I like the word "maybe." It's a nice word.

...

Diet: Sweets

Chapter Twelve
Lucas was a fantastic battler, Dawn realized. Actually, she always knew that, but today was the first time in a long time that she saw him battle, and darn he was impressive. It was the only time the guy opened up. Dawn didn't think he was aware of it; he was too caught up in the excitement of battle. It was the only time Lucas was, well, Lucas. Not Lucas the champion, or Lucas, Rowan's apprentice researcher, but Lucas, the original Lucas that got him where he was today. It was here that she saw him smile on his own, a smile that wasn't forced. She wished she could make him smile like that. Sometimes she saw something glimmer in the guy's eye whenever she did something stupid (so rude. Amused by her clumsiness), but it was far from the look on his face when he battled.

Now they were walking back to Canalave from Jubilife, Lucas staring down at his pokéballs and Dawn staring at him, unclipped hair brushing against her cheek. She tossed it behind her, which was in vain as the strands came back to taunt her again, then said, "You were awesome, Lucas."

This caught the boy's attention. He looked up from his pokéballs. "Hmm?"

"In your battle demonstration, I mean. You're an amazing trainer."

"I try," he replied honestly. "It wasn't a real battle. Just a demonstration of moves."

"Still. Why must you fight my compliments?" she groaned, scuffing the ground with her boot and kicking up dust, letting it swirl and dilute the air in front of her.

Lucas wrapped his hands around each backpack strap and shifted his attention from the girl to the mountains past her, their peaks capped with snow. "It's true. That wasn't even close to my real style," he said, hands roaming down and gripping the loose ends, swinging them back and forth in timing with his walks.

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "And what does your real battle style look like, oh great one?"

"If you're lucky, you might be able to witness it one day." Had Dawn not known Lucas for a while now, she would assume the boy was being a cocky smart-butt. But no, he was being truthful. A cocky truth teller ... or something.

Dawn skipped a bit, pebbles grinding underneath her feet. Canalave was nearby; she could already see the library from here, its windows reflecting the glint of the afternoon sun. "It's not late to go, is it?" she asked worriedly. "I mean, we are heading out late in the afternoon." She motioned toward the sky. The sun was heading for the western hills in a brilliant orange blaze, fading into the crisp night the further east she looked. She could already see a few stars, flickering and winking – or were those airplanes?

"Cresselia is a nocturnal pokémon according to reports. I figured we'd spend the rest of the today trying to find where cresselia rests during the day while its out and approach it in the morning when it's dormant. Now, I'm trusting you with this; your stupid – er, myths book may have some info on cresselia that we can interpret into something plausible. Have you looked into it yet? It might have ..."

Lucas hadn't notice that Dawn had stopped in her tracks a while ago, not only amazed that the boy had spoken for more than three sentences straight (and apparently was still babbling) but by what he said. Afternoon until next morning had a nighttime thrown in there, right? They were going to stay overnight? Together? In the same five foot radius? Together? She ... together?

The boy finally stopped talking and turned around once he noticed Dawn wasn't next to him. He raised his eyebrows, pocketing his hands into his jeans.

"So we're staying overnight?" she voiced her thoughts.

"I said that last night, remember?"

She tried to. When did he tell her? Was it when they were getting ice cream? She popped her hip, placing her weight on her right leg, and rested a finger on her chin. Yes, that must be when. She remembered him babbling about the boat ride, and it caused her to daze out. Or was it because she was trying to pick the toppings she wanted on top of her cake batter ice cream? Gummy bears were good, mmm ... So were sprinkles. Ooh! White chocolate chips! ... Oh, he was talking again.

"... bring anything, did you?" was all she heard once she snapped out of it.

"My what?" she repeated.

He sighed. "Figures. I should have known given how light your bag looks." Dawn patted her bag, feeling the hardcover of her myths book and nothing else.

"You could have reminded me," she argued feebly.

