Alright then, here's Chapter 9.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon; Nintendo and Satoshi Tajiri do.


FIGURE IT OUT

CHAPTER 9: YOU'RE KIDDING!


"He asked you? And you said yes! Finally!" Dawn's voice was so high-pitched that May could barely hear her over the phone. May sighed as her friend squealed in excitement; sometimes, she wished her friends could be a little...quieter.

"Yeah, he asked me about an hour ago. He almost fell apart again, but he managed to get it out."

"So? What did you do? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Dawn squeaked, sounding like an overexcited five-year-old. "Come on, I want to hear the whole story!"

"There isn't much to tell, to be honest. He started to ask me, froze up, said he loved me..."

"Wait. He said he loved you? That's so awesome!" After this statement, Dawn screamed and could barely be heard for a few seconds. "So, then what?"

"Then he asked me, and I told him I'd go with him, and I kissed him on the cheek to seal it." May blushed slightly at this admission, grateful that no-one could see. Dawn, for her part, fell silent.

"Are you sure you said that right? I thought for a second that you said you just kissed him on the cheek."

"I did. It seemed..."

"May!" Dawn said in a whiny voice. "Come on, only on the cheek? That's only for little kids! You guys are seniors in high school, and all you can do is kiss him on the cheek?"

"Hey, it seemed right at the time. Our relationship is still...well, kinda tentative. I've still got to hold off Drew, and Ash...well, he may have finally worked up the nerve to ask me to the Ball, but he's still as dense as a rock! It seemed appropriate to take it slow!"

"Alright, alright, fine. Just make sure that the next time you kiss him, it's for real, none of this awkward stuff!"

"Awkward? That's..." May thought for a moment. Dawn was right. This was awkward, for sure. She needed to make sure that nothing happened to wreck everything. "That's exactly what this is, Dawn. Awkward. I hope this doesn't blow up in our faces."

"It won't. We'll talk more tomorrow, May, my mom's calling me." With that, Dawn hung up, leaving a very embarrassed May on the other end.


"So, how'd your little alone time go last night, Ashy-boy?" Gary asked Ash in a taunting voice the next day. Ash took a swing at his old rival, annoyed that Gary would use the term in that sense.

"Will you give it a rest? It was...alright. I finally managed to ask May to that ball thing, I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't done it then..."

"Wait, back up. You finally asked May out? At last, he manages to ask a girl out without screwing up! Ha!" Gary dropped to a knee, laughing triumphantly. When he finally stopped, he turned to Paul, who had closed his eyes in disdain. "So, Paul, I guess that leaves the first shot at Dawn up to you."

"Or not," Paul answered, his eyes still shut. "Look, Gary, just ask Dawn already. It's not like you haven't made it obvious that you want her to go with you, so just ask her."

"I...I don't believe this!" Gary spluttered, looking at Paul incredulously. "Paul Scott, knowing he's won, concedes the prize to his opponent? What got into you?"

"I'm probably not going to go to that ball thing anyway," Paul growled, a frown on his hard face. "Trust me, it's a waste of everybody's time. Just ask Dawn and get it over with, will you? You're worse than him," he added, motioning towards Ash, who was staring at May, who'd just come into view. "And he was nearly sick when he went to ask May."

"Suit yourself," Gary said, holding up his hands in submission, and walked over to May and Dawn, followed by Ash. When they reached the girls, Dawn gave May a meaningful look, and turned to Ash.

"So Ash, I heard you finally managed to ask our friend May out last night. How'd you do it without slipping up?" She giggled and turned back to her friend. May gave her a look that would have fried lead, but Dawn didn't let it bother her. She noticed Gary and smiled. "Hey, Gary, what's new?"

"Not much, just helping Gramps back at the lab and whatnot. Actually," he said, looking around furtively, "can you come over here a second? I need to ask you something important."

"O-okay," Dawn stammered, and May smiled knowingly. She knew what this something was. As the pair left, she turned to Ash.

"So, have you decided who to use in the contest? Besides Pikachu, I mean." Her voice was full of nervousness, and she wished it wasn't. She was, after all, unofficially going out with Ash.

"Yeah, I figure Swellow'd love to try his hand—well, wing—at contests, and Corphish has a great-looking BubbleBeam, so they're definites. Unless, of course, I don't make it past the appeals round, in which case no-one's going to battle."

