Chapter 13: Dance, Descent, Destiny

It was finally time. Serena and Lisia had wrapped up their routine to overwhelming cheers from the audience—likely as there were a few fans of the idols in the stands—and the support from the judges was exceptional as well. Both of the idols waved their crowd goodbye as they recalled their Pokémon, and turned back towards the connecting hallway to the contest grounds.

Walking inside, the two smiled as Dawn and Goh were approaching, getting ready to emerge for their dance.

"Good luck, you two!" Serena cheerfully called out, "Have fun!"

"No need to worry, Serena! You two were great!" Dawn complimented her friend as the pairs of coordinators passed each other.

Goh exhaled, then nodded.

"Alright, Dawn. Let's do this!" Goh shouted as he took off in a jog towards the entrance to the stadium.

"Right!" Dawn replied in kind, keeping pace with him.

Both of the coordinators' hearts raced as they caught Marian's announcement over the loudspeakers, "Okay, everyone! Now let's get our next team onto the stage! Please welcome back, Dawn and Goh!"

The wind hit their faces and clothes as the pair of friends rushed onto the contest grounds, the crowd greeting them with a cheer to see a fan-favorite return of the spectacular duo that was responsible for the shockingly amazing first-round appeal. Dawn waved both of her hands at the cheering crowd, while Goh kept running, concentrating on the stage ahead.

"There they are!" Conway excitedly pointed out, the boy not knowing how much he truly was getting invested in the contest.

"Lup! Lup! Lup! Rook! Rook! Rook!" Dawn and Goh's cheerleaders sprang into action, shaking their pom poms as the two Pokémon caught a glimpse of their trainers running onto the stage.

The sound of the crowd was, quite frankly, overwhelming to the two. It seemed that Dawn and Goh had really left a big impression on them, and it would take an incredible dance routine to follow up with their appeal from the first round. Nevertheless, together on the stage, Dawn and Goh beamed with confidence and determination to get to the final round of the Hearthome City Doubles Contest, and win that pair of ribbons.

Not a word was shared between the boy and girl. Both had their brightest smiles yet as they settled onto the stage, and took their Pokéballs out.

Dawn wished she was wearing gloves like Goh. Her hands were beginning to get sweaty from the anticipation, feeling it against the metal of the Pokéball.

Mr. Contesta nodded, and Marian handed the dance floor off to the pair, "Alright, let's see both of you surprise us once more! Take it away, Dawn and Goh!"

Eyes open.

Smiles wide.

It was time!

"Buneary!" Dawn held her Pokéball up towards the spotlight.

"Cinderace!" Goh mimicked his contest partner's pose.

"Spooooot~!" Dawn twirled on the floor, letting the momentum release the capsule up into the air as Goh finished the catchphrase that Dawn started, slinging his Pokéball into the sky as well, "-Light~!"

Buneary and Cinderace emerged, the seals activating on the Pokéballs to combine together and unleash bright yellow stars that descended all around the twos' trainers, followed by a searing fireball that crashed down in front, dissipating to reveal both of the rabbit Pokémon posing in salute.

"Buneary~!" Dawn's Pokémon partner cheerfully chittered as it was free on the stage.

"Ace!" Cinderace posed behind Buneary, its feet already doing little hops left and right in anticipation for the dance.

With the music beginning and their Pokémon partners ready, Dawn and Goh gave a quick look at each other before opening up with their number. The song's strong opening called for strong moves to suit. Dawn and Goh found these to be in no short supply, much to the delight of the audience and judges.

"Step-step-right, go!" Dawn shouted in her mind as her footwork came to life, the motions of her hands waving, piercing, reaching.

As Goh began his movements as well, he couldn't help but be unable to shake the grin off of his face. For such a long time, only Ash had known much about his dancing practice with Cinderace, and as for Chloe… he felt that she knew enough embarrassing things about the boy. But here, even with over a thousand eyes watching down on him and Dawn, the Pokémon catcher felt as if a massive burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

And with that pressure gone, Goh felt weightless.

