Dance, Dance

[cascade88]

Chapter 1


Characters Included:
Ash, May, Dawn, Drew, Cynthia, Paul, Casey, Max, Vivy Winstrate, and Misty
Pairings Focused Upon:
(eventual) AshxMay
(eventual) DrewxDawn
MaxxVivy
PaulxCasey
Setting: Highschool
Freshmen: Max, Vivy
Sophomores: Ash, May, Dawn, Casey
Juniors: Paul, Misty, Drew
Seniors: Cynthia
(A/N: In this fic, Eevee is still unevolved. Sorry if that might bug some of you, and I have nothing against Glaceon, but I'd really rather write about Eevee than its evolution for this, for reasons that should become clearer as the story progresses.)
"So, have you picked out a dress yet?" Dawn asked, as she nervously chewed on her fingernails, her other arm helping to hold her binder in place beneath her arm.
"For the dance?" May replied, as she withdrew a book from her locker, and then swung the metal door closed. "Yes--I got mine yesterday afternoon. Have you?"
"Not yet," the blunette admitted, still chewing on her fingernails as she glanced up and down the crowded hallway of her high school.
"Well you better do it soon--the dance is only a few days away..." May said, turning to face her friend, and only then noticing the near-paranoid behavior that she was exhibiting. "Are you alright?"
"Of course I'm alright," Dawn answered, only then removing her fingers from her mouth. "Which, by the way, does my hair look alright?"
May arched an eyebrow, before answering in a lazy sort of tone,
"Yes, it looks fine. It looked fine an hour ago, and it looks fine now. What are you so fussed about-"
"Oh my God!" Dawn squealed suddenly, cutting May off as she suddenly spun around, so that she was facing the lockers. "Here he comes!"
"Here who--oh…I see…" May smirked to herself, lazily propping back against her locker as Drew approached her, his books under his arm.
"Hey May," he greeted her, before placing a hand on Dawn's shoulder, and adding, "Hey to you, too, Dawn."
"Hi," she squeaked back in response, continuing to remain turned away as she felt her face grow very red.
"Hey, Drew," May said, continuing to smirk at the state of her friend. "How was Biology?"
"Boring as all get out." he replied, sighing slightly, his hand continuing to rest upon Dawn's shoulder. "How was Honors English?"
"Well," May answered, pausing a second to blow her bangs out of her face. "Let's just say that it's beginning to make me wonder how I ever made into the honors program in the first place."
"Oh, come on--you can out-grammar all of us any day, and you know it."
"If you say so." May replied, rolling her eyes.
She jumped a second later, startled when she felt something brush past her ankle. She quickly glanced down to see that it was Pikachu who had brushed up against her, and who was now looking up at her, a grin on his little yellow face.
"Hey there, little buddy," she replied with a smile, squatting down as she petted him on the head. "Did you escape from Ash again?"
"Pikachu, where'd you go?!"
May quickly stood back up, her eyes wide as she glanced from one end of the hall to the other. She swallowed hard a few seconds later as Ash Ketchum came into view, a bit of a worried expression on his face.
"Oh," he said with a sigh, smiling immediately upon seeing Pikachu. "There you are--you just came over here to see the rest of the guys, huh?"
"Pi-ka!" the little electrical Pokemon replied, before nuzzling his cheek up against May's ankle.
"I know what you want from me…" the brunette girl said, smirking to herself as she reached inside her yellow fanny pack, which she kept around her waist.
A moment later her hand reappeared, this time with a Pokeball held within her grasp. May tapped the Pokeball with her forefinger, and then threw it up in the air.
"Ee-vee!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
Pikachu smiled happily as he greeted May's Pokemon.
"Those two are always wanting to be together, huh?" Ash pointed out, only then drawing May's attention away from the conversing Pokemon at her feet.
"Huh?" she replied, a sudden nervous look in her eyes as she looked over at him. "Oh, y-yeah--they sure do."
"Are you alright, May?" Ash asked in a concerned tone, taking a step closer to her. "Your face is all red looking…"
"I'm fine." she answered, her eyes not meeting his as she took a hasty step backwards, eliciting a snort from Dawn, who was now watching the entire scene by craning her neck around.
