Chapter 8~!

Confident, confident!
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Bleh...I just got contacts and my eyes hurt if I stare at the screen for too long.

It's finally the weekend and that means a new update!

So, let's get started!

Chapter 8:

'Hello there!'

Seven pairs of eyes flickered over to the bushes where a boy was standing.

Oh. It was that kid.

Paul's eye twitched in irritation upon hearing his young, fresh sounding voice. The smile on his face was even more disgusting, bright and cheerful. Although Ash also had a smile like that, something about his just annoyed him to the point where he wanted to push him off a cliff. His slightly seared scarf and hat were what made him even more eye-catching. Honestly, what boy wears a scarf and hat at this time of year?

"Lucas!"

A certain girl shot up from her seat next to Leaf. In a flurry of blue, she rushed over and nearly jumped on him. She was now holding him close and tight like a child would a teddy bear. This was even more irksome than when Reggie tried to give him a goodnight kiss... As the days passed by, hour after hour, Paul found himself missing his 'mother' figure.

"Easy, easy." Lucas' voice interrupted his thoughts. Looking up, Paul grunted quietly as he put his arm around her. Were they really that close?

"Anyways...I'm Lucas, if you didn't know already!" Most of the others were giving him a friendly smile. Except for Leaf, who was eating a fish, and May, who was inspecting her fractured arm. Paul, of course, was not smiling either, giving him another one of his famous icy glares.

"Welcome! We'll cut introductions short so we can fill you in on what has happened." Red adjusted his hat again, brimming with pride to have organized everything.

"Ah, that would be helpful. I mean, this is sort of confusing. But, once I saw Dawn with you guys, I decided it must be alright to join you. 'Cause Dawn's so innocent and stuff, I have to protect her from the strangers, you know? " His explanation for his trust and integrity was revolting. Paul saw a look of guilt flash across Dawn's face, she must've been thinking about her mental breakdown. Innocence? Well any of that is long gone now.

"Incredibly handsome strangers." Drew added. Paul completely forgot about him until he said something. Lucas laughed and began hugging Dawn back.

"I'm Red." He turned and pointed with his finger. "There's May. Ash. Leaf. You know Dawn. Drew. And Paul." May paid no mind to Lucas whatsoever, Ash grinned and waved wildly, and Leaf glanced upwards before continuing a conversation with Drew. Red sighed as Lucas was removed from the spotlight almost immediately.

"Don't mind them. Just the typical teenagers..heh." The older man laughed awkwardly as he just remembered that Lucas was the same age as them.

"It's alright, but I'd really appreciate it if you could explain everything to me." Lucas was exchanging what Paul thought were romantic looks with Dawn before looking back up at Red. Paul felt sick to his stomach.

"I'm going to do something productive." Abruptly standing up, the plum head nodded at Red before picking up a wood spear and heading off.

"Wait, man, I want to come!" Drew quickly stood up and walked after him. Although, Paul simply said nothing and continued to start down the beach. Everything was fine until he regained consciousness. This was making Paul's blood boil a little. Especially the physical contact. An eight hour flight and suddenly they act as if they're dating? Nobody should be able to fall in love just like that. It'd be too shallow.

"Where are we going!?" A certain green haired teen slammed his fist down on his back yet again.

"God Damn it, I thought I told you not to do that anymore!" Paul snapped roughly, tightening his grip around the spear.

"Whoa, what's got your panties in a twist?" He snickered, eying the weapon carefully. "Where'd you get that and where can I get one?"

"It's for self-defense and hunting only. Red's rules, ask him about it." His eyes flickered around, analyzing their surroundings. Eventually it would get colder and everyone will get tired of fish. There must be something useful on this island. Paul paused for a moment, shivering as the girl came to mind.

"Is that so? Well, what are we going to hunt?" Drew followed after as he steered towards the woods. This kid was definitely getting on Paul's nerves now.

"'Dunno. Maybe I'll see if there's a rabbit or something here.." Paul quietly leaned over and inspected a bush.

"A rabbit? So like a buneary? We're going to eat a pokemon?!" An expression that showed have disgust and half fear crossed his face. He continued helping him look before stopping. In front of Drew was a small indent in the ground. Leaning closer, he realized that it was a footprint made by some sort of creature.

