:D I have another chappy for you guys! I'm glad you're all enjoying the story and I really hope you continue reading, I think I have a lot planned for this story :P But first I'm gonna respond to ur reviews :)

twilight sparkle: Oooh south africa? Cool! Well it was definitely Friday when I last updated, the reason it was Saturday for you was probably time difference. Well I'll try to help you out to sign up, believe me it's not that difficult. Regarding the username, are you using 'twilight sparkle'? if you are and if its taken, just modify it a little, try placing an underscore or something (twilight_sparkle) Um if your email is incorrect, I suggest creating a new email address. And I honestly don't know what u mean by 'sign up invalid/unacceptable', that's weird. If you want to talk to me and ask me more questions on how to sign up you can email me! I'll put my email in my profile for you :D

RenegadeReviewer: I'm glad you think my story has a lot of potential. I hope you voted for the pairing of your choice already, voting closes soon!

W.R. Winters: You never know, things could turn around. Guess you'll just have to wait and see!

Okay, that's basically three reviews from the last chapter (ok well it was 4 considering twilight sparkle reviewed twice, but i don't count it). :P So anyways, you guys can read chapter 5 now :D

Enjoy ^.^

Dawn was exiting her French class when she noticed her best friend running across the hallways. She noticed Serena panicking a little, and that alone told her something was wrong. "Serena!" she yelled to catch her attention. Serena looked up, widening her eyes a little before recomposing herself. Dawn walked up to her. "Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" the blunette asked.

Serena wasn't even sure what to say. 'Oh nothing, I just kissed Ash Ketchum, who was my ex, but now wanted to be friends now that he's come back. No biggie. Dawn wasn't even aware that Ash was her ex. "Serena?" Dawn pulled her out of her thoughts.

She straightened her lips into a thin line. "N-nothing, I'm totally fine!" she said.

Dawn, however, did not buy her act. "Serena, we've known each other since we were in diapers. Okay, well not really but you get my point. I know you well enough to know that something's wrong. Does this require a SMIB?" SMIB stood for 'secret meeting in bathroom', which would occur at any time of the school day, when Serena or Dawn would wanna share something extremely important, or when the other was feeling down.

Serena laughed at the acronym they came up together almost two years ago. She figured that since Dawn was her best friend; she deserved to know. "Okay, I'll tell you," she suddenly said, grabbing Dawn's hand and going to the ladies' restroom. The ladies' restroom was much more polished and clean than the boys bathroom, and it was the perfect place to spread girl gossip.

"Okay, girl you need to spill, I'm kinda worried," Dawn started and then started to look closer at Serena. "OMG!" Serena's eyes went wide once Dawn screamed. "Your lipstick is smeared!" Serena put a finger on her lips, and Dawn gasped again. "And you have a hickey on your neck!" Serena's hands unconsciously went onto to the side of her neck, and then she looked into the mirror to see a red mark on the skin she was touching. Damn, Ash had given her a hickey.

"I can't believe my best friend got laid in school," Dawn remarked.

Serena turned around, appalled at what she said. "What?! L-laid? No, I didn't get laid!" she tried to defend herself.

"Well that love bite is saying otherwise," Dawn retorted, causing Serena to blush furiously.

"I didn't know the kiss would get carried away," Serena mumbled softly to herself, but it was loud enough for Dawn to hear it.

Dawn's jaw had dropped, and her eyes were sparkling with excitement. "No way, you kissed someone?" she squealed in delight. "Who was it? Is he cute? How was the kiss? Where'd you guys kiss? Was his lips soft or chappy? I personally hate it when lips are chappy, well it's not as if I would know considering I've never kissed anyone but still-"

"Dawn!" Serena interrupted. Dawn immediately stopped rambling and apologized. The honey blonde sighed. "Okay, I know you have a lot of questions, but I prefer if you ask them one at a time, please," she giggled.

Dawn crossed her arms. "Okay, well here's the first one: Who's the guy that's got my best friend so flustered?" she teased, playfully knocking her shoulder.

She smiled a little, but it was replaced by a frown. "Well, you know him, sort of."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "I do?"

"Yep, let me give you a hint: This guy that kissed me happened to be the very same guy that helped me rescue you yesterday."

Of course, that instantly gave it away. Dawn didn't need her insanely high GPA and her smarts to put the pieces together. Her heart dropped a little when she realized it was Ash that she was referring to, but what really surprised her was the fact that Ash was a new student and had kissed Serena already, on the second day of school. "Oh," was all she could manage to say.

"Oh?" the honey blonde repeated.

Dawn shrugged. "I didn't know what else to say." Serena found her change of demeanor to be odd. One second ago, she was excited to hear about who had kissed her, and now she seemed a bit disappointed. "So what, are you two dating or something?" Dawn asked.

"Well, we used to," she said. Dawn's brows raised a little at that, curious to know more. "Do you remember this summer when you went vacationing in Hoenn?"

Dawn scoffed. "Do I? It was the best vacation ever, I wish it lasted forever."

