"Today is the day," Kenny said cheerfully, "The day I'll tell Dawn how I feel about her,"

Empoleon whistled encouragingly as Kenny's scenario mentally played out.

The two had been spending a lot more time lately. While Kenny doubted his chances years ago the increased closeness boosted his confidence that she perhaps felt the same way.

He got his hints from the littlest things—her smiles, laughter, and how her eyes glowed. She seemed to hold some interest, though Kenny felt she wasn't as up-front about her feelings.

He's felt this way since they were children. She always cared for him like a friend, and they occasionally teased each other light-heartedly.

There was a time when he felt she had feelings for Ash, though time showed that they were mere friends. Barry and Dawn were also just friends, indicating that she probably didn't have a crush on him. Besides—Barry has someone else in mind. He was a certain purple-haired trainer with the name "Paul." Kenny chuckled, though he also felt sorry for Barry. Paul didn't seem to return the feelings, nor did Kenny think he was homosexual—but Kenny didn't know him very well so he may be wrong on the latter.

"I can do this," Kenny cheered out loud as his fists curled into two balls.

He recalled Brock's advice: "Keep putting your heart on the line."

Brock was right; he needed to put his heart on the line if he wanted a chance with the girl he has loved for so long. Love takes risks anyways, right?

He was planning on surprising her after her contest. She needed just one more ribbon to become eligible for the Grand Festival. Kenny was sure Dawn would win; she did, after all, have the highest score on her appeals using her newly-caught Kirlia.

He saw her eyes beam with confidence, causing him to grin. He knew she wanted it more than anyone.

She was up against a new trainer with a Torchic, though the trainer put up a good fight; Dawn eventually walked home with the ribbon.

It was kind of nostalgic watching the new trainer and Dawn shake hands. Just a couple years ago they were both in the same position. "She has gotten stronger," Kenny observed, despite his crush on her he wasn't planning on letting her win the Grand Festival easily.

"Hey Kenny," Barry cheered, wrapping an arm around Kenny's back.

"Where did you come from?" Kenny asked.

"I just noticed halfway through the battle round that you were here too," explained Barry. "I would've sat with you if I knew,"

Kenny ran a hand through his chestnut hair, "Its fine," he said casually as he eyed a bouquet of roses.

"So you're really going through with this?" Barry asked nervously.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" reasoned Kenny. "I can't find out how she feels any other way,"

"What if she rejects you?"

Kenny shrugged, the thought actually didn't occur to him all week. He was vent on surprising her with a bouquet of roses after her win that he forgot about the possibility that she felt differently.

"I'll be fine, though it's best to be optimistic, right?" Kenny winked, "Like Dee-Dee says, no need to worry,"

Barry sighed, "I just don't want you to get hurt like I did,"

"What happened?" asked Kenny. His eyes amplified with realization, "You told Paul?!"

"No," said Barry, his lips curled into a sad smile. "I'll be fine, though,"

"How did you…?" Kenny was about to question until Empoleon reminded him that Dawn had to leave soon.

"Go, we'll talk about it later," said Barry, motioning Kenny to catch up with Dawn.

The two friends gave each other a hi-five before Kenny took off to find her.

He cradled the bouquet behind his back as he searched backstage. He saw familiar faces, though not the face he wanted to see.

"Good job,"

Kenny heard a rough voice muffle. He wandered into what he thought was a desolate hallway filled with empty rooms. The voice seemed familiar, though it wasn't audible enough for him to match it to its owner. He followed the voice and quietly tip-toed to the area.

"So, what are you doing here?"

That voice he definitely recognized as belonging to Dawn. He exhaled for a couple of moments and tightened his grip on the bouquet. He noticed a window by the room; just to ensure she was there he peeked—only to see Dawn and Paul.

"I was in town and stopped by," Paul explained.

Kenny was confused, Paul and Dawn weren't friends and he wondered if they even liked each other. He couldn't wrap his mind over Paul's intention in stopping by to watch.

Dawn held a piece of paper up. Her eyes flicked from it to Paul, "Was there any reason to why you wanted to meet in a private area?"

Paul rolled his eyes, "Well, this is a private discussion. Would you prefer talking about this in front of the other coordinators?"

"No," Dawn answered swiftly. A long, gapping silence followed.

Paul called the situation private—what was so mortifying that they needed to meet up in an empty room?

Paul huffed, "About what happened—"

"It was completely because the adrenaline ran through her bodies and it was a "in the moment" thing, right?" Dawn interrupted.

"Yes," Paul groaned, slightly annoyed with her interruption. "I was getting to that,"

"We should never speak of the kiss again?" Dawn suggested, and Paul agreed.

