Thank you so much you guys! :) I've received so many encouraging reviews and pm's these past few days. You guys are the best!

This is chapter 20! We're two thirds of the way through this story! Some of you may not have noticed the update when I replaced my announcement with chapter 19, so if you missed it, go back and read chapter 19 because I wouldn't want you to skip a chapter accidentally!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

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"Yeah. Okay. I'll meet you downstairs at 11:00." Misty hung up her Pokegear and continued getting ready. She had finally made a decision - well, sort of. She had agreed to go out on a date with Rudy. Depending on how things went, she may decide to choose him over Ash. She wouldn't know until after today though.

Ash was aware of her half-decision. He was pretty unhappy about it. He'd said that he was hurt, and really confused. She didn't blame him. She was pretty confused herself. But she couldn't get over how annoyed she felt towards Ash. She liked him. A lot. He treated her better than Rudy ever had. But there was a major difference between the two guys that was tipping the scale in Rudy's favor at the moment. Ash saw her as someone who needed protection. He wanted to be the guy who is a hero to her. Rudy knew she didn't need protection. He would actually verbally attack her on occasion, which hurt, but she found it less insulting than Ash's heroism.

Misty sighed. Ever since she was little, she'd been a tomboy. She never liked princess movies or dresses or fluffy Pokemon. As she grew older, she became slightly more girly. She would wear a dress if it was necessary and she would daydream about what her first kiss would be like. Where was she now? She'd changed incrementally throughout the years, developing a liking for shopping and makeup and romantic movies, but she hadn't lost her tomboyishness in the process. She still liked skateboarding and eating junk food and playing Call of Duty. That's who she was. She had a wild streak. Some desire inside herself not to conform into a girly girl. And which of the guys accepted that about her the most? Ash. Really, it was Ash, but that hero attitude of his didn't fit with her other traits, like her boldness, and independence. Rudy was more than willing to let her fight her own battles.

Misty held a hand to her head. All this thinking and analyzing was giving her a headache. Her Pokegear read 10:55. Time to go. She put her best game face/ flirty face on. In order for her to find out the truth about her feelings for Rudy, she needed to act like he was the only one for her. She needed to pretend that she loved him. And that she wasn't scared at all.

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Paul was walking down the sidewalk. He'd run out of joints again. He knew he was smoking them too fast, but he didn't care; he'd given up trying to break his addiction long ago. Being clean for two weeks had nearly driven him insane. He could indulge now. And indulge he did. At least money wasn't an issue. He had plenty of it from his stupid older brother. Thank god Reggie believed he'd gotten clean.

"Hey!"

No! Not her! Paul whipped around to see Dawn running towards him. Now what was he supposed to do? He couldn't go get more joints if she was with him.

"What do you want?" he asked coldly.

"I, umm..." The girl danced on her feet a bit, fumbling for words.

"Do you have to go to the bathroom or something, Troublesome?"

Dawn blushed. "No! I just... I wanted to hang out with you."

"Why? Gary, Drew, Nerdy, and Bandana all went to the mall. Wouldn't you much rather hang out with them?"

"Nerdy and Bandana? Nice. What's your nickname for Misty?"

"Girl on Fire."

"Huh. That one's almost thoughtful. Anyways, I didn't want to go with them, because they're in their couples, you know? I mean, they aren't dating, but-"

"We all know they have the hots for each other. It's like a hormone party and it makes me sick." Paul said bluntly. Dawn just blinked at him. He really needed to get rid of her. Stat.

"I think they would enjoy your company though. Having an odd one out eases the tension. You should go meet up with them." he said.

"Only if you come with me," Dawn said, something like amusement hiding in her eyes.

"Did you miss the part where I said they make me sick?" Paul asked. Why was she so determined to bother him today? Or any day for that matter?

"You only feel that way because you've never liked someone like that," Dawn assumed, shrugging her shoulders.

"You don't know me, Troublesome," he said lowly, turning and heading down the sidewalk. She trotted after him and started walking beside him. Annoying as ever.

"So you've had girlfriends?" Dawn questioned.

"That's not really your business," he replied.

"Who would date you?"

"Gee. Thanks."

