The clock ticked slowly as I glanced upon it, resting my elbow upon my desk and my palm against my cheek. I has just nearly finished my biology exam, after going through the multiple choice and true and false. I had briefly skimmed over the essay section and it was now that I was staring at the clock, thinking deeply about which topic I should do for my essay. Ten minutes had passed.

I looked around the class to notice Zoey and since she was seated next to me currently and she appeared to be writing, I guessed she must have been at the essay question. Gary had his pencil behind his ears and pursed his lips together, trying to think. I could see Drew laying at his desk, almost asleep. May seemed to have erased a few words as she began writing. Another ten minutes passed.

"You have forty minutes left!" bellowed Mr. Francis.

My eyes widened. Shit, only forty minutes?! I have to start writing this essay… I picked up my pen, glanced over the topics and thought about them for a couple of seconds. After about five minutes, I chose the topic I was most comfortable with. And with that, I started to write my essay. Thirty minutes passed.

"You now have ten minutes remaining," Mr. Francis stated and I glanced upon the clock to notice that indeed, I did only have ten minutes left. There was only three people left – May, Barry and me. I finished the remaining of my essay and handed my paper in.

Sighing a breath of relief, I grabbed my backpack and headed out into the hallways. I went up to my locker, trying to open it, when I heard May from behind me.

"Hey, Dawn."

I turned around and smiled. "Hey. How was the exam?"

May shrugged, "It was okay, I guess. What about you?" She asked.

"I think I handled it," I said apprehensively. "I mean, hopefully I did. My mom wants me to get at least one A otherwise she's grounding me for almost two months! So, I really need this." I said. Last week my mom had basically stated that if I don't manage to get at least one A on these exams, she'd ground me. Deciding that I didn't want to get grounded, I tried my best in studying for these exams.

"Yikes," May grimaced, "Your mom's really strict."

"Yeah, she is. But, I don't want her any other way." I giggled.

"Hey guys!" We suddenly turned to see Barry running down the hallways to catch up to us. When he had approached us, Barry was out of breath and slightly bending his back downwards, trying to catch his breath.

"Breath, Barry, breath." May laughed.

"How," He coughed and then wiped his sweat, "How was the exam? Was it awesome? Hard? A piece of cake? Ugh I swear the hardest part about the exam was the multiple choice! I mean, the choices are really close and –"

"Can you slow down for just a minute?" I stopped him, refraining from laughing at his level of insanity. It was as if he was never breathless in the first place.

He suddenly sweatdropped anime style and scratched his blonde hair sheepishly, "Oops. I do that a lot. Sorry." He admitted.

"It's okay. But really, the exam was alright, I guess." I shrugged.

"Just alright? I need more facts, man!" Barry exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air. I could see May giving him a weird look.

"What do you mean?" May asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, was it alright, like 'Eh, I handled it,' or alright like, 'Oh my gracious, I failed, I couldn't do it' or alright, like-"

"The first one! It was definitely the first one!" I interrupted him, stifling a giggle. I was amazed at how hyper Barry was.

He crossed his arms, "Okay. I guess I can work with that. So, did you guys sign up for the school dance competition?"

"Yeah," May replied, "We're pretty excited. Are you entering this year, Barry?"

He smirked as he pumped a fist into the air, "Of course I am! This year, I'm going to go all the way and maybe one day, I can finally beat Ash!" He grinned as his eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Good luck with that. Dawn's planning to beat Ash too." May said matter-of-factly.

His eyes suddenly changed expression as he looked towards me, "Really? Wow." He said, his tone full of astonishment, "Hm." He said as he rubbed his chin with a finger, "Well…you are a pretty good dancer…and you have that style. So, maybe you can beat him."

I was taken aback at his sudden compliment, "Thanks, Barry." I smiled.

"In fact, if you don't beat him…then I'll have to fine you!" He exclaimed. I raised an eyebrow. I looked at May expectantly, who was face-palming.

"Barry, you and your fining thing is getting really old." She sighed in exasperation, making Barry chuckle a little. I guessed that this was a normal trait for Barry.

