Notes: Feedback very much appreciated.
In the next year Dawn decided it was time for her to be brave and finally go on a journey of her own. She chose Kanto as her target.
"Hey, Dawn, what's up with you lately?" He looked quite concerned through the slightly flickering screen and it made her feel like trash.
"What?" she laughed very high pitched and probably sounded hysterical. "No, I'm not! You must be imagining things."
"Dawn," he pressed, firmer than she expected. "You've lost every single contest so far. There's definitely something wrong."
"Yeah," she agreed. "With you."
Brock made an offended noise.
"Don't worry," she said. "I'm fine."
She didn't even convince herself.
One month later Reggie called. Dawn wasn't really sure how he had managed to find out in which city or pokémon center she was staying at.
"Hi, Dawn," he greeted, friendly as ever. "I saw you in your contest in Saffron. You were great."
It was such an open, blatant lie she didn't know whether she should feel insulted or plainly burst into tears.
"Thanks," she said and went for neither of the above. "May I ask why you're calling?"
Reggie smiled. "I just wanted to tell you," he explained, calmly, as nausea began to splash up her throat. "That you should come and visit us again when you're back home. We would be delighted."
Being alone now brought two matters along that weighed her down like nothing had before. The first was that she missed the fun she'd had when she had still been travelling with Ash and Brock. The second was that she had used the two brothers as a replacement for those happy times and the apparent fact that they knew but didn't seem to mind.