I'm glad that I get to update more often now that it's summer vacation. I've had so many ideas develop in my head for this story these past few days. I think I have most everything planned out, which is exciting. And I came up with the ending! You'll be totally surprised. Let's see... This story will be around 30 chapters I think. So let's get going with chapter 17!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

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"So, do you think Misty likes me?" Ash asked.

Drew sighed for the billionth time. "Yes," he answered.

"Really? Why? What makes you think that?"

"Ash. Seriously. Shut up."

"Sorry." The raven haired boy grew quiet.

"Damn*it, Ash, how do you do that?"

"What?"

"Make me feel so guilty!"

"I don't know! Maybe you're just a guilty person."

Drew rolled his eyes. Gary had gone to his lecture early this morning, and Paul was nowhere to be found. That left him stuck with Ash, and after about two hours of listening to him repeatedly ask if he thought Misty liked him, Drew was about ready to shoot himself in the head. He never thought he would be this desperate, but he would even trade Ash's company for Paul's right now.

"Why don't you just ask the ginger out? Then you won't have to annoy me anymore," he said.

"I told you! We kissed, and then she said she isn't sure if she wants to date me or not. Basically, I have asked her out already, and I'm still waiting for her to decide on an answer. That's what's making me so anxious."

"Maybe she's one of those girls who takes forever to decide because she likes to watch guys try too hard."

"She's not like that."

"You've known her for two weeks. How would you know?"

Ash's brow furrowed. "You've only known May for two weeks, and you seem to think you know her pretty well."

Drew felt indignant, but he hid it coolly. "That's different. We're just friends. We aren't trying to decide if we want to date or not. We just want to be close friends."

"Well, good for you then," said Ash. He didn't believe his friend for a minute though. He had a feeling that something was up between him and May.

"Let's go into the book store," Drew suggested. They were walking around the mall, because they were trying to burn time until Gary and Paul came back.

"The book store?" Ash asked. "Why?"

"I, umm, want to look at the video game guides."

"Oh! Good idea! I want to look up what to do next in Super Paper Mario, but I don't want to buy a game guide. We can just flip through them in the book store, get the answers we need, and then walk out for free!"

"You know you could just look that up on the internet, right?" Drew asked.

"Then why are you looking up what you need in the bookstore?"

"I... Hmm." Drew mentally cursed. He hated it when his snarky mind painted him into a corner. He needed a lie. Fast.

"The internet is unreliable."

Ash stared at Drew for a few seconds. "So true!" he said, turning away. "Let's hit that bookstore!"

Thank goodness he fell for that, Drew thought to himself in relief. The two of them walked a little ways down the mall's strip until they came to the bookstore. They went inside and immediately found the section where the video game guides were displayed. Ash picked up the Super Paper Mario guide and began reading it intensively. Drew picked up a guide too, but he wasn't actually reading it. He kept his eyes on Ash, and when he saw that the boy was completely entranced, he slipped off to a different section.

Drew was very secretive about it, but he loved reading. He would read everything from suspense to mystery. His favorite genre though, was romance. He knew that if the guys ever found out about his hobby, they would tease him to no end, so he kept it hidden from them.

He picked up one of the novels on display. There was a shirtless man holding a beautiful woman in his arms. They make the covers look so ridiculous, he inwardly grumbled. It was worth it though. Guys who don't read romance don't know what they're missing. By reading romance, a guy learns what women like. These tales of passionate love at first sight show you what kinds of fantasies women have in their head when they date you, so you know how to act romantic, speak romantic, and ultimately, how to make the ladies fall for you. And if that's not enough, there's a bonus. The intimate scenes in romance novels can get pretty hot.

Drew made his way to the front counter, checking up on Ash on his way to make sure he was still distracted. The man at the counter gave him a weird look as he paid for the book, but he gritted his teeth and kept himself from reacting. Once his purchase was finished, he slipped the book inside his jacket and rejoined Ash. He picked up the game guide he had been reading before and then he looked at Ash.

"Are you done? We should really get going," he said casually.

Ash checked the time on his Pokegear. "You're right. It's almost lunch time!" he agreed. "We have to get back to the hotel room! Or should we go to a restaurant?"

"Let's eat out. I have a feeling Gary is going to abandon us for Leaf, and who knows what Paul is up to? Honestly, I don't want to know. He might be killing baby Pokemon in a dark alley or something."

