"What you don't understand is falling in love wasn't part of my plan."

~Ariana Grande

Dawn kept tapping at her desk furiously with her nails as she stared at her wall, the pen clutched firmly between her teeth as she tried her best to come up with something. The notebook in front of her had various words scribbled on it and she kept writing over them again and again until they weren't readable any longer.

"Gyaaaaaa!" She screamed in frustration, clutching her head and the pen fell to the floor, piling on her frustration. Sighing at that, she bent over and picked it up and stared at her notebook again, like it was the most ominous thing in the world.

This was supposed to be easy. She had known him for such a long time and this wasn't supposed to give her this much of headache but the lack of ideas was just making her even more frustrated than she already was.

What did boys even like?

What was she even supposed to do?

She whacked her brain to come up with something but at times like this, her brain totally shuts off. The more she thought about it, the more confused she got. Having no other clue, she unlocked her phone and dialled Gary's number who picked it up on the third ring. "Hello Dawn."

"What do boys even want!" Dawn asked, or almost yelled at the phone. She sat up straight as she closed her notebook and laid down her head on the desk, the tablecloth tickling her cheeks.

Gary could feel his eardrums resonating at the sudden outburst. "Kay? I guess this is about Ash's upcoming birthday?"

"Yeah," Dawn said, biting her lower lip,"You know, picking gifts for a boy is tough."

"Well that's kinda true," Gary laughed,"How about an accessory! Like a chain oh.. pendent or watches or rings?"

"Rings?" Dawn said, sounding surprised,"Gary, seriously rings?"

"Well there's time for that."

Dawn rolled her eye at the implication. "Can you please be serious and tell me what do boys even want?"

He got up from his desk and walked towards the window to get some fresh air. She was surely going to eat his brain tonight. "Generally there's two things that's always on a boys' mind, according to popular belief."

"And what are those?" She asked. Her mind was screaming that Gary was upto some mischief but she ignored it.

Gary let out an amused laugh. All he wanted to do was to piss her off even more. "Games and food. Well there's a third thing-"

"Stop playing word games or I'll kick you to the moon."

Gary could imagine her having a tick on her forehead at this moment. "You won't like the answer."

"I don't like you too."

"Ash is rubbing off on you," Gary laughed as he watched the leaves shining in the moonlight. "Well the third thing is sex but I am pretty sure giving this to Ash as a birthday gift might be too much."

Dawn's face immediately turned scarlet. Whatever was on her mind before completely vanished when she heard that word come out from his mouth and she sat up straight in an instant. "GARY!"

"I am serious though," the brunette was laughing again, knowing full well he had thrown Dawn off her rhythm. "Don't do that. Stuff like that should not be done by kids like you."

"We might not be that innocent as you think us to be, Gary."

Gary, totally taken aback by the implications, blinked hard to process the information. "What- Hey! Why didn't I-"

"Gaaaaary!" Dawn whined again, changing the topic,"Stop joking! What do I even get Ash?"

"A brain?" Gary joked again,"But hold up! Did you two actually-"

Dawn cut him off mid sentence,"How about I give you a punch to your family jewels?"

"Chill woman," Gary said, laughing his head off,"Okay. I know this is your and his first birthday as a couple but it seriously isn't such a big deal. You should know that the idiot will be okay with anything as long as you pick it."

"But its my first time going to his house as his girlfriend!" Dawn could feel the pressure increase again,"I want to make a good impression you know."

"Delia works for your Mom," Gary was getting really tired of babysitting the two of them. "She knows you since you were a kid. Its too late for making impressions."

"Yeah." There was a pause. "Okay, I'll get him something I choose. Thanks for the non-existent help, Garebear."

Gary laughed again at that comment,"You really are turning into Ash little by little."

Dawn rolled her eyes, muttered a small bye and disconnected the phone. It was going to be Ash's birthday in a week and she didn't want to end up with any lame gifts.

"A watch on his first birthday," Dawn laid her head down on the table again, staring at the books in front of her. "What now."

She knew he would appreciate anything she gets from her. He was never the type to be attached to materialistic things but that didn't mean she wanted to give him anything just for the sake of it. And he got her such beautiful hair-clips on her birthday because that sapphire colour reminded him of her. She could get him anything but not something from her hard earned money.

