"I guess people around here are just that generous." I thought.
"Krow?" Murkrow squawked, looking at me.
"Nah, its nothing," I reassured it, "I just think its kinda funny!"
I motioned toward my guitar bag. Murkrow turned to look at it for a second before flapping of the bench and landing next it. As it took one of the bills in it wing, it started laughing.
"Murhurhurhurkrow!" it laughed.
"Knock it of," I chuckled, "its not like we got it by scamming anyone."
We really hadn't. I had bought a new mini amp to strap to my belt and had wanted to see how it held up outside. When it turned out to work fine, I decided to just stick around, practice, and enjoy the day. The fact that people were mistaking me for a busker was just a coincidence, and I guess... a bonus! Murkrow put the bill back and returned to the back rest next to me. I continued playing for a few more minutes until a small voice sounded from behind me, a voice I recognized. It was a good thing the song I had started playing had a guitar break in it, or I never would have heard.
"Um... hi Logan." the girl greeted me.
I turned.
"What's up Dawn?" I greeted her back, gesturing for her to take a seat.
"Oh, nothing much." she giggled sitting down next to me as her Piplup and my Murkrow began talking behind us.
"Eh, that's okay," I said, "its one of those days to just kick back!"
"Yeah, your right!" she smiled before noticing my little money pile, "Wow! You're really raking it in!"
"Not really." I shrugged, continuing to strum.
The two of us stayed quiet for a few seconds. I looked over to her and saw her just staring at the ground, hands cupped in her lap, a sad look in her eye. I knew that she was troubled, and I had feeling I knew what about. But I asked anyway.
"You seem kinda bummed Dawn, feel like talkin'?" I asked a bit passively.
"I don't know..." she sniffed.
"Its cool if you don't wanna, but..."
"No, no, I do!" she said quickly, "Its just..."
"Its about Ash... isn't?" I asked.
She just nodded, refusing to look me in the eye.
"Called it!" I thought, rolling my eyes.
I knew full well that Dawn was in love with Ash, we all did. Not only that, but it was pretty obvious that Ash loved her back, whether or not he chose to acknowledge it was left to be seen. Dawn began explaining.
"Its just... every since Misty's sisters came back to their gym, Misty has been keeping Ash all to herself, I hardly ever get to spend time with him anymore.
"You try talking to him?" I asked.
"I've tried," she retorted, "but she always pulls him away from me."
A while back, Misty's sisters finally returned to the Cerulean gym, freeing Misty up a bit more to spend time with everyone, particularly Ash. If one didn't know any better, seeing the two of them as they usually were, it'd be easy to say that they were dating. As much as I did sympathized with Dawn, I couldn't help but feel that she just wasn't taking this serious enough (not that I'm really one to talk).
"Maybe I should just..." Dawn started again, tears forming in her eyes, "...give up."
"Don't!" I boomed, causing her to jump, "Look Dawn, do you really like Ash?"
"Of course I do." she replied weakly.
"No," I started, "I mean, do you REALLY like him?"
"Huh?" she turned to me, a light blush now kissing her cheeks.
"Look Dawn, lets not beat around the bush here," I said, "you love Ash, don't you?"
Dawn quickly turned her gaze back to the ground, her blush intensifying.
"Don't you?" I asked again.
"..."
She finally looked up.
"Yes..." she said softly, "more than I've ever loved anyone!"
"Then why is this so hard for you?" I asked, lowering my tone.
She turned to me.
"You give a hundred and ten percent as a coordinator, so if you feel that strongly for Ash, it only makes sense that you'd give AT LEAST that much to win him over."
"Yeah, but Logan..."
"No buts," I cut her off, placing a firm hand on her shoulder, "Dawn, you've gotta show that you're willing to fight for the person you love. Take the advice that I didn't when I was in this kind of situation, let Ash know how you feel!"
She turned away from me, staying quiet. I let out a sigh and went back to my playing. A few seconds past before she spoke up again.
"Logan," she started, "do you really think... that Ash and I should be together?" she asked sheepishly.
I didn't answer right away. While I could have just said something like "Of course" or "Absolutely", I knew I had to come up with something with a bit more juice. Dawn was clearly torn by the whole ordeal, she seemed as though she really did want to act on her love for Ash, but was pretty firmly held back by her nervousness, which was pretty damn surprising. I had to say something that would show her that her and Ash were meant to be. My dad was pretty smooth when it came to women, and now I was REALLY hoping I had inherited some of it.
"The way I see it Dawn," I started warmly, "you and Ash are like the melody of a song."
She turned to me and tilted her head, clearly curious as to what I was talking about.
"One of you are notes," I explained, before strumming out a riff reminiscent of Def Leppard's 'Pour Some Sugar on me' , "while the other are chords", I continued, changing to a riff from The Scorpions' 'Rock you like a Hurricane'.
Dawn watched and listened like she was in a trance.
"The both work and sound fine separate", I explained, "but, its when they come together is when they create something truly worthwhile!" I finished as I launched into the chorus riff from AC/DC's 'You Shook Me'.
When I finished, Dawn still refused to say anything. I began to think that maybe I had made things a bit too complicated for her. But then she stood up, a confident look in her eye.
"You're right Logan!" she announced, "and its a strong, beautiful melody that makes a song an all time classic!"
I was in shock. I never expected something like that to come from Dawn, though she was seriously cutting corners with what she claimed, but I didn't want to deprive her of her moment and newfound confidence. Even though I had nailed it, I still struggled to say something, still in shock.
"Uh... sure! Lets go with that!" I said with an awkward grin.
She then twirled around and leaned toward my face.
