Spitfire, Chapter 21: Sting
Dawn wasn't sure what to say to Ash to start their date. She had gotten him out of the house alone for once, a reward all of it's own, but now, she needed to figure out how to say what she has had pint up in her chest over the last week. She stroked Piplups head while Buneary and Pikachu walked head of the duo. Buneary followed Pikachu around in a daze while Pikachu tried to play it off as cool as possible. Ash walked beside her whistling with his hands crossed behind head. This early in the morning, there wasn't a lot to do so she was pulling a straws.
"Hey, Ash. Let's get some ice cream." She pointed at a stand beside the market area, causing Ash to paused.
"Okay." he said genuinely, chewing on his own thoughts. Ash was usually never one to make a big deal about 'dates', they were more like outings, and she could tell by the way he was acting that this was no different than if Brock had gone with him. Dawn mentally sighed, to be in the friend zone.
But that was what made Dawn different from the other girls; she knew where she and Ash stood as friends. "I'll take a vanilla cone." she said suddenly, staring at the vendor who was dressed in white and wearing a white hat. Clearly it was team rocket in disguise, but she didn't think much of it—just that if they ruined this day, she would break their knees.
"And I'll have a chocolate one." Ash added pointing at the flavor of his choice; from across the small ice cream shop, the maroon-haired woman, who clearly wasn't Jessie cracked a wide smile and a horribly high pitched voice.
"Coming right up!" She sang while dropping a spoon full of ice cream onto two separate cones for the duo. "Might I say that is a fine looking Pikachu you have there; might we take a look?" Jessie inquired, but Dawn slammed a few dollars on the metal counter and glared at her, beneath the cart she could see that James was hiding with Meowth, holding a rubber bag to stuff Pikachu in. How traditional of them. Dawn hissed.
"No, I think we'll be going." Dawn muttered, but her tone of voice screamed at Jessie "If you touch Pikachu and ruin this day, so help me I will break all of your bones", but Ash seemed hesitant.
"It's okay, Dawn." He said while Pikachu hopped up onto his shoulder. Dawn slapped her forehead and then glared.
Jessie blinked a few times, and took a few steps back, pulling the cart with her; "N-no it'll be alright! Thank you for your business!" She yelled while sprinting away. James and Meowth following after her. Ash laughed in spite of himself, and Dawn had to take a moment to think if Ash knew that it was Team Rocket the whole time, or if he was really that gullible.
He licked his ice cream so innocently, that she decided not to ask in fear of what his answer would be. They marched over carefully to a bench that was right outside of the opening market and sat down to eat their ice cream. After a few moments of silence, Ash finally sighed.
"Alright Dawn, you got me. What's up?" Ash had finally developed the courage to ask Dawn what her game was while she crossed one leg over her knee. Regardless of Team Rocket's schemes, they at least always had some decent ice cream. She licked it skeptically, wondering if it could be poisoned; but that was way too legit for Team Rocket, they were barely theives, murderers was the last of her worries. Ash was having the same thoughts, but also wasn't really in the mood for ice cream, so his dripped a little down his cone.
"Well, I'm surprised I was able to get you out of the house by yourself." Dawn assured him, causing a look of frustration to cross his face.
"What does that mean?" He asked, but already knew the answer. Someone wanted to be around him at nearly all times of the day, if not Serena, than Max, if not Max, than Brock, if not any of them; someone found their way to be around him. He rubbed his neck thoughtfully, maybe he should call his friends more often.
Tucking a strand of blue hair out of her face, she straightened her hat while looking forward. Out of all of Ash's traveling companions, Dawn had changed the least in both personality as well as clothes. In the ring she had a billion different styles; but outside, traveling, she only had the one—in many assorted colors. The only thing that had really changed about Dawn was her compsure; while before she was confident and hard-headed, she seemed more thoughtful than before; Ash could relate to that. Well, at least now he could.
"Was battling Serena really necessary? Couldn't you have just asked?"
"You two aren't dating, why did I need to ask her?" Dawn asked skeptically, causing Ash's face to fall. He scratched his cheek. Not only was it weird to hear that he had a girl friend, it was weird knowing that they were no longer dating—Ash had an ex. That was weird.
