Horrors of Camping

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CHAPTER NINE
Imagining Things

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June 30th, 2013

May was startled awake; by what, she was not sure.

The moon outside was veiled mostly by a covering of dark clouds, letting in only the slightest slither of milky moonlight which fell across May's bed. She shivered, and pulled her blankets closer to her body, feeling incredibly cold and scared.

She had just woken from a dream, but she could not remember the dream—all she could remember was how she had felt: scared, panicked, worried and guilty. She had felt as if she had just lost something precious to her to something horrific. A feeling which haunted her even now, outside of her dreamland.

"Go to sleep," she whispered. "We have activities back on tomorrow. It's not raining, so there's no more days off now. Go back to sleep, May. Go back to sleep, it was just a dream… just a dream…"

Just a nightmare…

Nonetheless she laid in her bed for another half hour, tossing this way and that, shivering and unable to shake the feeling of panic, fright, and guilt that had plagued her in her previous dream.

It was just a dream… just a dream… everyone's okay, and there's no monster… no monster, no ghosts, nothing. They're just stories the kids make up, go to sleep…

And finally, sleep did find her.


Dawn sighed, loudly and irritably. Even if it wasn't raining out, the weather was simply infuriating. And impossible.

The wind was terrible, and only contributed to the horrible hair day she was having, so much so that she had insisted at one time for them all to stop (much to Paul's annoyance) so she could concentrate on untangling her hair. And not only was the wind the reason for her bad hair day, but it was also the reason why her eyes were red and teary, and the reason her and Paul were making horrible progress on their hike up their usual mountain trail.

"Dawn? Are you okay? Why are you crying?" Nova questioned, tugging on the sleeve of her sweatshirt before glancing nervously at Paul.

"Oh, I'm not crying, dear… I just got sand in my eye…" For the gazillionth time! She added crossly, still rubbing at her eyes. Dang wind! What is with this place and its bipolar weather?!

"Oh, okay. What happened to your knees? Why are they all bandaged up?" Nova questioned next, her bright purple eyes wide and curious as she gazed up at the older girl.

"She tripped over a tree stump and fell," Paul answered for her, his tone stony as he slowed his pace so he was now walking besides her and Nova.

"Geez, Dawn, I thought if anybody would be getting banged up this summer, it would be my sister. But it looks like it's just you Mother Nature has been giving a hard time," Max joked, smiling kindly at her as he adjusted his square-framed glasses on his nose.

"Yeah, well, May hasn't been outside in the mountains all day, every day," Dawn muttered crossly. Inwardly, she sighed. Mother Nature really has had it out for her these past few weeks…

"Just don't trip over any holes, or fall off the mountainside," Paul told her. He was not joking or playing around. "Or get ran over by some herd of pokémon…"

Dawn rolled her eyes, not sure whether she should be amused or insulted. In the end, she decided on irritation as another gust of wind blew dust in her eyes and attempted to push her back.

Suddenly she felt Paul's hand on her shoulders as he pushed her back in front of him.

"Hey!" she whined.

"And stay away from the edge of the trail. We don't need you to get attacked by another arbok," he told her gruffly.

"Awww, someone's protective of Dawn," one of the older boys in the group cooed, grinning as he made kissy faces at the two. Paul's eyes narrowed dangerously, his jaws clenching; meanwhile, Dawn simply rolled her eyes.

"Yes, how cute," she replied drily, her expression flat. "And thanks for the concern, Paul, but I would like to see any Arbok come near me today! This wind has got me in such a mood, any Arbok or creepy crawlers come sneaking up on me, I'll kung fu their behinds!" she declared loudly, fist-pumping the air, a newly lit fire burning in her deep blue eyes.

"Kung fu their behinds? Wouldn't that include harming them though?" he questioned sarcastically.

Dawn whipped around, her eyes briefly meeting Paul's cold onyx-colored eyes, before turning away once more, flushing.

He's referring to when we were younger! Back when Ash and I always got after him for how he treated Chimchar! She thought, her cheeks turning impossibly redder.

She felt her eyebrows furrow together and her lips pucker as she tried her hardest to ignore the intense feeling of Paul's gaze on the back of her head.

"How high up are these mountains supposed to be?" Paisley questioned, breaking the awkward silence that had fell between the group, as she tucked a purple strand of hair behind her ears.

"Somewhere between seven-thousand and eight-thousand," Paul responded gruffly.

"Seven thousand, five hundred and ten feet, to be exact," Max chirped cheerfully from behind them. Dawn snuck a sideways glance at Paul and saw his eyebrows twitch.

"What kind of pokémon can you find in these mountains?" Nova questioned this time, enclosing her hand in Dawn's.

"Oh, well, just the usual, like the same ones you would find in pretty much any mountain or forest in this area," Dawn responded.

"Pidgeys, Pidgeottos, Rattatas…" Paul started.

"Pinecos, Weedles, Caterpies…" Dawn continued.

"Beedrills, Butterfrees, Pikachus…"

"Nidorans, Teddiursas, Ursarings…"

At the mention of this last pokémon, Dawn thought of her first encounter with an Ursaring and how it had chased her (and Ash and Brock) around a good while before Paul came to the rescue and captured it. Dawn smiled fondly at this memory, one of her first memories as a pokémon trainer.

"You guys know a lot of pokémon that live in this mountain," Nova commented cheerfully. "Do you guys own any of the ones you mentioned?"

Dawn stole another sideway glance at Paul, who had his gaze set straight ahead with his hands in his pockets. "Paul does. He has an ursaring."

"Ooh, is your Ursaring strong?"

"Very," he responded, sparing only a quick glance at her and Nova. "It's one of my more powerful pokémon."

"And he has a lot of very powerful pokémon," Dawn felt the need to add, a smile gracing her lips. She stole another quick glance at Paul and saw he was smiling too – albeit, it was a small one but it still counted.

"My brother is a pokémon trainer, he has a lot of very strong pokémon, too," Ricky, the same boy who had been making kissy faces at both her and Paul, spoke up from behind. "He's been a trainer for five years now!"

