My Black Dahlia

by mzfeistyx3

Paul would do anything and everything for her because he loved her. But she didn't love him the same way he did.

23. Black

A/N: This chapter is absolutely the longest chapter I've ever wrote in my life. It's at least 16,000 words long, no lie! So I suggest, take a break in between reading! Or if you can't handle a break, then continue reading till the end of the chapter lol. Um, yes the color symbolism is a huge spoiler for this chapter, just saying.

Black symbolizes heartbreak and death.

---

Prom night came sooner than he thought and still Dawn hadn't forgiven him.

Paul licked his lips slowly as he entered the strip club, seeing a few girls topless dancing on the strip poles with heels and just lingerie panties. He kept a hard look as he passed by a few of the girls, in deep thought. He didn't know why he came here tonight. He just really needed to think.

He didn't even want to go to Prom, especially knowing that Dawn wouldn't even want to go with him.

Giselle told him to man up, but how could he? The love of his life didn't even want to speak to him at all, yet alone she doesn't even want to go to Prom with him. He knew what he did with Giselle was wrong, but he didn't think that Dawn would be this angry with him.

Paul hardened his eyes on a very beautiful looking girl dancing on one of the strip poles and took a seat in front of her, looking up at her.

She had long brown natural curly big hair and a light blue feather scarf around her neck, flowing around her nice shaped breasts. He stared hard at them, trying to clear out his mind for the night.

The girl was wearing red lingerie panties with black heels and she bit down hard on her bottom lip, dancing very sensually on the strip pole.

There was barely anyone there tonight. Just a few guys, but he happened to be the only one standing in front of her to watch her dance. He began to wonder who this girl was as he started looking at her face. She looked deeply hurt in the face, though she still danced like a porn star.

"Take a good look at it, look at it now."

As she was dancing, her eyes trailed down towards him as she continued to dance on the pole. Paul licked his lips slowly as he watched her dance, her eyes on his and his eyes on hers.

He found himself becoming slightly curious about this girl. Why was she looking so hurt and dancing sensually at the same time?

"Might be the last time you'll have a go round."

Paul rested the both of his hands on his knees, leaning back on his seat as he let his eyes trail down her body, trying to not focus on her face.

While looking down at her body, thoughts of Dawn began to form in his head.

He was seeing her body instead and just by thinking this, he frowned slightly.

So much has changed ever since she came into his life.

He used to be so distant and never let anyone inside his life except his brother. When he met Dawn, he kept trying to push himself away from her just for the simple fact that he couldn't stand that she was a part of the marching band's dance team. Not just that, he just never wanted anyone so close in his life. He always used girls for self-pleasure, but that was it, he never wanted anything more than that.

He let his eyes fall back on the girl's face, seeing as she slipped her eyes closed and moved around the pole.

"Don't go too fast, don't go too slow, you've got to let your body flow."

Paul watched as the girl slowly moved down to the floor, in attempt to crawl over to him. He kept a hard look on her as she slowly approached him.

Paul licked his lips and watch as she pulled off the feather scarf from around her neck and put it over the back of his neck, surprising him a bit.

She bit down on her lip gently as she danced sensually on the stage floor.

"I like 'em attentive and I like 'em in control."

"I can tell you're very interested me," she mumbled, continuing to move on the floor.

Paul watched as she continued to move and he smirked slightly. "And what makes you think that?"

"You're the only guy in this whole place who is even bothering to watch me dance," she pointed out, moving the scarf around his neck and pulling it back around her neck.

"Well that's a shame because you're really sexy," he said lowly, staring into her eyes.

"Baby, it's yours. All yours. If you want it tonight. I'll give you the red light special all through the night."

She stared at him seductively and continued to move on the floor, biting on her lower lip. Paul let his eyes trail down to her bottom lip, watching as she bit down on it.

"Want a lap dance?" she asked lowly, eyeing him.

Paul stared at her, smirking at that. "Doesn't that cost money?"

"I'll give you one for free," she told him, continuing to dance on the floor. "Only because you're the only guy here who is watching me."

"Baby, it's yours. All yours. If you want it tonight. Just come through my door, take off my clothes, and turn on the red light."

Paul stared at her for a brief moment, debating on that offer.

---

For the first time in her life, Giselle was so excited. Tonight was Prom night and Ash is going to take her. She hasn't been to a dance in such a long time, especially after all the stuff that has happened to her.

She smiled again as she applied eyeliner on her eyes. She already had her hair done and this time she had her hair completely straight with her hair parted in the middle.

She had Spanish music playing in her room as she got ready. The dress she picked out was light green and it was long and reached down to her toes. It flared out from her bottom waist down perfectly and around the waist it was decorated nicely with light green roses and diamonds. The bottom of the dress also had some light green roses and diamonds complimenting the dress.

Giselle continued to do her eye make-up, continuing to get ready.

"Y aquí estoy yo... con la misma expresion."

As she was continuing to do her eye make-up in the mirror, she heard her room door fly open slightly and she knew it was her mother.

It was silent for a moment, the only thing in the background was the Spanish music playing while Giselle got ready.

Her mother stared at her daughter getting ready, seeing that she had a beautiful long dress on and everything. Her eyebrows furrowed together. "Adónde vas?"

Giselle licked her lips and placed her mascara and eyeliner down on her dresser, now searching for her brown lipstick inside her make-up bag and her lip liner. "Me voy al baile," Giselle mumbled as she began applying lip liner around her lips.

"Se venció el amor… sin un contrato entre tu y yo…"

Her mother stared at her daughter as if she was crazy. "Tu estas loca," her mother called out, folding her arms together.

Giselle rolled her eyes, putting her lip liner away inside her make-up bag; she grabbed her brown lipstick and began applying it on her lips.

"Going to some dance looking like that," her mother made a face, drawing out the last word.

After applying lipstick on her lips, Giselle sighed and looked over at her mother. "I got asked to Prom, mami. Why can't you just be happy for me?"

"You got asked to Prom?" Her mother laughed.

Giselle shook her head and began searching for the jewelry she was going to wear. She wasn't in any mood to deal with her mother, especially on Prom night.

"Mira, relax. I'm just joking with you," her mother said, seeing that Giselle wasn't in any mood.

Giselle grabbed a pair of nice looking silver jewelry. The necklace she picked out was a diamond shaped necklace and she placed it around her neck with matching diamond silver oval-shaped earrings.

"It's kind of hard to tell," Giselle mumbled, now putting on her jewelry.

"Con quién vas?" her mother wondered.

"You don't know him," Giselle mumbled again, now beginning to put on her clear silver heels to match with the dress.

"Is he handsome?" her mother wondered, trying to make small talk with her daughter.

Giselle sighed again. She really didn't want to make small talk with her mother, especially after all the shit she put up with. "Yes, he's handsome…" she mumbled, now beginning to walk back over to her dresser to look at herself in the mirror.

"Y ahora por un segundo, me ahogo en los mares de la realidad."

"What's his name?" her mother continued. Though her and her mother never really had such a strong relationship, she still wondered who would be the one to take her daughter to Prom.

"You don't know him," Giselle repeated herself.

"Why can't you just tell me his name, mija?"

"Because you don't care," Giselle told her, now taking a seat on her bed. She grabbed her phone and checked to see if there was any messages or calls from Ash.

"I do care. Why do you think I don't?"

"Because ever since Silas did what he did to me, you've became an alcoholic and very heartless and inconsiderate. So why should I believe that you care now?" Giselle whipped her head towards her mother as she said this.

Her mother sighed, leaning against the doorway. "Because I'm your mother."

Giselle rolled her eyes and looked back at her phone again.

Her mother frowned slightly and walked inside her daughter's room, taking a seat on her daughter's bed. "I know I haven't been the best mother, but I really do care about you mija." Her mother started. "I just… hated how you've changed and how your father left us and—"

"Pero papi left us a long time ago and you only started changing when I changed." Giselle pointed out. "And anyway, I'm starting to fall back to my old self… if that makes you feel any better." Giselle rolled her eyes again as she sent a quick text to Ash.

Her mother frowned again and stared at her daughter for a long time. "You look beautiful."

Giselle slowly looked up from her phone to her mother, a small silence lingering between them. "Thanks, I guess."

"So are you going to tell me the name of the guy who is taking you to Prom?"

Giselle rolled her eyes again and sighed, dropping her phone down on her lap. "His name is Ash Ketchum."

"Ash Ketchum? That names sounds very familiar…"

"Maybe because he's technically one of the most well-known basketball players in this city." Giselle pointed out.

"Oh! He's very handsome. I didn't know you two were dating—"

"Oh no, we're not dating." Giselle answered.

Her mother raised her eyebrow.

"We're just friends… I'm not ready to date anyway," She added, looking down at her phone again.

Her mother stared at her for a little while longer and then smiled again. "Well, I'm happy for you."

Giselle looked up from her phone and stared at her mother for a short while until a small smile formed on her face. "Thanks mom."

---

Paul licked his lips slowly, his eyes moving from her waist to her breasts. The girl was sitting on his lap, giving him an intense lap dance. He stared at her breasts for a long while and then slowly let his eyes move up to her face as she placed her feather scarf around the back of his neck again.

"She work it girl, she work the pole. She break it down, she take it low. She fine as hell, she about the dough. She doing her thing out on the flo,"

The girl bit down on her bottom lip as she continued to give him a lap dance, staring down at him with a seductive look. He stared into her face though.

