Chapter 4 is right here c:!

My birthday was on February 11th... I'm 13 now... yaay c: I started Chapter 4 on February 13th, so this is really REALLY late though xD I'm in eighth grade now and won't have as much time to write. So please be patient! I need to get Lovely Mine Chapter 5 written, which will take some time. And then AFTER that, I have to send it to my collaboration partner/editor to check.

Uhuhuhuuu. I also have quite a few things I need to be working on after this so... wish me luck ^-^!

Once again, I didn't feel like writing anything related to Survival of the Fittest.. I 'dunno, I'm getting bored with it. But, I'll try to keep adding chapters to that.

Anyways, I think that writing will end up being the last thing on my mind. Lately I just haven't been feeling into it... although, I do enjoy writing Lovely Mine despite all the researching I have to do on different things. Medical-related things are more complicated than I expected.

Gratitude/Comments:

Tropicallight, as usual, thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm glad to have you supporting both of my fanfictions ^-^!

Doodlefish0, thank you! I'll keep working at it~!

Guest, once again, thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm really glad you liked the recent chapter of Lovely Mine! I hope I'm not making Leaf too irritating in this chapter... I can tell that you like her a lot. So, just remember that Leaf's personality changes drastically around Gary. Thanks again c:

Ghost, thanks for your input, I'll be trying my best to slow everything down.

QUEENSPELLER67, thanks for reading and reviewing multiple times! I really appreciate it!

And also, thank you to the MANY people who reviewed after these ones! Thank you for supporting Lovely Mine and asking me to update soon even though I haven't been the most active person in the world!

That's it for now! I love drama... so if you guys don't, then you should probably just take a cookie and leave ^ ^' cause there'll be a lot of drama uhuhuu. For now, at least.

Onto the story!

Disclaimer:*

I don't own Pokemon

Chapter 4: Our Get-Together

"It's kind of big..."

Dawn stared wide-eyed up at the large house in front of her. The light brown deck seemed almost endless and its two massive light blue doors stood tall and proud. Many white windows decorated the red brick walls while the dark gray roof loomed over her.

"Yeah. Gary's sort of rich." May shrugged, wheeling her over to the steps of the deck. With a grunt, she grabbed ahold of the handles of Dawn's wheelchair.

"Need some help, June-bug?" A slightly nasally voice came from behind the two girls. She glanced over her shoulder before snorting and continuing to struggle. The brunette pursed her lips, stepping back to think.

"Kermit, I swear I'll break your nose again." Rolling her eyes, May locked eyes with him, childishly sticking out her tongue. "But I do need you to carry Dawn into the house or something so I can fold up her wheelchair."

"You don't have to, Piggy. It's clearly still broken from the first time." Drew flipped his hair. He walked right up the steps to the top of the porch before turning around. His amused gaze traveled down to the two.

"Hey, get down here and help me with her!" May shouted, locking eyes with him.

"Eh? Do I really have to?" Drew laughed. He did not like the idea of just obeying whatever the brunette says.

"Just pick her up!"

"Alright, alright...!" With a scowl, he made his way down the steps of the porch and crouched in front of Dawn's wheelchair.

"Idiot!" May roughly smacked the back of Drew's head.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Drew quickly stood up and glared back at her.

"A piggyback ride won't work! She can't move her arm or legs, you moronic asshole! How the crap do you expect her to not fall off?" she snapped in response.

"Well, how do you expect me to carry a sixteen year old high school student?" he grumbled, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Carry her bridal style." May replied, also tapping her foot. She tried to make the sounds of her tapping louder just to irk him off and by the look on his face, it was working.

"Can't I just fireman carry her?" Drew groaned.

"You're terrible! Just pick her up, you damned frog!" May snarled.

"L–Language, May!" Dawn gently pulled at her hoodie to get her attention.

"Jesus!" Drew growled, scooping Dawn up in his arms before beginning to walk up the steps. "You're... actually really light."

"Thank you...?" Dawn laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah. Totally light, unlike Miss Piggy over there." Drew commented, stopping at the top of the steps. He could feel her tense up even more than before when he shifted her in his arms. Noticing this, Drew could only wonder if his arms were bony or if his hands had been cold. However, he simply shrugged off the thoughts and turned around to look down at May.

"Cut it, jerk!" May hissed, pulling off the seating cushion on the wheelchair and setting it aside. She then stormed off to the car she had borrowed from her mother for the day to get a toolkit.

"Where are you going?! What happened to Kermit?" Drew called after her.

"Kermit? Piggy? Are those like your pet names for each other?" Leaf grinned, stepping out of her car. She had come with her mother, who wore a stony, emotionless expression on her face as usual. The long haired brunette mumbled a 'thank you'. Her face darkened for a brief second as the woman wordlessly reached over and slammed the passenger door shut. In a matter of seconds, the engine of the car started up. Leaf watched quietly for a few moments as the vehicle drove right out of sight.

"They aren't pet names." Flipping his hair again, Drew casually replied. "Why would I nickname the girl who broke my damn nose? It hurts like hell, you know."

"Please, the most you could get from the back of May's head is a heavy bruise." Gary's voice came along with the squeak and the loud click of doors opening. There he stood, in the doorway of his front doors.

"You're kidding me? It doesn't take a sumo-wrestler to break someone's beautiful face!" Drew frowned, gently touching the large white cast traveling from the middle of his eyebrows and all the way down the bridge of his nose to the very tip.

"Hey Leaf!" May cheerfully greeted, slamming the trunk of the car shut and rushing back to the wheelchair, toolbox in hand. As soon as she arrived back at the bottom of the porch stairs, she began removing the bolts which attached the headrest to the chair.

"Hey May!" Leaf greeted back just as cheerfully, walking over to her brunette-haired friend. "Do you need help?"

"Nope, just give me a couple minutes. After this, I need to fold everything up and put the headrest and stuff somewhere safe. It won't take long, but Gary, can I put Dawn's stuff by your front door?" May inquired, not bothering to look up as she unscrewed the last bolt and set the headrest down next to the cushion. Quickly, she put the bolts into her toolbox and packed up her Allen keys.

"Sure you can." Gary smiled and nodded.

"Wow, you're fast, May." Leaf gasped.

"I practiced a whole lot after I had first met Dawn." She shrugged, pulling the frame of the wheelchair inwards. May then motioned for Leaf to pick up the seat cushion, headrest, toolbox, and the Velcro bag that Dawn always had attached to her wheelchair.

"Leafy, you need some help?" Gary called, cocking an eyebrow as the said girl picked up the headrest and seat cushion.

Leaf rolled her eyes at the nickname and moved up the stairs to stand by Drew. "I guess so. Will you grab her bag and May's tools?"

"Actually, Gary, I need help with the wheelchair." May slowly mumbled.

"Okay. I'll leave Leaf to that other stuff." He motioned towards the bag and the box of tools. Leaf nodded, putting everything down on the deck before going back down the steps.

"Just help me lift the wheelchair up, so it doesn't touch the steps." May ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." Gary laughed lightheartedly, walking down the steps to help May.

By the time they made it up the steps of the deck, Leaf had gotten everything together just outside the door. Wheelchair parts and all.

Gary was the last to trudge up the steps, but after setting the wheelchair down, he did not stop near the group. Instead, he walked up to the front door of his house, ushering his guests inside with the gesture of his hand.

"Alright, hurry up and get in my house. It's cold out." Gary said, helping May move the folded chair into the house and down the long hallway to a spot in the corner near the stairs where it could safely remain until the evening was over. There were two stair cases, one going up, and next to it, one going straight down. Both looked very lengthy, much to Drew and Dawn's despair. Looking down, it appeared that the bottom stairs led to another hallway.

Gary looked at the four before turning and walking down the stairs and into his basement. He headed right down the hallway and in to a very large and roomy area. The walls were light gray and nicely polished wooden boards covered the floor beneath their feet. A fairly large flat screen TV, two dark green couches, and a recliner were there along with a coffee table. There were two lime green beanie bags sprawled out on the ground. Video games of all sorts were sloppily stacked next to the TV and multiple different game consoles were tucked into the black television stand. In every corner of the room, there were black speakers hooked up. Additionally, there were quite a few movie posters which Gary had framed and hung around his walls.

