Trying to keep up the motivation to finish this bc I feel like I've done you all so dirty with my updating lol

"Would anyone like dessert?" the server asks, her eyes scanning the wedding party.

Tracy nods, "I'll actually have the-"

"No dessert for us, we are running late and we have a rehearsal to get to," Dawn cuts him off. "Just bring us the check."

Misty rolls her eyes. "I wonder why we're running late."

Dawn purses her lips together but is quick to compose herself. "So, Misty. I heard from a little bird that you left Gary Oak's room this morning. Did you have a fun night? Squashing old quarrels?"

"You were where?" Both Ash and May yell at the same time. Ash must have been so intoxicated that he doesn't even remember what happened last night, much less what he said. Misty bites her tongue, a deep sigh seething through teeth.

Don't punch this bitch in the face. Don't do it, Misty repeats in her head over and over. "Dawn, did you have fun with that-"

"Here is your check! You all have a great night," the server interrupts, placing the bill in front of Dawn, whose face is beet red. A heavy silence weighs over the wedding party as the blue and red heads stare the other down.

Just one more day of this... just one more day.

...

"You kick in your sleep, did you know that?" Gary says, startling Misty out of her thoughts. She looks up from her lying position on the pool chair and can't help but smile when she sees him clad in bright pink swim trunks.

"Pink is definitely your color. And you snore, which is why you got kicked," she laughs, patting the pool chair next to her.

He lays his towel on the chair and situates himself. "Fair enough. How was the rehearsal and dinner?"

This easily removes the smile from Misty's face. "I don't think I've ever hated someone as much as I hate her," she says, letting her eyes focus on the setting sun. Fairy lights switch on to illuminate the pool and bar areas. It took everything in Misty not to go buy four shots immediately upon her arrival. The only thing stopping her was the fact hat she still feels hungover from the bachelorette party.

"Why are you doing this to yourself? Screw the two of them," Gary turns his body to face her. "I can see what it's doing to your spirit. You're punishing yourself for no reason. You don't need to do this."

"I do, though," she says. "Once they get married, it's over. It's finally done. An end to a long pathetic chapter of my life." She sits up and watches Azurill and Staryu playing in the shallow end of the pool. Gary follows in suit. "I want to move on and grow from this."

"You really have matured, Red." Gary reaches out and takes her hand. He plays with her fingers while she tries to fight a smile off her face. "How about you and I go for a swim?"

She can't help but grin, "Now you're speaking my language, Oak." The two race each other to the deep end, jumping in one after the other. When they resurface, Misty treads across from Gary, her cheeks filled with water.

"Don't you even think about-" Water gushing into his face cuts him off. Wiping the water out of his eyes, he can't help but to laugh loudly. Just as he tries to lunge at Misty, Staryu whooshes by with Azurill on his back, splashing both the trainers. It's now, watching Gary wipe water out of his viridian eyes as he laughs, when Misty realizes things do get better, and she has something to look forward to.

...

Waves crash against the shore as the sun slowly breaks the horizon. Vibrant red streaks light up the morning sky. An instant feeling of dread wells in the pit of Misty's stomach. "The sky matches your hair color," Brock says next to her.

"Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning," she recites what her father had always said when they would go on fishing trips together. A morning sky illuminated with red means nothing but bad weather and trouble, he would always say. "Today is going to be a disaster, I can feel it."

Brock stares at her with a quizzical look. "You've always had a sixth sense about the water, but how bad can it be today? We aren't out at sea, after all." Misty simply shakes her head, the feeling inside her saying otherwise.

Brock leads her away from the beach and back to the hotel. She had wandered out there hours earlier, unable to sleep and dreading the hours ahead of her. As they approach the hotel, the vendors have already begun to set up the wedding venue. Chairs are placed and secured in the sand, pink and blue flowers are weaved in and out of the wedding arch that overlooks the sea. Once upon a time, she had pictured a scene similar to this. A scene where she stood across from Ash. This feels more like a nightmare, though, one she can't wake herself out of. Her last glimpse of the nightmare is one of the workers touching up the arch with a bucket of white paint.

Once May gets ahold of Misty, she is quick to start styling her hair. "Should we go curly or straight? Should I put you hair up or down? What about half up, half down? Should I put a flower in your hair?" So many questions spouting out of the brown-haired girl's mouth and Misty knows the answer to none of them.

"Why don't you ask the person in charge," Misty responds flippantly, not really caring what her hair looks like. She won't be keeping any pictures to reminisce anyway.

May ends up pinning the top half of Misty's hair into a bun and curling the bottom half into loose waves. The other bridesmaids' hair is styled similarly. After threatening to walk out of the wedding if she has to put on a pound of make-up, at Dawn's suggestion, Misty finally steps into her dress. The pink silk feels good against her bare legs, she just can't get over the gaudy color. Who chooses a shade that's two beats off of hot pink? "We look like highlighters," May frowns in the mirror. "They don't even match the color of the flowers."

"At least you don't have red hair," Misty frowns, scrunching her face up at the contrast of colors.

Suzie comes up behind the pouting girls and wraps her arms around them. "C'mon, girls. We're about to witness a beautiful ceremony between two people who love each other. Be positive and smile a bit!" The two of them give half-hearted smiles and let Suzie drag them off. Dawn barks orders at them and everyone else that makes the mistake of stepping into her line of sight.

"Is everyone ready?" the wedding coordinator asks. Everyone nods and gets into line. They all hop into golf carts that take them down to the beach. By this time, the sun has already begun to sink down the sky. Misty can't help but notice the gray clouds that are beginning to settle overhead and the blowing wind that's anything but gentle.

Like I said, this is going to be a disaster, she thinks to herself as she and everyone else get off the golf carts. "Everyone in line!" the coordinator shouts. She instructs that the music start playing through her walkie-talkie and begins pushing the bridesmaids forward. Misty is the last to go. She slowly walks down the aisle, sand squeezing between her toes and blue flowers clutched in her clammy hands. Heads turn to watch as she walks by. She thought she'd be stuck staring at Ash, who hasn't taken his eyes off her since she arrived, but instead she is caught gazing at viridian eyes and a bright smile.

"Beautiful," he mouths, shooting her a cheeky wink. She can't help but let out a giggle, her head bowing to conceal the blush in her cheeks. She knows he's joking around and talking about the heinous dress she's wearing. When she looks forward and makes eye contact with Ash, she can almost imagine that's she's wearing a mermaid-style white gown. She can almost imagine her friends and family sitting in the pews. She can almost imagine standing across from the person she's known her whole life, the boy she watched blossom into a man, and saying "I do."

But for the first time in years, she's okay with this not being her future.

I know these chaps are short but it's easier to actually get them out this way and keeps my motivation up to write them. im sorryyyyyyyy :(((