May sighed. What am I doing? she wondered, silently.
Once again, the brunette found herself at one end of a Pokemon battle arena. However, this battle would be different-very different. This battle made her nervous. It made her feel jumpy. It scared her. Instead of her usual coordinating opponents, May would be facing a die-hard battler. One who was not going to waste time, thinking about a combination. One who knew practically everything about her. One that she knew nothing about. Not to mention, this Pokemon trainer was definitely not an ordinary one. He was Paul Shinji, one of the many rivals of her former traveling companion, Ash Ketchum.
May's shoulders drooped a bit. Knowing Ash, if this guy was his rival, he's got to be good.
May could feel her stomach churning. Praying that she would not puke up the contents of her breakfast, she toyed with the end of her chestnut brown hair. It looked as if her thin legs would give way any second. Never before had she ever felt so nervous! This would be the first time in perhaps two years that May would be having a Pokemon battle against a real trainer. This would be the first time that she would be battling one that had both participated and done well in the Sinnoh league (or any league for that matter).
Swallowing the lump in her throat, May blinked back tears. It was times like these that she really missed the comfort of traveling with Ash and Brock. The both of them were always pushing her to go on, to go further. They always calmed her down when she was nervous. They always encouraged her to face her fears, to be courageous. They were always by her side. That is, until she left for the Johto region.
She looked eagerly at the bleachers towards the young blunette sitting on the sidelines. May was hoping that Dawn would come up to her and comfort her. She would be by her side, just as Ash had been. With a bit of luck, the young coordinator would have come up with a sneaky plan to get May out of humiliating herself on the battle field. Or perhaps that she would distract the purple haired boy, allowing May to escape having the wretched battle with him. She would have even felt better if Dawn had smiled brightly at her and said "No need to worry!" May was willing to accept anything from her. Anything that would comfort her. Anything that would make her feel better. Anything that would make her feel… less alone. However, the reaction that May received from the midnight haired girl was far from what she had hoped she would get. It made May feel even lonelier than ever.
Even from her spot on the battle field, May could see that Dawn was pissed. Her expression was not happy and perky, like it usually was. Unconcerned if she got wrinkles in the future, her face was scrunched up, due to her scowling, fiercely. Her usual sparkling blue were now a dull, grey-blue color. However, despite them being a dull color, her eyes were still icily glaring in May's direction. And, for once in her life, Dawn's expression was cold. Frighteningly cold. That fact made May's whole body cringe. Dawn was never cold. She has always been warm, kind and friendly. Now, she was anything but. And, if looks could kill, our favorite brunette just may get out of battling Paul after all…
Oh god, why me? Sadly, May blinked back more tears. It took every ounce of will power to keep in the big teardrops that were threatening to roll down her face. Why do things like this always happen to me?
"Why? Why do these things always happen to her? It's just no fair!"
What the brunette did not know was that the young blue-haired girl sitting on the spectators' bench was thinking the exact same thing.
Sniffing indignantly, Dawn crossed her arms, letting out an angry "humph!". Slowly, her eyes drifted over towards Paul, as they had many times before. Feeling blood rush to her cheeks, Dawn couldn't help but give a tiny smile. Yes, she, happy-go-lucky Dawn, was crushing on the cold, cruel hearted bad boy, Paul. She was crushing on Paul, the boy who was hard on all of his Pokemon. It was the Paul who her traveling partner, Ash, had hated for so long. She had fallen for the very same Paul who couldn't even remember her name. For some odd reason, every time his deep onyx eyes fell upon hers, her heart sped up. Every time she and the gang would run into him, her heart would skip a beat. Every time she heard his voice, her cheeks would light up. Every time Paul would face a trainer, and she heard him say "Stand by for battle," her eyes would shine brightly. She felt so strongly for this boy; so strongly for a boy who can't remember her name.
Narrowing her once sparkling blue eyes until they looked like tiny slits, she looked fiercely towards May's direction.
"Yet, he knows her name," whispered Dawn, venomously. "He knows all her accomplishments. He's watched all her contest battles. He pays attention to her."