"Well, this is harder than I thought it'd be." Drew grunted, stepping carefully down the stairs.

"May..." Dawn whimpered.

"I know you don't like it, but try to hold out just a bit longer." May sighed, beginning to walk down the stairs behind them.

"Be careful, Drew." Leaf warned upon hearing a loud thud. The sound was result of Drew's body weight being shifted onto one foot as he took another step.

"I'll kill you if you trip." May frowned.

"I know, I know!" he snapped, moving quickly down the last few steps. Drew stared down the well-lit hallway before walking into the large hangout. As carefully as possible, he set Dawn down in the recliner. He could hear May's thundering footsteps as she ran down to meet her friend, Leaf dashing right after her and into the room.

"You've got a pretty sweet place." Drew flopped down onto the couch directly in front of the TV. "I wish I had a setup like this."

"Whoa!" Gary exclaimed, strolling over to the recliner. "Dawn, you're so tiny!"

"Is that a bad thing?" She looked up at him, cocking an eyebrow.

"No, no! It's just that it's kind of cute how you look like a little kid in my huge recliner." Gary laughed.

Dawn sputtered for a moment. "L-Like a little kid?!"

"Yeah! Drew, she's really light, right?" He grinned.

"Mmhm. What about it?" Drew replied, flexing his arms.

"I never realized how small your body frame is." He chuckled, picking her up and out of the chair. "Come here, let me try something."

"H-Hey!" Clearly uncomfortable, the girl flailed her good arm about as his hands made contact with her.

"Stop! Put her down, Gary!" Leaf suddenly burst out, sprinting across the room over to them.

"You want me to play with you too, Leaf?" He smiled at her.

"Gary! Stop, stop!" Leaf frowned as Gary playfully swung a panicking Dawn around in his arms.

"Why? We're just having a little fun." He laughed, whirling around before carefully setting the petite girl onto the couch to the right of the TV and next to the other couch. Noticing Dawn's presence suddenly beside him, Drew scooted over, creating a little bit more room for her.

"Well, don't do that with Dawn!" She scowled even more, her jade-green eyes rising from the usually calm and gentle blanket which covers them.

"With Dawn?" Drew cocked both of his eyebrows and smiled.

Meanwhile, May quietly stumbled over and threw herself down and onto the space on the couch next to Drew. Her hands found a pillow, which she grabbed and stuffed her face into. An incredibly muffled yet somewhat loud noise was let out as May screamed loudly into the pillow.

"I meant to Dawn." Leaf blushed slightly before smacking Gary roughly on the back of the head.

"Hot and cold." Drew snorted, crossing his legs.

"What's wrong May?" Leaf questioned.

"It's just that you're all nuts. Keep your careless, clumsy hands off her." May frowned, looking up from the pillow. She glared especially at Gary this time.

"I'd appreciate it if you don't just freely touch me like that." Dawn spoke up, breathing heavily. "Or at least give me a warning..."

"Yeah. Gary, her lungs aren't in the most stable condition. She only recently had surgery." Leaf cleared her flushed face, slapping on a more serious one. Her eyebrows furrowed together in worry as she walked over and sat down on the second couch, which was empty.

"Ah–sorry about that..." Gary looked down at the ground, guilt flooding over his face. He felt even worse when Dawn continued to pant and catch her breath.

"And what if you had dropped her? She's fragile you know! Dawn can't even brace herself for landing either!" May growled at him.

"O-Oh..." Gary looked down at his feet.

"It's fine." Dawn placed her hand over her heart, feeling it pound from within her chest. Slowly, she felt it slow to a steady pace. "I was just surprised. It's been a long time since anyone has done that with me."

For a moment, her entire body froze up. Her dad was the only person who had ever done that. Swinging her around, laughing while humming a little tune to himself. He used to play with her all the time, talk with her every second of every day. But now, he was gone. Where had he gone? Dawn had no clue. And she was not about to waste time thinking about it or pitying herself over it. He was gone. That was a fact. She can't change the past no matter how much she wants to, but that's alright. It's not like her to dwell upon something that can't be helped anyways.

"So, we were called here to discuss Dawn's life?" Leaf questioned, gently tapping the said girl on the shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Sort of, but it's really just a chill day, you know?" Gary laughed, reverting to his usual self. The spiky-haired brunette sunk into one of his dark green beanie bags. He was right at the foot of where Leaf was sitting on the second couch.

"Well, I think there are many things that we want to know." Drew mumbled, reaching up and touching his nose cast. His fingers ran along it, feeling the roughness.

"There are?" Dawn pursed her lips again. Her gaze hesitantly flickered to her right, over to where he sat, right next to May, who no longer had her face stuffed in a pillow.

"But first, I'm going to move you over next to Leaf." May said, cutting Drew off before he could speak. She picked Dawn up the best she could and moved her over to the second couch, which was not too far away, with all of her strength. The brunette then stepped aside so that Leaf could help Dawn settle in, moving back to her spot on the couch in front of the television and lying down. She once again stuffed her face into the (same) pillow. Her legs crossed over Drew's lap and her feet rested on the armrest of the couch.

"Why'd you move her?" Leaf inquired, adjusting Dawn's legs into a more comfortable position.

"I didn't want her to get in the way of my footrest and I." May replied with a laugh.

"Mhmm. Anyways, what is Paul Shinji like when you two are alone?" Drew almost growled.

"I'm always answering questions..." Dawn muttered under her breath. "Why the mean tone?" she asked in response.

"Paul Shinji is... not exactly known for being the nicest guy on Earth. He's incredibly rude and somewhat violent towards both men and women and at school, he gives off a very anti-social, cold aura." Drew shook his head.

"I'd like to know what that bastard is like too." May quickly lifted her head from her pillow, resting her chin on it. Her eyes narrowed and grew icy, ready to snap at any minute.

"Why don't we all calm down and have a drink or something first?" Gary suggested awkwardly. "I've got soda, tea, lemonade, water, all sorts of stuff."

"I want to know about Shinji before we do anything!" Drew sighed.

"Yeah. Dawn, how do you know he's not some bitter creep trying to rape you or–Ow!" May's malice-filled tone dropped as Drew reached his hand over and smacked her shoulder.

"You didn't have to add that part," he growled, pointing over to Dawn, who's face grew stony.

"I get that you guys are looking out for me and everything, but I can handle my own problems. Paul is... very sweet and kind to me when we're alone! He's my friend! He won't do anything... strange to me!" Dawn shifted in her seat, golden eyes glaring at both May and Drew.

"Friend... right." May snorted, rolling her eyes.

"He doesn't still have a possessive attitude or temper, Dawn?" Drew inquired.

"He does, but he means well," she replied, face relaxing. Her usual small smile and sparkling eyes returned much to Leaf and Gary's relief.

"Possessive attitude and temper?" Leaf tilted her head to the side, playfully and softly kicking the back of Gary's head. Like everyone else, she had already taken her shoes off and was now in plain white socks.

"When that guy wants something, he gets real touchy. He's also very easy to provoke." Gary nodded, whipping around and grabbing Leaf's ankles. She squeaked as he pulled her down off the couch before getting up and sitting down in the spot on the couch next to Dawn.

"Wants something? Like what?" Dawn drew circles on her right hand with the index finger of her left hand.

"A girl. Believe it or not, that guy is straight and he actually does show interest in women." Gary chuckled, folding his arms and shoving Leaf back down and into the beanie bag whenever she tried to get up to yank him off the couch.

"A girl...? Who?" May snorted, laughing mentally at the thought of Paul actually liking someone.

"Oh? Where?" Drew grinned from ear to ear. The topic of romance interests almost everyone... especially Drew Hayden.

"We went to the same middle school. Would you like to hear the story? It's kind of short." Gary smiled and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Sure..." Dawn pursed her lips together, watching as Leaf huffed and gave up, falling into the beanie bag.

"So, we were in middle school, and there was this really cute girl who was nice to everyone, even Paul," he began before pausing. "Did I mention that Paul's really into cute little good girls? It's kind of weird given his overall personality, right?"

"That's his type? Weird. If you're going to go for a girl, go for one that's sexy and has both a nice ass and tit—"

"Shut up." May growled, drawing her foot back and kicking Drew in the stomach as hard as she could. While he was leaning over, clutching his guts, she sat up.