All Barry did was chuckle. "Well, I'll see you in dance later, okay?"

We both nodded, "Sure." I beamed.

"Yeah! Keep stretching those legs and arms. You all have to be flexible and strong enough to compete in the dance competition." Our instructor exclaimed as she kept walking around the room.

We were currently doing warm up exercises to strengthen our bodies. Every day, we would stretch our legs, arms and to add to that, we had the option of mixing it up a little by adding our own strenuous warm up routines. Ms Smith, our dance instructor, wanted to ensure that all of the dance club members were prepared mentally and physically for the competition coming up next week.

Almost two months had passed ever since I came to Unova…and a whole lot had happened. It was currently in the mid October and as I glanced around the room, I began to think how my life turned out to be. Never would I have thought that I would be pursuing my goal of dancing, or having a secret boyfriend from my mom or even have met amazing and supportive friends.

"Dawn."

I looked up to see Ms Smith, smiling in my direction. "Oh. Hey, Ms. Smith." I greeted.

"Have you done your warm ups?" She asked.

"Yeah." I nodded, then I realized that I had completed my warm up routine a long while ago when I began contemplating about my life.

"Okay, good. Now, Dawn, from my perspective, I believe that you're a great dancer. You have a lot of potential." She started. My eyes started to gleam with excitement and passion from the kind words that I received.

"Wow, thanks, Ms. Smith! I'm really hoping to win the competition this year. I want to beat Ash more than ever!" I stated and she stared at me in curiosity for a while, before she lightly chuckled.

"You're determined. I like that." She said. "But I'm afraid that your priorities are mixed up." She said vaguely.

I blinked. "Mixed up? What do you mean?" I asked.

She let out a sigh and then looked towards me. "Dawn, I know that you want to beat Ash and become the dancing legend. But, beating Ash should not be your goal." She started. "You shouldn't be so solely fixed on beating him that you forget your true aim. Your true aim," She said, while putting her hands on my shoulders, "is to enjoy every step...every move...and every beat along the way." She finished.

I looked at her in awe. Have I been going about this the wrong way all this while?

"You know, I think, that's why Ash hasn't been beaten yet. Because everyone is so determined to beat Ash, but they don't know that, that shouldn't be their one true priority." She added. "They forget what dancing is, they forget about the passion and excitement one gets from dancing. They forget about their own potential." She said.

I looked at her. I mentally agreed with her. I've been so concentrated about defeating Ash, and nothing else.

"You won't do that, right?" She asked. I smiled.

"I won't. I'm just going to focus on practicing my dancing techniques for the competition next week and being my best." I stated proudly.

"Good. And if you do that, then you'll feel proud when you win…not when you beat Ash." She said. My heart warmed.

"Thank you, Ms. Smith. I really appreciate it." I smiled. She nodded and walked away to talk to the other dance members.

She was right. If I'm going to win, I'd have to do it my way. And I'd have to do it, the best I can.

"Okay, see you later May." I said, waving off to May as she headed off to the other direction. It was now after one in the afternoon and I was officially tired. After Ms Smith's advice, we all had been practicing our dance moves individually for the competition. Each person had to do a demonstration to show to us as a sort of sneak peek for what was to come in the competition. We'd stayed there for about two hours and I would say that, without a doubt, that I have strong competition, not only from Ash, but from everybody, even May. She was an exceptional dancer. She just had something in her whenever she moved her body with that much intensity and grace.

"Dawn wait," I heard a voice say and when I turned around, I saw Kenny heading in my direction.

"Hey Kenny, what's up?" I asked.

"I was just wondering if you wanted a ride home." He said. I raised an eyebrow. Kenny didn't have a car and he always went home thanks to the bus.

"Um, are you going to walk me home?" I asked.

"Nope. I have a ride." He said, slowly grinning. I cocked my head in curiosity. What kind of ride did he have?

"Don't bother, Kenny." I whipped my head to the left to see Ash. "I'll take her home in my awesome, black Mercedes." He said with a knowing smirk stepping up to me. I could see Kenny with a frown on his face.

