Chapter 16: Be Somebody
Hi everyone!
I believe that my email is finally up and going so that I can respond to reviews.
To a reviewer from a few chapters ago, Kai, who asked if Leaf would make an appearance in the story. To answer your question, yes Leaf will make an appearance in a few chapters, but it will be minor.
Thank you for taking the time to read! This chapter is much better then the last one...
"Still you connect me in your ways,
And you create in me something I would've never seen"
Be Somebody: Thousand Foot Krutch
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He was good.
At least, he was to her.
Dawn though to herself as she dribbled a soccer ball on her knees on a lazy Wednesday afternoon. The winter was still mild with the mornings and evenings cool but the afternoon still warm enough to go outdoors if she was being active. It was late November now and the winter chill could be felt in the air.
Football season was nearing its end. Then Drew would be home right after school and they would be lazy during the cold season until spring started. Until soccer started, but her thoughts drifted back to the present, soccer would have to wait for now she thought as the back door opened. Drew called out to her, telling her he was home and Paul had come over too.
She jogged back with her soccer ball under her arm, through the cool grass and past the pool that was now covered for the winter. She went around the house to the garage, so she could leave her cleats outside as they were covered in grass. The blunette passed the familiar black truck on the side of the garage, still clicking as it cooled down from being run minutes ago.
Ditching her cleats next to the steps and tossing her soccer ball over in the corner of the garage by Drew's silver car, she went into the house. The warm air felt great on her cool cheeks and her sweatpants were wet on their bottoms from where they dragged through the grass. Her twin was in the kitchen, digging through the fridge and Paul leaned against the counter watching her when she walked into the same room.
They had been dating about a month now and she smiled at the thought. Paul usually came over after practice if he didn't have to work and they would do homework together in her room. The tall male stood to his full height when her brother took some leftovers out of the fridge. That usually meant that their father and Rose would be out tonight and the twins would be in charge of their own dinner.
"Hey, Mom and Dad will be out tonight. It's Wednesday you know." Drew said as he put leftovers into the microwave. Almost every Wednesday John and Rose Hayden went out for dinner.
"I figured as much, is there still the pasta left from last night?" Dawn asked and reached for the fridge, stopping when her brother shook his head.
"I'm eating it." He nodded towards the microwave and she let out a whine even though she didn't really mean it. "But Paul brought you food."
Her blue eyes landed on her boyfriend and he pulled the paper bag from behind him. He shook it to show that there was plenty of food inside.
"See Paul's nice. You hate me brother." Dawn reached for the paper bag that Paul held and opened it to peer inside, but couldn't make the difference between the many paper wrapped items.
"Paul's nice because he's your boyfriend." Drew rolled his eyes and the microwave beeped. Paul stepped forward and snatched the fast food bag back and walked towards the stairs.
"I wanted food and thought I would share." Paul stated and then walked towards the stairs. Dawn stuck her tongue out towards her brother and followed her boyfriend up the stairs and to her room, where he set down his backpack and the paper bag on her desk.
"Food and homework?" She questioned and plopped down on the floor so she could lean against her bed. Paul smirked and threw one of the paper wrapped burgers at her, settling down in the desk chair.
"You know it."
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Dawn was at a lost.
Not really lost, more of unsure. She was currently at the mall with May shopping around for Christmas gifts even through it wasn't even December yet. She had borrowed Drew's car while he was at practice and just had to go pick him up at 5:30 when he was supposed to be done. Dawn had ran into May while it the store and the two decided to do their shopping together.
However, Dawn had a problem. What should she get her boyfriend for a gift?
May suggested that anything she got, Paul would appreciate and Dawn didn't doubt that. She also didn't want to spend much cause she knew how touchy he could get about money. Even though she always spent more than she should on holiday presents she didn't want to make Paul upset.
Maybe she should wait on him, she'll think of something later on. Dawn had everyone done except for Paul and then May because her friend had decided to come with her. May had gotten her brother his gift but otherwise remained empty handed.