"I've been a trainer for eight years," was Paul's retaliation.

"Hmm. Reeeaaally? You don't seem that old," he muttered suspiciously.

"Dude, he's eighteen. I think. Unless you started early as a trainer…" Paul shook his head. "Seriously, Ricky, how old does Paul look to you?" Max asked, a hand on his hip.

"Maybe sixteen… possibly seventeen…"

Max sighed and rolled his eyes. "I would have guessed he was older, not younger," he muttered.

"What does it matter what age he looks? All that matters is that he's a super strong trainer," Paisley responded, turning starry blue eyes to Paul who paid her no attention.

Dawn felt her eyebrows narrow as she watched a blush stretch across Paisley's freckled face as she fell in step behind the reserved trainer.

What is with younger girls and them getting crushes on men way older than them? She wondered, her own lips pulling down in a frown. She then shrugged this query off as she remembered her own silly crush on Wallace when she was just nine to ten years old.

"How old are you, Dawn? Are you eighteen too?" Nova questioned.

Dawn shook her head. "Naww. I'm not." Unfortunately. "I just turned seventeen in April."

"Oh. Well, you'll be eighteen soon! Are you excited?"

"Of course!" she responded, smiling cheerfully. "I'll finally be considered an adult!"

"But you are already old enough to have pokémon and travel when you want to and compete in gyms, aren't you?" she queried, frowning. "So what else could you do once you're an adult?"

"Well, actually I'm a coordinator, so I compete in contests, not gyms," she corrected kindly. "And well, technically I guess if I wanted to I could start a family. You know, get married and have kids, but I don't exactly have a boyfriend at the moment so yeah, I doubt that's going to happen as soon as I turn eighteen."

"You don't have a boyfriend? I thought Paul was your boyfriend!" Kimi exclaimed from about a foot in front.

"Wh-wh-wh-what?" Dawn felt her face flush red. "What in the world made you think that?!"

"Well… you two are always together," the brown-haired little girl responded innocently, starting to skip. "Like now. Plus you two had a fight that one time, and my mommy and daddy fight sometimes too, and they love each other very, very much."

"The only reason we're always together is because we're camp buddies, and it's against the rules to go anywhere without your camp buddy. Remember?" The little girl gulped and nodded, startled by the icy tone Paul had taken up.

"And Dawn and I are not a couple. Not now, not ever. Remember that," he finished coldly, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Dawn knew she probably should have said something to reinforce his statement, but for some reason she could not. Her throat felt thick and her stomach twisted as the group walked together in yet another strained silence. She kept her eyes on the ground, all the while focused on not getting sick or crying or… something.

God, what is wrong with me? I was fine just a moment ago. I was fine up until…

"And Dawn and I are not a couple. Not now, not ever. Remember that."

Dawn squeezed Nova's hand and suddenly, she was thankful for the wind and the dust it occasionally kicked up and threw in her eyes, for it provided the perfect excuse for why her eyes were so red and teary, even when she knew this time it wasn't from the wind.


"Hey, Dawn, are you okay? You've hardly eaten anything." Zoey quirked an eyebrow as she said this, concern flickering in her fire red eyes.

Dawn smiled, still using her fork to stab at the helpless piece of lettuce, cheese, and dressing on her plate. "Nothing. No need to worry. I'm fine."

"You sure?" May asked through a mouth full of noodles. "You are being suspiciously quiet…"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm just thinking." Of what, she did not want to say.

Because there was no way she was about to tell her friends that she just may have developed a small, itty bitty crush on the world's most callous and power-obsessed trainer alive.

"So how was everyone's first day back after that horrendous rainstorm?" Zoey questioned, forking a piece of her pasta before sticking it in her mouth.

"Good. Wind was still horrible though," Dawn answered first.

"Well, there was no near-drowning or anything tragic today, so good," Misty responded next, taking a bite from her sandwich.

Zoey turned towards May who still hadn't said anything about her day. "May?"

The brunette was staring at her ramen, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. "It was fine."

"Fine?" Dawn glanced over at the brunette, frowning. "You sure about that? You don't seem too happy."

May shook her head, a slight flush to her cheeks now as she offered a small, forced smiled. "It was fine… It's just… I dunno, I just… I was thinking…"

"Was Drew being a jerk to you again?" Zoey questioned, mirroring Dawn's frown.

May was quiet for a moment. "No. I mean, not necessarily. We just have differentiating opinions. Like on what to do for our Crafts activity, ya know?"

Dawn did know, remembering the brief argument her and Paul had gotten into about which route to take up the mountain. Paul had wanted to take the same route they always did, but Dawn wanted to try a new trail, to try something new, to see different views. In the end, she had won the argument, but Paul's stony silence afterwards made her wish she hadn't.

Dawn was about to voice her agreement, but then held her tongue, for what reason she was not sure. Just then she noticed Paul's approaching figure and she clamped her mouth shut, suddenly nervous.

What the hell? Why was she so nervous all of a sudden around Paul? She had known him since she was ten basically! She had never been nervous around him before! Was it just because she suddenly realized her minor feelings of affection for him?

Dawn briefly argued with herself over whether or not she should start stuffing her mouth with salad, or just look elsewhere and pretend she didn't see him coming.

"Hey."

Dawn prayed nobody saw her flinch at this single word, the sound of His cold, smooth voice. Dawn was aware that everybody was now either staring at her or Him.

"Are you done eating?"

Because Dawn didn't trust her voice just yet, she nodded.

"Good. I'm going out training. I need you to come with me."

"You're going out training? At this time of the night?" Zoey's voice was disapproving and her expression reflected this.

"Yes. Got a problem with that?" He asked, his eyes cold as they narrowed.

"Oh no, not at all!" Zoey responded, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to her pasta. "Ass."

Dawn stood up, about to follow Paul out when Misty chirped up cheerfully from behind her, "Just bring her back alive! And preferably no arbok bites, or any other kind of bites or scratches!"

Dawn felt her face flush red, and mentally she face palmed herself.

She would never live that down.


