Chapter 10

Paul slowly opened the door to the guestroom, careful not to make any sound. His eyes instantaneously fell on the small figure curled in the bed.

He came closer and looked at the pale face of the bluenette. She sure looked beautiful when she was sleeping, but he really wished she would wake up already. It seemed like she was melting before his eyes, disappearing into the smooth white sheets of the bed.

Smooth… Paul looked the sheets all over. They didn't have a single wrinkle on them. Then he looked at Dawn and realized she was lying in the same way as the moment he had placed her on the bed a day ago. She hadn't moved a muscle in her sleep and that's why the sheets weren't wrinkled at all. Like the figure in the bed was already a dead body.

Paul's eyes widened and he felt a knot form in his throat. He put his hand on the girl's forehead and found out she was ice cold. The knot tightened. He reached to check the bluenette's pulse, desperately waiting to feel the beat of her heart.

Nothing.

Paul felt his heart drop. It couldn't be… No, no, he refused to believe that the girl lying in front of him was dead. No…

She wasn't breathing and her heart wasn't beating.

No.

No…

NO!

"NO!"

Paul suddenly snapped out of his nightmare and upon realizing that it was just that – a nightmare, he exhaled with relief.

Ice cold sweat was running down his face and back and he was panting heavily, as if he had ran a marathon. That horribly realistic nightmare had drained out all of his energy, but he didn't want to go back to sleep, afraid of what other dreams his subconscious might torture him with.

The plum-haired boy got up, deciding to pour himself a glass of water. It was the middle of the night and the house was as quiet as a cemetery. Reggie was sleeping in his room and as for Dawn, who was currently in the guestroom, she was sleeping as well, or so he hoped. Actually, she hadn't awoken after she had blacked out on the road and Paul had brought her back to his house. The incident had happened just the previous day, so it was normal for the girl to still be unconscious, but the boy couldn't help worrying that she might stay in her sleeping/coma state forever.

Upon remembering his awful dream, Paul decided to check on Dawn and headed for the guestroom instead of the kitchen. Just like in his nightmare, he pushed the door open slowly and went inside. He felt the familiar knot form in his throat as he went closer to the bed.

The girl tucked in it was sleeping peacefully and her even breathing could be detected by the slight movement of her chest.

Paul felt the knot untie as relief washed over him. He looked at the girl a while more, then left her room and went in the kitchen to get something to eat.

It was only 4 a.m., but the boy decided not to go back to bed. Instead, he made himself some breakfast and was just about to go out to train his Pokémon, when he remembered that the storm still hadn't passed. He sighed with disappointment and settled with reading a book in the light of his reading lamp until the sun came up.

Around 8 o'clock Reggie called Paul down to the living room. The teenager plopped himself on the couch with a bored expression.

"Paul, don't put on that whale face and listen to me. The situation is serious! We need to decide on what to do with Dawn."

Paul snorted. "What is there to decide? What can we do while she's sound asleep?"

Reggie looked at his younger brother with disbelief. "If she doesn't wake up in another day, we'll have to contact a hospital because we obviously can't take good medical care of her, not in this state at least. Of course, I've already called Johanna and explained what has happened, and don't worry, she said hitting her daughter was all an unfortunate accident, so she doesn't hold anything against you."

"That's a relief."

"Also, she's currently out of town and can't come back until the storm calms down, so Dawn will be residing with us for at least one or two days more. But I'm afraid that if she doesn't wake up in the next twelve hours or so, we should try to get her to a hospital, storm or no storm."

Reggie finished his rant with an expectant look and Paul rolled his eyes. "Okay. What do we do in the meantime?"

"You should go and talk to her, maybe that'll help her wake up."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. Hey, and while we're at it, why don't we sing to her dressed as circus Pokémon, huh? Come on, Reggie, don't be ridiculous." The younger sibling retorted sarcastically.