That thought would always eat away her conscience.

"So you're telling me entire summer vacation passed and all you did was hang out in her room once and went to the movies twice," Leaf asked Ash over the phone.

Ash, while lying on his bed, wondered if it was such a bad thing. "I mean, I had a lot of study to do during vacation because of cram school. And her Mom had been making her go over their business during the vacation. We didn't get time to meet more."

Leaf sighed, pressing her lips into a thin line. "But still.. just going out thrice in one month. What? Didn't you get bored?"

"I did," Ash confessed,"But its just- I can't tell her to drop everything and spend her time with me. She is moving out in a year and is going to spend even less time with her Mom. I feel bad for intruding on their time. And meeting after a long time kind of you know, is preparing us for long distance."

"These are completely different things!"

Ash clicked his tongue, slightly irritated. "I know that. It's just- I don't know- hard to imagine that she will be gone in half a year."

"Can't argue with that," Leaf sighed, rubbing her temples,"So summer vacation is ending in two weeks. What's your plan?"

"Its gonna be my birthday in a week so a little party?" Ash beamed,"Dad really wants to meet all of you and we never really had that chance of group meeting before."

"Sounds nice. I am so jealous! You're turning 17 already!"

Ash watched the scenery outside his window, watching as how in the dark, trees looked like giant monsters. "It's not that big a deal."

"Learn how to drive!" Leaf yelled, pestering him over this topic again,"Now's the time!"

"I will! I will!"

"So are you gonna invite someone else other than our usual group?"

Ash thought for a while. "I think Red is supposed to be here for some work so he is gonna be here. Then there's Misty, Drew, Gary, May, you and Dawn. I wonder if I should call Serena too? I mean, we are good friends but I don't know if I should call her."

Leaf hummed on the other hand, wondering what to say to that. Even if he invites Serena, how would she react? And what will Dawn feel about this? She really didn't want to fall in the middle of all this. But it was Ash and she couldn't ignore his problems.

"How about you talk to Dawn about it?"

Ash thought it over. Leaf was right. If anything, the one who would feel the most uncomfortable was Dawn. Or maybe Serena. He really didn't want to compare.

Damn his birthday wasn't support to bring him headaches.

"I should do that, actually," Ash sighed,"Damn this thing is hard."

"Being considerate is hard?"

"No, I mean," Ash let out a breath,"Dawn is going to say she is okay with Serena coming and I would keep asking her if it's really okay and then she'll get mad and then I'll get mad and she'll get madder and all. Its just- aaah!" He threw up his hand in defeat, laughing and groaning at the same time.

"Your problem bitch, not mine!" Leaf laughed as Ash kept making groaning noises. "Ash stop! You sound like a dying whale!"

"Hey! Hey!" Ash suddenly said, remembering something,"Met a man in the park near our cram school! He was crying like crazy, you know."

"Oh man! Did you know him?"

Ash shook his head, remembering what happened that day. "Not really. He looked really sad and I went over to give him water because it was dark and he was all alone."

"What if he was a bad person? The one who targets boys!" Leaf spoke up, feelinga chill feeling running down her spine,"I mean there's no telling what could have happened.."

"I wasn't alone. Dad was there, waiting for me in the car so I wasn't that afraid," Ash calmed the hyperactive girl down,"Turns out his daughter was diagnosed with cancer and he didn't know what to do. Didn't have that much money to get the little girl proper treatment."

"Shit," Leaf genuinely felt bad for suspecting him,"This sucks." The goosebumps on her skin settled down and Leaf rubbed her arms, taking in a deep breath.

"Yeah," Ash narrated,"We talked for a few minutes and he really wanted to vent out his emotions. Couldn't stay strong in front of his wife and daughter anymore so he went there to let it all out. I hope it works out for him."

"Did you two meet up again?" Leaf asked him.

"No. It was just one time thing," Ash laid down on his back, watching the ceiling fan rotating like crazy,"I hope his daughter will be alright though."

"Me too. Did you catch his name?"

