"Paul On The Rocks"
By MisterAnimeFan
Part of the DP Love Series
Disclaimer: Did you know that you guys are awesome? Really, thank you all for reading and reviewing my fanfiction (and for being patient with me). Pokémon belongs to Nintendo and Game Freak. The fan fiction exists out of fun and enjoyment.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
A five-years-old Paul stood under the doorway to the kitchen. It was late at night and his parents were at the front door, having a very heated argument at the front door. Paul Sr. wore a black jump suit and he had duffel bags in his hands. His mother looked angry beyond reason. "How dare you leave this family behind!" Regina shouted, angrily. "Was the love I had for you worth nothing?"
"Regina, I have big dreams in my mind that can't be accomplished by caring for a family," the father replied, sternly. "I have to do this."
"You are taking part in something that's criminal! You're going to throw away me and your children, just so that you can live out your dream of ruling over Pokémon?" Regina sobbed. "I want you out of my house, now!"
"Mom? Dad?" Paul squeaked.
Both Paul Sr. and Regina looked towards his way and noticed him. "Paul, just go back to bed! This is between me and your father!" Regina ordered.
"Where's dad going?" asked Paul Jr.
"Dad's going to get a better job," answered Paul Sr. "Taking care of you is a big burden on my part."
"Stop that! Don't say such things!" Regina cried. Paul Jr. clutched his chest. He really did feel hurt by that comment.
"Well, I'm telling it like it is," said Paul Sr. "This family is holding me back on bigger things in life."
"Just get out!" Regina shouted.
Paul Sr. took another glance at his son. Paul Jr. looked up into his eyes. However, this time, his father had shoulder-length black hair and wore glasses. "You're a failure as a trainer and as a son!" Paul's dad said, rather harshly.
"GET OUT!" Regina shouted.
She then threw a flower vase at Paul's dad's head, making him run out the door. Paul felt like he was stabbed in the heart. His eyes began to tear up.
Regina slammed the door so hard that the house and its fixtures rocked. She got down on her knees and broke out into tears. "Where-where did I go wrong?" Regina asked, crying.
"Am I...am I a bad…son?" Paul asked himself.
Regina turned towards Paul, who was ready to start crying. She got up, ran over to him, and hugged him tightly. "Don't listen to him," she sobbed. "He's an idiot. He's just some total stranger now!"
"Mom...is dad going to come back?" asked Paul.
Regina didn't answer him. She just hugged him and cried.
Paul wrapped his arms around his mother and the two of them cried their eyes out.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Paul then slowly opened his eyes. He could see a bare yellow wall in front of him and his bag on the floor. He then realized that instead of his mother, he was hugging one of his pillows. When he realized that everything's changed, he pushed the pillow away and sat upright in his bed. He looked around and realized that he was in one of the guest rooms in his mother's home.
Once he realized where he was, he ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. "Geez," he thought to himself. "Haven't dreamt of that since I was in Hearthome City."
Paul let out a yawn and stretched his limbs out. He got himself out of bed and slowly made his way to the living room. On the way, he peered into everyone else's room. He saw that his mother was gone and Dawn & Reggie still asleep.
He stepped into the living room and saw Mightyena and Growlithe sleeping on the floor and couch, respectively. He was surprised that they were still lying around the house. "Doesn't mom usually take you guys out for a walk?" he asked. He then remembered how his mother felt last night. "Well, I guess she wanted some time to herself," he said.
Paul plopped himself down on the couch, picked up the remote, and surfed through the channels on the television. He still had the dream fresh in his brain. But he shook his head. "Why am I even thinking of that anyway?" he asked himself. "Dad's in jail and our family is much happier now. There's no reason for me to be so hung up on that."
Paul then settled down and watched the news on T.V. But he couldn't help but feel cross. "Wait...the dream I just had, it's different from what I remembered," he pondered. "During the dream, dad's hair changed colors, in fact..."
