I am so sorry! My computer got dismantled, and it only got fixed last week, and I used that time to update Lavender Academy, Twin Hearts (collab not on my profile) and CCC: IME (also a collab not on my profile). Oh, and Troubles, and my Mystery Dungeon story.
Anyway, here is the chapter. I hope you like it. I think it's…okay, but that's your decision.
Chapter 14: Old Friends, New Friends and Preparation
Dawn's POV
After we get put of Slowpoke Well, we make our way over to Kurt's house. We knock on the door and wait for someone to answer.
Tia opens the door and runs at me. She hugs my legs and says, "You did it! The Slowpoke returned to the town, and we got our Slowpoke back, too! You guys are heroes!"
"It was nothing," I assure Tia. She smiles and tugs me inside to Kurt. Paul follows and stands in front of Kurt.
"Good job!" he congratulates and shakes my hand. I smile awkwardly. "We are in debt to you."
"Is there a reward?" Paul asks, bored.
"Iron Man!" I scold and punch him on the arm.
"'Iron Man'?" Tia repeats with a giggle.
"My nickname for him," I explain with a sheepish grin.
"Anyway." Kurt clears his throat. "Yes, you deserve a reward. Here you go; my speciality is making poke balls."
He hands us eight poke balls, all different. I recognise a Heal Ball, a Heavy Ball, an Ultra Ball, Great Ball, Timer Ball, Luxury Ball, Net Ball and a Quick Ball.
"Wow!" I breathe out and put the balls in my bag.
"Hn," Paul says. I roll my eyes at him and bid goodbye to Kurt and Tia.
As we walk away from their house, we think of a game plan.
"So, what's next?" I ask Paul.
"I want to get my Gym badge. My Pokémon are ready," he tells me.
I nod and we walk over to the Pokémon Center. Once we get in, we book separate rooms so I can wash off all of this MUD and DIRT. We decide to meet at the café at lunch.
I get my key from Nurse Joy and make my way to the room. As I'm walking, though, I see a boy with long red hair and a frown. He reminds me so much of Paul. I smile at him and he smirks at me.
"What's with all the mud?"
"Um, a trip to the well," I tell him, eyeing my dress. It really has seen better days.
"As in Slowpoke Well?" he asks.
"Yup." I look at him closely. His face looks very pale, and his dark blue shirt makes his red hair stand out.
"I'm Devlin," he introduces and holds out his hand.
"I'm Dawn." I shake his hand with a smile.
We talk for a bit. I don't know why, but he's like Paul in so many ways, he's just more…talkative. We exchange phone numbers and then I go into my room.
I look in the mirror. I look…DISGUSTING! I scream for a bit. My dress is COVERED in mud, and…other things. I shake my head at the thought and go to take a shower. I dispose of my clothes in the bin (I'm never wearing that dress again) and jump into the shower.
Of course, my mind wanders to…Paul. When we were in the well, I thought that…he wanted to kiss me? I mean, he leant in, but he didn't say anything. AND HE HASN'T INDICATED THAT HE LIKES ME!
I roll my eyes and reach for the shampoo. I rub it on my scalp and through my hair, shivering at the amount of grime in the water.
After cleaning myself, I get out of the shower and grab my towel. I wrap it around myself and jump when I hear the door open.
"Troublesome!" It's Paul. WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?
He barges into the bathroom and I scream. I'M ALMOST NAKED! I see him recoil at my…appearance.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" I shout and try to cover my lady parts (I don't realize that I'm still wearing my towel).
"We need to leave," he demands, his voice cold. "Now."
He leaves the room and says he'll wait for me to dress. I blush and push past him to my backpack. The only thing I have is a tank top and pink shorts with a black cardigan. I was meaning to buy some more clothes, but…
"Hurry up," Paul says. I frown at him, push him out of the bathroom and lock it. I quickly change into the clothes I have and walk out.
