Sorry for the late chapter… A LOT of stuff has happened (which I don't really want to talk about) so I haven't really had much time to write. But I still love you guys, so I tried extra hard to get this typed up! :D
Replies to my wonderful reviewers:
Max Saturday burns toasters: I wish he was my husband… I love Silver… *-* Thanks so much! ^^
Misty Ketchum97: Really? I'm surprised, since I didn't really think this was my best… But thanks anyways! XD
Pikachaaaa: I only like video game shopping… Or going to eat food… Man, I love food. XP Well, I probably would hate Silver if he called my Pokemon weak, and then started shouting at me… :P Silver will probably get a pet name. I'm not telling who it is…! ;) I'm definitely updating in less than two months. Don't worry.
master1631: Thankies! ^.^
MissShane12: Awww thanks so much! Yeah, I'm not worrying anymore. =)
BlackTwistedTwilight: I know, right?! =D
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. If I did, it would be totally different.
Chapter 18: A Thorn in My Side
Dawn's POV
"I'm not going to repeat myself again, what the fuck are you doing here?" Paul demanded, as if a volcano had suddenly erupted in his head. I stared at him for a few moments, puzzled to who he was shouting abuse at. I craned my head around his body so I could see who this person was. Standing there, with a smug smile on her face, was a pretty girl.
The mysterious girl had peach coloured hair, which was in two pigtails. They were curled so dangerously, that you could probably drill a hole with them. Purple ribbons tied the pigtails. The girl had on a layered sky blue dress, which was very short. She had a clean, white cardigan draped over her, which was also tied together with a lavender ribbon. Her white high heels were delicately placed on her feet - they looked incredibly high. How on earth could she walk in those death traps? Her red eyes narrowed, looking at me.
"Who is this, Paulie?" Her voiced sounded like a cat dying, and made both Paul and I flinch immediately. "Well?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. I almost marched up to her, and slapped her right there! How dare she come around here, making Paul angry, and then demand to know who I am like she owns the place!
"My name is Dawn," I said, faking the sweetness in my voice. "I'm Paul's good friend, and his travelling partner. Who are you?"
"My name is Ursula Urara. My mother owns this mall." I raised an eye brow at her. "I'm Paul ex-girlfriend," she added, making my blood boil. Why would Paul go out with her?!
I pulled Paul to the side, so Ursula couldn't hear what we would say. "Is this true?!" I asked. "Did you go out with her?!"
Paul groaned. "Yes… We were an item at one point," he confessed, face palming. My face turned stone cold. This was all so overwhelming. "But she was being a complete bitch, and I suspected that she was cheating on me… So I dumped her," he added, staring at me, as if he wanted to know what I would say.
"…I didn't think she was your type," I managed to say, internally cursing myself the choice of words. I sounded so speechless.
"Well, she had become quite infatuated with me when I started eighth grade. She begged me to give her a chance, so I did. We didn't go out very long – we dated for around a month." He turned away from me. "Worst month of my life," he muttered angrily.
Looking at Ursula, I could immediately tell that she cared about her appearance far more than the people around her. Make up was slathered on so heavily, that I thought she would topple over from the pressure. Also, the clothes she wore were terribly expensive. Her parents must be rich… The way she walked struck me as arrogant. Ursula thought that everyone worshipped her, bowing down to her whenever she would walk by. I imagined Paul and Ursula dating in my head, and it made me sick to the stomach.
I really must not have a chance if he's interested in people like her.
People started to gather around the pampered princess when they saw her. I sidestepped from Paul, so I could see what she was doing; she seemed like the type to make a scene. The bitch was on her cell phone, arguing with someone.
"But Daddy!" I heard her moan. "You can't just cut off my credit card! How on earth will I be able to shop?! Or accessorise?! You don't understand…! Shopping totally is important!" Muffled shouting was heard through the end of the phone. Suddenly, Ursula screamed in frustration. She slammed the phone down, muttering incoherent swear words.
Composing her ugly self, she straightened down her dress, and sauntered over to Paul.
"What do you want?" Paul asked, exasperated.
"I just wanted to hang out with you!" she cooed, placing her hand on his shoulder. Paul quickly flicked it off. "Let's ditch this Dawn girl, and walk around the mall. Like old times!"
"No." Paul started to walk away.
"But you enjoyed it so much!" she whined.
"You really must not know Paul very well," I started, "because he absolutely despises shopping – and the mall." The slut gave me a frustrated look.
