WOW! Sorry it took so long for this to be released! Anyway, let me just say what song this chapter is based on: It's 'Coppertone' and the part where it goes ('But this charade is not going to last, so pick a poison and pour yourself a glass…'). At least, at first I intended for it to be based off of that song. And a quick warning – this chapter is loaded with clichés. Or, at least to me it is. Besides. I hope you like this chapter!
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the songs on 'Fast Times at Barrington High'.
…
Lucas sighed as he waited for Dawn to answer her phone. It wasn't like he was seriously expecting her to answer. It was Thursday. She should be with Damion all night. And normally, he wouldn't be calling her on a weekday. However, it just so happened that his soccer game had been canceled last minute, leaving him with nothing to do all night.
Ever since he had found out about Dawn's other relationship, Lucas had been trying his hardest to hide his knowledge. He seriously didn't mind her and Damion being together, as long as she was happy. But, he just couldn't let anyone on to the truth. He had told Volkner and Flint that when he followed the 'advice' of the former all he had seen was Dawn doing her homework – which wasn't a total lie. Not a total lie, he just…withheld part of the truth. Yea, he was just withholding some of the truth.
After the automated voice spoke the directions of how to leave a message, Lucas started talking, trying to jam in a message that was under a minute long, "Dawn? Yea…it's Lucas. The dance is on Friday, just reminding you! I'll pick you up at seven, k? We'll go get some cheap milkshakes at the diner. Ok, bye. Call me back. Laters." Quickly, he slammed the phone back in the receiver, but not out of anger. Not anger – anxiety. Lucas was very afraid of how the dance would turn out. What if Damion was there? Would either of them let something slip about how they were both dating Dawn?
It was all questions. That was all that was left. All he could do was pray that everything went well.
…
A few hours after Damion had left, Dawn rummaged through various papers on her desk - if you would want to call it that. You could say that her 'desk' resembled a village that had just been it by a tornado more than a table of any sort. Frantically, she searched for the tickets that May had 'dropped' on her desk, even though she doubted that they were there. As she buried her face under another stack of old Spanish notes, another wave of worry that she had lost them washed over her. How could she lose the best tickets ever? They were two tickets to a Cobra Starship concert that started at ten o'clock, a half an hour after the school dance ended, and it was held at a place that was twenty minutes away. Was it fate?
A yelp of victory sounded through the air as she yanked her permission to enter the show out of a small space that was rammed between one of the drawers.
That sealed it. It had to be fate. But, fate had a fickle side. Now, all she had to do was choose who she was going to go with.
Fun.
Well, duh, she should go with Lucas. He is her boyfriend, at least to the general public, and she was going to the dance with him, so it was the obvious choice.
But, then again, she could go to the dance, drop Lucas for 'May' and drive there with Damion – scratch that, they'll all pile into Brendan's cramped 'cool'-mobile (a 'car' that had a maximum speed of sixty miles per hour), seeing as Damion just failed his driving test for the fifteenth time.
Lucas, though…
"AAH!" Dawn leapt out of her seat and screamed, seeing as that was the only way she could express her sheer confusion at the time. Flying-type Pokemon busted out of the trees at the noise, scared that the sky was going to collapse and kill them, even though it was only an emotional expression from a petite high-schooler.
Suddenly, an idea popped into her head, causing her to snap up her cell and dial the number two – May's speed dial. She had to be there to listen. The brunette was Dawn's best friend, and despite the fact that all other times she had turned to her, May had failed her, there was no reason to stop hoping, right? Besides, the Hoenn native was the one who had given her the tickets. She did have some good points, like the fact that she cared when it was within her mental capacity – the only problem was that her relationship with Brendan had shrunk her mental capacity greatly.
…
"How's Dawn?" Damion smiled as he and Lucas entered school on Friday morning, "You're taking her to the dance, am I right?" He joked, jabbing him in the stomach.
"Yea. Of course I am. It's not like she has another boyfriend to be taking her, right?" Lucas looked at the blonde. Despite the fact that he sounded as though he was kidding, it was all business. For the past week, he had been asking questions that had subtle second meanings – like the last one. All to try and see if Damion would trip up and spill the secret life of him and Dawn. Lucas didn't mind that they were dating, as he told himself thousands of times, but he hated pretending. They all couldn't continue with this for much longer. It was going to end someday.
"So I am right! That's a new record!" Damion laughed a bit, his face unfazed by the previous statement. Guess idiots are the best liars. Lucas mused as Damion continued to ramble on. After a few minutes of being spaced out, he tuned back in, just in time to hear a bizarre question coming out of his companion's mouth, "So what are you going to wear to the dance?"
