A/N: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE WERE OVER 20 JUST FOR ONE CHAPTER!!!!! I really appreciate all the feedback, really. Anyway, I said a lot in my profile but basically chapter 12 isn't coming until late next Friday (July 6), because I'm going to be out of town from July 3-6. Oh and warning, this chapter is dramatic, but I love it! I was in the mood for drama, and I went for it :)


Chapter 11

Dawn felt slightly lightheaded from the intensity. The chemistry was undeniable, and she only hoped it would last. Paul responded to her kiss, and let his hands run slowly up her arms, finally resting on her shoulders. Just when Dawn thought all was going well, she felt the kiss being broken as his hands pushed her away. Heat flooding her cheeks, she forced herself to glance at his face, and as usual, she was unable to read his expression. 'Why am I such an idiot?,' she thought to herself, 'He just rejected me, and now everything will be awkward!' She glanced down at her hands, which were now resting in her lap.

Paul finally spoke up, "So, I was right."

Her throat was dry, but she managed to crack out an, "About what?"

He snorted, and she could feel his gaze on her, "You know what."

The inevitable tears stung her eyes, "Okay," she replied, her voice thick, "So you were right. And now I've made an idiot out of myself, again. Is there anything else you want to add?"

He let out a loud sigh and rubbed his temple, "Could you just not overreact for once?"

Dawn kept her gaze out the window, "I'm not overreacting," she responded in a low tone.

"Well your tears aren't fooling me," he said curtly. She was on the brink of just walking back home, but her legs seemed frozen.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she spat sarcastically, "I apologize for not being ecstatic about rejection. I'll work on it for future occurrences."

"Oh shut up," Paul growled, glaring at her. The drama gene was triggered. Her head whipped around, and her eyes were gleaming with fury directed at Paul.

"Don't tell me to shut up!" she screeched, making Paul wince slightly from his offended ears, "You should have thought about this before taunting me! I've tried to be nice to you, and here I made a huge mistake by thinking maybe you would be nice for once! I practically put everything on the line here, and what did you do?! You rejected me, and now you're insulting me for being upset?! You…you asshole! You're just a big asshole! I can't even think…" She trailed off, turning her head away from him in shame to hide the tears that were now flowing down her cheeks.

"Look," Paul responded coldly, "Being nice to me does not mean anything. My fan girls practically serve me, so does that mean I should go out with them?"

"This is different," Dawn interrupted in a raspy voice.

"No," he continued, "It isn't. Furthermore, why would I be inclined to date you? Do you remember that two weeks ago you were dating Ash? You were spying on him, so excuse me if I don't feel like signing up to be the next chump."

"You're different from Ash," she insisted, "I trust you!"

"Wrong," Paul cut in, raising his voice slightly, "You trust that I won't fall for some girl's charms, and you know that I don't have an old female love interest. You just think I'll make the exception for you."

Dawn was speechless. Once again, Paul seemed to know her better than she knew herself. 'He's right,' she thought bitterly, 'I was hoping I'd be different for him, and I could be confident that he wouldn't give any other girl the time of day.'

"Despite how intuitive you may be for a guy," she said slowly, "You're still a guy. And you can never fully understand."

"Right. Thanks for the lecture, but I don't remember mentioning that my life's goal is to understand the woman complexity. From spending the past week and a half with you though, I'm pretty sure fifty percent of it is emotional overreactions and crying." He glanced towards the outside of the car, obviously interested in leaving.

"Well, I'll be!," Dawn mocked, placing her hand to her chest, "You sure have it figured out, don't you?"

"Enough!," Paul snapped, "I've listened to enough of your whining for today. I've put up with it a bit longer, and you can consider that your f-ing birthday present. Now we're going inside, or I'll have to put up with hundreds of whining girls wondering why I wasn't there, and what my schedule is for the next ten years."

"Fine," Dawn grumbled, hastily opening the car door, "I need a major drink anyway."


The car ride home was silent for the most part. May was grateful that Drew had put on some music. She didn't even know what to say. 'I hope everything goes well with Dawn tonight,' she thought, 'And if something bad does happen, I'll feel awful for not being there. But I just need time to think.' Drew finally pulled back into the driveway, and wordlessly turned off the car. May opened the car door and waited for Drew to unlock the door to the house, standing there awkwardly. When he opened the door, he turned expectantly to May. "I, uh, am going to go pack," she muttered, and jogged up the stairs. After quickly changing into her pajamas, she hoisted a suitcase onto the bed and began stuffing clothes in it. Her concentration was broken when she noticed Drew standing in the doorway. She stopped what she was doing, and looked at him, "Yes?"