"Hey, Paul, look at this thingy."

"What is it this time?" He grumbled, almost trudging over to where Drew was crouching. "Did you take a wazz here or something?" The scents around the area were foul and disgusting. Eye twitching, Paul sighed and kneeled next to him to get a better view.

"Wha-no! Of course not, do I look like that type of person?"

"Yes."

"Jerk." Drew shook his head and pushed himself back on topic, "Anyways, check out this footprint!" His finger lightly traced the dirt around it. Peering at it, the other boy noticed several more, leading through the trees. The footprints were almost round and looked as if they would fade away at any time.

"Follow." Paul ordered bluntly, getting up and moving ahead after the prints. Wordlessly, Drew trailed after him with a slightly excited look on his face. Turning around, the plum head noticed this.

"What are you getting all thrilled for?" With cold eyes, he stopped, glaring sharply at him. The chartreuse haired boy pulled back nervously, smile fading. Paul's eyes were sort of scary, his eye lids were relaxed, blocking out any reflection of the light. In fact, they almost looked clouded and dead.

"Eh? I'm just curious as to what it is, you know?" Laughing awkwardly, he rubbed the back of his head with a hand. Simply snorting, Paul continued on ahead, hands clenching the spear tighter as the footprints went deeper into the woods.

"Dude...Something's wrong here." Paul stopped and turned around to face Drew. He was crouching next to a couple of footprints. Walking over, he took a closer look at them. They were definitely footprints...However, they were sloppy and rapid. The prints looked like streaks through the earth.

"Something must've been chasing it."

"But then, where's the blood or other footprints?" Drew inquired, looking around slowly. Squinting, Paul searched for any other helpful clues or signs.

"The only thing we should do is follow it." He replied silently.

"But what if we encounter whatever was chasing it?"

"We don't know if something was chasing it."

"And if something was?!" Drew returned Paul's glare with a serious one.

"Then we kill it." He grumbled dully as if it the solution to their problem were obvious. Paul grabbed a stick which was laying on the ground nearby. It was thick and about the length of his arm. "Use this."

Taking the stick from his hand, Drew skeptically looked at him before sighing. Giving in, he stood up and walked ahead past him and towards the darker part of the woods. Soon enough, Paul had caught up with him. The woods around them were getting shadier and the scratchy looking footprints from earlier weren't helping to reassure them. Reaching into his pocket, the violet haired boy pulled out his makeshift knife. Although, now it was complete with long, sharp, rigid sides.

"Whoa, did you make that?" Paul nodded in response. Both of them stayed silent and cautious as they approached what they thought was the end. The footprints had led them to a dark open area.

"What the.." Drew's eyes knitted together in confusion.

"I don't know.." Paul looked down to see that the footprints had disappeared. Everything was still almost pitch black.

"What time is it?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"It should be morning by now, right?"

"I don't know." He rolled his eyes.

"Look, I don't think we should stick around here much longer, man." Drew began to back up a little. This place was a bit too creepy for him, especially with the pessimistic boy standing in front of him.

"Wait a second.." Paul's eyes were beginning to adjust just a bit more to the lighting.

"Come on, let's just leave." He argued as Paul began to creep ahead of where the footprints disappeared. "That's not a good idea."

"Shut up, will you?"

A couple minutes passed in silence as Paul continued his cautious approach. Drew stood there, glancing around as if he were expecting something to come out and eat him. More time, he took a step forward as Paul had fallen out of sight.

"What..." He heard the other boy mutter.

"Paul, did you find anything?"

Suddenly, the purple haired teen flew backwards and onto the ground in front of him. He stared down at him, he hadn't seen much emotion on his face since they 'arrived'. It was a look of pure shock and horror.

"Holy shit."

"Eh? Why not?"

Dawn whimpered slightly, clinging to Lucas' arm. The two sat next to each other on one of the logs around the fire.

"Because it's about one in the morning." He murmured softly, staring at the ocean in front of them. Across from them sat Red, who was currently sharpening a long stick into a spear.

"You two are cute together. But, Lucas, how about you go check on the ginger and the other boy?" His voice interrupted the two's affectionate exchanges.

"Ah, alright." Lucas nodded, pulling his arm away from Dawn and getting up. Dawn began to follow after him however Red quickly stopped her.

