Hey folks!

During my run this morning I had nothing to think about so for some reason this story came into my head.

So I busted my *blank* to finish this chapter!

On that note, realize that there were so many times when making a character swear would be sooo fitting!

But Cacooks7 tries to keep it clean for you guys. :D

A nice long chapter for you guys! Enjoy!

Keep 'em reviews coming!

All reviews welcome!

Chapter 8

An image began to form before me. It was house. I was in a room. I had a drink in my hand. There were figures around me moving. I could hear music playing, and the figures were moving with the music. I started walking. An orange figure kept coming towards me, and I kept trying to free it of me. It was really starting to annoy me. I began to run to try and get away.

I got lost and started to look around to try and find my way. There was a staircase, so I decided to climb it. There were some figures in the hallway, but two of them really caught my attention. I could actually hear them talking.

"Have this." one of them said.

"Thanks!" The other said. Their voices were vaguely familiar. It was about to drink something, when it suddenly stopped.

"Wait, did you..." The rest of the sentence was slurred.

"No, of course not! You know I love you!"

"You did! Help! Ash! Help me!"

I stood straighter at the sound of my name. I was scared. I started running towards the one figure, bit with every step I took it got further away.

"Heellppp meeeee Asshhhhhh! Assshhhh! Hey Ash!"

That last calling was much clearer. I suddenly found myself sitting up in my bed, sweating. It was all a dream, I think.

"Ash, you're going to be late if you don't wake up RIGHT NOW!" It was my mom.

"Sorry!" I yelled back. I had to rush out of bed, go to the washroom, get ready, and grab a breakfast-to-go. I headed out the door in a good 5 minutes. Record time? I think so.

I sprinted to the bus stop. The bus was already there. It started to leave. "WAIT!" I yelled. It accelerated. I stopped running, hopeless. Suddenly, the bus stopped. I was so relieved, and started running again. I thankfully caught the bus. So much for leaving the house earlier I thought.

I took a seat at the same double-seater as the previous day. May got on, waved at me, but once again went to go sit in the back with Gary. What was going on between them? I remembered what Gary had asked me about May. Why did he want to know that? Why was he so curious about her? A possible answer popped into my head, but I shook it off as it didn't seem possible.

Dawn didn't get on at her stop. I figured this was a good thing as she was probably still mad at me, but I was nonetheless sad. It was always nice to see her, at least in my eyes. I thought about what I did to Paul. I didn't really do much compared to what he does to others. But I must have hit a nerve on Dawn. She never freaked out on me like that before. Then again, I hadn't known her for very long.

So I sat quietly by myself for the whole bus ride to school. At least finally got the chance to actually see Jubilife city. Its tall skyscrapers, always alive with people; it really was a beautiful city. I had just realized that I hardly felt homesick, but that was probably because I never really thought about Pallet Town. There were other things on my mind, if you know what I mean.

I walked with Gary to our lockers when we got to school. "Have a nice chat with May?" I teased.

He blushed. "Yes, I did in fact. Bro, you ought leave me alone. I'm wheeling!"

"Oh, you're wheeling, eh?"

"Yeah, bro. She'll be mine in a week or two."

His confidence astounded me, but his feelings towards girls and relationships disgusted me.

"Oh, really now? How are you sure?"

"Dawg, just look at me. She came to sit beside me on the bus, first thing in the morning!"

"Just because someone sits beside you on the bus, doesn't mean they love you." I somewhat crushed my own spirits in saying that, because I thought of all the little things that Dawn did to me that I took as signs.

"What do you know? I've never seen you date a girl!" He snapped at me.

"Likewise."

"Touché" said Gary. "But not for long. You'll see. I'll prove you wrong, bro."

"Yeah whatever. See ya."

I headed up the stairs to math class. As I entered, I saw that Dawn was first this time. I went to take my seat beside her.

"Hey!"

No answer. Awkward. I tried again.

"Didn't see you on the bus. How did you get to school?"

