Hey guys! I know, another early update hehe. Before you guys read this chapter, I wanna recommend you guys read the texts between Dawn and May in chapter 5 while Paul was tutoring Dawn. Then you guys can come back to this chapter. If you don't well, it's your choice, but the first scene here will make more sense. :)

And with that, read on!


5:04 p.m. Paul's Residence

There was a sense of both nostalgia and excitement as the two gathered around the table. Dawn bit her lip to prevent herself from smiling as she brought out her supplies. She glanced at Paul when he took off his jacket and placed it on the chair before he took a seat in said chair. Unconsciously, a small smile crept on her face. She could hardly believe that the guy she had been crushing on for months now and the very same guy that had trouble opening up to other people was now supposedly her boyfriend. It was surreal and almost felt like a dream.

Paul felt her eyes on him and looked up at her, causing her smile to falter as she cleared her throat awkwardly, feeling a bit embarrassed that she was caught. She opened her textbook, averting her gaze from him. He couldn't help but let out a small smile as well. Things were finally restored in their relationship and there was no doubt in his mind that he wouldn't hurt her ever again.

"Alright," he finally spoke opening his own textbook, "Let's get started."

Dawn nodded, flipping pages. "Yeah the sooner we get started the sooner I can pass this test. I just can't seem to get it no matter how hard I try. You're the only person that I can learn from."

He raised his eyebrows, surprisingly flattered at the comment. "I'm assuming your other tutor didn't do a good job?"

Dawn shook her head. "No, Conway was a great and smart tutor. I'm just a terrible student in general. He was way too smart, and I couldn't grasp anything because he made everything so complicated."

Paul recalled the conversation with Conway a few weeks ago, wondering if he had ever been true to his word and asked her out. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Did he…have feelings for you?" he asked, a sudden feeling of insecurity in the pit of his stomach.

Her lips pulled into a smirk. "Jealous much?" Paul rolled his eyes in response as the blunette giggled in response, her sapphire blue eyes sparkling. She stopped laughing when Paul stared at her intensely, his lips quirking up in admiration of her. She started to feel a bit self-conscious. "What?"

"I like your laugh," he blurted.

Dawn grinned shyly, hoping her blush wasn't evident. That had been one of the first times he had complimented her. This sort of behaviour from him was alien; he was no longer insulting her or teasing her. "I like yours too." She admitted, her voice soft.

"I don't really laugh much." He pointed out lamely.

She was aware of that, so whenever he did laugh, whether it was a breathy or soft chuckle, it sent goosebumps to her skin and her heart soared. "I know."

"You still haven't answered my question."

Dawn looked at him curiously. "What?"

"About Conway," he elaborated.

Dawn chuckled in response. "Yeah he did have feelings for me. But he knew that I had a crush on you, so he didn't want to get in between us."

Paul nodded in response, a new sense of confidence now present on his features. He bit his lip unconsciously as he prevented a smile before glancing at the forgotten textbooks. "We can talk about this later," he pointed out.

Dawn had forgotten about her test as well. "Oh!" she exclaimed in realization. "Yeah, later."

Throughout the next half-hour, her notebook had been filled with notes and numbers, but she was severely overwhelmed by the graphs. Paul had tried to make it less complicated for her and explained the topic in various ways. He tried drawing the graphs in her notebook.

"What the hell is this?" she exclaimed in frustration, pointing to the graphs and complicated formulas. Paul was about to explain further but she groaned loudly. "Forget this! I'm just gonna fail! I can't seem to get it the past few weeks and there's no way I'm going to understand this now!" She crossed her arms and pouted.

Paul had no idea why, but a smile crept upon his lips at the way she pouted, finding her behaviour to be somewhat…cute. Amusement was evident in his onix eyes. A few months back he would have found this to be slightly irritating or annoying. "Relax. It's only been a half hour. You have to push yourself if you want to pass the test. So…no need to worry," he said, with a slight smirk.

Dawn laughed when her catchphrase was heard from him. This Paul was very different from when she first met him. She could get used to this. She was about to respond when she got a text.

5:31 May: Hey where the hell are you?! Are you still at the library? It's been more than 4 hours!

Dawn slightly groaned to herself. She felt terrible for lying to her best friend, but she had no other choice. She typed a response.

5:32 Dawn: Yes I'm still here but no need to worry! I'll be home soon J

5:32 May: I have no idea why but I feel like ur lying to me

If there was anything one could know about Dawn, it was that she was a terrible liar. Not to mention, the guilt would always provoke her into blurting out the truth. It was excruciating for her not to just reveal everything.

