Man, am I tired! I've been covering a festival for most of the day and am exhausted. Yet, I promised to publish this today and I am a person of my word. It's been a while since I last updated this but I do hate leaving stories unfinished.

Thanks to AnimeLuver4Ever, Starfire1407, splitheart1120, ninetailsgirl94, KuraiDawn, rin916 and lonewolfgirl-sademo588 for reviewing.

And extra big thank you to RaveOn21now22 for giving me a good kick up the butt and making me finish this. Well… not so much kicking as pointing out that summer's nearly over… Minor details.

Anyway, on with the chapter!

Chapter Seven: The Beach

"Will you sit still, you over grown monster!" Drew yelled at May.

"Who's over grown you stupid grasshead!" May yelled back.

"Oh yeah? Well at least I'm not a monster!"

"Shut it or I may be tempted to get the weed killer, you weed!"

"Sure, sitting them next to each other was a fantastic plan," Paul muttered to Dawn as they sat on the bus to the beach. The beach wasn't that far away but it still meant a forty-five minute bus journey to get there. Dawn glanced at Paul before she cast him a smile.

"It was the only way to get Linnet and Gary sat next to each other," Dawn explained.

"I'm hurt," Paul said in a stoic tone. Dawn looked at him in a questionable way for a few seconds before he smirked at her. "I thought you wanted to sit next to me."

Dawn giggled: "Oh, yes, of course I wanted to sit next to you."

She patted his knee in a mocking sort of way which made them both laugh for a few seconds. Their laughter was cut short by Drew's bellowing tones.

"Well, bite me!" he yelled at May. There was a slight pause before Drew let out a pained yelp. "Ow! She bit me!"

Dawn glanced at Paul.

"Fine, maybe it wasn't the best thing to do," she admitted.

"I take it back," Paul told her, "Any pain that comes to Drew is always a good idea."

"You're so mean," Dawn laughed. Paul smirked and glanced behind him to see how his other two friends were doing. Ash and Misty were getting along just fine. The two of them were talking about something or another and acting civilly to each other. Paul knew those two would have got along after everything that happened at the party. After Ash 'accidentally' almost drowned in the pool, Misty was the one to give him 'mouth to mouth resuscitation'. Paul smirked at this. No body bought the whole 'I was saving his life' routine. Misty and Ash had made out and it was as simple as that.

Paul looked over at Gary and Linnet who were being very quiet. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the reason why. Linnet was asleep and Gary was acting as her pillow while he read a book. If Paul was Dawn, and he was glad he wasn't, he might have thought the whole thing looked cute or romantic or something to that effect. Slowly Paul turned back to the front of the bus. He glanced at the blunette who was sat staring out of the window. She was smiling at the view of the sea.

"Look, Paul," she said enthusiastically, "It's the sea. Look, isn't it pretty?"

"It's the sea," Paul stated. Dawn cast him a fleeting look before she smiled widely as the beach came into view.

"We're almost there," she sang loudly.

"Wow," Misty said as she leant through the gap in the seats behind Paul and Dawn, "Just look at that. It's so pretty."

"Typical girls," Paul mumbled. Misty clipped Paul on the head, making him turn round and glare at the orange haired girl. In the background there was only the sound of Drew and Ash going 'ooo' as if they were waiting for Paul to murder Misty for hitting him. Misty glared back at Paul with sheer stubbornness and bravery.

Dawn, who hadn't been paying attention to the whole stand off between the two, suddenly shook Paul's arm roughly.

"Look, look, Paul," Dawn cheered happily, "They've got horses."

Paul's eye brow twitched. He slowly looked out of the window to where Dawn was pointing. Misty danced a little dance of victory. Paul glanced back her.

"Can I ride on one?" Dawn asked Paul. Her eyes were lit up with excitement and hope. Paul fought back a few soft remarks before he rolled his eyes.

"Do what ever you want," he said finally. Dawn clapped her hands excitedly before she pressed her nose against the window.

"I wanna ride the white one," Dawn told him.

"How old are you? Three?" Paul snapped.

"And can we get some candy floss too?" Dawn asked, ignoring his question. Paul's eyebrow twitched once more. He stood up and walked to Misty's seat. He pushed her roughly out of her chair and sat down on it himself. Misty fell into the aisle way, looking confused to why Paul had just done that.

