Saturday; September 6th; 8:39 am.
Paul briefly looked at himself in the mirror and just brushed a few times over his purple locks. Shrugging to himself, he walked out of his room and into the kitchen. The smell of coffee filled the air after a short while, and he quickly buttered his toasts while he was waiting for the coffee to boil.
After his breakfast, he glanced at the clock. 8:47am.
Today was his first day working at the mall, and he couldn't afford to be late. The plum-haired male wasted no time to leave and hurriedly approached his vehicle. When he got the car door open, he noticed Drew parking the familiar vehicle across the street.
Drew waved from across the street, but all Paul did was stand awkwardly. "Hey man," he said once he had crossed the street and had approached him.
"...What are you doing?" he asked, placing his hands in his pockets.
Drew let a sporty grin appear on his features. "I'm going to have to show you the ropes at your new job. So I figured it'd make sense if we go to the mall together. Plus," he added, "carpooling is good for the environment."
Paul had a dry look on his face. "Said the person that refuses to rinse off a plate," he said. Drew grinned knowingly. The only reason Paul happened to know that Drew was messy was because he had been over to Drew's place one day to talk to him about a project, and he remembered seeing the pile of filth it was covered in. He could even remember the foul scent. It had disgusted Paul.
"Whatever. Hop in man, we don't have all day," he said gesturing to his vehicle. Paul sighed before climbing in the vehicle and soon enough the car was on the road.
May was awake by 9am and was currently doing folding laundry while Dawn was busy making breakfast. Norman and Caroline were outside gardening and as far as May knew, Max was probably still asleep.
While Dawn was pouring the pancake batter, her mind was battling with thoughts. She still hadn't been able to visit her mother, and so much had happened in this past week or so. She felt uncomfortable and unsatisfied not seeing her mother; she felt uneasy to not talk to her.
To be honest, the blunette was a bit stressed. She didn't know how much longer she was going to be staying here. Granted, she knew she'd always be welcomed here and she was well aware that May's parents wouldn't kick her out, but this wasn't her home. Dawn only had a less than a year before she would graduate, which means eventually, she'd have to move out anyway.
She just hoped her mother would be with her during that time.
May felt a burning aroma fill the air and looked in the kitchen from the hallway. "Dawn!" she exclaimed, snapping Dawn out of her thoughts. "The pancakes!"
Dawn flinched and quickly turned off the stove before she looked at the burnt pancake disapprovingly. "Shit," she remarked before she scraped the said pancake off the frying pan and disposed of it.
"Are you okay?" May asked, walking in the kitchen.
Dawn merely nodded before pouring another set of batter onto the frying pan. "I'm fine," she said, not taking her eyes off the pan.
"What happened?" The brunette asked.
"Nothing," Dawn shook her head. "I just got lost into my thoughts," she said, laughing bitterly.
"What kind of thoughts?"
Dawn sighed. She lowered the flames before speaking. "I was thinking about my mom and my future," she admitted. That caught May's attention. Dawn flipped the pancake and then continued. "How long is this going to continue, May? How long am I going to stay here? We all know I can't stay here forever."
May gave her a look of shock. Was she out of her mind? "Are you delusional? Dawn, we never want you to leave, you can live here with me for as long as you want."
The blunette placed the pancake on a silver platter. She sighed and looked at her best friend. "May, you know I can't do that. Look, we have until next year 'till we graduate, then what? I'm going to have to move out if I want to go to college," she said.
"Dawn, the only reason you're staying here is because your mom's in the hospital," she reminded her. "Are you implying that she won't get better?" she asked bluntly, and instantly regretted it, seeing the flash of pain in her eyes. She didn't mean for her words to be harsh.
Dawn blinked. She had only visited her mother a couple of times; she couldn't really pinpoint whether her mother was recovering or not. But she thought about what May uttered. She hadn't realized she was being pessimistic, which was really rare for her. "I...I don't know," she mumbled, not knowing what to say. "Of course I want for her to get better, she's my mom. But at the rate at which she's recovering..." she trailed off, and didn't seem to find the words to continue.
