Second chapter! I'm sorry if it took so long, but it's worth it…this one is long!
Dawn was still standing in the middle of what was supposed to be a happy reunion party. But the energy had been sucked away and replaced by confusion and awkwardness. Everybody shifted uncomfortably in their seats and continuously glanced at one another, as if trying to see if anybody knew the reason for the blue-haired girl's sudden breakdown. And without anybody shaking their heads, it became clear that no one had any idea what the heck had just happened.
Of course, only Dawn knew, but she was far from the speaking mood right now. Her head was buried in May's shoulder, and she so wanted to stop herself from whimpering, but several hiccuping sounds forced their way up her throat. May and Misty looked at each other in concern and then back down at the crying girl in their arms.
"Dawn, shh...it's okay…" Misty's soothing voice sounded caring and motherly to Dawn, who really needed some comfort right now. She could also feel the warmth of her friends' concern and kindness radiate through their arms and into her body, making her feel much better. All of a sudden, she wanted to slap herself for making everybody worry so much because she cried like a baby over some stupid, shallow, unimportant problem. And all because she was just jealous! (EXTREMELY jealous…)
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Dawn said, breaking free from May and Misty's embrace. She already felt better, but after seeing everyone's stunned and silent faces still looking at her uncomfortably, she wanted to go back to the sanctuary of Misty and May's arms.
"Guys, I'm fine," she said instead, composing herself and wiping away her remaining tears with her arm. She faked a smile as best she could and gazed back cheerfully at the eleven pairs of eyes which reflected each others' concern. Even the atmosphere seemed tense. Guilt pushed through Dawn's mind once again.
"I'm really sorry," she began, her mouth straightening into a sadder smile. "I didn't mean to make you guys worry. And it's nothing. The tears just…they just came out of nowhere." She forced a laugh. No one else laughed along with her, but relief spread through everyone's faces.
"So!" Mrs. Ketchum piped in cheerfully, standing up and putting her hands together. "Who's up for some dessert?"
An hour after a delicious sponge cake was served, some of the guests decided to go home. They politely thanked Ash and his mom for a wonderful (if not so moody) reunion party, complimented that the food was delicious, and how they hoped that they could come back next time. The guests who weren't going to be leaving were Misty and May, who had decided to spend the night at the Ketchum residence.
Dawn still felt guilty and stupid about what she had done to switch the mood of the party so quickly and differently. Ash and Misty were having a moment to themselves and she just had to go and ruin it, thinking it had just about everything to do with her, when really nothing correlated her to any of her friends' relationships. It was their business and Dawn had to learn to keep hers to herself.
"Goodbye, Drew." Dawn saw May by the Ketchum's doorstep, hugging, and then sharing a kiss with her green-haired boyfriend. Max was just beside them, looking away and trying not to blush in embarrassment. May turned to her little brother and crossed her arms, suddenly serious.
"Now, Mister, don't you cause Drew any trouble while you guys are going back home."
"Who said I would?" Max replied haughtily, with the same suspicious tone as May's. "He should be honored he'd have someone like me around. Oh, that's right…you think everyone but you is gonna cause trouble for Drew 'cause if you were the one on the boat with him, you two would go all Jack and Rose in your shared cabin!"
This impertinent comment earned Max a bonk on the head from a madly blushing May.
"Sorry, Drew," she apologized to the other coordinator who had also turned slightly red. "He can be a pain in the neck sometimes, but he's really nice when you get to know him." ("And you had better be nice to him," May whispered sharply to her brother.)
"Whatever." Max mumbled, shooting death glares at his sister. The two boys left after Drew gave May one last kiss ("God," Max groaned. "Don't you ever get tired of doing that?" "No."), and they disappeared into the distance.
"Thank you for inviting us to your home, Ash. It was a pleasure." Professor Oak said to the raven-haired man with a smile.
"Sure thing, Professor! You know we couldn't ever forget you!"
"Pi-pikachu!"
"Well, I gotta say, you and Misty hit it up pretty well." Gary remarked, smirking. "You two looked like you were in your own little world back there!"
"Ahehe…" Ash blushed. "I guess…"
"Hey, Ash," came a voice behind him. He turned around to see who was calling him, only to be nearly knocked down by someone who grabbed his arm and linked it with her own.
"Hey!" The long-haired brunette gave him a wide smile. "Thanks for inviting me to your party thing, Ketchum! Though I'm new here and I don't really know you at all, I'm still glad you wanted to have me!"
"Uh…yeah, sure, Leaf, was it?" Ash grinned at her, slightly surprised and a little dazed by her energy. "I guess, in that case, it could be considered both a reunion and a welcome party for you!"
"Oh, gosh, Ash, thanks!"
"But, you know," Ash's tone turned matter-of-factly. "It was actually Gary who suggested for you to come to the reunion…"
Suddenly, Ash felt himself being pulled from Leaf's grasp by two hands clutching his shirt.
"Sorry," Gary said, putting on a bright smile for Leaf. "Could you excuse us for a minute?"
Leaf's reply was a clueless shrug.
"Hey! What gives?" Ash demanded his ex-rival, slapping his hands away from his chest. They moved a bit farther away, far enough for Leaf to stare confusedly at them, but not far enough for Professor Oak to hear every word. But neither of them noticed that.
Furiousness tinted Gary's voice. "The hell, Ketchum? I thought the part where I was the one who invited her was supposed to be our little secret!"
"So I just let it slip out! Big deal! I don't see the problem." This earned him a groan from Gary, who muttered a "damn you" under his breath.
