Hello! QuartzClaw here! And here is another random one-shot that I just got the sudden urge to write.

Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape or size!

Weather Forecast

Dawn's POV

This was all his fault. It was his fault I was in this situation! Ugh, why did I ever listen to him?

(Flashback)

I turned on the television and switched to channel 7 to hear the weather report like I did every morning.

"Looks like we'll be seeing clear skies and lots of sun for today!" the reporter on TV announced. "Whew, it feels like a Pokemon is using the move heatwave! I'll be surprised if the weather doesn't last like this all week. Of course, this means we should all enjoy the great outdoors for the next days!"

I looked out the window. The sun was beating down on the world and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was perfect for walks and picnics, and I was sure the city will be bustling with activity, as everyone would no doubt want to take advantage of the great weather and temperature.

"Dawn, honey!" my mom called. "Could you be a dear and return my library books? They're due today, and I don't want to forget. Of course I'd return them myself, but I'm a bit busy right now, so..."

"No need to worry, Mom!" I assured her. "It's so nice outside; it won't be a problem at all!" I quickly got dressed and put on my makeup like I always did before leaving the house.

I'm not really the reading type, and the library wasn't very close to my house, but it would make a nice, refreshing walk. I arrived at the library in no time, and put the books in the return slot. Then I remembered that I needed to borrow a book for myself for a school project. I entered the library to see if I could find it.

Turned out the book I needed was taken out, but some fashion magazines caught my eye. I stayed in the library, flipping through the latest fashions and trends, before I realized that I had been there for about two and a half hours. So I began heading back home.

As I walked, I noticed that it had suddenly become darker outside. Huge, black clouds were now blocking out the sun, and the wind was starting to pick up, sending chills through my bones. How had the weather changed so drastically in such a short amount of time? I decided to hurry home, but I was only half-way there when rain suddenly began pouring down in ice-cold sheets.

I was trapped. There wasn't any place close-by where I could take shelter. My clothes were not rain-appropriate, because I had dressed based on the sunny, hot weather from earlier. It was so dark, I could barely see where I was going. The thundering rain prevented me from hearing anything, and I was sure it would prevent others from hearing me if I yelled out. I felt like I was drowning. My house wasn't too far from here, but while it wouldn't have been a problem if it were sunny like earlier, it would be impossible to reach there in this condition.

This was all his fault, that dumb weather reporter! If he had just given a proper weather report, I wouldn't be in this situation!

(End of flashback)

There was no point standing here, blaming the weather reporter for his faulty forecast. I tried to do some quick thinking, which was hard to do since I was soaking-wet and freezing. Right now, there was no way I could get home by walking, which meant I would either need to find a place to stay for now, or get a ride. I wandered for a while, before I caught the glimmer of the small shelter of a bus-stop. I quickly entered it. It didn't block out the cold, but at least it got me out of the rain. Now all I needed was for someone to come and get me.

I knew it would be impossible to flag down a passing car to help me out, so I would have to call someone. Of course, there might not be good connection in this weather, but at this point, I had no other choice but to try.

I pulled out my cell phone from my purse. I tried to dry off my hands, but it was no use, since I didn't have anything dry to wipe them on. Shivering, I used my wet fingers to go onto my contacts list and tap on May's number. She didn't have her driver's license yet, but she could probably have her dad pick me up, right? Although I would feel guilty inconveniencing her parents like that... I shook the thought from my head. This was an emergency! There was nothing I could do about it.

I waited patiently, cold and shivering, as the bells rang continuously, trying to get May's attention. I knew she would pick up eventually. She always did. Finally, I heard a voice on the other side. I opened my mouth to greet my friend, but stopped when I heard what it was saying.

"Hello, whoever is calling! This is May, but you probably already know that 'cuz you're calling me. Sorry, but I can't pick up right now for whatever reason. Just say who's calling after you hear the beep, and I'll try to get back to you!"

"Seriously, May?!" I yelled into the phone, although I knew she couldn't hear me. "Of all the days you could have been unavailable, you had to pick today, didn't you?!"

I realized that the message had stopped and the beep had already been sounded, which meant what I had just yelled had been recorded into May's phone's answering machine. Grumbling, I checked my contact list for another one of my friends. I knew it would be no use calling Misty, because she was out-of-town today. But there was Leaf.

"Please pick up, please pick up..." I pleaded quietly, hoping I wouldn't have to listen to another recorded message. To my relief, I heard someone pick up.

"Hello, Leaf?!" I said into my phone with a raised voice, because the thundering rain was making it hard to hear. "This is Dawn. Listen, I really need your help. You have your driver's license, right? Can you..." Before I could finish, I was interrupted, and not by Leaf.