Serena nodded. "Well while you were gone, you remember I told you I dated this one guy?" she asked. Dawn pursed her lips in thought. She recalled Serena telling her that she had dated this guy for at least a month during the summer, but she could never remember his name. In fact, she had forgotten that Serena had even dated this summer. Dawn nodded in response. "Well, it was Ash..." she admitted.

Now the pieces were surely coming together. "Ohh," Dawn said in understanding. "What happened?"

"We had to break up because Ash moved to Kanto. It's not like we wanted to break up in the first place, it's just that it would have been hard to keep a long distance relationship. I missed him a lot while he was gone, and I told myself to move on from him. It was going good for a while...until he came back. Those feelings came back full force once I saw him at the party; I thought everything would be back to normal now, that maybe we could be together again."

Dawn nodded, wanting to hear more.

"But, today Ash told me we can't be anything more than friends, because he doesn't wanna hurt me again. His dad moves around a lot because of his job."

"Well, if wants to be just friends, then why..." Dawn pointed to her lips and neck.

Serena stuttered. "A-ash kissed me after we had that whole talk about being friends. We kind of got carried away."

"Kind of?" Dawn said flatly. "Well if this is you and Ash as just friends, I'd really like to see when you're in an actual relationship." Dawn laughed.

"It's not funny!" she retorted. "Do you know how awkward this is for me? My ex, who just wants to be friends, kissed me and then I bolted out of the room," she sighed. "The kiss was great, but I don't think I'm ever gonna face him again."

Dawn put her hand on her best friend's shoulder. "You do realize that Ash probably feels the exact same way, right? He probably just kissed you because he missed you too and he didn't realize what he was doing."

"So...what are you saying?"

"Maybe you guys just need to talk to each other and sort it out." Dawn suggested.

Serena shook her head. "I don't think I can do that, Dawn. It'll be really awkward for the both of us."

"Well, it's gonna always be awkward for you guys if you don't talk to each other soon. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

"We could kiss again," Serena said, jokingly, but then realized that it was indeed a possibility.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "You teens and your hormones. Look, I'm just saying. If you don't talk to each other now, then it's probably gonna get worse. You can't avoid Ash forever, he does go to our school now. I mean yeah you're not gonna see him every day, but there are chances when you're gonna see him in the cafeteria or bump into each other in the hallway-this isn't a very big school."

Serena sighed, defeated. Dawn would always give the piece of advice she needed. Plus, she knew that Dawn was right. There was no way she could avoid Ash forever. It was better to talk things out. "You're right. I'll see what I can do." Dawn smiled in response. "Have I ever told you that I have the best friend in the entire world?" she reached out and hugged Dawn.

The blunette laughed. "The feeling's mutual, girl."

After Ash had kissed Serena, the raven haired boy had tried his best to not think about the kiss and just focus in his classes. But he realized it was easier said than done. He couldn't focus in pretty much any of his classes; every time he tried to, he just kept flashing back to that heated kiss they had in the classroom. And what was even more embarrassing was the fact that he had kissed her right after he said he just wanted to be friends with Serena.

But, in his defense, he couldn't help it. Serena was his girlfriend a couple months ago, and when he moved to Kanto, he had obviously missed her a lot. Their breakup was uncalled for; something that was never desired. If Ash wanted to, he would be her boyfriend again, but that'd just mean hurting himself and Serena all over again, and there was no way he'd ever do that again.

He didn't know he'd be coming back to Lumoise again. And he definitely didn't know that he'd be going to the very same school that Serena was currently enrolled in. He didn't even know that the party he had been to last night was hosted by Serena.

He sighed to himself; he really had some explaining to do to Serena. He just didn't know what to say.

Suddenly the door opened, and he looked up to see Dawn enter the classroom. "Oh," she said. "I thought this was Math class..." she trailed off.

"It is," Ash stopped her before she could leave. "I like to come in early."

"Oh," she nodded in understanding. "Makes sense," she said.

"So anyways, how are you feeling now?" he asked.

Dawn simply shrugged. "The pain in my neck's pretty much gone now, and I'm hoping that the laxatives the doctor prescribed me worked," she said bluntly. Obviously, the blunette had spent quite some time in the bathroom yesterday, and earlier today she had to ask to be excused so she could use the bathroom. "It's almost as if I have diarrhea or something," she laughed.

Ash chuckled. "Well, that's good...I think."

She laughed again, and she bit her lip as she began to think. She was debating to mention about about Serena or not. She figured it wouldn't hurt. "So...I heard about you and Serena," she said carefully. Ash raised his brow in curiosity. "And I think you need to talk to her."

Ash sighed. "Well yeah, but what should I say? That I'm sorry?"

She gave him a look. "Are you?"

He slumped his shoulders. "It's not like I regret kissing her," he started. Dawn felt a pang in her heart when he said that, but she let him continue. "But I had just given her the whole 'we should be friends instead' talk and I go and kiss her...it shouldn't have happened. It was wrong."

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, you just probably couldn't control yourself. You know, considering that you did give her a hickey." she smirked. Ash's face reddened just a little before Dawn burst out laughing. "But for real, I recommend you explain yourself. It's better to get rid of the awkwardness now than to be awkward with each other forever."

