A/N: So I finally decided to cut the battle scene short, because I really just don't like writing battle scenes. It's really much better as a visual thing, and I honestly don't understand some people's battle scenes - especially when they create new moves. And it wasn't fun to come back when I'm already working on chapter 9 :-) - I think you all are going to like chapter 8 - I know I did! Anyway, thanks again for all the reviews - it's nice to know somebody's still reading this lol. I'm not sure how long this fanfic is going to be, but it will definitely have to be finished before the end of the summer (I'd even like to have it done in a month). What do you all think of that Drew/Dawn pairing? I can't stand it lol.

Chapter 4

Ash was waiting outside when Paul pulled into the driveway. Dawn noticed right away that he looked stressed. 'He never gets this worked up over a battle, at least in a negative sense,' she thought, 'There must be something else on his mind.' She heard Paul open his door, and without thinking she followed suit. Ash's jaw dropped slightly, "Dawn? What are you doing here? And with Paul of all people?," he gestured his arm in Paul's direction for emphasis.

Suddenly realization dawned on her, and she felt her palms become sweaty. 'I knew there was a reason that he let me tag along,' she thought, giving Paul an imploring look. 'He knew I was shooting myself in the foot!' Her silent pleas were useless, and Dawn knew Paul was no friend of hers when he didn't even bother to turn in her direction. 'I know he knows what I'm thinking,' her thoughts turned into vengeful ones, and she felt hatred well within her. She became so caught up in her thoughts of revenge that Ash's voice was a shock to her, "Dawn? Are you listening to me? I asked you a question!"

"Ash," she began nervously, "Just hear me out, I can explain everything…I was keeping Paul company today."

Disbelief washed over Ash's face, while Paul merely raised an eyebrow, saying nothing.

"You kept him company? What in the hell for?!," Ash shouted, frustrated.

"Baby," Dawn cooed, "I can see that you're already stressed from something else. Maybe we can talk about this later?," she trembled.

Ash was not sympathetic. "No, I'm pretty sure I want to talk about this now," he growled, "I know you and Paul aren't even friends, so you tell me what you were doing with him."

"Well," she answered slowly, visibly shaking, "I was at, uh, Second Empire with him but sweetie I swear that-"

Ash held up a hand to cut her off, "Why are you shaking? Do you have something to hide?" Dawn shook her head frantically, and opened her mouth to speak again. She failed, because he continued, "Why were you at Second Empire? Especially when you knew Misty and I were at Second Empire…that's it, isn't it? You can't even trust me to go out to lunch with a friend!" Ash was shouting by now.

"No, I trust you," Dawn desperately cried, "I just don't trust her! And you didn't even invite me to this battle when you knew I wanted to go! Why don't you explain that?!" She immediately regretted what she said upon seeing Ash fume and Paul shake his head pitifully. Misty had stepped onto the porch, shocked at what she was witnessing.

Ash was seething by now, "You are a victimizing bitch." His words felt like ice to Dawn. She refused to glance at Misty, who was most likely cheering, or Paul basking in his 'I-told-you-so' glory.

"I trusted you," he forced out, "and you went behind my back today and spied on me. And to top it off, you lied to me. You acted like you were thrilled to meet Misty, which by the way makes you a two-faced bitch, and then you told me you were going shopping. And could you 'freshen up' once I left? Does that sound familiar, honey?"

Dawn didn't answer. She felt so ashamed that all she could choke out was an, "I'm sorry." Ash gave her a disgusted glance, and ignored Misty who had come up next to him. Turning to Paul, he said, "Are we going to battle or what?"

Paul sneered in return, "I was wondering the same thing."

It was hard for Dawn to focus on the battle. Despairing thoughts were swarming her mind, and she barely acknowledged Paul sending out his Infernape and Ash sending out his Torterra. She couldn't help but admire Ash and the way he always liked to overcome type disadvantages. She felt the cold glare Misty sent her as she looked up to see Ash struggling to focus on the battle. Dawn's eyes narrowed at Paul's next comment, "A little off today, Ash? You should know that emotions should be left on the sidelines when you're battling."

"Thanks for the advice," Ash sneered, commanding his pokemon.

Dawn lost her balance when she felt the earth shake under her. Realizing that Ash had commanded an earthquake, she mentally cursed that she wasn't paying attention. It hadn't been the first time that she had fallen over from the earthquake, but it was the first time that Ash didn't send her an apology…or for that matter an acknowledgement. Glancing over at Misty, Dawn realized that Misty had managed to stay on her feet. The irony was not lost to Dawn. Noticing that Misty was walking over to her, Dawn struggled to keep a straight face. Although Misty did seem a lot older, Dawn secretly doubted that Misty had lost her famous temper.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," Misty scolded, "Don't you see how you've distracted him?"