"You're not four years old. You didn't bring anything?"

"Not much," she admitted. "Well, besides the stuff I drag around daily."

"You have ... nothing?"

"I have a ..." she looked down at her bag and grabbed her jacket, waving it in the air, "jacket!"

Dawn heard him sigh and turn back around, heading toward the city. Dawn hung her jacket on top of her bag and chased after him, inhaling the sharp air that almost make her gag. "Well, what am I suppose to do?" she asked once she caught up with the boy, the strong scent of wet grass leaving a burning sensation in her nostrils.

"Stay behind."

She gaped. "I can't stay behind! You need me! You just told me you did!"

"I told Eldritch we would leave at four. It is a quarter 'til four. You think you have time to go back and get stuff?" They hit a concrete path; Canalave was close.

Dawn sighed and looked at the pokétch wrapped around her bag's strap right above her pokédex. The bold font told her it was 3:47 P.M. Oh, if only she could had a hidden teleport power. Then she could teleport to her room, race around, and gather her sleeping bag and other stuff. After, she would teleport back to Canalave at the docks waaaay ahead of Lucas, much to his chagrin. Oh, perhaps she could find some sort of power that slowed time. Yeah, that's it. Actually, wouldn't that slow her down, too, making the power pointless? So she would have to have the power of speeding ahead of everyone else ... or something. That's just the teleport power, isn't it? This is why all powers should relate to chocolate, darn it!

He wasn't going to leave her behind, was he? She had all the answers. Without her, he wouldn't know what to do. Technically, she didn't either; the book had little – okay, no information on how to "wake" someone up from darkrai's spell. Cresselia had something to do with it, though. Did cresselia have to be there in order for Lane to wake up? Or maybe just a part of her? Would she do a move or something they could copy later? Was it like ... spores? Some sort of sound byte they could record?

Dawn brought both her hands up to her hat and tugged down on it in frustration, letting the material rub against her forehead. There was a slight stamp in her step, her stomps making loud thunks against the concrete. She gazed at the buildings of the seaside town, shops with walls embedded with sand and seashells. They were particular beautiful now; the setting sun was able to catch some sparkle in the grains, making them glitter like diamonds.

"You're really gonna leave me behind?" she whined.

"I can't make you do anything," he replied airily, eyes set forward toward the wooden docks where resting boats bobbed up and down in the water. "That's up to you. But let's see how long you last without supplies because I don't think I can support two people with what I brought."

"Please. It can't be that bad."

He rolled his eyes.

"I've gone camping before," she added.

"I'm sure you had supplies then," he muttered.

"Nuh uh! Well, besides a sleeping bag. We caught fish and everything!"

"And I'm sure you brought fishing rods for those fish."

Dawn wrinkled her nose. "It's true! We were there for two whole days."

"Only two days?" he asked, eyes glistening in amusement. "We might be on that island for much longer. Overnight was just an estimate. Could be a week for all you know."

"Excuse me?"

Lucas laced his hands together behind his head and placed them against the nape of his neck, extending his elbows out. "We don't know if cresslia is even there. It could take a while to find her, depending on her big the island is and how fast we travel." He stopped at the railing, releasing his grip to take hold of the cold metal. He gazed onward. Down the wooden ramp were a few of the ships, their sails lowered. Dawn opted to lean against it, resting her chin on her collarbone.

"I'm not saying this to scare you out of it," Lucas continued. "I'm just trying to warn you ahead of time. Even if you were thoroughly prepared–" He turned his head slightly to look at her near-empty bag. "–or prepared at all, there could be things you might not be able to handle."

She crossed her right leg over her left and folded her arms, pressing them against her chest. "Such as?"

"Wild pokémon attacks, hunger, thirst, lack of privacy, tall heights, low heights, dark caves, open spaces, the list goes on."