Usually, he would be hard right now, especially with the simple fact that she had her bare breasts out and she was practically naked all up on him.

Paul stared at her face as she continued to move her feather scarf around the back of his neck while dancing sensually against him. He could tell that she must have been deeply hurt about something because it was obvious that she was in pain. She was putting on a seducing look for show, but he could tell for a simple fact that she really doesn't want to do this.

"What's your name?" he wondered, watching as she moved against him.

She continued to move and answered his question, "Lorena." She mumbled.

Paul raised his eyebrow, not exactly believing that. "What's your real name?"

She pulled the scarf away from the back of his neck and put it around the back of her neck again, continuing to move against him. "Essence," she mumbled again.

He continued to stare at her, still believing otherwise. He chuckled lightly. "Why do I get the feeling that you're lying to me?"

She laughed lightly at his comment, continuing to give him a lap dance. "I don't give my name out to just anyone," she pointed out.

Paul raised his eyebrow.

"Now don't stop, get it, get it. The way she shakin' make you want to hit it. Think she double jointed from the way she split. Got your head fucked up from the way she did it."

She gave him a small seductive smile and continued to move against him, her hair rocking from side to side.

Paul licked his lips again, smirking. "Alright." He smiled. "So why are you a stripper?"

The curly browned haired dancer raised her eyebrow at him. "To entertain people," she answered, giving him an obvious questioning look.

He laughed lightly at that, keeping his hands to himself. At strip clubs, all attendants must keep their hands to themselves always, especially when given lap dances.

"That's bullshit," he scoffed lightly, watching as she continued to dance against him. "What's the real reason why you're a stripper?"

The girl stared at him as she danced, wondering why he was even bothering to make small talk with her anyway. Usually guys who go to the strip club talk to her dirty and for some reason he wasn't even talking to her dirty. "Why so interested?" She wondered.

He shrugged, taking a moment to look at her body again and then slowly look at her face. "Because you're too beautiful," he commented. She scoffed at that comment, continuing to dance on him. "And you got one hell of a nice body, but it would be better if you didn't show it off for entertainment."

She raised her eyebrow again at him, moving her hands down to his legs as she gripped them tightly, moving against him. "What are you trying to say?"

Paul shrugged and stared at her for a long moment before speaking. "I'm just saying that there's other ways to make money."

The girl left her eyebrow raised and she laughed again, a bit amused with his assumption. "And what makes you think I decided to be a stripper just because of the money?"

"Because being a stripper gives you fast money," he pointed out.

"Baby this a new age, you like my new craze. Let's get together maybe we can start a new phase."

The girl hardened her eyes on him as she continued to dance, now remaining quiet.

"And I can tell that you don't want this," he added.

Her jaw nearly fell open as she continued to move against him. She closed her mouth shut, wondering why he seemed to be concerned about her being a stripper. Any other guy would've loved it. "Who are you?"

"Just a regular guy who wants some entertainment." He looked in her eyes this time, a cocky smile forming on his lips after drawing the last word out purposely.

She rolled her eyes at his comment, continuing to dance on him. "So what's your story?" She wondered.

"What makes you think I have a story?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Because you're the only guy in here who seems to have a problem with me being a stripper, so I assume you must have a story." She breathed, smiling at him. She pulled the scarf from behind her neck and pulled it behind his neck again while moving more up against him.

Paul licked his lips and shook his head. "I'm not telling you anything until you tell me your name," he told her.

She bit down on her bottom lip and Paul was quick to catch it. Lip biting is one thing that always caught his attention and it never failed.

"You got me saying ayyyyooo I'm tired of using technology. Why don't you sit down on top of me?"

"My name is Star," she said finally, pulling the scarf from behind his neck.

Paul raised his eyebrow at her. "You sure?"

She let out an annoyed sigh and brought all her hair to one side of her neck, the revealing part of her neck revealing a star shaped tattoo.

Paul took a moment to look at it and watched as she let her hair fall back to both sides of her neck again. She placed the scarf behind her neck once more and continued to move on him, still giving him a lap dance.

He smirked slightly.

"And what's yours?" She wondered, still dancing on him.

"Paul," he licked his lips as he let his eyes wander off to her breasts again.

"Ooh, she's want it, uh uh, she wants it. Ooh, she wants it, so, I gotta give it to her."

"It suits you," she mumbled. Paul narrowed his eyes at her and licked his lips again.

"So what's your story?" She questioned him again.

He shrugged as he let his eyes fall to her hair. "My senior prom started about 30 minutes ago and I decided to come here because the girl I want to go with doesn't even want to go me, so I said fuck it, I'll come to the strip club instead."

"And how exactly is here going to make you feel any better?" Star wondered as she continued to move on him.

"Cause seeing a fucking pair of tits is all I really need right now," he mumbled, letting his eyes fall on her bare breasts again.

She grinned, now laughing at his statement. "And I thought you had a problem with me being a stripper?"

"I do," he said, now looking at her into her brown eyes. "Because you're too beautiful to be selling your body for money."

Star smirked, still moving on him. "Says the guy who can't seem to take his eyes off of my 'tits'."

"Well this is a strip club," he said, smirking at her now.

"How old are you?" She wondered, a bit curious about him.

"Nineteen," he told her. "How about you?"

"Twenty two." She trailed off, smiling brightly at him. "You're a bit young to be here at a strip club, don't you think? Especially since you're only in high school."

He shrugged and smirked at her again. "I technically graduate in another month. And I ain't young. I'm a man."

Star laughed at his comment and continued to give him a lap dance.

"Your hips, your thighs, you got me hypnotized, let me tell you."

"So this girl you wanted to go to Prom with…" she started and Paul raised his eyebrow at her. "Do you love her?" she wondered, a bit curious.

She wasn't always the type to make conversation with the guys she gives lap dances to because all the conversations she had always ended up sexual, but for some reason this conversation seemed to be a lot different, and she really liked it.

Paul stared at the girl for a brief moment, as if in deep thought.

Star watched him as she continued to dance on him, deciding to wait until he was ready to answer her question.

"Yeah," he said finally.

"Does she love you?" She wondered, still dancing on him.

He took a moment to think about it and then he frowned lightly, looking down. "I don't know…" he sighed. "I kind of screwed things up with her and it's basically too late now."

Star licked her lips slowly and smiled lightly as she danced against him. "No it isn't," she told him.

Paul returned his eyes onto hers with an eyebrow raised.

"You said you love her, right? And you want her to be your date to your Senior Prom?"

He nodded.

"Then you should get the hell out of here right now and go to Prom." She suggested. "Don't waste your time here when you could be winning her back tonight."

Paul stared at Star for a brief moment, now seeing that she had stopped dancing on him, but staring at him with a serious look.

He stared back at her as if in deep thought and then he slowly let his eyes narrow to her hair.

Suddenly, Giselle's words of advice crossed through his brain again.

"You're Paul Sumpter." She told him, as if to click something into his head.

Paul just stared at her, trying to understand what she was telling him.

"Man the fuck up." She demanded.

Paul cleared his throat and continued to stare at Star.

---

Nervously, Ash adjusted his light green tie and his green corsage, making sure he was nice and neat looking, especially for Senior Prom.

As he stood before Giselle's door with a bouquet of flowers and a corsage to match with her dress, all he could think about is her yelling at him or something. He was used to it anyway, after every approach, she always got mad at him or got easily annoyed when she couldn't get her way. He just hoped that she wouldn't she get mad or annoyed, he hoped she would be happy.

Ash slicked his hair with his hands and suddenly felt his breath hitch as he saw the door open. His heart nearly dropped when he saw a glance of bright diamonds shinning at him. He looked from the bottom of her dress, seeing how big and beautiful it flared out with light green roses and diamonds decorating the bottom of the dress nicely. He slowly let his eyes move up to her waist, seeing that it also had green roses and diamonds around it and when he finally looked up to her face, he nearly felt his breath being taken away.

Her straight hair flowed out perfectly with the way she looked with her eye make-up and lipstick. He found a huge difference, especially with the hairstyle. He was always so used to seeing her hair with big wavy curls, but now she had it completely straight for the first time and he really liked it.

Giselle cleared her throat, now catching Ash's attention again.

His face immediately turned red as soon as he realized he had been a bit spaced out after seeing how beautiful she looked.

"Hey," she smiled brightly.

"Wow," he said as if in awe, "You're gorgeous," he breathed, obviously infatuated with her.

Giselle blushed and saw he had a bouquet of flowers and a corsage for her.

Ash quickly noticed what she was looking at. "Oh," he walked up to her and handed her the flowers. "I got these for you," he said nervously. "I hope you like them," he smiled again.

Giselle giggled lightly as she gladly took the flowers in her hands.

"And I got you a corsage to match mine," he smiled.

She raised her eyebrow and looked down at his tux, seeing that he had his corsage pinned up near the top of his shoulder. She blushed again. "You look very handsome."

A deep blush crossed his face and Giselle giggled again.

"Ay dios!" her mother exclaimed, brushing past Giselle, nearly knocking her down as she stood before Ash. Giselle groaned in annoyance.

Her mother eyed Ash for a very long time and brought her hands up to touch his face. Ash stared at the woman before him, now becoming slightly confused.

"Ay que lindo. You are handsome, papi," The woman said.

"Thanks," Ash blushed, smiling at the woman. "Are you Giselle's mother?"