"Well, its been real, its been fun," Drew said suddenly, squeezing Dawn's shoulder slightly and causing her eyes to grow wide. "It hasn't been real fun--either way, I gotta be heading out now. See you guys later."
"See you, Drew." Ash and May replied in unison.
The two of them quickly glanced at each other, a bit of a blush creeping across Ash's face, while the redness already present on May's only intensified. Dawn snorted again, earning herself a dirty glare from May. She smirked, finding great humor in May's embarrassment until a second later, when she heard her name being called out from down the hall.
"Dawn," Drew practically shouted, earning glances from passerby. "What--no goodbye? Now I'm heartbroken…"
Dawn quickly looked back at May, who was now laughing openly.
"I…" she called back to him, her heart feeling as though it would burst through her chest at any moment. "Goodbye!"
She then quickly spun back around, and marched away, not waiting to see how, or if, Drew would again respond. As she marched away, she took hold of May's arm, dragging her along, too.
"But what about Eevee?" she protested, feeling as though Dawn might tear her arm right from her socket at any second.
"Ash'll look after her for now," Dawn answered immediately, before calling back over her shoulder,
"Won't you, Ash?"
"Sure," he answered, a bit of a bewildered expression on his face as he watched one of his friends drag the other away.
"Girls…" he muttered under his breath. "Just as crazy as ever…"
He shook his head apathetically, only to be startled a moment later when the sounds of catcalling and whistling began to fill the hallway. Ash turned to see the source of the sudden ruckus, only to find that Cynthia Larson--the most popular girl in the entire school--was strutting down the hall, her books held gracefully in her arms as her long, blond hair cascaded down her back, nearly reaching her waist. Perhaps reflexively, Ash stared intently as she walked by.
"Hey, Ash," she said in a friendly tone, stopping for a split second to greet him, before heading on off down the hall.
"Hey…Cynthia," he replied several seconds later, long after she had already passed by him.
"Boo!"
Ash jumped up several inches from the ground when he felt himself get punched in the arm suddenly. He turned to see that it was Misty who had spooked him, her hair in collarbone-length, braided pigtails.
"Staring at Cynthia again, I see." she teased him, her hands hidden in the pockets of her faded overalls.
"Was not." he replied in a defensive voice, before looking down as he felt something pulling at the cuff of his pants.
"What is it, Pikachu?" he asked.
"Pika-Pikachu, Pikachu," the Pokemon replied.
"Well, alright then," Ash answered him. "You and Eevee can head over to the elementary school's playground--just be sure not to wander off. May would kill me if I lost track of you, Eevee."
"Pika, Pikachu!"
"Eevee, Eev!"
The Pokemon agreed, before heading off for the school's exit.
"So," Misty said, glancing around. "Where is May, anyway?"
"Dawn dragged her off somewhere," Ash answered. "Why?"
"Well, I was just wondering if you had, you know, asked her yet?"
"Shhh!" Ash said, frantically glancing around.
"What?" Misty replied, arching an eyebrow as she tried not to laugh. "You just said she wasn't around!"
"I know that," he retorted, continuing to glance over his shoulder. "But that doesn't mean that she won't walk up or something…"
"Oh, just ask her already!" Misty exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "Then you won't have to be worried about whether or not she over-hears you talking about it, because she'll already know."
Ash sighed heavily.
"Look, there's no guarantee that she'll say yes-"
"There's also no guarantee that she'll say no, either." Misty pointed out, cutting her friend off. "Now listen to me--there's only a few days left until the dance, so stop waiting around in hallways and gawking at Cynthia, and go on and ask May to the dance. Because, you know, she is pretty popular herself--there's a high possibility that someone else will ask her if you don't hurry up and do it."
"Okay, okay," Ash said. "I'll ask her tonight."
"You will?"
"Yes. I will."
