was fighting back tears. The girl's chest began to feel tight, not knowing what to expect. Her parents had been keeping something from her for years, but what on earth was it?
Frank's hands clenched a little tighter, no longer able to look Misty in the eye, staring into the dark mahogany dining table. "You are our little girl, you know that."
Misty nodded once, although it went unseen.
------
The party outside carried on, as lively as it had been before the hostess went inside. The other three sisters were doing a good job at keeping everyone entertained with schmoozing and flirty giggles. So good that not many people noticed Misty wasn't even out there. But everyone all at once realized when she was back out, due to the screen door suddenly flinging open, Misty storming out as soon as the doorway was open, then slammed it back shut.
"Party's over! I want everyone gone! Go home!"
She was steaming with tears filling her eyes. People saw how clearly upset she was, the radio being the first thing coming to a silence. Not much was said amongst the group as they all formed a two-by-two line out of the fenced in yard. Misty waited for the crowd to disperse before leaving herself, heading back to her gym. She needed to cool down, and the best place she could think of was her own pool.
As she headed back, at first, she let go because she suspected no one was around watching, but eventually became so worked up, she didn't care if anyone could see.
How could her family lie to her like this, and for all these years?