A/N: Sorry for the late upload guys! I had so much trouble with this chapter, and in the end it turned out to be primarily dialogue I've rewritten this chapter about 5 times as of now, so hopefully this one works out! Mainly, I've been having trouble starting again from where I've ended in the previous chapter, since I want smooth transitions. But on the bright side, I have 5 other chapters that have already been written and are ready to be posted, woohoo!
I will be uploading when I regularly do (Wednesday/Thursday every week) from now on! Sorry about this delayed chapter!
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Sakura Touko: I agree with you too! If anything, Dawn is really naive and lives in this world where everything is perfect. But our friend Paul here is gonna wreck things for her :)
flower power: Thank you! And yes Melody totally is LOL. I'm glad you like Leaf :)
EEVEEpokemonDEDENNEdragoniar24: I always worry that I'm gonna spell your username wrong when I type it out hahha. Thank you! I figured since Paul does spend a lot of time by himself he has A LOT of time to think.
Eeveexme: Oh my Mew, thank you! That actually means soooooo much to me!
UniqueElla: Oh Paul is just being Paul, he doesn't hate her! (But thinks she's annoying as hell). Thanks, and I hope this update lives up to your expectations! :)
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(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ Before I start, big shout out to InkPress for giving me advice on how to write Misty so she isn't to OOC in this chapter and later on in the story. You guys should definitely check out her story because its absolutely AMAZING! (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
ONWARDS WITH THE CHAPTER!
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covetous
[ke-ve-tus]
adjective
or showing great desire to possess something, typically something belonging to someone else
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Chapter 4: Covetous
I put the pencil down, fingers shaking. I stayed up the whole night, rereading every word etched into Paul's notebook. Every perfect sentence, stringed together to tell a heart wrenching story that made me shed a few tears. His writing was so moving, and so tragic. I pitied him, and all the negative thoughts that brewed in his head. A churning poisonous concoction that was bound to make him go insane was planted in his brain. Yet, he seemed fine. His emotionless, non caring face gave no impression that there was sorrow flowing through his veins.
The sun had just began to rise, and Leaf groaned, annoyed with the sunshine.
I looked at the pencil in my hand. I couldn't write a single thing equivalent towards anything in his notebook. I couldn't draw either.
I was stuck.
Paul made me stuck.
Imprisioned if anything.
I didn't understand how he could write something like that, and I didn't understand why I couldn't be like that either. He was too pessimistic for me to understand.
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In the morning, I set out to find Paul, sit down with him and have him talk with me. I was intrigued by his writing, intrigued by him. Even though the football team bullied him on my behalf, I waited a week just for precaution and then put my plan in action.
In the morning, I grabbed a fruit parfait and dashed around the cafeteria, looking for Paul. I saw a million faces, million voices, and a million eyes staring at me, but none belonged to Paul. After what felt like decades, I spotted a blob of lavender and dashed towards it, red spiral notebook in hand.
"Paul!" I said, grabbing his sleeve. He looked at me and pulled away.
"C'mon Paul!" I said, running after him. "Wait up!" I yelled, seeing him pick up his pace. The door he tried to escape wouldn't budge and I grinned.
"Finally." I said, standing at an angle that wouldn't let him escape. I felt a little weird, chasing down a guy. If anything, it felt like I was the predator and he was prey. And since I caught my prize, I was going to enjoy it.
"Hi Paul!" He didn't say anything, just looked at me with his intense dark eyes. The pulling effect was gone, and I sighed in relief.
"I want to ask you a few questions about this notebook you have here." I said, waving it in front of his face. He looks at me, with no expression.
"Paul? You there friend?" I say jokingly, wiggling the notebook in his face. He looked at me, still without an expression. I stepped on his foot, hard.
"What the fuck?!" He yelled harshly. "Do you mind?"
"Um…do you even have a mind?!" I retort back "I've been trying to get your attention for the past 2 minutes and you just stood there like an idiot!"
"Ever figure I don't want to talk to you?"
"Ever figure that I don't care?"
"I'm not obligated to speak to you. You're a nuisance and a waste of time." I rolled my eyes. "And your troublesome."