Paul paused for a moment as he remembered seeing his dad with black hair and glasses. "...he looked like Justin," he realized. "But why would I think that? Looker said that dad's in prison."
Paul then remembered when he reunited with his father back at the Sunmoon Islands. The disguise his father wore prior to revealing himself was very similar to how Justin looks now (minus the glasses). "When I saw Justin, I thought it was dad in disguise," Paul continued mumbling to himself.
Paul then shook his head again. "You know what, talking about dad is only making things worse. Dad's in prison, Justin's innocent, so there!"
Paul then focused his attention back to the television. Soon, his brother walked into the room.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
After everyone was awake and dressed, they gathered around the kitchen table for breakfast. "I hope everyone's hungry!" Regina said, cheerfully.
She then placed a plate of chocolate chip pancakes in front of them. Immediately, Paul examined the pancakes. "Um, mom...what is this?" Paul asked.
"Pancakes," answered Regina.
"What are these little black things?" Dawn asked.
"Those are chocolate chips!" replied Regina.
"You put chocolate chips in pancakes?" Paul asked.
"I didn't know you could do that," commented Dawn.
"Go ahead, try it!"
The three ate a piece of their pancakes. Their faces immediately lit up. "Wow! These are great!" praised Dawn.
"Really?" Regina asked. "They turned out good?"
"Yeah mom, they turned out great," added Reggie.
Regina then turned to Paul. "So, what do you think?" she asked.
"Meh...it's okay," Paul answered, nonchalantly.
Regina frowned once she heard her younger son's review, but she digressed. "So, you guys like it?" Regina asked.
Reggie and Dawn nodded their heads. "That's good," replied Regina. "When I tried them at the pancake house this morning, I knew you three would enjoy it."
"Wait, you went to the pancake house?" Paul asked. "Why didn't you take us?"
"Oh well, it was just something that happened," explained Regina. "I was out on my morning walk and then Justin suddenly came by and took me away."
"Oh...you ran into Justin?" Dawn asked.
"Yes I did, he took me out for breakfast," continued Regina.
"How did that go?" Paul asked, taking another bide of his breakfast.
"Well first, I apologized to him and he treated me to pancakes and coffee. It was really nice."
"That's good to hear...I guess," Paul said. "So, that's all you two did?"
"Pretty much," replied Regina. "We sat down, had some coffee, ate pancakes, talked for a little bit...and...I talked to him about your father."
"You what?" Paul asked, shocked.
"Oh boy...here we go," muttered Regina.
"Mom, why did you do that?" argued Paul.
"Well first off, before you start chewing me out, I didn't tell him everything," explained Regina.
"Still, when me and Reggie were kids, you always told us that we shouldn't ever bring up dad," Paul said. "And now, here you are, blabbing about him to some guy that we hardly even know!"
"Well he asked why we were accusing him."
"Because we thought he was dad. What more did he needed?"
"He wanted to know why we hated him so much. I didn't say anything about him being a part of Team Galactic. I just told him about how we met and how he treated me as a wife."
Paul stared at his mother, trying to find something to say to her. Instead, he took a deep breath and hastily ate his pancakes. "You better calm down, Paul," scolded Regina.
"It's just that," began Paul, "we all said back in Hearthome City that it was best to just put everything that happened behind us. In fact, Reggie was the one who suggested that. And now mom's telling strangers about dad and Reggie's moping now because he still has problems with dad."
Reggie continued eating, ignoring his younger brother's remarks. "Am I the only one who's actually going through with forgetting about dad?" ranted Paul. "I mean, am I the only one who's not a hypocrite here?"
Regina slammed her hands on the table, startling both Dawn and Reggie. "That's enough!" snapped Regina. "If you don't settle down right now, I'm going to go into your bag and take all of the badges you've won so far. And you will not be able to continue traveling the Sinnoh region."
"You can't do that!" protested Paul. "I'm 15!"
"I don't care if you're 27, 45, 78! No matter how old you are, you're still my son and I'll punish you if you ever talk down to me or your brother like that again. Do you understand me?"
