Hi :)

This is my first Pokémon fanfic, and my first ever that I wrote in English... it isn't my mother tongue, so, although I tried my hardest to write correctly, there might be some mistakes. And the Pokémon terminology may be a little off, I consulted Wikipedia only for the city's names... So, if there are any mistakes - spelling, grammar, whatever - please point them out, this helps me improve and make less mistakes in the future :) Thanks in advance :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon anime, or any of the characters. (hope that's enough, I never had to write a disclaimer before, they're not needed in my country...)

Here's the fic :)

( EDIT 30. 06. 2014 – oh my lord, it's been 6 years since I wrote this thing… I decided to fix it a bit, my English has improved since then and the mistakes were bothering me ^^; )

Dawn was sitting on a bench in the waiting room of the Snowpoint City Pokémon Center. She took a look around and saw that she was completely alone. All the Pokémon Coordinators who had arrived a couple of days earlier for the Pokémon Contest were outside, practicing with their Pokémon. Nurse Joy was also nowhere to be seen, most likely tending to the Pokémon left in her care. And Dawn's friends also were outside - at least that was the case with Ash, who, as soon as they booked a room, took his Pokémon and went to do some last-minute training before the upcoming Gym Battle. Dawn wasn't quite sure where Brock was, though - she suspected that he either went to buy some supplies and other necessary things, or simply went off in search of Nurse Joy. She giggled to herself - the older one out of her friends was impossible sometimes.

The blue-haired Coordinator looked at the Jigglypuff-shaped clock just above the entrance. It showed ten past seven. Dawn remembered that the Johto Grand Festival, that she had been watching earlier on the telebim in the Pokémon Center, had ended somewhere around five. It meant that, even taking into account all the journalists and crazed fans, the winner must have had plenty of time to reach her room in the Ecruteak City's Pokémon Center already.

Dawn got up from the bench and marched straight to one of the videophones standing in a line against the wall. She took a piece of paper she'd gotten earlier from Nurse Joy from her backpack - on it was the number to the Pokémon Center in Ecruteak. After looking around once again, to make sure she really was alone, Dawn sat on a chair standing in front of one of the videophones. She hesitated briefly; her hand hovering uncertainly above the numerical keyboard.

"There's no need to worry," she told herself. "Everything will work out just fine!"

Armed with restored confidence and hope, Dawn finally dialed the number. Then, she waited, holding the receiver to her ear. After a few second, Nurse Joy's smiling face appeared on the screen instead of the blackness that was previously there.

"Hello, this is Ecruteak City Pokémon Center," said Nurse Joy. "How may I help you?"

"Hello!" the girl replied, offering a smile on her own. "My name is Dawn, and I'd like to speak with May from Petalburg City. I know she's currently staying at your Pokémon Center. I'm sure you know her; she has just won the Johto Grand Festival..."

"Ah, yes!" Nurse Joy's face brightened considerably. "That nice young lady. She has returned from the stadium about fifteen minutes ago. Please wait while I'll call her."

That being said, Nurse Joy's face disappeared from the screen again, only to be replaced by an animated picture of a dancing and singing Jigglypuff on light violet background.

"What is it with Pokémon Centers and Jigglypuffs, anyways?" Dawn thought offhandedly. "Not that Jigglypuffs aren't cute, but I always thought that Chansey was supposed to be the Center's mascot..."

Dawn waited, tapping her foot a little, and, with lack of anything better to do, she watched the Jigglypuff leaping, jumping, and doing other figures typical for ballet. Finally, the pink Pokémon disappeared.

Even if she had missed the transmission from the Johto Grand Festival for some reason, Dawn would have still recognized her interlocutor in an instant, thanks to Ash and Brock's many stories. She was just as they described her to be - blue eyes with a friendly spark in them, a kind but happy smile, light brown hair framing her face, and a red bandana with white Pokémon symbol tied around her head.

"Hello!" the brown-haired girl said, looking at Dawn. "My name's May. Nurse Joy said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Who are you and what is the reason you're calling?"

