Wow... I am really miserable at updating...
I'll be honest. I kinda lost interest, but now I think I've regained it! And I think I've thought of a way to maintain this interest. XD I think there'll be more consistent updates. High chance!
Um... I wrote the first part ages ago, so the style is pretty different from the rest. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Also, huge thanks to ShinyDragonair2 and Aureillia! Those two helped me plan sooo much of this story! I may or may not have ditched all that planning, but those two are still amazing! XD
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON.
May glanced around the school corridor, pursing her lips, as the atmosphere was patently different. It was indubitably lacking students. She furrowed her eyebrows, checking the time on her watch, thinking it was a possibility she came too early. "8:10," she mumbled to herself.
Sighing deeply, she decided to ignore the uncanny inadequate number of students. In fact, there were only two students from what she saw, compared to the usual thirty or so. Inserting her combination into her lock, she opened it slightly aggressively. The atmosphere was changing her mood, and not positively.
She sighed, again, taking out a few necessary books before shoving her bag into the closed locker space. Slamming the locker shut, she gasped in shock, as an attack from behind hit her, and engulfed her into a hug.
"May! Thank goodness you're here! The school's so empty today!" the attacker blabbered, catching her breath when she finished.
May smiled halfheartedly, nodding in slight agreement. "It's weird, and kind of creepy," she said, slowly, thinking to herself. "Dawn, do you know why so many people are absent?"
"Yeah!" Dawn exclaimed, eager to share the news with her brunette friend. "Didn't you hear the news last night? Apparently someone at this school is a serial killer!" May froze at her words. She inwardly cursed herself, for almost forgetting the news. Dawn continued, "That's probably why people dropped out..."
At this point, May had zoned out, a plethora of thoughts clouding her mind, confusing herself even more. It couldn't be that - She blinked, a hand waving right in front of her face.
"Are you even listening?" Dawn asked, slightly annoyed her friend kept on tuning out, but a small hint of worry was present in her tone.
May offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Dawn. I just have a lot on my mind, and this serial killer thing really doesn't help," she said, voice lowering at the last part.
The bluenette smiled back, before saying, "No need to worry! The news is quite shocking, so I can't blame you!"
Her statement made May let out a little laugh. "You're right..." she said, lightening up a little. The two females soon indulged in a nice chat, making May feel grateful she had such an understanding and supportive friend.
A pair of emerald eyes gazed over the empty classroom, with a glint of both mischief and amusement. His eyes flickered to the door, spotting a certain brunette enter the room. A smirk formed on his face, staring at her as she sat down at her desk and placed her belongings down. Noticing that she was blatantly ignoring her, he let out a low chuckle.
"Well, if it isn't April," he said, taunting her temper. "I'm surprised you haven't dropped out." His eyes were still fixed on the girl, carefully watching her any reactions. His smirk widened, hearing her take a deep breath, controlling herself.
"Drew," she spat sourly, as an unfriendly greeting. Without turning around, she replied a snarky, "Why would I drop out?" She picked at her fingernails, hoping the boy would catch the hint she wasn't in the mood to converse with him.
Drew raised an eyebrow, entertained. "Haven't you heard the news about a murderer at this school?" he asked, in a rhetorical manner, his egotistical personality represented well by the conceit lacing his words.
"Serial killer," May corrected, irritated by the overwhelming arrogance in the boy's tone.
"Wow. You're not as much of an airhead as I thought," he remarked, purposely provoking the fury within the female.
Her left eye twitched. "What did you just call me?" she asked, with disgust, as if she was speaking to the most vile creature to walk the earth.
His smirk broadened. "You heard me, airhead."
She opened her mouth to yell at him, but quickly shut her mouth, noticing another presence had graced the room. She calmed down, shuffling around in her seat, finding a more comfortable position after her banter with Drew.
The adult, who had entered a few seconds ago walked up to the front of the classroom, blinking at the lack of pupils. "Only two students?"
May nodded, politely, before saying impassively, "Yes, Miss. I heard many students dropped out from recent incidents." She frowned at her own words, the usual light in her eyes fading.
"Oh dear. That certainly isn't good. Perhaps we'll have to join classes," the teacher said, talking to herself, displeased. "I'll have to speak with the principal about this. Excuse me," she murmured, before swiftly exiting the classroom.
