Hey guys! I have another chapter here for you and I have so much stuff to tell you. But I won't keep you right now, you can start to read the chapter.

Enjoy! :)

The redhead smiled cheerfully before entering the Ketchum household. Ash watched, as did everyone in his family that were seated in different sections of the household, as she gracefully moved. Ash wasn't sure what his family members were thinking, but this girl had captivated his attention so far.

"Hello, everyone," She greeted politely with a light smile.

Nobody spoke up for a while until May, who was seated next to the couch next to the couch, eagerly got up and smiled, "Hi!" She said, cheerfully, "I'm May. And this is my husband, Drew." She gestured to Drew who had stood up from the couch as well.

"Pleasure to meet you," The redhead spoke. Ash watched in curiosity. He was rather impressed, he would say. This girl had a fairly nice attitude and sounded pleasing to be with. He mentally gave his approval.

"Ugh, I'm sure Fiona doesn't want to meet us, she probably wants to see her future hubby!" Misty winked at Fiona and Ash raised his eyebrows. Fiona was a rather unique name. It was enchanting to say and hear.

Fiona blushed and everyone in the family either chuckled or rolled their eyes, "Don't mind Misty, she's a crazy psychopath," Gary said dryly, earning some chuckles from Drew and Ash.

Misty popped a vein, "Hey! Am not!" She exclaimed.

Delia, who was seated opposite them, "Now Gary, stop that." She ordered and he became stiff for a second before letting out a sheepish laugh. "Fiona, are you ready to meet Ash?"

Fiona nodded shyly before looking curiously around the room. Of course, she had no idea who Ash was but she wondered if she could catch a glimpse of who he was. In her opinion, this family was friendly and very easy-going, one that she could adjust to easily. Suddenly, she caught sighed of a raven-haired man, who happened to be slightly staring at her with big eyes.

"I'll show you who Ash is!" Ruby suddenly exclaimed, as she clapped her hands together in excitement. Ash rolled his eyes and he figured that this introduction was probably not going to end well. Without any warning, she grabbed Ash's hand firmly, making Ash flinch in the process. With a stupid grin on her face, she brought Ash to Fiona.

"Okay! Fiona, Ash. Ash, Fiona." She smiled in delight.

Everyone was expecting a person to be greeting each other, to at least acknowledge each other, but they were just found there, standing and staring at each other, hesitating on what to say to the other. Paul remained with a rather bored expression, well he didn't want to be here anyway. Misty and May looked like they wanted to die of laughter, but they kept it in, trying not to be rude. Gary and Drew were practically making fun of Ash behind his back, to which Ash didn't notice. Ash's grandmother, Bertha was watching in slight amusement while looking back at Albus, who seemed to be amused as well.

"Ooohhh….they're blushing!" A voice exclaimed, making Ash and Fiona both recompose themselves. Ash looked down, blushing in embarrassment and Fiona giggled lightly, her cheeks heating up.

The source of the voice came from Blaze, another cousin of Ash. Unlike Paul, Blaze was very strong willed, kind and he'd always be willing to help out his family members. He had a temper sometimes, but nothing too serious that couldn't be controlled. Nevertheless, Ash and Blaze had always got along great and even more, Blaze got along with the family very well.

"Sit down, Ashy boy and try not to faint," Gary smirked and some members of the family laughed, but Delia had a stern expression. Ash rolled his eyes as he sat down on one of the far end of the couches and Fiona sat next to him.

"Gary, stop making fun of Ash!" She commanded and once again. Gary scratched his hair sheepishly, while Ash smiled triumphantly. Delia had always had a soft spot for Ash and sometimes she'd be overprotective of him. While the gesture was always indeed nice, it didn't mean that it wasn't annoying to the very least. But Ash just tried to brush it off.

"Misty, May, why don't you go in the kitchen and make some snacks for Ash and Fiona?" Delia suggested. Misty and May nodded.

"Sure," May beamed, "Let's go, Mist. I think we can make the special," She winked.

