Gary stared at the computer in front of him; various websites on the death of Dawn's dead were opened. He took the final sip of his coffee, and then placed it overtop of several newspapers that led to incident. His train of thought was broken as Leaf entered his room, carrying two purple mugs.

"Anything yet?" The brunette asked her boyfriend. Gary just shook his head, and patted his lap, indicating for her to take a seat. She accepted the offer, and rested her head on his shoulder. "What are we going to do now? It's been a month since she found out, and we still have nothing to prove his innocence."

"I know that, Leaf." The teenage boy snapped back.

She was momentarily stunned, but then decided to let it go. Instead she ran her fingers through his hair, resulting in an exhausted sign from Gary. "Summer is in two weeks, that's all. At least if we found something now, then they are still seeing each other every day, you know? But when summer comes they won't ever see each other. It'll be harder to get them back together."

Gary nodded, "Yeah I get it." He ran a hand through his hair, "But we've been looking for a month now, and nothing. Just a bunch of nothing."

"But we do have the fact he didn't get charged with anything.. That is something."

The brunette shook his head, "Not much though. He was in fact there. He was only seven though. I mean how much did you truly understand good and evil at that young age?"

"Have you tried to explain that to Dawn?" Leaf asked.

"Once." He let out another sigh, "It was a week after I told her, and it was pretty obvious she wasn't buying it. That, or she just didn't want to think about it. Since then though, no one has said anything to her about it or Ash." The brunette shrugged, "I guess she's not ready, which is completely understandable."

"She misses him though. I can just tell.. she's not the same every day like she was anymore; almost like she's missing that spark, you know?"

"I know what you mean, because I've noticed it too."

Leaf looked at Gary, with her hand on his cheek. "What are we going to do now?"

For a moment he just sat there, enjoying the soothing comfort his girlfriend brought to him. "I guess there's nothing more for us to do," he finally answered.

Ash placed his tray down on the cafeteria table, the one in the far back to the left. It was the complete opposite of where his old friends used to sit. He didn't want to run into Dawn, or have her see him. He didn't want her in anymore pain because of him. So he kept his distance. He also didn't want to see his friends, especially since he hadn't talked to them in a month. The last thing he said to them was an apology for what had happened, the day after they found out.

Every day he would sit in the same spot in the cafeteria, and every day he would sneak peeks at Dawn. He couldn't help it. The bluenette was the love of his life, and he needed to see her. Even if it was from the opposite side of the cafeteria.

"Dude, okay so I was thinking that there is no way that Typhlosion is better than Blaziken. Like think about it, he's slower, has less power, and can't learn as many moves." Jase told his friend Justin as they both sat down at Ash's table. They were both in his advanced math class, and he had always liked them. Jase looked to Ash for backup. "Come on, am I right?"

The black-haired boy shrugged, "It all depends on the Pokémon. I mean that stuff matters, but not like you think it does. Pokémon's strengths come from within too."

"I agree Ash. I mean they're like people; the strength and will comes from within." Justin added.

"I guess that is true guys. I mean some people are constantly tested with struggles in their life, and finally they get so fed up with it, they use it to learn from it, and become stronger." Jase's eyes lit up like he had just realized something huge. "That's what happens with Pokémon too!"

Ash looked up at Dawn one more time, and this time she made eye contact with him. Her deep blue eyes changed from happy, to hurt in the matter of milliseconds. It was then that Ash realized he was just a constant reminder of the past to her.

He was the one who is continuously making her struggle, and he refused to do so anymore. He stood up from his table, said his goodbyes to his friends and exited the cafeteria.

Drew was the last person to sit at the table, as he joined his friends for lunch. Everyone was talking amongst themselves, except for Dawn. A month before she loved socializing, but now she never pays attention to what was being said, and instead would pick at her plate of food in front of her. Everyone, especially Gary, would try and make conversation with her, but it was no use. The life had been sucked out of Dawn Berlitz.

"You know what guys? I'm just going to get ready for history." Dawn said; her first words all of lunch.

May protested, "Come on Dawn, we still have five minutes until actual class starts!"

