All for You

Chapter 56

Gary was an utter miracle worker.

Ash had beed in their dorm for 3 hours. Goh and Drew had come, done their homework, and laughed at Ash, but it was completely worth it.

Because Ash could dance.

Obviously, he couldn't do anything fancy, but he could keep a rythm well enough to pass for dancing. He could move side to side to the beat, move his arms in a way that counted as dancing, and (most importantly) not fall, step on Serena's toes, or completely embarass himself.

The only thing he didn't practice realistically was slow dancing, since Gary and Ash had (for obvious reasons) not wanted to slow dance together. However, Gary did give him some valuable tips such as where he was supposed to place his hands and how not to step on Serena's feet.

Three hours later, Ash had some decent, everyday dancing senses, and he was thrilled. The boys all headed to dinner, slightly sweaty but in a great mood. Ash, because he could dance, and everyone else because they got to watch him failing and flailing all day in quite the hilarious manner.

At the table, everyone (and Trina) was extra excited for the dance. 

"I can't belive the dance starts at 7:00!" Dawn complained.

"What's the problem?" Ash asked.

"Well, right now it's 5:15, so I'll only have an hour and a half to get ready for the dance." Dawn said.

"What takes so long that you need an hour and a half?" This time it was Goh who was confused.

"Well, usually Piplup helps me with my hair in the morning, but I can't do that if I'm going to style it in a fancy way for the dance." Dawn whined.

"Oh no, I didn't think of that!" Chloe said, now concerned herself. Eevee had been helping her with her hair in the morning too, miming Piplup's bubble beam, but that wouldn't work if she wanted to style it since it would have to be thoroughly brushed to properly style and it'd be wet during the dance.

"I'm more worried about the theme." Replied Gary. "What does 'Twilight Forest' even mean?"

"I bet it means the dance will be decorated as a forest at twilight." Drew said sarcastically.

"But isn't twilight when it's dark?" Gary voiced his confusion. "What's the point of a dark forest? If there are lights lighting up the forest, why not just do sunset forest, or mystical forest?" He countered.

Chloe knowledgeably answered his question. "Actually, 'twilight' is the time of day where the sun's below the horizion, but there's still some light. It would be kinda like a sunset forest, but darker colors like purple, blue and pink instead of red and orange."

Goh smiled at Chloe. "Wow, that's a pretty good deduction."

Chlow blushed. "Thanks, Goh." 

Ash the neutron star just smiled, completely oblivious. "I can't wait for tonight!"

After lunch, the two groups split up once more. 

Gary instisted he and Ash hit the showers since they had just been dancing, which Ash gladly agreed to. But when they got back, Gary had the...er...pleasant job of teaching Ash how to wear a suit.

"You'd think you'd know how to do it! Didn't you try it on at the shop?" Gary said, appaled as Ash tried to put it on inside out.

"I wasn't really paying attention, and there was instructions in the changing rooms!" Ash said, wrestling his arms out of the inside out sleves.

Gary watched in amazement as Ash finally got his arm out of the inside-out jacket only to snag it on his button-down (Gary didn't even want to think about what a nightmare the button down had been) and almost rip it.

He sighed. "Ashy-boy, just follow my lead! It's not this hard!" If Ashy-boy can't even put on a jacket, how on earth is he going to fix the tie?!?

Ash sighed. "This is a lot harder than I remember."

Gary had to show him, step by step, how not to wear his jacket inside out, and how not to get it caught on his button down.

Then came the tie.

Goh and Drew, who had only recently recovered from watching Ash learn how to dance, found an unprecedented pleasure in watching Ash try to tie a tie.

"Can you even tie your shoes?!?!?" Gary asked, horrified.

"Yes, I can tie my shoes!" Ash replied, frustrated. "The question is, why is this so hard?!"

In the end, even Gary didn't have enough patience for Ash and ended up tying Ash's tie himself, which was rather akward for both boys since Gary's hands were right in front of Ash's face. 

Needless to say, Goh and Drew were crying from laughter.

But, finally, Ash was wearing a suit and tie, he had a vauge idea of how to dance, and he had a boutonniere pinned to his pocket (Gary was relived that he didn't need to teach Ash how to fold a pocket hankerchief).

When Ash looked in the mirror, he smiled. "I might not know a lot about fashion, but I think it looks pretty good." He said.

Then he turned to Gary and realised he knew someone who did know fashion. Gary looked spectacular. His hair was just as spiky as always, but was a little more tamed to better complement his suit. And Gary's suit was perfect for him: black with a purple boutonniere and tie. Ash didn't know much about fashion, but he could tell Gary looked good.

Having finally got ready, Ash and the other boys put their pokeballs in their desk drawers (Pikachu was left on Ash's bunk with a bottle of ketchup) and headed to the dance.

________.........________

After putting on their dresses, makeup, and taming their hair, the girls were ready for the dance.

Dawn wore the knee-length, pearl-lined dress she had bought with Serena, and her hair was cutely styled in a ponytail with multiple wispy bangs flowing from it to just above her eyebrow before ending at the side of her har.

May wore a red dress with a skirt that ended at her knees in the front but nipped her ankles at the back. It had blue highlights that complemented her eyes, which were extra sparkly from excitement. Her hair was completely down, gently curled and no bandana in sight.

Chloe had some trouble finding the right dress, but she had eventually settled on a dark magneta one that ended in the middle of her shins. It started off as a dark magneta the color of her hair, but as the skirt flowed the color shifted to a lighter one. Her hair was in a bun on top of her head, but with two uncooperative bangs bouncing along her forehead in a cute way.

But when all the girls were done getting ready, they could all agree that Serena was the one to steal the show. She wore a fluffy light pink gown that reached her knees. The bodice was embroidered with multiple tiny pink rhinestones, sparkling much like her eyes. The skirt was multiple layers thick and incredibly fluffy, bouncing and sparkling at every step. Her short honey blond locks were down, as always, but jewled barrettes had been placed in her hair, matching the jewled bodice and earings she had bought to finish the outfit.

Once all the girls looked at each other, they squealed in delight before dropping off their pokemon and heading to the dance.