So, I'm nearly done with state exams and I just graduated :D with my associate's degree! It feels a bit overwhelming, but it also feels great, now that I have some more free time.
Also, to pinkie pie: Your review honestly made me laugh, but really if you don't like this story, you don't have to read it. It's as simple as that. I will never force anybody to read my story, it's up to you. And yes, I'm a full supporter of pearlshipping, but it doesn't mean I can't like Paul and Dawn too. No hard feelings.
For those of you who have supported my story so far, thank you for reading and giving me reviews, it helps. Read on!
August 28th; Dawn's residence; 8:03pm
Opening the house door, Dawn quickly entered inside, still shivering due to the intensity of the cold. She was a bit drenched, so she decided to rid of her clothes and take a warm bath.
She was waiting at the school grounds for at least one and a half hours, and it was continuously raining heavily. She had grown apprehensive when it had started to get dark, and she definitely didn't like the idea of staying overnight at school, which is why she had started to walk home in the thundering rain. Sure, she did use Paul's umbrella (despite wanting to throw it at the ground and stomping her foot against it), but it only did so much to protect her from the rain.
After drying herself off, she plugged in her useless phone that just had to die at the exact moment she was caught in the rain, and soon noticed she had a few missed calls and unread texts.
3 missed calls – Leaf
3 missed calls – May
7:02 May: Dawn, u okay? Did u get home yet?
7:13 May: This rain is terrible, I just hope ur phone is dead, and ur not stuck in school or something like that :/
7:27 Leaf: Gurl, pls answer, we've been worried. :(
Smiling a bit, she dialled Leaf. It rung about twice until she heard Leaf's voice. "Dawn! What the hell? We've been trying to reach you since over an hour, and-"
"I'm fine, thanks so much for asking." I scoffed, interrupting her.
"Sorry, but what happened?"
Dawn sighed at the memory. "I got stuck at school. I was waiting for the rain to stop, and my phone battery died. I couldn't wait anymore and just decided to walk home."
"In the rain?!" Leaf exclaimed in worry.
"It's not that big of a deal." Dawn shrugged.
"Was there nobody you could have asked to take you home?"
Dawn scowled. "Yeah. I tried asking Paul, but me being the idiot I am, forgot that he's a prick and doesn't like helping people. He refused instantly and just threw his umbrella at me, thinking that I need his pity. And then he drove off in his car and left me there!"
It was silent for a while, until Leaf spoke with a soft voice. "I'm so sorry, Dawn. But, remind me again, who's Paul?"
She didn't seemed surprised by the question. "Just some prick loner. I saw him one day in the library in our junior year, but we never talked."
"So, how do you know him?" Leaf inquired.
"Apparently, Drew and him are somewhat friends, I guess. I talk to Drew sometimes, and he's mentioned Paul. He's so frustrating and cold. Just the other day, I was trapped in the elevator with him-"
"What?! And you're telling me this now?!" Leaf exclaimed.
"It never came up," Dawn defended.
"Okay, wait hold on," Leaf said, and Dawn assumed she was trying to get comfortable. "Okay, continue." Dawn grinned. She had to admit; venting out her anger to one of her best friends made her feel much better.
August 28th; Kalos Hospital; 8:15pm
Paul sat down on one of the chairs in the waiting room, appearing emotionless as almost always. He looked at the clock above and noticed that it was nearly eight, almost two hours before he received an important call from the hospital. Since he didn't have a cell phone, he had to take the call from the school office.
He had been waiting in the library prior the tutor session, when he was called down to the office to take the call. He didn't want to leave the person hanging, but he was noted that it was an important call, and couldn't be ignored. When he was called to the hospital, he didn't hesitate to run to his vehicle immediately. But as timing would have it, his run down car had to pick that appropriate time to not start for some apparent reason. It had taken over forty minutes to get it running again with some tools he had in his trunk, and he had grown really pissed. He was about an hour late.
And then that girl he had grown extremely annoyed with just had to appear, and he had grown a little more pissed.
"Paul Shinji?" The plum haired teen looked at the source of the voice and then walked to the front desk. "You can go up now." Paul nodded at the front desk lady politely and headed towards the elevator.
