Uhm…. I haven't been on much… I had to go hospital, so I haven't been able to write… Forgive me, please; I've been through so much grief.

Replies to reviews:

Misty Ketchum97: Thanks so much! I tried really hard with the Soulsilvershipping! I love the pairing, but I haven't written about before, until now. I just hoped it was okay. :/

The Meditating Espeon: Thanks so much for the reviews! Wow, did you really cry? Haha, yeah… Marina totally seems that way (for the moment ;D).

Clanclaws: Yes, Falkner is totally a player! :O Oh, yeah… Dawn practically turned into Hulk and beat the shit out of that Team Rocket grunt… XD She surprises me. :D

XWhiteChanX: Awww, thank you! I hoped it was good. Professor Elm probably ran a LOT. Silver's my favourite rival, too, and I love Soulsilvershipping. I don't really mind about her replacing Kris, because I like Lyra more…idk. :3

ParadiseAngel: Thankies! ^^

Apples Who Dance With Oranges: OMG, thanks so much! It means a lot! ^.^

Poke-lover88: Haha, I haven't heard from you in a while… ;) AND YOU BETTER LIKE SOULSILVERSHIPPING BETTER! I FUCKING LOVE THAT PAIRING! XD Lyra rules, seriously. Yeah, Silver is really… Um, rude to Pokemon (like Paul lol)?

Pikachaaaa: Awww thanks! Yeah, I didn't want Dawn to just barge in and see Paul's *whisper*six pack*whisper* and then faint. He'd be like: O.O Wut? Soooo, yeah… Vampy is totally the name I give to my entire bat Pokemon collection (that's right, I have a collection :D). It's like: I got a Noivern…and named it VAMPY! XDDD

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Which totally kills me inside. -_-

Chapter 17: Who Doesn't Like Shopping? (Paul.)

Dawn's POV

"Paul… Please… Slow down…" I panted, trying to catch my breath. I bent down, my hands upon my knees, almost gasping for air. We had been walking for hours, and I was completely exhausted.

We were at Route 34, and everything around me was annoying me. People kept battling me, or demanding things that I couldn't handle. I had tried to catch an Abra, but it kept teleporting away, which only made Paul laugh (and me cry inside). I was determined to catch one, and it was only when I had encountered fifteen different Abras when I decided to stop. They were mocking me, but I had no evidence to prove it.

Going through Ilex Forest was no piece of cake, either. I got stung by mosquitoes a lot, which made my legs really itchy. Many Pokemon had started howling, or fighting, which made the noise unbearable.

When we had walked for about ten minutes in Ilex Forest, some guy stopped us and ordered us to help him catch Farfetch'd. I almost caught them, but Paul swooped in and picked him up. He had smirked at me, making me want to punch him on the nose, and laugh in his face when he gets a small nosebleed.

Ilex Forest had creeped me out. Everywhere we went, I felt that someone – or something – was following us. Turning back every once in a while didn't help, plus Paul didn't have any sympathy for me. Piplup had laughed at me when I whispered my predictions to him and that only made me more infuriated.

The most annoying thing about Ilex Forest was that we had to help this girl. She was wearing a red kimono, and looked very pretty, but she was 'hopelessly lost'. The thing was: THE EXIT TO ILEX FOREST WAS TEN STEPS AWAY! I had tried to point that out to her, since I was extremely pissed from earlier, but she would have none of it. She acted like a spoilt, snobby brat and demanded us to guide her.

I almost cried in relief when we were free from the forest, and my spirits sailed high again. They got dampened again when the Abra incident plagued me, though.

"No." I glared at his reply, and almost insulted him, when I found that I was too exasperated.

"Why not?" I growled, letting myself become angry through my speech.

"Because I want to get to Goldenrod City before noon," he simply said, marching off.

I made the action of pretending to strangle him, and followed him, moping in silence. I tried to ignore the warm feeling in my chest when I got closer to Paul, but it kept tugging at my brain.

My Cyndaquil was pretty smart, and had suspected that I had a teeny (NOT!) crush on Paul. Thankfully, Cyndaquil was willing to listen to me blather on about how much he made my heart go. How he made me feel like I was on a cloud.

How he made me feel furious towards him at the same time.

I decided to take Cyndaquil out of his poke ball, to complain to him.

"Cyndaquil!" he breathed out, making me smile at his cuteness.

"Why are you taking him out all of a sudden?" Paul inquired, rolling his eyes at my echidna Pokemon.

"No one else seemed to listen to me, so I thought I could confide in my ranting cushion."

"Ranting cushion?"

