Update coming right at you! I haven't had any more problems from Critics United so far... but they did say they reported my story. Which still gives me cause to worry. Everything's just up in the air and nothing is certain. Ugh.

I do want to tell you that I have a new story planned for when I'm done with this one. I feel like fanfiction has improved my writing skills, and I would like to keep writing here, and I hope that a lot of you will read my next story too. I'll have more information for you as we near the end of this story.

Disclaimer: I'm not Asian enough to own Pokemon (no racism intended).

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Ash sulked in the hotel room. Everyone was still out. Drew and Gary and May and Leaf were still at the mall, Dawn and Paul were who knows where, and Misty. Was. Still. Out. With. Rudy.

Ash was furious about the whole ordeal. He'd stood up for Misty. He'd been willing to compete for her against a trainer he knew nothing about strategy wise, and what had she done? She'd decided to give the other guy yet another chance, when Ash had never even had one at all. After all the great time they had spent together, she'd blown him off to give Rudy one last shot. How many times had she said that he treated her better than Rudy did? How many times had she talked about what a jerk Rudy was? And they had even kissed - even if it was under strange circumstances. Ash had thought for sure that Misty was going to become his girlfriend, and now all that hope had been snatched away from him.

He sighed in disappointment. This wasn't the first time he'd been rejected. Many girls had turned him down. It was always the same list of excuses. He was too dumb or too focused on food and pokemon or just not attractive enough for the girl. This time though, none of those reasons were the cause of rejection. He didn't even know how Misty could possibly prefer Rudy over him.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the hotel room door. Gary and Drew probably forgot their room keys again. Ash went to answer it and almost fell down when he saw Misty standing there. Her eyes were cast down at the floor and she looked shy. That wasn't normal.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Ash asked, almost coldly. He was really only being cautious though.

"He's not my boyfriend," Misty said, looking up. "And he isn't going to be."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

There was a long silence between them. Neither knew what to do. Ash didn't know if this meant that Misty had chosen him or not. And Misty didn't know how to tell him that was the case.

"Come in, " Ash finally said. He lead her into the room, and he sat on the edge of one of the beds. She would have sat next to him, but she was too nervous. She sat in the big white chair in the corner, identical to the one in the girls' hotel room.

"I'm sorry that I, in a way, sort of cheated you, Ash. I shouldn't have given Rudy a chance when he showed up here. Not after I lead you on like that, telling you how horrible he was and how much better than him you are. I made a mistake."

"Which mistake, Misty? Giving him a chance, or leading me on? Are you saying that you regret becoming close to me?" Ash was on edge. Was she going to reject him too, and remain single, or was she going to tell him that he had won her heart?

"No. Not at all. I could never regret getting to know you. You're amazing," she said.

"You're amazing too," said Ash.

"I want to be with you, Ash. Because... I love you."

"Yes!" Ash jumped off of the bed and ran to Misty's chair. He picked her up and swung her around and around, causing her to giggle happily. Eventually he stopped, and he sat down in the chair with Misty in his lap.

"You're forgetting something," Misty whispered in his ear.

"I am?"

"Yep."

"Oh! I love you too, Misty!" he said. She laughed and cuddled up against him. Maybe he wasn't perfect, but he was a perfect match for her.

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Dear Dawn,

I wish that I could be with you too. You have no idea how much I daydream about you. Sometimes I'll be hanging out with Barry and Lucas and I'll space out and imagine that you're next to me. Then one of them will smack me and bring me back into cold, hard reality. I miss you.

You keep telling me about everything that your friends are doing, but you've barely told me anything about what you're actually doing. You're always thinking of everyone else so much that you forget about yourself! It's one of the things I love about you, but could you please talk about your own experiences a little more? It would really help me feel closer to you.

XOXO...X Love, Kenny.

That last X in the good-bye was a little creepy. Dawn had felt all warm and fuzzy at the beginning of Kenny's email, but once she got to the end, she felt cold. How could she tell him about her experiences here? Most of them involved Paul. Almost all of them involved him. She was starting to feel extremely guilty about this vacation. Not just because she abandoned her boyfriend for the summer, but because she was spending so much time with another guy.

But it's not like we like each other. We don't even flirt, she reminded herself. She hadn't done anything wrong. She truly hadn't. So why did she feel so guilty?

It had been a week since Ash and Misty had started dating. The two of them spent a lot of time together now. They'd been going off alone almost every day, but they still spent time with their friends too. They weren't one of those couple's who always had to be alone and constantly suck each other's face.

Dawn was so pleased that Ash and Misty were dating that she had screamed when Misty told her. May and Leaf had screamed too. Finally, Misty was dating someone who would treat her right! Now they wouldn't have to deal with late night phone calls after fights and break ups. Misty would be so much happier with Ash.

Dawn thought about responding to Kenny right away, but she didn't have time. She didn't know what she would say anyways. She needed to come up with things she could tell him about without mentioning Paul. In fact, that's where she was headed. Paul had told her that he needed her help with something, and that she should meet him at the fountain in the middle of the mall. Dawn was suspicious about Paul actually wanting her around for something, but she had agreed to help him with whatever it was. She wouldn't be missed anyway. Leaf and Gary had gone off to their sacred music shop again, Ash and Misty had left for the beach early this morning, and May was still asleep.

Drew was in the room with them, sitting in the corner chair reading. He was waiting for May to wake up. Dawn was curious about what he was reading. The book had black duct tape over the cover so that no one could see what it was. She smiled inwardly at the thought of Drew reading Fifty Shades of Gray. That probably wasn't the case though.

