Author's Note: Hey everyone! It's been a while, but once again, I had trouble with uploading and editing chapters. Also, every time I went to edit my story, it would come up with an error, so as you can probably guess, I was getting really pissed off. Anyhow, it's finally working, and I've finished this chapter!

Sorry for the long wait, but I hope it's worth it.

Crazy Beautiful Life

Chapter 20

Knock 'Em Dead: The End

She'd never felt so nervous. It was just like stepping onto the stage at her first ever Contest, except ten times worse. There stood Paul, looking smart yet casual in his tuxedo. The grey shirt he was wearing was open slightly at the top, revealing part of his toned chest, and a tie, surprisingly a similar colour to Dawn's dress, was hung loosely around his neck. The rest of his suit was simply black, while his hair hadn't changed a lot, except it was styled a bit more than usual.

She felt her legs go weak as he stared into her eyes. Gosh, she had missed him; his eyes, his expression, the rare smile that only she could see… his whole presence sent shivers down her spine, and before she could even stop herself, tears started to fall down her face.

"I was such an idiot, Paul," she spluttered, looking at the floor. "I know that I should've told you about the offer sooner, but I just didn't think it was that important because I wasn't going to accept it."

His expression remained the same; serious, but the glint in his eye told Dawn that he was listening to her words. She looked away again before continuing.

"And you know why I wasn't going to accept it, Paul?" she asked him, looking him straight in the eyes as she felt a boost of confidence flow through her. "Because you have taught me so much and you've made me feel things that I've never felt before. The day I got the letter, the first thing I did was talk to my mom, because I was so confused about what to do Paul! You don't realise how much pressure there is when something like this happens, and mom's the only one who understands the consequences of it."

She heard his footsteps and glanced at his feet. He was slowly walking towards her, but only in small steps.

"So I told her about everything that's gone on in the past few months I've been here. And you know who was at the top of my list? You. Because there is no one else I would rather be with, Paul. I didn't want to accept because the thought of knowing that you wouldn't be there with me made me feel sick, Paul! You mean that much to me that I can't even imagine life without you anymore!"

As more tears began to fall, she balled her hands into fists and the next thing she felt was a pair of strong, reassuring arms wrapped around her. Her hands relaxed again and she felt herself begin to shake as she slowly put her own arms around him before holding him tightly.

"I'm sorry, Dawn," he said simply, tightening his own grip around her. "I am so sorry."

She cried even more into his chest and couldn't find the strength to reply. Instead, she just stayed there in his arms and embraced the moment as much as she could.

"I feel awful for not listening to you, Dawn. For the past week, I've kept going over what happened, and every time I think of what I did to you, I feel sick in the pit of my stomach, because I can't believe I let myself believe this shit," he said, stroking her hair. He pulled out of the hug and held her shoulders gently, lifting her chin up with his hand. Then, he looked into those crystal blue eyes and smiled.

"I've fallen in love with you, Dawn Berlitz. And I will never do anything to hurt you again."

Dawn felt a grin spread across her face and she cupped his face in her hands.

"I've fallen in love with you too, Paul."

For the first time, she saw him grin, and then he pulled her into a deep and meaningful kiss. She'd waited so long for this moment, and all of a sudden, her world was complete again.

. . .

Back in the main hall, the dance had well and truly started now. Almost every student was now up and raring to go, while others were in groups singing along to every song that came on. Some were already dancing, while the odd few were still questioning whether to go and join them. But, at one side of the hall, Drew stood with his back hunched, staring at one person in particular. Ash stood next to him, feeling quite awkward around his envy-filled friend.

"Just look at him, acting like he knows it all," Drew said, his piercing eyes green with jealousy. Ironic, Ash thought, trying hard not to laugh, but he kept quiet as his friend carried on. "And what is it with that stupid hat he always wears, huh? Looks like a right dick if you ask me!"