Misty sighed contently as she lied on her back, a few feet away from the ocean's shore, her arms folded over her stomach as she stared up at the (rare) clear night sky.

The night was beautiful, and magical, with the glittering of the trillions of stars overhead and the shimmering of the blue, blue lake. The waxing moon made the night feel even more magical as it shone down on her, Ash, and a napping pikachu. The night was quiet except the distant rustling of trees from the forest caused by the gentle breeze, and the quiet voices of her and Ash as they ensued on a game of truth.

"If you could have three wishes, what would they be?"

"Three wishes, eh?" Ash hummed loudly to himself as he pondered the question. "To be a Pokémon Master, to have an all-you-can-eat buffet magically appear whenever I'm hungry or whenever I want it to, aaaaand… um, to get rid of all the evil from this planet, like the corporations Team Rocket, Team Magma, Aqua, Galactic, et cetera."

"Those are good wishes," Misty commented. She couldn't help but smile as she noted that they were such predictable Ash answers.

"Thanks! Now back at ya, if you could have three wishes what would they be?"

"To be the Greatest Water Pokémon Master ever, to be as beautiful as my sisters, and to someday get married to the love of my life-slash-soul mate," she answered immediately.

"Those are good wishes, too," he noted. "Well, except the second one. I don't think you should be so down on yourself about not looking exactly like your sisters. I mean, I think you're great just the way you are."

Misty felt a smile blossom on her at this compliment, her entire body filling with warmth. But even so she couldn't help but notice that even so he hadn't said he thought she was already beautiful.

Nevertheless, it didn't matter. She didn't need him to think she was. After all, she knew she didn't have the same beauty as Dawn with her bright ocean blue eyes or her long blue locks. Nor did she have May's curvy figure, big bust, and kind smile. She didn't even have Zoey's exotic fire red hair that she found to be such a nicer color than her own carrot-colored hair.

She was just Misty: tall, thin, with little to offer asides from nice legs perhaps. She couldn't even say much for her personality. She knew she was stubborn, hot-headed and more than moody half the time, especially when it came to Ash. There was just something about him, and the way he acted some of the time, that brought out that defensive, she-hulk side of her…

"I'm not saying I want to look exactly like my sister with their long, wavy hair and their girlish looks. Mostly I just wish everyone would stop comparing me to them just because I'm the youngest and I'm like the odd one out of the four of us with my short hair and tomboyish attire… Well, I don't know actually." She frowned suddenly.

Maybe she did kind of wish she looked like them. At least, she wished she could have the natural beauty and confidence that came to them so effortlessly over the years…

"Well, I still don't think you should worry about trying to be as good as your sisters, whether it's with looks or skills. I mean, you're you and that's all that should matter, right? You're different from them, sure, but that also makes you unique. It defines who you are."

"You know, you're not as empty-headed as I originally believed, Ketchum," she joked, laughing. "Now it's my turn to ask the question."

She gazed thoughtfully at the stars, wondering what she should ask Ash next.

In the nights they've come here since he first found her on the lakeshore front, on that horrible day almost two weeks ago and on the days when it wasn't pouring rain, her and Ash had come here simply to talk but had then gradually turned into an evening of question games such as Truth or Would You Rather. In those evenings, as few as they had actually been due to the previous week's relentless rain, she had found out quite a lot about Ash and was rapidly running out of questions.

Finally, a question did pop into her mind, but she hesitated before asking it, fearing it might be too weird of a question to ask.

"When you grow up, do you want to have kids, and if so, how many do you want?" she dared to ask.

"Well, yeah, I would love to have kids! Not now, of course, but maybe sometime in the future, like in ten or fifteen or so years. Maybe less. It depends. And how many would I want? Hmmmm. Well, I know I want a boy. And a girl would be nice. And maybe another boy and another girl so the boy doesn't get lonely and have to be surrounded by only girls, and same for the other girl. So I guess four kids. That sounds like a good number. How about you, Mist?"

"Yeah, I want to have kids. And four, too. That does sound like a good number. Maybe five at the most."

If she was being honest with herself, she would admit she had mostly said four also because it was Ash who said it. But four did sound like a pretty good number. That was the number of kids her parents had had!

"What would you name your kids?" Ash questioned.

"For the girls, maybe flower names, like how my sisters were named. Except I think I would name them after more exotic flowers, like… Chrysanthemum. And… Azalea."

"Those are pretty names!" Ash declared, grinning. Misty looked up and saw his eyes were twinkling like the stars overhead. She felt a shy smile creep over her lips. "What would you name the boys, assuming you had two?"

"Well, I don't know. I haven't thought much of boy names," she admitted. "I mostly just try to think of cute girl names. Maybe I would name one after the dad, and the other… I don't know. What would you name the kids?"

"A.J.! Or Ash Junior!" Ash declared passionately. "I always like the name A.J., I kinda always wish my middle name was James or something with a J so I could demand people to start calling me that," he admitted with a laugh. "For the girls, I would just let the mom name them, as well as the other boy, because honestly I'm pretty sure the name I would come up with for them would suck."

"Oh, well aren't you a confident one when it comes to naming your future kids!" she teased. She sat up, and Ash mimicked her actions. Slowly, she turned so she was now facing him and scooted about an inch closer, her knees tucked close to her chest and her arms wrapped protectively around her knees.

"I believe it's your turn now," Ash told her, his chocolate-colored boring kindly into hers.

"I know. Just hold on, I just need to think of a good one I haven't asked yet." Finally, after a moment of thoughtful silence, she asked: "Have you ever been in love?"

Ash shook her head, and Misty felt a surge of disappointment well inside her. She hid her disappointment well though, acceptance already flowing through her.

Of course it was silly of her to wish he would say yes, and that it was with her. Of course it was silly. It was just a silly thought, a silly daydream, a silly fairytale idea that would never happen. Sure, he wasn't in love with her, but at least he wasn't in love with anybody else either.

And I'm not in love with him either, she told herself, although deep down, she knew that she believed she was…

I'm not, I'm not, I'm not! Thinking you are in love isn't the same as actually being in love! She told herself fiercely, stubbornly.

