Chapter 20

Tuesday, November 22nd

Ash jolted in his desk, placing a hand on his side before casting a glare in May's direction. The brunette stuck her tongue out playfully in response to his dark stare. The little jab May had thrown to his side had snapped Ash out of his thoughts, allowing him to notice Dawn's efforts to get his attention.

"Ash?" Dawn asked him yet again, and he finally turned to face her.

"Huh?"

"What's with you today? You're hardly listening to anyone." She noted with a huff, clearly perturbed by his lack of focus. Ash gave a nervous chuckle, scratching at his cheek.

"Eh, sorry Dawn." He replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "Can't help it."

His mind kept drifting back to the day before. It was hands down, the best day he had in a long time. Not only had he beaten Giselle convincingly, but the battle was recorded for Charles Goodshow, who happily approved Ash's request to join the underground circuit. Ash could hardly believe it; he was actually a circuit trainer now.

Despite all of the positives that anyone could point to about the day before, Ash continued to think about the final part of his discussion with Charles.

-X-X-

"It was truly a pleasure meeting you both today. I'm really hoping that we have more meetings like this in the future." Charles said to Ash and Brock as they shook hands once again.

"Before we go, Mr. Goodshow, can you tell me how I can have a battle against my father?" Ash asked him, causing the man in question to raise his brow.

This thought had crossed his mind during his first conversation with Brock this past weekend. A match between Ketchum's. One was King of the Red Skulls while the other was...well, time would tell what Ash would become. But Charles was certain that this match would draw a considerable amount of attention. Father versus son. The number of promos he could come up with would be endless!

"First, you need to earn the right to challenge him. Typically, when I organize a match for one of the Five Kings, it's against a trainer that's currently ranked among the top fifty." Charles explained. "In your case, there will be special conditions. I have nothing against you Ash, but as commissioner of the circuit, I have many obligations to meet. One of those is making sure that we yield a consistent profit from our sponsors. If I'm going to pitch a match between you and your father, I fully expect this card to be one of the most anticipated battles we've had at the Hidden Cove. Therefore, I want you to be ranked within the top ten trainers of the circuit before you can challenge your father."

"Top ten?!" Brock exclaimed incredulously. Even Melissa showed some surprise at this condition.

Every trainer that took part in the underground circuit was considered to be elite. The top fifty trainers were the best of the best. And the top ten were unquestionably some of the best trainers on the face of the earth.

While Brock and Melissa were stupefied by this, Ash felt his chest begin to swell. This wasn't some ridiculous expectation, Charles was challenging him.

"It's fine Brock," Ash began, his lips curving up into a smile. "When all is said and done, I was going to be number one anyway."

Brock took a moment to observe his friend, quickly recognizing that look in Ash's eyes. Nothing anyone said at this point could cause his confidence to waver. His eyes were dead set on his goal.

-X-X-

Ash jolted in his seat, casting another glare in May's direction. Seeing that she was packing up her bags, Ash furrowed his brow before he took a quick glance at the clock.

"Wait, class is over?" Ash drawled, causing Dawn to roll her eyes with a sigh, and Ash felt a sense of deja vu. He pursed his lips, realizing that he had let a full class period slip by while his head was in the clouds.

Unlike the other groups, their team had yet to design a composition for their piece. Basically, they were almost a full week behind their classmates who had decided on their compositions on day two of this project. With a sigh, Ash knew that he needed to make up for his poor focus during class today.

"Are you guys coming over to my place this afternoon? We can try to brainstorm some more." Dawn suggested, glancing at each of her partners.

"Yeah, I'm always up for a brainstorm session." Ash replied, but May seemed to be disheartened upon hearing Dawn's request.

"I can't today. I have to pick up my little brother from school and take him to his tutors." May replied, wrinkling her nose at this.

"No need to worry, May." Dawn replied before she shot a narrow glance Ash's way. "This will give Ash a chance to redeem himself."

