Author's Note: Hi! Welcome back to another installment. I had a ridiculous amount of fun writing this chapter so be warned lol.

I'm really starting to love writing Paul, in general, so I embellished a bit. He's so snarky. Drew is fun because he's both cocky and has a flair for the dramatic, but Paul has that deadpan sarcasm with no filter, and that's a fun combo for any situation. I love characters where you can't really tell if they're being sarcastic or serious, and I could see him having a dark sense of humor.

Also, thank you for the reviews from the last chapter. I always enjoy reading them, and they give me inspiration to keep writing!

Chapter Six: Olive Branch

Just as May predicted, Dawn didn't say a word to her the next morning in homeroom, clearly angry over her refusal to choose sides between her and Paul's argument the previous night. May felt Dawn was being a bit dramatic and blowing the whole thing out of proportion, if she was honest. She didn't dare say that to her blue haired friend though. The girl had a temper and could hold a grudge, but her moods also shifted like a summer storm and could pass just as quickly. Sometimes, it was best to wait her out.

Rather than stressing about her friend's moods, the missing kids, or any of the other things going on that May couldn't control, she decided to focus on her upcoming exams and threw herself into her studies. The next week flew by in a flurry of studying, training, and sleepless nights, and she kept herself so busy that she barely saw her friends outside of classes.

The Sunday night before exams started, May sat at her desk in her room, trying to mentally prepare herself for the next day. She didn't have to worry about Battle Room. They'd each battled three times against the computer and had been graded on their ability to adapt their strategy to whatever pokémon appeared and how they handled themselves under pressure. May scored high marks in each category and was happy with her results and how her pokémon performed.

Her French teacher required them to write a story in French in lieu of taking an exam, and she'd finished hers over the weekend and had it safely tucked away in her folder, ready to turn in tomorrow. That left geometry and Pokémon Nutrition.

May had just pulled out her geometry study guide, deciding to give the questions another quick once over when she heard a knock on her door. She glanced at the clock on her wall, surprised to see it was almost 8:00 PM.

She walked to the door and opened it a crack, expecting to see Dawn, but her eyes widened at the sight of Drew. He was holding a plastic bag of Chinese carry out, if the smell was any indication, and her stomach growled loudly, reminding her she hadn't eaten yet. "Hi," she said in surprise, swinging the door fully open. "What are you doing here?" She wasn't sure how she felt about him standing right outside her room, especially since he'd been such an ass to her the last time they'd seen each other, during the mandatory school gathering.

"I come bearing gifts," Drew said, gesturing to the bag in his left hand. "I figured you might be hungry." After an awkward pause, he added, "May I come in?"

"Sure," she said, and after only a moment's hesitation, she took a step to the side, granting him access and closing the door after him.

He sat down on her futon and placed the bag on the little table next to it, peering around her room curiously. He tsked at the clothes and books strewn around and said, "Ever heard the saying 'clean room, clean mind'?"

"Yeah, I know it's a mess," May grumbled, gesturing vaguely around her. "I'll deal with it after midterms." She grabbed two sets of silverware and joined him on the futon.

"I don't know how you can function like this," he said with a teasing smile. "It would drive me crazy."

"Then it's a good thing we're not roommates," she said with an eye roll as she began scooping Chicken Lo Mein and Sweet and Sour Pork into her bowl. "Seriously, is that why you came here, to make fun of me?"

"No," he said, dragging out the word as he considered what he wanted to say. May glanced at him briefly before shoving a forkful into her mouth, too hungry to care about her manners. She savored the taste of the noodles. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the way I acted the other night. I was kind of a dick."

May hummed in agreement and nodded her head. "You were, but I know you were stressing over your friend."

"Yeah, well," he said, stabbing a piece of meat with his fork. "That's no excuse."

"It's not," she agreed. "And I accept your apology."

"Thank you," he said, giving her a small, genuine smile.

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Then May asked, "How did you know I haven't had dinner yet?" She wasn't even going to venture a guess on how he knew which room was hers since she was pretty sure she had Dawn, Misty, or even Ash to thank for that.

He shrugged without looking at her. "Just a guess. I've noticed you don't eat much when you're stressed."

May felt a jolt of surprise course through her, and her cheeks began to grow warm. She didn't even know why she felt embarrassed; except she had no idea Drew had noticed that detail about her. She went back to picking at her noodles, not wanting him to see her flustered. "Well, thank you."