I gave my direction towards Ash, "You know Ash, I'd appreciate it if you'd stay out of my business. And besides, I didn't even give my answer to Kenny."

He rolled his eyes, "Really? You're actually rejecting my ride home? I don't know what kind of ride he has," He said as he looked towards Kenny with disgust, "but I doubt it's better than mine." He boasted proudly. Kenny was starting to get annoyed.

"It's Dawn's choice." Kenny spat suddenly, "And I'm so tired of you always thinking you're better than everyone else just because of the things you have." He retorted towards Ash, who now had a surprised look on his face.

"Dawn, just come with me." He said, not removing his gaze from Kenny.

I shook my head, "I'm sorry, Ash. I can't." That's when he fixated his gaze on me. "Kenny is my boyfriend. Sure, he may not have a fancy ride like you, but he does have a nice heart. And I'll take that over your ego any day." I said and I saw Kenny's lips lift upwards into a soft warming smile.

"Thanks, Dawn." He said. I turned towards Kenny and gave him a light smile before we started to walk forward.

I don't know why, but as Kenny and I were walking out of the school, I turned back around to see Ash with a frown and a somewhat hurt expression on his face.

Why was he so confusing?

"This is my ride." Kenny said as he pointed. In front of my eyes, was a beautiful brand new motorcycle. I gasped in excitement.

"Kenny!" I turned towards him, "This is amazing! When did you get this?" I asked in astonishment.

"I just got it last night. My parents sort of gave it to me once they had enough money in their hands." He said.

"Wow, that's great! I'm so happy for you." I reached out and hugged him. To my surprise, he was tense and I could feel his breath hitch. He refused to return the hug and I was slightly shocked. I pulled away.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. He bit his lip and then sighed.

"Is…is there something going on?" He asked a bit vaguely and then he added, "Between you and Ash?"

I immediately shook my head and waved my hands in a defensive manner, "No! There's nothing going on! I don't even like Ash." I said.

"Because, I see the way he looks at you." He started. "Dawn, I don't know if it's true but I think he may like you."

I blinked. Ash having feelings for me? That was next to impossible. "He couldn't possibly like me."

"Why not? I mean, we all know Ash's unstable relationship with Serena. And with all the clues, like him offering you rides and the way he was looking at you when you were dancing with him, and plus he's your neighbour now so…"

I saw Kenny with an unfamiliar expression. It wasn't something I was used to. I never thought I'd see Kenny like this. "Are you jealous? Because you have no reason to be."

"I'm not jealous. I'm just…observant." He shrugged, "And I just want you to know that." He said.

I reached out and held his hand, "Kenny, ever since I met Ash, I have always loathed him. I never liked him because he always thinks he's better than everyone else. And I really can't handle that much ego." I stated and Kenny licked his lips.

"Well, feelings can change." He suddenly said.

I ignored his comment and said, "Trust me, I don't like Ash and I never will." I said, "the only person I began to like is you." I said. While that was true, I couldn't deny that I found Ash to be really attractive. Any girl, even me, couldn't deny that fact, but I refused to tell Kenny. Kenny was really an amazing guy and with the past month of being his girlfriend, I realized that he truly was the perfect guy for me.

He smiled, "Alright." He said and then reached out to cup my cheek softly and placed a sweet and tender kiss upon my lips. This kiss was slow and full of passion and I found myself closing my eyes and kissing him back. He deepened it and snaked an arm around my waist while I put my arms around his neck. Before we knew it, we had become breathless and that was our key to pull away.

"Come on," He said and strapped his helmet on. He brought his legs around the motorcycle to sit on it and I sat behind him. He started the bike and I heard the engine roar off before he headed towards the road.

When I had reached home, I had seen Ash pull up in his black Mercedes and I had avoided him. My mom wasn't home currently, as she had gone out looking for a job. For the past hour I began to strategize my dancing moves and what type of dance I would perform for the first competition.

"Okay, now if I do this…" I said, while twirling my foot around managing to do a spin, "and then maybe this," I said as I cartwheeled across the floor, "and finish off with this…" I exclaimed as I did a moonwalk and then put my hands on my hips, striking a pose.