"Yeah. I rant to him, and he's like a cushion and softens it to make me feel better."

"Hn."

We continue walking, and I start to stare at the back of Paul's head, wondering if I'd ever be able to touch. I did once before as a kid, but Paul went mental and started lecturing on how long it took him to get it like that. I'm sure he wouldn't lecture about it now, but he could still have a hissy fit.

Cyndaquil noticed I was in Dream Land, and gave me a look as if to say, 'You're daydreaming about him again, aren't you?'

"No, I'm not," I whispered frantically, so Paul wouldn't hear.

'You're lying. I can see it in your eyes,' Cyndaquil said, by looking at me.

"I'm not!" I hissed.

'When will you get over him? He's not good enough for you,' Cyndaquil complimented, making me feel better.

"It's not my fault that I love him!" I shouted, causing Paul to turn back.

"Who's the guy you're in love with?" he asked quickly. I almost gasped when I saw that…he looked jealous!

I started to panic, trying to make up excuses in my head so Paul wouldn't realize that I was talking about him. "Uhm…" I started lamely.

I looked in front of me, squinting as I saw a baby Mareep jump around. I got an idea.

"I meant that Mareep! I said to Cyndaquil: 'It's not my fault that I love him! Mareep's adorable!' and then you cut me off before I could add the Mareep part," I lied, crossing my fingers behind my back, hoping that Paul would buy my lie.

To my relief, he believed me, nodding slowly. "Why were you talking to your Pokemon?" He smirked at me. "You're going crazy," he added.

"I am not!" I barked at him, before running off to the Mareep. I realized that there weren't just Mareep, there was Eevees, and Growlithes, and many cute Pokemon. I cooed, due to all the adorableness.

"Is this cute Pokemon land, or what?" I exclaimed, grinning at Cyndaquil.

"What," Paul murmured, appearing behind me. I frowned at him, and crossed my eyes, but squealed when a Togepi made a cute noise.

"What is this place?" I said to myself.

"This is the Pokemon Daycare Center!" a voice called out.

We turned to see a boy with raven colored hair. He wore a red jumper, and yellow shorts. A yellow and black baseball cap was on his head. Next to him, was Lyra. I squealed and ran to her. We hugged, giggling at each other. I noticed that Paul rolled his eyes.

"Who are you?" Paul asked rudely to the boy.

"His name is Ethan!" Lyra chirped. "He is the grandson of the owners of this daycare, and he's my best friend."

"I also have a voice, Lyra," he pointed out, slightly irritated.

I giggled when the two started to bicker. Paul shook his head, like he was disappointed in them.

"Where's Devlin?" he hissed, frowning suddenly.

"Oh, Silver? He's battling Whitney, the third Gym Leader," Lyra informed, totally forgetting about the squabble she was having with Ethan.

All of a sudden, Paul grabbed my arm, and started pulling me. He was pulling me with such a force, that we started moving away from Ethan and Lyra. "What are you doing?" I asked him, gritting my teeth as I tried to get free of him.

"That bastard won't be in front of me any longer," he muttered, frowning. I then realised that he wanted to surpass Silver, since they seemed to be rivals. Giggling, I then thought about Paul being so bothered about a particular person. I mean, I know they hate each other, but they don't have to be jerks about it.

"I guess I'll see you later, then!" Lyra called, snapping me back to reality.

"See ya!" I gave her a little wave, before being dragged off… To Goldenrod City. "Oh, wow!" I breathed out, my eyes widening.

Tall buildings loomed over me, making me feel small. People were milling around, laughing, shouting and whispering. Many aromas filled my nose, making me smile in satisfaction. I recognized a bicycle shop, a flower shop, and a Pokemon Centre. I saw markets, with people calling through the crowds, telling people to buy their wares.

Goldenrod was the city life I craved. Back in Twinleaf, everyone knew everyone, and nothing ever exciting happened. In Goldenrod, I could pretend that everyone there was spies, on a top secret mission. Someone might drop a jewel, and pay me a lot of money as a reward for giving it back to them. That was what I wanted in life. Adventure. Paul nudged me, so I wouldn't stare at the area around me for much longer. I sighed, and let him drag me to the Gym.

I decided that I didn't want him pulling me any longer, so I slipped out of his grasp, and ran to the automatic doors…only to bump into them and fall back.

"Troublesome!" a voice called. My vision blurred slightly, black dots dancing across my vision. A purple haired, grumpy teen looked down at me, his eyes blank. "Why did you do that?" he asked, exasperated.

"Do what?" I croaked, putting a hand to my forehead.

