A/N: I changed Paris and anything French related to Kalos. Also, I do not speak French, so if I'm wrong, please let me know.

Chapter Seven

Misty groaned as sunlight streamed through the window and onto her face. She rolled over, pressing her face into the pillow. It'd been a few weeks since her surgery. Although she was steadily growing stronger and starting to resume her responsibilities as the Cerulean City Gym Leader, she was accustomed to sleeping in each day.

"Ten more minutes," she mumbled.

"Okay, but I have a surprise for you." Misty stilled, rolling back over and cracking open an eye to see who was in her room. The blurry image began to slowly focus to reveal the unruly black hair of Ash Ketchum. As the two made eye contact, he grinned back at her. "I knew you'd never turn down a surprise."

Misty huffed, slamming her face into the bedspread and shoving her middle finger in his direction. Ash laughed, a smug look on his face. What she would give to wipe that expression from his face. He'd gained the upper hand in her weakened state. Once she fully regained her strength, he was in for it.

"Pika!" She sensed the tiny dip in the mattress as Pikachu landed on her bedspread. Pikachu grew closer, sticking his nose directly in Misty's face. He tilted his head, calling to her in a questioning voice. "Pikachupi?"

Reaching out her arm, Misty rested her hand on Pikachu's head, lightly scratching him between the ears. Pikachu closed his eyes, leaning into the attention he was receiving with a soft chaa. On the days when Gary wasn't able to stay the night, she'd fallen asleep with Pikachu curled up on the pillow next to her head. The buzz of static that radiated from his body and his light snoring was like white noise that helped her fall asleep when her mind was spinning.

Finally giving in to the idea of waking up, she sat up and flexed her arms to the side. "What time is it anyway?" She blushed as a loud yawn escaped her mouth.

"One."

"What?"

How had she slept that long? The last time she'd slept past 12, she was still traveling.

"Brock made lunch. Everyone else is downstairs, so come down once you're ready," Ash explained before standing up to leave. Pikachu leaped from the bed and onto his shoulder to hitch a ride. His face flushed as he said, "If you need any help...uh...you know..." he gestured vaguely at her. "Daisy said to text her."

Misty nodded, despite having no idea what he was trying to say.

He waved before walking out the door. "See ya downstairs."

"Pika pika!"

oOo

Dressed in an old sweatshirt and sweatpants and with her hair pulled back in a messy bun, Misty sat on the bleachers in the Cerulean City gym, a blanket wrapped around her. Pikachu sat in her lap, eyes fixed on the Olympic-sized pool in front of them. The pool had been closed off by two giant panels that pushed together to create a stage. To her left, and what felt like a mile away, sat Layla, her eyes slightly narrowed and a grimace on her face.

Misty had tried to talk with Layla, but the girl's answers were snippy and very unlike the warm and welcoming person Misty had been introduced to the week prior. The tension between them felt suffocating, but Misty had no idea what she had done to make Layla so cold towards her. Even Pikachu seemed unsure what to do as he cast worried glances between the two women. Layla was clearly still upset about whatever she and Ash had been fighting about, but Misty didn't know how she was involved. Had she said something to Layla that made it seem like she was on Ash's side?

"Hey Layla," Misty called, finally taking the initiative to break the ice. Layla turned around, but she still looked annoyed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she snipped. "Just tired."

Layla did look tired with small dark circles under her eyes, but deep down, Misty felt there was something more going on that Layla wasn't telling her.

"You sure?" Misty hesitated. "Look, I know we barely know each other, but I'm happy to listen if you want to talk. Trust me. If anyone knows how much of an idiot Ash can be, it's me."

Misty caught a glimpse of anger in Layla's eyes. Ah, so Gary was right. She and Ash are fighting. What stupid thing did he say or do this time? Layla sighed, and her face scrunched up like she'd eaten something sour.

"What did he do this time?" Misty asked, scooting closer to Layla. For a moment, Layla remained defensive, but her hardened exterior was slowly fading away. As she watched Layla's face closely, Misty couldn't help but think that it should be Ash here comforting his girlfriend and not her.