As if they were in perfect sync, the boy and the girl in the middle of the stadium didn't even work through the slower beginning section of the soundtrack, but seemed to be carried along, each tap of a foot, each wave of a hand, each turn of a head—everything matched up.

A brief wind-down of the song crawled as Dawn and Goh's dance slowed down to equal pace, the crowd hollering with excitement as Cinderace and Buneary mimicked their trainers before the music instantly picked back up again.

Piplup and Grookey were going absolutely ham with their pom poms, and Conway felt his head bobbing back and forth with the beat of the catchy song. The audience was cheering on as the two lit up the dance floor, and the judges were tapping their fingers on their desks subconsciously as the dance routine played out.

Then, the drop to the music came, with Dawn and Goh sharing a surprise they had in store.

Along with the lyrics, they shouted out, "One~! Two~! Three~!"

A quick, precise, and echoing double clap pierced through the song and loudspeakers as Dawn and Goh clapped their hands together, along with Buneary and Cinderace doing so with their ears, in the case of Buneary, or paws, with Cinderace.

Conway chuckled as the pack of contest watchers waved around lightsticks to support the duo, the boy half-mindedly picking one up, turning it on, and holding it into the air solidly. He held it straight up, an unmoving beacon in a sea of moving strobes.

Out of the corner of their eyes, Dawn and Goh caught one split-second glimpse of Conway, along with the cheering Piplup and Grookey. It sounded impossible, but their spirits were moved even higher. In a sweeping pass by each other's sides, the two giggled.

They were having a blast.

However, next would come a critical part of the routine. Dawn and Goh took their places away from each other, both holding out their hands.

"Cinderace!" Goh called out, dashingly posing as Cinderace readied itself mid-dance.

"Buneary!" Dawn shouted with a smile, the two coming into position.

"Stars Alight!" the two called out their specially named contest combination, much to the curiosity and surprise of the judges. The audience instantly came to the edge of their seats to see what else this duo would have in store.

"Bun! Bun! Bun!" Buneary chittered as it started off with its Bounce move, bounding towards Cinderace, who was running towards the center of the dance stage.

"Cinder…!" the Striker Pokémon suddenly dropped onto its back, holding its massive pawed feet into the air like a landing pad, igniting its heels with Blaze Kick. The audience gasped as Buneary somersaulted towards the fiery platforms, its ears beginning to glow from Dizzy Punch.

Touchdown!

The Blaze Kick seared as the fighting forces of Buneary's Dizzy Punch made contact with Cinderace's attack, crackling with energy as the heat began to transfer to the glowing white ears of the upside-down Buneary.

"And, into the air!" Dawn spread her arms out, up into the air.

"Cinder-Ace! Bun-Ear!" the two Pokémon exclaimed as Cinderace springboarded Buneary up over the dance floor with its legs.

Conway's glasses reflected light as he dropped the lightstick he was holding at the sight of Buneary being launched up, the little Pokémon now spinning as it flicked the fire from its ears, combined with the stored power from Dizzy Punch. Amazement gripped the spectators as flaming stars began to ring out from the spinning little Rabbit Pokémon, falling slowly towards the ground in a spectacular fashion.

Amidst the meteor shower, Dawn and Goh began to close in on each other once more, dodging the sparkling and flaming debris from the move effortlessly as they weaved in circles. Once more, as the beat came and the lyrics counted, Dawn and Goh struck a pose before they clapped their hands twice in time with the music score.

This time, the audience clapped with them.

"This is it! Halfway there! We're going to make it!" Dawn was practically squeeing in her head, her heart beating in fever-pitch.

"Here it comes… the midway mark!" Goh steeled himself for the pass-by move the two would make across each other to strike a pose.

The soundtrack began to approach the critical moment where Dawn and Goh planned for the swift convergence into the boastful transition, moving to the second half of the routine.

As Buneary touched the ground, the last of the stars falling away, along with Dawn giving a quick sigh of relief in seeing Buneary not dizzy thanks to Goh's advice, the convergence began.

