________________
Misty's Awakening
Part 18
________________


The day seemed just about perfect...

Misty arose from her bed, standing by the window, and leaned against the pane. It was another cool day, but the sun was out, and so far only a few clouds menaced the gorgeous blue of the sky.

It was 8:04, Misty noticed as she looked at her clock. The actual ceremony was to begin at 11:00. She would need to be there at the chapel to get ready soon, and as she pondered this, she thought about how crazy this day would be for Violet and Brock. They were certainly up and worrying by now— that is, if they'd even been able to fall asleep last night. Misty knew that if *she* were getting married, she'd stay up worrying and probably wouldn't be able to sleep, either.

Misty walked out of her room. The bathroom was empty and the house was silent, so she grabbed her robe from the closet and headed in to take a shower.

Once she had finished, she returned to her room, finding that in the time that is had taken her to shower, the house had woken up. She heard the sound of the T.V. from the kitchen, and knew that Ms. Ketchem was awake and most likely cooking breakfast.

Misty closed her door and looked into her closet. There was the bridesmaids dress, its different shades of violet and beads around the v-neck, and Misty held it out and inspected it again. She wasn't to put it on until she got to the chapel, but somehow she was just dying to try it on now.

She bit her lip, and lay it down on her bed with its plastic covering. She then got dressed in a skirt and white shirt, then slid her shoes on. It was 8:32 when she left her room and entered the kitchen.

"Misty!" Ms. Ketchem greeted, "I thought that it was you in the shower. Now that you're ready, go ahead and have some waffles."

Misty made to sit down at the table, then stopped. "Where's Ash, Ms. Kethem?"

The women put her hand to her mouth. "Isn't he up?"

"I don't think so..."

"Oh, dear! He'd better hurry and get ready, because we need to be gone in an hour!!"

Sensing Ms. Ketchem's worry, Misty left the table and began up the staircase to Ash's room.


* * * *


"...Ash...." Misty whispered and shook the boy under the covers.

"Uhhhh?"

"Ash, get up!"

"Uh? Why...?"

"We need to go soon!"

"Go...where?"

Misty shook her head in semi-exasperation. "Violet. Brock. Cerulean City. Chapel. 11 O'clock. Wedding. Does *any* of that ring a bell?"

"Ah-- UH!" Ash shot up from his bed, falling out of it and rolling down onto the floor.

Misty laughed as she watched her...boyfriend. 'WHOA! Back up!!' she thought. 'Boyfriend...it's hard to think of him that way...boyfriend...well, I guess he is!' Her mental revelation made her smile even broader. She'd never thought of that name for him— just that he was 'with' her, loved her. Funny how she had looked that over before.

"What?!" Ash asked, rubbing his bonked head.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about something all of a sudden."

"What? About how I'm an idiot?" Ash smiled, too, and rose to sit on his bed to recover from his fall.

"Well, that's half of it." Misty sat next to him, and looked at his head to see if there was a bump on it or any other injury. "But it's strange, Ash. Would you call me your...girlfriend?"

He glanced at her. "Yes. Shouldn't I? I mean-- "

"Yes! It's fine! But isn't it weird to think about?" She set her hands in her lap again, and looked at him, too. "So, we're officially, well, 'together', as people say? I've just never thought about it before! It's neat."


"It is, come to think of it!" he said. "Hey! Misty has a boyfriend! Hah, hah, hah!" He said facetiously, causing Misty to smirk at him.

"Yeah? Well, YOU have a girlfriend!" she mocked playfully, and they both collapsed into giggles.

"You know, we're acting like we're ten again," Ash said. "And it's kinda fun..."

"Reminds me of traveling again," Misty stated. "If you had ever had a girlfriend back then, I would have honestly laughed. You didn't even understand the meaning of the word, did you?"

"Well, with all the guys looking you over, you getting a boyfriend could have become a reality," Ash said.

"No...I had the chance, but did you ever see me take it? I wanted to stay with you..." Misty remembered all the other guys she'd met on their journey, and how she's always stuck with Ash. "I hope it won't sound too corny, but I'm glad I did stay."

"Good," Ash said, "but if you had left me, you would never had gone into your coma."

Misty was silent for a moment. "Ash," she said at last, a bit more quietly, "it was worth it. All of it. Don't forget that. I'm happy right where I am. I'll never have those years back, but I don't care so much anymore. Gosh...I feel so lucky just to be where I am right now!"

"With me?"

"Of course!"