"Si, si," her mother said, still taking a moment to check him out. "You can call me Sabrina, mijo," she said, saying her name in a Spanish accent.

Ash laughed lightly and nodded his head. "Your daughter is beautiful just like you."

"Aww, gracias papi," her mother smiled, taking a step back. She stood beside her daughter and began speaking in Spanish to her. "Mira, tú no me dijiste que él era este guapo."

Ash blinked, staring at her mother and having no clue what she just said.

Giselle laughed lightly at her mother's comment and responded. "Mami, ahora no," she giggled, looking up at Ash again.

Ash chuckled lightly, still having no clue what they just said.

"Mira, is that a limo?" Her mother asked, pointing at the limo behind Ash and sitting on the road.

Giselle's eyes widened slightly and stood to the side to see the limo that her mother apparently saw. Her jaw nearly dropped when she saw the limo. "Oh my god…"

Ash blushed deeply, smiling again. "I wanted to make it special for you."

"But this seems like we're together instead of being just friends," she gasped, still taken by surprise by the limo.

The raven haired basketball player continued to smile. "We are friends, but I'm making sure you have a great senior prom," he smiled. "Besides, after all the stuff you been through. You deserve it."

She let her eyes fall on him and smiled brightly. "Thank you, Ash."

Her mother nearly screamed, quickly causing their attention. "Aww you guys are so cute!" she exclaimed, quickly. "Giselle, give me your phone so I can take pictures!"

Giselle laughed lightly and searched through her small purse. She quickly found her phone and passed it to her mom.

Ash laughed and stood back, waiting for Giselle to get by his side so they could take a picture. As they got in posing position, Giselle's mother took a photo, demanding another pose.

Giselle quickly thought of a cute pose and she kissed Ash on the cheek while holding her bouquet of flowers in her hand.

Her mother squealed as she took the photo. She seemed to be a bit more excited than her own daughter, which Ash found slightly amusing. He didn't know her mother much, but after witnessing how she is that night, he had to say she was pretty interesting.

Her mother handed Giselle her phone back and smiled brightly at the two. "Gorgeous photos. Maravillosa pareja!"

"Mom, we're not a couple, we're just friends." Giselle laughed, looking over at Ash.

Ash giggled again and took a moment to check his phone, seeing the time. "We should get going now. Prom started like an hour and a half ago."

"Okay, go, go!" Her mother demanded.

Giselle's eyes widened slightly as her mother pushed her and Ash towards the limo.

As they reached the limo, Ash opened the door for Giselle and let her walk in. He listened as she gasped, seeing how nice it was inside. "Wow, this is perfect," she said in awe.

"I'm glad you like it," he smiled, now walking toward the other side of the limo.

"Mira, Ash!"

Ash turned his head to see her mother call for him.

"You better make sure my daughter has a good time tonight or I'll whip your culo!"

Ash nearly laughed his ass off at that last comment, understanding that last word which obviously meant 'ass'. He smiled. "Don't worry Sabrina, I'll make sure she has a good time."

"Muy bien," Sabrina smiled. "Have fun!"

Ash nodded his head and climbed inside the limo, closing the door before him. He looked over at Giselle only to see a huge smile on her face.

"I can already see that this night is going to be amazing." Giselle said in excitement.

---

Prom was located in Grand Hyatt Veilstone City, just in 42nd street where Times Square was.

Music was already booming loudly and Dawn could hear all the excitement going on inside the ballroom of Grand Hyatt and she took a brief step as she opened the doors and walked inside the ballroom.

She gasped lightly at the sight before her, seeing all the amazing things before her. It was freaking beautiful inside. The room was tinted in orange red, the whole floor carpeted in red and orange circle shapes. The tables and chairs were a unique tone of blood red, and the chairs were very comfortable looking and Dawn could tell just by the simple fact that it was a Savoy ballroom.

Very beautiful and exotic looking. She loved every bit of it.

Dawn bit down on her lower lip and stood in the front of the entrance, seeing a load of people already at Prom dancing and having a good time.

She frowned slightly, now thinking about Paul.

"I don't care if we on the run. Baby as long as I'm next to you."

"Dawn, you're here!" A voice called, and Dawn already recognized it as May.

May pulled Dawn into a hug. "I was beginning to think you stood me up," she laughed, pulling away from the hug.

Dawn giggled lightly, "I was just busy getting ready."

May took a moment to take a look at Dawn's dress and hair. She had her hair done in a similar big braid like how Repunzel had it in the movie Tangled, but it being brought to the right side of her neck. The dress she helped Dawn pick out looked absolutely good on her.

Dawn had on a see through sexy long prom dress with lots of crystals around it and long sleeves. The diamonds covered all the right places of her body and made her arms and legs look as if she was wearing just diamonds to the Prom, but really she wasn't, she was wearing a really beautiful dress. Her make-up was done simple liquid eye liner and mascara with red lipstick and nice diamond earrings.

"That dress sure looks good on you," May pointed out, smiling at Dawn. "You look beautiful!"

"Thank you," Dawn smiled and looked at May's dress too.

May had on some kind of Pageant dress with spaghetti straps, beads, crystals, tulle champagne backless sheer dress. It was see through as well, but only the bottom half and it looked like a mermaid vintage prom kind of gown. Her hair was flowed down nicely into waves and her make-up was done very exotic. She wore red lipstick as well.

"You look beautiful too," Dawn smiled.

"So are you ready to enjoy Prom without Paul?" May wondered.

By the look on her face, May already knew the answer to her question.

"And if loving you is a crime, tell me why do I bring out the best in you?"

May rolled her eyes, instantly becoming annoyed. "Dawn, come on, do not let Paul ruin this night for you."

"You know I really wanted to go with him, May, I can't really help that I actually want him to be here tonight," she frowned, now thinking of him again. "Maybe I should call him…"

"Dawn, he is the one who was unfaithful to you, remember? He's the one who slept with Giselle." May pointed out.

"Yeah, but that was only because he couldn't stand the fact that I wanted to break up for a little while. And anyway, I promised him that I would never leave him."

"Dawn, people break promises all the time." May told her, now getting serious. "Just because you broke that one promise, doesn't make you a bad person."

"I hear sirens while we make love, loud as hell but they don't know."

"But you don't know him like I do, May." Dawn commented. "He grew up with a hard life,"

"That doesn't make it okay for him to call you a whore and do all that other stuff to you,"

Dawn frowned again.

"Was he the one crying over you? No. You were crying over him. Therefore, fuck him, and enjoy Prom without him."

"But May—"

"Listen to yourself, Dawn, you sound freaking ridiculous stressing over someone like him anyway." May said, now getting upset. "Paul is very selfish and you don't need to be with someone who is like that."

Dawn stared at May for a long while.

"I will hold your heart and your gun, I don't care if they come, no."

"But I love him." She said finally.

May left her mouth open and bit down on her bottom lip, now frowning slightly for her best friend. "I know… but if he really loved you, he would've never hurt you."

Dawn's mouth fell open slightly, at a loss for words.

---

Exiting out of the strip club, Paul waited for Star behind him, seeing that she was now dressed in clothes.

When she walked out, she stood in front of him just a few steps away from the entrance.

Paul looked at her and he was instantly taken by surprise when she took a step closer to him and pressed her lips against his.

Before he could even kiss her back, she pulled away and smiled at him. "It was nice meeting you, tonight."

Paul stared into her eyes, a bit confused of why she kissed him in the first place.

"I wish you good luck tonight at Prom," she smiled. "I'm sure you will win your girlfriend back."

He blinked, still confused about her. But after clicking her words into his head, he smiled at her. "Thanks." He said. "It was nice meeting you too, Star."

Star smiled and placed her palm upon his cheek.

Paul blinked again, staring into her eyes.

"Goodbye," she whispered. Paul felt her hand slipped away from his cheek and watched as she began walking away.

He continued to watch as the girl walked away, a smile now forming on his face.

Tonight he was going to win Dawn back.

It only took him at least twenty minutes to get home and when he walked inside, his brother nearly chewed his face off along with his girlfriend.

"Paul! Prom nearly started like two hours ago and you're still not dressed?"

Paul rolled his eyes as he entered the living room. "I don't exactly have anything to wear, Reggie."

"Why not?" Reggie wondered, a bit confused. "I thought you had something a long time ago?"

"I didn't bother going prom shopping since I started having problems with Dawn,"

"Does this mean you're not going to Prom?" Reggie asked.

"Oh, I'm going to Prom." Paul said. "I just need something to wear."

"I can find you something," Maylene offered.

Paul let his eyes fall on the pink haired side kick, raising his eyebrow. "You do realize that I am not a chick?"

Maylene rolled her eyes at Paul's sarcasm. "Shut up. I got good taste in Prom clothes, especially for guys and if you want to look good, you have to get ideas from me."

"Good, because I'm going to win Dawn back tonight." Paul said, sure with his assumption.

"Perfect! You have to look your absolute best, especially for her." Maylene began to get up and gather her things. "What size are you in dress shirts, pants, and tux?" Maylene wondered.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Oh for the love of god, I'll just go with you." Paul pulled out the keys to his car as he began heading for the door.

Reggie smiled as the two began to head for the door. "Don't take too long!"

---

Paul stared at Maylene's pink hair as she folded his silver tie into a bow, making sure it was secured where it was supposed to be. She adjusted his red wine tuxedo jacket over his black button up dress shirt with his matching red wine pants to go along with the jacket. She smiled as she fixed Paul, making sure he looked nice and decent.