"Have you ever been in love, Misty?"

Misty froze. Then forcing herself to relax and sound light, she replied, "If I was, I would never tell you." She laughed.

"Oh come on, Misty! We're friends! You can tell me. I can keep a secret," he promised, grinning.

"You? Keep a secret? As if."

"What? You don't trust me?" he asked, feigning hurt.

Misty bit her lip, pondering this question. "No, I trust you." I just don't trust your reaction.

"So have you ever been in love?" he asked again, this time his gaze peering intensely into hers, prying for answers.

Misty looked away, her cheeks flooding with warmth. "I have thought I might have been in love," she admitted as truthfully as she dared.

"With Rudy, huh? Or was it Danny?" he joked, but his eyes bore seriously into hers when she dared to look at him again. He had meant it to sound like a joke, but she couldn't tell if he meant it as a joke or if he was serious.

She just gave a small smile in response, turning her gaze back to the lake's glittering blue surface.

"Hey, just wondering, instead of just doing our norm and watching the kids swim all afternoon, do you think we should like, maybe mix it up a little? So we're not just lounging around, doing practically nothing and getting sunburned."

"Mix it up? Like how?" he questioned, his eyes widening in curiosity.

"Like we could go canoeing. We do have canoes, you know," she told him. "How does that sound?"

"Sure! Canoeing, that'll be fun!" he agreed happily. "Are we going to start that tomorrow?"

"Sure, why not," she replied. "Anyway, hey, it's getting pretty late. You want to head back?"

Ash jumped up, dusting sand from his jeans. "Sure. Let's go!"


"Hey! Is Dawn in here?" Kenny questioned, busting open the door to the girl's cabin.

Zoey narrowed her eyes at the sight of Kenny, not the least bit surprised to find him looking for Dawn. "No, she's not. She's out with Paul, watching him train." She rolled her eyes as she said this, making it obvious how displeased she was at the fact.

He is so controlling, she thought. And Dawn just lets him be that way with her. Why? She's not usually this submissive with people, so why with Paul? Zoey wondered. The way she used to talk to her about him, she hadn't seemed like his biggest fan either, even if she hadn't always been quite as ready to bash his skull out figuratively like she was.

"Paul? Why is she out with Paul?" Kenny grumbled, annoyed, as he crossed his arms over his chest. He was scowling, obviously jealous.

Zoey knew she should have assured him that it was nothing, that it was just Dawn being the complacent camp buddy she was and was only watching Paul train so he wouldn't get in trouble for not having a buddy with him (or have to deal with his bad attitude/grumpiness if she refused to go with him and he could not train). But, for some reason, her tongue would not allow her to form these comforting words.

So instead she simply shrugged.

Looking dejected, Kenny stood there for a minute, frowning unhappily. Finally, he walked over to the bed where Zoey was lying flat on her stomach, flipping through one of Dawn's numerous fashion magazine for lack of having anything better to do while May was showering, Dawn was watching Paul train, and Misty was out who-knows-where doing who-knows-what with Ash.

"What are you looking at?" he questioned, moving closer to her still as he tried to peer over her shoulder at the magazine she was looking at.

"Just looking at one of Dawn's old fashion magazines for lack of having anything better to do," she responded, closing the magazine.

"Really?" He sounded surprised. It made her want to punch him. "I didn't think you were the type to be into high-fashion like Dawn."

"I'm not," she reassured him, her tone flat.

"Can I see?" he questioned, gesturing for the magazine.

Zoey raised an eyebrow, but handed it to him nonetheless. Amused, she teased, "I didn't know you were into high-fashion like Dawn."

Kenny smiled. "Oh gurl, there's tons you don't know about me!" he replied in his best flamboyant, city-girl voice. Zoey laughed, having lost the previous tension present in her body.

Kenny's smile grew and he flipped quickly through the magazine, only stopping to gaze for a few seconds on one page before showing the page to Zoey. She glanced at the page and saw the picture of a model with a cropped blonde hair-do in a white halter top that showed about two inches of stomach, well-fitting black capris, and black converses.

"I can so see you wearing this kind of outfit," he told her, smiling. "It looks similar to your kind of style."

"Style? I didn't realize I had a style," she said a bit sarcastically, still smiling.

"Sure you do. You have that comfy, simple, laid-back, kind-of-tomboyish but still cute, kind of style."

but still cute… Those were the words that stuck out in Zoey's mind, leaving her shocked, but surprisingly… pleased.

Kenny took the magazine and flipped to the next page. "I could see you in these outfits, too. You would look cute in them."

cute in them. Again, the words echoed in her mind and she smiled.

She looked at the outfit on the left page first.

It was a picture of the same model from the previous page, and she guessed the model on the right would be too. On the left page the blonde-haired model was wearing another cropped top, this one being black with long sleeves and a wide neckline. She had on a long gold-chain necklace and sleek dark-washed skinny jeans with jeweled sandals. The sandals weren't really her style, but Zoey decided it didn't matter, it was still a cute outfit.

The outfit the model wore on the right page was of her in a sleeveless striped burgundy-colored shirt paired with a distressed denim vest and low-cut distressed skinny jeans with a thick white belt and heeled brown boots.

"Okay, maybe they're not exactly your style, but still," Kenny said.

"They're cute," she commented simply. "I really like the tops. The shoes are okay, although I prefer the converses on the previous page you showed me."

Kenny nodded, as if he was agreeing with her.

"Yeah. Those jewels just do not go with your eyes, girly!" he exclaimed once more in his high-pitched girl voice.

Zoey dropped her head into her arms and laughed, her shoulders continued to shake even as she receded into the kind of laughter that made no noise.

"Oh, but that one tank top really brings out the luster of your hair and the color of your eyes! Gurrrl, we need to go shopping soon. I really need a manipedi. Have you seen my cuticles? Awwwwwful!"

"Uh, since when are guys concerned about cuticles?" May questioned, having somehow slipped into the room without either of them noticing. "And since when does your voice sound like that?"