"Hmm?"
"Wear to the dance. What are you going to wear to the dance?" After a few moments of thought, Damion threw his hands in the air as if someone was trying to arrest him, "Not like I care. Dawn does, though. That's all she talks about. 'Will Lucas wear a suit that compliments my dress? What if we clash? That would be horrible!'" Damion put on a very high-pitched voice to attempt to imitate their girlfriend.
"Ha. I guess I'm going with classic black. That's normal."
"Very normal. Why don't you try and stick out? Try something new! But, Dawn told me to tell you not to wear orange or red. They don't match purple, apparently."
"I guess I'll wear a bright blue tie."
"Yea, that's it! Thinking outside the box. Good choice, my friend." Damion tapped his head.
"What about you?"
"What about me? I'm going to be wearing a purple -"
"Not clothes wise. Don't you have a girl to take?"
"Date? ME?! Nah, I'm flying solo. 'Sides, the best way to have fun at a dance is to go around and dance with every girl whose boyfriend has deserted her!"
"Do you always want to be the rebound guy?"
"Duh, rebound guys have the most fun!"
…
"So, you've decided." May said as she and her best friend walked through the large doors that symbolized the entrance to their school.
"Yes. I have." Dawn replied solemnly, keeping with the drab tone that the other girl was using.
"Ok, so are you wearing the purple dress or the blue one?" May jerked out of her dreary self and smiled brightly.
"What?! I decided days ago that I was wearing the purple dress!"
"You did? Then, what did you call me about last night?!" May scratched her head in confusion. After she racked her brain for a while, she realized that the only real things she remembered from the previous night were Brendan, Brendan's kiss, a sentence from Dawn's message, her date with Brendan, and, oh yeah, Brendan.
Talk about reduced mental capacity.
…
"May? Honey?" Caroline called upstairs to her daughter's room. She had just opened the door to reveal a parade of girls outside. They each held a shopping bag that had something stuffed inside of it. The formation they stood in, along with the 'this is serious' looks on their faces would give the Romans a run for their money when it came to who looked better equipped for battle.
"Yes, mom?" May slid down the stairs, her face brightening at the sight of the giant mob.
"There's some peo-" Although she was cut off in mid-sentence by a giant stampede, Caroline still smiled. Of all the things that were funny to her, May's friends had to be at number one.
After a good amount of screaming, hugs, and other girly things that the innocent bystander would obviously recognize as the signs of several good friends reuniting, they all managed to sit down in May's cramped room and take a minor head count.
"So we have Dawn, Flannery, Winona, Maylene, Gardenia, Jasmine, and Candice." May grinned as she was able to name each and every one of the seven ladies who were seated in the room – despite the fact that some of them weren't exactly her closest friends. Dawn, on the other hand, was wondering three things. A) How eight girls were fitting into May's room, B) how some of the attendants ended up coming here, and C) where the hell is Cynthia?
"Wait, where's Cynthia?" Winona said one of Dawn's thoughts as she scanned the crowd, the blonde champion not being in there at all.
"Oh, she's with Flint and Volkner. And I guess the rest of the guys." Candice dismissed the previous fact as something that was typical.
"That makes sense. I bet she's there to make sure they don't kill each other before the dance." Flannery added thoughtfully, and they all knew she was right. The fire-type Elite and the electric-type Leader were at each other's throats more than ever – and no one could really tell why.
"Oi! Look at the time!" Maylene pointed at her watch, the display reading 6:30 PM.
"Six-thirty! SHIT! Lucas is going to be here in a half an hour!" Dawn shrieked, placing her hand to her head in distress.
"What?!" May shrieked back, causing the whole room to go into frenzy, "No offense, but forget about everyone else's outfits for now. Dawn is getting top priority!"
…
Damion fumbled with the strings of his tie in front of the mirror. Obviously, he had no idea of how to get the piece of fabric to tighten around his neck. In the end, he tossed it to the ground, knowing that his outfit was perfect already.
Dances were always an odd event for the boy. Damion, being the anti-romantic he was, would never be thought of as the type to enjoy celebrations of love such as dances. But, his true thoughts were quite to the contrary - he loved the occasions. He loved how all the dateless ladies would flock to him. Ok, maybe he would flock to all the dateless girls, but all in all, he still ended up dancing with everyone, and that's all that matters to him.
But, most of all, he always loved being the ladies' man.
…
Lucas flew down the stairs. He quickly swiped the car keys off the counter and swung himself out the door, only to find an unannounced guest waiting for him outside.