May looked at her with sympathy, and then she suddenly pressed her lips in a thin line. She figured that all her blunette friend needed was reassurance. "Let's go the hospital," she said.
Dawn raised an eyebrow at the suggestion made. "What? Right now?"
May shrugged. "Why not? You haven't seen your mom since a while, plus you barely have time during the week. It's Saturday, we have time."
Dawn nodded; she did have a point. The weekends did give her a breather from school, which would allow her to see her mother more often. Dawn didn't hesitate to agree. "Okay," she said, with a small smile.
9:16am. Lumoise Hospital.
Ding!
The two girls exited the elevator after hearing the familar sound. The blunette looked for her mother's ICU room number and after spotting it, she walked towards it, about to open the door when a nurse stopped her.
"Excuse me, what are you doing?"
Both girls looked at the nurse, and Dawn frowned looking at the new nurse. She assumed her friend, Elisa only worked through nightshifts. "My mom's in there, my name is Dawn Berlitz and I came to see how my mom's doing." Dawn spoke.
The nurse simply nodded. "What's the patient's name again?"
"Johanna Berlitz," Dawn replied. "She's been in a coma for over two to three weeks now. I'd really appreciate an update on how she's doing and I want to go in and see her as well," she added.
"Of course, not a problem," she said, and then directed the two girls in the ICU room. While the nurse was busy searching a bit roughly through some drawers, May and Dawn were currently looking at the pale body that belonged to Johanna, as if she was chained to the bed.
May cringed. The last time she had seen Dawn's mother was years ago. To be honest, May and her had gotten along pretty well and the brunette considered Johanna to be her second mother. Caroline and Norman were also quite friendly towards her. And now as May looked at the depriving state Johanna was in right now, made her eyes a bit watery.
Even though Johanna wasn't her mother, May's heart was aching. She would never understand what Dawn was going through every day. She had no idea how her best friend was coping with the fear of losing her mother every day. It was even worse especially with the fact that Dawn was basically alone now.
May watched as Dawn gently sat down on the bed beside her mother. She just stared as Dawn started to talk to her mom, as if she could listen to her words. "Hey mom. It's been a while, I know. I'm sorry but I just never got the time to come visit you, especially with school and whatnot."
May looked at the scene intentingly. She was amazed to know that Dawn was talking to her perfectly normally, and was basically ignoring the fact that her mother was in a coma. "A lot happened. I moved to May's place recently, which is probably the best thing that's ever happened to me," Dawn grinned, looking at May and then looked back at her mother. "I'll be living with May until you recover."
"And well since I'm in my last year of high school, homework and tests are piled up on me already," Dawn rolled her eyes. A thought then ran across her mind about a certain someone. "Speaking of tests, I've been having a rough time with my Math tutor. He's confusing, a bit aggravating and insults me sometimes..." she trailed off, sighing. She shook her thoughts away, not wanting to recall his harsh words he had uttered the other day. "Anyways, the point is that I'm here now," she said, smiling weakly at her mother.
Sbe was anticipating the day her mother's eyes opened, and she'd see her radiant smile.
May looked away, wiping her tears. But then she looked back at Dawn, who had tears in her eyes as well. The brunette walked over and hugged Dawn tightly from behind. "I'm sorry you have to go through this, Dawn," May said sadly. "I don't know what's going to happen, but I'll always be here for you, okay?"
Dawn smiled, looking at May behind her and then looked at her mother. "See, mom? May's the best," she said and May laughed in response before she released Dawn.
Dawn stood up, not looking away from her mother. "Let's go talk to the nurse," she suggested to May, who simply nodded before the two walked outside the ICU room.
9:18am. City Mall.
Drew struggled for a couple of minutes to find a suitable parking space; the mall was pretty busy during the weekends. Luckily, Paul was patient and didn't complain or grew irritable and the chartreuse headed male was thankful for that.
The two males entered, and the cool air conditionor immediately hit their skin, and Drew sighed with satisfaction. Meanwhile, Paul realized instantly that working in the mall was going to be slightly different than working as a waiter at a restaurant. However, that thought didn't really bother him.