"It's kinda cold," Paul says, "don't you want to wear something warmer?"
"Shut up, Iron Man," I mutter. He shrugs and walks out of the room. I follow and shut the door behind me.
"Why are we leaving?" I ask him as we walk through the Pokémon Center's corridors.
"I'll explain later, Troublesome." My heart almost tears in half. He finally says my name, but goes back to humiliating me with that 'Troublesome' thing. I'M NOT TROUBLING!
"Hmph." I make a noise and cross my arms. What a jerk.
I follow him out of the Pokémon Center and only speak when I realize that we're camping right next to Ilex Forest. I mean, I don't believe in ghosts or aliens and that entire doddle, but this place is CREEPY!
"Here?" I ask Paul, just making sure that he hasn't gone BLIND.
"Yep," he grunts and he starts to unpack stuff from his backpack.
He places what looks like a tent, his sleeping bag and a torch. I do the same, but I bring out soda (I know about Paul's addiction) and candy (I'm a sucker for them).
I watch him set up the tent; it's a dark green…thing and is big enough for two people.
"Are we sharing?" I ask, my hear pounding, but trying not to sound eager.
"Yeah…" I hear him mumble.
I turn away from him, bite my hand in shock, and turn back, "Cool."
He just rolls his eyes and I hear him mutter 'Troublesome'.
"Why did we leave again?" I question after standing around for a bit.
Paul just sighs and looks at his handiwork. The pegs have been hammered in nicely, but it seems he doesn't like the look of it. "It's…some guy."
"'Some guy'?"
"A guy that got me in trouble with the police. His name is Devlin, and I hate him. I saw him at the Pokémon Center, just walking to his from, right opposite from your old one, and I knew that we had to move. Officer Jenny told me not to provoke him, or to confront him."
I turn pale, "Devlin?"
"Yeah… Why, do you know something?" Paul grunts, an eyebrow raised.
"I, uh, kinda made, friends with him."
"YOU DID WHAT, NOW?!" Paul shouts at me.
"I'm sorry!" I protest. "He was being nice to me, so I thought I could be nice back! Then we sorta became friends, and we exchanged phone numbers!"
I gave him the most pleading look I could. I didn't want to not talk to Paul over this silly little thing. He's…the one. I can't give up.
I don't know why, but he suddenly turned from fuming, to…forgiving?
"I'm sorry I shouted at you," he muttered. "Just stay away from him, okay?"
I nod and turn to the forest. Okay, so at night this forest may be creepy, but in day it actually looks serene and peaceful.
The trees are a dark shade, and are cedar. Woodpeckers are making noises, and I see little Hoothoots frolicking about on the branches. The trees and bushes have berries: Oran, Pecha, Cheri and Rawst.
"Let's get my Gym badge," Paul suggests after the awkward silence.
"Sure!" I feel grateful for the change in subject, and I practically run after him. Piplup (who has been silent this whole time!) suddenly get's a cheer leading outfit, and gives one to me. It is hot pink, with yellow pom poms. There is a blue 'v' in the middle of the top half. "Correction," I announce. "I now have two outfits."
Paul just shrugs and walks into the direction to the Gym. I've heard that this Gym leader specializes in bug types. Paul has an advantage with his Murkrow. I won't know what Pokémon he'll use, though.
As we walk through the automatic doors, I squeal. IT'S THE RECEPTIONIST WITH THE NAIL POLISH! SHE'S HERE!
"Hiya~!" I greet and run over to the desk. She's dyed her hair from chestnut-brown, to a ginger. She's wearing lots of makeup (all the colors and textures I'd choose) and she's going for the 'business look'. She's wearing a tight long-sleeved white shirt, a short black tight skirt and black six-inch heels.
"Oh my God, is that you, Dawn?!" she screams and stands up.
"Yes! But how do you know my name?"
"You're a big talk, you and Paul, after you won your Gym badge and Contest Ribbon. I'm a big supporter! I think you two are amazing!"