"Look," Ash said, putting a hand on the spiky-haired researcher's shoulder. "I don't see what's wrong with letting her know that you were the one who planned to invite her. In fact, this is a good thing."
"How the hell is it a good thing? It just shows that I might wanna stalk her or something!"
"Gosh, Gary, relax, will ya? Has it been this long since you've had a girlfriend?"
"I've never even had a girl-"
"The point is," Ash interrupted, sounding a bit aggravated, "If she knows that you invited her, then she gets the impression that you're a nice guy who likes to make people feel that they're welcome when they're new! Or whatever! She can already see that you're a great guy!"
Gary's eyebrows slowly began to distance themselves away from each other. "You…you're sure about that, Ash?"
Professor Oak was watching and listening to all this with a smirk, laughing inwardly and thinking to himself, "About time you took interest to other girls rather than your cheerleaders, boy."
"Positive." Ash confirmed. Gary opened his mouth to inquire him about something else, but Ash had gratefully turned his back to him and was walking back to the direction of where Leaf still stood.
"Sooo..." she crossed her arms and looked at Ash inquiringly. "What the heck was that all about?"
"Oh, nothing." Ash lied. "You should really thank Gary though for coming here, not me. This was all his idea." When Ash said this, the expression on Gary's face was the indication that he could murder Ash any second now.
"Really?" Leaf began to take notice of the young Pokemon researcher behind Ash and walked up to him with a smile. "So, you had the idea to invite me, huh? That's really sweet. Thank you."
"Y-yeah. You're welcome." Gary smiled at her as well, entranced by the seductive chestnut color of her eyes and the curvature figure of her body. He tried not to blush when he saw a bit of her cleavage induced by the v-neck of her sleeveless blue blouse. And for some reason, the hat she wore made her look all the more sexy and mysterious.
He's cute…no, he's hot! Leaf decided, liking his smile and his spiky brown hair. She eyed his shirt, her face flushing when she imagined what his chest would probably look like if she ever managed to take that black piece of fabric off of him. His eyes were so taunting, and yet, they drew her in like honey to a Combee.
"Well, we should go now!" Leaf suddenly declared, grabbing Gary's arm like what she did to Ash, except for the obvious difference that she moved much closer to the researcher, her head leaning on his shoulder. "Well, goodbye, Ash! I guess I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Uh…alright, Leaf. Bye! Goodbye, Professor Oak! You too, Gary!"
As the two researchers and the trainer walked back to their homes nearby, Gary twisted his head back some degrees to smirk at Ash, who was with a queer expression on his face. It left Ash feeling a bit uncomfortable, but obviously, Gary had different thoughts in mind.
"Have a safe journey back home, alright, Daisy?"
"I will, Mist." The blonde replied. "Oh, by the way, Brock is coming with me. We, like, figured we could go home together."
"Oh…alright! I guess that's good." Misty breathed a sigh of relief. Daisy was known for thinking too much about what Foundation to buy next time she went shopping at Celadon City, while she usually lost herself when walking to a certain place. There was one time she was heading for the kitchen, but got too caught up in thinking if she should dye her hair, and then ended up falling into the gym pool.
"Daisy!" Brock walked up to the two siblings. "Should we go now?"
"Yeah, we totally should. I think I left my curling iron plugged at home."
"What?" Misty gaped at her. "How long has it been plugged in?"
"Um…I dunno…I guess since we left for Ash's a while ago?"
"But that was seven hours ago! Daisy, you might've set the gym on fire!"
"Oh, relax, Sis, it's a water Pokemon gym, in case you forgot!"
"Yeah, but…but…" But seeing the triumphant and slightly smug smile on Daisy's face, Misty knew she had already lost this argument. "Oh, fine…" It would be alright as long as the Pokémon were there; one thing was for sure, if a fire were to happen, the Pokémon would be handling it better than Lily and Violet, who would be whipping out their tanning equipment in the light of a blaze.
"Uh..." Brock cleared his throat, trying to clear the air. "We should go now."
"Wait!"
Misty, Daisy, and Brock saw a figure running to them in a hurry, almost stumbling as he reached them. Tracey straightened up and smiled awkwardly.
"Um, hey, sorry about...that..."
"Oh, it's fine!" Suddenly, Daisy flowed to Tracey and hugged him tightly, afterwards planting an earnest kiss on his mouth. Misty grinned in a that's-sweet-but-sort-of-awkward manner. Daisy was also observed to spontaneously fling herself into Tracey's arms and kiss him whether he wanted her to or not. "So, why the rush? Like, what's up?"
"Well...sorry if it's so sudden, but can I come with you guys? I think I'll be spending one night in the Cerulean Gym and then tomorrow, I'll get a ship back home."
"Sure you can come!" Brock answered. "The more, the merrier."
"And, Tracey," Daisy took on a slightly softer tone, "You can sleep on my bed."
"Really? Gee, thanks, Daisy!" Tracey beamed at the blonde. Misty and Brock stared at each other in horror.
Misty could only watch as Brock pulled both Daisy and Tracey away, shouting goodbye to her, as he did. Misty had a weird feeling tonight was going to be special.
If Tracey got what Daisy had said or noticed the way Daisy was leaning on him or took time to scrutinize the dense look on Brock's face.
Seeing that almost all the guests were already on their way home, Dawn decided to hitch her way back to her place now, too. She picked up her bag, and as she was on her way out the door, she bumped into Ash who was just on his way in.
