Chapter 7: Superman
Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, your feedback is always very much appreciated! Here's another chapter!
"She's falling apart
Waiting for Superman to pick her up."
-Waiting for superman; Chris Daughty
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Dawn woke up as soon as her alarm went off at 8 o'clock the next morning. She untangled herself from her blankets and walked over to her balcony to open the curtains. Seeing in was a cloudy morning the blunette went and used her bathroom. She put her hair into a messy ponytail and then went to change into jeans, a tank top, and a zipped sweatshirt.
She returned to her bedroom and made her bed, assuming that her and her group partner would once again be working in her bedroom. She didn't know what time Brianna was coming to work on her project with Drew but she was sure he was still sleeping the morning away as he did after every sports game he played.
Walking down the carpeted steps Dawn was almost completely silent. Her bare feet made soft pats on the shiny floor of the kitchen as she opened the fridge to look for something to eat. Finding the butter she decided to make herself some toast.
Hearing the door to the garage open, Dawn set down her knife in the sink and picked up her plate that held her toast. She looked at the clock and saw that indeed it was 9 o'clock and headed towards the stairs.
"Good morning." It was Paul, slipping off his shoes by the door and he looked up at her.
"Morning." He greeted and Dawn noticed that he was wearing jeans and a black sweatshirt with the name of the football team on the front. She gestured for him to lead the way up the stairs and he shrugged his backpack further up his shoulder and started up the stairs. She followed, and looked at the bright white lettering on the back of his sweatshirt that read Shinji 52 all the way to her room.
"Is Drew awake yet?" Paul asked as he settled in the same spot as last time in her desk chair.
"He probably won't emerge until he has too." Dawn took residence on her bed and took a bite of her toast. Paul only smirked and pulled out his laptop and turned it on.
Working on the outline of their paper proved easy as they had both read about their topic already and researched when they could. Paul typed on his computer as they shot ideas back and forth.
"We should cover the background about the ideas of bio-weapons, like who did most of the research." Dawn spoke and Paul nodded at her and typed the notes onto his computer. A knock sounded from her door and Drew entered, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt with his protein smoothie already in his hand.
"Hey Paul." Drew greeted and sat on the bed next to his sister.
"When is Brianna coming?" Dawn asked and crossed her legs in front of herself.
"In a few minutes or so." Her brother groaned and Paul smirked as he read the contents on his screen. Drew's phone beeped in his pocket and he pulled it out.
"Well Brianna is here, wish me luck." Drew got up and walked towards his sister's bedroom door.
"Good luck with your girlfriend Hayden." Paul spoke and Drew frowned before closing the door behind him. Dawn giggled at Paul's words.
"I don't think that would happen." Dawn thought and Paul closed his computer and set it out her desk behind him. He leaned back in the desk chair with his arms crossed over his chest.
"She's been chasing him since they were little, it's amusing to watch." Paul commented and Dawn smiled to herself as she flopped back onto her bed, he wasn't as quiet as people said he was.
"Hey Paul? Are we friends?" Dawn asked and she could picture the eye-roll he was doing.
"What kind of question is that Blue?" He asked and Dawn shrugged, happy he couldn't see her blush at his nickname. "Of course we're friends."
"Really?" Dawn popped up into a sitting position and he quirked an eyebrow at her smile.
"Why wouldn't we be?" He countered and Dawn tapped her chin with her finger.
"Hmm…. I don't know. I guess we are friends, we talk to each other and we get along well. And you're even in my room." Dawn spoke and Paul huffed.
"I'm only in your room because we're doing a project together." He stated and stretched his legs out in front of him. Dawn traced him with her eyes and noticed how long they were.
"Are you saying you wouldn't come in my room just because we're friends and you wanted to hang out with me?" Dawn asked him.
"Is there a point to all of this questions?" Paul stood up from the desk chair and stretched his arms out. He pulled out his phone to check the time and stomach growled.
"Do you want something to eat?" Dawn giggled and Paul shrugged, and followed her as they made their way down to the kitchen. Paul stood by the counter while Dawn looked through the fridge.
"Do you want a sandwich?" Dawn asked and turned to find him right behind her, peering into the fridge from over her head. She froze in her place, too rigid to move.
"Sounds good." Paul backed up and allowed her to pull out the makings for a sandwich and shooing him away when he tried to help. He leaned against the counter instead and she felt his eyes on her.
"Oh! Hello Paul. It's always a pleasure to see you." Dawn's father had walked into the kitchen still wearing his suit from the office and smiled as her daughter and then at Paul.
"Hello Mr. Hayden." Paul nodded but staying in his spot as the older male got a bottle of water from the fridge.
"Well, good luck on your project kids." Dawn called a goodbye to her father and presented the sandwich she made to Paul. He took it from her hand and started eating on his way up to her room.
