Chapter 6 – The Girl from Twinleaf Town
Pallet Town – Ketchum's Residence
"Well... It seems she finally went to sleep" thought Brock while he was covering Delia with a blanket "But she is obviously getting worse as the days goes by"
Brock looked at Pikachu who was standing near Ash's mother and smiled to him
"Well buddy… I'm leaving now; I'll be back tomorrow night to see if she's okay. Until then I leave her at your hands" whispered Brock
Pikachu just smiled back and nodded
Brock was about to leave when the he heard the phone rang, he quickly went to answer to avoid it waking Delia up
"Ketchum's Residence" said Brock as the image on the screen turned into someone familiar
"Oh Hi Brock" said a bluenette woman "What are you doing there?"
"Ash asked me to check on his mother often, but I'm coming everyday"
"How's she?" asked the woman
"Not good Johanna" he answered "She's been sleeping a lot… but I think in her situation is better this way"
"Is she sleeping now?"
"Yes! She is"
"Good, I called to check on her as well but since she is sleeping, let her be" Johanna said "You said Ash asked you to check on her?"
"That's right"
"Where is he?" Johanna asked
"Sinnoh" Brock answered
"Sinnoh? Doing what?"
"Well… it's a long story Johanna, he was in Hoenn but he called me yesterday saying he had to go to Sinnoh. He didn't explain very well to me either… but he said something about going to Snowpoint city"
"Snowpoint?"
"That's right" Brock said
"Well… I hope he's fine then"
"Don't worry, he's not alone. May is with him" Brock said
"Good. Last time I talked with him he wasn't very good due to…. You know" Johanna said "He needs someone with him all the time"
"Agree"
"Thank you for the information and for taking care of Delia Brock" said Johanna "It was nice talking to you"
"Anytime Johanna" said Brock hanging up "Maybe… I shouldn't have said about Ash, Sinnoh, Snowpoint… or May"
On the other side of the Phone in Sinnoh
Johanna hung up as well and made her way to the kitchen when she heard the front door opening
"I'm home" said a female voice as she entered the kitchen "Good morning mom"
"Good morning Dawn" said Johanna "Can we talk?"
"Sure" Dawn said "What's up?"
"I have just called to Delia" said Johanna
"Oh… Is she better?" Dawn asked not looking at her mother
"Not really… but that's not the point here"
"What is it then?" Dawn asked
"It's about Ash"
Dawn looked at her angrily
"I told you I don't want to hear about him" said Dawn
"Sweetie… It's been almost three years you two last talked… don't you miss him?"
"Of course I miss him mom… but I made myself clear when I told him I never wanted to see him again" Dawn said
"Dawn… he did nothing wrong and you know it" said Johanna "He is a good boy and he is suffering now because of his mother… she is going to die"
Dawn didn't answer her, she knew Ash was having bad moments, he even tried to call her many times since he discovered about her disease. It's not that he chose Dawn to talk to… but Dawn learned about Ash's mother through Johanna, who became a very good friend of Delia, so Ash came after her, he didn't want to any of his friends to know about her mother… but since Dawn knew… he tried to find comfort under her arms. But she turned him down
"I… don't want to see him" said Dawn leaving the kitchen and walking up the stairs to her room
Dawn entered her room and immediately took a portrait which was placed on her desk… there she saw a photograph of her, Ash and Brock back to when they travelled together. It was the happiest moments of her life, not only because she started pursuing her dream of become a coordinator, but also because she met him. The man she most loved, her first, only and true love… Ash Ketchum.
"What would have happened if I had stayed? Would we be together now? Why did you choose her over me?" Dawn wondered "What we had… was short but so wonderful"
Dawn then started crying; she felt on her knees and embraced the portrait like she was trying to feel him again next to her
"I miss you so much" she said "Why did you have to leave me?"