"Anytime, May," he said, flicking his bangs out of his eyes. "So anyway, we have French and Pokémon Nutrition tomorrow. You ready for them?"

She nodded, glad to be talking about a neutral topic. "I think so. I finished my story over the weekend, and I feel pretty good about Pokémon Nutrition. It's a good thing too because Selena hates me. I can't wait to be done with that class and not have to deal with her anymore."

Drew's eyebrows rose in surprise, and he turned to face her fully. "She hates you? I haven't seen her treat you any differently than anyone else."

"It's just a feeling, I guess," May said, "You know when you get a vibe from someone even though they haven't actually said anything? I never liked her, and I always felt like the feeling was mutual." Then she quickly told him about her run in with Selena at the Battle Room, and Drew cocked his head as he listened to her story.

"I don't know," he said once she had finished. "I still don't think that means she hates you. Maybe she's just a stickler for the rules."

"I guess," May said doubtfully. "You'd think she'd be a little more understanding about students studying for exams though."

Drew grunted noncommittally and fished around in his bag for a stack of paper cards. "Let's see how much you really know."

"Seriously, Drew, flash cards?" she asked, unable to resist taunting him, "I didn't realize you were such a nerd."

"Hey now, flash cards are a useful tool," he said, ignoring the jab.

"I'm surprised you don't carry those around in a pocket protector."

"Hilarious." He mixed the cards up and grabbed a random one out of the middle of the stack. "Which type of Berry cures poison: Rawst, Pecha, Oran, or Chesto?"

"Pecha," May said immediately. They'd covered some of the same material in Battle Room, so she was very confident in her answer.

Drew nodded and pulled another card. "Which type of grass is bad for a Rapidash' digestive system: Timothy, Orchid, Alfalfa, or Sorghum?"

They took turns asking each other questions from the stack of cards for the next forty-five minutes. Then Drew grabbed May's geometry study guide and quizzed her on that. He apparently loved math and even reexplained a concept May was still struggling with. When he was in his element and not showing off for an audience, he was a good teacher. He gave her a few problems to solve and sat patiently while she worked through them, occasionally giving her feedback or nudging her in the right direction. Considering he wasn't even taking the class and had his own exams to study for, she found this to be an unexpectedly friendly gesture. When she voiced that thought out loud, Drew shrugged and glanced away. "It's no big deal."

"Yes, it is! What other class do you have tomorrow?" May asked. "Shouldn't you be studying for that?"

He pulled a face, not bothering to hide his opinion. "Trust me, this is way more fun than Pokémon Physiology. That shit is booooooring."

It was almost 10:30 before they decided to call it a night, and May walked Drew to the door. Despite feeling like her head was in a fog from all the studying, she felt happier than she had in days. Drew was surprisingly fun to be around, and she couldn't help the smile that formed when he turned to look at her. "Thanks again for all your help, Drew. And for dinner. I had fun with you."

"Yeah, I did too."

She took a step forward to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug. Then, before she could think too much about what she was doing, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and jumped back. "Goodnight!" she said and rushed back into her room and closed the door.

While May studied with Drew, Dawn sat in an armchair in the LaRousse Academy Library several blocks away from campus, going over her notes for her exams the next day. She'd tried to study in her room but kept getting distracted by all the things she'd much rather be doing and decided to try a change of scenery. She briefly wondered why the library had been built so far apart from the rest of campus but decided it must be because it was one of the newer additions to the school.

Unfortunately, she wasn't having much better luck here either, despite the lack of distractions. Her mind kept wandering, and after reading the same paragraph three times, she finally closed her book and leaned back with a sigh.

"This seat taken?"

Startled, she straightened in her chair and looked up, and a large smile spread across her face when she realized who it was. "Gary Oak! What are you doing here?"

"Hey," he said. Several books on pokémon evolution were tucked under his arm. "I came in for a little research project and saw you, so I thought I'd stop over."

"Oh! I'm surprised you remember me, actually," she said with a shy smile. She could feel her cheeks getting warm.

"Of course, I do," he said. "We've talked a few times. You're one of Ash's friends." He sat down in the armchair across from her and dropped his books on the table between them. Then he leaned against the back of the chair and cocked his head at her. "So how long have you guys known each other anyway?"

