Chapter two!
Dawn groaned and pressed an ice pack to her head, wincing as her skull throbbed harder. The second half of the game was well under way, but instead of cheering, Dawn was sitting in the first aid booth, a welt the size of a walnut on the front of her head.
All around her, the purple and black clad Pennington fans screamed as Barry scored another touchdown, bringing the score to 45-2. The Rochester Raiders looked sad and defeated in their orange and white uniforms, and Dawn could tell that they just wanted this game to be over.
They weren't the only ones. Dawn sighed, wishing her mother hadn't decided to start working nights at the bakery. With both her parents working late, Dawn had to rely on May to give her rides home. And May couldn't leave until the game was finished.
On the field, Dawn watched as the squad lifted Jade on top of the pyramid. Dawn narrowed her as Jade beamed, waving her pompoms at the crowd. The fact that Jade's forest green hair clashed miserably with the purple cheer leading uniforms was of little comfort to Dawn.
Barry scored again, and the crowd roared. Dawn winced at the noise, her eyes watering from the pain in head. She decided to go wait for May out in the parking lot, where it was quieter. Dawn slipped out the back of the tent and made her way to the gate, shivering as she watched her breath pool in icy clouds in front of her.
The silence was beautiful. The parking lot was empty, and the only things that moved were the leaves scuttling across the pavement. Dawn made her way to the edge of the lot where she sighed and collapsed at the base of a tree, leaning her head against the trunk. The cold bark felt good against her pounding skull, and Dawn closed her eyes, wondering if anyone would notice if she slept out here.
"What are you doing?"
Dawn opened her eyes and looked up to see Paul standing there, gazing down at her critically.
"Sleeping," Dawn said, closing her eyes again.
She heard Paul snort. "It's a little cold."
"I'm fine," Dawn said, shrugging.
"Shouldn't you be cheering or something?"
Dawn opened her eyes and looked at him, irritated. She leaned forward and brushed the hair off her forehead, revealing the knot. "I'm not allowed. They take head injuries seriously here."
"Jesus. Why don't you go home?"
"May's my ride," Dawn said. "And she's still cheering."
"Call your mom."
"She's working."
"Call your dad."
"He's working."
"Brothers? Sisters?"
"Only child." Dawn smiled faintly. "It's fine. May will be done soon anyway."
Paul just shook his head. "You know, for someone with so many friends, this is kind of sad."
Dawn glared at him. "What's that supposed to me?"
"You're curled up under a tree, all alone, with a head injury and it's freezing. You tell me."
"Thanks for your concern, but I'm just fine," Dawn snapped, standing up.
"Obviously," Paul said, smirking slightly. He shoved his hands into his pockets, seemingly impervious to the death glare Dawn was giving him.
"Why are you even here?" Dawn asked hotly. "It's not like you watch the games."
"Robotics club," Paul said shortly.
"On a Friday night?" Dawn asked incredulously.
Paul just shrugged. "That's when the school's the emptiest."
"Hmph."
"What? No comeback?"
Dawn resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him. She wasn't going to admit it, but that was kind of smart.
"Well, come on, then," Paul said, starting to walk away.
"What?"
"I'll take pity on you and give you a ride home," Paul said, not looking back. "Unless you'd rather stay?"
"I'm coming," Dawn said, scrambling after him.
Dawn sighed and collapsed against the back of the seat. Under normal circumstances, getting into a black truck with a guy she barely knew would have been classified under "Decisions Stupid Girls Make in Horror Movies". But her head hurt too much, and all she wanted to do was go home and curl up in bed.
When Paul reached forward and cranked up the heat, Dawn realized that she was shivering. They drove in silence for a while, with Dawn occasionally giving him directions. They were on Cherrygrove Road when a car pulled out in front of them suddenly.
"Shit," Paul muttered, slamming on the brakes. Dawn jerked forward, the seatbelt catching her painfully across the chest. The sudden stop caused her headache to worsen considerably.
"Ow," she whimpered, holding her head.
"Sorry," Paul said, watching as the car in front of them swerved back and forth across the road.
"It wasn't your fault," Dawn said. The car lurched to the side, turning off into a driveway. Paul's long fingers gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white as they passed the car. "He's drunk," Paul muttered, glaring out the window as they sped by.
"Probably," Dawn replied. "Oh, turn here."
Paul took the turn a little too sharp, and Dawn moaned again in pain. "I'm gonna kill Jade," she muttered under her breath.
"If you do, I'll give you a cookie," Paul said, and Dawn giggled. "What'd she do?"
"She dropped me," Dawn replied. "On my head."
"On purpose?"
"Probably. She's a total bitch."
"Just tell your boyfriend. He'll take care of her for you."
"Why do you keep doing that?"
"What?
"Calling Barry my boyfriend." Dawn glared at him. "It's kind of annoying."
Paul looked confused. "Aren't you . . ?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure!" Dawn said, exasperated.
Paul looked like he was about to say something, but he thought better of it. "Which one's your house?"
Dawn realized they were on her street. "Oh, the one the end." As Paul pulled into the driveway, Dawn realized just how creepy her house looked at night. All the windows were dark, and the trees in the yard had lost most of their leaves, their bare branches arching menacingly against the sky.
"Well, thanks for the ride," Dawn said, opening the door.
Paul just nodded. For a second, Dawn thought about inviting him inside. But Paul was already shifting gears, so she shut the door and started up the front path. As Dawn unlocked the door, she realized that Paul hadn't pulled away yet. She opened the door and stepped inside, waving at him. The truck pulled away, and Dawn watched the tail lights disappear into the darkness. With a start, she realized that Paul had been waiting to make sure she got inside before leaving. Without realizing it, Dawn smiled to herself as she shut the door.
