I'm baaaaack! I don't have anything to say, except thanks for being patient! I had a great time at camp! I'm sorry that I didn't update a few days ago like I should have.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

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"Are you ready to kick some butt today?" May asked Dawn.

"You bet! I say we'll take first place in the volleyball tournament for sure!" The four girls were all getting dressed, tying their hair back, and putting their game faces on. They had the radio in the kitchen turned up and playing music that would pump them up.

"So the volleyball tournament starts at 9:00, the swim competition is at 10:30, surfing at 11:00, and we have to be lined up for the run at noon," Leaf said, reading off of the schedule she'd picked up the day before. "I won't have to compete in anything until the race, but I'll totally cheer you guys on all morning!"

"Thanks, Leaf! I have a feeling that us girls are going to take first place in everything we signed up for," said May. "I mean, Dawn and I are volleyball champs, and no one can even compare to Misty in the water, and all of us run really fast!"

"That's right! Let's go take first place in all three of our events!" Misty cheered. The girls did a four-way high five before rushing out the door for the beach. Today they would prove to the boys that they could crush them in any competition.

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"Would Dawn Berlitz, May Maple, Natalie Forest, and Bella Ritzler please report to the volleyball court for the first round!" a voice announced through the speakers. "Time for our first match!" Dawn chirped. She jumped off of the sand and dragged May with her towards the court. Leaf and Misty got up more slowly and walked over to the court to watch. Ash and Paul were already there, but Gary and Drew weren't coming to the beach until it was time for their events to start.

"Paul, be sure to study how the other teams play so that we can pick up on their moves and be one step ahead when we face them," Ash advised. Paul grunted in response.

"You guys won't stand a chance against Dawn and May. If you even make it far enough to face them in the first place," Misty teased. Ash playfully swatted at her.

"Of course we'll make it that far! Paul and I have been practicing!" he defended. "Well, as much as we could with Paul always wandering off all the time."

Leaf let out a cheer as Dawn and May scored a point. The two girls high-fived, and then May got ready to serve the ball again.

Paul found himself feeling rather annoyed by their cheeriness. He let out a small grunt and muttered to himself a bit. He'd always been wary of people who were always happy. That just meant that they were fake. No one is happy at every given moment.

"What's wrong with Paul?" Misty asked Ash.

"Nobody knows," Ash answered. Misty and Leaf both giggled.

"What's so funny?" Ash asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"It's just, the way you said that made it sound like we were asking what's wrong with Paul in general, and that nobody knows," Misty explained.

"Yeah. I was picturing him going to several psychologists, and after every evaluation they all say, 'Sorry, but we have no idea what your problem is.'" Leaf added. Ash laughed at that remark.

Paul was fuming inside. It wasn't often that people laughed at his expense, aside from the normal jokes he and the other guys made about each other. For the most part, nobody paid any attention to him at all. Except for Dawn, and she was one very special case of a very special-Ed person.

"But really - what's got him in the extra grumpy mood?" Misty asked when they'd all stopped laughing.

"We really don't know. He's been like that for the past couple of weeks."

"I'm right here, you know," Paul said monotonously. They all fell silent.

Crap. Now they all feel like they can't talk. I should just walk away and then they can make jokes about me all they want. Paul got up off of the sand and left the volleyball game as May and Dawn scored their third point in a row.

"You'll be back in time for our match, right?" Ash called after him. He didn't answer. He went a little ways down the beach, crushing seashells under his feet as he came to them. He crossed a pink one that reminded him of Dawn's stupid outfits and he grinded it under his foot until the powder mixed with the sand beneath it. He'd decided that he hated her more than ever. It seemed like she'd made it her personal mission to make him feel like a jerk. Actually, she hadn't spoken to him since the closet incident, so if he felt like a jerk it was really his own fault.

Paul sighed deeply. Life is complicated when you're not high, but it gets more complicated when you go from periods of being high to periods of being way down low. You don't know that low is low until you've been high. Or maybe low doesn't even exist until you screw up your normal with high.

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Dawn and May won their first match. A few games later, Ash and Paul were up against a boy and a girl with black hair who appeared to be siblings. They began playing, and the two teams scored back and forth, creating a close game. The rules were to play to seven, win by two. Both teams currently had six points, so whichever team could score two points in a row first would win.

The day had begun to heat up considerably, and Dawn watched as Paul removed his shirt, leaving him in just a pair of black athletic shorts. He was sweaty and muscular and - wait. What was she thinking? Paul was gross. Definitely gross. Not to mention totally insane. She watched as he spiked the ball, scoring them a point. One more and they'd win.

Leaf and Misty were cheering beside her, and Dawn joined in half-heartedly. She didn't have a problem with cheering for Ash, but she did have a problem with cheering for the guy who she knew was on drugs, having sex with one of her enemies, and who had conned her into theft.