"Now, we're equal," he stated. Misty nodded. She hopped into the seat beside Dawn and looked out of the window.

"Look, look, look," Dawn said. She turned and looked round at Misty, expecting Paul to be there. "Where's Paul?"

Misty pointed behind her to where Paul was now sat with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Ash was leant on the back of Dawn's chair, looking out of the window. Dawn's expression fell slightly as she realised that Paul moved. She turned back to the window and let out a sigh.

Misty watched her friend's expression fall before she let out a sigh. She turned to Ash.

"So where's the best place to eat?" Misty asked.

"Awh, man, where do I start?" Ash replied, rubbing his head sheepishly.

The bus stopped five minutes later to which the group of teens poured onto the pavement and looked around to see what they should do first. Linnet was slightly groggy from her nap on the bus and had taken to leaning on Gary as if he was a giant teddy bear. Gary didn't seem to mind much.

May and Drew were still bickering about something as Ash was looking round for the nearest food place. Misty was stood next to Dawn. Dawn was stood looking down at the floor like she had been told off for something. Paul was stood on the other side of Gary, holding Gary's bag for him.

"So where to first?" Misty asked.

"Chip shop!" Ash yelled.

"Amusements!" Drew shouted.

"Candy floss!" May screamed.

"Sleep," Linnet muttered in stark contrast to the others. Misty sweat-dropped as everything was shouted at her at once.

"Er… Let's go and find something to eat," Misty said, "Then we can go to the amusements and maybe get in some crazy golf before heading to the beach for a walk."

"Aren't we going swimming?" Gary asked.

"No way," Linnet snapped, standing up straight, "Do you know how cold the water is!"

"I thought the whole point of coming to the beach was to go swimming," Gary mumbled.

"We live in Sinnoh, Gary," Linnet replied, "What is Sinnoh well known for?"

"It's cold," Gary replied, face falling even more.

"So unlike Kanto and Hoenn, the beaches aren't full of surfers or bikini babes playing volley ball," Linnet lectured Gary, "There are amusements, a Ferris wheel and plenty of chip shops."

"Don't forget the visitor information centre and the gift shops full of tacky things," May added.

"Of course," Linnet agreed. Gary grumbled something incoherent under his breath as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

"And don't forget the rain," Misty said, "Or the wind. It's either one or the other."

As if by magic, rain started to pour just after Misty finished speaking. The boys glared at Misty as she calmly got out an umbrella and put it up. May and Linnet followed suit but Dawn didn't seem to care she was getting wet. The boys put their coats over their heads to shield themselves from the rain.

"I think we should move," Gary said.

"Café!" Ash yelled. He sprinted down the street. The girls followed with Drew and Gary behind them. Paul paused after taking a few steps after Gary. He glanced at Dawn who was still stood staring at the ground.

"Troublesome," Paul snapped, "Let's get going."

Dawn's head shot up. She blinked twice before she let out a yell. She hurriedly got out her umbrella and put it up. She ran behind Paul as he led her to café the others had disappeared into.

"What's with you?" Paul called back to her as they ran.

"It's nothing," Dawn replied quietly. Paul rolled his eyes and left the conversation at that.

The teens dried off in the café while ordering the traditional seaside food: battered fish and chips.

"Well this is fantastic," Gary muttered as he stuck a chip in his mouth. Drew was hurriedly combing his hair to get it back into some sort of style. It wasn't working very well. "If I wanted to be stuck in a café, soaked through and cold, I could've done it at home."

"Oh boo hoo," May snapped.

"Yeah, Gary," Misty agreed, "You would think you would drop the wussy tone and grow a pair."

"It's not that bad," Linnet said.

"The chips are nice," Ash commented.

"Exactly," Linnet went on, "It may be horrible out there but we can do plenty of stuff in here."

"Like?" Gary asked. Linnet thought about this for a few minutes until she kicked Gary under the table. He yelped loudly.

"That," Linnet replied in triumph. The group chorused into laughter apart from Paul, who looked pleasantly pleased, and Dawn, who was still staring into space.

"Well, the rain's stopped," Misty said while Gary grabbed his knee and scowled at Linnet. "Shall we head out?"

"Sure," May said.

"What if the wind starts?" Drew asked, "Then my hair will get messed up."