"No. I was preoccupied with calming him down so didn't get around asking their names. Okay," Ash spoke up again after the silence,"I am going to call Dawn and ask about her being okay with Serena coming to my birthday or not. See you at the party?"

"Sure! Take care!"

"You too."

Dawn groggily rubbed her eyes, surprised to find her room still lit up. Looking at her phone, she almost jumped a little.

"6 A.M.?" She couldn't believe it. She felt asleep with her lights on and didn't wake up even once at night?! She hastily turned on her mobile data and her lips curved into a smile on seeing few messages from Ash.

"Hey there!" 8.30 pm

"Are you busy?" 9.02pm

"I needed to discuss something." 9.14pm

"Okay? Its 10 pm and I think you fell asleep." 10.04pm

"Text me if you wake up though. Goodnight Dawn." 11pm

She quickly typed up,"Sorry! Fell asleep and just woke up now. Call me whenever you are free."

She hit the send button and laid down again, not having anything to do. Gardenia would come around 7 am to prepare their breakfast and clean everything. She closed her eyes, wanting to fall back asleep again but she knew she couldn't.

So she went to the bathroom, brushed and cleaned herself up and went downstairs, roaming aimlessly in the lobby. Ash was right. This house was way too big for just two people.

She made her way into the kitchen and pulled out a coffee mug from the shelf and then took out the milk carton from the fridge. Then she bent over to look for a pan to warm the milk and pulled it out on finding it. While the milk was warming up, she opened the fridge again and took out some eggs and bread to make bread-toast.

"I thought it was a burglar!"

The sudden voice made Dawn jump as she turned towards the door with the spoon in her hand. Finding her mother standing there in her nightgown and a stun-gun, alarmed her even more instead of calming her down.

"You were going to fight the burglar with a stun-gun?" Dawn sarcastically asked, going back to making breakfast.

"You didn't hear me coming, did you?" Johanna said, tying her hair in a bun after she put the stun-gun on top of the counter. "I was going to lock the door up and call the police. Thank god I didn't call 911 first."

"Yeah. Yippie," Dawn said in her dead, monotonous voice, rolling her eyes as she poured her milk into a cup and turned to her mother,"Want some tea? Or coffee? Or just milk?"

"I will go brush first." Johanna said, yawning,"Fix me a cup of green tea."

"Sure."

After her mother left, she pulled out a bowl and began her preparation for making breakfast. It wasn't long before her mother came back, looking way more energetic and fresher than the first time she saw her. This time, without any stun-gun.

Passing her Mom a plate with two bread slices, she poured hot water into a cup and then dipped the tea bag into it, passing it to her mother.

"Why are you up so early?"

Dawn shrugged, putting her now finished cup of milk into the sink. "Went to sleep at 8. Got up at 6. Couldn't fall back asleep."

"Was all the business talk too much?" Johanna sounded worried and Dawn shook her head in denial.

"Oh no. I fell asleep without any reason. No issues there."

"If you say so."

"Hey Mom?" Dawn leaned against the counter, munching on her toast.

"Hmm?"

"Why are you preparing me so hard and quick for succeeding the company?"

Johanna looked up from the cup of tea and caught her daughter's eyes fixated on her face. "No specific reason. Want to make sure you are capable enough."

"But why are you doing it now?" Dawn asked,"It seems like you're in a hurry."

"Just preparing you for what's to come, Sweetie." Johanna wiped her lips with her finger,"And I am getting older. My efficiency is going to keep decreasing as years pass buy."

Dawn nodded her head, understanding what she meant but that didn't ease the doubt in her head. "So you are going to make me succeed this empire as soon as I get out of college? "

"That's the plan."

"What would have happened if I didn't want to do this though?"

Johanna sighed. "It is 7 in the morning Dawn. What has gotten into you?"

"In 6 months," Dawn spoke up,"I'll be moving to another country. And we talk about business all the time nowadays. I just couldn't-"

"If you didn't want to inherit the company on your own," Johanna, who was walking towards the couch, spoke up before Dawn could complete her sentence,"I would have to marry you off to someone from another big estate and business. Merging our companies would have been the best option then."

"Even though I am in love with someone else?"