"I give up for today." Dawn muttered and pulled out her phone to check the time. It was only 4:30 and her brother wouldn't be done for at least another hour and May had to leave soon.
"Yeah me too, I'm tired." May groaned and the two girls headed for the exit that lead to the parking lot.
"I'll see you tomorrow at school May." Dawn called as she split ways with May and had only the rustle of bags to keep her company. She found Drew's silver car and hid his gift well in the backseat under a few other bags so he wouldn't see it and started the car.
It only took a few minutes to drive over to the high school and Dawn figured that watching the last bit of practice would be better than sitting in Drew's car by herself. She found an empty space next to Paul's truck and parked the car. She wrapped her coat around her and locked the car before heading over to the field.
The football team was on a break over by the water jug and she caught her brother's eye, waving to him and pointing towards the bleachers so he knew she was there. Drew nodded and the team continued on their practice.
Dawn pulled out the book she brought and hunched over it with her back against the cold while she read. It didn't seem long until she heard the tell-tale sound of cleats on the pavement. The blunette closed her book and stepped of the bleachers to see Ash and Paul coming over.
"Hey Dawn!" Ash called over with his typical toothy grin. She smiled and returned the greeting. Her brother jogged over and then the four of them walked over to the school in a group.
"How was practice?" Dawn spoke and clutched her book to her chest, crossing her arms against the cold.
"Fine, coach is nervous about the game." Paul replied and started peeling off of his gloves. The football coach had every right to be anxious, they were already well into playoffs and one loss meant that the team would be finished for the season. Meaning a harsh end for all of the senior players.
"Are you doing anything tomorrow? I don't have to work." Paul asked as the doors of the school came closer and he bent down to untie his cleats. Dawn took his helmet and gloves from him so he didn't have to set them on the ground.
"Nothing I guess." Dawn shrugged and Paul slipped off one shoe before starting on the other.
"Want to go see a movie?" He suggested and Dawn felt her cheeks heat up. Paul asking her on a date was something she thought about often but they had only been dating a month and they hadn't been on a date yet despite hanging out in her room doing homework once a week.
"Sure, if you pick." Dawn smiled and Paul smirked in response before taking his helmet and gloves back. He ruffled her hair before disappearing into the school doors.
Dawn smiled and couldn't wait until tomorrow.
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"Hey Dawn how's it going?" May greeted her friend as soon as the blunette reached her locker the next Friday morning. May usually got to school a few minutes before Dawn did and always waited for her friend by their lockers.
"Good, I have a date with Paul tonight." Dawn twirled the lock on her locker and opened it, putting her things inside.
"Oohhhhh first date!" May giggled and batted her eyelashes causing Dawn to blush.
"Stop it May you're embarrassing!" Dawn pulled the books she needed for their history class out of her locker.
"Paul's coming, I'll see you in class!" The brunette was gone before Dawn could mutter a word and she turned to find Paul coming down the hallway. The student body making way for his broad frame as he pushed through.
"Hey." She gave a smile and leaned against her locker, watching him readjust the duffel bag he always carried.
"Hey yourself." He greeted in return and the warning bell rang cutting their morning greeting short.
"I'll see you later?" The blunette asked and Paul nodded in return, heading to his locker with long strides so he wouldn't be late for class. Dawn watched his retreating form until it disappeared, then headed to class herself.
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"I detest lab goggles." Dawn muttered to her biology partner later in the day as they worked on their lab. Gary nodded in agreement, snapping his own goggles on his face.
"The goggle lines aren't very sexy." He said loudly, probably so could hear his grandchild's complaints. Dawn looked over at the professor and saw he had no reaction to the statement and rolled her eyes.
"I agree, are we done yet?" Dawn looked over her workbook to see how many questions they had left to answer.