"Well, that's good." Misty said, nodding her head approvingly. "Just make sure that you don't conveniently forget to do it, or something."
"Oh, and you already have a date?" Ash asked, hoping to change the subject.
"I sure do." Misty answered, grinning.
"Who is it, then?" Ash pressed on.
"Oh, you'll see the night of the dance," Misty answered dismissively, looking back at him as she began to walk away. "You know, when you show up with May."
"When you show up with May where?"
Ash jumped, as if he had been sprayed with freezing cold water.
"Well?" the person behind him continued.
He waved goodbye to Misty, and then spun around to see that it was Max who had seemingly snuck up behind him.
"Well," he repeated, a hand on his waist. "Where are you showing up at with my sister?"
"Has anyone ever told you you're too nosy?" Ash replied, before walking away from the lockers.
Max, however, simply walked along beside him as he walked away.
"So," he said. "Is this about the dance?"
"What?" Ash replied. "No!"
"Because, you know, even I already have a date. Wouldn't it be completely pathetic if I, a Freshman, can get a date to the Spring Formal, but you, a Sophomore, can't?"
"Look, I have to catch up with Eevee and Pikachu over at the playground…" Ash said, heading for the double doors that led to the outside of the school.
"Vivy's who I'm going with," Max continued on. "Not that you were thoughtful enough to ask, but she is."
"That's nice."
"Mhmm. Her face lit right up when I asked her."
"Cool."
"Yeah. Maybe my sister's face will light up, too, when you get around to asking her."
Ash stopped dead in his tracks, turning sideways to face the younger boy beside him.
"Look, I can only assume that Misty told you that I plan on taking your sister, but that doesn't mean that anyone else needs to know."
"Oh, agreed." Max said, putting his hands up in front of his face. "All I hope is that May can eventually find out herself--OW! Hey!"
"I'm gonna tell her." Ash insisted, lowering his fist after having just bonked Max on top of the head. "Tonight, in fact."
"Well, well…" the bespectacled boy said, his eyebrows raising slightly. "I stand corrected. Maybe you do have the guts to go through with this after all."
"That's right." Ash said in a determined voice, nodding his head once. "Come tomorrow, I will have asked May to the dance."
"And you're not still nervous about actually asking her?" Max questioned.
"Nope. I mean, I was before, but now I'm not--now I'm confident; determined."
"Here she comes now," Max said, pointing his finger at something over Ash's shoulder.
"Who?"
"May, along with Dawn."
"In fact," Max added a second later, as he walked past Ash, continuing to watch as his sister and her friend approached him. "You could just go ahead and pull her to the side and ask her right now, Ash. Right, Ash? ….Ash? Ash?"
Max turned to see that the raven-haired trainer he had just been conversing with was now nowhere to be seen.
"Coward," he said under his breath, before walking toward his sister and Dawn, meeting them halfway across the school parking lot.
"Hey Max," Dawn said as she approached him. "Where'd Ash go? Wasn't he just talking to you?"
"Yeah," Max replied. "I think he left for the playground--he said something about Pikachu and Eevee being over that way."
"Oh," Dawn said, turning to May. "Maybe you should head over that way, too, to, you know, pick up Eevee…"
"I…" May began, before sighing apathetically at the expression on Dawn's face. "Fine. I'll go see about Eevee. Catch you later, Dawn, and see you at home, Max."
"So…" Dawn said as she and Max watched May walk away. "Do you think he's ever gonna ask her?"
"He told me that he's going to tonight."
"Huh. Well, for May's sanity, I certainly hope so."
Dawn jumped suddenly, startled by the sound of a car horn as it beeped twice. She glanced back over her shoulder to see that it was Drew who had honked, as he sat smugly in the driver's seat of his brand new convertible.
"See you guys later," he called out, flashing a grin as he waved at Dawn and Max, before pulling on out of the school's parking lot.
"Cool car…" Max muttered, before glancing over at Dawn, who now had her eyes closed, one of her hands raised up to her mouth as she began to nervously chew at her fingernails again.
Max snorted, shaking his head.
"And to think, she's worried about my sister's sanity…"

