Hey all! I have another chapter out and this one is really fun but also important, so make sure to read until the end. Why the end? Well, you'll see ;)
Monday; November 15th; May's Residence; 7:21 a.m.
The blunette stepped out of the warm shower with a towel wrapped around her body. She soon got dressed in a black tank top and pink skirt and glanced at her reflection in the mirror.
The weekend had been a disaster. Mr. Rowan had decided to cut her wage for causing a ruckus at the restaurant and spilling the food contents on Barry and his dad, despite the whole thing being an accident. She supposed it could have been worse, though; he could have chosen to immediately fire her.
To add things up, she didn't know working at a busy restaurant like Chancey Fancy would be so aggravating. Some of the customers she ended up serving were so impolite and patient, that she would wanted to pull her own hair out in frustration. Her feet hurt for about the majority of the day due the constant amount of walking around. And if things weren't bad enough already, little to no customers tipped her.
She started to question why she applied for a job like this, but then, as if answering her own question mentally, she slapped herself lightly on the cheek and her negativity away. She literally just started working; she couldn't quit now. Besides, she was getting paid and most of her co-workers were very friendly.
Putting a smile on her face, she stepped out of the bathroom, only to see a glaring May, who was placing her hand on her hip. "Finally! I've been waiting for hours, other people need to use the bathroom too, you know," she said exaggeratingly. Dawn sheepishly laughed, muttering a small apology before the brunette rolled her eyes and walked past her to do her business.
Dawn walked over to the dressing table and sat down, opening a drawer looking for a comb, but her sapphire eyes were trapped on an item she hadn't seen in a long while. She grabbed it and held it in her palm of her hand, as memories came flooding back.
Humming happily to herself, the cheerful blunette ran downstairs, the wonderful and delicious aroma of bacon and eggs in the air. Dawn naturally assumed that her loving mom was making breakfast, just as she did every morning.
"Morning, mom!" Dawn greeted as she entered the kitchen.
Johanna glanced away from her frying pan and looked at her daughter with a warm smile on her face. "Morning, dear. Did you sleep well?"
She nodded, returning the smile. "You bet. I'm so psyched for today!" She exclaimed in excitement. "My first day of high school! I can't wait to make new friends and meet new people, maybe even get a boyfriend." She gushed.
Johanna chuckled at her daughter's optimism before she placed the contents of the pan into two plates. The two then walked over to the table and sat down across from each other. "Now Dawn, high school may be fun but don't forget it's also a rollercoaster. Things can get tough."
Dawn raised an eyebrow, wondering how high school could be difficult. Surely it couldn't be that tough. "No need to worry, mom," she said, waving her a hand of dismissal before pouring herself a glass of orange juice and sipping on it.
Johanna's expression turned stoic. "Dawn, I'm serious," she said, narrowing her eyes. Dawn placed her glass down and instead of pushing her views aside, she listened. "You can have fun in high school but it's also a serious point in your life. Don't take it lightly, Dawn. Make great friends, establish relationships and get good grades; high school will be one of the most memorable times of your life, so…make it count, dear."
A smile spread across Dawn's lips. Her mother's words of wisdom happened to boost her optimism even more, despite her mother also pointing out the difficulties. "Of course, mom."
"And if anyone puts you down or makes you feel bad, then just tell yourself that you're great just the way you are. I know high school is full of rude kids." She added.
Dawn nodded in understanding, before she stood up and walked over to her to hug her tightly while Johanna was still seated. Smiling, she also stood up, allowing herself to embrace her daughter tightly. "I have something for you," she said.
Dawn seemed curious and it grew even more when she saw her mom reach into her pocket and pull out what looked like a black bracelet with two small pink beads. Her eyes seemed mesmerized despite the simplicity of its design. "This is my lucky bracelet. My mom gave it to me when I was little. Whenever I was feeling down, I'd look at it and it'd always remind me to keep a smile on my face. So, I want you to have it, Dawn," she said, handing it to her.
Dawn glanced up to her mother with a wide grin on her face. She took the bracelet and placed it around her wrist. "Thanks, mom," she said. "I love it!"
She eyed the bracelet again, the stupid grin still plastered on her face, hoping that this would hold onto her and give her all the good luck she'd need during the years to come. She looked at her mom again, hugging her tightly, as if she didn't want to let go and being grateful for having such a loving and caring mother as her.
