Hello again! So this chapter should be interesting, so I won't say anything. Just read :)

I was on cloud nine. When he broke the kiss, I grinned sheepishly, absolutely overjoyed that Ash actually liked me. He actually returned my feelings.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I shook my head. "I'm just happy, that's all," I said, biting my lip to contain my excitement. "To know that you like me back is the best feeling."

He scoffed. "You've got to be kidding. Do you know how long I've been having feelings for you? I was afraid I'd be rejected, but of course that never happens, 'cause how can anybody ever resist this?" He smirked, motioning his arms to his body.

"I'm having second thoughts now," I deadpanned.

He chuckled. "Joking aside, it's been tough to not let you know how I feel," he said. "You intrigued me ever since you were in detention with me, but I realized that I liked you when we got paired up for the dance performance," he said.

I bit my lip and let that sink in. "Oh."

"Oh?"

My cheeks reddened. "That happened over two months ago, I think."

"Exactly."

"I realized I have feelings for you about two weeks ago," I admitted. "It was when you kissed me on the cheek the night of the first round of the dance competition," I said, memories of his kiss in my mind.

"Hmm," he said, his face inching towards mine. "You mean like this?" he kissed my cheek quickly and then grinned at my blushing cheeks.

"Y-yeah," I managed to say, embarrassed. He chuckled a bit and then saw me frown. "But Ash…what about Serena?"

"I thought you said you didn't care about her."

"I don't. But I don't want to be in a relationship where Serena's involved. You need to break up with her. We can't be together unless she's totally out of the picture," I said. Ash raised an eyebrow.

"You know I can't do that," he said. "And besides Serena doesn't need to know, right?"

"No, I don't know, Ash. You're still keeping the reason for dating Serena all to yourself. And there's no point hiding about us, everyone's going to come to know sooner or later. This is high school," I said, and Ash sighed. He hesitated for a minute.

"I'll tell you when I'm ready."

When exactly was Ash going to be ready? Does it make sense that I wait for him? "Ash, if you really care about me, you'd tell me. You wouldn't be afraid. I can help you. You helped me; now it's my turn."

"Dawn, please understand. It's something serious."

"Which makes it all the more important to tell me."

"Just be a bit more patient, okay?"

My hands curled into a fist. "No! I'm tired of you not opening up to me about her! Why are you so goddamn scared?!" He didn't reply. "You know what? Fine." He looked at me. "If Serena's not getting out of the picture, then I am." I said, turning my heel.

I nearly shrieked when I was pulled back into Ash's arms. His arms were around my waist and his head was buried into my neck and shoulders. My heart was beating due to the close proximity and his breathing on my neck. "No. You won't walk away," he breathed against my neck, giving me goose bumps. Hesitantly, I turned around to face him, to listen to what he had to say. "Look, I don't give a fuck about Serena, and I never will. I plan to tell you one day, I will. But I don't think we're ready yet. You just give it a bit more time."

His eyes looked so genuine. He cupped my cheek as I bit my lip. I sighed, defeated. "Okay. But you have to promise you'll tell me. Everything."

He looked at me in the eyes. "I promise. And I won't take my word back," he said, giving me a small smile. "But Serena can't know about our relationship, anybody else can know except her."

"I'm okay with that." I smiled. "Now," I said as he placed his hand back to his side. "Let's go enjoy your party."

"There you are!" Serena exclaimed as she ran up towards Ash and threw herself on him. Ash reluctantly grabbed a hold of her, and Serena pulled back giving him a flirty smile. "Happy birthday," she whispered. I rolled my eyes. How manipulative can this girl get?

"Thanks," he said.

"Where have you been, man?" Gary asked from behind me.

"Yeah, you missed me on the dance floor. I killed it!" Drew exclaimed. "There was a crowd and everything, how could you have afforded to miss it?"

"I fell asleep, sorry," Ash said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"That's okay," Serena said, kissing him on the cheek, causing me to cringe as I looked away. "We can have fun now." I looked to see Serena grabbing Ash's hand and taking him to the dance floor. Ash looked back at me without Serena knowing and gave me a sorry look. I sighed. Being jealous was futile anyway; considering this was all Serena's phony act.

"Are you okay, Dawn?" May asked. I looked towards her.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"

"You're looking at Ash and Serena like you wanna murder them or something."