"Okay, Buneary and Cinderace! Get ready with Frostfire!" the next special appeal move was called out by Dawn, with the two Pokémon moving back as the two coordinators moved forwards. Both leaping into the air, Cinderace began to start up Pyro Ball, while Buneary channeled Ice Beam in front of its face.

If they timed this right, the attacks would collide just as they struck the pose!

Smiles on their faces, Dawn and Goh swiftly passed the other coordinator.

They could see each other's faces for just a brief moment. From Dawn, Goh seemed to be having the time of his life. He seemed… free. In the moment. By her side.

Goh saw that same warm smile that always brightened up every day ever since he started training with Dawn. Even though he might have thought differently, it was one of the biggest things that kept her going.

That smile.

The same smile that was slowly disappearing from Dawn's face.

The boy blinked as he heard the noise.

Dawn's foot buckled to the side as her high heel crashed along with her foot.

The world had gone silent for the two as both Cinderace and Buneary gasped in shock as their moves fired off, arcing towards each other in the air above the duo.

Goh no longer heard the cheers of the audience, the sounds of the attacks blasting off over them, or even the music they were dancing to as it slowed down for its pause. He could only listen to the pained breaths of the girl, who knew, in that moment, it was all over for her.

Dawn fell backwards.

She could do nothing but reach out with a hand towards nothingness.

The girl knew that the moment she clattered to the floor like a ragdoll, all of that work, all of that training, and every emotion she and Goh had felt would have been for naught. Milliseconds felt like hours as the girl in the white dress fell backwards, tripping over her own foot.

Had this been expected? Why now of all times?

It didn't matter. The only thing Dawn could see was the floor tipping away from her as the ceiling of the stadium replaced her vision, her hair flowing back from the momentum of the doomed mistake-

"I've got you!"

Goh lunged back, reaching out with an arm behind Dawn's back, cupping at her waist while his other gloved hand touched and squeezed Dawn's hand. Inches from striking the floor, the force of Dawn's fall pulled Goh down with her, his nose the same distance away from Dawn's. The boy, however, slammed a foot forward and halted the plunge. His contest partner's hair sprawled over the dance floor as she had come dangerously close to making contact.

The moment Dawn was in Goh's embrace, she let out a gasp. Her eyes shimmered as she blinked at the stoic face of her savior.

The two froze in place the moment Pyro Ball and Ice Beam collided and detonated together above the two coordinators, sending blue and white comets raining down around them.

The audience collectively let out a gasp. Piplup's beak dropped onto the seat it was standing on. Grookey scratched its head, as this too was not part of the routine it had seen.

Conway's glasses glowed with light as he adjusted them, letting out a single word, "Interesting."

The judging panel had a mixture of reactions. Contesta's mouth hung open from the unexpected move. Mr. Sukizo gawked in surprise at the remarkable turn of events. Pierre's eyes widened at the display. Matilda simply raised an eyebrow.

Dawn could hear Goh's breathing. Goh could hear Dawn's.

The music was just about to start up again for the second half. Goh knew what he had to do, but if he went along with it…

There was no time.

He brought Dawn back up, the girl gasping once more as she was held close to Goh, his right hand on her waist, and his left joined with hers.

"I won't let you down."

A glance above would find Goh realizing that he was in the path of a descending meteor. Dawn didn't make a sound as she kept gazing upon Goh's face as he pulled her away from the crashing comet, impacting onto the ground and shattering in a dazzling display of sparkles.

Once dancing apart, the two now moved as one, with Goh weaving along with Dawn. To say that he was pulling her along wouldn't be accurate. The boy could hear the deliberation in her footsteps. She was swaying, twirling, and gliding with Goh across the dance floor with the revived music.

One by one, the pair danced through the showering comets, with Cinderace and Buneary quickly springing into action to launch another Dizzy Punch and Blaze Kick combo, showering the two coordinators with more fiery stars to fly around together.

Goh's heart raced like Ash's Pikachu as he wondered if what Dawn was doing was only a means to save the dance, joining him in the embrace without a sound.