5:33 Dawn: No way! I'm at the library! Really!

5:34 May: Okay, prove it then. Show me a pic.

Dawn stared at her screen, trying not to panic and was thinking of a response. She bit her lip in realization that she was surely dead. There was probably no way out of this. Before she could even type a response, her phone was snatched out of her hand. She stared at Paul, who was now holding her phone in his palm. "Why do you keep taking that away from me?!"

"Because this is a distraction and you need to focus," he replied as Dawn sighed heavily. Now she knew May was going to grow even more suspicious at the lack of response. "Who are you even texting?" he asked curiously, glancing at her phone.

"May, she was just asking where I am."

"Hn. Do you talk about me often?" he asked.

Her cheeks suddenly burned, remembering the conversation she had with May via text nearly months ago and she remembered May asking her if Paul was attractive. She sputtered out a response and laughed sheepishly. "Whaaat? N-no, I don't talk about you at all!"

He watched her very carefully and when he realized that she was nervous and constantly eyeing her phone apprehensively in his palm, he nodded with a full smirk. "Alright, so you wouldn't mind if I…read them, would you?"

She widened her eyes in response and instantaneously stood up from her seat, walking across the table. "I-I do mind!" She sputtered yet again, attempting to grab the phone from his palm, but Paul retracted his arm as he stood up as well. He stretched his arm high in the air, using his height as his advantage. He slightly chuckled when she attempted to jump and reach for it.

"Well if you claim that you don't talk about me, then why are you worrying so much?" he challenged, his tone full of amusement.

Dawn chose not to respond, continuing to jump up and reach for her prized possession. To her surprise, he grabbed her waist and pulled her flush to his body, as she let out a squeal at his bold act. Her heart was pounding at the close proximity and she had forgotten about the fact that he still had her phone.

To add to her embarrassment, he began to read her texts and she tried to squirm out of his grasp but all he did was hold her tighter. She proceeded to gasp when he began reading the texts out loud, only making her wish that the ground beneath her would open up and swallow her whole. "Yeah, sounds good to me. Anyways, I gotta go, my tutor is giving me a death glare." He looked at her and pretended to think, placing a finger on his chin. "Gee, I wonder who this tutor is."

"Paul, stop!" She exclaimed in embarrassment.

But he continued as his amusement continued to increase. "Paul? I don't know him. Is he hot?" He read May's text with a ghost of a smile on his face, as he continued to scroll. "Hm, you didn't answer. Very disappointing," he said and had to preventing himself from laughing when he saw Dawn's reaction. Messing and teasing with her proved to be very fun, he realized.

Dawn groaned, hiding her face and buried it into his chest. His chest reverberated as he chuckled in response. "Okay, okay, I'll put you out of your misery," he said, rubbing his hands on her shoulders.

She looked up at him and pouted. "You're mean."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I've been called worse." She couldn't help but laugh. "What do you think though? Am I attractive? I'm…curious." He admitted. No one had really complicated about his looks before, probably because he couldn't care less about his appearance. But the fact that Dawn could find him attractive excited him.

Hell yes, Dawn thought. She didn't think about his appearance much prior crushing on him, but it was definitely a bonus to his personality. "Maybe," she said slyly.

"Yes or no, Dawn," he emphasised, hoping to hear a positive answer.

Dawn sighed, knowing that she couldn't lie, especially with the way he was looking at her. "Yes," she whispered. A pleased smile was seen on his features.

Paul wanted to return the compliment, assuming that this was part of the whole 'boyfriend' role. Reggie had complimented Maylene all the time. He awkwardly cleared his throat. "For what it's worth…I think you're attractive as well." Dawn stared at him in shock, overwhelmed at the sudden compliments. He suddenly grew uncomfortable; maybe that wasn't the appropriate thing to say. "Well um, maybe that didn't come out right–"

"No," she said, shaking her head in response. "It's just…surprising to see you being really nice to me."

Paul frowned, not proud of himself for hurting her these past few months. It was probably the biggest mistake he had done. "Hurting you was stupid and pathetic."

Dawn smiled and stood up on her tip-toes, reaching up to kiss his left cheek lightly, as Paul's heartbeat quickened, and heat rose to the back of his neck from the feeling of her lips on his skin. She pulled back and said, "Let's get back to studying?" she suggested.

Paul couldn't trust his voice, so he nodded.


