A/N: I got such an urge to write something different (and I wanted to see if I could find inspiration in this story to help with others). I couldn't help working on this when I heard the song "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry. I just got so inspired listening to this song that I just had to write it out. But trust me, I am still working on my other chapters nonetheless, I promise you.
It's best to listen to this song while reading it. I've found this with other stories as well lol Enjoy my little musical one-shot :D
Disclaimer: I do not own the song "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry, nor do I own Pokemon. I'd have all of my favorite shippings come true if I did lol
"If I die young, bury me in satin. Lay me down on a bed of roses. Sink me in the river at dawn. Send me away with the words of a love song."
Dawn stared up at the ceiling of her new house, boxes spread around the floor of her new bedroom. Some were open, others were closed, still more weren't even touched yet. They all had the same label: Bedroom.
As she laid on the plush new carpet she'd picked out herself, all she could think was, I finally did it. I'm on my own now. No more sleeping in my old bedroom at home with Mom, no more having to listen to the cat meowing at all hours when she wanted food. The thought of her mother brought tears to her eyes and she rolled over, trying to stifle her tears at what she had lost.
"Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother. She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors. Oh, and life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no. Ain't even gray, but she buries her baby."
When the sound of soft footsteps on the carpet came towards her, she wiped quickly at her eyes with the back of her hand and sitting up. She didn't bother getting up from the floor, her legs felt wobbly even sitting down. She pretended to unpack some of the boxes as May walked in with a baby on her hip.
"You doing okay in here, Dawn?" May looked around at the boxes scattered around her friend. Switching the baby to her other hip she walked over and peered into the box that Dawn was rummaging absent-mindedly through. The child gave a small cry as he saw a hairbrush lying beside his mother's foot, and his little fingers reached down in hopes of grabbing it, but May just lifted the child above her and smiled. "Sorry, Rudy. Can't have that yet." Somehow it was always odd how mothers knew when their children wanted something by the just the sounds they made.
"The sharp knife of a short life. Well, I've had just enough time."
With a small smile in her friend's direction, Dawn reached into the box she'd been going through without even really thinking and pulled out a stuffed animal she'd gotten as a child. It was shaped like a penguin and had sapphire feathers with a white chest. The toy had been a birthday present from her mother when she had turned ten, almost nine years ago. This she handed to the boy, smiling when she saw the expression on his face, so cute as he cuddled the cotton-filled stitched fabric.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said as she went back to the box and pulled out her alarm clock, setting it near the wall. Next she found a picture frame, and her eyes teared up as she looked at it, but not with sadness this time. Pressing a soft kiss to the glass covering the picture behind it, she set the frame next to the clock, keeping her eyes from it as she went back to the box.
"If I die young, bury me in satin. Lay me down on a bed of roses. Sink me in the river at dawn. Send me away with the words of a love song."
A hand in the cardboard box and another on her leg, Dawn's eyes were caught as the light glinted on the ring that encircled her left ring finger. Smiling, she removed her hand from the box and twisted the golden band around her finger, the small decorations of diamonds sparkling in the sunlight that streamed in through the open windows. Even more tears gathered in her eyes as she gripped her hand and held both close to her face, the tears flowing freely now. Why even hide it now?
"Dawn?" May knelt beside the girl, setting Rudy close beside her as she touched Dawn's cheek lightly. Tears ran over her fingers as she held her friend's hands, and she felt just how hard she was gripping them together, as if that ring on her hand was the one thing that had held her together this whole time. "Dawn, sweetheart. Talk to me."
"The sharp knife of a short life. Well, I've had just enough time."
Her sobbing making it difficult to speak, she still tried, managing to force out a "Why? Why her, why her?"
The worried look on May's face softened as she realized what Dawn meant, and she pulled the girl close to her in a hug. It felt nice to have someone comforting her, but the one she wished was there at the time had to work, so the best she could get she would take. With the tears falling like a river across her cheeks, she wrapped her arms tightly around her friend as she finally broke down.
"Shh," May soothed, running a hand over Dawn's hair as she tried to comfort the younger girl. "It'll be all right in time."
"And I'll be wearing white when I come into your kingdom. I'm as green as the ring on my little cold finger. I've never known the loving of a man. But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand."
Dawn sniffed as she tried to answer, but only another sob managed to work it's way up her throat, so she just went back to trying to check her tears. She really wish she hadn't lost it while May was there. It was so easy to cry when she was alone, even at night as she had stayed at her fiance's house while her belongings were moved to the house he shared with his brother. The boy was a light sleeper, but Dawn never made a sound while she cried herself to sleep. One time he'd woken to her crying in the middle of the night and more or less demanded what was wrong. She just wiped away her tears and said it was from a nightmare that she'd been having. He hadn't pushed any further than that, pulling her close and allowing her to drift slowly to sleep, following not too long after as he kissed her hair and closed his eyes.