Dawn stood up and brushed herself off, glaring at Misty, "Why don't you tell me why he was so stressed before I even got here?"

Misty's face faulted slightly, but she concealed it over a cloak of anger, "Don't change the subject! Grow up! You obviously still have a lot of maturing to do."

Dawn crossed her arms and gave a huff, "We've known each other, what, a few hours? How dare you judge me, and furthermore-" She was unable to continue when a loud thump interrupted her. Feeling even more shame for failing to watch Ash's battle, she peered around Misty to witness that Ash's Torterra had been knocked out.

"Enough of this," Paul commanded, returning his pokemon, "Battling you further would be a waste of my time. Come battle me when you have your silly problems under control."

Ash growled, but said nothing. He returned his pokemon, and quietly thanked it. He then turned on his heel and stormed off behind his house.

Dawn felt sick when she watched Misty scamper off to comfort Ash. Dawn wanted to go as well, but the menacing glare he sent her as a warning had been enough to stop her. Turning to see Paul stroll to his car, the feelings of revenge she felt before the battle flooded back. Stomping over to obstruct his path, she sneered at him, "Well I guess you're happy to kick Ash while he's down, aren't you?"

Paul stood there a moment, processing whether she actually had the audacity to utter that sentence. "Words cannot describe the extent of your ignorance. I wasn't 'kicking' Ash while he was down, because we were having a battle. And if there was any reason why he was 'down,' as you like to call it, it's because of you. I find it very ironic that you like to accuse me of being selfish, when in reality, you're just as selfish. The only thing that separates us on that level is that you're a complete imbecile."

Dawn silently seethed, refusing to listen to the reason in his words, refusing to admit that he was right. "None of this would have happened if you had just played along!," she snapped, "Now this whole thing has been blown out of proportion! You knew this would happen, and you let me come along on purpose!"

He pulled his car keys out of his pocket, and scoffed, "I don't know how many times I have to tell you that if you had used your brain, you would have seen this coming. You blew it out of proportion because you tried to lie on the spot. And I'm not some relationship counselor, but getting angry at Ash to avoid interrogation was probably not the best way to go."

She dug her nails into her hands, squeezing them in an effort to relieve the tension she was feeling. She wanted to sob on the spot, but she didn't want to look weak in front of Paul. 'I have to prove that I'm not an idiot,' she thought indignantly, albeit a shallow thought. Unfortunately, she had trouble keeping in her emotions. "Why didn't you just warn me?," she whimpered, suddenly becoming interested in the ground. Paul pressed his fingers to his temples in an effort to relieve his growing headache, "I'm not obligated to warn you about anything. We're not friends! I already gave you advice, and you disregarded it. This has been about the worst day ever, because now I realize that there's nothing worse than spending the day with you, watching you and your boyfriend fight first hand, and then getting blamed for it. I'm leaving – and if you do something stupid like try to stop me, I'll run you over, got it?" He opened his car door quickly and turned on the ignition. Dawn could hear the stereo blasting as he backed out of the driveway and sped down the street. She frowned, and dragged her feet as she walked towards her bike. 'It might not be a bad idea to try out that meditation thing,' she thought, 'I need to sort out my thoughts. And I bet my mascara is running.' Swinging her leg over the bike, she pedaled onto the street, gaining momentum as she headed towards her house.

"Who knew there was a whole trail behind Ash's house?," Misty murmured to herself, her eyes peeled for Ash's form. Hearing the sound of Pikachu's voice faintly to her right, she stepped off the trail, listening intently for Pikachu's voice again amidst the crackling of leaves under her shoes. She stopped suddenly when she came upon a clearing, where Ash and Pikachu were leaning against a tree. Ash's hat was pulled down to hood his eyes, and he made no effort to greet her despite hearing her arrive.

"Ash," she called softly, "Is it okay if I'm here?"

"Whatever," he replied scornfully. She flinched slightly, repressing the hurt she felt.

"I'm here for you," she said calmly, attempting to assuage him, "I hope you know that."

"I know," he muttered, continuing to stare at the ground.

"How are you feeling?," she asked, unsure of what to say.

Ash snorted, "I feel great, how do you think I feel?" Normally Misty would have chastised him for being rude, but she knew this was not how he normally acted.