"Thank you Logan!" she said sweetly as she gave me a quick peck on the cheek.
"Hey!" I retorted, wiping the spot where she kissed me, "Save it for Ash, will ya? Now get out of here, you're buggin' the hell outta me now!" I joked.
"C'mon Piplup!" she said with a giggle as she and the penguin Pokemon hurried off.
As I watched her leave, couldn't help but let out a few laughs. Murkrow flew up and landed on my shoulder.
"Murkrow?" it squawked, seeming to ask what was up.
"She's pretty lively, that Dawn." I said, leaning back and returning to my guitar.
As I strummed, I began to think about what I had said.
"Like the melody of a song! Gee, thanks dad!" I thought with a sarcastic chuckle.
Night had long since fallen. I was coming out of the restaurant rubbing my shoulder, my guitar bag in hand. I let Murkrow out of its Pokeball where it proceeded to hover next to me. I took out my wallet, the (not)busking money I had made had paid for my meal, and I was hungry. I only had, perhaps, about a quarter of what I originally had, not a lot, but a little is better than nothing.
"Well, so much for that." I said, looking at the little money I had left.
"Krow." Murkrow added.
"Oh well," I shrugged, slipping the cash into my wallet, "It'll hold me over until payday."
I shoved my wallet back into my pocket and slung my bag across my back.
"Lets go home, I'm done." I said as I stretch my arms out.
"Murrrrrkrow!" my dark Pokemon nodded.
The night air was still pretty warm, though it was comfortable walk. I ended going back through the park, it being the quickest way for me to get home. It was quiet, their being nowhere near as many visitors at night as during the day, it was nice. As walked, heard what sounded like Dawn's voice in the distance. I looked up and saw her, Ash, and Misty on a hill a bit ahead of me. It looked like Dawn had finally found them, and now she looked like she was ready to make her move.
"Looks like it startin'" I commented.
Murkrow and I quickly moved toward a nearby tree where we could get a better look. Murkrow flew up into the brush while I hid behind the tree. I looked at them. Dawn's position showed that she was indeed ready to fight for the boy she loved, though the way she held her hands in front of her chest showed their was still a touch of nervousness. Ash and Misty seemed to be caught off guard, seeming as though they had no idea what was going on. I turned back to Dawn. The way the moonlight illuminated her eyes and her hair made her look, admittedly, pretty gorgeous. It was like a scene out of one of those cheesy romance flicks.
"Dammit Ash," I growled under my breath, "if you turn this girl down, you're gonna find my foot upside your head, big time."
I shut up when Dawn began to speak.
"Ash, stop it! Please, stop doing this to me!" she pleaded.
"Huh? Dawn, what are you talking about? What'd I do?" he asked, clueless as always.
"Ash, what is she talking about?" Misty asked him.
As much as I wanted make a wise crack, I hushed myself and watched.
"Seeing you with another girl so much... it hurts me Ash, it really does!" Dawn cried, tears in her eyes.
"But Dawn..." Ash started.
"I know Ash, I know you and Misty are close friends, but what about me. I've missed you!" Dawn cut him off.
"Wow, Dawn's really pourin' it on." I though.
"I'm sorry Dawn," Misty apologized softly, "its just that Ash and I are..."
"I know Misty," Dawn sobbed, "but seeing you two so close... I feel like Ash doesn't care about me anymore."
"That's not true Dawn!" Ash retorted.
"Ash, I... I..." Dawn stuttered.
Ash, Misty, and I just watched as Dawn down fell to her knees.
"I'm the one who loves you Ash, not her! So please... come back to me!" she exclaimed, tears streaming down her face.
Misty's eyes widened. Ash just stood there, as if nothing had happened.
"Ash?" Misty asked, turning to him.
Ash stayed silent as he walked over to Dawn. The crying bluenette looked up to see her beloved standing over her. She got back to her feet and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Ash... I just don't want you to forget ab-"
Dawn was silenced when Ash place his hands on her shoulders and pressed his lips to hers. Dawn was clearly surprised, as was Misty. I was even surprised.
"Wait what!" I though, "ASH kissed HER!" I mentally yelled, tearing a piece of bark off the tree in disbelief.
Ash eventually broke their kiss, leaving Dawn speechless. They stared into each other's eyes until Dawn finally gave him a loving smile.
"I'm sorry Dawn," Ash said warmly, "I love you too, and I'd never let someone else get in the way of that."
Dawn let out a small giggle as she placed her hands on his chest and brought him into another kiss, which Ash happily welcomed, embracing her.
I couldn't help but grin. This was what its all been leading up to. I then looked over to Misty, curious as to how she was handling this. Thankfully, she seemed to be happy for the two of them, though I thought I could see a tiny bit of disappointment in her eyes. She eventually turned and walked away, seeming to know that she was no longer needed. I turned back to Ash and Dawn, who had broken their second kiss and were now simply enjoying being in each other's arms. Dawn was resting her head on Ash's chest while he rested his head on top of hers, stroking her hair. The two of them were meant for each other. As I looked at them, I began to feel a bit choked up, like I might break down and cried a bit. I knew why though; seeing the two of them together like that... it reminded me a lot of myself and Nicole before we had to break up. But that was beside the point now. Ash and Dawn were happy together, and when my friends are happy, I'm happy. I stood up and looked up at Murkrow, who was still in the tree.
"Lets go." I called quietly.
Murkrow came down and flew next to me as we made our exit. As we walked, I began to remember what Dawn had said when I gave her that stupid melody speech earlier.
"You might be right Dawn," I thought, "that right there was what makes a song truly great."
I let out a small chuckle.
"I'm NEVER giving advice about romance again!" I laughed.
The End