Warming Hearts

The Final Confrontation

Warming Hearts

A/N: Now, let's get on with Chapter 23! Roll it!

Chapter 23

The Final Confrontation

Meanwhile, Dawn was standing out on her balcony, eyes still downcast about her fate coming to pass within the hour. She was so down that she didn't even hear the sound of a Poké Ball opening.

"Hello, beast." A voice said.

Dawn slowly turned around and saw a very pretty girl about her age with short periwinkle hair, ruby eyes and fair skin with a sly smile on her face. She was dressed in a dark blue winter coat dress. Beside her was a Venomoth; male or female, she didn't know, nor did she care.

"My name's Miette." She introduced herself. "Ash sent me."

Dawn knew right away that that was a lie, but upon hearing his name, the invisible heavy weight that was on her shoulders pressed down even more. She looked away and back out towards the pale horizon, not even caring about the girl who was behind her.

Miette saw the brief flicker of pain in her blue eyes when she mentioned Ash. She knew that look all too well. She had seen it before when her friend and rival, Serena, called her months ago and told her that Ash turned her down. As much as she felt sorry for her and her loss, that also just meant less competition for him. Or so she thought.

"Are you in love with him?" She asked Dawn, resisting the urge to burst out laughing cruelly. The idea of it was just ironic. The ugliest thing that she had ever seen, in love with the most handsome boy she knows? Slowly, she came closer towards her.

"Did you honestly think he'd want you?" She asked.

Dawn was silent. She already knew that answer... and the answer was no. But then, there was something about this girl's name that sounded oddly familiar. Like she had heard it somewhere before.

Flashback

One month ago...

Dawn was watching Ash examine every corner of the library, climbing on the ladder to look through the many shelves that towered to the ceiling. She was surprised to know that Ash actually didn't mind reading from time to time, especially because he was more of a hands-on kind of guy. But as usual, he always managed to surprise her, telling her about his little habit that he developed during the summer.

But then, he turned to her, and she realized that she might have been staring at him for a bit too long. "What?" He asked her, trying to hide an embarrassed smile.

Dawn cleared her throat in an attempt to dispel the bright red blush that appeared on her face. Quickly, she thought of something to hide the fact that she was staring at him just because she wanted to.

"I, uh..." She trailed off, before clearing her throat again. "It confuses me about how someone like you doesn't have someone special in your life."

"I have my mom." Ash answered, not getting what she was implying. "And I have my Pokémon. What more could I ask for?"

"That's... not what I meant." Dawn said, fondly shaking her head at Ash's naïveté.

Ash tilted his head in mild confusion. But then, he remembered that someone had once asked him a similar question many months ago. His eyes widened in recognition as he turned back to the books, hiding the embarrassed tint of red on his cheeks.

"No, I don't." He answered. "Not really."

"Somehow, I find that hard to believe. Any girl would be lucky to have you."