She stuck her nose in the air and raised her eyebrows. "I got a drive with Paul."

Okay. So not only was she still mad at me, but she seemed to be rubbing it in my face. I decided not to make matters worse and just keep quiet for the whole class. It was next to impossible. All I could think of was her kissing Paul, or her kissing Kenny. It was slowly killing me inside.

I finally looked over at her. She was focusing on her work. It was obvious that she was having a very hard time. "I'm probably gonna need loads of help!" Her words played like a record in my head. So much for that I thought to myself. Somehow, somewhere, I knew things would be right with us again. I just had a gut feeling.

Second period came around, and once again Misty was not in music class. I asked Jasmine why.

"Once again, I have no idea Ash. Hey! Are you going tonight?"

"Yup! I didn't know about it until last night when Misty called me."

Her face lost color.

"Wait, Misty called you? No! No, no! She did? Not good! And did she ask you what I think she did?"

I nodded.

"I TOLD her not to!" I'd never seen Jasmine so mad. "Wait, you obviously said no, right?"

"Jasmine, you're the one who told me to tale it easy on her!"

Jasmine put her hand over her mouth and raised her eyebrows. "I can't believe this!" She hit me on the knee. "Ash! When I said not to be hard on her, I didn't mean agree with everything she says! Now you're just leading her on and things are gonna get worse!"

"Wait, so I shouldn't have taken her to the dance? But if I said no she would have cried all day!"

"Yeah, but now when you take her to the party and she finds out you don't like her, she's going to be even more heartbroken and cry even more, especially if she's drunk!"

Her words sunk in. She was right. She would cry even more. I exhaled and put my face in my palms. This night was going to suck even more.

The rest of the day went by normally, except for the fact that Paul seemed much happier than usual. He seemed excited for something that was about to happen. I wondered if he was going to be at the party. He was talking happily with Dawn during physics, and he didn't harass anyone all day. I was surprised, but if there was one thing I knew it was that it was too good to be true. Something must be on his mind.

As the day ended, I went home and met up with Brock. We decided to go for a walk before getting ready to leave for the party.

"So you're bringing Misty to the party, eh?"

"Yeah."

He gave me a funny look.

"Why do you seem so unhappy, then? Didn't you want to take her to the party?"

I could sense a slight sarcasm in his last question.

"You don't know then whole story, Brock."

He smiled.

"Try me!"

I hesitated. He took charge.

"Ash, I helped you at the soccer tryout. I've only been nice to you since you came here. If you can't trust me here, I don't know who you'll be able to trust!"

He was right. He was definitely one of the trustworthiest people around.

"Alright. I'll tell you."

So I told about how she skipped school yesterday because of me. I told him about the phone call. I told him about my conversation with Jasmine. But I decided to keep Dawn and Paul out of this. No need to say more than necessary, right?

"Ash, you really shouldn't have said yes."

"Great! Now everyone is against me!" I was getting mad. "Look at me, stupid Ash! Well what would you have done in that situation, then?"

"Ash, calm down please." Brock's calm attitude was a constant. It was remarkable. "Look, you're just going to hurt her even more the longer you hold out. Going to the dance with her is fine, but you should let her know that you don't want to take it past friendship with her. Don't just tell her directly, though!"

I laughed. "Easy to say, difficult to do. This girl is em-o-tion-al!"

Brock laughed along. "I gotta agree with that!"

We both went home and started to get ready for the party. I couldn't say that I was excited to go, but something inside me was kind of happy that I was going.

I had just finished my dinner and gone upstairs to change when I heard the doorbell ring. I casually walked down to answer the door, and when I opened it, my heart stopped. Why was Misty at my doorstep?

"Heyyyyy, Ash! Ready?"

"M-Misty! I had no idea you were coming so early." I looked at the clock; it was 6:45. The party only started at 8. " I'm not ready y…"

"Once again, Ash isn't ready! What a surprise, folks! So c'mon! Hurry up and get ready!"