Three and a half years ago, her mom had bestowed her with that bracelet. But ever since she had passed away, she had taken it off. Tears spilled onto her cheek as her heart clenched with the memories of her mother and how much she missed her.
No, she told herself. Her mom wouldn't want her to be crying right now. With that thought in mind, she quickly wiped her tears away and after about three months of not having the bracelet near her, she placed the bracelet around her wrist.
But this time, she didn't wear it for luck; she wore it to carry a piece of her mom around with her.
Paul was eating his typical breakfast that usually consisted of a bagel and warm black coffee, but he was lost in his thoughts.
He questioned why he had gone out of his way to visit Dawn last Friday. Ever since Conway had practically confessed his feelings about Dawn towards him, he felt uncomfortable. Plus, he had no idea why he was uncomfortable knowing that piece of information. Surely, Dawn was allowed to date anyone she desired.
Then why did he feel himself growing angry every time that thought came into his mind?
The plum haired male's thoughts were interrupted when Reggie entered the kitchen, grabbing a box of cereal and a bowl. "Good morning," he greeted eagerly as he sat across from Paul, pouring the contents into the bowl and then grabbed the milk. Paul let a small smile show and nodded towards him as a response.
"So, I have some interesting news to share…well, interesting for me at least," Reggie began after he poured the milk into the bowl.
Paul raised an eyebrow curiously. "What is it?"
"Well, since Maylene and I have been talking a lot more," he began while Paul listened keenly, "We decided to…meet up again."
Honestly, Paul wasn't surprised. Every time he'd speak to Maylene, he could tell that he still had feelings for her; he'd notice how his smile would widen and his excitement would be overt. Still, Paul decided maybe he could pull his leg for once. "Oh really?" he questioned, a hint of a smirk on his lips. Reggie stifled a laugh as Paul shifted to a more serious tone. "That's great, Reggie. I'm glad that you're going to see her again."
The older male smiled in response. He didn't think Paul would be supportive, so this was a pleasant surprise. "Thanks, Paul. She'll probably be here by the time you get back from school today."
Paul almost chocked on his coffee. He didn't expect that. "She's coming to visit you today?" he asked incredulously, and he nodded in response. "You work fast."
Now it was Reggie's turn to smirk. "Mhm." He nodded. "Unlike some people," he said with a tone of amusement. Paul rolled his eyes, obviously getting the hint. "While we're going on about relationships, what's going on with you and Dawn? Fill me in?"
Reggie wasn't aware that his relationship with Dawn was a bit…rocky? To be honest, Paul didn't even know himself. Plus, he was always damn confused, especially after last week. "We're fine," he lied, just to avoid giving all the details.
At this point, Reggie wondered if Paul was ever going to realize his feelings towards Dawn. He briefly contemplated confessing the fact that Dawn was crushing on him. He shook his head in response. That was something for those two lovebirds to do on their own. He nodded towards Paul's direction before he stood up. "Well, have a good day at school, Paul."
"Thanks," he replied. "You have fun with Maylene," he added before Reggie grinned in response.
7:59 a.m. Lumoise High.
When both May and Dawn entered the school, they were immediately greeted by Drew, who wasn't too far away, waving to the two girls.
Dawn smirked when she realized they were giving each other that certain look that insinuated they wanted to engage in a heavy make out session. The chartreuse male walked towards the girls but kept his eyes on May. "Hey gorgeous," he said, winking in the process as the brunette blushed furiously.
Dawn scoffed. "What am I, chopped liver?" She questioned a bit jokingly.
"Hey if I called you gorgeous, May would probably kill me," Drew stated matter-of-factly as Dawn escaped a laugh.
May nodded. "You got that right," she said, grinning. "So, ready for tonight?"
Dawn scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "What's tonight?"
The two glanced towards the blunette's direction, looking at her in awe. "You forgot?!" May asked in astonishment, while Drew kept the same expression. Dawn only laughed sheepishly as she waited for her friend to continue. She rolled her eyes. "Hello! It's the night of our Romeo and Juliet drama! I can't believe you forgot," she said exasperatingly.