Ash felt his cheeks heat up upon hearing the jab from Dawn. He looked away from them, sticking out his lower lip in an effort to ignore their giggles. As Dawn moved to her desk for second period, May followed her with a sly grin.

"So, it'll be just you and Ash. All alone." May noted suggestively, causing Dawn to groan.

"Quit it May, we're just going to work on our project." Dawn retorted with a huff.

"All I'm saying is that you haven't done much with him lately. This is a perfect opportunity for you to, rekindle the flame." May said, putting on a poor imitation of Fantina's French accent.

"Did you really just say that?" Dawn asked in a deadpan.

May stuck out her tongue and winked before she left to head off to her second period class. Dawn glanced back at Ash who had remained in his seat at the back of the room, twiddling his pencil as he tried to develop a few ideas to throw at Dawn later this afternoon.

It would be just the two of them.

Her father had gone off on another business trip, and no one would disturb them if they went down to Dawn's workshop.

Perhaps May was right, this would be a perfect opportunity to...rekindle the – Dawn's cheeks reddened as she shook her head. This was a chance for she and Ash to talk.

"We have to decide on something Ash, you can't shoot down every idea we have." Dawn stated as they entered her workshop within the Berlitz Estate.

"Well, I'm not going to paint anything that'll portray a Pokemon as some kind of monster." Ash said indignantly, his arms folded in front of his chest.

Whether he would admit it or not, Ash had become a major roadblock on the journey to them completing this assignment. Based on the time period they had received, Pokemon were viewed in a very negative light, but Ash refused to develop a piece with this as the basis.

On the other hand, he had also failed to come up with a compromise for this. He had given it some thought during the last week but had been unable to develop anything that would fit the era they were attempting to mimic, without further damaging the poor reputation of Pokemon.

Dawn huffed at him, casting a glare in his direction, causing Ash to look away. He had been such a pain to work with during this project! Dawn was well aware of how Ash felt about Pokemon, so she could understand his refusal to follow the theme of the paintings they were studying. But she wished he would bend his philosophy for them, even if it was just a little. They had made little progress and this project would make up a significant portion of their grade for this term. They...no, May couldn't afford to have anything outside of an excellent grade on this assignment. Thanks to Fantina's generosity and patience, May was just barely passing this class despite her poor artistic ability. This project would be a good chance to bump up her grade if Ash wasn't being so stubborn.

"So, what are we going to do then Ash?" Dawn asked as they sat at the table.

"How about we paint a smiley face and call it a day?" He suggested, scratching the back of his neck with a chuckle. The stare he received from Dawn killed his laughter, and he promptly apologized. "I...don't know. I've been stuck trying to figure this out all week."

"Okay then, how about we go back to the history book Ms. Fantina gave us." Dawn pointed out, causing Ash to brighten up. Dawn had claimed the book for the weekend, so Ash hadn't seen it since last Friday. He had forgotten all about with the events that had taken place, and he grew anxious to peer back into this treasure trove of artwork.

Dawn fetched the book from a nearby shelf which caused Ash to narrow his eyes. No wonder he had forgotten about it! She didn't even bring it to school!

"Were you trying to keep it all for yourself?" Ash asked her, causing Dawn to suck in her lips.

"Uh -"

"I knew it!" Ash said as he pointed at her animatedly. "You were keeping it at home hoping I'd forget about it! The book is coming home with me tonight!"

Dawn opened her mouth to protest, but since she had been in possession of it for the last four days, she complied. Perhaps letting Ash have it for some time would inspire him.

Pulling her stool next to Ash, Dawn placed the book in front of them and cracked it open.

"Actually, there's one piece I wanted to talk about with you." Dawn noted as she flipped to a page that she had marked with a sticky note. It was near the center of the book, in the time period just before the Great Crisis.

Ash raised a brow at this painting, a smile forming on his face. It was a picture of a small girl in a sundress, no bigger than Macy, beaming brightly as she placed her straw hat on the head of Bulbasaur. Back then there was no fear of Pokemon, and children played with them freely. But that was a thing of the past. As far as Ash knew, Bulbasaur were some of the most docile and good-natured Pokemon out there, but there wasn't a chance in hell that someone would go within twenty feet of one right now.

