A/N: And another new chapter! Thank you very much for reading, reviewing, favoriting and following, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover, though I did edit it.

Days

The day when a deal is made

Dawn

Sunday, November 24th

Dawn stared.

Alright, this was getting ridiculous. What had she done to piss off the powers that be to deserve punishment like this? One one-night stand, one! Surely that didn't warrant such extreme measures!

Dawn quickly averted her eyes from the now familiar figure of Paul, who also stood in the locker room of the Hearthome City Contest Hall. Of course, she shouldn't be surprised to see him again, considering that he was aiming for a Ribbon and since he hadn't succeeded last time in Jubilife, it would be logical that he would try again at the next Contest. But still!

Usually Dawn wouldn't have seen him again, because before Maylene's training session, Dawn had stuck to one Contest a month. But due to that training session and the previous Contest, she now felt motivated and inspired and she had sought out this next Contest, hoping that she would be able to continue her winning streak. Just one more Ribbon to get into the Grand Festival!

Of course, she was still intent on getting into the Wayland Tournament, but Dawn had decided that getting Ribbons would be her priority since there was a limited amount of Contests (though more had been added to give more people a chance to get into the Wayland Tournament). After that, she would focus on getting that Badge.

Her eyes were drawn back to Paul's figure and she recalled their last battle. He was a strong battler, that was for sure, but he had no eye for details and finesse.

Suddenly Paul turned and he caught her eye, and Dawn felt a shock run through her. His eyes narrowed in a challenging glare and sheg felt the urge to look away, but then felt determination flood through her.

She put on her brightest smile and with confident steps she walked into Paul's direction, expertly maneuvering past the other people in the locker room. A short beat of triumph went through her when shock and maybe fear flashed in his eyes, and her smile brightened several watts.

"Hey, Paul! Good to see you here!" she said with as much cheer as she could muster, the satisfaction of catching him off guard fueling her.

"Hm," was all he said, but Dawn wasn't discouraged.

"You're still going for that one Ribbon for the Tournament?"

"That would be obvious," he said, still glaring. Oops. Her question hadn't sounded really friendly, had it?

"I mean, I get that it's difficult, it took me ages to get my first Ribbon, too!" Not exactly what she had wanted to say, and Paul's eyes darkened considerably. "Uh, but your Pokémon are really strong already, and er, if you want any help, you can always ask me!"

Hm, also not really what she had wanted to say, but at least she could be sure that Paul wouldn't take it seriously.

Paul opened his mouth to undoubtedly say something rude, but to Dawn's great horror he closed it again and the corners of his mouth turned up in a forced smile. "Yes, I would really appreciate it if you would help me." His voice was too sugary sweet and amusement shone in his eyes.

"Well, uh..." Dawn floundered, quickly trying to find an excuse. "Well, as much as I would like to, miracles don't happen in three minutes before a Contest, you know. We'd need more time. Much more time."

Hidden insult, nice one, Dawn, she would have highfived herself if she could. She grinned cheerfully at him.

Paul's smile had disappeared and he looked like he eaten something sour. Dawn's smile widened-

"Alright. I accept your help."

Paul looked completely serious.

Dawn gaped.

There was a flicker of amusement, but that was the only break in his earnest demeanor. "We'll travel together to the Contests and you can train me. What do you want as payment?"

Dawn continued to gape. Payment? Having to put up with him for days on end warranted her getting a goldmine- And she still wasn't sure if he was serious or not. He couldn't be serious, right?!

"I..." She tried to regain control over herself and the situation, because Paul looked altogether too amused at her fumbling.

An idea occurred to her, and she straightened up. "I want to get a Badge," Dawn said. "Yes, we both want to participate in the Wayland Tournament. I'll help you with getting a Ribbon, and you'll help me with getting a Badge."

Paul took a moment to consider this, before extending his hand. "Done."

Dawn complimented herself on how quickly she grasped his hand and the confident shake they shared. "Deal. I'll see you after the Contest." She released his hand and yes, perhaps there was some mocking element in her smile when she said, "Good luck."

Paul however, didn't appear to be fazed and instead actually seemed satisfied, which left Dawn with the uncomfortable feeling that she was missing something important.

A/N: And we have a reason for Paul and Dawn to stick together. We'll see how that goes :P Thank you very much for reading, and please let me know what you thought about this chapter!

Thank you!

Recommendations:

Pokémon:Bilingual by Nexxus176. FFN. Thanks to QUEENSPELLER67 for recommending this story to me! This is a sweet and fluffy one-shot about Ash and Serena, where Serena asks Ash to meet outside because she has finally decided to confess…

Pokémon: synaesthesia by inklaced. FFN. Alright, this one is a bit creepy – quite a bit creepy – but also very intriguing and beautifully written. It's a one-shot with SpecialShipping and some OldrivalShipping, but well, it's mostly just a very chilling story.

Brave, 2012: The Ties That Bind by GAM3R G1RL 13. FFN. This is an in-progress multi-chaptered story about the Disney movie Brave, though sadly it hasn't been updated in a while, with a slow burn romance between Merida and Young McGuffin, and a whole lot of adventure and mysteries. Rated M!

If you have any recommendations, whether they're your own stories or someone else's, please let me know!