"I didn't think this many people would drop out," Drew commented, with genuine surprise, resulting in another small twitch of May's left eye. Drew seemed to have noticed this small subconscious action, as his smirk quickly reappeared on his face. Then, he frowned, realising how she acted towards him with such antipathy.
"Are you ignoring me?" he asked, as he heard no verbal reply.
May rolled her eyes, refusing to respond. She let out a huff of annoyance, carelessly taking her books and pens out of her schoolbag. Then, she started doodling in her book.
Drew narrowed his eyes a small fraction, not pleased with her reaction. "I bet you're just jealous of my fabulousness," he mumbled, but made sure it was loud enough for the brunette to hear.
She stopped drawing momentarily, sharply turning around to face the male. "I am not jealous of you!" she seethed. "I never was, and never will be!" She glared venomously.
"Oh? Getting defensive now, are we?" he teased, taking pleasure in purposely provoking her. He flicked his hair, displaying his infamous smirk.
"Why would I be jealous of you?" she questioned angrily, now fully facing him. The tense atmosphere around her amplified.
Drew merely shrugged, not fazed by her fury, calmly replying, "Firstly, I'm evidently more fabulous than you. Secondly, I'm popular. Thirdly, I'm not an airhead like -"
He stopped mid-sentence, seeing that May had stood up. May's glare intensified, as she marched up to him. "What did you just call me?" she demanded.
"Airhead." The word left his mouth quickly and casually, and that was all it took for the beast inside of her to show.
"Why you!" She charged at the male immaturely, only for him to easily restrict her by pushing her head back.
The same teacher rushed back into the room, hurriedly saying, "Alright, you two! We're combining with the class next door! Quickly! Quickly!" She left hastily, without even sparing the two students a single glance.
Hearing this, May stopped her fruitless attempts to harm to male. She grabbed her possessions, and walked out of the room quickly, escaping the now awkward tension.
Drew let out a sigh, muttering to himself before copying May's actions and left the class.
"Welcome to Hearthome High School!" Ms. Fontana said warmly, wanting to seem as polite as possible. "If you have any questions, please don't hesitant to ask the staff or a fellow student."
"Hn," was all she received in response, making her cheerful mood falter slightly.
She smiled nervously, looking at the new student. "What's your name?" There was a tense silence in the classroom, as everybody stared at the new student.
"Paul," he said coldly, with such a negative undertone it sent shudders down Ms. Fontana's back.
"Well, Paul, it's good to have you hear! Would you like to introduce yourself to the class?" she asked, trying to mask her discomfort by acting friendly.
He turned to her, a glare making his onyx eyes seem even darker. "No," came his reply. There was another silence. Without another word, he went to sit down at the back of the classroom by himself.
"Gee, isn't someone grumpy," Dawn, who was sitting at the front of the class, muttered, hearing his introduction.
May giggled slightly at her friend's comment, nodding her head. "I wonder what he's doing here, though. Didn't he hear the news?"
Dawn shrugged. "I don't know and I don't care," she said, brushing off the topic. "He's only been here for a few minutes and he's already got me in a bad mood!" She turned around to get another look at him, only to be glared at by him. She narrowed her eyes. "There's something not right about him."
"Dawn, don't you think you're overreacting?" May asked cautiously, a little shocked by her friend's odd behaviour. Seeing that Dawn was busy glaring at the wall, she continued, "I mean, maybe he's just had a bad past."
Dawn ceased her glowering, and registered May's words. "You're probably right!" she said, accompanied by a giggle. "I was just being silly." She beamed, showing off her white pearly teeth. "No need to worry!"
After that, the class was silenced and only the teacher's explanation was heard. May kept an eye on Dawn, noticing that she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion every now and then. The bell rang, meaning they were dismissed, and Dawn left almost immediately.
"Weird..." May said to herself, as a small frown appeared on her face.
The small group of friends gathered in the cafeteria, immersed in a serious conversation. Most ignored the food in front of them, busy blabbering.
"Really? No way! That's so weird..." Dawn said, furrowing her eyebrows.
Misty, sitting across from her, nodded. "One new student is weird enough, but two is just... even weirder!" she remarked, looking at Dawn.
"Something fishy is going on here!" Ash declared, before bursting into a fit of laughter. He struggled to speak, constantly chuckling. "G-Get it? Because..." He started laughing again, and he received weird looks from those around him. "Because... we're eating fish!" He pointed at his food.