Paul's brother, Reggie, had been in a coma for over six months. He grimaced at the thought during the elevator ride. He didn't know how, but he had managed over six months without his brother and his only blood left. And it had been a very gruesome six months so far.
The elevator doors opened with a ding, and Paul walked over to the ICU room. The last time he had seen Reggie was a week ago, when he was unfortunately trapped inside the elevator with that girl. He didn't want to think about her too much and how much she got under her skin, so he proceeded to knock. After a few shuffling noises being heard, he saw the door click open and he was greeted with the nurse.
"Paul, please come in," she motioned him, and he nodded before entering. Every time he walked into the ICU room, he couldn't refrain from cringing at least once. He hated hospitals and despised the ICU room. And he couldn't dare look at the lifeless figure on the hospital bed, who was fighting for his life for over six months.
"Okay, I have some good news. The last time you visited, Reggie was still unresponsive to any of the tests that we had conducted so far, due to the heavy amount of brain damage. However, we decided to conduct one more physical test. The results aren't amazing, but…it's a start. We noticed during the test, that his left eye and right hand were beginning to respond."
For what seemed like a good minute or two, Paul looked genuinely surprised. "Are you sure?" His tone was somewhat relieved, as if he'd been waiting for this since months.
The nurse nodded. "Yes. Now that Reggie's beginning to respond to the tests, it's only a matter of a few more months until he wakes up. We still need to conduct more tests and keep him under observation, but this is a major improvement, especially after six months."
Paul nodded, silently agreeing with her. Daring himself, he turned his head and looked at Reggie, and after a few seconds, his lips quirked into a small smile. Sure, the news wasn't anything extraordinary, but the fact that Reggie was finally responding, had diminished his sour mood for the day.
August 29th; 3:30pm
Drew opened his locker to grab his books and closed it in satisfaction. The chartreuse male was relieved that today was Friday, and started to plan his weekend by doing absolutely nothing and just chill. Maybe he'd invite Ash over to his place.
Drew was suddenly hit against the shoulder, and he had almost hissed in pain. "What the hell, man!" He exclaimed, glaring at the raven haired teen, who just grinned.
"Geez, calm down, you're such a girl. We have practice, remember? And you know we can't bail coach this time, because the last time we did, our sorry asses had to run fifty laps." The two cringed at the memory.
"I didn't forget," Drew said, "I was just grabbing my books. After practice, let's go grab a burger or something-" he cut himself off when his eyes caught a brunette girl. The brunette was currently talking to Dawn, one of his friends. But his eyes were mainly on the brunette. Every time he saw her, he had a sense of familiarity, as if he'd seen her before.
Ash looked at Drew. "Drew, why are you making googly eyes?" Drew rolled his eyes. He just decided to ignore Ash's comment and walk up over to Dawn and the enchanting brunette.
Dawn caught sight of Drew immediately. "Hey, Drew, what's up?"
Drew looked at Dawn, and glanced at the brunette slightly before looking back at Dawn. "Nothing much, I was just heading over to practice when I noticed your friend here. Are you gonna introduce yourself to me?" he motioned towards the brunette. Dawn smirked; Drew was already flirting with May.
"I'm May," she said.
"May…" he watched her, and May grew a little self-conscious. "Have we met before? I think I'd remember meeting someone like you."
"Would you stop flirting? We need to get to practice!" Ash exclaimed from behind Drew. "I do not want to run fifty laps and if we do, I will not hesitate to chop your legs off."
"Geez, relax, Ketchum. Just because you've never had a girlfriend, doesn't mean that I can't," Drew said. May raised her eyebrows at this. She didn't really knew Drew, and she wasn't really fond of having a boyfriend that soon, even though she had to admit Drew was a fine looking specimen.
"Let's just go," Ash muttered, and Drew rolled his eyes.
He looked back at the two. "I'll see you around," he said, winking at May, and her cheeks reddened. Drew grinned, and walked suavely across the hallways before disappearing from sight.
"Wow, he sure has got it bad for you," Dawn commented.
May's cheeks were the color of a tomato. "He does not. Besides, I'm not even interested in him."
