What If She Said Yes?

Chapter 1: Dance The Night Away

The Great Marsh was filled with festive stalls and decorations as far as the eyes could see; since everything had calmed down after the Rocket Trio's attack, it was clear to see that the Croagunk Festival was well underway and it was time for the main highlight of the festivities. With Brock having already joined in with the large group assembled, Ash and Dawn turned their heads up to notice Crasher Wake standing in a small observation tower with a large drum just behind him. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, time for our Pokemon Dance!" Wake announced, with a smile of excitement on his face. So with this, holding two drumming sticks in his hand, he started to bang against the drum in a rhythm, with the large group starting to dance in a routine that consisted of stepping from side to side and clapping. As he and Dawn watched the dancing, Ash quickly showed a big smile as he was eager to join in as well.

"Wow, that looks like so much fun!" Ash excitedly commented. "(Yeah, it sure does!)" Pikachu immediately replied, nodding in agreement with a smile of awe as he was looking forward to joining in on the routine as well. Almost as if there was no hesitation on his part, Ash turned his head to Dawn as she was busy watching the fun.

"Hey, Dawn! What do you say we dance too?" Ash suggested. Dawn turned her glance to Ash in surprise upon hearing this offer; was he actually asking her to dance along with him? Granted, it wasn't a hand-in-hand dance, but he was still asking her nonetheless. She was silent for a few moments before she showed an expression of uncertainty as she was trying to decide what she should do.

"Well… I don't know…" Dawn hesitantly replied. She then started to dwindle her two forefingers together, while Ash was watching her in surprise as he could see that she was having a bit of a hard time trying to make up her mind. However, she was met with a surprise as Piplup jumped off the top of her beanie and landed on the ground safely before he started to imitate the group's dancing; it was clear to tell that he wanted to join in as well. Turning her glance down to take notice of her partner Pokemon's dancing, Dawn could tell that Piplup really wanted to participate in the fun as well, and she knew that there was no way she could disappoint him. So with this, a bright smile came to her face and she turned to Ash before nodding in confirmation. "Okay! What are we waiting for?" she asked.

This response seemed to be all the answer that Ash needed, because his smile immediately grew wider before he jumped up in excitement. "All right!" Ash cheered. So without a moment to spare, the two rushed over to the group of dancers to start joining in. As the music was playing, Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder and started to copy the moves of the other dancers, while Ash's efforts were proving to be less than successful; he didn't exactly have the moves down completely, but that didn't seem to matter to him since he was too occupied with enjoying himself. As Ash was lost in his own world, he stopped as soon as he caught notice of Dawn's dancing: it seemed to be very different from the rest of the group. She was twirling around and she had her arms stretched out on either side of her as if she was a ballet dance. Ash stared at her in silence for a few moments before he felt an expression of awe cross his face.

'Woah… I had no idea that Dawn was such an awesome dancer…' Ash thought to himself, as he continued to watch Dawn in amazement. There was something about watching her dance that seemed to captivate him, and he couldn't seem to figure out why that was. After a few moments, he figured that it would be best to figure this out for himself, so he walked over to where Dawn was; she was continuing her dancing not too far from where the others were. "Hey, Dawn!" Ash called. Dawn stopped in her tracks and turned around to notice Ash walking over to her with a smile of awe on his face, and she nearly jumped in shock upon seeing him.

"Ash?! H-how much of that did you see?" Dawn asked, feeling her face start to turn red from embarrassment; she couldn't believe that Ash had spotted her dancing, and she wasn't looking forward to hearing what he had to say upon seeing her. However, the smile of awe he was showing didn't seem to fade before he spoke.

"Well, as much as you were dancing for me to see it. How did you learn to dance like that? I don't think I've ever seen you do that before. You're really amazing at it!" Ash commented. Dawn showed an expression of surprise at this praise, and she started to feel her cheeks start to turn red as she turned her glance up to Ash while shyly rubbing one arm.

"Well… I tend to pick a few things up while practicing my performances for the Pokemon Contests. I guess dancing just happened to be one of them." Dawn explained, before letting out a small giggle at the end of this statement. While this was happening, Pikachu and Piplup were both rushing over to see what was going on, and they quickly stopped in their tracks upon seeing this. As they watched this scene on, they both turned their glances to each other as they seemed to wonder what was happening, before they looked back to Ash and Dawn to see her walking over to him. "Hey, Ash? I know this might seem a bit crazy for me to ask, but…" Dawn feel silent for a few moments, with a shy smile showing on her face while Ash watched her in surprise.

"Yeah, Dawn? What's up?" Ash asked. He had rarely ever seen Dawn acting like this, so it was safe to say that he was starting to wonder what had gotten into her and what she wanted to ask of him. The answer suddenly came in a way he didn't expect, as Dawn reached over and took his hands in hers, much to his surprise, and he turned his glance back to her to see her showing him a bright smile; it was clear for him to see that she wanted to ask him something special. Sure enough, he was proven correct when Dawn finally spoke up.

"Would you… like to dance with me?" Dawn softly asked. Ash let out a silent gasp of shock at this offer, while Pikachu and Piplup nearly jumped from alarm as they were watching this one, and they were in just as much shock as Ash was at the moment. With Ash, he was simply staring in shock as he was trying to let what he just heard sink in: Dawn was asking him to dance with her. This was something he didn't expect to hear, and he had no idea how to respond to it. After a few moments passed, Ash turned his glance down in uncertainty.

