Oh god, I know it's been a while again guys and I'm sorry about that. Thank you to everyone who's been reviewing asking for more of this story, it really means a lot that y'all still care about this little old story. I've been stuck for the longest time about how I want to lead into certain events that are coming up in this story and I finally got a strike of genius a little bit ago. Side note, being an adult is hard and sometimes you just don't have time to write when you come home exhausted from work and just collapse on your bed. But enough about that.
Buckle up everyone, because this is going to be a bumpy couple of chapters. I have an angsty music playing in the background as I write these next couple of chapters so expect a lot of brooding and lot of misery.
That being said, enough of my incessant rambling and please enjoy this chapter that took me far too long to get out!
~Deepika
Chapter 34
.:.
"Do you kids need anything before I close up?" Johanna's voice caused Dawn to nearly jump out of her skin. She had been in deep conversation with Paul and had lost track of time. The two teenagers looked at each other.
"No thanks Mrs. Berlin," Paul replied, ever so polite. Johanna's eyes seemed to sparkle and Dawn resisted the urge to groan in embarrassment. "I should get going though, it was good seeing you two." Dawn quickly got up as soon as Paul did.
"I'll see you out," she smiled softly. Paul looked at her, brow perked but said nothing. The two of them walked down the stairs onto the main floor of the tea shop and out of the door into the frigid February air. Dawn rubbed her arms. "Sorry about that, my mom is so embarrassing."
"Nah, I think it's nice that she cares about you and your friends," Paul replied. Dawn snorted.
'You do know that the only reason she cares about you so much is because she thinks that we would make a good couple, right?" Paul blushed bright red causing Dawn to giggle.
"O-oh" he stuttered, clearly unable to come up with anything else. Dawn playfully nudged his shoulder.
"Don't worry, I set her straight every time," she grinned. Paul grunted in response. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow at school!" she waved and Paul walked away, slowly disappearing from her sight. The navy haired girl stood outside the door, watching the exact same spot for far too long before shaking her head and walking back inside, where she was met with an exuberant mother.
"Oh sweetie, you can't tell me that there's nothing there!" Johanna squealed, much to Dawn's chagrin. The navy haired teen rolled her eyes.
"Mom!"
"Alright, alright, I hear you loud and clear. I just think that the two of you need a little push is all! The right opportunity will come, just you see!"
Dawn rolled her eyes once more and headed up the stairs to get her things to go home. "I'm ignoring you now, Mom!" she called, not bothering to look back at her mother.
"Just you wait dear, you'll thank me one day at your wedding!"
oOoOoOo
"Wow, it looks like someone had a late night," May commented as Dawn yawned again. She blearily looked at her brunette friend, daggers in her eyes.
"Save it, Maple. I don't want to hear it from you either."
"What'd you do, stay up late talking to a guy?" Dawn's silence was her answer. "Oh..." May breathed. "You and Paul?" Dawn continued staying silent. "Wow, I didn't know you guys were this close." Dawn finally sighed.
"We're just friends, May. It's just...complicated. Both of us are. Complicated, I mean," Dawn replied, fidgeting her thumbs.
"You know, you're the first person I've ever seen get more than a couple of minutes worth of conversation out of him. So that alone must mean that he sees something in you-"
"Seriously, May, cut it out!" Dawn exclaimed and the brunette's eyes widened as her mouth shut. Dawn looked down, a blush staining her cheeks.
"Oh Dawn, is it really that hard to believe that someone has feelings for you?" May questioned, and Dawn felt May's arm wrap around her shoulder. Heat burned behind her eyes.
"No, it's the after. It's after they find out about my family, my father, it feels like it all falls apart after that." Dawn could feel tears stinging her eyes. It was definitely from the lack of sleep and not because she was really falling for Paul.
"But does he know about all of that?" May asked, her voice soft and soothing.
"Yea, we talked about it the other day," Dawn replied, twirling her hair through her fingers.
"And he didn't run away or go screaming for the hills?"
"No..."
"Then trust that this will be different. Like I said, I've never seen Paul act this way with someone before, and I've known him for quite a while. I think you should give it a chance, see where it goes but of course know that we'll support you either way."
Dawn stopped walking, turning to her brunette friend. Though they had only known each other for a little over six months, Dawn considered May to be one of her closest and wisest friends, and right now, she was really feeling grateful that she had met the brunette girl. Although her time here had been short, she knew how easy it was to fall in with the wrong crowd and to have been lucky enough to find a group of friends who were loyal and supportive was no less than a miracle within itself.