He felt a bit awkward, having her dress him. He wasn't used to being dressed by anyone, he was always used to dressing himself.

Paul licked his lips, his long hair being in the way of the whole outfit itself. Maylene took a moment to stare at his hair and she shook her head. "We need to do something different with your hair." She said, obviously not sounding satisfied with the way his hair looks.

Paul chuckled at that comment. "Like what?"

"I don't know, something better than that."

Paul blinked. He had his hair completely down, reaching his shoulders and everything, but it was very messy and didn't go with his prom attire.

"Why not put it in a ponytail?" he suggested.

"Oh, just like Reggie?" Maylene bit down on her lower lip. "Yeah, that hair style is super cute. But I'm going to make it look decent on you. Where's your hair brush?"

"Inside of the top drawer,"

Maylene quickly retrieved the brush from the top drawer and made him face his mirror. She began to brush his hair back into a nice low ponytail just like how his brother does it and she combed it gently.

Paul watched as she combed his hair in the mirror, keeping a straight face.

After slicking his hair back into a nice low ponytail, Maylene stood in front of him and took a moment to see how he looked.

Paul gulped, becoming a bit uncomfortable with the way she was looking at him.

"Have you ever seen the movie Selena? With Jennifer Lopez?"

Paul nodded.

"You know the guy who played Chris Perez?"

Paul's face fell blank, immediately realizing who she was comparing him to. "I do not look like him."

"You do now," She smiled. "And he's freaking handsome." Maylene pointed out.

He rolled his eyes and took a moment to look at himself in the mirror.

Maylene stood back as she let him view himself in the mirror.

Paul stared at his outfit from top down and a smirk formed on his mouth. "I look… nice." He said, now beginning to get cocky.

She smiled softly at him. "I know you're going to win her back," she mumbled.

After hearing that comment, he turned to look at her, listening to that comment.

Paul smiled at her and nodded his head. "Thanks, Maylene."

---

Just by looking at the outside view of Prom, Giselle felt her heart beating fast against her chest. She stared at the window anxiously, her hand gripping the handle of the door.

Ash watched as she looked out the window, looking at all the people entering the Prom. He knew she was feeling very nervous, especially since everyone basically knows what kind of person she 'was'.

He let her take a moment to stare out the window for a little while longer and then he cleared his throat. She slowly turned her head to look at him.

"Everything is going to be okay," he promised, letting his fingers brush her hand.

Giselle stared at him for a little while longer and then smiled lightly.

"You ready to go?"

She took a moment to think and nodded her head. "Yes," she breathed, sure with her answer.

Ash smiled and soon let go of her hand, getting out of the limo first.

Giselle watched as his door closed and then she looked out her window again, gulping nervously as she waited for Ash to walk around the limo and open the door for her.

It only took a second for him to walk around the limo and she watched as he opened the door for her.

He held out his hand for her to take and she stared at it for just a brief moment and then let him take her hand. As she got out of the limo, she could already feel eyes on her.

Giselle felt her heart speed up even more as Ash began to guide her toward the entrance of the ballroom. Many eyes were looking her way. Some were surprised, some were shocked, and some were even confused. She did her best to ignore the people looking her way as Ash walked with her. Tonight she was going to have fun and be happy despite what other people think.

Ash gripped her hand tightly and walked inside the ballroom.

"Why you call me your dream babe? And foolish of me I believe that. You said every king needs his queen, babe. That's why you need me, baby."

The music was playing loudly and a lot of people were already having a great time. Ash smiled as he looked at all the decorations, seeing how beautiful the Prom looked. It was most definitely unique looking and he loved it.

Ash kept his hand in Giselle's and began to guide her through the crowd. Already, there were eyes being sent his and her way, some shocked because he was with her and some surprised.

Giselle did her best to smile, but her smile kept falling into a firm line with all the attention she had received. She let out a short breath as they walked past a few people.

Ash continued to walk through the crowd and stopped when he found Dawn dancing with one of the Blue Diamonds.

"Hey Dawn!" Ash called over the music.

The Blue Diamond looked over at him and smiled. "Hey Ash."

Ash let go of Giselle's hand and went to give her a hug.

Giselle stood back awkwardly, not sure of how to act around Dawn, especially with what happened with Paul.

"Now there's no we babe. There's just you and there's me baby."

"You look nice." Dawn commented after checking his outfit out. When her eyes fell on Giselle, her smile soon fell into a straight line and Ash could already see the tension that was about to happen with them.

"You invited her here?" she asked, sounding upset in the voice.

Ash sighed slightly and looked at Giselle then back at Dawn. "Look, I know you don't like her and I know that she's done some pretty messed up stuff to the both of us, but I forgave her."

Dawn kept a straight face at Ash and then slowly narrowed her eyes at Giselle. "She doesn't deserve to be forgiven," she snapped.

"Yeah, but everybody deserves a second chance." He told her.

Dawn rolled her eyes and Giselle sighed, deciding to stand in front of Dawn.

Dawn raised her eyebrow and folded her arms together when she saw Giselle standing in front of her.

"Look," the brunette started. "I know I was a complete bitch to you, especially for sleeping with Paul several times, but… I really am sorry."

Dawn shook her head, rolling her eyes again. "Fuck you."

Giselle nodded her head simply. "I understand why you would be mad, but—"

"No, you don't understand." Dawn started, taking a step closer to her. "You would never understand. You know why? Because all you care about is yourself, and that's it."

The brunette remained quiet as Dawn continued.

"You took advantage of Ash, you took advantage of me, and hell you even took advantage of freaking Paul!" Dawn shouted.

"But in love, love, love, love. You gotta act like a woman and think like a man."

"Dawn, stop." Ash grabbed Dawn by the arm, trying to get her together but Dawn snatched her arm out of Ash's grip.

"No," she snapped her head at him. "She used you Ash! Why are you even giving her a second chance? She doesn't deserve it!"

"Because I don't hold grudges," he commented.

Dawn shook her head and stood in front of Giselle again. "You don't deserve Ash." She said in rage. "You had sex with Paul more than once and you think that you can just say sorry and think everything will be okay?"

Giselle shook her head, "No, I just—"

"Save it." Dawn interrupted her. "Because everything you say now is completely irrelevant to me. I will never forgive you."

The brunette slowly closed her mouth shut and Dawn could see tears forming in her eyes, so she laughed. "Are you really in your feelings right now?"

Giselle opened her mouth to speak. "You have every right to be angry with me," she breathed, blinking her tears back. "But Paul loves you, he really does."

Dawn scoffed.

"I'm serious." Giselle told her. "Look, you don't have to forgive me, but at least forgive Paul."

Dawn stared at her for a brief moment.

"Now I'ma keep it realer with you now that I've ever been. We should have never been, girl we was better friends. You didn't have to tell me what, where, why and when. Oooh why I didn't need it, cause you wasn't my girlfriend."

After staring at her for a little while longer, she began to speak. "I can do whatever I want," she mumbled. With that being said, Dawn looked back at Ash and then shook her head, beginning to brush through the crowd.

---

Paul took a moment to look at himself again, satisfied with the way he looked. Reggie already took a couple pictures of him, some of them he actually liked and he was thinking about posting. But he would do that later.

He hoped that tonight would be the night Dawn would forgive him, especially after everything they have been through together.

He smiled once more and went inside his dresser on the second drawer. His smile soon fell flat when he saw the gun he was saving sitting on top of his folded clothes. Just then a thought occurred into his head just at the sight of the gun.

"I hope you die,"

He could hear those horrible words ringing through his head again and once again, those words hit him hard in the heart.

Paul stared at the gun for a little while longer and then grabbed it, shoving it deep inside his jacket and making sure it wasn't noticeable. He had to get rid of that gun.

"Paul, hurry up! I'm sure you don't want to be late to Prom!" Reggie called from the living room.

Paul licked his lips and checked himself out in the mirror once more.

After looking at himself, he soon left out of his room and began heading for the front door, ready to leave.

"Paul,"

Paul stopped and turned his back to Reggie and Maylene who were staring at him in awe.

"Say hello to Dawn for me," Reggie told him.

Paul smirked.

"And make sure you take lots of pictures with her!" Maylene smiled.

"I will." Paul smiled. "Thanks."

He licked his lips and soon walked out of his place, closing the door behind him.

All he could do right now is pray that Dawn will take him back tonight.

---

"Dawn is going to be alright. Don't worry about it," Ash said, trying to comfort Giselle as they stood in the middle of the dance floor.

Giselle nodded her head, trying her best to relax herself. She didn't want her night to be ruined, especially after being confronted by Dawn. She knew what she did with Paul was wrong, but she really wanted to try and fix things and become a better person.

"Where would I be without my baby? The thought alone might break me."

The brunette looked over Ash's shoulder and saw one of his friends on the basketball team coming up to approach him, but she also noticed that there was girl beside his friend, instantly recognizing her as Leaf.

Ash felt a hand touch him on the shoulder and turned to see who it was. When he saw it was Gary, he suddenly felt anger form inside of him. "What do you want?"

"I just came to say sorry about everything," Gary sighed. "And look man, we've been best friends for years, I don't want that to go to waste over some bullshit."

Ash kept a serious look on Gary and Gary took a moment to look over at the girl beside Ash, instantly recognizing the girl as Giselle. "You must be Giselle," he assumed.