I then scowled, thinking that these were ridiculous, "Ughh no! Come on, Dawn, you can do better than this. If you want to win, you have to think big! And you have to do your best!" I said, as if scolding myself before I began to strategize of other dance moves.

Another half hour had passed and just as I was about to finish my dance with the splits, the doorbell rang. I quickly walked and opened the door, "Hey mo –" I stopped myself when I realized it wasn't my mom, but Ash.

I looked at him in disbelief, "What are you doing here?" I said as I glanced towards the clock, "It's 8."

"I need to hide. Can I hide somewhere here?" He asked. I bulged my eyes out in shock.

"What do you mean?"

"Serena." He said. He was practically begging with his eyes.

I rolled my eyes, "Fine. But this is the first and last time I'll do this." I said as I allowed him to enter inside.

"Cool." He said and then he ran towards the kitchen, looking for an appropriate hiding spot. I giggled to myself as I sat down, flipping through a magazine.

The doorbell rang for the second time and I looked towards the door. "That could be Serena, do not sell me out!" I heard Ash yell. I sighed to myself when I walked towards the door. Get ready to face your wrath.

I opened the door and instead of seeing Serena, I was slightly shocked seeing my mom, "Mom!"

"Hello to you too," My mom said as she came inside. She slightly laughed at my expression as she placed her purse on the dining table.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting you." I said sheepishly.

"Well, you never are," She rolled my eyes resulting in me laughing, "but I do have some good news." I eyed her in expectation, "I got a job." She said as she smiled.

I placed my palm against my mouth in sheer excitement and my blue eyes filled with joy. I then removed my palm, "Mom that's amazing!" I said as I reached out and hugged her. I was truly happy and I could tell my mom was too.

"Yeah." She said when we released, "I got it at a hair salon. I'm going to be helping around with doing people's hair, nails and other stuff." My smile grew bigger when I heard that. When my mom was a teen, she had always wanted to open her own beauty salon, but sadly it never happened.

"That's amazing, mom. I'm really happy for you." I said.

"Thank you sweetie." She said, "I'll be working on Monday from early morning up till five. So I'll be home every night." She said. I nodded. "So, I'll be there to keep an eye on you every night so you don't misbehave." She said jokingly and I refused the urge to roll my eyes.

"So, anyways, let's celebrate!" She said. "How about some baked chicken?" She suggested. I gasped. Mom's baked chicken was just heaven.

"Of course!" I said.

"Okay, I'll go make it and in the meanwhile, you can start your homework because I know you haven't done it as yet." She winked as she headed towards the kitchen.

I laughed, "Actually I already did it-" I then widened my eyes. The kitchen! I totally forgot that Ash was hiding in the kitchen.

I quickly ran towards the kitchen and told my mom, "Hey mom, uhh, I forgot. I wanted to…show you something," I quickly blurted out. My mom could not find out about a hiding Ash in the kitchen. She'd get the wrong idea.

"What is it?" She asked.

I thought for a second and said, "My homework!" I said, "Yeah, I really need to confirm if what I've done is correct." I said and then grabbed my mom's arm without any warning and pulled her into the living room.

She slightly laughed, "Okay, but be quick, alright?" She said and I nodded before I pulled out a notebook and handed it to her. She began to check the problems and while she was doing so, I was wondering if Ash knew that the coast was clear to hide somewhere else for the time being.

"I'm going to get a glass of water." I said as I walked to the kitchen again. I quickly opened up the cupboards and looked behind the fridge and stove to see where Ash was hiding, but to my surprise, he wasn't anywhere in the kitchen. This was weird.

"Dawn, are you finished?" My mom called from the living room.

I nearly flinched, "Yeah. I'm just really thirsty." I said, without thinking. Confused as to where Ash was, I put that thought at the back of my head temporarily as I walked back to the living room.

"What's wrong, Dawn? You seem a bit worried." She said. I felt horrible on lying to my mom so much times, but I had no other choice.

"It's nothing, mom. I'm just a bit worried about my first dance competition next week Friday." It wasn't a total lie, I was a bit tensed about it. I had my mind set on ensuring that I do my best and show my true potential towards the whole school.

