Wishful Thinking
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or it's affiliates.
A/N: I want to apologize for how long this chapter took, I struggled with this chapter a lot. Romance is very difficult for me to write and I decided that this story needs to be longer so I can practice and it allows for more build up in the story. This will now be a three part story and hopefully will be finished in a more timely manner. Thanks for your understanding.
"Well should we go over and say hi or just stand here staring at him?" Gary asked with a slightly amused tone of voice.
"I don't see why not. You coming Lily?" Daisy asked her younger sister who was still in a daze.
"Uh yeah sure." Lily responded, still unsure from all the questions that were busying her mind.
"Well we better get over there quick. Paul just walked up to Ash and he doesn't look to happy." Gary said while starting toward Ash. Everyone else saw what Gary was talking about and began to quickly make their way through the crowd.
"Your late Ketchum." Paul said with his usual stern look on his face as he stood in front of Ash with his arms crossed.
"Well hello to you too Paul. Hi Dawn, it's good to see you again." Ash said with a big smile, ignoring Paul's glare.
"Hey Ash it's great to see you too. You sure clean up nice, don't you." Dawn said while giving Ash a once over.
"Gee thanks." Ash spoke while scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "But I can't take all the credit, my mentor helped pick out the outfit."
"Your mentor? What are you talking about?" Dawn asked curiously.
"So he accepted you as his apprentice?" Paul interrupted.
"Yeah about six months ago actually. It's been the hardest six months of my life too but it should be worth it in the end. I learned so much, not just about my Pokemon but also about myself. It was an incredible experience." Ash explained enthusiastically.
"Seemed like a waste of time to me. You don't seem any different to me." Paul responded curtly.
"Excuse me but what are you two talking about? Who was mentoring you Ash? And what did they teach you?" Dawn asked, slightly irritated at being left out.
At that moment the DJ changed to a new song, a slow song. Ash gained a sly grin and turned to Paul. "I'll show you how different I am." Ash then turned to Dawn and offered his hand. "May I have this dance?"
Surprised by the sudden formal request, Dawn was taken aback for a moment and then shot a quick look at Paul before accepting Ash's hand with a smile. "Yes I would love to dance with you Ash." While holding each others hand Ash lead Dawn out to the dance floor and gave her a little spin that made her giggle before he pulled her in close to him. With no space between them Ash then began to lead Dawn in a waltz around the dance floor that drew the eye of most everyone there.
"Wow! Who knew Ash could dance." Daisy said with genuine surprise in her voice as she watched Ash and Dawn glide around the dance floor. "He's actually really good, I wonder who taught him?"
"Juan from Sootopolis City." Paul said through clenched teeth. His hands that had been crossed on his chest were now at his sides and balled into fists with both is eyes focused on Ash and Dawn.
"So that's where Ash has been for the last six months, learning to dance?" Gary asked as Lily and Tracey walked up behind him, all eyes on Ash and Dawn. "I knew Ashy boy was slow but it shouldn't take six months to learn to dance."
"Grr! He wasn't just there to learn to dance!" Paul spat angrily at Gary. "Juan was the person who trained Wallace before he became champion remember? Ash was already a decent battler but he lacked in other areas, so Juan educated him." Paul finished with a deep scowl and turned his attention back to Ash and Dawn.
"Geez you don't have to bite my head off!" Gary retorted. "But I wonder why Ash was so secretive about all this?"
"It is strange. Ash is usually a very open person and to keep such a big secret from all of us is very out of character for him." Tracey said with his hand on his chin in thought.
"Maybe he wanted it to be a surprise for someone in particular." Daisy said with a knowing smirk on her face.
"And who would Ash go through all that trouble to surprise?" Gary asked disbelievingly.
"Well he did come back on Misty's birthday." Daisy said with an emphasis on Misty's name.
"Oh. Do you think Ashy boy has a thing for Misty?" Gary asked as he pondered the possibility of Daisy's words.
"I think so. They have known each other since they were kids and like I said he used to call every week just to talk to her." Daisy explained as the slow song that was playing ended and Ash and Dawn began to walk over as a hip hop song began to play.
Lily couldn't help the frown that had been on her face for the past few minutes and it had only deepened at what her sister had said. Seeing Ash be so intimately close to another girl had made her more jealous than she would of liked to admit. But the possibility that Ash had learned to dance and Arceus knows what else just for Misty was too much for Lily and she just wanted to cry right there on the spot. She should have known that she never had a chance, she wasn't anything but Misty's sister in Ash's eyes.
