Dawn didn't often think of her father. Honestly, she put him out of her mind as much as possible. It was odd, she supposed, that she didn't ever want to remember him. Maybe it wasn't odd. Maybe that was normal, and the blunette's thoughts on oddities and normalcy was part of her madness.

Everyone had a bit of madness. Dawn wondered sometimes if she had more than most, even at her school. Madness was what brought out brilliance in the minds of people who accepted it. Art, music, writing… anything creative came from that madness, or at least that was what John Berlitz had always told his daughter.

John Berlitz had always spoken of energy, passion, and taking risks. In some ways he was Dawn's inspiration. He had been an author, brimming with ideas and characters and plots, and he wrote children's books for his little girl. It was just another benefit that they pleased other children elsewhere. The brown-haired man was always changing his tone, always animated, so full of life that no one could ever picture him gone before his time.

And yet he had been taken from Dawn in an untimely death. The bitterness she felt had lasted for years. She painted and slowly, so very slowly, her anger and hurt faded with each piece of art. Still, no matter how much she painted, sketched, or wedged clay, the memory of him in a hospital bed wouldn't disappear.

Dawn despised herself sometimes because of her faults in forgiving. Then she would think, how could one forgive a dead man? It would never matter to him who no longer lived and so why should she try? Who cared if it tore her apart in the process?

The thoughts came this day like they did once a year. Father's Day was nothing but a hassle for Dawn; it brought nothing beneficial to her life and her mood showed from the moment she woke up.

Dawn had dressed quickly and silently, not bothering to do more than run a comb through her hair and put it in a low ponytail, and slung her messenger bag over her shoulder. The blunette walked to the cafeteria and typed her number into the computer. Dawn got an apple and decided to eat some oatmeal which she covered in brown sugar and a small bit of maple syrup. She made her way to a nearby table with one person seated at it.

Dawn took a seat on the opposite side of Paul, three chair lengths away, and started her breakfast. She knew he had seen her and decided to let him speak first, if he wanted to speak at all. For some reason, Paul seemed more moody than usual just judging by his posture and expression.

"Troublesome." He greeted quietly after a couple minutes of silence. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I needed company." Dawn told Paul just as quietly as he had been. "I just had to be close to someone. There's comfort in knowing someone is nearby."

"You can sit across from me if you want." Paul said to the blunette, motioning her to move closer.

Dawn did move over at his offer. The physical closeness was comforting and not stifling and Dawn was relieved. Already she felt a bit better.

"Do you want to talk?" Paul asked Dawn. She was surprised; Paul didn't seem like the type to care about other people's problems, but she needed the words to be released and Paul was in the right place at the right time for her.

"It's my dad. He died seven years ago. This day is difficult because everyone is so fricking happy and they're buying presents and I'm just here being as usual as always." Dawn paused and then continued bitterly, "I hate him sometimes. I hate him for dying. I shouldn't, I know that, but where was he when I needed him the most? He was six feet under, that's where he was."

Paul's response didn't come quickly enough for Dawn. She spoke again, "I'm sorry about this. I don't mean to sound whiny or childish or anything like that. I guess I just needed someone willing to put up with me for a short bit while I vented. I apologize, I don't want to burden you so I'll shut up now."

"It's alright." Paul told Dawn. "You can talk if you want. I'm not going to be burdened by your problems."

Dawn just sighed and shook her head. One hand reached up to wipe away the start of a tear. "I dunno. It's just that May doesn't get it. She's got a great family. Misty gets it to an extent, but her parents died when she was really young so she doesn't remember them. Gary doesn't know his father and his mother left him with his grandfather so she could follow her dreams so he also gets it to an extent, but he hasn't ever been really bitter about his parents. Both Ash and Serena's parents are divorced and that's part of why they get along so well."

"...I get it." Paul mumbled. Dawn looked up at him and saw his eyes focused on his bowl of now mush cereal. At some point in the conversation he had stopped eating. "My mom died in childbirth. My dad resented me for that, thought it was my fault and all, and so I hated her and I hated him. Reggie, my brother, was more of a father to me than my real dad was."

Dawn reached across the table and touched his hand. Her fingers were feather light against his skin and Dawn was sure Paul would move away. Again Paul surprised her. He didn't move his arm or tell her to stop touching him. Instead, his eyes met hers and he moved his other hand to rest on hers. The weight of his hand on hers was yet another comfort and Dawn felt herself relax.

A book slammed down on the table as an energetic teenager appeared next to Paul.

"Hey Paul! And Dawn! You've decided to join us for breakfast this morning?" Ash was as cheery and oblivious as always. He barely took note of Paul pulling away from Dawn as if he were burned and Dawn's reddening cheeks and her hand returning to her bowl.

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It was time for the lunch break and Dawn was resting against a large oak tree when she saw him. Hands in his black leather jacket pockets, backpack slung over one shoulder, eyes staring straight ahead, windswept hair… Paul looked like someone out of a magazine. Model worthy. And so Dawn drew him without thinking.

It wasn't intentional. She had just opened to a new, perfectly white, blank page in her iris decorated sketchbook and he happened to be walking by. Unconscious art was free art, not planned, not thought out. It just was. That was what this drawing was. Not conscious art where a person followed guidelines and rules, but truly wild and free art with lots of lines and smudges and wonderful shading.

She started out with the shape of Paul's face and then his features: intense eyes, bold eyebrows, and lips. Hair came next. She pulled out her purple pen and the lines came naturally to Dawn. By this time Paul was already gone from the blunette's sight but his form stayed in her mind.

It was only after the drawing was done that Dawn thought about what she had just done. If someone were to see it she'd be in so much trouble. May would laugh and rub Dawn's so called 'feelings' in her face and Paul's fans would be pissed. The blunette snapped the book closed and tucked it under her arm. It was almost time for her afternoon classes and she figured she best get on to Chemistry.

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It wasn't until later that evening that Dawn checked her phone. There were two missed calls from her mother and one text from Paul. Dawn would call her mother first thing in the morning. She was too emotionally drained after the stressful day to deal with more stress coming from her mom.

Dawn put off reading the text until she had finished her homework and gotten ready for bed. When the text was finally opened as Dawn lay in bed, she couldn't help but smile at the words.

Things always get better. Smile toward the sky instead of the ground and you'll already be looking up.

There was no need to respond right away and so Dawn drifted off to sleep with her hand still holding her phone. Paul definitely wasn't so bad when you got to know him.

Hi guys! Sorry if this chapter is a little sad at first, I sorta put some of my own Father's Day emotions into it... Pretty much, I had a bunch written and then Father's Day hit and BAM inspiration but that caused me to scrap like 500 words and rewrite a bunch more plus adding that scene at the beginning... So yeah. This story is planned out to the very end though. I have a short description of each chapter which I'm expanding on and half of the last chapter is written so this story will not go on hiatus. I promise. It will be finished at some point in the nearish future. Just thought I'd let you guys know that :D Please review, it means so much to me, and even if you don't I still appreciate the views/followers/favorite-ors. Thanks everyone! -Light1172