"That's how Jim Jones started out," Ash said.

"Great. Paul is the next Jim Jones, and we're friends with him," Drew said sarcastically. They were walking along the mall, looking for a place to get lunch. "Hey, how about that steakhouse over there?" he suggested.

"Sure!" Ash agreed. "I'm starving! I bet I'll eat three steaks!"

The boy suddenly grew quiet and stopped walking. Drew stopped too, confused. He followed Ash's gaze over to the restaurant. Entering the steakhouse was Misty, accompanied by a guy with brown hair. He had his arm around her, though she looked uncomfortable.

"I'm not hungry," Ash said, turning and running away. Drew watched him go. Those were three words that he never thought he would hear his friend say.

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"So what kind of song do you want to write?" Leaf asked as she and Gary entered the mall.

"I'm not sure. Something with meaningful lyrics. I don't want to write one of those songs that sounds really cool but has meaningless words."

"I agree."

They were coming up on the music store. Leaf was eager to get her hands on a piano. Back home, she would have to practice every day since it was summer, but her only opportunity to play piano here was in the music store. She wondered if Gary was in the same situation.

"Do you have a guitar here with you?" she asked him.

"I have an acoustic back at the hotel, yes. I couldn't leave it at home. I've been playing that specific guitar for ten years. It pretty much goes everywhere with me.

"I guess that means we can get additional practice sometimes then. We can practice our song with just the guitar part if we need to. Especially when we just want to work on our voices."

"You're pretty excited about this, aren't you?" Gary asked, smiling for the first time that day.

"Yeah. I guess I am." Leaf's heart began to beat a little faster. He really had a gorgeous smile. And the way they were talking right now, it was the first normal conversation they'd ever had. There was a small pang in her chest though. The only reason he was being a normal person was because of her. It was because of her rejection. While it pleased her to see that Gary had a serious side, she couldn't enjoy it when she felt so guilty.

Upon entering the music store, the same employee who had been there last time greeted them. "Did you come back to make more music?" she asked with a smile. "Or are you interested in purchasing something?"

"No. We're just tourists, Leaf explained. "Well, I guess if I really wanted to I could buy a piano and have it shipped home, but my parents wouldn't like that too much."

"Probably not," the sales lady agreed, laughing lightly.

"We just wanted to work on that song we talked about last time. I'm sure you overheard us," Gary said.

"Ah. About that. Follow me," the lady said, winking before she turned away. She lead them to a room in the back of the store. "Tah-dah!" she said when she flipped the light switch. Leaf gasped. The room was small and carpeted. In the corner stood an electronic keyboard and on the wall hung an acoustic, electric, and bass guitar.

"This room is usually empty, so I decided to turn it into a practice room for you!"

"Wow," Leaf breathed. "Thank you so much."

"No problem. I'm the owner of the store, so I can let people practice here if I want. Especially if those people have the kind of talent that you two do. Now, when you become famous, make sure you mention that it's all thanks to Meryl Connors."

"I doubt we'll become famous," Gary said. "But thanks for the vote of confidence."

"No problem. Holler if you need anything!" Meryl left, shutting the door behind her.

"Alright. Let's get started," Leaf said, cracking her knuckles.

"How should we begin?" Gary asked, taking the acoustic guitar off the wall and fitting the strap behind him.

"Umm... I don't know. Just start playing. I'll join in."

Gary began strumming the guitar, creating a gentle chord pattern. Leaf joined in, playing chords that harmonized with his. Their rhythms fit together perfectly. Just like last time, it seemed as though they became the music. They didn't have to think about it. They just felt the music and fit together in some unspeakable way.

Suddenly, the notes stopped fitting together. Gary stopped playing. Leaf stopped too, wondering what had happened.

"I'm sorry," Gary said, looking down at the floor.

"What happened," Leaf asked gently.

"I... I don't get you. Last night, you basically told me that I have no chance with you. And now today, you've been acting all nice to me. Is it out of pity? I don't want your kindness if it's out of pity."

"Gary..."

"No. You listen to me, Leaf. We have something. The way we play music together proves it. I don't know what it is about me that makes you think I'm not good enough for you, but whatever it is... I wish you could get over it."