Around forty minutes had passed as Dawn watched YouTube videos about the topic, since Paul assumed that she was more of a visual learner. Further proving his theory, she found herself indeed being able to finally understand and she was a bit relieved. She was working on a few problems until the front door opened. The two looked up to see Reggie, closing the door behind him.

"Hey…" The older male started, but then stopped himself when he saw Dawn at the table sporting a welcoming smile. "Dawn, long time no see," he said, briefly wondering if Paul had finally taken his advice.

"I know right!" She exclaimed, remembering the last time they had a conversation was when she was waiting for her job interview to commence. She also recalled the conversation they had about Paul and how he had mentioned that she meant a lot to him. "How have you been?"

Reggie placed his belongings aside and smiled in response, looking back and forth between the two. "Great, thank you. I'm assuming that since you're here…everything's okay, right?" His eyes were resting on his younger brother.

Paul gave him a firm nod while Dawn responded, "Everything's better than okay. Paul is back to tutoring me and…I know how much I mean to him," she responded slyly, giving a teasing smile. He narrowed his eyes at her accusingly and was about to mutter something, before Reggie intervened.

"Oh, so you guys…" Reggie started and then formed a grin in realization, much to Paul's embarrassment. "Finally! You have no idea how long I've been wanting to explode, it was killing me!"

Paul raised his brows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I knew Dawn was crushing on you, but I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to get in between, plus I wanted you to realize your feelings for Dawn without me having to say anything."

Paul blinked in response, before looking at Dawn, who simply nodded in response. "Yup and not only that, but literally almost everyone knew. May, Drew, Conway, even Gretchen knew!" She laughed at Paul's mortified expression. "Hey, no need to worry, it's better to have realized your feelings late than never."

A frown was seen on his features. "I guess, but that just means that you were quite obvious and yet I noticed nothing because I was so focused into trying to convince myself to stay away from you."

Reggie walked up to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up too much, Paul. The fact remains that you were able to realize that you were being stupid–" Paul rolled his eyes, even though he was in full agreement of that statement. Reggie laughed. "I'm kidding, but so what if you took a while? It's not easy to open up for you, so I'm sure Dawn understood."

The fact that she did understand made Paul realize, as he looked at her again, that he was very lucky. Someone who was willing to be patient for him all this time, while hurting her on several occasions, was admirable. It was remarkable and surreal that he found someone like her who completely understood him.

"So now that's out of the way, I have good news myself: I'm back on my feet and I finally managed to get a job." Reggie announced. Dawn grinned in response and Paul seemed pleased to hear that news. "Oh, and once I get enough money on my hands, I'm…going to propose to Maylene."

That caught Paul slightly off guard. "Really?" His voice indicated shock, but he was extremely supportive of his brother marrying who supposedly was the love of his life. Plus, there was no doubt in his mind that she'd keep him very happy. "I'm glad."

Meanwhile, Dawn was utterly shocked. "Wait what? Propose? Maylene? Who's Maylene? What's going on?" The two stared at her while she was spewing out several questions.

Reggie chuckled. "Maylene was my ex before I got into that coma, and we broke up because we moved into different paths, but now we met up a few weeks ago and well, I'm pretty sure you can get the rest…" He grinned cheekily. "She's back in Veilstone now." He added.

Dawn squealed in response and clapped her hands excitedly. "That's awesome! I'm so happy for you! Oh, oh, oh, I'd love to be a bridesmaid and maybe even be part of the wedding plan!"

Reggie laughed at her quirkiness while Paul smirked. "How about focusing on passing the test on Monday?"

Her smile faltered instantly. "Oh yeah," she said, laughing sheepishly. "You know what, I'm just gonna go home," she said, starting to collect her belongings.

Paul looked at her in disbelief. "You're leaving already?" His voice sounded somewhat disappointed and his onix eyes displayed concern.

Dawn smiled when she realized he wanted her to stay. "I keep getting distracted and if I stay here any longer, I'll probably end up not studying at all. Plus, the videos helped a lot and I'm sure I can do the rest on my own."

Paul nodded. "Alright. Let me drop you home."

Dawn was shell-shocked as her eyes turned as wide as dinner plates. She recalled all those times when she had asked for rides and when he'd refuse instantly. Even Reggie was perplexed, but he was overjoyed seeing him so concerned for her. "No, if May saw you dropping me home, she'd have a hissy fit for sure."

Paul nodded, and Dawn stood up, giving Paul a grateful smile, before she looked at Reggie. "I'll be seeing you guys. It was nice to see you again, Reggie and oh, if you ever need some help with planning the wedding, you can hit me up," she said, grinning excitedly.