Johanna halted for a second but maintained her composure nonetheless. "You have to understand that for me, this empire is not just a way of income, it is a baby which your grandparents created and I brought it up." Johanna sat down on the couch, her right leg propped over the left one. "Someone has to take over the company and if it wasn't going to be you, it was going to be someone who is capable and I could fully trust."

Dawn froze in her tracks. A marriage just to ensure the company was okay? Didn't her thoughts as a human being and her daughter come first?

"I know what you're thinking," Johanna looked apologetic,"Dawn, you can try but no matter what you do, you can't run away from your destiny. It wouldn't have been fair to you but you can't expect me to throw away all the hardwork and dedication just for something like love."

"Even though-"

"It was only a hypothetical scenario," Johanna tried to ease up the young girl. "We, I mean your birth father and I had this conversation once after you were born. You were interested in the business and so I didn't have to think about finding you a match or anything. No need to worry okay?"

"But," Dawn couldn't think straight. "I see. So, I don't have a secret marriage lined up for me, right?"

"No."

"Thank god."

Ash watched as his father decorated the dinner table with snacks and cold drinks while his Mom was frying some chips in the kitchen. It was already 5.30 pm yet the sky outside was bright and sunny.

"When are your friends coming?" Aren asked, noticing his son on the couch.

"Around 6?"

"Did you call Red?" Aren walked over to where Ash was and sat down beside him. "His work should have ended a while ago."

"He is coming," Ash said, putting his phone on the table,"He called me few minutes ago to tell me he left the place. He should be here soon."

"Aren't you going to change?" Delia peeked from the kitchen,"Wear the shirt Red got you as a gift and put on a clean pair of underwear."

Ash yelled in annoyance, squinting his eyes at his mom on hearing that. "I wear clean underwear all the time! Geez Mom!"

He could hear his Mom laugh from the kitchen and got up, shaking his head. She really loved to tease him like that and he fell for it everytime.

He quickly went up to his room, changed into a black shirt and put on his new pair of jeans. He combed his hair, trying to keep it in place and sighed. His hair always had a mind of its own. Once he felt like he was presentable enough, he laid down in his bed and began scrolling through his Facebook account. Thanking everyone who had posted a birthday note on his timeline, he began scrolling aimlessly, reacting to some memes and pictures once in a while.

He wasn't that addicted to social media but he had to admit, scrolling through instagram and facebook always helped him pass the time.

"And here I thought you'll do something productive with your time."

Ash turned his head to face the source of voice. Red walked into the room and sat on the bed, yawning. "Man, I am never helping Mom with bank related work again. It's so tiring."

Ash shifted a little to give his cousin a little more space. "The work is done, right?"

Red nodded,"Finally. Been roaming for this one thing for months. Hey, I saw your girlfriend on the magazine the other day."

This caught Ash's interest. Well anything related to Dawn always caught his interest. Sitting up straight to talk with his cousin comfortably, he put his phone away. "What did it say?"

"She was leaving some big office with her Mom and the headline was something like 'Is the Business Typhoon Johanna Berlitz leaving everything to her young daughter' or something. Had no idea your girlfriend is a Berlitz." Red said, airquoting the last word with a smirk on his face.

Ash gave him a shrug, as couldn't wrap his head around it either. Under normal circumstances, she and he would have never even met. Yet they did, fell in love and now were in a relationship. It was like two different world colliding.

"Sounds unreal," Red continued, leaning backwards to face the ceiling. "So, its been about a year since you two began dating huh? Sounds nice."

Ash shook his head, explaining the truth,"We officially started dating from December. So it's been just 6 months."

"But-" Red sat up straight, his mouth wide open on hearing that news.

"Mom insisted we did that to make Rena comfortable. That reminds me, how is she?"

Ash watched as the expression on his face shifted from shock to surprise to gloom. Cursing himself internally for putting Red on the spot like that, he tried to ease up the situation,"Its fine. We don't have to talk about that." Red looked a little conflicted and Ash immediately regretted asking him about the ex-girlfriend.

"She is okay," Red said, taking a deep breath,"She is dating one of the best athletes in our school. Looks really happy too." He looked like someone had punched the air out of him and Ash didn't know what to do to wipe away that pain stuck look on his face.

