I found her by the lake.

Her head whipped around, her bangs fluttering around and framing her gorgeous face. Her ruby eyes dilated as she bit her chapped lip. When she saw that it was me, she sighed and buried her head into her knees, curling up into a ball.

I sat down next to her soundlessly, spreading my legs out. I gazed at Lake Acuity, with its crystal clear water and breathtaking scenery. It was perfectly still until I grasped a stone next to me and skipped it across the water, watching it bounce and ripple before it sank.

"Zoey," I began.

"I know, I know," she interrupted. "Just give me some time, I'll work this out-"

"You'll be fine," I finished, ignoring her intervention.

She sighed again and lifted her head to look at me. "I just don't know."

"You've gone so far and done so much, Zoey. This is nothing compared to all the hours you've spent working and practicing with your pokemon," I said, skipping another rock across the surface. It travelled longer than the last one, finally sinking when a magicarp jumped out of the water, hitting the pebble down.

"I'm scared," Zoey mumbled as she watched me skip another stone across the lake. "Even more scared than I was before the Grand Festival."

"No, you're not scared," I corrected.

"No, I AM scared!" She retorted, glaring at me. "I have no idea how to act in front of all the media. It's way more than the Grand Festival. This is broadcasted all over the world. People from-from UNOVA could be watching me."

"Did you know that there's even going to be royalty? Princess Salvia heard about me through Dawn and is personally attending. What am I going to do?" Zoey moaned, tilting her neck up to stare at the steely sky.

"We're all here for you though," I reminded her. "You'll find some way to work it out, I'm sure."

Zoey turned her head back toward me, her defiant gaze softening.

"Yeah, I guess I will."

My hand went onto the ground, searching for another pebble to skip. Her pale hand gently landed on top of mine, and I relaxed.

"As every year, we are happy to announce the Annual Top Coordinator's Tour!" Marian announced. "This year, we will be seeing Zoey from Snowpoint City performing on the tour!"

This spunky red head coordinator won the Sinnoh Grand Festival and earned the title of Top Coordinator just recently. Now's your chance to see her live, if you couldn't make it to the Grand Festival!

Princess-

I snapped off the television, already knowing what they were saying.

I got up and walked toward the window. Brushing the curtain aside, I saw Zoey outside, pitching her pokemon against each other in a practice battle. I smiled, deciding to head outside for the day.

I thumped down the stairs and out the door into the chilly sunshine of SnowPoint City. I walked over to Zoey and tapped her on the shoulder.

She jumped up, but then relaxed. "I told you not to do that!"

I smirked. "Okay, princess. Whatever you say."

"I told you not to call me that!" Zoey huffed, before turning back to her pokemon. I knew that she was going to ignore me for the next ten minutes, so I just sat on a nearby bench and stared at the sky.

"Hey, guys! Didn't expect you out so early!"

I rolled my head around to find Candice, with her black pigtails swinging around and her shiny white teeth flashing. Zoey hugged her tightly before going back to training. Candice sat next to me on the bench, and started to talk to me.

"So, have you gotten used to life here?" She began.

I looked at her. "Yeah, I guess."

She glanced at me, Zoey, her lap, and then me again. "Thanks for coming up here. I really don't know if Zoey said anything, but she really appreciates it. Your being here really helps her."

I grinned. "Least I could do for her."

Candice looked at me oddly. "Okay…well, are you going to help her or what? That's what you're supposed to do, right?"

I glared at her. "Excuse me, but weren't you designated the job of cheerleader?"

When it was announced on TV that Zoey was going to be on tour, me, Barry, and Dawn had come rushing up to SnowPoint. When we got there, Zoey was stressing out. Candice then, with some smart thinking and split us up to keep things organized.

"Kenny, you'll stay here and help Zoey train. Dawn, we need you for fashion and other appearance help. Barry, we need you to go around and help Zoey's publicity," Candice explained.

"And what will you do?" I asked.

"I'll be Zoey's little cheerleader!" Candice squealed.

"Shut up," she retorted. "Just go help her already."

I sighed, before getting up. "You need anything, Zoey?"

"Milkshake, ASAP!" Zoey demanded like a drill sergeant, and I saluted. "And grab the bag of Poffins in my kitchen STAT!"

I rolled my eyes as I started to run.