"You seem more excited about this than I am…and I haven't even proposed yet," he pointed out, laughing in the process.

"I know, but the thought of it just sounds so amazing and it's basically a once in a lifetime experience! How many times are you gonna get married? Once! I've always wanted my own wedding to be at like a beach or somewhere romantic–"

"Dawn, this isn't going to be on your Math test on Monday," Paul pointed out from behind her, raising an eyebrow, but still slightly amused by her rambling.

Dawn turned around. "Right…" she said sheepishly and then sighed before turning against her heel. "Bye guys." She smiled shyly before walking towards the front door.

Once Dawn had left, Reggie looked towards Paul with a teasing smile. "Better take notes Paul, Dawn wants her wedding at a beach." He winked.

Arceus, Paul thought with a groan. The two hadn't been together for half a day and he was already teasing him about their marriage. "I'm…just gonna ignore that." Paul replied, as he heard Reggie laugh in amusement.


6:45 p.m. May's Residence

"You never answered my text!" May exclaimed in worry as soon as Dawn was at the front door.

"Hello to you too," the blunette replied dryly, mostly in an effort to escape her clutches before May could read her like a book. "What a long day of studying, hehe," she said, laughing sheepishly. The brunette narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her friend and crossed her arms. "Well anyway, I need to continue studying so…see ya later!" She tried to skip past her when May caught a hold of her arm.

She gulped, clenching her eyes shut before she opened them and turned around to face her, trying to keep a normal expression. May continued to look at her. "You're acting a bit weird, Dawn. Are you hiding something from me?"

Dawn scoffed. "N-No way! You're my best friend! Why would I hide something from you? You s-should trust me, May, come on!" She sputtered indignantly, trying her best to sound convincing.

May sighed, pressing her lips into a thin line. "You're right, I don't know what I was thinking," she said, laughing to herself. Dawn seemed slightly surprised that she actually bought into her façade. "I just get worried, 'ya know?"

"No need to worry!" Dawn laughed as May rolled her eyes in response. "Anyways, gotta hit the books again!" May nodded in response as Dawn proceeded to walk upstairs.

After about three hours with little to no distractions, an immense amount of numbers and complicated formulas, she was finally able to close her textbook with a rest assurance that she'd pass the test on Monday. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and noticed it was just past ten. Looking at her phone, she wondered if Paul would still be awake now.

10:13 Dawn: Hey :) I'm done studying

10:14 Dawn: Also pls just text back instead of calling, i don't want May to het any more suspicious

10:14 Dawn: Get*

She had sent those texts just before May entered the room and Dawn frantically turned off her phone before smiling at her. The brunette smiled in response before she sat on her own bed. "Hey, did I ever tell you what happened a few days ago?" May asked.

Dawn shook her head. "No, why?"

May sighed. "Well, Drew and I were out on our date and you'll never believe who showed up! Brendan! He tried to ruin our date and relationship!"

Dawn stood up from her seat in repulse and shock. "What?! That asshole actually confronted you? I can't believe this!"

"Yup and to make things worse, he kissed me, and Drew was so heartbroken, but I'm really lucky that Drew trusts me."

Dawn scowled in disbelief of the fact that Brendan had steeped that low. "You should tell your parents. I'm sure they can think of something."

May frowned. "I did, but remember we moved to Kalos from Hoenn because we wanted nothing to do with him. Mom and dad said they'd try to think of something and maybe get a restraining order or something." Dawn nodded in agreement of the idea. "I'm just so glad he doesn't know where I live, things would have been a whole lot worse."

"Heck yeah, keep that creepy stalker away!" Dawn exclaimed.

May nodded in response before she covered her mouth with her palm, escaping a small yawn. "Anyways, let's go to bed, I'm pretty sure you're tired too."

Dawn nodded; she was indeed fatigued. "Yeah."

After a few minutes, the two girls were nestled into their respective beds and it was currently pitch dark. Dawn could hear her friend slightly snoring and she took that as a sign to turn on her phone underneath the covers, hoping to see a response from her boyfriend. She silently laughed at the excitement of finally being able to call Paul her boyfriend.

10:20 Paul: Good. You'll do great on Monday.

Biting back a grin, she typed a reply.

10:25 Dawn: Thanks :D

She set her phone aside, not expecting a reply, but her phone screen lit up with a notification, slightly surprising her. He was just full of surprises today and she was very pleased.

10:26 Paul: Yeah…why are you still up? Don't you have to work tomorrow?

