The Sun and The Moon (SatoGou)

Chapter 9

I hope nobody's mad that I'm sort of using Gary as the "villain" this time around. I wanted to switch up some of the character's roles with each other so it's not predictable since I do usually use the same characters for the same sort of things in my books. <3

Misty's hair is still damp from her after-school swimming practice when I meet up with her at a local coffee shop. She's the best swimmer in the school, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she went on to become a professional. She looks so confident and sure of herself as she walks in, pushing it back out of her face and smiling at me. Meanwhile, I can't even force myself to sit still. Under the table, my knee bounces up and down annoyingly fast.

"Hi Goh," she says, pulling out the chair opposite me and sitting down. I like Misty a lot. I just hope she isn't about to be pissed at me for bringing this up. "Why did you want to see me?"

"Hey," I say weakly. "Do you want anything? I'll order you something."

She looks surprised that I offered. "Sure," she says. "Whatever you're having."

I get up and head over to the counter to order two mochas. As I wait for them I glance over my shoulder at her, sitting with her legs crossed, typing a text to someone. I had previously misjudged her as harsh and kind of rude, but really, she's a sweet person. I just didn't know her. I do that a lot.

I place the mocha in front of her and she thanks me. My throat goes dry as I take my seat again and face her. "I want to talk to you about Gary."

Her face immediately changes. "What about him? Is he bothering you again?"

I scratch the back of my head. "Not exactly. I... saw something I shouldn't have." I pause, gauging her reaction, but she just stares at me, waiting. "Some photos."

I can tell by the way she tenses up all over that she knows which photos I mean. "Of?"

"You, Ash, Gary. Gary and Ash."

She sighs, crossing her arms, her face cold as stone again, but I don't think she's mad at me. "You know then?"

"I don't know what I know. I only saw two photos but they did say a lot." That's an understatement and a half.

"I think you do know, then," she sighs, and takes a sip of the coffee. "Is that why you asked me here? To ask if it's true?"

"No," I say, frowning. "I wanted to ask if Gary pushed you away too. If he's been doing this to a lot of people that try to get to know Ash."

She sits back in her seat and crosses her arms. "Gary is... Complicated. Growing up, he used to pick on Ash. Belittling him, poking fun, stuff like that. Ash still showed up for him everytime he needed it. That's just how Ash is. I'm not calling him a pushover, just... He wants to help people. He can't help himself. Anyway, as we grew up, their dynamic changed. Ash grew faster, got more popular, and Gary stopped teasing him, and actually seemed to respect him. The three of us were in a good place." She stares down into her mug for a second, and I see the emotion in her eyes, and wonder if I've asked something I shouldn't have. It's not fair of me to ask her to relive this.

"I'm sorry," I say. "I shouldn't have asked."

"No," she says quickly, looking back up. "It's okay. I'm actually relieved that you found out. I've kept this to myself all of these years. And, maybe it is about time I talk about this. Where was I? Oh, right. Well, it was when we were fifteen that I started to suspect Gary might have a crush on Ash. He was starting to become possessive of him. Anything Ash wanted, Gary made happen. He wanted to spend all of his time with him, and he stared at him a lot. Ash didn't even seem to notice. Then, one Easter break, Gary and Ash went to this cabin we always vacationed in that Delia owns, and didn't invite me. I didn't know until they got back, and something had changed between them."