Sorry for the long wait. I've had a lot of crap to deal with lately, but I've been getting lots of inspiration for this fic and I expect to be updating more. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or its characters.

Chapter 25-A Shocking Revelation

The night had passed in what May considered a terrible condition. Dawn refused to leave the bathroom, so no one was able to shower, wash their hands, or brush their teeth. Ash was torn between his happiness at having Pikachu back and anxiety about Dawn locking herself up. Misty couldn't figure out what was going on, though she had a small suspicion. May and Drew laid on their bed together, trying to ignore Ash's constant pacing and Misty's mutterings to herself. By the next morning, everyone was exhausted and very irritable.

"Ash, where the hell is the bacon?" May asked angrily, slamming the refrigerator door shut.

"Don't ask me. I'm not the one who put it away," Ash replied defensively. He winced as he stood up. Sleeping on the hard floor was a bad idea. "Pikachu, come eat breakfast!"

Pikachu bounded across the room eagerly and jumped into Ash's lap. May couldn't help but smile at the happy scene. Misty began washing her dirty dishes and Drew helped May search for the bacon. Ash's eyes continued to flicker over to the bathroom door so often that Misty frowned. She looked over at May, who was still looking for the bacon, and cleared her throat.

"May, can we talk?" Misty asked quietly. "Alone?"

"Sure." May turned to Drew. "I'll be back soon." She kissed him and turned back to Misty. "Alright, let's go."

Misty and May walked out of the room and departed from the Poke Center, saying nothing. They passed several large buildings and emerged in a small floral area, completely empty except for the exquisite flowers. The two girls sat in the shade of a lilac bush and faced each other.

"What did you want to talk about?" May asked curiously.

Misty's expression became serious. "I need to know if there's anything going on between Ash and Dawn."

May's heart sped up uncomfortably. "What makes you think anything's going on?" she asked neutrally.

Misty scoffed. "May, I'm not blind or stupid. I noticed the less-than-warm welcome I received and I saw that Ash hasn't stopped staring at the bathroom door since Dawn went in there."

"He might just be concerned because they're friends," May replied.

"They were acting like they were more than that," Misty said shortly. "She looks at him the way I used to," she added quietly. "And he returns it."

May sighed. "Misty, maybe you're just imaging thing. Your relationship is trouble and you're trying to find someone to blame. Don't be angry at Dawn when she hasn't done anything." She knew this was a lie, but it was a lie that would hopefully smooth things over.

"That's the problem," Misty said sadly. "I'm not angry with Dawn. I want to be, but I just can't. If anything is going on, I feel that Ash is more to blame. Dawn doesn't seem the type to do something like this unless Ash promised that he was leaving me." She looked furious. "That's what's happening, isn't it?"

May didn't reply. She didn't want to keep lying to Misty, but she also didn't want to betray Dawn's trust. However, she didn't see any other way around it. But if Misty found out, would she break up with Ash? May didn't want to be the one who brought their relationship to an end. If Ash wanted to leave her, he would do it when he was ready. She decided not to interfere at all.

"I don't really know," May said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "I haven't seen them do anything out of line and I haven't heard Ash say anything like that."

Misty sighed. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid," she said. "But even so, why did Dawn lock herself in the bathroom?"

May shrugged. "I don't know. It doesn't seem like something she'd do."

Misty stood up. "Maybe it's time to ask these questions to someone who does know."

"Who?"

"Ash."

Misty marched purposefully back to the Poke Center with May trailing behind, feeling very apprehensive. She wasn't prepared for the confrontation to happen this soon. Would Ash tell the truth or continue his lies? How would Dawn react to either outcome? And if Ash did tell the truth, would Misty be angry with her and Drew for keeping the secret?

Far too soon, in May's opinion, they arrived back at their room. Drew was relaxing on the bed, Ash was sitting at the table with his feet on top, and Dawn, to both girls' surprise, was sitting directly across from Ash. Misty walked over to Ash and cleared her throat, but May slid onto the bed next to Drew and kissed his cheek.

"Prepare for an explosion," May muttered in his ear.

"Why?" Drew asked quietly.

"Misty's about to confront Ash about him and Dawn," May whispered.

"Oh shit."

Ash looked up at Misty. "What?"

"I need to talk to you about something," Misty said seriously.

"Ok," Ash replied uncertainly, glancing briefly at Dawn.

"Is there anything going on between you and Dawn?"

Ash gulped, but didn't answer right away. He didn't know what to say. Should he tell the truth and risk losing Misty in his life, or lie and make her think everything's perfect? If he told the truth, Misty might treat Dawn like crap and blame it all on her. If he lied, it would hurt Dawn and she would probably start hating Misty. Either way he looked at it, it was a lose-lose situation. And he didn't even know if May had already said anything about it. Either way, he was screwed.

"What do you think Ash is gonna say?" Drew asked May quietly.

"I don't know," May replied in a whisper. "What would you say in a situation like that?"

"I wouldn't get in a situation like that," Drew muttered proudly. "But if I was Ash, I would tell the truth."

"I hope he will," May said with a sigh.

Dawn was watching Ash nervously. She had no idea what he was going to say. If he told the truth, Misty would be angry with both of them and might end her friendship, as well as her relationship, with Ash. But if he lied, Misty would think that things between them were great, and Dawn didn't really want that. She hated herself for thinking it, but it was true. However, she wanted Ash to end things smoothly and peacefully, instead of the blow-up she was sure was coming.

