This has been on DeviantArt for a while but I've only just got round to publishing it on here. Sorry!

It's Paul and Dawn's engagement party so everything should be merry and bright but Dawn's friends have mixed emotions about the pair. IS, CS and PS

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Behind his back

"Oh wow, Dawn," Misty gasped as Dawn showed her the ring on her finger. Dawn smiled and bobbed politely, words escaping her for once. It was a beautifully cut pink sapphire set on a platinum ring. It sparkled in ways both Misty and May never thought possible. Yes, Paul always got the best, somehow.

"That's a fancy ring," May agreed. Dawn giggled loudly.

"Paul said he found it in a shop and just knew that I would love it," Dawn told them, "I was so surprised when he asked me."

"Didn't you know at all?" Misty asked. Dawn shook her head making her blue curls bounce around a little.

"No, it was a spur of the moment thing, I guess," Dawn replied, "I mean, we really haven't got proper jobs yet but he said that he wanted to be with me forever."

"That's sweet… but is it the best idea?" Misty asked, "I mean you don't have jobs yet. You've just finished your designer course and he's… well he's just come out of training."

"I know," Dawn said, "But knowing that when we have the money we will get married is just enough for me. We're going to go through life together. He's even promised to still love me when I get wrinkles… Of course then he told me if I didn't stop smiling then the wrinkles would come faster."

"That's Paul," May giggled, "I just can't believe you two are engaged. Out of the three of us, I always thought that you'd be the last to get married."

"I suppose so," Dawn agreed, "Paul doesn't really come across as the married type, does he?"

"You've only been dating a year," Misty told Dawn, "Ash and I have been dating three years and May and Drew have been for four years. It's too early for you to get married."

"We're not getting married next week, Misty," Dawn laughed, "We both know it will be a while before we can afford a wedding. Actually, we're moving in now. My mum gave us the OK to do that."

"So you got engaged so that you could live together?" Misty asked.

"Well… My mum didn't want us living together without being married," Dawn replied.

"So Paul's just doing this to appease your mother?" Misty went on. Dawn let out a sigh, defeated by her own words. "See, this is why you'll never get married."

"You are the youngest of us, you know," May said.

"I get it," Dawn said with a smile, "I just thought that at my Engagement Party you'd be a little nicer."

With that she stormed off towards the stairs so she could go to her bedroom. Paul noticed her flight through her mother's house and quickly dropped the conversation he was having with Reggie and Maylene to go and check on his fiancé. He seemed alarmed by Dawn's sudden disappearance, too alarmed in fact. Misty and May looked on.

"I don't get it," Misty snapped, "He's the rudest, nastiest guy in the world. Can't she see she's been taken for a ride?"

"I can't believe she's getting married before us," May sighed, "The baby of the group, how awkward for us two. Isn't it a bit bad that we've been dating longer than she has and I've never moved in with Drew?"

"He's a jerk," Misty went on. Reggie seemed to spot the problem immediately and rushed over to talk to the girls, leaving Maylene with Brandon.

"What's up with Dawn?" he asked the two politely, "I hope she's not getting sick."

"Reggie," Misty said, "Are you really supporting their decision?"

"Hmm?" Reggie asked, confused.

"Let's face it, your brother's not exactly an angel is he?" Misty snapped.

"And Dawn's rather young," May added.

"So why are you allowing them to get married?" Misty asked. Reggie laughed at this in a hearty sort of way.

"I see what's going on here," he said, "You're jealous."

"We are not!" the two girls yelled at him. Reggie ignored them, smirking in a similar way that Paul usually did but without the menacing gaze.

"It's simple," Reggie told them with a happy smile, "You don't fully understand their relationship and May is very conscious of the fact Drew hasn't proposed to her yet."

"I must admit, it's not fair," May said with a pout, "I've been dating Drew four years and we're still not living together."

"Then ask him if he wants to live with you," Reggie told her, "If he's stalling like this maybe he's scared or not aware how you feel. As for you Misty, why don't I tell you a little story?"

Reggie was happily rolling out some pastry on the kitchen top, humming happily to himself when Paul burst through the back door. The door slammed shut and Paul appeared in the kitchen a few seconds later.

"What's up?" Reggie asked his brother. He was used to a bad mannered Paul but this was new. This was an angry Paul, an annoyed Paul.

"That stupid Troublesome girl," Paul snapped, sitting down at the breakfast table. He ran a hand through his hair, sighing deeply.

"What's wrong with Dawn now?" Reggie asked, "What sort of trouble did she get you into now?"

"I asked her out," Paul replied in his monotone. This short statement made Reggie drop his rolling pin as he stared at his younger brother. The rolling pin rolled off the table top and onto the floor, dangerously close to Reggie's toes.

"You did what?"

"I asked her out."

"What possessed you to do that?"