Realization struck her as soon as she said that. But in her defence, with work and school in between this weekend, it was really no wonder why this slipped out of her mind. Still, she laughed it off. "Whaaaat? Of course I remember! Duh! How could I forget something like that?"
Drew gave her a deadpanned look. "You forgot," he told her, not convinced.
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. I forgot. But can you blame me? I've been busy," she told them.
May waved her a hand of dismissal. "It's fine. But you're going to have to make it up to me," she said with a playful smile on her lips.
Dawn raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said it was fine!" She retorted.
May laughed in response. "I'm just messing with you, and plus, I kinda wanted it set up so you could do something for me…well, both of us, really," she said vaguely, referring to herself and Drew.
Dawn was more than happy to help out her friends. "Sure, what is it?"
"Well, our drama teacher wanted some of the students' help in setting up and decorating the stage…but we're not exactly good at that," Drew started to explain.
May continued for him, "And since you have a good fashion sense and whatnot, we were thinking you could help set it up."
Dawn grinned, absolutely thrilled with the idea. "Sure, I love decorating! Trust me, the whole set is going to look beautiful," she said, excitement visible in her tone. "But I'm going to need some help."
"Of course," May said. "Don't think we're going to leave you to do all the work. You just have a vision for what it should look like," she explained.
Dawn nodded. "Sounds good to me," she said, just before the bell rang. "Oh, that's first period. I gotta go, see you guys later," she said to the couple before she walked away as the two waved towards her.
Just then the couple caught sight of Paul as he entered the building with his usual nonchalant expression. Drew recalled how May had confessed that Paul and Dawn's relationship had not been the best currently and as he watched Paul, a smile slowly creeped up to him as an idea struck him.
"Hey Paul!" Drew yelled from across the hallway.
Paul stopped when he heard the familiar voice and eyed Drew, then walked towards him. He couldn't help but to notice how his arm was around May. He could only assume the two had recently gotten together. "What's up?"
"Are you willing to do me a solid?" Drew asked him.
Paul blinked in response. Today was just full of surprises. Nonetheless, Paul figured he did in fact owe him for all the times that Drew was being a good friend to him. It was his turn to return the favour and plus, he was tired of shutting him out. "Yeah, sure."
May was slightly surprised. It was abnormal to see his good side. Drew responded, "We need someone to help with the whole stage set up for our big drama tonight. We might need your artistic skills. Think you can help out? It'd be really great," he said, internally hoping for a positive response. Meanwhile, May didn't understand why he was asking for Paul's assistance with the drama.
Paul instantaneously nodded, slightly shocking the two. "What time and where?"
Drew managed to get over his slightly shocked trance. "Uh, this afternoon after school hours in the theatre."
"I'll be there," was Paul's response before he walked away.
Drew smirked at the thought of Paul and Dawn possibly mending their relationship and internally congratulated himself for coming up with a genius plan on the spot. May looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you have that look on your face?"
Drew chuckled. "Because May, this is all part of my perfect plan."
"Perfect plan?" She repeated in confusion.
"To get Paul and Dawn to start talking and maybe even get together," he elaborated.
May didn't exactly approve of the idea. Sure, she had been the one to encourage Dawn to confess her feelings, but that was before she realized just how toxic their relationship was. She despised how Paul hurt her all the time. "Paul is literally a trashy type of guy; there's no way that he'd ever be a good boyfriend for her," she said. "He hurt her so many times that I probably can't even count it on my fingers."
Drew frowned. "Yeah, you're right. But I know Paul. And he's really not that bad of a guy. You've only witnessed his bad side, but he has some nice moments too, trust me. Just give it a chance."
May sighed dramatically. "Fiiine," she drawled. "But if he hurts Dawn one more time, I will not hesitate to chop his legs off and throw them into the Atlantic Ocean."
Drew laughed, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "So damn aggressive."
May smirked. "You like it."
"Damn right I do."
3:35 p.m.
It was after school hours and Dawn walked into the theatre where there were already a group of students in the process of decorating the stage. The first thing that Dawn did was analyse the size of the stage before she would visualize her look.
She then looked around in some cardboard boxes in which a few decorative supplies were found. She knew that a romantic and tragic drama like Romeo and Juliet should look aesthetically pleasing but also a bit gloomy. She removed some of the contents from the boxes to see her options and after a few minutes, she closed her eyes and grinned, her visual of the stage fixed in her memory.