Dawn, on the other hand, no longer heard the music, nor the crowd that was now cheering like it never had before. She only heard her and Goh's footsteps, and could only listen to the breaths coming from Goh's mouth. She didn't know it, but her own mouth was slightly agape as she kept her eyes on the boy's face, watching as the spotlights glinted in his crystalline blue eyes.

The light of the descending meteors shone off of Dawn's dress, and Goh's tuxedo, as well as cast their shadows onto the contest grounds, the cascades stepping and dancing with their hosts. The intensity of the moment the two coordinators shared could only be matched by a fraction by the applause and cheers of the audience watching over them, with more than a thousand eyes witnessing the close and intimate dance.

"Cinder-Ace! Buneary!" Cinderace and Buneary took to supportive roles at the reversal, both crying out, The crowd was won over by the display, as all eyes were on Dawn and Goh, with both Pokémon devoting themselves to bringing their trainers even more into the spotlight. The two Pokémon kept up their dance moves with the beat of the music, unleashing more bright and dazzling contest combinations to rain down fiery stars, or descending comets.

Now Conway had seen everything. Dawn and Goh were dancing with each other, mimicking their previous pop-like moves on the dance floor, but now in each other's embrace as they flawlessly sliced and glided around the falling stars. Piplup and Grookey found it hard to overpower the absolutely energetic audience showering the two coordinators in applause with their own cheers.

Back and forth. Around and around. Their routine, once separate, had now come together.

Their eyes gazed into one another's. Goh's gaze was one of determination, yet also of fear. Dawn's eyes only shimmered as her lips stayed ever so slightly apart.

The only time when Goh could hear the music begin to come back to his ears was when the ending was beginning to rapidly approach. He couldn't let go of Dawn. She wouldn't let go of him. It was as if the two refused to separate from each other.

An ending would have to be made, and from this one situation, Goh could only think of one way.

He prayed that Dawn would forgive him.

With one more dip, Goh swung Dawn down once more. A sound escaped from her lips, the first since he had stopped her fall. It wasn't a gasp, but it carried the same tone of surprise. There was something else contained within it too, only released when Dawn's face was once more just inches from Goh's.

The two panted, sweat beading down from their foreheads as their chests moved up and down. Goh couldn't even believe what he was really doing. The timing of the dip synchronized with the end of the song, the final note flourishing as it struck. Cinderace and Buneary kept their smiles on their faces as they now extended their paws towards the two coordinators under the spotlight.

As Goh held Dawn, the sound of the clapping from the audience, and even from the judges, began to find its way to both. As if a trance had been broken, the two inhaled from shock as Goh brought Dawn back up. Slowly, they let each other go.

Whatever words Marian said through the loudspeaker were indiscernible, as well as those of the judges. Dawn and Goh simply nodded along.

There weren't any smiles this time at the end of their performance. There was only adrenaline, and the horrid emotional crash as it began to wear off.

"See? Told you they were a couple."

Ursula's words seemed to have not reached Kenny, as he sat on the seat in front of his changing room mirror, swiveled to the side as his eyes glossed over the display screen of Dawn and Goh's dance routine. That one moment, although long past, played in his eyes again and again.

The cameras were too far away to pick up on the faces of the two coordinators, as each comet or fiery star the pair spiraled and weaved past had ended up bringing the image out of focus each time. The expressions the two held couldn't be discerned, but Kenny knew which were held by those two. It would be the same display they always gave, ever since he saw the two together at the Contest Hall when they were signing up together.

Smiles.

Kenny just let out an exhale and leaned back in his chair.

For Ursula, what was happening right now was unacceptable. Even though she truly couldn't care the slightest bit about her partner's love life, the girl had to admit that seeing this boy's soul and will leave his body like that was a painful image to behold. However, concerned or not, Kenny had to snap out of this state right this instant.

"Hey, Kenny," Ursula walked over, and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. He remained motionless.

"I'm sorry," Ursula sighed, giving him a pat, "I really hoped my suspicions wouldn't have been proven right, but… yeah. That's rough, Kenny."

The boy pursed his lips, and put his hand on his forehead. There wasn't a whimper, a sob, or even a crack in his voice. Instead, just came… defeat.