"Lucas! My man! What's up?" said Damion, who was waiting on his porch. He looked good, especially given the circumstances. The circumstances? He was wearing a purple suit.
And it suited him.
Ah, well.
"What am I doing? Leaving to go pick up Dawn for the dance, you idiot." The black haired boy rushed out the door.
"Oh, so you are leaving? Well, you see, I still don't have my driver's license-"
"If you stopped driving through those cardboard but out old ladies and slowed down a little bit, you would have a license."
"Yes, and I will take that advice next time, but right now I don't have a ride. Care to drive me?" Despite that Damion had asked the final question, Lucas didn't have time to answer. The hazel-eyed boy had already buckled himself in the passenger seat, ready to go for a drive.
"Fine, but when we reach May's, you're getting out." As Lucas backed out of the driveway, he silently laughed at the thought of kicking the boy out of the car in front of May Maple's house.
"Alright!" Damion paused, "Could you drive a little faster?"
…
After a good twenty-five minutes of applying make-up, fitting dresses, and, no doubt, lots of good old high-pitched screaming, Dawn emerged fully clad in her outfit from May's room. Several of the other girls had changed as well, but none of them had completed their ensembles like the blue haired girl had. The purple dress stuck to her figure very nicely, billowing out at the waist. Her skin looked like porcelain, smooth and without a single blemish in sight. All in all, she looked gorgeous.
And just in time, too, because as soon as May had applied the last dab of mascara to her eyes, Lucas arrived and was standing awkwardly on her doorstep. He had, in fact, followed Damion's advice, so that's why a bright blue patterned tie adorned his neck. Despite the fact that it did look absolutely ridiculous - to such a degree that it made the other attendants snicker - it also looked absolutely adorable. At least to Dawn.
"Aww!" The girls echoed from the stairwell, most of them unwilling to reveal themselves to the boyfriend of their friend in their current conditions. Dawn took one last glance at the gals before she departed. May winked, knowing that they were the cutest couple ever.
Well, if you don't count herself and Brendan. Or Dawn and Damion.
…
"Uh, who's that?" As Dawn stretched the seatbelt across herself, a shadowed figure sprinted through the lawn, reached May's porch, and began to stand there, albeit impatiently, ringing the doorbell like a madman.
"I don't know." Lucas smiled as he floored it in order to get as far away from the blonde as possible. Even though watching him get beaten up by a ton of angry girls would be funny, he wanted to cherish the moments he had with Dawn.
…
"So, Damion, who are you taking to the dance?" Damion peered up from the magazine he was reading to see Jasmine standing over him. All of the ladies had not been paying attention to him during the time he had been there (after initially being yelled at very loudly by them), and he was shocked to see that they were acknowledging his existence. Carefully, he made sure he would not be getting glimpses of anything he was not meant to be seeing before finally flicking the periodical across the room and brushing his suit off.
"You guys are finishing getting dressed? Finally! We need to get out of here soon – could you take any longer, anyway?" He leapt up to his feet, face to face with the timid steel-type trainer.
"Well, we're not leaving until our dates get here, so we can take as long as we want." Flannery stepped up, seeing that she was also finished getting preparing.
"Enough!" Candice ran forward, eager to know something, because that was single reason that would cause her to stop am argument, "Let's get to the important parts: who's your date? It can't be one of us, right?" Placing her forefinger to her chin, she glimpsed at every possibility for a date, only to end up agreeing with her previous statement.
"No. I'm with Brawly, Jasmine is with Falkner, Gardenia's with Roark, May's with Brendan," A 'no shit, Sherlock' was mumbled under somebody's breath, earning a glare from the fire-type leader, "Winona's with Wallace, Maylene's with Reggie, and Candice, by some miracle, ended up going with Volkner."
"After a good amount of persuasion, but yes, I somehow roped him away from Flint and Cynthia!" Candice piped up, with only the slightest hint of jealousy, "But stop with the delays! Who is Damion going with?!"
"No one." An uninterested reply rose out of said boy's mouth, as he plopped back down on the bed, placing his arms over his head and closing his eyes, ready to tune out all of the unnecessary.
"Really? But Damion, you're so cute! You have to have a date!" Stated Winona, and everyone chorused something similar. His eyes shot back open and he sat up, wearing a very nice smile.
"Sorry, but I'm flying solo. Or, am I sorry? I can dance with all of you now!" His smile grew bigger, as he was currently loving the fact that he was playing the part of the ladies man.
"C'mon, there has to be one girl that you at least wanted to go with." Candice pushed, refusing to give up her quest for 'knowledge'.
"Yea, tell us!" Everyone yelled, some stamping their feet on the ground like toddlers throwing a temper-tantrum.