"Oh hey May! Fancy seeing you here!" Kenny greeted, grinning broadly as he ignored her previous questions.

May frowned before turning her curious gaze to Zoey who was still face-down in her mattress, her shoulders quivering.

"Zoey?"

Was she crying?

"H-hey," she said, finally lifting her face. It was red, but she was smiling and there was no sign of tear streaks on her cheeks.

May quirked an eyebrow, confused and suspicious. If she wasn't crying, then was she laying her head down on her bed because she had been laughing at something Kenny said?

"Okay… what's going on here?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. "Was something sexual going on?"

Zoey's previous grin vanished, being replaced instead by a look that was a mix of shocked and horrified.

Kenny, of course, was neither bothered by the redhead's newly changed expression or May's truly curious expression and implications of something sexual going on between him and Zoey.

"May, really, if something sexual was going on here, don't you think there would be clothes on the floor?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"Well, now that you mention it…" She frowned, her eyebrows furrowing together as she looked from Kenny to Zoey and back. "Well, you could have still been sex-talking!"

"May, I assure you nothing of that kind was going on between me and Kenny," Zoey responded calmly, back to her old self as her face returned to its normal color.

"Well, if you insist…" May mumbled, still looking confused.

"Well, it was nice hangin' with ya, Zo! And good seein' ya, too, May! Give Dawn my best regards whenever she comes in from hangin' with Paul! I'll see ya guys tomorrow! Later!"

"Umm, bye. I guess," she muttered.

"Later," Zoey called back. She was actually kind of disappointed to see him go.


Fire consumed the forest, blinding her and filling Dawn's lungs with smoke as she searched around, looking for the person behind the source of the fire.

"Dawn."

"There you are!" she exclaimed. For some reason relief filled her.

Suddenly, the fire smoldered and died, turning the previous blindingly bright forest dark, gray, and eerie. A cold wind blew and inwardly, Dawn shivered. She walked towards Paul, only stopping when there was less than a foot of space between them.

She looked up; his cold, soulless black eyes stared back at her.

This is wrong… I shouldn't feel this way… she thought, staring into those onyx-colored eyes. How can I feel this way? After all he did to Chimchar, and how he treated all those other pokémon he deemed not good enough, not strong enough…

Dawn couldn't remember what happened next, for everything was hazy. But she was consciously aware of one thing: Paul.

Where is he… where'd he go… what's happening?

Suddenly, she was aware of water lapping at her feet, and the sound of waves pounding endlessly and loudly behind her. Her eyes were closed, darkness enclosing her, but along with the sound of the waves and the feel of water hitting her ankles, she was aware of a body pressed against hers and arms wrapped around her waist. She could feel someone's breath on her neck, someone's nose pressed against her hair.

She didn't have to see him to know it was Paul.

She opened her eyes but all she could see was a maddening blur, something she could not understand, even though she was perfectly aware of everything that was supposed to be happening, considering she was the little narrator of her dream.

Paul pulled away from her slightly to bend down, his face coming closer and closer to hers, his lips hovering not even a centimeter above hers.

And suddenly it was like she was having an out of body experience as she watched Paul kiss the blue-haired girl that was herself, but to her it was all angles and sharp features as she watched, fascinated, confused, and curious.

How strange it was that she had such a clear vision of herself actually kissing someone – nonetheless Paul, especially since she had never even had her first kiss yet.

And suddenly she became aware of everything else – the white sand, the crashing waves, the ominous clouds, the mountains in the distance. Her heart sped up, as if she was running, or as if she had been badly frightened.

She turned her attention back to herself and Paul, their lips still locked, as if they had been frozen in time. The crashing waves got louder, thunderous even.

She closed her eyes and suddenly she could feel the water lapping her ankles again, the ocean's spray hitting her back. Paul's arms were wrapped back around her, pulling her closer and closer until her face was buried in his chest.

And then suddenly they both fell, into the ocean as a wave crashed down over them, sweeping them away, Paul's arms still wrapped tightly around her while she remained perfectly still, like she was already nothing more than a lifeless corpse…

/x/x/x/

Dawn woke up in a sweat, shocked as little bits and pieces of her dream came flooding back to her.

The fire – Paul caught the forest on fire training.

Then she found him.

It turned gray.

Then… she couldn't remember what happened.

Then it was like I was in the ocean, on the beach or something and I was in the water and Paul was there too… she recalled. And... and we kissed.

It was strange, she couldn't actually remember specifically kissing Paul in the dream at all, but what she could instead remember was how they had looked when they had kissed – his face tilted a few degrees and his chin pointed outwards, while her face remained straight, her nose clearly visible while his remained hidden behind hers.

And suddenly she couldn't remember anything after that point, asides from falling down in the ocean in Paul's arms and getting swept away. That kiss, as surreal as it was, was the clearest thing she could remember from the dream and it kept popping up, again and again, in her mind's eye, even when she tried her best to suppress it.

Oh – my – gawd. She laid in bed, shocked, her heart beating so rapidly it felt as if it was trying to break free so it could run away from her.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no! I did not just dream that, I did not, I did not, no, no, no, why did I just dream that?! She closed her eyes, willing it to not be true, but the image just popped up again, pushing its way up against her will.

I like Paul, but… surely not this much? She frowned, the image continuing to linger, despite trying her best to push it away and push it out of consciousness.

She laid in her bed, turned on her side with her ear pressed against the pillow, the sound of her heart beating loudly like a drum right back at her as she tried her best to concentrate on the shadows on the wall, or really, anything other than her thoughts.

Huh?

Dawn felt goosebumps rise along her arms as a shadow from the far end of the room caught her attention.

It looks as if it's moving…

Finally, Dawn's heart stopped beating, and she watched, chilled, as the shadow, with a petite human-like form, started to move across the wall, to the opposite side of the room. It happened in what was probably less than five seconds, but the image of the shadow moving so quickly across the wall stayed with her.

Dawn remained perfectly frozen in place, her heart beating painfully fast in her chest as the image of the moving shadow replayed again and again in her head, her dream about Paul momentarily forgotten.