Reggie didn't laugh. "I'm serious, Paul. A lot of people in this state have gotten better this way, what's the harm in trying? Besides, there isn't much else to do while she's asleep to help her."

Paul crossed his arms with a huff.

"Oh, come on, little bro! Don't you feel at least a bit guilty for having been the one to hit her?"

"It's not my fault she was stupid enough to go out in a huge storm like that! It's like she's screaming at the universe to give her trouble."

A knowing smirk spread across the older brother's face. "Now, now, don't forget that you were out in the storm, too. And am I right in my assumption that you were actually heading for Dawn's-"

"FINE, I'll… talk to her. Just drop it, okay?" Paul got up abruptly, eager to escape his smug brother.

He ran up the stairs and went in the guestroom, where the bluenette was still lying unconscious. He sighed and sat next to the bed.

"I guess I have to talk to you now, Troublesome."

No answer came, not that Paul expected one anyways. He continued, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"Getting hit by a car was no fun, huh? What exactly were you thinking going out in a storm like that? You could have drowned before reaching… wherever it was that you were going."

Paul frowned. "Don't do this again, Troublesome. Don't throw the logical part of your brain – if you really do have one, which I'm starting to doubt - out of the window. What could have been so important that it was worth diving in that hell? What couldn't have waited until after the storm?"

The boy sighed and decided to just carry on with his monologue. "You need to think about the others too, you know. About those who love you and care about you. Like your mother, your friends…" Paul paused, then shook his head. "You need to think about them too, before you do something crazy and put yourself in such danger."

The boy's gaze softened as it slid across Dawn's face. Her crazy antics didn't actually bother him that much, they were one of the things in her that made him like her. The passion with which she made everything she set her mind to, now that was something he admired. Not that he'd ever admit it.

Paul shook his head again.

"I think I've talked enough, Reggie should get off my back now." Saying this more to himself rather than to the sleeping girl, the boy got up and went out of the room.

Dawn winced in her sleep, feeling as though she was slowly resurfacing from the bottom of Lake Valor. Her small figure was going up and the light blur, which was the sun behind the wavering wall of water, was getting closer and closer. She finally broke the borderline between water and air and inhaled sharply to soothe her needy lungs.

Dawn opened her eyes abruptly, finally breaking out of the coma state she had been in since she had gotten hit by a car. The sunshine was burning her eyes, but she didn't close them, afraid that she might fall back into her slumber. She looked around, confused as to where she was. Her brain was still running slowly, but after a minute or so she recognized the place as the guestroom in Paul and Reggie's house.

How had she ended up here?

The bluenette tried moving her limbs and as pain hit her, she recalled the accident. But how had Paul and Reggie found her? Had… had one of them been the one that hit her?

Dawn faintly tried to sit up in the bed, but failed and winced at the slight pain this attempted movement caused her. In this moment someone entered the room and she narrowed her eyes in order to see the figure clearly. It was Paul, but he had his back towards her and apparently still hadn't seen that she had awoken.

Even in times like these, the childish side of the girl managed to take over and in the split second she had before Paul turned towards her, she snapped her eyes shut. The boy started talking, still not looking her way as he approached the bed.

"I'm here for another monologue session, because Reggie can't get it through his thick head that this stupid idea of his isn't helping wake you up at all. Honestly, this has to be the fifth time he's sending me up here to 'talk' to you… Like it's getting you anywhere…" Paul sounded annoyed and there was also a hint of indignation in his voice. Dawn forced herself not to move a muscle on her face, though on the inside she was chuckling at the boy's complaining. He would certainly not show such whiny behavior, however minor it might be, if he knew that she was awake, so she did her best not to give herself away.

"So, there is a French toast waiting for you in the kitchen, if that's any motivation for you to wake up." Upon hearing this Dawn realized how hungry she was and prayed that her stomach wouldn't rumble and reveal that she was only pretending to be asleep. She heard footsteps and some grinding sound which she assumed was made by a chair being dragged closer to her bed.