Ah, so this meeting wasn't just a happy coincidence. Gary was acting nonchalant, but it felt forced when paired with the underlying tension in his shoulders. He was too alert, brown eyes too intense. He was here to glean information from her, though what that was, she wasn't exactly sure. She tilted her head and looked at Gary with a contemplative expression. Did he see her as a rival? "Me and Ash? I met him through my friend, May. He's a good guy, the kind who would do anything for a friend."

Gary's eyes softened, and his body relaxed just a fraction. The shift was so subtle Dawn would have missed it if she wasn't so sensitive to the emotions of other people. "Yeah, he's pretty okay in my book."

Feeling more in control of the conversation, Dawn decided to do a little prying herself. "He talks about you a lot. You guys are close, huh?"

"I guess you could say that," he said. "We were friends as kids but grew apart for a few years. We reconnected once we both started at LaRousse."

She nodded thoughtfully. "He's mentioned that, but he never told my why you grew apart. So what happened?"

Gary shook his head and ran a hand through his auburn spikes. "It was my fault, mostly. Let's just say I went through a period of self-doubt, and Ash took the brunt of it."

"You? Really?" Dawn said, leaning forward in interest. "But you always seem so confident and self-assured."

Gary shrugged. "Everyone experiences insecurity in some form or another. I just didn't deal with mine in a very healthy way." He suddenly sat up a little straighter and gave her an appraising look. "That's not really something I like to share. You're deceptively easy to talk to."

"Thanks," Dawn said, giving him a charming smile. "I've been told I put people at ease."

"That so? I'll remember that."

She put her hand on her chin and continued, deciding to test the waters and see how far she could push. "I don't know Ash as well as you do, but I've noticed he's a little naive in some ways. I don't think he's very good at picking up on certain social cues, you know?" Gary's eyes had narrowed, and that subtle tension was back in his shoulders. "Like, he's really sweet and caring, but he can be completely clueless to another person's feelings."

"Yeah, he can be as dense as a golem," he agreed. "Sounds like you're speaking from experience…?"

"Oh, no!" Dawn said, waving her hands in a placating gesture. "We're just friends. But if I had a crush on him or something, I wouldn't beat around the bush about it. I'd just tell it to him straight."

Gary's expression was guarded, and she couldn't quite decipher the look he was giving her. Then he abruptly changed subjects. "So what's going on with you and that Paul kid?"

"What?" Dawn said, suddenly not liking where the conversation was headed. She squinted over at him suspiciously. "Nothing. Why would you think that?"

"Well, for one," he continued with a smirk, "You're not exactly quiet about your opinion of him. I've heard you guys arguing in the hallway between classes. For someone who claims to hate him so much, you two sure gravitate toward each other."

"It's not like that!" Dawn said, feeling her face getting hot. "We've just been running into each other a lot lately. He's probably doing it on purpose to annoy me!"

"And what is it he's been calling you lately? Princess? Cute."

"It's not cute!" Dawn said, waving her arms around emphatically. "It's just a stupid nickname. He knows I hate it."

"What was it you said earlier about picking up on social clues? You do realize that a guy only pays that much attention to a girl if he likes her, right?"

"You've got it all wrong!" Dawn snapped, feeling her temper start to rise. She knew her face was bright red just as she knew Gary was enjoying watching her squirm. She had to check herself to keep from yelling at him in the library. "Paul doesn't like anyone, especially not me. The only person he likes is himself."

Something caught Gary's eye then, and he looked past her to a point over her left shoulder. "Heh. This is too good," he said, and his smirk got even wider if that was possible. "Don't look now, but your sweetie pie is here."

"What?" She snapped her head to the side and caught a glimpse of purple hair. Paul was standing at the checkout desk. "Ugh! What is he even doing here?"

"Looks like he's returning some books. Should we call him over?"

"Don't you dare!" Dawn hissed, grabbing her notes and stuffing them into her bag. "There's too much testosterone here as it is."

"Aww Dawn, don't be mad. I was just teasing you," Gary said.

"Yeah, yeah. You know you're enjoying this."

"Damn straight, I am."

Dawn slung her bag over her shoulder. "I should get going anyway. It's almost curfew, and my concentration is shot to hell."

"I wonder why that is."

"Shut up, asshole," she said, but it had no bite to it.

"Want me to walk you home?" Gary asked, making a move to stand as well.

"No, no," Dawn said, gesturing for him to stay seated. She gave him a small smile. "That's sweet of you, but I'll be fine. It's only a fifteen-minute walk to the dorms."

"Okay, just be careful. I'm sure we'll talk again," he said, giving her friendly wink.