"Hello, Dawn." An arrogant voice greeted me, and I recognized it as being Gary's.

"Gary?" I wondered if I had picked the wrong number. But he had his driver's license too, so maybe (although it was unlikely) he might be willing to help.

"The one and only!" I could practically see his smirking face. "I'm guessing you want to talk to Leafy? I mean, you did call on her phone."

So I didn't make a mistake. I thought. "Okay, Gary, where is Leaf?"

"I'm sorry." Gary said smoothly. "Leaf Green is unavailable for today. May I take a message?"

"WHAT?!" I screamed, and I heard Gary mumble some complaint about my voice's volume. But I didn't care if I had accidentally deafened him or not. "What do you mean?! Gary, I'm being serious; I'm in a crisis here!"

I heard Leaf's voice from the other side, though I couldn't hear it very loudly. "Gary, why do you have my cell phone? And who are you talking to, anyways?"

"Back with the popcorn, Leafy?" Gary said, obviously not to me. "Oh, I was just talking to Dawn. By the way, I took the liberty of taking your cell phone so you wouldn't have to worry about any of your friends bothering you with calls and/or texts today."

"What! I never said you could touch my cell phone! Gary, give it back!"

"Nuh uh! Not until after the movie!"

"Yeah, Leaf!" I heard Ash's voice this time. He was there too? "We've been waiting for this movie to come out for, like, forever! It's gonna be no fun if you have to keep on answering the phone all the time. Just relax for today!"

"Yeah!" Gary chimed in. "Let your friends work out their own problems. You deserve a break from all your advice-giving!"

I rolled my eyes. Gary and Ash probably thought I had called to burden Leaf with some petty little problem. Sure, Leaf was a bit random at times and competitive in just about everything, but she was also very clever, and could give excellent advice when needed. (She was also the one to go to if you were plotting revenge. Let's just say that she helped Misty make Gary regret putting that Weedle in her gym bag.) But right now, my problem was not just some little bother, but an actual situation where I needed her help. Hopefully, Leaf would succeed in making Gary give her phone back. She usually won in these kinds of things.

"At least tell me who it is!" I heard Leaf plead.

"I already told you, it's Dawn. She's probably having some 'hair-crisis' or something." Gary answered. I felt my face boil at his assumption, despite the cold.

"WHAT?!" I shrieked.

"Ow, Dawn, that's the second time..." Gary accused, but I didn't let him finish.

"Look, Mister! I didn't call for some 'hair-issue'; I actually need help! I don't care if it's you or Leaf, but I just need someone to come get..."

This time, Gary was the one who cut me off. "Sorry, no can do! Try calling in about, let's say, four hours? Actually five, just to be safe. Can't have you interrupting the movie!"

"I NEED HELP NOW!" But I found myself yelling into a phone that wasn't connected to anyone anymore, as Gary had hung up.

"I'm gonna kill that guy..." I muttered dangerously, as I searched for the next person to call on my contact list. I relaxed when I saw that it was Drew.

Drew was always reliable, and it would be no problem for him to send a car for me, even if he were too busy to get me himself. I trembled as a cold wind blew by, and I held my phone to my ear, waiting for him to pick up. I listened to the bell ring for a while, and became afraid that he wouldn't pick up like May. However, my patience was rewarded.

"Hello?" For some reason, my green-haired friend was speaking in a low tone.

"Hello, Drew?" I said hurriedly. "Listen, can you..."

"Ssh!" Drew hushed me frantically. "Dawn, please keep it down. We have some very important guests here today, and I have to make a good impression. I just had to excuse myself to answer my phone, and right when they were asking me a question. I have to get back to them now, so please, can you call me later?"

My heart sank. "No, Drew!" I cried, forgetting to lower my voice. "I need your..."

"Please, Dawn." Drew sounded as if he were a bit stressed. "I can't talk to you right now. Please, call me some other time, or try calling someone else. Later."

Before I could protest further, Drew hung up. My arms fell in defeat. What could I do now? May didn't pick up, Misty was out-of-town, Leaf, Ash, and Gary were at the movies, and Drew was busy with some guests. Calling my mom wouldn't do any good either, since we didn't have a car, and she was busy with work all day. Plus, I knew she had to make many important phone-calls today, so our house phone would be occupied. Who did that leave? The answer popped into my head.

No. No way. I didn't want to ask Paul. Yes, I did consider him a friend, but he was not the kind of guy you'd go to when you're in trouble. He'd probably just say I'm troublesome and tell me that he doesn't feel like bothering himself with coming to my aid. Or he might come out here just to watch me suffer. Or maybe he'll make me beg for a ride. Ugh, it would be too humiliating! But as I stood here, shivering, I realized that the rainstorm was not about to pass any time soon. I had no other choice; I had to swallow my pride and try.