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"Wow, your house is really nice May!" Dawn smiled and look up at the ceiling when she entered May's large white home. May shrugged and kicked off her shoes.
"Yours is wayyyyy bigger!" May spoke and Dawn followed into the kitchen where an older brunette woman stood over the stove cooking and May's little brother sat at the counter on his laptop.
"Hey Mom." May greeted and helped herself to the fridge. The older woman saw Dawn standing there and dried her hands on her apron and took the short girl into a hug.
"You must be Dawn! I'm Caroline. Oh! You're so pretty!" The woman held her at arm's length and Dawn couldn't help but blush at her compliment. May handed Dawn a bottle of water from the fridge.
"We're going to go to my room Mom." May said and Dawn followed her friend after giving Caroline a wave in parting.
May's room was an array of her favorite color, red. May plopped onto her bed and patted the seat next to her on the bed for her less-forward friend. Dawn set herself comfortably on her friend's bed and leaned back against the head-board.
Dawn pulled her laptop out of her backpack and opened it up. May looked over her shoulder as the blunette pulled up her email. The shorter girl pulled up a new email and set to typing.
"I'm emailing my friend Zoey from Sinnoh. I think that you should meet her sometime." Dawn said and May nodded.
"I'd love to!" May agreed and Dawn smiled still typing.
"What time is practice done? Like 5:30?" May asked and Dawn nodded, Drew would pick her up on his way home from practice.
"Yep, Drew said he would text me when practice was done." Dawn told her friend.
"So how was working with your project with Paul on Saturday?" May asked causally and Dawn felt the blush burn her cheeks.
"We just worked on our project May." Dawn took a drink from her water bottle and put her laptop away in her bag.
"You know, I think he actually cares for you. Like a good friend." May said, and Dawn put her hand in front of her mouth so she wouldn't spit out her drink.
"May!" Dawn exclaimed and reached for her phone when it beeped.
I'm done with practice, I'll be there in a few minutes.
-Drew
"Is your lame brother coming to take you away?" May said but got up from her bed anyways, prepared to lead her friend to the door.
"You like my lame brother." It was Dawn's turn to laugh as May stomped out of her room with Dawn trailing behind. Her friend pushed her out the door once her brother's silver Audi pulled into the drive and Dawn waved goodbye to her friend in the window and walked towards her brother's car.
"Hey Dawn!" Gary surprised her when she almost tossed her school bag in his face but he took it from her and set it on the tiny seat beside him. His lanky form was squished in the tiny backseat of Drew's car, knees almost touching his chest.
"Umm… Hello Gary?" Dawn said and buckled her seatbelt as Drew shifted the car into drive. "Why is Gary in the backseat?"
"He's coming over." Drew shrugged and glanced at the male, whose hair almost brushed the roof of the car.
"On a Monday?" Dawn asked and Gary kneed the back of her seat as he shifted.
"Just for you." Gary said and attempted to make himself comfortable in the backseat as the car pulled into the twins' house. Dawn let herself out and waited until the others were ready and her bag in her hand. She followed her brother and Gary into the home from the garage door and found that more shoes were next to the door.
"Mom and Dad are gone tonight remember?" Drew said and added his shoes to the pile and headed up the stairs. Dawn nodded and followed her brother up the stairs and to her room.
"Hey Dawn!" Ash spun around in her desk chair and grinned at her. Drew flopped onto her bed and Gary sat on the floor in front of the TV, which was on. Paul gave her smirk from his spot sitting up against her headboard.
"Why are you all in my room?" Dawn asked and set her schoolbag next to her desk.
"We didn't want you to be lonely!" Ash stated as if she had asked the dumbest question ever and Dawn shuffled in her spot. Luckily, her brother sensed her uncomfortableness and patted the seat next to him on the bed. She found herself squished in the space between Paul and Drew. Pressing against her brother's legs as they spread out behind him so he could play the gaming station with Gary, and Paul's knee next to her hip. He felt warm, even through the material of his jeans and he nudged her with his leg.
"We're playing next Blue." He stated and turned his eyes back to the screen where a realistic racing game continued on the screen.
"I don't know how, I've never played this before." Dawn said and Paul huffed.
"It's not rocket science, if the idiot can do it, you can too." Paul explained and both Gary and Ash looked back at them and Dawn giggled.
"I can give you lessons?" Gary offered and sent a wink in her direction, but she nudged his skull with her foot and he yelled when he lost his winning spot. Dawn cheered her brother on instead.
"Our turn." Paul got the controller from Gary and Drew willingly handed over his to his sister, sitting next to her and explaining the buttons. After a few games and blunette gave up her controller, letting the boys fight over who got to play who.
