Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon.

Hey guys! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter :D

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WinglessDog: I know right! Oldrivalshipping rocks! Thanks for your review, here's the update :D

Ready to fly: Haha yep, I love all their individual characters, they're all really fun to write and portray so hopefully I did a good job this chapter too. Thanks so much for your review! :D

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A quick note, Dawn quotes the words of the song 'Mama's Broken Heart' by Miranda Lambert in this chapter. I've put the direct quote in italics and although it's only a couple from lines from the song, the whole song will be used later.

Enjoy.

Chapter Two

~ Cold ~

Later that afternoon, after lessons had finished, I walked back to the dorms with Drew and Gary. As soon as we entered the lobby of the main building Gary turned left to head to the room he shared with Drew, Paul and Ash. I knew Paul was still in the recording studio after last period Music and Ash, well, who knows where he was? So that left Drew and I to turn right, towards the girl's side of the dorm building.

"I'll walk you back," Drew offered as Gary vanished with a half wave towards the boys dorms.

"Thanks," I accepted with a smile. "See, why can't Gary be more like you?" I asked as we began heading out of the lobby in the direction of the girl's dorms.

"If he wasn't such a jerk then many of his relationships would last longer," he replied, flicking his hair. A fangirl who was passing us gasped and began fanning her face. I rolled my eyes at her, glancing at Drew to see he looked slightly exasperated at her reaction.

Forgetting the fangirl as we continued on down the corridor, I raised my eyebrows. "Wouldn't that be a good thing though? Besides I'm his best friend, not his girlfriend, so shouldn't he act differently with me?"

Drew shrugged. "Gary doesn't see the point in lasting relationships. You'd have to ask him why."

"You don't know?" I was surprised. Drew and Gary were as close as brothers, I thought Drew would have known.

"Oh I know, but it's something he should tell you. I'm surprised you don't know, actually – haven't you two been best friends since you were in diapers?" Drew asked.

I nodded. "But we went to different schools when we were eleven, for three years, though we always kept in touch," I told him. I was a little hurt to find out Gary was keeping secrets form me. I'd been his best friend his whole life, not Drew – they had only met when we all started CA High together. But I was sure he had a reason, so I didn't press the issue. And it wasn't like he knew absolutely everything about me (just almost everything), and I wasn't a hypocrite.

"As for the best friend thing," Drew added. "Gary doesn't want to make any exceptions. Even for you."

"Don't I know it," I scoffed, remembering the incident in the corridor this morning. We halted in front of the elevator but there was a note stuck on it, saying it was out of order, so we headed for the staircase. "Anyway, are you and the guys doing that project for extra credit that prof. Black set?" I asked, changing the subject.

"The one where each group has to perform a song at the end of each week on the main campus stage?" he checked. I nodded. Students often hung around there after school, even in the winter months, so the professor thought providing entertainment for them would not only entertain them but help us improve our group performances. The project was optional though. "We're giving it a shot. Paul's writing our song this week," he told me, flicking his hair just as another couple of giggling fangirls passed us.

It freaked me out how the fangirls always appeared whenever he flicked his hair, like they knew exactly when he was going to do it. I stuck my tongue out at them and they were so surprised they forgot to flirt with 'Mr Drew' as they called him. I grinned. Success! Drew just rolled his eyes at me. He didn't encourage his fangirls, unlike Gary.

"How mature," he told me dryly. "Now you're beginning to act like May," he said disapprovingly.

I mock glared at him. "I'm not that immature!" I exclaimed. As an afterthought, I added, "And neither is May," I said in defence of my friend.

Drew snorted. "May is the most immature person I know."

"Only when you're around," I retorted. "You rile her up on purpose and you know it. She can be mature when she wants to be."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Drew replied as we reached the dorm I shared with May, Misty and Dawn. He followed me in when I entered, and I didn't question him. All eight of us are so close that we pretty much live in both rooms, apart from sleeping of course.

In our dorm we have main room which is half kitchen, half living room, two bedrooms (two girls per room), and en suite bathrooms. All the dorms for the two upper years at CA high were the same, but the two lower years only had bedrooms and bathrooms.