"Is it cliché for me to say that it's easier said than done?" Dawn sniffed, trying to keep her tears at bay. She had managed thus far and wasn't going to give in to them now.
"Well of course, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try," May said. Dawn shook her head.
"Something always goes wrong May, whenever it comes to me and guys and feelings. Call it an intuition or whatever, but I can feel that something will go wrong."
"I still think it's worth it to take the plunge, but hey, don't listen to me, I'm the girl who refuses to give the time of day to Drew." Before Dawn could reply to May's sentiment, both of their dexes began to ring. Looking at each other with confused glances, both girls picked up their respective devices.
"Hello?" "Hello?" Dawn and May said at the same time. A few minutes passed as they had their respective phone calls. "Ok, I'll meet you there in a bit Misty" "No worries Sha, I'll be there as soon as I can"
"Aisha?" Dawn asked as she hung up the phone.
"Misty?" May countered. Shrugging and looking slightly hurt that Misty had called Dawn and not her, May put her hand on Dawn's shoulder. "Make sure my girl's ok."
"You make sure Sha's ok as well," Dawn smiled reassuringly. "And I'm sure Misty had a perfectly good reason for calling me and not you."
oOoOoOo
Dawn arrived to Misty in tears at the park. It broke Dawn's heart as she watched the fiery redhead let tears roll down her face in silence as she stared off into space, the occasional sniffle making its way out of her mouth. Dawn sped walked over to the swings and stood in front of Misty, trying to get her attention. It took a solid moment for the redhead to notice her, and when she finally did, she quickly moved to swipe away the tears as if Dawn hadn't already seen them.
"Guess I shouldn't even bother asking if you're ok or not," Dawn weakly smiled, taking a seat on the swing next to Misty. Misty sniffled and the tears seemed to gain a new momentum. A small whimper escaped her mouth. "Gosh Mist, I've never seen you like this, what happened?"
"Oh Sunshine, you know there's only one person who can get under my skin like this," Misty hiccupped and mirthlessly laughed. The redhead shook her head in dismay. "After working so hard to get over him, he still fucks me up like this." Dawn growled. Gary Oak was starting to get under her skin.
"God, I'll go kick his ass for this. What the hell did he say?"
"No, no, you can't. Because what he said to me was confidential and I've already lost him one way. I can't lose his friendship!" Misty gasped and Dawn whipped her head to look into the redhead's eyes.
"Well, tell me because I need to know what's going on with you. I won't tell a soul, I swear."
"Ugh...ok. Gary called me this morning because he wanted to talk about his feelings about losing his v-card to Leaf!" she gasped quickly and buried her face in her hands, elbows resting on her thighs. Dawn gaped and attempted to make noise but failed. A lot of possibilities had floated through her head but she could honestly admit that this was not one of them. But none of that mattered because her close friend was clearly devastated by this news.
"I don't mean to sound rude, but was there a reason he called you of all people?" Dawn asked, running her fingers through her hair, still trying to process the information that had just been given to her.
"He said that none of the guys would understand because...you know, and that he wanted to talk to someone who knew him. And since he couldn't talk to May about this...it just left me as the only option." Misty sighed, rubbing her puffy eyes. "Dawn, I've tried so hard to just be his friend and to get any romantic feelings of him out of my system. But then he goes and does this to me!" she croaked. Her voice cracked as more tears flooded out of her eyes. "Look what he's done to me! I can't make these god damn tears stop!"
"Maybe you just need to let it out of your system. You've been surprisingly calm these past couple of months that maybe your emotions are finally just giving in."
"I keep telling my head that I don't care, because I don't! I'm over him, I'm done, but every time I seem to think so, I somehow get reminded that I'm not."
"Misty, it's only been 2 months since they became official. You've known the guy since you were like 5, and lord knows how long you've had romantic feelings for him. It's going to take a while for you to get over something like that, even though I'm still rooting for you guys."
"Dawn..." Misty began, half angry, half exasperated but then shook her head. "I don't even know anymore."
"Misty, maybe you just need to fight fire with fire. Maybe you should try dating and see what's out there because let me tell you, there have got to be better guys than Gary Oak out there."
"Hey, he's still a great guy! Just oblivious to other people's feelings and has terrible timing for almost everything he does!" Misty defended him. Dawn shrugged, holding her hands out.