"Oh, Dawn! You're going already?"
"Yeah, I am. In a sec…" Dawn reached for one of the pokeballs hanging from her belt and tossed it in the air. "Come out, Piplup!" The small penguin Pokemon appeared in a flash of white light and in a flurry of hearts (thanks to the seal on its pokeball). It chirped happily when it saw Ash and Pikachu.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder to greet its long-time friend.
"Hey there, Piplup!" Ash said with a smile, squatting down to get a better look at the blue penguin. "You look great! How's it been?"
"Piplup pip pip lup!" ("It's been great, thanks!")
Turning back to the blue-haired girl, Ash asked, "So, Piplup gets in its pokeball now?"
"Yeah, it just learned a year ago! I actually miss Piplup walking beside me all the time, but I figure it's safer for it to be in its pokeball sometimes."
Ash smiled in reply, and the two watched the two Pokemon play with each other before Misty and May ran out the threshold, surprising them. The two girls suddenly halted when they saw Dawn.
"We heard you were already going, and we thought you were gone already!" May said in relief.
"Well, I'm still here," Dawn said, wondering why both girls were panting. "You wanted to say something?"
"Yeah," Misty said, straightening up. "We just came from upstairs, so it's no surprise we look this tired." She gave a little laugh. "We wanted to ask you, Dawn, do you want to sleep over here with us?"
Dawn looked at her two girlfriends in surprise; she was obviously not expecting this.
"What for?"
"Well," May said, looking intently at Dawn. "We just thought that since we were sleeping here, it would be even more complete if you were with us! And we could, you know, talk about…stuff…"
Judging from May's tone and Misty's very conspicuous elbow to her hip, Dawn quickly realized they wanted details of her breakdown a while ago. This immediately put her off, and she was just about to tell them no, she didn't want to talk about it and it's none of your business, I should be off…but now thinking those words in her head and what they meant, she envisioned herself walking into the night, alone, and wishing she had someone beside her. She might as well would have taken out Piplup or stayed overnight in a Celadon City inn…but she had a feeling it wouldn't compare to having real company, and feeling the comfort of your friends around you to ease the pain.
But still…if they ask…
"B-but…" Dawn began, "What if Mrs. Ketchum doesn't allow…?"
"We've talked to her," Misty replied. "She says it's fine! She's happy to have so much company, in fact."
"And I think it's a great idea, too!" Ash interjected. "You really should stay."
Dawn thought about it on the spot. She just wanted to leave the subject of her emotional incident alone, as if it never happened, but no doubt, her two girlfriends wouldn't leave it alone. They would question her, and want to get to the root of the problem (which Dawn could not admit, for the reason was a shallow and stupid excuse for such melodramatic tears) …and they would want to help her. They were her friends, after all, and it was so much better being here with them around, than sleeping alone in a hotel with an aura of loneliness creeping around. It was either a warm atmosphere or a cold atmosphere. Dawn decided to risk it.
I don't think I want to go just yet.
"Alright." Dawn answered with a small smile. "I'll stay."
"Hey, which looks better on me? This one…or this one?"
Dawn concentrated fiercely (for this was important), looking carefully at the two different pieces of fabric. After a long moment of careful consideration, she answered in a definite tone:
"I'm going for the blue one. Though it's not actually the kind of blue that goes best with you, I think that it goes way better than the purple one. The purple one sort of dulls your hair color a little bit. The other one makes it look good, and the darker shade brings out your eyes! And the frilled sleeves are cute, that's a plus!"
Misty drew one of the two blouses she was holding up nearer to her face, perusing the outfits herself.
"Yeah, I think you're right. But this is really cute…are you sure you want to part with this one, Dawn?"
"Go ahead, take it! It clashes with my hair, so I can handle not having it in my closet."
Misty and Dawn heard a door click and open. May was coming out of the bathroom, dressed in her pokeball pajamas, drying her hair with a towel, before throwing it carelessly on a chair. She looked around the room and her mouth fell open, a look of outrage on her face.
"Don't tell me you guys have started trading clothes without me!"
"Well, you were taking so long..."
"Still! You should have waited for me!" Then her eyes fell upon the navy blue blouse Misty had in her hands. Her eyes widened and shifted from Misty to Dawn to the blouse. "Dawn! Why'd you give that away? I had dibs on that!"
"No, you didn't!"
"I did! I told you a while ago I was for the cute one! Phthalo blue!"
"This is navy blue, May." Misty said. "And I beg your pardon, but it happens to be mine."
"No way!" May cried, approaching the redhead. "It's PHTHALO BLUE! See, it's lighter than navy blue..."
"It matches Dawn's hair! And we all know her hair's shade is NAVY BLUE!" Misty argued back.
Laughing as May and Misty continued to bicker, Dawn absentmindedly glided through the room with her newly acquired dress from May and ended up beside the window. Looking through the glass, she noticed that the view from this part of the house was actually pretty nice; she saw several fields of grasses and flowers that sloped as far as she could see; in a distance, she could easily see Professor Oak's laboratory; and from an even farther distance, she could make out very faint lights that indicated the small city of Viridian. The moon was big and bright tonight, and there was not a cloud in the night sky. A few Ledyba drifted in front of the big white sphere, causing beautiful silhouettes with their small eclipses which were their translucent wings.
It's so pretty, Dawn thought, and so romantic. What it would feel like to share a view like this with someone special, Dawn was hoping she might experience something like it one day. She sighed as her gaze drifted down, and it was only then that she noticed two figures a fair distance away from the house.
