Warning, excessive swearing (even by this fic's standards) they're drunk, of course they curse like sailors.

The guy next to her was in complete shock, and Misty wasn't much different. May was actually acting insane.

"May! The fuck is going on?" Misty yelled out.

The drunk brunette then proceeded to hop off the table she was standing on, her legs weren't very steady so she dropped, landing on her face.

Ouch.

Quickly, May was up again and stumbling towards them. The boy next to Misty was much too shocked to be pissed at her for lying about knowing May. Judging by May's history of being a complete square this might have been the first time he'd ever seen her like this. His mouth was practically hitting the floor and if she was being honest, hers was too.

When May approached the two her arms looped clumsily around her former fiancé's neck, and she plopped one right on his mouth, Misty forced herself not to grimace. The look of surprise was apparent on his face and May had no gauge on how anyone was reacting…

Except for her apparently. She just grabbed the dude's ass and gave it a sizable squeeze. He pulled away instantly completely flabbergasted, face very much red.

"'Sup Drew?" She slurred, not sounding unlike a frat boy. The second hand embarrassment was so real right now.

"May? Wha—"

"I missed youuuu!" She whined in possibly the most obnoxious way Misty had ever heard. Oh god, she was nuzzling his face with her face. This was the worst.

But not 'the worst' enough that Misty didn't head onto the group text and tell all of the squad to the get the fuck over here cause May's ex fiancé was here and she was sexually harassing him.

As she looked up from her phone Drew grabbed May by her shoulders, the girl still trying to kiss him, and held her away from him. He looked towards Misty with pleading eyes,

"A little help here?"

Misty thought for a moment,

"I suppose I could help you out… but I'm trying to decide whether to be an asshole and just watch this shitshow unfold because drunk May is something I've been dying to see for ages, or just being a good friend and taking her home."

Drew glared at her and was slightly distracted by the conversation, leaving May an opening to basically lick his face.

Misty raised her phone and took a video.

"Misty?!" A voice yelled out. She turned around to see Iris running towards them, pushing violently through the crowd.

Holy shit Iris just punched a guy that was in her way. Also she had a black eye. What had happened since she last saw her?

"Iris!" May squealed abandoning Drew and latching onto the younger girl.

"Get the good godily damn hell off of me!" Iris snapped, shoving May off. Apparently really drunk Iris was even more violent than regular Iris. May pouted and whined while Iris demanded where the fiancé was.

"Say hi Drew~!"

"This is so messed up," Drew muttered to himself looking like he was regretting his life choices.

"He looks like Cilan!" Iris laughed boisterously.

"Who is Cilan?!" The boy cried out in complete confusion.

"Cilan is a tall ass dude that Iris is dating. He has green hair too." Misty explained.

"I don't have time for this shit…" Drew said putting his hand to his forehead, "May what are you doing here?"

"Getting wasted!" May announced and then proceeded to howl like a pack of wolves… Iris joined in.

"Heaven give me strength," Drew prayed to himself.

Before any other insane shenanigans could ensue Misty heard a familiar voice in the crowd of people,

"Misty? May? Iris?" It called out.

Misty turned to see Serena and Dawn on making their way through the crowd, Serena was dead sober for obvious reasons and Dawn didn't seem to be stumbling as much as Iris or May.

"Guys! You all look terrible, we need to get going now," Serena insisted, "I know you're all very interested in all of," she gestured her hands towards Drew, "this, but I think it's best that we head back home."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Drew protested, "I need to talk with May."

"Look, if I give you my number will you please let us leave in peace?" Serena sighed in annoyance.

"Fine," The boy replied after a few moments consideration before giving up his phone to the pregnant teen.

"There, now shoo!" Serena said with an eye roll, "Let's get you idiots home."

They were totally getting an ass whopping from a pregnant lady.