"That's what they all say," Dawn said, smirking.
"Shut up."
Dawn laughed. "Relax, I'm just kidding, May. Anyways, I have to go find my tutor," she said as she reached in her pocket for her phone. It was almost four; she hoped her tutor was still around in school. Mr Johnson had told her that her tutor had to leave due to an emergency.
"Let's just hope he doesn't ditch you again," May said. "Do you even know who he is?" she asked.
Dawn shrugged. "I really don't care anymore. It's because of him or her that I got stuck at school yesterday in the rain. Whoever my tutor is, could have told me and I would have understood, and went home safe and sound."
May raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Dawn. Your tutor probably doesn't even know you, let alone has your number. And it's really not that big of a deal, is it?"
It really wasn't, Dawn wasn't sure why she was exaggerating, and she let a small smile show. "I guess not."
"Good," the brunette said. "Now you get your ass out of here, stop talking to me!" she exclaimed, and Dawn rolled her eyes, but then feigned hurt.
"I thought you loved me," Dawn said dramatically and the two laughed shortly.
4:10pm
Unbelievably, Paul was in a somewhat good mood, than he had been in the past six months. Throughout the school day, he couldn't stop thinking about Reggie. There was a chance that everything could go back to the way it was. This thought only made the anticipation that much greater to Paul.
But he knew he had to be patient. For now, Reggie was still suffering, and all Paul had to do now is just hope for the best, like he always had.
He walked up to the library and saw Gretchen working on her computer as soon as he entered. She sensed someone's presence and looked up to see Paul. A smile graced her features. "Wow, you're always exactly on time," she giggled.
"I'm tutoring somebody for today," he said, ignoring her comment. Gretchen raised her eyebrow. He pulled out a piece of paper. "Someone named Dawn; Dawn Berlitz," he said. "I was told she'd be in the library-"
"You don't know Dawn Berlitz?" Gretchen exclaimed in shock.
"I didn't realize she was some sort of celebrity," Paul said dryly, and Gretchen laughed. He was actually a bit surprised she asked him that, knowing he was a loner.
"It's not that, she's a super nice girl, and I thought you'd know her. She's bubbly and a cheerful girl, and a pretty one at that too," Gretchen winked. Paul cringed instantly. He was just tutoring a girl; not dating her. He really didn't have time for girls anyway. "Okay, okay I'll stop teasing you. And you're in luck, Dawn's probably sitting somewhere in the library right now. And since you don't know her, I'll lead the way," she offered.
He nodded and they walked somewhere to the interior of the library. Honestly, he still had no idea who he was supposed to be looking for, but he just wanted to get over these tutoring sessions as soon as possible so he wouldn't be burdened with it later on.
Dawn was sitting with a trigonometry book buried in her face when the two approached her. "Dawn," Gretchen called, and Dawn removed the book, smiling to see Gretchen.
Paul's eyes slightly widened, and he groaned silently to himself. "Dawn, this is your tutor." Gretchen gestured to Paul, and Dawn, similar to Paul, had her eyes wide as dinner plates.
"Oh hell no!" She exclaimed loudly, and some people shushed her. She then decided to whisper yell. "You're telling me Paul is my tutor?" She exclaimed in disbelief, and she tried to regulate the volume of her voice so she wouldn't disrupt the others. The same guy who had been nothing but insensitive and had the nerve to leave her in the rain, was her tutor?
"I am not working with her," Paul decided immediately, turning to the other direction. His entire mood had dropped, thinking he was forced to work with an annoying barbie girl like her. Dawn had no intention of working with him either. She was in no mood to deal with a heartless and cold, insensitive person.
"You guys clearly have some problems with each other," Gretchen said sheepishly. "Maybe this is good for the two of you, you guys can bond together and settle the differences," she suggested. Dawn scoffed in response while Paul rolled his eyes, clearly in disagreement with the idea.
"I'm going to talk to the principal and convince him that I need another tutor." Dawn stated.
"That may have been the smartest comment I've ever heard you say," Paul said while Dawn proceeded to walk out of the library. She just couldn't understand why he needed to insult her, but she tried her best to ignore it.