Ash shrugged his shoulders and looked down at the cup he was holding. This had been going on for the past ten minutes now, and it was the most out of character he'd ever seen Drew be. Of course, the person he was ranting about was Brendan Birch, his top rival. Not in Coordinating, or battling, or anything else of that matter, but the girl of his dreams; May. Misty's plan of getting her away from him had failed, and Brendan was still luring her into his trap. Or, that was how Drew put it, anyway.

"Dude, just go and talk to her," Ash finally said, sick to death of Drew's moping. "If you like her that much, then just tell her," he said, leaning back on the table. Drew looked up at him, slightly shocked, but then he smirked.

"Hypocrite," Drew said, flicking his hair.

"What do you mean hypocrite?" Ash asked dumbly, frowning at Drew. "I'm not a hypocrite!"

Drew laughed slightly and stood up straight.

"One word, Ash," he said, ruffling his messy black hair. "Misty."

And with that, he walked away towards May and Brendan, ready to put up a fight if need be. Ash, however, stood there in shock with his mouth agape and he felt his cheeks go hot.

Damn, he knows how to wind me up, he thought to himself, shaking his head. Thinking of the red head, he hadn't seen her all evening, and casually, he started looking around the hall for any sign of her.

At that moment, Dawn and Paul had returned to the dance, hands intertwined. They both scanned the hall for their group of friends, and the first thing they saw was Drew standing closely by May and Brendan, looking pretty glum.

"So, what's the plan?" Dawn asked, her face now fresh and back to how it was. "We've got four people that desperately need to be hooked up tonight, and one of them's already on the verge of attacking Brendan."

Paul smirked and squeezed her hand.

"I'll distract Brendan," he said, nodding towards him. "I'll go and start talking to him about battling skills and how good he is and a load of other bullshit. He always falls for it."

"Sounds good!" Dawn said enthusiastically, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm going to try and find Misty or Ash."

With that, the couple separated and headed their own ways. Paul headed straight towards Brendan, going over what he was going to say in his head.

"Brendan," he said, interrupting his conversation with May. "Man, I saw you battling the other day, some wicked strategies you've got going on there," he said, cringing at how enthusiastic he sounded at something which was far from true.

"Cheers, Paul!" Brendan said, turning away from May. "Well, hey, I'd happily go through some techniques I have with you if you want?"

Paul glanced over at Drew who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Paul widened his eyes and briefly nodded his head towards May, who was now standing alone. Drew smirked and nodded of his consent while Paul returned to his fake conversation with Brendan.

"Sounds sweet, pal," Paul said, grunting slightly at what he had just said. Drew owed him bad after this.

As soon as Paul had led Brendan away slightly, Drew swallowed hard and loosened his tie. He'd never felt so much pressure. It was now or never with May, and if he didn't make a move soon, Brendan would be in there with his girl.

. . .

Dawn scanned the hall desperately, looking for a sign of either Ash or Misty. She'd had no luck so far, but her heart then dropped as she saw Misty in a corner of the hall with someone that definitely wasn't Ash; Rudy. Misty had mentioned him briefly before and had told her about how the two of them had hit it off pretty well, but tonight was a time where Rudy needed to stay away from her; far away from her.

As she was about to go over there and sort things out, she caught sight of the other person she was looking for. Ash, who had already seen Misty and Rudy chatting together, was sitting on the bench with his teeth gritted and arms crossed. If it was possible, steam would've been coming out of his ears. While Dawn pouted as she tried to think of something, she thought back to when she, May and Misty had had a conversation about Misty's feelings for him.

I'm not meant to say anything to him, she thought to herself, biting her lip. But tonight, that will just have to change.

She casually walked over towards Ash with a bright, welcoming smile plastered across her beaming face.

"Hey, Ash!" she said excitedly, joining him on the bench. "Cool party, huh?"

"Pft, yeah right!" he huffed, still glaring at Rudy. "I'm having the time of my life!"

"Not sure I believe you there," she replied, eyeing him mischievously. "So, are you gonna tell me what's keeping you or not?"

