The Party

Everyone walked into the Professor's Laboratory to see the whole place decorated with streamers and balloons. There was a table full of pizza and chicken wings for dinner and then a separate table for the deserts and sweets. Everyone dug in with dinner and music was playing. Eventually Bianca, Trip, Stephan, and Conway all arrived. At around 9:45 that night there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Ash yelled. He walked up to the door. He opened the door and the last person has finally arrived.

"Paul! What's up? How've ya been?" Ash questioned. Ash gave Paul a firm handshake.

"Not much. Sorry for being so late." Paul apologized.

"It's fine. Mind me asking who you were battling?" Ash questioned. Dawn noticed Paul in the doorway and walked up to them.

"Take a look." Paul stated. He handed Ash a plaque with 7 gold symbols.

"You beat Brandon! Nice Job!" Ash yelled.

"Not only that, I am now a Frontier Brain." Paul explained. Dawn noticed a small bit of blood on his right jacket sleeve. It was slowly growing bigger as well. "Hey where's the bathroom?"

"It's over there. I'll take you." Dawn offered. Dawn started to walk to bathroom with Paul behind her. "So what happened to your arm?" Dawn questioned. Paul looked down at his arm and saw the blood staining his jacket.

"There was an Air Slash attack coming at me and I cover my face and it hit my arm." Paul explained.

"I help you clean it up." Dawn offered. Dawn made sure the coast was clear before she and Paul went into the bathroom. Paul sat down on the toilet. "Lift up you jacket sleeve." Dawn pleaded. Instead of that he took off his jacket to reveal his teal shirt with no sleeves. The blood was slowly dripping onto the tile floor.

"Oh my god. He's ripped. Just stay calm." Dawn thought. She tried as hard as she could not to blush. Even with the resistance a bit of color escaped onto her cheeks. Paul noticed this and didn't say anything. Dawn looked in the medicine cabinet for bandages and a cloth wipe. Dawn finally found them after a few minutes of searching.

"Alright I just have to wet this with some warm water." Dawn stated as she wetted the cloth with warm water. "I'm warning you now, this may sting a little so try and stay still." Dawn gently placed the cloth on Paul's cut. He grunted for a split second and then stopped. After the cut was cleaned Dawn started to wrap the bandages around his forearm.

"Good Arceus. This is not how I wanted to spend my New Year's but I'm okay with it." Dawn thought. Dawn tied off the bandages.

"There all done." Dawn stated. Paul dug through his bag and pulled out a jacket identical to the one he had on earlier.

"Thanks." Paul stated. "It was good to see you again Dawn." Paul walked out of the bathroom and Dawn stood in their silently.

"Did he just say my name?" Dawn questioned herself. Dawn walked out of the bathroom and enjoyed the party.

At around 10:30, May noticed Drew in the field feeding his Flygon.

"Hey." May questioned.

"Hey." Drew replied. May sat down next to Drew and watched him feed Flygon.

"Why are you out here? The party's inside." May questioned.

"Just feeding Flygon." Drew replied. "You know." Drew started. "We've known each other for almost 5 years and we never really had time alone like this." May tried as hard as she could not to blush.

"Yeah if we were like this, someone interrupted us. Mostly Harley." May replied.

"So how do you like the Top Coordinator life?" Drew questioned.

"It was fun in the beginning but now I have so many reporters following me everywhere I go. I had to tell them that I would be in Unova for the New Year so that they wouldn't follow me here." May explained. She lied down on the grass and sighed. "Why does the media have to know every little thing I do?!" May yelled. Drew then lied down next to May.

"Cause if they didn't then they would be out of a job." Drew answered.

"I really hate it when you're right." May confessed.

"That's why I like being right." Drew stated.

"You're a meanie butt!" May pouted. She and Drew walked back into the lab.

At 11:55, five minutes before the ball drops, Ash noticed Misty on the balcony looking out to the field were all of the pokemon were playing.

"Hey Misty. You okay? You're not as perky as you normally are." Ash questioned. Misty looked up into the sky.

"I'm fine. Just thinking." Misty replied not making eye contact with Misty.

"About what?" Ash questioned. Misty was shocked that Ash didn't leave then. He wouldn't normally hear anyone's thoughts.

"Just curious, why do you talk about me when you go to different places?" Misty questioned. Ash didn't answer for a while.

"Cause you were the first person to travel with me. I think that it's a good thing that other people know what kinds of people you travel with over the course of a journey. You make new friends. But your one friend that I'll never forget." Ash replied. Misty was silent. She was shocked at his answer. Ash had never been this emotional in life. Misty tried as hard as she could not to blush.

"Hey you two lovebirds! The ball is gonna drop in 2 minutes!" Trip yelled at Misty and Ash.

"You'll be lucky if you get to live to see the ball drop Trip. When I get my hands on you, you're dead!" Ash yelled as he started to chase Trip all around the room. Misty laughed and headed inside.