Dawn continued, "Besides! The battle was for me and Quilava! I try to battle all of the trainers you know!" She said matter-of-fact, catching Ash's attention.
"Have you battled Misty yet?" he asked, curious about Misty's level. Dawn looked rather peeved at his words however and grumbled.
"No, she left most of her pokemon at the gym with her sister." Dawn whined, folding her arms. Ash grinned up at Dawn while the ice cream started to drip over his fingers and onto the cement below. He yelped, and then with Piplup hovering around him, he lowered the ice cream for the water-type to devour in one bite.
When he didn't reply, Dawn fidgeted; "Hey Ash, can I tell you something?"
Ash shuddered at her tone. If he learned anything over the last couple of days it was that specific, calm, and quiet tone of voice that lead him into the lions den, and he gulped, staring at her wide eyed.
"...Sure." He wagered while scratching his neck. He watched a rose color rise to Dawn's cheeks while she twisted her hands into a knot.
"Ash, I liked you."
"Oh no." he responded right away, grabbing his face. Dawn pouted in response, puckering her lips and glowering at him.
"That sounded enthusiastic."
He straightened, "I didn't mean it like that!" he offered, waving his hands in front of him defensively, but Dawn shrugged her shoulder and sighed.
"No, it's fine. I said I liked you. Past tense, Ash." she wagged her finger at Ash, and he breathed a sigh of relief while a blush crawled up his cheeks. She continued, "You're my best friend forever, Ash. If I hadn't met you and Brock, I'm not sure where I would even be right now!" She said cheerfuly while Piplup hopped onto her lap to 'comfort' her, in a way that the pokemon tried to gnaw at her resting ice cream.
"But aside from that, when I first heard that you were dating someone; I was a little upset, but then I met Serena; and she was amazing, and I didn't seem to care as much! I think I cared more that you were dating someone than I cared about who it was!" She laughed to herself, but Ash nodded nervously.
"Anyways," She started awkwardly, "What I'm trying to say is that after being here again, around you and all of our friends; I think I kind of realized that while you are my best friend and that you changed my life exponentially; I don't love you. Well," She paused and touched her index finger to her chin, "I do love you, but I'm not in love with you. I..uh. I just needed to get that off of my chest."
Upon hearing her confession, Ash stopped thinking, and sucked in air while shutting his eyes. Words could not express how grateful her clean confession was. How her acceptance meant that he didn't need to feel guilt; how her choice of words didn't leave questions hanging in the air. Taking in all of her words, he opened them again to express a feeling of complete relief. Dawn smiled at him in response, and clapped her hands together.
"You're not going to try to kiss me or anything weird like that, right?" he asked suddenly causing Dawn to nearly fall out of her seat, successfully dropping her ice cream so that Piplup could eat it.
"No Ash, that's what I was trying to say. I don't want to." She whined, and Ash laughed from his belly while scratching his chin.
"I know, but I had to be sure that you weren't going to be like May, only reversed." Dawn didn't seem impressed by his logic and crossed her arms while glaring at him.
"Jeeze, you couldn't even let a girl down soft, huh? Lie a little? Tell me that you might have liked me at some point and now you just don't feel the same way?" She barked playfully causing Ash's humor to leave his eye and be replaced with worry.
"...Am I supposed to do that?" He asked suddenly, causing Dawn to return to her giggle fit.
"Of course not, you should always tell the truth!" She said while sliding off her seat and standing up. "I just wanted to make sure that we would be friends forever, no matter what; right Ash?"
Ash stood up beside her, returning her affectionate smile, "That should go without saying," he the paused thoughtfully, "But if you know you don't like me, why bring it up?"
Dawn licked her lips while tapping her fingers against her waist. Trying not to stare at Ash, she glared over at the market where she could see Misty and Dawn exiting a hair salon. Blinking once or twice, she spun around to look at Ash and winked at him.
"I wanted to show you the difference before we start our sting operation!" She chanted suddenly while Ash approached the same railing she was looking over. It only took him a second to spot Misty and May, and his face fell. Something uncomfortable was going to happen, and he knew it.