Paul noticed Drew looking out for someone. "Where is he...oh, there he is," he said, grinning. Paul scrunched his eyebrows in confusion but looked where Drew was currently looking at, and seemed a bit curious to see an older looking man walking to their direction.
The older looking man resembled Drew somewhat; the difference was that this man had a darker green color of hair, and he had deep blue-grey eyes. He was about three inches taller than Drew as well. "Hey Drew," he looked at him, then looked at Paul, who had a nonchalant expression on his face. "Is this your friend who desperately needed a job?" he grinned jokingly.
Paul wasn't amused by the comment. Was he actually thinking needing money was a laughing matter? "I'm guessing you're the uncle," he said lamely, looking at his fancy business suit.
He chuckled. "Yes. You can call me Harold."
Paul winced. He was going to mention that he'd rather not, but Drew cut in. "So, anyways, Paul's here for his first day on the job..." he trailed off. "What job openings are available?"
"Well," Harold said, "we do need some food court employees-"
"I'm don't really work well in the food industry," Paul cut in, recalling memories of his last job. Drew and Harold stared at Paul for a while until he continued, "I can take any other job." He said.
Harold nodded. "Not a problem. There's also an opening for a movie ticket salesperson." He suggested.
"Hm," was his response. Did he mean those people who sat down behind a little glass booth and sold movie tickets? The position itself didn't sound very tempting, but at the same time, it didn't sound very difficult to do. "What am I going to be responsible for?"
He was surprised to hear Drew reply, "Oh, just issue movie tickets, accept payments, make reservations and help customers out in general," he said. "Trust me Paul, it's an easy enough job, and the best part is," he added softly, "you won't be making convo with a lot of people, you just issue the tickets, get the payment and you're golden!"
"What's my wage? I'm only going to be working on the weekends. I have another job during the week." Paul explained, looking towards Harold.
"Your hours are going to be from 9 am to 1 pm, then from 5 pm to 9 pm. You'll be paid minimum wage, which is eight dollars an hour."
Not too shabby. If he had done his calculations correct (of course he had, he is a Math whiz), he'd make more than a hundred dollars every weekend, plus with the job he had at school was certainly not too bad of an income to have a decent meal and pay the month's rent. His eyes then darted towards Harold, who seemed to be expecting a reply.
"...Okay. I'll take it," he said, closing his eyes in satisfaction.
9:43am.
Currently, Dawn and May were in May's vehicle. Songs were being heard through the radio while May was driving.
The nurse had told Dawn that her mother hadn't been responding to any of the tests performed. The nurse had also reminded her that her brain had been severely damaged, and it would probably take a long while for her mother to respond. Disappointed as Dawn was, the nurse simply told her to be patient if she wanted a miracle to happen.
Seeing how disappointed Dawn was, May offered for them to go the mall to have some girl time of their own. May figured it would allow Dawn to forget about her mom for a while and let loose. And of course, they wouldn't go to the mall without their other friend, Leaf.
Which was why they were currently driving to Leaf's place to pick her up.
May's cell blasted from her jeans pocket, and the brunette looked at Dawn briefly before looking towards the road again. "Dawn, can you get that? And put it on speaker please," she said.
Dawn nodded before reaching into her pocket, struggling a bit before she got the device in her palm. It was Max calling. She answered before placing it on speaker mode. "Hello?"
"Hey Dawn, where's May?" Max asked.
"What do you want? I'm driving." May rolled her eyes.
"You're still driving to the hospital?" he asked in disbelief.
"No, dodo brain. Dawn, Leaf and I are going to the mall. We won't be back 'till a few hours later," May said.
"Oh okay," he said. "Wait...that means I have the house to myself! Hell yeah!" he cheered from across the phone. Dawn laughed.
May rolled her eyes. "Congratulations," she said, her tone full of sarcasm. "Don't try to cook, you'll burn the house down. There's leftovers from last night."
"That was one time woman!" he exclaimed. Both girls laughed and could hear Max groaned. "Whatever. I'm going to study for a test I have next week."
May smirked. "Okay later nerdy," she said and Max had ended the call.
Dawn looked at May in disbelief. She had a satisfied smile etched on her features. "Why do you tease your brother all the time?"