"Why can't we go for something like this?" Ash asked her, and Dawn smiled softly.

"I figured you'd say that. But we were assigned the period after the Great Crisis." Dawn reminded him. "So, unfortunately, this is off the table."

Ash frowned, placing his elbow on the table so that he could prop his chin upon his hand. With his remaining hand, he began to turn the pages of the book to the time period they were supposed to be using. The era that Ash had grown to hate.

He could admire the ability of the artists, but he struggled to respect their work as a whole. Those who had painted a Pokemon as the focus of their piece did so with the clear intention of showing them as murderous beasts. Others painted them as insignificant, keeping them in the distance and while the focused on what the Pokemon had done to mankind.

Ash didn't like any of it.

Dawn was wrapped up in her own thoughts as she scanned the page they were looking at. Her eyes went back and forth, reading through the passage that accompanied this painting, providing some information about the artist. He was a man by the name of Vincent who lived in Johto during the Great Crisis. His daughter and wife had been killed during the event, and the tragedy inspired him to create this painting.

The painting was of a man, likely Vincent himself, with his lifeless daughter in his hands. He was looking up to the skies above, his mouth open as he gave a scream of agony. All of his pain and anguish came across in this piece, and dark tone of the piece fit the running theme of all the paintings following the Great Crisis.

Hearing Ash exhale loudly, Dawn stole a quick glance at him and she finally noticed just how close together they were. She had been so focused on the artwork that she hadn't even noticed that she and Ash had gradually moved closer together as they studied each painting. She could feel his breath brush against her cheek. Dawn's cheeks became flush as she studied Ash out of the corner of her eye, taking in his features.

She felt her heartbeat quicken. Ash hadn't noticed her staring at him; he was probably swimming in ideas. Dawn didn't waste this opportunity, her gaze drifting to Ash's lips, and the thought of kissing Ash invaded Dawn's mind. Her cheeks reddened at the idea.

She had been on three dates with Ash so far, yet there was no kiss. She had been thinking about this every now and then since their third date last month, but Ash had a lot to handle during this time, so she kept these thoughts to herself. The thoughts of...moving forward with Ash Ketchum.

Dawn had come to respect and care for Ash in the two months since she had first met him. He was special. Not just because she had a lot of things in common with him, but it was just this feeling she got around him, and it was demonstrated in his qualities and the way he carried himself. He may have goofy moments, but Ash was determined, strong-willed, compassionate, hard-working and considerate. And today she could add 'loyal to his beliefs' to that list. Dawn found everything about him to be very attractive, so attractive that she had unconsciously been leaning in toward him.

With all the grace Dawn could possibly muster, she fell right off her stool, colliding with Ash on her way her down. Her stool rattled after it had hit the floor, while the two of them rested on their backs. Ash had taken the brunt of the fall for Dawn who had landed on top of him.

"Ugh, what happened Dawn?" Ash groaned, waiting for her to get off of him.

"Oh my god, are you okay Ash!?" Dawn exclaimed as she rose up, quickly helping him sit upright. He stopped to rub the back of his head and neck before nodding to her. She sat right beside him, relieved that she hadn't hurt him after knocking him out of his seat.

"I'm fine, Dawn. when I was younger I was a restless sleeper, I rolled off my bed so many times it isn't even funny-"

As Ash spoke, Dawn found herself staring at Ash's lips again. He paid no mind to Dawn's stare, assuming that she had noticed something on his face. In a similar vein of disregard, Dawn tuned out Ash's voice and leaned forward to silence Ash with an unexpected kiss.

Dawn pulled away from Ash, her cheeks scarlet red at the action she had just taken.

She had just kissed Ash Ketchum!

She didn't even bother to get his consent. She just went for it! And it was...well...she was expecting some sort of magic or the fireworks that May was always talking about whenever she described kissing Drew. But what Dawn felt was as if she was floating, and Ash was there. She hardly got a chance to grasp this feeling before she had pulled away from him…

So, she leaned in again.