"It doesn't matter now," Kenny shook his head, his eyes narrowing at the television.

His mind screamed. His temple throbbed. His fingers clenched the armrest.

And yet, one voice prevailed in his head.

"Alright, Goh. I want you to make it to the next round. I want to witness for myself what Dee Dee sees in you."

"You okay?" Ursula asked once more. Kenny hadn't heard the first time, but he had picked up on the second.

The boy grinned.

"Never better."

Silence.

It was deafening.

Cinderace and Buneary had only received quick, yet still heartfelt praise from their respective trainers before being recalled back inside their Pokéballs. The walk back to the now much-less-packed coordinator waiting room had been done without a word between Dawn and Goh. As many of the other coordinators had now gone into the audience stands to watch the rest of the contest play out, Dawn and Goh found themselves alone as Zoey and Nando had expressed their resounding reaction to their dance, only to be met with nothing in return.

Dawn's friend wanted to pause to see what was the matter between the two, but time was of the essence for them. Even Nando could see the nothingness between them.

Ursula and Kenny were nowhere to be seen, and oddly enough, Serena and Lisia were absent. Most likely they had gone to their changing rooms.

The two sat down on one of the benches in the waiting room, both staring at the floor. Their hearts still pounded and raced inside their chests. Dawn gripped her dress as she curled her toes inside her shoes, daring not to look at Goh lest she become lost in his eyes once more. Goh, on the other hand, felt as if doom was creeping over his back.

Finally, Dawn turned her head to the side.

Coincidentally, Goh did the same.

Their eyes only met for a split second before Goh suddenly stood up from the bench, "I-I need to make a phone call real quick! It won't take long!"

The boy began to walk away, breaking into a jog as he rounded the corner of one of the changing room hallways. Dawn strained to reach a hand out for him, let alone open her mouth. She could do neither.

The moment the boy ran out of sight, he grabbed his face with both of his hands and slid his back down the wall.

"I messed up I messed up I messed up I messed up-" the boy played on repeat in his head. All he wanted to do was save the dance, and save Dawn in front of the judges.

He had gone too far despite this.

She wouldn't speak to him now.

Dawn wouldn't even look at him.

All of that effort to shield her away from the pressure of them being confused as a couple had gone up in flames.

"What was I supposed to do? Let her fall?!" Goh's head leaned against the cold, hard surface of the hallway's wall, "I promised I wouldn't let her down…"

The boy sighed, a tear beginning to well in his eye, "Guess I somehow keep finding a way."

The blonde-haired girl had witnessed the whole ordeal. While her contest partner was in their changing room, Serena had opted to go get a refreshment from a vending machine, only to stumble upon the scene that lay in front of her.

Truth be told, Dawn and Goh's dance routine was incredible, and the judges seemed to agree as well. But instead of celebrations, like those following their appeal, the two didn't even seem to acknowledge each other's presence.

Goh had left in a flustered fit, leaving Dawn alone on the bench. Something was off.

Serena pursed her lips. She wished that Zoey was here to talk with Dawn. She'd know what was up for sure. And yet, she and Nando wouldn't be returning for a while.

The idol shook her head. She took a deep breath, and walked into the waiting room, giving a friendly wave to Dawn, "Hey there, Dawn. Is everything okay?"

Thankfully, Dawn did manage to turn her head and give a weak smile to the approaching girl, "Oh. H-Hey, Serena. No need to worry about me."

Serena grit her teeth behind her warm and caring face. There was every reason to worry right now with that tone of voice that Dawn was giving her. It felt so confused and scared.

"Dawn, how about we go get something to drink? Maybe a lemonade? It's my treat," Serena tried to usher Dawn from the bench. Much to her relief, it seemed to work as Dawn took note of how parched she really was, and took Serena up on her offer. Together, the two girls walked out of the waiting room in search of a vending machine.

Serena tapped her fingers on her arm as she wasted no time in getting to the point, "So… you and Goh's dance. I was really impressed by it! It seemed so…"

Dawn began to feel worse and worse as Serena easily knew what word to describe what she and Goh had appeared to be on the dance floor.