"Sorry man. It must suck." He was genuinely sorry and patted Red on his knees. "Are you okay?"

Red shrugged, trying his best to compose himself. "A lot better than before. I mean there's nothing you can do once you feel like the relationship is coming to an end. I felt drained. She felt conscious. It just wasn't meant to be."

"And you don't miss her anymore?" Ash asked.

Red gave him the best smile he could muster under the circumstances. "I do, to be honest. Its just- there's nothing to hold on to. The more I held on, the more it hurt. Had to let go."

Ash could feel like someone had launched a punch on his chest. His chest felt heavy and for a moment Ash forgot how to exhale. If he was feeling so suffocated for Red even though he wasn't invested in their relationship, he could only imagine how helpless and exhausted Red had been feeling.

Breaking up with someone you are still in love with must hurt.

He didn't want to learn that kind of pain. Ever.

"I am okay!" Red grinned on seeing Ash's troubled face. Ash didn't want to believe it but Red kept insisting. "Its been more than 6 months we broke up, you know. Sometimes I miss her and that's all."

Ash watched as Red tried his best to explain the situation but deep in his heart he knew Red had been through a lot. He really did love Rena and the break-up must have been hard on him.

"Anyway, your friends should be here soon," Red said and pointed at his hair,"What is this nest? Clean it up!"

Ash ran his fingers through his hair, groaning,"I tried but it just gets so messed up on its own!"

"Use gel or wax to set up your hair dumbass," Red said and got up to get his bag from the edge of the bed. "I have something in my bag, wait."

"ASH! Gary and Drew are here!" Ash heard his mom's voice from downstairs and within seconds Gary and Drew were in his room, wishing him happy birthday.

"Where's Leaf and May?" Ash asked as the others adjusted themselves on his bed. Red handed him the wax and Ash stared at it like a child stares at candy. Red sighed, took a little wax out from the box and helped Ash with it.

"They'll be here in a minute," Gary said,"You never used this before?"

Ash shook his head and Red was done with his creation. Red gave him a thumbs up. "Now your hair won't turn messy."

"Thanks man."

Drew clicked his tongue, teasing the birthday boy. "Grandpa Ash is learning how to groom himself."

Ash rolled his eyes,"Shut up Mr Cabbage."

"Says the boy with a bird's nest instead of hair," Drew teased him again, smirking on seeing Ash's pissed face. The doorbell rang again and he waved it off, saying,"Looks like here they are, Ashyboy."

Dawn was the first to enter the room, followed by Leaf and May who engulfed Ash in a hug. "Happy Birthday Ashy-boy."

Ash chuckled at the annoying nickname. "Thanks May, Thank you Leaf."

Dawn gave him a smile and tapped his nose, saying,"Happy Birthday."

He blushed a little under her touch. "Thank you."

"Here," Dawn gave him a small bag, looking embarrassed.

"Take these too!" Leaf extended her hand to give Ash his gift. "Its a gift from the four of us."

Ash sat down at the edge of his bed and unwrapped the gift given by the group. His smile widened when he saw a concert ticket of his favourite band.

"This was sold out in seconds!" Ash beamed,"Where did you even get this!"

Leaf laughed on seeing his enthusiastic face. "All four of us were waiting to get the tickets. May was the one who got it though. Its very near the main stage and hope you have a blast at the show."

"Thanks guys!" Ash quickly put the ticket away in his cupboard. He held up Dawn's gift and eyed it with a big grin on his face. "Okay, gonna open this next."

"Umm.. open it later?" Dawn sheepishly said, biting her lower lip,"Its a little childish? So.. "

"How about we 5," Leaf pointed at everyone except Ash and Dawn, with a stupid grin on her face,"Go to the terrace. Join us when you two finish talking?"

"There's no need for that!" Dawn waved her hands furiously,"Its just-"

"Its fine," Red nonchalantly spoke, getting up,"I have to make a call to Mom too so I don't mind going out."

Ash watched as one by one everyone walked out of the room and made their way to the terrace. Leaf and May gave him a wink and he stuck his tongue out at them as he slowly closed the door and turned to find Dawn sitting on his bed, smiling at him awkwardly.