"There's no point," he said disappointingly. "It's not as if you can do anything about it."

"I'm pretty sure I can," she grinned, nudging him in the ribs. "Come on, Ash. At least let me try and help you."

He fidgeted slightly and looked at her nervously. Her eyes were wide with anticipation and curiosity, and they had a gleam that made Ash give in almost instantly.

"It's Misty, okay?" he said, going red in the cheeks. "Let's just say that I might and probably do have stronger feelings for her than I did when we were younger but I've never realised it before because I was too young."

He let out a deep breath after that long sentence and Dawn smiled at him confidently.

"Ash, you have no idea that almost everyone you know has been waiting for you and Misty to get together, do you?" she asked him.

"Well… I always knew something was up but I never knew what, you know what I'm saying?"

"Listen to me," she said sternly, making him look her in the eyes. "Rudy is no competition against you. Just between you and me, I know for a fact that Misty has strong feelings for you, Ash. And I don't just mean best friend anymore. It's grown into something a little bigger."

Ash froze and his mouth fell open slightly. Dawn giggled and stood up from her seat.

"You didn't hear that from me," she said, winking at him before walking away.

Ash still didn't move. He was still trying to take in everything that Dawn had said. This was all pretty new to him… actually, take that back. This was all very new to him, and he had no idea on what to do.

"You heard her, Ashy-boy!" a snickering voice said from behind him. Ash rolled his eyes and turned around to be faced by his first rival, Gary Oak.

"Don't just stand there like a loser, go and get in there!" he said, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "Either that, or pussy-boy over there's gonna be getting it on with Misty," he said, almost seriously, but a hint of mockery still existed in his voice.

"Thanks, Gary," Ash said, grinning, and with that, he made his way over to Misty. It was weird; at times, Gary was the biggest asshole going and gave the most awful advice, but then at the most random times, without even trying, he gave the best advice a guy could give.

He'd have to pay him back one day.

. . .

"I must say, Misty, you're looking lovely tonight," Rudy said, leaning his arm against the wall next to Misty. She smiled shyly and looked down into the drink she was holding.

"Thank you, Rudy," she said, changing her view to the dress she was wearing.

She wore a short gown with a shiny, satin underskirt. It had a halter style neckline which was beaded with a matching beaded waistband. It showed off her toned, slender back and the colour matched her eyes perfectly. It was a shimmering bright turquoise which reflected off of every single light and the lettuce hem flattered her long, toned legs. Her makeup was natural, apart from her eye makeup; blue and aqua was splashed about and smudged, a thick line of eyeliner was on her top lid and her eyelashes were curled, opening up her ocean eyes even more. Her hair was in beach waves, with half of it up finished off with a sparkly clip to hold it in place.

"You know Misty, I made a mistake letting you go all those years ago. I shouldn't have-"

"Misty?"

Rudy's expression instantly changed from slick to sick. He glared at the boy in front of him, pure frustration evident in his eyes. Misty smiled slightly as she recognised the voice and turned to face it.

"Hi, Ash," she said subtly, shyness taking over her as she noticed that he was utterly speechless. Of course, in the past, he'd seen Misty more dressed up than usual, but tonight she looked absolutely beautiful. For a brief moment, he'd completely forgotten what he was there for, but the jealous voice of Rudy stopped him in his trance.

"What do you want, Ash? Can't you see that Misty and I are talking?"

"Rudy, I'd really appreciate it if you could just leave me and Misty alone for a while-"

"Why, Ash?" he asked, starting to lose his temper.

"Because, Rudy, it's something personal that I want to talk to Misty about in private, so I'll say it again, if you don't mind-"

"You had the chance to talk to Misty throughout the whole time you travelled with her Ash, but I guess you were just too naïve and scared to ever say anything."

"Rudy, would you mind telling me what you're talking about?" Misty interrupted, getting slightly frustrated with the way that he was talking to Ash.