The brunette scooted to the other end of the couch, away from him. Dawn noticed that she had on black and red soccer shorts with a white hoodie. She also wore a deep red T-shirt with a thin black collar.

"I can see Paul dating someone really girly. It happens all the time in books." Leaf shrugged, combing through her hair with her fingers before beginning to braid a lock of it. Dawn stared at her for a good second. She was wearing a light blue tank top with ruffles on it and a black and light gray mini skirt. White socks covered her calves and she wore two turquoise hair clips in her hair, which pinned her bangs back to the side of her face.

"In books?" Drew wheezed, still suffering from the abuse May had given him. Dawn looked at the said boy. He, like Gary, wore casual, loose black jeans. However, he had a green, black, and white striped dress shirt on.

Her eyes flickered over to Gary, who wore a white, red, and dark purple tank-top on his body along with a necklace that seemed to have a small wooden carving of an Umbreon. The rings were colored in with a very faint pale yellow paint.

Dawn noticed that Gary almost always had something wooden with him. He must have a real talent for carving as the pendent was clean and visibly well-made. The phone case that she had seen him pull out yesterday was also smooth and almost looked professionally done.

"Anyways...?" Dawn murmured, fiddling with the hem of her dress. She looked down at her own attire. Of course, her mother had worked hard to make sure she had the casual clothing of a typical teenage girl. Dawn had to admit, her mother had a great taste when it came to fashion. However, it would be nice if she could for once choose what to wear.

Her mother almost never took her out and about. The stares they received from the strangers walking down the streets must be too much for her. Sometimes, Dawn wondered if her mother was ashamed to let people see her with her. For her mother, the public just wasn't the best place to be. In fact, her mother would probably prefer it if she spent every day shut away.

Going out to buy clothes was something she couldn't do. The only thing she could do was make specific requests for clothing. Maybe one day Paul would take her out again...

"So," May said with a yawn, drawing Dawn from her thoughts. "What about this nice girl?"

"Huh? Oh, right! So, everyone liked this girl. I liked her a whole lot back then too." Gary stretched his arms in the air before continuing. He felt Leaf's burning gaze on him, which seemed to make him a bit stiff. "One day, Paul caught me flirting with her."

"Shit man, that couldn't have ended well." Drew winced.

"You're damn right it didn't." Gary laughed a little, shaking his head back and forth.

"What do you mean?" Dawn quietly inquired.

"He slammed me against one of the lockers in the hallway and began beating me up right in front of her. I swear, my head was bloody as hell and I got a concussion," he replied, causing Dawn to gasp.

"How did the girl react? Did she beat him up in response?" May asked. A small smirk was slowly creeping up and onto her face.

"That probably would have been better than what really happened. She agreed to go out with me in front of him, after mercilessly taking my side and cursing him out. From then on, until the end of eighth grade, she showed absolute hatred and disgust towards him and him only." Gary folded his arms, pity in his eyes.

"Ouch..." May mumbled silently.

"Yeesh–that's got to hurt. Is that why he hates you?" Drew commented, raising his eyebrows once more.

"I guess so."

"What about the girl? Did he grow to hate the girl?" Leaf leaned forward in the beanie bag she sat in. Her shining jade-eyes gazed right up at Gary, filling up with curiosity.

"Surprisingly, no." Gary pursed his lips, preparing to answer the question he knew was bound to come rolling after his response.

"Why?" May questioned skeptically, asking the question that Gary mentally prepared himself for. He decided that there was no point in hiding it; after all, Paul Shinji was no person he'd keep secrets for.

"Before middle school ended, some things happened. Her love got boring after a week, so I two-timed her with another really hot girl. Paul found out before she did and beat me up again," he answered. "But in my defense, I don't like being in committed relationships with two-faced bitches that are after my money."

"You get beat up a lot, don't you? No matter how much money you've got." Drew chuckled, looking at both May and Leaf. "All the time."

"It's more Leaf than me. I just verbally abuse him." May shrugged, elbowing his side.

"I don't beat him up!" Leaf frowned. "Right, Gary?"

"I don't know about that, Leafy..." He flashed her a wry expression before laughing yet again. "Anyways, the girl caught him beating me up and gave him another earful. The things that she said to him actually made me feel a little bad that I didn't defend him or anything..."

"So, you just stood there and let him get his heart torn apart?!" Dawn burst out, nearly screaming. As soon as the last word had left her mouth, she slammed her good left fist down on the coffee table in front of her with a loud bang. Because of her outburst, every pair of eyes in the room darted over and locked on her.

"I doubt he was really torn apar–"

"Shut the hell up, May!" The petite girl flashed a murderous glare over to her friend.

"O-Oh!" Sitting back in her seat, May's face paled. Never had Dawn directed her anger towards her. Realizing this, Dawn quickly calmed down, placing her hand back in her lap and leaning backwards. She was heavily breathing once more, having gotten all riled up again.

"I'm sorry... You know I love you, right?" Dawn stared at May with a pleading look on her face.

"I–I guess..." Still in shock, the said girl took a deep breath.

"As for you," She glared menacingly over at Gary, eyes growing colder by the second. "No wonder Paul's the way he is now. Don't act like he doesn't have a good reason to dislike you."

"Are you saying you hate me too?" Gary calmly asked, cocking an eyebrow. Despite the relaxed facade he put on, the spiky-haired brunette was terrified on the inside. Seeing someone who smiled and was usually very gentle get mad was scary.

"No, that's not what I meant..." Dawn's eyes softened and returned to their usual pacifying, patient look. "I just don't want you to keep talking like Paul is the only one at fault..."

"Since when were you two best friends?" Drew growled, not liking the idea of Paul possibly becoming a part of their circle of friends.

"Leaf and May are my best friends. He's just a friend because I wanted him to be." Dawn shot back. She was frustrated with the way everyone was acting.

"How did Paul react to being on the receiving end of hatred again?" Leaf curiously directed the conversation back to the story.

"We all know that Paul has a temper. He probably got pissed, end of story." May muttered, playing with the bandana wrapped around her wrist.

"Not exactly." Gary pursed his lips before staring down into his lap.

"What do you mean?" Dawn yawned, rubbing her eyes.

"He let go of me and left. But he didn't run or anything, he just sort of walked out. After that, he refused to speak to, or make eye-contact with either of us." Gary scratched the back of his head. "I 'dunno what came over that guy."

"Well, sucks to be him." Drew commented.

"Drew." May shot him a disapproving look before elbowing him again.

"Can we do something other than talk about Paul?" Leaf sighed impatiently, sinking even further into the dark green beanie bag that she rested in.

Gary shrugged. "Sure, I just thought Dawn would want to know this stuff."

"So... What should we do?" May groaned in boredom.

"Mmm... I'll go get some drinks and then we can figure something fun out." Drew stood up and looked over to Gary. "Where's the pop and shit?"

"In the mini-fridge down the hall a couple doors," he replied, jabbing the back of Leaf's head with his big toe repeatedly.

"You guys don't have filters at all." Dawn shook her head.

"Neither do you." May snorted. A grin spread across her face.

"I only swear when necessary," she reasoned.

"Like when getting mad at me?" Her friend laughed.

"You know I didn't mean to lash out!" Dawn pouted.

"I know, I know." May put her hands up, surrendering to her.

"Can I have my spot back?" Leaf glared up at Gary, who was still sitting on the couch next to Dawn.

"Nope, there's no room." He spread his limbs across his half, leaving a good amount of space for Dawn.

"Gary, seriously." She let out an exasperated sigh.

"Look, I'm not moving." Gary ran his hand through his hair before letting both of his arms rest behind his head and on the nape of his neck.

"Well, I'm not going to make Dawn move!" Leaf folded her arms. "Your beanie bag gets really uncomfortable after a while."

"So? It's not my problem." Once more, Gary laughed carelessly.

"I can move if you want." Dawn suggested, looking to May to help her up.

"No, I want to sit by you, not Gary." She stuck her tongue out at him before looking to Dawn with hopeful eyes.

"Leaf, I don't think he's going to move." Dawn shook her head, smiling a little.

"He better move!" Brushing off her clothing, Leaf stood up. Hands on her hips, she glared down at Gary.

He rolled his eyes. "And what are you going to do if I don't?"