As far as Dawn was concerned, Monday came too soon. On the bus, Dawn collapsed next to May, her head still aching dully.
"Where did you go on Friday?" May asked without preamble. "I looked for you after the game, but you were just gone."
"Oh, I wasn't feeling well, so someone else gave me a ride home," Dawn said nonchalantly, not looking at May.
"Really? Who?" May asked curiously.
"Paul," Dawn said casually. May's eyebrows shot up her forehead, and Dawn thought that if her eyes got any wider, she could use them as dinner plates.
"Paul Shinji?" May asked, keeping her voice low.
Dawn nodded, shrugging. "It's no big deal."
"Until Barry finds out and kills him," May said seriously. "Then it'll be a huge deal." Dawn gritted her teeth.
"I don't want to talk about Barry right now. In fact, I don't want to talk about anything. I'm going to close my eyes and pretend that I'm on a plane to Paris."
May just smiled and shook her head, although she still looked uneasy. Truthfully, that was how Dawn felt too. She didn't want Barry giving Paul any more trouble. Despite Paul's . . . thorny exterior, Dawn genuinely liked the guy. He was funny, in a biting, sarcastic sort of way.
And smart, obviously. Dawn tried to remember that last time she'd had a conversation with Barry about something other than football or cheerleading. Nothing came to mind.
"Dawn, we're here," May said, nudging Dawn gently.
"Paris?" Dawn asked hopefully.
"Sorry, it's just Pennington."
"Dammit."
Dawn practically ran from the bus to the door, eager to escape the biting wind. Unfortunately for her, one of the janitors had dumped a bucket of dirty water on the sidewalk the night before. Dawn's foot hit a thick slab of ice and she went flying, right into Paul.
"We've got to stop meeting like this," Dawn joked, scrambling to her feet. "Sorry."
Paul just sighed as he picked himself up. "I will reiterate my comment about your general lack of coordination."
Dawn just looked sheepish. It wasn't like she could really argue.
"Dawn! Are you okay?" May avoided the ice carefully and came up beside her, looking even more anxious than she had on the bus.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Dawn replied. "Although my ego might not recover."
"Not anytime soon, anyway," Paul quipped. Dawn just stuck her tongue out at him. May started to giggled, but the sound died in her throat at the arrival of Barry. Dawn recognized the look in his eye immediately.
"Barry, don't—" Dawn started to say, but Barry shouldered her aside, ignoring her completely.
"I thought I told you to watch where you were going, Shinji?" Barry shoved Paul in the chest. Paul stumbled backwards, knocking into the wall.
"It's not my fault she keeps running into me," Paul said coldly. He paused, and then added, "Maybe she's trying to tell you something." May giggled, sounding slightly hysterical, as she watched Barry and Paul with wide eyes. Dawn glared at Paul, her blue eyes narrowed.
"Stop antagonizing him," she muttered. Paul looked at her, his eyes glinting slightly, and Dawn realized that he was enjoying this.
Barry seemed about ready to lose control. He grabbed Paul by the front of his shirt and leaned in close.
"I'll tell you one more time, Shinji. Don't talk to her. Don't even look at her."
"I'll say it again, she's the one who keeps running into me."
"Irregardless," Barry snarled, tightening his grip on Paul's shirt. Dawn winced. That so wasn't a word. Not even close. Paul smirked, his eyes meeting her for a fraction of a second. And Dawn knew that he was laughing at Barry, too.
"Do you understand me?" Barry growled.
"Well, maybe if you spoke proper English . . ." Barry just about choked on his rage, and Dawn cringed, waiting for the first punch to fall. Fortunately, Paul was saved by an angel in the form of the 12th grade calculus teacher.
"What's going on here?" Mr. Xenakis asked, striding up to the group. Barry let go of Paul immediately and stepped back, smiling.
"Nothing. Just asking Paul here about the chem homework we had last night."
"Hmm," Mr. Xenakis said, studying them all. Dawn suddenly knew why she had always liked Mr. Xenakis. He was one of the few teachers who wasn't completely enamored with Barry. "The bell's about to ring. Get to class."
No one needed to tell them twice. Barry left, shooting once last dirty glance at Paul over his shoulder as he walked away. May, Paul, and Dawn turned and headed towards the English wing, waiting until they were out of sight of Mr. Xenakis to stop and catch their breaths.
"What the hell was that?" Dawn demanded, glaring at Paul. He just shrugged. May shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.
"Um, I'm gonna go . . ." No one was really paying attention to her. May shook her head and walked away, chuckling under her breath.
"Why did you provoke him like that?"
"Relax."
"Relax? Paul! He's going to make your life miserable. Why couldn't you just—"
"Just what? Keep quiet and let him walk all over me?" Paul snapped.
"There's a balance between being a welcome mat and offering yourself up as a freaking punching bag, Paul! If Mr. X hadn't shown up . . ."
Paul looked at her sharply. "Why did you call him that?"
"Call him what?" Dawn asked nervously.
"Mr. X. Only people who have his class call him that."
"Oh, Marina has him," Dawn lied quickly. "I've heard her call him that so many times, I guess it just sank in."
"Hmm." Paul didn't look convinced, but just then the first bell rang. The hallway was almost empty, with only a few stragglers rushing to beat the late bell.
"I'm going to English now," Dawn said, walking away. "I'm not being late on top of everything else today."
Behind her, she heard Paul snort. "Too late." Dawn gritted her teeth as the late bell rang.
"Dammit"
So, lessons learned. Dawn doesn't like the cold, Barry's an idiot, and May's just sort of . . . there. Eh, I'll take it. Thanks, and please review!