Dawn's head perked up as she continued to stare curiously at the dark figures below. The two unknown people were standing under an oak tree, its long branches blocking Dawn's view of their faces. But she could tell they were situated very close to each other and seemed to be talking excitedly about something. Dawn gave an inward gasp. They…they couldn't be…outlaws, or fugitives, or even murderers, could they?
She immediately wanted to call Misty and May's attention to the window as well, but before she could do so, the two figures walked out from under the branches and into the open, so Dawn could more of who they were. She leaned more forward.
They were a boy and a girl. She still couldn't see clearly because they were a little too far from the house, but she observed that they were laughing about…something. The girl had just pushed the boy playfully on the shoulder, causing him to stumble back a little, but it didn't seem to bother him. Then, to Dawn's excitement, the guy circled the girl very quickly and hugged her from behind. Dawn opened the window to hear the conversation better, and to her satisfaction, she heard a faint laugh from the girl. Dawn heard her voice again, now saying "Gary!"
Dawn froze. Gary? Was that Gary hugging a girl? She leaned further so that her head and shoulders stuck out of the window and her hands were tightly gripping the windowsill to prevent herself from falling forward. She squinted her eyes, focusing on the couple who seemed to be enjoying themselves at the moment…and was shocked to see that the guy really was Gary…and the girl was…
No way! Leaf?
"Let me go, you-!" She heard her cry, half-laughing.
"Make me." Gary said in a teasingly low voice.
But Gary did let go. Leaf turned around to face him, and Dawn couldn't see if she was smiling or not, but that didn't matter, because what Dawn could already see defined more than their expressions. She moved in closer to Gary and placed her hands on his shoulder. Then without warning, her head tilted forward, making her and Gary's silhouettes interconnect in the moonlight.
"Oh my God!" Dawn couldn't help shrieking. She covered her mouth quickly, hoping the now-kissing couple didn't hear her. But Misty and May did.
"What is it, Dawn?" The two girls were soon at her side, sounding worried. They looked at their blue-haired friend first, but soon followed her shocked gaze out of the window, so that their expressions imitated Dawn's.
"Who…who is that?" May said loudly, leaning forward.
"Shh!" Misty said, craning in to get a better look as well. "It's…it's…no way, it's Gary! And that new girl, Leaf!"
"But I thought Leaf was…you know, new?" May's tone was skeptic, but she kept her eyes on the two figures in the distance.
"I thought so, too…but…well…I guess some people would go forward so fast." Misty sounded dumbfounded.
"Yeah," May agreed. "I mean, look at that, they're already making out!"
"It's just something you and Drew would do in public." Misty muttered, making the brunette flush a deep shade of scarlet.
"Not…not always…"
While Misty and May were still ogling at the scene before them, Dawn had already torn her eyes away from all the romance. But she wasn't jealous anymore…just a little pessimistic. What if she never got to experience something like that? A moonlit kiss in such a romantic setting! The development between the two seemed a little hasty, but still…! Any girl who dreams of finding that perfect guy in her life would dream of her first kiss being just like that of Gary and Leaf's (though Dawn was very doubtful that this was actually Leaf's first kiss.).
"There you are again, Dawn…"
"Huh?"
Dawn tilted her head upwards to see May staring at her, concerned. "You're doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"You look sad again. It's... just like a while ago."
"It's nothing!" Dawn said, trying to put on her best cheery face. "No need to worry, I'm just experiencing some mood swings. It's…er…I think it's just my PMS is kicking in…"
"No, it's not." Misty's voice was sterner than May's, but her expression reflected the brunette's. "You need to tell us what's wrong, Dawn. We're…worried about you."
"I told you, guys, it's nothing!"
"Dawn." Misty looked her straight in the eye. Dawn gulped. Ash had warned her before that Misty could be scarily convincing. "We invited you to this sleepover so you wouldn't feel like this. We know you're having problems. And we want to make you feel happy tonight, but you need to tell us what's wrong."
When Dawn saw her own scared face reflected in Misty's clear, sea-green eyes, and then back at her friend's soft face, she knew that she couldn't hide anymore. It was no use pretending now, all she was doing was hurting her friends.
"It's… it's really stupid…you'll laugh…" Dawn began, her voice barely a whisper.
"No, we won't." May said firmly. "If it's hurting you like this, then it's gotta be serious. Just…Dawn, please tell us what's happening."
Dawn stood up and walked across the room to sit down on the edge of the bed, blinking fiercely. She was not, she repeats, not going to cry like a baby for the second time that night. She just sat there for a while in her pajamas, as the two other girls moved as well from the window to the bed as well, one on each side of Dawn, to comfort her. Finally, Dawn took a deep breath through her nose, and said in a shaky voice:
"I'm just so jealous of you guys."
"Jealous…of what?"
May chose a tactful question and even said it slowly. And it was so ironic that the kindness in her voice made Dawn want to lash out again and rant about their perfect love lives while she had none, thank you for rubbing it in. But she controlled herself and answered May's question in a restrained voice:
"You…you guys…have…you just…" Dawn's voice started to crack, but May and Misty didn't interrupt her. Dawn took this as an indication to please continue, and so she did. "It's…it's your…well…you…May…I mean…y-you have Drew! And Misty has Ash! And you guys just seem so happy, while I…"
She could feel her warm tears trickling slowly down her cheek, and knew this was coming, but cursed herself for it. She wasn't supposed to cry. But she couldn't help it now, she was sure of it, but when she looked at Misty and May's shocked faces, she felt ashamed of herself.
