The Feminist Challenge

Chapter 15: New feeling

Misty was never going to forgive Ash for getting her into this huge mess.

She was going to make him regret this, and he was going to see—yes, she was going to show him.

The redhead sighed. She was at the mall, waiting for her new friends to show up. They were to meet at the mentioned coffee shop. Misty was at the entrance.

"Hey! You must be Misty!"

The redhead turned around. She smiled instantly, trying to give good impression.

"Yes."

"I'm Chloe! Nice to meet you, finally!" Chloe shook Misty's hand violently. She was giggling like a little child.

"I'm Stella." Stella snatched Misty's hand from Chloe's grip. "Nice to meet you."

"Where is this Misty—oh, it's you. Oh my. She's a redhead. I can't believe my eyes."

"Mom." Stella scolded.

Misty's gaze shifted to the older woman. She instantly smiled at her, trying, once again, to give a good impression. "Hi, I'm Delia, Ash's mother. You're not a travel nurse, are you? Those never get married."

Chloe gasped. Stella glared at her mother. "Mom, get inside. We'll join you."

"Fine. My feet are killing me anyway. I need to sit down." Delia rolled her eyes and got inside the coffee shop.

"Sorry, she wasn't supposed to come, but when she heard we were going to meet you she came running to Cerulean." Chloe said with a slight frown. Well, Ash has told Misty it was going to be just his two sisters.

"It's alright..."

Stella huffed. "I'm going to have a bad day."

Chloe bit her lip and placed her arm over Misty's shoulders. "It's alright."

Misty smiled. The three girls entered the place and joined Delia at an outdoor table by the corner. The three sat down and soon the waiter was at their table. The four women ordered, and as soon as he disappeared, they started talking, mainly to Misty.

"How long have you known Ash?" Stella asked the redhead, smiling slightly, and looking her up and down. Her face was delicately made-up. It was the same for Chloe and Delia.

"A month, I guess." Misty was feeling a little self-conscious. The fact that they were Ash's sisters wasn't making her feel great. It's like she was supposed to be at her top condition. She just had to give a good impression.

Why? She'd never know. She just felt that way.

"Do you guys have plans for the future? Are you planning on moving in with him, maybe?"

Misty felt Delia's sharp look on her. "We—we're not dating..."

Chloe giggled and placed her hand on Misty's back. Stella smiled at her. It was comforting. Misty was starting to feel at ease.

Delia was flipping through the pages of a book she'd brought with her. "Time is precious. It flies by quickly. You're at the right age to get married."

Stella turned toward Misty and shook her head, as if she was telling the redhead to just ignore her mother's words.

"So, Misty, where do you want to head next?"

"Oh, I don't know."

"We could do some shopping! New collections are out!"

"Do you have anything in mind you want to buy?"

Misty's eyes scanned the two sisters all over. "Yeah. I need..." she glanced at their made-up faces once again.

She wanted to try too. "Some make-up."

"Stella and I have fidelity cards. You could use them to get anything you want for lower prices. Great, right?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"You still haven't answered my question." Delia closed her book and looked up. "Are you a travel nurse?"

Stella was about to snap again but Misty quickly replied, "I'm not, Mrs. Ketchum."

"Oh, good." Delia finally smiled. Stella rolled her eyes in annoyance and exchanged a look with Misty and her sister.

The waiter brought the four their drinks. Stella shifted her gaze to Misty after the waiter left. "Ash was really insisting we take good care of you."

"Take good care of me?" Misty chuckled.

"Yep. He cares a lot about you."

"More than he actually cares about us!" Chloe and Stella laughed. Misty chuckled again, blushing a bit. Delia was back to reading her book and drinking her coffee latte.

"Okay, fine, that was a lie. Ashton has always taken good care of us even if we're older than him. He was all the time being the little man of the house because my father traveled a lot when we were young."

"He and Gary were adorable." Chloe added and high-fived her sister. Misty smiled. She'd have had a different reaction if she was told this a month ago.

"Good old days. They started bringing Anabel with them right after they started attending college. Things weren't adorable anymore. That girl sucks."

Chloe turned toward Misty. "Do you know who Anabel is?"

"I only saw her once..."

"I'll tell you. She's the girl who's been fighting so hard to get Ash to ask her out from the first day she met him."

"And he never did."

"Never."

"Ever."

Chloe and Stella laughed again. Delia looked up, shook her head at them and looked down at her book.

"I bet she's so jealous of you right now."

"We're not dating..." Misty reminded them again.

"That's not it! He caaaares about you."

"Really!"

"You even broke his car windows and he just fixed them and moved on!"

Misty was completely red in the face. She had no idea they knew about that too...

"That—I..."

"I think that opened his eyes. It made him realize that he loves you!"

Chloe and Stella turned toward Misty. "He does, trust us!"

"He does...?" Love? As like, romance, love? Misty was surprised. Who would love someone like her? She wasn't special. And Ash? From all people? He was out of her league, wasn't he? She knew he liked her, but... love?

"Knowing him, yes."

"We know Ash more than anyone else. He has so many female friends and he doesn't treat them like he treats you."

"Absolutely."

"Well, these days, it has been all about Misty this, Misty that." Delia suddenly said and smiled slightly to herself. "I was wondering who this Misty was."

"Mom knows!"

"Oh, they say moms know best." Delia chuckled.

"Tell her, mom! Tell her!"

"Oh, dear, where do I start?"

Misty blushed. She was feeling all cozy and happy. What was this feeling again?

To be continued.

I updated quickly because I'm going on a yacht trip with my friends this evening and I won't be back until Sunday or Monday. I'm going to update as soon as I get home back again c:

Ciao for now!