Well, I hope you're not ticked off at me for leaving you hanging. XD. But let's continue…

Zoey took a look at the person's face. It wasn't Paul, it was Ash.

"What the hell was that for Zoey? I know I complimented you but you didn't have to go that far!"

Zoey was in a state of both shock and embarrassment. It wasn't the shock that bothered her, it was the humiliation. By now, everyone who was near the two stared at them; but mostly at Zoey.

"Hey Ash, Zoey. What's going on here?" Dawn had made her way past the staring people and came up to the two.

"Uh, it's nothing Dawn… I'm just going to head outside for a walk…" Ash then jolted out of the room and ran down the corridor; half embarrassed himself.

"Ash! Wait!" Dawn chased after Ash.

"What did I do now…" Zoey thought to herself as she made past the horde of people crowding her; leaving the room and heading to the reception area (main lobby).

. . .

Zoey felt utterly humiliated. She never meant to have kissed Ash. It was an accident. She mistook him for Paul and right now, she really wanted him to be with her…

"Hey Zoey!" someone cried in a distance.

Zoey lifted her head to reveal her tears. In the distance, she saw Paul, running towards her past the crowds of people. When he finally reached her, he noticed her tears and gave her a hug.

"Hey, hey… no need to cry. Just tell me what happened."

Zoey told him everything; even the part when she had accidently kissed Ash. She thought Paul would've been mad at her but what happened was the exact opposite of what she had thought. Paul gave her a reassuring smile before embracing her again.

"Hey, it was an accident; like you said. And I know you'll never leave me because we made each other that promise; right?"

"Yeah… *sniff* I'm sorry Paul…"

"There's no need to be sorry. I'm sorry I didn't get to you first…" now Paul was the one feeling down.

Zoey placed her hands on his cheek before giving him a quick peck on the lips. She smiled and she felt glad that she had made Paul smile back. She took his hand and stood up; taking him with her outside for a bit of fresh air before the judge's made their announcements.

. . .

Paul said that he would take Gastrodon to the Pokemon Center to get it rested while Zoey told him that she would be waiting right here for him; in the middle of the local park. Zoey was waiting patiently on a bench when she heard voices from behind her. She got up and decided to check out the voices…

When she got close enough, she saw a clearing and two people in it: Ash and Dawn.

"So you kissed her!" Dawn asked.

"NO! She kissed me!" Ash replied.

"*Sigh* then you didn't mean to kiss Zoey right?"

"Of course not! I just compliment her! Believe me!"

Zoey decided to stay back and eavesdrop on the conversation.

Dawn looked Ash start into the eyes before relaxing.

"Alright Ash… I forgive you…"

Ash was silent for a moment before responding.

"Thanks Dawn…" he then moved his head closer to hers and kissed her on the lips. Dawn wrapped her arms around Ash while he slid his arms around her waist. They were completely lost in the kiss and that gave Zoey a moment to get away unnoticed; until she stepped on a twig.

Ash and Dawn instantly broke the kiss and turned towards the direction of the noise.

"Who's there!" Ash asked.

Zoey knew that she was busted but made a run for it.

"HEY! STOP!" Ash yelled behind her.

Zoey was almost at the tree-line and decided to play as an innocent bystander. She quickly made her way back to the bench and took a seat; fiddling with her fingers. Ash ran up behind her but didn't take notice of her until he had stopped.

"Zoey?" Ash asked.

"Hey Ash…"

"Listen Zoey, I'm sorry I overreacted and I pushed you onto the floor."

"Don't be sorry Ash, I was the one who kissed you."

"Hey Zoey; I was wondering about this since the moment you kissed me, why did you do it?" Ash asked.

Zoey had nowhere to run now. She either had to think of something quick or tell him the truth about her relationship with Paul.

"Well I –" Zoey was interrupted when Dawn came up behind them. She saw the way Ash was talking to Zoey and thought that they were flirting with each other.

"HA! Caught Red Handed Ash Ketchum! You have a lot of explaining to do…"

"NO DAWN! It wasn't like that! We were just –"

"Apologizing to each other about that incident." Zoey finished for him.

"Oh, I get it… Hehe, sorry for jumping to conclusions…" Dawn said while scratching the back of her head.

"Hey, no need to worry right Dawn?" Ash said to Dawn. She blushed but tried her best to hide it. Ash and Dawn walked off after saying their good-byes to Zoey; which left her all alone. She dreaded the feeling ever since the time when she started her journey alone. The feeling existed around her, as if it was attached to her and wouldn't come off whatever she had done. That was why she had caught four pokemon right off the bat. She caught Shellos later on but even then, she felt that something was missing. That was when Paul had filled in the void. "Speaking of Paul, here he comes right now."

"Hey Zoey. I dropped off Gastrodon at the Pokemon Center and the reason I didn't come back sooner was because of this…" he then reached into his pocket to pull out something…

What could the item be? Let's stop here. XD.