"Dawn," she started, "you don't need to worry. You'll be fine. You've been practicing all week now at school and after school as well. I'm sure you'll do well."

"Yeah I know, but I still need to perfect them." I told her.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." My mom said, making me smile. "Now, come on, I'll make dinner. I already checked your homework." She said and I nodded as she headed off into the kitchen, leaving me and my thoughts of the sudden disappearance of Ash behind.

It was currently after nine and I had just gone into my room, starting to practice again. Exhaling a bit, I attempted to do a jump gracefully in the air and then landing perfectly on the ground. Unfortunately, I stumbled when I did the landing so I attempted it again.

I stopped when I heard a knock. I glanced towards the door. It was open.

I glanced around the room. Another knock. The knock seemed to be coming from inside the room. When I heard the knock again, I realized it was coming from inside my cupboard. Gulping, I daringly took a small step towards it. I opened the doors and I stepped back to let out a scream but before I could, Ash quickly covered my mouth.

"What are you doing, you want us to get caught?!" He whispered as he gave me a crazed look, with his palm on my mouth. My eyes were widened. I hadn't expected, of all places, that Ash was in my closet. My heart had nearly jumped out of throat when I saw him, in fact.

He removed the palm and I quickly clised the door. I looked at him. "Okay...why were you in my closet?!" I tried not to yell at the top of my voice to avoid my mom finding out that Ash was in my room.

"When your mom came in, I panicked. So, before any one of you saw me, I just came into a room and hid into a closet. I didn't know it was your room." He explained.

"So you've been in my closet for the past hour or so?" I asked in disbelief.

"Of course not," he scoffed in reply, "when I realized that the coast was clear for now, I came outside and watched a few shows on TV. Then, I heard someone coming up so I went back to the closet." He said. I rolled my eyes in response. I couldn't believe he used my TV.

"Well, Serena never showed up, so you can stop hiding from her now and go home." I stated as I reached for my closet and took out a nightgown.

"I was never hiding from Serena." He suddenly said.

I turned around, "What? You just said-"

"There was no Serena. She was never looking for me and I wasn't hiding from her." He said and I could see his lips curve upwards into a smirk.

"Then...why did you..." I trailed off, finding myself at a loss of words.

"I wanted to see you." My eyes widened at that. He wanted to see me? I could barely believe it. "And I was only hiding from your mom because I know how strict she is." He added.

Suddenly, the tension was thick. I had no idea why, but I found my heart beating and the air getting thinner. Ash's gaze was set towards me and he had made it very difficult to avert my gaze. His black hair was messed up in a good way and that opened button on his blue collared shirt revealed a bit of his chest. He had every feature of perfection on his gorgeous and attractive face.

I had to stop myself before I went too far. Sure, Ash was pretty attractive but I had to to remind myself that I couldn't cross my limit. And that limit was Kenny.

"Well, I think you should go. I don't want my mom finding out you're here." I said. He seemed reluctant at first but then he sighed and nodded.

"I just have one question for you." He said. I raised any eyebrow.

"Do you really like Kenny?" He asked. Out of all the possibilities of the questions I thought he'd asked, I'd never imagine he'd ask this one.

I found myself fumbling against my words, "He's the perfect guy for me."

"I didn't ask that. I asked if you like Kenny." He stated as he crossed his arms.

"Why do you care?"

He shrugged. "Curiosity."

"Well okay, then why are you with Serena?" I shot back. He gave me an irritated look.

"Why do you keep asking me that?" He spat.

"Why are you so curious about Kenny?"

He sighed. "I just am, okay? Besides, I don't really think Kenny is your type." He shrugged.

"This coming from the guy with a weird relationship with a girl who he doesn't even like." I retorted. "And don't be so quick to judge, okay? I told you to stop meddling around with me and Kenny." I said

Ash had a still and neutral expression until he sighed. "Fine. I don't ask you about Kenny and you don't ask about me and Serena." He demanded.

I nodded. "Deal."

"I guess I'll go now." He said as he approached my window. He unlocked it.