"Anyways, it's quite the sleep you've been-"

Paul abruptly shut up mid-sentence and Dawn wondered what had gone wrong, panicking slightly. Had he noticed she was awake?

The bluenette heard a barely audible sound of movement and sensed that Paul had brought his face dangerously close, towering over her. She felt his concentrated gaze on her, as if he was looking for proof that she was no longer in her coma state. What had caused him to become suspicious? Dawn mentally smacked herself as she realized she must have somewhat changed her lying position when she had woken up. Paul said he was visiting her for the fifth time, so he must have remembered the way she had been lying on the bed.

Damn… Dawn started panicking, sure that she would be caught in a few moments. She continued struggling not to show any emotion, but it was becoming harder and harder due to the laughter building up inside of her. It was a truly ridiculous situation, which had two possible scenarios – Paul would either come to the conclusion that a person in coma can't move and bust Dawn, or she would erupt in laughter before that. Probably the latter.

Not able to hold it in anymore, the bluenette finally snapped her eyes open and broke into a fit of laughter, which was so loud that Paul cringed before actually realizing what had happened. In just a few seconds, his face went from 'switch off this horrible sound' to 'wait, what the actual fuck' and 'you've got to be kidding me', and finally concluded in a classic 'I swear I'm going to murder you, Troublesome' look.

Seeing his reactions was just too much for Dawn and she could only clutch her stomach helplessly, as her laughter was already out of control. "You-your face…" she managed to say in between loud giggles, pointing at the very un-amused boy mockingly. The pain from the laughter combined with the pain caused by the accident made Dawn try to put a stop to her laughing, but it seemed impossible. The look on Paul's face in that moment was so uniquely hilarious, she wished she could take a photo of it and treasure it till the end of her life.

The bluenette wiped off a tear from the corner of her eye as her laughter gradually came to a halt.

"I swear one of these days you're going to give me a real heart attack, Troublesome."

"Sorry, it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up on. If only you could have seen your face." Dawn replied, still giggling slightly.

Paul raised his hands in mock surrender. "Well, excuse me for being shocked to see a person, who is supposedly in deep coma, erupt with laughter in my face. Isn't something I'm used to."

Dawn stared at the plum-haired boy. "Wow, Paul, since when did you get so chatty?"

Paul scoffed. "I didn't."

"Aw, my little boy is finally growing out of his emo grave-digger attitude." The bluenette teased in a motherly voice and reached to ruffle the teenager's hair, but her arm felt limp and she couldn't do it.

Ignoring her teasing comment, Paul eyed the girl with concern, seeing her weakened state.

"Come on. You've been out for a while and you need food to restore some of your energy." He offered Dawn a hand and she couldn't help but think how out of character such a gesture was. But given the circumstances, she guessed that chivalry had nothing to do with it; after all she had been hit by a car and it had probably been him that brought her back to his house. That thought made a question resurface in her mind and she hesitated before voicing it.

"Um… Paul? I hope you don't mind me asking, but… was it you that hit me?"

Paul took a mere glance at her through the corner of his eye as they made it out of the guestroom and headed down the stairs. He moved his gaze to the floor with a look of something Dawn guessed was shame. "Yes."

She had thought so. But why he had been out in that weather still remained a mystery to the girl. Her mind zoomed into overdrive, imagining various reasons as to why he was driving in such a relentless storm, the most egoistic and hopeful one of all being the thought that he was heading over to her house to talk about the events of the previous night.

The bluenette shook her head slightly, not wanting to raise her hopes up in any way. Of course he wasn't going over to her, why on earth would he be doing that?! Still, one part of her wished and hoped and prayed, unable to let go of the nice, warming thought.

Ugh, all of that over-thinking got her an annoying headache. She stopped abruptly in the middle of the staircase, causing Paul to turn around and cock an eyebrow at her.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm okay. No need to worry!" The girl used her catchphrase weakly, trying to convince the boy, but he didn't seem to buy it. "I just need to catch my breath, that's all." She leaned against the wall, placing her hand a little above her chest and closing her eyes with a sigh.