"Oh, Dawn…we didn't know…" May sounded as disappointed in herself as Dawn did.
Misty didn't seem to know what to say, and there was instant silence in the room, broken only by Dawn's sniffles and the tense breathing of the two other girls. Finally, Misty made a move and enveloped her arms around the crying girl, whispering, "Sorry."
"Hey, it's okay," Dawn said, breaking away from Misty's grip, attempting a bright smile at her and May after wiping her tears with the back of her hand. Right now, she preferred to look at the brunette, for the look on Misty's face made her feel uncomfortable, and Dawn knew it was because of the remorse she felt towards Dawn, about the thing with Ash a while ago. "It was really all my fault for not telling you."
"But why didn't you tell us before?" May asked.
"Because it seemed like such a stupid reason," Dawn replied flatly. "And I only realized it a while ago…but if I were to be honest, I think I've always been jealous of you guys. It was already getting annoying, being the third wheel on pretty much all of your dates."
They all laughed at this, but it died away quickly. There was a moment of silence.
"I know!" May piped in, breaking the awkward quiet. "We'll help you, Dawn!"
"What?" Dawn looked at her, confused.
"Yeah!" Misty said, her voice suddenly enthusiastic, and, to Dawn's relief, her expression back to normal. "Don't worry, Dawn, it's only girls helping their friends with boy troubles"-Dawn winced at the last two words; it was her problem, but the term made it sound so unimportant- "it's pretty normal."
"You guys…" Dawn felt a wave of emotion for her friends overcome her and she grabbed them in a tight hug. "Thank you! You guys are the best friends ever in the whole world!" Then a thought suddenly occurred to her, and she loosened her grip on Misty and May. "But…um…how exactly are you gonna help me with that problem?"
"Well…" May said, standing up, and putting a finger to her mouth while her other hand was placed on her hip. Her eyes were directed skywards to the ceiling. This was pretty much May's way of thinking, and May claimed, defensively, the first time Dawn and Misty laughed at her technique, that this was how she got her best ideas and how it had always worked in a contest. Dawn actually hoped now that May's strategy would prove true, and after a moment, May snapped her fingers. She suddenly acquired a mischievous glint in her eyes, which was something you never wanted to see in May's expression. Dawn sensed a foreboding about to take place.
"How about we blindfold Dawn tomorrow, take her out to Viridian, and set her up with a blind date with some random guy walking on the street? He may as well be ugly, but any guy in the right mind would already be attracted to Dawn, and you may like him for his personality when you take your blindfold off at the end of the date, and not care what he looks like! How about it?"
Dawn and Misty just stared at her, as if she had just announced that she had put it off with Drew and was now going out with Harley.
"No." Misty said decisively enough so that May's excited grin wiped off her face. Dawn fought the urge to laugh, as May had just seemed so excited about the idea.
"Hey, what's going on here?" A voice came from the doorway.
"Hi, Ash!" May greeted him cheerily, and Misty beamed in his direction. Dawn smiled at him, as well…not a wide one indicating that she was positively happy to see him, but a perfectly sincere one, as if they had bumped into each other at a black tie party. It was difficult to manage a real grin just moments after you had a nice, quiet cry.
Ash suddenly noticed the tear tracks on Dawn's face, and blurted out, "Did you cry, Dawn? What happened?"
He regretted his words right after he said them, his hand flying to his mouth.
"S-sorry, Dawn, I didn't mean to…I mean, you don't have to answer…"
"It's alright, Ash." Dawn said, but she stiffened a little at what he had just said.
"Um…so I came up here to see if you guys wanted some snacks," Ash said, wanting to avoid the subject of Dawn which would undoubtedly lead to another awkward silence in not too later. "Give me a sec-" he stepped out of the room for a few seconds and returned with a tray full of food in his hands. "We've got some biscuits, and some cookies here…Mom made those…and some soda. If you guys want, we could order a pizza."
"No, I think all this is enough," Misty said, getting to her feet and grabbing the tray from Ash. "Thanks for all this, Ash. It's really sweet of you."
"Sure." The male trainer smiled. "Um…do you guys mind if I join you? I mean, I know this is a girls' slumber party, and I mean, you don't have to…"
"Sure, sure. Don't apologize, it's just us!" Misty said to him, inviting him to sit on the floor, where everyone was resting on right now, getting ready for some snacks. Ash followed suit, sitting in between Dawn and Misty. And just when the blue-haired coordinator was reaching for those delectable-looking chocolate chip cookies, a sudden cry of elation made her pull her hand back in surprise.
"I've got it!" May was saying, looking as if she had just won the lottery. "How about we disguise Dawn and get a boy to date her, then if he likes her, she'll reveal herself in the end!"
"That was just as bad as your last idea." Misty said blankly. Dawn let a small giggle escape from her lips. One of the funniest things about May was her spontaneous outbursts, which could seriously be about anything and would be spoken when you least expected it.
"Er…what are you guys talking about?"
Dawn looked over at the black-haired trainer and saw that he had not the slightest idea of what was so funny. Ash had always been clueless, but right now, he had every reason to be so.
"Nothing." May said a little too quickly, flashing a swift glance at Dawn.
"No, it's alright." Dawn said kindly. Ash was a friend, showing as much concern for Dawn as May and Misty had, and she didn't want to make him worry any more. He had a right to know. "Tell him."