I walked down the stairs a couple mornings later, rubbing my eyes and yawning. "Why do girls have to be so loud? I could have slept another hour or two…"

"Oh, shut up!" Zoey yelled at me as I plopped into an empty couch. "I'm not loud!"

"Calm down, Zoey," Candice soothed, with no effect.

"Kenny, it's 11:30, we were going to drag your sorry butt out of bed soon anyways," Dawn spat. To sleepy to reply, I plopped down on the empty couch and reached for one of the fluffy pillows propped up on the side.

"And don't you go back to sleep again!" Zoey bellowed, and I groaned. I then forced myself to stay awake.

Dawn turned back to Zoey. "Zoey, how could you? I worked so hard to make those outfits for you, and you never even tried them on!" She then started to ramble about "friendship" and "trust" and a bunch of other nonsense that caused my eyes to close again.

Zoey finally grumbled an okay, and Dawn squealed and jumped around like an excited toddler. She then rushed upstairs, to come down with several different dresses and suits. She then thrust them into Zoey's hands and shoved her into the bathroom nearby.

"Kenny, stay there."

A couple minutes later, I had almost fallen asleep yet again waiting in the quiet living room of Zoey's house. Zoey called out something, and Dawn came over and opened the door a crack just for herself to slip in.

"Dawn, I look terrible in this."

"I think you look great! Won't you show Kenny? Or at least Candice?"

"Yeah, I want to see!" Candice cried, startling me. She rushed over and gasped when she saw Zoey. Without even asking her, she pulled Zoey out to show me.

I was definitely awake after that.

It was a simple maroon dress that hugged Zoey. There was a small, gold ribbon tied at her waist, flattering her curves. But what was unique was that in the front, the dress stopped at her knees, allowing some skin to be seen. However, in the back, the dress was not cut and continued down to her ankles, which made it very pretty.

Zoey's face was flushed red as she sputtered around, glancing at me, Dawn, Candice and the floor. After spinning around once for Dawn, she rushed back into the bathroom, slamming the door.

After that, it was a series of different outfits. A couple of them were rejected instantly by Dawn and Candice, and I didn't get to even see them. Some others were shown to me, but none of them were as good as the first.

The last one was one that made Zoey scream from inside the bathroom. Dawn opened the door, and she and Candice snickered.

"Dawn! Why?"

"I thought it would be funny," Dawn choked out between laughs. Candice was rolling on the floor.

Zoey huffed, but before she could go back in the bathroom, Dawn blocked the door, and Candice moved out of the way. My eyes widened and I gaped at her in a horrific and an almost shameful way.

It was a pink dress that was tied at the back of her neck. As it came down, it seemed to refuse to close, showing me more skin than I would have preferred. Closing at her stomach, it magnified her hourglass shape to the T. It then closed right under her butt, a little too high for any decent boy's taste.

She squeaked, her hands flying around to try and cover up everything. Dawn smirked before pushing her back into the bathroom. I remained unmoved in my state of shock, my face feeling hot from all the blood that had rushed up seeing Zoey in such a revealing dress.

Candice, seeing my embarrassed state, winked at me and suggestively remarked, "Enjoyed the view?"

I flushed darker as I glared at her.

Later on, we all sat in the living room, discussing the clothes. However, every time Zoey looked my way, we both blushed. Dawn and Candcie both noticed this.

"Well, let's decide on the outfit," Dawn started. "Me and Candice both choose the first one. Zoey?"

She shrugged. "Choose whatever you want."

Dawn looked disappointed. "Okay, then, the first dress it is."

"Hey!" I exclaimed, sitting up. "How come no one asked for my opinion? I was here too, you know!"

Candice smirked. "Well, it was pretty obvious that you liked the last one the best…"

My face heated up. "Shut up! I liked the first one, for your information."

Dawn smirked too. "Okay then. It's just that you being a boy, we didn't feel the need to ask which outfit YOU liked on Zoey…" She high-fived Candice and giggled on that sentence, and I rolled my eyes.

Zoey, who was also blushing, snapped at the two and they stopped.

"You okay, Kenny?" Zoey asked me, and I nodded.

"Well, then, now that that's settled," she said, standing up. "Let's get back to work."

Closing the door of my dressing room, I ran through the hallway until I found the stage entrance. Peeking through it, I saw Barry rushing around and seating people. He was wearing a green button up shirt with an orange tie and black pressed pants.