Misty hissed as Serena slammed the door of the apartment. Her poor head hurt. Everyone had fallen asleep in the living room after they had returned from the party; Serena had gone out and appeared to have just gotten back. Misty was preparing herself for some hell to get raised or whatever. Serena was pregnant and hormonal, the worst combo that ever existed. She was definitely pissed for the trouble they'd caused at Zoey and Candice's party. According to sources May and Dawn jumped off the roof into a pool, Iris got into multiple fights, and Misty was… herself.

"How long has it been?"

"Care to explain what happened back there?" She demanded, ignoring Misty's question.

May spoke some gibberish, Iris mumbled threats and Dawn pretended that nothing was going on.

"Honestly, why do I have to be the adult here?" Serena groaned, "I gave you guys like four hours to sober up, we are talking about this now."

Everyone looked so damn guilty.

"Fine," Misty grumbled, "Can I just throw up one more—"

"Nope," She interrupted, "You can throw up in the trash bin over there if you really need to."

"OK…" Misty pouted in defeat.

"I cannot believe you guys, you're my friends but you're all idiots, all of you."

"Screw off Serena," Iris grumbled, "You were homeless and pregnant, can you really judge us?"

"Yeah I can Iris," Serena countered, "I'm making efforts to change my life and improve myself and what are you doing? Fighting for money!"

Oops, that was a sensitive subject. Iris shot up from the floor like a bullet, quick to point her index finger at Serena's chest.

"You don't know me!" Iris shouted, "You don't know the shit I've had to go through! Fuck off!"

"I know you enough to know you're lying to your poor, clueless boyfriend who did nothing to deserve it!"

"At least mine didn't knock me up and leave!"

"That didn't happen and you're lying is going to catch up with you and bite you in the ass!"

Misty could only watch, completely at a loss for words, eyes darting back and forth as the two argued. This was not going well. Confrontation sucked.

"Why are you only attacking me? I'm not the only one with dysfunctional relationships. Dawn is the one slutting it up with half the damn city!"

"Step off Iris before I give Cilan a call," Dawn sneered, apparently very nasty after a night of drinking, "At least the people I screw know that I'm a lying bitch!"

"Does Paul know that?" Iris spat, "That poor motherfucker is in love with you and you treat him like dog shit!"

"You two are so fucking stupid," May said with an eye roll, still lying down.

"You really want to go there May, you're possibly the stupidest people I've ever met," Dawn taunted from above, "You're the worst out of all of us, get wasted and come onto your stupid ex fiancé, who you left at the altar."

"At least I'm not an alcoholic!"

Misty frowned, not appreciating being brought into something that she had nothing to do with. In an uncharacteristic moment of maturity she stood up and used her seniority and announced to the group of them,

"Alright, we're doing this. Everyone shut up; grab a pillow or whatever you need to do. We are working this shit out now, and we're doing it without being complete dicks." Everyone looked guilty as hell as Misty continued with authority, "I'm getting into out of this costume and into my pajamas; I'll be back in 10 minutes. You all better be back here and ready to deal with things."

Misty returned to the common space and saw that everyone else had taken her advice and changed to the best of their ability (because apparently May was either little too tired or drunk to get changed properly she was just sitting on the floor in her underwear and Dawn's costume makeup was only partially washed off). Iris was sitting on the counter cross-legged, still looking mad and Serena sat on the couch with Dawn. The situation seemed to have defused a bit so that was a relief.

"We ready to do this?" Misty asked.

"I am," Serena answered. Dawn and Iris nodded and May grunted from the ground with a thumbs up.

"OK, this is cheesy as hell to say but this is a safe zone. Nothing we say leaves here and we aren't using what we say against each other, not even when we're mad."

"Why?" Iris asked lamely.

"Because if we go through with the plan of taking care of Baby," Serena responded as she pointed to her stomach, "Then we need to be closer than we are now and we need to deal with all this before Baby comes."

"Fine," Iris closed her eyes, "Let's talk then."

Suddenly it felt like all the anger that had been festering was subsiding. Thank God for it.

"Let's start with May since… well obvious reasons," Misty suggested.