Paul felt guilt claw at his insides upon seeing the bluenette in such a weak state. He cleared his throat and cast his gaze on the ground. "I'm sorry."

Dawn realized he was apologizing for hitting her and her eyes softened. She made him look up at her by placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't be. It was an accident and Arceus knows what else might have happened if you hadn't actually hit me. I might have drowned in that monstrous hell or winded up in the other part of the city, so I guess I should be thanking you."

Paul looked at the girl with disbelief. "You can't be serious. You're actually telling me you're grateful that I hit you with a car?" Dawn just smiled at him and he shook his head. "There's obviously something not right with you."

Dawn's smile just widened. "Why, thank you, Paul. Now, let's get to that breakfast already. I'm starving!"

Dawn flipped another page of the book in her lap and sighed with irritation. There was just nothing to do and she was dying out of boredom. Failing to comprehend the same sentence after reading it for the third time, she closed the book and left it on the night stand next to the bed.

Paul entered the guestroom with a glass of water and handed it to her. "Here."

The bluenette raised her eyebrows. "I don't get why both you and Reggie keep babysitting me. I'm perfectly fine." Nevertheless, she took a sip of the water and put the glass next to the book on the night stand. "Let's do something fun, I'm bored out of my mind."

"Forget having fun and call your mom. She must be worried sick and she doesn't even know you've awakened."

Dawn's eyes widened and she gasped. "How could I forget?! Where's my phone?" She started looking around frantically, afraid that she had lost her backpack in the storm.

"Calm down, all of your stuff is downstairs." Paul looked at the girl expectantly, thinking she would jolt out of bed to get her phone, but she made no such movement. Instead she started playing with the hem of the bed cover and avoided his gaze.

"Paul, um… could you…"

The plum-haired boy rolled his eyes. "What is it, Troublesome?"

Dawn looked up at him shyly. "Could you get my phone for me?"

Paul sighed and headed out of the room obediently, muttering something under his breath. Dawn chuckled as she caught the words "and she complains about being babysit…"

Five minutes passed by, but Paul still hadn't come back. Dawn wondered what was taking him so long, so she went downstairs, where she heard voices coming out of the kitchen. She went closer, careful not to make any noise, and peeked inside. Paul was holding her backpack in one hand and seemed to be arguing with Reggie, who was leaning on the kitchen counter with a smug expression on his face.

"Say whatever you will, little brother, but once you snap out of your denial state, you'll see I'm right."

'Denial? What is Reggie talking about?'

"I'm not in denial, Reggie, stop saying that. I've told you a hundred times I don't feel that way about her, why don't you let it go?"

Dawn blinked several times in confusion. What were they arguing about? Was it possible that she was the her Paul had mentioned?

"Paul, I think you know exactly what your feelings are, you just don't want to admit them to yourself. Look at what ridiculous situations your stubbornness is causing. Next time you run Dawn over with a car she might not be as lucky as she was this time. Just admit that you have feelings for her and you might save both her and yourself some unnecessary pain, both physical and emotional."

"You don't know what you're talking about, so just shut up, will you? I have no idea what on earth made you think I would fall for some annoying troublesome girl, who doesn't know when to shut up, but it doesn't really matter, because after the school year's over I'll probably never have to see her again. She's switching schools and frankly, I'm glad she is, because maybe after she's gone you'll finally get off my back and stop irritating me with all this nonsense." Paul spat the words fiercely in Reggie's face and turned around to leave the kitchen.

Dawn, who had been frozen with astonishment upon hearing the boy's harsh words, now panicked, not wanting to get caught by the already pissed off teenager. She hurried up the stairs as quietly and as quickly as she could, getting to the guestroom precisely seven seconds before Paul. She was still shaken from what she had heard him say when he entered, so she kept her back towards him, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"Here's your backpack." Paul said flatly as he placed it on the bed. Anger could still be detected in his voice, although it was clear he was trying his best not to let it show.