"Misty, you're the best...girlfriend a guy could ask for." He was laughing again, but leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"ASH KETCHEM! GET YOUR BODY IN THAT SHOWER *NOW*!!!" The voice came from the kitchen, ringing through the halls.

"Uhh!" Ash said, "I can't STAND her yelling at me anymore. OK, MOM!!! I'M GOING!"

"Well...we won't have to for long."

"Why?"

"We're leaving again. You still need to finish your journey, Ash, so now that I'm well again, I intend for us to do so soon."

He grinned. "Yeah, that's true. As long as you're still willing to come with me."

"Yes, I'm willing."

Pecking her on the cheek, Ash stood with Misty and he headed for the bathroom.

"Let's leave soon," Misty reminded him before he could close the door. "As soon as we can."

"We will. Soon. I have a lot to catch up on, and the sooner, the better."

"Right."

Ash closed the door, and Misty sighed happily as she descended the stairs. She and Ash would go. Together. Just the two of them.


* * * *

"Oh! Misty— good! I'm so glad you're here! Like, go get your dress on right away or Violet will flip!"

Misty, Ash, and Ms. Ketchem had just entered the chapel in Cerulean, where an exasperated Daisy had met her at the door. It had taken them a little while to get out the door, so by the time they had reached Cerulean, there wasn't too much time left before the ceremony.

"Yeah, OK." Misty, holding to her dress, made her way back to the dressing rooms.

She could hear Daisy barking more directions to Ash as she entered the room and closed the door. "Tuxedo! Hurry up and get it on! Brock's back there...dressing room to the right!"

Violet, along with Lily, were behind a curtain making some final adjustments to be sure Violet's dress was perfect. Misty couldn't even see the dress--she had yet to see it for a first time.

"Misty," Lily said from behind the drape, "get the dress on and I'll work with your hair."

"'K." Misty walked behind another curtain and stripped down, proceeding to put on and zip up the bridesmaid dress.

She brushed her hands over the skirt, twirling slowly around before the mirror. She hadn't felt this graceful the first time that she had tried on the dress, and now she felt like a princess as she watched the gown whirl about her legs.

She sat down on a stool, sliding the black formal shoes onto her feet, and stood up to meet her sister.

"OK, Lil, I'm ready."

"Oh, good! Alright..." She emerged from behind the curtain, still looking in at and directing Violet. "Violet, just clip the veil on the left, so it's hidden in your hair...OK." She looked to Misty.

"Wow, sis, you look sooo pretty!" Lily was already wearing her dress, and her pink hair was brushed majestically down her back. "Let's see your hair now..."

She guided Misty to a large, mirrored vanity, and sat her down on the stool. She then began to brush through her orange hair and curled it with the already hot iron. Misty watched the mirror's reflection as Lily brushed and styled her hair, and at last, when her hair was shiny and curled at the bottom, Lily placed a violet flower among the red-orange mane of hair.

"Done," she said. "Now you look perfect!"

Misty smiled, feeling confident with what she saw in the mirror. "Thank you. And I bet that Violet looks absolutely gorgeous for her big day!"

"She's a little...stressed out," Lily whispered, "but I think she'll be fine with everything once the ceremony is over with."

"Lily, you're so good with all this bridal stuff, you should be the one getting married!"

She giggled. "Heh, well, someday I will. But for now...I'm just proving that I'm better than all of you by not getting mixed up with guys. They take over your life and get you to do crazy things like marry them."

"Speak for yourself!" Violet yelled from behind the drape.

And Misty, for one, agreed with Violet.

"It's almost time!" Ms. Ketchem yelled into the dressing room, and Misty suddenly wondered how Brock and Ash were doing in the other room. Certainly Ash looked especially handsome in a Tux...

"Well, here we go," Lily said, "just a few minutes now!" And with that, she rushed back to the curtain to help Violet again, leaving Misty to wait by the vanity for the procession to begin.



____________
...To Be Continued....


_________________________________________________________________________

AN: Da-dum-da-dum! Wedding bells are ringing! Er, anyway, for reading to this point, you all get a special **BONUS**! I have drawn a fan art for my story (would you call it a 'fan art' if the author draws it?)

But if you'd like to see it, it's a wedding picture with the four sisters on Violet's wedding day! Yippee! I'm not the best artist, but I think it's a pretty nice picture the way it turned out. Copy and paste the address below into your browser and see if you like it! Yay! Well, anyway, I'll see you soon for part 19!


http://starglider.eplugz.com/sensationalwedding.jpg


(picture is (c) me (StarGlider) 2001. Don't use in any way without permission from ME!)


--StarGlider