"You should probably go with her," Gretchen looked towards Paul. "You know, to hear what the principal's going to decide. It'll save you the trouble."
Paul sighed and just nodded while grumbling to himself incoherently as he then made himself to the principal's office.
"So, you want another tutor, is that correct, Dawn?" Mr. Albert asked. Dawn and Paul were seated next to each other in separate rotating chairs. Paul had a nonchalant expression on his face; he really didn't favour the idea of being in here very often. His entire mood had been dropped instantly when he realized that he had to tutor Dawn. Hopefully Mr. Albert could change that.
"Yes, we're totally against the idea of working with each other. We don't get along with each other, so Paul being my tutor is out of the question. Can you please make arrangements for another tutor?" she asked.
Mr. Albert adjusted his glasses. "I'll see what I can do," he said, shuffling through some drawers. Paul closed his eyes in slight satisfaction. The two couldn't bear the sight of each other and couldn't even last a couple of hours in an elevator; tutoring was out of line.
"Well, it appears that Paul here is actually the best Math student in the school. Also, there is no other tutor available at your preferred timing," Mr Albert said.
Dawn was about to retort when Paul cut in. "You're telling us that there's no available tutor within this entire institution?"
"All the other tutors aren't available after four, which is when both of you are free," Mr Albert further emphasized.
"I can change the timings," Dawn quickly suggested. Except that wasn't possible. She frowned. Being a senior, her schedule was pretty full this semester. "Damn it, I can't."
"Perhaps this is a good thing. You two can settle your differences with each other while getting to know each other. Who knows? You might get a liking towards each other," Mr Albert suggested. Paul rolled his eyes and Dawn internally cringed at the thought. The blunette slumped in her chair, defeated. She couldn't believe she was stuck with Paul for a tutor. The two couldn't last a couple of hours in an elevator; imagine the chaos that'd take place studying together.
Dawn was slightly surprised when she noticed Paul standing up, as if, he refused to remain persistent. Then again, it had been Dawn doing most of the talking, so why did he look frustrated? "Thank you for your help, Mr. Albert. If there's nothing that can be done, then we have no choice," Paul said while Mr. Albert smiled approvingly. Dawn scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. She thought Paul would be willing to persist, but he had actually contrasted her thoughts. Guess he wasn't as obstinate as Dawn was.
"Great. I'm sure Dawn's grades will improve with your help. Good luck," Mr. Albert said, and Paul nodded in response before he turned around, glancing his direction at Dawn.
"Let's go."
Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Go where?"
He rolled his eyes. "Skirt shopping," he replied flatly."The library, where else?"
"Oh."
4:35pm
Paul walked forward as Dawn followed quietly behind him. She quickly noticed that he never made any movement with his arms while walking. It was as if a stiff tree was walking down the hallway. She silently grimaced to herself. Of all people, why did she get stuck with Paul for her tutor? She had no idea how it was going to be possible to get along with someone like him, and why some people (Gretchen and Mr. Albert) would expect the two to get along.
When Paul had approached the library desk, he placed his bookbag on the desk and took out some school supplies. "Take out your Trig textbook," he said. Dawn raised an eyebrow at the demanding tone, but chose to ignore it and did as she told.
"What was your grade for the last test?" he asked.
"I got an F," she said, not really proud. "It was on sine, cosine and tangent."
"Did you even study?" Paul asked.
"Of course I did!" she exclaimed. "And that's why I'm frustrated. It seems that every time a Math test pops up, I study and practice the day before, and then all of a sudden on the test, I'm...blank, and I don't know why. This doesn't happen with any of my other subjects. In fact, I'm doing pretty well so far in AP English, Physics-"
"Okay," he cut her off, and Dawn popped a vein, as if she was just talking bull. "For the next test, which is next week, the topic's on cofunctions. Do you understand cofunctions?"
"A little," she grumbled, still a bit upset over his attitude. He ignored her childish antics and opened his textbook, and read a few pages before handing it over to her. She eyed him questioningly.
