Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.

Summary: A slap echoed around the room where Paul was now kneeling, refusing to look into her watery blue eyes. "I loved you!" She shrieked in defeated anguish. "…But you… You just tossed me aside when you were satisfied with yourself!" Her pale trembling hands pressed fragilely on her chest. "How could you?"


~ Fragments of My Heart ~

Dawn stood on her boyfriend's porch, eyes closed, arms wrapped tightly around the man she cherishes as much as life itself. A strong, secure arm was wrapped around her waist in return, bringing the couple closer together.

A faint breeze blew past them, gently swaying Dawn's royal blue hair.

"Paul…"

"Yes?"

She slowly cracked a turquoise eye open to look at his handsome features. His mellow purple eyes met hers laced with a hint of amusement.

"You smell like… Apricots?" Her lips quirked into a small pout. "I don't like apricots." She whined while tugging on the edge of his shirt.

He burst into laughter, and Dawn couldn't help but also burst into a fit of giggles besides him. His laugh was just so contagious.

His amused eyes sparkled brightly. "This is why I love you. Now don't ruin this for me." He kissed her hair softly, knelt down onto one leg, and pulled out a black velvet box from his coat pocket, which revealed a silver ring, laced with perfectly cut diamonds.

"Dawn Berlitz, will you marry me?" His once amused eyes hardened for a second to show how serious he was before letting a more loving one replace it.

Dawn didn't even need a second to consider it, she was completely his already.

"Yes…."

Her body drifted unconsciously towards his, hands cupping his cheeks firmly as she brought her lips on to his, tasting the sweetness and lust behind every purse of their lips. His gently calloused hands ran through her hair, caressed her cheekbones lightly, and began fighting for the dominance that he needed. Dawn desperately licked his lips for entrance, begging for more.

They continued this for a little longer, occasionally breaking away for quick gasps of sweet oxygen before going at it again. Her right leg planted itself on the ground for balance as she slipped her fingers into one of the belt loops on his pants, gently tugging at it unconsciously. He quickly answered by taking his hands and roaming them slowly down her perfectly sculpted body, taking in every curve before resting on the edge of her skirt…

~ Fragments of My Heart ~

The blue haired teen sat up with a long yawn, lingering a moment longer on the coziness of her bed and thinking back to the perfect dream she had. Dreams always end at the best parts, don't they?

She swung her legs off her bed and carefully placed her feet on the ground, shivering slightly from the suddenness of the cold marble floor before letting herself in the next room, where her boyfriend was currently sleeping in. Dawn pounced onto the dark silhouette mercilessly, waking the purpled haired teen from his slumber.

"G'morning troublesome…"

"Morning Paulie!" She replied happily as she crawled under his covers, and turned around so she could see his eyes that always manage to make her spine twitch with ecstasy.

"Guess what Paul?"

"Mmm…?"

"I had a dream that you proposed to me with a silver ring with gorgeous little diamonds sprinkled around it! Then we kissed, and…" Dawn squealed and shyly looked up at him, waiting for a reaction.

His dry laughter filled the room, and he turned around to her, giving her his irresistible smirk.

"Keep dreaming girly, keep dreaming." Paul rubbed his palms on her cheeks and kissed her chin forcefully.

He kicked off the covers and carelessly strode away towards the bathroom, while Dawn buried her face in his covers in embarrassment.

A different smell hit her, rather than the one she was seeking for. She pressed her nose on the fabric daintily, breathing in the scent again. A tingle at the base at her neck made her gasp out loud.

~ Fragments of My Heart ~

Their relationship has been strained for the last couple months. Paul just kept disappointing her. Hopefully he can still change, for her at least. He kept becoming more distant again, staying out later and later each night. Dawn hoped he wasn't doing anything she thought he might be doing.

She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she waited in their empty house for him, dimly remembering a promise he had probably long forgotten.

"You know I wanna tell you something, but I can't…"

"Oh come on, you can tell me." She egged him on, poking his shoulder.

With a small smile, he said, "I love you."

She gasped involuntarily, just a hint of a blush creeping up from the nape of her neck.

"You really do?"

"Yeah, forever and always."

Sitting in their darkened house, Dawn toyed with her engagement ring as she checked the time again for the 5th time. 11:31 pm. Today was supposedly their 3rd anniversary together, and she requested him to come home early for an evening date. She made his favorite dishes, and wore the dress that he said she looked best in. Guess he "forgot" again. She had him promise this morning before he left through the door to go to work, how could he have forgotten already?