"He didn't leave you Dawn" said Johanna who had just entered Dawn's room "You two had to part ways… it's normal"
"If he truly loved me as he once told me… he wouldn't have let this happened… he would have either stayed or convinced me to go with him"
"You two had different plans Dawn. Would you feel good knowing that he would have postponed his achievements for you? Or you for him?" asked Johanna "He became Kalos Champion and you the top coordinator in Sinnoh"
"I know that but still… we could have worked it out" said Dawn "I was so luck that he left her for me… but in the end he did the same with me"
"You should go see him" said Johanna "I know you want to"
"I do… more than everything… but I am not going to travel until Pallet town. This is very humiliating for me. My pride as a woman will never allow me to travel so far for him. Even though I love him with all my heart" said Dawn
"You don't have to travel to Kanto Dawn…" said Johanna
"What?"
"Ash's not in Kanto… he is here… in Sinnoh" Johanna said
Dawn got up and faced her mother very serious
"Ash's in Sinnoh?" Dawn asked
"Yes. When I called Delia, Brock answered the phone and told me Ash had left to Sinnoh. He is going to Snowpoint City"
"He is here" said Dawn "I… I need to see him. I want to see him"
"But there's something else" said Johanna
"What?"
"May is with him" Johanna said
Hearing her mother's words, Dawn let the portrait in her hands fall to the ground which caused the glass to break into million pieces
"Ma…May? No… It can't be. They don't talk to each other anymore… she promised" said Dawn
"That's what Brock told me. They are travelling together" said Johanna
"Mom… can you leave me alone for a moment please?" asked Dawn
"Ah? Okay sweetie" said Johanna leaving the room
"Dawn opened a drawer on her desk and from the bottom of it she took another photograph. In this one she saw her and May at the Wallace Cup, when they were still friends
"How dare you?" asked Dawn looking at May in the photograph "We promised each other not to go after him… that we would let him try to be happy with Serena again… that we would move on with our lives. We lost our friendship because of him, because both of us loved him and he loved both of us. I did keep the promise… I avoided him, let him down when he most needed me… and all this time you were hanging around with him, watching him smile, comforting him, maybe kissing or even worst… you dirty slut"
Dawn tore the photo into pieces, her face at that time clearly showed the hatred she was feeling
"Liar! I'll make you pay May" Dawn said "Wait and see"
.
"See you mom" said Dawn opening the front door with a backpack
"Where are you going?" asked Johanna
"Snowpoint City" she answered
"Dawn wait" said her mom
"What?"
"I'm happy that you are going to finally met Ash but…. Please….. Don't do anything stupid with May" she said
"What does that supposed to mean?" asked Dawn
"It means that… when you are angry, like you are obviously now… you tend to do things without thinking. You two used to be so close… I don't want her to get hurt… by you. And I mean physically"
"Don't worry mom. I'm gonna be a lady with her…" said Dawn
"Thank you Dawn"
"…a lady who's gonna kick that FAT ASS OF HERS" shouted Dawn slamming the door. Leaving Johanna a little scared
"Oh no… she is going to kill her" said Johanna
.
Running through Route 201, Dawn was calculating how long she was going to take to reach Snowpoint city
"If I reach Eterna city until sunset, I can get the last train to Snowpoint and arrive by the morning" thought Dawn
While running, memories of her time with Ash and May started to reappear in her head… some were good but some were terribly horrible
MEMORY #1
"So Ash… do you happen to have a girlfriend?" asked Dawn blushing
"A girlfriend?" Ash answered also blushing "Well you see… there this girl I met in Hoenn… her name is May"
"Is she your girlfriend?" Dawn asked a little sad
"I… don't know. I thought she was you know, we started dating a couple of months before I decided to come to Sinnoh… I thought she was going to come with me… but she decided to go to Johto…" said Ash also sad
"Why?" asked Dawn
"Her rivals were all going to Johto and I think she wanted to follow them to show them she was the strongest Hoenn coordinator" said Ash
"But you never asked her to be your girlfriend?"