"Weeds don't mind a bit of wind," May replied. Before Drew could reply, Ash pushed him out the door. Slowly the teens filtered out of the café, leaving Paul and Dawn sat in their seats.

"So are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" Paul asked. Dawn jumped at the sound of his voice. Slowly she looked up at him.

"You don't like me very much, do you?" she asked him. Paul blinked a few times, not expecting this question from her. He chuckled darkly to himself for a few minutes. Oh the irony of it all, he thought. The one girl he did like thought he didn't like her. Why was she bothered if he liked her or not anyway? His chuckle ended abruptly.

"Why are you bothered?" Paul asked. Dawn flushed red.

"N-never mind," she replied quickly.

"Oh, it's like that, is it?" Paul asked airily, a sly grin crawling onto his face. Dawn eyed him wearily. What was he playing at?

Seeing her hesitance, Paul continued: "I have tell you if I like you but I can't ask you? It hardly seems fair."

"Fine," Dawn snapped, "You'll tell me and I'll tell you."

"Who should go first?" Paul asked. Dawn paused.

"Together," Dawn replied, "On three. One… Two… Three…"

"I like you a lot," they said in unison. Dawn blushed and closed her eyes when she blurted it out while Paul looked vaguely interested. He smirked as Dawn opened her eyes.

"Did you say-?" she asked. Paul nodded.

"You caught my interest a while back," Paul explained, "Honestly, do you think I would've put up with you if I didn't like you?"

"I suppose not," Dawn agreed, "But this is strange. I thought you'd never like someone like me."

"Like you?" Paul asked, confused.

"You know… someone… fun?" Dawn said. Paul blinked a few times, surprised at what she had just said for the second time that day. "I'm fun and you're not fun at all."

"Did you just… insult me?" Paul asked. Dawn thought about this for a second.

"I guess I did," she replied, giggling at the end. Paul nodded with a smirk on his face. He looked round the café.

"I think we should leave," he said, "No doubt the others are in trouble."

"That's true," Dawn agreed. Paul stood up and waited for Dawn to do the same. She blushed as she linked arms with him.

"So what does this mean then?" she asked as they exited the café, "I mean I know you like me and you know I like you."

"See how it goes?" Paul suggested, "I mean I do want it to go further but…"

"I tell you what," Dawn said brightly, "How about we go out together one day. You know without the others around. Then we can make our decision."

"Decision on what?" Paul asked dumbly. Dawn laughed at him.

"If you're good enough to be my boyfriend," she teased. Paul smirked. He fought his arm out of her grasp. She was confused at the motion but understood why Paul unlinked arms with her soon enough. He grabbed her hand instead and linked his fingers with hers. Dawn looked down at her hands then up at him. "Hmm…"

"What?" Paul asked.

"Holding hands before the first date?" she asked, "Now that's risky."

Paul smirked but that soon faded as he heard something in front of them. Dawn looked round too to see Gary running towards them. Paul and Dawn stepped out of his way just before he collided with them. Behind him was Linnet, chasing him with what looked like a spade in her hands. As the pair disappeared down the road, Paul turned back to Dawn.

"There's hope for them yet," he muttered. Dawn smirked.

"In your weird, demented little world, they're screaming I love you all the time, aren't they?" she asked. Paul looked over her blankly.

"In my weird, demented little world, neither of them exsist," he replied. A smile broke across his face making Dawn sigh. "I like my weird, demented little world. It's nice and quiet."

"You are so weird," Dawn giggled. Paul looked down at her as she stopped laughing at him. She smiled sheepishly at him. "It's weird… We're total opposites yet we get on so well."

"Isn't it obvious?" Paul asked. He pulled her gently down the road. Dawn looked confused.

"What's obvious?"

"I'm mean, unemotional and slightly psychotic," Paul explained. Dawn nodded in agreement. "You're peppy, choked full of emotions and big on the general 'nice' thing."

"What you say is true," Dawn agreed.

"Thank you," Paul went on, "So when you put us together-"

"It's like you get something equal," Dawn said, "We balance each other out?"

"I was going to say we complete each other but that works too," Paul said. Dawn giggled at this.

"Do you think that would work on Linnet and Gary?" she asked.

"Couldn't make things any worse," Paul replied. Dawn broke into a run, dragging Paul behind her.

"Come on! Let's go!"