I tried to play innocent. "Am I? I hadn't noticed." Serena then clutched onto Ash's neck tightly and proceeded to slow dance with him.

"I-uhh, need some air," I said and then walked away from Serena and Ash and ignored May when she tried calling out to me. I didn't know where I was going but I wanted to be alone for a while.

Soon enough, I found what I thought looked like the terrace. Ash's house was probably two stories bigger than mine, and I could see some of the stars twinkling above me. The night cool breeze played with my blue locks.

Maybe I was being stupid. Serena was just toying with Ash, just like always, but I found myself getting jealous every time I see them together.

"Dawn!"

Startled, I jumped and turned around as I put a hand on my pounding heart. "Hell, May! You scared me!"

"Sorry…I just wanted to know what's wrong. You seemed pretty upset. Is everything okay?" May asked.

Somehow I felt guilty. May has been nothing but a good friend to me, and she would expect me to act like a friend as well. I realized that I haven't been a good friend to her these past few weeks. Now that Kenny was out of my life, there was hardly any reason to worry. "Actually…no. I've been going through a lot lately, May. I just didn't know what to do, or who to go to."

"Dawn…" she eyed me sadly, "you know you can tell me anything. I'm your best friend."

I nodded. Taking a deep breath, I started. I told her what was on my mind. I confessed to her about Kenny's true intentions, and how he nearly raped me. I told her how I developed feelings for Ash and how we confessed our feelings today.

May gave me an extremely saddened look. "Oh, Dawn." She hugged me. "You're so brave. That shouldn't have happened to you, I'm so sorry." She then released me. "Kenny is such a bastard! Once I get my hands on him, I will-"

"Woah, easy there, May," I quickly interrupted her as she cracked her knuckles in anger. "Ash and I took care of him-"

"Well, it's not enough," Both of us turned towards the source of the voice. I slightly widened my eyes to see the chartreuse headed male, who had a soft expression within his dark green eyes. He approached the two of us and looked at me. "Why didn't you tell me? I told you that you could tell me anything." He said, indicating that he had heard our conversation.

"I was afraid," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "There was no telling what Kenny could do. I'm sorry…I'm just a weak, prissy girl," I admitted, tears threatening to fall.

"No, you're not," May quickly said. "I said it before and I'll say it again. You're brave; you actually were brave enough to beat him up, Dawn."

"I know…but I'm still scared. He's a possessive guy, and he could want revenge. There's no telling what he could do," I said, wiping my tears away.

"Don't worry, Dawn. I don't know how, but I'll make sure you and Kenny never face each other again. I'll talk to Ash about it. Okay?" he offered. I smiled heart-warmingly. May was so lucky for having a thoughtful and supportive boyfriend like Drew.

"Thank you, Drew. It means a lot," I said.

He smiled. "Just remember, you can tell us anything…we'll be here for you."

"Yeah, Dawn," May added. "We'll always try to help you out."

I grinned in delight before they approached me and embraced me in a warm hug. I was so thankful for having such good friends that cared so much about me. I felt guilty for sharing it with them before, but now that the truth had been revealed to them, it was only going to get better from now on.

As we released, I saw Gary behind the group, and he had his eyebrow raised at the sudden affectionate scene. "What's going on?" he shook his head. "Never mind. Dawn," he looked at me. "There's a phone call from your mom. Apparently she's been trying to call you, but it's always going to voicemail."

I widened my eyes. I suddenly remembered that my phone was missing. "Oh, okay," I said and then followed Gary who directed me over to the landline.

I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Dawn, where are you? I've been calling you from the past half hour, why aren't you answering?" It was a bit hard to decipher what she was saying over the loud music, but I was able to ignore it.

"Sorry mom, I didn't have my phone with me," I said.

"Well, anyways. Do you mind leaving the party early?"

I looked at the clock, and it was minutes past eight. "Mom, I'm trying to have fun. It's my first high school party, which you agreed to, and you want me to leave early?" I asked incredulously.

"I know," she said sadly. "But it's really important. I want you to meet my date for tonight."

My eyes widened shockingly. I might have heard wrong due to the loud music. "Date?"

"Yes. He's coming over to dinner tonight," my mom further explained. This was a bit overwhelming, but I smiled. Ever since my father had left us, she had always been wary of finding someone else. The fact that she actually was starting to date again was enough to put a grin on my face.