I waited for him to pick up, but the bells just kept ringing. Chances were that he had seen who was calling and refused to pick up. Maybe he was busy or didn't feel like answering the phone. A part of me hoped that was it, because I was reluctant to see him while I was in this position. But desperate times call for desperate measures...

"Hn?" A questioning yet bored voice greeted me.

"Paul? You picked up?" I was not expecting him to.

"You seem surprised. I don't know if you know this, Troublesome, but usually when someone dials a number on their phone, someone else picks up."

I rolled my eyes at his sarcastic remark. Not that I wasn't expecting something like that.

"Okay, I know you don't like beating around the bush, so instead of wasting my time bickering with you, I'll get straight to the point. Paul, I need your help."

There was a silence on the other end. It went on for so long, I thought he had hung up.

"Paul?" I tried to see if he were still there.

"Who are you and why do you have Dawn's cell phone?"

I gritted my teeth. This was embarrassing already; did he have to question me like this? Why couldn't he just quietly go with the flow like he usually did? I suddenly realized something that made me forget my embarrassment temporarily.

"Hey, you said my name!"

"Okay, so you are Troublesome after all. And you are calling me... why?" He was clearly puzzled about this, as I always gave him the impression that I'd rather drown than ask a jerk like him for help. The irony.

"I need help." It'll all be over soon. I tried to reassure myself. Just tell him what you need, and once he helps you, you won't have to think about it ever again. I refrained from thinking 'if he helps me'. I needed to stay positive right now.

"You said that already." Paul pointed out the obvious. "What did you get into this time, Troublesome? Care to specify?"

"You say that as if I mess up and ask you for help all the time! Could you at least try to be a little nicer?" I snarled, losing my temper a bit.

"Like you said, I hate beating around the bush. Cut to the chase; what do you want?" Paul said irritatedly.

I took a deep breath to calm down. "I'm stranded at some bus stop somewhere between my house and the library. It's too dark to see any signs or anything, so I can't tell you exactly where I am. But I can't walk home in this weather like this, so I need a ride or something. I tried calling the others, but none of them can come. So... can you?"

I bit my lip anxiously as I concluded my explanation and awaited his response.

"Wait..." Paul sounded thoughtful. "I think I might know which bus stop you're talking about..."

"Really? Can you make it?" There was hope, even if it was in the form of an unfeeling, sarcastic jerk.

"Why did you go out in this weather in the first place if you couldn't go back?" Paul asked.

"I didn't!" I insisted. "When I went out, it was all bright and sunny and the weather report guy said it would be like this all day!"

"You mean the one on channel 7?"

"Yes..."

"A little advice: never trust that guy; he's always wrong. The one on channel 13 is much more accurate."

"Yeah, yeah, just hurry up, will ya'? It's freezing out here!"

"Maybe you should consider putting away you cell phone and turning around. If you did that, you'd see that I'm already here." I froze, startled when I realized the voice was coming from right behind me. I turned around, and jumped back with a yelp as I came face to face with the purple-haired teenager. He calmly stored his cell phone in the pocket of his black jacket.

"How-how long have you been there?!" I stuttered stupidly.

"You coming or not?" Paul ignored my question.

"Wait, where is your car?" I asked, noticing the absence of a vehicle. I suddenly realized that I had never asked Paul if he had his driver's license yet, which was strange considering I always kept track of all my friends' achievements. "Do you even have a license?"

"Do I have a license? Yes. Where is my car? Don't have one." Paul answered. He opened up a large, black umbrella that I hadn't noticed he was holding.

"What about the truck your brother drives?"

"He's using it right now."

"But... how did you get here so fast?" I asked in wonder.

"I was already around here. Then you called, and I realized that I could hear your voice without my phone. I figured that meant you were close by, and you were." he explained.

"But then, what were you doing out here in this weather in the first place?"

"I was out for a walk."

"A walk?" I repeated disbelievingly. "In this weather?"

Paul looked at me for a second as if I had a point (which, of course, I did!). Then he shrugged. "Yeah. Why not?"

I gaped at him for a moment before shaking my head and deciding to question his sanity later.

"So, what's your plan for getting me home, oh High-and-Mighty Genius?" I asked sarcastically.

"Easy." He gestured at me to get under his umbrella. "We walk."

"I already told you, there is no way we could walk back!" I snapped. "I can't see where I'm going, and my house is too far too walk to without coming down with something like a fever in the rain."

"I know the way." Paul said, not sounding worried in the slightest. "And I know some shortcuts."

