I'm really late with this. Sorry! And thank you for being patient with me!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
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"What do you think of this one?" Misty asked, holding up a plain royal blue dress.
"Ugh. Misty, this is a dance, not a funeral," Dawn said. "Get something pretty!"
Everyone had arrived back in Undella the previous day, and the girls had wasted no time moving on to the next task: dress shopping for the dance.
"What do you all think?" May asked, coming out of the fitting room in a red dress that was a sparkly sequin pattern around the bust and then had silky red tiers down to her knees.
"Yes," Dawn said automatically.
"I love it, May!" Leaf said.
"It makes you look really pretty," Misty agreed.
"Great! I think I'm going to get this one then," May said. She went back into the fitting room to change into her normal clothes.
"Now this, Misty, would look good on you," Dawn said, holding up an aqua colored dress. It was teal silk with aqua lace on the outside. The dress was a simple enough design for Misty's taste, but elegant enough for a dance.
"I'll try it on," said Misty, taking the dress into the fitting room.
Dawn and Leaf had already picked out their dresses. Dawn's was a light pink dress with off the shoulder straps. The material was silky and smooth and it went down to her knees. Leaf's dress was dark green . The material at the top wrapped around her shoulders elegantly, and the skirt of the dress was a bit longer in the back than in the front. There were sparkles in the material, but not an obsessive amount of them.
Misty came out of the fitting room, wearing the dress Dawn had selected for her. The girl actually looked really good in lace.
"Oh Misty, you look gorgeous!" May said, coming out of her own fitting room.
"Agreed," Leaf stated.
"And I know just how to do your hair!" Dawn said excitedly.
"Oh no. You are not touching my hair!" Misty said.
Dawn put her hands on her hips. "This is a dance, Misty. You can't just put your hair up in your usual side ponytail."
"Right. And if you resist, Leaf and I will hold you down while Dawn styles your hair," May said.
"Fiiiine," Misty sighed.
"Yes! I'm going to do Misty's hair!" Dawn cheered.
"And this was the fastest shopping trip we've had in ages, especially for something like dresses," Leaf observed.
"By the way, Leaf," Misty said. "You still haven't told us what happened the night you went to the bar with Gary. You came back to the hotel all upset looking. Did he try to put the moves on you?" Misty shook her hips as she said it, making a seductive face.
"No, thank god. We just had a little... argument of sorts," said Leaf.
"You turned him down again, didn't you?" Misty asked.
"... Yeah."
"Leeeeaaaaf!" Dawn whined. "Whyyyyyyy? He likes you and you clearly like him!"
"Yeah, Leaf. I think he'd be really good for you? Why do you always sit around waiting for Mr. Perfect?" May asked.
"It's more complicated than that!" Leaf snapped. "I... I don't want to talk about it."
"Fine. But if you ask us, I think we all agree you're letting someone great slip through your fingers."
Leaf sighed. Don't you think I know that all too well?
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Dear Dawn,
Don't be worried. I'm not mad. I mean, I'm mad at this Paul guy, but why would I be mad at you? You didn't do anything wrong. And I know you like to help people. I understand that you want to spend more time with him so that you can help him. I trust you. I know you would never do anything behind my back. You're my beautiful, faithful girlfriend. I love you, and I know that you love me too.
I can't wait to see you when you get back in two weeks.
Love, Kenny
Dawn nearly crumpled up like a piece of paper after reading Kenny's email. He was so confident that she was being faithful to him. That nothing was going on. And yet, she'd told Paul that she loved him. Worse than that, it had now been a week since they'd all returned from Castelia, and she'd been spending even more time with Paul. Only now had she worked up the courage to check her email. In the past week, she'd begun to hold hands with Paul and cuddle close to him when they were alone. She hadn't kissed him yet, but she knew she wanted to. What was she going to do? Should she let go of Paul and stay with Kenny, or break things off with Kenny so that she could be with Paul? Would a long distance relationship work? It hadn't worked for her and Kenny. One summer apart from each other and she had strayed away. Would that happen to her and Paul?
She didn't have time to think about it right now. She was supposed to be getting ready. The dance was tonight, and all four girls needed to get showered and dressed and have their hair done. Dawn was going to do everyone's hair, so she needed to get herself ready first. She shut down her laptop and went into the bathroom to shower.
As soon as she got out, Leaf got in. Dawn did her own hair and makeup. She dried it, straightened it, and then curled it. By the time she was done, Leaf had applied her own makeup and was ready to have her do her hair. She wanted the same curls as Dawn.
Dawn had never seen Leaf with her hair curled. She looked amazing. Of all the girls, Leaf had the longest hair, and the curly tresses elegantly flowed down her back.
When May was ready, Dawn styled her hair into a French braid. The girl had asked for something simple but still pretty.
And then it was Misty's turn.
"Is my hair still going to be up?" she asked. "I like my hair up."
"Yes," Dawn answered. "I'm going to braid it to the side, and then wrap the braid into a bun. It'll look gorgeous on you." She worked as quickly as she could, weaving Misty's orange locks into each other. When she was done, she admired her work. Misty looked at herself in the mirror.