She made a beeline toward the front door, making an effort not to look around to avoid catching Paul's attention. She could feel her pulse pounding in her ears as she quickly pulled the door open and slipped out into the darkness, breathing a sigh of relief only once she knew she'd escaped his notice. She definitely wasn't hiding from him or anything. She just had enough on her mind and didn't want to deal with his bad attitude.

The quickest way back to campus was to cut through the training fields, so she made her way to the natural tree line that marked the beginning of training field four and took the dirt path through the trees, her head still buzzing from her conversation with Gary. It was a lot to unpack, and she was already resigned to the fact that she'd be up late overanalyzing everything he'd said. She shook her head in a self-deprecating manner. "What's wrong with you?" she grumbled to herself, and the sound of her own voice ringing out into the silence almost startled her. "He's just a stupid boy." Whether she was referring to Gary or Paul, she wasn't even sure anymore.

The path opened, and she stepped out onto the field with only the moonlight to guide her. A narrow strip of grass was all that acted as a buffer between the right side of the field and the forest edge, the beginning of one hundred and thirty sprawling acres. Now that she was well and truly alone, it occurred to her how dark the forest was at night, and she felt an uneasiness settle in her gut. It wasn't unusual for her to walk through these fields after an evening of training with May or one of their other friends, and it wasn't something that she'd ever felt unsafe doing. Tonight felt different. It was too quiet. The darkness was stifling, wrapping around her like a suffocating blanket.

A heavy silence pressed down around her, and the sound of her footsteps echoed loudly in her ears. She got the unsettling feeling of being watched and peered around nervously as she rubbed the prickling sensation on the back of her neck. Maybe she should have taken Gary up on his offer to walk her home after all. It didn't help that she'd left her pokémon in her room when she'd decided to head out on this little adventure.

Maybe next time she was scrolling through shows on Pokeflix, she'd think twice before settling on a murder documentary. They were all good fun in the middle of the day or at night with her friends, but this was exactly when she didn't need her brain to start spinning theories on how likely it was that a serial killer was camped out in that forest.

A sudden rustle nearby caused Dawn to nearly jump out of her skin, and she turned to see a Houndoom step out of the trees only a few feet away from her, its body partially hidden in shadow. It lowered its horned head and stared at her, red eyes narrowed as they fixed on her face. Its shoulders tensed as it bunched its muscles, and a low growl began emanating from deep in its throat, freezing her in place. "It's okay," she said, putting her hands out placatingly and taking a step back. "I'm not here to hurt you." It launched off from its powerful hind legs and landed in front of her with a snap of its jaws. Its lips curled up in a snarl and moonlight glinted off its teeth. Strings of saliva dripped from its jaws.

She'd never truly been afraid of a pokémon before, but she could feel the rage and killing intent it was radiating. Its tail whipped back and forth, and it staggered sideways briefly before lowering itself down into a crouch. It never took its eyes off her.

"Dawn."

She registered Paul's voice behind her but refrained from turning around, too afraid to move. "It wants to hurt me," she said barely above a whisper.

"There's something wrong with it." He kept his voice calm and low. "Do you have your pokémon?"

"No, I left them at the dorm." Even if she had brought them, she wasn't sure they could take on the enraged dark type pokémon before her.

"Don't move."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back while simultaneously putting himself between her and the Houndoom. Then he threw a pokéball. It opened with a flash of light and an Electabuzz appeared, sparking electricity from its yellow and black body. It took in the situation quickly and braced itself for an attack. "Electabuzz!" The Houndoom howled and lunged at it.

"Electabuzz, thunder bolt!" Paul commanded.

Electricity lit up the whole area and jolted right through the dark type pokémon. Houndoom hit the ground hard and lay on its side, momentarily stunned.

"Keep up the pressure," Paul said. "Don't give it a chance to attack. Thunder!" He wasn't messing around.

Electabuzz began summoning electricity, but before it had a chance to finish its move, Houndoom scrambled to its feet and launched a flame thrower attack directly at them. Dawn stared at the tunnel of fire spiraling toward them in horror, too shocked to move.

"Watch out!" Paul yelled and pushed her out of the way. She fell to the ground with a scream, and he threw himself over her just as the searing flames roared above them, scorching the space where they'd been standing. For one long second, they just stared at each other as the light from the fire lit up their faces. Paul had one arm on either side of her head and was bracing himself to keep his weight from crushing her, eyes wild with adrenaline. Dawn's blue eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and awe.