Giselle just looked at him and then slowly narrowed her eyes at Leaf. Leaf looked at her too.

"I'm Gary Oak," he motioned his hand over to hers. "It's really an honor to meet the girl that my best mate here always talks about."

Giselle let out a small laugh and shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you too."

Gary smiled at her and then looked over at Ash.

Ash continued to keep a serious look on his spiky haired friend and Gary sighed again. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

It took just a moment for Ash to make up his mind. "Fine," he mumbled.

"Alright,"

When the two boys walked off to the side to talk, Giselle looked at Leaf again and Leaf looked over at her.

"Where would I be without you? Where would I be without you? I only think about you, Oh what you're saying is true. I know you're tired of being lonely. I need someone to hold me. So baby girl put it on me. I will, I will, I will."

They stared at each other for a little while longer and Giselle decided to be the bigger person and broke the silence between them. "Hi,"

"Hi," Leaf trailed off, a bit surprised.

The last time they spoke was so long ago and Leaf could still remember when Giselle broke off their friendship and still to this day, it still hurts her. Giselle felt the same way deep down. Leaf had always been a good friend to her and she could honestly say that Leaf has always been one of the only few people that actually really cared about her.

"How have you been?" Giselle wondered, trying to shake up a conversation.

Leaf smiled. "I've been okay. What about you?"

"I'm getting better." Giselle smiled. "I miss you, Leaf."

"I miss you too, Giselle." She frowned.

"I'm sorry for everything I've done, Leaf."

"It's okay. You were going through a lot and I forgive you for that." Leaf smiled. "I see that Ash really helped you out."

Giselle laughed lightly at that comment. "Well, if you put it that way."

Leaf giggled and walked up to her, giving her a tight hug.

Giselle hugged her back tightly and closed her eyes shut. "It's really good to see you again,"

---

After debating on what to do with that gun, Paul decided to throw it in a dumpster far away from his place.

A few minutes later, he decided to buy her a bouquet of blue roses, something that he knew she would've loved. But when he came across an expensive jewelry store, which mostly consisted of rings, a thought soon came across his head.

Paul smiled, "And how about your long term goals?"

Dawn began to wonder what the future would be like and she smiled again, "I see us married with a son and maybe a daughter. I also see myself as a famous dancer."

Paul couldn't tell the future, but if he could, he would most definitely make sure that those things will happen for them. He honestly wouldn't mind if it did because he loved her so much.

Marriage…

Paul licked his lips and pulled the door open, now walking inside of the jewelry store.

There were just a few people looking around, but some turned his way when they noticed how nicely dressed he was. Paul ignored the attention he gained, however, and looked inside a glass that contained a ton of gorgeous rings.

All he could see was a bunch of expensive rings right before eyes, but he found himself not really caring about the prices.

There were many beautiful rings, lots of them that contained a lot of diamonds, pearls, and platinum. There was even a variety of colors such as silver, gold, and even rose gold.

"You lookin' very sharp tonight," one of the male workers commented.

Paul looked up at the man on the other side of the glass counter. "Thanks," he mumbled. He instantly recognized the guy in front of him. It was Brock, and Brock happened to be one of the varsity basketball players at his school. It surprised him to see Brock work at a place like this, but then again he always knew Brock is a sucker for girls. Paul licked his lips and narrowed his eyes back at the rings.

"So where you heading off to?" Brock asked, eyeing the bouquet of blue roses Paul had in his hands.

"Prom," Paul mumbled, staring hard at the rings.

Brock smiled and leaned down at his level. "You know most of the rings here are engagement rings," he commented.

Paul looked up at the male, listening to those words come out of that guys mouth.

He always saw himself wanting to finally get that ring for her just a few years later, but for some reason, he felt that maybe now might be the time.

Giselle told him to man up, so he had to step up his game.

"I know," he said. "I think tonight might be the perfect night to propose to the girl of my dreams."

Brock stared at Paul for a short moment and then suddenly a bright smile formed on his face. He let his hand out for Paul to shake. "Well I'm glad to help out. The names Brock."

Paul raised his eyebrow. "I know who you are," He gave a hand shake to the brown pointy haired worker. "Paul," he mumbled, narrowing his eyes at the rings again.

"So what is your girl into? What does she like?"

Paul licked his lips. "Well she's girly for sure. And she loves diamonds."

"So she's a diamond girl?" Brock raised his eyebrow, a smile still on his face. "She must be worth a fortune then."

"If you put it that way," Paul smirked.

Brock instantly pulled out a key from his pocket and Paul watched as he grabbed a set of rings and placed them over the counter for Paul to view. "These are one of the best diamonds that we have, some of them even have platinum in it."

"Platinum? That's even better." Paul took a good view at the rings Brock picked out for him and he tried to think of what he wanted, but he wasn't sure of what he wanted or what she would like. He knew that she loved diamonds no doubt, but he had no idea which she would like best.

"Shit, this is hard…" he sighed, trying to find a decent ring.

"Have you decided which color you want to go for? Many people always go for silver, some even choose gold, but my personal favorite is rose gold." Brock pointed out.

Paul looked up at Brock, a bit curious about why rose gold is his favorite. "How come?"

"Because a lot of girls like rose gold just cause the simple fact is that it's different, and you rarely see engagement rings that are that color."

Paul nodded his head, in deep thought of what he wanted.

Rose gold…

Okay, so if he goes with rose gold, it has to be the perfect ring. It had to have enough diamonds and platinum, and maybe even titanium. Paul wanted it to be a set of rings, possibly three.

He was thinking big and he knew it would be a lot of money, but Paul had at least $10,000 saved.

Hell Dawn was worth a lot of money to him. He didn't want to spend her engagement ring on something petty and cheap.

"Alright. I wanna go with a set of three," he decided, looking at Brock again.

"A set of three? That's thinking very big." Brock said in surprise. "A three ring set usually symbolizes the wedding ring, the engagement ring, and the first anniversary ring." He pointed out. "But I can see you haven't got married yet,"

Paul stared hard at the rings again and decided again. "Okay, then how about two? Instead of including a wedding ring, since I haven't proposed yet, how about a promise ring to go with the engagement ring?"

"I can work with that." Brock smirked.

Paul smiled. "Okay, well I'll go with both of the rings being rose gold and the engagement ring has to have three diamond stones on it combined with platinum." He decided. "And the promise ring should be a variety of diamonds engraved on it."

"Okay," Brock nodded his head and guided Paul over to the rose gold rings.

"On this side is the engagement rings. Each containing diamond and platinum," Brock pointed toward the left side of the glass and Paul stood in front of it, searching for the perfect ring that he had in mind with three diamond stones on it.

"And on this side is the promise rings." Brock pointed toward the right side of the glass and Paul looked at it for just a split second, then let his eyes narrow back to the engagement rings once again.

He was taking a big risk tonight.

Dawn was mad at him and very hurt with him, but he didn't want to lose her, he loved her too much to let her go.

It only took a couple minutes for Paul to find the ring he had in mind and once his eyes fell on a ring that caught his eyes, he immediately wanted it.

"I want that one." Paul pointed his finger at the ring he wanted.

The ring was rose gold of course, but the diamonds on it looked very beautiful and he knew that Dawn would be taken away as soon as she lays her eyes on it. He stared at the big diamond embedded in the middle of the ring along with two small circular diamonds around it, and with several tinier diamonds that surrounded the two small circular ones.

"Oh, now that one is most definitely going to take her breath away," Brock gasped.

It took only a moment for Brock to get the ring for him and Paul noticed that it was only $3,540. It was a lot of money, he had to say, but it was most definitely worth getting.

After picking out the engagement ring, he turned to the other side of the glass counter and searched for a promise ring.

"You must really love this girl if you're willing to spend this much money on her," Brock chuckled, surprised.

Paul laughed at that comment as he continued to search for a promise ring with his eyes. "She means a lot to me," he mumbled.

"How did you even manage to get that much money?" Brock wondered.

"Weed." Paul chuckled. "I got a lot at the house and whenever I'm not busy, I sell it. I been doing it for a while now."

Brock laughed. "Well weed does sell pretty fast."

"Exactly," Paul laughed.

Brock smiled as he waited for Paul to find the perfect promise ring to go with the engagement ring.

Paul's eyes fell on a rose gold promise ring which contained a variety of diamonds, just like the one he pictured. Paul smiled and pointed at the ring. "I want that one."

"That one is hot," Brock said in surprise, now getting the promise ring for him.

The promise ring was at least $1,200 dollars. So most likely he'll be spending at least $4,000 dollars, maybe even $5,000, but he wasn't really focused on how much he'll be paying. He was too busy picturing the look on Dawn's face when she sees her two set engagement ring.

"So do you want any quotes or something on the rings?"

Paul took a moment to think. "How long will it take you to do?"

"About an hour."

"Yeah," Paul decided. "For the engagement ring, I want on the inside of the ring, for it to say 'I'll love you forever.' And the promise ring, I want for it to say 'No need to worry, I'll always be here.'"

"Awwww,"

Paul rolled his eyes slightly at Brock's excitement. "That's cute."

"Can you hurry up though because I don't want to be too late to Prom than I already am."

"Alright!"

Brock grabbed both of the rings and went off to do the engravings.

Twenty minutes flew by and Paul kept checking his phone. It was going on 11 pm and knowing proms, people always leave around that time to go party somewhere else.

