Dawn: That was cruel May. Playing with my emotions like that…
May: I'm sorry, but 'no need to worry' because everything works out *smiles*
Me: WHAT! How do you know that? I'm writing this story and don't even know what the next chapter will be.
May: Well this story is Pearlshipping right? AshxDawn? Ring a few bells?
Me: Oh yeah. Heh.
May: HutchinsVW does NOT own Pokémon in any way, shape, or form.
Brock's POV
Ah, EPH. Boy how I missed this place for the last month. Having to go back to perform Gym leader duties is taking its toll, I'm just glad the school is so lenient on me since I'm a senior. It just feels good to be able to see my friends again.
"Eyy, Brocko!"
"Yo, Ash. What's up man, how've ya been?" I asked.
"Good man, just leading the team to the Playoffs undefeated, nothing too major." He stated proudly.
"Hey, that's great! I'm definitely coming to the games." I replied.
"Thanks, our first game is tomorrow night. It starts at 7 P.M. We have all Home games if we make to the Finals since we're leading our conference. Which reminds me, I need to ask you something when you get the chance?"
"Sure, what about?" I asked curiously.
"Oh…it's a about a girl…" Ash trailed off.
"WHAT! You mean little Ash finally has feelings for girls?" I laughed.
"Shh, someone might hear you! And yes, I may have feelings for a girl. I just figured I would ask you first." He sounded serious.
"Well Ash, for starters, I'm proud that you came to me for advice" I said dramatically, faking tears. "Haha, now can you help?" He sounded a little annoyed. "Well secondly, what makes you think you have feelings for this girl?
"Oh wow, well let's see here. She's beautiful, smart, and a little shy. She seems to be caring but I haven't gotten close enough to her to prove it, but I'm 99.9% certain she wouldn't harm a Caterpie. Oh, and she was my best friend from 10 years ago." He went on.
"Wow, so it took you 10 years to show feelings for this girl?" I asked, taken aback by the fact there's no way it takes someone that long to realize feelings, no matter how dense.
"Well, she moved away and I haven't seen her for 10 years. So can you help or not?" He asked.
"Let's see. The best advice I can give you is to just confess Ash." I said.
"Jeez, Brock, that was helpful. Anyways, I'm off to class, see you at lunch." He sweatdropped as he walked away.
"Glad to help!" and I went on my way. I'm going to talk to May about this, I have a feeling she might already be up to something.
May's POV
"So, do you understand the plan? Xoxo-MayM" 7:56 A.M.
"Yup, I hope it works. I'd like to see them together! 3MistyW" 7:58 A.M.
"K I'll see you at lunch. Xoxo-MayM" 7:59 A.M.
"K, see ya there. 3MistyW" 8:00 A.M.
Perfect!
"May, who were you texting?" Dawn asked me.
"Oh, that was just Misty. We were going over plans is all." I replied.
"Oh cool. What are you two doing?" She asked curiously.
"Nothing major, just sorting out some kinks." I said with a smile.
Dawn's POV
May is definitely hiding something. She has been texting since she got in class. And she was 15 minutes early at that! Something isn't right…
Math was alright I guess. We had a quiz on stuff we reviewed from our previous math class. We proceeded to Science and managed to miss Barry today. Me, May, and Zoey worked on our project and literally got half of it done. Giving 3 Coordinators a project studying stress contests have on Pokémon is too easy. We got English and Mrs. McDaniel gave out paperbacks for us to use for our assignments and homework. Once we arrived to the lunchroom we began looking for the boys, but they weren't in line.
"Hey May, where are the guys at?" I asked.
"Oh, there they are." She said pointing at our table.
"Damn, this means we have to stand at the back of the line." I said with a frown.
"Not necessarily… be right back!" and with that she took off towards the table. Ash stood up and followed her back over here he talked to a couple of the guys in the line. As he walked away he gave us thumbs up and winked with a smile that could melt steel.
"C'mon Dawn, we have a spot in line now!" May said as she drug me near the front of line. I didn't even notice. The only thing I was noticing was the man walking back to our table with that smile.
"How did we get this far up so fast?" I asked.
"Uh, did you not just see what happened?" she asked confused. I shook my head. "Oh… Ash knows these guys because they are on the team and they let us get in front of them." She said, indicating the guys behind us.