Ash pressed his lips into a thin line, and gave Dawn's suggestion a thought or two before Ms Mack, their Math teacher entered the classroom.

It was lunch break now, and after Ash had decided that he would talk to Serena and try to clear things out, the first thing he did was look for her in the cafeteria, where he assumed she'd be. His eyes dragged around everyone in the cafeteria until he eyed her honey blonde hair. Her back was facing him. Dawn, who was sitting in front of Serena, noticed him, and motioned him over.

Serena looked back once he had approached them. She bit her lip. "Uh, hey Serena," he said. "Can we talk?"

Serena sighed, and looked at Dawn first. Her blunette friend smiled. Serena stood up. "Sure, but we might need to go somewhere else." Ash nodded in understanding, and took her hand before they began to walk. Serena sighed and looked back at Dawn, who gave her a thumbs up before Serena grinned and walked forward with Ash again.

Once they were out of the cafeteria, Ash let go of her hand, and strangely felt weird without her touch. He looked at Serena and sighed. "I don't even know how to start..." he admitted. Serena said nothing in response. "Um," he said scratching the back of his head. "Look, I didn't mean to kiss you...okay well I wanted to kiss you...but the situation was wrong, and I shouldn't have done it. Uh, not that I regret it or anything-"

"Ash," she cut in, "I get it." she bit back a smile. "Maybe...you just needed to get it out of your system." Then she added, "Maybe we both needed to."

"...Yeah...probably."

Serena then spoke, "I don't want things to be awkward between us. I still want you to be around me."

Ash smiled. "So do I."

"So let's be friends," Serena suggested.

Ash nodded. "Let's be friends." he exhaled.

"So, is everything cool now between you and Ash?" Dawn asked. It was the end of the school day, and the two girls were outside of the school building. Dawn was waiting for her mother to pick her up.

"I'd like to think so," she replied. "Ash and I agreed to be friends."

"You didn't end up making out again did you?" Dawn asked flatly.

Serena rolled her eyes. "Nope not this time." Dawn giggled. "I think being friends for now is much more easier for us. There's not really much pressure anymore."

"So you're saying you...don't like him anymore?"

"I never said that," she reminded Dawn. "But I feel its much easier now. Just being with him and knowing we're on the same page."

Dawn shrugged. "I guess."

Suddenly a pair of arms engulfed the two girls, and Dawn immediately recognized the familiar cologne, her heart slightly beating fast. "Hey gals," Ash greeted. Dawn sighed. Her crush on Ash was increasing almost every day, and that was saying something since she literally met him yesterday.

Serena turned around and knocked his shoulder. "Hey. What's up?"

"I'm going home in a while, how about you guys?"

"Same," Dawn replied for the both of them.

"Oh," Ash suddenly said, "before I go, I was wondering if the three of us could get ice cream tomorrow after school?"

"Oh, sure," Serena replied.

Ash looked at Dawn, waiting for a reply, but she didn't find the words to say anything. She just realized she was nervous. She knew being around Ash was a bit nerve-wrecking, and more importantly, she couldn't do this to her best friend, who obviously still had feelings for him. "Uh, I-I can't."

"What?" Serena looked at her best friend as if she was insane. "Why not? Please don't tell me you're gonna catch up on homework or something."

"N-no," Dawn sputtered. "I got plans-"

"Come on Dawn, you're my friend too, right?"

That right there, made her heart break unconsciously. She was friend zoned. "Yeah, but..." she sighed, "I can't, I'm sorry."

Before Ash or Serena could retort, a car honk was heard. Dawn looked at her mom in the vehicle and looked back at them. "I gotta go, see you guys later." Dawn hurriedly walked across the street, and sat in the vehicle. Both Ash and Serena watched the vehicle drive off.

"What do you think that was about?" Ash asked.

Something was wrong. Very wrong. "I have no idea...but I intend to find out."

Okay very short chapter, i think. I'm not very good at writing long chapters but hey that might change in the future. What'd you guys think of this chap? Did you like it? :D It's kinda "meh" for me but whatever XD

Oh btw this is the last chapter before the poll closes on Halloween Monday. Speaking of which, happy early Halloween everybody! :D Are you guys going trick or treating or dressing up on Monday? I won't be trick or treating but I will dress up but i don't know what to dress up as _

Oh, timeee for a Sam fact: I'm a huge disney fan! Disney movies, tv shows, you name it! Although I'm not really a fan of newer disney shows these days, i personally feel that older shows were better. And this is coming from a girl who was born in 2001. Lol. If you wanna know the shows I like it's: Hannah Montana, Sonny with a Chance, Wizards of Waverly Place, Life with Dereck, Good Luck Charlie, Thats So Raven (Oh btw have you guys seen the spin off? I think it's okay!), and a bunch of other shows I can't bother to remember :P Also, I don't mean all new shows are bad on disney, I personally liked 'Girl meets World' and I think 'Andi Mack' is cool too :D

Anyways that was a long fact lol XD im gonna stahp talking now XD

Leave a review pweetttyyy pleasseeeee ;D

Later ficcers!

~SamanthaPearlzz ^.^