Paul gave her no reply, just a nasty glare. "Now," continued Regina, "I was happy that I talked to Justin about your father. He's a really nice man and a great listener. I got a lot of things off my chest and he said some really uplifting things about me. I felt like a huge weight was taken off my shoulders. But if that really doesn't matter to you, then I'm sorry. I know what I said back then, but...things...just change."
Paul continued glaring at her, but eventually he turned back to his food. "Whatever, good for you," he replied.
"And stop saying 'whatever'," his mother scolded further.
Paul then got up from his seat and tossed his napkin over his half-finished food. "Thanks for the food, mom," he said. He walked over to the couch and grabbed his belongings. "If you guys need me, I'll be at the Eterna Forest," he told them. Then he hastily walked out the front door.
Everyone turned back to Paul's plate. "He didn't even pick up his plate," mumbled Regina.
"So Reggie...what problems do you still have with your dad?" Dawn asked.
"Nothing! Paul was making it up!" snapped Reggie. "Forget he ever said anything! I'm going to step out for a bit!"
Reggie then picked up his plate (as well as Paul's). "Thanks for the food, mom! It was really good!" Reggie then walked towards the kitchen.
Regina let out a frustrated sigh. Dawn watched as Regina slowly picked at her plate. She felt sorry for her. "I'm sorry," spoke Dawn, softly.
"Oh no, you don't need to apologize," comforted Regina. "You did nothing wrong."
"It's just that you were so happy right now and..."
"Oh relax, I'm fine!" reassured Regina. "I mean, I am a little annoyed that Paul called me and Reggie a hypocrite and he said my pancakes were 'okay', but I'm mostly just worried about him and Reggie. With the way the two of them were acting just now, I guess both of them still have their issues with their father. Hopefully, the two will blow off some steam while they're out."
"Hey! Maybe if they talked to Justin about it like you did this morning, they would feel better," suggested Dawn.
"I think so too, except I don't think Paul will ever want to talk to Justin, even if I forced him too. Reggie maybe, but Paul...I don't know. If there's one thing Paul Jr. has in common with Paul Sr. is that they're both so stubborn. They don't want to talk to anyone about anything, especially if it's emotional."
Dawn could only sympathize with Regina. "Yeah, I know what you're talking about," she said. "Earlier in the week, I tried to get Paul to talk about his father, and he reacted pretty much like how he did right now (A/N: "DP Love," Ch. 20)."
"Paul really should talk to Justin. Justin told me that if I had kept everything to myself, it would come out one way or another, and not in a good way. And trust me, Dawn, you should have seen me at the pancake house. Looking back on it now, I was really starting to lose my mind."
Dawn then remembered how the entire family acted when they thought that Justin was Paul Sr. They were all suspicious of him and they acted very paranoid and crazy. "I really don't want that to happen to either Paul or Reggie," continued Regina.
"Don't worry Regina," comforted Dawn. "I'm sure nothing like that will happen to either of them."
"I hope it doesn't," Regina said. "I really hope not."
Dawn continued to watch Regina sulk some more as she picked at her food.
Unbeknownst to the two of them, Reggie was still in the kitchen. He had heard every word that Regina has said. He felt bad as he watched his mother sulk.
But Regina suddenly perked her head up. She had an idea. "You know, those two could use some cheering up," she said, proudly. "In fact, we need to do something today to lighten the mood."
"What did you have in mind?" asked Dawn.
"Today, I'm making hamburgers!"
"Uh...hamburgers?"
"Yep, hamburgers. Paul and Reggie loved hamburgers when they were kids. If anything can bring them out of this mood they're in, it's hamburgers."
"Hamburgers do sound like fun."
"Don't they? Will you help me, Dawn?"
"Of course I will!"
"Well then, finish up your breakfast and let's go!"
Reggie watched as the two ate the rest of their pancakes. He began to think to himself. He then quietly slipped out through the front door.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Magmortar, use Flamethrower!" commanded Paul.