"Oh, well thanks guys. I hope it won't happen again." I turned to the guys with a genuine smile.
"No problem."
"Yeah, it's no biggie."
"Anything for Ash's girlfriend and her friend" another one said.
Wait, what? Who was Ash's girlfriend? Me or May? There's no way that May asked Ash out, did she? ARGH, THIS IS SO CONFUSING! I'm gonna ask her.
"Uhm, May." I whispered.
"Yes Dawn?"
"What do they mean by Ash's girlfriend and her friend?"
"Oh that? It's nothing…" she trailed off.
Nothing huh…
We got our food and sat down, but this time the seats were different. Misty was beside Ash and that forced Tracey to sit between me and Zoey. Hmm… surely this wasn't happening now.
"So Ash… I hear that Misty has something important that she wanted to tell you." May said.
Ash stopped shoveling the food in his mouth and looked up to a table of people staring at him. He swallowed his food and turned to Misty. "What's up Mist?"
"Oh, I was just wondering… if maybe you wanted to hang out sometime."
Pretty sure that I didn't hear that correctly. It sounded like Misty just asked Ash out. I must be hallucinating or something.
There was a pause before Ash's face turned into one of annoyance. "Misty. How many times have I told you my answer to that question?" he sighed.
"Too many. That's why I think you should change it up…" she started "…for me?" she said seductively.
Ash backed away and almost fell out of his chair. "Misty, I am not going out with you. Plain and simple." He stated coldly.
"Oh please Ash, just once!" She pleaded. It almost seemed out of desperation.
"Oh my god, if I say yes will you forever stop asking me about it?" he said in a clearly disgruntled tone.
"YES! OH MY GOD! So how about this weekend?" she asked. "Sure, whatever." He said in a low voice and continued his lunch.
Well that didn't go so bad, Ash seems completely uninterested in Misty.
I nudged May, "Hey, I thought you were going to ask Ash out before Misty?" I whispered.
"I can't do it here with everyone watching, I'm shy. Besides, Misty already has her teeth sunk in him. Most guys can't break free of her vice until she decides its time." May said grimly.
I hope Ash isn't most guys… as a matter of fact, I know he's not.
Ash's POV
This girl is insane. At least now all I have to do is make it through one date and I'm good. Forever. I'm not taking any chances with this one. I will ask May if she would do a double date with Drew to make sure Misty doesn't do anything crazy.
Anyway, lunch ended and everyone headed to their respective arenas. On the way to the Trainer arena I spotted Brock.
"Hey Brock!" I yelled as I jogged over to him.
"Yo Ash, what's up?"
"Where were you at lunch?" I asked
"Well, there was some blue haired girl sitting where I normally would so…" He said
"Oh yeah, that's Dawn. Remember I said I had feelings for a girl? That's her." I said.
"Wow Ash, I must say she is gorgeous and that you my sir have good taste." Brock replied, almost proud. "But then what is the deal with going out with Misty this weekend?" he questioned.
"So you heard that?" I said with a frown. "Yup, saw every bit of it. Why would you accept that if you don't even like her? It's not right to lead her on." He said with every amount of seriousness he could muster.
"I know Brock, but we made an agreement. If I finally go on 1 date with her, she will stop asking me out forever." I said, matter-of-factly.
"I just hope you know what you're getting into. How did Dawn react to it?" he asked.
"Shit! I didn't even look at her the whole lunch." I grumbled with my head down. "This could be bad."
"That's only if she still has feelings for you now. Girls are a wonder of the universe and they operate in weird ways." Brock explained.
"Yeah, you're right…"
"Hey Ketchum, ready to get your ass whooped again today?"
Paul.
"Paul, our last 3 battles ended in a draw. Can we spend today not battling?" I asked annoyed. But he knew that.
"Sure, I don't have a problem with that." He said.
"Really?"I asked confused.
"Yeah, it's understandable. Your too chicken and want to avoid losing your pride, so I respect that."
"Whatever Paul, I'm just not in the mood to battle. I have to think over some things." I walked off towards one of the benches to the side of the arena.
"Hmm. Wonder what's up his ass…?" Paul muttered, but I heard it and could care less about it at this point. I have to figure this whole situation out.