10:26 Dawn: Work, shmork. Talking to you is much for fun.

10:27 Dawn: more fun*

10:28 Paul: Seems you need to tutored on spelling as well.

10:28 Dawn: This is texting! You don't need to have proper grammar while txtng!

10:29 Paul: You could if the texts are so badly written that the other person can't understand it.

10:29 Dawn: Excuse you, my texts aren't baldy written, they're just fine and u understand!

10:29 Dawn: Badly* Ugh!

10:30 Paul: No, I'm not bald as yet.

10:31 Dawn: Oh haha, sooooo funny (note the sarcasm)

10:31 Paul: Thank you

Dawn kept staring at the screen, the grin on her face just growing wider. She tried to think of another topic they could talk about.

10:32 Dawn: Hey now that we're together…

10:33 Paul: Hn?

10:33 Dawn: We need to have cute nicknames for each other!

10:33 Paul: …What?

10:34 Dawn: You know, like every couple, the guy and girl call each other 'baby' or some other endearing term like 'sugar muffin'! :D

10:35 Paul: …There's no way that's happening -_-

10:35 Dawn: Aww! Why not? :(

10:36 Paul: It just sounds very cringey

10:36 Dawn: Well I already have my own nickname for you: Sour plum! Cause ur so sour! :P

10:37 Paul: Oh wow, I'm truly flattered *rolls eyes*

10:37 Dawn: I'm saving you as 'Sour Plum' under your contact name

10:37 Sour Plum: Hn. I guess I have a nickname for you.

10:38 Dawn: Really? What?

10:38 Sour Plum: Annoyance

10:39 Dawn: Rude! I'm not annoying :C

10:40 Sour Plum: Yeah. Far from it actually.

10:40 Sour Plum: More like a…ray of sunshine

10:41 Dawn: Hn. That's very flattering :)

10:42 Sour Plum: Did you just say 'Hn'?

10:42 Dawn: Oh…I guess I did. You're rubbing off on me

Dawn was surprised yet again when he sent a response.

10:43 Sour Plum: ;)

10:44 Dawn: You did not just wink!

10:45 Sour Plum: Oh…sorry

10:45 Dawn: No I mean…it was just surprising that's all. Doesn't seem like you to wink.

10:46 Sour Plum: True. Just like how it was unlikely for me to kiss you. I guess you're also rubbing off on me as well.

Dawn's cheeks were burning; she had no idea he could be bold and bring back their kiss.

10:46 Sour Plum: …Sorry, I don't know why I said that.

10:47 Dawn: No need to worry. It was probably the best one I've had

10:47 Dawn: well actually it is since…it was my first

10:48 Sour Plum: Same

10:48 Sour Plum: I was extremely nervous

10:48 Dawn: Yeah, I bet. I was too.

10:49 Sour Plum: …Thank you

10:49 Dawn: For what?

10:49 Sour Plum: For understanding me. I don't think anybody else would have, but…you did.

10:50 Dawn: Of course

10:51 Sour Plum: Well I'd like to chat more but I'm awfully sleepy. See you on Monday?

10:51 Dawn: Sure. Gnight! :)


Monday, November 22nd; 6:31 a.m.

Monday arrived in a blink of an eye and when Paul woke up, he found himself genuinely happy and looking forward to the res of the day. Every little thing seemed to please him; greeting his brother the time of day, the slightly chilly weather outside, and even the smell of his black coffee in the morning.

When he opened the door to leave for school, he was welcomed by a white blanket masking the floor of his driveway. The shimmering snowflakes from above were dancing in perfect synchronization as they fell below him, tickling his hair. Though the scenery was magnificent, the snow was cold and sharp, as it bit his fingers and the icy wind pierced his skin.

Normally, Paul wasn't so fond of snow, because it was always so melancholy and depressing. It served as a reminder of his bleak days where he was in constant solitude. But now for some reason, as he took some steps forward, leaving a trail of his footsteps, he had a feeling that his future would show promise.

Getting to school took a bit longer than usual, but it didn't dampen his mood. He walked to his locker, taking out his respective books after unlocking it. He turned around, looked around his surroundings for a brief second before he saw a familiar chartreuse headed male entering the school building.

Paul extended his arm up a little in mid-air, effectively managing to catch Drew's attention. He stopped and smiled, brushing his hair, the snowflakes falling to the floor. "Hey, man. It's cold outside isn't it? I didn't expect it to snow this morning."

Paul nodded in agreement. "Yeah but it's nice," he said, tightening his thick purple jacket around his body. "Thanks for taking care of the shift that day."