Magmortar pointed his arms towards the Mothim in front of him and shot out two powerful streams of fire. The Mothim quickly flew out of the way of the Flamethrower. "Missed!" exclaimed Magmortar. "This Mothim's really quick."
Mothim's eyes then glowed blue. Magmortar winced as his whole body glowed blue as well. "Ah!" shouted Magmortar. "He's using Psychic."
"Shake it off and use Fire Spin!"
Magmortar did as he was told. Using all of his strength, he lifted his arms up and fired two spiraling flames from each of his arms. Mothim again dodged the attack. He flew closer towards Magmortar and vibrated his wings. A red, high-pitched soundwave was emitted from his wings. "Oh no, Bug Buzz," said Paul.
Paul and Magmortar quickly covered their ears as the sound pierced the air. "Magmortar, trap the Mothim with Rock Tomb!"
Magmortar raised his arms up once more and shot out a purple circle towards the ground underneath Mothim. The purple circle created a wall of rocks that protruded the ground and surrounded Mothim. Mothim flew all around, trying to escape. But it was no good. There was only one small opening and it was guarded by Magmortar. Magmortar only smiled as he saw the Mothim cower in fear. "There's nowhere for you to fly away!" he smirked.
"Have mercy," pleaded the Mothim.
"Now, finish it off with Flamethrower!" Paul shouted.
Magmortar pointed his arms at Mothim. Mothim looked at Magmortar with wide eyes. He knew he was done. Magmortar then used Flamethrower and engulfed the poor Bug-type Pokémon in fire. Paul covered his eyes as the heat was intense.
When Magmortar finished his attack, the Mothim fell to the ground, burned and unconscious. Paul quickly took out an empty Poké Ball. "Poké Ball, go get it!" he shouted. He threw the Poké Ball at the weakened Mothim. The Poké Ball opened up and captured Mothim with a red light. The Poké Ball fell to the ground. It shook around as Mothim tried to fight his way out.
Eventually, the Poké Ball seized its shaking and the red light went off with a "ding!" Mothim had been caught!
Magmortar smirked as Paul walked up to the Poké Ball. He then lifted the Poké Ball up to his PokéDex to analyze the Mothim's moves and stats. "Have to hand it to that Mothim," remarked Paul. "He really did not want to lose. He put up quite a fight."
"Yeah, but not good enough," bragged Magmortar.
Paul's PokéDex showed that Mothim knows Bug Buzz, Psychic, Air Slash, and PoisonPowder. "That Bug Buzz and Psychic were pretty powerful. I think Mothim could hold its own in a battle."
The Poké Ball then slowly disappeared from Paul's hands, teleporting to Reggie's place in Veilstone City. "Wow...four new Pokémon and none of them were released," Magmortar said. "That must be some sort of record."
"Well, I felt like going on a catching spree," explained Paul.
"That's not like you to just go catching any Pokémon you see," continued Magmortar. "I mean, you don't seem like the guy who would keep a Burmy."
Paul turned away from his Pokémon. "Well, I caught him. What can you do?" he asked. "Anyway, let's see if there are any other Pokémon here worthy of keeping."
"Really? You want to catch more?" Magmortar asked. "Can we at least take a break?"
"What do you mean, take a break?" Paul asked, harshly. "Are you really that tried from defeating Bug Pokémon? You didn't even break a sweat!"
"Geez, sorry," replied Magmortar. "Forget I asked."
Paul took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. "I'm...I'm sorry Magmortar," sighed Paul. "I just have a lot on my mind, that's all."
"Like what?" Magmortar asked.
"Just some things that my mom and brother did," answered Paul. "Really, it's nothing you would be interested in."
Paul then reached into his bag. "Let's take a lunch break," offered Paul.
Paul released his other Pokémon and set up a bowl of food for each of them. While they ate, Paul continued to think back to the discussion that he and his brother had earlier in the morning. Even though he didn't want to think of his father, what Reggie said to him raised some questions.
"It's just personal things between me and him."