"I meant, how are you feeling about your relationship with Dawn?," Misty tentatively brought up the subject, holding her breath slightly while waiting for his reaction.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully, "First you come here and tell me all this, and I thought that I could trust her completely. I guess I was just shocked when I realized she wasn't as perfect as I had imagined." He finally turned his head to Misty, and she noticed he looked distraught.

She sighed, "Nobody's perfect Ash. How can a relationship work if you have that mindset? But…if you're questioning your relationship, maybe you should think about the age difference." Misty knew she should feel guilty, but she continued, "Don't you think that her behavior today was immature? She's still seventeen, well, nearly eighteen but do you understand what I'm saying? You're turning twenty-three soon."

Ash's stare hardened, "Shame on you, Misty," he scolded, "If all you came here to do was talk badly about Dawn, then you might as well have been her today. Are you here to support me, or are you here to pursue your own interests?"

It would take a while for Misty to fully contain her shock over Ash's maturity. She kneeled beside him and shook her head, "No, Ash, I'm here to support you. I'm sorry. It's just, jealousy, I don't know how to explain it. I can't help but act this way; it's like some primal instinct!" She took a deep breath. Damn her conscience, "That's why I think you should forgive Dawn." Ash's eyes widened; he clearly had not expected her to say that. She hadn't either.

"I feel so selfish right now, Ash, and it's because I'm jealous. I can only imagine how I would feel if I were dating you and she were coming to visit. She doesn't even know what I said to you yet, but she must have suspected something. I knew this when she said she didn't trust me. I don't want you to do something you're going to regret," Misty eyes watered slightly, and she felt slightly resentful towards herself. It wasn't enough to regret her actions, though.

Ash took her hand and smiled at her, "I appreciate that, Misty. I'm sorry that this has all happened. I honestly thought that we'd have lunch and catch up, but now all this shit has occurred."

"Stop it, Ash," Misty held up her hand to quiet him, "I'm just as responsible for ruining the day. I was so stupid to even think about saying those things to you while you were dating Dawn."

"No, I understand why you did it," Ash spoke in a low tone, "I would have done the same thing. And the day isn't ruined."

"Ash, what do you mean-" She was cut off by Ash's lips pressing against hers. Ignoring all thoughts that said she shouldn't be doing this, she wrapped her arms around his neck. His arms snaked around her waist, pulling her closer, and she started to deepen the kiss before he pulled away suddenly.

His breathing staggered slightly as he stared at her with a panicked look. Confusion washed over her face, "Ash, I don't understand, does this mean that…?"

He stood up abruptly, his stare never leaving her as he choked, "I have to go." He started running back to the trail, his Pikachu close behind. He could hear her calling frantically from behind, "Wait! Ash, where are you going?!" He ran harder, desperate to run away from the incriminating scene. Her calls became more muted as the distance passed, and finally ceased. Guilt flooded his body, as he realized he was a liar…and a hypocrite for that matter. Ash needed to think, but more importantly, he needed to eat.

Dawn trudged to answer the door, feeling groggy. She hadn't slept well the previous night, and she had decided against calling any friends for support. For the most part, she had just cried herself to sleep. Pulling the door open, her jaw dropped in shock when she saw Ash standing on the porch. He grimaced, taking in her appearance. She hadn't dressed for the day, and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. The dark circles under her eyes became evident to him. Other than the rare occasion of her feeling ill, he had never seen her like this. He became unsure of how to go about his task. "A-Ash," she stuttered, "I didn't think you were coming. I would have showered and gotten ready," she said, clutching the door knob in embarrassment. Ash shook his head and waved it off, "Can I come in?"

She nodded and hastily stepped back, allowing him to enter. After shutting the door, she turned to him, nervous, "Do you, ah, want something to drink?," she offered a smile. He shook his head, "No, I'd really like to talk if that's alright. Can we sit down?" Dawn felt the adrenaline pumping through her veins, like pure anxiety coursing through her body. She couldn't sit still. "Ash, about yesterday," she spoke up suddenly. He held up his hand to silence her, and gave her a comforting smile, "I understand why you did it." Dawn was speechless, and her heart raced for joy. "You do?," she stammered, her eyes wide with wonder. She frowned when she saw Ash sigh. "Although you shouldn't have lied, I understand why you did it. Misty professed her love to me yesterday," he stated evenly, staring her straight in the eye. Dawn felt her throat tighten under the immense tension. Her eyes narrowed slightly, 'I knew it!' she thought. 'And May thought I was being crazy…I'm going to call her today and prove to her I was right.'

"I honestly don't know what to say, Ash," Dawn replied, "other than say that I had a feeling she came here to do so."

Barely letting her finish her sentence, Ash spoke abruptly, "Dawn, there's a reason I came here. I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to say it. I did a lot of thinking last night, and I think it's best if we take a break."