"There's a boy here in town, says he'll love me forever. Who would have thought forever could be severed by the sharp knife of a short life. Well, I've had just enough time."
May tried to calm her friend down as best she could while she kept an eye on Rudy. The boy was trying to crawl to one of the open cardboard boxes that sat near him. He'd managed to get a hand on it when he saw his mother reach a hand toward him, so to get away he started crawling swiftly toward the open doorway. This always happened, and May had no other choice but to apologize briefly to Dawn and race after her son.
"So put on your best, boys, and I'll wear my pearls. What I never did is done."
Left by herself once more, Dawn rubbed absently at her eyes, going back to the box that sat in front of her. It served as a short distraction, and soon she found that she'd gone through all the boxes. All the while, May had been chasing Rudy around the house. She could hear her friend cry out something involving the stairs and imploring Reggie for his help as her son continued to elude her.
How in the world can she not catch up with an infant?
That night, after May and Rudy had gone home after helping her set stuff around the room, May so tired she could barely even carry the boy to the car and set him in his car seat, Dawn lay where she had that afternoon, on the carpet in front of the bed to stare up blankly. There were no thoughts, no emotions. Just the feeling of slight numbness that hung over her was more comforting than the attempt of her friend to cheer her with her and her toddler's presence. Sometimes she liked the aloneness, others she just wished she could scream so somebody would notice how sad she was. But she kept it all locked away behind her heart, making a smile form on her face whenever she felt the tears threatening to spill over.
"A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar. They're worth so much more after I'm a goner. And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singing. Funny, when you're dead how people start listening."
So when she heard the key in the front door, she immediately sat up, waiting; listening. Reggie was in the living room watching the nightly news. There had been a robbery at the local supermarket across down, but the words of the news reporter faded to the background as she heard whoever it was at the door come into the entryway and pulled off their shoes, calling out a curt, "I'm home."
Reggie's voice was heard as he welcomed his brother home from work. They exchanged casualties as best the two could. Their relationship had been a little strained lately, and Dawn didn't know why but she thought it was because of her.
Silent as she stood, the girl walked to the bedroom doorway and glanced out into the living room. Over the banister she could see the two sitting on the couch together, discussing who knew what, leaning toward each other so their heads were close. Dawn knew they were talking about her in their hushed voices, because when she stepped closer to the banister Reggie noticed her, pointing her out to his brother with a nod in her direction. His younger brother glanced up at her, and with a small word said to Reggie, he stood from the couch, a hand on the back to steady himself as he rounded the furniture. His steps were silent as he walked up the stairs, getting closer and closer to Dawn with each step he took.
"Paul," she said softly. If she had any tears left she would have started crying again. But her tear ducts were thankfully dry, so all she did was swallow hard as she tried to stay calm, feeling a lump forming in her throat.
"If I die young, bury me in satin. Lay me down on a bed of roses. Sink me in the river at dawn. Send me away with the words of a love song."
He looked at her steadily with his dark eyes. They didn't waver as she sniffled a little and pushed her hair back, as was her nervous habit. "Something happen?" he said quietly.
It had always been like this. Whenever Dawn had come to his house upset or distressed, her fake smile façade in place, he only had to glance at her to know something was wrong. Now he watched her as she tried to hide how red her eyes were, and how broken her words were as she said, "I'm fine. May was over with Rudy today." She turned and went back into the room. "Helped me unpack."
He slowly followed her, closing the door softly with his foot. "Dawn, talk to me." Walking over to his fiance he set a hand on her shoulder, gently turning her around so she'd be facing him. She looked ready to cry again, but she was attempting to reign her emotions in if the expression on her face was any indication.
"I'm fine," she repeated stubbornly. She moved away from him over to the nightstand that was now hers by the bed. Basic black like the rest of the furtniture, she toyed with her alarm clock and the picture frame from earlier. "Just had an uneasy day."
"The ballad of a dove. Go with peace and love. Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket. Save them for a time when you're really gonna need them, oh."
Now this was something he'd never liked. He hated when she lied to him. It had never been a frequent occurance, but the times that it did happen, his temper flared, even when it was about trivial things. But he put that aside for the moment, instead focusing on the expression in Dawn's eyes as she regarded the picture in the frame before turning to look out the window.
"Dawn." This time he was less gentle, forcing her to look at him by holding her chin. His eyes bore into hers as she tried to keep her mouth shut, less she break down again. "Tell me what's wrong," he demanded now.