"He's probably too fat to be picked up. What are you even going to do?" May commented, hugging the pillow which she had been laying her head on earlier.

"He's not too fat... He's just a little fat." Dawn said, eyeing Gary up and down.

"There's actually nothing much I can do." Leaf rolled her shoulders before turning around, back to Gary.

"B-B-But most of it is muscle!" he exclaimed.

"Either way, it doesn't matter," she huffed. Leaf threw herself backwards and down onto him.

"What the fuck?!" Gary wheezed, hands falling from his neck and onto Leaf's thighs upon the sudden impact. He shifted from underneath her, face practically red as he tried to push her off. But, for a moment he stopped moving around and took the chance to run his hands over the smooth, soft flesh of her thighs. They were small underneath his hands and in a way, reminded him of a child's legs.

"Stupid pervert!" Leaf growled, prying his hands off her thighs before drawing herself backwards and body slamming him. Her face was bright red. She successfully knocked the wind out of Gary, who was now gasping for air.

"Shit, you're heavy!" The spiky-haired brunette wheezed, roughly grabbing the petite-framed girl by the shoulders and wildly shaking her back and forth.

"Wha-! I'm not heavy, I'm strong!" she shouted. "May, help me!"

"I would... But I don't want to get kicked out of Gary's place." May shrugged. "Besides, you two look like you're having fun."

"Oh, right. I have the power to kick you all out." Gary said, after he had stopped shaking Leaf and experienced a brief moment of realization. A wide grin spread across his face.

"Can you just get up?" Leaf whined, jade-green eyes still sparkling with irritation and the lingering shock of being suddenly jolted around. "I'll get off you if you let me have my spot back."

"Well, if it bothers you that much..." He snorted, exchanging amused looks with Dawn before looking back at her.

"Thank you!" Leaf exclaimed.

Just as she was about to get up, Gary wrapped his arms around her. He yanked her down and back onto his lap before leaning in close to her face, which heated up and flushed even more. Smirking, he playfully nipped at her ear causing Leaf to jump in surprise and flail her arms in an attempt to push him away.

"Getting sexy in here..." Dawn murmured. In a way, this was like payback for the time when Leaf just watched as Paul kissed her back at the cafe.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Leaf began thrashing her limbs about, trying to kick and beat at Gary.

"It's like you're actually dating." May commented, eyeing the two up and down.

"Hm? I'd date Leafy if she'd just let me." Gary teased. "A cute girl like her is just my typ- mmph!"

"I'll never go out with a player and womanizer like him." Leaf coughed, standing up and looking back down at Gary, who was in the fetal position on the couch. He had fallen closer to Dawn, who was staring wide-eyed at him.

Dawn's gaze travelled between Leaf and the boy on the couch. The same surprised and humored look crossed both her and May's faces before the latter burst out laughing.

"Fnnn..." Gary groaned in pain and agony, rolling slightly back and forth.

"Serves you right." Leaf pushed away all the guilt that was beginning to rise up from within her and grabbed ahold of Dawn.

"What are you doing?" Dawn gasped as Leaf just barely managed to pick her up. She was carried over to the couch that May was sitting on and placed in the space on her friend's right side.

"There. Now, scoot over." Leaf prodded May before flopping down and onto the space on May's left. She yawned and leaned back into the soft couch, crossing her arms. The girl seemed to be very proud of herself.

"Settled in?" May laughed again, readjusting Dawn and her limbs, which were practically thrown about by Leaf.

"Sorry, Dawn. I just didn't want you to get molested by that perverted playboy." Looking over, the said girl flashed Dawn an apologetic look as she rubbed the spot on her ear where Gary had nipped her.

"But... Leafy, now I'm... lonely...!" Gary jokingly whined.

"It's fine! I just didn't expect it, you know?" Once again calming down and slowing her breathing to a steady pace, Dawn brushed herself off with her left hand.

"What's going on here?" With the sound of ice cubes rattling lightly, Drew strolled in the room. In his arms was a coal-black metal tray, which had several empty glasses, a few liters of soda, and a large pitcher of pink lemonade on it.

"Gary was being a pervert, so I crushed his baby-machine." Leaf grinned sheepishly.

"Well, what goes around comes around. Leaf, that won't feel too good inside you." Drew grinned right back and set the tray down on the coffee table. He then took his seat next to Gary, who was still rolling back and forth.

"W-What?" She blushed furiously before biting her lip and grabbing May's pillow out of her arms.

May cocked both of her eyebrows in amusement. "Need to scream?"

Dawn muffled a giggle, watching as a low, faint shriek erupted from Leaf's direction, pillow successfully blocking most of her sound.

"Careful, Leafy... If... If you scream too loud..." Gary wheezed, beginning to recover. Slowly, he sat up and moved over, creating more space for Drew to sit on the couch.

"Mm?" Leaf glared upon hearing her nickname and lifted her face from the pillow.

"Gary, don't say it." Dawn warned.

"Say what?" May whispered to her.

"Nn... The neighbors..." He still held his crotch, expression twisted and contorted in lingering pain.

"The neighbors?" May questioned, looking over to Drew, who was laughing right next to him. He was leaning over and clutching his sides, laughing so hard it was silent and nothing came out.

"What about the neighbors?" Leaf grumbled, crossing her arms over the pillow and hugging it to her chest.

"The... The neighbors will think... I'm raping you..." Gary began to laugh slowly.

"Gary?" Leaf said the spiky-haired brunette's name in a tone filled with menace.

"Y–Yes... My love?" he answered in a teasing tone.

"I'm going to murder you!" she screamed angrily, throwing the pillow at his head as hard as she could. He jerked back and into the couch with a grunt.

"Has she always been this loud and angry?" Drew snorted, grabbing the pillow and chucking it at May.

"No, Leaf only gets fired up when she's around Gary." Dawn shook her head, watching May intently. The brunette stood up and using both of her arms, threw it right back at Drew. She found herself staring at May's arms and legs, even when she had sat back down beside her. Pursing her lips, Dawn slowly allowed her gaze to travel down to her own legs and hands, which were placed neatly in her lap.

"Is that so? Well then, you two really should just go out already." Drew laughed, flipping his hair and picking up the pillow, which had fallen on the ground by his feet. He gently tossed it to Dawn, expecting her to catch it. However, just as she moved to grab it with her left hand, she stopped, spacing out. Drew flashed her an apologetic look as May quickly caught it and threw it over her shoulder.

"I'm not dating anyone right now." Leaf shook her head, trying not to look at Gary. He was still showing light signs of discomfort and his disappointed expression reminded her very much of an abused puppy.

"Can we not talk about love?" Dawn grumbled, content mood beginning to break away as the topic continued.

"Yeah. Kermit, give me some cherry cola." May picked up a glass off the coffee table.

"What's the magic word, May?" Drew snorted, unscrewing the cap off of the dark colored 2-liter bottle of cherry cola and pouring himself a glass.

"I'll end you," she snorted back, folding her arms.

"Nope. Here, Gary." He flipped his hair before pouring some cola into a second glass. As he was handing it off to Gary, who shakily took it from his hand, he looked right at May and childishly stuck his tongue out.

"P-P-Plea..."

"Please!" Dawn shouted, perking up and raising her hand into the air.

"Good, good." Drew smiled warmly, carefully setting the soda bottle in her lap.

"Here, May." She turned and gave it to her friend.

Drew facepalmed, then scowled. "Dang it, Dawn!"

"Thanks." May grinned, taking the bottle from her and pouring some cherry cola into her own glass.

"Oh! May, May!" Leaf snatched a glass off the table and held her cup up in the air. Turning to her left, May filled the cup before setting the almost empty soda bottle back on the coffee table.

"Don't you want any?" Gary looked at Dawn.

"No, I like drinks that are sweeter and less fizzy." She shook her head. Suddenly, her phone, which was right beside her on the armrest, began to vibrate.

"What should we do?" Leaf sighed, looking around the room. Dawn picked up her phone and turned her back to May. If she could get up, she would. The only two people who had her contact and weren't currently at Gary's were Paul and her mother. And she was definitely not going to risk the chances of May seeing a text from Paul.

"Video games?" Drew suggested.

"I only have four controllers. Someone will be left out." Gary shook his head. Drew groaned.

"We could always take turns, right?" May took a sip of her cola.