Drew nodded. "Oh yeah no problem buddy." He was curious to know if his relationship with Dawn had begun to improve. "So, did everything work out with you between you and Dawn?"

The bell rang, signalling the commencement of homeroom and Paul had a ghost of a smile on his face. "Maybe," he replied cheekily.

Drew's eyes narrowed in response. "Come on, man, don't be so vague. I've been rooting for you two. Now for fucks sake, just tell me already," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Fine," he huffed, sighing in the process. Drew grinned cheekily, waiting eagerly. "She knows I like her."

A full amused smirk was seen on his lips. "So you guys are an item now?"

Paul shrugged in response. He wasn't aware if Dawn would label him as her boyfriend. The two had only just confessed; was it the right time? Sure, he wanted to but if it was still too soon, then he wanted to play it safe. "I guess."

Drew rolled his eyes just as the second bell rang and looked towards Paul. "By the way there's a game tonight. Wanna come? I know you don't do the whole sports thing, but hey, it's always nice to try new stuff."

Paul remembered Drew telling him he played on the Lumoise basketball team, along with Ash. This was a good opportunity to bond with him, something he wanted to do for the longest time. "I have work, but I can make time."

"Awesome," he exclaimed, pumping out a fist for him to pound against it. Paul just stared at his fist with a 'really' look. Drew laughed before bringing his arm to his side. "Baby steps. Anyways, see ya later." Paul nodded at him before the walked to their respective classes.


3:34 p.m.

"Anndddd we are at the Lumoise High Arena tonight! About five hundred students here this evening for a couple of hours. This is game six between the Lumoise Steelixers and the Kalos Escavaliers, with the Steelixers winning three games and the Escavaliers winning two. If the Steelixers win this game this evening, they go on to the championships. I have a feeling it's gonna be a fun game this evening!"

An energetic buzz echoed as students poured inside the school arena. Paul was seated in the stands and cringed at the piercingly loud buzz and the announcer, but other than that, he was looking forward for this to be entertaining.

Ash was standing behind the half-court line, facing his opponent. Soon enough, the referee blew the whistle and threw the ball up in the air between the two. Ash was quick to tip the ball, quickly landing in one of his teammate's grasp as he bounced the ball while running across the arena.

Drew motioned himself, so his teammate could throw a bounce pass to him. A defender started to circle around him and block his path as Drew situated himself above the three-point line, bouncing the ball in the process. He soon jumped and aimed the ball into the hoop.

"Drew's first shot this evening for the Steelixers…and IT'S A THREE!"

The crowd of students started to go wild in applause and excitement as the number 3 lit up on the scoreboard, already off to a good start.

Once the Escavalier team members had the ball in hand, the crowd started chanting 'Defense' repeatedly. One particular blonde-haired boy started to shout as he stood up from the stands. "Come on, Steelixers, if you don't defend properly, I'M GONNA FINE ALL OF YOU!" He exclaimed, flailing his arms in frustration.

Paul rolled his eyes just as one of Escavaliers' teammates passed the ball quickly to another teammate who was close to the hoop. Drew attempted to defend raising his hands in the air, but the teammate dunked the ball into the hoop, leaving the crowd quiet with disappointment. Drew sighed in frustration, mirroring Ash's expression.

"Paul?"

He turned to his left, seeing Dawn standing and staring at him in awe. "Wow I thought Gretchen was joking when she told me that you were at the basketball game." She sat next to him, giving him a friendly smile.

Paul shrugged in reply. "I'm trying something new," he said, noticing Dawn's hand resting beside his knee. He contemplated whether to grab it or not. Was that going to be too forward? Much to his surprise, Dawn connected her hand with his, interlocking their fingers together. He cleared his throat. "How was your test?"

Dawn had a sparkled look in her eyes as she spoke, "Oh, it was really great! I'm really hoping for an A, I need it really badly," she said, and then looked forward to the game and cheered just when Ash scored another point. "YEAH GO STEELIXERS!"

Paul chuckled at her quirkiness before looking at the scoreboard. The Steelixers were currently trailing behind by two points, but there was still about nine minutes on the clock and plus, it was only the first quarter.

"Hey Dawn, hey Paul." The two looked up to their left and Dawn smiled to see a familiar spiky haired male with his around Leaf beside him. "Okay, Dawn, I'm not surprised you're here, but Paul?"

Both Leaf and Dawn laughed in reply. Paul sighed exasperatingly. "I'm trying something new." He had a wary feeling that he was going to end up repeating that for the remainder of the game if more people showed up.