I'm imagining things, I did not just see that… she thought, forcing her eyes to close as she pulled her blankets closer to her body. Go to sleep… you're tired, and you're imagining things… It was just your imagination, nothing more, it was not a ghost…

She repeated this to herself, over and over, until finally, sleep found her again.


July 1st, 2013

May was hesitant about approaching Drew.

It felt like every time she approached him with a new idea they got into an argument. She always wanted to do simple but cute crafts that she could actually do, but Drew, obviously the more artistic of the two, always wanted to do what she considered more artistic and challenging projects that she just could not learn how to do half the time, such as pottery, painting, drawing (and not just simple doodles – actual DRAWINGS – circles, rectangles, faces, shading – Drew wanted the full effort when he had the kids draw).

But my idea can also be considered artistic and challenging, May argued with herself, and in a way, Drew. I mean, this isn't like my usual ideas. And if Daisy approves…

She bit her lip, but then heaved a sigh as she forced her legs to move towards the chartreuse-haired teen who she had just seen finishing his breakfast and heading towards the cafeteria's exit.

"Drew! Um… can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked, nervously approaching him.

Drew slowed his pace and turned around, a skeptical look plastered on his face. "Yeah, of course. What is it, May?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

She smiled shyly. She knew he knew she was going to pitch an idea for their activity. After all, it was practically the only time she stopped him right as he was about to leave the cafeteria.

"It's about our activity…" she started slowly. Already she could see exasperation crossing his face, but he nodded, obviously making an attempt to hear her out before starting an unwanted argument. "I was thinking last night we should try something new, or maybe fresh would be the better word… um, anyway I was thinking we should probably try something fresh for our activity, that way the kids don't get bored with it so easily, and when I was going through ideas we could do that we could both maybehopefully like…" she paused, trying to figure out the best way to end the sentence. "Well, if Daisy approved, I was thinking we could maybe go in the kitchen and teach the kids some cooking recipe."

Drew was obviously surprised by the suggestion based on his wide eyes and his eyebrows which were no longer visible behind his chartreuse-colored bangs. "You're suggesting we teach the kids how to cook?" he asked disbelievingly.

May felt herself flush, instinctively feeling defensive of her idea. "Well, why not? It can be considered a craft! And cooking is a form of art, isn't it?"

Drew stared at her for a moment, a look of confusion crossing his face, before he decided to attempt a tentative smile. "I didn't say I disliked it, May. Actually, I think that's a really great idea."

May was surprised by the compliment. So surprised she just stood there, speechless, her sapphire blues eyes slightly bigger. She could feel her heart fluttering her chest and a warm feeling spreading across her entire body as Drew continued.

"If Daisy approves of your idea, then we should definitely do it – today, in fact, if we can. Let's go ask her right now actually."

"Y-yeah, okay!"

May could feel herself blushing as she followed Drew over to where Daisy stayed in her office, and fought to control both her flushing cheeks and the rapid beating of her heart.

"Actually, I think that's a really great idea."

May pursed her lips together, now fighting the silly urge to smile and giggle like an infatuated little schoolgirl.

Drew knocked three times on the door and was greeted by a cheerful "come in!".

Like almost every time May saw Misty's oldest sensation sister, she was struck by just how pretty – beautiful, even – the blonde was. Today Daisy appeared extra radiant with her golden blonde hair falling in waves over her shoulders, and her sea green eyes shining brightly. Her smile even appeared more radiant than usual as she spotted the two, and gently pushed a white takeout box to the side, her large diamond ring also glinting radiantly in the bright sunlight.

"What may I do for you two today?" she questioned, folding her hands neatly in front of her.

"Oh, well, um…"

"As head of the Arts and Crafts activity here at Camp Scarlet, May and I were simply querying whether or not it would cause much of a hassle if we were to use the kitchen today – and maybe a few other days as well – for a cooking activity?" Drew easily inquired, flicking his bangs.

Daisy was silent for a moment, contemplating the question. "A cooking activity, hm? Like, I don't think it would be a problem… We should have enough food for the next two and a half weeks, and we should be getting a truck delivering more food, as well as other needed supplies, in the next two weeks… Like, I don't see a problem, so yeah, sure! I can give you guys permission to use the kitchen today, and perhaps a few other days as well since you asked nicely enough."

May felt a smile break across her face as excitement overtook her, and her eyes started to glitter.

"Like, maybe you two can make me some more Chinese noodles and orange chicken!" she laughed, opening the white takeout box and beginning to eat the contents inside of it.

May was surprised to see that the box was filled with long orange noodles and gooey orange chicken.

"You're eating Chinese food for breakfast?" May asked, surprised. Wasn't that the kind of food something you ate for lunch usually?

"Breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the past week, anyway. You like, should have seen me last week!" she laughed gleefully.

"All she would eat then were either pickles, pickles and peanut butter, pickled pasta or anything else with pickles in it," Tracy informed them from the doorway, sweat dropping as he smiled affectionately at his wife.

Daisy smiled affectionately in return. "Yeah, and chocolate!"

"Of course," he laughed. "You've already ate up every ounce of chocolate you brought with you for this entire trip."

As they were forgotten, May and Drew slowly backed out of Daisy's office/cabin.

"That was kind of weird," May commented.

Drew simply nodded in agreement.

/x/x/x/

"You're awfully quiet today."

Dawn's head snapped up, shocked as she realized Paul had returned all his pokémon and was now standing less than a foot away from her.

"Oh. Well," she paused, a memory of her dream from last night beginning to materialize. She took a small breath, willing the images of the fire, the kiss, the lake – everything – away. "I've just been thinking. I have had a lot on my mind."

Dawn sucked in a breath of air as Paul took a seat next to her, only about a foot and a half of space between them. It was so strange to feel so… tense around Paul of a sudden, and all because she realized she had just an inkling of feelings for him.

Just an inkling?

And then she saw Paul kissing her again, and she saw their sharp angular features as their lips stayed pressed together, frozen in time. And she saw Paul's face in the dream as it came closer and closer to hers…

"Such as?"