Paul scoffed at the idea. "What personal issues would Reggie have with dad?" he asked himself. "He didn't even spend that much time with him. It was always me and dad. If anything I have more issues with him than Reggie does."
"Huh?" asked Torterra.
"Oh! Nothing," replied Paul. "Just rambling out loud."
Paul then remembered some other things that Reggie told him.
"Maybe you want to talk to him about a few things? Maybe you could ask him why he really left the family. Or why he treated us the way he did? Or something like that, I don't know."
"Dad left the family because he was power-hungry. What more does Reggie need to know?" Paul thought. "It's like he's just searching for reasons to talk about dad. Everything I ever needed to say to dad, I said it back at the Sunmoon Islands. For the most part, I'm done with dad."
"Are you okay, master?" asked Luxray.
"Huh?" replied Paul.
Paul looked down and saw Luxray nudging his nose into Paul's leg. "Is something bothering you?" Luxray asked.
"It's nothing that I want to drag you guys into," replied Paul. "Just finish up your lunch and then we'll go back to my mom's place."
After lunch, Paul retreated his Pokémon back into their Poké Balls, all except Torterra. Before Paul could take out his Poké Ball, Torterra spoke up. "Actually Paul," he said, "I want to walk back home with you."
"Really?" asked Paul. "Why?"
"I thought I would enjoy the nice sunny day we have today," answered Torterra. "Why? Did you want to be alone?"
"No, I guess you can walk home with me. Let's go."
Paul and Torterra then walked away from the forest and made their way back home.
As they went down Route 205, Torterra noticed Paul had his head pointed down to the ground as he walked. Everything was quiet. Neither Torterra nor Paul made eye contact with each other. Torterra decided to break the silence. "So Paul, how are things between you and the girl?" Torterra asked.
"Dawn and I are doing fine," answered Paul.
"Did you guys ever manage to share a kiss? I know you guys were really close to kissing each other before the Pokémon interrupted you."
Paul took a moment to answer. He turned away from Torterra to hide his blushing face. "Yeah," he answered. "Yeah we did."
"Really? You two kissed?" Torterra asked, surprised. "Wow. So, how it'd go?"
"It was...ummm..." stammered Paul.
"What did it feel like kissing a girl?" clarified Torterra.
"Well...it was very...very...soft."
"Really? That's all you got to say?"
"I...I don't know what else to say. A kiss is just one of those things that you can't really describe in words...unless you make it sound corny."
Torterra nodded his head. "Okay then," he said. "Well in that case, is anything different between you and Dawn?"
"Yes," replied Paul. "She and I...are in love."
"Is that so?" Torterra asked, again surprised. "You and her? In love? You accepted her feelings then."
"Yeah...yeah. I also confessed mine."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well...right after I kissed her, I confessed my love for her, then she confessed hers, and...now she and I are a couple."
Torterra had a smirk on his face. He walked closer to Paul and nudged him. "Alright Paul..." he said, slyly.
"Knock it off!" scolded Paul, as he waved him away, embarrassed.
"Don't be shy Paul," comforted Torterra. "It's great that you found a girl in your life to love and care for."
"It still feels weird," continued Paul, "to be calling Dawn my girlfriend. I've never had one before, so this is all so new to me."
"Just relax. You'll do fine. Wait...is that why you were sulking during lunch?"
"No, that had nothing to do with Dawn. It's just that I had a little argument with my mom, that's all."
"Oh! Oh my. What did you two argue about?"
"It's a long story."
"I'm listening."
Paul raised an eyebrow at Torterra. "You really want me to tell you?" he asked. Torterra nodded his head. Paul let out a sigh. "Alright...here's what happened."
Paul then told Torterra everything: his father, Justin, and the argument he had with his mother.
When he was done, Torterra looked at him, bewildered about what Paul told him. "Wow," was all he could say.
"So, that's pretty much what's going on with me," continued Paul. "After I said that she and Reggie were hypocrites, she snapped and yelled at me. She actually threatened to ground me and take my badges away."