This time when she placed her lips against his, he tilted his head and pressed forward.

He was kissing her back!

Dawn felt as if she had been uplifted once again, floating through the air. Ash was here with her, taking a hold of one of her hands. This was the magical feeling May must have been talking about, like an out of body experience. And of course, Ash Ketchum was the person to introduce her to such a feeling.

It was such a rush! To the point that she tossed her thought process to the wind and let her body act on its own. She closed the distance between herself and Ash, wrapping her arms around his neck to embrace him.

Ash had been the one to show Dawn so much in such a short space of time. It left the bluenette to wonder if this feeling she got when she was around him could be produced with someone else. No...it had to be just Ash. She had never felt like this about anyone else.

Dawn Berlitz was in love with Ash Ketchum.

Ash couldn't believe what was happening.

They were actually kissing!

There was no way he could have foreseen it, but he was enjoying it way too much. He had always sensed some attraction between them, and he had thought about acting on it until...

"Your relationship with her will not progress any further than what it presently is. Am I clear?"

Mr. Berlitz suddenly appeared in Ash's mind, his voice thundering through the serenity he had been enjoying.

Ash's eyes snapped open, and he placed his hands on Dawn's shoulders, separating himself from her. They were both breathing deeply, cheeks flushed and Ash felt a pain in his heart as he looked into Dawn's eyes. She was wondering why they had stopped, and what he was about to say would ruin everything.

"Dawn," Ash breathed out, dropping his head because he couldn't bear to make eye contact with her. "I'm sorry, but we...no, I can't do this."

"W-What?"

"This Dawn, I can't be with you like this, where we kiss and stuff." Ash revealed with a deep sigh.

"But why?" She asked, her voice becoming strained as a lump formed in her throat.

"Th-this shouldn't have happened. I'm sorry." Ash spoke in a whisper to her, lifting his head to meet her gaze. He immediately regretted this choice, seeing a tear already escape her eyes. It broke his heart to break her heart.

This was very different from when he and Serena had ended their romantic relationship. But he had learned from it that this wasn't a time to force a conversation between them. This time could be better used for both parties to think, so that next time they would be able to communicate properly. If they spoke now, everything would be based around the heat of the moment.

"I'll just go, Dawn." Ash said to her as he rose to his feet.

Dawn remained seated on the floor, watching him collect his belongings. It took all her strength to remain composed during these moments. She wasn't really quite sure what she was feeling, such a mess of emotions had overcome her during the last three minutes.

She had thought about how she had developed this attraction to Ash, and finally confirmed what it was she felt for him. Then she acted on these feelings, and to her surprise, Ash returned them. She was on cloud nine as they kissed, discovering something she had never experienced before. This mutual affection didn't last for long, because what Ash did next brought her right back to reality.

He left.

Dawn was all by herself in her workshop.

It wasn't until her mother had come down to check on her did Dawn realize that it was already past six o'clock. She had spent a chunk of her afternoon curled up on her beanbag chair, hugging her knees as she sobbed.

Her mother spared no effort to console her, helping Dawn work through what took place. Johanna was surprised that her daughter had taken the initiative, though she wore a smug little grin as she recalled that she had been the same way with her husband. This little sense of superiority faded as she witnessed how her daughter's heart had been shattered, but Johanna understood what she was going through.

Moments like these were a part of life.

Some people, you would walk with for a lifetime.

Others, would come and go as the season's change.

Ash felt horrible. He couldn't focus at all, to the point where he decided to hole himself up in his room once he got back home. Shauna had been watching the girls this afternoon, and she let him be when he announced he would be staying in his room for the afternoon.

Pikachu had come up to his room with him for company. Like Shauna, Pikachu didn't press him with questions. Rather, it lounged on his bed, waiting for when he decided to speak.