"Just one question left and the answer is 30. Want to wash out the breakers and I'll wipe off the table?" Gary offered and Dawn agreed, scribbling down the answer and taking their two beakers in hand and handed over to the sink where she could wash them out.
It only took a few minutes to wash them out and she set the beakers to dry. Taking off her lab coat and goggles she put them away and headed towards her lab table. Gary had already finished cleaning it off and she sat on her stool to wait for the rest of the period to be over.
It seemed so long because she had something to look forward to tonight.
Paul finished not long after and pulled his stool up to her table to talk to them, more like listen while Gary talking about his latest girlfriend and Dawn rolled her eyes. But after a while the bell rang and the three got up to leave for their next class.
Paul walked next to her as they followed Gary to the stairs. The purple-haired male looked down at her short frame and spoke to her.
"I'll pick you up at 7 tonight?" Dawn nodded in agreement and followed him down the stairs. First they stopped at her locker, then his, before heading to gym and splitting off to head to their respective locker rooms.
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It was 6:30 and she was already running late.
It probably wasn't a good idea to fall asleep after school and not wake up until her brother got home, informing her that practice was over and Paul was going home to change before coming to pick her up. She may have freaked out a little bit and jumped in the shower before the water was warm, but whatever.
Now it was 6:45 and she couldn't decide what to wear.
It was just a movie, and it was a little cool out so she decided on jeans, tennis shoes, and a nice sweater would be good enough. She hurriedly got dressed then went to her bathroom to comb out her hair, when someone knocked on the door. It wasn't her brother's light triple knock ether but a solid knock that told her who it was.
"Come in." She called and stepped out of her master bathroom to see Paul coming in, leaving the door slightly ajar when he came in. He was dressed like he normally was, football t-shirt, jeans, tennis shoes, and his always present black and dark blue heavy jacket. That meant that he looked as good as he normally did too.
"I'm almost ready." She said and he nodded, telling her to take her time and she crept back into her bathroom to put mascara on and decided she would just have to leave her hair wet.
"Ready?" He asked as soon as she clicked off the light in her bathroom.
"Yup." She took her light pink jacket from his hand and put it on, putting her phone in her pocket and leading the way out the door of her bedroom.
"Bye Drew!" She called in her brother's room as they passed it. Her brother appeared in the open door with a towel on his wet hair and looked over the two of them.
"Be good you two." He warned, looking more at Paul then his sister. Dawn rolled her eyes and Paul scoffed at the underlying threat. Drew waved them off and they headed out of the house and went to Paul's truck. The ride was quiet, the only sound being the engine and the low rattle of the radio in the background but the silence was comfortable. Paul's arm was across the back of the seat like usual and his fingers flicked her hair when they pulled into the movie theater parking lot.
"Ready?" He asked after he had pulled into the parking lot and parked the truck. Dawn let the seat belt hang itself back up after she removed it and pulled the door handle.
"Of Course!" She smiled and waited for Paul to come around to her side to help her down. She didn't need it of course, she could jump down perfectly by herself, but Paul made her feel special like that.
Dawn stuck her hands in her jacket pockets as the breeze blew and followed behind her boyfriend to the front entrance of the theater. The warmth was a great relief and they stood at the back of the line to wait for their turn. A young blonde boy raised his hand in greeting to Paul, taking a quick glance at Dawn before turning back around to talk to his girlfriend. Dawn recognized the man from the football team.
Choosing the movie wasn't hard, even if Paul was making her pick she would make sure it wasn't some chick-flick movie he would hate to watch. She chose a movie that featured a guy saving a girl from some villain/ superhero movie that would satisfy both of them. Paul paid for both the movie tickets and the popcorn despite her protests.
After the movie started Dawn kept her eyes trained on the screen. She slouched down into her seat to be comfortable and keep the popcorn in her lap. Paul's arm behind her kept her neck from being sore. His muscular arm behind her was also distracting when she was trying to concentrate on the movie. It didn't help that he kept toying with her hair ether.