"They are a bunch of weirdoes," She said and turned to face Ash completely when he sat down beside her. "But we are even more weird since we hang out with them." She could feel her face curving up in a smile when he reached out for the presents from the bag.

Ash laughed and took the gift Dawn had given him. Slowly pulling it out of the package, he began unwrapping it.

"Its a little childish," Dawn repeated herself again, watching how his long fingers tore through the tape on the wrapping paper. "But I-" Her face heated up as he carefully unwrapped the gift. Her heart was beating wildly at the silence and anticipation.

"A planetarium projector?" He said, reading the label.

"It is-" She gulped, forgetting everything she had planned to say to him.

"You got it as a memento, didn't you?"

Dawn nodded, her heart fluttering as he ran his fingers over the cover,"Yeah. I mean us watching the constellations is such a dear memory to me and-"

"I love it!" Ash said slowly as he took her hand and pressed a kiss on her knuckles. Dawn could feel her face heating up even more and he gave her a smile, saying,"Its so cute."

"I got something else too," Dawn sheepishly said, running her fingers over his hand which was holding her right hand,"Keep your eyes closed."

Ash wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively,"Is it a kiss?"

She pinched his nose, rolling her eyes. "Just close your eyes!"

"Kay!" He laughed and shut his eyes close. He was hearing some rustling sounds and could figure out the sound of unzipping. She was opening her purse. Then everything went silent for a while and after a minute he felt her body close to his face as her perfume lingered in front of his face and he could feel she was doing something on his back.

"What are you-"

"Shut up, Ash."

"Fine."

He felt her moving away and quickly reached out, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Can I open my eyes now?"

Dawn cupped his cheeks and pressed a kiss on his forehead, mumbling a small yes. He slowly opened his eyes and saw her looking down at him, her hair surrounding her like a halo, a soft smile on her face.

"What did you do?" He asked her, nuzzling his cheeks against her palm.

Dawn reached for his neck and pulled something. Ash felt a small, thread like presence around his neck and looked down, his eyes catching the silver colour pendant resting on her fingers.

"A tower pendant?" He asked her, unsure. He looked up at her and saw her breaking into a smile.

"A lighthouse." She corrected him, still smiling stupidly.

"Heh?"

Dawn let that pendant go and reached for something on her neck. Pulling the small chain around her neck, she held the pendant for him to see.

"Its a boat." Ash said, eyeing the silver material on her neck,"And what- oh shit." He could feel his heart beating like crazy as the implications of her gift dawned into his mind.

"A boat and a lighthouse! Berlitz!" He said as he pulled her into his arms, laughing as he looked up at her,"How corny can you get?"

"Shut up," Dawn hid her face with her hands,"Do you know how embarrassing it was to get it? The shopowners were looking at me like crazy."

"I am sure they were," Ash said as he held her hands and took it away from her face. "So does it mean you'll always find me?"

"Don't speak anything!" Dawn tried to free her hand, feeling even more embarrassed.

"Then shut me up with a kiss."

And that she did. Her hands were still held captive by him but she slowly placed her lips on his, kissing him softly. Before he could kiss her back, she pulled back, saying,"Happy Birthday" and kissed him again. This time, he kissed her back, his lips melding with hers. He let go of her hands and pulled her close and she put her palm over his chest, feeling the loud beating of his heart. She could feel fireworks going off in heart, just like every single time that they kissed before. He would always set her heart on fire and still leave her yearning for more.

She leaned a little more and losing his balance, he fell flat on his back, her hovering over him. She dipped her head again, catching the breathless Ash in another kiss, her hands playing with his hair while the other one was on his shoulder. He knew his parents were just downstairs and theirs friends were just a few feet away but his mind was occupied with the gorgeous girl in front of him. He couldn't think straight, all he could feel was the wild beating of his heart and her nails slightly digging into his skin.

Her loose hair was tickling his neck and he held it back, and in one swift motion, pinned her below him. "You're not playing fair, Dawn."