Brock came back after a few more moments and Paul's eyes lit up. He pulled out his credit card and handed it over to Brock.

Brock took the credit card in his hand. "Do you want me to put both of the rings into one box?"

Paul nodded his head.

It only took just a few moments for Brock to retrieve the money from his credit card. After getting the money out, he handed it to Paul and soon placed both of the rings neatly into one box.

"Can I see the engraving right quick?" Paul asked, impatient.

Brock nodded, a smile still on his face.

As he took a moment to view the engagement ring, a smile formed on his face on the words inside. It was in a really nice font and it said the exact words he wanted, "I'll love you forever,"

He then grabbed the promise ring and read the words inside. "No need to worry, I'll always be here."

He smiled to himself. Dawn always says 'No need to worry,' and every time she says that something bad always happens. But this time, he knew something bad wouldn't happen just because of the simple fact that it was him saying those words, not her.

After viewing the rings for a short moment, he placed the rings back inside the box, the way Brock had them set up.

Brock grabbed a nice bag and put the box inside.

"I'm sure you're going to be a lucky man tonight," Brock winked.

Paul laughed lightly at his comment.

Brock nodded his head and handed the bag to Paul.

"Have fun at Prom,"

Paul smiled again. "Yeah, thanks."

As he walked out of the ring store, excitement soon filled inside of him.

Dawn was worth a lot to him. He would buy her the whole world if he wanted to. Take her places to New Orleans, Egypt, or even Hawaii. He would just do anything for her because he loved her that much.

Paul smiled again.

It was now time to go to Prom.

---

"Do you think Paul is going to win her back tonight?" Maylene wondered.

She was laying down on the couch with Reggie, her head on his chest and looking at the coffee table in front of them.

"I'm sure he is," Reggie assumed. "Dawn really does love Paul and he loves her, so I'm sure everything will go as planned."

"I hope so,"

Suddenly, a loud knock occurred at the front door and Reggie raised his eyebrow, narrowing his eyes at the door.

"Is Paul back?" Maylene wondered, a bit confused why someone was knocking on the door.

"I don't think so," Reggie kept his eyebrows furrowed together and listened as someone knocked on the door again.

"I'll go get it," Maylene let out a breath of air and got off the couch, walking toward the front door.

When she unlocked the door and opened it, she was immediately taken by surprised when the person who was knocking instantly turned her around and wrapped his right arm around her neck, nearly choking her and with a gun held at the side of her head. "Where the fuck is Paul!?" an angry male voice demanded.

Reggie immediately got up from the couch after realizing what was going on and his eyes widened in fear, seeing that it was Trip and he was in rage, in deep rage with a gun pointed at the side of Maylene's head and his arm locked around her neck, not letting her get away.

"He's not here," Reggie raised his hands as Trip now pointed the gun at him. Reggie's heart began to beat fast and Maylene nearly screamed, but Trip covered her mouth.

"Shut up, bitch!" He spat, narrowing his eyes at Reggie again. "Your brother stole from me. He took my money and he took my gun. Where the fuck is he?"

"I don't know," Reggie lied, slowly approaching him with his hands raised. He couldn't just tell Trip where Paul is, especially since Trip has a gun.

"If you don't tell me where the fuck he is, I will kill her."

Frightened tears began to form in Maylene's eyes and she looked at Reggie as Reggie looked back at her and then looked at Trip with fear in his eyes.

"Tell me!" Trip demanded, pressing the gun harder at the side of her head.

"H-he went to Prom," Maylene whispered, struggling with her words.

Trip turned his head to look at her, laughing at that comment.

"Please don't kill me…" She begged, tears now rushing down her face.

"And where the fuck is that at?" He demanded.

"It's at Grand Hyatt." Reggie answered, causing Trip to look back at him.

"If you're fucking lying to me, I swear I will kill the both of you."

"We're telling the truth," Maylene trembled. "I promise you we're not lying, I swear…"

Trip glared even harder at Reggie and soon let go of Maylene roughly, causing her to rush towards Reggie's side.

He pointed a finger at Reggie, hardening his eyes on him. "Your brother is in some deep shit. He don't know who the fuck he's messing with."

With that being said, Trip left in anger, the gun still in his hand.

Maylene felt her heart beating hard inside her body and she slowly looked over at Reggie.

Reggie quickly went to go get his stuff after hearing those words.

Paul is in deep danger and he had to do something about it.

"We need to go get Paul. NOW." He demanded.

---

Prom was supposed to be a fun and wonderful night, but Dawn wasn't exactly having much fun. Her mind kept on wandering off to Paul and she frowned every time she thought of him.

As a slow song began playing, she noticed as couples soon got together on the dance floor and started transitioning from fast dancing to slow dancing.

She let her eyes fall on all of the couples that were now beginning to slow dance and she frowned again, the only person on her mind being Paul. She found herself wishing Paul was there that night, she was wishing that she could be dancing with him right now with everyone else.

Dawn licked her lips and turned her head to her phone.

She was sitting at one of blood red tables by herself while May went off to dance with Drew for a little while.

"Some dreams are in the night time and some seem like yesterday, but leaves turn brown and fade. Ships sail away. You long to say a thousand words, but seasons change."

She kept staring at Paul's name, tempted to call him or text him, but she wasn't even sure if she was prepared to speak to him yet, especially after how much he hurt her.

Dawn was beginning to feel overwhelmed with sadness as she stared hard at her phone. She felt a hand land on her shoulder and she turned her head to see whose hand it belonged to. When she saw it was just Ash, he smiled at her.

"Are you alright, Dawn?" he wondered.

The Blue Diamond stared at him for just a short moment and then narrowed her eyes back at her phone again. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just feel lonely, that's all."

Ash sighed and took a seat next to her. "You know, you didn't have to be so rude to Giselle… she's been through a lot."

Dawn rolled her eyes and pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, well so have I." she let out a low sigh and looked at her phone again.

"It feels like it's forever. No reason for emptiness. But time just runs away, no more day by day. You dream again it seems in vain when seasons change."

Ash frowned slightly as he watched her look through her phone. She kept her eyes on her phone, deciding to not say anything else and Ash sighed again, letting his eyes narrow at the people dancing.

"I want you. I want to feel you by my side. I need you. Don't you know I need you, baby?"

Already, Paul could hear the music playing from the inside of the ballroom and he smiled hard as he gripped the bouquet of roses tightly in his hands. He placed the box which consisted of the engagement ring and the promise ring in between the roses, so that way she'll be able to find them herself.

Tonight, he was determined to win her back and if he had to do the ultimate choice, like propose to her in front of all those people, then that was a chance he was willing to take.

Paul smiled once more and began walking up the steps to the gigantic ballroom.

"Seasons change, feelings change. It's been so long since I found you, yet it seems like yesterday."

Ash looked over at Dawn who was still looking at her phone and he sighed heavily, deciding to get up and turned to face her.

Prom was supposed to be about having fun, not about being miserable and not having a good time. He let his hand out for her to take, causing her to tear her eyes off her phone and look at him. "Dance with me," he ordered.

A confused look soon fell on her face and Ash sighed again. "Come on, Dawn. You're not going to sit there all night and not have a good time. So I'm asking you to dance with me."

Dawn blinked and slowly let her eyes narrow at the crowd again and then let her eyes move back to him. She licked her lips slowly and just sighed, letting her hand slip into his.

As she got up, Ash guided her to the dance floor, finding an empty space to dance in. When he did, he turned around to face her. Dawn stood in front of him, her eyes never leaving his. Ash grabbed her left hand up and raised it up by their face; he placed his other hand along her waist.

Dawn pursed her lips and placed her right hand on his shoulder for support.

When she made eye contact with him, she felt his hand move down to her lower back, her body now being closer to his as they now began to slow dance.

"Seasons change, people change. I'll sacrifice tomorrow just to have you here today."

For a moment, she let her mind get lost into the music and she stared at Ash as they danced.

"How come you're not dancing with Giselle?" Dawn wondered.

"She's catching up with some old friends," he told her. "Besides, I wanted to dance with you since you look so lonely."

Dawn frowned slightly as they continued to slow dance.

"You wish Paul was here, don't you?"

Dawn stared into Ash's eyes and her frown deepened as they continued to slow dance. "Yeah…" she trailed off. "I love him, but I really wish he didn't hurt me…"

Ash stared at Dawn and he continued to dance with her. "It's too bad that he did." He commented. "You're really beautiful, Dawn, I don't understand why he would hurt you."

A small smile formed on her face when he said that. "It's my fault he did what he did anyway…"

"You didn't do anything wrong." Ash disagreed.

Dawn sighed again and looked into Ash's eyes. "Paul was so obsessed with me possibly having feelings for you Ash. That's exactly why he did what he did, to get back at me…"

"But you don't have feelings for me Dawn," he told her.

The Blue Diamond blinked, not sure with that comment. Her frown deepened and she looked down, though they were still slow dancing to the song.

"Forever seems so far away. There's time for love and for play. You dream about today, feeling slips away. The winds that blow they go away and seasons change."

The basketball player raised his eyebrow when she didn't say anything. "Right?"

Dawn bit down on her bottom lip, flashbacks occurring into her head.

"I can't handle you guys being fucking friends." Paul said in disgust. "I don't know if you realize this, but every time you're around him, I feel like your emotions are more real towards him and it really pisses me the fuck off—"

"Seriously? You still think I have feelings for him? Come on now," She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I'm dating you! Not him! I've been with you for a long time! I'm crazy in love with you! I've fucking slept with you!"