"We'd be all messed up and out of order." Leaf shook her head.

"That's all I can think of. I don't really have much else to do around here besides watching TV. Unless you guys come up with another game or something?" Gary also drank a bit of his soda.

"I want to play video games though..." Leaf sighed again.

"Truth or dare?" Gary suggested.

"Nah. Nothing weird like that. Dawn doesn't like that stuff." May rejected the idea.

"So, what are we going to do? Go out, maybe?" Gary grinned, looking over to Leaf. "Want to go out, Leafy?"

"No," she huffed. "It's too much work to get everything together and leave anyways."

"What would we have to pack?"

"Wheelchair and other stuff into the car." Leaf murmured quietly.

"Oh!" Gary smacked himself.

"I still like the idea of taking turns on the games." May shrugged.

"Eh? But then we'll be all over the place with deciding who plays next—"

"Look, Dawn can't even play. We could game if we really wanted to. We could do whatever we want, there's no use in having her hold us back from all these things." Drew growled bitterly and without much thought, rubbing his temples. He was still trying to process the back and forth group discussion.

Silence.

Dawn froze, slowly looking up. Her phone still vibrated continuously in her left hand, becoming the only sound in the dead silent room.

"I... I didn't mean..." Drew began, snapping out of his daze and realizing what he had just said.

"You fucking bastard!" May screamed. She slammed her glass of cherry cola down onto the coffee table with a bang and jumped to her feet. "You have no idea what she's going through!"

"She isn't holding us back! And even if she is, she can't help it!" Leaf joined in, eyes ablaze.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking!" he shouted.

"No, Drew. You never think! I knew you were self-centered, but I didn't think you were this selfish!" May snarled.

"Stop!" Dawn yelled.

"Leave him alone, it was an accident." Gary sat up straighter, tensing up.

"Gary, are you seriously going to defend his heartless behavior?!" Leaf snapped, causing him to shrink back down and into the couch. If there was anything that Gary was afraid of, it was losing Leaf. He could tolerate her usual words, but even he knew when to back down for the sake of their friendship.

"I-It was uncalled for, but you guys don't have to overreact!" he argued nervously, eyes flickering from Leaf to Drew.

"He pretty much said that she's a hindrance to everything we do!" May roared. "Her handicap can't be helped!"

"Yeah–but it's true!" Drew growled in the heat of the moment, his blood pressure rising as he grew anxious.

"What the fuck did you just say?!" May slowly stalked over to the other couch, where Drew was sitting.

"Come on! It's mean, but we all know that she can't do a whole lot with one hand! The only thing she can do is talk!" Drew argued. It wasn't fair. They couldn't do anything fun because of one person. Of course, he knew it was selfish of him to think this way, but being selfish is sometimes okay, right? He doesn't always have to be thinking of someone else, right?

"I'll kill you!" May screamed loudly, snatching up the collar of his shirt. She yanked him upwards and onto his feet, eyes burning with intense rage. This was her best friend he was trashing. Right in front of her, too!

"May, you know that she can't even eat, much less dress herself! We can't always be there to help baby he—"

"You shut the hell up!" She drew her fist back before letting it connect with his already broken nose. Her fist began to turn red and a small pink spot appeared on her knuckle. The cast on the bridge of his nose had caused some of her skin to wear off, but she didn't care.

"Shit!" Drew groaned, falling to the ground. Pain seared through his entire face as blood began to trickle from his nostrils. The bruises on his face were now in plain sight, looking even worse than they did before.

"That's enough!" Gary stood up and bellowed.

"I'm not done with him!" May shrieked, picking up her glass from the coffee table. She drank the rest of her soda down in one gulp before raising her arm, ready to bash the now empty glass on Drew's skull.

"May!" Leaf screamed.

"Stop it!" Dawn dropped her phone on the ground and with all her might, forced herself forward. Her hand made an attempt to grab onto the hoodie of May, who was standing a few feet in front of her. However, she fell to the ground as both Drew and May were practically on the other side of the coffee table.

In shock, May released the glass, which fell onto the wooden flooring right next to Drew's head and shattered, spraying bits and shards everywhere. The said boy winced and balled himself into the fetal position, shielding his already beaten up face as best as he possibly could. May, however, took no notice of this, her concern for Dawn overriding the anger that she felt towards the chartreuse-haired boy.

After quickly recovering from her shock, May turned her gaze to the bluenette. "Dawn! Are you okay?"

"May," she breathed quietly. "I love you. You know that. But this time, you took it way too far." Dawn gazed painfully up at her. Her sparkling gold orbs were filled with disappointment. "It was an accident. He didn't mean it."

"Y-You're too forgiving, damn it! How can you just casually brush off everything that he said?!"May wailed, beginning to cry. "I won't always be here to get mad for you! Let me feel for you while I can!"

"May..." Leaf's eyebrows furrowed together as did Gary's.

"I don't need you to get mad for me! Whenever you do you always end up hurting someone and either way I can do it on my own!" Dawn nearly screamed, raising her voice.

"What...?" May stepped back in shock, eyes wide as tears leaked from them.

"I have my own emotions! I can get mad on my own! It's like Drew said! I don't have working legs, and I only have one working arm and hand! There's pretty much nothing I can do!" She cried out, fist tightening. "But there's one thing that I can do! And that thing is feeling the way I feel! Emotions and all! I don't need you to do that for me, and I don't want you to take that away from me! You don't know what I'm feeling at all, May! You think you understand everything about me but you don't!"

"I–I'm sorry!" May sobbed. "Holy shit, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Dawn! I didn't know... I didn't mean to...!"

"I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to." Calming down as quickly as usual, Dawn smiled softly. Leaf, not wanting to leave her on the floor, stood up and helped her back onto the couch.

"But Dawn, he-"

"May. I wasn't offended by what he said. Don't worry about it anymore." She looked down at her useless limbs. "I actually am holding you all back. You guys shouldn't have to be thinking of me all of the time."

"She didn't mean to do anything wrong, Dawn." Leaf stammered, eyebrows knitting together in worry.

"I know... Look, guys, I think I'm just going to go home." The petite girl rubbed her temple.

"What? Why?" Gary questioned. He hoisted Drew up and laid him down on the couch. The chartreuse-haired boy was groaning and moaning in pain, tears welling up in his eyes. His hands grabbed at his face in an attempt to protect it and shield it from the eyes of the others. He held his head in his hands, allowing his tears to slip out and down his cheeks. Would... would his mother say anything upon seeing his face?

"It's getting late and it's a school night," she replied, looking over to May, who was still wiping her eyes. "Please take me home."

"Alright... I'm sorry Drew." May stood up and looked at Drew before quickly looking at Gary. Nodding, Gary grabbed Dawn and held her bridal style. Leaf glared at him in response, but that glare quickly faded, and he knew that this was because she understood that he was trying to be helpful.

"It's okay. I guess I deserved it, Maple... But seriously, that was terrifying as fuck. I thought you were seriously going to kill me or something..." Drew sniffed before wincing and laughing, trying to lighten the intense atmosphere. Whining again, he turned himself over and lazily gazed up at Gary with glazed over eyes. "Take me to the hospital, Gary."

"Sure thing." Gary nodded as Drew stood up and began to walk out the hangout room.

"Can I come? My mom won't care if I come home late, and I have nothing better to do." Leaf murmured, standing up and picking up her handbag.

"I don't care, let's just go, please!" Drew muffled a short cry.

"Alright, alright." Gary laughed before glancing at Dawn's phone, which was still ringing off the hook on the floor.

"Your phone's been ringing off the hook for a while now." Leaf commented, also taking notice of it. She was still on edge due to the earlier outbursts between Dawn and May, but aside from that, she kept her composure.

"Huh? Oh!" Dawn blushed in embarrassment, looking down at her cell-phone, which was, in fact, still ringing on the floor. She wanted to reach down and grab it with her left hand, but the fact that she was in Gary's arms being carried bridal-style made that impossible.

"Who is it?" May inquired, heading out of the room and up the stairs.

Leaf bent down and picked up Dawn's phone, handing it over to her. Afterwards, she immediately walked out of the area after May with Gary following her in pursuit. He shifted Dawn in his arms before beginning to climb up the steps.