"Yup and let's add a little more love for Ash," Misty grinned mischievously as the two ladies hurried into the kitchen.

Ash had wanted to talk to Fiona, but with his embarrassing brothers and cousins in between, he had no idea how to start a conversation. In fact, he had lacked much skills to talk to a girl this pretty himself that he probably didn't need his brothers or cousins for him to be embarrassed. He was fumbling with his hands and Fiona just looked around, awkwardly. She hadn't a clue what she should say, but she figured a greeting would be a start.

"Hey." She smiled at him. "So, I'm Fiona, as you've heard."

Ash nearly flinched. "Hey," He said, slightly nervous. He considered himself to be an idiot for not greeting himself first. "And I'm Ash."

He daringly took a glance at Drew and Gary who were wiggling their eyebrows at him and his cousin, Blaze who a teasing smirk on his face. Paul, however still looked rather bored as he kept glancing at his watch on his wrist almost every five minutes, as if this whole thing was torture.

"Gary, Drew, I'm sure you two have important stuff to do," Delia started, giving them a certain hint with her eyes that they needed to leave.

They both rolled their eyes, "Yeah. You two have fun." Gary remarked.

"Yeah," Drew said as he stood up from the couch, "Make sure you impress Fiona, Ash," Drew slightly smirked before the two boys walked out.

Ash mouthed a 'thank you' to Delia, who smiled and then she proceeded to get up from the couch and walked over to Bertha and Albus, "Come on, we should give them their privacy." She said.

"But I'm curious to see how this turns out," Albus pouted in a child-like manner.

"Dad…" Delia said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Oh, hush up Albus." Bertha said to her husband, "Our parents gave us privacy when we were their age,"

"Well, not enough privacy," Albus commented in annoyance and Delia slightly chuckled as they proceeded to walk out, leaving Ash and Fiona to themselves…well, not entirely. Paul and Blaze were both still in the room, but Blaze had already seemed to be diverted reading a cooking book while Paul was asleep.

Ash smiled satisfactorily; he was finally somewhat alone with Fiona. Now all he had to do was not embarrass himself in front of Fiona and he could finally be proud of having a wife and reduce the endless taunting from his brothers.

"So," Ash started, clearing his throat. Fiona looked at him, eager for what he had to say, "Tell me about yourself."

"I know right…I am the unluckiest girl ever…" Dawn said, sighing across the phone. She was currently laid flat on her stomach with her feet in the air and talking to her best friend, Leona. Dawn had first met Leona in high school and they hit it off instantly. She had found Leona easy to talk to and they were very alike in most ways. After high school, Leona had worked hard and had become a news reporter.

"Dawn, if they don't want to believe that Kenny is the guy for you, then like, what is the point of even having a family?" She muttered.

"Exactly!" Dawn exclaimed over the phone, agreeing immediately. "But, I need to prove that Kenny is the guy and that's why I'm going to ask him to marry me."

"Isn't it, like," She started, "a bit early for marriage?" She questioned.

"At least I have my love of my life for my husband and not some kind of derpy and creepy man as my husband." She protested.

"True…well, you should get to it," Leona advised.

Dawn nodded, "I will. I'll go talk to Kenny right now." She said.

"Good luck, girl and call me when you have the good news!" Leona said and Dawn couldn't help but to giggle.

"Of course!" She said cheerfully, "Okay, later, Leona, muaaaaa!" She said before clicking the 'end call' button.

She quickly shifted in her position in the bed and didn't hesitate to call Kenny. After about three more rings, a voice was heard on the other end, "Hey babe," Kenny spoke.

"Hey, sweet pie," Dawn said, giggling playfully before saying, "I want to meet up and talk to you. At Chic restaurant in ten minutes?"

"Umm," Kenny said, a bit unsure, "Sure, but what's the matter? Is everything okay?"

Dawn rolled her eyes, "Of course it is. I have to talk to you about something important!"