Ash, however, kept silent for the most part. It was nearing eight o'clock, and he didn't feel like eating dinner or doing anything. His mind continued to drift back to that kiss with Dawn and how his heart fluttered. He loved every second of it. But his mind just had to remind him of his deal with Dawn's father.

His heart knew what it wanted, however, his mind knew what he wanted. The arrangement Ash had with Malcolm Berlitz couldn't be sacrificed for the sake of having a relationship with Dawn. This was his one way into the underground circuit, the one way to get to his father. The one way that he could be a real Pokemon trainer.

It was one of life's hard decisions, and Ash felt awful knowing that he had chosen to pursue his dreams over Dawn. He could only hope that she would find it in her heart to forgive him one day.

Glancing at the art history book he had brought home from Dawn's house, Ash decided to look into it again. He had been leaning against his windowsill, watching the sunset, but now seemed like a good time to try working on something again. Taking a seat on his bed, Ash began to stroke Pikachu's back before he cracked open the book. Rather than flip to a random page like he always had, Ash went to the index at the back of the book.

There he could see a full list of each painting in alphabetical order. The one at the top of the list gained Ash's attention. The painting was titled 'A Longing.'

"Page 144." Ash said to himself, flipping over to that page. This one was near the end of the book, one of the few Ash hadn't seen yet. It had been painted years after the Great Crisis had taken place, and Ash could see that the overall theme of it was somewhat different from the others.

The centerpiece of the painting was an outstretched hand, reaching out toward a hazy being. At first, the only thing he could make out of this shadowy figure was its sharp red eyes that looked up at the hand menacingly. But upon further inspection, Ash began to trace out its other features.

Since gaining access to the PokeHub, Ash had spent a great deal of time looking through their database at the Pokemon they had compiled information on. He had seen images of many, many Pokemon during this time, and the image in this painting bore a small resemblance to a Pokemon he had seen before. The spiky patch of fur that erupted from the top of its head, its small snout, and sizable mane. He had seen this before.

Opening the PokeHub on his phone, Ash quickly scanned through their collection of images before he stumbling into the Pokemon he had been looking for. It was Growlithe. A Pokemon of extreme loyalty, yet in this painting it was portrayed as...

Ash looked back at the painting, furrowing his brow. The way Growlithe had been painted as a frightening shadow with glaring red eyes certainly made it seem dangerous, but Ash felt like the title of the painting didn't fit the artwork. Why was it called 'A Longing?'

Looking toward the short passage regarding this painting, Ash scanned it before reaching a section that caught his attention.

Edna Hardt, the creator of this piece, lived out on the Sevii Islands where there was minimal damage from the Great Crisis. Due to public concerns about Pokemon, she was forced to forgo a friendship she had developed with a Pokemon from her youth onward. Unlike most artists of her time, Edna did not develop the same prejudice that others had toward Pokemon. So rather than follow what was becoming the norm at the time, Edna's piece could be compared to a time capsule. In this captivating work, she captured someone's earnest effort to form a bond with Pokemon, but with the radically changing views of Pokemon, an idea such as this would be a thing of the past.

Ash breathed out, staring at this piece with great intrigue. Now he understood the name of this painting. This Edna was amazing. Despite the public opinion at that time, she couldn't deny what her heart longed for. The companion that must have walked alongside her throughout her life. It felt like a safe guess to say that the Pokemon she had grown with was a Growlithe, and Edna must have been counting the days she had gone without that companionship.

Placing a hand on his chest, Ash listened to his heartbeat.

What did he long for?

He knew for certain that his heart longed for a beautiful girl with blue hair. But was it up to his heart to decide this? Or was he right in following his mind?

"Pi?" Pikachu asked him, peering up at its trainer. Hearing its small voice, Ash glanced at back at Pikachu and he knew the answer to his questions.

Perhaps in a physical sense, his heart desired Dawn Berlitz.

But in his heart of hearts, Ash knew what his dream was. A world where Pokemon and people lived together. A world where trust and fellowship was present throughout...where there was no fear.

It hurt him to say it but...

