That question was burning in the back of May's mind when the two returned to the hotel. Not that Dawn was expecting her to come up with an answer any time soon (she thought it to be a rhetorical question) but she'd like to hear one nonetheless. This is why Dawn insisted that they return to the "main event", to watch what will unfold now that her friend is armed with what she thought was vital information.

"Ash? Where are you?" Dawn called out as soon as she set foot in the lobby. "May has something that she wants to tell you..." She said the last line in a sing-song voice that people hearing it would think of it as a rhyme (never mind that both sentences ended with the same word anyway).

Either way, May was looking both embarrassed and annoyed by it. Before she could voice her protest, however, did Brock come up to them. "Where have you two been?" he asked. "You should have been here an hour ago! It felt like you were gone for eternity, y'know?"

"Why?" May asked. "Did something happen while we're gone?"

Brock looked at her like she's gone out of her mind or something. "Um, hello?" He knocked on her head a couple of times like he was thinking it was hollow. "Earth to May. Anybody home? Aren't you supposed to be practicing?" Thinking he still isn't getting through to her, Brock coughed the words "wedding performance program" out loud. Not that he needed to, actually.

Panic crossed the faces of both girls. "Oh, no, I can't believe I forgot all about it!" May exclaimed. All eyes in the lobby turned in their direction, looking like they thought the girl insane. "Dawn, this is your fault!"

"Bu-wha-huh?" Dawn was caught off-guard. "Wait just a second, now why are you blaming me!?" One glare from May, however, stopped all other protests in Dawn's throat. "Wait," she muttered, "maybe I am to blame..."

This time Brock was giving them the "you're talking like you're insane" look as well. He never got into the loop, didn't he? "What are you two talking about?" he muttered.

Instead of answering him, May turned on her heals and took off outside once more, without nary a word said. Dawn was about to go after her, until Brock put himself in the way. "You're not going anywhere until you explain what were you two even blabbering about," he said, planting his feet and standing in place, his arms outstretched to barricade Dawn's path.

Dawn was inclined to try getting past Brock, but he kept himself immobile that she relented. "Fine, you asked for it," she said. "but promise me you won't cry. It will be embarrassing for me if you do."

"Now why would I even-" And then Dawn told him the whole story. After that, next thing she knew, Brock is now sulking in a corner. "Consarn it, Ash surpassed me all over again, and I'll bet he doesn't even know it. AGAIN. How many has it been already?"

Rolling her eyes, Dawn muttered, "You promised me you won't cry, didn't you? And besides, I thought you and Misty are already seeing each other?"

"Yes, that's what I'd like to know, too," Misty piped up, suddenly appearing beside Dawn from out of nowhere. The latter nearly had an actual heart attack because of it. "Oh, did I scare you?" Misty asked, speaking and acting like she just saw Dawn for the first time. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Or did I?"

"Do you have something against me?" Dawn asked, clutching her chest to breathe better. "You know I don't take too kindly to being taken by surprise." Instead of answering that remark, Misty strode over to the deep, dark, dank corner where Brock was sulking. "Hey, wait, didn't you even hear what I said?"

The look on Misty's face indicates that the snub was deliberate, and Dawn wasn't quick enough to see it, exactly what Misty wanted. She really does want revenge for earlier, doesn't she?


Meanwhile, in the penthouse floor of the hotel ("How many penthouses are in this hotel, actually?" Ash wondered aloud. "Whoever said that a hotel cannot have more than one penthouse?" was Max's retort.), Ash and Max are standing in front of the elegantly-decorated door of the bride. One of them is quaking in his shoes for some reason. "I'm really nervous here," Ash told Max. "Why would she even want to see me?"

Max was just about ready to knock on the door, only to stop and stare at him. And Max's hand was just a half-inch from the wood. "Why exactly are you nervous about?" After a hard look, he added, "You're not planning to elope her, are you?"

"Elope?" Ash echoed.

"Figures that you wouldn't even know what that word even means," Max said, "so just forget I said it. But about wanting to see you, well, that's a good question, actually." Realizing that his still-outstretched hand is starting to strain a little, he finally gave the door a light knock.

"The door's unlocked, come in," a faint but audible voice from the other side said.

"Sorry to intrude," Max said as he swung the door wide open, and he and Ash went inside.