"What difference, and what sting operation?" he asked dejectedly. Dawn rubbed her hands together eagerly.
"Learning the difference between being in love and loving someone." Ash's face paled, so it was another one of these. Hadn't Misty already tried to explain this to him as well? He had told Dawn that Misty told him all of this already, hadn't he? He shuddered uncomfortably, but then Dawn raised her finger and grabbed his shoulder to keep him within reason.
"Now don't shut down, hear me out!" She said, using her best fiend authoritative voice. She then pointed over at the girls walking to the barely-opened mall, "I may not be as experienced with this as Misty, and I may not have advice like her; but I know something that she doesn't."
Ash blinked at Dawn, taking the bait, "What's that?" He asked nervously and Dawn had to express a sigh while crossing her arms.
"It's a secret!" She said, causing Ash to slam his head into his hands.
"Why say that you know, if you won't tell me!?" he pouted curling his fingers into fists and waving them.
"Because it's something you have to realize on your own! You just need a little push, I think." Dawn suggested while lowering her fist into the palm of her opposite hand. She looked determined and ready to do whatever it took to get to the next section of Ash's life; but he was mostly worried.
"Okay, then what did you have in mind?" He asked, rubbing the back his neck.
Dawn smiled, "We're going undercover!" She said, taking her hat off and tying her hair into a bun. Amused, Ash stared at her, she didn't look any different.
"...Err, Dawn..." he started but Dawn waved her hand as if she knew already what he was going to say.
"Okay, we'll just have to be really, really sneaky, because I forgot a change of clothes at your house." Ash grinned at her comment.
"You sound like Misty." he offered, forcing Dawn to grin back at him.
"Now you're getting it!" She exclaimed while jumping over the railing, Ash tried to fling the ice cream off his hand while also following Dawn's lead.
He whined, "Getting what?"
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Misty exhaled while pressing her head against the wall outside of the changing room. "I thought we were supposed to be shopping for me?" She muttered painfully while May stepped out of the dressing room, this time wearing a green and yellow frock dress that hugged her waist line and poofed out around the bottom.
"I'm sorry, I just have to try them on! They would look so good during contests!" May said chipper, but a frowning Misty, who carried only one bag with her looked repulsed by the idea. As a pokemon battler, she generally didn't see the reason to be dressed up for battle. Heels while telling a blastoise to do any attack just seemed painful. Mad props to Dawn and May for being able to wear them during matches.
"Yeah, yeah I know. Contests. Pretty. Amazing. Shiny. Oooh, Aaahh." She joked, forcing May to slap her on the upper arm while they both giggled.
"It's more than that! Looking nice builds one's confidence." May suggested while looking at herself twirl in the dress. She then frowned slightly, "But this isn't me, too girly." Misty shrugged and shook her head in response.
"I'm going to go see if they'll let me change in their dressing room." She said, finally tired of wearing Delia's hand-me-downs. She maneuvered her way to the check out to speak with a fitting room lady, while May jumped back into her room to change out her clothes again. Misty's hair was cut a bit shorter now, keeping it in the style of an inverted bob, but trimming it down enough so that it framed the trainer's face when it was parted on the side. May insisted that Misty should have cut it into a pixie cut; but the last thing Misty needed was to be mistaken for a boy at any stage in her life.
On her way to the counter, Misty stumbled upon a few fancier looking dresses, and squinted up at them. One in particular that caught her eye was a red sequined dress. A roman cut with a single shoulder strap. Misty inhaled sharply while tugging on the price tag. She dropped the tag immediately, and spun on her heels to leave the dress when she heard muttering coming from behind one of the shelves containing jeans. She rounded the corner to look who was there, only to see no one. The frantic, lowered voices moved behind her while she turned the corner. Narrowing her eyes, she turned sharply to see none other than Dawn staring back at her like a deer in head-lights.