"I know you and Ash are close, and I'm totally fine with that, I promise. I don't want to be one of those girlfriends who is jealous because her boyfriend's best friend is a girl. I trust Ash, I really do," Layla explained, but it felt more like she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince Misty. "But ever since he got here, he's been acting weird. He's been lying to me, and he tried to trick me into helping him lie to you."

Misty raised her eyebrows in alarm. She would ask what Layla was talking about, but she didn't want to interrupt.

"I just don't understand," Layla groaned. "I'm not trying to fish for compliments or anything, but I've done so much for him this past year. When we first started dating, he was depressed. He had panic attacks pretty regularly, and he tried to hide them from me, but I eventually figured it out. I never made him talk about what was bothering him if he didn't want to. I was always there for him, even if it was the middle of the night.

My brother told me that I needed to break up with Ash-that I was giving more to this relationship than I was getting out of it-but I couldn't do that to Ash. I love him, and I know it's not his fault. But now..." she trailed off, her voice cracking. Misty could see tears hovering in the corners of her eyes. "Now, I think my brother may be right. I'm glad that Ash seems to be doing better now that he's here with you and his other friends, but he's become so focused on this bucket list that I wonder if he even remembers that I'm here, too."

Misty sighed, shaking her head in disbelief. I could punch him right now, Misty grumbled internally. God, he's such an idiot. Layla was right. The obsessions and intense focus on a single goal were nothing new to Misty, but the lying was not the Ash she knew.

"You should talk to Ash," Misty finally answered. Layla narrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not trying to excuse his behavior-he's being an asshole. But he has a good heart. He probably doesn't even realize you're feeling this way. He's not exactly known for his intuition when it comes to women."

Layla chuckled, a slight grin on her face. "May and Dawn told me the same thing. I guess you guys are all Ash-experts."

Misty rolled her eyes, grumbling softly. "Unfortunately, but you should just talk to Ash. Be honest about how you're feeling. He may not have great insight, but he's a good listener. And I can talk to him, too. Tell him to tone it down on the bucket list a little."

"I don't know," Layla replied. "He seems happy to be helping you, and I wouldn't want that to take that away from him. It's like it's given him a purpose or something. I don't know how to explain it."

Misty softly smiled. "That's just Ash," she replied. "He cares about his friends, and he'll move mountains to do anything for them." Misty sighed, shaking her head. "Plus, I think he's scared."

"What do you mean?"

"Ash and I have a complicated, um, friendship, and even though it's been years since he visited before this all happened, we're still close. So, when I got sick, I think he was scared it was too late. Now he's kind of overcompensating."

Layla nodded in understanding. "Yeah...that makes sense. I just wish he would talk to me about it."

"We all do, but he loves you. He's told me several times-in only the way he can-how much he appreciates everything you do for him. I know it probably doesn't mean much coming from me, but-"

Layla placed her hand on Misty's, cutting her off. "No, I know. I just needed to be reminded, I guess. Thank you, Misty."

"You're welcome," she replied. "And if he's still being an idiot, just let Pikachu know. He'll snap Ash right out of it, right Pikachu?"

"Pika!" Pikachu grinned, flexing his tiny arms as electricity danced around him. Layla leaned back to avoid the electricity, but Misty could see that there was a small smile on her face.

Misty covered her eyes as the room went dark, and a spotlight shined center stage. Before Misty could figure out what was going on, Daisy's voice boomed over the loudspeakers.

Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;

Whose misadventured piteous overthrows

Do with their death bury their parents' strife.

The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,

And the continuance of their parents' rage,

Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,

Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;

The which if you with patient ears attend,

What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

From stage right, Brock and Dawn walked out dressed in soldiers uniforms and with a fake sword at their side. Within a few moments, Ash and Drew entered from stage left, and the four "men" drew their swords as they prepared to duel. Before the duel could result in any casualties, Max rushed out to break the men apart. Gary followed close behind, his sword drawn and prepared to start a dual of his own. Although Misty would have found it fitting that Gary serve Romeo's role, the short-tempered Tybalt was a suitable backup.