Several bolts of lightning surged toward the Houndoom from Electabuzz's thunder attack, but the dog pokémon turned and fled back into the trees without even a backwards glance. Thunder rumbled from the aftershock of the current, and after a few minutes everything settled down and became quiet once again.

Paul rolled to the side and got to his feet, then offered Dawn a hand to help her up. "Are you okay," he asked.

"Yeah, I think so," she replied after a quick self-assessment. She'd definitely have some bruises from hitting the ground so hard, but overall, it could have been a lot worse. Paul nodded and turned to his Electabuzz, recalling it to its pokéball. Then they began walking together in silence back toward the dorms.

But Dawn couldn't stay quiet for long. "That was crazy," she said suddenly, turning to Paul. He gave her a sideways look but didn't stop walking. "Don't you think it was crazy? That Houndoom didn't even go after your pokémon. It was targeting us. It attacked us!"

"Attacked you," Paul corrected. "It was probably sick. I'll file a report with officer Jenny about it tomorrow."

Dawn nodded. "Maybe we should tell our professors about it too. They can warn their students to be on the lookout for any sick pokémon."

Paul grunted in what Dawn presumed to be agreement and stuck his hands in his pockets. "You should go to the med check. I saw you hit your head when you fell. You may have a concussion."

Dawn flicked her wrist in a dismissive gesture. "Really, I'm fine. I've survived worse falls than that. But hey," she said, reaching out to put a hand on his arm. He stopped and turned to look down at her. "Thank you. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been there."

"You'd have been burnt to a crisp," he said bluntly, no trace of humor on his face. "Be more careful next time. And don't ever go anywhere without your pokémon. Seriously, what is wrong with you?" He muttered the last comment more to himself as he began walking again, not bothering to look back to see if she was following.

"Heeeey," Dawn protested, dragging the word out. She didn't like being chastised for something she didn't feel was her fault. Sure, she forgot to bring her pokémon with her to the library, and maybe walking home alone wasn't one of her brightest ideas ever, but it wasn't like she had purposely antagonized the Houndoom. She'd been minding her own business, and it attacked her. "You don't have to be so brutally honest all the time. I just went through a traumatic experience. You should try being nicer to me."

"I thought I was being nice. And I went through that same experience."

Dawn rolled her eyes at his back and hurried to catch up with his longer stride. After a few minutes of silence, she asked, "How'd you know where to find me, anyway?"

"I didn't. I was heading home from the library and saw you. You walk really slow."

"Well, thank you for that, Mr. Obvious," Dawn said, feeling her temper start to flare up as it always did when they occupied the same space for more than a few minutes, especially now that her life wasn't in any imminent danger. "If you haven't noticed, I am a little bit shorter than you."

"Gee, I hadn't noticed. Good thing I have you around to point that out."

"You know, you really piss me off."

"And yet, here you are, still talking," Paul said, giving her a wry smirk. "Why don't we play the Silent Game? Whoever talks first loses."

"You're an asshole."

"I win. Let's play again, but this time, try to go more than two seconds without talking."

Dawn crossed her arms over her chest and stared straight again, fuming silently to herself and blatantly ignoring his attempts to bait her. Of course, her silence was what he wanted, so in a way, she felt like she was letting him win. On the flip side, he was being even more snarky than usual, and if they continued arguing, she was afraid she'd end up resorting to physical violence. Best to keep her mouth shut.

They made it to the dorms without killing each other, and Paul followed Dawn up the steps to the main entrance of her building. "Well, guess this is me," she said, turning to face him. "This has been… something. Let's not do it again like ever."

"Give me your phone," Paul said suddenly, and Dawn, who had turned toward the door, spun back around, sure she'd misheard.

"Excuse me?"

"Give me your phone, and I'll add my number. Just do it," he added impatiently when she continued to stare blankly at him.

"Okay, fine. Here," she said, pulling it out of her pocket and handing it to him. He put in his number and called himself. Then he handed it back to her.

"If you're too stubborn to see a doctor, fine, but I need you to text me before you go to bed tonight and when you wake up in the morning. I will not be held accountable for your death just because you have absolutely no sense of self-preservation whatsoever."

Dawn's eyebrows rose up at his demand, and she rather thought he was the pot calling the kettle black, but she couldn't deny her stubborn streak. She would have laughed, but the severe look on his face said he saw no humor in the situation. To be fair, he did raise a few good points.