With a good set up from Ash and another spike from Paul, the two of them took the victory. Ash ran up to Paul to bump chests with him, but Paul stepped out of the way and he ended up falling into the sand. Misty laughed so hard that she fell down too.

"That completes round one of our doubles volleyball tournament," the voice announced over the speaker. "Four teams remain. Round two will begin in five minutes. Dawn Berlitz, May Maple, Ash Ketchum, and Paul Stone need to report to the court within five minutes."

"Aww crap. We just finished a game! Why do we have to play twice in a row!?" Ash whined.

"Are you scared of losing?" May taunted.

"No way! We're totally going to beat you! It'll just be less embarrassing for you because we're a little tired from the last game, and we won't beat you as badly!"

May and Ash stared each other down with matching smirks and eyes aflame with determination. Dawn smiled inwardly. They were both competitive. She glanced over at Paul only to see that he was staring at her. She looked away quickly and blushed. Why couldn't he just leave her alone?

Once the game started, she became filled with the desire to win just because she couldn't stand to lose to Paul. He'd bested her in a Pokemon battle before, and she'd bested him at bowling. This time, she was getting back at him for using her to steal.

May had the first serve, and she slammed the ball over the net. Paul bumped it, ash set it, and Paul spiked it hard. Dawn missed it and resisted the urge to curse. Paul liked to play rough. He probably thought she was too girly to return a hit that hard. She would prove him wrong.

Ash served the ball to her and she bumped it. May set it and Dawn spiked it as hard as she could. It wasn't hard enough though, because Paul was able to bump it to Ash. Ash set it again and Paul spiked it again. This time, Dawn was prepared, and she got under the ball and bumped it. May set it and Dawn spiked again, this time scoring a point.

The girls cheered and Dawn smirked at Paul, who looked surprised. Yes! She'd shown him what she was capable of. She turned away from him and winced a little. Her arms still stung from the impact. He hit so freaking hard!

A few more points were scored on both sides. Dawn and May were now ahead, 6-5. If they could score one more point, they would win! Dawn served the ball over to Ash. The ball was in play for quite some time. Paul finally got a chance to spike and Dawn panicked when she saw that she was going to miss it. In a desperate attempt, she dived onto the sand, her arms stretched out and joining in closed fists. The ball hit her arms and bounced up. May ran at it and hit it a bit clumsily. Paul and Ash both moved towards the front of their side of the court. This was her chance. Dawn pushed herself up and jumped, slamming the ball with only one fist. It sailed behind both Ash and Paul and hit the sand. They'd won!

May ran at her and hugged her. Dawn lifted her sore arm into the air in victory. She couldn't believe she'd returned that shot!

Paul walked away without saying anything, but Ash congratulated the two girls before they all went and collapsed on the sand next to Misty and Leaf.

"Good game, guys! That was intense!" Misty said.

"You're telling us," Ash joked. For a while, they all sat around and drank from their water bottles, trying to regain their strength for the final game.

"Oh. I guess we should be watching our opponents to see how good they are," May pointed out. They glanced over at the court, and were shocked to see that two of the competitors were Abby and Samantha.

Dawn groaned. "No way! Are they winning?" she asked.

"They're up by three. Game point," Leaf said sullenly. Everyone watched as Abby spiked the ball. She was able to hit it much harder than Dawn. Luckily, May spiked harder than Dawn, but was it as hard as Abby? She wasn't sure.

"Don't worry. We beat them at singing, and now you guys will beat them at volleyball," Leaf assured them. Dawn didn't feel reassured.

"Now it's time for the final round! Dawn Berlitz and May Maple, please report to the volleyball court to face off against Abby Harris and Samantha Grey!"

"Here goes nothing," Dawn said.

"No," said May. "Here goes something."

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Once again, the score was 6-5. Dawn and May had the lead, and all four girls were sweating buckets. It had been a hard game. No point had been scored without going back and forth at least three times over the net. May prepared to serve the ball. She hit it over the net roughly, and Abby bumped it. Samantha set the ball, and Abby spiked it. Dawn bumped it, wincing yet again. Her arms were going to bruise. The bump had caused the ball to go high and close to the net. May prepared to set the ball, but instead, she jumped up and spiked the ball at the last second, catching Abby and Samantha off guard. The ball hit Abby square in the face, and the girl screamed and clutched her face in pain.

"You really have a thing for hitting her in the face, don't you?" Dawn asked. The referee checked Abby to make sure she was okay, which she was, and the move had been totally legal, so Dawn and May won.

"We did it!" Dawn cheered, hugging her friend. Their sweat mixed together and they walked over to receive their gold medallions and smile for a picture.

Leaf, Misty, and Ash rushed up to congratulate them.

"You really showed those s*luts a thing or two!" Leaf said.

"Awesome face shot, May!" Misty cheered, slapping her friend on the back. Everyone laughed.

Dawn cringed as she felt a sharp pain in her foot. She was face to face with Samantha. "I'll fix you later," she hissed, and then she stomped away.