A week ago, while doing the laundry for the both of them, she found a reddish smear on the collar and breast pocket of Paul's favorite shirt. At first she pretended not to notice, but as time slowly trickled by, she couldn't resist the urge to closely examine it.

She reddish stain that she found was as suspected, lipstick. Oh, how she had cried her pretty eyes out that night. Yet she didn't dare to tell Paul what she had discovered. She had only wore her fake smile when he came home, and chirped around like how she usually was, hoping he would explain before she would force him to.

The door slammed, resulting Dawn to jump from where she was sitting miserably on the couch. 1:53 am. There must have been a hold-up in traffic or something.

"I'm dead-beat," Paul mumbled as he entered the kitchen. He stared at Dawn dully, and Dawn felt herself shiver noticeably at his dead purple eyes.

"I'll be heading off for bed now. Have to work over time again tomorrow." he yawned as he trudged tiredly to their room.

He was already gone from the kitchen when Dawn found her voice again.

"Have you eaten already?" she asked, even if she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Yeah, ate something before heading home," Came the reply from the door connecting to the bathroom.

Dawn fell to the ground in anguish. He had forgotten, just like that. Tears dripped down from her eyes onto her soft cheeks before hitting the marble floor with splatters. The grandfather clock in front of her chimed twice, and with it, Dawn felt her heart shatter in countless pieces. She had given him chance after chance, and he given up on her every time.

~ Fragments of My Heart ~

She sighed loudly again. This time Paul noticed, looking down at her with annoyance.

"What?" he hissed to her.

"I don't know, why don't you tell me?" she shot back at him. Dawn ripped her hand out of his hand and turned to stare at him, hands on her hips.

"What are you talking about?" he spat back. He was trying to keep his voice low, but it was extremely difficult.

This was exactly what she feared would happen. She looked down sadly and held out her hand to him.

"Nothing, never mind. Let's just go home."

Paul took her hand in his and trudged on, a silent storm on his face.

When they got on the steps of their porch, Dawn reached up and gave him a quick kiss, like always, but they both flinched when they heard a gasp from behind them.

Dawn jerked away quickly only to see a tall brunette standing behind Paul, with her arms crossed and a dangerous look on her face.

"Are you two together?" She screeched menacingly at the couple.

Dawn stepped back frantically, not knowing what to do. Paul frantically pushed Dawn a few more feet away from him.

"No! What are you talking about? I'm not with that girl!"

"Then what was that?" The brunette's lips thinned into a tight line.

"That was nothing! I don't know… she just … attacked me!"

Dawn looked offended and turned towards Paul. "Well, excuse me. But I thought you would like it, you jerk!"

The brunette sashayed next to Paul and wrapped a loose arm around his shoulders. "Hey, hands off my boyfriend, bitch. I know he's like so attractive, but keep your distance or you'll regret it."

Licking her lips, she turned her head towards Paul, who nodded vigorously in agreement.

Dawn felt her stomach drop at her words. 'Boyfriend? But… Oh God.'

"Let's go now, Paul… darling."

They turned around and walked away from Dawn, and not once did he turn around and look back at her.


~ Fragments of My Heart ~

It's been 6 years since he had left her. At first she had been afraid to love, but gradually time had slowly coaxed her out of hiding. At last, she began to trust again.

".. And this is…for the cabinets!" The golden locked boy placed his boxes down on the ground of the new apartment complex they had rented together and rose to see if she needed any help.

The weeks after he had left were unbearably long as she sat in their empty house, staring into empty spaces for hours. If she wasn't screaming her vocal chords out, she would be smashing things around the house on a rampage…

She had cut herself, taken drugs, did anything just to have him gone from her mind. Johanna, who had watched over her since the moment she had been born, was shaken to the bone to what her precious little angel had become.

She doesn't even remember how the cheerful golden headed boy appeared in her life. It was as if he was there all along. She couldn't even remember his face, or his name for that matter, but he's always been besides her, slowly coaxing her back into reality. Before she knew it, several years had gone by and now she's moving in with a stranger that she's probably going to spend the rest of her life with.

"Is that the last of those boxes?" He wiped his brow tiredly and leaned against the wall of their cozy apartment.