"Read pages 30-35," he ordered. Dawn didn't really understand what he was trying to do; she had already read the pages a few times from her own textbook, and it didn't help. She was about to say something when she heard her phone.
4:39 May: Hey just wanted to ask when ur gonna move in?
4:39 Dawn: Idk yet, i didn't pack...i guess i could start today?
Dawn looked up at Paul, who looked at her unimpressed. She was just texting May, was that a crime? She rolled her eyes and tried to ignore him, as she began reading. She had only read a sentence or two when her phone lighted up.
4: 40 May: Ya! Maybe Leaf and I could help u pack :)
4:41 Dawn: Yea sounds good to me :) anywayz, i gtg, my tutor is giving me a death glare -_-
4:42 May: Oh yea, who's your tutor?
4:42 Dawn: Paul.
"If you're not interested in passing the class, then I suggest you leave and stop wasting my time," Paul suddenly said, and Dawn looked up at him.
"I'm just texting May," she defended. "We're talking about something important."
"Right," Paul scoffed. Dawn pursed her lips in annoyance as she looked at her phone.
4:44 May: Paul? Idk him. Is he hot? :o
Typical. Dawn, surprisingly, contemplated the question brought up, and actually glanced up at Paul, who had been reading from his textbook. She noticed his purple locks which were shoulder length, and his facial features. She made close notice of a bit of facial hair, and noticed his average build. Dawn shook her head disapprovingly. Did she actually check Paul out? She was surprised by her own actions.
4:46 Dawn: I guess...?
4:47 May: What do u mean by that? Is he hot or nah?
Dawn didn't know how to reply, but the phone was suddenly yanked away from her hands, and Dawn's jaw dropped. "What are you doing? Give me back my phone!" she exclaimed in anger.
"No," he said, and placed the phone in his book bag. "You've wasted almost ten minutes of my time. You're not getting it back until after we're finished," he said. Dawn crossed her arms in annoyance. In her mind, he had no right to do that, and was generally fed up of his commanding behaviour. "Let's continue."
Fifteen minutes later of just reading a few more pages, Dawn turned to Paul indicating that she was finished. "Tell me what you've learned."
"Uh," Dawn started. "Cofunctions are identities and show the relationship between sine, cosine and tangent."
"Example?"
"Sine and cosine," she replied easily.
"Another example."
"Secant...and cosecant."
"Why was there a pause?"
Dawn raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"You weren't sure of the answer. Either that, or you didn't remember, which is appalling considering you just read the information."
She didn't like his tone. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
Paul shrugged. He didn't emphasize what he truly meant, and Dawn rolled her eyes. She hated this. She hated how she felt inferior to him. It was as if every time she spoke, he'd eye her like she'd just uttered something extremely rash. "What's a versine?"
She had just read it. She forced herself to think. "It's... a function," she said, and wanted to facepalm at her own answer.
"This is really simple. I bet even a twelve year old can do this. It's too bad girls like you are always focused on unimportant stuff like shopping and boys," Paul commented. Dawn parted her lips, and this time she just lost it. He had just stereotyped her to one of those typical girls that only thought of boys.
"What is wrong with you?!" she exclaimed. "I'm trying, okay?! And I'm not like those girls, I care about school! Sure, I like shopping and I think some boys are cute but that's it."
"Then why are you struggling with just five pages of information?"
"Because I have discalculia, okay?! Are you happy now?!" Dawn exclaimed, and then widened her eyes in realization of what she'd just uttered. Dawn had never shared this with anybody, not even May or Leaf, because, even though it was a simple Math learning disorder, she had felt a little embarrassed by it. It wasn't a big deal, but to her, it was. Paul wasn't sure if he had ever heard of this so called disease, and wasn't really shocked, but perplexed. "I-I gotta go," she said embarrassingly, as she packed up her stuff, and hurriedly left the library.
All Paul could think was: Pathetic.
Yes, guys. Discalculia is a real thing, I don't make stuff up. Google it.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I wrote a little more about Paul so you guys would see what's going on in Paul's life. And, I'm also trying to include contestshipping and leafgreenshipping in this story, which is why I added a bit of Drew and May in this chapter.
Thanks for reading and leave a review :)