"That's great, mom! I'm happy for you. I'll be right there," I said.

"Thank you, Dawn. I'm sorry, I know how much you were looking forward to the party."

"It's fine, mom. I already wished Ash and gave him my present, so there's no need to worry!"

"Good. I'll see you in a couple of minutes," she said.

"Okay, see ya." I said, before I hung up.

I turned around, trying to make my way out of the enormous crowds, and trying very hard to not bump into people and draw attention to myself. Honestly, I was curious to see who my mom was seeing. I remembered when my dad had left us, only to get married to another woman. We were both extremely pissed, and my mom's heart had been crushed once she found out. I had never imagined that my dad would ever do something like that to my mom, and I'd never forgive him for it. Mom and I had been by ourselves since a couple of years, and she had never considered dating again, because her trust had been broken.

"Dawn? Where are you going?" Ash asked me as I was near the front door, about to leave. "Are you leaving?" he asked. "Listen, I'm sorry that you had to see Serena and I together, but remember that you have no reason to get jea-"

"I'm not mad." I cut him off. "I get it. It's going to be a bit complicated, and-" I shook my head, "But that's not why I'm leaving. My mom called me and she needs me, it's important."

"Oh. You're going to miss the party," he said.

"Ah, yeah, because looking at horny teenagers making out is something that I don't wanna miss." I replied sarcastically, grinning.

He chuckled. "That's not what I meant. I'd like my actual girlfriend to stay for my birthday," he said, his lips lifting into a smile. My heart skipped a beat when he called me his girlfriend. Never had I imagined that I'd be Ash Ketchum's girlfriend a couple of months ago; it was almost too good to be true.

"I know. Sorry, but I can't stay." I looked at him apologetically.

He shrugged. "It's cool, whatever. I mean, after all I did for you, and you're leaving. Great way to thank me," he said, but I could see that he was just messing around.

I shook my head in amusement. "Ash-"

He pecked my lips to cut me off. "I'm kidding. I understand. Besides, I already got the best present of my life," he said, smiling.

"Yeah, the concert tickets."

"No. It's you," he said, not taking his eyes off me.

I blushed. "You're so cheesy," I said, lightly punching his shoulder. He just laughed and gave me his heart-melting smile, and I suddenly widened my eyes to see Drew and May behind Ash, wiggling their eyebrows at us. Ash noticed my expression and turned around, before he sighed and face-palmed.

"So, you and Dawn now, huh?" Drew smirked.

"I always knew they'd get together some day," May added.

I rolled my eyes. "May, you already knew when I told you earlier."

"Yeah, but Drew didn't," May said.

Drew just clapped Ash's shoulders who looked at him, with a sheepish grin. "It was about time, mate."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

The chartreuse male rolled his eyes. "Come on, it was obvious that you've been crushing on her." Ash groaned in embarrassment, allowing me and May to let out a laugh.

"Okay, well you guys can continue to tease Ash, but I have to go. My mom's waiting on me, so I'll see you guys later," I said.

"Okay, later, Dawn." May said, and I gave them a warm smile before I walked out.

A pleasant aroma filled the air when my mom opened the door for me. It smelled like pasta. "Wow, mom. It's been a while since we've eaten pasta," I grinned. She smiled at me. She was dressed in a dark blue top with dark jeans.

"Yeah, I know. I can't wait until you meet him. How do I look?" she asked.

"You look totally fine, mom. What time is he coming?"

"He should be here in a few minutes," she said before heading to the kitchen. In a few minutes, she walked out with some plates, glasses and a few more utensils, and I helped her set the table. There was pasta, and a few other side dishes as well, and it made my mouth water. All of the dishes looked delicious, I bet my mom was trying to impress him.

The doorbell rang, and I heard my mom. "Oh, he's here. Let me just put my finishing touch ups. You go answer the door, okay?" she instructed. I was more than happy to go introduce myself to the man that made an impression on my mom.

I opened the door with a smile on my face, and I was about to speak when my expression had suddenly changed. My eyes were probably wide as the dinner plates on the dining table, as I tried to convince myself that this was a dream.

"Hello, I'm David. Are you Johanna's daughter?"

I was rendered speechless. Officer David, who had filed the police report, was my mom's date? "Uh, yeah," I managed to say.