She remained quiet, watching people walk by. Her eyes rested on a mother-daughter duo. The mother was holding the hand of her little girl, and clutched in the little girl's hand was a red balloon. It hovered above her at a tilt as it dragged behind. A strong bout of wind blew. Dawn flinched, squinting, her hair brushing against her face and obscuring her vision. Through the dark strands, she saw a ball of red fly by and take toward the skies, followed by a high-pitched yelp.

"Mama!" she heard. "My balloon!"

With one hand, Dawn gathered her hair in one clump, watching as the mother got on her knees to get to her daughter's eye level, gently cupping her face while she said something that made her daughter hug her. Dawn suddenly missed her mother, and then her heart leaped to her throat and made her eyes water as she her thoughts derailed toward Alyson and the scared but protective look on her face as she stood near Lane, holding his hand.

She got the both of them into this; she'd be damned if she didn't follow through. "I don't care. I'm in this until the very end," Dawn said firmly, nodding.

"Well, okay." She heard the skepticism in his voice. "It's not too late to change your mind, though."

"I'm not going to."

"All right then."

Lucas turned around and hoisted himself up onto the railing, sitting on the top bar and resting his feet on the middle bar. He looked at his pokétch to check the time before gripping the railing tightly with both hands. Dawn was tempted to push him backward, but they were a good few feet above the sea, and there was a chance he would hit the docks below instead of the water, and if he did hit the docks, he could land head first, breaking his neck, and that would kill him (or something), and she would wind up in prison; and let it be known that she looked absolutely, one-hundred-and-one percent horrible in an orange jump suit (she wouldn't know by experience; she just assumed); and if, by chance, he did hit the water, he would be pissed at her, and that's no way to get a boy to like you (or is it? She could pull it off as a joke. Then she would help him dry off (because that's what the girl character does in romantic comedies (or was this a plain romance? Lucas wasn't that funny (well, not intentionally). Maybe romantic suspense? Will they end up together or not?), which consists of, but is not limited to, poking fun at the guy protagonist), and as she would reach up to wring his hat of water, she would brush her dainty fingers against his cheek, and he–yes, he–would grab her hand gently and pull her in for a kiss – and oh, my goodness, this is just too cute. She should write this down somewhere once she had the chance. And several, several, SEVERAL years from now, they would get married and have kids, two boys, one girl, two years apart in age, with the girl being the youngest. Also, she wanted to live near Hearthrome, and it'll be the most amazing thing ever!) because who likes to get wet? Definitely not her.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"3:55."

"Oh. And he's coming at four?"

"Around there, yeah. Change your mind yet?"

She huffed. "Do you not want me to come or something?"

"It's not that," Lucas argued. "I just ..." He pursed his lips and looked to the side shiftily. "Never mind."

She smiled cheekily. "What? Are you worried about me?"

"No," he quickly replied, his voice in a higher pitch for some reason. He cleared his throat with a grunt. "I could give two shits about you. Three of them, even."

She nudged him in the arm with her elbow, smirking. "Admit it. Admit you care about me!"

"No. I don't."

"Fine." Her grin widened. "But I know you do even if you're too manly to say it. And you know what? I care for you, too!"

"Lord," he murmured. He looked at his pokétch again, pressing its buttons to flip through its many screens. "Look. I just don't want to deal with your plethora of whining."

"I don't whine!" she whined.

"Okay."

She huffed. "You're so infuriating. You know that, right?"

"Flies catch more honey with vinegar or whatever you said that one night."

"It's 'you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar,' and that idiom isn't even applicable to this conversation."

"Ah. Okay."

Him and his stupid "okays." Ugh, she hated that word with a passion now. How did he get her so riled up with a stupid four letter word in that stupid, dull tone of his? "Is Eldritch here yet?" she asked, annoyed.

Lucas looked down the sidewalk. "Not from what I can see," he said, looking at the people.

Dawn lowered her head and focused her attention on the gum on the ground, trying to connect them together to make a picture. "I could have ran to the store and bought stuff," she grumbled.