Drew felt nervous, which was rare for him, "May…I just wanted to tell you that I love you."

May gave a small smile, "I know."

His nervousness dissipated, and was replaced with his usual arrogance. "If you know that, why are you leaving?," he demanded.

She ran her hand through her hair in an effort to relieve her anxiety. "Sometimes love just can't cover everything," she responded simply.

"What do you plan to do for the rest of your life? Plan everything perfectly, so nothing ever goes wrong?," Drew mocked.

May frowned, "I never said that, and what are you planning on doing? Starting an argument with me every day? Mocking me endlessly until I finally just admit that you're always right?"

Drew stood there silently, glaring at the ground. She wasn't sure whether he was angry with her or himself. "May," he said quietly, "I thought you knew that my teasing is just superficial. I know I said I'd try to stop, but maybe that's just what I do. It's hard for a guy to express his love fully, because guys aren't the most sensitive, but you have to believe me when I say that I love you."

"I believe you," she replied, clasping her hands together delicately, "I just think that maybe you need someone who doesn't mind being teased all the time. Someone passive, and gentle, and-"

"Beautiful?," Drew finished, exasperated. "May, don't you see?! You're describing yourself! You're the sweetest person I know, and here you think that I need someone better than you. Have you even given thought to what you want?"

May flushed, "N-no," she stuttered out, "But I just think-"

"I know what you think," Drew interrupted again, "But you haven't considered that I know what I want?"

"Of course I have," she replied quickly, "You just don't know what you're missing though, someone you can get along with better…"

"What?!," Drew exclaimed, frustrated, "You know that no couple can go without arguments, so stop thinking up the perfect girl. I'm looking at her."

"Stop it," May whispered, before speaking again, "We have too many arguments. Haven't you considered that we just clash a little too much?"

"So what are you going to do?," Drew inquired in a low, desperate tone, "Have it all planned out? Where's the passion in that?," he grabbed her arms, "Where's the emotion? The love?"

May could hardly stand to look at him, and her eyes teared up as her breath caught in her throat, "You're not thinking rationally, Drew. What guy yearns for emotion?"

"I'm not saying I want to be emotional," he pleaded, "But look at me now! You complete me, May, how many times must I embarrass myself? I'm pouring out emotions, but it doesn't matter that girls are emotional, and guys aren't. That's why we're meant to be together, to balance each other out…"

May had a pained expression on her face, "Have you been watching Dawn's soap opera? You're not sounding like yourself." She backed away from him and returned to her suitcase.

"May!," Drew rasped out, "What more do I need to do? Why do you think I'm making this up? Believe me!"

"No!," she choked, wiping her eyes quickly, "No, I can't. I'm sorry, Drew, I truly am, but I can't be in this same situation every six months, or get into some huge argument every week. I thought you agreed I should leave for Petalburg anyway?"

"I know I did," he answered, "but I realized that letting you think about this for too long could be a big mistake. One that," he took her hand in his, "I don't want to regret for the rest of my life."

"Please stop, Drew," she whimpered, sliding her hand out of his, "I can't handle this."

"Why not?," he begged, falling to his knees, "Do you see me reduced here? You can't handle this because you know you love me too."

May took another shaky breath, "You know I do. But we're young, and maybe we don't know any better."

"Why are you making me do this?," Drew choked, breathing heavily, "I did this before, six months ago. I know I'm proud, and you know it too. Why are you making me kneel here, begging you, feeling helpless? I should be helping you, that's what I should be doing…protecting you."

"Please," May breathed, sobbing and digging her nails into the shirt she was placing in the suitcase, "Stop it, Drew, just stop it!"

"No," he protested, "You're leaving me! You said you just wanted to think things over, but you're encouraging me to find someone new! I'm not letting you leave, May!" He clutched her leg as she attempted to move away from him.

"Let go of me," she ordered weakly, "There are too many differences between us. I have to get out of here."

"Fine," he pleaded, "We'll go wherever you want to go."

"No, Drew," she whined, trying to shake him off, "We won't. Please get up, I can't stand to see you like this."

"Well I can't stand to see you leave," he insisted, reluctantly letting go of her leg. He let his arms fall to his side, and he hung his head in shame. He felt ashamed for the petty arguments, he felt ashamed for begging, and he felt ashamed that May felt he needed someone even better than her.

He let out a ragged breath and stood up, "Fine…you're probably the best thing that ever happened to me…but you deserve better, May, not me. I deserve to be alone."

