Author's Note: I'm so mean, aren't I? They were so close, yet so far! No need to worry, FanFictioners, there's plenty more where that came from!

Crazy Beautiful Life

Chapter 10

Trust

"Ash, just stop and listen to me," Dawn said, her voice full of desperation. "I don't know what to do anymore! I can't stand having this awkward feeling every time we come across each other! You're one of my best friends, and you always will be, and I realise what a bitch I was, but I can't do anything else other than say I'm sorry…"

Ash sighed and nodded for her to continue, his arms crossed. She looked at him meaningfully and ran her hand through her hair, exhausted of the amount of words she managed to fit into one sentence.

"I really am sorry, Ash. I truly am. I know I can't change the past, and how I treated you that day, but, I can change the future… I just want you to forgive me, so we can start over, forget about the asshole that spoke to you the other day. Please."

He sighed once again and smiled, holding up his hand in the air. Her frown grew into a large grin, and she reached her hand into the air too, high fiving him.

"You're forgiven," he said, Pikachu hopping onto his shoulder. "Only because I felt a bit guilty and because I know that you've realised what an idiot you were."

"Thank you," she said, relieved that she'd finally sorted things out with Ash. Then, laughing slightly, she thought it would be good to tell him what, or who, made her realise she was wrong.

"What's so funny?" he questioned her.

"You won't believe me if I tell you," she said. "But, do you want to know who actually made me realise what I needed to do?"

"Go on then," he said curiously. She paused for a moment and pondered over what his reaction would be; confusion, shock, disbelief and hilarity.

"Paul," she said simply, a large smile on her face. Ash looked at her dumbly and raised an eyebrow, looking at her suspiciously. He then burst into laughter, holding his stomach.

"Yeah right! Paul's the biggest asshole I know!" he said, still laughing from the outcome. He then calmed down and let out a deep breath, balancing himself before continuing. "That was a good one, Dawn, but seriously now. Who?"

Her expression was far from amused. He noticed this and scratched his head slightly, the look of confusion that first engulfed him returning.

"I'm being serious, Ash," she said, crossing her arms. "I knew you wouldn't believe me!"

"But, Dawn, you hated Paul. We all did."

"Yes, except, I don't hate him anymore… people change, Ash. He's different now. I mean, not to look at or anything, still looks as cold as ever, but… he's alright. You should talk to him."

"Paul can't have changed though," Ash said, refusing to believe Dawn's words. "No one could get more sinister than him, he was always so miserable and-"

"Trust me," she cut him off. "Just talk to him and you'll see what I mean. He's still Paul, you know, there's parts about him that are still the same, but… let's just say he's a lot easier to talk to, now."

"Okay, I believe you," he said. "Just be careful though, Dawn. And I'll…" he paused and swallowed, trying to find the strength to say what he was about to say, "Try and talk to Paul."

"Good," she beamed. "This could be the start of a new friendship for you two," she grinned, walking away.

"Yeah, don't get your hopes up too much. And, since when did you even want to talk to Paul, anyway?"

"I don't know," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "It just… happened."

Walking away, Dawn smiled to herself. All of a sudden, she felt as if her world had made a sudden turn once again. Life was going good at the moment, and surprisingly… she seemed to be… enjoying it at Pokémon Tech. As she collected her books from her locker, she heard a sly, familiar voice say her name.

"Dawn? I haven't seen you around here in a while," she said falsely, fluttering her eyes innocently.

"Yeah. I've been pretty busy… what do you want, Giselle?" she asked, slamming her locker shut, already aware of who the voice belonged to.

"Oh, nothing… just thought I'd let you know that I ran into Paul, earlier."

Dawn eyed her cautiously, watching her every move. Giselle gave her a smug look, and then continued to talk.

"He was talking to some guy. I think his name was Drew, but anyway, he was saying how he's glad you haven't realised yet."