As the play carried on, Misty quickly lost herself to what she declared one of the greatest love stories of all time. Even Layla, who struggled to follow the antique language, caught on to the different characters and reacted to the drama that unfolded on the stage. And when Daisy and Tracey appeared on stage as Romeo and Juliet, Misty rolled her eyes because, of course, Daisy had cast herself and Tracey as the lead roles.

OoO

Ash stood in front of the dressing room mirror, trying his best to adjust his costume. During the climactic fight that resulted in two of the main characters' death, his hat had fallen off, and the tights he was forced to wear had gotten torn by one of the fake swords. While he had no complaints about continuing without the tights, Daisy insisted on nothing but perfection. When he'd told her about the damage to his costume, she'd yelled at him about being more careful.

"Hey."

Ash whipped around to see Misty standing in the doorway, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She tried her best to keep a straight face, but he could see the corner of her mouth twitch. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Doubling over, Misty burst out into laughter, using her blanket to muffle the laughter. Ash frowned, rolling his eyes before turning around to ignore her. If she were just going to come in and laugh at her, he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of retorting back.

"I did this for you, you know," he grumbled.

Misty's laughing died down enough for her to respond. "I know, but you look ridiculous. I think you should wear this every day instead of those dumb jackets and baseball caps you always wear. I'm sure Layla would love your new wardrobe."

Ash smiled, his lips cracking into a flirtatious smile. "You're right, she would. She wouldn't be able to keep her hands off of me."

Misty stuck her finger in her mouth, tilting her head as she pretended to vomit all over the floor. Ash smirked victoriously, although his cheeks were a little warm. He tried not to think about it too much-it felt too much like something Brock would do-but the thought of Layla's hands all over him didn't seem so bad.

"Anyways," Misty cut in with a rather dramatic arch to her voice, "Layla told me that you two are going leaving on Thursday. I didn't want to believe it because I could never imagine my best friend leaving without first saying goodbye."

Oh yeah. After talking with Layla the other day, the two had decided to return to traveling since Misty was feeling better and because Ash couldn't delay his journey for much longer. He'd told some people, but not Misty. Maybe it was because he didn't want to leave. Regardless of the reason that brought him here, he'd enjoyed his time with Misty and their friends. It'd been years since his last visit, and he hated to think this one was coming to an end. It made him wonder how many years would go by before they met up once more. Ash shook his head. No, I won't let that happen again. Not after I almost lost her.

"Ash?" Misty's voice pulled him back to reality.

"Sorry."

"Are you really leaving?"

"Yeah," he answered, but his voice was barely above a whisper. He wasn't even to the point where he was leaving, and already he felt the gut-wrenching sadness he'd only felt when a visit with Misty came to an end. "You seem to be doing much better, and you don't need me anymore, so I figured I should probably return to traveling..." Before Misty could react, he mustered up a fake smile and his can-do attitude. "Besides, I'll never become a Pokemon Master if I waste my time hanging around here."

"Oh." Misty's smile fell, and a pained look took its place. "I see...That's true. I guess I've already caused enough of an inconvenience for you."

Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Why did he let his ego get carried away like that? This is not how he wanted to leave things with Misty.

"Mist, that's not what I meant. I jus-"

"No, it's fine," she snipped. Misty pursed her lips, her face void of any emotion. "Besides, I came to give you this." Misty pulled an envelope out of her pocket and handed it over to Ash. The envelope was a bright red, and someone had written his name on the front in black calligraphy.

"Three things: Try to brush that pidgey's nest of yours, don't be late, and DON'T screw this up. If you do, I'll kill you."

Ash gulped as he glanced back and forth between the envelope and Misty. "Okay...Right. Got it. Don't screw it up."

Misty shook her head. "You owe me, Ketchum," she told him before turning around to leave.

When Misty left the room, Ash ripped open the envelope and pulled out the card tucked inside.