"What are you saying?," she cried, "You deserve to have a wonderful-"

"No," Drew interrupted, "I can't imagine my life with anyone else. You deserve someone better, but just…damnit," he cursed, "Don't tell me what I deserve."

May nodded, unable to stop the tears from flowing, and turned back to her suitcase. Hearing Drew exit the room, she covered her face with her hands, "I never meant for it to go this far," she sobbed.


Dawn had lost count of how many drinks she had. She didn't care either. Feeling the vibrations of the bass made her grin and stumble over to Paul, "Paul," she said, slurring slightly, "You're really hot tonight." She giggled and proceeded to kiss him. He pulled away, "Dawn," he grumbled, "I have to finish my drink." He chugged the rest of his drink and threw the bottle away, smirking, "Now where were we?" She laughed again, letting her hands run along his arms and chest, "You're so sexy!" He chuckled and brought her face towards his, thrusting his tongue into her mouth. Their make-out session only lasted a few minutes, when Dawn's phone interrupted them. "Oh…it's May!," Dawn exclaimed, bringing the phone to her ear, "Hey May!"

"Dawn?," May's voice answered.

"Yeah? You're really missing out, May," Dawn replied, laughing at Paul's drunken grin.

"Uh…Dawn? How much have you had to drink?," May asked, concerned.

"Hmm…I can't remember," Dawn giggled, "Paul how much have I had to drink?"

"I don't know," he replied carelessly, "Hang up the phone."

Dawn continued to laugh, "I will! May…I'll see you later," she slurred.

"No, I'm coming to get you Dawn, I have to leave tomorrow and I need to make sure you're home safely," May said.

"Aw, don't worry about it," Dawn said lightly, watching people dance from across the room, "Paul's got a car."

"Right," May replied curtly, "And did Paul drink too?"

"Duh," Dawn laughed, "He's being so much fun tonight. Usually you're such a fun spoiler, Paul," she said, poking him.

"Dawn? I'm coming to get you. See you in twenty minutes." May hung up the phone. "May's making me go home," she pouted.

"Paul," she said, leaning down and kissing him, "I'm glad you changed your mind."

"I didn't change my mind," he responded, carelessly again, "I just can't date you." He chugged another beer. "Why?," Dawn whined, wrapping her arms around him and drunkenly smiling up at him. "Because I'm leaving for Sinnoh," he answered.

"Oh," she frowned, before brightening, "I could come with you!"

"Yeah," he agreed, giving a rare smile, which was completely due to the alcohol, "You should…you talk too much." Dawn grinned and leaned her head up towards him.


May walked in the party, suddenly overwhelmed the strong scent of sweat and alcohol. The room was becoming hazy, and her jaw dropped when she witnessed Paul and Dawn making out on a nearby seat. "Dawn?!," she exclaimed, shocked. Dawn broke the kiss and grinned up at May, "Hey May!"

"Uh…" May hesitated, still stunned, "We need to go."

"Aw…alright," Dawn agreed, reluctantly releasing herself from Paul's embrace. "You need to come too," she slurred while drunkenly pointing her finger at Paul. He frowned, "Alright…but you owe me another drink…"

"Okay," May said quickly, "We'll make sure to get you another drink later, now let's go." She carefully led them out into her car, praying that they wouldn't vomit in it, and sped over to Paul's house. When she was sure he was in his house, she turned back to Dawn, "Okay, Dawn, you may be drunk but you better tell me what happened."

"Oh…" Dawn replied, struggling to remember, "I kissed him and then he rejected me…then…I was having some drinks and he was being super hot," she giggled, "and so we made out."

"What?," May asked, shocked, "Why did you make out if he rejected you?"

"Hmmm," Dawn glanced around, although it was difficult for her to focus, "Oh yeah! He told me he couldn't date me because he was leaving…for Sinnoh I think…and then he said I should come along! And then we made out some more!"

May's eyes widened, "I can't believe he said that. He must have been really drunk for that sort of confession."

"I guess…" Dawn slurred.

May rolled her eyes, "Well, maybe it's good you're telling me now, because I'm not so sure you're going to remember tomorrow."

"Mmmkay," Dawn responded lightly, staring out the window. May sighed and led the stumbling Dawn to bed, where she was relieved to see Dawn fall asleep immediately. "You're going to have a headache tomorrow," May murmured, shutting the door.


"Dawn?," May's soft voice interrupted Dawn's sleep. Dawn winced at the bright light when she cracked her eyes open, and groaned, "Why does my head hurt?"

