The Bucket List

#24: Have Something Named After Me

"A little higher on the right," Dawn instructed.

From his spot on the ladder, Ash lifted the banner higher up the wall. Across from him, Brock held the other end of the banner, pinning it into place. "No, no, that's too high, Ash!" Dawn shouted. Dawn angled her hands on her hips as she stared him down. "Now it's all crooked!"

"Piplup!" her partner chirped in agreement.

"Stop yelling at me!" he shouted back.

"I wouldn't have to if you just followed my directions!"

Ash hid his face so Dawn didn't see him roll his eyes. From the other end of the banner, Ash heard Brock cough in an attempt to hold back a chuckle. At least Brock's in a good mood. Since his confrontation with Brock, Ash made sure to tread carefully around him. He no longer seemed as upset as he had been, but Ash could never be so sure.

"Just bring it a little lower," Dawn instructed once more. Slowly, Ash lowered the banner inch by inch. "A little lower...Getting closer...Lower, lower...and perfect! Right there!"

Thank goodness. Ash sighed in relief. Pulling out the tack Dawn had given him, he secured the banner to the wall before waiting a few seconds to make sure it didn't suddenly fall. Once down the ladder, he stepped back to examine their handiwork.

Welcome Home, Misty! the banner read in bright blue letters, courtesy of Tracey. Ash smiled, happy with how the banner looked but even happier about the occasion. Misty was finally coming home, and this called for a huge celebration. Daisy and Gary had gone to pick up Misty from the hospital, so that left everyone else to set up before they returned.

"Nice work," the familiar voice of Layla remarked. Turning around, he spotted her standing next to Dawn, a wary look on her face.

Since their fight, Layla had claimed that she'd forgiven him, but she hadn't been acting that way. He didn't understand how there could be any sides in an argument between him and Layla, but the glares and hushed whispers from May and Dawn said otherwise. He'd even stayed back to avoid raising any further suspicions about his relationship with Misty. It also allowed him to spend more time with Layla, but Layla preferred to spend time with May and Dawn. The time alone forced him to think about what Brock had said, but even if he'd promised himself he would tell Layla the truth, good or bad, first, he had to figure it out himself.

oOo

Misty tried to fight the unavoidable fatigue as she sat on the couch, listening to her friends chatter around her about Daisy and Tracey's upcoming wedding plans. Misty covertly rolled her eyes, trying not to display her feelings too much. Ever since she'd gotten engaged, Daisy had used every second of her free time to discuss her wedding plans, which seemed to change by the day. The couple had initially planned to have a spring wedding, but, as Daisy shared with the group, she'd recently been offered a gig on a TV show that was supposed to begin filming in the spring.

"How ya feeling, Red?" Gary asked as he directed his attention away from wedding planning.

"Oh, I'm okay, I guess," she replied. Her chest still ached a little at the site of her incision, and she was still fighting the exhaustion of the last few days. "Just a little tired."

She didn't want to fall asleep on her friends, especially after they'd worked so hard to throw her a welcome home celebration, but the combination of her exhaustion and the comforting warmth of Gary's arms wrapped around her was hard to fight. When Gary first joined her on the couch and pulled her close, Misty panicked, forgetting that their relationship was no longer a secret. But with a sigh of relief, she admitted it was nice no longer having the secret hanging over her head.