However the moment Drew and I entered the room we stopped dead. The deputy head, Ms Berlitz (AKA Dawn's mother), was standing in the middle of the living room facing towards us. Standing with her head bowed and her back to us, in front of her mother, was Dawn. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Drew slip over to May and Misty, who were standing off to the side of the room by a sofa. I stayed where I was, staring at Ms Berlitz. She looked like she was in the middle of telling Dawn off and she looked scary.

"Pull yourself together Dawn, it's just a break-up. It's not like you haven't had plenty of those before," Ms Berlitz said sternly, finishing what looked like it had been a long rant before switching her attention to Drew and I.

For the first time I wondered what Johanna, as we were allowed to call her in private, thought of her daughter's track record with boys. From the sound if it she was fed up with Dawn's behaviour. I suppose it was lucky that nothing about Dawn's frequent relationship failures was leaked to the media. The news reporters would have a field a day if they knew the deputy head of CA High's daughter broke so many hearts. It certainly wouldn't reflect well on the school. But Johanna always struck me as a rather down-to-earth kind of person, and no problem had arisen before.

Something seemed off about the respectable woman as I studied her, but I didn't have time to wonder what might be wrong before she was speaking again.

"Leaf, Drew, it's good to see you both looking well," she said briskly. I gave her a small smile and Drew nodded his head. "Please excuse me, I must get back to work." The tall, elegant woman left the room with a sweep of her long skirt and shut the door quickly behind her.

I begun to speak, but then Dawn turned around to face me. I was startled into silence by her appearance. Her eyes were red and puffy, her make-up had run and her hair was messy. She looked completely un-Dawn-like.

"Go fix your make-up, girl it's just a break-up," Dawn cried, her voice weak and croaky. "It doesn't matter how you feel, only how you look." The words seemed to force their way out of her throat and they felt like an echo – was she repeating someone's words, perhaps her mother's? Her next words confirmed it. "But this isn't my mama's broken heart." She looked like she was about to collapse.

I swallowed, stepping forward. "Dawn, are you…?" I began hesitantly. I never was good with emotional moments.

"No, no I'm not okay," Dawn whispered, looking as if she were falling apart internally. My heart ached for her but there was nothing I could do. "Lucas broke my heart and my mama doesn't even care – all she cares about is that the stupid paparazzi doesn't catch me looking like such a mess and start rumours." She coughed, choking on her freely falling tears. I may not have been the best person to offer comfort but I was quick to envelop her in a hug.

"Shh, hey, it's going to be okay," I murmured as she wrapped her arms around me as if I was the only thing anchoring her to reality. Maybe I was.

Misty and May both joined us, lending their support to Dawn as she clung onto all of us. I had forgotten Drew was there as well until he coughed awkwardly.

"I should go," he muttered, turning to leave. Dawn just sobbed harder and I watched out of the corner of my eyes as May left me and Misty to hold Dawn as she grabbed a cushion to chuck at Drew.

Said boy held up his hands. "Girls crying really isn't something any boy likes dealing with," he excused himself. It was possibly the only time I'd seen him looking awkward.

"Could you be any more insensitive?" May gasped, glaring at him. Misty and I rocked Dawn in our arms as she began shaking as sobs wracked her body; May and Drew's arguing wasn't helping the situation.

"What do you expect me to do?" Drew shot back casually. Despite his calm façade I could hear worry in the undertones of his voice – even if he didn't show it, deep down he cared. "Hold her in my arms for the rest of the night like Leaf and Misty are doing? I don't think so," he snorted, flicking his hair arrogantly. Yes, he cares, but very, very deep down. If I hadn't been afraid to let go of Dawn I would have punched him for that comment. Sometimes he and Gary and a little too similar for my liking.

May glowered at him. "What did you say?" she yelled.

"Oh, are you deaf?" Drew shrugged, his eyes flicking over to Dawn. Her hacking sobs filled the room as I rubbed her back awkwardly, unsure of what to do. May was the best (after Dawn, but of course Dawn couldn't comfort herself) in these situations but she was too preoccupied by Drew at the moment. Then Misty pulled away with a gleam in her eyes that had me convinced she was up to no good.

"You-" May began to scream at Drew but a *thonk* cut her off. "Owww," she moaned, staggering sideways and clutching her head. And Misty's magic mallet strikes again! I cheered silently. Even Dawn managed a shaky, choked-up laugh. Unfortunately Drew dodged out of the way when Misty went to whack him.