"Listen girl, you're better than me to keep defending him. All I want to do right now is pummel him to pieces for making you feel like this." Misty finally laughed, her sniffles quieter but her lips still quivering even as a small smile graced them.
"Believe me, I think you'll have to get in line. If May ever saw me like this, I think Gary would be in for a rude awakening."
oOoOoOo
May made her way over to the ramen shop Aisha worked at. The raven haired girl had seemed concerned and upset on the phone, which was completely out of character for the normally poised Indian girl. The realization that Sha normally never reached out to her for help strengthened her resolve and made her walk faster. The brunette finally found herself opening the giant oak door leading into the ramen establishment and quickly scanned the surrounding place to see if she could find her friend. She finally spotted a slumped form at the table in the corner and quickly ran towards it.
"Sha!" May gasped, as the raven haired girl lifted her head and met her with puffy red eyes. May immediately wiggled herself onto the bench next to Aisha and grabbed her hand, giving it a quick squeeze. "What's going on?" Aisha pushed her hair back and ran her fingers through her hair with her free hand.
"Oh god May, where do I even start? Blaze isn't doing well, my parents are close to shipping me to the middle of nowhere and I feel like the worst daughter ever for lying to them!" she gasped in a single breath.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, one thing at a time Sha. Now what's going on?" May asked, furrowing her brows. Aisha took a deep breath.
"Grams isn't doing well and Blaze has been feeling so alone but I can't do anything because I'm too busy fighting my own battles. And...oh, Blaze will kill me for even telling you this but Byron, damn him, has supposed to have been there for her but he's been too busy hanging out with Hunter. May, Blaze is my best friend and I can't be there for her because of everything else that's going on in my life!"
"Wow...that's...a lot to process," May stuttered, shaking her head. "I knew Grams was doing bad but I didn't realize it had gotten that bad."
"B does a really good job at hiding her feelings but it's been eating her from the inside and I can see her ripping at the seams. And this Byron thing..."
"Yea, since when was that even a thing?" May asked. She blinked, trying not to be hurt that she didn't know about any of this. Sometimes she forgot how easy it was to keep secrets from one another. Sha sighed.
"A little under 2 years I think. Enough that she managed to let her guard down to let someone other than us in. And I'm nervous that if something happens, it'll ruin any progress and she'll have her walls up and they'll be stronger than ever. I don't know what to do!" May sighed and squeezed Sha's hand once again.
"Unfortunately as awesome as it is that you care about Blaze, I don't think there's much you can do."
"What?!" Aisha exclaimed, anger burning in her eyes. May shot her a sympathetic smile. Even though she joked about Aisha and Blaze being polar opposites, there was no doubt that the fiery haired girl had rubbed off on the normally sweet and poised Aisha.
"Blaze has to come to us on her own because you can't really help someone who doesn't want to be helped. A lot of what you told me was told to you in confidence and I think it would do more harm than good if Blaze realized that you told me this."
"Ugh I hate your logic." May shrugged and sighed.
"Ok, now fill me on the rest of what's going on. Did you say your parents are sending you somewhere?" Aisha heaved a sigh, tears welling up in her eyes.
"They've been threatening me with the promise of sending me to boarding school if I continue to pursue my dream of dancing. So I told them that I gave it up when in reality I didn't." The Indian girl looked down in embarrassment, her hands clenched in fists. "I know I should be ashamed of myself for being a disappointment but dancing is my passion and I can't just give it up. I've dedicated my life to the arts and I've gone too far to give it up for some medical career that I don't even give a single rat's ass about!"
"Sha, you're far from a disappointment! And I wish your parents could just see how amazing you were. But sometimes you have to be realistic with yourself. You can either work towards a career that you'll have to stick with for the next forty years that makes your parents happy or you can follow your passions and finally live for yourself and no one else. And I know that your parents aren't open minded but know that even if you don't have their support, you'll have our support. We girls stick together, through thick and thin." Aisha sniffled and leaned her head on May's shoulder.
"I don't know what I did to deserve such an amazing friend like you and the other girls."
"You saved me during a dark time in my life. It's the least I could do to repay you."
"Well I can still say thank you."
"And I can say that you don't need to be afraid to ask for help. That's what your friends are here for," May smiled gently, holding Aisha's hand with both of hers. Aisha turned to her, her eyes far too perceptive for her own good and perked a brow.
"The same goes for you, Princess." May scoffed, a pit forming in her stomach.
"I'm fine," she weakly smiled.
They both knew it was a lie.
tbc