"Funny how the only time you want to speak is when you're insulting people."
"Hn."
"Is all your good at insulting people?"
"Is all your good at being annoying?"
"I'm seriously going to punch you."
"Yeah right, you woul-" I punched him in the gut, lightly of course. He just looks at me and smirks. His arrogant smirk irritates the crap out of me.
"What the hell is that smirk suppose to mean?!" I said, stomping my foot and flailing my arms. He walks away.
"Wait! Come back here you plum head!"
What kind of predator was I? Letting my prey get away like that? I slid into an empty table and scarfed down my parfait, as if I hadn't had food for weeks.
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I walked towards English class with anger boiling in the pit of my stomach. I completely forgot to ask Paul, and he gave me that smirk! What the hell was that smirk suppose to mean?!
"Hey Dawn, I nominated you for homecoming court." A girl says, walking next to me in the hallway. I grin and pat her shoulder.
"Thanks!" I didn't remember her name so I dashed away from her, telling her I needed to get to class as soon as possible. She nodded her head in understandment. I felt horrible that I didn't remember her and I couldn't face that fear. Ursula pounces me in the hallways.
"Oh my Mew! I nominated you too!" She said, dripping with sarcasm. I rolled my eyes.
"Shut up drill head." She laughed.
"You know, this year I'm gonna win. And my date is going to be…. Paul." I widen my eyes.
"Paul?! Why him?!" She gave a sly smile.
"He such a mysterious guy DeeDee, it's kind of hot isn't it? Plus he has a really nice butt." She winked and I gave a groan.
"He's annoying. And a pessimistic." I told her. "Plus he's rude, likes to insult people and-"
"Dawn you're just jealous. I'm gonna beat you this year and have a smoking hot date!" She said, then ran to her locker. I walked into my class, jealousy creeping into my skin, and making its way through the my bones, flowing the opposite direction of my blood. My heart beat fast and I hated myself for it. Paul was a jerk, yet he was insightful. He was rude, but mysterious. He looked like a douchebag, but on the inside he was thoughtful. After all, he spends so much time with his thoughts that they probably consume him. And the fact that Ursula decided to go after something that I haven't even won yet irritated me.
I sat next to Drew and grabbed my **Astronomy** book and began to study. We had a test today and I didn't have time to study since I poured in all my time and effort into painting my nails last night. I paid attention at the right moment and heard the teacher mention how we were going to partner up with the *Creative Writing English* class for peer editing. A girl named Misty came and sat across from me.
"Misty?" I ask myself, the name sounding awfully familiar. Misty sits down across from me and I look at her face for a long time. She has her fiery orange hair tied up in a side ponytail, and she blue green cerulean eyes look back at me, expecting and waiting for me to do something. I clasp my hands together and smile, remembering her.
"Misty! I remember you from last year!"
"You do?" She says, slightly amused. "You did swimming last year?"
"Oh no, not that!" I say lightly, waving my hands. "I don't really like swimming that much, chlorine isn't good for your hair you know."
Misty rolls her eyes ever so slightly. "How do you know me then?"
"Last year in english, there was that 500 word contest. You beat me in the girls section." Misty nods in her, smiling slightly.
"Yeah, that piece took me a while to write."
"Oh, I just did mine last minute!" I laugh and she doesn't look amused.
"So you got second without trying? You know there are people who worked really hard for that contest." Misty recounts softly, but her voice seems like she's on edge. I shrug my shoulders and flip my hair to the side.
"Oh well, guess they have to try harder. Besides, our teacher forced everyone to do it and I hated that teacher. So I BSed it for revenge, but it back fired on me." I laughed again and handed her my paper. "Don't worry, this was not done last minute!"
Misty grabs a red pen and I grab my Astronomy textbook. Misty puts the pen down.
"What are you doing?"
"Uh, I'm gonna study?" I told up my book, as if it was obvious. Misty glares at me.
"Are you even going to take this seriously? Cause if not I'm not gonna grade your paper." I close my book and meet her eyes.