"Well, you don't exactly give off the 'date me' vibe," she pointed out. He just grunted in response. He couldn't really argue with that one.

"Was she pretty?" Dawn asked.

"Prettier than you."

"She must have been totally gorgeous then, because I'm beautiful!" Dawn said enthusiastically. "Was she smart? Funny? A life-hater like you?"

"What's with the interrogation?" Paul asked in irritation. "Why does my love life matter to you? I don't ask you about your stupid boyfriend."

"He's not stupid!"

"He must be if he's dating you." That shut her up for a few seconds. Paul felt like he'd stepped on some invisible nerve of hers.

"Kenny isn't stupid... He's wonderful." To Paul, Dawn almost sounded bitter as she spoke those words. Or maybe it was bittersweet. Could someone even sound bittersweet? Hmmm...

"I really don't see why you want to be around me. According to you, you've been hating me this entire vacation." Paul pointed out.

"Maybe," Dawn agreed. "But I think there's more to you than you let people see." Paul remained silent. He couldn't really respond. If he denied her, she would insist he was lying. If he agreed, she would feel pleased with herself for her discovery, even if it was blatantly obvious. Are there really any people in the world who's whole life revolves around scowling and hating people? There's always a reason. And having a reason means there's more to them than being an ass*hole.

"Guess I must be right," Dawn concluded.

Really? How fascinating! thought Paul.

"There's got to be a more complex person behind that frowny face!"

You don't say?

I'm going to find him! I'm going to bring out the real Paul!

Wait. What? Paul wanted to sneer at her, but her words scared him. Nothing scared him more than the thought of letting someone get that close to him again. He knew the real Paul. People didn't tend to like the real Paul any more than the Paul he pretended to be.

Paul relaxed. He was safe. No one could get to the real Paul unless he let them. He had the key to the mint. And he chose who he gave it to with care, which was no one. He'd never let this troublesome girl get that close to him!

Paul laughed out loud. "You really think I'd let someone like you figure me out like a puzzle?" he asked. Dawn scowled. "Let me tell you something, Troublesome." They stopped walking and he looked down so he was staring directly into her bright blue eyes.

"I am a puzzle, and no one has ever figured me out."

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"We're headed off to the music store," Leaf said. She grabbed Gary's arm and ran off with him. He smiled as he followed her.

"They're acting like kids who can't wait to go to the toy store," May said, slightly puzzled and very curious.

"They're music lovers," Drew said casually, shrugging his shoulders.

"I love music too, but I don't act all goofy at the mention of musical instruments," May said.

"Do you even play a musical instrument?"

"Well, duh. I play saxophone! Alto, Tenor, and Bari."

"Impressive. I was in the drum line once upon a time," Drew said wistfully.

"Oh really? Why'd you quit?" May asked.

"Didn't quit. Broke too many mallets and the band director kicked my butt down to study hall."

May laughed. Suddenly, a store caught her eye. "Oh, Drew! Let's go into the bookstore! There's this series that Dawn wants me to get into, and I've been meaning to purchase the first book."

"Umm, sure!" Drew said. I want to go to the bookstore too, but I was hoping to go when you were in the bathroom or something!

May skipped off toward the bookstore and he followed behind. She was way more attentive than Ash. He doubted he could get away with buying something and her not knowing about it. Would she laugh when she found out about his secret hobby?"

Once inside, May went straight to the teen novels section. "Hello, Pretty Little Liars books! I remember the days where I was obsessed with you, but now I've read you all and I'll never do it again!"

She's talking to books. Well, she's a lot happier than she was when I first met her! Drew smiled at his thoughts. May really had come a long way in just three weeks. She still had bad days, but most of the time she was pretty peppy. Her energy gave him energy. He really liked that. What was he going to do when they went back home?

"This is it!" May said, holding up a book titled Divergent. Drew smiled. He loved that book and the two that came after it.

"Awesome. Why don't you go buy it and I'll meet you out front in a few minutes."

May's smile faded. "Why don't you want me to see what you're buying?"

"Who mentioned buying things? I'm not buying anything!" Drew said, trying to sound calm but failing miserably.

May gave him a sly look. "You're not into Fifty Shades of Gray or something, are you?"