"I couldn't give you up for Dawn." Ash said to Pikachu, placing a hand on its head. Pikachu beamed up him, proud of its trainer's commitment.

Thursday, November 24th

It was twenty minutes into eighth period, and Ash felt uneasy as he sat in Fantina's classroom. This was the first time he had been in here since Tuesday, so he was uncomfortable for a few reasons. The first reason was the curious glance Fantina gave him upon entering her classroom. Ash knew she had a list of questions for him, most of which likely pertained to him skipping her class for the last two days.

However, the greatest cause for his unrest was caused by the presence of the bluenette, who he hadn't spoken to since their last encounter at her home. She was by herself in the back of the room, swiping away at a mounted canvas with a paintbrush.

Dawn put away her supplies and work in advance, leaving as soon as the bell chimed. Ash looked up at Dawn as she passed his desk, opening his mouth to speak, but her brisk pace killed his voice before it left his throat. With a frown, he looked down at his desk and the blank page of his sketchbook. His focus was all over the place!

He spent the last class period wrestling with different ideas of how to approach Dawn, but Ash couldn't build up the courage to do so. He wasn't sure if Dawn would be open to the idea of talking with him yet, and he couldn't blame her for that.

Fantina kept her distance from Ash and Dawn during the class period. Dawn had been rather withdrawn during the last two days, and that coincided with Ash's absence. Fantina had a hunch that it had something to do with the raven haired young man, and she had an opportunity to confirm her suspicions. Taking a seat beside him at the shared desk, Fantina looked at him expectantly as she interlocked the fingers of her hands.

"Monsieur, comment allez-vous?" Fantina inquired, waiting patiently for him to speak. Even though the question was posed in French, she asked this on a daily basis, so he recognized it immediately. Ash frowned, guilt filling his heart. He expected Fantina to berate him for skipping her class, but her kindness knew no bounds.

"I'm…okay." Ash breathed out in response.

"Is anything on your mind?" She continued slowly, giving Ash plenty of time to consider what he wanted to share. His gaze was downcast, refusing to meeting her stare. She paid no mind to this, waiting for him to answer her questions.

"Uh, yeah I do have some stuff on my mind." Ash replied, glancing toward the doorway of the classroom that Dawn had left through. Fantina saw this as a chance to address exactly what she wanted to talk about.

"Does it have to do with," Fantina nodded toward the doorway. "-mademoiselle?"

Ash sighed and gave her a nod.

"Did something happen between you?" Fantina asked, though she immediately wished she hadn't. Ash withdrew into his shell, looking back down at his desk.

"No, I don't want to talk about it." Ash stated, and a silence set in.

Fantina took this time to think of how best to push forward with this discussion. Based on their short interaction, Fantina could see that sort of rift had formed between Ash and Dawn. It was unusual, considering how well they got along over the last two months.

"If I might offer you some," She paused to look up, making a face as she searched her vocabulary for the word she wanted. "-advice…you should speak to Dawn."

Ash made eye contact with Fantina, tilting his head at this direction.

"I want to," He admitted. "I'm just not sure how to start."

"Well if you truly cherish your friendship with Dawn, speak to her. It won't matter how you start, so long as you reach an end where the two of you remain friends." Fantina stated, and Ash raised his brow.

She was right.

He couldn't idly sit back and let this rift between he and Dawn grow into something greater. It would cost him a great friendship if he did nothing.

Friday, November 25th

May frowned, drumming her fingers on her desk as she sat in Fantina's classroom. She had been doing this for several minutes, to the point where her fingertips were becoming numb. Every so often, she would glance at the entrance to the classroom, expecting Ash to burst through the doors. He sent her some text messages this morning promising that he would come to art class today, but half the class period had passed already and Ash was nowhere to be found.

The brunette was anxious, thanks in no small part to the final text she had received from Ash.

'I'm going to talk to Dawn when I get there.'

Dawn had filled May in on what took place Tuesday, so the brunette didn't hesitate to open a floodgate of questions onto Ash via text. But he didn't respond to anything she asked, which about summed up how the last two days had been with anything regarding Ash.