"Look, I don't really care right now. I need to study for this test, it's really important. You understand right?" I smile at her, hoping she sees it from my point of view. There's always a time when a student needs to cram in a couple of study hours in class due to the intense amount of homework we get each night. Misty slams my paper down on top of my book.
"If you're gon-"
"Drew!" I cut her off mid sentence, my attention being pulled towards my best friend who I noticed was not studying for Astronomy. We had the same teacher, just different classes. "Why aren't you studying?"
"I'm using this study guide I found online. Do you need?" I nod my head.
"Wait, I have it!" The guy next to Drew gets up and walks towards me, quicker than Drew.
"Nah dude, I got it." A girl next to me hands me the study guide and I thank her. Misty grabs the study guide out of my hand, nails clawing my skin. I grab the paper back.
"I'm sorry? Did I do something wrong?" I asked her, putting a hand on my hip. She looks at me up and down and scoffs.
"If you aren't going to take this seriously, I don't want to waste my time with you."
"I just need to study for a test, don't be so dramatic Misty!"
"You know, you can't always waltz through life without any aim or purpose." She said, glaring at me. If the class was quieter I could probably hear her growl. Like a Pyroar ready to pounce, she had her claws ready, her teeth bared and was on edge. Any minute now and she would unleash a flamethrower and burn me to a crisp with insults and demands.
"What are you talking about?! We've just met!" I said, my voice rising with every word, I stand up and point at her, beating her to the pounce. "Who do you think you are?!" I yell at her, and the class gets silent. All eyes are on us.
"Who do you think you are?!" Misty quickly retorts back, anger and frustration spilling from her body.
"Just because I can BS something last minute, or take time to study during class doesn't make me a bad person!"
"No it does. Because you hold no value in things people care about!" Misty now stands up and points at me, her finger touching right in between my collar bone.
"Y-"
"Alright, enough!" The teacher finally steps in and pulls me away from Misty. I keep my eyes locked on her and she does the same. "Misty you're going to be partners with Chris over here." Misty crosses her arms and walks over to Chris, her eyes never leaving me. Chris' partner walks over to me.
"Paul. "
The bell rings, awaking me from my angry slumber that Misty put me in.
"Edits are due tomorrow!" I turned to Paul, panicked. "Hey, when can w-"
"8:00, marble fountain in the west wing." He picks up his stuff and leaves. I look at his retreating body in shock.
"THERE ARE 50 DIFFERENT MARBLE FOUNTAINS YOU PLUM HEAD!"
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Paul told me to meet in the West Wing, which is where all the girl's dormitories are located. Me and Leaf had the benefit (sometimes an annoyance) of having our dorm be located on the 8th floor, the second highest floor in our building. It gave us a majestic view of the school, and the city beyond. The sun was long gone, it was just the cold moon and the distant stars. Judging from how the trees swayed I could tell it was slightly windy.
"Leaf, I'm going out."
"With Paul?" I turn to her quickly.
"How do you know that?"
"I was there when you and Misty had that huge blow out." I put my hand through my hair, nervous and annoyed.
"Yeah, I keep forgetting your in that class. Anyways, I'm out!"
"Okay."
I changed out of my shorts and into a pair of leggings, and grabbed a jacket. Zipping up the jacket I ran down to meet him.
"You're here."
"I didn't really have a choice."
I handed him my papers, and he handed back all but one of them.
"I can't edit them all in one night, I need time." He got up to leave but I pulled him back down.
"Troublesome…"
"You need to be here so that I can watch you edit and here all your remarks. "
He sighed, annoyed. "Whatever." I cheered and clanged onto his arm, similar to what I would do with Drew or Gary. He pushed me away and turned away, not facing me. I looked at him for a while, and realized under that mop of purple hair his face was red. Very red. I laughed.
"Are you not used to being this close with a girl or something?" I said jokingly.
"Fuck off." I laughed again and laid on the grass looking at the stars. I held my hand out and tried to grasp the twinkling lights in front of me. The silence between me and Paul put me on edge.
"You know, you chose a really nice meeting spot. A marble fountain! Really Paul? Do you know how many marble fountains are in this school?! I could've spent hours searching for you." Paul doesn't say anything, just mumbles words under his breath and spins the red pen in his fingers absentmindedly. "Hey P-"
"Shut up."