"What? No!" Drew blushed madly. He actually had read those books, but he couldn't tell May that! The fact that she mentioned a book that was so well known for sex shocked him. She really was doing a lot better!

"Then what is it, Drew?" May's playful tone was gone. She seemed a little cautious. Like she thought that what he was hiding would hurt her. Or she was hurt that he was hiding it.

Drew sighed. "Come with me," he said. He lead her over to the adult romance novels. May looked surprised.

"I've read this one, this one, this one, this one, this one..." he pointed at each book in turn. He pointed at about thirty books, and May's eyes grew wide.

"I'm into romance." he concluded. "I like it."

"Well, that would explain why you're so smooth," May said with a giggle. Drew felt disappointed. She was laughing at him. She must have noticed his disappointment, because her face became serious.

"I'm not making fun of you," she said firmly.

"Promise?"

"Of course." Her eyes were so sincere. They were blue, and honest. Despite everything that had happened to her, Drew could see that somehow May had retained her innocence. He marveled at how that was even possible. They looked at each other like that for a few seconds. Drew really wanted to kiss her, but he knew that he couldn't. He was afraid to make any sort of move like that on her, and besides, he didn't even know if he liked her back. She probably didn't want to be in another relationship for a very long time.

"Thank you, May," he said as he broke eye contact with her. "Now let's go pay for our books."

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Misty laughed lightly at a joke Rudy made. She had to admit that she wasn't having a totally bad time. Either he really had changed, or he was just putting in a lot of extra effort. She hoped with all her heart that he had changed. Yeah, he'd been a little rude to her friends since he'd gotten here, but he'd been very nice to her.

They were currently sitting on a bench, enjoying some ice cream. He'd paid for hers, which she didn't mind. When it came to that sort of thing, she didn't really care. She just wanted someone who wouldn't try to fight her battles for her. Paying for ice cream was totally okay.

So, what are you thinking, Misty?" Rudy asked. "Will you take me back?"

"Oh Rudy, don't ask me to make that decision right now," she said. "Can't I think about it tonight?"

"I guess so. But seriously, Misty? Is there really something you see in the Pikachu guy that can compare to me?"

Misty shrugged. "Well, yeah. If there wasn't anything special about him, then this decision would be a heck off a lot easier to make."

"But it's still pretty easy, right?"

"Just stop. I'm not giving you an answer today," Misty said firmly. Couldn't he just let it go?

"I only have one more day here before I have to go back home."

"Oh. Are you leaving tomorrow then?"

"At 6 O'clock in the evening, my plane takes off. So I'll be leaving the hotel around 5:00 or even 4:30 maybe."

"I'll give you an answer before you leave," she assured him.

"I'm getting tired of waiting, Misty."

"Then why didn't you just stay in Jubilife City and get back with Melody?"

"That's what I'll do if you reject me."

Misty gasped inwardly. He had someone lined up already if she said no? Of course he did. This was Rudy. She should have known better.

Rudy sensed her anxiety. "What? What did I say?"

He's completely oblivious. "You said you don't even like Melody anymore, but you're planning on going back to her if I say no? It sounds like you do like her then."

"I like both of you," Rudy explained. "But I like you better. I'd rather be with you, but I'll settle with her if I have to."

Misty looked away, her voice quivering a little. "If that's the case, then I don't know why you bothered coming out here. You can have your answer tonight after all, Rudy. I choose Ash."

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Yaaaaay! Chapter 20 is done! So obviously, we'll have a big Pokeshipping moment next chapter.

Please review! I'd really appreciate the support and any comments! I'll update again in a day or two! Maybe three. I'm going to try and not have more than three days between updates. If this story is on the verge of being deleted by the administrators, it seems to take several months for them to get around to it (according to people who've had it happen to them). They also won't give me a warning if it happens. It'll just be poof! Gone. So I'm going to finish as fast as I can. I won't be able to update between the 22nd and the 28th. I'll be at camp. So this story should, theoretically, be complete by mid-July, which is when my birthday is! Maybe I'll post the last chapter on my birthday. We'll see. Well, this stopped being informative, so I'll go post this now. Bye!