Dawn slapped her hand to her forehead, when a certain brunette entered the cafeteria. She hurried over as soon as she spotted her friends. "Hey, guys. What's up?" She took a seat next to Dawn, across from Ash.
"We were talking about how fishy it is," Ash said, before he started sniggering to himself again.
Misty's right eye twitched, grabbing the mallet she always carried with her and thwacked the oblivious male on the head. "That's not even funny," she said, irritated.
"You mean punny!" Ash corrected gleefully, feeling intelligent and clever, only to be thwacked on the head once more. He pouted. "Misty, why are you so mean to me?" he sulked.
"Because you're annoying!" Misty huffed, putting away her mallet. She sighed, turning to face May. "Anyway, we were talking about how we had two new students today."
May's eyes widened, taking a few moments to register the redhead's words. "Two!?" She received nods in confirmation, making her jaw drop.
"I know I'm stunning, but you'll catch flies with your mouth open like that," a smooth, arrogant voice said from behind them. The group snapped around, only to see the one and only Drew Hayden.
"Why you! I still don't forgive you for this morning!" May crossed her arms, suddenly in a bad mood.
Drew gave a flick of the hair, before walking off coolly. May scowled at his retreating figure. Her fists had clenched, and she didn't realise until she released them.
"Wow... You two don't get along, huh?" Ash commented with his mouth full of food, and the girls cringed at the sight. He cried in pain as Misty's mallet was brought down on his head once more.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," she scolded, disgusted by his behaviour.
Ash just nodded, not wanting to face her wrath, and successfully stopped talking.
"Aw, you two act like a married couple!" Dawn cooed, clasping her hands together, with a dreamy look on her face.
A light red hue dusted Misty's cheeks, and her eyes widened in embarrassment. She looked at Ash, curious about his reaction. Her cerulean eyes held a sense of hope, as she gazed at him.
Ash finally looked up a few moments later, noticing that everybody had their eyes on him. He quickly swallowed the food in his mouth, before asking, "What?"
Misty's flustered expression immediately changed into an expression of annoyance, and the hope in her eyes changed into disappointment.
The bell rang, luckily for Ash, and he unknowingly escaped Misty's temper.
Dawn walked into her History classroom, mind clouded with thoughts. She shook her head, snapping herself back into reality. Scanning the room, she noticed there was a spare spot next to Paul. She grinned to herself, thinking she might find out more about him.
"Hello there!" she greeted, once she walked over to him. He looked up at her, a glare present. She ignored it, and took his silence as a cue to continue. "May I sit here?" she asked as politely as she could, smiling widely like usual.
He grunted, still glaring. After a while, he opened his mouth, saying, "Do what you want. I don't care." His voice was still cold, and his monotonous tone sent shivers down her back.
"Okay! Thanks!" she chirped, trying to stay cheerful. She sat down in her seat, and placed her stationery on her desk.
The class commenced, and Dawn completely zoned out. Her thoughts kept drifting to Paul, as did her eyes. She didn't realise she was staring at him, while she was in deep thought.
"Staring is rude," a harsh voice said, cutting her from her musing.
Dawn blinked, before she stuttered out, "W-What? I was not staring!" she said defensively, flustered that she had been caught staring. Then, she realised what he said. "And if anyone here is rude, it's you, Sir Rudeness!" She glared daggers at him, only for it to be returned.
"Troublesome," he grumbled, choosing to blatantly ignore the bluenette.
The bluenette growled, spending the rest of the lesson scowling at a wall. The scene was ironic, as Dawn unknowingly was mimicking Paul's expression.
The lesson flew by quickly. The bell sounded, and Paul abruptly stood up. Dawn almost jumped at his action, watching him exit the classroom. She, herself, rose from her chair. She was about to leave, when she noticed a small piece of fabric on the chair Paul was sitting on.
She picked it up, curiosity taking over her. It was part of a handkerchief, she had gathered. Her eyes widened as she saw a name sewed onto the cloth.
Maybelle Maple
My suspense writing skills are getting rusty. D: That was a poor attempt at some random cliffhanger. Oh well...
Anyway, please leave a review! They really motivate me to write. XD Hope you liked it, and... yeah!