 

[Cynic Kaka]

Lol, awesome fanfic.

Love the story plotline.

 

[cascade88]

^thanks ^_^

Chapter 2

(disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon)
"Paul, why aren't you cheering along with me?"
"Because, Casey, I don't like baseball."
"Oh yeah? Then why is it you came along with me to watch the team practice?"
"Because you made me come here, Casey."
"Oh, don't be silly--you know you love to watch the home team practice. Besides, it gives us something to do while we eagerly await heading off to watch the Electabuzz play all this summer."
"You," Paul corrected her. "It gives you something to do while you eagerly await the summer games."
"Awww, it makes me so happy to hear how excited you are about getting to see the summer games!"
"What the--I didn't say that, Casey!"
The baseball cap-clad girl, however, did not listen, and instead threw her arms around her boyfriend, squeezing him tightly.
"I love you so much, bunny boo!"
Paul shot a nasty glare towards the dugout when one of the benched players snorted.
"Don't you love me, too?"
"What?" Paul asked, returning his attention to his girlfriend to see that she was looking up at him, a bit of a confused expression on her face.
"You didn't say it back like you normally do. Usually, I say 'I love you so much, bunny boo' and then you say, 'And I love you, sugar muffin'."
"Sorry," Paul replied. "I love you, too."
"…You didn't say it right."
"I am not calling you by that nickname in public."
Casey leant back away from Paul slightly, arching one of her eyebrows.
"Well I'm not."
Casey then raised both of her eyebrows, a bit of a menacing look beginning to form in her eyes.
"You can't make me." he insisted, crossing his arms across his chest.
Casey continued to stare at Paul, before suddenly breaking out in a giggle, and playfully punching him in the arm.
"I get it!" she said, continuing to giggle. "You're only messing around with me, huh, bunny boo?"
Paul opened his mouth, about to retort, but then suddenly stopped mid-way. He sighed heavily, before wrapping his arm around Casey's waist, and muttering back to her,
"Yeah, I was just kidding, sugar muffin."
Across from the baseball field, over at the playground, Ash and May sat side by side on one of the benches, happily watching as their Pokemon gamboled about and played around on the various playground equipment.
"How were your classes today?" May asked, smiling as she watched Eevee and Pikachu attempt to play on the see-saw.
"Eh," Ash replied. "About the same as they always are, I guess--boring. Except, of course, for Calculus, in which case its just flat-out insane. Not only do I not understand what's going on half the time, I'm also pretty sure that I'll never use it in real life."
May chuckled lightly at this, glancing over at Ash, only to find that he was glancing back over at her. They both quickly looked away from each other, a bit of red on both of their faces.
"So," Ash said a few moments later, continuing to not look at May as he spoke to her, but instead keeping his eyes intently glued upon Pikachu as he now seemed to be playing a game of tag with Eevee. "The dance is in a few days, huh?"
"Uh-huh," May replied, also not looking back at him. "It sure is."
"Are you…excited about going?"
"Oh…well yeah, kinda. I mean, I already have a dress and all, so…yeah. Are you?"
"A little." Ash replied, trying to swallow the sudden lump in his throat. "So…do you…do you have a…"
"Yes, Ash?" May prompted him a moment later, after he was still seemingly unable to finish his question. "Do I have a what?"
"A ride." he finally said, his heart beating a thousand times a second as he mentally kicked himself for switching out the question at the last second.
"A ride?" May questioned.
"Yeah, to the dance."
"Oh, well, I guess if I don't come up with a date by then, then Mom'll take me. After all, she already has to take Max and Vivy. Then again, unless someone with a car asks me, I'll probably end up just going with Mom anyway. Why do you ask? I mean, you don't have a car."
"I-well-I, uh," Ash stammered, searching his mind for at least a half-decent response. "My mom!"
"Your…mom?"
"Yeah, my mom," Ash confirmed. "I was asking because I know that my mom would've given you a ride there if you didn't have one."
"Oh…" May replied, nodded her head in seeming understatement, though she had a feeling that that was not the original intent of Ash's conversation starter at all. "Okay then."