"Wow, Dawn. I actually really love it!"
"I'm glad. Now we need to get dressed super quick!"
All four girls got into their dresses and shoes and put on some jewelry. Leaf wore her charm bracelet, May wore a silver necklace, Misty put in golden stud earrings, and Dawn put on a silver bracelet. At the last second, she also slipped on the ring that she'd bought with Paul's money.
The girls were all ready to go. Dawn felt nervous. She had a feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.
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"Wow, Dawn! You look... Wow!"
"Thank you, Paul," Dawn said shyly. Even though it happened quite often, Dawn always blushed when someone complimented her on her appearance. Especially when that someone was a guy she had feelings for.
The students from all of the schools were gathered in the hotel's largest conference room. Tables lined the outside of the room, but the center of the floor was open for dancing. There were different kinds of food and drinks available at a bar in the corner, and hanging from the ceiling was even a disco ball.
"Wow. They really went all out for this thing," May said. She moved a little to the beat of the music and bumped Drew with her hip. He smiled and shook his head.
"Misty. Food. Let's go," Ash said, running through the dance floor to the bar. He almost knocked a few people over on his way. Misty laughed.
"I'll see you guys in a while," she said, walking after him as fast as she could. She'd bought a pair of aqua colored flats when they were out shopping but the shoes were a size too small. Dawn had talked her into wearing them anyway by threatening to force her into high heels if she didn't. Misty didn't really have a problem with heels, but they would make her taller than Ash and that would be weird, so she crammed her feet into the shoes like one of Cinderella's step-sisters. She really did adore the shoes though, so Dawn was happy that she'd worn them.
The night went on as one would expect. They all ate and danced and laughed, knowing that this was their last week together before going back home. There was only one more hour left until the dance would end, and Dawn was dancing with Paul. She rested her head on his shoulder, sighing deeply.
"What's up, Troublesome?" he asked softly into her ear. She loved the sound of his voice - so deep and powerful - and she could feel it rumble in his chest. Kenny's voice seemed like the voice of a child compared to Paul's, though she could scarcely even remember the sound of her boyfriend's voice. It had been too long.
"I'm just going to miss you," she answered.
"I'll call you every day," Paul promised. "I'll call you every day and I won't hang up until you smile at least ten times."
"Because you're the king of smiles," Dawn dead-panned.
"Technically, it would be prince," Paul corrected.
"Maybe I'll start calling you Sir Lancelot."
"Don't push it."
Dawn smiled and pressed herself against him more firmly.
"Don't get too comfortable, Troublesome." Dawn looked up in surprise.
"Did I do something wrong?" she asked.
"No. Look to your left, but don't be obvious." Dawn glanced over to the left, microscopically turning her head. Light blue hair caught her eye.
"Is it her?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah. The other two are with her."
"How'd they get in? They're residents of Undella! This dance is only for the schools on the trip!"
"Which means they snuck in to cause trouble," Paul said. "We need to warn the others."
Dawn searched the room for her friends. "Leaf and Gary are dancing over there," Dawn said, nodding her head in their direction. "Move towards them while we dance. I don't want those girls to know we've spotted them."
Dawn and Paul slowly made their way around the dance floor, warning Leaf, May, and Misty that the girls were there. They all stopped dancing and stood in their group to the side of the dancing.
"What should we do?" Dawn asked.
"Should we confront them?"
"Maybe we should just avoid them."
"Yeah right. You can't avoid people who are out to get you."
"Wait wait wait!" Drew shouted over the girls. "What is the big deal here?! They aren't out to get you! Abby saved Dawn's life, remember? What is it with you guys?"
"Listen here, cabbage patch," Misty said, poking Drew roughly in the chest. "Abby didn't save Dawn's life. She's the one who tried to drown her in the first place. And May punched her right in the face like she deserved. If you're too dense to figure that out, then that's not our problem."
Drew was taken aback. "Is that true, May?"
"Hey!" Misty interjected. "You don't talk anymore. We're at work here."
"Misty, stop yelling at him," May said. "We'll talk later, Drew. Right now we need to deal with the girls." The green-haired boy looked away.
"So wait. Abby tried to drown Dawn?" Gary asked.
Misty was about ready to scream. "What are you, slow? Try to keep up! Now, I still say we go show those girls what's what."
"But who knows what they're planning?" Leaf argued. "What if they want us to confront them?"
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting tired of them screwing with us," Dawn said plainly. "I'm kind of with Misty."
"I think Abby just loves getting hit in the face. Number three coming right up," May said, making a fist.
"We can't get in a throw down with them at a dance, May! Though if they throw the first punch, go to town on them," Misty said. "Of all the times to be wearing a dress..."
"You know there's an easier way, right?" Paul spoke up. The girls all looked at him in annoyance and curiosity. "You let us guys handle it. They're trying to 'steal' us from you, right? So why don't we just go over there and tell them to get lost?"
"Wow. Who knew Paul would be the one with the good idea," Gary said.
"Let's go," Drew said. The three boys headed over towards the girls.