Dawn looked at Leaf as she sat down with a smile before she realized something. She tapped Paul's shoulder. "This is my other friend, Leaf." Leaf waved to him and he nodded in response. "Don't worry, she's not as aggressive as May."

The brunette laughed in response. "Yeah where is she, anyway?"

"At home. If she saw me with Paul-"

"She'd kill you, yeah I get it."

"And me," Paul added, allowing the group to chuckle heartedly.

Gary smirked when he saw their hands connected. He raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "Are you two together?" Dawn nodded shyly as a blush crept on her face. Leaf seemed ecstatic for her friend as she clapped her shoulder in congratulations. The spiky-haired male looked towards Paul. "Wow man, good for you."

Paul nodded in reply, looking towards Dawn, tightening their enclosed hands. The blunette grinned as he said, "Yeah. I'm really lucky."


5:37 p.m.

Around two hours had passed and now there was about two minutes left in the 4th quarter, with the Steelixers trailing behind by three points. The game was coming down to the wire now and even Paul was at the edge of his seat.

The group watched in intensity as Drew threw a bounce pass to the ebony-haired male as he crossed the half court line. Ash caught it with little difficulty as he motioned his hands to slow the offense. He set himself up in the middle of the court line, and backed up a little, but making sure not to step over half court. Once there was a brief opening, he set his feet and took the shot.

"A THREE SCORED BY ASH KETCHUM MAKING THE GAME ALL TIED UP! THIS GAME ISN'T OVER YET FOLKS! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SHOT!" The announcer shouted as the ball made a perfect swish sound through the basket. The crowd was going wild with excitement as well, as majority of them stood up and roared for their team, including Dawn and everyone else (aside from Paul).

"Yes!" Drew exclaimed as they looked at the clock. They now had a minute to turn this around. They just needed one more shot and they needed to defend well.

"OMG that was so awesome, did you see that Paul?" Dawn exclaimed excitedly from the stands as she grinned widely, tapping his shoulders. She looked at him when he didn't respond but had a playful smile on his face. "…Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked shyly, her voice barely audible.

He shook his head in response, the teasing smile still apparent. "No reason."

"They just need one more score and then they're off to the championships!" Gary stated.

"And there's still a lot of time left." Leaf added.

"Defense! Defense! Defense!" The crowd chanted as the opposing team brought up the ball to the court.

Ash sucked his teeth. Their point guard was smart as he stopped as soon as he got up to half court, intending to waste as much time off the clock that he could. That meant they had to score within thirty seconds if they took the maximum 24 seconds to shoot.

The point guard eyed the clock as he began to move passing the ball to the center who managed to get a good position in the post. He lifted his hands to make the shot, but Drew was quick to defend.

"THE SHOT IS SWATTED BY DREW HAYDEN!" The announcer beamed as Drew ran across the court, dribbling the ball in hand.

There was 8.5 seconds on the clock left and he made sure to also waste as much time as possible, but he also had to be careful enough to not miss a shot. "Drew!" His name was called, and he bounced and passed the ball to Ash.

Ash wasted around five seconds circling around his defender and then stood at the three-point line again as he sloppily made a shot. Much to his dismay, the ball bounced off the rim of the basket and he silently cursed to himself.

But Drew was quick to catch a hold of the ball and with just 1.3 seconds on the clock, made an effortless shot to the basket, allowing the crowd to stand up and cheer in excitement.

"There's no way that the other team can score now right?" Leaf asked.

Gary looked at her. "Well technically it is possible, but they'd have to be fast. It was a good thing that Ash and Drew managed to waste enough time, but we'll see if they wasted just enough time, so they can't score."

Dawn remained optimistic. "No need to worry, I'm sure we'll win."

Paul looked at her with a small smile on his face. This game had been enjoyable and thrilling so far, especially at the end of the fourth quarter. Plus, sitting around Dawn had made him optimistic as well.

Once the opposing team brought the ball to the court, they were quick to pass the ball and attempted to shoot from the 3-point line with 0.4 seconds on the clock. The crowd remained in a deaf silence.

The ball didn't even touch the rim.

"AND WITH THAT, THE STEELIXERS MOVE ON TO THE CHAMPIONSHIPS!"

Paul smiled as he witnessed the Steelixers claim victory. Dawn and the others were cheering so loudly that it was almost deafening to his ears. Despite that, he was still happy.