Kenny sighed heavily across the phone, "Last time you said that, I ended up in the mall getting these new heels for you that costed nearly two hundred bucks," He spat annoyingly.

Dawn ignored the comment, but smiled at the memory, "It's different this time. No shoes, no clothes and no kind of jewellery either."

"Then what is it?" Kenny said and to Dawn, he sounded a bit nervous.

"You'll know in ten minutes!" Dawn squealed.

Kenny sighed, "Alright, I'll be there." He said.

"Great! See ya there, sweet cupcake!" Dawn said, smiling to herself as she ended the call and then threw her phone on the bed. She quickly got changed into some blue jeans and a tank top blouse, did her makeup very lightly and headed out of her room.

"James, Jessie, I'm heading out!" She yelled across the house. She didn't receive a reply, but she couldn't care less. She was rather eager to talk to Kenny about their future. They had only talked about it on rare occasions, but she had planned a full discussion today and prove to her mom and Serena that Kenny wasn't the guy they assumed to be.

"Hey, where you going?" Serena appeared behind her.

Dawn glanced at her, "To see Kenny and talk to him about marriage to prove you guys wrong," She responded ever so bluntly.

"Ah," Serena nodded in understanding, "Let's see how this goes out. And remember the deal, because mom and I have already started to pick some good guys for you."

Dawn rolled her eyes, "Wow, you sound confident."

"So do you," Serena remarked.

"Well…good luck with trying because Kenny and I are never going to break up." Dawn told her with a proud look on her face.

"Okay…good luck to you as well, sis." She told her, leaving Dawn to smile triumphantly as she closed the door. Serena crossed her arms and sighed. She hoped that everything would work out. She loved Dawn a lot and she knew that Kenny was never going to keep her happy in the long run.

"So, you were valedictorian in high school?" Ash asked to which Fiona nodded.

"Yeah…I was kind of a nerd back then," She said, smiling at the memory, "I remember all of my peers being jealous of me, but I didn't care about them. I was just really focused on my education." She finished and Ash smiled.

Fiona was rather pleasing to talk to and while he began to talk to her, he found all the uneasiness and nervousness slowly fading away. He slowly felt at ease with her as she began to share some of her childhood memories and how she eventually became a computer programmer recently. She had never found a boyfriend that was committed to her and she decided that arranged marriages were best for her. Ash had shared some of his experiences as well and those included some humiliating ones as well, like the one time that Drew had nearly pushed him off the terrace which allowed him to end up being thrown in the cactus plant when they were little.

The laughter slowly started to cease until Fiona had a serious expression on her face, "I think I'd like to have a husband like you." She said and Ash parted his lips in surprise. Ash was shocked, no doubt, for this was the first time that a girl hadn't rejected him.

"…Really?" He asked in disbelief.

She nodded, "Of course! You're a great guy! I'm surprised you haven't been married yet actually." She said to which Ash looked to the other side, slightly blushing from the compliment. He cleared his throat and faced her again.

"Well," he started, adjusting his glasses, "I wouldn't mind…having you as my..wife." He slowly smiled making Fiona smile with him.

'Yeah' he thought, 'Fiona is definitely the girl.'

Before anyone uttered a word, the doorbell rang. He quickly sprang up from the couch and walked over to the door.

"Hey, Ash can you get that? I'm busy not caring," Paul mumbled, turning a page in the newspaper. He rolled his eyes and just decided to ignore Paul.

He opened the door to reveal a man. He looked rather weary and bored but what caught Ash's attention was his bike next to the man, repaired. He smiled in delight and then looked at the man, "Thanks for fixing my bike."

"Yeah, yeah whatever," The man told him as he walked away from sight, leaving Ash bewildered. Ash took a glance at his bike and he smiled at the memory of meeting Dawn. He found himself getting lost as he began to think about her…her blue eyes, her dark blue hair…and then he shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had found it peculiar to be thinking about Dawn. He was going to be marrying Fiona soon. He quickly secured his bike before going back inside.