"Yeah, but you didn't."

"You said I didn't have time!" Her eyebrows furrowed.

"No, I asked you a rhetorical question. 'Do you think you have time to go back and get stuff?' was what I said. I remember because I was there."

"That's pretty much saying what I said!"

"No, it's an entirely different thing." He picked at the dirt in his fingernails and flicked the dirt off his thumb. "One is a question. The other is a statement. Punctuation is key."

She felt her nose wrinkle in anger, the back of her throat rumble, and her cheeks start to flush. "I'm going to smack you I swear."

"Okay."

She had to fight back the urge not to, gripping the metal railing behind her and taking a few deep breaths. She twisted the ball of her right foot back and forth, listening to the gravel crunch under her feet. Why did she have to like the most annoying, most vexing, most cynical boy on the face of Sinnoh – no, the entire planet? Good question. Why did she? Dawn looked the boy up and down, the way his hat always seemed to sit askew on his head, slightly cocked over his blue eyes. His scarf, the ends gently swaying with the breeze, was wrapped tightly around his neck. He was slightly slouched over, relaxed.

She guessed she liked him because he was smart, and, on occasion, nice, but he had to be a complete jerkwad before that. Maybe she liked the challenge of trying to pry open and enter through the boy's tightly guarded mind.

Dawn grabbed for the frays of her scarf and twisted them around her pointer fingers. She did like Lucas when they were younger–not in the same way now, of course–and, as strange as it was, she liked him the way he was now, too. She didn't know why. She always pegged herself as someone who would go for the sensitive type who liked to talk and have fun and watch romantic movies with her. Lucas was, like, the exact opposite of that, blunt but quiet at the same time. He was a riddle that didn't want to be solved. It's weird. She wanted to solve it, of course, but leave it untouched so he'll remain the same Lucas that she started to feel funny toward a few weeks ago. That's impossible, of course.

God, he made her brain hurt.

She never answered her question, though. Why did she like Lucas? Was it really just for the challenge? What a terrible reason. Or maybe because she just ... did. Some things just are, like he said. It was unexplainable–lots of things are–but she felt it, that warm feeling in her stomach. It wasn't cliché, the beautifly that would flap in her stomach when a cute guy would talk to her; it was just ... warm, and different, but nice. It didn't make her giddy like her other crushes. She just ... She just knew she liked it. She knew she liked him, but don't tell him that. He probably secretly knows, the jerk, and he's probably waiting to use it against her because that's what jerks do. They do jerky things. That sounded funny.

Lucas looked at Dawn who was still staring at the ground. "Hey," he said softly. "Can I ask you something?"

She looked back at him, curious. "Ask me something?"

"Yeah."

"If it allows me to ask you anything once I think of it later."

He groaned. "Fine." He paused, licking his dry lips. "Why are you still ... here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean in Sandgem. You've been a trainer for years now. Longer than I have been, I think."

She started to fidget uncomfortably, still playing with the ends of her scarf. "Well, yeah," she replied quietly, looking down.

"So why are you always around here whenever I come back home?"

She had been asked this so many times before, and her answer had remained unchanged. "I don't really need to go all over the region to do my study," she said monotonously, the answer sketched in her brain. "Jubilife is nearby and is a central town for people and pokémon alike. If I want to observe people and pokémon in interaction or get interviews, I can think of no better place. And, you know, Professor Rowan needs me." Dawn laughed lightly, awkwardly. "When you're not around, who else will get him coffee and run his errands?"

The boy didn't seemed amused as she looked at him through the corner of her eye. "Yeah?" he finally responded, head tilted. "Well ... okay."

"Mm." Dawn turned her head. "There's just no need for me to go around the region like you do. I was never interested in being a battler and competing in the league. There was a time I was interested in being a coordinator but ... I don't know. I suppose that was short-lived." She felt her throat tightening up, tears on the verge of spilling and messing up her make-up. "I like what I do, honest. I love my study. I love what I do." She had to pause, trying to straighten out her shaky tone. "It's like you, Lucas, the way your face lights up when you battle. That's how I feel when I'm doing what I do."