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Dawn batted open her eye lashes and stretched, getting out of bed and moving around to start her morning routine. Pulling in her straightening iron, she brushed her hair so it would part slightly to the side once again and flattened her bangs so they stayed to the side and her hair hung nicely down her back. The blunette turned off the iron and went to her closet, picking out a comfortable and layered knee length charcoal grey skirt and putting it on. She picked out a blue sweater to go over it and sandals.
Picking up her school bag, the senior headed down the stairs and to the kitchen, where she surprising found her dad. Her father stood over the stove and flipped a pancake as she walked it.
"Hey princess! Would you like some pancakes?" He asked and set some of the golden-brown cakes on the plate beside him and gestured towards the counter in the kitchen.
"Sure. What are you doing here this morning?" Dawn asked and sat on one of the stool and took the syrup that was already sitting there.
"I have the day off, and I thought I'd make my favorite kids breakfast!" He set the plate in front of her as her brother walked into the kitchen.
"Hey Dad." Drew greeted and took a seat next to his sister to eat the pancakes that were set in front of him within seconds. He poured syrup on them and began to eat.
The twins ate quickly so that they would not be late for school and thanked their father on the way out, once they were on the road Drew spoke.
"I almost can't look him in the eye anymore." Drew admitted and his voice cracked. Dawn was confused.
"You mean about what I found in his car?" She asked, referring to the ladies underwear that she had found in her father's car; she hadn't been able to read that book anymore.
"Yeah." Drew said and they pulled into the school parking lot, taking their bags and heading towards the door. However, a familiar and disliked brown-haired girl appeared by Drew's side.
"Hey Drew! When did you want to work on our project next?" Brianna asked and grinned, looking up at Drew. She was almost the same height as Dawn herself. Dawn rolled her eyes and followed the two as they walked through the parking lot, Brianna showing off her short skirt with a skip.
Dawn was ready to bang her head on her locker by the time she reached it. Drew disappearing through the crowd to his own locker. May looked after Dawn's brother and the other brunette girl.
"People should not wear skirts like that." May commented and leaned against her locker as Dawn collected her books for the first class and the two girls walked to their first history class of the day.
After receiving more history homework then necessary, Dawn met up with Ash on his way to their cooking class together. He was in good spirits, saying how they were going to make cookies today. Dawn smiled, glad for a treat in the stretch before lunch.
Barely making it to English on time, she slid into her desk beside Paul as the bell rang. The teacher was not present and Dawn pulled out the extra cookies from her class.
"Can I have one?" Drew had turned around in his seat and Dawn offered him one of the two she had left, one of them in her mouth. Dawn held out the last one to Paul.
"Paul? Want the last one?" Dawn asked and he looked at it for a moment, debating.
"Who was in your cooking group?" He questioned.
"Ash and Gary, but I did most of the work as usual." Paul took the last one as the teacher walked in.
"I trust you, I'd better not get sick later." He scolded as the teacher called their attention to the class. Their professor only released them to work on their projects as she had no plans for them to do, allowing them to go to the library or work in the classroom.
"We should go to the library." Dawn said and Paul agreed, picking up his books from his desk. Dawn followed suit and received a pass for the library so the two could be in there during the class period.
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"Hey, where is Gary?" Dawn asked as her and Paul reached the biology lab and she saw that her lab partner was not present. Paul put his things on his lab table as she did the same.
"He left after lunch for a doctor appointment." Paul stated and Professor Oak cleared his throat as the bell rang and the last of the students filled into the lab.
"We will be completing an experiment with diffusion and osmosis, turn to Chapter 4 section 2 in your lab manual and get started." He stated and Dawn raised her hand.
"Yes Dawn?" The kind older man walked over to her lab table.
"Can I work with someone else since Gary isn't here?" Dawn asked and the professor nodded.
"Sure you can work with Kai if you wish." He spoke and turned on his heel to head back to the front of the classroom. Dawn groaned, why couldn't she work with Paul? He didn't have a lab partner.
Dawn picked up her lab manual and pencil and walked back to the lab table behind her, setting her things done with enough noise to let the brown-haired boy that she was present.
"Did you need something?" Kai showed white teeth when he smiled as he looked at her instead of his lab manual.
"I'm here to do the lab." She stated and took a seat in the chair that Conway usually occupied and flipped her lab table open to the correct page.
After a longer lab then she was used to, Dawn got up to help Kai put the materials away and she noticed that he was deep in thought as he moved slow. She shrugged it off and went to put here lab coat away and returned to the lab table to retrieve her lab manual so she could head back to her own lab table.
"Hey Dawn?" Kai asked as soon as she picked up her booklet back at the lab table. He shuffled and shrugged off his lab coat.
"Yeah?" Dawn replied and held her lab manual to her chest.
"Would you go to homecoming with me?"
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