"Intimate."

"Ughhhhhhh~! Serenaaaaaa~!" Dawn threw her head back, her hair falling straight down.

"I-I'm sorry! I guess I should've worded that a bit differently!" the idol threw her hands over her mouth.

"N-No, it's just… argh! It's all my fault that he had to do all of that!" Dawn let out an anguished exhale, her head now flopping back over to hang down from the front, "I tripped on my own two feet, and he had to catch me! Then… everything else… he…"

Serena couldn't believe what she was hearing. That dip halfway through their dance number wasn't planned… it was an accident? That must mean that when Goh caught Dawn and he pulled her back up, dancing together between falling stars-

Oh.

Oh no.

"And then I went along with it too!" Dawn recentered her posture to face Serena, nearly shouting in her face, "And I know I just had the stupidest look on my face when I looked into his eyes! I'm just now realizing I had my mouth open the whole time- ughhhhhhhhhhh~!"

Wait, what?

Serena blinked.

She was beginning to get incredibly mixed signals here.

"Dawn… can I ask you something?" Serena tilted her head to the side.

"He's not my boyfriend, Serena," Dawn answered from the get-go. Serena waved her hands.

"I'm not saying he is. Just… I need you to answer honestly, and this is important," Serena gripped Dawn's shoulders, earning a surprised jolt from the girl, "How do you think Goh feels?"

Just as Serena blinked before, Dawn now did the same, "H-How Goh feels?"

"When you two were there. Not right now, not right after, but there on the dance floor at that moment…" Serena took a deep breath, "Dawn, if you were given the chance to do all of that again, but with no one watching, and no one ever finding out… would you fall like that once more in hope that he'd catch you?"

The coordinator's eyes danced around, hoping to land anywhere but on Serena's interrogative gaze. She gave a little chuckle, brushing aside the strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face, "Well, yeah? I never meant to fall and get caught like that, and then dance together… just the two of us-"

Her quivering voice stopped. Serena spotted it. Dawn's cheeks were alight with red.

"W-Wait, wait, wait! No! It's not what you think, Serena! Me and Goh are just friends! Contest partners!" Dawn hastily tried backpedaling.

This only got a tiny smile to crack on Serena's face, the idol giggling as the coordinator flustered up like she never had in her life before.

"Serena, I mean it! I mean, there's no way he'd feel that way about me! He caught me so I wouldn't fall!" Dawn argued, the pursuit for the vending machine clearly becoming lost to the two girls in the hallway.

"Oh, not so sure about his feelings too? I get it. Some days, I used to worry the same!" Serena chuckled.

"Worry the same? What do you mean by that?" Dawn asked, confused at Serena's second response.

"I… uh… don't worry about it! I was just thinking out loud!" Serena twirled a finger in one of her bangs before she straightened up again, "Seriously, Dawn, just take a few deep breaths. I'm sure that Goh's just worried that you took all of this the wrong way, and are super mad at him. I think what you need to do is clear everything up!"

"I can't."

Serena raised an eyebrow, "You… can't?"

Dawn nodded, and looked back up at Serena. Her cheeks were still flushed with that rosy red color, "I… I just…"

The girl's arms dropped, as if conceding a battle she had been fighting for days upon days, a battle that she had been unknowingly waging against herself. The weight of everything crashing down onto her mind and heart was almost unbearable.

The coordinator sighed, startling Serena when she put her forehead down on the idol's shoulder, whispering in quivering breaths, "Serena… I think… I think I like him. As in… really, really like him."

"Oh…" Serena gently cooed, patting Dawn's back, "That's okay, Dawn. There's nothing wrong with that-"

"Nothing wrong with that- Serena?! Me and Goh are in the middle of a contest right now!" Dawn exclaimed, jumping away from Serena's embrace. The idol rubbed a finger in her ear.

"Ow… a little loud."

"S-Sorry."