"Oh gosh, thanks! But I don't know your name…"
"Claire, I'm Claire," she gabbles.
"You're wearing 'Devious' by Giselle aren't you?" I ask and point at her red lipstick.
"Yup! I decided to go for the 'sexy business' look after I got fired from Violet City."
"What? You got fired? What happened?" I say and jump up on the white glossy counter.
"Apparently," she huffs, "you're not allowed to paint your nails 'Purple Haze', or any color for that matter! Apparently, it's not good to get 'distracted' with nails. Am I in the wrong? I mean, I did a good job and stuff. Well, I had a few naps, and I did ignore some people."
"And you keep talking to people when you're not supposed to," Paul seethes, glaring at the two of us.
"Um, Paul?" I poke him with my index finger. "We're trying to have a conversation here. Do you mind?"
I see Paul face palm and he walks over to the sleek waiting area. He sits on a comfy lime green chair with a sigh.
"You were saying?" I motion my new friend to carry on.
"Yeah! Well, after I got fired, I decided that I loved my job; I'm awesome at doing my makeup and talking on the phone. And this particular kind of job lets me do that, so I thought 'Why not get the same job in the next town?'? So I did."
"Ooooh, you're right. You're perfect for this job," I praise her and look at my nails (after I'd cleaned them, they look pristine and perfect).
"I know, right? This job is real swanky: The waiting area and my work area are really modern, I get tips if I show off a little cleavage by some slightly perverted customers, and the Gym Leader's quite nice."
"That's all good," I muse.
"So… How are you doing with Paul?" She leans in a bit, as if I've got some juicy gossip.
"Uh, we're fine, thank you. He still calls me 'Troublesome'."
"No, I mean how you are doing with seducing him?" she teases, but looks genuine.
"What?! I-I don't l-like him like that! We're just friends!" Claire stares at me with an appalled look. I whisper, "Is it that obvious?"
"As obvious as a yellow canary in a dark alleyway," Claire jokes. I cringe. If Claire can clock that I'm in love with him, then what if other people can? People like Devlin, Kenny, Zoey and new friends I might make?
"What do I do?" I groan.
"Play it safe," she tells me, "so far, you're doing well, he's nice-ish and you're getting along. You don't want to ruin that, do you?" I shake my head and she continues, "Well, after you bond a bit more, I think you should make subtle hints, and try to find out if he likes you back. If he does, then ask him out."
"You've got this all planned out," I notice.
"Well, I've got a knack for these things. Oh, and Bugsy will see you now."
That's Paul's cue to walk up, and he pulls me away to the Gym's main room.
"Stop!" Claire shouts. We halt and turn around.
"What's your middle name, Dawn?"
"Hikari," I reply.
"And what's your last name, Paul?"
"Shinji."
"They both have an 'i' for the second letter… And Ikari means 'hate'... So that's…" I hear her mutter.
"Ikarishipping!" she then shouts.
"What are you talking about?" Paul asks, clearly confused. I think I know what she's getting at, though.
"Nothing!" I protest and push Paul through the door.
I sigh. When will he take the hint? I shrug and look around the Gym room. It looks like a rain forest with jungle vines, tall trees and numerous plants with bushes.
I'm about to walk through the wilderness, when I'm stopped by a girl with aqua blue hair. She's wearing a purple t-shirt, black shorts, sneakers and a short jacket that only goes past her boobs. Her hair is in pigtails, and she's wearing a white cap.
"Who are you?" Paul demands rudely, clearly annoyed that she jumped in our way.
"I'm Marina!" she introduces. "Say hello to the new official Tour Guide for all Gyms!"
Sorry for being late, I went through a phase of not thinking I was good enough, so I stopped being on FanFiction altogether. I'm back now, though, and I've gotten into the swing of things.
So, how do you like Claire and Marina?
Please: Review, review and review! =)