Ash would have expected it already, but this suite is virtually identical to that of Wallace's. Well, you just replace the aquatic designs and water-type artwork with, you guessed it, paintings of skylines, stars and flying-type Pokémon.

The bride sat on a chair in front of a dresser table, being tended to by two of her bridesmaids. She didn't even need to turn around (or even stand up), since she can see them from the mirror in front of her. "Uh, did we come at a bad time? I mean, you're obviously still getting ready for your big day, and-"

As much as Max would have been amused to see Ash be tongue-tied for once, he told him, "Hey, remember that she summoned us here? And why do you look like you couldn't string words together at the moment? Don\t you even recognize her?"

"Of course I recognize her," Ash snapped back at him. "Are you accusing me of a memory lapse or something?"

Max turned away, hands cupped behind his head while whistling "innocently", as he replied a slow, "Well, maybe. You said it, not me."

'I thought I had that pose trademarked?' Ash thought incredulously, getting off-subject for a bit.

Luckily Winona knew that their exchange is probably going to take longer and nowhere, so she decided to bring them back to the more important matter at hand. "I hate to intrude on an, erm, smart conversations between you two, but aren't you wondering why I called you?"

"Okay, I get it." Ash took his seat, cross-legged, on the floor. Max did the same. "SO, why did you call us here?"

"Correction," Winona said, holding up one finger. "I only called for one. The other just invited himself along. And, if what I learned from May was right, this wasn't the first time." It wasn't hard to figure out who Winona was talking about that even Ash turned in the direction where she was directly facing. "No offense, okay? This is a little private matter that you shouldn't trouble with."

Feeling a bit letdown, Max said, "Fine, I'll go. I know when I'm not needed." He tried getting back to his feet, only to stumble and land on his rump again. "Aaagh! Leg cramps!" He got up again, slowly this time, and then wobbled to the door, followed by the two maids that Winona also dismissed.

"How did he even get leg cramps sitting at such a short time?" Ash wondered out loud. "I think he needs to get out more again."

Winona shook her head, half-amused, half-annoyed. "Can I actually get you to focus on what I wanted to talk to you about? Your mind seems to like wandering since I last saw you."

"Yeah, well," Ash retorted, "a lot of things have happened that makes a guy think, y'know?"

"Huh. From what I heard from your friends, you are not exactly a thinker, now, are you?" Before Ash could protest, Winona quickly changed the subject. "You have been quite a celebrity, now, haven't you?" She started counting down some points with her fingers. "Flying across the world on a single Pokémon, assaulting security, disrupting a wedding, general rudeness with the authorities, you've been quite busy."

'Wait, now why does that list sound so familiar?' Ash thought with a frown. 'Oh, wait, now I remember.' Out loud he said, "Are you going to give me a lecture? Because from what i'm hearing from you so far, it's the same old pitch that everyone's been telling me this past day."

"Don't you think I'd know that? I'm here to tell you something else, you twit."

'Waitaminit. Did she just call me-' Ash, dumbfounded, began thinking again, but Winona continued before he could trail off.

"All those things you've done, they were all for the sake of helping May, or so you thought, right?"

Ash shook his head. "So I thought," he repeated her words, with an unexpected sourness in his voice. "Yeah, that's right."

Instead of surprising Winona with his tone, she was just amused. "Well, I'll be. That certainly contradicts your friends' opinion regarding your, well -how exactly should I call it? - denseness." Yes, the same word that Dawn used earlier.

"My what?" For once, clueless Ash was completely justified.

Winona just shrugged in reply; obviously, she doesn't think too highly of the term, either. "Just bear with me, it's a term I just picked up from the grapevine." Ash was just about to say something else, but she cut him off. "It's an expression. A legitimate one, that is.

"You're right. You're probably already tired of what I said up to now, having heard it from perhaps just about everyone already. But there's something I'd like to add."


It was like an inverse of the meeting earlier. This time it was Ash coming down the stairs of the hotel, just as May came inside. Oh, wait, it really is reversed. This time no one is accompanying either of them, although everyone is present there already, anyway.

Seeing the determined look on her friend's face, Dawn instantly predicted what she thinks is going to happen. The excitement on her face is showing, making Misty cover it with her hands. "That look is disturbing, you know that, Dawn?"