"It's..." She pulled it to her chest before turning it on. Her eyes skimmed the screen, finding a very familiar contact name, 'Dumb Plum'. Eyes widening, she flicked her thumb down her lock-screen, only to see eight messages from him.

'Dawn. Where are you?'

'I stopped by your place. But your mom said you went out with some friends.'

'Hey, sorry... about the other day.'

'You aren't with Gary, are you?'

'You want me to treat you to some of that cake at The Setting Moon?'

'Are you pissed...?'

'Have you stopped by the hospital lately? Did you take your pills?'

'Friday. After school. Can I buy you some apology cake or something?'

Paul was almost like a completely different person when he texted her. He was a lot more honest, caring, open-minded... Dawn quickly unlocked her phone and opened up her messenger, typing out the following message:

'The Setting Moon? Is that the cafe we were at when you kissed me? I guess we can go tomorrow, but if you have nothing decent to say or do, then I'll leave right after I get my apology cake, thanks.'

After making sure that no one was watching, she hurriedly sent the message to Paul, before shutting off her phone.

"S-so? W...Who was it from?" Leaf asked curiously, panting from exhaustion because she was helping May carry Dawn's (still folded) wheelchair outside.

"It was from my... my mom." Dawn responded cautiously, pursing her lips together.

"O-Oh? W...What did she need?" May asked, also panting from exhaustion.

"Can you guys hurry up?" Drew frowned, tapping his foot impatiently. He wiped away the tears dripping down his face. "I sort of have a re-broken nose."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Hey... Gary?" Drew paused as he watched May from a distance as she and Leaf worked to assemble the wheelchair once they had brought all of the parts down the steps. Holding his face, he looked over at Gary who had taken a seat on the top step of his porch. The spiky-haired brunette was still holding Dawn; even though the bluenette looked tense because of his touch, she seemed to be about ready to fall asleep.

"Paul's damn lucky to have such a chill girl. Leaf wouldn't dare trust me to get this close to her." Gary sighed softly, watching Leaf intently with his emerald green eyes.

"Gary?" Drew repeated.

"Sorry, what?" Gary murmured.

"My face hurts a lot... But anyways, when you, Leaf, and I get back from the hospital, could I spend the night at your place?" Drew questioned hesitantly. He was worried by the thought of Gary rejecting him.

"You aren't going to go home?" Gary raised an eyebrow, standing up and carrying Dawn down to her wheelchair, which May and Leaf had just finished assembling. He stood and waved at the two girls as May picked up her toolbox and rolled Dawn to her car while Leaf looked back at him and Drew.

"Are we going?" Leaf called out to him worriedly.

"Yeah, let's go!" Gary whipped out his keys and began to move towards his parked King Ranch. However, upon hearing no footsteps behind him, he stopped. "Drew?"

"No. There's no place for me there." Drew muttered.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Gary questioned, eyebrows furrowing together.

"Home. The reason why I want to stay with you is because there's no place for me at home."\

Friday-After-School-

"I'll text you when I want to go home."

"Alright, sweetheart." Johanna gently grabbed Dawn and kissed her forehead before hurrying off to her van.

"Let's go." Dawn sighed, waiting for Paul to take the handles of her wheelchair.

"Hnn..." He nodded, rolling her quickly and carefully down the streets.

It was around four and it was still clear and light out. However, it wouldn't be long until things would darken. Despite February coming to an end, the days still fell into night faster than the eye could blink. Tonight had to go well or Dawn would choose to leave early. The chances of her taking the cake and simply walking out of the cafe on him were also incredibly high, due to the fact that it was a Friday evening. He really had to limit his responses and behavior this time.

"Is Chili going to be there?" Dawn mumbled, hoping that the man would be there to cut off conversations when things got awkward like they did last time.

"Yeah... But there's a small chance that he'll actually be assigned to us, if the place is busy like last time. That was just a lucky chance." Paul grunted back, slamming open the door to the building with his foot and pushing her in.

As usual, the cafe was dimly-lighted and relaxing. The familiar low purr of the people chatting comforted Dawn and seemed to draw the cold right out of her. It was warm and made her feel like she was sitting at home on the couch with her mother.

There was an unfamiliar-looking man with a short, black beard standing in front of them. Without hesitation, Paul set her to the side and walked up to him. She couldn't hear what they were talking about, but Dawn knew that he was getting them a table. Paul nodded several times before returning and silently grabbing the handles of her chair; he then proceeded to direct it into the cafe.

The man scratched his beard and snapped his small book shut before setting it onto the polished dark red desk. Guiding them forward with the point of his index finger, he watched as they moved past. There weren't as many people as there were when Dawn had last been here, so the peacefulness that she felt from within increased. Music played as gently as it did before in the background while the sky was slightly lighter out.

"Wait just a second." A gruff voice came from the man as they arrived at the table. He returned to his place at the front desk and didn't show the slightest signs of coming back.

Dawn stared blankly at Paul, who was about to sit down in the booth when he remembered that she couldn't move herself. He stepped towards her but stopped, a hesitant look spreading over his face. Her dull yellow orbs met his black eyes in what seemed like a never ending staring contest. Discomfort seemed to flood over, causing him to tense up. But, Dawn just stared on.

The last thing she wanted was to be touched by him. A small shiver crept down her spine at the thought of it. There was something deep within her that almost pushed past her distaste for physical contact with men. In fact, one could say that she secretly enjoyed Paul's touch in the least strange way possible. Despite his hands being cold, they were somewhat comforting. Dawn was reminded of her father whenever he picked her up, which wasn't necessarily bad, but not exactly the nicest either.

"Quickly. I don't want you to touch me for more than five seconds." Dawn murmured silently.

"Hnn..."

She could have sworn she saw a flash of pain upon his face. However, if he was hurt by it, he sure didn't show it. Closing her eyes, Dawn took a deep breath, relaxing her tensed up body. It was very quiet, but she could also hear Paul inhale and exhale softly before moving as quickly as possible. Before she knew it, his hands were on her hips.

Dawn bit the inside of her cheek as she felt herself being moved quickly from her wheelchair to the seat of the booth. His lingering touch made her heart feel very strange and somewhat uncomfortable.

"Sorry." Paul apologized quietly, folding up her wheelchair. He swiftly slid into the seat right across her, dragging the wheelchair into the area next to him.

"It's... okay..." She replied hesitantly.

"How have you been...?" Paul murmured, looking around for the waiter. He wanted to at least make sure Dawn had her strawberry cake in front of her, so it would be easier to try and talk everything out. Kissing her was indeed wrong on his part, but for some reason it felt so right. Besides, he wasn't wrong when he told the others that it seemed like she was enjoying it. But he shook his head, not wanting to think any more about it. He was here to apologize for it, not to elaborate on it, right?

"Good, good!" Dawn slapped on a smile, taking a massive and forceful mood swing. It took everything in her to do so, but this way, it would make it far easier to talk with him. Her sudden smiley outburst startled Paul, causing him to tense up even more.

"Leaf and May are doing well?" He took another quick glance around the cafe for a waiter.

"Very well..." She too felt her eyes sweep across the room.

"Drew's nose has healed up?" Paul questioned quietly.

"Ah- Well, it was healing... But then..." Dawn stiffened a little. It wasn't like him to ask so many questions. Usually Paul wasn't that curious to know things or to even talk with others. Despite him clearly being more open and friendly around her, it was still incredibly strange for her to see him so anxious.

"Then?" he cocked an eyebrow.

"Well... I'm pretty sure May re-broke it." She gave a small smile and averted her gaze, muffling a small chuckle with her left hand. It was really mean to laugh about the situation, but she just couldn't help it. The thought seemed much funnier than the actual scenario playing out in front of her.

"I see." Paul cracked a grin. His short yet familiar laugh was what caused her eyes to snap right back to him. Paul's smile was far nicer than his frown and his usually dull coal-black eyes only ever lit up when he was happy or amused. Lately, she had found that she was inspecting and staring at him a whole lot more. She was sort of afraid of him; however, she was also curious about him at the same time. It was a very strange feeling, which usually caused her head to hurt, due to all the mixed emotions stirring up inside her chest. Seeing him today... was probably a mistake on her part.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in, it's you two again!" Chili's cheerful, booming voice echoed out. By now, almost none of the customers raised an eyebrow or even looked his direction as they were used to it. It hadn't been very long since he'd started working at the cafe, but somehow he managed to get to know at least a little bit about each of the regulars. So a majority of the people were used to his wild, fiery spirit.