"It's okay, Dawn! And I mean that about you and Goh," the honey-blonde girl gave her friend a reassuring smile, "The two of you really must have been through a lot, even before today, right?"

Dawn affirmed this as she rubbed both of her arms with her hands, thinking back to every word the two shared between each other, "Y-Yeah… I guess you could say that."

"Fun?" Serena asked.

"Lots," Dawn confirmed.

"Laughs?" Serena inquired.

"Maybe a little too much at his expense…" Dawn couldn't help but crack a smile.

"...fights?" the last question came.

"Yeah," Dawn couldn't help but nod, "All in such a short time… b-but me liking Goh like that just after that dance… isn't that just a bit hasty from my end?!"

"Sounds to me that maaaaaybe… this might've been brewing for a while," Serena closed her eyes and gave Dawn a smile, "Besides… I think Goh's a pretty charming guy. He seems articulate, and he's kinda cute in that tuxedo!"

"Ex-cuse me?" Dawn narrowed her eyes at Serena before realizing the dead giveaway she just made with her sudden ire, the girl now falling back to her flustered self, "Wow. I'm… a mess."

Serena giggled once more before winking at Dawn, "Probably not as much of a mess as your partner is right now. Tell you what! Let's get both of you a lemonade, and you can tell him that you do, in fact, not hate his guts for stopping that fall. No confession or anything needed here! Now, how does that sound?"

The coordinator swallowed.

Dawn was still in turmoil over everything about Goh. That dance, how he was afterwards, how she couldn't even talk to him, and everything that had come before. When Goh was so… close to her, Dawn felt at ease. The sounds of everything else but her and Goh's breathing and the tapping of their feet were noise in silence that the girl now realized she longed to hear again.

Then, she clenched her fists.

Whatever her feelings were, it didn't matter right now. Goh needed to be reassured, not just for their chances at winning the contest, but for his own mental sake.

With that, Dawn's smile grew upon her face once more, and she gave a little giggle, "You know what? No need to worry, Serena! The lemonades are on me!"

"Sooner or later, you'll have to tell her."

The nagging was incessant inside of Goh's head.

"Yeah, and when you do, she'll never want to see you again."

A headache was coming on, the boy just knew it.

"What was the point of saving that dance if you've gotten her to hate you for it?!"

Goh looked up at the ceiling lights once again, "Argh! Why didn't I just… think?!"

A little aluminum capsule dangled to the right of Goh's face.

Glancing to his side, he saw Dawn, still clad in that gorgeous white dress, bending her knees in front of her chest as she lowered herself down to him, holding out a can of lemonade.

"Hey, Goh," Dawn gave the boy a smile, something he desperately needed, "I got you this."

Goh blinked, and let the can fall into his hand. The cold metal was felt even through his gloves as he remembered how thirsty he had become after the dance.

Before he could open his mouth again, Dawn spoke up, "Goh, I want to make something clear. I understand why you did that, and continued our dance routine like that."

The boy felt his heart sink, and yet, he needed to know what she would say exactly.

"But… please, Goh. I don't hate you or anything for it. If anything… I should've thanked you for that quick thinking of yours," the girl giggled, earning a faint blush from the boy, "You pretty much saved us right then and there!"

He blinked again, looking down at the lemonade can Dawn had gifted him. The boy instantly teared up. It was yet another gift Dawn had bestowed upon him. All of that room service, the breakfast, the seals, the very tuxedo he was wearing…

His lips quivered as Dawn's expression changed to one of shock and horror, unsure how she managed to upset the boy even further, "G-Goh, I'm sorry! If I said anything-"

Goh sniffled, wiping the tear from his eye, "N-No. It's just… all of this stuff that you've done for me… I just-"

At this, Dawn's mouth parted a tiny bit before she tilted her head, and gave her contest partner a beaming grin.

"No need to worry, Goh."

The boy's mouth hung open.

The girl smiled warmly.

Together, their cheeks swelled as the two began to giggle, chuckle, and then culminate into a laugh. Faces alight with blushing, the contest partners couldn't help themselves. There wasn't anything funny to really react this way to.

It just felt good to smile again.