"Well, you were very drunk last night," May explained, "But you've been sleeping for about twelve hours. I'm sure you've already slept off a lot of your hangover."

"Oh…well let me go back to sleep," Dawn mumbled, pulling the covers over her head. May pulled them back down, despite Dawn's incoherent protests.

"Do you remember what happened last night?," May asked, and Dawn scrunched up her face as she searched her memory. "Oh great," Dawn sighed, "I remember being utterly rejected by Paul."

"You, uh, don't remember anything else?," May inquired further. Dawn gave her a look of confusion and May continued, "You were making out with Paul when I got there. And then you told me what happened."

"Wait," Dawn exclaimed, "I do remember making out with him. But I don't remember having a conversation with him…or you for that matter."

"Yes, well," May replied, "You had a nice 'drunk confession,' and Paul told you that he couldn't date you because he was leaving for Sinnoh…and apparently he invited you along."

"Really?!," Dawn responded, stunned, "No way…he would never say anything like that."

"I know," May agreed, "But he was drunk, remember? Don't you see, Dawn? He obviously is fonder of you than he lets on. How you'll ever get him to admit it, I mean while he's sober, I don't know."

"I don't know," Dawn said skeptically, "Fonder could just mean friendship."

"Who knows?," May commented, "But I woke you up for a different reason, Dawn. Drew and I had a big fight last night."

"What?!"

"I don't want to get into it, but I'm leaving for Petalburg today. You're welcome to come with me, but I also wrote down Paul's Sinnoh address if you decide to go with him."

Dawn let out another groan, "I have to decide this right now?," she whined.

May nodded, "I'm sorry, but I'm leaving in a few hours."

"Alright," Dawn replied, sullenly, "Just let me shower and get dressed, and I'll tell you."

May nodded and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Dawn, aggravated, threw off the covers and staggered to the bathroom.


Dawn had many thoughts running through her mind while she was in the shower. 'That must have been some fight,' she thought to herself, letting the water soothe her muscles, 'I can't believe what she told me. And I can't believe I made out with Paul, ahh! But he rejected me…why would I follow him if he rejected me? Unless what May said really was true…but maybe May needs me? But maybe May just needs her family...oh this is so hard!' Dawn turned off the faucet and wrapped a towel around herself. Glancing at the mirror, she noticed dark circles under her eyes, which she quickly concealed. Rummaging through her suitcase, she smiled when she noticed her old outfit, "Maybe I'll go old school today," she muttered, putting on the pink skirt and black top, and then wrapping the scarf around her neck. She finished packing, and walked down the hall to find May. May grinned when she noticed Dawn's outfit, "Going retro, huh?"

Dawn laughed, "Yeah, it really takes me back."

Getting straight to the point, May asked, "What did you decide?"

Dawn frowned, "Well…I'm going to Sinnoh."

May nodded, and walked over to write on a pad, "Let me just write down Paul's address here in La Rousse, too."

"I'm not sure if I'm going to see Paul, though," Dawn continued.

May looked up, shocked, "What do you mean?"

"I want to visit my mom," Dawn explained, "I haven't seen her in a while…"

May was not convinced, "Is this because you're afraid of rejection? You're past that, Dawn…I know Paul is difficult, but don't give up."

"Right," Dawn snorted, "Why don't you tell that to yourself, May? You haven't even told me why you're leaving, but it sounds like you're giving up on Drew!"

May glared at her, angry, "Dawn, I love you, but sometimes you just need to shut up! I've always been here for you, every time you've had a problem, and so now it's time for you to be here for me. I'm going home to figure some things out, and if Drew and I never get back together, then that's not your problem!"

Dawn, upset, apologized, "I'm sorry, May, I didn't mean it. I support you going to Petalburg, if you need to think. It's just embarrassing for me that I got rejected…"

May's demeanor softened, and she handed the slip of paper to Dawn, "There's rejection…and then there's rejection." Upon seeing Dawn's confusion, she laughed, "Or maybe I'm just hungry. I'm going to pick up some ramen before I leave town."

Dawn smiled, "You're obsessed with ramen. Are you leaving now?"

"Yeah," May replied, "Listen, this is your decision. I don't want to sound dramatic, although it's too late," she muttered, "But not everything comes on a silver platter, you know?"

Dawn nodded and slipped the piece of paper in her pocket, "I know, thank you. Call me when you get there, okay?"

May embraced Dawn, "I will, don't worry."

Dawn watched May leave the house, before turning to the living room, where Drew was staring at the T.V. He looked unkempt, and Dawn winced slightly at the sight.