As she was about to get started, she saw Drew and May walk in and she greeted them with a smile. "Hey guys, you're just in time. I have the perfect idea!" She squealed excitedly as the two grinned at the blunette. "So, I'm thinking," she started as she pulled out what seemed to be gold streamers from the box below her, "This on the top and for the background, we could have maybe the night sky with the moon out. Oh, and some white fountains and some stairs."
The two were impressed with how fast she was with coming up with the design. "That sounds great!" May exclaimed. Dawn grinned in response. "Come on Drew," she told him. "Let's get started." Drew nodded in response before Dawn handed him the streamers.
More students walked into the theatre and started to assist them once they had heard of Dawn's idea. She was currently stepping on a ladder attempting to hang the gold streamers while May was gripping the ladder tightly. In the midst of doing that, she heard a familiar voice.
"I would have been sooner, but I had to help out at the library," Dawn heard Paul say. She looked towards her right and noticed him talking to Drew.
He patted him on the shoulder. "No worries man, I'm just glad you're here to help out."
"What is he doing here?" Dawn sneered to herself before she felt her foot slip. May instantaneously gripped the bottom of her feet to prevent her from falling.
"Be careful, Dawn," May told her worriedly.
Dawn blew a relieved breath. "I'm fine. Thanks, May," she said before she continued to hang the streamers.
Paul heard the ladder move from a few feet away from him and looked up to see Dawn, slightly worried she was going to fall and hurt herself, but he was relieved when she was steadied. He walked over to their direction, his hands in his pockets. Meanwhile, Drew grinned to himself.
"Just as clumsy as always," Paul's mocking voice was heard, only this time, the source of his voice was much closer.
Dawn stopped again, feeling irritation course through her veins. She sighed and stepped down from the ladder, taking extra careful steps down, as she returned to the floor. "I could do without your oh so wonderful insight, thank you very much," she said, now facing him, crossing her arms. "Why are you even here?" she asked.
"I could ask you the same thing," Paul replied smartly.
"I'm helping my friends," Dawn explained, uncrossing her arms.
"Well, so am I."
The two stood there, glaring at each other for a while until Dawn's face softened. She was starting to get butterflies in her stomach once again. She internally scolded herself for succumbing to him so quickly. She was internally frustrated with herself. Couldn't she push away her feelings for him aside for one day and just maintain an angered expression?
"Yeah, I figured Paul's artistic skills would become useful for this, so I asked him to help out." Drew explained from behind Paul.
She glanced at Paul again before looking at Drew. She felt the more she was around him, the more her feelings grew. And the more her feelings grew, the less likely she was to remain angry at him and instead be uncomfortable around him. "We don't need it. We're perfectly fine without Paul's help."
Paul had to admit he was a little hurt by her words, but it was probably because she was still a bit salty on what happened on Friday (even though the entire incident still wasn't his fault). Luckily, Drew said something that caused his lips to twitch in amusement.
"Didn't you say that you need a background of the night sky? I'm sure Paul could paint that," Drew pointed out.
Dawn widened her eyes and bit her lip to prevent herself from yelling in frustration. But then she saw a smirk on Paul's lips, so she shook her head. "We're fine without him. We can always find another painter, maybe one that's even better than Paul," she said, making sure to give the plum haired male a killer look.
Paul snorted. "Where exactly? We only have a few hours, so I might as well get started," he said.
The blunette narrowed her eyes. She was aware that he was doing this on purpose. But why? Didn't he want nothing to do with her a few weeks ago? Now he was literally making excuses to stay around her. He was so aggravatingly confusing.
Seeing as she had no other choice, she sighed and muttered, "Fine."
Misty was currently in the auditorium looking for Ash. She wanted to express her gratitude for his words of wisdom the other day. Because of him, she no longer had the urge to change her appearance and was satisfied just the way she was. Her sisters had questioned why she had gone back to her original self, and she was honest with them, confessing that she was comfortable with the drastic change.
She spotted him as he was shooting hoops swiftly. He was wearing a grey tank top with matching jersey shorts. Sweat escaped from his pores and was visible on his tank top and his black raven hair had become a bit messy. He dribbled the ball again before attempting to shoot.
"Hey Ash," Misty called from behind him, effectively causing him to look behind.