I decided to swallow my words and just go get ready. I slipped into some sleek shorts (it was a hot day, mind you) and a green shirt. I suppose I was "ready" to go, but not really.

I hopped into Misty's car and we drove there. It was embarrassing. I was supposed to be the one driving Misty. Not this way. Doesn't the guy always drive the girl. Isn't that some sort of unwritten code?

We got to Kenny's, and like expected, we were the first to arrive.

"W-wow! You guys are early!" Kenny was surprised. "I'm still setting up. I guess you guys can help while you wait for everyone to arrive."

Thanks a lot, Misty. Setting up a party is the second worst thing possible. The first obviously being the clean up.

After nearly an hour of setting up tables, food, and making sure the drinks weren't TOO accessible to the public, we finally finished, and just in time. People slowly began to arrive. There was still no sign of Brock, May, Dawn, Paul, or any of the main crew yet, however.

With Misty already having her first few drinks and trying to get closer to me, and Kenny staring at me awkwardly for some reason, I felt out of place and already wanted to go home.

"Ash, you know, I thought you decided to come WITH me. But we haven't done anything together y…"

"Brock!" I greeted him happily as he entered. Great timing, buddy! I thought. He was with… Jasmine?

Misty read my mind. "You guys came together?"

"Yes." Jasmine shot back. "You came with someone too." She gave me an apologetic look. "And may I ask why you've been skipping school?"

"No you may not. I'll tell you later. Right now I've got to take care of my date. Let's go, Ash. Ash?"

I wasn't paying attention. The only thing I could see at that point was Dawn enter the room with Paul. A rush of jealousy shot through my body, and the alcohol didn't help, even if I hadn't drunken very much.

The party carried on. Everyone was there at that point. I was always on the lookout for Dawn, and constantly pushing Misty away and stopping her from doing "something". You'd think the girl would just give up at that point; clearly she wouldn't.

The music was blasting; people were dancing in the living room. It was all so crazy! You couldn't focus on one thing because there was just so much going on! There was one thing bothering me though. It was Kenny. He was still staring at me. I guess I was drunk enough to simply walk up to him and ask instead of ignore him.

"Hey! Something wrong?" I asked.

"Ash, come with me."

He led me into the kitchen where the music was muffled and it was quieter.

"Alright, remember the night we all went out and I kissed Dawn?"

"Yeah, lay it all on the table, okay. Why, what's up?"

"Well, she seemed pretty pissed off when I did it. And then you went to go talk to her and it seemed that everything was fine again. I've never seen her give in to someone so quickly. I think there's something special between you two."

"What do you mean?" I knew what he meant, but I wanted to see his answer.

"Alright, Ash. Cut the crap. I know you like Dawn. Just admit it."

"I…" I hesitated.

"Just say it! I won't tell anyone! All right, fine. I know you do, so I'll just finish. I want you to go for Dawn. Don't worry about me." What? Go for Dawn? I let him finish. "Under one condition. I want you to help me get Misty."

WHOA.

"You WANT Misty?"

"Yeah, but don't go telling the world here. We have a deal. Don't tell anyone."

"But, why Misty?"

"She's cute, and I love her hustle-bustle attitude. Always on the move. It's how I like to live too."

Understandable. But still! Blech! Wait, what am I saying. This will get her off my back for sure.

"Kenny, I want you to do something for me right now."

"What's that?" He asked me.

"I want you to go talk to Misty right now, and stay with her the whole night."

"You mean it? But, Ash! She's your date!"

"Trust me, you can have her."

"Ash, you're great!"

He ran off. I felt victorious. I prayed that this would be the end of Misty and I, at least for now, and I wouldn't have to confront her about not liking her.

The night carried on, and I had a few more drinks. It was much easier for me to enjoy myself, because Misty was not following me all the time. It worked!

I turned the corner to see a patio door. I saw purple hair. Paul. I went to investigate. I expected to see Dawn with him, but she was nowhere to be found. Ugh, what is that smell? I thought. I looked closer to find Paul and some people smoking. They were smoking weed.