When she looked over at him, his eyes were on the screen, pretending not to notice her glare when he pulled a strand of hair a little harder than usual. The football looked over with his dark eyes shining.
"You're going to miss the movie if you keep glaring at me like that." He smirked and leaned close, taking a handful of popcorn from the bowl in her lap and moving back to sit upright in his seat.
This was going to be a long movie if he kept this up.
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"I had fun tonight Paul." Dawn spoke when Paul pulled into her driveway after their movie, he parked the truck in his usual spot and turned the key off.
"I did too" He hopped out of the cab and went around the front to open her door. She smiled down at him and put her hands on his shoulders. His hands took her hips to help her down.
Instead he pulled her to the edge of the truck seat, almost so she would fall off and she gripped tighter on his shoulders so she wouldn't fall. His wide frame settling between her knees and his dark eyes seemed to sparkle in the night. His lips were soft, warm, and strong, it was almost overwhelming for her. She kissed him back for he pulled back and looked at her with half-lidding eyes. He set her gently on the ground and closed the truck door behind her.
"Goodnight Blue." He watched her go through the door to the garage and she heard his truck start back up once she slipped of her shoes.
That boy would drive her insane.
And yet she smiled.
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"…and that is why using Pokémon as bio-weapons can only lead to a race of world domination." Dawn's voice was the only one in the classroom. She stood in the front of the room with a poster displayed on the table and Paul standing on the other side of the poster.
"Very well done you two, you may take your seats." Their English teacher nodded and Paul took the poster of the table and set it against the wall, returning to his seat next to Dawn. Drew turned around in his seat to give his sister a thumbs up as the teacher walked to the front of the room.
"All of you did very well, exactly what I expect from A.P. English students." Their teacher smiled and looked at the clock. "I'll end class a little early today, go ahead to lunch."
The students immediately grabbed their books and got up from their seats, those with posters leaving them in the classroom as the posters were part of their project to turn in. Dawn went with the flow of students going out the door, walking with Drew and Paul down the hallway towards the senior lockers. The bell rang as Dawn finished putting her books away and she caught up with her brother down the hall as he headed to lunch with Paul.
"Dawn?" The blunette looked up as soon as she set her tray down next to her brother. Ash was looking at her from across the table in his usual spot, the food on his tray untouched for once. She finished sitting down before answering.
"Yes Ash?" She raised an eyebrow, looking away to give Paul a smile as he sat down on her other side with his lunch tray. The ebony haired boy tapped his index fingers together for a moment before pulling his phone out of his phone. He tapped it a few times across the screen before holding it out to her, encouraging her to take it.
"Tell me if you like it." Ash said and Dawn took his phone, flipping in around so it was the right side up.
"It's really pretty Ash!" Dawn looked at the picture, eyes tracing the picture of the necklace on the screen. "Is it for Misty?"
"Yeah, I was thinking of getting her something nice for Christmas this year, we've been together for a while now." Ash picked up his fork, twirling around the pasta on his tray before setting his fork back down again. "I just wanted another girl's opinion I guess."
"I'm sure she'll like it Ash, she'd like anything you gave her." Dawn smiled and gave the boy his phone back. Satisfied, he pushed the phone back into his pocket and started eating with his normal gusto.
"Dawn, the savior of undecided boys." Drew spoke dramatically, spreading his hands apart in the air as if acting out his words.
"What can I say? I do my best." Dawn held her hand to her heart to play along with her brother.
"Would you two stop being weird?" Gary's remake came from across the table as he huffed. He seemed more stressed then usual and looked put out.
Dawn watched as her brother began to talk to Gary instead ignoring her as she went back to her lunch.
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It was a Thursday night and Dawn sat in her bedroom with the door closed. She had finished what little homework she had to do from the day and decided that now was as good as time as any.
Time to wrap the present she bought already.