"Wait a minute," he said, narrowing his brown eyes. I gulped a little. "Have we met before? You look familiar."

I stammered. "W-what? Of course not. I've never seen you in my entire life, except for now," I said, sheepishly.

"Are you sure?"

"Hi, David," my mom greeted from behind me with a smile, and I sighed a breath of relief. I felt like I was being interrogated by the police. Well, he IS a police officer. He was wearing a white t-shirt covered with a blazer, and some dark dickies.

David easily returned the smile. "Hey, Johanna."

"Come in," my mom said, "We're waiting for you to join us for dinner. I made it myself," she said, and David walked inside, but not before leaving his shoes to the side.

Meanwhile, my heart was doing a double take. I couldn't believe that Officer David was my mother's date. He was currently doing Kenny's case, and if he were to accidentally (or willingly) tell my mom about it, then I was surely dead.

"Wow," David muttered as he sat in one of the chairs in the dining table. "Pasta? That's my favourite, you remembered," he said, as my mom took a chair beside him. Awkwardly just standing there, I decided to just leave my thoughts behind and sit down.

"Of course I did. I hope it's good, we haven't eaten it in a while," she said, as she took a serving of pasta for David.

"I'm sure it's not that bad. And even if it is, I'll be a good date and lie to you," he said, his lips lifting into a smile, which made my mom laugh. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, by the way, this is my daughter: Dawn." My mom said while I was taking a serving of pasta for myself. David looked at me.

"Hi," I managed to blurt out, while trying to ignore David's gaze at me. It was almost getting uncomfortable. Before he could say anything, I quickly asked, "So, how did you guys meet? Was it love at first sight?" I teased.

David chuckled. "No. I met your mother at work. I was getting a haircut."

"Yep. We eventually started talking and becoming friends with each other. David is a police officer, by the way." She told me.

I know. "That's cool," I said, taking a sip of water. "Does your job get tiring?"

"Oh, of course. An officer is not a laid-back kinda job and I worked hard for it for a couple of years. Lots of hours of work, but the experience is great. I'm actually working on a few cases-"

"More pasta?" I quickly offered, noticing his plate empty. My mom looked at me with a raised eyebrow, indicating that what I had done was a bit rude, but all David did was smile and offer his plate to me. I gave him a serving before I sat down quietly.

"Thank you. What grade are you in, Dawn?"

"I'm a junior in high school," I replied.

"She's really into dancing," my mom added. "Ever since she was four, she's always had an interest and has been dancing ever since. She's entered in a school dancing competition."

"That's great to hear. Sounds like you really love dancing," he said.

I smiled. "I do. Dancing is life to me. I'd maybe wanna become a professional dancer when I grow up." I admitted.

David smiled. "Nice career choice," he said.

My mom smiled before she got up. "Why don't you two chat some more, while I get dessert?"

"Do you want any help?" David offered.

She waved him with a dismissal of the hand. "It's okay, thanks," she said before leaving towards the kitchen.

I bit my lip awkwardly. David was a nice guy, and I seemed a bit pathetic right now, but I couldn't risk him telling my mom anything about Kenny. I was not ready to tell her. "So, that pasta was really good."

David chuckled. "You're pretty good at diverting topics," he said.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked, my voice small.

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't recognize you?" he asked in disbelief. I sighed, defeated. "I'm a police officer; almost nothing gets past me. Besides, you and that other guy, Ash, filed for a police report and talked to me today."

I groaned. "Fine. It's true. But, whatever you do, you cannot tell my mom."

"Why is that?"

"Because-"

"Alright," my mom announced as she entered the living room, with a good looking chocolate cake, "Here's dessert. It's freshly baked," she said, as she cut a small piece.

"I think you mean: store bought, mom. Who are you kidding?" I commented, and my mother looked at me in disapproval, and in slight embarrassment. All David did was chuckle.

"Trying to impress me with store bought cake. I like it," David said then took a bite. "This cake is as divine as you are," he said, looking at my mother, who smiled warmly. I had to admit; he was a bit cheesy, but no doubt a really good guy.

"Thank you for having me over, I had a great time," David said at the front entrance.

"Yeah, it was nice," My mom admitted. "I haven't dated in so long, so…it was a nice change," she said, which made David's smile widen. "I hope Dawn wasn't too much trouble," she said, looking at me knowingly.