The two of them were quiet for a few moments longer, doing nothing but sitting still and continuing to watch their Pokemon as the sun set behind them, blanketing them a chilly shade of darkness.
"Oosh!" May exclaimed suddenly, crossing her arms across her chest as a sudden wind blew past her, giving her goosebumps.
"Here," Ash said, almost in an instinctive manner, as he took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. "This should help keep out the cold."
"Thanks, Ash," May replied in a quiet voice, more goosebumps breaking out on her arms as she felt Ash's fingers brush against her arm when he withdrew his hand.
"No problem." he said with a smile, before looking back over at Pikachu and Eevee, who were now sitting beneath the monkey bars, seeming to be having a conversation. "It'll be hard separating those two for the night."
"Huh?" May asked, before glancing over in the same direction that Ash was and also seeing Eevee and Pikachu. "Oh, yeah, it will be. It always is."
There was another moment or two of silence, and then Ash spoke again.
"About the dance…"
"Yeah?" May answered at once, looking over at him with a bit of an expectant look on her face.
"Well, you see, I was kind of…kind of wondering if-"
"Hey, Ash!"
The raven-haired teen looked up suddenly at the sound of his name being called, to see that it was Misty who was calling over to him, interestingly enough, from the passenger side window of Cynthia Larson's Porsche.
"Yeah, Mist?" he called back in a slightly confused tone.
"Cynthia gave me a ride over here so I could let you know that your mom is wondering where on earth you are--she's almost done making dinner as we speak!"
Ash sighed, clasping a hand over his face. He always knew that having a best friend for a next door neighbor would backfire one day.
"You know," the redhead continued to call out to him. "It might be better for all of us if you'd just get a cell phone, or something."
"Yeah, I'll get right on that." he replied sourly, making a face.
"Well look, do you want a ride back with me and Cynthia?"
His initial instinct was to shout yes! After all, who wouldn't want to ride in a Porsche, and not just a Porsche--Cynthia Larson's Porsche. However, his reaction changed as he glanced over at May, who happend to live in the opposite direction of his house.
"Well," he called back. "Can we give May a lift, too?"
"No, Ash," the brunette girl said, as she stood up, taking his jacket from her shoulders and handing it back to him. "I don't need a ride."
"Are you sure?" Cynthia asked. "'Coz I don't mind."
"No thanks," May insisted. "It's fine."
Ash watched her as she walked over to Eevee, and recalled her to her Pokeball, eliciting an unhappy expression on Pikachu's face.
"I'm sorry, buddy." May said in an apologetic tone. "But she and I have to be heading home now."
"Wait a second," Ash said, as he walked over towards her. "Go ahead an let Eevee back out--for now, at least."
"Huh?" May replied, a puzzled expression on her face.
"Hey Misty!" Ash called out to the car. "You guys can head back that way without me--I'm gonna walk May home."
"Are you guys sure?" Misty questioned back, though she had a bit of a knowing smile on her face.
"Yeah, we're sure. Just tell Mom that I'll be home as soon as I can."
"Well, okay then, Ash. I'll tell her. See you later then, and you, too, May."
"Bye!" Ash called back, while May waved.
She let her hand drop to the side as the car pulled away, and instead turned to look at Ash.
"Are you sure you don't mind walking me home?"
"Not at all." Ash replied, smiling as he replaced his jacket over her shoulders. "Besides, it's getting dark out--someone has to keep you safe from any weirdoes who might be lurking around."
May laughed, rolling her eyes as she re-released Eevee from her Pokeball, much to Pikachu's delight.
"Oh, please," she said. "We live in the safest neighborhood in the entire region--thank you for the gesture, but I highly doubt there are any weirdoes."
"No!"
Both Ash and May jumped, quickly turning around to see who it was that had just shouted at the top of their lungs. Their eyes simultaneously widened as they watched a hysterical-looking Paul dash away from the baseball field, running at top speed as a rather determined-looking Casey followed after him, holding a baseball bat loosely in one of her hands.
"But, Paul, angel baby, they only need two more players to keep the game going!"
"No!" he shouted back at her. "Just--No!"
"On second thought…" May amended, as she glanced from Casey, who was still chasing Paul, back over to Ash. "Maybe this neighborhood has its fair share of weirdoes after all."