Dawn thought for a moment. She wasn't about to willingly admit that she was thinking about him… and what she dreamed about him. "Just… stuff in general."

Paul's silence left Dawn feeling unnerved, as if ants were crawling on her skin. The silence laid thick between them, and although Dawn knew it was silly to feel so uneasy about the silence between them – especially when those kinds of silences always developed between them – she felt a nagging need to fill the silence somehow.

"Just wondering… um, were you or Ash or anybody outside late at night last night…?"

"No. Not that I know of," he responded. He turned to face her, his eyebrow now raised in curiosity. "Why?"

"Oh, no real reason. It's just, well, I woke up in the middle of the night last night—" After having a dream about me and you kissing, but I am not about to admit that! "—and I was staring at the wall for a while and I could have sworn I saw a shadow that looked, well, like a figure – a human – going across the wall. And I was thinking, well, since it couldn't possibly be a ghost—" She laughed shortly at this, but her laugh sounded forced and trilling even to her own ears. "—I was thinking it may have just been a shadow from someone – like you or Ash – walking pass the window in the middle of the night."

Paul was silent for a moment, soaking in everything she just said – or perhaps thinking she was a lunatic. Dawn tried her best not to frown at the latter possibility.

"Of course it's not a ghost," he said finally, softly, and scoffed. "Ghosts aren't real."

"Yeah, I know," she responded. But the truth was, she didn't know… What she had seen last night had seemed so real and so frightening. And if the shadow hadn't been from someone passing by the window at night and casting a shadow across the wall, then…

"I probably just imagined it," Dawn was startled by the sound of her voice as she spoke those words out loud. "I had just woken up. I was tired. I probably just imagined it. My eyes were playing tricks on me."

"Most likely," Paul agreed. He stood up then and stuck his hands in the pockets of the jacket he usually wore. "Let's go. It's almost lunch time."

Dawn nodded and stood up; she quietly dusted the dirt off of her cuffed jean shorts and followed Paul without another word all the way back to the campsite.

All the while she stared at the back of his figure and memorized his hair's choppy cut and it's pretty plum-colored hue that glinted a lighter shade in the sunlight, as well as the way his muscles rippled under his jacket as he moved.

When they entered the cafeteria, they parted ways to eat lunch with their different groups. Dawn was surprised that even as she quietly ate her salad and listened to her friends' chatter, she could still remember the glint in Paul's hair as they walked back to the cafeteria and the way his choppy locks moved very gently in the small breeze that had accompanied them. And she also realized that she could also remember the color of Paul's eyes—a gray so dark, they were was practically black.

And somehow she was not surprised when she found her heart beating faster and her smile growing wider as she remembered these small, even insignificant, details about Paul.


After a brief discussion (almost turned argument) May and Drew agreed it would be best to first teach the kids how to make brownies, something simple, after splitting them up into two groups in order to limit the amount of eggs and other ingredients they would use up.

"I want to stir the brownies!"

"You got to crack the eggs though!"

"You got to crack one of the eggs!"

"Well, I haven't done anything yet so I should be the one to stir the brownies!"

"Shut up, Mitchie!"

"Now Tommy, that is not nice! Apologize to Mitchie, and let Mitchie stir the brownies since you and Kyle have insisted on doing everything else."

Tommy puffed out one cheek and turned away, his arms crossed stubbornly in front of his chest.

"Tommy…" May bent her knees, now at eye-level with the stubborn six-year old boy. "Apologize to Mitchie. Maybe if you're nice to her and Addie, they will let you stir the brownies after if their arms get tired."

"But what if she doesn't?!" he whined.

"Then you'll always have tomorrow, and Wednesday. You know you'll be here for three days since Dawn's and Paul's camping trip got delayed due to the constant rain. Maybe tomorrow we'll make cookies or a cake, and you can help decorate!"

The little boy's brown eyes lit up and a grin immediately overtook his face. "Really?!"

May nodded. "Yes. Now go apologize to Mitchie!"

"Okay."

May nodded in approval as Tommy apologized to Mitchie, his eyes on his shoes and a sheepish blush on his cheeks.

May turned around, about to check on Drew and how he was doing with the preteens, when a faint white dust was thrown at her. May closed her eyes, unable to stop a grimace from forming on her features as she wiped at her face only to realize the white powder that had just attacked her was flour.

"Drew!" she whined, frowning as she placed both hands on her hips.

Drew grinned back at her before doing his signature hair flick. May felt a muscle in her cheek twitch as she fought a smile, her heart already beating faster at the familiar sight of Drew.

"You look good in flour, May," he told her, his eyes narrowing mischievously.

"Is that a compliment?" she asked, sending a flurry of flour his way with a flick of her fingers. Drew's nose and parts of his cheeks were now also covered in the white powder.

"Of course it was a compliment," he responded. "It most certainly wasn't an insult. C'mon May, we're both seventeen now. Certainly we're pass all the silly insults and whatnot now." He smiled at her.

"Yeah, I guess so." I hope so.

And May smiled back, unbelievably glad that her and Drew were getting along so well and that they had gone all day so far without a single argument. But along with that happiness, May also felt a weight at the bottom of her heart.

They weren't arguing now, but how long would it stay that way? Her and Drew always fought, they just had so many differentiating opinions; the thought of an argument between the two just seemed so inevitable to May.

But deep down, May knew it wasn't just their differentiating opinions that led to all their arguments. Deep down, she knew it was also mostly her. She was defensive and jealous, and Drew… he was just so perfect, so perfect at everything.

And not only was he good at everything he did, but everybody also liked him – the kids (the girls especially), Misty, Dawn, Zoey, Ash, Kenny, and even Paul.

And even back at home, in Hoenn and the entire world, he had adoring fan girls. And although May knew he wasn't perfect, in her eyes he still was. He had everything, and in all honesty, he could probably have anyone in the world he wanted. He could fall in love with one girl and that girl would undoubtedly end up falling in love with him back – if she wasn't already.