May shrugged. "It's fun. It's something siblings do," she said as the car neared Leaf's driveway. Dawn cringed a bit when May repeatedly honked the car horn, probably disrupting the whole neighborhood. May rolled down the glass window. "LEAF!" she yelled. "Get your ass down, or we're leaving without you!"
Dawn never realized what a crazy friend she had. Laughing to herself, she then noticed Leaf exiting the door of her house, and she walked irritably and sat down in the backseat of the car. "Arceus, May what's wrong with you? Have you never heard of a cell phone?"
May started the car again and giggled when she put it in drive. "Oh come on, Leaf, that was pretty fun. Plus I saved my cell phone battery."
Dawn laughed while Leaf rolled her eyes when the car sped off again.
10:07am. City Mall.
Drew had finished showing Paul his workstation (which was basically a glass booth) and was currently walking around, trying to avoid bumping into people. He noticed the mall was pretty busy today; it was swarmed with people from more than half the city, it seemed.
To sum it up, Drew was rich. His mother owned one of the most successful clothing lines in Lumoise. Therefore, he didn't need to work to have an extra income within the household. But Drew was someone who wasn't egoistical about his family's wealth; he was someone who wanted to be independent and do something for himself. Hence, he'd worked in his uncle's mall for practically the whole summer, just to keep himself busy.
Drew's childhood years hadn't been the best. When he was six years old, his parents were already divorced and he was living with his single mom. He'd always question the reason for their divorce, but his mom had always evaded the topic somehow...until one day, at the age of fourteen, he saw his father (he recognized him from old photographs) with another woman and his kid. Sure, he didn't know his father, but Drew knew that this man was never going to be forgiven for putting his mother through all of these years of suffering and pain.
Now his mother had a boyfriend. She'd been seeing him since the past three months or so, but Drew had never met him. All he was familiar with was his name: Thomas. She'd talk about him countless times to give Drew an idea that he truly makes her happy; he was nothing like his father. He hoped he could meet Thomas one day.
The chartreuse headed male snapped out of his thoughts when he saw his other two friends approaching him. He smirked. "Ashy boy and Gare bear." He teased.
Gary, Drew and Ash knew each other since childhood. Gary was originally from the Kanto region but his folks had moved to Kalos since he was a toddler. He was a ladies charmer and was praised for his toned muscles and good looks. His spiky brown hair never seemed to be combed, and he stood tall at almost six feet, which was only an inch taller than Drew was.
Ash, on the other hand, grew up here in Kalos. He was a pretty straightforward and laid back kind of guy that played basketball during his free time. He had a big heart for food, and would always be found eating. His black raven hair and brown eyes complimented his good looks as well, and he stood a little shorter than Drew.
Gary groaned, and Ash cringed while face-palming. "Shut it, you little fucker," Gary said, and Drew's response was a laugh. "You working today?" the spiky haired male asked.
Drew shook his head. "Nah. It was only a summer job. But I mean, I could still work on weekends." He shrugged.
"So why aren't you working today?" Ash asked lamely.
Drew shrugged in response, earning a chuckle from the two guys. "Oh, by the way my sister came back," Gary mentioned and added, "since about a week ago."
"Nice." Ash remarked. "What's up with her now?"
Gary smirked. "Why are you so curious about my older sister, Ashy boy?" Ash rolled his eyes, but then Gary continued. "She's fine, she just finished college and now she's trying to look for a job."
"I can't wait 'till high school's over, I'm tired of this hellhole." Drew commented, earning two nods of agreement from Ash and Gary. "College should be dope though, right?"
Gary shook his head. "Not always. It can be fun yeah, but it's a lot of work," Gary said. He remembered his sister, Daisy telling him of all the hard work college required and the amount of time and dedication she had put to get her degree. "I really should start applying to colleges." Gary added.
"Same here," Drew said, nodding. His eyes then caught a familiar brunette with her other two friends currently walking through the swarm of people. His eyes widened, but a small smile appeared on his face.
Ash looked at Drew, raising his eyebrow. "Okay why the hell are you smiling like that?" he asked to which Drew deadpanned and smacked him lightly at the back of his head. "Was that really necessary?!" he exclaimed, rubbing the spot where Drew had hit him.