Dawn, instead of answering, pushed Misty, Brock, and Max to a small alcove between the stairs and a pillar (that girl's got quite the upper body strength, it seems), which commanded a view of the entire lobby while obscuring them from view. Unless you're going to look for them, that is. Somehow, all three got headbumps from hitting the wall in the process. "Just watch, Misty," Dawn said. "You just might learn something. ...and get a heartbreak as well, I suppose."

"Now what's that supposed to mean?" Misty replied, frowning.

"Just zip your mouth shut and watch. Brock here probably already knows what's gonna happen. That's why he's sulking right now, actually." In the corner of their hiding place, Brock gave a sad, slow nod, as if to confirm that statement.

May took a deep breath, and marched right up to Ash. He didn't even give her a second glance, his eyes on the floor, while he's deep in thought. He did snap to attention when May said his name. "Ash, there's something I want to tell you. Something that's been nagging at the back of my head since, well, since as long as I remember. But, to start it all off...

"I love you."

Misty groaned and slapped herself on the forehead, as if she was in pain. Not exactly the reaction Dawn expected from her, though. "I thought you'd get jealous or angry or jealously angry or something," she whispered.

"How many times do I have to tell you, or anyone else for that matter, I'm. LONG. O-V-E-R. HIM!" Yes, she was whispering just like Dawn was, but for the latter, as well as Max and even catatonic Brock, it was as if Misty was still shouting, having covered their ears at the exact same time. ...go figure.

Still covering her ears, Dawn waited for Misty to stop spewing flames (that actually took awhile) before asking, "What was that groan for, then?"

"That was for May's sake. I don't want to see her go through the same heartbreak that I did in the past. Too painful."

"Here's the thing," Dawn replied. "May has just gone and did something that you didn't do." Misty gave her a quizzical look. "And, if my guess is correct, that's where the magic happens." Misty rubbed her eyes, since, for a second there, she thought she imagined a rainbow as Dawn gestured with her hands. "Oh, just keep your eyes on them, okay? You may learn something to your benefit."

Ash was scratching the back his head. A look, an expression that should be completely alien to the Ash we all know, was covering his face. "Uh, wow," he said, laughing slowly and nervously between each word. "Never actually had someone actually confess to me her feelings before, let alone a close friend." From the corner of her eye, Misty saw Dawn raise one finger.

"Don't give me that whole 'you're the densest person in the world' excuse, Ash," May said, gaining courage with each word. "I've learned a lot of things about you these past couple of hours."

"Hold on," Ash said, putting his hands up, "who said anything about making that excuse?" May crossed her arms and turned sideways from him, pouting. A cute gesture, but she's trying to look angry. Ash winced, and immediately tried to backpedal. "Listen, I don't know what kind of stories you've been hearing, but-"

"Travelling around the world, crashing a wedding." May was counting down her fingers as she said that list again. "Am I forgetting something? Ah yes, of course, the bit that started this whole mess: the title 'Princess of Hoenn', mister."

"Finally found out, huh?" Ash asked, looking like he's guilty of a huge crime.

"You do have an actual idea of what love is, don't you?" May said,

This time it was Ash's turn to turn away, scratching his head again while absently looking at the ceiling. "I don't know if you're going to believe me or not, but I think I'm starting to understand maybe a littttle. I just got lectured on the subject by one of your two mentors."

"Wallace? No, wait, you mean-"

"Winona?" Max, still behind the pillar like the rest, said at the same time as his sister. The Wonder Twins would be put to shame.

Ash nodded. "Yup. Lectured me on how everything I did, I did thinking it was to save you. Before she told me that, actually, things started clicking inside me and some things started making sense. I never could understand what I was doing this past day until Winona told me, and then you told me." Then he smiled, a smile that caused May's blush to turn deeper and her heart to stop. "Maybe I still don't know a whole lot about this love business, but I'm actually glad to find out that you think that way about me. Since," he moved his scratches from the back of his head his head to his nose; we all know what that means, "I think I like like you too."

You could practically hear the hotel floor cracking up, after three things were dropped instantaneously. People would actually be surprised that the floor didn't shatter then. Meanwhile, Dawn was pumping her fist exaggeratedly in the air, like she was relishing victory or something. All that's missing from her end is a victory dance.

Oh, and those "things"? They're three sets of jaws. Care to guess who they belong to?