May looked at Dawn uneasily, but proceeded to tell Ash about Dawn's problem, anyway. Throughout the story, Ash was listening intently, occasionally glancing at Dawn, and creasing his forehead as May narrated the reason of the breakdown during the party. After all was said, Ash had a vulnerable expression on his face.
"Gosh, Dawn…I-I'm sorry about a while ago, I had no idea…"
"It's fine!" Dawn's tone was sharper than she meant it to be. All the apologies were getting to be both annoying and embarrassing at the same time. "I mean, you guys are a couple, you can't help yourself." Oh, God, I hope I don't cause any problems for Ash and Misty because of this.
"At least…at least you guys were actually sincere! At least you guys don't make out with each other on someone else's couch, thinking it was that kind of party…"
Dawn's attempt at lightening the atmosphere worked. Misty and Ash burst into laughter at her comment and at how May's face had quickly turned into a deep shade of red, while the said brunette glared at Dawn.
"It was not like that!" May retorted. "We…like you said, couples can't help themselves…and we..."
"I wouldn't be surprised if you two got married tomorrow!" Ash joked, adding the heat to May's face, which was now even redder than the crimson roses Drew had occasionally given her when they were younger.
"Anyway," Misty said. "We were just talking about how to help Dawn. Ash, do you have any ideas?"
"Oh! Oh! I think I just-"
"Be quiet, May!" Misty said in a tone of voice reminiscent of Delia's serious one. May closed her mouth immediately.
Ash put his hand under his chin and his expression turned thoughtful, like how he looked when he was perusing the situation of a Pokémon battle. May tried to open her mouth for the tenth time, but shut it once again when Misty shot her an intimidating look.
"Well," Ash said, after a moment of what seemed to be deep thought, "I don't know much about this kinda stuff…but maybe we could start small first?"
"Like how?" Dawn questioned. She was curious to know a guy's opinion on what to do in this situation.
"Um…well, how about we suggest some guys we know for Dawn?"
"That's a great idea!" May said. "Better than what I was thinking! Let's suggest all of the guys we can think of."
"Fine with me!" Dawn said in a clearly more euphoric tone. "So…who do we start with?"
May seemed to already have someone in mind, as her smile curved up a little slyly and her eyes narrowed a bit with what looked like knowing. Why was Dawn always so anxious when it was May's turn to help?
"Hmm…" May said, her voice dripping with something that fell in between mischief and awareness. "I think I know who…let's say…a certain shy, nut-brown haired coordinator whose name rhymes with Lenny?"
But the reaction from Dawn was not what May was hoping for. The former only smiled modestly, and said, "Nope. Not Kenny."
"Aww! Why not? Aren't you guys childhood friends? And I've met him before, and it's obvious he has this huge crush on you!" May sounded disappointed.
"Yeah, I know." Dawn held back a laugh at her friend's gaping mouth." About five months ago he told me."
"So you rejected him?" May said, her tone coloring disapproval.
"No. He told me as someone who used to have a crush on me. I admit, I was a bit surprised, and I don't know why I never noticed it, but he said that he really did like me, ever since we were kids! But…the catch is, that same day, he asked me if Zoey was still single or not."
"No way! Kenny likes Zoey?" Ash blurted out, his face carrying a look of complete shock.
"Yeah, I know, right?" Dawn said. "Kenny said that he was surprised when he noticed it, too...he even said that it was 'something rare to have a crush on a girly girl and then fall in love with a tomboy.'"
Everyone laughed heartily at this. "So, not Kenny, then?" Misty said after the laughter had died away. Dawn shook her head. The four of them lapsed into thoughtful silence, until Misty broke it moments later.
"What about that hyper guy? What's his name? Um…"
"Barry." Dawn answered. Just by hearing the word 'hyper', she could already guess who they were talking about. "But, no, not him either. He's not exactly my type. Plus, someone like him would seem like a sucker for 'fast relationships'."
"Speaking of which," Misty said, turning to Ash. "Did Gary and Leaf know each other before Leaf moved in here?"
Dawn noticed that Ash hesitated before answering.
"Uh…no…I don't think so. Why?"
"Let's just say that they're getting a little…close with each other at the moment."
Dawn saw Ash, in what seemed like a mixed expression of shock and horror, whisper to himself, in barely audible voice, "What have I done…?"
"What?"
"Nothing! Nothing…" Only Dawn seemed to hear him. Then May gave a gasp which could only indicate that she had a new idea.
"Oh! I know, Dawn! How about that new kid in your town?" She racked her brain, struggling to recall more details. "Um…Lucas! We met him when I was at your place, remember? He's actually really cute, and he seems really sweet! Plus, he's shy!"
Dawn seemed to consider it for a moment, putting her finger on her lips, much like how May did when she was thinking. She looked back at her friends.
"You know what? That doesn't seem like such a bad idea. I mean, I only met him once, so there's plenty of time to get to know each other. When I get back to Sinnoh, I think I'll hang out with him for a while."
"So, it's settled?" Misty asked. "Lucas?"
"Maybe…I still don't know, but we'll see in a matter of time."
"Wait a sec!" Ash suddenly interrupted, attracting attention to himself once again. "I'm thinking I have someone in mind."
"Oh, sorry, Ash, we forgot about you!" Dawn said. "Who do you suggest?"
"Dunno about this, but what about Paul?"
Silence filled the room, broken only by the sound of Ash slowly munching a cookie, waiting for everyone's response. The quiet was beginning to get deafening…until Dawn spoke.