"Chili!" Dawn perked up, smiling and waving at him.

"Lil' Blue, I see you're on a date with Paul." Chili grinned, running a hand through his flaming red hair. "Paul, I see you got lucky. I'm surprised you actually got a girl to go out with you again!"

"It's not a date." Paul shook his head without hesitation.

"Oho? So, you're just having a little bit of... fun?" Chili waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Never." Dawn replied bluntly in the dullest voice.

"So, are you going to be our waiter again?" Paul quickly asked him, not wanting to let Dawn's icy expression and careless words sink in.

"Nope. But I'll introduce you to Ash. He's a new employee, so go easy on him." Chili winked, yanking the arm of a bright-eyed, raven-haired boy. He was dressed in a formal black vest with a white dress shirt. His pants were coal black, opposite of his teeth, which were a pearly-white. Ash's entire face was lit up and a goofy grin was displayed across his face.

"Hi there!" Ash practically bellowed excitedly.

"Hello!" With a sudden change in mood, Dawn returned the big smile. Noticing this, Paul frowned a little. Her mood was always better when she was around anybody but him, even strangers. As much as he may have deserved it, it still irked him off.

"I'll leave you to them, got it?" Chili gave Ash a pat on the back before jogging off to another table where a few customers were waiting.

"Got it!" Ash exclaimed about as loudly as Chili before turning and looking at Paul and Dawn. "So hey, can I... get you guys anything to drink?"

"A cup of black coffee." Paul replied almost instantly. Frantically, Ash searched his pockets before pulling out a little black notebook with his name printed on the hardcover of it in gold letters. He whipped a pen out of his back pocket before quickly writing it down.

"Sugar?"

"No." Paul shook his head, a shiver running up his spine at the thought of it.

"You don't like sugar?" Ash questioned. He stared blankly at Paul as if he was crazy.

"No," he grumbled.

"Of course." Dawn sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Ah... Well, what can I do for you?" Ash shook his head and looked back to Dawn.

"I'm in the mood for something... sweet." She replied slowly.

"Soda?" he suggested.

"No." The petite young girl said with a shake of her head.

"Hmm. How about some tea or a milkshake?" Ash frowned as she shook her head again. "Milk? Juice?"

"I'm not really sure. I know what I want, but I don't..." Dawn pouted, trying quickly to decide. She didn't want to stay too long, but she was also both thirsty and hungry for something almost sugary.

"Pink lemonade?" Paul lazily threw his suggestion out there almost like a demand. It was as if he knew exactly what Dawn wanted before she herself did and was voicing it for her.

"Oh..." With a pause, Dawn froze her thoughts. After a couple seconds, she looked up at Ash with a smile and nodded. "I'll go with that."

"Alright! Sounds great!" he exclaimed, jotting it down in his notebook before taking off and into the kitchen.

"Took you long enough." Paul grumbled, folding his arms and leaning back in the booth. His eyes strayed to his right where a familiar glass window was. When he looked through it, he could see the slightly darker sky tainting everything in its cloudy, light gray tint.

"Hey, Paul," she frowned, speaking unconsciously in a unhappy tone.

"Hn?" he scowled, not bothering to even look back at her.

"...You called me here to talk, right...?" Dawn mentally smacked herself. The girl was not about to let herself ask him, 'how do you somehow know what I want?'

Paul was a decent person, despite everything that the others say about him. She knew that much. But something about him both interested her and disgusted her. The way he took advantage of her was about as horrible as his attitude toward everyone, including her. And yet, there was something that kept twisting her right back to him. This person is surely not deserving of respect, right?

"Yeah. Look, I know that I should have asked for your permission before kissing you. I probably shouldn't have done that on the spur of the moment, and I know that you had no way of stopping me. You know that I don't really like to think about things too much, but I'm sorry..." Paul mumbled, eyes trailing off to the side.

"I see..." She slowly nodded.

"I probably shouldn't have done that..." He mumbled again.

"You need to show some... restraint." Dawn murmured.

"Yeah. I know." The boy frowned and agreed.

"Good." Dawn nervously shifted in the booth.

"Here you are!" Ash loudly shouted, setting the two drinks down on the polished wood table with several loud clacks.

"That was fast." She looked up at him and smiled before leaning forward and taking a sip out of the glass through a white straw.

"Sure was!" he exclaimed back.

"Can you just bring us a strawberry cake?" Paul frowned, staring down at his black coffee.

"Sure thing!" Ash laughed, rushing back into the kitchen.

"Why do you have to be so rude?" Dawn's eyebrows furrowed together.

"He was being irritating." Paul muttered his response.

"Can't you be just a little bit nice to him? He's new to the job." She sighed, rubbing her lifeless right hand with her left.

"He should be prepared for any situation." Paul replied bluntly, taking a sip from the mug in his hand. The coffee was hot and bitter. Just the way he liked it. Not sweet, not sour, but plain.

"But he–"

"I'm really sorry," Paul started, cutting her off.

"Paul..." Dawn stared into his coal-black eyes. She searched for any signs of emotion, but she could find none. They weren't necessarily cruel or mean, but they were blank. It was as if he was some sort of lifeless puppet staring back at her. Dawn was tempted to touch him, just to test for a reaction, but as soon as that thought crossed her mind, he sat back in his seat.

"But I don't regret doing it," he finished, setting his coffee down.

"What do you mean?" Her eyes narrowed and her tense glare became even more tense.

"Exactly what you heard." Paul rolled his eyes and snorted.

"But what does that mean?! That you enjoyed tormenting me?" Dawn frowned even more than she already was.

"That's not what I said."

"Well, I have a question for you," she grumbled, trying to process everything that had just been said.

"And what's that?" Paul took another drink of his coffee, locking eyes with her. Her piercing gold eyes were strained now, extremely uncomfortable with the conversation and where it might go.

"Why didn't you stop? I'm certain you saw my expression... Why didn't you stop, Paul?" Dawn bit the inside of her cheek as she slowly questioned him.

"I didn't feel like stopping," he replied casually, like it was no big deal.

"But why?" She raised her voice, trying to get her question through and into his head.

"You say that you wanted me to stop. However, that's not what I saw when I made eye-contact with you."

"You're a jerk!" Dawn blushed slightly in both frustration and embarrassment. Her fist clenched tightly in her lap. He was driving her nuts and if she didn't calm down soon, Dawn was certain she'd have another lung collapse.

"Look, I know that I'm extremely at fault here... But did you really have to start sobbing like a child afterwards?" His voice came out cold and icy.

This was not the Paul she knew. His voice should never come out with bitterness towards her. The Paul she knew was cold and rude on the outside but sweet and kind when he was alone with her. Yet, here they were, alone together, and he was acting like she was a stranger. Dawn's blood boiled.

"You don't understand! How the hell would you know, Paul?!" She wanted to scream, but instead, she used all her strength to lean forward and grab ahold of the collar of his shirt. Of course, she didn't want to make another scene in such a public place. The last incident was embarrassing enough.

"Chill out, will you?" Paul frowned, eyes narrowing. Of course, it wouldn't be hard for him to pry himself out of her grip as she was extremely weak. His eyes softened for a brief moment as he looked down at her small, fragile hand, but became stony as he heard her voice once more.

"I couldn't stop you... Don't you understand that?" Dawn whispered harshly.

"You could've stopped me, actually. I did nothing to restrain your hand, if you had given me a signal, I would have stopped. But, you didn't... So you have no right to complain about something that was partially your fault." Paul replied bitterly. His voice was emotionless and slightly scary. Dawn could feel herself stiffen as he stared deep into her eyes, awaiting a response. She released him before opening her mouth to reply.

"Paul, you know that my mobility isn't all that great! And despite knowing that, you took advantage of me in the moment!" she argued, reaching for her phone, which lay on the table next to her lemonade.

"That's not true. Like I said, I would've stopped if you had pushed me away," he growled, snatching up her phone and sliding it all the way to the end of the booth, out of her reach. "Let's talk about this, calm down."

"I did, Paul! I tried to!" The small girl slammed her left fist down onto the polished wood table. "Look, if the situation were reversed and you were in my position... If someone had done something like that to you, how would you feel?! How would you like it if that person just acted on their own wishes and didn't even bother to consider your feelings?!"