Drew rolled his eyes, and ignored him and Gary as he focused his attention on May. She was wearing a red top with some blue jeans shorts. Her short hair was let loose and was covered with a headband. It was something so average, but yet, it still managed to catch his attention.
If it wasn't obvious enough already, Drew had a huge crush on May-from the moment he met her. He didn't know what it was about her, but he couldn't get her out of her head. He was attracted to her fiery but sometimes shy personality. He knew he was whipped from the very beginning.
"Oh, that's why Drew's staring there," Gary said looking to where the three females were, and then looked back at Drew. "You're really whipped, man." Gary laughed.
Drew groaned. "I know. But that's not even the bad part. I'm pretty sure she hates me," he said.
"Well," Ash said, "maybe if you weren't an egoistical dick all the time to her, then maybe she'd give you the time of the day," Ash said smartly.
Drew rolled his eyes, and then flicked his hair proudly. "I don't understand how she can resist all this," he motioned his hands over to himself.
"You just proved my point," Ash said, rolling his eyes.
Ash's response was Drew's middle finger. "Whatever." Drew commented. "Let's go talk to them," he suggested.
Ash shook his head. "You guys go ahead, I'm here to shop for my mom again. I'll catch up with you guys later."
Gary and Drew snorted at the idea of Ash shopping for his mom. Ash rolled his eyes at his friends' immaturity before he walked into one of the stores.
10:25am. City Mall.
The three females were currently wondering where to look first. They weren't planning on actually purchasing anything, but just window shop and maybe take a few selfies before they'd head to the food court. It was Leaf then, who noticed Gary and Drew walking towards them, and she widened her eyes in surprise.
"Hey ladies." Gary's voice was heard, and Dawn and May averted their attention towards them. May stared at Drew in slight surprise, who had a small smirk on his face.
Dawn smiled. "Hey guys! What's up?"
Gary shook his head. "Not much. We just came to the mall to hang out for a few."
"Cool, same here," was Dawn's reply.
An awkward silence followed, and May and Leaf were trying to look anywhere but in their direction. Gary coughed, and Drew rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. A thought then appeared in Drew's head. "Hey April," he said, looking towards the darker brunette. "We have a project due, remember?"
"I didn't forget," she said, or more mumbled in annoyance.
"You do?" Dawn asked, looking at May.
May sighed, nodding. "Yeah we got paired up for a drama assignment."
Gary nodded. "Nice."
"Yup." Drew added. "When do you wanna work on it? How about tomorrow?" he asked, his eyes directed towards May.
Unconsciously, May's cheeks pinked, to which Drew noticed. "T-tomorrow?" she asked, her voice small. "As in Sunday?"
Drew chuckled. "Yes, as in Sunday."
"You okay, May?" Leaf asked, noticing her stutter.
The darker brunette nodded towards her cousin. "I'm fine," she said then looked towards Drew, biting her lip. "I guess we could start tomorrow."
"Okay," he nodded. "We'll start at noon. My place."
May's eyes widened. "No, we'll do it at my place," she argued.
Did May really think he was that big of a perv? Drew didn't intend for anything she didn't want to happen. All he wanted was a chance to know her better. "Okay, that's fine."
May nodded. "Okay," she said, then looked at her friends. "Come on guys, we need to shop." She gestured for the two of them to follow her. Dawn and Leaf just shrugged as they walked behind the brunette.
Gary's eyes lingered on Leaf for a little longer, until he noticed Leaf turn around. Leaf had caught his stare, but he didn't avert his gaze but in fact, let a smile show. Leaf just ignored him and walked forward with the girls again.
"Well," Drew said, placing a hand around Gary's shoulder. "Looks like I'm not the only one that's whipped."
10:31am.
Ash was surrounded by several tops, shoes, and jewelry. He looked randomly at a green top and cringed. He didn't understand why his mom insisted for him to shop for her; he didn't know anything particularly about girl shopping. He groaned, rubbing a finger gently on his forehead and exhaling.
"Need some help?"