"No. I never thought I needed. I mean, we declare to each other, kissed and you know…" Ash said blushing
"I do?" Dawn asked not understanding
"Yes… you know…" Ash said again getting redder
"Oh! Of course" said Dawn also blushing "So… it was pretty serious"
"I… thought so. As I said, she left and never said we were breaking up, but I also never asked her to be my girlfriend…. So… I don't know. I think we are not together anymore"
"Well… if I were your girlfriend…" Dawn started completely red "I would never let such a handsome guy as you to leave my side"
Ash also blushed but smiled
"Thank you Dawn" he said
"You're welcome"
MEMORY #2
Dawn was at the Pokémon Center, the clock had just struck two in the morning, but Dawn couldn't sleep, so she went to the cafeteria to think a little about things that was happening into her personal life at that moment
"What does he feel about me?" she asked herself "I already know that I like him… and sometimes he seems to feel the same way… maybe he still likes May…"
"Can't sleep?" said a voice behind Dawn
"Ash?" asked Dawn "How long have you been there?"
"Just arrived" he said sitting on the opposite side of the table
"Did you… hear something?"
"Nope"
"Oh… okay then" she said relieved
"So… can't sleep?"
"No"
"Is everything okay?" he asked
"No"
"Why don't you tell me? I can help you"
"No"
"Are you just going to answer "No""? He asked smiling
"…No?" she said also smiling
"You are so cute" Ash said
Dawn started blushing; he surely knew how to cheer her up
"No… I'm not" she answered
Ash started to stare at her which made Dawn to blush even harder
"Why are you staring at me like this?" she asked
Ash didn't answer, he just turned his face away and also blushed, and Dawn noticed it
"Could it be?" she thought "Okay… I can't stand this anymore… here it goes"
"Ash" Dawn asked
"Yes?"
"There's something I need to tell you"
"Sure"
"Since we started travelling together… I developed some… feelings for… you" she said
"Alright" he said smiling
"I don't know when exactly it started but… now… it seems to have gotten even stronger"
"Go on"
"Okay… I'll be clear… Ash I think I'm falling for you" she said looking down to avoid eye contact with him
She didn't know what to do, she was waiting either a positive or negative answer but it never came. Ash just continue staring at her and smiling
"Ash? Aren't you going to say anything?" she said looking at him again "I have just said that I like you… maybe more… do something"
And Ash did. He got up, walked around the table and sat next to her, you couldn't see the difference between Dawn and a red pepper by the time Ash sat
"A… Ash?" she asked
Ash didn't answer; instead, he took her chin with his hand and smoothly kissed her lips. Dawn was caught by surprise, and even though this was her first kiss, she was smart enough to know that she shouldn't break it or she would spoil everything, so she fast responded the kiss and embraced his neck. The kiss lasted a long time; the cafeteria was empty so neither of them cared about being watched, so they continued kissing, and kissing, and kissing, until they heard steps of someone approaching the cafeteria, forcing them to stop
"Guys?" asked a man entering the Cafeteria
"Hey Brock" said Dawn blushing "What are you doing here?"
"I woke up and didn't see you two… so I came here to look for you"
"I'm sorry Brock…. we couldn't sleep" said Ash
"I see" said Brock "Dawn… could you give us a moment please?"
