Fight Fire with Fire (A Pokemon Fan-Fic)

Ash's Dark Secret

Ash Ketchum was like any other guy.  He felt that telling anyone his problems made him weak.  Except he was different.  He hated himself.  The voices in his head always told him he wasn't good enough, he could do better, he was worthless.  Every time he failed, he struggled to get back up.  The one thing he was good at was architecture.  Not just buildings.  People, too. But the one thing he was good at wasn't enough to change the nagging voice in his mind to supportive.

"I can't do this!"  Ash crumpled another piece of paper and threw it at the already overflowing trash can. He was running out of time, and paper.  He had a huge assignment due tomorrow.  Every single paper he'd written so far was beyond excellent.  To his teachers, anyway.  But to Ash, it wasn't even close to being done.  A soft knock at the door broke his focus.  "D-Dawn?  What's the matter?"  Ash asked, seeing the blue-haired girl break down.  "I-I can't do this anymore!"  She cried.  "Can't do what?  Dawn, what the hell is going on?"  Ash was determined to get an answer out of her.  Why she wouldn't show her arms.  Why she'd never talk.  Why she was so quiet.  "You can tell me, Dawn."  The blue-eyed girl took her hands off her face.  "I-It started t-two y-years ago.  T-This g-group of kids u-used to p-p-pick on me a-an c-call me n-names a-and b-b-beat me up.  T-That's w-when I-I started c-cutting.  T-Then, I s-started h-hating m-myself.  E-Everything a-a-about m-me."  She sniffled.  "Dawn, a-are all these marks....scars?"  Ash asked, tracing lines on her arm.  She nodded.  She was taken by surprise when the raven-haired boy hugged her.  "W-What are you doing?"  She tensed up.  "I'm trying to make you feel better."  Dawn awkwardly hugged him back.  "I-I've never really been hugged before."  She admitted.  "Oh."  Ash said awkwardly.  "W-What about you?  Y-You have problems too, right?"  Ash nodded.  "Will you tell me?"  The raven's eyes went wide and he shook his head.  "Please?  I won't judge you.  I don't have any right to judge you."  She pleaded.  "I.....I hate myself.  A lot.  I can't do anything right.  I'm a failure.  I can't even right a simple paper."  Dawn picked up his most recent one.  "Ash, this is amazing."  The assignment was to write a poem about anything.

"Clouds of white floating through a sea called the sky

Flying high like dreams

In perspective, it looks like we can touch them

Grasp them

But in reality, we are too far away to ever really feel them

Only one thing stands between those pure imperfect dreams

A force called gravity

And the limits of our imagination

But when we dream

Nothing is too far away."

"It's not that good.  It's just a start."  Ash sighed.  "Ash, this is incredible!  You're not a complete failure!!!!  If this is a complete failure than I'm a fucking retard!"  She shouted.  "What in the world is keeping you from seeing that this is amazing?"  She sat beside him.  "M-My parents.  They always told me my work wasn't good enough.  Now, I can't get those words to stop.  I'm just not good enough."  Dawn may have been shy, but she managed to start chipping away at the walls around the raven-haired boy's heart.