The Only Exception

52.

This chapter is a little light on the comedy but sorta heavy on the angst. 

I'm also sorry for the late update! I've been drowning myself in Seddie fanfics for the past few days and working on the comic. 

Now I'm debating on writing a Seddie fic LOL but we'll see :P 

Anyways guys, I just wanna let some of you know that there's a difference between shipping characters and shipping their actors. Shipping their characters is okay, but trying to force their actors to get into a romantic relationship or bash on their significant other is NOT okay! (Had an argument like this with a friend who wanted two actors to get together irl and it was just so bad)

Enjoy!

After eating breakfast, they went out to shop for supplies so they wouldn't have to do it after Ash won his gym battle. Serena decided to go with Clemont and Bonnie while the couple went with each other. They all left their Pokemon at the Pokemon center to play with each other.

"Let's meet back at the Pokemon center then head to the gym together." Serena smiled and they all nodded in agreement. 

"See ya, guys." Dawn waved as she walked in the opposite direction with Ash. She was surprised when she felt him take her hand in his as he smiled at her and they began walking together. They went to go and buy some food supplies. It would be a long trip to Anistar City according to Serena, so they had to be prepared. 

"Daddy! Daddy! I want that one!" They heard a little girl giggle as her father lifted her up into his arms and smiled at her. 

Dawn furrowed her brows at them as she turned her head away from them and kept walking. This didn't go unnoticed by Ash as he pulled her close to him and placed an arm around her shoulder. He never forgot those nights when Dawn would cry about her father.

Flashback

It was late in the night and the group were all settled at the Pokemon center in Daybreak Town for Dawn's fifth contest. Brock had already gone to sleep. Ash was about to sleep as well until he noticed the coordinator was not in her bed. He looked around and noticed the door leading out to the balcony was slightly opened. He spotted her sitting out on the balcony holding her ribbon case. He assumed she was probably nervous about her contest tomorrow. He got up to go out and give her some words of encouragement when he noticed a few tears fall onto her ribbon case.

His eyes widened when he realized that she was actually crying. He heard her ask herself why she wasn't good enough and what she could have done to make him stay. She was thinking about her father again... He furrowed her brows at the girl who was crying at the balcony as she clutched her ribbon case. He always hated seeing her cry.

He opened up the door to the balcony and closed it which caused her to look at him. She quickly wiped her tears away as she closed her ribbon case and set it aside and put on her best fake smile. "A-Ash... What are you doing up so late?" She asked him, trying to hide the pain in her voice.

Instead of saying anything, he walked up to her and pulled her into a hug. She tensed up a bit but soon relaxed. He sat down beside her and pulled her closer to him. "You're good enough, Dawn... Don't ever think otherwise, you hear me? It wasn't your fault..." He told her. It was then he felt her shaking again and she began to cry. 

There were times where Ash also wondered why Dawn's father left. Did he really think she wasn't good enough? If he had stayed, maybe he'd see how much she has achieved on her journey. Sure, she had her mother, but Ash can understand how it feels to not have a father either.

Dawn cried herself to sleep in his arms as he picked her up and brought her back inside. He laid her down on her bed and placed her ribbon case back on the night stand. He brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and smiled at her. He would always be there for her no matter what.

End of flashback

"Dawn, are you okay?" He asked her. 

She blinked up at him and let out a sad smile. "Yeah, I was just... thinking about some stuff." She told him. 

He furrowed his brows at her as he stopped walking. People didn't pay much attention to them as they casually walked by and continued talking with one another. "Dawn... You're good enough. You always were..."

She sniffled a bit as she wiped a tear that had slid down her face. "I'm sorry, Ash... I didn't mean-"

"It's okay." He told her as he pulled her into a hug. "Just please... Don't ever blame yourself for what happened."

"But... My mom she-" 

He pulled away from her to place his hands on her shoulders. "Dawn... Your mom would never blame you and you know that. She would want you to be happy and continue chasing your dreams." 

She furrowed her brows at him as she nodded her head at him. "Yeah, you're right... I just... I just think that maybe if I didn't exist then maybe they'd be happy, y'know?"

"Don't say that!" He shouted as he pulled her into a hug again and hugged her tight. She blinked at him in shock and confusion. She didn't think he'd react this way. "Dawn, I... I really don't know what to think or do if I hadn't met you... To say if you didn't exist? I could never imagine something like that... I don't think I would be where I am now if it wasn't for you." He told her. It was him that was crying this time.

"Oh, Ash..." She said as she hugged him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you with what I said." She then pulled away from him and smiled as she placed a hand on his cheek. "But, you do know that half of what you said isn't true. You've met many other people who had a huge impact on your life before me." 

Ash sighed then let out a chuckle, "you know what I mean..."

She smiled, "I know. Thank you, Ash. I feel a little better." 

He nodded at her as he picked up both her hands and placed a kiss on them. "Come on, let's go do the shopping before Serena scolds us."

Dawn laughed at him and nodded her head at him as they continued on. 

They smiled at each other as they held hands and enjoyed each other's company, forgetting about what transpired moments ago. Ash knows he can't ever take away the pain from Dawn, but he knows one thing - he'll always be there for her no matter what. 

That was anticlimatic :P I hope you enjoyed that! I'll update you guys soon :D

[Should I write a seddie story?] Lemme know in the comments c: