This didn't come out quite as I thought; but oh well. Enjoy~!

It wasn't very amusing of her to pour paint all over his head at the party, Paul complained to himself. Well, Dawn thought it was hilarious, but Paul? Not so much. now his hair was green, of all things, and he looked like there was shrubbery growing on his head! "Stupid...troublesome girl...," he grumbled.

"Aw, lighten up! It'll wash out by tomorrow," Dawn tried to cheer him up, though she knew she was in for a heck of a lot of...well, trouble. "C'mon, Paul," she chided when he said nothing. "It's not so bad."

"Oh, is it?" he asked sullenly. He wasn't really all that concerned about it, though it was quite annoying. And irritating. And a margin embarrassing. And...oh, forget it. He was pretty steamed about looking like a piece of lettuce. "And how would you like it if someone dyed your "perfect blue locks" a normal color? Like blonde, or brunette."

Dawn frowned. She WOULD be pretty upset if she had to dye her precious hair. "I'm sorry, Paul. You're right; I'd hate that." They continued to the Pokémon Center in silence. Paul was wondering why he'd even gone. He hated parties like that. They were a waste of time, and stuff could always happen while everyone else was having fun.

Like having paint being poured onto his head and taint his hair.

When they got to the Pokémon Center, Dawn checked in and the two people - one coordinator and one trainer - ventured upstairs. Paul instantly locked himself into his room to shower and hope the color would fade out. Dawn sighed and flopped down on her bed next door. She felt kind of bad now, even though it WAS funny. "Oh, well. It ought to wash out, right?" she consoled herself. She waited for almost half an hour before there was a knock on her door and Paul came to stand before her. The green hadn't washed out, and there were hints of hte original purple that peeped out and kind of made his whole head look a little odd. "Heh heh; sorry?" Dawn offered. He only shook his head and sat down on the chair across from her bed. There was a while of silence while Dawn stayed lying down and Paul just sort of stared into space.

This happened a lot, as you can imagine.

"Paul?"

"What."

"Do you really mind the color?" she asked desolately, and Paul looked over at her. Dawn was staring hard at her bedsheets and fiddling with her scarf, fingers frantically brushing at it. He sighed heavily. That - what Dawn was doing - was a surefire sign that she was upset. Like, it was her - subconsciously so - main freak-out mode, even after crying. She'd pull and mess with her scarf, and that's when Paul would know that she was serious - and sensitive.

"...No," he finally told her.

"Yes, y-you are," she said, her lip trembling a bit. "I said I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She pushed herself down onto the bed face-first. "I'm so s-s-sorry," she repeated, trying not to cry.

If he were anyone but himself, Paul would have facepalmed. "It's fine." She said nothing. "Dawn, look at me." The coordinator lifted her head a little, her face partly shielded by her bangs. He got up and sat down next to her. "I don't mind. It'll wash out, won't it?"

"Y-Yes."

"Then it doesn't matter. I didn't appreciate it, but it isn't a big deal. Now stop fussing and get a grip."

"O-Okay."

"Aw; why'd they stop talking?" May groaned quietly. She had forced Drew to come spy with her, and they were leaning up against the door at that very moment. Drew, of course, was indifferent, but May had always tried to "ship" Paul and Dawn together. (Drew had absolutely no idea what the word meant, but he heard it often enough.) And she told him that this was the perfect opportunity, she claimed.

While Drew was pondering this, they started to hear voices again. "...till, I'm sorry." That was Dawn.

"I told you. It's fine."

There was a pause, and then:

"But it was still funny to see you with an even odder hair color," Dawn smiled; Drew could tell.

"Not as funny as you with brown hair."

They were laughing - or really, Dawn was laughing when they heard an offended voice from behind Dawn's door: "What's wrong with brunnetes and green hair?!"

Dawn froze. "May?"

"What's wrong with green hair?" she repeated.

"Busted," Paul muttered.

"Geez, calm down. You're looking more red than your hair is brown," another voice, snarky and sly, came as well.

"Seriously? Drew? You too?"

"It's not my fault; she made me!"

Paul pinched the bridge of his nose. The trouble of a single party had been proved right then.

The last part to False Comforts is coming soon! Yes, I did change the title, if you noticed; it used to be Stress Relievers and False Comfort. I know I'm still working on one from Contestshipper16 (thanks so much!), but if you have any suggestions or requests, I'd gladly take them! Thanks everyone!

Reviews and PMs are appreciated! :)