"I like her, OK," Paul replied sharply. Reggie blinked a few times. His brother actually liked girls… no wait, his brother actually had the capacity to like people? This was… This was very good news. Reggie found himself getting giddy inside. His brother was human after all! "And she told me no."

"That's harsh," Reggie said, "But you know what you got to do now?"

"Forget it ever happened?" Paul guessed.

"No way!" Reggie yelled, "If you really like Dawn you need to prove to her that you do. Ask her again."

"Why? She's just going to stare at me and say no again," Paul said.

"Then you say 'fine, but I'm not going to stop asking until you give me one chance'," Reggie told his brother with an air of wisdom.

"And how many guys have you picked up by this method?" Paul asked. Reggie drooped. Paul was back to normal then, it seemed. With a sigh Reggie picked up his rolling pin a resumed rolling out the pastry.

"So Dawn actually refused to go out with him?" Misty asked. Reggie nodded. "I never knew that. So did he grovel until she said yes?"

"Actually… No," Reggie replied, "It's a funny story actually. This happened before May was dating Drew."

"Wait, Paul liked her all that time ago?" May yelped, "Wow, I never knew that."

"When May started to date then you and Ash started going steady, Dawn felt really out of the loop. At the time Paul was training with Brandon so he wasn't around either. She needed a friend so I jumped in," Reggie went on, "We talked and laughed and generally had a good time but then I started dating Maylene and Dawn took off. She didn't want to be in the way, I guess."

"So she started dating Paul because she had no one else," Misty said triumphantly. Reggie shook his head.

"I think she went to Kanto where Paul found her one day crying," Reggie went on, "She was so upset because she had just won a big contest and all of her friends didn't seem to care. According to Paul he just sat with her and listened to her for a while. She was lonely and Paul realised he was the only person who would listen to her. After a few weeks of just hanging round with Paul Dawn realised that he was an alright guy and she asked him out."

"Wait," May snapped, "She can't do that. She can't ask guys out, it's against the girl code!"

"So Paul said yes," Misty said.

"Actually he said, 'I'll ask you tomorrow'," Reggie laughed, "'I've being waiting for an answer for years."

"Same old Paul," May laughed.

"It's a nice little story," Misty said, "Better than Ash's and mine."

"What where he ate too much and left you a note before he was rushed to the hospital?" May giggled.

"Well it's still better than Drew sending you a hundred red roses infested with aphids," Misty retorted.

"That was an accident!" May yelled back.

Paul glanced over at the two girls and his brother as he climbed down the stairs. He took a deep breath and walked over to them.

"Hey, Paul," Reggie greeted, "How's Dawn feeling?"

Paul ignored his brother, facing the two girls. The two shuddered at the dark aura he was producing and the cold look in his eyes.

"Well? You'd better have a good reason for upsetting Dawn," he stated coldly, "Hmm?"

"We're sorry," May said shakily, "I guess we should go and apologise."

"Probably," Misty agreed. Paul glared at them as they left. He turned to his brother, raising an eyebrow.

"What did you tell them?" he asked.

"Oh just a little story on how you asked Dawn out numerous times and she said no," Reggie replied airily, "And then how when she was sad and lonely, you were there to comfort her."

Paul's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"What kind of a lame story is that?" Paul asked.

"Hey," Reggie said, raising his hands up, "Dawn and I saw this coming so we decided on a cover story."

Paul let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. It was nice to think his fiancé had things covered but all this sneaking around his back made him feel uncomfortable. Proud but uncomfortable.

"Sometimes I think I've been a bad influence on the both of you," Paul muttered.

"Oh come on," Reggie said happily, "The only reason why she loves you is because you're a jerk and the only reason why you love her is because she's bubbly. Usually things like that doing work but sometimes they do. It's pure and simple love, bro."

"OK, OK," Paul said, holding his hands up now, "Whatever."

"Our secret, Paul," Reggie said, tapping his nose in a knowing way, "To make an easy life for the both of you."

"Fine," Paul said.

"If I told them the real reason you two got together then they'd be spitting feathers for a week," Reggie laughed, "And to think you were such a jerk."

"Whatever," Paul said, trying to get away from his brother but wherever Paul went, Reggie followed. Finally Paul turned round and folded his arms across his chest. Reggie stopped talking instantly. "I get it. Me big jerk. Now go to your boyfriend."

"Oh come on! I have a pink haired girlfriend!" Reggie yelled.

"If you like pink hair and your partner being stronger than you, Reggie, need I say more," Paul said with a smile, "I much prefer my bubbly Troublesome girl."

"Hmm," Reggie said, "Why do you love her, out of interest?"

"She's never dull," Paul replied, "And she's never boring."

"OK," Reggie said slowly but he didn't really understand. As Paul headed through to Johanna's large kitchen, he couldn't help but think how things had really happened.

"D-A-W-N," she screamed at him, "That's my name now remember it!"

"Why should I even care?" Paul asked her, send her a cold glare.