He dropped the ball, as it began bouncing. He grinned towards her. "Hey Mist, what's up?" he asked, walking towards her.
"I just wanted to thank you for the other day. I realized that I don't need to change my appearance for anyone else and that I should just be satisfied with the way I am," she explained.
The grin didn't falter from his face. "Sure, no problem. What are friends for?" he replied and then grabbed the ball again. "Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."
Misty smiled before Ash let a smirk show as he said, "Think fast!" He threw the ball in her direction so fast that she almost didn't see it coming, but she was quick to catch a hold of it. He raised his eyebrows. "Impressive," he commented.
Misty passed the ball back to him. "You haven't seen anything yet. Clearly you don't remember the last time that I whooped your ass," she said, escaping a cheeky grin.
Ash groaned in response, recalling the last time they engaged in a little one-on-one, he lost miserably, and he was internally hoping that she'd never bring that up again. "That was just luck," he protested.
"Keep telling yourself that," she said, sarcasm evident in her tone.
The raven-haired male narrowed his eyes in response, taking that as a challenge. "Tell you what…let's go. Right here, right now. Best two out of three."
Misty crossed her arms, interested. "Okay, but let's make this more interesting…" she trailed off, allowing him to raise his eyebrows in curiosity. "Loser has to buy the winner pizza," she stated.
He shrugged in response. "Alright. I hope you have money on your hands," he said as she rolled her eyes in response. "Here," he said, passing her the ball. "I'll let you have the ball first because I'm a gentleman." He grinned.
Misty ignored the comment as she stood behind the three-point line, crouching down low as Ash did the same. With the ball in her right, she pounded the orange ball against the floor as she ran with it to her right. Ash was quick to defend, following suit, but then she turned her weight and bounced the ball in her left hand as she headed and ran quickly for the basket.
She jumped and with a 'swish', the ball made it into the basket and she looked back at Ash with a slight smirk. "Hope you're not going easy on me, Ash."
She passed him the ball before getting into position once again, but this time Ash was behind the three-point line again. "I would never," he replied.
His shoes squeaked against the floor as he dribbled quickly towards her. Misty tried to block his path, raising her hands as a form of defence as he kept bouncing with both his hands in place, but subtly made quick stutter steps in order to confuse her. When she seemed distracted enough and left some space open, he used to it his advantage and quickly jumped shot the ball into the basket.
Misty sighed and looked at him accusingly. "You tricked me."
He rolled his eyes. "It's basketball, Mist. I'm not on a team for anything," he said, walking over towards where the ball was and picking it up. "Just so you know, I prefer Dominos," he said confidently. Misty glared at him in response while he chuckled.
When the ball was in play again, Misty was quick to dribble to past him again and attempted to shoot from a respectable distance, but the ball was knocked out of her hands by Ash. They both ran for it before it could bounce past the foul line and Ash got a hold of it before she could.
He jumped and attempted to shoot, the ball in mid-air and Misty watched in awe.
4:38 p.m.
After about an hour, the top and bottom of the stage had been aligned with gold streamers. In the midst of the stage were two white pearl fountains. Some students were currently building the staircase and a balcony, and would both be painted soft brown colours.
Dawn could see Paul in the corner drawing a sketch in his notepad of what she would assume would be the background. As much as she was curious to see the drawing, she refrained from walking over to him and instead continued to ignore him.
Drew, who was currently helping to build the staircase, noticed that Paul and Dawn weren't even sparing a glance at each other. He looked at May beside him and nodded, giving her the signal. She returned the nod and the chartreuse headed male walked off the stage and sat next to Paul.
"Hey man," he said, placing an arm around Paul's shoulder. He didn't respond but his body stiffened a bit because of his touch. Drew glanced at the drawing. "Oh, wow. Is that going to be the background? That looks awesome."
He nodded in response and glanced at the notepad in his palm. It was a very messy drawing with scratches evident, but it wasn't the final product yet. "It's what Dawn wants," he said, erasing the scratches and drawing again.
Drew nodded, removing his arm from his shoulder. "Speaking of Dawn, isn't it weird how she's never had a boyfriend before?"
Paul stopped drawing and unconsciously gripped the pencil in his palm tightly. He looked at Drew as if he had grown two heads. Was he trying to say that he was interested in Dawn? "I thought you have a girlfriend?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes.