He had hardly spoken to either Dawn or May, ignoring them during the classes they shared and skipping their lunch period altogether. It hurt May deeply to know that the first guy Dawn had seriously pursued had rejected her, after a kiss no less! Glancing at her friend, who was seated beside her as always, May admired how well Dawn was handling it. The bluenette seemed to be fine, even though she was nursing a broken heart.

Considering how much time Ash and Dawn had spent together, it only seemed like a matter of time before the two of them got together. She was left to wonder what was going through Ash's head to make him reject Dawn.

The doorway to the class opened, revealing the person in question.

Ash stepped into the room, his presence being largely ignored by most of his classmates. Fantina met him near the entrance, and the two of them began to speak privately. As they did so, May nudged Dawn with her elbow and nodded up toward Ash. Dawn glanced up at Ash, and turned her gaze right back to her sketchbook as she worked on another concept.

Dawn's lack of a reaction left May slightly unnerved. Dawn had been awfully distant during the past two days, and May suspected that she still might have been in denial. It was as if she didn't want to accept that Ash had a different mindset regarding their relationship. Perhaps he wasn't aiming for something serious.

May couldn't get through to Dawn. Zoey and Nando both said they hit a wall when trying to speak to her, so the only person left was Ash.

With the recent events, May was uncertain of leaving this in Ash's hands, but who else was there?

Once Ash had finished speaking with Fantina, he made his way to the back of the room, where the girls were seated. May watched him closely as he approached, making eye contact with him. They shared a glance before Ash set his sights on Dawn. He stood over her as he took off his backpack, beginning to fish through the contents of the back for his sketchbook. Upon finding his desired item, he opened to his latest sketch and set the book down on top of the paper Dawn had been drawing on.

She didn't take too kindly to this, casting a narrow glance up at Ash.

"What do you want?" She asked him with a deadpan delivery.

Ash pursed his lips, feeling a chill on his shoulder. He knew now that he definitely didn't want to end up on Dawn Berlitz's bad side. At this very moment, Ash saw Dawn's resemblance to her father, and how her temperament could take on different forms, from the sweetheart he kissed two days ago, to the stony-faced girl that was staring him down.

Taking a deep breath, Ash knew that he couldn't falter. He needed to mend their relationship now.

"Can we talk?" Ash asked her firmly.

"About?"

"This drawing." Ash said, pointing down at the artwork he had put on her desk. She had yet to take a proper glance at it.

Dawn looked down at his sketch and exhaled.

If there was one thing Ash never failed at, it was impressing her with his artwork. Most people would say it's only a pencil sketch, but it was simply captivating.

The focus of the sketch was an outstretched hand that was grasping onto an olive branch. The small piece of foliage was being held by Pikachu, who was offering up the item to the viewer.

A peace offering.

"I know I don't deserve anything from you, but please, can we just talk?" Ash asked her again. Dawn looked up at him again, meeting his gaze once more. Her steely expression wavered, unable to find it in her heart to keep up this façade. She, more than anyone else, wanted to talk to Ash about what happened.

"Fine." She said, and Ash motioned for her to follow him. Taking his sketchbook in her hands, Dawn followed Ash to the entrance of the room and raised her brow as Ash gave a nod to their teacher. Fantina met the duo at the entrance of her classroom, providing each of them with a hall pass before allowing them to exit the room.

Out in the corridor, Ash took the lead as he and Dawn walked, taking her to the emergency exit. This took them out to the backside of the building where they would have some privacy to speak. Dawn leaned against the wall, waiting for Ash to begin. He spent a few moments pacing back and forth, searching for how he wanted to address this subject. Then he looked toward her.

"Okay, the first thing I have to do is apologize to you." Ash began. "I'm sorry for…letting things go as far as they did. I shouldn't have let that happen in the first place."

Dawn furrowed her brow, opening her mouth to respond.

"Why though? There was definitely something there between us." She noted.

