Request: Manuel Garcia
"HAHA!" A woman cheers and she slams her fist onto the table. "I win!"
"What? No fair! You never had that card before!" A young boy contests.
"That's cause I got a new pack yesterday," she says with confidence. "Plus, you always save your Pikachu for last. You played right into my hands, Ash."
"You can't talk when I whooped your Piplup off that bat, like always," he ends with a smile, rubbing just below his nose.
"Whatever, you still lost! That means you have to buy me a cookie from the caf!"
"Fine. Come on, then," Ash replies, gathering up his deck before stashing it in his backpack.
Dawn does the same thing and they both toss their bags over their shoulders. Ash's small Pikachu keychain whips around, smacking against the fabric before slowly swinging. Dawn does the same, except instead of a Pikachu she has a Piplup. While it's true, their love of the famous Pokémon franchise has never been well received, it was this fact that brought them together… well, someone who also shared their passion brought them together, but those are details.
"Hey Forrest," Ash waves.
The blonde boy looks up from his computer like a deer in the headlights.
"Wait, hold on… '…passion brought them…' who put me- goddamnit, why does this happen to me? I didn't even do this! Someone- Name! I swear if you-"
"He's on odd one, huh?" Dawn chuckles as they watch the fellow student ramble on.
"Little bit. Always on his computer. We should leave him."
"Right! I want that cookie," she slyly says.
"Yeah, yeah."
The two walk away from the tables and traverse down the crowded hallway. It's always hell to get from one place to another in their school. It's massively overcrowded so people are usually touching at least one person while they're in the halls, be it voluntarily or not. Dawn and Ash are victims of this, forced together by their shoulders as they waddle and slip through the backpacks and bodies of their fellow high schoolers.
The two finally get to the cafeteria door and push through, finally recovering their personal space after a long, grueling journey.
"You grab a table. I'll get your cookie. I know which one you want."
Dawn giggles. "It's cause you've had to buy me so many. Give me your backpack, I'll hold onto it till you get back."
"Alright, thanks Dawn," he whips his backpack around and hands it to her. "I'll be right back!"
Dawn sits down at the table and sets both backpacks beside her, leaning against one another so neither falls over. She slips out her phone and starts messing around to waste time.
"Hello, Dawn," a friendly voice greets.
Dawn looks towards the end of the table where one of her teachers, Brock, stands with his arms crossed.
"Oh, hello!" She waves. "What're you doing here?"
"I'm on watch for today, unfortunately. Some wonderful people are in the teachers' lounge today."
"Wonderful… oh, right, is it the school nurse?"
"She's such a beautiful person," the teacher fauns, clapping his hands together as his imagination runs wild. "How could anyone be so perfect? So majestic? I'm telling you, its love at first sight."
Dawn chuckles at the professor's outburst. He's always been one who's… very enthusiastic over his crushes. For the years Dawn and Ash have been at this school they've gotten closer to Brock than any other teachers, so they know his quirks and antics.
"Have you talked to her yet."
"No," his head falls, sweat running down his cheek. "She just always looks so heavenly! I don't want to disturb her."
"Well how are you doing to date a girl you won't talk to, professor?"
"When did you become a love expert? You're still a kid."
Dawn shrugs, laughing it off. "Maybe, professor, but I can at least talk to boys. Speaking of," Dawn looks past Brock to see Ash coming back with a cookie. "You're the best!"
"Yeah, you'll be buying one next time," he says, sliding the cookie across the table. "Hey professor," he greets, taking a seat on the other side of the table.
"Ah, I see. You lost in a match, didn't you?" Brock says with an eyebrow raised.
"No."
"Yes."
They respond at the same time then glare at one another.
"Clearly you need more training. I could look over your deck and see what you can improve," he looks over to the young boy.
"No way! I can figure it out! She's not that good anyway."
"Hey! I'm right here!"
"You wanna go again?"
"You wanna grab another cookie?"
"Sometimes I regret showing this game to you two," Brock shakes his head. He looks to back to the rest of the room and notices one student dump a carton of milk on another person. "Hey! What're you doing?" He shouts, jogging away.
