Unclear – A White Day fanfic
"My lovely, this is for y– GAH!"
Poison Jabbed into submission, Brock fell to the floor and was dragged away yet again by the stoic Croagunk.
Sigh. "You know, you're only supposed to give those presents to women who gave you chocolate." Dawn helped the weakened Pokémon Breeder to his feet and sat him against the bench.
"Really sorry for that." She bowed apologetically towards the Nurse Joy across the room. The Pokémon Center nurse simply laughed in embarrassment before returning to her duties.
Brock groaned as he adjusted himself against the slippery leather cushions. "Ow… I'm sure she would've sent me some chocolates if she had gotten to know me before Valentine's Day." He excused his actions with a pathetic smile.
The blue-haired Coordinator shook her head, feeling pity for him. "Of course."
With a stretch and adjustment of her skirt, she sat on the seat closest to her.
…
…
An awkward silence filled the air.
A silence formed from Dawn's anxious thoughts. Though these moments alone with Brock were common, she feared that he would notice something specifically different about this particular occasion.
"So why have you been sitting out here all day?" He did notice.
"I – uh… just needed some fresh air." she nervously responded.
Brock raised his brow. "But this is the lobby. You could've wandered out into the town, you know."
"Uhm… Just waiting for Piplup to heal up." She looked away, avoiding eye contact.
"Wasn't that an hour ago?"
Dawn stiffened. She pretended to fumble with her purse. "O-Oh, you're right! Silly me, Piplup's been with me all this time!"
With her answers beginning to run out, she forced her focus elsewhere as she scratched her neck.
"Hmm." Brock eyed her curiously.
Within seconds, a smirk formed across his face. "You're waiting for a gift, aren't you?"
"Wh-What? You c-can't be serious!"
He laughed in satisfaction, glad to have caught her off-guard. "Who is it? Is it Paul?"
She gave a blank stare. "What? No!"
Brock massaged his chin. "You're right, we didn't even see him on Valentine's, did we?"
Changing his posture to reflect a far more ponderous state, he attempted to investigate the circumstances with his memories of past events.
Dawn had no time for this, nor did she want to allow him any time to get any closer to an answer. Eyeing the room for a distraction, she found it in a returning Nurse Joy.
She was ready to call her out, about to give a useless question just so the nurse's presence would throw out the Breeder's focus and attention.
However, her call was cut off by the sight of a passing boy.
Her eyes locked onto his form. She eyed him quickly and almost desperately – searching for any held items, pocketed objects, or even loosely attached accessories.
A feeling of disappointment filled her as no such trinkets could be spotted. Yet it only pushed her to re-check and re-evaluate the situation. She slowly moved to a standing position to get a better angle.
The young man wasn't looking her way. He wasn't walking in her direction. And he certainly wasn't aware that she was even there. Facts that caused even further disappointment.
Quite the opposite of what she had wanted – she found herself absolutely distracted from the conversation she just had.
Her curious stares and interested leans and glances had spelled her intentions out clearly to her seated friend.
"Ah~ I get it."
Brock's voice snapped her attention back to her immediate reality. She backed away from him in slight shock – having temporarily forgotten that he was still there.
"You're one of his 'secret admirers', aren't you?" he continued with a mischievous grin. "One of the ones that sent him chocolates on Valentine's Day!"
Dawn's face instantly turned red. "WH-WHAT? N-NO WAY!" she defended passionately.
But her blushing face had only solidified Brock's speculations.
The Pokémon Breeder crashed back against the couch and laughed in self-earned victory. "You have a thing for Ash!"
"Huh? You guys talking about me?" Ash called from across the lobby. He stopped his questions for Nurse Joy to give his travel companions his complete attention.
"N-No. Not at all!" Dawn scratched at her hair and looked away. "He said 'sash'! I have a thing for sashes!" She laughed as her face turned redder.
The Pokémon Trainer shrugged and turned back to the nurse.
Dawn angrily held her finger to her lips as she shot a glare towards Brock. "Shh! Don't say that out loud!" she hissed.
He held back a laugh, finding the entire scene and situation humorous. A small chuckle escaped his throat.
"What's so funny?" Dawn's eyes narrowed – slightly offended by his reaction.
Brock smirked. "You seriously think he's going to give you back something?"
The Coordinator felt a twinge of hurt hit her heart. "Y-You don't think he likes me back?"
"I never said that… I just think…" Brock leaned towards Dawn, prompting her to lean towards him in response. "I just think Ash is a bit dense about these things."
She frowned. "…dense?"
"Well, did you sign your Valentine's Day card for him?"
"N-No. I just put 'Secret Admirer'." she whispered cautiously. Ash didn't seem to notice, much to her relief.
"And how many 'Secret Admirer' letters did he get that day?"
"Seven." she answered immediately. It was an answer she knew by heart due to the jealousy she had felt at seeing Ash receive so many 'anonymously given' chocolates.
"So how is he going to know you sent him one?"
"I left a few obvious hints that it was from me." Her face turned pink again. "…and that I'd be waiting for him in the same Pokémon Center as him for White Day in case he'd want to… ah… return the favor." With an embarrassed frown, she covered her rosy cheeks.
Brock sighed. The roles reversed as now he began feeling pity for her. "Do you think Ash even knows today is White Day?"
"W-Well there were signs outsi–"
He interrupted, "Or even remembers a note from a month ago? Or even know what White Day is?"
…
…
Dawn glanced back at Ash. The Pokémon Trainer was trying to find change in his pockets to use for the public vidphone.
Time for his weekly call to his mom, she thought to herself with disappointment.
Sigh. "You're right… I doubt he's even interested." The Coordinator's shoulders slumped in defeat. With another sigh, she sat on the cushion next to Brock. "I sometimes wonder if he'll ever be interested in this stuff."
Her depressed acceptance earned her a friendly pat on the shoulder. Brock gave an encouraging smile. "I'm sure he'll come around. His head's just always filled with Pokémon Battles."
With a thought, he continued, "Maybe after he becomes a Pokémon Master of at least one region he'll be more open to the idea."
Dawn smiled. "Yeah… maybe you're right. I just wish he'd hurry that up."
The Coordinator glanced towards the Trainer again. He was currently fumbling with his coin fees. His clumsy actions brought a giggle to her lips.
"Though I'm willing to wait…" she whispered to herself, allowing a blush to break through.
…
…
Ash adjusted his position and looked over his shoulder. Dawn was staring at him funny again. His given attention made her panic as she gave a nervous wave. He waved back.
The sound of the call going through made him turn back towards the screen.
Again he adjusted himself, making sure no one could see the vidphone's display.
"H-Hello?"
"H-Hi…" he responded back with an equal stutter. "D-Did you get the package?"
"…y-yeah… the pearls are… um… beautiful."
He refused to stare directly into the screen, using his peripheral vision to watch the figure on the monitor. "I… uh… thanks for the chocolates." he half-mumbled as he scratched the back of his head.
"I'm kinda' surprised you knew it was from me…"
"Your handwriting's pretty easy for me to recognize." Ash admitted with a blush. "W-Well… I gotta' go. Uh… have a great day…"
"Th-Thanks… …you too… Take care of yourself, Ash."
"You too…"
"Talk to you later, Ash. …b-bye."
"…bye… …Misty."
-click-