Her eyes flicked back to the photo beside her, quickly moving away when she saw he noticed. "Is that it? Is this the reason you've been crying at night?"
Thinking she didn't have any more tears to cry was something she couldn't have been more wrong about. But she didn't pay any attention to the solitary tear that rolled down her cheek; the only place her eyes and attention were on was the look in Paul's eyes as he looked at her momentarily, then they flicked away. He pulled her close with one arm around her shoulder, burying his face in the hair that had fallen over her shoulder from her loose ponytail.
"You have to tell me these things, Dawn." He pulled back enough to look down at her, lifting her hand where the engagement ring sat on her finger. "See this ring? It means we're supposed to keep nothing from each other. It's our bond until, well …"
He left the sentence hanging in the air, a slight blush passing across his face. He really didn't want to say it, but Dawn already knew what he meant. Sort of.
"The sharp knife of a short life."
She moved her free hand to Paul's face, touching her fingers lightly to his cheek. He closed his eyes at the feel of the tips of her fingers. It had been a while since they'd had a moment like this where it was just the two of them in the room without any tense feeling between them. The past few weeks had been really hard on both of them.
"I'm sorry, Paul," Dawn said, looking up at him briefly before turning her eyes away. He bent his head down until his forehead touched hers. It was a sweet gesture, one she appreciated greatly at the moment. "I should have let you in sooner."
He grunted in response, wrapping his arms around her slender waist. Gently, he pressed a kiss to each of her cheeks, holding her close. He disliked it when they disagreed, but he hated it even more when she didn't open to him. Though he wasn't really one to complain.
"Well, I've had just enough time."
In response to his sweetness she lifted her chin, pressing her mouth to his in a soft kiss. Usually he wouldn't really do this with her since he was always so darn stoic about everything, even with her. So she took advantage of these few moments between them, closing her eyes and smiling against his lips when she felt his arms tighten around her. With almost a giggle she put a hand on either side of his collar, clutching at it slightly, all the more to pull him closer.
They could have gone on forever - and they probably would have - if not for the knock that was at the open doorway. Not exactly jumping apart - they were adults for goodness sake - they seperated enough to where it wouldn't be too much for some spectator to sickeningly coo a cutesy "awwww" at their affections. They were in a world of their own, and with a slightly flushed face Paul snapped, "What?" when he saw his older brother standing outside the door, this dumb grin on his face.
But Reggie just laughed at his brother, saying, "Nothing. Just wanted to see if everything between you two was okay." With a wink to Dawn, who blushed accordingly even more, he continued, "I can see that things are more than okay now. So, am I getting any neices or nephews anytime soon?"
The man always knew how to set off his brother, and boy did this little remark. Paul's face turned so red that he reminded Dawn vaguely of a tomato. With a small cry of embarrassed rage he grabbed one of the pillows on the bed and threw it at Reggie's head. He dodged it easily with a light-hearted laugh, catching it as it flew lightly by his head. "Come on Paul, you used to do better when we were kids."
"So put on your best boys."
Now in one of his rare fits of anger - which was becoming more common these days - Paul strode quickly across the room toward his older brother who skittered back down the stairs with a hearty laugh over his shoulder. Paul more or less chased after him in his rage, leaving Dawn to just stand there.
Finally she gave a happy sigh, glad that things were back to normal now; or at least as close as they could get right now. Giving the room a cursory glance her eyes stopped on the picture frame again. Sitting silently on the nightstand that was now hers the picture seemed to stare emptily into the room. She didn't feel as sad as she had a few minutes ago, so as she walked over to the frame encased photo she didn't feel tears prick at her eyes this time. She picked up the frame, touching the glass lightly with the tips of her fingers like she had with Paul's face.
With a sad smile, she put the frame back down, saying, "Thank you, Mom." There was a crash from downstairs causing Dawn to look toward the door with a raised eyebrow. Curious she walked back toward the door and looked downstairs. Her eyes widened when she saw what Paul was doing.
"Paul, stop! You'll kill him if you don't let go of him!" she cried as she raced out of the room and downstairs to help release Reggie from the headlock Paul had him in. The younger brother's face was still red, but Reggie still laughed in good humor. He knew Paul couldn't kill him. Dawn still worried about it.
"And I'll wear my pearls …"
A/N: Almost seven pages with 3,141 words. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.
As I said above, I'm still working on my other stories. I'm not giving up, I promise lol The chapter for Family Time's Halloween chapter is in preparation, although I'm still a little stuck on how the subject of that chapter is going to go. We shall see what happens. Also, that little part where Paul broke off the last part of his sentence, he was talking about children becoming their bond. I swear, he wasn't implying about death or them breaking apart. I'd be sad D:
Tell me what you thought of this little musical one-shot!