And here's Chapter 3...

"It's about what happened with Misty… she slapped me…" Ash said in a somewhat depressed tone.

Dawn gave out a sigh because she was disappointed by the answer. She thought that Ash was about to confess to her but, she was wrong.

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that Ash." Dawn got up from her leaning position and wrapped her arms around Ash; which surprised him. He hugged her back and soon they found themselves in each other's embrace.

"Thanks Dawn."

Ash then broke apart their embrace.

"Anytime Ash…" Dawn stared deeply in Ash's eyes and he did the same. Now seemed like the perfect time to make love; only it was interrupted by Ash's cell phone. They both quickly returned to their original positions as Ash quickly took out his phone to answer it, not bothering to look at the caller-id.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ash, it's Misty."

"Yeah… Hi Misty…"

"Listen, I'm really sorry for what I did back at the sidewalk. It wasn't right of me to do. I just called to apologize and to see if we can still be friends."

"Of course Misty, I gotta go now. I'll see you in school tomorrow."

"You too! Bye!" then she hung up the phone. Ash slowly tucked away his cell phone before turning back towards Dawn who was now looking at him with a confused and worried face.

"What's wrong Dawn?" Ash asked in a concerned voice.

"Um… it's nothing; really. Just daydreaming…"

"Oh… ok then…"

For the next 30 minutes, they both sat on the bench without saying anything which made the situation awkward. Dawn did her best to try to bring up a topic but couldn't think of any. The real question she wanted to ask was, "Do you love me Ash?" or "Ash, can I kiss you?" but she knew she couldn't for the fear of rejection was too high. Even though Ash was too dense to figure it out, he too had some kind of awkward feeling flowing through him. Unknowingly, Ash was inching closer to Dawn and she did the same until they were basically side by side. Dawn snuggled in closer to Ash which made him back away a bit.

"Don't be scared Ash. I just want you to cuddle me."

"Um… I guess that's fine…" Ash moved closer to Dawn once more and this time, he wrapped his arms around her as she swiveled her arms around Ash's waist forming a cuddle. The two stayed like that for what seemed like forever until Dawn knew that she had to go.

"Sorry to ruin the moment Ash but I have to go…" Dawn said regrettingly as Ash slowly released his grip.

Ash and Dawn both slowly rose up from the bench to bid each other farewell. Instead of waving, Dawn gave Ash a hug instead; which he returned. After they broke apart, Dawn walked towards the direction of her house as Ash did so himself.

. . .

"I can't believe how quickly time flies, it's already Friday!" May exclaimed.

"You know it's the dance tonight, right?" Dawn asked.

"Or course! I gotta go find a boy to go out with! Bye!" without even waiting for Dawn's reply, May had run off.

It was indeed Friday, the night of the school dance and the dance where she would go with Ash. She was a little nervous but just the thought of Ash comforted her soul.

School was over and Dawn had to go home to get ready for the big night. She wanted to impress people, she wanted to impress friends, she wanted to impress Ash. Dawn grabbed all of her books and tossed them into her bag before exiting the school to meet with Ash. Ash however, wasn't alone…

"Look Misty, I told you already twice that I'm not going to the dance with you."

"Ash Ketchum! If you not accepting my invitation at least tell me who you're going out with!"

"If you want to hear it so badly then fine! It's Dawn! I'm going to the dance with Dawn!"

Before Dawn had the time to respond, Misty had noticed her and gave her a glare before stomping off. Dawn rushed over to Ash to clarify some things.

"Ash? What was all that about?"

"It's nothing Dawn… Misty was just trying to persuade me to go to the dance with her. She got pretty upset when I rejected her and I guess I told her that we were going out together. I'm sorry about telling her that but I just couldn't stand talking to her anymore."

"It's alright Ash. As long as she's not interfering with our relationship, no harm is being done. Now let's go, we've got a big night ahead of us." Ash and Dawn both began their trip back towards their houses.

. . .

*Ding-Dong*

"I'll get it mom! It's probably Ash!" Dawn sprang off the couch and ran for the door. Meanwhile, her mother in the kitchen yelled a few last farewells to her daughter.

"You two have fun dear! Just make sure to come home before 1 am ok sweetie? Bye!"

Dawn opened the door and found Ash waiting for her outside.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Ash asked.

"For you to grab my hand and escort me out of my house silly." Dawn replied jokingly. But Ash did do what she had requested. He gently took Dawn's hand and moved her out of the front doors.

"You know I was just kidding right?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, but I just did it for the heck of things. My mom's driving us to the school with her car so hop in."

Both Dawn and Ash made their way to the car and got inside before Ash's mom drove off to their school.

There we go, end of chapter 3.