She heard the boy clear his throat, state a, "But," before closing his mouth.

"Why do you ask?" Dawn questioned, trying to discretely bring a hand up to her face to wipe at her eyes.

"Curious, is all. Was wondering if you, you know, leave."

There was the bluntness again. It was one of the first insults Lucas picked up whenever she was getting on his nerves. You COULD leave Sandgem, you know. Of course she knew that. But she couldn't. She didn't have to. She didn't want to.

She guessed he picked up on the harshness of his tone was and quick to tack on a, "Not that there's anything wrong with that" in that same airy tone from earlier. He didn't mean it.

"I know." She managed to blink back the remaining tears and straightened her head once she felt Lucas's gaze bore into the back of her head. "It's not like I haven't thought about traveling. I mean, really traveling. Not taking a train or a bus from one major city to the next." She snapped her attention toward him, startling the boy. "And say it."

"Say ... what?"

"What you were going to say earlier."

"I wasn't going to say anything."

"'But,''" she quoted. "But what?"

Lucas narrowed his eyes. "But okay," was his simple reply. "I don't believe you, you know. 'I don't leave because I don't have to; everything is here for me.' Unlike you, though, I don't pry into territory where I know I'm not wanted." His face had remained stern which made Dawn mad for some reason.

"It's none of your business," she said.

"Same goes to you when your prying into my life."

"That's different!" Dawn glared back at him, cheeks scrunching up. "That's totally different! I do it because I worry about you and want to be your friend! You're doing it to me because you're a jerk!"

"I'm doing it because I was curious," he replied in his usual calm demeanor. "Like you."

She huffed, squeezing her folded arms with her hands.

Lucas lifted his arm to check his watch: 4:05. "It's fine doing what you're doing. If you're comfortable with it, then, well, okay. But I think you could learn so much if you do travel around a bit more and throw yourself out of the box. Understanding concepts mean nothing without application. And ..." he sighed. "You're a ... nice–" She saw Lucas's face crinkle, "–person. It's not like you would have trouble meeting people outside this area."

"I'm not scared of that."

"So you're scared of something."

"I never said that either."

"I won't pry. I just thought it would be a thing you would have adored doing, going out and meeting people from all over the region." Lucas kicked his legs out to stretch them, staring at his shoes before putting them back on the railing. "But okay."

Dawn twisted one of her golden barrettes out of her hair, letting her bangs tease her forehead, and rolled the clasp in her hand, smudging the sheen with her fingertips. Something was burning inside her chest. It wasn't the same warm sensation she got whenever she thought of her and Lucas together. This was entirely different; this was an entirely new sensation that she hadn't felt in a while. Pain, humiliation, guilt. It had bubbled up to her throat, like vomit – or was it really vomit? She hated it.

Lucas had good intuition; all brilliant trainers do. So when Lucas told her that he didn't believe her, she wasn't surprised. Everyone has a sad story inside them; some are just sadder than others. She knew better than to feel bad, especially when compared to Lucas's history. Perhaps that is the sad part about it – her life is so mundane that it's not worth mentioning to others.

Tell a story. Make it more interesting.

Once upon a time, there was a young girl who had a loving father, a loving mother, and a loving younger sister, and they all lived together in a loving home. When she turned ten, she managed to pass the exams to obtain her trainer's license. Afterward (yawn), she skipped right on over to Professor Rowan's laboratory to see if she could sign up as an apprentice. More boring tests (more yawns) later, she managed to get accepted after an interview. She was his shadow for a while; she followed him constantly, and she helped him the best that she could. Eventually, inspired by the professor's own evolution studies, she decided to branch out and figure out the connection between pokémon and humans and how these relationships sometimes trigger a pokémon to evolve. Yawn, yawn, yawn, yawn. There's an interesting plot point thrown in there somewhere. What, though, she didn't know.

