Paul and Dawn: First Light

Chapter 33: Apologizing

Chapter 33: Apologizing 

A couple hours passed in which I forced myself to cool off. I'd determined that what Dawn did really was none of my business and being her acquaintance meant that I shouldn't care anyway. If she wanted to flirt with everyone in Verdanturf, why should I even blink in response? 

In that conclusion, I also decided that I'd been an idiot to leave her alone for such a long time in which Daniel could go find her and do who knows what with Dawn's eagerness to please, so I left my hurt pride behind as I went searching for the troublesome Coordinator. 

I found her outside sitting on a bench with Piplup on her lap. They both looked moody. I sighed and approached. She looked up in curiosity, realized it was me, and grumpily looked down. Piplup glared at me. 

"I've come to apologize," I grunted. 

Dawn stared at me suspiciously. 

I sat down next to her, not meeting her eyes. "I'm sorry for what I said." 

That was all I could say. It was bad enough apologizing for how I felt, but I'd rather her go thinking I was being a jerk as usual than for having a different reason for yelling at her. 

She sighed. "It's ok. You know, I don't like fighting with you." 

Amused, I said, "Really? You seem to fight with me an awful lot for someone who dislikes it." 

She gave me a wry smile and we sat in a silence for a couple minutes. 

Dawn blurted out, "He did seem nice, you know. Daniel." 

I tensed, wondering why she was bringing him up. In fact, it made me want to start yelling again, which is something I'd rather not have to do after apologizing. Twice even in the same month seemed a bit too imperfect for my standards. 

Dawn continued, "But I'm not interested in him. Besides, Emma likes him." 

I gave her an odd look and said, "I did notice that." 

"Did you?" Dawn giggled. 

"What's so funny?" 

"Nothing," She said too innocently. 

Scowling, I looked around. There were a lot of trees and flower along the trail. The sun was setting and I heard Pokemon getting ready for bed in the foliage. It made me remember what lied ahead for Dawn in just a couple hours' time. 

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" I asked softly. 

"I was more nervous about our fight than anything, actually." She paused. "I'm not nervous about the Contest." 

I studied her thoughtfully. "Good." 

Dawn sat up and turned towards me. "So you really did noticed that Emma liked him?" 

I flinched away at her sudden change of subject. "Yeah, it was pretty obvious. I may not be up for socializing myself, but I've had plenty of time to study the behaviors of humans and how they display feelings." 

Now it was her turn to study me. "Interesting." 

I paused, unsure how to read her face. She was being smug and I felt like she was teasing me, but I had no idea what she was teasing me about. I sighed, giving up. "Let's go get dinner." 

Dawn smiled.  "Ok."

We walked back to the Pokemon Center together as the sun sank lower in the sky.

Hi Pokemon Trainers and fans alike!

I know this chapter is really short... I'm sure you can understand the agony Paul goes through when forcing himself to admit he was wrong :P

So... let's see... I'm going to ask another Pokemon question. Who is your favorite Pokemon character and why? The character doesn't have to be one from Sinnoh or my story- I'm a Kanto/Johto fan myself. Or, if you want, you can say your LEAST favorite Pokemon character. Or both! I always love hearing other people's opinions.

Thanks for reading. If you liked the chapter, if you could vote for it, follow me, comment... tell random people on the streets about it (I'm sure they'd love that :P) feel free!

-Flips