Misty crossed her arms, "I thought you had plans this morning?" She asked, making Dawn perk up and remove her sun glasses. Maybe having both Buneary and Piplup out at the same time was a poor judgment in her case, as they were fighting again, leading to a disagreement amongst Ash and Dawn. Luckily, Dawn had tossed Ash into a clothing rack before Misty saw him and grinned nervously up at Misty. The gym leader looked down automatically to Pikachu, and then back up to Dawn. The coordinator's palms started sweating as she forced herself to grin wider.
"Why is Pikachu with you?" Misty asked as the small rodent pokemon jumped up from it's spot on the ground and into Misty's arms. Dawn's mouth twitched, she was never the best at lying on the spot—and Misty would see right through her if she didn't think fast.
She leaned in close and pointed to Buneary, "I'm taking her and Pikachu on a play date." Dawn said while nodding at Misty. Pikachu looked horrified to hear this news, but Misty didn't seem to notice. After a few minutes, Misty finally laughed loudly, and shook her head helplessly.
"You know..." Misty said after a moment had passed and Dawn puffed up her cheeks, "I know you're playin' me, but I'm just going to leave it at that today." Misty said while handing Pikachu back to Dawn. The yellow pokemon sighed glancing over to where Ash was hiding. He had been shoved through a round rack of jeans, holding Piplup's beak closed. He just hoped another visitor of the store didn't start looking for clothes while he was in here. That would be on a Brock level of explaining.
"You're not going to ask me what I'm doing? Nothing?" Dawn asked while raising her eyebrows. Misty approached the sales woman while Dawn questioned her.
"Hey, is it alright if I change in one of your dressing rooms? I'm tired of looking like I married my brother." Misty instigated, revoking a yell from Ash, that was silenced by Piplup slapping it's wing over Ash's mouth in turn that they both needed to be silent. Misty stared suspiciously at the clothing rack he was hiding in, but then turned her attention back to the saleswoman.
"Like, go ahead." The saleswoman said while handing Misty a key. Misty turned at the bemused Dawn and blinked a couple of times.
"After the way yesterday went, if someone isn't willing to share, I'm not asking." her tone was giddy, but was also laced with a fine comb of venom.
Dawn raised her eyebrow, "What do you mean after how yesterday went?" Misty sighed in response and tossed the key up, and then down, and then caught it while twirling it in her hand.
"Well, for starters; everything. Dude, I got slapped last night for no reason and Serena is..." She trailed off while walking away from Dawn; but Dawn stared frantically at where Ash was hiding, and kept Misty standing in that area so he could listen.
"Wait, uhh, but what about Ash?" Dawn asked, eyes shifting. Misty stared back at Dawn and then looked sideways, blinking a few times herself.
"What about him?" The way her voice pitched, Dawn could see she hit a sore spot, and so she pressed on, trying to appear innocent. Sat confused in his small corner, prepared to run for his life just in case Misty caught wind on his spying act. Maybe he could convince her that he was playing hide and seek with Pikachu as a training routine? He slapped himself in the head, no, that would never work.
"Well, you know, Serena and Ash were dating; now they're not, how did you feel about it?"
Misty blinked once, and then twice and then shook her head. "Why do you want to know?" She asked subjectively while placing her fists on her waist. Dawn's face to fell. Misty really was stubborn.
"Well, you know. Since he's like one of my best friends, I just wanted to know what you, one of his other best friends thought of it..." She said while narrowing her eyes. Misty raised her eyebrows, glancing over at the dressing rooms where she waited to see if May had stepped out yet, but sighed when she saw that she had not.
"Honestly? Not a hell of a lot. But, it's not my business." Misty referred, having been caught up by May earlier that day about what happened while Misty was out drinking. Apparently, Serena's comment this morning wasn't because she felt threatened, but because she wanted Misty to stand down. Stand down from what? She wasn't going to chase after Ash—she did however need to talk to him today, but that was put on the back-burner due to a hair situation.
Dawn puffed out her cheeks and nudged Misty on the arm, "But isn't it sort of your business? I mean, you've known Ash for years, so...what's your reasoning?"
"Why do I feel like I'm being put on trial? What's up with you Dawn?" Misty inquired, causing Dawn to shudder and raise her hands defensively. She took a few steps back, only making Misty question further what Dawn was up to. She wasn't very subtle, that was sure. In his poor hiding spot, Ash questioned it as well. Was she trying to get them both killed?