Christmas was still almost a month away, but she liked to be prepared for the holiday season. Since her sniffing brother liked to know everything, she decided that since he was still due at football practice for another hour or so that she could wrap his present now. So she pulled on the gifts she had hidden in her closet along with wrapping paper and ribbon and set to work. Dawn decided to start with her brother gift since he was the one she was the most worried about.
A knock sounded on her door and she squeaked in surprise. She clutched her brothers gift to her chest and stared at the door with wide eyes.
"Who is it?" She called out, she could throw the gift under her bed quick if it was her brother.
"It's me." The voice sounded surprised on the other side of the door, usually her door was open or she called a 'come in' right away.
"Is Drew with you?" Dawn sighed in relief as the voice but she had to make sure.
"Hayden is downstairs, can I come in now?" He sounded impatient and Dawn called for him to come in.
Paul entered the room, closing her bedroom door shut behind him and took in the scene around him. She was sitting on the floor near her bed with wrapping paper and shopping bags everywhere. Dawn looked at him as he set down his bag near the desk.
"You know Christmas is like a month away right?" He asked and she shrugged.
"I like to be prepared." She set down her brother's gift on the wrapping paper again, adjusting it to lay flat. "Anyways, what are you doing here?"
"Practice let out early and I have the night off for once." Paul shrugged and took a seat in her desk chair. He dropped his backpack on the floor beside him with a heavy thud.
"That's nice, so you want to do something or…?" She trailed off, looking over the mess of wrapping paper, ribbons, and shopping bags.
"I have some homework to do, so you can continue." He chuckled a little as he looked over the vast amount of mess and pulled his laptop out of his backpack and opened it on his lap.
Dawn went back to wrapping Drew's gift with Paul's outstretched toes near her knees. They reached a comfortable silence with the only noise coming from the occasional clip of Paul's keyboard and a rustle of folding paper on her end.
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The twins arrived at school as their usual time. Drew parking his car in the student parking lot 20 minutes before the first bell rang for classes. By the time they went inside, got their books, and talked to friends, they would barely make it to their first class on time and Drew hated to be late. Dawn exited the car, pulling her backpack from the backseat and closing the silver car door behind her.
Drew met her in front of the car, dressed in his usual Friday clothes of his football jersey and jeans. Dawn wore a pair of jeans and a nice hooded sweatshirt, keeping up with her brother as he started walking towards the school with his backpack and football duffel bag in tow. Dawn followed Drew through the doors and was mildly surprised when he followed her to her locker.
"Hey May!" Dawn greeted her friend when she reached her locker, reaching for the lock to open it.
"Hey Dawn" May gave Dawn her usual warm morning smile.
"April." Drew's voice distracted Dawn from opening her locker and she turned around to see her brother waving around a familiar red and green fabric in front of May's face.
"Oh." May took the jersey into her hands, looking over to Dawn for a second.
"I won't be able to give it to you later, team is leaving early." Drew left after he explained and May put the jersey away in her locker. Dawn returned to her open locker and pushed her backpack inside, pulling out her books she needed for her first class.
"That was weird, usually you just give me his jersey." May said as Dawn sorted through her locker, the blunette shrugged.
"He's my brother, I think he's always weird." Dawn said and the two giggled. The noise in the hallway was getting louder and May closed her locker.
"I'm glad we're going to the game tonight, even though it's like an hour away!" May huffed and Dawn shrugged, grabbing her pencil case from the top of her locker.
"Yeah, but it'll be fun! I'm happy Misty could ride with us too." Dawn checked over her things one last time, preparing to shut her locker when a familiar figure leaned against the locker next to hers.
"Hey." His voice seemed quiet in comparison with the noise level of the hallway, but his gruff tone made her smile.
"Hey Paul!" Dawn smiled at him and he held out his jersey for her to take.
"Here, so I don't forget too later." Dawn took the jersey, putting it safely into her backpack for later since she would be going home with May after school.