"Wait!" He stopped to look at me.

I licked my lips. "Why did you want to come to see me? And why'd you lie?"

"I just...wanted to see you." He admitted with a shrug. "And I lied to you because if I had told you the truth, you wouldn't have let me in." He said. I nearly gasped and I was slightly hurt he would think that low of me.

"What? That's not true." I protested.

He lightly chuckled, "Dawn, you and I both know that's a lie. I know you don't approve of me and my ego." He said. Well he did have a point.

"But you also can't deny that I'm hot." He winked. Without warning, I felt my cheeks burning.

"No, I don't!" I denied.

"Sure," he said sarcastically, "you were practically drooling at me earlier." He said with a full smirk on his lips. I was sure that the blush was evident on my cheeks now.

"Was not. I was staring at how ridiculous you look." I hopelessly lied. He shook his head in amusement.

"Always in denial, eh?" He chuckled again while supporting himself on the window still. "Later, Dawn." He said and I closed the window when he was out of sight. My heart had now began to beat normally and I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding.

Kenny's words came back to my mind. Did Ash really like me?

Not coming to a conclusion, I decided to call May for advice. I sat in my bed while it rang. It rang about four times before she picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, May." I greeted.

"Hey Dawn, what's up?" She asked in a cheerful voice.

"Listen, I need your opinion about something." I started to say.

"Shoot."

I laid down on my bed, getting comfortable as I stretched my legs out. "May...I want your honest opinion. Do you think there's a possibility that Ash...likes me?"

There was a moment of silence before she replied. "Ash likes you?!" She exclaimed in excitement. I face-palmed.

"May! I'm not saying he does but..." I trailed off. "Do you think he does?"

"Hmm," she managed to say, "I'm not sure, Dawn. Ash is really confusing after all." She said. I nodded, even though she couldn't see me. "But I'll tell you this: I'm sure he likes you better than Serena." She pointed out. "But, why are you asking me this?"

I sighed, "Because Kenny thinks he likes me."

"He's jealous?" She questioned.

"He said he's observant."

"Okay..." she said, "Well, let me ask you this. Do you think he likes you?" She asked intelligently.

I twirled my hair in between my fingers. Sighing I said, "I don't know. He makes everything seem so confusing. At one point, he's insulting me and then offering me rides. He's just really complicated." I explained.

"Okay," she said, "I understand. But...do you like him?"

My breath suddenly hitched. I stopped twirling my hair. It was a question that I had never thought of, but I automatically replied, "No. Of course not. You of all people should know that."

"Then why did you hesitate to answer?" She probed.

"I don't know, okay?!" I let out a frustrated yell. Sighing, I continued, "I can't deal with this right now. I need to focus on my dancing."

"Yeah...you can deal with the boy troubles later on." May suggested.

I nodded, "Yeah. Thanks, May. I'll talk to you later."

"Anytime." She responded. "Later."

Friday arrived sooner than I had anticipated. I found myself blowing out a nervous breath. Currently, I was backstage of the school auditorium, trying to get myself together. I was dressed in a checkered blue t-shirt with some black leggings. Some eyeliner and blue eye shadow was applied on my face, accompanied with some very light pink lipstick.

Tonight was the first round of the school dance competition. As far as I know, all the dance members would be participating and whoever manages to impress the judges advances to the second round. In the first round, you were able to perform any type of dance you desire.

I peeked towards the auditorium. I slightly gulped. It wasn't a full house but the number of people here was enough for me to flinch in worry.

Relax, Dawn. You've done this plenty of times. No need to worry. The only difference is tbat you're going to be performing in front of a slightly larger crowd.

I lifted my lips up in a slight smile. It was my time to shine.

Hey guys! I gave you guys a reasonably long chapter today. Why?

Because it's my birthday! Yup that's right, I'm 18 now so happy birthday to me! Yeah I'm pretty excited although I don't really feel like an adult. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. The competition will continue in the next chapter. There's a lot more to come around for this story, so stick around.

Hope you guys have a good day, because I plan to do something awesome for my birthday. See you guys next time!