"Never mind, Misty, let's just pick up from where we left off, yeah?"

"You know what? Enough is enough!" Ash exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Misty's waist and pulling her into a kiss. A shell shocked expression was on her face, but it soon faltered into something more relaxed and meaningful as she closed her eyes and wrapped her hands around Ash's neck. Rudy balled his fists and slammed his drink on the floor before storming off in complete anger, cursing to himself. Ash then pulled away from the kiss and cupped Misty's face in his hands, brushing his fingers over her lips.

"Misty, you don't realise how long I've wanted to do that," he said, grinning his signature smile. "For a long time, this has been looking at me straight in the face but I've just never realised it before."

"I didn't think you looked at me in that way at all," she admitted, looking at the floor. "Ever since the day I met you, I knew you were special, Ash Ketchum. And never in my life did I think that you'd realise my feelings for you, or return them in any way."

"Well… Misty, I do return those feelings for you, and I have a question I'd like to ask you."

She smiled and put her hands on his chest.

"Then go ahead and ask me, silly," she joked, happiness gleaming in her eyes.

"Misty, will you be my girlfriend?"

She paused and her face fell dull. Ash suddenly looked at her in horror, thinking that he had said something wrong, but he then relaxed again as she leant in even closer.

"Of course I'll be your girlfriend, Ash."

. . .

Drew knew that May looked gorgeous, but now that he was closer, she looking stunning. Luckily for him, Paul had managed to drag away Brendan, so now, it was just him and May. As he approached her, he found himself staring.

Shit, play it cool, Drew, he thought to himself, gritting his teeth. Then, with a flick of his hair, his expression changed from nervous to laidback as he started up a conversation with her.

"Hey, May."

May's eyes widened slightly as she turned around from the table she was standing by. Her eyes shimmered as she looked into his, and a small smile could be seen on her lips.

"Drew," she said, taking the chance to look at him. As usual, he looked perfect; hair was styled perfectly, what he was wearing suited him… everything.

"So, what brings you here?" she asked casually, trying not to blush too much as she caught him looking at her in an odd way; a way she hadn't seen him look at her before.

For once in his life, Drew couldn't find anything cocky or sarcastic to about her. He couldn't fault her at all. She wore a black, strapless, short gown with a red rose print bodice. The beaded neckline and waistline flattered her curves, and the way the dress did up like a corset at the back added a bit of sexiness to the attire. Her hair fell in large, loose curls around her face and down her back, and smoky eyes brought out the sapphire colour of her orbs. A small line of eyeliner was on her top lash line and bottom, and a natural coloured gloss was sat on her lips which lured Drew in even more.

"May, I wanted… well, what I wanted to say was that, there's something I've been needing to tell you."

She stepped a bit closer towards him and smiled reassuringly, not losing eye contact with him. He continued to stare at her intently, and then, deciding to get straight to the point, that's exactly what he did.

"May… I like you. A lot more than you probably think."

May froze slightly and her mouth hung open. She didn't expect him to be so sudden and open about things. She knew that Drew had some sort of feelings towards her, but hearing him say it made her speechless. She smirked in a flirty way as she saw him start to go red.

"Is Drew Hayden actually… nervous for once?" she asked, snaking her arms around his waist. He gulped and smiled awkwardly, copying her actions.

"Maybe," he said, smirking once again. "But is that a bad thing?"

She lifted her face up closer to his. Sapphire met emerald as the two looked deeply into each other's eyes.

"No. Not at all."

And with that, Drew couldn't resist it any longer. He crashed his lips onto hers and held her close. He'd got the girl he wanted. And he'd be sure not to screw it up.

. . .

"Well this is new," Dawn said as she approached her four friends. "You all decided to let out your long lost feelings for each other and get together then, right?"

"Well…" May said, rolling her eyes as she glanced at Drew.

"You could say that," Ash finished off, putting his arm around Misty.

"Hey, May, I was wondering if… oh."