"As long as it's not a girl here, you can say it, and no one else will ever have to know!"
They all pressed forward, for an insatiable need to know who Damion liked had risen up in all of them, making it impossible to stop the asking questions until they were answered,
"Fine, fine." Damion was defeated, but refused to go down without a fight, "But, I'll only tell you if we can leave already!"
…
Everything in the gym was decorated. From the walls to the ceiling, everything was adorned with streamers, glitter, and colored paper. The lights were dimmed, a pulsating disco ball providing illumination. Refreshments lined the dance floor, several students already digging in. Most people, however, were in the center, dancing to a variety of different songs. On one end of the room was the door, which was decorated as well, and wasn't keeping closed for more than thirty seconds, new people coming in all the time. The newest attendants were a group of young females who had just frozen their butts off for valuable information. Extremely valuable information.
"I-i-i-if y-y-you h-hadn't li-li-liked some-someone so interesting," Maylene stuttered due to her chattering teeth, "I w-w-would be k-k-kicking your-your-your ass r-r-r-r-r-right now!"
"Nothing comes without a price." He smirked, being one of only two members of their group who was not totally freezing.
"Cheer up, guys! Now we can fix Damion up with D-" Candice clapped a hand over her mouth, "The secret person." She winked.
"I'm still mad." Flannery gave him the evil eye while she poured a glass of hot chocolate down her throat, "Not only did he almost make us die of hypothermia, now our boyfriends are confused as to where we are!"
"I called Wallace, and he was fine with it. They'll be here in a few minutes." Winona clicked her phone shut and took back her cup from Flannery.
"Good. Everything's fine, girls! Now we just have to get the unnamed person and Damion together!" exclaimed a very excited Candice, who finally remembered that she shouldn't yell Dawn's name very loudly, especially when they were surrounded by so many of their classmates.
"No. She's with Lucas, my best friend. When they break up, I'll take my chance. Now, I have to go find some people who need a date to dance with. Any takers?"
Flannery sighed, "The guys won't be here for a while, and with my hot chocolate gone-"
"It was mine in the first place!" Winona retorted, taking a large sip of the liquid.
"-the only other thing here that might warm me up is some dancing. C'mon Damion, let's go."
"Yes!" Damion grabbed her hand and dragged her to the dance floor, grinning goofily, earning quite a few odd looks from onlookers.
…
The boys arrived ten minutes later. Flannery and Damion were still spinning round and round, causing Brawly to get a tear in his eye from how absolutely hilarious they looked together. Cynthia walked in with none other than Flint and Volkner by her side, and which forced Candice into spending the night with the trio. Wallace was sticking out like a blue flower in a sea of drab colors, his electric blue suit being the only formal wear that could surpass Damion. Speaking of that boy, he soon moved on to making his way around the gym, asking every girl in the school for a dance, almost all of them responding yes.
However, not everyone was content with their responses…
…
After another half an hour, Lucas and Dawn rushed in, laughing at how they ended up coming a lot later than planned. Before they even had a chance to say hello to their friends, a slow song began to sound through the speakers, giving them their first opportunity to 'bond'.
Lucas was, apparently, awkward when it came to dancing. Initially, he placed his arms around the blue-eyed girl's shoulders, only to have her move his arms herself. He contained no rhythm, as well, which made the whole event very uncomfortable. Luckily, Dawn found all of his faults rather cute.
So that's how it began. The night was rather a blur. Girls twirled through the arms of boys. Bright flashes of color nearly blinded some and made others go into states of confusion. Food was consumed at lightening fast rates, causing the few who were covering refreshments to go into frenzies.
Generally, it was a fun night. Some good decisions were made, but, amongst all the good decisions, some bad ones would appear, affecting the lives of many.
The third worse decision came when May agreed to dance with Damion. It was mainly because the blonde insisted on doing the tango, and he accidentally dropped the brunette twice. On the floor. Head first.
The second worse decision of the night happened when Cynthia agreed to dance with Damion. This caused an uproar between Volkner and Flint, and almost all who had come knew that they would go off to some deserted part of the school in order to whine about how unfair the situation was.
The number one worst decision of the night, however, came when Cynthia and Damion had fun dancing together. They ran across the floor. They slid. They salsa-ed. It didn't matter. It was enjoyable.
Damion was enjoying the fact that he didn't have to worry if people saw him. There was nothing wrong with their light-hearted 'relationship' – even if it only lasted for a few minutes. Cynthia was no one's girl; most of all, though, she was not Lucas's girl.