If there's one thing I'll never do, it's smoke weed. It's such a turnoff, and doesn't even seem that great.

I kept on walking around, occasionally stopping to talk or dance. This party actually wasn't too bad. But the alcohol was starting to get to me. I needed to sit down. I took a seat on the couch and stayed there while talking to Brock and Jasmine. A good hour must have passed until I stood up again. Much better. But now I had to use the restroom, so I headed upstairs.

The staircase and upstairs hallway were vaguely familiar. I couldn't figure out where I had seen them before.

Wait. Figure? THAT'S IT! This was the hallway from my dream!

I could even hear the screams from my dream!

THE SCREAMS?

I leaned on the door that they were coming from to listen in.

"Dawn, drink this and it will be all right!"

"Are you sure? How can I trust you?"

"Please, Dawn!"

It was Dawn and Paul. At first I didn't really think much of it, other than being a little jealous. But then it hit me with full force. It couldn't be!

I ran down the stairs as fast as I could to find her. Where was she? I hadn't much time!

Finally I found her in the living room dancing among the crowd. "Ursula!" I called out.

"H-hay A-esh!" She was pretty drunk.

"Listen, I need you to snap out of it and answer this question. Remember at school when you told me that Paul tried to do things to you when you were dating?"

"Y-yeahaha"

"Well, what exactly did he try to do?" I was desperate for the answer. I hoped it was not what I thought it was.

"Wh-elll wouldn't you like to know?"

"SERIOUSLY, URSULA!" People were beginning to look.

She giggled at bit, but she must have noticed the seriousness in my face and snapped to her senses.

"The b-bugger tried to drug me-eh! He said it would 'b-be more fff-un' and make me do 'what he wanted, w-when he wanted'. Of course, I fff-ought him off hahha."

My face lost all color and my heart stopped. It was what I feared. Damn it.

I had to do something. I ran upstairs back to the room. I tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"HEY! Who's there?" I heard Paul yell.

I ran to the end of the hallway and, in full sprint, threw myself into the door. I somehow managed to break the door down to find a startled Paul and a crying, drowsy Dawn.

My thoughts were as profound as could be.

I didn't even need to think once about it. I prepared a fist, and gave Paul a fully powered hook to the left cheek. Dawn was crying, sitting on the bed.

"Dawn, did you drink it?"

She continued to cry.

"DID YOU DRINK IT?" I was yelling at the top of my lungs.

"Y-yes. He made me. Ash, what's going on?"

Hate. That's all that passed through my body and mind. Paul was still on the floor holding his cheek. I pinned him and gave him four more punches.

"WHY?" I was almost crying. "Why did you do it?"

I wound up for another punch, but he slipped out of my slightly drunk grasp and sprinted out the door. I took about 10 breaths to calm myself down a little, placed the door back up and put a chair to it. I could hear people yell "Whoa!" downstairs, either because Paul was running out or because they saw his bloody face.

I rushed over to a crying Dawn. "Dawn" I said softly. I placed my hands on her shoulders to try and keep her straight. I stared into her eyes. They were so beautiful. Snap out of it. This is serious. "Are you alright?" I asked.

"Ash." I could feel her start to weaken. "Ash I think I'm passing out."

I decided it was best to lie her down on the bed. "Dawn, why? Why did you let him do that?"

"Ash, I haven't been very honest with you." She told me. "I think I should tell you. I never really liked Paul in the way everyone thinks. I just felt sorry for him. I can't believe he's done this! That jerk! I only started to date him to…" She hesitated. I wasn't sure if she was passing out or if she was debating telling me. "…make you jealous."

"Make me jealous?"

"You never really seemed interested in me. You seemed awkward around me. I didn't know why I couldn't get through to you. I was getting mad." She began to tear up again. "So I tried to make you jealous."

There were no words to express my feelings, so I just hugged her. Hugging her, I felt no feedback. As I let go, I noticed her eyes were closed.

She was passed out.