Ash,

Be in the dining room tonight at 7:30 pm SHARP! Wear something nice and brush that rattata's nest you call hair. Consider this my thank you for your help with the bucket list so far.

Misty

P.S. DON'T SCREW THIS UP!

OoO

Just as Misty's note had instructed, Ash walked into the dining room at 7:30 pm on the dot. He'd arrived a little earlier, but he'd been too afraid to go in before 7:30 that he'd stood outside the door until it was time.

His eyes widened as he walked in. The room was transformed into one of those restaurants he could never afford, complete with gold decorations, and a bright, red tablecloth laid across the table, two small candles sitting on top. In the middle of the table was a small vase with red roses. Classical music played softly in time with a projector screen cycling through pictures of Kalos from the corner of the room. It was exactly how he had planned to complete number 15 on Misty's bucket list: Visit Kalos.

Wait a second...

"Ash?"

He turned around and froze. Layla stared back at him with a timid smile on her face, but she looked beautiful. Her brown hair had been curled and fell loosely on her shoulders in waves that made that blond highlights stand out. Her cheeks were tinted red, although he wasn't sure if it was because she was embarrassed or if it was the result of the light makeup she'd put on. Finally, her purple, long-sleeved dress was printed with a floral pattern that seemed to match the aroma of flowers that followed her.

"Uh...hey," he greeted her with a slight wave. "You, uh..." He stumbled over his words, reaching his hand to scratch the back of his neck. Feeling ridiculous, he cleared his throat and placed his hands back at his side. "You look really beautiful."

Layla giggled. "Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself." Walking over, she reached her hand forward to run it through his combed hair. "I see you finally attempted to tame that rattata's nest of yours."

Ash nodded. He wouldn't tell her how long it had taken him-or how painful it had been-but he'd put in a lot of effort to try and make himself not look like he'd been training all day. Stepping back, Layla folded her arms and tilted her head, observing him. Reaching forward once more, she ruffled his hair, causing some of the strands to bounce back to their carefree state.

"That's better," she finally said. "Looks more like the Ash I know. Now let's sit down. I'm starving."

As if that'd been the magic words he was waiting for, Brock appeared seemingly out of nowhere, dressed as a waiter and wearing an obviously fake mustache. "Bonsoir Monsieur, Madame."

Placing the menus on the table in front of them, Brock listed off the meal's specials and his recommendations before taking their drink orders. The entire time he talked, Brock spoke in the native Kalosian language. Since when does Brock know Kalosian? Even when Ash stared at him quizzically, the foreign words meaning absolutely nothing to him, Brock never broke character. He probably learned it to impress some girl, Ash concluded, rolling his eyes as Brock spouted more nonsense at him.

"Et pour dîner, vous avez choisi?" Brock asked with his pen poised over a notepad.

"Je voudrais le steak frites," Layla replied in near-perfect Kalosian.

Brock nodded as he scribbled on his notepad. Ash looked between the two, bewildered and a little frustrated. "Bien Madame, quelle cuisson?"

"Bien cuit, s'il vous plaît."

"Bien. Et vous Monsieur?" Brock asked, turning his attention to Ash.

When he didn't respond, Layla lightly kicked his shin with her foot before gesturing to the menu, her eyebrows raised in alarm. When he didn't respond, continuing to stare blankly at his menu, Layla finally stepped in, but not without a dramatic sigh.

"Il aura un hamburger," she answered for him, "Et une glace au chocolat."

"Bien."

When Brock finally walked away, Ash slapped his menu on the table as he slumped back in his seat. "Since when do you speak Kalosian?" he questioned Layla with suspicion. They had traveled to Kalos together, but not once during their trip did he hear her speak Kalosian or even mention that she could speak it.

Layla placed her menu on the table. "Serena and Bonnie taught me." She gazed at him expectantly, but he was lost in thought. Did we see Serena or Bonnie on our last trip to Kalos? "You introduced me when we ran into Serena in Johto...remember? We hung out while you were training for your battle. Serena introduced me to Bonnie."

