IM BACKKKKK! I missed you guys so much!

I WILL BE UPLOADING ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS BECAUSE TCOH IS COMING BACK, BUT THERE WILL BE A CHAPTER NEXT WEEK.

This is quite possibly my best chapter yet. Or at least, my favourite chapter yet. Only thing missing is contestshipping, which is slightly depressing. Oh well. I don't own Pokemon but I do own Paul's aunt.

Chapter Eleven

"'Cause the police are already here."

Misty ran through the events that had just happened. She watched Gary walk into the police car, cursing, and she gritted her teeth.

"I'll ruin your life ginger! And I've already done it. All you have to do is wait." He shouted.

She scowled. She was so not going to find love. Ever again. Love sucked. She would stick to chic flicks and popcorn. Popcorn was her life. She would get married to it one day.

She stood up, hobbling down the street, her legs slightly unstable from sitting down too long. She cast a look that said all she needed to say at the police officer, and he smiled, giving Misty the confirmation that she was innocent. At least she wouldn't be with Gary in prison.

()()()()()

"You are kidding me. You are freakin kidding me." May growled.

"No I'm not. I'm serious. Look. Wait 'til Misty sees this!" Dawn squealed.

"She probably has. I mean, she is in the newspaper crew."

"Oh. I forgot."

"I mean, why would Serena go out with Clemont?" Dawn cried.

"I don't know! But I hate Clemont! Ugh!"

"Shut up! It's a classic love story! The geek gets the chick! And just because Clemont once burned your hair off in an experiment back in grade two doesn't mean you have to hate him." Dawn pouted, clutching the newspaper in her hands excitedly.

"Hang on! It was all my hair. I was what, bald for two months!" Exclaimed May.

"You were so not bald. You had a messy bob." Dawn pointed out.

"Whatever! Look! Shh!" May hissed, pointing to the corner of the cafeteria.

The room had been reduced to an eerie silence, everyone sitting, except for three boys. Yes, you know who they are. Ash, Drew and Paul. But it was Paul who was in the centre of attention, instead of the usual Ash.

"I told you no." Paul repeated to a frightened freshman.

"You heard him." Ash growled.

"W-w-who are you taking?" The freshman asked.

Everyone gasped. She was obviously new. People knew by the first week that messing with the bad boys was a bad choice.

"To prom?" Paul smirked. "Dawn Hikari Berlitz."

And the three boys took off.

There was a moment where everyone tried to take things in. Then in almost exact unison, everyone turned to look at Dawn, who was bright red.

"You sneaky thing! Why didn't you tell me!" May exploded.

"Heh heh. I sorta forgot." Dawn gulped at May, who was looming over her.

"Forgot?! This is prom we're talking about!" May shouted. "Omg I'm so…so.."

"So…what?" Dawn asked, glancing warily at how close May was to her face.

"So…happy for you!" May cried, hugging her friend tightly. Oh so very tightly.

"I…can't…breathe…" Dawn choked, trying, as hard as she could, to pull away. Why? Because otherwise she was going to die.

May let go very quickly, turned pink, and scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, as her friend glared at her.

()()()()()

Misty wondered why this was so familiar. She tried to forget that it was this scene that started this mess. Her, wandering the streets, lost and alone. She could've called Dawn and May, but her phone was gone, and she had no money on her. Stupidly enough. So much for her being 'organised' one of the group.

A tear slid down her face, as the rain pattered silently on her. It was like a replay. A replay of when she met Gary. What she thought had been the best day of her life, a new start, a new everything. She clenched her fist without realising it. Her footsteps became whispers, her breath becoming ragged. Just like before. She tried to fight it, the temptation just to sink down to her feet and sleep. She knew it would only lead her to trouble. But it got too much, and she collapsed in the pavement.

()()()()()

"Excuse me?"

"Yes dear?"

"Have you seen Paul?"

"Ah! Yes! You must be Dawn! Nice to meet you!"

"May I ask who you are?"

"Of course! I am Paul's aunt. I come here often to see my nephews but they never seem to be here. Paul's in his room, by the way. He's locked himself in. Cheerio!"

Dawn smiled weakly, before running up the stairs. No wonder Paul was so grumpy all the time. His aunt was just so…joyful all the time. She opened the door slowly, before stopping in remembrance. Memories flooded her mind.

…

It had been her who had pulled away first, and she bit her nails nervously.

"What did you do that for, troublesome?"

His face was stony, and Dawn wished desperately that she could take back what she did. Why did she even kiss him in the first place? Oh right. To prove it to him. To prove it that she loved him.

