The Only Exception

37.

OKAY HONESTLY, YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE MAD AT ME FOR NOT UPDATING D: I DESERVE ALL THE TOMATOES THROWN AT ME FOR NOT POSTING AN UPDATE. SO GO AHEAD AND GIVE EM TO ME :'((((

Also, I was invited to AO3 (Archive Of Our Own) that's why I haven't been updating :(( But I will be posting some stories there! Check them out if you like :)

BUT, IF YOU'RE WORRIED I WON'T BE UPDATING HERE THEN DON'T!! I WILL, IT'S JUST THAT MY UPDATES WON'T BE FREQUENT AS MUCH.

BUT... I dislike all the pestering like 'Update already' 'Update faster!!' 'When is the next chapter coming out??' 'Hurry and update!' AGAIN.. It does not make me update this story any faster, okay? Please understand that I also have important things. I WILL Update. Just please be patient.

THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING AND AS ALWAYS...

Enjoy!

After traveling for awhile, the group had made it back to Lumiose City. Dawn smiled at the gorgeous city but was mostly intrigued by the tower in the middle. "That looks beautiful." Dawn smiled in excitement.

"That's the Prism Tower, Dawn and its also the Lumiose Gym."

"Wow! That's amazing!" Dawn exclaimed.

"I'm gonna go check up on my brother to see if he's ready for your gym battle Ash. For now, why don't you check into one of the Pokémon centers?" Bonnie said as she started heading towards the Prism Tower.

"She's right. We should check into the Pokémon center. I could use some more training before battling Clemont." Ash said, feeling pumped up for his gym battle against his friend.

"Mind if I train with you Ash? I really wanna get some training done before my next showcase and I could use a second opinion." Dawn asked.

"Sure! Can't wait to see what performance you came up with." Ash said as both he and Dawn walked into Pokemon center talking. Serena glared at the two as she walked behind them.

Once they checked into the Pokémon center, Ash and Dawn went out to the back to train with their Pokémon. Dawn called out Buneary and Quilava.

"Okay, Ash. Let me know what you think of this." Dawn smiled.

Dawn had told Buneary to jump around while doing ice beam just like in the Hearthome Collection where she made it look like snowy mountains. She then made Quilava do flame wheel around the ice to create a beautiful contrast while Dawn and Buneary danced around gracefully. Afterwards, Quilava jumped into the air and did flamethrower while Buneary did ice beam. The two moves combined with each other and were made into beautiful sparks.

"That was great, Dawn! Quilava and Buneary have gotten super powerful!" Ash said as he ran up to Dawn and the duo shared a high five.

"You think it's good enough for a performance?"

"Definitely! You're gonna win the next Showcase for sure." Ash beamed.

"So... you don't think I have any chance of winning?"

Ash's eyes widened to see Serena with furrowed eyebrows. Her heart had dropped. Ash was so sure that Dawn would win the next showcase that he didn't even think about Serena being able to win it. Was she really that special? What did he even see in her?

"I didn't say that... I just... wanted to get Dawn pumped up?" Ash said, which came out more like a question than an answer.

Dawn didn't say anything. She knew Ash was only trying to make Serena feel better. It was something Serena wanted to hear from him, not something she needed. Dawn rolled her eyes at Serena as Ash continued to praise her for working hard with her Pokemon. Serena smiled as she pulled him into a hug and planted a small kiss on his lips while narrowing her eyes at Dawn.

Dawn shot her a glare as she continued training with her Pokemon. If there's one thing Dawn was sure about, it was beating Serena in the upcoming Showcase.

"How about we train together? I can show you what I've come up with for the Showcase." Serena smiled.

Ash furrowed his eyebrows and scratched the back of his head as he looked over at Dawn. "Well... I uh.."

"Please, Ashy?" She said, batting her eyelashes at him.

Ash cringed at the name. Gary was the only one who called him that and he hated it. But he didn't want to make Serena mad and nodded his head at her. She smiled as she took his hand and ran to train somewhere else.

Dawn shook her head at them as she continued on with her training.

***

Serena dragged Ash outside of Lumiose City to train with her. She called out Pancham and Fennekin as she showed Ash her performance for the showcase. Ash was impressed. Her performance for the Showcase was actually really good and would definitely have the audience jumping out of their seats.

"Looks like Dawn has some serious competition." He commented.

Serena furrowed her eyebrows at him as he gave her a confused stare.

"What?" He asked her.

"Why do you always have to mention Dawn? Why can't it ever be you just complimenting me?" She cried.

Here we go again... Ash thought. "Dawn is like my best friend. I've known her for a long time so of course, I care about her too."

"But I've known you since we were kids." Serena retorted.

"We were kids, Serena. We only met once at the summer camp and never saw each other after that." He told her.

"Why? Why can't you look at me the way you look at Dawn?" She cried.

"I.. I don't know what you're talking about." He averted his eyes not wanting to look at her. He knew exactly what she was talking about but didn't want to answer.

"You look at her with admiration. Like she's the only thing you ever see." She said as she walked up to him and placed her hands on his chest. "Why can't you look at me the same way?"

"I just... It's just that Dawn—"

He was cut off. "What if Dawn wasn't here? What if you never met her? Would you be able to look at me the way you look at her?" She asked, a bit of hope in voice that her boyfriend would answer with the words she wanted to hear from him.

It took him time to answer her question.

If he never met Dawn? Would he really be able to look at Serena the way he looked at Dawn? Would he be comfortable doing the things he does with Dawn with her?

Ash felt his heart drop. The thought of never meeting Dawn hurt him.

"I... I can't imagine my life without Dawn. She's been there for me throughout everything. She motivates me and supports me... I.. I can't just imagine that if she isn't here with me that everything will be okay between us. I'm sorry, Serena. But, Dawn is my best friend and I can't ever imagine what I'd do without her."

Serena was appalled. Those were definitely not the words she wanted to hear from him. Instead of saying anything, she slapped him across the face. Ash furrowed his eyebrows at her as he placed a hand to his swelling cheek.

She looked up at him in shock and started to cry as she pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry, Ash... I'm so.. so.. sorry.."

Ash was at a loss for words. He's been slapped by Misty the first time he met her but this was different. He felt so hurt. So confused. He stared down at the girl in front of him and pulled away from her. Even if it was something she didn't want to hear, Ash knew it was something she needed to hear.

"I think we should break up."

DUN DUN DUN.... Serena was definitely OOC in this chapter. But OOOUUUU ASH JUST PULLED OUT THE BREAK UP CARD. How will Serena react? Will Ash and Dawn finally be together? Stay tuned!!!