"What did I do?" May whined.

"What was with you and Drew tonight?"

"Who's that?"

Iris moaned,

"Maaay!"

"OK, OK, I'll try my best," She sighed, "I've never been that drunk before. I had a sip of wine at church when I was like ten and got a little tipsy but that's about it. I guess the combination of shots and seeing Drew… wasn't… good?"

"No duh, how is that even a question?" Dawn chortled humorlessly, "Seriously, what did you do to that kid? What did that kid do to you?"

"I guess I just forgot…"

"Forgot what?"

"Forgot how much I loved him," May sniffed before bursting into tears, "I'm terrible, how could I have done that to him? I knew he loved me, I knew the whole time and I pretended not to, I'm the worst. Who does that?"

Misty felt her chest ache a little bit, she didn't really know what real romantic love was, maybe this was it. Full of pain, tears and sadness… but it must have pretty amazing to bring up so many strong emotions… to make someone miss it that much. Misty's mind wandered to Ash for a moment but she pushed that thought away and focused on the issue at hand.

Dawn got off the couch and crawled next to May, wrapping her arms around her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her,

"Sorry for what I said."

"You weren't wrong," May sobbed, "I am a coward and I hate myself for it. This must have destroyed him and I just had to mess it up even more."

"Serena has his number now May," Dawn reminded her softly, "You can get closure and give him closure too, whatever that means for the two of you."

"Yeah," Serena added gently, "We can make sure this ends alright."

"I don't even know why I did it," She said honestly, "I guess I was scared, everything was happening so fast and I don't know what the hell is going on half the time. How was I supposed to get married?"

Misty bit her lower lip, she knew all about that. Seeing May on the floor, crying in her underwear was breaking her freaking heart. She seemed so vulnerable and alone. The girl always gave off this happy and unaffected feeling and it turns out that none of it was real. Or at least it was covering something she didn't want seen.

Kind of like her.

"May…" Iris began, "I'm sorry for all the crappy stuff I've said about you, too your face and behind your back. You… aren't a complete airhead, and you aren't terrible. Sorry you had to carry that."

May smiled through her tears,

"Thank you… I'm going to be better… I promise."

There was an extended period of silence, May's sobs had subsided and no one was sure what to say after that.

"What now?" Dawn asked awkwardly after a few minutes.

"What else causes problems for the people here?" Serena asked.

"The fact that you haven't talked about your worries about the baby and why you left your family?"

"That doesn't cause problems for you guys, does it?"

"No, but it does for you," Dawn pointed out, "Besides, we need to be closer than regular roommates if we're going to take care of Baby, like you said. We need to get all of this crap out before they come and we have to put on our big girl panties to take care of a mini human."

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"If it wasn't the baby's father, what made you leave?" Iris inquired.

"My mum," Serena admitted, "She had me when she was younger than me. She always told me to be careful, if she knew she'd kill me."

"Serena… your mum is probably worried sick. A baby would be least of her worries, I'm sure," Misty mumbled quietly, remembering her own mum, "I'm sure your mum loves you and she'd love your baby just as much."

Serena wiped her misty eyes to keep herself from crying,

"She'd be so disappointed. I miss her so much but she always had so many expectations for me and I destroyed them all by making a stupid mistake."

"Did you ever think that since she went through the same thing maybe she'd be your greatest ally?" Iris asked.

Serena didn't respond.

"'Rena, we aren't saying you have to go back home or anything," Misty assured her, "Does your mum know you're safe?"

"I left her a note that I was leaving and didn't say why."

"Then when you're ready, you should make peace with that part of your life."

Serena was quiet for a moment,

"…Yeah."

"Promise? Because we only want the best for you."

"Promise."

"Good," May said softly, "I can tell you're scared about the baby. You can talk to any of us about it whenever you need to, don't keep it to yourself. Just know that this baby is going to be alright, they are going to thrive with a mother like you. There's no way they aren't going to have a beautiful and full life."