Dawn nodded mutely, her eyes glued to the floor.

"Well! With that done, shall we go visit our neighbors?" He smiled warmly and pushed her small frame towards the door. "I know you wanted to."

~ Fragments of My Heart ~

A slap echoed around the room where Paul was now kneeling, refusing to look into her watery blue eyes.

"I loved you!" She shrieked in defeated anguish. "…But you… You just tossed me aside when you were satisfied with yourself!"

Her pale trembling hands pressed fragilely on her chest. "How could you?"

His voice came out as a growl, muttering to himself like a manic.

"Wasn't I enough for you? What else did you need? Come on! Say it to me like a man!" She pushed herself away from him, chest heaving from the effort.

He spat. "You were enough! What's your problem, women?"

"What's MY problem? You're asking me what my problem is? What the hell is wrong with you?" She lashed out at him, not caring even more.

His hands clamped on her arm and dug his nails into her soft skin. "Listen, I'm sorry okay? I won't do it again, I promise. It was all a misunderstanding…. That's all." He looked up to her face, wanting her to forgive him and tell him everything is alright like always.

Dawn ripped her arm from Paul's grasp, leaving angry red marks on her pale skin.

"Misunderstanding? Do you take me as a fool or something? Don't think that I haven't noticed."

"Fine then." His bitter eyes turned towards the ground in anger. "I cheated on you. Are you happy now?"

"No…I'm not…." Her words caught in her throat as she struggled against the barrage of tears threatening to fall. "I can't do this anymore." she told him sadly. She dropped her head to the floor, not wanting to look at him anymore. "We can't live like this."

Dawn opened up the closet to reveal an already packed suitcase that she proceeded to grab. "No, I'm done for now. I don't want to argue about this anymore."

"Don't do this. Please, I'll do anything!" he pleaded with her.

Dawn ignored him and walked out their room going down the stairs to the front door. Paul followed her, arguing every step of the way.

"Wait, stop! We can fix this, don't give up now!"

Dawn jerked the front door of their house open. She turned around and glared at him. "Why do you think I want give up? Not after all this, my life would just be wasted then. I can't live like this…"

Paul looked at her in despair as she raised her delicate left hand. Her engagement ring sparkled in the dim room. She reached for her ring finger and slowly took it off. It was the ring that she'd dreamed of, back when everything was so perfect. The little perfectly cut diamonds caught the light as it sparkled, the last exhilaration before Dawn threw it with as much force as she could into the dark chambers of their house.

Paul stood in the middle of the living room, his muscles taught and rigid. His face, shocked, was blank from any emotions.

Dawn, seeing her chance ran from their house, tears pouring profusely over her cheeks. She had no sense of direction of which she was running to, and her legs buckled under her weight. Her head cracked against the sidewalk, and she slowly blacked out.

'Oh, how I wish I can just let everything go…. It would be so much easier.'

When Dawn came to, she felt a blinding pain at her temple. As she slowly recovered, she slowly opened her eyes and witnessed the most golden pair of eyes waiting anxiously for her.

~Fragments of My Heart~

Paul kept his gaze down, eyes dead and soulless. It's been like that since his dreams and his life ambitions left him when she took off her ring. He fingered his unruly and unshaved beard as he glanced out his window where the spring carnival was getting started.

Children with streamers and balloons ran around the park, screaming for joy. Their parents stood on the side, laughing merrily along the young ones.

Paul noticed a couple walking near from where he lived and couldn't help suppress a smile that he hadn't smiled in 6 years. Her royal-blue hair swayed as she walked side by side a young man with molten gold hair. He stood up, and walked closer to his window, something finally capturing his interest.

Even though their backs were turned towards him, he felt that she was indeed, familiar. She held her partners hand as they moved through the carnival together. Paul suddenly felt a yearning, and deep in his heart, he realized that she was probably Dawn. As the realization sank in, he felt just a bit happier, knowing that she'll finally be happy.

He closed the curtains, and walked away from the window.

He smiled to himself. Yes, today is a new day to start over again.


Conclusion: Well, Ikarishippers are probably wishing for my death right now. Oops. You might be asking, "Why did you pair Dawn with Barry even if you're an Ikarishipper yourself?"

Well, I don't know. Twinleafshipping for the win….? No?

Flames are happily accepted. (*cough* Ikarishippers.)