She felt faint. 'Oh my gosh, he's breaking up with me!,' she thought frantically, unaware of her increased breathing. 'Is this Misty's doing?! Is this my doing?! Everything was perfect until yesterday!' Her thoughts were broken by Ash's hands pressing down on her shoulders, "Dawn, calm down, you're hyperventilating!"

"W-what?," her voiced cracked, and she suddenly became confused. "Is this because of yesterday?," she whispered, afraid that if she spoke louder she'd burst into tears.

"Dawn, I'm really sorry," Ash's voice was thick and heavy with emotion, "I wouldn't break up with you over one mistake, you have to believe me. But what happened yesterday made me consider our age difference more. You still have a lot more to live and learn, and I don't think we're at the same points in our lives. And Misty, yes, I do have feelings for her," he paused at Dawn's sharp intake of breath, "but they don't outweigh the feelings I have for you. But she's still a year apart from me, and, I can't lie to you Dawn. I kissed her yesterday." He lowered his head in shame, and the dizziness Dawn felt increased tenfold. She felt hopeless, and now she felt fed up. "Age difference?! What happened to that 'age is a state of mind' shit?! You kissed Misty?!," she screeched, placing her hands on her hips, "Kissing Misty is far worse than my going to lunch with Paul! Paul and I aren't even friends. You're breaking up with me so you can date Misty, aren't you?! Tell me I'm right, Ash, tell me right now!"

"No!," Ash shouted back, frustrated, "You're not always right! You showed me an extent of your selfishness yesterday, and now you're concerning yourself with making me admit you're right! Whether I decide to date Misty or not is none of your business from this point forward, because you're too young for me! We're not on the same wavelength," he spat out sarcastically. Dawn's arms dropped to her side, stung by his outbreak. Ash regretted his actions immediately, "Dawn, I'm sorry, you know I never meant to yell at you. It's just, right now, I don't think we're right for each other. Please accept that. I hope we can still be friends eventually."

She nodded sullenly, "I understand. Friends?" she held out her arms to embrace him, before awkwardly dropping an arm and holding out a hand for a shake.

He looked slightly relieved. "Friends," he agreed, grasping her hand and pulling her towards him. Hugging, they lingered for a while, before he pulled away and mumbled, "I should probably be going now. Take care of yourself." And he saw himself out. Dawn, still in a state of shock, mindlessly walked towards her room to pack. She was going to La Rousse.

Ash pulled in his driveway to see Misty turning away from his front door, walking down the porch. She looked slightly surprised upon hearing his car come in.

"Misty," he greeted, stepping out of his car, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh," she responded, "I was going to say goodbye."

Ash frowned, "Goodbye? Are you leaving? You just got here yesterday." Misty ran her hand through her hair, scrunching it absent mindedly, "No, Ash," she said in a firm tone, "I think it's best that I leave early. I've caused enough problems for you and Dawn. Come visit me in Cerulean sometime, okay?" She proceeded to walk past him.

"No," Ash demanded, grabbing her wrist, "It's not okay." Misty tried to tug her wrist away, and upon failing turned towards him angrily, "Listen, Ash, let go of my wrist. You don't have to visit me but I'm leaving!"

"No," he repeated in a softer tone, "You're not."

Her eyes narrowed, "Who are you to tell me what to do?," she snapped with her usual fiery temper. Ash stepped closer, and entwined his fingers with hers. Misty was acquainted once again with the familiar feeling of confusion. "Ash," she began, "I understand why you ran away yesterday, but this is probably not the type of situation you want to set up again. Please step away from me and let me pass."

Ash shook his head softly, "Never," he whispered in her ear, sending a tingling sensation down Misty's spine.

"What about Dawn?," she whispered back, imploring his eyes to tell her what she wanted to hear. She was not disappointed. "I spent last night thinking, and I broke up with Dawn. I think she'll be alright," Ash informed, "And I think we can give this a shot, Misty, but slowly."

Tears of joy sprang to Misty's eyes, "Ash," she breathed, barely containing her excitement, "That's all I ever wanted to hear."

A/N: Okay, that's it for Ash and Misty, unless I decide to write them in later. Drew and May show up next chapter, and as of right now (chapter 9) they're still there - but they're kind of back burnered. Next chapters aren't as dramatic...well...not this break up drama at least lol. I can't wait for you all to read chapter 6 and tell me what you think. Chapter 5 will be out very soon - probably Monday - I have to wait for my friend to get back from Disney World and copy edit lol. Please review!!!!!!!!!