"That doesn't prove shit." He snapped. "You wish it were him, instead of me. It's always been Ash and you know it. He's always been the good guy, always did and says all the right things. He's the one that you wish you were with, not me."

Dawn shook her head as she did her best to focus on Ash's shoulder. Why was Ash asking these things? Yeah, she already kissed Ash once just to get back at Paul, but now she wasn't so sure of how she felt about that kiss.

Paul was right. Ash has always been the good guy and he does say all the right things.

Just now she was beginning to realize that maybe she did have feelings for Ash, feelings she wasn't even sure of until now.

The Blue Diamond slowly looked up at Ash and Ash raised his eyebrow, noticing that she looked like she was about to cry.

"I want you, don't hide your feelings from inside."

That smile remained on Paul's face as he now walked inside of the ballroom, immediately seeing everyone gathered together slow dancing.

He looked through the crowd with his eyes in search for Dawn.

"I need you, I've got to have your love now, baby."

Dawn shook her head and immediately she pressed her lips onto Ash's without thinking.

"Seasons change, feelings change."

Paul continued to search through the crowd with his eyes.

Once he found her, his smile began to minimize when he saw Dawn and what she was doing. All of a sudden that happiness he felt in his heart vanished as his smile fell into a firm line.

Paul's eyebrows furrowed together, trying to see for himself who was the person she was kissing and once he saw her pull away, he immediately recognized the guy as Ash. And just by seeing this, he instantly felt betrayed.

He felt his heart twisting in pain at the sight and he dropped the bouquet of roses from his hand along with the ring box to the floor.

Just a couple weeks ago, Ash told him to start having trust in Dawn and let go of his insecurities, but now Paul sees him kissing her. Paul was actually starting to like Ash after having a serious conversation with him about Dawn, but now he felt foolish. How foolish of him to think that maybe Ash was right and Dawn never cared about Ash as more than a friend. How foolish of him to think that maybe Ash didn't care about her as more than a friend. But after seeing this, this just proved to him how much of a hypocrite Ash is.

Paul felt so angry and so betrayed. He should've listened to his instincts from the start. No, he wasn't insecure. He was right all along. Dawn wanted Ash from the very beginning and Paul should've left her a long time ago.

All this time he tried to make her happy, he tried to become a better person just for her, but it was pointless.

She decided what she wanted and she chose Ash.

Paul closed his mouth shut and turned to leave, never looking back.

"Seasons change, people change."

"Dawn," Ash said in surprise, holding her by the shoulders. "Why did you do that?"

"I just… I don't know." She frowned as tears began to fall from her eyes.

Ash pulled back, dropping his hands to his sides. "I'm flattered, but…" he frowned again, "I'm not Paul."

"I'm so confused," she admitted as tears began to leave her eyes uncontrollably. "You're so sweet to me Ash and you're always there for me when I'm in pain. I can't help that you somehow make me feel better, I just…" she shook her head again and Ash watched as she broke down, frowning.

"I-I'm sorry, I have to sit down," she shook her head and brushed past him, deciding to sit back down at the table she was sitting at before she got up to dance with Ash.

Yes, she was most definitely confused with Ash and her feelings, but Paul kept coming up inside her head.

Maybe Paul was right about her feelings for Ash, but he was wrong about the simple fact that she preferred Ash over him.

Ash may be a sweet guy and all and treat her like angel, but Paul was the guy she fell in love with. Paul is the guy she sees herself with in the future, not Ash.

"I want you, I want to feel you by my side."

Dawn wiped the tears from her face as she took a moment to look at herself from her small mirror. After fixing her face up, she placed the small mirror inside her purse and got up, now walking towards the entrance of the ballroom.

She was going to call Paul and win him back. She needed him back. She loved him too much.

Dawn stopped in front of a bouquet of blue roses on the floor along with a small box that seemed to look like a ring box. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she leaned down to retrieve the bouquet of roses along with the box. She took a moment to see the small note that was attached to the bouquet of roses, wondering who had dropped them and who it was from.

Her heart nearly stopped when saw what it said.

I love you. – Paul

Dawn blinked. Paul had came?

She took a moment to look around again, trying to find a familiar shade of lavender hair, but he was nowhere to be found. She frowned and turned her eyes to the note again.

So if he came, why did he leave the roses and the box on the floor?

Dawn tucked the bouquet of roses beneath her arm and opened the box, a bit curious about what was inside.

When she opened it, she gasped in pure shock.

"Seasons change, feelings change."

What she saw in front of her was a very beautiful rose gold ring and she could tell it was a two set ring. She picked up the big ring on top with the three diamond stones and she felt her heart skip a beat as she analyzed it. Was it an engagement ring?

Her eyes squinted when she noticed there were words on the inside of that ring.

I'll love you forever.

Dawn could feel tears of joy forming in her eyes as she visualized it for a little longer. She placed the ring back inside the slot and picked up the one that was underneath, assuming that ring must have represented something else.

She squinted her eyes again when she noticed there were also words engraved on that ring too.

No need to worry, I'll always be here.

So Paul did came.

He was going to propose to her!?

Dawn nearly felt her heart breaking at the sight before her.

If he was here and she found these on the floor then he must have witnessed…

Dawn's eyes slightly widened as she remembered the kiss she just shared with Ash.

Did he see her kiss Ash?

She stared at the ring and placed it underneath the big one, staring hard at it.

The roses and the box with the ring inside was just sitting on the floor, so he must have witnessed it. He wouldn't leave the roses and a very expensive ring on the floor just lying there for no reason.

Dawn closed the box tightly and soon ran out of the ballroom with the box and the roses in her hands.

---

For the first time ever, Paul felt like his heart was ripped right out of his chest.

How could she do this to him? He always been so good to her and treated her like she was a queen.

Paul felt tears forming in his eyes and he began pacing, thinking too hard and clenching his fists very tightly.

He spent all this time trying to convince himself that maybe, just maybe she might love him and not Ash.

"I love you Paul and nothing is going to change that."

Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair angrily and kicked at a wall, not caring about the marks he had created in his dress shoes.

"Always and forever…"

Always and forever my ass.

He wanted to believe that she might love him, but she just kept proving him wrong constantly.

He wasn't crazy. Ash had always been a threat to him and that was the exact reason why. Dawn loved him and not Paul. That's the reason why Paul hates him so much just because the simple fact that he can never get Dawn to love him like the way she loves Ash.

Paul found himself thinking of that one night at the cabin.

"Just make love to me."

He remembered her begging for him to make love to her, as if she really trusted him with her virginity, as if she really loved him enough to even give him that part of her life.

But Paul was a fool to think that might have meant something to her.

Just like any other girl, they always lose their virginity and then move on to the next guy.

"I loved you, you made me. Hate me, you gave me hate see? It saved me and these tears are deadly!"

Paul felt his head spinning and when he heard his phone ringing from his pants, he shoved his hand inside his pocket and retrieved his phone.

His anger only got worse when he noticed it was Dawn that was calling.

She must have found my little surprise, he thought, remembering he left the roses and the engagement ring on the floor before he left the ballroom.

He was currently in front of one of the corner stores, just five buildings down from Grand Hyatt.

Shaking his head, he pressed answer and brought the phone up to his ear.

"You feel that? I rip back. Every time you tried to steal that. You feel bad? You feel sad? I'm sorry, hell no, fuck that!"

"Paul?" she spoke, sounding obviously concerned and also nervous.

"I'm assuming you found my little gift?" he forced a smile as he stared at the building in front of him. He was gripping his phone so hard that he felt like he was close to breaking it, that's how angry he was.

Dawn stood outside in front of Grand Hyatt, looking around to see if Paul was around, but he was nowhere to be found. She frowned again, knowing he was being sarcastic with that comment. "Yeah, I saw the roses and the rings… I loved it." She forced a smile and then frowned again, knowing that he witnessed the kiss she shared with Ash. "You were going to propose?"

Paul hardened his eyes as he stared at the building in front of him. "You don't deserve to get fucking proposed to." He said angrily.

Dawn could feel how angry he was by the sound of his voice. She knew his heart was breaking. "I know," she breathed, frowning again. "But I can explain—"

"You ripped my HEART OUT." He screamed.

The Blue Diamond felt her lips trembling at the sound of that, feeling tears forming in her eyes. He sounded so hurt and so broken. She was beginning to believe that she really did rip his heart out.

"It was my heart, it was my life, it was my start, it was your knife!"

Tears slowly left her eyes and Paul could hear that she was sobbing and he chuckled lightly, though he was still suffering from pain. He felt like she was driving a knife through his heart.

"I didn't mean to kiss Ash, I don't know what I was thinking…" she trailed off.

"Bullshit," he retorted back. "You knew what the fuck you was thinking. You knew what you wanted all along!"

Dawn closed her mouth shut and stared at the taxi's passing by on the street as she listened to Paul's powerful words.

"What, so you think it's okay to fucking use me whenever the fuck you want?" He gripped his phone even tighter. He was sure that if he gripped it even more, it would eventually break. "I should've listened to my instincts all along. Fucking Blue Diamonds…" he trailed off, shaking his head again. "All the fucking same."

Dawn felt those words hitting her heart, tears still falling from her eyes. "I never used you Paul! I love you, I swear I do! I never betrayed you!"