"It's okay, I'm going to go to the bathroom first anyways." The bluenette picked up her purse from the back of her chair. "I'll see you guys later."

And with that, Dawn left the cafeteria, and her friends behind.

Dawn looked at herself one last time in the bathroom mirror before pulling out her phone and leaving the school washrooms. She had one text from Gary:

We need to talk tonight, okay?

She sighed because she knew it what it was about, but still replied:

Okay. Come over later on tonight.

Just as she clicked send, she opened the door with her head down, and immediately crashed into someone. She mumbled sorry, and then looked up to see Ash. Her cheeks instantly turned pink, and her heart beat increased.

Still the same feeling around him, no matter what happened.

Both of them stood there for a few seconds, just staring at each other, mouths wide open. Ash opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it. The intensity and chemistry between them was still very alive, and anyone in that same building could feel it.

It was their first time they have been this close to each other since the truth came out, and it had only made the longings for each other increase. For both of them.

A minute later, Darcy, someone from their history class interrupted. "Hey Ash! Hey Dawn, could you go over the exam review we did yesterday with me? I have no idea what any of the events were!"

Hesitantly, Dawn peered her eyes away from Ash, and faced Darcy. "Yeah, I can."

The teenage boy gave a nod to Darcy, and to his ex said, "Goodbye Dawn."

When he had walked away, then and only then, could the bluenette manage to whisper, "Bye.."

Ding, Dong!

Dawn got up from her couch and opened the door for Gary, her closet friend since birth. She moved from the doorway, inviting him into her house.

The brunette wasted no time and said, "You need to talk to Ash."

"I refuse to speak to him, and you know that."

Gary placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke softly. "Dawn we all talked. We've all noticed that a piece of you died when you and Ash broke up. It's understandable, which is why-"

"Excuse you?" Dawn interrupted. She crossed her arms, while her eyes narrowed. "A piece of me died when my father did. Which was caused from Ash and his family."

Her best friend shut his eyes in response. "Shut up and listen to me." Without opening his eyes, he put his right index finger up to stop her from yelling. "He was seven. Seven. Do you get that? He wasn't the one to command Moltres to do the dirty work. He had zero idea what was about to happen."

"But he was there Gary. He was there." Silent tears fell from her blue eyes.

This time the brunette reached out for her, so he could embrace her. "I know he was. But at that time did you really understand your dad's job? Did you understand what his purpose was?" In his arms she shook her head."And he didn't understand his dad's job."

They stood there like that for a few minutes, as Dawn wept. She was the one to break the silence when she said, "I still love him. I don't know if I'll ever stop."

"I know. Just give him a chance to talk to you." Gary encouraged.

"I don't know if I'm ready to talk to him yet."

He just nodded his head. "Take your time. We have lots and lots of time for you to make up your mind, and come to a conclusion on your feelings."

Ash sat on the edge of his bed, hands in his hair, eyes on the ground. He slowly lifted his head a minute later, and made his way to his mom's bedroom. He lightly knocked on her door, and then entered. She laid there, reading a novel with the light on.

"Yes Ashy?"

Ash took a seat next to her, and used all that he had not to cry in front of his mom. "I want to move."

This was enough to make his mom put down her book, and rest a hand on his. "What are you talking about?"

"Today was the first day we made eye contact in over a month, mom. And you know what I saw? Pain. All I saw was the pain that I brought to her life once again."

Mrs. Ketchum wrapped her arms around her son, trying to comfort him. "It was never your fault Ash. Don't forget that."

He gave a small nod. "Okay. But after exams are over, I want to move. I was looking at the Unova region, and it looks really nice there. It's really separated from the other regions.. Maybe we can finally put the past behind us."

"The past will always follow us.. we can't run away from it baby." She gently touched his cheek with her hand and continued, "But if you want to move.. then we can, and we will."

"I gave it a lot of thought, mom. Unova sounds like a good idea."

Ash's mom gave her son a smile, "Then in two weeks we'll be there."

I'm thinking two more chapters for this story & then it will be completed! I promise that I will have it done before the end of summer!

Don't forget to review, please, please, please!