I shook my head at him. "Well, HE'S doing better than I thought."

Wondering about how Zoey was doing, I set off toward her dressing room.

"Come in!"

I let myself into Zoey's dressing room. She was sitting in front of a mirror. Dawn was touching up on her makeup, and Candice was feeding her pokemon some Poffins.

Dawn, looking up, finally noticed me. "Oh, hi Kenny! Didn't see you there! Wait a sec, I'm almost done…" Biting her lip in concentration, she bent down with some blush.

Dawn had worn a glamorous, sequin pink dress that ended mid-thigh. She had a white belt around her waist, and the top part of the dress was very frilly and flared out. With her navy hair coming down in little waves, and small, cute brown boots, she looked great.

"Coochi coochi coo," Candice cooed stupidly at Zoey's pokemon, and I rolled my eyes.

Candice was wearing a satin, one-shoulder dark blue dress. It had a black ribbon tied at her waist, and below that, ringed layers of the dress till her knees. She was also wearing a black choker, making her look quite more mature than she really was.

Dawn sighed in relief, and Zoey got up, twirling in the maroon dress. Her hair was styled into pretty French braids, and she was wearing gold heeled shoes. Though the blush seemed to be a little caked on, the cherry lip gloss and maroon eye liner was great. A white bracelet wound around her wrist, and a shiny white necklace was clasped on her neck.

But the best thing of all was her smile, which made her look completely stunning.

Candice returned all her pokemon and handed the pokeballs to Zoey. Zoey started to put all the Seals and Ball Capsules on them.

"Break a leg out there, Zo." Candice hugged Zoey tightly, and sniffled. Zoey patted her on the back, though I could see her shaking a little from nerves.

Dawn squeezed Zoey's hand. "You'll be beautiful." Zoey smiled at her, before turning toward me.

She seemed to gaze at me for a while, and I suddenly felt very awkward. I had worn my best clothes, a fancy, navy tailed coat with a red button up shirt and black pants, but knowing that Zoey was staring at me was somewhat unnerving.

She finally broke into a grin, running at me and tackling me in a choking hug. After sputtering out, she let go, still grinning like a mad man. I could see the happy tears forming in her ruby eyes.

"No, don't cry, the mascara will run!" Dawn cried. And with that, they ushered Zoey out of the room to the stage. I stayed in the room, rubbing the spot where Zoey had touched me.

While the show was going on, me, Dawn, Candice, and Barry were watching from the back of the room. It wasn't our time to go up, and we didn't want to distract Zoey.

Dawn and Candice were watching intently, while Barry kept glancing around, his attention wavering. I found myself staring at Zoey, much like how she had stared at me earlier.

And I couldn't stop.

"And now I'd like to show you all my partners, who've helped me reach this stage!" Zoey said into the microphone. "But first, this video of our history together."

The lights proceeded to dim as a large screen rolled down. Zoey stayed at the podium in the front of the stage, turning her head to see the video she had seen a million times before.

"Starting in SnowPoint City, Zoey and her childhood friend, Candice, known now as the Ice Type Gym Leader of SnowPoint City, found an injured glameow…"

And, soon enough, the video was drawing to a close at her Grand Festival experience.

"Oh, I remember that," Dawn mumbled next to me, watching her final battle with Zoey in the finals of the Festival.

"Yeah. I think her Gallade is coming out first, right?" Candice replied, her eyes glued to the screen.

"Yeah, that's what she decided on," Barry informed. "Aw man, I almost caught a ralts the other day, but it Teleported before I could battle it…"

When it finished, Zoey began her performance of bringing out all her pokemon. After releasing her Gallade, Mismagius, and Leafeon in Ribbon Seals, a pool was brought up for her Gastrodon and Lumineon, which came out in foamy, pink bubbles. Finally, all that was left was her grand finale, her amazing Glameow.

She started to finger her pokeball, trying to drag it out as much as she could for the press.

"Oh no!" Dawn cried, and we shushed her.

"She never put a seal on her Glameow's pokeball!" Dawn moaned. "After all that work, it was something simple like that that will make her look average."

Candice gasped, and Barry's jaw dropped. But I was already sprinting toward Zoey's dress room.

Snatching up the Heart Seal with a Ball Capsule, I ran back out into the corridor. I then started to make my way toward the stage.