"Thanks, I'll see you in English okay?" He nodded and pushed off the locker with his shoulder.
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After an uneventful round of morning classes and lunch, Dawn and May caught up in the locker room as they changed for gym class. The locker room was half-empty when Dawn entered the bell ringing for the next class to start. The gym teacher allowed 5 minutes after the bell for everyone to get changed and be out in the gym. Dawn was always one of the last ones out since her biology class the hour before was on the third floor.
"Hey girl." May greeted as she saw Dawn come in, reaching to pull on her tennis shoes.
"Hey!" Dawn replied and opened her gym locker to start changing.
May waited for Dawn to change clothes and pull on her shoes before the two walked out into the gym together. They joined up with Drew, Ash, and Paul in the middle of the gym where they waited for Lt. Surge to come in and start class.
"Hey, Misty told me she's riding with you guys to the game tonight." Ash said as he jumped on his feet a little, full of energy like usual.
"Yeah, we're meeting her after class. We should get there in time for kickoff." May said and Dawn nodded in agreement.
"That's cool! We're gonna kick some tonight!" Ash punched in the air and the group laughed at his actions.
"Save it for the game Ketchum." Paul scolded and Ash just smiled at the football captain.
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"This school is huge!" Misty's words couldn't have been more true. Dawn looked at the school as they pulled into the parking lot that was already full of cars. The school building must have been almost 3 times as large as their own school. May pulled her jeep into the lot, finding a parking spot near the back and putting the car in park before turning it off.
"Let's go! It's gonna start soon!" May called the three girls grabbed their things for the game and headed towards the field. Lights stood tall over the field, looking like a beacon from the parking lot.
Dawn walked alongside May and Misty as they walked to the field, walking around to the far side to sit on the visitor's side of the field. They settled onto the bleachers just as the game began.
She tried to cheer as loud as she could, but the home team had a large following and cheered at every chance. Dawn was sure her brother, Paul and Ash could hear her as they played a close game against the other team. It was down to a tie with the last few minutes of the game left and Dawn had long again abandoned the blanket she had been sharing with May in order to stand up on the bleachers.
"Come on Drew!" Dawn cheered, clapping her hands as her brother ran towards the end zone with rival players right behind him. She didn't think that he had ever ran faster before and he scored a touchdown. Drew's teammates surrounded him as the rest of the team ran onto the field to celebrate.
"We won!" May shouted and wrapped Dawn and Misty in a hug as they squealed. The three girls gathered their things and headed down the bleachers, standing next to the rope until the team finished their meeting.
As soon as the team starting walking back to their side, Misty dove around the rope and ran towards Ash. Ash barely had time to drop his helmet to catch the red-head as she jumped up into his arms. May and Dawn followed in a less-crazy manner, Dawn running to her brother at soon as she saw him. He let of out a gasp as she crashed into him, squeezing him until he groaned.
"That's my brother!" Dawn let him go but he smiled, looking over her for a moment before meeting her eyes again. The blunette sent him a smile before Paul appeared by her brother's side. His long hair was plastered to his forehead, skin glistening with sweat despite the cool breeze and Dawn couldn't help but eye him for a minute.
"Paul!" He lifted her up easily, arms wrapping around her thighs, leaning back so she pressed against him. She giggled as a smirk graced his lips looking up at her new height before setting her back down on her feet.
"Look at Hayden and your friend." Paul's word made her turn around to see Drew give May a short one-armed hug, the two smiling at each other as they talked. Dawn smiled at the sight of the two, happy for both her brother and her friend as she leaned into Paul's side. His arm heavy on her shoulders and his ribs expanding with every breath he took to regain his breath from the game. Dawn wrapped around an arm around Paul's waist in return, feeling his heat.
This time, she smiled for herself.
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Chapter 16 done!
More contestshipping you say? A hint in this chapter, but don't worry. Next chapter will be much more exciting hm?
Please review!
Love them all!