Dawn chuckled nervously. "Why is it that every time May hits someone, I'm the one who gets all the hate?"

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Shortly after the volleyball tournament ended, Gary and Drew arrived at the beach. Misty took first place in the swimming competition, and Gary took first in surfing.

"Our group is kicking butt and taking names today!" Leaf exclaimed as Gary ran towards them, surf board in hand.

"What's this 'we'?" Gary joked. "You haven't competed in anything yet!"

"Right. But I'm about to make you eat my dust in the run!" Leaf retorted happily.

"We'd better head down the beach to the starting point," May advised. The race begins at the edge of the beach. We run along the shore, and then we run along the back of the beach. The race actually ends at the center of the town plaza, so the last stretch of the race is on the stone roads instead of sand, which is nice."

"That's a pretty long race," Ash said.

"Has anyone seen Paul lately?" Drew asked.

"Not since he and Ash lost to us in volleyball," May answered.

"He's probably headed for the start line by now. Paul hates being late," Gary said. "Let's go."

They found Paul at the start line just as Gary had predicted. He already had his number attached to his back. He was number 22. The others all picked up their numbers as well. Dawn was 16, May was 4, Drew was 37, Gary was 25, Ash was 11, Leaf was 9, and Misty was 32.

Everybody was lined up for the race and in their starting positions. A man with a gun stood off to the side. "Three, two, one!" He shouted, firing the gun. All of the participants took off.

The eight of them fell into their normal pattern. May and Drew ran alongside each other, Misty with Ash, Gary with Leaf, and Dawn and Paul on their own. Dawn was in the middle of the pack. Everyone was pretty tight knit at the moment, but later the race would become more spread out. She saw Abby, Corrine, and Samantha up ahead of her. Of course they just had to be competing in this event too.

Everyone moved at a steady pace. Some people began to fall behind, but Dawn and her seven companions were doing fine. Leaf, Gary, Ash, and Misty were at the head of the race. May and Drew were a little ways behind them, and Dawn was somewhere in the middle. She had looked back a few times to see Paul just a little bit behind her.

They came to the place where the race curved and they began to head back along the beach. Dawn was breathing hard and her calves burned. Running on sand works your legs so much harder than pavement.

The race dispersed even more as they continued. Leaf and Gary moved up so far ahead that Dawn could barely see them anymore. Misty and Ash were still near the front of the race as well. Dawn had gained some ground, and now she was right behind May and Drew. Their three little enemies were just ahead of them. Dawn looked behind to check on Paul. Yep. Still there.

Soon, they came to where sand met concrete. It was the final stretch of the race. Dawn sped up a little now that her surface had changed. She focused on running. Fast. Strong. Fast. Strong. The finish line came into view, a mere speck in the distance. Leaf, Gary, Ash, and Misty had probably finished by now. May and Drew had moved up when they hit the concrete surface. Dawn didn't want to finish so far behind everyone else! She couldn't help that she was the shortest though...

Without warning, Dawn suddenly tripped and hit the ground hard, scraping her face on the concrete. How many injuries did she need to sustain today?

"I told you I'd fix you later," a voice said.

"Samantha," Dawn groaned. Every part of her body hurt, but she managed to look up at the blue haired girl.

"Now you'll finish last. Loser. I hope you broke a couple bones. That fall must've been pretty hard."

"What the h*ell did you do?!"

Paul! Paul must've caught up to them! Great. What was he going to do? Kick her while she was down? It was his girl that had tripped her after all.

"You dumb who*re!" Paul yelled. Dawn was surprised when he stomped past her and got right up in Samantha's face.

"You think you can just hurt anyone you want?! No! Nobody hurts Dawn! That's my job! I've screwed up her life worse enough without you and your stupid friends trying to kill her!"

Did Paul know the truth about the drowning story? And why was he defending her?

"Shut up. I can get Jimmy to stop selling to you, so I suggest you back off, d*umbass."

"I don't give a f*uck! Get away from Dawn! And if you and your stupid friends try anything else, I'll have you arrested for assault!"

Samantha grunted, and then turned and ran. Paul was still breathing heavily in furry, but he turned his attention to Dawn.

"Are you okay, Troublesome?"

"I think so. Paul... thank you."

"... No problem," he grunted. "You sure you're not hurt?"

"I'm surprised you care so much."

"Well... I do. Like I said, I'm sorry that I got you involved in my theft. I really am. I'm just really messed up inside, okay?"

"Okay," Dawn accepted. "Maybe... would you like to talk about it?"

"... I guess I owe you that much. Fine."

"Let's go somewhere," Dawn suggested.

"I'll follow you."

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There you go! Ha! You must wait for your Ikarishipping moment! I'm so evil!

Please review guys! I sat here and worked on this for like two hours! My bottom is sore from the way I'm sitting! We have seven chapters to go! I'm getting pretty excited :)