Cynthia, on the other hand, was enjoying not having two boys practically tearing her apart. It was nice – she was with one boy, and only one. There wasn't another boy who was going to jump out and attack the guy she was with at that point in time. For once, she felt…safe.
People began to gather at the sides, clapping them on. Everyone was laughing at just how ridiculous the couple looked. They did have a bit of a height complex, but did it matter? Not to them, at least.
Lucas was mixed in with the circle, also clapping them on. The two looked pretty good as a couple; plus, if they started going out, the whole love triangle would be over! Sure, he was getting ahead of himself, but a man can dream, right?
The being beside him, though, was not clapping. She was not cheery. She was not chuckling at their stupidity. She was just plain angry. Angry at the fact that Damion was not with her at the moment. Angry at how Damion was not even worrying about her. Angry at how much she wished that she was in Cynthia's place.
Alas, the circle soon dissolved as the DJ chose a slow song next. Everyone backed out to the cool stone walls, practically pressing themselves against it while they searched for their partner.
Lucas looked into Dawn's cool eyes, smiling, "Ready to dance?" He reached for her hand.
"…wha? Uh, sure." She reluctantly followed him to the floor.
"I'll try not to step on your feet this time." He quietly laughed.
"Hmm? Yea, ha."
But, no matter how much she tried to focus on Lucas - she tried to focus on how he had put his arms around her waist, how a tingly sensation was rising up her spine, how her cheeks were getting flushed from the close contact - she couldn't. Every part of her body was forced to stare across the room. She was forcing herself to watch the next events as they unfolded, as if they were going in slow-motion.
…
Being the confident guy he was, Damion waltzed right up to Cynthia as if it was nothing.
"What up, Cynthia?" He asked casually, adding a quick wink into the phrase.
"Damion!" She squealed, the stately girl finally letting loose, throwing her arms around his neck, kissing him on both cheeks, "Ay! I never knew how well you could dance!" Flint and Volkner eyed Damion with such malice that they could make a ghost get the chills, and the receiver of the stares twitched slightly.
"Uh…yea. Thanks for saying yes." He said nervously, his oversized ego diminishing for one of the first times.
"Oh – I get it! Do you want to dance with me again? Of course I say yes – let's go!" She pulled him away from the remaining two, an aura of happiness surrounding her. In response, Volkner grumbled something that nobody could understand, except for Flint, who nodded, mumbled something back, and led them away from the sight of Cynthia and Damion.
And Dawn wished she could do as they did. She wished she could just walk away. To just slink away from everyone – from Lucas, from Damion, from Cynthia, even from Brendan–obsessed May.
All because of one boy. All because of one half of her love situation. All because of Damion.
…
"Arceus, Dawn, how much longer are we going to wait?" May asked, as she, Dawn, and Brendan all cramped into the car of the latter.
"I'm sorry. I just don't know where he is." Dawn sighed, waiting for the final part of their party to filter out of the gymnasium.
"S'okay, Dawn. I understand that you want to wait for your boyfriend." Brendan nodded while he sat in the front seat, "I know May would do the same. Right?"
"Duh!" She leaned forward, kissing him quickly.
"…Yep." Dawn added half-hearted as she cringed at two things: one was the lovely couple who was right in front of her eyes, and the other was the sight of Damion and Cynthia – the amazing blonde duo – emerging from the building. She didn't know why, but, in the past hour, her relationship of Cynthia went from pretty tight to absolute loathing. At least on her part. And she knew that she was just being jealous. But it was killing her. Murdering her. Annihilating her, from the inside out. There was no way in hell that she was going to call Damion over.
"See, there's Lucas. I'll call him over."
Good move. Dawn and Brendan both stuck their heads out the windows, yelling out for the seventeen-year old to come over.
"What's up, guys?" He caught up with them.
"Get in the car! We're going to the concert!" Dawn pulled him into the car, directed Brendan to drive, and began an explanation made for the ages.
Tonight was going to be a long night…
…
Hmm…I liked this chapter a lot. I put a lot of CynthiaxDamion in it, which I wasn't planning on. Oh well. The beginning was a bit slow, but it built up. I hope this wasn't too rushed. For some reason, I found it hard to write this chapter. Again, I should add, I do have a limited vocabulary, so sorry if I kept on using the same words to describe things. I think I have one more chapter before the epilogue (I couldn't jam everything into this chapter) and thanks to all who have been reading this. BTW, sorry for any OOC-ness on May's part. It's supposed to be that way. And, quick question: You put mascara on your eyes, right? I don't wear makeup and I always get this stuff confused…heheh I bet if I did wear some makeup I wouldn't be called a boy so often. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and review if you can!