Also, that was the most he'd ever said to her in one sentence, but somehow, she didn't think he'd appreciate that observation, so she kept it to herself. She finally shrugged and said, "If that's what you want, BossyMcBoss Pants."

"Don't call me that."

"Then don't act so bossy!"

He rolled his eyes and turned to walk back down the steps, lifting his hand in a lazy wave. "'Night, Princess."

Dawn watched Paul go and refused to admit the tickling sensation in her stomach had anything to do with him. It was probably the result of her crazy evening or the fact that she hadn't had any dinner. Yes, dinner. That was definitely it.

Later that night, when Dawn was in bed, she typed up a text and sent it to Paul.

Still alive. Going to bed.

She didn't have to wait long before her phone chimed back.

Good for you.

His reply made her snort, and she turned her phone over and closed her eyes. Then a thought occurred to her, and she couldn't keep it to herself.

Congrats on your Electabuzz, btw. Last time I saw you in Battle Room, it was still an Elekid.

He sent her a thumbs up in reply, and she mentally rolled her eyes. Typical guy response.

Drew woke with a start and lay still for a minute, trying to figure out what had disrupted his sleep. He was in his bed in his dorm, and judging by the darkness, it was either very late at night or very early in the morning. The only light source was from a streetlamp outside, filtering in through his window. He rolled over onto his side and froze when he saw a dark figure standing in the corner by his door.

"Who's there?" he demanded, sitting up and throwing off the covers. He grabbed the nearest pokéball on his bedside table and clutched it in his hand.

"It's okay, Drew. It's me." The voice was low but instantly recognizable, and Drew felt his breath hitch in his throat.

"Nate?"

"Yeah." He approached and lowered his hood, revealing his face. His appearance was generally the same if a bit more haggard. Even in the dark Drew could tell he'd lost weight. His blonde hair was unkept and shaggy, and he had a wariness about him that he hadn't before. He'd always been so calm and carefree, but now his blue eyes flitted around nervously, like a trapped animal looking for a way out. What had happened to him? Drew reached toward the lamp on his bedside table, but Nate cut him off. "Don't. I can't let anyone know I'm here."

"Are you okay?" Drew demanded in a harsh whisper, a note of hysteria in his tone. "You've been gone almost two weeks. Where the hell have you been, man?"

"Only two weeks? Seems longer." Nate gave him a small, tightlipped smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Look, I hate to just show up like this, but I really need your help, Drew."

"Of course," he said immediately. "Anything."

"Do you have anyone here you trust? Friends who can keep a secret?"

"…Yeah, I do," Drew said after a moment.

"Good. Bring them to the spot where we trained for the LaRousse Conference last year. Remember?"
"Yeah, I can do that," he nodded. "But why though? What's going on?"
"I can't tell you yet. I know I haven't given you much to go on-"

"You didn't give me anything."
"-But it's not safe to talk here." His eyes darted around nervously, and he pulled the hood back up over his face. "I have to go, but I promise I'll explain everything later."

Drew took a breath in through his nose and let it out slowly. "Okay. When should we meet you?"

"The night you see the Girafarig."

"Cryptic," Drew said sardonically. "Can you be any more vague than that?"

Nate flashed a grin and tilted his head toward the window. "Do me a favor and open that for me?"
"Uh, sure," Drew said, furrowing his eyebrows. He slid out of bed and padded over to the window, then flipped the latch and pulled the window up. Nate pulled himself up onto the ledge, balancing precariously as he prepared to jump. "Hang on, Nate," Drew said suddenly. "Just answer one question. Are you in danger?"

Nate turned his head, but his eyes were glassy as though he was looking through him. "Yes, I am. …And so are you."

Then he jumped.

Drew shot up in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. He threw the covers off and got up to stand in front of the window. It was closed and locked just as he'd left it. He opened it and peered out at the street below, not sure what he was expecting to see. There was no movement, and everything was dark and quiet. Shivering slightly, he closed the window again and crawled back into bed.

For a long time, he just lay on his back and stared at the ceiling. When he finally drifted back into an uneasy sleep, the sun was already beginning to paint the sky with pink and gold hues.

Author's Note: I realize there's a lot of Dawn and Paul in this chapter, but that whole scene was begging to be written.

And May and Drew shared a moment!

Oh, and who doesn't have a crush on Gary Oak? Just sayin'.