The question was there; not asked out loud - May was too polite for that - but implied. Dawn cleared her throat, suddenly feeling a little nervous. Her friend's happiness was at stake...

"Not to worry, not to worry..."

"Hello," she replied brightly. "Yes, I did. I should probably introduce myself first, though, so... well, my name's Dawn, and I'm a Pokémon Coordinator form Twinleaf Town, in Sinnoh."

"Oh, you're a Pokémon Coordinator too?" May's smile brightened a little, and understanding flashed in her eyes. Dawn realized her mistake. The girl thought she was another one of those rabid fans, trying every possible means to contact May and ask for an autograph!

"Yes, I am, but that's not why I called!" she hurried to explain. "I mean, of course, I was watching the Festival and I think you were just awesome! Your performance was perfect, it must have taken hours to prepare it! And the final battle..." Dawn abruptly cut off and blushed a little, realizing that she got carried away."Er, I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

She was relieved to hear May laugh.

"It's perfectly alright," the other girl said reassuringly. "I remember, I used to react the same way whenever I met a Pokémon Coordinator I've heard of before. It happens to everyone, I guess."

"Um, yes, you're probably right," Dawn laughed, a bit nervously, but still reassured by May's words. "So, the reason why I wanted to talk to you... well... you know Ash and Brock, right?"

That was it. The cat was out of the bag.

May raised her eyebrows; clearly that was not what she was expecting.

"Yes, I do know them," she said, a distant but fond look in her eyes. "They are my good friends; we went through a lot together." Suddenly, she shook herself out of the memories and looked at Dawn again. "I assume you know them too?"

"Yes, I do," Dawn began to tell her tale. "I met them at the very beginning of my journey, and, since they were heading the same way that I was, they let me come along."

"Oh," May said slowly. "So you're travelling with them now?" Dawn felt like panicking; she didn't mean to make May jealous or upset with her comment! What if she was..?

"Did they want to introduce us two, then?" May questioned, interrupting Dawn's thoughts, and began to look left and right, as if she was expecting to see Ash and Brock standing on the girl's either side. Dawn, glad that the awkward moment had passed, began to explain.

"No, no! They didn't know I was going to call you. In fact, they're not even in the Pokémon Center right now," she supplied. A spark of disappointment appeared in May's eyes.

"She probably wanted to talk to them... no surprise; after all they hadn't had a chance to catch up since Ash came to Sinnoh..." thought Dawn.

"Brock, well, you know him, I suspect that he went off to find Nurse Joy, he always tries to hit on them... on almost all girls, in fact," Dawn continued with a sheepish grin, and was relieved to hear May giggle.

"I see he hasn't changed at all!" she commented. "And..." she hesitated a bit, "what about Ash? Where is he now?"

"Well, Ash is going to try to win his seventh Gym Badge tomorrow, so he wanted to train a bit more. He took his Pokémon and left as soon as we got here; he didn't even wait for supper!" Dawn explained. May raised an eyebrow in disbelief in response to that last bit of information.

"It's not like Ash; he never misses meals..." she suddenly broke off "... or at least he didn't when we were still travelling together..." she corrected unsurely.

"This hasn't changed, that's why I was bewildered too," Dawn confirmed, wanting to put the other girl at ease. "But, you see... as I said, they have no idea I was going to call you. In fact, it was going to be a surprise."

"A surprise? How?" asked May, obviously interested.

"Here it goes. No worries, I can do it..."

"Well, it's quite a long story," Dawn began. "You see... I just wanted to do something for them," she confessed. "Both Ash and Brock had been nothing but nice to me; letting me join them for this journey, believing in me, helping me out if I needed it... It means a lot to me. But every time I tell them that I want to do something for them in return, they just laugh and reply that there's no need, that they're my friends and so, they will always be glad to help me." Dawn paused to check May's reaction. She was listening intently.

"She probably knows it all from retrospect," Dawn realized. "I'm sure that the boys acted exactly the same way towards May back when they were travelling together..."

"I still felt like I owed them big time, though. And so, I decided that I will do something to repay them for all the kindness, but that I'll make it a surprise."