"Fine, whatever," she snapped, "Good luck with the rest of your life, Sir Rudeness."

"It'll be better when you've gone," Paul remarked. He turned away from her and began walking down the street when suddenly something hard, flat and fast hit him on the back of the head. The force of whatever it was caused him to fall over, accidentally twisting his ankle as he fell on to his butt. He grimaced as he stared at Dawn.

Her right boot was missing from her foot. He glanced to the side, seeing said boot on the floor next to him. She had really thrown her shoe at him? Really?

"Jerk!" she yelled at him. He smirked and tried to get up but when he put weight on his foot he fell straight back onto the floor with a humph. Dawn hopped over to him, grabbing her boot and slipping it back onto her foot. She glanced at Paul as he tried again to get to his feet but he fell over again.

"Damn," he cursed, rubbing his ankle and wincing. That hurt.

"Are you alright?" Dawn asked.

"Peachy," Paul replied, "I think you sprained my ankle, Troublesome."

"Oh my Arceus!" Dawn squeaked. She hurried over to him so she could help him to his feet. For the first time ever, she noticed that Paul actually let her help him. She supported him under his armpits as he wobbled slightly. With a sigh he hopped forwards.

"Great," he muttered, "Just great."

"I'm so sorry," Dawn spluttered, "I didn't mean to hurt you so badly. Oh, what should I do?"

"Leave me alone before you break any more of my bones," Paul told her. Dawn puffed out her cheek, going pink in the face. She scowled at him.

"No, I'm taking you to Nurse Joy," she replied, "I can't just leave you, can I? I'm not as heartless as you are."

"Fine," Paul snapped, "Just don't deafen me with your shrill voice."

"I'm too nice for my own good," she mumbled to herself. Somewhat reluctantly, she began to lead him towards the Pokémon Centre where she would spend the next few days helping out a rather unthankful Paul as best as she could only to be greeted with attitude whenever she did something for him. By the fourth day, Paul was all better and the left the centre together.

"Finally," Dawn said, "You can get rid of me now."

"Thanks," Paul told her, "You didn't have too stay."

"Well, unlike you, I have manners," Dawn retorted. Paul smirked at her. She was slightly off put by his sudden kindness. What was he going to do now? "Anyway, it was my fault you got hurt."

"No kidding," and Paul was back.

"Fine," Dawn said, "I'll be going now."

"Whatever, Troublesome," he replied, turning and walking away from her. He smirked to himself as he walked away, glad to be free from her once again. Until something hit him on the back of the head. It stung. He quickly turned round to see what she had thrown at him this time but he didn't expect her to walk straight into him. He caught her before she stumbled over and fell but the action of catching her brought her very close to him. In fact, it should have been too close for comfort but it wasn't. Her cheeks turned pink very quickly and she jumped backwards.

"Throwing yourself at me now, Troublesome?" Paul remarked, rubbing his head where whatever she had thrown before still stung. He noticed she was holding a few old poffins in her hands. No wonder it hurt.

"Y-you wish," she managed to stutter.

"Whatever," he said. He stepped to the side and stuck his hands in his pockets. Dawn eyed him with confusion. What did he want her to do? "If you're going to follow me, at least walk next to me. I don't trust you behind my back."

"I'm not following you," she told him.

"Liar," he retorted. They began walking, unaware that they were doing it.

"I am not," Dawn yelled.

"Keep telling yourself that, Troublesome," Paul told her.

"It's Dawn. D-A-W-N," she replied.

Paul came to a stop as he saw Drew and Ash stood in the kitchen with a couple of beers in their hands.

"Hey, you two idiots," Paul said, making the two guys look over at him. Usually Paul would have remarked how they both looked up at the word idiot but he had more pressing matters to deal with. "I have to have a talk with you two. It's about your girlfriends."

"What's up with them?" Drew asked. Paul let out a sigh and mentally shrugged. OK, no matter how much he wanted to deny it but Dawn had rubbed off on him too. Maybe he wasn't such a big jerk after all.

"Both of you man up and propose to them or something otherwise I'll never hear the end of it," Paul told them, "And if you're to scared to do that then I'm getting Johanna and Caroline Maple on you two. Then if that still doesn't persuade you I'll have to take matters into my own hands."

Paul reached for Torterra's Pokéball from his belt. He flicked it into the air and caught it in a menacing sort of way. Ash and Drew glanced at each other, then turned to Paul.

"A-alright!" was the rather scared and spluttered reply.

… OK, he was still a jerk… But he had heart…

Kind of.

I hope that wasn't too bad. Before anyone asks, there are many reasons why this fic is called Behind His Back which is good to say that I have no idea where the actual name came from.

Also if you would be so nice to do this survey for me? I've promised the Magic & Spells lot a double update if they do it for me and I would gladly do the same with Kage if I get a load of responses :)

http:/ www. surveymonkey. com/s/ZTZDQ3Z

Thank you and please review!

RSx