He directed his eyes, and placed his hand to his side while widening his eyes in slight surprise. He smiled, recognizing the familiar female. "Misty? What are you doing here?"
The carrot top sheepishly smiled at the raven haired boy, as she held up a few shopping bags. "Shopping unfortunately," she said.
Ash raised an eyebrow curiously. "I thought all girls loved shopping."
Misty put her hand on her hip. "Are you stereotyping me?" Ash didn't reply. "I despise shopping, especially clothes shopping. It's so tiring to choose clothes, then go in the changing rooms and try them on. Do you know how hot it is in there? Then, if you need a bigger size you need to walk back and take another top. Ugh, so exhausting."
Ash chuckled. "Then why are you shopping in the first place if you hate it that much?"
"Because my mom insisted I get new clothes, especially since I moved here recently."
"Ah." Ash nodded. "You like it here so far?"
"Well it's only been a week, but yeah, I guess. My parents and sisters moved here 'cause my mom has a new job here." Misty explained.
Ash nodded. "Cool." He then walked back to looking at the tops, inspecting them for some weird reason.
Misty laughed. Ash looked at her curiously. "What exactly are you looking for?"
Ash groaned. "I'm kind of here on a mission," he admitted. "My mom wants me to shop and get her some tops and jewelry. Though," he said, picking up a necklace, then placed it back on the counter, "I have no idea what to get her."
"Why don't I help you out?" Misty suggested.
Ash looked at her curiously. "You?" She nodded in response. "But you hate shopping."
Misty waved her hand in dismissal. "True, but I doubt anyone else would help you. No offense, but you have little to no fashion sense. Plus, I could choose something great for your mom."
Ash shrugged. He figured it was better than choosing something his mom didn't like. The last time he did that, he got an earful from his mom. And yet, she still sent him on shopping trips. "Okay."
Within the next half hour, Misty had picked a long flowing black dress with some matching sandals. She also had gotten some cosmetics and jewelry for his mom. Ash had to admit, for someone who hated shopping, she surely had good taste. Ash had given her his thanks, and while he stood in line to pay, Misty was staring at an orange top.
The price tag read $150. She widened her eyes in surprise. She couldn't afford that, and no doubt would be angry at herself for spending over a hundred dollars just for a name brand top. She scoffed to herself and walked back to where Ash was.
"Done?" she asked.
Ash nodded. "Yep." He pointed to the shopping bags. "Thanks, Mist."
She smiled, putting a strand of her short orange hair behind her. "No problem."
Ash looked like he suddenly recalled something. "Oh, hold on. I forgot, I wanted cologne for myself," he said, handing her the bags.
She looked at the bags incredulously. "You want me to carry your bags?"
He rolled his eyes. "It's just for a few minutes, Mist. I'll be right back," he said. Misty sighed as she reluctantly took the bags from him.
She sighed, tapping her foot impatiently and looked outside the store. She accidentally made eye contact with a plum haired male, who was standing behind a glass booth. Her lips parted in surprise. She instantly recognized him from art class, but she couldn't recall his name. He seemed to be wiping down the counter, and then looked up, but Misty looked away, afraid she'd been caught.
She had been staring. That was peculiar for her.
A shopping bag was suddenly placed in front of her green eyes, and she blinked, pushing her thoughts away. She saw Ash's grin. "What?"
"Open it."
Misty eyed Ash in curiosity but then shrugged as she reached in and was surprised to pull out the very same top she had been eyeing at the store. She looked at Ash in awe. "You...bought this for me?"
"I saw you looking at it. I figured you'd want it. Consider this as a thanks for helping me out."
Misty couldn't form a proper sentence, let alone think. She just kept looking at the top and Ash back and forth, not believing that Ash, a guy she had barely known for less than a week, would spend over a hundred dollars for a blouse. "Thank you, Ash."
Ash smiled, placing his hand in his pocket. "It was the least I could do." To his pleasant surprise, Misty reached out and hugged him. The gesture surprised him, but he quickly reciprocated.
They released, and Ash's cheeks were a bit pink. "Well, I better get going home now," Misty said.
"Wait." Ash called. Misty eyed him curiously. "I can't let you go without getting your number." Misty laughed.