And that thought was what scared her the most – the thought of Drew falling in love with someone so much better than her, someone prettier and smarter and skinnier, someone who didn't argue with him so much over petty little things – and that thought was scarier than any ghost stories or any legend about a monster.

"C'mon, May, let's go get the ovens ready for the brownies," he told her, smiling still as he playfully poked her forehead, leaving a white circle from the flour on his fingers in the process. "Daisy will never let us in the kitchen again if we let the kids burn down the place our first time in here!"

"Of course," she responded, and followed Drew to the other side of the kitchen where the ovens were located.


"Well, that could have gone a million times better," Ash commented wryly before shaking out his hair like a wet dog.

"Pi, pikachu." Pikachu mimicked his trainer and shook its body, spraying water droplets everywhere.

"Yeah, no kidding," Misty sighed as she finished securing the last of the canoes to the wooden post. "If you wanted to go fishing Ash, you could have just said so. You didn't have to try and show off though by trying to catch a magikarp with your bare hands…"

"I wasn't trying to show off," he responded indignantly, huffing. "I was just proving to that punk Nick that I did know how to catch a magikarp."

"Yeah, you caught the magikarp, but you nearly tipped the canoe in the process, not to mention soaked yourself and Tommy," she snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Well… I did catch that Magikarp!" he responded, his usual grin sliding into place.

Misty turned around, hiding the small smile beginning to form on her lips. "You're such a dweeb, Ash."

"But you know you love me anyway!" he laughed heartily.

He didn't notice the way Misty froze at his words, the way her back went stiff and her hand – previously reaching to brush her bangs away from her face – stopped in midair. She stayed like that for a few moments, unsure what to say. In the end, she just laughed too, her laugh tight, forced.

As the two walked back to the campground in silence a chilly breeze passed through before turning into a light wind, tugging at Misty's bang and ponytail as well as Ash's hat.

"Pika…" Pikachu murmured as the wind started to tug at its tail. The electric mouse jumped into Misty's arms and nuzzled into her chest, comforted by her arms. Ash smiled at the sight of the two.

"Pikachu certainly hasn't lost its fondness for you over the years, Mist," he commented.

Misty smiled, scratching the little mouse's head. "You think?"

"I know."

Misty could feel her cheeks flush and her heart flutter at those two simple words.

The two travelled in silence for the rest of the minutes it took to travel to the Cafeteria. As they both halted in the front door, Misty couldn't help but admire the way Ash looked as the fading sunlight washed over his face, his hair blowing gently in the breeze, and his eyes sparkling.

"Beautiful sunset," he commented, folding his hands behind his head.

Misty turned to where Ash was looking and nodded in agreement. "It is," she agreed, a smile upturning her lips.

And it was beautiful. The campground looked even more beautiful with golds and scarlets washing over the landscape, intermingling with the original green of the pine trees and blue of the lake.

Misty stood there for a second, soaking it in – the sunset and all its colors, pikachu in her arms, Ash by her side, even her still-damp clothes and the faint smell of pine and ocean.

I wish this moment could last forever, she thought suddenly, a thought which had become common nowadays but was usually only came up whenever her and Ash were hanging out at night by the lakeside, playing a game of Truth or Dare or "Would You Rather" or whatever other game they came up with.

But at that moment, standing there by Ash in the midst of the sunset, she felt especially aware of her own vastly growing feelings for the raven-haired trainer as well as an acknowledgement that moments like these wouldn't last forever.

A month had already gone by. There was only about five weeks left before camp Scarlet ended and they left the lake and Camp Scarlet behind, and who knew what would happen afterwards when they parted ways once again.

Time is ticking… she thought.

She knew she should tell Ash how she felt. It was the perfect moment.

"Ash…" she started softly.

A loud grumble that resembled the sound of a hungry snorlax was Misty's only response; this was followed immediately by Ash's hearty laughter.

"Well, I'm gonna go head inside and get some dinner! I am officially starving!" he declared, still laughing. "Well, I'll see ya later, Mist! C'mon, Pikachu."

"Pi pika," Pikachu cheered as it jumped from Misty's arm to Ash's shoulders before disappearing inside with Ash.

Misty sighed, defeated.

Leave it to Ash's stomach to ruin the mood…

Sulkily, Misty waited a moment before following Ash inside and finding her seat next to May and Zoey.

"Aren't you hungry?" May asked immediately, frowning.

"Nah…" she mumbled, cupping a cheek with one hand as she numbly watched Ash grab his food. Sighing, she turned away, still frowning.

"Hey, where's Dawn?" she asked, suddenly noticing the blunette was missing from the table. "Is she out watching Paul train again?"

Zoey's eyebrow rose at this question. "No… her and Paul had to do their camping trip today, remember? They'll be gone for the next few days, with their students as well as Lily's and Violet's since the rainstorm caused them to miss two weeks of camping trips."

"Oh yeah…" Misty murmured.

Lucky! She's stuck with Paul for the next two days, and she doesn't even like him! She thought enviously. If only it was me and Ash stuck together in the middle of the mountains, making s'mores together, and sleeping under the stars…

Glancing outside the window, the sunset slowly transitioning into twilight, Misty imagined the two had a fire set up by now, smoke wreathing around them as they listened to their large group of sixteen chatter endlessly around them as they worked on getting dinner set up.

Of course, Misty wasn't far off at all.


Next Chapter: The Cursed Ones

So in other news not that doesn't really concern this story—I JUST FOUND OUT (well, a like about two weeks ago) THAT THERE'S AN IKARISHIPPING BLOG ON TUMBLR. I don't know why, but that made me so happy :'D probably cuz it was something fresh and ikarishippy I had never seen before haha.

Next update will be two weeks from now (hopefully). Also I realized that I'm all ahead on the chapters for the moment (I'm on chapter 16 now), I realized this would be the perfect time to have a section on my profile page featuring a preview of the next chapter.

So check my profile page, and you may find a preview for Chapter 10 somewhere! ;D

Until then, reviews are extremely awesome and would be greatly appreciated~ and thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, as well as the previous chapters! And also thanks to everything who has favorite this story so far!