Daisy clapped her hands excitedly. âI think itâs finally, like, coming together!â
âAbout time,â Misty sighed, rolling her eyes at the giddy reflections of her sisters in the mirror. âAre we done now?â
âNot quite,â Lily sang, stepping up behind her and, with a flourish, began clipping in her long, wavy hair extensions. âNow that the dress is done, we like, need to figure out your hair.â
Misty let out an agonized groan. âIâm going to be under water!â she cried. âIt doesnât matter what my hair looks like!â
âOf course it does,â Violet tutted, handing Lily a hairbrush and a little bag of bobby-pins. âYouâre the bride.â
It, thankfully, wasnât actually Mistyâs wedding day they were planning, but ever since Daisy and Tracy got engaged, her sisters had been obsessed with all things bridal, and insisted this yearâs big water ballet performance needed to include a wedding ceremony at the end.
Which brought them here: Misty in an almost unreasonably heavy, bright white swimsuit-turned-wedding dress, acting as a life-sized doll for her sisters to dress up with unparalleled sadistic glee for their dress rehearsal that evening.
She said it every year, but this year she meant it. They owed her big time. Especially sinceâ
âOkay Misty, Iâve got Oshawott like you asked,â Ashâs voice boomed from the hallway as he slammed open the door and burst into the room. âProfessor Oak just sent it over andâOh!â He froze, his eyes widening as he took in Mistyâs appearance. âI-Iâm so sorry,â he stammered, looking away with a blush, âI didnât realize you were getting dressed!â
Misty felt her cheeks flush traitorously as well, but she willfully stomped it down. âItâs fine Ash, donât worry, weâre just about done here anyway.â
âWe are not,â Violet huffed, but Misty ignored her.
âWhy donât you go let Oshawott into the pool to meet the others? Iâll be out in a second, I just need to get changed.â
âActually, Ash,â Daisy sang, materializing next to him and guiding him by his shoulders over to where Misty stood on display. âWe could like, really use your help with something.â
Ash blinked at her owlishly and pointed to himself in surprise. âMe?â he asked. âUh, I donât think Iâm the right person to ask about things like, umâŚâ He gulped, trailing off as he took in Mistyâs appearance up close and personal.
âNonsense,â Daisy replied easily, and gestured to Lily to forcibly turn the reluctant Misty to face him as well. âWeâve like, finally got the dress all figured out, but now weâre stuck on the hair. We all have totally different opinions on how it should look. We need an outside perspective.â
Ashâs eyes met Mistyâs briefly in a moment of panic before he turned back to Daisy, rubbing his neck nervously. âI dunno, Daisy. I mean, you guys only asked me to come so I could bring more water pokemon for the show, right? I donât know anything about hair.â
Misty bit the inside of her cheek to keep from rolling her eyes or snapping; as if that was the only reason her scheming sisters had called in Ash! Those lying littleâŚ
âAw, donât sell yourself short, Ash,â Violet chirped, skipping over to him as well. âItâll only take a second. Weâve narrowed it down to two styles.â
âFirst,â Lily began, bunching up Mistyâs hair into a stylish pile at the back of her head, a few loose strands pulled free to frame her face, âis a fancy and elegant updo. Timeless and sophisticated, but a bit more work for us, like, between scenes. The other optionâŚâ Lily let Mistyâs hair fall back around her shoulders and down her back, giving it a little shake to help it all fall back into place, âis down. The visuals tend to play better in the water, and it saves us some time during the costume change, but itâll be down for the whole show, so it doesnât feel, like, quite as special for what is supposed to be her wedding.â
âWhat do you think?â Daisy asked, grinning obnoxiously. âWhich one totally screams âMistyâ and âmarriageâ to you?â
Okay, that was the last straw.
âWould you guys cut it out?â Misty cried, willing her blush away with the fire of her irritation. âAsh doesnât have time for this! Just let him get back to the Pokemon so he canââ
Misty snapped her mouth shut, her eyes widening at Ashâs voice and his suddenly determined expression. âWhat?â she asked, barely above a whisper.
âI think it looks best down,â he repeated confidently. âBut⌠Shorter. Like without the extra hair. How it looks normally.â
Misty let his words clang around in her head for a moment, her mouth hanging open in surprise as her own words failed her.
âUh, b-but thatâs just my opinion! L-like I said, I donât know anything about this stuff!â Ash babbled, his face flushing as he began inching closer and closer to the door. âAnyway, I, uh. Iâm gonna go get Oshawott all settled, Iâll see you later! Good luck with the hair thing!â he called out behind him as he rushed down the hall.
âOh, he totally has a thing for you, baby sister,â Violet purred as soon as he was out of earshot.
Misty groaned, covering her burning face. âPlease donât.â
Lily scoffed. âShe canât just have shorter hair all of a sudden after having long hair the whole show.â
âI think we can do whatever we want,â Daisy replied with a grin. âWhy donât you get changed and go spend some time with Ash, Misty.â She winked. âWeâll figure this all out by rehearsal.â
âI hate you guys,â Misty sighed, but let Lily take out her extensions and shuffled behind the changing screen.
If, after she was changed, she left her hair free from her ponytail as she went out to the pool, no one (thankfully) mentioned it.