Drew chuckled. "Oh, don't get me wrong. Dawn's a good friend but I never saw her in that light. But I mean, look at her," he said, gesturing towards the blunette a few feet away from them. Paul watched as she was engaging in a conversation with her brunette friend. "You'd think a few guys would be interested in someone like her. All I'm saying is that I'm surprised she's still single."
Instantly, Paul was reminded of Conway confessing his feelings about Dawn and once again, he found himself gritting his teeth in anger and enclosing his palms into fists. Drew caught onto his expressions and couldn't help but to let a small smile show, thrilled with the fact that Paul was actually growing jealous without him even realizing it.
Much to Drew's surprise, Paul set the notepad aside and walked over to her. His dark green eyes widened, and he made a hand gesture for May to stop talking to Dawn. When the brunette got the message and saw Paul approaching them, she eyed Dawn for her to look behind her.
Dawn turned around only to see Paul standing with an unamused expression on his face. "So how's he doing?" he asked, putting an emphasis on 'he'. May and Drew, who were currently behind them, watched in interest, as if they were watching an entertaining television show.
Dawn raised an eyebrow in confusion and could only wonder who he was referring to. "What do you mean?"
Paul snorted. "Don't play innocent. You know who I'm talking about," he said. When Dawn's confused face didn't falter, he continued. "Fine. I'll humour you; Conway."
Dawn was taken aback. Why the hell was Paul concerned about her new tutor? She shrugged. "I don't know. He's fine, I guess."
Paul recalled when Conway had said that he was going to ask her out very soon. "Are you dating him?" he questioned, allowing the blunette's eyes to widen slightly.
Dawn wouldn't have predicted he'd ask her a forward question such as that. But the way he was asking, and judging from the tone of his voice, it indicated that he was irritated. She refrained from smiling. Was he jealous? "Why do you ask?" she asked, deliberately avoiding the question.
"Don't answer my question with a question of your own," he said, rolling his eyes.
Dawn narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. "I'll do what I please, thank you very much. And whether Conway and I are dating or not is none of your business."
"It is my damn business," Paul retorted, his voice raising slightly.
"Why? We're not friends. Why should I tell you anything? Why should I be obligated to tell you about my dating life?" She challenged.
Paul opened his mouth, but no words came out as she had rendered him speechless. He supposed he had deserved that. He had been the one to throw away their friendship, so he had no right in meddling in her personal life anymore. His gaze tore away from hers as he tried to look anywhere but in her direction.
Dawn's expression softened, as she clearly noticed the internal struggle that he was going through. But the fact that Paul was jealous had resurfaced and rekindled her hope of him actually returning his feelings. Her patience was going to paid off eventually and it'd all be worth it very soon.
"Nice talk," she said, turning against her heel and walking away from him.
6:45 p.m.
It was a full house.
Murmurs and chattering could be heard from backstage as May peaked from behind the red curtains. She could see her parents and Max sitting on the third row and she smiled at the thought of her family supporting her. Dawn, Leaf, Misty, Gary, Ash and Paul were also seated together.
The stage looked breath-taking. A giant beautiful portrait of the blue with hues of black night sky stood as the background. The white and silver lifelike moon and twinkling, shimmering stars were painted in the midst of the portrait. Surrounding the night sky were dark green branches. In front of the background, soft brown stairs and a balcony were lined with dark red streamers. Finally, two white marble fountains in two separate corners.
"Alright students," Ms. Cindy spoke to the group of students towards her. "The show is going to get started in about fifteen minutes. Are we ready for act one?" The respective students nodded. "Alright, where are Sampson, Gregory, Abraham, Benvolio and Tybalt?" A few students raised their hands. "Okay…" she trailed off, "Wait, where's our narrator?"
"I'M HERE!" A shrill voice exclaimed from behind Ms. Cindy, causing her and everyone else to flinch. Barry, who was currently out of breath, held up a stack of papers in his hand. "I'm right on time, just as I said I'd be!"
Ms. Cindy sighed a breath of relief as she handed him a microphone. "Okay, Barry, you know what you have to do."
The blonde-haired boy crossed his arms and smiled. "Of course! Plus, it beats having to play a part in this stupid–"
"Just get ready, will you?" Ms. Cindy intervened before he could go on with one of his rants again. Barry nodded and walked to where the podium was.