"Uh, Drew?," she called timidly.

Drew's glazed eyes rolled over to her direction, before rolling back to the T.V., "What?," he asked in a hoarse voice.

"I have to leave, but I wanted to thank you for letting me stay here," Dawn said, shifting her weight between her legs uncomfortably.

He merely nodded.

"I know you probably don't want my opinion," she continued, "But please don't mope around here. She'll realize what you mean to her. Give her space, okay? But not too much space."

"Gee thanks," Drew spat sarcastically, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

Dawn shot him a glare and crossed her arms, "Staying an asshole won't help anything."

"I've done everything I can," Drew grumbled, throwing the remote across the room.

"And she'll realize it!," Dawn cried, "But you can't just sit here-"

"Don't tell me what to do!," he ordered, "Just leave!"

"Fine, you jerk!" And she stormed off. Grabbing her suitcase, she muttered to herself, "I can't believe him. I'll let it slide because he's in pain, but he better not be such an asshole again!"


Surprisingly, it was not hard for Dawn to locate Paul's house. It was in the same area as Drew's house, and Dawn was so used to Drew's house that she was not astonished by Paul's house being the same size. When Paul answered the door, Dawn immediately noticed that he had circles under his eyes, as she had. "What do you want?," he snapped, making Dawn frown.

"You're leaving for Sinnoh, and I'm coming with you," she informed him, giving him a smug smile.

Paul let out a chuckle, "And what gave you the idea that you could actually come with me?"

"Oh," Dawn answered in an arrogant tone, "It's simple really. You invited me, don't you remember?"

Paul gave her a cold look, "Actually, I don't."

In a mocking fashion, Dawn raised an eyebrow, "No? Well I seem to recall a certain make out session you had last night as well as the extended invitation to yours truly."

Paul momentarily lost his composure, before crossing his arms, "You aren't actually inclined to believe anything I might have said? I was drunk!"

She let out a laugh, "I admire how you can be so calm and collected, but most people know what they're doing when they're drunk. They just don't care, so they'll do things they wouldn't normally do."

"Right," he replied, "And I wouldn't normally invite you."

"But," she said, poking him square in the chest, "You did. Deep down you want me to come, so I'm going to acquiesce to your subconscious."

"What the hell? Stop trying to psychoanalyze me, bitch."

Her glare matched his, "You can cut the shit, Paul, because calling me a bitch won't do anything. You're being a real bastard, and I thought we established we were friends."

"Oh?," he challenged, "Since when do friends spend every minute together? You can write me once in a while, if you so desire."

"No," she cut in curtly, "We're different."

He raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Not really. You should join the fan club, I'm sure they'd give you a free poster to ogle."

Slap.

"Shut up," she seethed, "I've had enough. Go rot in hell for all I care." 'But I do care,' she though resentfully to herself.

Paul was unfazed, as the slap had barely affected him, "You're a spitfire," he commented, "Is this because of what we did last night? It meant nothing. If you want to come along this badly…"

Dawn's eyes narrowed with fury, "No, jackass, don't act like this is pity. You're going to invite me, or I'm leaving. But not before I kick you right in the balls!"

Paul started laughing, "Fine, you can come. You can entertain me for the most part, if you promise to shut up most of the time." He continued to laugh, "Your threats are so useless. Are they even worth it?" He turned around and was chuckling up the stairs, as Dawn stared at his back, stunned. 'All this trouble,' she thought, 'Is it even worth it?'


A/N: Well, Dawn and Paul still aren't together. I know. But they're not ready yet, and don't worry, remember how I said that I like happy endings, no matter how much drama there may be? lol, oh did you see the episode tonight? I've only seen the first 5 mins, but, well I don't want to sound arrogant, but I really feel like this fic was dead on with how they acted in that episode.

Next chapter: Wow, so I forgot about the whole Buneary/Pikachu thing. I intend to have that dealt out with in chapter 12. As for a Dawn/Paul battle, I don't know, it's very unlikely. Did I mention (I know I did like in the author's note of chapter 4) about how I don't like writing battle scenes, b/c I really don't feel like I can do one justice, like they can visually in the show? I'm not going to nix the idea completely, but Dawn and Paul are different kinds of battlers, and I really think Paul would win anyway. I mean come on, he's awesome haha...but so is Dawn.

Oh btw, I'm not really sure where some of you got the idea that I was taking away contestshipping permanently, but...I'm not taking away contestshipping lol. I love contestshipping. It's not going away. This is pretty much the big climax for May and Drew, and so from that said you can pretty much guess what'll happen with them.