"Oh, by the way Ketchum,"
"Hmm?" I stopped walking to face him.
"I'm thinking of asking that fine blue haired girl out. You seem to be friends with her, what's she like? I bet she is amazing in bed. Probably the best in school." He said with a smirk.
I stopped walking. Now whether he knew mine and Dawn's relationship or not, he knew he got to me. Pikachu sensed this and managed to pull me in, reminding me that I can't get into a fight with the Playoffs tomorrow.
"Paul." I said in a low voice. "Don't talk about her like that." I said with my head down. At this point my fists are shaking, and my whole body is probably trembling.
"What? About your friend being a nice piece of ass?" He retorted.
Pikachu or not, this wasn't going to fly. I snapped. I've never been this hyped up by Paul before. This time, there was no stopping me from whooping his ass. I charged at him and instantly threw a fist right into his temple. He fell back and I jumped on him managing a few hits before he rolled me over. He got in a hit, but I managed to block the next couple. By the time I had got back on top, about to wail on him, we were pulled apart by the supervisors of the arena. I bet you won't guess where we ended up after that.
I ended up with the left side of my face swollen and that's it. Paul had a red spot around his eye, no doubt it was gonna be black later and it looked like his nose was bleeding. I totally whooped that ass…
No POV
"Well you two, what do you have to say for yourself." Professor Oak asked.
"Well, Ketchum here obviously hit me first." Paul snarled.
"Only because you were talking shit about me and my friends." Ash retorted.
"Boys, you better calm down right now. I'd hate to have you both leave here in handcuffs…" Professor Oak said with a stern voice.
"Yes sir." Ash and Paul responded.
"As for punishment, you are both suspended for the rest of the week and are not allowed to attend any school events." He continued.
Ash raised his hand, "That means I can't play tomorrow night doesn't it?"
"That's exactly right."
"Damnit! At least it's not a good team…" Ash trailed off, disappointment evident. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do so I can play tomorrow" Ash pleaded.
"Well… there is always community service. Just come by the front of the school when the bell rings. Today we had planned to go pick up garbage in Viridian Forest and having 2 more people couldn't hurt." Professor Oak offered.
"I'll take it!" Ash eagerly accepted.
"Paul?" Professor Oak asked the purple haired boy.
"Sure, why not." Paul responded casually.
"Ok, you two are free to go. Remember, front of the school after the bell." The Professor reminded the boys.
May's POV
"WHAT! ASH AND PAUL GOT INTO ANOTHER FIGHT!" I yelled, scaring Brock half to death.
"Easy, don't shoot the messenger. But yeah, not sure what over. I left after Paul called Ash a chicken and they looked to talk a bit more before they finally fought." Brock explained.
"When I get my hands on either of them! I'm gonna-"I began before being interrupted by Brock "Shh, the only ones who know about this are the people in the Trainer Arena so keep it low for now."
"So, who won?" Drew asked. I just glared at him, shaking my head. "What, it's a guy thing to ask who won." He retorted.
"I hope Ash is okay." Dawn asked, almost seeming worried.
"Trust me; Ash is more than capable of taking care of himself, especially to an all talk, no walk douchebag like Paul." Drew said.
"Yea, but he will be suspended and won't be allowed to play tomorrow." I said with a frown. "We all know how important it is for him to take the team to the championship, I mean he promised it to the whole school at the Pep Rally we had before the season started."
No sooner than I said that, Ash came walking up with a bag of ice held up against the left side of his face.
"Oh my god! Ash, are you OK? What happened? Did you get suspended?" I felt all of these questions pouring out of me.
Dawn's POV
"Oh my god! Ash, are you OK? What happened? Did you get suspended?" May rattled those questions off like an auctioneer.
"Jeez, May. Can I get a chance to answer before you ask another question?" Ash asked sheepishly.
"Yes, explain to us why you acted like a dumbass and possibly risked not playing tomorrow for a fight with Paul." May retorted.
Wow, she sure can change her mood rapidly. She went from worry to anger in an instant.
"Well, let's see. To begin with, I don't like the guy. And-"Ash began but was interrupted. "THAT'S HARDLY A REASON TO GET IN A FIGHT ASH!" May yelled. "May, let him finish." Brock tried to calm to her down.