Genuinely touched by May's words she approached the girl and hugged her tightly, it kind of warmed Misty's heart,

"Thank you," Serena managed, "I—I miss her so much, she was always with me growing up and now she's not."

Misty looked away. This was hitting a little too close to home for her liking.

"We're here now," Iris assured her, "Even if we are the single handed worst friends on the planet. I'm sorry for yelling at you. I was being a jerk and taking it out on you."

"It's OK, I wasn't being fair…" The blonde girl apologized.

"How were you supposed to know, I haven't told you anything about myself?"

"We're listening," Dawn grinned eagerly,

"You hush," Iris snickered, hopping off the counter to punch Dawn playfully, "Dawn already knows all this. Y'know us knowing each other for so long and all."

Dawn grinned,

"Yup!"

"I know you guys don't like that I fight, I get that, who would? I do have a reason though."

"You were eleven, right?" May clarified.

"Eleven and," The smaller girl hesitated; it clearly wasn't easy for her to say what she was about to say, "Eleven and homeless."

Misty's eyes widened. That blindsided her.

"Elaborate?" Was all she could say.

"Look, I don't have any parents or family, never have. I ran away from some crappy foster family when I was nine, lived on the streets and in the forest for a while then, ended up with my current job," Iris explained, "Fighting is… everything I know. It's my whole life. All my friends I made through fighting, any point in my life where I felt happy or confident came from fighting. I know you all hate it and want me to stop. I—I can't give it up."

"Iris…" Misty trailed off; she wasn't sure what to say to her friend. The friend that really seemed like she had it together really didn't. She was a mess.

Like all of them.

"Dawn and Ash meant everything to me, and then Gary had to go and fuck everything up and make Ash move on and I'm so fucking scared that Dawn will too. Everyone just leaves me behind," Iris didn't cry as she spoke, but she may has well have been. Her eyes were desperate and her hands shaking, "I love Cilan but he doesn't understand that I can't live if I'm not fighting. If he finds out, he'll move on from me too."

Dawn sat there in shock, she clearly had no idea that her friend was going through thoughts like this. Serena was the one to step forward and speak,

"Iris, look at me, straight in the eyes."

Iris nodded, her brown eyes meeting Serena's blue as the blonde gripped Iris's shoulders.

"Ok."

"We. Are. Not. Leaving," Serena assured her, "Fighting is not everything you are. You are funny. You are kind. You are talented. You are not just someone who fights. You are someone who took me in and offered to help take care of my unborn child. If you were just a fighter… dammit Iris we would know."

"She's right," Dawn answered, "No matter what happens with my place at the club, I swear to you that I won't leave you on your own. You're one of my best friends."

May and Misty nodded eagerly.

"I know it'll take time," May said, "But I hope you can find confidence in something other than fighting."

Iris was clearly flustered from all the support she was receiving, Misty thought her red tinted face was cute.

"You guys…"

"No need to thank us," Misty said with a teasing grin, "Just be your cool, happy self and let us know if you wanna talk."

"Easier said than done," Iris muttered, but there was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Welcome to life honey."

"Ain't that the truth."

"So who's next, Dawn or Misty?" Iris asked, apparently ready to not have the attention focused on her.

Misty met Dawn's eyes,

"Rock, paper, scissors?"

"Sure," The other girl shrugged.

Misty threw a rock and Dawn a scissors.

"Dang it," Dawn mumbled and then spoke louder for everyone else, "What am I even supposed to tell you? I don't have a sob story or anything deep like you guys; I'm just someone who got a sketchy job."

"What about your totally whack relationships?" May asked, "I mean I guess I'm not one to talk but…"

"No it's fine," Dawn laughed half-heartedly, "I understand why you guys are weirded out by it."

"No fucking shit," Misty muttered.

Dawn shot her a look before beginning again,

"It sounds totally self-absorbed and self-gratifying but people have wanted to y'know, date me, since forever."

"Yeah, it does sound like that," Misty snickered but was inwardly jealous. What kind of superpower...