 

[Ageless Irony]

Wheee
Now I'm not the only one with a highschool fic ^^

I do have a couple suggestions though.
Space out your dialogue, it looks cluttered and hard to read as it is now, so put a psace in between each line.

Also, your story could do with a bit more details. The dialogue is nice, but it could use more detail paragraphs. The characters are described well, but some other things could use improvments.

I love highschool fics to death(Hence how I wrote my own :P) and so I'll definatley be coming back for more!
Keep at it.

 

[Cynic Kaka]

Wheee
Now I'm not the only one with a highschool fic ^^

I do have a couple suggestions though.
Space out your dialogue, it looks cluttered and hard to read as it is now, so put a psace in between each line.

Also, your story could do with a bit more details. The dialogue is nice, but it could use more detail paragraphs. The characters are described well, but some other things could use improvments.

I love highschool fics to death(Hence how I wrote my own :P) and so I'll definatley be coming back for more!
Keep at it.

lol, what's a psace?

Anyway, Royal's right.

The Dialouge confuses my eyes, and I keep going back the the previous line...

 

[cascade88]

(disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon)

Chapter 3


Ash and May watched in amusement as their Pokemon--Pikachu and Eevee--ran ahead of them, making minor mischief as they all traveled together towards May's house.

"It sure is a nice out tonight." Ash commented, as he looked around. "Despite the slight chill in the air."

"Mhmm," May agreed, as she simultaneously pulled the jacket tighter around her shoulders.

She then looked to see that Eevee was now perched up atop a nearby picket fence, showing off her ability to balance as she traipsed along it.

"Be careful you don't fall," May called out to her.

"She'll be fine." Ash said.

"I don't know…that's a pretty narrow fence."

"You worry too much sometimes."

"Right," May said, smirking. "And you never panic when Pikachu runs off without warning?"

Ash sighed lightly, smiling as he replied,
"You've got me there. But still, Eevee is perfectly safe up-"

"Eevee-Eev!"

May gasped as Eevee suddenly lost her footing, and began falling to the ground. In a flash, Pikachu was beneath the falling Pokemon, his paws up in an attempt to catch her. Eevee landed atop Pikachu, knocking him to the ground.

"Are you okay, Eevee?" May asked as she hurried over to the two Pokemon.

"Eevee-Eev!" the Pokemon replied, as she hopped off of Pikachu, who was lying flat on the ground.

"And you, Pikachu?" May added. "Are you alright?"

"Pi-ka." he replied, before sitting up and looking over at Eevee.

"Pikachu, Pikachu, Pi?" he asked her. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Eevee, Ee-vee." she replied. "Yes, thanks to you."

Pikachu blushed slightly, grinning sheepishly as Eevee nuzzled her cheek up against his.

"That's so cute." May commented.

"Yeah, it is." Ash agreed, as he walked over to her. "And I told you Eevee would be fine--Pikachu was right there to break her fall."

"Yeah, he was." May replied, smiling softly. "It must be nice to always have someone there for you like that--to catch you when you fall."
She glanced back at Ash as she finished her thought, only to see that he was looking back at her, a bit of a peculiar expression on his face.

"May…" he began, his breathing coming out uneven as his nerves immediately began working to get the best of him.

"…Yeah, Ash?" she finally asked, suddenly very aware of how closely together they were standing.

"May, I…well, I was just…just wondering…"

"Yeah?"

"…I was just wondering…I mean, about the dance, you know, well, uh…would you…would you…give me some advice?"

May blinked, feeling thoroughly caught off-guard.

"Advice?" she repeated in a confused tone. "Advice about what?"

"Well…" Ash replied tentatively, as he and May slowly began moving again, heading on their way to her house. "You see, there's this girl I was thinking of maybe asking, but I have no idea how to ask her…can you give me some advice on how to do it?"

"Who were you thinking of asking?" she asked curiously.

Ash swallowed hard, sweat beginning to form on his forehead despite the chilly weather; he had not expected her to outright question him like that.

"No one you know." he lied, causing May to raise her eyebrows.

"No one I know? But, does she go to our school?"

"Yeah."

"Then how do I not know her?"

"Well, okay," Ash amended. "Maybe you do know her--I'm not sure."

Feeling thoroughly confused, May replied,
"Well, whatever. What exactly is it that you need advice on? I mean, do you just not know how to ask the question, or…?"

"Pretty much." Ash admitted, a tone of nervousness in his voice. "I mean, I really like this girl a lot-- a whole lot--and I don't want to mess things up when I ask her."

May placed a hand over her heart, a sudden hollowness now residing both within her chest and within her stomach. He liked someone else…he liked someone else a lot…

"Oh…kay," she finally replied, her eyes stinging as she held back her tears. "Well, first of all, if you're going to ask her, then you should just go ahead and…and do it. I mean, the dance is in just a few days, after all…"

She cleared her throat slightly, finding it harder and harder to hold off her tears.