Dawn quickly sat down on one of the tables in Chic! restaurant before seeing Kenny open the door. Dawn waved at him capturing Kenny's attention and he sat down, but not before greeting her with a light kiss on the lips.

"Hey," He said.

"Hey," She greeted.

"Okay, so what did you want to talk about?" Kenny asked tentatively. Dawn noticed Kenny fumbling with his fingers for a bit.

"Well," She started, "I've been thinking about…us." She said and Kenny grew curious. "And we've been together since a while. I trust you and I know you trust me. And most importantly, we love each other a lot, right?"

"Dawn…where are you going with this?" Kenny asked although it seemed to appear that Kenny had an idea of what she was hinting at.

"I think it's time to take the next step, Kenny…" She said, trailing off and Kenny practically had the eyes of dinner plates, "and get married." She finished off, letting out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. For a while, Kenny stayed quiet and Dawn was wondering if this talk had scared him. This worried Dawn, if Kenny didn't agree to this, then she would have to go with the guy that her mom and Serena were choosing.

Kenny bit his lip worriedly, "Dawn…I don't think this is the right time." He said and Dawn had a confused expression.

"It is the right time. We've been together at least since senior year from high school. You're nearly 22 and I'm 21, it's perfect. We're going to be happy together!" She said excitedly, with a passion in her eyes. However, Kenny seemed to grow irritated at this as he growled.

"I don't want to get married." He grumbled.

Dawn felt her heart break into millions of pieces, "What?" She said, with a tone of shock.

"I don't want to get married to you." He spoke, being a bit clearer in his words.

"But, why not? I love you, Kenny! Don't you love me?" She exclaimed, hurt from his words.

'If he wants to marry you, then that proves that he loves you and wants to be with you forever. But if he doesn't…then that means that he's afraid of committing to a woman for the rest of his life.' The words were suddenly recalled. Dawn patiently waited for Kenny, to prove Serena wrong…to prove her mom wrong and to stay faithful to her words.

But he just avoided the question, "Dawn, we can't get married! Not ever!"

Dawn popped a vein, "What do you mean by that?! I want my future to be with you, Kenny and no one else!"

"Well, I don't!" Kenny said and Dawn all but gasped.

"How can you say that?!" She said, her voice breaking a little.

"That's right, Dawn. You know what, you're not even ready for marriage yourself. And you're putting this on me all of a sudden. You honestly think a spoilt brat like you is ready for something big like marriage?" He spoke and the whole while, Dawn's jaw had dropped. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that he was saying those words to her and it hurt very much.

"You're such a huge-"

"Because the fact is," Kenny said, interrupting Dawn, "that you're just not marriage material." He said and Dawn was taken aback. Not marriage material? What the hell does that even mean? "You're not worthy to be a wife. You're not even a good girlfriend!" He said, flailing his arms. By this point, Dawn had already began to start crying.

"Fine!" She exclaimed, tears running down her cheeks and her heart broken, "Just get the bloody hell out of here,"

And he had heeded to her words and Dawn was left in the restaurant, wallowing on tears.

Ok thank you for reading! Hoped you guys enjoyed it. Credit goes to Anonymous Trainer and Blue Pheonix 20th for the submission of Bertha and Blaze respectively. Now here are a few things I have to say.

No one has submitted an OC for Ash's sister nor Ash's father. Come on, do you guys not want Ash to at least have his father in this story? It'd be really cool so if anyone has some OCs for these two characters, just PM me, but this is the last chance that you can do so, otherwise I'll drop these characters.

I currently have summer school up until…the 25th of June, which sucks really but I have to do it since I don't want to take these subjects during this upcoming school year. So updates may or may not be on hold.

Also, I do have a new three shot pearlshipping story written up. It's called 'It started in detention' so for those who haven't read it yet, please do and you can tell me what you think! :)

Anyways, that's it for this long AN. Again, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

See you guys next time!