"Shortcuts?" I looked at him questioningly. There weren't any shortcuts to my house that I knew of. Unless he meant...

"No." I declined firmly, figuring out what 'shortcuts' he was referring to.

"No?"

"I am not going to take one of your alley-shortcuts!"

Paul was very independent when it came to getting around the city. He had been taking the bus by himself since he was little, and he knew how to get from place to place on foot as well. But most admirable was his knowledge of many of the alleys in the city. He could get to a destination in half the time by using a hidden alley, he knew which alleys should be avoided and which alleys were fine, and basically everything. I'm not sure how he found all that out, but his knowledge gave him a huge advantage.

Unlike Paul, the rest of us (excluding Gary, who was always ready for adventure) tended to avoid the city's alley-maze. We weren't as comfortable with it as Paul was, and we knew of the risks. There could be a very territorial stray Pokemon, or a criminal hiding in the shadows. Which was why I refused to accompany Paul in his little shortcut-taking.

Paul regarded me for a minute, and then shrugged. "Fine. Suit yourself." To my horror, he began walking off, leaving me all alone.

"Wait, where are you going?!" I called after him, panicking a little. He stopped to answer me.

"Away from here." he replied curtly.

"You're going to just leave me here by myself?!"

"You're not accepting my help, so there is no reason to stick around. I have better things to do."

"Like walk around in the rain?" I rolled my eyes sarcastically.

"Yeah." Paul countered. "Better than standing here listening to you blabber about how the world is being unfair to you today. See ya'." He continued walking away.

Ouch. I wasn't sure whether I should feel infuriated about his insults, or terrified because it appeared he was dead-serious about leaving me.

What are you doing? a voice in my head urged. He's your last chance! Would you really rather stand here for who knows how long?!

The voice had a point. Just as the teenage boy in front of me was about to disappear in the rain and darkness, I darted out of my spot with a burst of speed and joined him under his umbrella.

"Which way to my house?" I asked glumly.

We got to my house fairly quickly. Paul got us through the shortcut-alley he was talking about without difficulty, and soon, we were standing at my front door. I was soaked to the skin, numb, shivering, freezing-cold, and had most likely caught something like a bad cold, but I had safely reached my home.

I sighed in relief as my trembling fingers fumbled with my purse and managed to pull out my keys, which successfully unlocked the door. As I pushed it open, I immediately got a blast of the welcoming warmth within, and bright light reached through the opening, calling me in. As I stepped inside, I remembered my manners.

"Thank you, Paul." I thanked my rescuer, who was on the verge of leaving, sincerely and gratefully. Maybe he had only helped me out because he was in the area, but whatever the reason, he was the reason I would no longer have to stand in the freezing rain. He just shrugged as if none of it had mattered and continued his departure. I wasn't surprised, and I hadn't been expecting anything different. I was about to close the door, when I heard his voice call out to me.

"By the way, nice makeup. You should take a picture." I couldn't see his face, because his back was towards me, and it was too dark to see anyways. But his smug tone made me sure he was smirking.

Nice makeup? What did he mean...? My eyes widened as I realized what he was referring to. "No no no no no no..." I muttered as I rushed to the washroom. I instantly let out a groan as I caught sight of my face in the mirror.

I was a mess! The rain had done its job of rearranging my makeup, creating a new, hideous appearance. My mascara was running down my cheeks in vertical lines, the bit of my lipstick that hadn't been removed had settled below my lower lip with a little on my chin, and the blush that had been applied to my cheeks had been completely washed away. My skin had also become very pale thanks to the rain and cold, so I looked like some kind of a vampire-like monster! And it wasn't Halloween, which meant I wasn't supposed to look like this...

After washing my face (Ugh, more water!), drying off, and changing into nice warm, dry clothes, I snuggled onto the sofa with a mug of hot chocolate. I decided to check what the weather man had to say about his incorrect assumption about how it was going to be sunny all week.

"Wowie, looks like Kyogre decided to take the sun out with a rainstorm!" the weather-guy commented. "From the looks of things, we can say bye-bye to our week of sunshine, because rain's going to be taking over for a while. But I don't think it's too much of an inconvenience; after all, a little rain is welcoming after that heatwave we've been having!"

It took me a great amount of strength to stop myself from chucking the remote control at the TV screen. That weather reporter had changed his mind completely! What did he mean, not inconvenient?! Paul was right; I should just start listening to the weather man on channel 13 instead of 7.

Dumb weather-forecast-man!

Okey-dokie! So what did you think? Did you enjoy it? Yes, no, maybe?

Please review, and thanks for reading!

Bye bye! And have a smiling day! :)