"Ash, will you please answer my question?" Misty asked calmly.

Ash sighed and stared at the table. "Yes, there is," he replied quietly.

Shock registered on everyone else's faces after Ash uttered those words. May, Drew, and Dawn couldn't believe that he actually decided to tell the truth and Misty couldn't believe that her suspicions were right. A heavy silence had fallen over the room and no one moved a muscle.

Ash felt a sort of numb relief wash over him. He had finally said the thing he should've said yesterday. But he couldn't look at Misty. He was afraid of seeing her looking upset, angry, or both. He didn't even know if he was glad that he had said it. As relieving as it was, he was afraid that he might lose Misty as a friend and that definitely wasn't what he wanted.

May was very surprised by his words. She knew that Misty was a very important person to Ash and she figured he wouldn't want to risk losing her in his life. But she also knew that Ash didn't like lying to anyone. She couldn't see Misty's face, so she didn't know her reaction. Ash just looked very uncomfortable.

Drew couldn't believe his ears when Ash actually admitted to Misty that he had feelings for Dawn. Most guys that cheated don't outright admit it, but Ash did, so Drew began to respect him a bit more. He was also thankful that he wasn't in that situation. Not only could he never imagine falling for someone other than May, he wouldn't want to be put on the spot like that either.

Dawn was torn in two. Part of her felt horrible for Ash because of his current predicament, but part of her was excited that he was confessing to Misty. She noticed that Ash looked very uncomfortable, but she didn't dare look at Misty. She didn't even want to imagine the expression on her face.

Misty felt like her heart had fallen out of her body, leaving only a hollow space behind. Ash's words, though rather expected, still cut through her like an icy knife. She didn't know what to say or do. Her expression was completely calm as she continued to stare at Ash.

"I see," Misty said lightly, finally breaking the intense silence. "Ash, do you love Dawn?"

Ash kept his eyes firmly on the table. "Yes, I do."

"I see," Misty repeated, her tone completely calm. She turned her eyes to Dawn. "Dawn, do you love Ash?"

Dawn continued to stare at Ash. "Yes, I do." She saw Ash's face flush and fought to keep a smile off her face.

"I see," Misty repeated. She focused her gaze back on Ash. "Well then, I guess there's nothing I can really do about it."

Ash looked up in surprise and felt relieved that Misty didn't look angry or upset. Dawn glanced at Misty and Misty nodded slightly, causing both Ash and Dawn to smile. They looked at each other and both of them stood up. Ash walked over to Dawn and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

May and Drew were sitting in shock, too surprised to say or do anything. As Dawn and Ash kissed, May got a glimpse of Misty's expression and saw that she was smiling! That surprised May so much that she slipped off the bed. Drew's arm reached out, wrapped around her waist, and pulled her up before she hit the floor. They stared into each other's eyes and Drew leaned down and kissed May gently. May wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. For a moment, they forgot about everyone else in the room and continued their kiss with enthusiasm.

"Get a room!" Ash exclaimed with a laugh.

May pulled away and turned her head. "We have one," she replied with a smile. She saw that Ash's arm was around Dawn's waist and her smile widened. "You need to get a different one."

Drew was still looking down at May. "Wow," he said softly, causing May's head to swivel around. "We haven't kissed like that since the last Grand Festival."

May giggled. "Maybe we need to liven up our relationship again."

"Definitely," Drew agreed. He looked over at Ash and Dawn. "Is everything alright, you two?"

"Absolutely," Dawn answered brightly.

Misty cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention. "Just to clear things up, I'm not angry or upset. In fact, I'm relieved."

"Relieved?" Ash repeated, looking puzzled.

"Well, Ash, I have to tell you something," Misty said. "The real reason I came here was to tell you that I've decided to take over the Cerulean City gym again." Ash looked shocked and a little angry. "I didn't tell you because I wanted to see if you were falling for Dawn. I figured that if you were, it would be easier to break the news to you."

"I understand," Ash said quietly.

"I'm sorry," Misty said. "But I think I made the right decision. You can be happy with Dawn and I can go back home."

"Will we…can we still be friends?" Ash asked quickly.

Misty smiled. "Definitely."

"Thank you," Dawn said quietly. "For this," she added, gesturing to Ash and the fact that Misty wasn't angry.

"No problem," Misty replied.

May looked back at Drew. "So, what do you wanna do this afternoon?"

"I think we should go for a long walk," Drew replied. "We need some alone time."

"I couldn't agree more," May said.

They kissed again and stood up to leave. They glanced over at Ash and Dawn and saw that they were kissing again. Misty grabbed her things and walked to the door.

"Misty, are you leaving?" May asked in concern.

"For now," Misty replied. "But I'll be back later."

May and Drew took a last look at the newly formed couple before following Misty out of the room and out of the Poke Center.

End Chapter 25

Well, there you have it. I decided to change the side pairing because I've definitely become more of a Pearlshipper than a Pokeshipper. I don't know how this chapter will be received, but I thought it was pretty good. Now that I've quit college, I've got more time to write and I think the next update will be a lot sooner. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Chapter 26 coming soon!