"Nothing! It's just that I heard Serena say that she wasn't going to give up on Ash; so they're not officially dating anymore, but she's trying her hardest to win him over. And uh, I dunno, I just thought of you?" Dawn tried wincing as she spoke, Misty could see right through Dawn. But she played a long a bit longer.
"She did mention that to me this morning." Misty offered as a way to keep the peace. Dawn pursed her lips and tried to grin.
"Why, though? Just curious." She twiddled her fingers, and Misty shook her head.
"I don't know. You tell me." Misty said suddenly, crossing her arms.
"She didn't mention anything to you?" Dawn asked, and Misty finally bit down hard on her lip and folded her arms.
"She was threatened because she said that she knew that I liked A-" Then from the corner of her eye, she saw in the clothing rack stand sneakers tucked behind a long dress. Misty's head tilted and she immediately approached the rack. Much to Dawn's chagrin.
"What are you doing?" She scampered, cutting Misty off from reaching the rack. Ash cowered beneath the clothes, holding his mouth as if that would stop him from breathing, and foot ball holding to Piplup with wide eyes in case he had to jolt away from the situation.
"Just checking something." Misty spoke carefully while pushing past Dawn and scooting some of the clothes apart so that she could see inside of the circle rack. Surprised to see that she found nothing there, she looked back and forth through the clothes and then shook her head.
"I must be seeing things." Misty said while rubbing her forehead. Dawn looked as pale as a ghost while she watched Ash charge out of the rack just in time so that Misty missed him, and then ran the other direction, toward the changing room. They were all locked, but also empty aside from the one May was in. They also had about a foot of opening underneath the door that left plenty of room for someone to crawl under if need be. Misty turned around to face Dawn, who was doing ducking motions towards the fitting rooms.
"What are you doing, Dawn?" Misty asked while turning the corner to look at the fitting rooms. Dawn exhaled sharply, and placed her hand over her chest seeing that Ash had successfully dived into one of the changing rooms unseen. She jumped at Misty's sudden closeness.
"Exercising!" Dawn yelped; pumping her fists up and down and doing a few squats. Misty stared blank faced at her and then shook her head slightly.
"You're so weird." Misty tossed with a chuckle while she pressed forward to the dressing rooms to unlock the exact one that Ash was in. Dawn screamed at her to stop, and then Misty dropped her keys upon being pushed gently.
"Not that one!" Dawn yelped. Misty turned to look at her, panicked and frustrated all at the same time.
"Why not? What's so special about this one?" Frustration crawled into her voice while she glared at Dawn; the humor of her strange actions lost upon getting shoved into a door.
"Excuse me? I'm changing in here?" A shrill voice, or at least the poor attempt of one echoed from within the changing room where Ash was hiding. He nearly choked Piplup from anxiety. Blushing, Misty backed away from the door after scooping up her keys. How embarrassing.
"Sorry." She said, awkwardly. Though, she couldn't help but feel there was something familiar about that persons voice. Dawn, who had to try hard not to laugh at Ash's 'girl' voice, released a sigh of relief. Feeling sweat pouring down his neck while he flopped onto the small seat in the changing room, he also sighed while looking at himself in the mirror. He was a couple shades lighter from the panic attack he just had. What in the world did Dawn drag him into?
Misty maneuvered to the next room over, beside May's room, and knocked before attempting to unlock the door. Awkwardly it was between Ash and May's stall, and Dawn could feel herself sweating profusely upon her nerves being cracked and whipped into shape.
When the door shut and Misty started to change, throwing her pink blouse over the side where Ash could see the top of it, Dawn exhaled.
"So what were you saying about Serena?" Dawn started again, not missing a beat. May chimed in however, adding to Dawn's frustrations.
"Is that you Dawn?" May asked, poking her head outside of her changing room door and listening to Misty chuckle while she slipped off the uncomfortable skirt.
"Yeah, it's me."
"I thought you had plans this morning?"
"I'm taking Bun and Pikachu on a play date." Dawn suggested, holding up the innocent looking Pikachu. May furrowed her eyebrows, but then shrugged. She had seen Ash do stranger things.
