3 Days to go.
Our favourite duo was once again wandering through the forest where little to no people travelled. Despite this fact, Paul regularly journeyed through it as a way to get to different towns and cities much quicker. Dawn however still hated the place; the pokemon there were a much unfriendlier and much tougher while the lack of civilization still unnerved her.
Admittedly, she was hardly as scared as she had been when they'd first set off, mostly due to the fact that she'd warmed up to Paul considerably and he made her feel so much safer. At this point, Dawn was babbling on about the Christmas presents she'd got for some friends while Paul tuned out.
Piplup, Lopunny, Quilava, Torterra and Froslass walked along side them, the five pokemon were having a conversation of their own; discussing things unbeknown to both Paul and Dawn. Both trainers' pokemon had become rather close over the passed 9 days, Paul's pokemon just enjoyed the others' company as they never really got to socialise with anyone other than in their own 'family', despite the fact that they kept their distance at first.
You see, not only did the boy's pokemon enjoy the company of others, they also enjoyed the way Paul seemed much happier while Dawn was around. The bluenette's pokemon had also begun to see how much their beloved trainer cared for Paul, they knew that she'd always been very intrigued by his stoic nature and that she'd always wanted him to open up to her.
"Just shut up," Paul grumbled, a scowl evident on his face. Dawn glared at the taller figure, her hands crossing over her chest defensively and her cheeks puffing out.
"Well excuse me Mr unsociable," She lashed out, standing her ground. Paul gave her a sideways glance, smirking at the bluenette.
"Stop being so troublesome,"
"I AM NOT TROUBLESOME!" Dawn exploded, the anger practically radiating from her skin. As the two argued, their pokemon sweat dropped, watching as their trainers fired harsh words back and forth from each other. Torterra rolled his yes and forcefully pushed Paul, causing him to fall face first into the snow.
Dawn began to laugh, her body shaking as she clutched her stomach, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. Paul immediately sat up and glared daggers at both his pokemon and the girl who was mercilessly laughing at him.
" Kyaa!" She suddenly screamed as her butt collided with the cold ground bellow. The knee length dress she was currently wearing under her white coat made her legs go numb as they made contact with the white powder.
"Shinji!" She growled dangerously, crawling over to the now smirking boy who was sitting a few feet away from her.
"Whatever is the matter my dear Dawn?" He asked innocently. The way he'd actually said her name made her cheeks turn red, yet she still glowered at him. As she came to a halt, sitting on her knees, she dumped a pile of snow atop the purple brown hair which adorned Paul's head. He looked shocked for a moment as she giggled, wisely getting away from him as quickly as possible.
The pokemon applauded Torterra's fine work as he smirked as the scene played out before him. The continent pokemon knew Paul like none of the boy's other pokemon; he knew that this girl had made a huge impact on his life, and for the better at that.
After a few more minutes of teasing and playing around, Paul decided that it was about time to get back on the road.
"We'll be in Sandgem by tomorrow, from there it'll only take you a few hours to get back to Twinleaf," he explained as Dawn looked up at him with a frown.
"What do you mean it'll only take me," she asked.
"I'm getting a ferry from Sandgem back to Unova," he said, looking down at the girl.
"Oh, right. I forgot about that!" She said with a giggle, trying her best to hide the disappointment in her voice. "So… what do you plan on doing in Unova?" She questioned.
"I only have one more badge to obtain until I have all eight," he said in a monotone, looking down at the snow below.
"So, you're going to challenge the league after?" She asked with a tilt of her head.
"No, after that I'm going to make my way to Karlos. I'll be challenging the league after I obtain all of the badges there for experience reasons," he replied.
"I see." Not much else was said after this, Dawn was still pretty upset that he'd be leaving so soon, she'd gotten used to travelling with him. With a shake of her head however, she reminded herself that she had Christmas to look forward to and couldn't be sulking about anything now!
The sun had eventually begun to set and the teens decided that they'd set up camp before it got too dark. Their pokemon had long since been returned to their pokeballs and Dawn found herself feeling slightly lonely as she sat on Paul's spare jacket, gazing into the recently lit fire.
She watched it dance, illuminating the surrounding area and causing the snow around it to begin to melt.
"What's wrong?" Paul eventually asked, ceasing organising his backpack to turn and look at the bluenette as she stared absentmindedly into the fire, a frown printed onto her face.