"I'm waiting for an answer, troublesome."

Dawn took a deep breath, searching her mind for a good, yet flirtatious way to answer. She found none. Misty and May would've known what to do. She wished that she had told them. All that time, after school, even once during school, she was alone. With Paul. Though, they had never done anything much. Just talked about life. Just talking about the stupid things that happened to them, relating to each other's experiences. They had bonded. A lot. A lot more than Dawn had realised. And she realised now, that she had been oblivious to what had grew inside her.

"I-I wanted to prove it to you."

His onyx eyes drilled into hers, and through instinct she took a step back. Did she do anything wrong? They stood there in silence, none of them daring to speak, breathe, anything at all, really. Then, Dawn broke it.

"I wanted to prove that I l-loved you."

Her voice cracked in the middle, of fear. She had never said the 'l word' with a meaning. An actual meaning to it. It wasn't one of those times with the girls, talking about a chic flick they just watched, or a time when she gushed over the concept of 'true love' from a book, like 'The Fault In Our Stars'.

"You love me?" He asked, never taking his gaze off her.

"Yes. Don't…don't you believe me?" She trailed off, biting her lip anxiously.

The hesitant pause in between them lasted almost for a decade, for all Dawn knew. They were just getting lost in each other's eyes. Trying to figure out whether they were lying or not. Finally, Paul spoke.

"I'm taking you to prom. You'd better be there or else."

Then, walking away, with his hands in his pockets, Paul left, but not before looking back, with possibly a trace of a smile on his lips.

…

Dawn stared at Paul, who had the same expression now. His eyes, serious, but his lips curved upwards slightly, only a millimetre above the average straight line. It reminded her. It reminded her of good memories. And she smiled, as he planted a kiss on her hair, as he whispered words into her ear, as he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

()()()()()

Misty awoke. To a smell. Of…of…tomato soup. She smiled slightly, glad it wasn't hot chocolate. Glad it wasn't that cabin that now haunted her. She rubbed her eyes quickly, before looking around curiously. It was a small cottage, with a fireplace, and she was currently laying on the sofa, a blanket wrapped around her.

"Oh! You're awake!"

Misty turned around, to see a woman, grey slowly taking over her hair, hobbling into the room with crutches. She was quite pretty, if it hadn't been for the bags under her eyes.

"Um…hi?" She squeaked, taking a bowl of tomato soup into her hands.

"Hello dear. I found you in the street, shivering to death." She paused, to sit down next to Misty. "I brought you back here. You can stay as long as you want."

Misty frowned, suddenly remembering everything.

"Oh no, it's fine. I can call one of my friends later. Can…can I stay for the night though?"

"Sure you can! What's your name?"

"Misty."

"School?"

"Johto High. It's down the-"

"I know. My son goes there."

"Oh! How old is he?"

"Seventeen. I assume you are too, from the amount of homework you have."

"That's right. I don't think I know your son…there is a lot of people in our year."

"Yes, you probably don't know him. He's not too popular, as he tells me."

"Oh? Really?"

"He tells me everything, always been a good son to me. Even after I started getting cancer."

"You have cancer? Oh! I'm sorry! Taking me in must be hard!"

"It's fine. I love taking care of people. I got cancer when he was five, you see. My legs and arms still aren't too strong, but back then, I needed a wheelchair, I couldn't cook, clean, anything. Poor son. Six, he could cook instant noodles, seven, he could vacuum, eight, he could make lasagne. And I was there helpless. He doesn't have many friends over. He says it's a girl thing though, apparently. I'm always asleep during the day, to be honest, it's tiring, but I'm strong enough to live through the cancer for now. His father, though, left when he was three. Cheated on me. I was already young. Guess I wasn't young enough."

She sighed, a tear sliding helplessly down her cheek. Misty handed her a tissue, and smiled sympathetically. There was a sound of the door opening, and the woman smiled.

"That'll be my son, coming back."

The door creaked open, and Misty's eyes widened. Time froze, and Misty let everything sink in. Then she gulped, before croaking out a single word.

"A-Ash?"

()()()()()

A/N: I KNOW YOU LOVE ME GUYS. I LUV YOU TOO. MWAH.

Haha! Yes! MWA HA HA HA HA. I have more up my sleeve then you think. (Devil face)

Yes, the old woman was Delia. Delia Ketchum. Any links? Also geekchic shipping mention. IT FOR YOU AWESOMEFACE(Songofmypeople42)

I can't wait to update the next chapter! And I know you guys want to too.

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Catsaysmaw xxxxx