"Hey! I don't like silence, and it feels awkward with you." I turned to Paul waiting for him to say something, but instead he just looks at me, sighs and looks back at my paper.
"I could read to you all the crap that you wrote in this. Did you do this last minute too?" He taunted, referring to what happened today with Misty. I punch him on the shoulder, hard.
"Are you really on her side on this?"
"No."
"Great! So you agree with me!"
"No."
"What do you mean."
"Frankly, I don't care about either of you, so I won't get involved."
I pouted, crossed my arms and fell back on the grass again. What a jerk.
I closed my eyes and tried to get used to the silence. It felt weird, not having someone's voice constantly echoed around me, words going out of my mouth and into my ears. Silence is scary. Nothing haunts anyone more than the words they didn't say. Silence also means emptiness. It means that there is a void, that nothing is happening. Silence is one step away from nothing. It's one step away from the absence of everything, and that's what really scares me. I hate being alone, and I hate having to feel so vulnerable in front of the last person I want to see my flaws or think I have some irrational fear and use it against me.
"Pa-"
"Stop thinking that silence is something that needs to be filled. It's impossible for anything to truly be silent." He looked at me and sighed again, like a father sighing at the failure of their kid. "Listen to the silence and find the voice."
"What voice?"
"Literally, I need you to shut the fuck up and listen."
"Jerk."
Paul didn't retort back as usual. And I sighed and closed my eyes again, my own stars dancing in the darkness I had created for myself. I clutched the grass, still on edge that no one was talking and listened carefully. Faint, but I heard the trees warming their hands. shaking their leaves together furiously and the Shinx and Krikitune rustling through the tall grass. The Starly chirped. The wind brushed against everything, moving the grass, trees, and the clouds. I opened my eyes and looked at the stars and wondered about the people there. Do they close their eyes, open their ears and listen to the world around them?
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A/N: The title, covetous, is drawn from the word possessive. Through out this chapter, predator/prey metaphors have been dropped all over the place. Ex: When Dawn corners Paul, Ursula claiming Paul, Misty and Dawn fighting...
And there you go! Honestly, this chapter feels a little awkward to me, and if you have suggestions please help me out! This is my first story after all, and the amount of honest and kind reviews I've received is great, but I would love to get some criticism about my story so I can improve. I pretty much barely survived AP English, so my writing skills suck a lot.
Putting that aside, IKARISHIPPING EVERYWHERE! :) I owe it to you guys, since I haven't uploaded in a while after all. Apologizes for all a bunch of talking and conversation in this chapter, but hopefully you get a little more insight on Paul, Dawn and Misty!
Speaking of Misty, any thoughts on her? Just an explanation, Dawn reminds Misty of her sisters. Dawn is attractive and talented, yet puts in little to minimal effort for things. Like Misty's sister's she doesn't really need to try to get recognition for the things she does. Misty has always need to fight for attention with her sisters, which is something she puts in a lot of effort to. The fact that Dawn does not take this class seriously and the whole essay contest really sets Misty off and enrages her. Misty is a fire; aggressive, powerful, and destructive while Dawn is like water; she can be a nice calm river but can easily turn into an aggressive torrent. The two of them will clash often. Personally I do believe that Misty and Dawn will not get along right away due to their differences, but it's always possible! :)
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づMAJOR THANKS AGAIN TO INKPRESS FOR HELPING ME GET MISTY'S CHARACTER ON POINT AND NOT HAVE HER BE SUPER OOC. I OWE THAT EXPLANATION THAT I JUST TYPED UP ABOVE TO HER. YOU'RE THE BEST! (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
*In some schools (like the one I go to), English classes are focused on one topic rather than a huge range that would be typically covered. Ex: At my school some of the english classes offered are- Epic and Myth, American Literature, Film as Literature, Science Fiction, etc
**Astronomy as a science class cause why not? It's an intense, overachieving boarding school it can do whatever it wants LOL
Please review, feedback is needed! (Especially for this crappy chapter SORRY)
Thanks for reading! :) :) :)