"Wha?" She asked, blinking a couple of times as she looked towards the source of the voice. "Oh, ah. Nothing, I was just thinking about stuff," she answered with a reassuring smile. Paul shrugged and got back to sorting through his bag. He eventually pulled out his sketch pad, along with a lead pencil and rubber, before making his way over and sitting cross-legged on the other side of the fire to the girl. Dawn noticed the movement of her companion and excitedly got up to go and sit next to him.
"What are you drawing?" She questioned, leaning over to try and see what he was creating.
"Stuff," he muttered, his eyes not leaving the page.
"So, have you drawn anything else since?" She asked curiously, tugging on his black hoodie. This seemed to got his attention as his eyes jerked from the paper, his cheeks seeming to glow a light colour of red for a moment.
"Uh, I guess…" He stuttered, protectively hugging the book to his chest. Dawn giggled, enjoying his discomfort.
"So can I see them?" she inquired sweetly. He was silent for a while, watching the bluenette sceptically. The only person besides himself who'd ever had permission to look through the book was he brother, although this girl had already seen most of his pieces and it wasn't like he didn't trust her… He finally sighed in defeat, handing her the book and lying on his back, despite the snow.
Two new pictures had been added; they were both of the bluenette who was allowed to look at them. She felt her face heat up as she looked at the first one. It was of her clinging to Paul's hoodie, her head was buried into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her protectively. She shivered at the memory of the Beartic, hoping that she'd not have another experience like that for a long time.
The second one was of her standing in line, hot chocolate in hand as she happily conversed with the Oreburgh gym leader. Dawn smiled gently, returning the book to its owner.
"They're really beautiful," she complimented with a small smile, "I love them!" She then flopped back with Paul, turning her head to face him. His cheeks were still slightly red and it made her heart pound.
"Have you ever made a snow angel?" She eventually asked, beginning to wave her arms and legs, creating what would look like wings and a dress in the snow.
"No, and I'm not seven anymore, I'm seventeen," he answered, turning his face to give the girl a weird look.
"Oh come on!" She exclaimed, sitting back up and dusting the snow out of her long hair. "Just wave your arms and legs around!"
Instead of complying, he simply rolled his eyes and stood up, walking over to put his pad, rubber and pencil back. He then turned to face her, his eyebrows quirked in amusement as she sat, pouting at him with her arms crossed. She eventually lay back down, deciding to ignore his presence and continue her childish behaviour.
Paul's face contorted into a wicked smirk. He ducked down to pick up and armful of snow and walked over to the unsuspecting bluenette, he then let go of the pile, dumping it all on her face. She shrieked in surprise, sitting up abruptly and glaring at her attacker. He laughed a genuine laugh as snow covered her azure hair and coat.
She got up abruptly, making her way over to Paul, her expression stormy. Paul smirked yet he still stepped backwards, away from the girl. Suddenly, out of no where, she began to fall forward. Her defensive argument would most likely be something like 'there was a lump of snow in my way'.
Paul groaned, his eyes shut tightly as he braced for the impact, his back hitting the ground hard. He then cracked one open, glancing down at the mass of blue hair lying on his chest. He sighed, not at all feeling surprised that she'd managed to fall on him.
"Jeez, you really are a troublesome girl… But are you okay?" He asked, waiting for her to look at him.
"I uh, think so," She squeaked, her face having exploded in a bright crimson for the millionth time that week.
"Was this your idea of retaliation?" He asked with a chuckle.
"I'm so sorry!" She stuttered, making an attempt to get off without making things even more awkward than she felt they already were. Before she could move however, she felt him wrap an arm around her back and her heart sped up tenfold. "What are you…?" She asked, her hands trembling ever so slightly.
"Let's just stay like this for a while," was his reply as he looked up towards the starry sky. "It's warm." Dawn nodded slowly, finally looking up to view his face. She was honestly rather comfortable where she lay, and like he said, it was very warm.
A few minutes later, Paul noticed that her breathing had grown shallow, and when he called her name, there was no reply. He sighed, gently pushing her off of his chest and lifting her up bridle style, bringing her towards her own tent.
"Good night Troublesome," he muttered as he lay her down on her sleeping bag before making his way to his own tent.
Woo, another chapter done! I should be able to get the next chapter done, although there's no guarantee as it's my birthday tomorrow. I mean, I should be able to do it before bed so there's no need to worry! Still, it's a real shame this fic is coming to an end so quickly, I'm really enjoying writing it! I hope you're all enjoying it as much as me!
~X-Ray