"Ash…did you just say Paul?"
"Uh, yeah. I guess I did." Ash replied, still chewing his pastry. "Wait a sec…don't tell me you don't remember Paul?"
Do I not remember Paul, Dawn thought, what a laugh! Of course she remembered him; the Pokémon trainer who seemed pretty much like an asshole to everyone, including his own Pokémon; who always seemed to wear that piercing glare whenever you met him; she could remember the exact shade of his dark-colored hair and how it hung just above his shoulder; she remembered the sweet Pokémon breeder, Reggie, who was his older brother, the two of whom were like polar opposites when it came to everything except appearance; and, most importantly, she remembered him as Ash's rival. So how could she forget about him?
"Of course I remember him!" Dawn replied defiantly. "And I remember who he was to you, Ash." May and Misty nodded in agreement; they've heard of him, too.
"But why'd you seem so surprised when I suggested him?"
"Because! Well…you know Paul…he's just so…"
"I know that." Ash said it a bit dazedly.
"Then…why'd you think of him?"
Ash seemed to ponder this for a moment, grabbing another cookie. He munched it with a pensive look on his face (Dawn had to bite back a smile at his expression and the cookie), then he surprised everyone by laughing a bit awkwardly and putting his hand behind his head.
"Well, you guys said all the guys I could think of...and, Paul just popped in there, and...I really don't know." He chuckled. "Wow, what the heck was I thinking?"
Yeah, Dawn thought, what was he thinking? The thought of Paul...and her? Together? As in, dating? Impossible. They were just too different. She couldn't picture Paul presenting her flowers, or taking her out on a picnic, or, heck, even smiling at her. Their personalities were like her hair color and the phtaltho-navy blue blouse; they just didn't go together.
"I have no idea, Ash."
"Torterra, Leaf Storm!"
A blizzard of pure green leaves would have just spun around helplessly in the air and dropped without a sound to the ground. But this flurry of leaves was different; the Tree Pokemon from where the leaves had shot out of was the one who was controlling their every single movement; the Torterra directed its leaves into a spiral formation, the sharp-pointed blades of green hitting its target. The tree shifted and swayed under the force of the impact, it's own leaves falling at a rapid rate.
"Good. Now, Razor Leaf!"
The next attack that followed was different from the first, yet it had the same mechanics. Leaves were still being hurled by the Pokemon, but it now launched them like projectiles. The movement was shuriken-like, two green leaves moving at an alarming speed and each with perfect timing and symmetry to each other's movement as they glided through the limited space.
There was a loud slash; the bulky tree swung and staggered on the spot, until it finally buckled and toppled to the ground with a resounding crash, sending nearby smaller wild Pokemon running from the area in fright. The big Torterra only stood its ground and roared triumphantly, before being absorbed in a red laser-like light.
"That's enough. Now return."
Paul looked down at the pokeball in his palm before pocketing it. He looked back at the toppled tree, smirking to himself and thinking of the obvious improvement from the last time. Last time, it took three tries of Razor Leaf to slash down a tree that size, even with the help of Leaf Storm. Knowing that if he trained his Pokemon even harder, he might even be able to knock down a tree with a single Razor Leaf attack, he kept the smirk on his face on the way back home.
"Hello?" Paul called, stepping over the threshold of their front door. "Reggie, are you in here?"
"Yeah, I am!" Came his older brother's voice from the kitchen. He sounded busy at the moment. "Give me a sec, I'm cooking some steak for us!"
"Alright." Paul shouted back, closing the door behind him and then slumping himself on their cheap leather couch. He had never really liked that particular piece of furniture, because of its gnarled state, but he was always thankful for the comfort it provided, his guilty pleasure of just throwing himself on the thing after an intense afternoon of training.
After a considerable amount of time, Reggie announced, "Alright, bro, time to chow!"
Dinner was not unlike any other time Paul had with his brother. Paul would take the first bite and then Reggie would sit down to eat as well. There would be silence except for the occasional question from Reggie about how Paul's day went. The younger brother's replies were usually one-worded answers, and then he would go back to chewing his meal. As for the food, it was delicious, as usual, and filled Paul up.
It was only when they started washing the dishes that Reggie brought up an unfamiliar topic.
"I heard you were invited to a party of Ash's."
Paul stiffened. "Where'd you hear that?"
"Er..." Reggie's tone was uneasy, and he was fidgeting with the detergent. "Okay, maybe I checked your e-mails last week to see..."
"You what?"
"There was this virus going around, and as your big bro, I just thought I'd check if someone hacked into your account!"
"You hacked into my account, Reggie." Paul wasn't all that angry about his brother checking his e-mail; he only frequently used it. But he was angry about his knowing of Ash's party.
"It's today, isn't it?" Reggie said, going back to the subject. When Paul didn't answer, he continued to feed his curiosity. "Why didn't you go?"
There was still no reply from Paul. He sprayed his plate with water from the sink and hastily put the plate on a rack (Reggie had to steady it to keep it from tipping sidewards). He didn't want to talk to Reggie any longer. He began walking away from him, shoving his wet hands into his pockets, not caring about the pair of pants he was staining.
"There's still time, bro." Reggie said quietly. "I bet Ash would really like to see you, so he wouldn't mind if you were a few days late."
"I didn't want to go, okay, Reggie? Just shut up about it!" Paul snapped. He avoided his brother's pained look and continued away from him. He marched up the stairs, hurriedly going down the corridor and finally arriving at the familiar wood-chipped door which was the door to his room. Slamming it behind him once he entered, he then sat down on his bed and ruffled his hair before laying his head down on his hard pillow.
