Chapter 3: The Night Before The Second Round
Soon after 4 hours, at 8:00 PM to be exact, Ash and Cilan finally came out of the bathroom. "Finally! I thought you guys-" Iris was cut off and her jaw dropped. Ash had a black eye while Cilan's lip was bleeding. "What happened to you guys?" Dawn asked. "Nothing." Ash and Cilan said at the same time.
After a while of question and answer, everyone checked in at the Pokemon Center. "Now, Miss Dawn with the fellow over in this room, while Miss Iris with the gym leader over here." Nurse Joy said to them.
Ash was seriously freaking out. He was going to be alone with Dawn in a bedroom. And there was only one bed. So he was freaking out. He heard behind him Cilan cursing under his breath. Dawn was really nervous because she had never been in a room alone with a boy. And she heard Iris curse under her breath
After an awkward moment of silence, Ash broke the ice. "How do you still have my old hat?" "I've kept it on my head ever since you gave it to me." Dawn said. "It feels like it was yesterday..."
Flashback
Ash, Brock and Dawn were already on the harbor where the boat for Kanto was leaving. After giving his last high five and saying goodbye, Ash noticed that Dawn was crying quietly.
"What's wrong?" Ash asked her.
"You're leaving already. It's all gone by so fast. One region. A bunch cities and towns. And a bazillion roads. And now you're leaving." Dawn managed to say before she broke into tears again.
"It's all right. We'll meet up again. No need to worry right?" Ash said to Dawn.
"No, it's not okay. There is a need to worry this time. I feel like you're going to forget me." Dawn said to him.
"Come on, Ash! Almost time to go!" Brock yelled from the ship.
Ash didn't know what to do now. There was a girl in front of him crying and his ship was leaving already.
"Here. You can have this to remember me by." Ash said. He took off Dawn's hat and put it on Piplup. He took off her hair clips and let it all down. And finally, he took off his own hat and put it on her head.
Dawn was surprised at had just happened. Ash had given her his hat, in which Aipom had tried to get by force all the time, and Ash had never let anyone even touch his hat after that. But now it was hers.
"Bye Dawn! I promise we'll meet up sometime! I'll never forget you!" Ash yelled as he ran just in time to catch his boat. Now he felt good, because now Dawn wasn't crying because he was leaving. She was crying tears of joy. "No need to worry!" Ash yelled. Pika! Pikachu yelled.
Dawn smiled as tears ran down her face. Piplup posed with Dawn's hat and waved to Pikachu goodbye.
End of Flashback
Dawn looked over to Ash and found him sleeping. "ASH KETCHUM! DID YOU EVEN HEAR WHAT I JUST TOLD YOU?!" Dawn screamed at the top of her lungs and woke Ash up.
"Huh? Wha?" Ash asked sleepily. He had fallen asleep in the middle of the flashback Dawn was telling him. "I was just taking a snooze. Jeeeeeeeeeez." Ash said sleepily. Soon he fell asleep again.
"Typical Ash." Dawn said to herself before she fell asleep.
Meanwhile in the other room
Cilan and Iris were bummed out because both of their crushes were snuggling together in one bed. They were lying down on the bed, thinking about their lives. Soon, Iris asked Cilan, "Do you like Dawn?" At the same time he said, "Do you like Ash?" Then there was a moment of silence.
After a while, Cilan said, "To answer your question, yes I do like Dawn. I think Ash does too. That's going to be a problem, for me, I mean. I don't know about you." "It IS a problem. I do like Ash. And Dawn does too, at least I think she does." Iris responded. She realized that Cilan was having the same problem as her. She also realized when up close, Cilan's eyes are a pretty green. Ugh, what am I thinking?, Iris thought to herself.
"So, we're both having relationship problems." Cilan said. "Funny. I never thought you would like Ash. You always call him a kid and you guys usually end up arguing. But that's just me." Cilan said. "You have pretty eyes." Iris said without thinking. Ugh, why did I say that?, she thought.
"What?" Cilan said, interrupting her thoughts. "Oh, nothing." Iris said. Maybe he'll forget, she thought to herself. "No, I definitely heard something. You like... my eyes?" Cilan asked.
"No! Well, maybe a little. They're a pretty green up close." Iris said, hating herself. I like ASH, not Cilan, she thought. "Oh, uh, thanks." Cilan said, not finding anything else to say. Yeah, Cilan, that was a smart thing to say, he thought.
Pansage and Axew were hearing the whole conversation from the floor. Iris and Cilan sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, they sang.
"SHUT UP!" Iris and Cilan screamed at the same time. "Well, I'm going to sleep. Good night." Cilan said as he turned off the light. After 5 minutes Iris was asleep.