11:29am.
The three girls had been looking around for nearly an hour, and even though they interestingly gawked at every cute item there was, they eventually got bored. "What do you guys wanna do now?" Leaf asked.
Dawn shrugged. May replied, "I don't know, I'm pretty tired of looking at stuff that we're not even going to buy."
"How about we watch a movie then?" Leaf suggested.
Dawn nodded excitedly. "Sure. What movie?"
"Oh, let's watch the emoji movie, it looks okay enough to be entertaining." May suggested.
Leaf nodded, while Dawn did the same. "Okay, I'm gonna get the tickets, you guys get the popcorn and drinks," Dawn said. The two girls gave her a few dollars to help pay for the tickets, before Dawn walked towards the glass booth.
The person had his head buried behind a book when Dawn had said, "Excuse me, I need three tickets to the emoji movie."
Paul stilled for a second, recognizing the voice. He reluctantly removed the book from his face, facing Dawn, who now had the eyes of dinner plates. Dawn hadn't seen Paul since Thursday and would never expect to see him here at the mall. She still remembered their last conversation, which had left a sour taste in her mouth. It was then that she noticed his work attire.
"You work here now?" Dawn asked, but her tone was somewhat bitter.
Paul handed her the tickets. "I started today."
"Oh, okay. Thanks for the tickets," she said, sliding the dollars across the booth. Paul simply watched as Dawn stood there awkwardly before he saw two girls walk with several snacks towards Dawn.
"Hey, Dawn, did you get the tickets?" May asked, taking a handful of popcorn and eating it. Dawn nodded, and May looked towards the glass booth. "Paul?" she exclaimed, catching Paul's attention. He groaned in slight annoyance. "You work at the mall?"
Paul had a flat expression on his face. "Why, do you plan on getting me fired again?"
May's lips stretched into a thin line. "I'm sorry for getting you fired," she said, recalling the time when Dawn told her that Paul had saved her life. "I was just being stupid. You didn't deserve it, and it's my fault."
If anything, Paul was surprised. He didn't expect her to apologize. He wasn't sure what to say, so he nodded. "...It's fine."
Dawn smiled; she knew May was being genuine while she apologized. Dawn eyed Paul curiously. She'd never seen Paul apologize for...anything. Would he apologize for lashing out on her Thursday? She scoffed silently to herself. Like that was going to happen.
"Yo, Paul!" The three girls looked behind to see Drew approaching the glass booth. Paul raised his eyebrow. "How's the job coming along?"
Paul shrugged. "Fine." To be honest, it was an easy enough job. There wasn't much required, all he had to do was sell movie tickets and accept payments. Sure, some customers were impatient, and some had insulted him because some tickets were sold out, but other than that, he pretty much had nothing to complain about.
"I totally forgot to mention it but," Drew said then added, "if there's anyone you should thank for this job, it's Dawn." He put an arm around her shoulders. Dawn's lips parted, but she kept a nonchalant expression. "She's the one that told me to help you out."
Dawn smiled weakly, as Paul's eyes were directed towards the floor of his booth. Dawn removed Drew's hand. "It's okay, Drew. I don't expect anything from him," she said, a bitter tone being heard again. Paul seemed unfazed, but for the first time, he felt like he deserved it for some reason. May and Leaf looked at her in slight awe before they laughed. "Let's go guys." Dawn left as May and Leaf followed her from behind.
"Woah," Drew said once they were out of earshot. "What was that about?"
He shrugged, lying through his teeth. "No idea."
1:03pm.
Paul glanced at the clock. Seeing that it was just past one, he decided to close up for his break. His next shift was at five; that would give him sufficient time to eat and relax for a bit.
He walked into the elevator and headed for the food court, which was a couple of floors above him. When the elevator doors opened, he walked out and tried to ignore the hustle and bustle of people. He noticed there was a line, and all the tables had been filled already.
He sighed in disapproval, and then he heard someone call his name. "Paul!" he looked towards the source of the voice. He recognized the raven haired male from school. Drew and Gary were seated beside Ash at a table.
He found himself reluctantly walking to their table (Where else would he go?). "Hey you're on break right? Why don't you join us for lunch?" Ash suggested.