Dawn just nodded, unable to say anything as she kept standing with her back towards him.

"Aren't you going to call your mom?"

Dawn nodded again and went over to the bed, desperately trying to make it look like nothing was wrong. Too distracted to dig around the backpack for her phone, she just got all of its contents out on the bed. Unfortunately, when she realized what one of them was, it was already too late. One look at Paul was enough for her to know that he had seen it.

"Is that…?" He didn't have to finish his sentence, because it was clear what he was referring to.

Dawn avoided his gaze and nodded, quickly tossing him the t-shirt she had forgotten to give back on May's birthday. The bluenette wondered if the situation could get any worse. If Paul hadn't known before that she had went out in the storm to get to his house, he certainly knew now, which only made it more uncomfortable for the girl after she had heard him say all those things in the kitchen.

Paul thought bitterly 'Reggie is right. Someone is going to get hurt if this madness isn't put to an end.'

Making his decision, he cleared his throat and said flatly "We need to talk."

Dawn nodded, knowing there was no way to avoid it now. She looked up at the plum-haired teenager and tried ridding her eyes of any emotion like she had seen him do many times before.

"About what happened on bandana-head's birthday-"

"Her name's May." Dawn said with irritation, finding it really easy to get annoyed with the boy.

"Doesn't matter. What happened then, it was a mistake. Neither of us was able to think clearly in that state, but it cannot happen again, understood?"

Dawn narrowed her eyes at Paul, partly from irritation and partly from hope that it might prevent any tears from falling. "I understand it was a mistake, but you don't have to talk about it as if it was solely my fault."

"I never said that." Paul retorted coldly. "The point is it's never to happen again and I'm saying this upright so that you don't get your hopes up or whatever."

"Excuse me?!" The bluenette screeched ear-piercingly as she felt the fury swell up in her at the boy's words. "What makes you think I would actually want to… to…" Dawn was lost for words, unable to formulate a clear sentence. Paul got what she was trying to say though.

"Probably the fact that you willingly risked your life just to get to me." He answered her unfinished question mercilessly, motioning to the plain black t-shirt. He stared at the girl with a blank expression, waiting for her fiery response.

But it never came. She just lowered her head so that her bangs were covering her eyes as she whispered "Please just go away."

Paul didn't think twice. He whipped around and left the room soundlessly, leaving Dawn alone. She could no longer keep it together and she fell to her knees, literally hearing her heart break in two. She broke into sobs as she relived the last few minutes again and again. How could he be so cruel? She had accepted that he was indifferent towards her, but accusing her of being as obsessed with him as a real fan girl was just too much for her to bear. Or maybe she was just exaggerating.

After a while she decided to save the little dignity she had left and forced herself to calm down. Paul was not worth crying and depressing over, he was just a good-for-nothing cold-hearted jerk, who she had the bad fortune of meeting, befriending and falling for. She wouldn't mope around because she had gotten rejected. No, she was going to move on and forget about him. He was right, she thought. Her moving to Veilstone Elite Academy would really be for the best. She still hadn't gotten an answer to her application, but she was almost certain she would get in. After the end of the school year she would never have to see the grape-headed jerk again and she embraced that thought with all her mind and soul.

Wanting to completely get him out of her system, Dawn grabbed a sheet of paper and a pencil from the desk in the room and started scribbling furiously, pouring out everything she felt in the moment. Maybe that was going to be her next song. Huh, the irony - it seemed like every song she managed to write was based on her feelings towards Paul. He certainly didn't deserve such attention, but she couldn't help it if he was her muse.

At the thought of Paul being her artistic muse, Dawn just chuckled darkly, wiping the last of her tears away and looking at the final outcome of her furious scribbling. She edited it once and smiled at the result.