"Run into an automatic door that didn't work," he said.

"I DIDN'T KNOW THAT!" I shouted at him. "IT DIDN'T SAY IT WASN'T WORKING!"

"Actually," he started, "it did."

"Huh?!"

I stood up shakily, pushing past Paul, and then leaning on the wall next to the doors. I saw a big white sign, saying: 'The Gym Leader Whitney has been called to Cherrygrove City for an emergency. She should be back tomorrow.'

"Whatever," I murmured, crossing my arms and pouting.

"That means I can't battle Whitney. Shit," Paul mumbled to himself, totally ignoring me.

"Wait a minute." I held my hand in front of his face. "You mean to say, that you dragged me all the way here, when you knew I was tired, for NOTHING?"

Paul stared at me, not speaking.

"You owe me," I said, smirking.

"No, I don't," he argued, turning away from me. I growled inwardly and ran around him so we were face to face.

"You do." I then grabbed him by the arm, and started to drag him. He tried to stop me, but I had a death grip on him, determined that he would not get out. We walked for a few moments, before stopping at my heaven.

"The mall?" Paul exclaimed, glaring at me. "We are not going in there."

"Yes we are," I countered. "You owe me."

"Give me one good reason why I should go in there, and go through my hell," he challenged, sneering at me.

"I need new clothes." He stared at me, unimpressed. "What? Do you want me to travel with you naked?"

I almost burst out laughing when I saw Paul turn to a bright shade of red. He started to stutter, shaking his head.

"You pervert. You're thinking about me naked, aren't you?!"

"No!" I wacked him on the arm.

"All you men are the same," I muttered, grinding my teeth together, walking into the mall. I didn't even turn back when I noticed that Paul was trailing behind me.

The mall made me grin like a mad man. The floors were made of marble, and they sparkled as the sun shone through the windows on the ceiling. Teenagers filled up the place, carrying shopping bags and eating food. Stores looked inviting, as if they wanted me to come in. I squealed when I saw a shoe shop. Totally ignoring Paul, I rushed past him into the shoe shop.

"Troublesome," Paul groaned, clenching his eyes shut. "When can we leave? I want to train for my battle with Whitney."

"When I'm done," I promised, after trying on a dress.

We had been at the mall for three hours, and I was having a blast. All the clothes, shoes and accessories were calling my name, so I purchased many of them. Money wasn't growing from my pockets, so Paul paid for them (in hope I would cut the shopping spree short). We'd been through a total of eighty shops, and I still wanted to buy more.

"How does this look?" I asked him, stepping out of the changing rooms so he could so me in a silky red mini dress.

"It looks fine," he mumbled, slumping a little. "You look fine in all of them!"

"But I need to know for sure!" I whined, twirling around so the dress billowed out. Suddenly, my tummy rumbled, making me double over in hunger. I checked my watch to see it was three in the afternoon, and I hadn't eaten anything other than a cereal bar. "Okay… I'm going to buy this, and then we're gonna get some food, okay?" I decided, nodding at Paul.

"Whatever gets me out of here quicker."

I rolled my eyes at Paul, stuck my tongue out, and skulked back into the changing rooms. After changing back, I stuffed the dress into the bag, and got Paul to pay for it.

"It's nice of you to buy a dress for you girlfriend," the shop clerk said, carefully folding the dress.

"She's not my girlfriend," Paul told the woman harshly. "She's too annoying, and dragged me here when I could've beaten someone."

"You wouldn't have beaten her anyway, since she's not even here," I growled to myself, loud enough for only Paul to hear.

"Let's just go." His gruff voice made me flinch, but we took the dress and left.

I steered Paul through the people, checking that he was still behind me once in a while. I surprised myself by knowing the layout of the mall. It was like I had studied for this my whole life… When I smelt the familiar scent of hamburgers, I smiled. I'm not one for fattening, greasy food, but I knew that Paul was. My heart swelled up with pride when he exhaled in relief.

"So you remembered," he stated quietly.

"Of course I would-"

"Paul! Long time no see!" a voice called out.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Paul hissed, suddenly furious.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I'M SO SORRY THAT I ABANDONED YOU! I'm really sorry! I was really busy! =( Plus, I was in hospital! D: Please forgive me, guys! I promise you all that I won't take as long, and you'll be happy with the next chapter! It's got some real development with Ikarishipping!

This was more of a filler chapter to lead up to the last sentence. I'm really sorry that this took me TWO WEEKS to write, and it wasn't the longest I've done! DX I've gotten into tumblr too much and it's an obsession that I'm not proud of…

Please review! I'll do better next time!