May turned around to face a pretty gutted looking Brendan. He noticed her paired with Drew, but he then smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry about it, May," he smiled, giving a nod of defeat to Drew. "Treat her well, Drew," he joked, grinning before walking away. Drew smirked and looked at May again, taking in her presence. It felt a bit strange, but in a good way; the girl who he randomly met all those years ago, his biggest rival in Coordinating, his best friend… his girlfriend. And he didn't want it any other way.

"You've won again, eh Drew?" May asked sarcastically, raising her eyebrow. "But hey, it's gonna be a completely different story in our next Contest!"

"Ha, you wish, May," he retorted, flicking his hair. "Not a chance."

"You might want to think about what you just said there. Because you know, seeing as you're my boyfriend now, I'd expect a little more-"

"Respect?"

May stopped her sentence and looked at Drew helplessly. He always managed to stop her from being angry, and there was only one way of doing that; by handing her a rose.

"That's so cheesy!" Ash interrupted, cringing at May and Drew.

"Excuse me?" Misty asked, a surprised expression on her face. "As a matter of fact, that's extremely romantic, but I guess some things never change with you, Ash. You're still a kid at heart," she said, looking smug.

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"AM NOT!"

"ARE TOO!"

"Some things never change, do they?" May asked, crossing her arms while Ash and Misty continued to bicker.

"Sure don't," a deep voice said from behind Dawn. He then put his arms around her, startling her.

"I was wondering where you'd got to," she said, taking his hand in hers. "How was your motivating conversation with Brendan?"

"Excruciating," Paul replied, grunting. "I've never sounded so enthusiastic before. I sort of feel sorry for the kid, you know, giving him all that crap about how good he is at battling when he's not."

Paul then glared at Drew, causing him to look around nervously.

"What are you looking at me for?"

"You owe me big time, pretty-boy. If I didn't go and talk to Birch over there, you wouldn't be with her right now."

"Yeah, but I wasn't the one that made you talk to him…" he said, smirking at Dawn. She looked up at her boyfriend innocently and grinned, giving him a peck on the lips.

"Have I owed you enough?" she asked him, squeezing his hand. He smiled briefly and kissed her again before whispering in her ear.

"Come with me."

She looked at him curiously and let him take her outside. The two walked back across the school grounds to the gymnasium. The sound of the music in the main hall was muffled and distant, and as Paul shut the door, he walked ahead of her to the middle of the field. The lights were dimmed and he held out his hand.

"I wanted our first dance to be special," he said, looking a bit nervous.

She smiled and walked towards him, gently taking his hand. He put his arm around her waist and she put hers around his. Slowly, the two began to dance together, with Paul spinning her around on the odd time. She giggled and rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes.

"Thank you, Paul," she said, looking back up at him. "This is perfect."

"I try," he smirked, stopping. He then moved a bit of hair that was in her face and smiled, embracing her protectively and lovingly.

"You look beautiful tonight, Dawn."

She took in a deep breath and shut her eyes again, resting her forehead against his. She then planted a gentle and light kiss on his lips, as the world around her seemed to disappear.

This was the perfect end to her first year.

And after everything that had happened, she was glad it did.

Because that's just how crazy and beautiful life really is.

. . .

That's the end.

I've actually finished this whole story.

And wow, what a year it's been!

Seriously, writing this story has been tough, but I've enjoyed every minute of it! Thank you to all of my reviewers. You've managed to stick with me throughout it all, even if I did let you down on the odd time!

Anyway, that's the end of Crazy Beautiful Life. Not too bad for my first attempt at a proper story, I think! Who knows what my next plan is? I've got a few ideas in mind, so I'm sure you'll hear more from me in the future. Be sure to check out the poll on my profile at a few of the ideas I have in mind, and choose the ones you like the sound of the most!

Most of all, I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did writing it and I hope you all continue to review and support other authors on FanFiction.

For now, that's all from me.

Take care,

Charityx