Ash felt like his brain was about to explode. "You're friends with Serena?"

"Um...yes?" Ash couldn't pinpoint why, but something about Serena being friends with his girlfriend worried him.

Ash slumped back in his seat, arms folded across his chest. "Huh...Who knew?"

OoO

After having played nearly ten rounds of Go Goldeen with Pikachu, Misty had tried to go to sleep, but when she found herself staring at the ceiling, her thoughts racing, she decided that eating a late-night snack would be a better way to spend her time. As she turned to go down the steps, she froze upon hearing Ash and Layla's voices echo from the family room. Their voices were low and hushed, and they were facing each other from opposite ends of the couch. Ash sat on his end, frowning at his bowl of ice cream, a troubled look on his face while Layla sat with her back to Misty. Misty's face turned a light red when she noticed Ash was shirtless, wearing nothing but his boxers. His freshly cleaned hair was plastered against his face, making it look flatter and smoother than he usually wore his hair. Like a train running at full speed, the realization that Ash was no longer a pubescent boy hit her with full force.

Misty turned back around to head back to her bedroom; it was obvious this conversation was not meant for her ears, and she felt guilty eavesdropping. But then she heard her name slip out of Layla's mouth.

"I talked with Misty," she said.

Ash tilted his head in confusion. "Um, okay? What about?"

"We talked about you," Layla explained. "I'm worried about you. Ever since we got here, you just haven't been yourself. Or maybe this is the real you, and I'm the one who messed up." When Ash looked even more confused, Layla sighed, leaning back into the couch cushion. She crossed and uncrossed her arms several times before deciding to put them in her lap. "Is there something going on between you and Misty?"

"I don't understand what you're asking."

"Misty told me you two have a complicated relationship. Are you in love with her?"

Ash's eyes widened in alarm, and he nearly choked on his ice cream. "What!?"

Misty nearly gave herself away, covering her mouth to muffle her alarm.

"I know she's your best friend, but ever since I got here, you've become obsessed with this bucket list. I'm starting to think there's a lot more going on than friendship. Or that you wish there were. I saw the way you looked at Gary when he took Misty to bed. And you lied to me and tricked me into helping you find out who was writing love letters to Misty when you could have just asked Misty."

"Nothing is going on between Misty and me," Ash rebutted. He sighed in exasperation, nearly rolling his eyes. Misty could sympathize, having gone through this conversation one too many times. "She's my best friend, Layla. I'm not trying to gain anything by helping her. I love you, and you're my girlfriend, not Misty. She's happy with Gary, although I can't understand why...Still, if Gary made her happy, then I'm happy for them, no matter how crazy it is that they're dating."

Misty couldn't see Layla's reaction, but based on the look of relief that washed over Ash's face, Layla seemed to have believed him. "I'm sorry," Layla apologized as she covered her face in embarrassment. "I don't want to be the jealous girlfriend. I've liked spending time with your friends and getting to know them better, but I feel like an outsider here because I don't know the history between everyone. It's hard not to be suspicious."

"Layla...," Ash breathed her name like one would console a child. Ash grimaced as he placed his bowl of ice cream on the floor.

Misty's stomach twisted up into knots as she watched him move closer to Layla. He pried her hands away from her face before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close. Layla's head rested on Ash's chest as her shoulders shook. Misty felt like a terrible friend. Why didn't she say anything to me before? She, of all people, should have seen that Layla's anger toward Ash was a cover for something more. Misty could only imagine how Layla was feeling, trying to sew her place in their tightly knitted group. She should have made more of an effort to make Layla feel welcome, or at least gotten their friends to help her.

And now Ash and Layla were leaving. Who knew what would happen once their group parted ways once more. Would they go back to their busy lives? Misty shook her head. I'm not going to let that happen.

Ash pressed a tender kiss on Layla's temple before resting his chin on her head.

Having overstayed her welcome-not that she'd been invited in the first place-Misty turned away to retreat to her room.