May rolled her eyes at Barry's usual crazed antics, when she suddenly saw Drew approach her. He was wearing a white linen square-necked long-sleeved shirt with fitted pants. The sleeves of the shirt were puffed and loosely fitted. May grinned. "Well hello there, Romeo," she said.
Drew returned the grin and locked his hand with hers. "Did my heart love till now? For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night," he winked flirtatiously, resulting in May to redden in embarrassment. "No, really, you look amazing. You look born to play Juliet."
She was wearing a very light pink dress with long sleeves and yellow borders on the sleeves and the neck. A peach-pink veil with a green gem was placed on her hair and a heart shaped necklace was placed around her neck. "Thanks. You don't make such a bad Romeo either."
"Yeah…but this outfit is really hot. I mean, how could Romeo not die out of heat exhaust in this thing?" He exclaimed dramatically pointing to the sleeves of his linen shirt. May rolled her eyes but still let out a laugh.
After a few minutes, the lights dimmed, and the red curtains opened as the audience welcomed Ms. Cindy with a warm round of applause. "Thank you, everyone, for taking time out tonight to watch one of Shakespeare's classics: Romeo and Juliet. We all are familiar with the story, so please enjoy Lumoise High's rendition of Romeo and Juliet!" She exclaimed in the mic before she walked backstage, as the audience cheered again.
"Two households, both alike in dignity," Barry spoke from backstage as he read the lines. Dawn could tell by the fast-paced tone of his voice that he probably wanted to get this over with and she laughed at the thought. "In fair Veronica–ahem, Verona, where we lay our scene."
Dawn laughed at the obvious mistake, but it seemed no one else noticed. She looked around and could see Paul at the far end of the row and from his bored expression, she could tell that he wanted to be anywhere else but here.
When she and the rest of the audience clapped again, she glanced at her wrist, more specifically, her empty wrist. She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion as she looked at the ground, wondering if it fell somewhere below her.
Leaf, who was beside her, noticed she was looking for something. "What's wrong?"
She sat upright and looked at her worriedly. "I can't find my bracelet anywhere. I was wearing it this morning and I lost it." She frowned.
Leaf matched the frown. "Oh, well…maybe you can buy a new one."
Dawn shook her head. "No, I can't just buy a new one, Leaf. This has sentimental value. My mom gave it to me," she explained.
The brunette nodded in understanding. "Relax, we'll find it. I'm sure it has to be around here somewhere." Dawn just nodded and focused on the drama in front of her instead.
An hour and fifteen minutes later, both Drew and May laid lifeless on the stage as the audience watched in silent awe. Dawn had to admit she was impressed with the believable acting performance both Drew and May executed. A student playing the prince said his final lines, "A glooming peace this morning brings; the sun, for sorrow, will not show his head: Go, hence, to have more talk of these sad things; some shall be pardoned and some punished: For this was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo," he said and then bowed to the audience.
The audience roared in response with an ear-threatening applause. May's parents were probably cheering the loudest as they stood up, obviously proud of their daughter.
Soon enough, Ms. Cindy approached the podium on stage. "Thank you so much students for partaking in this drama, you were all phenomenal. And I certainly can tell the audience thought the same as well. Thank you once again for watching our talented students!" She spoke into the mic before some people started to dispatch from the audience.
The lights brightened in the room again and the blunette decided to look for her bracelet. She crouched down and started to look under some seats.
"Dawn?"
She looked up to see both May and Drew standing above her. She grinned in response before standing up and engulfed them with a celebratory hug. "Oh my gosh guys, you were amazing! It was like I was watching a real live performance or movie! And the last few scenes were beyond amazing. I felt like crying," she said, escaping a small laugh.
May returned the laugh. "We all know we did good when we can make her cry. She only cries at really good emotional movies," she said.
Drew smirked. "Why am I not surprised?" Dawn rolled her eyes.
Gary and Leaf soon approached the group. "Wow man, who would have thought watching a Romeo and Juliet drama would be entertaining?" Gary grinned jokingly as Drew glared at the ebony haired male in response. "Joking aside, you did really good, both of you," Gary said towards the couple.
"Thanks," Drew said. "Should we celebrate?"