Dawn returned his mischievous smirk with a challenging smile of her own. Her skirt had hitched up a little and she felt his fingers on her thigh, which sent her heart on override and pulled him in for another kiss. Her hands were now on his back, digging through his shirt. She wanted to be closer, no, she had to be more closer to him.

"You're not playing fair either, Ash."

He kissed her feverishly on her lips and looked up, feeling way too proud when he caught her staring at his lips again. She was like a drug and he was totally hooked. He smiled and kissed her again, holding her small waist. She felt his tongue caress her lips and instinctively let out a small moan and immediately all her senses were back into her.

"Ahh!" She placed her hand on his chest, stopping him,"We can't-"

"Sorry," Ash slowly got up from above her and she sat up too, fixing her skirt.

"Umm," she didn't look at him, feeling shy,"Going to borrow your comb."

"Okay."

Dawn picked up the comb and began fixing her hair but her eyes were fixed on Ash's reflection in the mirror, who was looking at her intently. His gaze sent a shiver down her spine and she felt warmth rush to her cheeks. "Don't stare at me!"

"I'll be downstairs," Ash said, getting up,"Ready to go?"

"Mmm," Dawn hummed walking towards the door,"You should, you know, wash the lipstick off your lips first."

Heat rushed to their cheeks as the events which happened just few minutes ago flashed in their mind. Ash ran to the bathroom to wash his face and Dawn quickly applied another layer of lipstick to hide away all clues.

Oh if only their friends knew!

"Blow the candles!" Delia said, patting Ash on the back. Ash nodded and got on his knees while Aren was lighting the candles on the cake.

"Mr Ketchum, Mrs Ketchum, can you two please stand beside Ash?" Dawn asked,"I want to take a picture."

"Sure."

Dawn quickly snapped a picture and her eyes landed on Delia's, who said,"Come here. Give the phone to Red, he'll take all our pictures!"

Everyone stood around Ash and Dawn squeezed her way between him and Delia and Red quickly snapped a picture. Gary took the phone from him and told Red to stand in his place while he took another picture.

"Make a wish," Delia told her son, rubbing his cheeks softly.

Ash closed his eyes and then in a swift blow, blew out the candles. The whole house erupted in well wishes and Ash gave the first bite of the cake to his Mom then to his Dad. Dawn shook her head slightly as he was about to cut her a piece and chuckled internally at her shyness.

"You kids have a seat," Aren said,"Delia and I will serve dinner for you guys."

Gary and Drew sat down next to each other, while Leaf and May sat down opposite to them. Dawn took the seat beside May and Ash sat down opposite to her, grinning.

"Okay," Delia passed Red a large tiffin box, saying,"Are you sure you don't want to have dinner now? The last train leaves at 11 pm but you are welcome to stay the night."

"Mom is all alone and will be worried sick," Red put on his cap,"And I already ate after I came here from the bank."

"Be safe on your way home," Delia kissed they boys' forehead,"Give me a call when you reach home."

Red waved the others goodbye and was on his way. Delia was serving the food with the help of Aren when she remembered the absence of two members who were supposed to be here.

"Where's Serena and Misty?" Delia asked,"I thought you invited them too."

Dawn's ears perked up on hearing Serena's name. She knew that the honey blonde beauty was invited but why did she skip? She wasn't the type to run away from all these.

"Misty had a swim meet today," Ash said, stuffing his mouth with food,"She would be gone for the entire week."

"And Serena?"

"I think she went back to her grandfather's place for vacation," Drew said,"I remember Misty telling us that Serena's grandpa was sick and his condition was getting worse."

Ash nodded,"She and and Mom are at her Grandpa's place."

"Well its summer vacation and they need to catch up with their families and everything," Aren said and noticed Dawn a little disheveled. "Dawn sweetie, is the food okay?"

"Its really tasty!" Dawn perked up,"Mrs Ketchum's cooking is the best."

"Oh you're just flattering me," Delia waved it off.

"Dawn is right!" Gary grinned,"I love your dishes."

"Alright then!" Delia said with excitement in her voice,"Eat up!"

"Just a year ago, we were walking like this, right?" Dawn said, her hands at her back as she kept walking towards her house, accompanied by Ash.