"I see." May added while closing her door again so that she could finish putting on her overly complex outfit. Misty on the other hand had pulled on back tank top that ended at her mid-driff, and then a pair of black short-tights that ended right above her knees. She sighed thoughtfully while sliding on a pair of blue short-shorts and then swung the door open while pulling on a yellow vest over the top of her black tank top. While she zipped it up from the end to the turtle neck that it formed, Dawn gazed nonchalantly. It showed her shoulders politely, and the yellow vest started at her waist; but it looked so much like her.
It suited her, unlike the last few things she wore.
"Now that's the attire of a gym leader." Dawn said, mesmerized while Misty touched her vest and shrugged.
"Not for me, usually. I'm afraid it's all swimsuits at my gym because I'm around water all the time." Misty checked while looking at herself in the mirror. It was refreshing to have a pair of shorts on again, even if she had to drop thirty dollars on them. The price of visiting new towns, she supposed.
"You don't ever get dressed up?"
"Only for league parties and the stuff my sisters drag me to." Misty said while addressing her hair; it was at that moment that Dawn realized that Misty had gotten it cut again; it was shorter, but it was chic and stylish. Dawn thought for a moment that she would totally wear her hair like that if she was brave enough to cut it short.
"You don't go out just for fun?" Dawn asked, having forgotten her plan for a moment, and of Ash, who huddled in the changing room. Misty narrowed her eyes playfully.
"I would rather not share the sad, cryptic details of my lack of social life." Misty joked while finishing off the look with a pair of black fingerless gloves that ended at the middle of her fore-arm. Dawn pushed forward.
"Lack of social life?"
"Seriously Dawn, what's with all the questions?" Misty asked abruptly, causing Dawn to shriekd inwardly. She squeezed Pikachu and looked down at Buneary.
"Nothing! We just never really got to know each other the last time we met, so I figured, why not now?" She laughed nervously, putting her hand behind her head. Misty looked flustered, but sighed.
"Misty doesn't have a social life unless Gary or Tracey visit." May half-yelled from the dressing room. Misty shot the girl a look of disgust though she couldn't see it, and Ash winced inside of his dressing room, letting Piplup down on the seat beside him.
"Why just Gary and Tracey?" Dawn pressed.
"They're the only ones that visit."
"May, I can answer for myself!" Misty cried while stomping her foot. She glowered at the girl and rolled her eyes and then looked at Dawn with a nod. She added, "But that is the answer."
"Must get pretty lonely."
"No, well, sometimes. Trainers visit a lot, and my sisters come every once and a while, and I have students once every week... It could be a lot worse." Dawn smiled at her remark and then shrugged her shoulders slightly.
"Are you ever upset that Ash doesn't visit?" Dawn asked, and Misty lowered one eyebrow. Dawn kept going back to Ash, it was fishy, but that was really the only common ground that she and Dawn shared.
"Sometimes, but he's busy." Misty said while straightening up and collecting the rest of her borrowed clothes and tossing them back into her shopping bag. Dawn twisted her face, not getting the answers that she wanted to hear.
"Does Ash not visiting, bother you more than other people?" Dawn tried again, this time poking at Misty's temper.
"I don't know, does it bother you?"
Dawn fidgeted uncomfortably, "Sometimes." She admit, but Misty sighed.
"Do we have to talk about Ash? Can we talk about something else?"
"Yeah, why don't we talk about how you blew everyone off and went out drinking with Gary?" May asked suddenly while opening her door to reveal an egyptian-esque dress and pants that Dawn clapped to gleefully.
"That's perfect May! I love that—wait you what?" Dawn snapped her head at Misty who, in turn, laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head.
"Why in the world would you do that?" Dawn asked, addressing the issue properly, "Wasn't he like, telling you to go fight for Ash?" Dawn said, cutting through the baloney to get to the meat of the conversation. Misty flushed, but wasn't entirely sure why. By this point, Ash had almost fallen out of his seat from anticipation, and trying to lean forward to listen better.
"So you did hear that?" Misty said while jabbing Dawn on the side. She grinned sheepishly at Misty and then rolled her shoulders.