"Personally, I don't blame her," remarked Torterra.
"What?" Paul asked, surprised.
"I mean, you sort of disrespected her and your brother," explained Torterra. "Being called a hypocrite isn't something people take lightly."
"Mom always told me and Reggie that we shouldn't go around telling anybody about dad. And after what happened at the Sunmoon Islands, Reggie said it was best to put everything about him behind us. It just angers me that mom is telling people about dad and Reggie brings up how he still has issues with him."
"And you don't?" Torterra asked.
"No, I resolved everything back at the Sunmoon Islands," argued Paul.
"Then, why were you paranoid when you saw a man who looked just like him?"
"Wouldn't you be too if you saw someone who looks like somebody else who should be in prison?"
"All I saying is that you may have some personal issues with your father too, just like how your brother and mother had their own issues with him."
Paul said nothing more. He only turned away from Torterra. "Well, I'm taking Reggie's advice and I'm just forgetting about him," Paul said. "I think it would be best for me."
"I'm sure your mother and brother thought that too at first. But then they realized that maybe it wasn't good to keep it to themselves. Your mother must have realized that it was a problem, so she found someone to talk to and now look at how happier she is."
Paul thought back to this morning, when his mother came home from her morning walk and gave both him and Reggie a great big hug. "Yeah...she was pretty happy," agreed Paul, "especially when compared to how she was last night."
"I'm not saying that you have to talk to Justin, but at least understand why Regina did," continued Torterra.
Paul began to feel guilty about the way he acted at breakfast. He let out a depressed sigh. "Mom was so happy this morning," muttered Paul, "the happiest she's ever been. But what do I do? I piss her off and call her a hypocrite. I told Reggie that I wouldn't make fun of him for having issues with dad. Then, I contradict myself and insult him later on. I'm such a jackass."
"Hey! Don't beat yourself up over it," comforted Torterra. "Just apologize to them and everything will be alright."
"Yeah...maybe you're right. I should apologize to them."
Soon, Paul arrived at back at the Eterna Condominiums. He retreated Torterra back into his Poké Ball and made his way up the stairs. He walked to the front door of his mother's and let himself in. Before he could say anything, Dawn immediately greeted him with a hug. "Paul! You're back!" she shouted, happily.
"How did it go in the forest?" Reggie asked, smiling.
"Pretty good," answered Paul.
"Did you catch any Pokémon?" Regina asked.
"I caught a lot of Bug Pokémon."
"Really? How many?" asked Dawn.
"Like...four."
"Four?" Reggie asked, surprised. "Did you just capture whatever Bug Pokémon you saw?"
"Not necessarily. Just the ones that actually put up a fight. You'd be amazed at how strong Bug-type Pokémon are."
Paul then smelled the air. "It smells like hamburgers in here," he commented.
"That's because we are making hamburgers!" replied Regina.
"You are?" Paul asked.
"Yeah, me and Regina thought we'd do something special for today, since we'll all together," explained Dawn. "Come help us!"
Dawn then dragged Paul over to the kitchen, where Regina and Reggie were preparing the food. Regina patted the burgers while Reggie cooked the burgers on a small kitchen grill (A/N: think George Foreman grill). "Here Paul, help Reggie out," instructed Regina.
"What do you want me to do?" asked Paul.
"Just watch over Reggie," clarified Regina. "Make sure he doesn't burn the meat or anything."
"Come on mom, I wouldn't do that," joked Reggie.
"Well, you are my son."
"Why are we making hamburgers today?" Paul asked.
"I just told you," replied Dawn. "Regina and I thought that we would do something special since we're all together today."
"And I thought you and Reggie could use some cheering up after this morning, so I thought that making hamburgers would bring you two out of this mood you two are in."
"Yeah...about this morning," began Paul. "I'm sorry that I called you guys hypocrites. I...overreacted and I wasn't thinking straight. It's just that...I guess that after you stress about how no one should know about dad and Team Galactic, it just shocked me when I found out that you talked to someone about him. But I think it's great, mom, that Justin made you feel better and happier. I was wrong to try and ruin it."