When she was done she felt slightly better and finally called her mom.

"Hey, mom!"

"Dawn! Are you alright, sweetie, did you finally wake up?"

"No, mom, I didn't wake up, but I'm able to call you right now." The bluenette replied sarcastically at her mom's question.

"Don't mind my logic, dear, I just got excited upon hearing your voice. And also, sorry for not being able to be next to you when you woke up, but I had to wait till the storm cooled off a little before I returned back in town. I'll be back tomorrow and I'll pick you up as soon as I can." Johanna reassured her daughter.

Dawn smiled. "Thanks, mom. I can't wait to go back home."

Ding - dong.

"Dawn, your mom's here!" Reggie yelled from the hallway and the bluenette quickly went downstairs, where she found Johanna smiling broadly. She looked tired and had dark circles under her eyes, but nevertheless looked happy to see her daughter.

"Mom!" The girl exclaimed happily and caught her mother in a tight hug. "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble." She whispered as she buried her face in the older woman's hair.

Johanna patted Dawn's back and said soothingly "It's okay, dear. I believe you've learned your lesson and you won't do anything as stupid in the future, right?"

"Right." The girl confirmed as she pulled back from her mom with a smile. Then she turned around to face Reggie and bowed slightly. "Thanks so much for taking care of me."

"Don't mention it." Reggie smiled and then turned towards the living room. "Paul, aren't you going to come out and say goodbye to Dawn?"

A snort came as an answer, but nevertheless the teenager appeared in the doorframe, dragging his feet along with a scowl painted across his face.

"Attitude!" Reggie hissed at his brother, fascinatingly reminding Dawn of Effie from 'The Hunger Games'. The bluenette clenched her teeth together upon seeing Paul, but didn't let her smile falter even though she knew it was clear to him that it was fake. She just couldn't wait to get out of there, away from his burning gaze.

Johanna suddenly hit her forehead. "Dawn, I forgot to tell you about this boy who came over the other day asking for you-"

The bluenette turned around with wide eyes and abruptly interrupted her mother. "Barry! I know, mom, he found me, but I totally forgot to call him! If he's still in town we'll definitely meet up, now that the weather's gotten better. I can call him right now, we could even-"

"Now, calm down, young lady. I know you must be eager to see your childhood friend again, but you'll have to rest a little more."

Dawn pouted. "I've rested more than enough."

Throughout this whole exchange Paul didn't move his gaze away from the blue-haired girl, getting annoyed at the mention of the dorky blonde kid. But he knew he had no right to feel annoyed, not after what he had said to Dawn. He knew he had hurt her, but she seemed better already and it had only been a day.

And he? He was nowhere near being fine, but he still thought he had done the right thing. Seeing the bluenette feeling better already kind of bruised his ego, but he knew it was for the best. At this rate, she would get over this whole thing in no time at all.

But he had no idea how long it would take him to get over her.

Paul absentmindedly watched the two bluenettes thank his older brother once again and bid their goodbye. And then go outside the door, get in the car and drive off. Farther and farther, until he could no longer see them through the small window by the front door of his house.

So, here it is! My update is late as always (sorry!), but I wouldn't have even updated as soon if it wasn't for my best friend, who urged me to finish this chapter in time for her birthday. So, happy birthday, girlfriend! And sorry there is no Psyduck! :D

By the way, this chapter is my longest one yet (not counting this A/N), but it's still one of the boring filler ones. :P

Anyways, to all the lovely readers of this story - here are some questions for you, which I hope you answer, because it would be super helpful! Firstly, how long do you think this fic is going to be? Do you have any predictions and ideas about what might happen in future chapters? And how do you think the story is going to wrap up? I'm asking because I honestly don't know the answers to any of those questions. I tried outlining the story, but I can only see clearly one or two of the next chapters and it's all a fog from there. So, feedback is truly appreciated! :D

BTW, no idea why I decided to put the A/N in the bottom this time... :D