"And how would you know?" she questioned slowly, sizing me up.
"Because I'm his…best friend," I told her, fumbling my words when I realized that we would only ever stay 'just friends'. "I'm his best friend, as well. I know lots about him."
The people in the mall all started whispering. People had started to gather around, forming a circle around us. They were hoping for a fight. Unfortunately, they weren't going to get one. My mom has always told me not to result to violence, it is never the answer. If Dad was still around, he would tell me the exact opposite. When I was in second grade, a boy had pushed me over. I fell on my knee, and complained to my dad that very night. Dad just ordered for me to walk up to him, and punch him on the nose.
He didn't want me to come off as weak – a future target for people like him.
"I'd still like to hang out with Paulie," Ursula reminded me. Out of anger, I gave her the nickname 'Hair Drill', since her curly hair looked like it could hurt somebody.
"And I'd like to be a millionaire. News flash: it isn't gonna happen." We glared at each other, clenching our fists.
Hair Drill winked evilly. "Ah, but you have to hang out with me. I could get you kicked out of this mall, since my mother owns the mall."
"So what?" Paul asked her rudely.
"Unfortunately for you, Paulie, it seems that you're very hungry…" She placed her index finger on her bottom lip, to make her seem cuter. "The annoying thing is, the only places that you can get food from are in this mall." Paul's widened in realization.
"That's blackmail." Paul was seething.
"I don't care what it is. All I want is you, Paul Shinji – and that's what I'm going to get."
'Over my dead body," I thought, venting out my anger for the resident slut. I wanted to sit down, think over things, but Hair Drill was making that impossible. She was one of those fake girls that you always saw in the movies, or my nightmares.
Except this nightmare, was real.
"I can't believe Goldenrod City doesn't have a restaurant or café outside of the mall," I complained, my shoulders hunched. I never thought that I would be tired of shopping, but I wanted to slam my head into a brick wall. "Now I know how you feel," I whispered to Paul when Hair Drill wasn't looking.
"Remember that for the future," Paul said, gritting his teeth. "I don't plan to 'shop until I drop', as the annoying hipsters say." I giggled, imagining Paul running around with a million shopping bags.
As we walked around the mall, Ursula was getting on my nerves more and more. First, she tried to act so cool, by talking about her parents at every chance she got. Her father was the manager of a car company, making millions a year, and her mother (as she keeps saying) owns the mall. Then, she started flirting with Paul like there was no tomorrow. Hair Drill gave him flirtatious winks, and whispered something dirty in his ear every so often. I shivered the minute she got close to him, so that meant that I looked like I was having a cold. Paul would send me worried glances once in a while. Hair Drill also kept hitching her dress up, showing off her sickly skinny legs. Sure, they looked like the ones you see in those commercials, but she was still overdoing it.
I then found out that she participated in Contests. She's a coordinator. I saw a glimpse of her Ribbon Case, and immediately grew jealous when I saw that she already had three ribbons. If I win the one in Goldenrod, I would still only have two. She almost dropped the case once, which made Paul and I snort with laughter. It was like hanging out with an annoying person, and us laughing at them. It was as if we were eight year olds again.
The most aggravating thing that she did was her choice in clothing. Now, I usually admire someone who loves fashion just as much as I do, but not when they have bad taste. Other than the one yellow dress shirt that she bought, all the rest were grotesque. I mean, is she trying to dress from the sixties?! Apparently, sixties fashion is 'totally in right now'. I wanted to slap some sense into that deluded drill. I almost cried when she paired an orange, modern flowery dress, with red platform boots.
The most irritating thing that she was doing to Paul was that she wasn't letting him eat. I've dieted before (I hated it), and it was hard, but I still got used to not eating for hours. Paul probably never had to go long periods without food in his life. Since Ursula dieted like a psychotic monkey, she was not letting us grab a bite to eat. Even I was getting hungry.
"Please," I pleaded. "My stomach is moaning in pain."
"You're moaning, too," she pointed out smugly, smiling like the witch she really is.
"I seriously want food," Paul piped up, clutching his stomach in pain as well. We both stood side-by-side, raising an eyebrow, but speaking in a firm tone.
Hair Drill stared at us, as if contemplating. My heart sunk. She may be in love with Paul, but she loathed me, so she would want to see me suffer. That's totally stupid if she ever wants Paul as a boyfriend. You're supposed to get the guy to like you, not run off in terror.