"Yeah," Ash said, reminiscing about how he had walked her home on his previous birthday. Everything was just the same. He had his cycle with him and he was still in love with her.

The only difference was, she was in love with him too.

"Things changed so much," Dawn spoke up, feeling a soft breeze running past them. She saw him staring at her with a grin and she shook at head slightly, a little embarrassed.

"They changed for the better. My Dad is here. We are together. We have a clearer goal in our mind." Ash let out a sigh,"We really love walking like this, don't we?"

Dawn nodded, remembering all their past night walks. Her heart fluttered whenever she thought about this little things no one knew about.

"I can't believe 6 months are already gone," Dawn took a deep breath, her fingers motioning like an airplane flying. "Another 6 months and I will be in another country, 3 hours behind your time."

Ash hummed. Where had the last 6 months gone? He didn't even know. Time sure flies when you're having fun.

"Lol, we are already near my house," Dawn said with a chuckle,"I didn't even realise we walked that far."

The roads were deserted and their only companions were the sound of her heels on the concrete road and bugs which were encircling the lampposts. Ash rested his cycle against the wall and took her hands in his, kissing her knuckles. "Goodnight Dawn."

Dawn rose on her tiptoes and kissed him on his cheeks, dangerously close to his lips. She felt him stiffen under her touch and grinned. As he placed her hand on her hips, she rose again, twisting her arms around his neck and kissing him sweetly on the lips. "Goodnight Ash."

They were still embracing each other, having no intention of letting each other go. If only nights like these would never end.

"What will you say if Johanna notices your necklace?" Ash asked, resting his chin on her head. She nuzzled her nose into his neck. He always smelt like the forest and smoke for some reason.

"I'll say its just for fashion but I am sure she will know. What will you do?"

Ash smiled, pressing a kiss on her hair. "Dad already noticed it. I said it was a gift. He didn't say much."

"They might think that we are too stupidly in love," Dawn said, laughing as she looked up. "Happy Birthday again, Love."

Blushing at the nickname, he cupped her cheeks and planted another kiss on her lips, saying,"Call me an idiot. Love sounds so sophisticated."

Dawn felt a laugh escaping her lips and she poked her tongue at him, mumbling,"Idiot."

He smiled, hugging her again. "Way better."

They didn't know what was coming next. All he knew was he was going to fight for her, no matter what. Long distance relationship? He will do his best to make sure they make it work.

He couldn't control himself when he was falling in love with her. But now, all he wanted to do was hold her tight in his arms and never let her go. He wanted to go to sleep after seeing her face and wanted to wake up next to her. He wanted her to be with him in every step he took.

However, things like that would take time and he would happily wait for years and face whatever life throws at him if it would ensure he stays with her forever.

Maybe forever isn't real but what's the harm in chasing it?

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Okay. This *points above* is the laaaast chapter of hold my haaaaaand! And *drums roll* there's gonna be a sequel. *Grins*. I had few more ideas I wanted to add in the story but adding them here would completely ruin the flow because of time-skip and everything and I don't wanna do that. So I have finally completed this story on its 3rd anniversary. Love you guys for all the support and lovely reviews. I hope you all will like the sequel too.

So see you all the sequel? Its named "Find You There" and its gonna be up in a while! That story is going to be a little different from this. I mean… you guys have to read to find out! So I hope I will see, aaah no…. Find You *guys* There at the sequel!

When I first started this story, I didn't think it would turn out this long. All I had is a vague idea of the plot and what I wanted to do and this is the result. I love this story so much and I'm so glad you guys love it too!

And guyssssss! Please check out Ashxdawnaddicted's new stories! You'll end up loving them because they are hella good ! Her latest chapter of The Double, The Trouble was so freaking good! Man I really loved the chapter! If you haven't checked out her stories, please CHECK THEM OUT!

Yes, prionty , I'm on Wattpad but I've not uploaded any story over there. I created my Wattpad account years ago and then forgot all about it. Then I stumbled upon some Wattpad stories and booyah,found out that I already had an account. :D

As usual, leave your reviews! Hopefully I did a good job at ending the story like this.

~ DarkestLightOfHope signing off!