Dawn looked at Brock and then at Ash… She didn't want to leave, not after her lips got almost cut by the kissing she and Ash had just shared… but she couldn't deny it either
"Sure Brock" she said "I'll be in the room"
Brock waited until Dawn left the cafeteria completely and then turned to Ash
"What the hell are you doing?" he asked
"What?" Ash asked
"You two were kissing" said Brock
"How did you know that?" Ash asked
"Apparently Dawn isn't smart enough to remove her lipstick before goes to sleep. And now you look like a clown who wants to kill Batman" said Brock
Ash ran a hand through his lips and saw a lot of red ink on his hand. It was probably all over his face as well
"Alright" he said "You got me. We were kissing"
"Ash… what about May?" Brock asked
"What about May?" he said
"She is your girlfriend"
"No. She is not" Ash said "If she was, she wouldn't have left, if she was, she would have asked me to stay, if she was, she would at least call me once in a while…. But she did nothing of that. She is not my girlfriend"
"Ash… I'm pretty sure May never thought you two broke up" Brock said "She must've been very busy… just like you. You also don't have time to call her"
"I did call her many times. But she never talks about the two of us, only about her contests. I'm sick of it" Ash said "I found in Dawn something I need"
"And what that would be?" Brock asked
"Support" said Ash "She's been there for me since the beginning of our journey. I developed feelings for her. I like her"
What Ash and Brock didn't know was that Dawn was still behind the door, listening to everything they said. She had a smile on her face from ear to ear. She didn't have to stay more, she was happy, so she finally left back to her room not listening what Ash and Brock were about to say
"You may like Dawn… But you still love May" said Brock
Ash didn't answer him… he really liked Dawn maybe he even could love her… but Brock was right, he never forgot May
"I can't think about her anymore Brock" said Ash "I need to move on. If Dawn is the one who's going to help me moving on… I will stand by her side"
Ash started walking out of the Cafeteria but Brock wasn't done yet
"Ash… You never forget who you once loved. You only hid these feeling deep down your heart" said Brock "I please ask you to be careful because… it may take years hide a love feeling… but it takes only seconds to bring them back"
Ash didn't answer once more… he just decided that May was past and maybe Dawn could be his future. So Dawn it is
MEMORY #3
"Guess who's coming to Sinnoh" said Brock
"Who" asked Ash
"May" Brock said
Dawn froze, Ash's ex was coming to Sinnoh? What for?
"What for?" Dawn asked angrily
"For the Wallace Cup" said Brock
"She… was invited as well?" asked Dawn
"It looks like it" Brock replied
Although Dawn was aware that Brock did know about her and Ash, they decided not to talk about that. For them, it was like they were only friends, and Ash and Dawn always avoided to kiss or show any sign of affection in front of Brock, because they knew he was against it because of May lack of information about it
"It will be… nice to see her again" said Ash
"Yes… I'm going to finally meet her" Dawn said
"Whatever" said Brock "She is arriving tomorrow on the 9 am ferry. I think it's nice to us to wait for her at the pier"
"Of course" said Ash
"Well… I'm going to get some supplies at the PokéMart" said Brock "Are you guys coming?"
"Sure Brock I think…" said Ash
"No Ash" said Dawn
Both Ash and Brock looked at her confusedly
"What?" Ash asked
"Maybe you and I could stay here…. You know… since… the room will be empty for a couple of hours" said Dawn blushing due to Brock's presence
"Oh come on, give me a break" whispered Brock to himself
"May's coming" thought Dawn "Who knows how she still feels about Ash… I must get him now"
Dawn hold Ash's hand and seductively asked him
"Can we please stay?"
Ash blushed, he wasn't sure if they were doing that… but he couldn't miss this opportunity
"Of course we can" he answered
"Fine" said Brock "See you guys later"
Brock then grabbed Ash's arm and pulled him near him so he could whisper without Dawn hearing
"For the sake of Arceus Ash" said Brock "I want that room as clean as possible"
"Don't worry Brock" Ash whispered back "But to do what you asked me, please stay away from the room for at least two hours and take Pikachu with you"
Ash then grabbed Dawn's hand and guided her back to the room
"I think I'm sleeping underneath the stars tonight" said Brock to himself
MEMORY #4
Johanna knocked on Dawn's room door. Nobody answered it. It was already ten o´clock and she wasn't sure if she was still in the room, so she opened and entered the room. However, when she opened the door she saw something that she never thought she would see
"Oh My God" she said
What he saw was Ash and Dawn naked and cuddling, sleeping on the bed, their clothes were scattered all over the place and even furniture were upside down
"I really don't want to know how they did it" Johanna said
Johanna took her broom and slowly started to poke Dawn
"Dawn" she whispered "Wake up"
She slowly opened her eyes and rolled herself aside Ash, making his thing to appear
"Oh dear lord" said Johanna
"What's up?" Dawn asked still sleepy
"What's up?" she asked "You have just… slept with Ash"
Dawn looked around and saw Ash naked sleeping next to him
"Yeah… so?" asked Dawn
"You think it's right?"