"I don't know, Dawn… I haven't really been the best at dancing, let alone this type of dancing. I don't really want to make a mistake…" Ash nervously replied, keeping his glance down in uncertainty since he wasn't feeling very confident about doing this. Since he could see how much Dawn wanted to do this with him, he didn't really want to mess it up for her or accidently do something to hurt her. Dawn seemed to take notice of this, as she stared at him in surprise for a few moments before she showed an understanding smile.

"Oh, no need to worry! Just follow my lead." Dawn stated, showing a confident smile and giving a wink to assure Ash that everything would turn out well. Ash turned his glance back up to her upon taking notice of her confidence, and seeing just how certain she seemed to be of this, he showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding; he would leave everything to her, since she knew what she was doing. Dawn quickly showed a smile of delight at this, so without a moment to spare, she placed one hand on Ash's hip before reaching forward to grab his other arm and place his hand on her shoulder and interlock her other hand with his while he was simply watching in surprise, wondering what she was up to. "Okay, we're all set! You ready?" Dawn asked, seeing that they were ready.

Ash was having a close look at their position; something about this seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. But as soon as he heard Dawn, he turned his head up to her and nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I think so." he simply replied.

Dawn felt as though her smile wouldn't fade anytime soon, seeing that she was actually managing to make one of her dreams a reality, even without Ash knowing it. So with this, she slowly started to move back and forth across the dancefloor with Ash doing his best to follow her lead, making sure he wouldn't accidently step on her feet while doing so.

As Ash was watching Dawn, he could see the bright smile she was showing him, and he couldn't help but smile back seeing just how much she was enjoying herself, just like he was starting to do the same. 'Man, Dawn is really having a great time. I wonder why she wanted us to dance like this, though...' Ash thought to himself, as he was trying to figure out why this was happening. He turned his glance down to think, wondering why this kind of dancing seemed familiar to him, before an expression of shock crossed his face as it suddenly seemed to hit him. 'Of course! I remember seeing dancing like this; it was at Cameron Palace!' He could remember when he and the others were at Cameron Palace during the ball, and he was watching all the guests attending dancing as music was playing in the ballroom. 'That's right… this is ballroom dancing! But… why would Dawn want to do that? And why with me?' Ash wondered to himself; nothing seemed to be making sense of him. As he turned his glance back up to Dawn, he could see her happily watching him, with the biggest smile he had ever seen on her face, and her deep blue eyes seemed to shine brightly like gemstones. Seeing this, Ash couldn't help but feel a bright smile cross his face, since he knew that he didn't need to think too hard about the why of this situation. Dawn let out a happy giggle upon seeing Ash's smile.

"Isn't this fun, Ash? I told you that this would be great!" Dawn happily stated. She then stopped in her tracks and started to twirl around in a circle, holding on tight to Ash's hand while he did the same. As the two were enjoying themselves, Pikachu and Piplup had been watching this on the whole time, and the two Pokemon turned their glances to each other seeming to realise what was going on.

"(Do you think we should leave them alone for the time being?)" Piplup asked. "(Yeah, I think so.)" Pikachu replied, nodding in agreement. So with this in mind, the two Pokemon started to make their way back over to the group of dancers, figuring that it would be best to leave Ash and Dawn alone for now.

Back with Ash and Dawn, the two were too occupied with their dancing to see that their partner Pokemon had been watching them; they were mainly focused with having a great time with each other. As the two continued their dancing, they seemed to only focus on each other; to them, there was no one else in the square but them. It was like they were lost in a world where there was just the two of them, and this dancing only seemed to prove this to them. After a few moments of silence passed, Ash was the one to break it. "Hey, Dawn?" he asked. Dawn turned her glance up to him in surprise, wondering what was up. "I didn't expect that dancing like this would be so fun, but… I'm really glad I decided to go for it. And I'm also happy that I'm getting to do it with you. Thanks for making the offer." Ash explained. Dawn showed a bright smile before she shook her head in response, while Ash watched her in surprise.

"No problem, Ash! There's something I want to say too." Dawn replied. Ash simply nodded in understanding, as he was waiting to hear what Dawn had to say, and he was met with a shock as Dawn leaned forward before resting her head against his chest. "Thank you so much for dancing with me. This has probably the best night ever for me, because I spent it with you." Dawn softly said, as she started to nuzzle up against him. Ash could only stare at her in shock, and he nearly felt as though his heart would stop upon the realisation of what she was doing. But seeing how content and happy she seemed to be, he simply showed a smile in response before wrapping his arms around her as the two continued their dancing, simply enjoying the feeling of being in each other's company.

While this was happening, Brock turned his head to spot the two from where he was with the rest of the dancing group, and he felt an expression of alarm cross his face when he saw what was going on: Ash and Dawn were dancing together! And not only that, but Dawn had her head rested against Ash's chest while he had his arms wrapped around her as he seemed to enjoy her being this close with him. After a few seconds passed as he was trying to make sure that he was seeing this right, Brock's shock slowly faded and he felt a bright smile show on his face as he crossed his arms. "Well, would you look at that. I think it's safe to say that those two are well on their way without even knowing it." Brock commented to himself; he had a feeling that Ash and Dawn were coming close to realising their feelings for each other.

With Ash and Dawn, neither of the two seemed to take notice of this nor did they seem to care. The only thing that mattered to them was spending this night with each other, and enjoying the feeling of getting to dance together like this.