Misty stared at the ring Ash held out in front of her. The diamond was perfect. The moment had been perfect. He was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She felt it in her heart.

"Well?" he pressed. "What do you think?"

"Yeah." She ignored the pain in her throat as she responded. "Yes, I think she'll love it."

"Perfect!" He beamed, closing the ring box and slipping it back into his pocket. Leaning forward, he gave her a quick hug. "Thanks so much, Mist!"

She stood stiff and rigid, a giant mess of confusion and insecurity. She had first heard the news from Brock, but he had assured her it was nothing to worry about. Ash was nothing but oblivious to the feelings and emotions of the opposite sex, so they were both confident nothing would come of this. But, somehow, she had cracked through that dense skull of his. Misty kicked herself for ignoring the signs and being the dense one this time around.

He gazed closely at her face, taking note of her lack of enthusiasm. "Everything okay?"

"Yep," she lied through her teeth. "Just shocked that you could care about something other than Pokemon."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," he waved her off. "I'll see you later? At the party?"

She nodded. "See you there."

"Great! Wish me luck!"