Stupid Reggie, he thought, staring up at the blank ceiling above him. He had always wondered how that ceiling had managed to hold, even after so many years. It was unstable, he knew, and full of holes infested with Rattata...he remembered how it had come to be like that. His dad's Shinx had been new and it was unfamiliar to this mechanical environment...and he had asked his dad if he could take it to his room and play...resulting to several uncontrolled electric shocks which damaged the room and some of Paul's bones.
His wood-chipped door, he remembered, was from another electrical attack. From a Pachirisu this time. Reggie had been carrying it in his arms, but as he was passing by Paul's room, it jumped away from him and unintentionally directed a thunder bolt at the door, resulting in the several scratches and chips in the wood.
Paul's thoughts were interrupted by that very same door emitting a wary creak. His head rose from the pillow and his eyes found Reggie standing at the doorway, his face unreadable. Paul plopped his head back down on the pillow and didn't speak.
"Underneath all that bad-ass stuff you do, Bro, you're still like a kid. You still pout like you used to!" Reggie laughed.
"No, I don't." Paul huffed, turning on his side. He heard Reggie's footsteps approaching closer, and then felt a light plop on the side of his bed. He didn't push him away, though. He kept his eyes to the wall.
"You wanna talk about it, Bro?"
"No."
"Look, just tell me why you don't want to go to Ash's. It's a reunion party, and you haven't seen him in six years! I know you're not exactly a people person, but it would be polite to at least visit. And you're not such a bad guy, you know. So what's wrong?"
This was what Paul hated about Reggie. The way he played with his words and the tone of his voice which seemed to set Paul's brooding mood to something different everytime, that brotherly way of comfort was what he hated most about him. It made him open up. It made him feel vulnerable, not like how he was battling. And in that way, Reggie knew Paul more than anyone else.
"I'm different," Paul found himself saying.
"Different?" Reggie said. "Paul, you and I are no different than two Pokemon in a pod. Okay, yeah...we are sort of different, and you and Ash's personalities aren't don't exactly xlixk...but that gives you no reason to ignore his invitation. If Ash got into all that trouble to contact you and invite you, then he doesn't really care if the two of you are that different. Right?"
Reggie placed a hand upon Paul's shoulder. Paul shuddered a bit; his hands were still a bit cold from the water.
"I'm not going." he said, still not looking at Reggie. Reggie sighed.
"Well, if you insist. But I say you're gonna miss out on a lot. You know, I actually miss that guy, Ash. You would've bonded with him again"-bond? When did he and Ash ever bond?-"and you would've got to meet other people again. I bet Ash would've invited that Brock fella, great guy, great breeder...and that girl, too...um...what was her name?"
Oh yeah. The annoying girl, who was Ketchum's traveling partner years ago. She always had that Piplup beside her, and she was always so happy and smiley and stuff, and that kind of attitude just irked him a lot...but she actually wasn't that bad.
"Dawn." Paul said flatly.
"Oh yeah! That was her name...she was a coordinator, wasn't she? You know, I've seen her recently on TV, she was on some contests, and she's turned out pretty good! And she's pretty good-looking, too..."
"Get out, Reggie." Hmm...was she good-looking? Paul found himself trying to recall her appearance. She actually looked okay back then, albeit the ridiculously flat chest...and the stupid outfit...
He stopped himself in midthought. No, he was not going to lie there, daydreaming about girls, much less a girl he barely knew and hadn't seen in a long time, with his brother beside him. He was bound to notice something sooner or later. It always happened.
"Alright." Reggie got to his feet, but still stood beside the bed. "And where are you going tomorrow?"
"Sandgem Town."
"And why so far, Bro?"
"I just need to ask Professor Rowan about something."
Reggie sighed, but smiled. "Gonna go all that just for a piece of advice? You know, if there's anyone you could turn to for advice, it would be me."
"You." Paul's voice was coated with skepticism.
"Yup, me!"
"And why is that?"
"'Cause I'm your big brother. Paul, I had no one to really look up to when I was a kid, so this makes your life a whole lot easier."
"Who said I looked up to you?" Paul didn't really mean to hurt him with this comment; he just wanted Reggie to shut up and leave the room. But the least expected happened. To Paul's shock, he was pulled backwards, feeling an arm wrap around his neck and his hair being dangerously ruffled.
"Reggie! Stop it! REGGIE!"
Reggie did as his little brother said, but couldn't help laughing when he saw Paul's hair in disarray. Paul apparently sensed this, and ran his fingers through his hair, giving his brother a murderous glare. Reggie got up from Paul's bed once again and started his way out of the room.
"Goodnight, Bro." Reggie said with a grin, before closing the door.
"Stupid Reggie." Paul muttered, pulling his blankets over himself.
I originally wasn't going to include the extras of the side couples…but writing some romance instead of some single awareness was so much more fun, so I decided what the heck.
I'm rereading my Harry Potter books and found some new inspiration while writing this chapter :)
Ahem…if you guys are asking why Leaf and Gary are hitting it up a notch or two…well, I've always thought they were good-looking people, and I just figured they would make a pretty sexy couple, since Leaf is just gorgeous and Gary is pretty hot (I have to admit. XD) And, you may think I'm weird for it, but I find the alias of Gary Motherf***ing Oak sort of sexy. Wahahahaha, don't kill me!