"Realised what, Giselle?" Dawn asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Doesn't really matter," she said, the fake tone in her voice getting to Dawn more and more as she spoke. "It's better to keep you guessing, anyway."

"You expect me to believe anything you say, Giselle?" Dawn questioned her, moving a step closer to her. "I know what you're doing. It's your little plan of, 'Oh, let's make Dawn's life hell at Pokémon Tech', because that's the pathetic, worthless person you are."

"I'm glad you think so," Giselle replied, the smug look still plastered on her face.

"Also, I suggest that you stop trying to stir things up between me and Paul. I don't believe anything you say, so just give it up, Giselle."

"Fine," Giselle said, giving Dawn and sly and devious look. "You might not believe me, but… I've planted the idea in your head, so even if you choose not to believe me, you'll still be questioning yourself about it. Catch you later," she said with a wink, pushing past her and strutting off down the corridor.

"Bitch," Dawn said to herself, walking away as quickly as possible. She knew exactly what Giselle was doing; playing mind games to try and ruin her reputation. Paul wasn't the sort of person to do something like that, even if he was a bit of an asshole at times. As she turned the corner, ironically, she walked straight into Paul, causing her to drop all of her belongings.

"Shit, sorry," she said, kneeling down on the floor and picking up the pieces of scattered paper.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, joining her on tidying things up.

"Giselle, that's what's wrong with me," she said, carelessly picking up her books and shoving them into her bag.

"You're letting someone like her bother you?"

"You know her?" Dawn questioned, raising herself off the floor.

"Of course I know her. I've seen her around and I saw your little battle with her a few weeks ago."

"Paul… she's seen me and you talking. She's trying to stir things around by making up these stupid stories about how you were talking to Drew and that I haven't realised it yet."

"Realised what?"

"I don't know. That's the whole point I'm trying to get at, she's just stirring things up and it drives me insane!"

"Well, show her you can play that game too."

She quirked an eyebrow and looked at him suspiciously, a small smirk on her lips.

"Make it look like it's not bothering you. Act as normal, act like you couldn't be happier. Then, you're playing the game too, because you'll be pissing her off. She wants to see you get frustrated, Dawn. It'll please her if she sees you looking angry."

"You're right," she said, grinning. "If she wants to play games, then I'm up for it."

He smirked at her and began to talk again.

"Truth is, I was talking to Drew earlier," he said, leaning against the locker.

"You were?" she asked, instantly looking up at him. She then showed a hint of confusion and looked at the floor. "Well… what were you talking about?"

"You."

She looked up at him with wide eyes, blushed, and then turned her head to the floor once again, hiding her face. No way was she willing to let Paul notice she was blushing; it would just make her look stupid.

"Yeah, he's in one of my classes and we just started talking. I was just letting him know how I've met this girl who used to be an irritant," he said, smirking at the expression on her face, "But, I might of said how she's one of the most genuine girls I've ever met and I'm not embarrassed to say that I like being around her."

"You… really said that?" she asked. Her whole face lightened up, and her eyes were gleaming with happiness.

"Yeah. And I meant it, Dawn."

This time, she couldn't hide the blush that was forming on her cheeks. And in all honesty, she didn't care. All she cared about was her growing relationship with Paul, and how she knew she meant something to him, which was all that mattered. She didn't care about Giselle's sly and conniving ways. All she wanted was for things to stay exactly how they were.

"I like being around you, too," she added nervously, waiting anxiously for his response. He smiled and noticed he was caught up in her eyes again. No, he wasn't going to let that happen again… at least, not now. He needed to wait for the right moment again, and being in the middle of a corridor didn't seem to be like the better option. Looking down at the books he was holding, he handed them to her and put his hands back in his pockets.

"Talk to you later. Don't let Giselle get to you."

"I won't," she said, her smile faltering. She was somewhat disappointed that she couldn't have spoken to him for longer just then, willing for something to happen, but… no, it couldn't. And it wasn't going to… right?

Right?