Regina and Dawn smiled. Regina sat her utensils down and hugged her younger son. "Oh, it's alright Paul," she said. "I forgive you."
"Really?" asked Paul. "Because you were pretty angry when I called you..."
"Oh, don't worry about that," Regina said. "I guess I understand why you would be upset at me."
Regina then grabbed Paul's hair and glared at him. "But just remember that if you talk to me like that again, I'll take your badges away and I'll ground you."
"But what about when you told me..."
Paul stopped when he saw his mother staring at him angrily. "Alright fine, I won't do it again," he said.
"Good, now help your brother," instructed Regina.
Paul then stood beside Reggie, watching as he flipped the burgers on the grill. "So...you do forgive me, Reggie?" Paul asked.
"Of course I do, Paul!" smiled Reggie. "You're my brother! I can't stay mad at you!"
"Well, you're in a pretty good mood," remarked Paul.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Reggie asked. "It's a nice day. Everybody's here and together, and we're having hamburgers for lunch today."
"It's just that this morning, you were moping about dad and whatever issues you still have with him. But now you're really happy and...acting like how mom was when she came back from her walk."
Immediately, Paul and Reggie grew silent. Paul then turned to his older brother. "You talked to him, didn't you?" he asked.
Reggie didn't say anything. But Paul caught him glancing at him, which gave his all the answers he needed. "When?" Paul asked.
"About an hour ago. Just like mom, he asked me why we were acting the way we were and why I tackled him to the ground when I saw him, so...I told him about all the problems I had with him."
"Really?" Paul asked.
"For the record, I didn't tell him about him working for Team Galactic," added Reggie. "All I told him about my childhood and..."
"And?"
"...just that, my childhood."
Paul knew that there was more, but he thought it was better to just drop it. The two of them then focused back onto the burgers. "You know Paul," continued Reggie. "Justin is a really nice guy. He's really good at listening and giving advice."
"Is that so?" Paul asked.
"I think you would feel good if you talked to Justin," suggested Reggie.
"Well...why should I?" asked Paul. "I mean, it's great that he helped you and mom, but I think it's better for to..."
"Paul, listen to me," whispered Reggie. "I heard mom and Dawn talking this morning after you left the table. They're really worried about you. They think that if you keep everything to yourself, something bad might happen and you'll probably do something you'll regret."
"What are you talking about?" Paul asked, quietly. "I'm fine."
"Well, mom's just worried that you'll be driven mad to the point of insanity. Your hair would be all over the place, your mind cluttered, and your overall appearance frazzled."
Paul then suddenly remembered something that happened yesterday. When he was searching Justin's house for any proof that he was his dad. When he couldn't find anything, he looked at himself in a nearby mirror and he realized just how bad his paranoia was. It was to the point that he ransacked and disorganized Justin's bedroom. "Actually," Paul said. "I think I can see why mom's worried about me."
"So then, you'll talk to Justin?" Reggie asked.
For a moment, Paul was silent. He only looked ahead, with an indifferent expression on his face. "Well?" Reggie asked.
"Maybe," Paul finally answered.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
TO BE CONTINUED...
A/N: This chapter was going to be a lot longer, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer. So I cut things off here and pick things up in the next chapter.
Some people have told me that they're a bit unhappy that there haven't been any Ikarishipping moments between Dawn x Paul since the story started. I do apologize that I've spend more time on Paul's family then on the real reason why you guys read this story. So to make amends, I want to let you guys know that I'm working on a side-story that's nothing but Ikarishipping. Once I finish it, I'll post it up on here.
Next time: Accepting Reggie's invitation, Justin comes over for the hamburger dinner with Regina, Reggie, Dawn, and Paul. For the most part, everything is peaceful. Paul's on his best behavior and Justin's being patient by being casual with him. Will Paul decide to open up to Justin, or will he keep everything to himself?