"Here," he tossed May a rose as she straightened up. She caught it in surprise, staring down at it as her cheeks heated up.

"What's this for?" she asked in confusion.

Drew smirked. "You know you're blushing?" he replied, ignoring her question.

May glared at him. "Why you-" she began to get worked up again, but Misty pushed her out of the way and advanced upon Drew with her magic mallet.

"Later May," the green-headed jerk said eyeing Misty warily and hurriedly leaving the room.

I sighed. Well, at least that was one problem dealt with. Now the three of us could focus on Dawn. Although it looked like May was preoccupied with the rose Drew had given her… I smirked to myself and turned back to Dawn. Now wasn't the time to tease her, but I would remember it for later.

It was a long night filled with popcorn, ice cream, cheesy chick-flicks and tissues. We all drifted off to sleep in the early hours of the morning – the last time I checked my watch it was 3:40, so when the morning bell rang to wake us up none of us wanted to move.

Misty got up first. I wasn't surprised; that girl has a will of iron. She then rose May and Dawn (beats me how she managed to get May up), the latter whom seemed to have forgotten all about her broken heart. From the sound of her singing (which I had to bury my head under my pillow to escape) she was back to her usual cheery self.

They then tried to wake me up. I was having none of it though. I simple wouldn't budge throughout their coaxing, tickling, yelling, kicking, whacking from Misty's magic mallet, and pulling off of my cocoon-like duvet which even in the depths of sleep I held onto with a death-like grip. My barely conscious brain thought it had won, but oh how wrong I was.

The next thing I knew, I had been drenched in ice cold water. I shot up with eyes widened in shock. "You…" I gasped, pointing a shaky finger at May who held the bucket, as far as my bleary eyes could make out. "You…" I moved my mouth but no words came out. I was speechless. This was betrayal of the worst kind. I had never expected one of my best friends to stab me in the back so coldly (pun intended).

I shivered, desperately rubbing my arms in an attempt to warm up. I gave May my worst glare, and I would have tackled her there and then if Dawn hadn't started to laugh. Her voice was scratchy and her laugh rougher than usual but it was still like music to my ears after the long night we had endured. Because Dawn had cheered up, I settled for just glaring at May. "I'm letting you off easy this time," I growled. "Never do that ever again," I added warningly.

May laughed. "I'm sorry Leaf, I had to do it! How else were we going to wake you up?" She put the bucket on the floor and I shrugged.

"You weren't," I muttered under my breath as my teeth began chattering. "I n-need a w-w-warm sho-shower," I said out loud through my chattering teeth.

"Good idea," Misty agreed in a strangled voice. Looking at her I realised she was trying not to laugh at me, but she was losing the fight. She gave in and began laughing along with May and Dawn. I scowled.

I was about to get up when a voice coming from the door startled me. "This is priceless!" I turned around and just had time to notice Gary holding a camera before-

*Snap!*

He took a picture of me in all of my soaking glory. Oh no. He did not just do that.

"Give me that!" I yelled with difficulty – it is very hard to yell and sound menacing when your teeth are chattering. I stood up, forgetting I was still wearing pyjamas (and luckily my bra underneath – I'd forgotten to take it off last night) and I began slowly advancing towards him and the other boys who I noticed slipping into the room after him. Ash and Drew were openly laughing at me, and even Paul gave me an amused smirk. I gnashed my teeth together. Gary was going to pay.

"No can do Leafy," Gary chortled, struggling to get the words out as tears of laughter slid down his face. "I am so keeping this." He slipped the camera into his pocket and I fisted my hands.

"Give me the camera," I began in a low voice, straining to keep my chattering teeth from ruining the murderous air I was giving off, "or I will hug you," I threatened.

Gary's eyes widened slightly as he shivered at the thought of me flinging my arms around me while I was still soaked through to the bone. "You wouldn't," he blustered.

"Oh, I would," I promised darkly.

"Go on Leaf, give him a great big hug!" Dawn cheered.

I saw Ash grin widely from the corner of my eye. "Watch out Gary, she's almost got you," he chuckled at the expression on Gary's face.