"And when you do finally ask her, just be to the point about it. Don't freak out over the fact that she might say no, because there's always a chance
that she'll say…that she'll say yes."

"To the point?" Ash repeated, nodding curtly. "Okay--got it."

"G-Good." May replied, her breathing becoming more and more irregular as a tear managed to escape from the corner of her eye. "Because that's pretty much a-all there is to it."

"Are you okay, May?" Ash asked, his eyes full of concern as he noticed the way she was suddenly acting, as if she had been upset by something.

"Mhmm," she answered, before glancing over to see that Eevee, too, was looking back at her with concern as they traipsed onward down the street.

"I'm fine." she said to her, before looking up to see that they were finally at her block.

Struggling harder than ever not to burst into tears, May quickly took Ash's jacket from her shoulders and tossed it over to him.

"I can make it from here." she said in a stuffy sounding voice, before taking off at full speed, running down the street.

"May?!" Ash called out after her.

"Just go home now, so you're mother doesn't worry!" she called back, now crying in earnest, before adding. "And come on, Eevee!"

The small, brown-furred Pokemon glanced sadly at Pikachu, before bidding him goodbye and taking off after her trainer.

"May!" Ash called out once more, but when she did not respond, but instead dashed up the driveway of her home and into her house, he gave up.

Sighing heavily, he patted his shoulder, signaling for Pikachu to hop up upon it.

"Guess I won't get the chance to ask her tonight after all…" he said, sounding let down. "But at least I now know how to when I do get the chance."

((Page Break))


"And then she chased you out of the baseball field?" Dawn asked, the tone of amusement in her voice obvious as she lounged back across her bed, the cordless phone held tightly to her ear as Paul replied,

"Uh-huh, and all the way back to my house, too. I think we gave some of our neighbors the scare of their lives. After all, Casey is insane enough, but when you put a swinging baseball bat into the equation, well…"
Dawn laughed loudly at this, nearly rolling off of her bed.

"Glad to see at least someone's enjoying the torturous events of my life." Paul said in a morose tone.

"Oh, come on--Casey isn't that bad, Paul. And besides, you're the one who picked her."

Paul thought back to the time he had first met Casey...
She and her family had just moved into the house across the street from his the day before.

"So, I'm gonna be a Freshman." she had said to him that following morning at the bus stop, before even properly introducing herself.

"Neat." he had replied.

"So, what are you gonna be? I mean, pardon my assumptions, but you definitely look old enough for Highschool."

"I'm gonna be in the Sophomore class." he answered.

"Oh, so you're older than me."

"Apparently so."

"Well, that's good for you," she had said, causing him to glance over at her curiously.

"Because," she continued. "I happen to like older men. Well, older boys--you can't really qualify as a man yet if you're still in Highschool. But just the same, the fact that you're older pretty much decides it for me--yep, you're definitely the one."

"I'm definitely the one what?"

"The one who should be my boyfriend!" she replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?!" Paul had exclaimed.

"It's only logic. Well, okay, not only logic, but partly logic. See, I saw you out in your backyard yesterday, training your Electabuzz."

"…Yeah? And?"

"And…"

Paul blinked several times in quick succession as Casey suddenly took her backpack from her shoulders, and began digging through it, taking out a baseball cap, a baseball, a Pokeball, and what appeared to be a rolled up poster.

"This," she said, as she picked up the poster and unrolled it. "Is the Electabuzz baseball team."

She held the poster up against her body, and reached around, pointing to the name at the top of the poster, which indeed read Team Electabuzz. She then rolled the poster back up, and dropped it to the ground, before reaching down and picking up her baseball cap and baseball. She placed the cap on her head, and then tossed the ball over to Paul.

"See that?" she asked. "That ball there is signed by every member of the team. It's one of my most cherished possessions."

"Oh…kay," Paul replied, quickly looking the ball over, before tossing it back to her. "But what does any of this have to do with me?"

Casey smirked mischievously, before replacing her baseball inside her backpack, and instead picking up her Pokeball.

"Go!" she exclaimed, tossing the ball into the air.

"Ele-kid!" her Pokemon said, as it was released from the Pokeball.