The group soon met afterwards to commemorate the victory. Ash and Drew were ecstatic to have won, undoubtedly. If it hadn't been for Ash scoring about twenty of those points, there was probably little to no chance of them winning. The team sometimes had trouble with defence, but aside from that, he was really proud.

"Nice job guys." Gary commented. "Ashy boy, you really did wonders out there."

Drew patted his shoulders as Ash scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, but the real match starts around next week. Coach is really on our tails to make sure we don't mess up. So, Drew and I are gonna constantly be practicing for this week."

Drew nodded and was about to say something when he saw Paul approach the group. "Paul, what'd you think?" He asked eagerly.

Paul placed his hands in his pockets, closing his eyes. "It was a great game, of course. Congratulations." He said, genuinely as he opened his eyes

Drew grinned in response. "Well the group and I are gonna get something to celebrate. Wanna join?" he suggested.

Paul, although he wanted to join in on the celebration, had a feeling that he wouldn't do well with crowds. He also felt like he wouldn't add much to the group because despite it being an exciting game, he knew little to nothing about basketball, let alone sports itself. "Maybe next time. I have to get home soon anyway." He told them.

Drew nodded in understanding. "Baby steps," he repeated, laughing in the process as he remembered the conversation they had earlier. "I'm glad you could come to the game though."

Paul let out a small smile in response. He knew that Drew understood that he still wasn't comfortable in these situations. "No problem."


Paul headed to the parking lot, looking for his car so he could go home. He soon spotted it and clicked it open. Just as he was about to get in, he was stopped when someone grabbed his arm from behind him, allowing him to turn around effectively.

Dawn was standing there with a smile on her face. She was now wearing a large pink coat and secured the familiar white beanie over her head, covering her bangs. Honestly, he preferred when her bangs were on display as he took a good look at her. "Aren't you going to drop me home?" she asked, breaking him out of his trance.

He blinked. "I thought…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say as he cleared his throat. "Isn't May going to get suspicious?"

Dawn shook her head and waved him a hand of dismissal. "No need to worry. She's probably in her room right now. She won't notice." Paul nodded in response just as he heard a beeping noise go off from Dawn's pocket. She gasped as she brought out her phone and held it in her hands. "Oh my gosh, the results are out! They're out already?!" She wasn't sure if she wanted to see her results as a wary feeling came across her.

Paul placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Relax. I'm sure you did fine." He told her, thinking it was so ironic that her catchphrase was 'No need to worry' when all she did was worry majority of the time. He chuckled at the thought.

Dawn looked at him suspiciously at the sudden chuckle, but then glanced at her grade and her frown slowly grew into a grin, enlightening her features. "I got an A!" She squealed in excitement. "Yay, I did it! I can't believe I actually did it!" She exclaimed as she spun around, her beanie falling off.

Her hair bounced around as she continued to spin in joy, her arms in the air. Her radiant and cheerful smile was so captivating and magnetic that Paul let out a smile as well. Everything else faded away; he could see nothing except her.

He took small steps towards her as she stopped spinning, facing towards him now. When he was close enough, he tentatively brushed a few of her blue strands back, as her breath hitched, and her eyes closed at his touch.

"Go out with me," he blurted. His heartbeat was on overdrive as soon he uttered the words.

Dawn opened her eyes, wide in shock. "What?" she asked, stepping back a little, not sure if she had heard him right.

He was full of surprises today.

He blinked, and then fumbled with his words, suddenly afraid he'd been too forward. "Uh, I mean…only if you want to. Or we don't have to," he mumbled.

Dawn giggled at the thought of him being nervous but was ecstatic to hear that from him. The thought of going on a date with him just made her stomach soar with excitement. "Are you kidding? I'd love to go out."

He looked relieved and nodded, biting his lip. "Okay."

"Okay," she laughed. "I can't wait!"

He closed his eyes, smiling in the process. He was looking forward to the date as well. "Me too."


Alright, their first date next chapter yay! Also, I have no idea where they should go out. Do you guys have any recommendation/suggestions? Let me know in the reviews and I might use it, you never know.

Also, how was the basketball game? I tried to make it sound like a real game. I mean I'm no expert, but I've seen enough NBA games to know some rules and whatnot. I probably won't write other sport games like football…mainly because I know I won't do justice to that and I know nothing about it lol.

Well this week is finals week. Ugh spare me! And after that, I have a two week break before I take summer classes. I know right; summer classes?! Well I chose to take them because I wanna graduate and get the hell out of university as soon as possible XD But it's only for about a month then I would have July and August off. So I should still be updating consistently…I hope.

See you guys next time!