"Dawn, why don't you go get some rest?" A light smile was shone on his face. The girl hesitated before sighing and walking over to where Leaf, Ash, and May were. Which was around the large oak, but a bit closer to where the campfire and beach were. When she arrived she noticed how Ash slept defenselessly sprawled out, limbs in all different directions. He was snoring quite loudly. She laughed quietly to herself before sitting down next to May.

"He's going to end up waking the other two unconscious survivors." Dawn turned her head, locking eyes with May.

"You're still awake?"

"Well, what about you?" May gave a light chuckle before repositioning her arm.

"I couldn't sleep so I went out and joined Lucas and Red." She replied, staring at the splint. "How did you break your arm?"

"I fell out of a tree." The brunette laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "Lucas and Red? What about the other two?"

Her thoughts immediately flashed to Paul. That thoughtless, cold-hearted jerk. Shaking her head, Dawn smiled, ridding herself of thoughts about him.

"They're probably off screwing around in the woods."

"That sounds like Drew." May sighed, running her fingers over the bandana tied around the splint. "And Leaf was out before I even got here." She added.

"She fell asleep that quickly?" Dawn turned her head to see the other brunette curled up almost in a ball beside her. Her face was peaceful and relaxed, so innocent looking. Leaf reminded her of either a small child or a cat.

"It's been a very long day." Looking up at the dark sky, May laid on her back. "After this, I suppose it'll be three days since we got here."

"Has it really been that long? It seems like only yesterday we were flying to Kalos." The azure haired girl's eyebrows furrowed together in frustration.

"Well, apparently only Red, Ash, and Paul were the first ones up and going after the crash."

"Paul? Ash? How were those two up almost immediately?" She frowned a bit.

"I don't know... Say, did something happen between you and Paul?" May questioned, staring blankly into the shadows of the sky.

"No, nothing. I just.. Don't like him." Dawn lied. She didn't really want to admit that she had murdered someone in the heat of the moment. Although Paul himself said that the girl wasn't counted as a real person, Dawn couldn't help but feel some sort of regret and guilt.

"Ah, I see."

Finally laying down, Dawn began to think just a little bit more. The two lay there in complete silence, aside from Leaf's soft breathing and Ash's loud snoring. Suddenly, May burst into abrupt laughter.

"What's so funny?" A very confused expression crossed over Dawn's face.

"It's just, we're pretty much stuck here with strangers and yet everyone is just casually sitting around. In fact, I haven't done anything to help the team in anyway. I also feel pretty pathetic too, missing my family. Even my little brother." She smiled stupidly, up above, the stars were beginning to disappear as the light of day broke through the darkness. Her hand reached up and out towards a bright star as if she were trying to grasp onto it.

"Yeah... I miss my mother and pokemon too. It's a normal feeling." Dawn began to laugh a little bit with her.

"Hey."

"Hm?" She turned to look at May again.

"Do you think help will come?" Sighing, Dawn took a deep breath.

"I honestly don't know."

"Oh, and Dawn?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think everyone thinks we're dead?"

The soft smile she had on her face vanished. Frowning, Dawn closed her eyes and exhaled. May turned her head to look at her, obviously expecting some sort of response.

"They'll send help and search for us soon. I'm sure they can pinpoint the plane's location somehow." She decided to try and lighten the mood by staying positive.

"That sounds nice." May smiled before closing her eyes.

"May?"

No response.

"May?"

The sound of soft, steady breathing erupted from where May was. It joined Leaf and Ash's sounds which filled the air. Dawn couldn't help but think that it was almost like a instrumental song. Although, Ash's snoring was beginning to irritate her a little bit. Forgetting about Lucas, Red, and everyone else, she slipped off into sleep.

"Goodnight, everyone."

HUAHAU I just realized how short my chapters are compared to other fanfictions -,-

But I guess this is what keeps you guys reading, right? Haha.

So May and Dawn's scene was to inspire hope c:

Oh and I guess I should ask for a prediction or two.

What did Paul discover?

What left the footprints?

It's a mystery, yes?

Anyways!

Remember, feel free to leave a review! Help make this story better or something, I honestly don't care!

!~

Thanks~
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Bear