Dawn and Ash return to their seats, laughing.
"Ah, I'll get ya next time. So, how was he?"
"Still talking about the nurse," Dawn responds before taking a bite of her cookie. "You had to see her the other day, didn't you?"
"Mhm," Ash nods, leaning on the table. "Cut my knee during gym. She's nice."
"I've heard. But may- oh," Dawn's phone rings. "That's my mom. You're coming over tonight, right?"
"Yeah. You've been asking me since last week," he says with a hint of annoyance.
"Cause it's important, dummy. I'll see you then. Mom's picking me up early."
"What? Why?"
Dawn grabs her bag and winks at her friend. "Cause I'm her little angel."
"Oh, so unfair," Ash huffs as he rests his head on the table.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As the clock ticks away, Dawn sets everything in place. Her family is gone – kicked out by the young girl with tickets for a movie and money for dinner afterward. Granted, the money she gave them was money she borrowed two weeks earlier, but that's irrelevant. The house will be empty for enough time for her plans to go smoothly.
She sets down a thick candle on the table and steps back, smiling at her work. The table has a red sheet over it, decorated by flowers, her fanciest plates and glasses, and finally the candle. The lights are dimmed just enough for it to be scared but sufficient for moving and eating under.
"If this doesn't set the mood then I don't know what will. I won't hesitate any longer," she holds her hands in front of her. "I'm gonna tell Ash my feelings! Oh, I gotta get dressed. Crap, crap, crap," she repeats as she runs to the stairs.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ash slides to a halt on his bike and gazes at the house he's been at so many times.
"Huh, her family's gone. Weird."
He rides up the driveway and stops just before the garage. Dawn trusts him enough to share the code for the garage door to stash his bike when he visits. The boy does just that, closes the garage, then heads for the front door.
"Just you wait, Dawn. I brought my improved deck with me, plus a little surprise," he looks back at his pack. "No way I'll lose this time."
The boy reaches the house and reaches for the doorbell. The moment his finger makes contact, the door opens. He looks over at is taken back by the vastly different Dawn before him. Her hair is done up in a fancy in a ponytail rather than let loose. She clearly has more makeup on than normal, which does make her eyes pop, lips glisten, and overall give her a more stunning look. But, of course, her clothes are changed to a pink dress that hugs her figure and a pretty red bow around her hips.
Ash somewhat recognizes the design from a dress she wore years ago, but it's clearly updated to match her age.
"Oh… uh, Dawn, you-"
"I'm glad you came!" She cheerfully says. "Come on, I started dinner!" She adds, pulling the boy in.
"Whoa, hey!"
He stumbles into the house and immediately notices the strange ambiance.
"Dawn… what's going on? Why's this place so… warm… or, heck, I have no idea how to describe it."
"Oh, it's nothing," she slides a step back and smiles. "Just something I thought I would do for you."
"Um… okay," he shrugs off. "Thanks, I guess. So… you mentioned food?"
Dawn giggles. "Yep, it's just about ready. Why don't you sit down? I have the plates set up already."
"Right… okay, sure," he shakily replies as he walks to the dining room.
The table is an adjustable one that almost always long enough for five people. Now it's practically nothing with only two chairs on either side. Ash takes a seat, looking around the room as if someone's gonna jump out and scare him. The cutlery is all set with a lit candle in the middle.
"Huh… never been to a dinner like this before. Reminds me of a restaurant or something. I guess this is kinda cool. Am I in trouble or something?" He shouts to Dawn.
"Of course not! Just be happy I'm doing this for you!" She harps back.
"Right, right, sorry."
Dawn quickly comes back with a large plate of different foods, including chicken, potatoes, and colourful vegetables.
"Whoa, did you make this?"
Dawn happily nods. "Mhm, I thought you might like it. I, uh… really wanted you to be happy."
"Food does make me happy. Thanks, Dawn. I wasn't expecting you… I don't know what to say. Are you trying to butter me up for something? Do I owe you, or..?"
"No! Can't I just do something nice for you?" She barks while taking her seat.