"Oh hush, I wanna hear this," Serena groaned.

"Anyhoo, I just feel strange that I never felt the same. It's like I can be friends with people like I was with Zoey, Kenny and Barry, but I never felt anything more than that. I can sleep with someone and have fun but I don't feel anything else. I feel like I'm not normal. Do you think there's something wrong with me?"

"Definitely not!" May exclaimed, "You aren't obligated to love someone."

"But I'm hurting people! I mean—I pretend that I didn't hurt Zoey, Kenny and Barry and I pretend that Paul doesn't think of me as anything other than something he can stick it in every few nights but I know it's not true! I'm a piece of crap."

"Look Dawn, I've told you think before and I'll tell you again," Iris smiled, "You are a wonderful person but you are terrible at communication. Talk to people. Let them know. If you think you're hurting someone, ask. Paul seems like a reasonable guy—"

Misty began busting a gut. Good joke.

"Ok maybe not, but he'd probably understand. Isn't it better to clear things up rather than overanalysing it and giving yourself bad blood pressure?" Iris continued.

"I… guess," Dawn replied hesitantly.

"Besides, stress gives you wrinkles and you're too pretty for that," Misty joked.

"Thanks," She replied with a roll of her eyes, "You wanna get going with your story?"

"Uh no."

"You were the one who started this whole thing," Dawn pointed out.

Misty bit her lip. So she might have forgotten about that when she proposed this stupid thing.

"Alright, alright. What do you guys want to know?"

"Can you tone it on the drinking thing?" Serena mumbled, "It really makes me worry."

Misty felt a little sick. She didn't often admit her issues with drinking but she didn't want to be that one prick who wasn't honest, especially after everyone else had shared so much.

"Why do you do it Mist?" Dawn said quietly.

Misty didn't know. Not really. Or maybe she did but didn't want to. It was easy to pretend things were OK, eventually you believe them.

"I just like forgetting things," She sighed.

"Forgetting what?"

"…Family," Misty said in a soft voice, "I haven't been back home to Cerulean City since I was eighteen."

"Why?"

"My sisters, I couldn't stand them any longer. They are suffocating and obnoxious. I'm nothing like them and no matter how much they want me home I'm not going back."

"Are they that bad?" Dawn tried.

"Especially so after my parents passed away," The room was silent. Misty laughed despite the sadness that was heavy in the back of her throat, she didn't know why she was even talking about this. She didn't talk about her parents, not ever. "I guess you all have too much tact to talk about my dead parents. Good thing one of you isn't in this position, I'd probably make a joke out of it."

The group of girls looked at Misty with damp eyes.

"What?" She laughed.

"You're crying," Serena said quietly.

"No I'm—" Misty halted as she felt her wet cheeks. Well what do you know? She was.

May's lip quivered a moment before she launched herself towards Misty, wrapping her arms around her strongly and kissing her cheeks, Dawn, Serena and Iris followed in suit.

"Why are you guys being so goddamn weird?" Misty said through blurry eyes, trying to keep a humorous front but probably failing greatly.

"Because we all need some love tonight," May said simply.

"But you're half naked," Misty chuckled, tears falling faster.

"Mmhm," She mumbled, nuzzling her nose into Misty's neck.

"Don't question this," Iris muttered, "It makes it less awkward."

So the five of them sat on the apartment floor, some in various states of dress, and they laughed and they cried. Nothing was fixed and there were still things left unspoken but that didn't matter. It was the cheesiest and most obnoxiously clichéd moment anyone could possibly dream of. Probably enough to make you puke from the cringe.

Still, Misty hadn't felt this at ease in a long time.

So I finally updated. This chapter was hard which is partly why it took so long. It was really funny or anything so it was hard to write these characters in a more serious setting. I'm still not pleased with it but here it is anyways.

There's still more to Misty's past, details and such, but that comes out in conversation later on.

Thanks guys for still reading this piece of crap. I love that you do.

Have a lovely day!