"That's a very good idea, actually," said May, and smiled gently. "I'm happy they met someone as thoughtful as you."

"Er..." Dawn hesitated. "Thank you for the compliment, but I don't know if you'll still think that after I ask you The Question..."

"The Question?" May repeated, completely bewildered. "What question?"

"Well, it's not exactly a question, more like a confession," Dawn corrected herself. "I mean..." she hesitated. And then it went.

"You know, I like to listen to Ash and Brock's stories about their adventures, and I couldn't help but notice that whenever I asked Ash to tell a story about his travels without specifying, he always chose one that had you in it, or that he always unconsciously spoke more about you than about any other people he'd met, so I thought that he might like you, as in more than a friend that is, so I asked him if he did; and he said that yes, that he likes you a lot, he always did, but he didn't know how to tell you, and even if he did he didn't know if you liked him back, so he never tried because he didn't want to mess up your friendship and make things awkward, and now he regrets it and he misses you a lot, so I decided to call you and tell you all this instead of forcing Ash to do it, because I think he'd get embarrassed and back out of it, and I wanted you to know..."

Eventually, Dawn ran out of breath from speaking for so long without taking a single breath and she sagged a little on her chair, panting quietly. She felt stupid for blabbing the whole story out at May out of the blue, and so quickly nonetheless, but she couldn't find any other way to do it. She was too afraid that, if she had let the other girl interrupt her, she either wouldn't've been able to finish, or May would've gotten angry at her for being nosy and slam the receiver, and her plan would be ruined.

Just when the silence was starting to become a bit uncomfortable, Dawn tentatively lifted back her head, only to stare at May's completely shocked face.

"Oh dear," Dawn thought, panicked. "What if it was too much of a shock? What if May'll start yelling at me now for sticking my nose in other people's business? What if she didn't understand a word because I was speaking too fast and she'll ask me to repeat it all?! Oh no!"

Some of Dawn's thoughts and feelings must have reflected on her face, because May gave a start and began to come out of her stupor. Her eyes focused back on the blue-haired girl.

"I didn't know..." she said quietly.

"Sorry," Dawn apologized, feeling guilty. "I didn't mean to be nosy, it's just that..."

"No, no, that's not it," May objected. "I don't mind the way I found out... it's just that I had absolutely no idea that..." she swallowed nervously. "That Ash liked me back."

Dawn felt her eyes widen. She was right! May did like Ash as more than a friend too! She tried telling him that when they had that memorable conversation she had just quoted to May, but there was just no convincing the boy.

"I mean... he never gave me any hints..." May continued, "and I was also too afraid to tell him, I would've done that if I knew there's hope for my feelings to be returned, but I thought there wasn't. And all this time..."

She looked at Dawn, and Dawn looked right back. In all honesty, she had absolutely no idea what to say right now... However, she was surprised to see May break into a smile.

"Is it for real?" she asked. "Ash really likes me? He told you that?" Dawn frowned. Hadn't she just said that?

"Yes, he likes you, he told me so himself-"

"I can't believe it!" May yelled, threw her arms in the air, and began to laugh.

"Oh," Dawn understood. "I guess it just took a while to sink in... all this excitement must be getting to me; I suddenly want to start jumping up and down in joy, too..."

"I can't believe it!" May repeated, sitting back straight. "Where are you staying?"

"Huh?" Dawn, surprised by the sudden question, stumbled over her words. "Er, we're in Snowpoint City, in Pokémon Center-"

"And how long are you going to be staying there?" May asked impatiently.

"Long enough," Dawn finally realized where this was heading. "We're not leaving right after Ash's Gym Battle; there's a Pokémon Contest in four days and I'm going to participate, so we'll be staying for a week more at least."

"That's great!" May commented. "That, and the fact that the Pokémon Contest in Rustboro City that I was going to enter isn't going to be held until next month, so I'll have some time to catch up with old friends..." she trailed off and winked at Dawn.

"Perfect!" Dawn in return beamed at her, just as enthusiastic about the prospect. "Do you want it to be a surprise?"