"Don't talk like that. You'll definitely make it through. Remember when I thought I couldn't make it, and you always told me to stick with it and keep pushing? Now it's time for you to practice what you preach."

"Thanks, May. I needed that, 'cause my confidence has been down lately."

"No problem, Ash." At that moment, Dawn came running over, suppressing the urge to scream. "Uh, Dawn, what's with you? Did Gary insult your hair again?"

"No, that's not it! Gary Oak just asked me to the Winter Ball!" May's mouth dropped open at this, and Ash cocked an eyebrow skeptically.

"Really? What'd you say?" Ash, of course, didn't realize what this reaction entailed, and Dawn looked insulted.

"Yes, of course! What else do you say to a guy like that? Although, I really would've liked to go with Paul..."

"You considered Paul?" Ash couldn't believe that Dawn would want to go with someone as cold and angry as his old rival. "Well, he does have a very...traditional way of looking at such things, meaning that he doesn't like it when a girl asks him out. I guess he gets it from Reggie..."

"It doesn't matter who he gets it from, or how he looks at it! Now he doesn't have anyone to go with...not if I can help it!" Dawn ran over to Paul and dragged him over to the group. "Wait here, I'll be right back!" With that, she ran off towards the gym, and Paul looked at Gary with annoyance.

"Did you have anything to do with this random display of perkiness?" Gary shook his head, since he was just as confused as Paul was. "Well, I don't have time for this, and...oh, it's you." Dawn had returned, and with her stood a girl with fiery red hair and wearing an orange vest over a purple shirt: Zoey.

"Um, Paul...I noticed you don't have anyone to bring to the Winter Ball, so...will you go with Zoey. I know you two don't like each other much, but it beats not going at all."

"Fine!" Zoey hissed, glaring at Paul. Paul said nothing, and turned to walk away. "We'll talk later, Dawn," the coordinator said with a half-smile, and jogged back towards the gym.

"Okay, glad that's over," Dawn said with a sigh. "So, why don't we get to class? I'm sure Professor Oak has some really great poems to tell us!" She ran towards Oak's classroom, and the rest of the gang followed her, still a bit taken aback by the recent events.


As they neared the room, someone stepped out of the door and was promptly knocked over.

"Can't you watch where you're going?" At the sound of the person's voice, Ash and May both cringed. Of all the people they hoped to avoid, they had to run into Drew. "Oh, it's you five. Hello, May, you look lovely this morning."

"Oh, cut the crap, Drew. Haven't you learned that smooth talk doesn't work on me. You never had a chance with me, so dispense with the pleasantries."

"May, I had no idea you had such a...colorful vocabulary. I am shocked. Incidentally, have you at all..."

"NO!" May was now so worked up that she could barely speak. "No, I will not go with you! For your information, I'll be going to the Winter Ball with Ash!" At this, she clapped her hands over her mouth and went redder than her bandanna. Ash, for his part, just tried to look inconspicuous.

"What?" Now Drew was the indignant one. "You're going with him? I...I don't believe it! You're going with the densest Pokemon trainer in this school? The one who can't even get his rat to stay in a Poke Ball?"

"Leave Pikachu out of this, Stanton!" Now Ash was riled up. "And yeah, I'm taking May to the Winter Ball! So back down, and find another girl to stalk!" Drew thought about this for a moment. After a few seconds, he sighed and hung his head.

"Very well. A warrior knows when he has been bested. I will trouble you no further. The best to both of you." With that, he walked away, his bowed head concealing a vicious sneer.

Alrighty then, Drew now knows that Ash and May will be attending the Winter Ball together. How he deals with it...only I know right now.

A couple of notes, mostly apologetic in nature. First up, I apologize to all you IkariShippers out there, but in the end, the readers have spoken and I will be continuing the CavalierShipping plotline from here on out. Next, I must apologize to anyone who hates the idea of Paul and Zoey being together, but I couldn't think of anyone else. Finally, to all you fans of Drew, I apologize for the way I've portrayed him, but I'm really just shooting from the hip on most of this. Also, if most of the events seem rushed in this story, I'm sorry, but that's just the way my mind works.

Okay, enough ranting, please read and maybe (just maybe) you can leave a review on your way out. Trust me, they make me want to write more.