Misty and May also began egging me on as Drew and Ash laughed at Gary's panicked expression.

"You're never getting this," Gary backed away.

I grinned evilly. "You're mine!" I leaped forwards but Gary dodged and ran out of the room. Wasting no time I dashed after him.

While I chased the idiotic hedgehog-head through the corridors of the girl's dorm building, I forgot I was indecently dressed, I forgot I was cold, and I forgot how much trouble I would get into if I were caught. All I cared about in that moment was getting back the camera and pummelling Gary into dust.

Gary slid down the banister all the way down to the lobby, leaving me to take the slower route of the stairs because I didn't trust myself on the banister. Once I reached the bottom I saw Gary just leaving the lobby and, ignoring the stares of the few people who were hanging around the lobby, I chased after him determinedly.

"Ah!" I gasped, wincing as I set foot outside and gravel embedded itself in my bare feet. I ignored the pain and didn't let it distract me as I chased Gary down the path towards the fountain in the middle of campus. We passed the fountain and I was getting nearer and nearer with every step, paying no attention to the gathering crowd of people following us and egging us on.

Gary reached the cafeteria but in his haste he couldn't get the glass doors open fast enough. Ha. I jumped, colliding with him as he turned to try and escape a different way, and both of us crashed down to the ground. "Gotcha!" I shouted triumphantly, wrapping my arms around him and pressing myself as close to him as possible in order to let the freezing water soak through his clothes right to his skin.

Gary struggled against my grip and tried to push me off but I just clung on tighter as we rolled around on the floor with the growing crown of students whistling and calling out encouragement to both of us.

"Cold!" Gary gasped. "C-c-cold!"

"Exactly what you deserve," I hissed smugly. The adrenaline rush I had warmed me up slightly, so I wasn't shivering anymore and I didn't even feel cold, just wet.

"Gary Oak, Leaf Greene!" the shocked voice of Johanna made us freeze. In the brief silence that followed I thought I heard a click but I dismissed it as Gary and I slowly broke apart and stood up; me with a mortified expression on my face when I realised half the student population was gathered watching us, and Gary holding his head up high and a playful smirk on his face, despite the fact he was now shivering as much as I was, although my shivering was due more to shock than being cold. "Detention!" Mrs Berlitz ordered in a voice which could freeze the whole of Sinnoh. I wished that it hadn't been Dawn's mother who caught us, if anyone had to catch us at all, but there was nothing I could do.

We both followed Johanna back inside the lobby of the dorm building in subdued silence. Glancing over at Gary I saw that while he pretended not to care about being caught, underneath his bravado he felt as anxious as I did.

A thought occurred to me as we trailed after the deputy head, and I moved closer to Gary so I could whisper. "Why'd you and the other guys come over to our room so early anyway?"

Gary shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets. "May texted Drew telling him what she was about to do. We couldn't pass up a chance like that," he replied with a smirk.

I glared at him. "Jerk," I hissed, keeping a wary eye on the back of Johanna's head.

"As if you expected anything less," Gary remarked casually.

He had a point. "Yeah, okay I do expect that of you. But I thought Drew would have more decency, and Paul as well."

"I don't know why you're complaining," Gary muttered. "You're the one who got us both in trouble."

"What?" I gaped at him in disbelief. "How is this my fault? You barged into our room and snapped a picture of me!" I hissed accusatively.

Gary raised an eyebrow. "So? You didn't have to chase me," he pointed out. "It's not my fault I didn't want an ice hug."

"You weren't forced to take a picture of me either," I snapped. No way was Gary going to lay the blame on me for this.

"Children, you're in enough trouble as it is. Don't make it worse for yourselves," Johanna cut into our conversation, startling us both into silence. I had been so caught up in my argument with Gary that I hadn't realised we had come to a halt in the lobby and Johanna was listening to every word we said. "Good. Now would one of you care to tell me what that was all about?"

Gary and I exchanged glances. I said nothing, so Gary spoke up. "She was chasing me so of course I was going to run away from her. I didn't expect her to follow me outside," he told Johanna. I narrowed my eyes at him. That's right, pile the blame on me, I glared.