The girls suddenly quieted, looked at each other, and began to laugh.

"Y-yes," May managed to overcome her fit of giggles. "D-don't tell the boys!"

"O-okay, I won't," Dawn tried to catch her breath. "Ash will be so happy when he sees you! He wanted to call you for a while now, but he wasn't sure if he'll be able to find you, what with the Johto Grand Festival going on and all-"

"Yes, well, I'll make sure to get where you are as fast as I can!" May exclaimed, and threw her arms wide open. There was a faint sound of something crashing, and May sweatdropped. "Oops..."

"What happened?" Dawn asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," May was smiling sheepishly as she tried to wave it off. Dawn stifled a smile.

"Well, I'm really happy that it all worked out," she said. May smiled at her.

"Thank you for this," she said suddenly. "Calling a person you don't know to tell them your friend likes them is one crazy idea," at this, Dawn facefaulted, "but it worked. I think you're very brave, and a very loyal friend, for doing something like this."

"Oh," Dawn, stammered, surprised by the sudden change of subject. "Well, thank you. But it just seemed like something that I had to do; I mean, I couldn't've just let you two suffer-"

"Exactly," May interrupted. Dawn raised her eyebrow, but said nothing. "Well, I guess we'll be able to meet each other in person soon enough, so we'll continue the talk later - as for now, I just want to pack my stuff and leave for Sinnoh as fast as I can!" she confessed, bouncing excitedly on the seat. Dawn grinned.

"All right! If you hurry it up, maybe you'll even get here tomorrow?"

"I'll try!" May promised, and waved. "Thank you once again! And don't tell Ash I'm coming!"

"All right, I won't!"

"Bye!"

"See you later!"

May put the receiver down, and the videophone's screen turned black once again. Dawn also hung up and got up from her seat, her mind spinning from the last minutes' events. Slowly, the realization of what happened dawned on her.

"I did it!" she yelled, and began jumping up and down and dancing much like that Jigglypuff on the screen did before. "Yes! It worked! I knew everything will turn out all right!"

May sat on the bench in the Sunyshore City's Pokémon Center, and looked absent-mindedly at the poster that was hanging on the wall. She leaned against the back of the bench, sighing happily.

The last week was the best week of her life. Not only had she won the Johto Grand Festival, she also learned that Ash, whom she fancied for a very long time, liked her back. Having that knowledge, she was finally able to confess her feelings to the boy when she visited him in Snowpoint City, and the two became boyfriend and girlfriend after that.

But that still wasn't the end of exciting events. She was reunited with Brock, another old friend whom she also missed (not as much as she missed Ash, though, but that was understandable). She learned something new about Pokémon contests - Sinnoh was the only region where they had those fantastic ball capsules and seals, and where Coordinators actually dressed up for contests. She also gained a new, female friend. Her and Dawn were so similar it was unbelievable - they both liked fancy clothes in big quantities, window shopping, good food, they were optimistic, determined, cheerful, sometimes a bit absent-minded, and of course, they were both Coordinators and loved Pokémon contests. Taking this all into consideration, the girls just had to become best friends, it was inevitable.

May pulled a small note out of her pocket. On it, there was a string of numbers. She smiled to herself. Her friend did so much for her relationship with Ash, now it was time for her to do something for Dawn.

May was very observant and intuitive when it came to dealing with other people's feelings. While she was listening to Ash, Brock and Dawn telling her about all the adventures they had in Sinnoh region so far, something got her attention... something that Dawn said and how she said it, to be exact.

May got up from the bench and took a look around. The place was empty - Dawn has been challenged to a battle by her childhood friend Kenny and it was probably just beginning while Brock was with them acting as a referee like he usually did. Ash was somewhere nearby, far enough not to eavesdrop, probably rooting for her just like he promised he will after she told him why she wasn't coming to watch Dawn battle. With no one around, it was time to call Barry from Twinleaf Town and ask him what he thought of a certain blue-haired Coordinator.

"There's no need to worry," May unconsciously repeated Dawn's usual mantra as she was heading towards the nearest videophone. "Everything will work out just fine..."

THE END.