"Oh hey guys. Well Paul what did you think?" Ash asked his rival with a smirk as he and Dawn walked up to the group.
"Very impressive Ketchum." Paul answered curtly. As the hip hop song ended another slow song began to play which caused Paul to smirk. Turning to Dawn, Paul bowed quickly and then said in a stiff voice. "Will you dance with me?"
A sly smile came to Dawn's face when Paul asked, almost as if she had expected this reaction. "Sure why not." Dawn answered and took Paul's hand and the two headed for the dance floor.
Ash smirked as Dawn and Paul began to dance. He then turned around to face the group and noticed Lily behind the others with a sad expression on her face. Being who he is, Ash had to see if he could help. "Hey Lily are you okay?"
Looking up and seeing that it was Ash who was the one talking to her, Lily gained a dusting of pink on her cheeks. "Oh hi Ash. Yeah I'm alright, just bored that's all." Lily fibbed.
"Well I can fix that. Would you like to dance with me?"
The frown on Lily's face flipped over into a big smile at Ash's words. "I would love to." Lily replied as she held out her hand toward Ash.
"Alright lets go." Ash said as he took Lily's hand and lead her out to the dance floor.
Gary had to smirk as he watched Ash and Lily got close to each other and began to dance slowly along with the music. He knew that Lily was enjoying her time with Ash due mostly to the large smile that hadn't been on her face all night until Ash had asked her to dance. It is strange how the heart works, Lily has feelings for Ash while Ash has feelings for Misty and neither one knows how the other feels. Suddenly a thought came to Gary's mind that could ruin a few people's night. "Hey Daisy you know how you said that Ash may like Misty?"
"Yeah why?" Daisy asked, confused at what Gary was getting at.
"Does Ash know that Misty has a boyfriend?" Gary asked hoping beyond hope that his simple friend knew about Misty's relationship. But Gary's hope was dashed as Daisy's face paled and her hand covered her mouth. "Shit! Well someone needs to tell him before Misty and her boyfriend show up. When are they suppose to show up?"
"Right now." Tracey said somberly while pointing to the front door of the Gym where Misty and her boyfriend, Rudy, were standing in slightly damp cloths.
"Your an amazing dancer Ash." Lily whispered as she and Ash continued to dance with their bodies touching each other.
"Thanks. Your very light on your feet as well." Ash whispered back with a smile. "So now that we are alone are you going to tell me what was wrong earlier?"
Surprise crossed Lily's face at Ash's sudden question but she continued her earlier fib. "Nothing was wrong, I told you that I was just bored."
Ash shook his head with a knowing smirk. "Didn't seem like you were bored to me, seemed more like you were upset about something."
"I. How did?" Lily stuttered in surprise while looking wide eyed at Ash.
"Years of battle have made me very observant, despite what Misty may tell you. So are you going to tell me now what's wrong or do I have to guess?"
Lily bit her lip nervously while thing about what to do. Should she just tell him how much seeing him with another girl bothered her? But if she said that then she would have to explain why it had bothered her and that would mean revealing her secret. Before Lily could come to a decision the music cut out and a familiar voice began to speak over the microphone drawing everyone's attention.
"Hello everyone and welcome to the Cerulean Gym. I want to thank you all for coming to my birthday party and I hope you are all having a good time." Misty stopped because of the loud cheer that rang out and while she was paused Rudy leaned over and whispered in her ear causing her to blush and shake her head yes. "Since I have all of you here, I have an announcement to make. Most of you know that I have been dating Rudy for a few months now."
At this Ash gained a shocked expression and looked to Lily for answers. All Lily could do was give a sympathetic look in return as Misty continued.
"And things have been going spectacularly. We both make each other very happy, so happy that we decided to take things to the next step."
Ash's face paled and his shoulders were tense. Hoping to calm Ash, Lily reached out and took one of his hands in both of hers.
"Earlier tonight Rudy asked me to marry him and I said yes!" Misty exclaimed excitedly while holding up her left hand to show the engagement ring on her ring finger.
While most of the crowd gave a loud applause and cheered for the happy couple, there were a few who were less excited than the rest. While the small group did clap for Misty and Rudy's happiness, all their eyes were focused on someone else. A certain raven haired young man who hadn't made a move since Misty finished.