Gary looked at me expectantly as if waiting for me to argue and shift the blame onto him. I shook my head slightly. I'm not going to sink to his level, I thought, standing up a little straighter. Besides, it wasn't like Gary was wrong. I had chased after him. But I knew if I told Johanna he had been in the girls dormitories (where boys were never, ever allowed) he would be in trouble so deep he'd still be attending detention well into his 70s. Luckily for him I wasn't that mean.

"Leaf? Anything to add?" Johanna asked me, looking like she also expected me to argue that it wasn't my fault.

I hesitated. Gary's eyes widened slightly. I considered the consequences if I did argue for my innocence. I decided it wasn't worth it. We'd both still be in trouble regardless. "Nothing," I said simply.

There was a look of surprise mixed with a slight touch of regret on Johanna's face as she said her next words. "Gary, you're getting off easily this time since I'm sure Leaf wasn't chasing you for no reason whatsoever, but since she refuses to give me her side of the story then one detention is all you'll get." Gary nodded, smiling in relief. I folded my hands behind my back, fidgeting uncomfortably as I waited for Johanna to announce my punishment. "As you won't defend yourself Leaf, I have no choice but to write your name in the blue book," she told me.

My eyes widened and my breathing slowed. I reigned in a gasp. "I…" I tried to form words but my throat constricted and I bit down on my tongue before I could say something I might later regret. Gary owes me for life for this, I thought bitterly.

"I am sorry," Johanna said earnestly, "but I can't overlook this. Celestic Arts High can't afford to let its pupils run around in soaking pyjamas tackling innocent bystanders," she told me. She sounded sympathetic but firm. I sighed. Gary was anything but an innocent bystander, but I couldn't correct her.

"But surely this isn't a blue book offense?" Gary asked. Was it just the lighting or did he looked guilty? I stared at him, scrutinizing his face. He did! He looked guilty! There's hope for him yet, I thought, biting back a small grin which was totally inappropriate in the current situation.

Turning my attention back to Johanna, I saw a grave expression on her face and I instantly lost the urge to grin. "If the media got a hold of this it would damage the school's reputation, and bad publicity is the last thing we need right now with everything else going on," she explained tiredly, rubbing her eyes with her left hand.

"But you know Leaf is a good student. She would never-" Gary began to protest, trying to argue for my case, but Johanna just shook her head.

"I'm sorry but I have to follow regulations," she said apologetically.

"Hold up," I said, frowning. Her words were only just registering in my tired brain. "What else is going on?"

Johanna looked confused at my question. "Pardon?"

"You said, 'bad publicity is the last thing we need right now with everything else going on'," I quoted. "What else is going on?"

For a moment Johanna just stared at me, taken by surprise. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with," she said, recovering quickly. "A slip of the tongue is all it was. Now hurry up and get to class the pair of you – but change out of your wet clothes first, we can't have you both catching colds," she said briskly before drawing herself together and hurrying away.

"And they say she graduated from here herself with a degree in acting," Gary scoffed, watching her disappear. "Something is definitely up."

"Yeah," I mumbled agreement. Now that Johanna had gone, exhaustion crashed over me and I realised I was freezing. I was so cold my feet and fingers were going numb. "I'm going to change. See you later Gary," I said, turning away and beginning to drag my feet back to my dorm.

Before I had taken two steps, Gary caught my wrist. Warmth spread through me at his touch despite the fact I was still dripping wet with freezing cold water. "Wait – Leaf, I'm sorry," he muttered.

"What?" I stood still, blinking stupidly. Did the egotistical jerk just apologise?

"You heard," Gary shrugged, dropping my wrist. "Later Leafy," he added, smirking as he walked off in the opposite direction, no doubt heading for his own dorm.

I shook my head and continued back to my room. Just because he apologised that didn't mean he was forgiven. Having your name written in the blue book meant you'd committed a serious offence. If your name went in three times, your parents were called. The fourth time, you were suspended. The fifth time, you were expelled. I had hoped to get through school with a clean record, but thanks to Gary that wasn't going to happen now. There wasn't anything I could do about it now though, so I carried on walking, incoherent thoughts swimming around in my brain.

Author's Note: Sooooo what'd ya think? All reviews are of course welcome with open arms! Did it match your expectations or fall short? I'd love some feedback to help me improve :)

Thanks for reading,

~ Jay