"I thought I felt something similar Dawn. But I don't think right now is the time I should be dating anyone." Ash answered.

"Why?" She asked again. "You just said you felt the same way that I do. If two people like each other, what should stop them from dating? I mean…is there something wrong with-"

Seeing her place a hand on her chest, Ash cut in immediately.

"Dawn, it has nothing to do with you," Ash stated in an effort to reassure her. His best option was, to be honest. "I've reached a point where I can't commit the amount of time I'd want to give you."

Dawn stood still, her mouth opened partially.

"I'll be straight with you Dawn. I'm getting my shot at being a Pokemon trainer, and that's going to take up all my time. It's why I'm out in the afternoons so often." Ash explained to her. "I don't want to be in a relationship where it feels like I'd be neglecting you. You wouldn't be my first, second…or even third priority Dawn, as much as I hate to say it."

He maintained eye contact with Dawn throughout his explanation, and she finally broke away once he finished speaking. She knew what Ash prioritized in his life.

Pokemon sat firmly at the top, and that was without question.

His family came second.

And his career as a trainer had taken the third slot on this list.

"Look Dawn. I made a mistake with the kiss. I really don't want it to change things between us because…I really like having you as a friend." Ash went on, wringing his hands as he spoke. "I would hate to lose that. So, if you can find it in your heart to forgive me for…letting things go farther than they should have, I would really appreciate it."

Dawn looked back at him, seeing his sullen expression as he wrapped up his request.

"If you can't though, I understand. It's not my place to ask for all this from you. Thank you for listening to me, and I still can't tell you how sorry I am for all this." He had put his hands in his pocket to stop fidgeting with them, setting in his gaze on her as he waited for a reaction.

She needed some time to process everything before she gave him an answer.

He said exactly what she needed to hear. That, at the end of the day, he was going to choose Pokemon over her. That his aspirations came first…and she could sympathize with his thought process.

But one question remained on her mind.

"Did that kiss…mean anything to you?" Dawn piped up suddenly, causing Ash to raise his brow. The words of her father replayed in his mind, his threat forcing Ash to brush aside any memories of their kiss.

"I can't let it mean anything to me Dawn." Ash said after a deep breath.

"I – I understand Ash." She stated with a downward glance and his heart became heavy at the sight of the expression she wore. He had done his best to just be honest with her, but in the end, there was no way to avoid hurting her. All Ash could do was accept this. "I'm not sure if we can be friends. I need time, to figure all this out."

"I get it, Dawn," Ash said with a nod. "I'll be waiting whenever you're ready."

Ash figured that now was the best time to leave her. He said everything that he needed to. It was up to Dawn to figure out if she could forgive him, and he would be fine with either decision she made.

"Don't stress over our project Dawn. To make up for this, I'll handle everything from here." Ash assured her, and he left with that. Dawn watched him re-enter the building, but she remained outside. Dawn gave a deep sigh as she leaned back against the wall and fell to her bottom.

Pulling her knees up to her chest, Dawn swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She wasn't sure if she could take having a friendship with Ash, at least not for the time being. That kiss they shared was special to Dawn, and the end result of it all left her confused.

Why would Ash kiss her back and then claim that he couldn't afford to feel anything?

A/N

Whoa, this chapter had some big-time stuff going down. Did anyone see a kiss coming? I wasn't sure if anyone might have picked up on it since the last chapter had a minor hint concerning the future of Ash and Dawn's relationship. Kudos to you if managed to predict it!

Have to give some love to my beta MjrGenMatt. I'm in the noob spectrum when it comes to romance so I relied upon his insight to put that scene together. Hopefully, you guys in enjoyed it.

I don't want to put out in spoilers regarding the upcoming chapters, but I think the next four or five I believe have the same inspiration which I'll go into when the time is right. So look forward to those.

Many thanks to the new followers and any favorites I received, and I hope you stick around and/or leave a review for me! Would love some feedback from you guys! Ash's journey is just beginning and I have a lot in store for him.

I'll see you all at the next chapter! Stay out of trouble until then! :)