She had gotten dressed in the bathroom because Drew was there, and she checked herself in the mirror one last time before she left. Perfection. She was wearing a pink strapless tank top that was a bit long on her, and khaki shorts that peaked out beneath it. Brown strappy sandals were on her feet and she had her hair down with her bangs clipped back. She briefly admired the tan she was getting and then she went out the door.

On her way to meet Paul, Dawn thought about what he could possibly need her help with. She really had no clue. Maybe he just wanted to push her into the fountain as soon as she arrived. He was mean enough to do that. Honestly, how could Ash, Gary, and Drew be friends with him?

Paul was waiting for her when she got there. He was sitting on the edge of the fountain, eating a donut. Probably his breakfast. It was only 9:00 a.m.

"Alright, Troublesome. Are you ready to help me?" he asked as he popped the last bit of donut into his mouth and brushed the sugar off of his hands.

"Well, what exactly do you need help with?" she asked.

"I need to buy something. But it's too embarrassing for me to do it myself. Plus, I don't even know what to pick out, and you, having such feminine taste, seemed like someone who would know what they're doing."

"Is it a pregnancy test?" Dawn asked.

"What?! No! Jeez! Are you crazy, Troublesome? God. What I need you to pick out is a piece of jewelry. A ring, to be exact. Before you ask the stupid question that just popped into your head, no. It is not an engagement ring. I'm only seventeen years old. I want you to pick out a normal ring. Something pretty, but not too expensive."

He's probably going to give it to the blue-haired girl. I guess my suspicions were right. Humph. He might need me to buy that pregnancy test soon enough.

"Who's it for?" she asked.

"You're always so nosey. Fine. I'll tell you who it's for after you buy it. Take your time selecting the one that you think is best. Here's two-hundred bucks. Get what you can. I'm not made of money." Paul handed her the money and she took it. She was tempted to pick out the ugliest ring possible for that girl, but Paul would know if she did that. Oh well. She did love to shop.

"I should be sprinting out of here with this money, but fine. I'll go do it," she said.

"Thanks. The store is right over there." Paul pointed to a jewelry shop.

Dawn went inside and marveled at all of the sparkling stones around her. There were diamonds and rubies and sapphires and emeralds and every other kind of stone used in jewelry.

"Can I help you?" the clerk at the counter asked.

"Yes," Dawn answered. "I'm looking for a ring. It's going to be a gift for my friend. My budget is two-hundred dollars though."

"Oh that's fine, dear. We have plenty of rings with imitation stones for less than two-hundred dollars. They're gold or silver plated though, so they're not totally cheap. Not as valuable as solid gold or silver of course, but you can't afford those." The clerk showed her to the section of the glass case with the rings in her price range. She was glad she wasn't trying to pick out the ugliest one, because they were all beautiful.

"What's your friend's favorite color?" the clerk asked.

"Umm, blue," Dawn answered. She knew the best color ring to get was one that matched the girl's hair.

"We have imitation sapphires and aquamarines right here. We also have blue-tinted imitation diamonds."

"They're all so pretty," said Dawn. "It might take me a while to decide."

"Take your time, dear."

Dawn inspected all of the options for several minutes. She ruled out the sapphires because she needed light blue. The aquamarines were pretty, and close enough to the color of the girl's hair to work. The blue tinted diamonds were lighter though, and a closer match. She'd narrowed it down to two options. A gold band with a square aquamarine, and a silver band with a circular light blue diamond.

"I'll take this one," she said, pointing to the diamond.

"An excellent choice," praised the clerk. It took a few more minutes to make the purchase, and then Dawn was able to leave the store. Paul was waiting for her beside the fountain where she'd left him, looking pleased as punch.

"Here it is," Dawn said, opening the little jewelry box to show him the diamond ring. "So, who's it for? You said you would tell me."

"No one," Paul answered.

"That's not fair! You said you would tell me!" Dawn whined, stamping her foot.

"No, Troublesome. It seriously isn't for anyone."

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked. She was beginning to feel impatient. Why had she gone to all that trouble if he wasn't even giving the ring to anyone? Paul pulled a fist out of his pocket and opened it up a little bit. Dawn gasped. Inside his fist were several pieces of jewelry: a couple necklaces, three rings, and a very expensive looking pin.

"While you distracted the clerk, I snuck in and helped myself," Paul explained.

"How did you... Don't they have really high security?! How'd you get under the glass?" Dawn whispered.

"I have my ways," Paul replied coolly.

"You've done this before," Dawn concluded.

"Yes."

"You stole. You stole thousands of dollars worth of jewelry. And I'm your accomplice! You conned me into being your accomplice!"

"Keep it down," Paul muttered, clamping a hand over her mouth and glancing at the people around them to make sure no one had heard. He kept the hand over her mouth. "In the event that I would get caught, which won't happen, I'll leave you out of it. So don't worry, okay? You can keep the ring you bought too. You deserve it."

Dawn glared at him. She knew she had to agree to go along with this now. She'd helped him. If she went against him, he would pull her down with him.

When he finally moved his hand away, she wanted to scream at him, but all that came out was a low, quiet, "I hate you."

Paul couldn't make eye contact with her. Something sad seemed to glaze over his eyes. "I don't blame you."

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So Paul's a thief. Sorry guys. You're probably all like, "Y U NO WRITE MORE FLUFF? WHERE IS THE IKARISHIPPING?" It's coming. I promise it's coming.

Please review! Tell me what you're thinking, give me a critique, or just talk for the sake of talking if that's what you're into. I really love writing for you guys and getting to know my readers is always a plus! I'll update in a few days! Thank you!