"Parts of it. I mean I just got into town, so I was totally confused about everything going on. I didn't miss that kiss though—man, Ash was really upset." Dawn pressed the issue, but in every regard that Ash was dense, Misty was just as stubborn. Dawn started again, "Wasn't it you who kissed hii-"
Her relevant shudder answered the question before her mouth could, "No way, not in a million years would I kiss Gary." She whined, rubbing her face gently. Dawn edged her on.
"How come?"
"it's Gary frickin' Oak! Who would kiss that guy on purpose?" Misty exclaimed causing May to laugh ironically and Dawn to purse her lips. Misty was either as dense as Ash, or intentionally avoiding the real answer. That was okay, Dawn would get it out of her. She glanced at May.
"But you went drinking with him."
"As friends." Misty defended herself, furrowing her eyebrows.
Dawn pressed on, "But doesn't Gary like you?" At this point, at the mention that Gary actually liked Misty, Ash's ears perked up and his face turned red. Her curled his fingers into the seat while Piplup tried effortlessly to sooth the trainers jealously with a pat on the thigh.
"He might have mentioned it..." Misty suggested, recalling what he said to her on the pier.
"And you still went out with him?" May quipped, hands on her sides while she joined in with Dawn.
"As friends!" Misty cheered, turning scarlet.
"Man...that's cold..." Dawn suggested jokingly, but Misty whipped and crossed her arms,
"It's no different than Ash and Serena!" She offered in retaliation, and at that, May ducked back into the dressing room to pull on her traveling clothes. Things were getting interesting.
"What do you mean like Ash and Serena?" Dawn asked suddenly, and Misty sighed and slapped her forehead. Her and her big mouth.
"It's not my job to say." She suggested, and that was when Dawn saw it; why Misty hadn't said anything. While she may have liked Ash, she was also still a loyal friend; and friends didn't rat other friends out. That deep rooted loyalty was a pain in the ass.
"That Ash doesn't like Serena? Misty, that's not really a secret." May said, changing rather quickly as opposed to her several other attempts; she popped out fully dressed in a matter of seconds. Amazed, Misty had to shake her head to regain her thoughts.
"Regardless, it shouldn't be flaunted around either."
"Why not?" Dawn asked skeptically and Misty sighed.
"Because," She paused, thinking that she heard something; it was the sound of Piplup yawning, and Ash covering the pokemon's mouth again so that he could listen. "How would you like it if you liked someone, and all you heard was that they didn't really like you at all? It's no wonder that Serena feels threatened by everyone."
Dawn stared at Misty, and shook her head. "But it's the truth!"
"Have you asked him if he doesn't like Serena? Maybe he does and just isn't aware of it?" Misty suggested, and Dawn threw up her arms,
"I didn't have to! I over heard him tell her last night." Dawn admit, and then covered her mouth suddenly. Misty looked a tad shocked that Ash would ever tell someone that he didn't like them. It was unheard of. For a moment, she thought Dawn might have been lying. Ash furrowed his eyebrows and pressed his lips into a pout while listening to Dawn's confession. She had left that part out of the "sting" operation manuel, in fact, she left all of this out aside from the fact that they would follow Misty and May around the mall 'for fun'. What exactly was Dawn trying to get at?
"Why were you even listening?" Misty asked with wide-eyes. Dawn shrugged.
"I was just kind of passing by..." Dawn admit as she watched Misty start toward the exit; she had to think of an excuse not to get the girl to go, though; because she wanted Ash to hear this.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"We're leaving. We're done here. Are you coming with us?" May said while pointing at the exit. Dawn threw up her arms and scratched her head.
"Why don't you stay a little longer?" Dawn tried desperately, eyes shifting nervously to the changing room that Ash was in.
"Can't we take this conversation else where?" Misty suggested and Dawn had to stop herself from looking at the room Ash was stuck in, instead, she looked down at Pikachu. Think fast Dawn! The coordinator chanted to herself.