"You think this is actually going to work?" May asked.
"Doubtful," Leaf answered. The four girls and Ash watched from afar as Drew, Paul, and Gary approached the girls. They watched as looks of shock crossed the girls' faces, and then they went pale as Paul told them off. Dawn felt proud of him, and flattered that he was doing this all for her.
Corrine and Abby seemed to be backing off, looking slightly embarrassed by what was happening, but Samantha's face was turning red in anger. She stopped listening to Paul and searched the dance floor wildly. Finally, her eyes locked with Dawn's. She shoved past Paul and began running her way.
"We've got trouble," Dawn muttered. She pulled two pokeballs out of her purse. She was glad she'd thought to bring a few of her pokemon with her. "Piplup and Buneary, spotlight!" Her two pokemon appeared, getting between her and Samantha.
Samantha stopped in her tracks, smirking. "So you want to play that way? Fine. Phanpy, Croconaw, go!" The two pokemon emerged from their balls, ready to battle.
"Buneary, use ice beam! Piplup, use bubble beam!" Dawn commanded.
"Croconaw, get in front of Phanpy and take the hit!" Samantha yelled. Her pokemon obeyed, and was barely hurt by the ineffective moves. "Now, Croconaw, use crunch on Piplup, and Phanpy use rollout on Buneary!"
"Buneary, use bounce!" Dawn shouted. The bunny pokemon jumped into the air, avoiding the rollout attack. Dawn didn't have time to issue a command to Piplup though, and he was clamped between Croconaw's jaws.
"Use whirlpool to get out!" Dawn commanded. Piplup forced Croconaw's mouth open with a whirlpool and escaped. All four pokemon were at a standstill, panting heavily.
"What is it you want with me?" Dawn yelled out to Samantha. "Why are you doing this?" By now, everyone at the dance had gathered around the battling trainers, watching intently as they stayed clear of the action.
"As if you don't know," Samantha sneered. "Croconaw, use mega punch on that pathetic Piplup!"
"Dodge it and use peck!" Dawn yelled. Piplup was able to avoid the punch and hit Croconaw with its peck attack.
"I really don't know why you hate me!" Dawn yelled. "I really don't!"
"How can you not know?!" Samantha yelled back. "Isn't it obvious?"
"Obviously not!"
"Enough of this! Phanpy, use rockfall on Buneary!" Rocks were hurled towards Buneary, hitting her dead on. The bunny pokemon was knocked out, and Dawn returned her to her ball.
"Piplup, use bubblebeam on both Phanpy and Croconaw!" This time, Croconaw was too far away from Phanpy to protect it in time, and both pokemon were hit. Phanpy was knocked out by the super-effective move.
"We're not going to lose! Croconaw, use aqua tail!"
"Counter it with whirlpool, Piplup!" The two water attacks collided, cancelling each other out.
"Use crunch!"
"Bide!" Piplup squatted and glowed white as Croconaw clamped its jaws down hard. The pokemon tried to bite down as hard as it could, and then the energy of the attack was turned back on it, knocking it out. Samantha angrily returned her pokemon.
Dawn stared the other girl down. "Now tell me why your friend tried to kill me. It seems obvious that you're the one behind it, so start explaining."
"... Come closer, and all will be made clear."
"What?"
"Just do it!" Tentatively, Dawn stepped forward and stared at Samantha.
"You look familiar. You... You look a lot like my dad!"
"So you've figured it out," Samantha said with contempt. "We're half sisters. Our father chose your mother over mine after an affair. So I hate you. I hate you more than anyone on this earth. Mother told me about you, and I stalked you on the internet for a long time. I was shocked when I bumped into you one night at the club, and then I realized this was an opportunity I just couldn't pass up."
"I have a sister..." Dawn whispered.
"Half sister. Stop saying it like it's a good thing."
"But it is a good thing!" Dawn said happily. "You're my sister, err, half sister! Don't you think that's exciting?"
"What the... I thought... you're actually nice?!"
"Dawn is the nicest person on the face of the planet," Paul said, stepping up behind Dawn and putting his arm around her. "She's also the most annoying, so if you're going to try and explain how much you hate her, good luck."
"I don't understand this. You took my dad away from me. I want to wipe you from the face of the planet. How can you not hate me in the same way?"
"You're my half sister. How could I hate you?"Dawn said. "I'm actually thrilled beyond words.
"This is too weird," Samantha said. "I can't hate you if you care about me. I can't... And I had Abby try to drown you and everything... I thought you'd be a spoiled little rich brat. And I was going to steal your boyfriend, and..."
"We're not even together," Paul said.
"Wow. Wow... I really screwed up," Samantha said. "I just... I need to get out of here." She turned and ran for the door.
"Samantha, wait!" Dawn yelled, about to run after her. Paul grabbed her arm.
"Let her go. She's one messed up chick."
"But she's my sister."
"I know. Give it time. You have three more days to find her and sort things out."
"Right."
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There you go. Finally got chapter 27 done. I'm not so sure that I like it a whole lot, but we'll see what you think. Please review so I know if it sucked or not!