"LIAR!" he screamed through the phone again.

Her heart was beating fast against her ribcage. She wasn't sure if anything she says will make anything better. "That kiss with Ash meant nothing, I swear—"

Paul forced a laughter, causing her to stop her sentence.

Her mouth fell into a firm line when she listened to his forced laugh through the phone.

"This strife, it dies. This life and these lies and these lungs have sung this song for too long."

"You're such a fucking liar." He chuckled. "It's hilarious, actually." He shook his head again, letting his hand rest on the wall next to him.

Dawn blinked. "I'm sorry, Paul…" she whispered, more tears leaving her eyes.

Paul felt his eyes darken even more at the sound of those words. "You made a promise remember? That you would never leave me."

"I know…" she trailed off, feeling like complete shit. "And I didn't mean to break that promise. But I just needed space… I didn't think it would lead down to this…"

Paul shook his head again. "You knew what was coming," he growled. "You had it all planned out. Join the dance team and take advantage of me just like your little dance friends."

"I never took advantage of you!" she denied. "I was never like them, you know that!"

Paul chuckled lightly. "Foolish of me to think that maybe all Blue Diamonds aren't the same. But you proved me wrong, you turned out to be exactly like them."

Dawn felt like her own heart was being ripped out of her chest. Why was he saying those things to her? She knew what she did with Ash was wrong, but she never had sex with him!

"It was just a fucking kiss!" She screamed, trying to get through to him over the phone. "I didn't fucking have sex with him just like how you did with Giselle!"

"I fucking loved you!" he shouted. Dawn could hear the pain in his voice when he heard those words.

"Yeah, I admit that I never exactly trusted you, but that was because you gave me no choice. You kept proving each and every day how much your feelings for Ash are real—"

"But he isn't you!" She screamed. "He isn't the one that I love!"

"And it's true, I hurt too. Remember, I loved you!"

Reggie felt panic rising in his chest as he called Paul almost five times already and still he wasn't picking up. "Fucking hell, pick up Paul!" he shouted, running down the sidewalk with Maylene.

He was getting closer and closer to Grand Hyatt, and he was desperately hoping that he would get to Paul before Trip does.

"And I've lost it all, fell today, it's all the same. I'm sorry, oh. I'm sorry, no."

Paul wanted to say more, but he heard multiple beeps on the other side of the phone and pulled his phone away from his ear, seeing that Reggie was calling him.

He raised his eyebrow. What was Reggie calling him for?

"Hold on," Paul said, sounding more rude than plain as he clicked answer to Reggie's call. He brought the phone up to his ear. "What?" he said rather rudely.

"Paul, I need you to get the fuck out of Grand Hyatt, right now!" Reggie ordered, sounding as if he was in panic.

Paul raised his eyebrow, wondering why his brother sounding so scared of something. "Why?" he questioned.

"Trip is on his way there and he has a gun!"

Paul blinked at the sound of that last word.

Instantly, he remembered breaking in Trip's tobacco store.

Paul knew exactly where Trip hid the gun at, he always hid it in between the small bongs that was right by the cashier. The cashier machine was just on top of the glass counter which consisted of lots of bongs and a variety of weed bowls inside.

Carefully, he brought the baseball up to the glass and immediately slammed it against the glass, breaking it completely, listening as the glass pieces shattered and the bang of cashier falling onto the glass bongs and bowls. His eyes instantly fell on a black pistol and he picked it up, bringing it up to his face as he examined it carefully.

The pistol looked brand new, so he assumed it must have been loaded. Paul took a moment to check if there was bullets inside and he soon noticed there was more than enough.

Paul breathed into his ski mask, now becoming slightly irritated about how hot he was feeling with it on. He shook his head and placed the gun inside his pocket.

He was about to leave and go, but his eyes fell on the cashier machine and a thought soon passed in his head.

Paul stared at the machine for a moment longer and shook his head. It took him a minute to pop it open and he grabbed all of the money that was inside, shoving it all inside his pockets. After taking the money and the gun, Paul ran outside and quickly found his way back inside his car.

"I left the Prom. I'm not there." He mumbled, now looking around to see if Trip's car was anywhere around.

"Where are you then?"

"I'm in front of one of the corner stores just five blocks down."

"Well stay there! I'm on my way to get you!"

"Alright," Paul licked his lips and pulled his phone down from his ear, going back to the other line where he was speaking to Dawn.

"And I've been abused, I feel so used because of you. I'm sorry, oh. I'm sorry, no."

"Paul?" he heard her speak and Paul still felt the anger and betrayal he had for her in his heart.

He let his thoughts drift from Trip immediately and focused on Dawn again. "Is there anything else you want to do to me?" he asked. "You already ripped my heart out, so are you going to run away with it now?"

"That's not what I meant to do," she cried.

"Oh no, that's exactly what you meant to do." Paul pointed out.

"I wish I could have quit you, I wish I never missed you and told you that I loved you every time I fucked you!"

"Paul, why are you doing this?" She whispered in pain. "I thought we were that couple that fights through it all. I thought we could handle anything that comes our way."

"Yeah, well I can't." He decided, feeling his heart aching in pain still. "I opened up a part of me to you, something I never did with anyone and this is how you repay me?"

"The future that we both drew and all the shit we've been through. Obsessed with the thought of you, the pain just grew and grew!"

"I didn't mean to hurt you." More tears rushed down her face as she stared at the street in front of her. Her view was a complete blur.

"I hate you," he said angrily.

"You don't mean that…"

"Oh, I do." Paul shook his head, staring hard at the building in front of him again. "You're just another worthless girl to me."

"But, Paul—"

"NO!" he growled.

"How could you do this to me? Look at what I made for you! It never was enough and the world is what I gave you!"

"You don't get to feel sad, I do." He demanded.

"But I love you." She said, her words shaking.

"You don't know what love is," he shook his head.

"I used to be love-struck, now I'm just fucked up! Pull up my sleeve and see the pattern of my cuts!"

"Yes I do," she argued. "I fell in love with you, Paul. You made me realize what love is like, not Ash."

"Bullshit,"

He shook his head again, believing otherwise.

All this time he spent loving her was pointless because she could never love him like the way she loved Ash.

"And I've lost it all, fell today, it's all the same. I'm sorry, oh, I'm sorry, no."

"Why don't you believe me?" She asked, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Because you're a compulsive liar!" He shouted again.

"And I've been abused, I feel so used because of you. I'm sorry, oh, I'm sorry, no."

"But I never lied about loving you, Paul! I always loved you, I will always love you! You're the one I want to be with, not Ash!"

"Just quit lying to yourself…" He trailed off, feeling tears filling in his eyes.

"But, I'm not lying…"

"Believe whatever you want. I'm not sticking around putting up with your bullshit anymore." He decided.

"Seems like all we had is over now, you left to rest. And your tears are dried up now, you just lay without a sound."

He wanted to hang up, but the sound of her voice stopped him from doing so.

"You're letting me go?" She sounded like she was surprised. "After everything we've been through?"

"I can't take it anymore," he groaned.

"Seems like all we had is over now, you left to rest. And my fears are over now, I can leave with my head down."

"No," she said.

Paul found himself wishing he could see how she looked. For some reason, the pain inside her voice made him want to stay and be with her.

"No," she said again. "You can't do this to me, Paul, you just can't…"

"And I've lost it all, fell today, it's all the same. I'm sorry, oh, I'm sorry, no."

Paul remained silent and stared hard at the street in front of him. "I love you," he said finally, and Dawn could feel a small light in her heart by the sound of those words. "I'm sorry I couldn't make you happy."

"And I've been abused, I feel so used because of you. I'm sorry, oh, I'm sorry, no."

Tears began to blur in his eyes and he blinked them back.

Suddenly, a loud sound occurred on the street and he turned his head toward the sound only to see a car heading his way.

Paul furrowed his eyebrows slightly, trying to get a look of who it might be. When he saw a head pop out of the passenger window and someone pulling out a gun, pointing it straight at him, Paul immediately recognized the face as Trip.

Before Paul could do anything, Trip pulled the trigger and the bullet flew very fast into the air.

BOOM.

Paul fell back, the phone slipped from his hands as he fell straight to the ground along with a thick lake of blood leaving from the back of his head.

"I used to be love-struck, now I'm just fucked up. (I'm sorry.)"

The Blue Diamond stood there, her eyes widened as she heard the loud sound occur through the phone and into the air.

The bang of gun fire echoed throughout the street and Dawn could hear it from a mile away.

"Pull up my sleeve and see the pattern of my cuts (I'm sorry.)"

"Paul?"

There was no answer, the line immediately cut off.

Dawn pulled the phone down and stared at it, her mouth wide open.

"I'm sorry, no."

---

A/N: Now I know all of you are going to kill me, but I already said that I am basing this story off the song by Hollywood Undead.

I just hope all of you aren't too angry, it is just fiction after all.

Songs used in this chapter: Red Light Special by TLC, Por Un Segundo by Aventura, Ayo Technology by 50 Cent ft. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland, On the Run by Beyonce ft. Jay-Z, Think Like a Man by Jennifer Hudson ft. Ne-Yo & Rick Ross, Put it On Me by Ja Rule ft. Lil' Mo & Vita, Seasons Change by Expose, Black Dahlia by Hollywood Undead.

PLEASE leave reviews, let me know all your thoughts. I want to know every single one of them! Especially with everything that went down in this chapter.