"And it will never happen again," he swore.

Kenny lost the grip of the bouquet and it softly slipped off his hands and landed on the floor.

Knowing they kissed was disappointing, but seeing Dawn's face drop when Paul mentioned they never kiss again certainly tore apart his heart.

"Agree?" Paul repeated.

Dawn reluctantly nodded.

"Other than the ki—what happened, it was fun teaming up with you. I learned a lot about battle strategies and I hope you got something out of it too," Dawn said hope-filled.

"It was an educational experience," said Paul.

"I actually had some of your techniques in mind when I battled today," Dawn informed, "Thank you, I guess," she added softly.

A silence came over them.

"I have to get going," Paul announced as he glanced at his wristwatch.

"See you around," Dawn waved, she followed behind him only to trip as she walked.

Paul spun back and caught her, which caused the Paul to inevitably hold her to his chest. His usually edged-downward eyebrows unknotted, and Dawn and he both stayed in the position for a couple more seconds, both looking into the others' eyes.

He quickly let go, "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine," Dawn stuttered. "Sorry, these shoes have been killing my feet," she apologized as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Change your shoes," Paul muttered.

"Later,"

"Don't be stubborn," scorned Paul.

"I'll change it later, how is that being stubborn?" Dawn retorted as she crossed her arms.

"Well, you tripped and if it wasn't for me you would have fallen. May I remind you about how long this hallway alone is?" Paul reasoned.

"Fine," Dawn rolled her eyes and leaped on top of a table, clutching her bag in the process. She breathed out in relief as the pink shoes-made-in-Hell tumbled off.

"See?"

Dawn ignored him and put her foot through the first boot. Her legs swung freely as she slipped both on and got off.

Paul picked up the heels and handed them to her, "Here,"

"Thanks," said Dawn as she took it from him. Their hands slightly brushed together in the process, though both parties pretended that didn't occur either.

Kenny didn't need to see anymore, he picked up the bouquet and ran off. He found the nearest trash can and dumped it inside.

He felt some tears spill, though he attempted to fight back. There was no use crying over anything.

He could have been fine with Ash, but Paul? The two must have gotten closer over the tournament they apparently competed in together. As far as feelings went, he knew that Dawn didn't think of him as anything but a friend.

"What happened?" asked Barry, noticing his friend crying.

"Paul and Dawn..they.."

"So she's the girl," Barry said under his breath. "I overheard Paul and Reggie talking about a girl, Paul mentioned what happened though I didn't think it was Dawn,"

"It was, and I can tell you now that Paul.." Kenny trailed off; he wanted to spare his best friend as well.

"Well, Dawn's a nice girl. I can see why he likes her," Barry said, plastering a smile over his face. There was a saddened undertone beneath.

A few minutes later, Dawn came out but without Paul.

"Kenny? Barry?" she called out, smiling.

"Hey Dawn!" Barry waved back.

She ran by to them, "What a surprise," she said happily.

Kenny remained mute.

"Kenny?" she said, tilting her head to the side.

He needed to do what Barry was doing. "Nice job, Dee-Dee," he congratulated.

Like usual, Dawn groaned, "Don't call me that. But thank you!"

Afterwards, the trio went out to eat. Everything was usual, as if nothing changed—but something did. They laughed, told stories, and explained how their journeys were going.

"So, you competed in a tournament?"

Dawn smiled, "I did, and I learned a lot from it," she dipped her fork into her meal.

"How long was it?" asked Kenny.

"Five days' worth,"

"Did you win?" asked Barry.

"I had Paul as a partner," Dawn began; Kenny pondered on how much she'll recount. "We ended up winning, though even if we lost it would not have mattered. The whole experience was more rewarding than a plaque. Winning did feel nice, though,"

"Paul is a fantastic trainer, I'm sure you did learn a ton about battling!" Barry said cheerfully.

"He's not that pleasant of a person," groaned Kenny.

Dawn chuckled, "Kenny does have a point. He actually isn't as bad as you may think, it was extremely odd working with him initially but afterwards we made a good team,"

She didn't mention the kiss and how exactly they ended up kissing; Kenny was able to infer what happened on his own. Either way, the situation didn't matter. The whole meet-up was enough for Kenny to make connections between Dawn and Paul.

"I'll see you around!" Dawn said as she went her own separate way.

Kenny waited for her to leave before he pulled out a small red card. Inside were the words "I love you".

He ripped it in half and threw it away.

So it's uhh 4:13 A.M. and I needed to do homework but instead I felt like doing this. I know I have two stories to update (the next chapters for both are nearly finished so expect updates by next week c:)