"No," she decided, winking at me. That was it for me. I had snapped.
I growled, lunging at her with my hands in front, getting ready to strangle her. Just when I was about to clasp her petite (and stupid) neck, Paul pulled me back. I shrieked, trying to slap him away. Thrashing about, I avoided her gaze. I was too focused on the rage that had built up inside of me. I was like a volcano, ready to burst at any second. Paul was surprisingly strong, though, and restrained me until I calmed down. He rocked me gently, as I panted from the adrenaline that had taken a hold of me.
"Calm down," he ordered, whispering gently into my ear.
"No! That bitch is ruining my day, and you know that I don't like her," I argued, glaring daggers at the slut.
Paul sighed, before moving me out of his way. He stepped up to Ursula, looking enraged – just not as much as I had come across as.
"Dawn and I share the feelings," he said. I almost cracked with glee. Maybe he would confess the love he had for me- "We want to eat, and you're making that impossible. We're tired hungry, and couldn't care less about you," he continued. Oh. I guess I have to wait another day to get a boyfriend.
"Yeah!" I yelled, fist pumping.
"I don't care if you kick us out of this mall. I hate you so much right now, that we'll just leave Goldenrod, detour back to Azalea Town, just for food. We're too hungry to care." Paul eyes hardened when he glimpsed at her again. He doesn't have feelings for her, but he could feel guilty for the stuff he would say to her, since he usually doesn't think. He goes in headfirst.
"W-well…" Hair Drill looked down, tapping her foot a little bit. "Fine," she said eventually. "We'll go eat."
I fist pumped, and Paul just nodded in approval.
We trekked all the way through the mall, carrying her horrible shopping. I was still happy, though, because we were gonna eat. I sent a text to my mom, when I remembered to tell her that we arrived in Goldenrod. She would be pleased. A few minutes later, I got a text back from her, telling me to visit her good friend, Bill. I frowned for a moment… I'm sure his name sounds familiar…
"Paul?" I asked when Hair Drill was too far ahead to listen in.
"…What?" he answered impatiently.
"Why did you like her?"
Paul sighed, clearing his throat. "It was when my parents died," he confessed. "She was the only one who cared besides Reggie. I guess… She'll always have a special place in my heart."
I fought back tears, since he's never said anything sappy or sentimental like that to me before. "Oh…" I murmured. "That's nice." It's not attractive to be jealous, but I was too pissed and hungry to care. I was convinced that it wouldn't matter, us hanging out with Ursula, but I guess it bothered me more than I thought. Even if I was a much nicer person than she was, she would always surpass me because…
She had Paul.
"Dawn?"
I looked up. "Huh?"
"…Thanks."
I cocked my head to once side. "For what?"
"For just being there… I know you don't like her… Trust me, I don't, either. But you've been so…" He trailed off.
"Awesome?" I tried, grinning.
"Shut up," he ordered, but I saw a trace of a smile tugging at his face.
Ever since we met in Johto, Paul has always been so cold toward me. Sure, at some points he's surprised me with some consideration, but that was only occasionally. Sometimes as a kid, Paul used to act distant. Now, it's different. He's finally letting me in. He's finally opening up to me. I know that he won't start skipping around the place, holding my hand with excitement (he'd rather die before he would do that), but he might just smile more… At least once a day.
"We're here!" Ursula shrilled.
I immediately recognized where we were at. That place was known around the cities, because the food was supposedly nice. In fact, May told me about it so much, that I could recite the menu in alphabetical order. The food was incredibly healthy. The food wasn't very filling though; it would never fill you up… It had barely any calories – oh wait… 'Sadie's Salad' was where I went to when I was on my…diet…
"FUCK!" Paul yelled. Of course Ursula would take us to a place like this.
She really is a thorn in my side.
I know it's really short, and I know it's really shit – but I'm doing the best I can. In the next chapter, we'll have Dawn and Paul meet someone very interesting… Well, not really that interesting. I want to say this to you guys before I forget: Merry Christmas, and a happy new year! Eight more days until Christmas!
Christmas is my favourite time of the year. :3
Oh, and I'm not doing my Christmas one-shot that I was planning on – I'm too busy. Still, I'd like to say a big thank you to Misty Ketchum97 (read her stories XD) for helping me with it. I'll probably do it next year…
Please: review, review and review! ^.^