"You think it's wrong?" asked Dawn
"Of course I do" said Johanna "I've been telling you for almost a year to not go after him again. He is engaged"
"He was engaged" said Dawn
"What?" she asked "What happened to Serena?"
"He didn't tell me, just that they broke up two months ago"
"Still… isn't it too soon?"
"He came to me mom" Dawn said "So… it means he's ready"
"But… what if he just wants you for… Sex?"
"No… He would never do it. He came to me because he loves me, that's why he broke up with her"
"Did he tell you that?"
"No! But I'm sure of it" she said "Wait and see mom… soon we'll be engaged"
"Dawn… I know you love him so much but… Please, don't put your hopes that high" said Johanna leaving the room
Could that be possible? Could Ash be only using Dawn to get over Serena?
"Ash" she called him
Ash woke up and looked at her; he seemed confused about where he was
"Dawn… hey" he said
"Good morning sleep beauty" she joked
"Good morning"
They remained in silence for a couple of minutes until Dawn spoke
"So… was it good for you?" she asked still blushing
"It was amazing" said Ash "And for you?"
"It was better than our first time" said Dawn "You've improved"
Ash blushed; he never enjoyed talking after sex
"You know… I was so happy when you called me last night that we barely talked"
"Really?" Ash asked "What do you want to talk about?"
"Maybe… us" Dawn said
"Us?"
"Yeah. We dated and broke up, then you got engaged and broke up" said Dawn "And now you call me, ask me out and have sex with me…This surely means something. Right?"
"I… don't know" Ash answered a little embarrassed
"Ash… please tell me you were not using me for sex" she said starting to get angry
"I… I…"
"I can't believe… you were using me just for sex" she said
"Dawn… I can explain"
"Alright. Do it"
"What?"
"Explain yourself" she demanded
"I… really can't find a way to explain myself" Ash said
"Why Ash? Why can't we stay together? Can't you see how much I love you?" asked Dawn "Whenever I think we are finally going to be together… you do this"
"Do what?"
"You do me" said Dawn "And do you know what the worst part is? I can't stop loving you"
"Dawn please. You don't know what I've been through" Ash said
"Come on Ash. What the fuck could be wrong with your life?" Dawn asked "You have just broken up with your fiancé? Well it seems you got over her pretty fast"
"Dawn please, listen to me" said Ash
"I don't want to listen to you" said Dawn "Do you know what I was thinking while you were biting my neck, licking my body and getting inside of me?"
"No!"
"I was thinking how lucky I was for finally have you" said Dawn who started crying "But you don't see me this way… I think you never saw me this way at all"
"Dawn… I came here not only to have sex with you" said Ash "You know that I love you with all my heart"
"Just like you love May and Serena?" she asked
"Of course. I truly loved during all my life, only three women, May, Serena and You" Ash said "But life itself made me apart from the three women I love… but the fact that I loved May and Serena… doesn't mean my love for you wasn't real"
"What do you mean?" she asked
"I just broke up a very long relationship that I thought it would last forever" said Ash "I'm not ready to start dating again… I came to you because I feel good with you. This wasn't supposed to happen now. I just wanted someone to talk to… but my hormones and you sexy body along with the feelings I have for you… confused my mind"
"So… it was a mistake?" Dawn asked
"Of course not. I enjoyed every single moment" Ash said "By the way… your movements… were awesome"
Dawn blushed again, she knew she was falling again
"If you allow me… maybe we could try again, in a slow way" Ash said
"I… I… I can't" she said "You should leave"
Dawn took a towel and left the room, leaving Ash alone without action. After a couple of minutes he also left. This was the last time they saw each other
BACK TO PRESENT
Dawn reached Eterna city by the sunset, she was able to get the last train to Snowpoint city and should be arriving by the morning
"I made a mistake" she thought "Even after all that… I never stopped loving him. Even May and I also stopped talking to each other, we promised not to go after him anymore when we learned he was engaged. But even when he broke up with Serena… even after that night when we slept together… I kept my promised of not going after him… he was the one who came after me. But now it is time to have a last chance with the man I love, and if to get him I have to start a war against May… I will do it... and I will be the winner.