He never really fit well into a group of people. He felt uncomfortable enough just standing there. "I'm not hungry." He lied.
Ash's eyebrows rose. Drew slapped Ash's arm. "Ash, don't you remember? Paul usually likes to be alone. He is a loner." Ash nodded in understanding.
"But seriously you can chill with us for a change. Sometimes it's good to try something new." Gary suggested.
Paul wasn't sure if he was ready for change. He was pretty sure he'd never want to change. "Maybe next time."
Gary frowned, but Drew nodded. "No problem man. If you need anything we're here."
Paul nodded, and luckily the line had shortened to his liking, so he quicklg took his spot in line. He had ordered a small burger and black coffee (the sour taste was pleasing to him) before he somehow managed to find an empty table. While he chewed on his burger, he noticed someone sit on the opposite seat in front of him.
It was Misty; Paul found himself slightly self conscious. "Hey. I don't think we've officially introduced ourselves. I'm Misty. You're Paul right?" she asked.
Feeling uncomfortable, he nodded and then sipped his black coffee in silence. Misty saw him rise from his seat. "I have to go." Paul quickly walked away, leaving the carrot top by herself.
3:20pm.
Dawn, Leaf and May exited the movie theatre with matching grins on their faces. "That movie was so awesome." Leaf cheered.
"I know right!" was Dawn's reply. "It was hilarious. It could have been better but still, it wasn't bad."
"Same." May added. "Do you guys wanna do anything else? I'm pretty tired."
Dawn shook her head. "No, I think we can go home now. I do have homework to do."
"Yeah," Leaf nodded. "I better get started on my bio paper."
The three girls started to walk towards the elevator when Dawn suddenly noticed her purse had been left back. "Hey guys, I'll catch up with you soon. I forgot my purse."
"Okay, we'll meet up with you soon." May replied, and Dawn smiled before walking back into the theatre, skipping past the empty glass booth, which was still closed.
She walked into one of the aisles and breathed a sigh of relief to see her purse still sitting there. She made a note to be more careful next time as she grabbed it. She turned around, and was genuinely shocked to see Paul inside. "Oh shit!" she exclaimed loudly, her beanie falling off.
Paul heard the scream and blinked at her. Dawn shifted her body uncomfortably. "What are you doing in here? You work here too?"
Paul looked at her. "I had nothing better to do, so I asked to clean up the movie theatre." He explained. Dawn only nodded, not saying anything else. It was then that Paul noticed her without her beanie. He noticed her bangs that were now exposed. He averted his eyes elsewhere once he realized he was staring.
Dawn clutched against her purse and took about three or four steps before she heard Paul's voice from behind her. "Dawn." She widened her eyes, and immediately stopped.
Paul was surprised she actually halted. He thought she'd continue walking. Dawn turned around and watched him in curiosity. "Yeah?"
His hands circled into a fist. His heart was slightly aching for some odd reason. When he looked at her, his mind instanty flashbacked to when he had abruptly yelled at her in the library Thursday evening. His onix eyes wavered a bit before he exhaled. "I..."
Dawn swore her heart fluttered. Her lips lifted into a light smile, and her blue eyes sparkled with a bit of excitement. Was he trying to apologize?
Though, he couldn't finish. What was he doing? His eyes changed expression suddenly and instead, he picked up her beanie which was still on the floor. "You forgot your beanie," he said lamely, handing it to her.
Dawn looked at her beanie, frowning in disappointment. She quickly secured the beanie over her head before walking out, leaving Paul alone.
She headed for the elevator. She smiled at Paul's small attempt of an apology. Though small, it was definitely there.
And with that, her smile only grew bigger. Today was a good day.
Hey guys! What do you think of this chapter? I'm kinda iffy about it, I need opinions :p
Holy shit, almost 7000 words. Gah. But hey a lot happened in this chapter, including a bit of pokeshipping. What'd you think of the pokeshipping scene? Oooh, but it also appears that Misty may have a thig for Paul. Plot twist!
Make sure to review telling me what you guys thought! It only takes a few minutes.
Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys next time!