"Oh, I really can't, I'm just really tired and sleepy," May explained.
"No problem," he said, kissing her forehead. "Goodnight, Juliet." He grinned.
May smiled and walked towards the girls and the trio soon walked out of the theatre.
Paul was seated in his car, about to start it, when he realized his pocket was empty. Sighing to himself, he got out of the car, closing the door behind him as he walked back to the school in order to retrieve his phone.
When he entered the theatre, he was slightly surprised to see Drew, who looked like he was about to leave as well. Drew let out a small smile when he noticed Paul. "Oh hey. I didn't get to see you after the play. What did you think?"
Paul let a smile show of his own. "You were great," he said, being as honest as possible. Even though it was a bit stale in his opinion, there wasn't any doubt that Drew had done a solid job performing.
"Yeah? Thanks. And thanks for helping us out with the set up of the stage again. I mean, that painting you did was incredible."
Paul nodded in response. "No problem."
"Anyway, I have to get going right now. Why are you here, by the way?"
"I forgot my phone," Paul explained.
Drew nodded in understanding and patted him on the shoulder. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, man." Paul returned the nod and watched as Drew left.
He walked down the aisle to where he had been sitting and retrieved his phone from the seat of his chair. He placed it in his pocket and walked forward, his foot kicking against a small black object. Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, he crouched down and took the bracelet in his palm. He figured someone must have lost it while setting up the stage earlier and placed it in his other pocket before walking forward again.
He was outside of school grounds and was about to approach his car again when someone called his name, effectively making him stop. He turned around, slightly surprised to see Misty.
"Hey," she said softly, "Do you have a minute?" she asked.
He exhaled, placing his hands in his pockets. "Go ahead."
It looked like she was nervous again as she started to breathe heavily. "This is going to sound random and well…I just want to know why," she said vaguely, allowing a confused look to be present on Paul's face. "Why you rejected me," she added in order to relieve his confusion. "I mean, I don't think I like you anymore, but I just need to know. Is there a reason why you don't like me? Is it because you like someone else?"
He recalled that night when she had confessed to him for the very first time. At that moment, he didn't exactly know why he rejected her. All he knew was that he never reciprocated her feelings. But now that she was questioning him, he felt as if there was another reason. "There isn't a specific reason. I just don't have the same feelings as you do," he said instead.
"Is it because you like Dawn?" Misty questioned.
His onix eyes widened and it was probably the first time that he felt his entire body heat up at the question brought up. The air around him seemed to get thinner and he felt his heart accelerate. He couldn't find a response and chose to stay silent.
"Because, if you do, that's cool. You obviously connect with her the most and it'll be no surprise that you do. I'm only asking because I thought you rejected me because of my looks. But that really isn't the reason, right?" He had unconsciously tuned some of her explanation out and could only concentrate on the question she had brought up. He slowly nodded, answering her question and Misty smiled happily. "Okay, great. Well, I'll see you around," she said, before walking away.
Paul stood there, her question constantly repeating in his mind, almost sounding like a broken record. He walked to his car and leaned against it, as more thoughts and memories flooded back; the time when Conway had confessed his feelings about Dawn to him; the conversation he had with Drew before the play; the times when Reggie would tease him about Dawn being his girlfriend.
Most importantly, he thought of the times where he'd purposefully insult her and almost always feel regret soon after. When they had drifted apart, and their relationship was beginning to break apart because of him, he'd just feel pathetic and felt that something was missing.
Her radiant smile, her laugh, her enthusiasm, her bubbly personality…he thought of all her traits, closing his eyes.
He opened his eyes, inwardly cursing to himself. He turned around and slammed a fist on the hood of the car. This was the reason he kept pushing himself away from her. This was the reason why he always felt angry or irritated when a guy got closer to Dawn. This was the reason why he felt like something was missing from his life. This was the reason why he couldn't stay away.
The answer was in front of him all along.
He liked Dawn.
OMG finally am I right?! You guys can cheer and scream because my boy Paul has finally realized his feelings! And now I'm even more excited because there are only about one or two chapters before Dawn and Paul become official :D
Oh and who do you think won the basketball match? You'll find out next chapter hehe.
Thank you guys for reading as always and pleeeease leave a review letting me know your thoughts! See you guys next time!