David shook his head, smiling. "No, you have a great daughter." I smiled at the comment. "Well, I guess I should get going," he said, clapping his hands together. "It's a big day tomorrow; lots of work."

"Of course. Good luck. See you around," My mom said, and David hesitated before he kissed her on the cheek. My eyes slightly widened at the bold movement. I didn't think he would make a move on my mom, on the first date, in front of her own daughter. My mom probably felt like a teenager all over again.

As David was about to turn to leave, I said, "I'll leave him to his car." He turned around, and looked at me. My mom nodded approvingly, and with that, I joined David outside.

"You really like my mom, don't you?" I asked.

David chuckled. "Yeah. Do you think she likes me back?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's obvious. She lied to you about the cake just to impress you; our baking skills are the worst, so it's a definite sign that my mom likes you too," I said.

He smiled in response. "Guess you have a point there."

"So, anyway…how's the case going? With Kenny?" I asked.

"It's a good thing you asked that. My team was currently conducting an investigation in that abandoned house you mentioned," he said. He was about to continue before his phone rang. "Look at that, it's from the team," he said coincidentally before he answered the phone. "Hello? What's the report?" There was a bit of chattering on the phone. "Are you sure? …Alright. Let me call you back," he said before ending the call and looked at me.

I suspected that something was wrong due to the way he was looking at me. "Is everything okay? What happened?"

He sighed hesitatingly. "Kenny escaped. There was no sign of him anywhere in that area."

I was taken aback. That had to be impossible. "No! That-But, how?!" I was so shocked, I couldn't form a complete sentence.

"If Kenny was unconscious at the time, like you said he was, the only plausible reason that comes to mind, is that he woke up. Or someone helped him escape," he said.

I rubbed a palm on hair worriedly. "Officer David, w-what happens now? He escaped! He's out there somewhere, and-and I could be attacked!" I exclaimed in worry. He looked at me softly. "Y-you have to find him, and-"

"Dawn, relax," he cut my rambling off. "Relax. I'll make sure that he doesn't come near you. We'll keep an eye out for your safety. My team members will be around at your school, and I'll recommend someone-" he stopped, when he saw me crying. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," I sniffed. "I'm r-really scared now." Officer David gave me a sympathetic look, before he realized what I needed and wrapped his arms around me softly.

"Thank you," I managed to say when he released.

"Dawn, I know you're scared. But I want you to try to put your fear behind you. And perhaps you can start by sharing this information with Jo-your mother," he said.

I shook my head immediately. "I-I can't-"

"You can't hide this from her forever. Keeping this to yourself is only building up your fear."

"No! My mom will kill me-"

"You're exaggerating, Dawn. Yes, I understand, she'll be mad. Which is normal of all genuine and concerned mothers. What's the worse she could do? This isn't something to keep from your mom for too long; you almost got raped and it's a serious case. Besides, she's bound to find out eventually," he said. David did have a point, but he didn't understand that I wasn't ready.

He noticed my hesitation. "Why don't we…tell her together?" he suggested. I looked at him in slight surprise. "You're young, and afraid, which is understandable, and maybe I can help you out. Maybe you need a push." I didn't know what to say, and I briefly wondered why he was being so nice to me, but I couldn't find the words.

"Let's go," he said, going back to my house, as I reluctantly followed.

"David, you're back," my mom exclaimed happily. David gave a warm smile.

"Yes. But, Dawn wants to tell you something," he said, looking at me. My mom looked at me, raising her eyebrow.

We all gathered around the sofa, and I remained silent, consumed by my thoughts. At this point, I was still hesitating and was wanting to come up with a believable lie, but I also knew I couldn't hide it in anymore. The situation was getting dangerous, especially with Kenny escaping.

I sighed, as David gave me a reassuring smile, and I mentally prepared for my wrath, before I spoke.

Gah, yeah I know ya'll are not really interested in this (well maybe), but Dawn telling the truth to her mother is really important, at least in my opinion.

In other news, I recently graduated with my associate's degree! It feels overwhelming, but I'm proud of myself for reaching this achievement in my life so far.

I really hope I don't take too long to update; I know you guys want fast updates but please bear with me. I still have two more state exams to take this Monday and Wednesday before it's officially summer.

Thank you for reading as always. Leave a review! See you next time