"Thank you, Brock. Anyway, I told him that I didn't feel like battling him today, I had to clear my mind and such. He proceeded to call me a chicken and blah blah blah, but that's not the worst of it." Ash said in a low voice before looking at me with those beautiful brown eyes. "He started insulting Dawn, saying obscene things about her." Before pausing. "I don't know, I just snapped. That's when we fought and here I am now." He finished.
"What did he say about Dawn?" May asked him curiously.
"I'd rather not repeat it, besides I'm not sure Dawn wants to hear it anyw-"but I stopped him by putting my hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, you can tell them. No need to worry right? It can't be that bad can it?" I said with a fake smile. He gave me a warm smile back and continued.
"Well, here goes nothing." Ash sighed "He said 'I'm thinking of asking that fine blue haired girl out. You seem to be friends with her, what's she like? I bet she is amazing in bed. Probably the best in school.'"
Ash was turning red again, whether it was from anger, blushing, or the fact he was just in a fight, I'm not sure. I'd have to say anger if anything, he appeared to shaking all over with clenched fists. It was almost scary.
"I told him to never talk about Dawn or any of my friends like that and he responded with 'What? About your friend being a nice piece of ass?' and I just snapped." Ash finished with his head hung low, still trembling all over.
The rest of the group was looking at the ground with looks of worry and concern. I, however, was just looking at Ash, on the verge of tears. I did the only thing that came to mind.
"Ash?" I said softly as I walked up. He stopped shaking and relaxed his fist. He slowly moved his head up and met my gaze, and I could see the hurt in his eyes. I mean May said he was caring of his friends and others, but I had no idea the lengths he would go to. He risked sitting out of one of the biggest games of the year, all because someone was insulting one of his friends. Me. I embraced him in a comforting hug and he returned the favor. I just buried my face in his chest and let every tear fall as they came.
"Thank you, Ash." I said in a soft, muffled voice.
"Hey, Dawn. No need to worry right?" He turned his head to face everyone "I want all of you to know that no matter what happens, I'm always gonna stand up and be there for you guys, through thick and thin." he stated with a heartwarming smile. I only tightened the embrace, "Uh, Dawn? I can't breathe." He squeezed out.
"Oh, sorry." I said with a slight smile. "So, I guess this means that you can't play tomorrow?" I asked softly with a frown.
"Not necessarily. Professor Oak offered me an opportunity to participate in some community service today with some other people afterschool. He said if I showed up, then he would lift the suspension and I could play tomorrow." He said.
"Good, I would feel terrible if you missed the game because of me…" I said softly.
"Dawn, did you just miss my speech or what?" he chuckled. "I told you no matter what, I'm gonna stick up for you guys, regardless of what happens."
I know time does a lot to people, but I never thought that the little, mischievous boy from 10 years ago would end up being so kind, caring, and protective. He's PERFECT! I'm not worrying about May or Misty anymore; it's my turn to start making the moves.
May's POV
That hug between Ash and Dawn was so CUTE! Paul, you mega douche! You weren't part of the plan yet your actions have put Ash and Dawn's relationship in motion so fast. Bravo, sir. I still hate you though.
"Ash?"
"Yes, May?" Ash responded.
"I want you to know that we're going to always be there for you as well. In fact, I am going to the community service with you today to show my appreciation." I said proudly.
"Me too." Dawn added.
"I'm going too." Brock said. Soon the whole group was all for going to help Ash with his "punishment" afterschool.
"Guys, you really don't have to do that, it's supposed to be my punishment." Ash argued.
"Nope, we're going and that's final." I said matter-of-factly.
"Besides, how can it be punishment for something so noble?" Dawn asked in a flirty tone. What the hell? Is she actually flirting with him? The sweet and shy Dawn Berlitz was flirting with Ash Ketchum. She'd been better off flirting with a brick wall. She's a real trooper.
"Heh, well ,uh… i-it was n-nothin… really!" Ash said nervously, blushing all the while.
Touché, Dawn. Way to get him on the ropes.
The bell rang and with that we proceeded to the front of the school to Ash's punishment.
Wow a lot went down in that chapter. I almost feel like it is rushed a little bit.
Please R&R and thanks for reading Chapter 6!