"You don't understand," Leaf said, tears forming in her eyes.

"You're right. I don't." Gary hung the guitar back up on the wall. Then, without another word, he left Leaf alone in the room, shutting the door roughly behind him. She didn't try to stop him.

Leaf sat quietly, a single tear rolling down her cheek. All she could think was that it wasn't her fault. It wasn't her fault...

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Dawn and May had ended up going for a run on the beach. They wanted to practice for the race, which was only three weeks away, and it was also a good opportunity to get some exercise. They were a little curious when they didn't see Misty there. They had been hoping that she was there swimming or something. If the girl didn't show up by tonight, they would go out searching for her, but they were both pretty confident that Misty was perfectly fine.

"That was a good run," Dawn said, stretching her sore legs. "Let's go for a quick swim to cool off."

"I'm all for that!" May agreed. The two girls ran into the waves. They were wearing sports bras and athletic shorts, so they weren't worried about getting their clothes wet. They were too hot and sweaty to care anyways.

The cool water felt so good on Dawn's thighs. She held her nose and then submerged herself in the water, soothing her sweaty skin in the liquid. May did the same. They both came back up, their hair soaked and sticking to their faces.

"Let's see who can hold their breath the longest!" May challenged.

"You're on!" Dawn accepted. "Three, two, one, go!" They both submerged into the water at the same time. Under the water, the world was muffled. With her eyes shut tight, Dawn felt like she was experiencing what it would be like to be blind and deaf. Her lungs began to tighten a little, but she could stay under longer.

She could feel her hair swirling around behind her in the water. She imagined that she was a mermaid. When she was little, she would swim in the pool in her backyard and pretend that she was a mermaid guarding hidden treasure.

Now her lungs were starting to feel distressed. She pushed for the last few seconds that she was sure would bring her to victory. She was just about to come up, when she felt two arms grab her shoulders and push her down.

Oh my god. What's happening?! I need to breathe! I need to breathe and someone is holding me under the water! Help! May help me! Dawn flailed in the water, grabbing the arms on her shoulders and trying to push them off. It was no use though. They didn't budge.

Her head hurt, making her feel dizzy. Her lungs burned fiercely. She needed to breathe. She couldn't hold back anymore. Her body inhaled, taking in nothing but salt water. She was sure that she was about to die.

Suddenly, the weight was no longer on her and she shot up to the surface. She tried to breathe, but ended up coughing and sputtering for a while before she was able to gasp for air. She was still coughing when she opened her eyes. The red haired girl from the club last night was fighting with May. They were grabbing each other and hitting each other. May pulled her fist back and punched her right in the face. The girl yelled and pressed a hand to the point of contact, putting up her other hand in surrender.

The three girls just stood there for a few seconds, not knowing what to do now. Then May lost her temper. "What the he*ll?!" May yelled. "What the he*ll were you thinking?!"

"Did you have to punch me so hard?!" The red haired girl asked, now clutching her face in both hands.

"You were trying to drown my friend!"

The other girl didn't have an answer. Dawn felt shell shocked. Someone had just tried to kill her. She'd almost died. She always thought it would be Paul who tried to kill her.

"What was your name again?" May asked. "Something like crabby?"

"It's Abby!" she hissed. "Listen. If you report this, me and my friends will make your life a living hell!" With that, Abby turned and swam towards shore. When she reached the sand, she ran.

"Should we report it?" May asked.

"No," Dawn answered.

"So you're okay, right? You didn't take in too much water or anything?"

"I think I'm okay. My lungs are still burning, but I'm okay."

"Okay." They were silent for a moment, trying to process everything that had just happened. "Why did she do that?" May asked.

"They want the guys," Dawn answered. "I overheard Corrine saying that what happened last night was just the first step. "For some reason, those girls want to keep the guys from dating you. Us. They're after Paul too probably. But I have no idea why."

"All that happened was that Drew and I saw Abby and some guy practically having intercourse in the mall and Drew told them to get a room. You don't think that could be it, do you?" May asked.

"That seems like an awfully small thing to try to kill someone over. And if that was the case, she would've gone for you, not me," Dawn pointed out. "I really don't know what's going on."

"Me either."

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Chapter done! I think this turned out pretty good. Please review! I would really really really appreciate it! I hope you guys are enjoying this story as much as I am!