Alone [IkariShipping/Paul x Dawn]

Confrontation

I woke up much earlier than Dawn. The sun was slowly arising, and I could feel the cool air through the sheets of the girls bed. And speaking of the girl, her head rested lightly on my chest, I slowly moved trying not to wake her. I knew that if I did, she'd either wake up with an awful migraine or run to the bathroom, vomiting violently. Both were bound to happen anyway, I just wanted to give myself some time to prepare for the coming storm.

There wasn't much time until Dawn awoke, jumping at the position we were in, and then jumping out of bed to run to the toilet. I followed suit, in order to hold her hair back, or help in anyway that I could.

Dawn lent her body over the toilet, but merely gagged a few times. She never vomited, shocking me and probably herself as well.

I helped the girl up as soon as she could recollect herself, and asked, "How are you feeling?"

Dawn's lips tightened into that of a sarcastic grin, her eyebrows softly raised, and her dimples peeked out for just a few moments as she replied, "Never better." She took my hand and dusted her knees off.

"I-uh, set out some aspirin on your bedside. There's water there too."

"Thanks," she nodded. "I think I'm going to take a shower. You're welcome to stay, and help yourself to anything. We do need to work on the project anyway..."

I nodded, and walked out of the room, to give the girl her privacy, my mind was still dwelling on what I had seen that night. I couldn't get the image out of my mind, I need to talk to her about it.

~•Dawn's POV•~

I took a step into the steamy shower, the air instantly relaxing my skin, and the water wet the air and my body, waking me up, though incredibly stinging my arms. I cringed slightly at the pain, but I knew that it'd be over shortly. I quickly washed my body, and stepped out again into the air, dressing in a gray Seoul sweatshirt, and a pair of red plaid pajama pants tight around my waist. I quickly tied my wet hair in a bun, and headed outside of the room to determine if Paul had stayed.

It was better than staying. He invaded my kitchen! It smelled great, but there was a twang of anger coursing through me. Asked permission would have been nice.

"Hey," he lightly smirked. "I made eggs to help the hangover." He then paused, following with, "Oh! And I set some water and aspirin on the counter." The boy pointed thoughtfully. I blushed, appreciatively.

"Thanks," I rolled my eyes a bit, still annoyed by him using my kitchen. "I think my headache has headaches..."

Paul then commented sternly, "That makes absolutely no sense. Are you sure you're not still drunk?" I rolled my eyes again, trying not to reveal a smile, trying not to show him real emotion. It was funny, you know, seeing Paul like this, so let go. His hair was extremely messy and choppy, dark circles rested on the tanned skin under his eyes. And his chin was shaggy. I could've laughed, but I'm sure he wouldn't have appreciated it.

I grabbed the plate set out, as well as the water bottle, and reluctantly began to eat. "Thanks," I muttered.

"It's fine, Troublesome. I remember how bad my first hangover was, so at least you have me here to help out."

I smirked playfully, snickering as the boy grabbed his plate and sat beside me on the sofa. "Who said it was my first hangover?"

"What?" My eyes met his metallic orbs, as he showed slight concern for some reason.

I rolled the oceans in my eyes, "Oh yeah, I go to every rager in town."

"--and by that comment alone I can tell that you've never even been to a rager in your life." Paul smirked.

My legs flailed about, embarrassed, "Hey!" I then stopped, tasting a bit of the scrambled egg while it was still hot. They tasted slightly burnt, reminiscent of how Ash would make them when we were younger. My eyes brightened a bit, thinking of the memories. Though, I instantly reminded myself that we needed to finish this project, because I had better things to do, like studying for AP testing and writing my music. "So, do you have any notes for the parts of the song we've rehearsed?"

Paul scooted closer to me, it was barely noticeable, there was nothing I should have dwelled on. "Actually," he sounded, "I wanted to talk to you about something first."

"Okay..."

The boy sighed, tucking his lavender bangs behind his ear. "This is so hard for me to say, but Dawn, I really like you. I like you a lot." My heart stopped, my face flushed. I wasn't sure if what to say, or how to react. This has never happened to me, anxiety filled the atmosphere. What was he doing? "You've always been different, and I just feel pulled to you, you must feel it too."

I nodded, unsure of what to say. I hadn't thought about it much, but the boy has pulled himself closer to me. I've always felt odd about his actions, but why had this never occurred to me before? He's cared for me and sought me out at times when I felt low. Maybe I felt the same? No, I couldn't... My stomach roared with butterflies yearning to fly out.

"And I don't care what you say, 'cause for the first time in my life I know my true feelings toward someone." He paused, meeting my eyes yet again. I must've looked cowardly. "Though, I can't even think about this, until I know you're okay. Last night, I saw cuts on your arms, some were fresh, some old. I can't go on without you telling me what they are."

I shattered, stuttered and broke, all because of one boy's statement. "I-I just don't know what to do. My d-dad left, and, and my mom's gone, and I only ever see her once ev-every three months on skype. My broth-ther's clueless, and I don't have the money for medical help. I'm not trying to be needy or an attention whore, but I'm bullied and I'm depressed, and I don't have an escape. And m-most times out of ten, I can't help but blam-e myself." I was crying now. Helpless, needy, and alone.

Suddenly, Paul pulled me closer than any one has ever pulled me before. I wrapped my arms around him as well, trying to dry my tears, but to no avail. The boy cracked, "Dawn, I know I'm not going to kiss you and every little issue in your life is going to disappear. I'm not foolish, I know how things in the real world work. But I'm so willing to try, I'm so willing to help you find happiness. All I want is for you to be happy, I--"

"Thank you so much, Paul. I want to give you a shot, but I don't know my own feelings yet, let alone where to find them. We can just try being real friends first, okay?"

He nodded, showing me his first real smile, and receiving one of the same breed from me.