"I… guess. Yeah, okay, sorry."
Both teenagers pile food onto their plate and start eating. Dawn is much more formal than Ash but that's mostly due to her not wanting to stain her outfit. But the two continue their banter as if everything was normal. Ash completely forgets about the ambience of the room, annoying Dawn slightly.
"-and I even managed to get all my homework done. Well, I skipped gym to do it, but that means my weekend is free," Ash ends with a wide smile. "Are you doing anything? We could hang out again tomorrow. Maybe I could remake this whole thing at my place."
"No! It wouldn't be the same!" Dawn blurts out.
Ash blinks twice from confusion. "Oh… I mean, I guess. I don't think I could do as well as you, but-"
"No, I mean…" Dawn huffs. "Does this ring any bells? At all?" She gestures around the room.
Ash takes in the room's décor, squinting his eyes to try and see the hidden message. "Uh… it's a dining room?"
Dawn slaps her face. "You don't get it at all, do you? Does 'romantic' come to mind?"
"Huh? Romantic? Uh…" He looks around the once more. "I guess. Why would it be romantic, though?"
"Because I'm trying to be romantic!" She blurts out, standing from her seat. "Uh… I mean…" She sits down back down. "Nevermind."
"Trying to be romantic..? Well… Dawn, and, uh, maybe I'm wrong," he rubs the back of his head. "But did you just… admit something? Is this all because you like me?"
Dawn, head turned and pouting, doesn't respond. Ash slides his hand down to his neck and scratches it. "Hm… um… okay, how about this! You stay right here," he says, getting out of his seat and scurrying away.
Dawn waits until he's out of the room before resting her head on in her hands. "Oh god… what if he runs away… what was I thinking? Did I mess up? I should've said something! Stupid, stupid, why couldn't I say anything?" She scolds herself. "What if he leaves? What if he doesn't talk to me… what is he even doing? Ash!" She gets out of her seat and starts looking around.
She passes by her living room and spots Ash setting up the TV.
"What're you doing?"
"Oh, I didn't think… whatever, anyway, I, uh, I really like what you did but I think you're trying a little hard," he smiles, standing up from the TV stand and walking towards her. "This… is supposed to be a date, right?"
Dawn's face goes red as she nods.
"Well… I think we should do something that's maybe… more us."
"Us? Wait, you want to?" Her eyes light up.
"Hehe… yeah, I… wouldn't say no."
Dawn cheers to herself before wrapping her arms around Ash. He blushes too, though the girl doesn't see it.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Dawn returns to the room with a bowl of chips and popcorn. She's returned to her regular outfit and hairstyle to truly complete the date. She slides under the blanket and snuggles up beside Ash, who fidgets in place.
"Isn't that… wait, right, date, nevermind," he shakes his head. "So, shall we start the movie? It just came out yesterday!"
"Sure!" Dawn cheerily says.
Ash hits the play button and lies back against the couch, sinking into the embrace of comfort with his unexpected and very touchy new girlfriend. Said girlfriend rests her head on his shoulder and sighs.
"You made it harder than it needed to be, you know."
"What? I didn't…" He sees the movie starting up and shuts his mouth. "Right, I did. Sorry."
"I forgive you," she pecks his cheek, eliciting a blush from the boy.
Though the two stay silent to watch the movie.
"And so, we find our heroes Dust Mustard and Dusk setting off for a new adventure… what will they get into this time?"
Want to keep up with me? Know what chapter's coming out next and the progress of them? Follow me on Twitter! Twitter . com (slash) Chinsangan
I recently revamped my to include a few more rewards with a steadier donation price. Things like one-shots, short stories, and full stories are a thing now! Plus there's a Discord reward for a dollar, so that's sort of neat. You can check it out yourself if you're interested. It's completely optional, of course! Pat reon . com (slash) Chinsangan
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Advice? Send me a message! See ya!
A special thank you to supporters: Manuel Garcia, James Tubbs, and Sassylemons
Extra special thanks to Ride The Lightning!
And finally thank you to the Beta Reader: TheNameIsntImportant (who used his editor powers for evil and should be ashamed)