It seemed that Zoey had figured out that she had forgotten her Seal and Ball Capsule, and while looking a bit nervous, started to do an improvised act with all her other pokemon, occupying the audience's attention. Thanking Zoey's intelligence, I started pushing through the crowd, saying excuse me more than I ever had in my entire life.

Reaching the press in the front, I tried to go around and not disturb them. But there was no gap, so I was stuck trying to weave through the non-existent space.

Knowing my time was running out, I started to jump, hoping Zoey would see me. Instead, I ended up knocking over a camera man, causing his microphone to go straight into a reporter's head.

The reporter, after rubbing her head, yelled at her camera man. Recognizing her as the Sinnoh Now host, Rhonda, I stifled a laugh.

Finally, Rhonda turned to Zoey. "The people are waiting. How about you show us your prized Glameow?" The crowd cheered, and I saw Zoey bite her lip slightly, before broadly beaming. I knew she was just going to let out her Glameow now, regardless of no Seal or not.

Going for broke, I pushed through Rhonda and her crew and landed in the front. I heard the angry uproar and all the cameras flashing pictures of my back. I could see the front page tomorrow.

Zoey looked down and saw me. Covering her mouth for a split second, she tried not to recognize me. But I persisted.

"Zoey, here!" I yelled over the audience, and seeing that I had what she needed, bent down to take t out of my hand. Quickly fastening it onto her Glameow's pokeball, she murmured thanks before starting to get up again.

And, suddenly, a strong impulse ran through me. Before I could stop myself, I jumped up and kissed her cheek.

Both of our faces became as red as a fire truck. Cameras blinded the room, and I imagined the tabloids tomorrow. As Zoey was just staring into space, I backed away and walked back to my friends.

Barry high-fived me and winked, making my blush deepen. "Nice move, Kenny!"

Candice stormed at me. "How could you just take her without telling me first! Oh my Arceus, you made me have a heart attack!" Rolling my eyes, I turned to Dawn.

She patted me on the back. "I knew you had it in you." Smiling at her understanding, I turned back to Zoey on stage.

"Go, Glameow!" she yelled triumphantly, winking at me. The back of my neck tingled.

In a bunch of bubbly, popping, pink hearts, her Glameow appeared. Clawing its way out, it landed on the stage on its paws in perfect poise, the shredded hearts raining down in pink sparkles over the stage. Both trainer and pokemon bowed together, and then it was off to many of her planned performances.

The night was only beginning.

Breaking News: Zoey's Lover?

Exclusive Photos of Kenny Kissing Zoey!

Zoey's Heart Torn: Barry or Kenny?

I dumped the magazines down onto the coffee table of Zoey's living room in disgust. The first two were just dumb, but the last one was so stupid that it didn't even make sense.

"Barry? I'd like to see the smart one who came up with that idea." Zoey came over to me, and I scooted over, giving her room for her to sit next to me.

The tour had gone great. She was a huge success, and had a big turnout. Her performances also went flawlessly. People were really impressed by her.

Ever since that night, Zoey had been kicking back and relaxing. Inviting me, Dawn, and Barry to stay for a couple more nights was also really nice of her.

Lately, she was much more comfortable with me as well. After getting over the whole "Kenny-kissed me" thing, she actually seemed to be…happier. Though that might be just my wishful thinking, she definitely smiled a lot more.

Leaning her head on my shoulder, she yawned. I kissed her forehead lightly. "I guess you're not just Princess."

"Then who am I? Your girlfriend?" Zoey asked sarcastically.

"Well, that too, but I was thinking more along the line of nicknames. I think I'll call you Sleeping Beauty from now on."

Zoey groaned playfully before lifting her head and blushing. I looked at her, wondering why she was suddenly so flustered.

"Um, Kenny…" she stuttered, "Don't tell anyone this, but…well…"

"Spit it out," I urged.

"I actually..kinda…like you calling me Princess," she blurted. "But don't you dare tell anyone!"

I chuckled, realizing it wasn't serious. "Whatever you say, Princess."

Smiling, she leaned in, her eyes fluttering close.

My eyes dropped as I naturally leaned in too.

And my ShootDownShipping one-shot ends there. Hope you enjoyed it, and participate in the challenge too! Just look at my profile or KittyKatLovesBooks profile to see the rules. R&R plz! And happy belated IkariShipping Confession Day to anyone who cares! xD