"Okay, okay, I admit it. I gotta know." Dawn said matter-of-fact, Misty blinked at her, holding her bag over her shoulder with her right hand, "Are you in love with Ash?" Dawn asked forwardly, looking at Misty dead in the eye, who looked at May and then pointed at herself.
"You're asking me?" Misty said, whilst in unison Ash started to choke. Misty stared at the dressing room and pointed at it.
"Is that lady okay?"
Ash hesitated for a moment before replying, "I'm fine" in a worse, shakier and shriller voice than before. Misty raised her eyebrow, but didn't think about it. Instead she said:
"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" She muttered with a sigh, causing May to touch her lips with her gloved hand.
"I dunno, because you do and it's blatantly obvious to anyone who isn't you. Or Ash, for some reason." May suggested while narrowing her eyes, but Misty gave her a knowing look. There was no way in hell that May deduced that by herself. Just yesterday, she couldn't even figure out if she liked Ash or food more.
Catching on, May coughed slightly, and shifted her eyes around the room, adding; "I may have...uh, talked with Drew about it." She admit, and Misty nodded, as did Dawn. They shrugged at one another; that was a lot more believable.
Ash's heart stopped beating in his chest, however, and he froze on the inside of the dressing room—a mixture of emotions swirling in his chest all at the same time. Each different one threatened to come out all at the same time. His heart, his head, his entire body pounded as he realized what was just said; or implied. Outside, Dawn pumped her fist, garnering a strange look from Misty.
"Anyways, now that this weird conversation is over... we're heading out... unless you're still too busy to hang out?" Misty asked and then Dawn straightened up confidently. Having gotten the information that she wanted; well in the distance of Ash hearing it for his own ears.
"Actually, I have a date with Ash later that I have to get ready for." Dawn admit while sticking out her tongue—Misty fell down, as did May upon hearing this. Misty's entire face was red.
"I swear to all that is holy if you tell him ANYTHING I will... What the hell Dawn?!" Misty screeched, alerting the rest of the customers in the store. She cleared her throat and then waved them on as if saying "nothing to see here." Dawn grinned nervously.
"I sort of challenged Serena to a battle, and the winner got to take Ash on a date. I won...haha.." She said while Misty exhaled and pressed her fingers against her forehead.
"Wait, you like Ash, too?" May asked suddenly, feeling both shocked and humorless at the sudden situation she was in.
"Of course!" Dawn said, but then raised her finger matter of fact, and raised her voice slightly, so that she was sure Ash could hear. "But how I like Ash as a friend, is a lot different than how Misty likes Ash!" She said happily, which only made Misty angrier while she tugged on Dawn's face.
"You know he's from here right!? Why don't you just yell it to the friggin' world and give me a shovel to dig my own damn grave!" She hissed while releasing Dawn's cheeks. Dawn pawed at her cheeks playfully and then smiled.
"I'm sorry. I won't say anything." She said and then smiled at the girls while backing away, closer to the dressing room doors. "I guess I will see you all later, though?" Dawn suggested, and Misty and May replied with half a smile, and then after they said their goodbyes, Dawn waited a few minutes until they were past the store before she walked back to knock on Ash's door.
"It's safe now." Dawn secured, but it took Ash a few moments to gather enough courage to open the door from the inside. He pressed the door open slowly, standing with Piplup at his feet, impatiently stomping its fin against the ground while glaring at Dawn for the situation it was engraved in. Upon seeing Ash's face though; Dawn knew that there was a long day ahead of her. His face was red from his neck to his forehead; his eyes were confused, yet full of some prophetic nature and he was shaking and fidgeting. Pikachu bounced from Dawn's arms and onto Ash's shoulder in support.
"So, that's the secret." Dawn said folding her arms while Ash took baby steps outside of the changing room. He inhaled, voice shaking and if possible, face growing even more red.
"Misty...she...she uh..." he started slowly, but it was recuperated by Dawn, who slapped Ash on the back and smiled.
"That's right! She has special warm feelings for you. We call that being in love where I come from." He looked at her, horrified for a moment before all the blood rushing to his head made him feel light headed, and he fell backwards.
"Ash? Shit! Ash, are you okay?!" Dawn shouted, fanning him while swirls formed in his eyes.