Why didn't she leave home? Why didn't she try to find more adventure if she knew her life was pretty dull compared to everyone else's? Well, she liked the comfort. She liked knowing that everyone around her liked her.

So you're scared of something. Maybe she was. She knew she did well here, but to put yourself on the line once you leave the safety of home ... She didn't get how Lucas could do it on a day-to-day basis; he obviously has issues–big ones–from doing so. And maybe it was pressure from others, pressure to please or whatever, but he was always out there, getting into trouble, getting into adventure. He didn't want to talk about it, but he at least had something to talk about once he did.

She could go into dramatics, this fear, and concoct a reason plausible for her situation. She could say she was attacked by a wild pokémon while walking outside the city one day that made her scared to leave home, though everyone is attacked at least once in their life, and she wasn't scared of that. She had no money. Not true, either. Her family would support her, like they do in all aspects of her life. Professor Rowan needed her. No, he has the great Lucas on his side.

Dawn likes stories, but you should already know that. The beginnings, the characters, the morals, but she always liked the endings the most. The happily-ever-afters. Or the empty, lonely feelings you get after a particularly sad story. But you can never get there if there's no climax, no plot-turning moment where everything falls into place – or more rattled than ever. She didn't know. Maybe one day she'll finally leave, but she was happy and content now. Most people spend the rest of their lives looking for that. Why look for something you already have?

"Why risk it?" she accidentally said out loud.

"Risk what?" Of course he would question back.

Dawn turned her attention toward Lucas (his gaze was intense that it left her breathless for a second), gathering her hair and clipping it behind her golden barrette. "When you're out there traveling, aren't you scared?"

"Of what?"

"Failing."

Something thoughtful crossed his face. "Honestly, no," he said after a while, lifting his hand to rub at the corner of his eye. "To your question ... 'Why risk it?' I ask that about a lot of things. But failure? I'm not afraid of failure."

Dawn nodded. He continued. "I guess I don't think I'll ever fail. It's cocky to say that." She saw a grin twitch on his face. "There's too much pressure on me to fail. I'd be angry with myself if I did."

"Boys." She sighed.

"Maybe." He gripped the railing tight in his hands and leaned back, letting the afternoon sun rays soak through his shirt. "Is that it? You're scared of failing?"

"Yes–no. I don't know. I'm happy with where I am," she said, the wind lifting her hair and grazing it softly against her cheek.

He looked at her so thoughtfully, so curiously, so sympathetically, and she felt her stomach twist again, this time in complete astonishment that the boy actually took genuine interest and concern with one of her problems. "Hmm," he finally said, his voice pleasantly vibrating near the end of his statement.

She paused, waiting for him to say something else, but he didn't. "Is that all you're going to say? 'Hmm'?"

"I'm not sure what else to say."

"You were doing so well."

He rolled his eyes, swinging his legs back and forth. "You're happy?" he repeated, his voice a bit jittery from his leg movements.

Dawn smiled. "I like to think that I am."

"I'm jealous," he replied plainly.

"Same," she said.

Dawn saw his left hand release its grasp around the railing, and she saw him reach out toward her tentatively, but he quickly redrew it, clasping it around the back of his sweaty neck instead. "Maybe one day we'll both get what we want."

She wanted him.

"Maybe," she said, eyes alight.

Lucas noticed the short, stout figure of Daniel Eldritch walking toward them. In between the fingers of his right hand was a lit cigarette, ashes from the tip escaping its confines and floating toward the earth. He jumped off the railing, readjusting the backpack straps on his back. "But anyway, what are you afraid of risking?"

Dawn pushed herself back up as well, quickly grabbing her jacket before it could slip off of her bag. "Happiness," she said quietly, thoughtfully, as the two of them began walking toward the hefty sailor. "What about you?"

He blinked at her a few times. "The same."