"See?" Casey said, gesturing towards her Pokemon. "You have Electabuzz, and I have Elekid, which means that we both have two Pokemon of the Electabuzz evolutionary line, which means that we both have Pokemon reminiscent of the Electabuzz baseball team, which I love, and, in turn, it means that there's a good probability that I'll fall in love with you, as well."

Paul shook his head slightly, his mind awhirl as he tried to figure out what this strange, slightly obnoxious girl had just said to him.

"So then," she said. "Is it a date?"

'Wha-huh?"

"Us," she said, recalling her Pokemon, before moving to her hook her arm with Paul's. "Being a couple. Sound good?"

"Well--I mean--I don't--"

"Good!" Casey replied happily, reaching up on tiptoe to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Then it's a date--you can pick me up Saturday evening at seven. I know you probably don't have a car, but since you and I live just down the street from that little Italian bistro, we can go there for dinner."

"Wha-but I--"

"Okay, so here's the bus now!" Casey announced happily, before moving her hand to take hold of Paul's. "At least I know I already have someone to sit with, right, snuggle bunny?"

Paul's eyes widened as he glanced down at the girl by his side.

"Wha--snuggle? But I--but you…"

He looked to see that this impish, lilac-haired girl was now looking back up at him with big, doe-like eyes.

"…Fine," he finally conceded, sighing heavily. "Seven it is."
…

"No way!" Dawn exclaimed, laughing harder than ever as she rolled around on her bed. "That's how the two of you got together?! You could've just told her no, you know."

"You weren't there," Paul replied in a defensive tone. "You don't know what it was like."

Dawn snorted, before saying,
"Well, you could've always told her you were gay…"

"Right, because not only did I not want her to date me, I didn't want any of the other girls to want to date me, either."

"I'm sorry," Dawn replied, still laughing, though not as raucously.

"It's fine." Paul said. "Besides, now I can't imagine what I'd do without her."

"Awwwww!" Dawn exclaimed. "Look at you, Mr. Grumpus actually being romantic about something."

"Speaking of romance," Paul replied. "Any luck on getting Drew to ask you to the dance."

There was silence for a brief moment, before Dawn answered,

"Who said that I wanted Drew to ask me?"

"No one has," Paul admitted. "But actions speak louder than words, and you act like a nervous wreck whenever you're around him. Hell, you even act like a nervous wreck when someone mentions his name."

"I do not!" she replied defensively.

"Oh really? So, you're not sitting up on your bed right now, rocking back and forth as you chew on your fingernails."

"No, I'm not!" Dawn retorted, as she quickly pulled her hand away from her mouth, her nervous rocking coming to a stop immediately.

Paul chuckled lightly, before saying,
"Sure, if you say so. But just so you know, he might be more open to the idea of asking you if you'd give him the opportunity to, instead of squeaking like a newborn Pichu and running off in the opposite direction whenever he comes near you."

Dawn was quiet for a moment, before saying in an aggravated tone,
"I have to go now."

"Right, if you say so." Paul replied, again laughing. "I'll talk to you later."

"Mhmm. Talk to you later."

Dawn took the phone from her ear and hung it up on the base at her bedside.

"Where does he get off, thinking I like Drew?" she asked aloud, returning her hand to her mouth.

"I mean, I do like him, but where does he get off teasing me about it?"

She jumped a moment later, startled when the phone rang.

"I've got it!" she called out loudly, aiming her voice downstairs from over the edge of her bed, before quickly taking the phone from the base and pressing the talk button.

"Hello?" she asked, only to be greeted by the sound of hysterical sobbing. "…May? Is that you crying?"

"Y-Yes," May replied from the other end, sitting at the foot of her bed, her legs crossed as Eevee sat in her lap, allowing her trainer to stroke her fur.

"What's wrong?"

"A-Ash…" she replied, sniffling loudly. "He l-likes someone else."

"What?!" Dawn exclaimed, nearly falling from her bed for the second time that night. "That can't be!"

"That's what he t-told me!" May insisted, continuing to softly pet Eevee.
"He told me that he l-likes someone--likes someone a lot! He said he w-wants to ask her to the, to the dance…"

Dawn moved the phone away from her ear slightly as May let out another wail, before shaking her head slowly, feeling highly confused. Something was amiss in the situation for sure--she just didn't know what. But she did know one thing--she was going to find out what happened the next time she saw Ash.