Pokemon High School

Chapter 6: Ill-Will

The next morning, Dawn crawled out of her tent groggily. The sun had already rose over the trees, and almost everyone was already awake. She appeared worried, but did her best to hide it.

"Hey everyone," Dawn said, wishing them a good morning. Brock eyed her suspiciously. She was not hiding her worry well enough.

"Is Ash still asleep?" he asked curiously. Dawn bit her lip nervously. "No, but he seems a little..." She was about to finish when a loud sneeze was emitted from their tent.

"Don't tell me..." Brock said as he walked over to the tent.

Brock emerged from the tent, sat down in his chair, and sighed. "He caught a cold, it seems," Dawn then realized that Ash had swam for such a long time yesterday. If she hadn't gotten out earlier, they could have both been sick, which would only make matters worse.

"What are we gonna do?" she asked worryingly. Brock sighed again and shook his head. "I'm not sure," he muttered.

Misty had an idea. "Let's take him down to the road so we can get him home,"

Again, Brock shook his head. "The rocks are too steep, and you won't be able to carry him down," everyone sat deep in thought, while Ash sneezed in the background.

Finally, Brock came to a conclusion. "Dawn, you nurse Ash back to health, and I help you with it. Everyone else can go on as normal," Dawn was alarmed at the fact that she would have to help Ash. However, she did stay near him while he got sick, and she seemed fine, so it only made sense.

Dawn crawled back into the tent with some water, a washcloth, and an extra blanket. "Room service," she chimed in an attempt to cheer Ash up. Ash smiled weakly as he gulped down a lot of water. "Need anything else?" Dawn asked politely. Ash shook his head and wrapped himself tighter in the blanket as he drifted off to sleep. Dawn slinked out of the tent with Pikachu and Piplup behind her. She sat down at the table and drank some tea, which felt really good considering how dry her throat felt. It was totally fine until she was in the tent... Dawn shook off the thought, but it kept coming back to her.

"Brock, can you watch Ash for a while? I'm gonna take a walk," Dawn said, unable to think straight at that time. Brock nodded, saying that she probably needed a break anyway. He watched her walk down the dirt trail with the Pokemon behind her, her head lost in the clouds.

Dawn trudged along as Pikachu and Piplup danced around her playfully. She paid no mind, as she was deep in thought, yet she was unsure of what she was deep in thought about.

She finally came to when she heard her name being called from farther up the trail. May was waving at her like a six-year old with an ice cream truck, which in turn made Misty a very annoyed parent, attempting to keep May earthbound.

Dawn eventually reached the top, as did Pikachu and Piplup. Despite the fact that Dawn was most certainly in conversation with the other girls, she continued to stare off into space.

After this happened a few times, May innocently attempted to break the ice. "What ya thinking about, hm?" she asked, beating her eyes.

"Nothing..." Dawn replied, not wanting to talk about her murky thoughts. Little did she know how persistent May could be.

When Dawn eventually did realize how persistent she could be, the blunette began to speak her mind. "Ash... Something about him, I dunno though,"

May continued to stare as Misty smirked slightly. "Anything else?" Misty added in an attempt to answer her question.

Dawn sat silently for a few seconds before giving a response. "Like I said, I don't know why he's all I can think of," Misty sat her down on the hillside, as she and May took their seat also.

"I'd say you like him," she said, putting her hand on Dawn's shoulder. Dawn blushed as she slapped Misty's wrist off of her. She couldn't believe she would think that. It was at this time that Pikachu's ears perked as he dashed over to the girls, paying close attention to the conversation. Dawn, on the other hand, was trying her best not to, disregarding such things as 'love'. But the more the idea was shunned, the more she realized she needed to come to terms with it.

"Okay, I guess I do..." Dawn muttered, causing the others to react joyfully, Well, except for Pikachu and Piplup. Pikachu was laughing from the irony of what he had said earlier within the week, and Piplup stared at Dawn with his beak wide open.

"Don't be ashamed," Misty said encouragingly. "He might like you back," May nodded in agreement, blushing slightly without anyone noticing. Dawn looked down
the hill with a sigh. "Maybe," she whispered. She thought about her and Ash's conversation the night before. She shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind. The girls dropped the conversation and went on as if nothing had happened.

Eventually, the trio headed back to the campsite to pack their things. Ash was feeling a bit better, but was still sick nonetheless. His mother had stopped to pick him up as the others continued packing. Serena watched them drive off and felt like her heart would burst when she saw him again. Dawn saw it in her eyes, but said nothing. With Ash gone, only two people at camp knew what had happened.

They all said their farewells as they got their rides: Gary's Skarmory, Drew's Flygon, Misty's Gyarados, Leaf's Fearow, May's Tropius, Dawn's Togekiss, Lyra's Gliscor, Serena's Altaria, and Brock's Aerodactyl. They went home, but then went to their beds as the sun lowered below the horizon. Dawn stared at her ceiling, trying to recollect herself from the earlier events. Maybe Misty was right, but something seemed a little off. She fell asleep as she tried to figure it out, not considering any outside factors. She slowly went to sleep, smiling at the item in the corner of her room. On a coat hanger sat Ash's jacket. This gave her an idea for the next day, and she dreamed about it throughout the night.