Dawn bit her lip hard and looked at the ground. Tears of anger sprang into her eyes. She had tried so hard to get Paul to notice her. She had worn those uncomfortable short skirts all the time. She constantly made an effort to make herself look pretty in front of him, fussing with her hair every day. She always did her best to shine in every contest she participated in, just in case he would be watching it. Feeling a lump form in her throat, Dawn swallowed. However, none of it mattered; all of her efforts were in vain. No matter what she tried, Paul, her one and only crush, didn't notice her.
Dawn shifted her gaze back towards where the brunette was standing. At the moment, May just looked like a smudge. Her tears were blurring her vision, but she didn't care. All she cared about right now was her anger. And, at the moment, her anger was all directed at one person; May.
All May had to do was waltz into the room, and Paul became her number one fanboy! I hate this!
Angrily, Dawn wiped her tears away. Seeing clearly again, Dawn turned to May to glare at her for the umpteenth time. However, that didn't happen.
All it took was one look at May's face, and, immediately, all of Dawn's anger and fury vanished. It was as if it was evaporated into thin air, and now, it was quickly being replaced with a new emotion. A giant wave of guilt crashed over Dawn who had let out a small whimper when she saw May's expression.
May looked so sad, so upset. Both of her gloved hands were gripping the enlarged Pokeball tightly. Her knees were resting on each other, shakily, pointing inward as if they needed the support of the other to not fall. Her usually happy sapphire colored eyes were wide opened, not blinking at all. Her favorite green bandana looked like it would blow away at just the slightest breeze. Her flawless, tanned skin, now looked pale and sickly, as though it was dough. And, her smile, her big, comforting smile, was gone. It was replaced by miserable pout, her lips trembling. May looked like she was about to burst into tears.
Dawn looked away, guiltily. What's wrong with me? she snapped at herself angrily. It was unbelievable! How was it possible that she couldn't see May's discomfort? Dawn sighed, whispering sadly, "I bet that May probably doesn't even want to battle Paul. I can't believe I was so blinded." She felt so wrong. Dawn had been furious at May, her best friend, just because she caught the attention of the boy whom she didn't even know Dawn liked. I am an awful person.
Taking a deep breath, Dawn stood up. Even though she had acted awfully for the past hour, it didn't mean that she couldn't try to make up for it.
"Come on May! You can do it!"
The brunette looked towards the blue-haired girl, with shock written across her face. Flashing her biggest smile, Dawn winked.
"There's no need to worry!"
May's POV
When I heard Dawn call my name, my head snapped up. Am I hearing things? I thought to myself. It can't be Dawn. She is still mad at me, for some unknown reason… But, if it wasn't her, then who else could it be?
Shifting my gaze from the ground to the bleachers, I saw Dawn waving frantically. She no longer looked like she wanted to bite my head off. Her face once again had a huge smile on. It no longer formed that thin line that it looked like a minute ago. Her eyes were sparkling again, full of warmth and happiness, as well as a hint of something else.
Sorrow.
I blinked in surprise. Dawn was sorry?
She was sorry.
She wanted to be friends again. That meant...
I would no longer be alone.
"There's no need to worry!"
I closed my eyes as a small smile tugged at my lips. Funny, those were the exact words that I was just wishing to hear a second ago. Funny, those words somehow made me feel more secure, more confident. How funny...
Our blue eyes met; mine were happy and relieved, hers were showing regret, and a bit of worry, as if she was afraid that I wouldn't forgive her. Letting out a soft laugh, I grinned at her, suppressing the urge to call out her favorite catchphrase. Instead, beaming, I gave her thumbs up. Dawn's whole face lit up with happiness, relieved. She nodded vigorously in understanding. I tilted my head in response. All was forgiven.
"Paul!"
The purple haired boy looked up, startled. It seemed as if he was in deep thought, looking at each of his Pokeballs carefully. (I was confused by this. After all, why would he need to put so much thought into choosing the Pokemon that he would use to battle me?) Giggling at his expression for a second I winked.
"You better get ready for a battle you'll never forget!"
Sorry it's so short! And it took so long :( And the end was rushed. SORRY! DON'T GIVE UP ON ME YET! And I love all of you who reviewed! Made me so happy :D. Don't own Pokemon. Next chap will have Drew. Good? Bad? Mistakes? Review please!