"Hey, you did not try to stop me." Paul glared.

"Yes! Yes I did!" Even more riled up than before, Dawn bit her lip hard enough to make it bleed in an immense amount of frustration.

"Really? Because it looked and felt like you were trying to pull me closer!" Equally frustrated, Paul slapped his hand to his chest to emphasize it.

"I had absolutely no way whatsoever to stop you. I had absolutely. No way whatsoever. To stop you. I couldn't shove you off of me or pull away. I was helpless, and you took advantage of that... Don't you understand that?!" The intensity of Dawn's anger at the plum-haired boy could clearly be seen on her face and heard in her voice.

Paul remained silent, waiting for her to finish her tirade.

"Tell me, if the situation were reversed," Dawn repeated after a few moments, in a softer tone. "If you were in the position where you wouldn't be able to do anything about it... If someone did something, anything to you just because they felt like it. If your wishes in the situation were completely and utterly ignored, how would you feel...What would you do?"

At this point, if Dawn could stand up, she would. And if she could, she would take her bag and rush out the door in an instant. However, she couldn't. She was practically locked in the seat of the booth. Paul had her phone and at the moment, so he was practically in control of her body and where she went.

"Well, I'd have my left fist, right? I'd probably punch them." Paul shrugged, his voice overflowing with boredom.

"Like I said, you just don't understand anything!" Dawn nearly screamed, her anger once again returning. After noticing that she was beginning to attract attention from the other customers sitting around them, she took a deep breath.

"Jesus, Dawn! Maybe I know more than you think I do! You're not the only person on Earth who's been disabled!" Paul snapped, glaring harshly at her. However, she simply returned the glare back.

"Give me my phone!" she seethed.

"Fine," he grunted, barely managing to keep himself from losing his composure any more than he already had. With that, he picked up her phone and slammed it onto the table with a loud smack before sliding it over to her.

Dawn said nothing as she swiftly unlocked her phone and dialed her mother's number. She was very slow at pressing the buttons with her non-dominant hand at first, but thanks to a lot of practice, she could now use her phone with her left hand just as fast as she used to be able to do with her right hand.

Paul's head fell into his hands and shot off in the direction of the large window, so that he could stare out it. The teenage boy gazed out the window for several minutes before closing his eyes. He wanted to talk to her, but he didn't want to apologize and he didn't think that she did either.

"Oh? You were already downtown?" Dawn muttered under her breath. "I see. Well, then I'll wait outside, okay?"

She shut her phone off and stuffed it in her bag before hastily trying to slide her bag onto her body. Her eyes travelled to Paul, filling with what she recognized to be disgust. Dawn tried to read him and his body language, but unfortunately, he was fairly good at hiding his emotions. He was simply acting like he usually does, which led her to believe that he wasn't too bothered by their recent conversation. Sighing, she shook her head and cleared her throat.

"I'll take you outside. But I have to stay here and pay for the bill, so I won't wait for you," he grumbled, standing up and sliding out of the booth. In a matter of seconds, her wheelchair was unfolded and pulled over to where she was seated. Paul, not even bothering to ask for her permission, roughly grabbed her and plopped her down in the chair like a rag doll.

It made her shiver, but she stayed quiet. His touch no longer burned nor lingered. In fact, it was both revolting and painful. Paul's touch was even worse now than it was when she had first arrived. He ignored the concerned employees of the cafe as he strolled out the door, rolling her along with him. She snuck a few glances at him, trying to decode his powerful mask, which hid all his thoughts and feelings from her. But after the doors were slammed open, and the cold, icy air nipped at her face, Dawn stared back down at her hands. It was stupid to think that he even cared about her. This guy... he was a terrible escort and friend.

The sky was lighter than it had been before, but it was still growing dim by the second. She couldn't wait until spring, when the days and their brightness would last longer. Dawn reached into her bag with her left hand for her scarf. However, she soon stopped rummaging through her bag and withdrew her good hand from it. That was right... she had left it at home because she didn't think it'd be too cold out. In all honesty, part of her was thinking that Paul would let her borrow his jacket once more. Although that clearly wasn't the case anymore, after all, her mother was coming to get her. At least she was reliable.

"I'm going inside. I already see her anyways, and I don't want to get arrested for 'not paying' a damn bill." Paul growled to her in his low-pitched, unfriendly tone.

"Then go." Dawn frowned, staring ahead and not bothering to look at him again. "Mama's gotten out of the car, she'll be here in seconds."

"...Hnn..." His grunt echoed in her head several times before fading away along with his heavy footsteps.

"Dawn!" Johanna waved her hand, jogging towards her wheelchair. She smiled brightly, navy blue hair similar to hers swaying back and forth as she ran.

"Hey..." Dawn smiled softly at her, not wanting to worry her mother about anything else.

"How did it go? Did you have fun with Paul?" The woman questioned her daughter, pulling off the scarf she had on and dressing Dawn in it. "Goodness, you sure didn't come prepared for the weather, did you, sweetheart? Here you go."

"You're in a good mood," she commented, forcing a small giggle.

"Yes indeed! But you don't seem to be, did something happen?" Johanna eyed the girl before taking the handles of the wheelchair and rolling Dawn towards the car.

"Yeah... kind of." Dawn murmured with a sigh.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she suggested hesitantly, rolling the wheelchair up a small pull-out ramp installed in her van before hooking the chair in. Johanna strapped Dawn in before locking her wheelchair into place. With a click of a button, the ramp folded inwards towards the interior of the car before disappearing right beneath the footstep of the car.

"No." The girl shook her head.

"Are you sure?" Johanna's eyebrows furrowed together in worry as she rested her hand loosely around the handle to the car door.

"Yeah... Thanks, mama," she muttered in the friendliest way possible.

"No problem, honey." Johanna nodded with a motherly smile, pulling the car door and walking off to the driver's seat as it closed automatically with a click.

Dawn could hear her mother start the engine and turn on the warm air. Tired, she lowered her head into her mother's scarf, burying her nose in it. It smelled nice. It smelled like her.

Her mother's scent was always reassuring even in the hardest of times. It was similar to May's scent, but different in the sense that it was sweet and pacifying like a mother's natural smell should be.

She would miss this scent.

Well that's a wrap!

This chapter was probably the most time consuming, given my schedule.. especially since I got grounded ^^' Yeah... I sort of have a really brazen attitude so usually I'm called out for arguing or insulting adults. Super mature of me, right?

Well, Lovely Mine chapter 4 is finally here!

In this chapter, there was a whole lot of drama, yes? But I think we can all agree that this chapter emphasized Dawn's disability. After all, the life of a handicapped person isn't as sweet as I made it out to be in the first few chapters of Lovely Mine. Yeah.. those chapters were nothing. Here, Dawn deals with friend difficulties and empathy issues along with trying to figure out Paul...

But of course, Paul is just sort of Paul. We see here that he reverted back to his same old self. Will he turn back to his lovely OOCish self? I guess we'll have to figure that out soon!

Another big thanks to everyone who is still reading Lovely Mine despite my fairly long break. Oh- and I'd just like you all to know that I'll be collaborating with a friend here on Fanfic. They'll be pretty important to the development of Lovely Mine, so I'd like you to appreciate all the grammatical and story errors they correct along with events. Although sadly, they do not want me to disclose anything about their identity... So just remember that they are here and in the future, will probably be making Lovely Mine even better. So anyways, another special thanks to them. They're super good to me and very patient. You'd probably have all gotten fed up with my terrible writing and left if it weren't for her approaching me.

I hope you'll all keep pursuing Lovely Mine!

Things will get very awkward between the friends and Paul now.

Here are some things to consider: (Why do I add this stuff... I don't even know. Maybe it's just to defend myself on any flaws you guys point out? lololol)

How will May act around Drew?

How will Leaf act around Drew?

What will happen between Dawn and Paul next?

Ash was introduced into the story!

Do you think he'll have an important role?... (Eh, probably not tbh, but it's a good thought, right? Haha)

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Thank you once more for taking the time to read chapter 4 of Lovely Mine! I'd love to hear what you think and I absolutely love to read reviews!

So feel free to drop a review and I hope you'll keep supporting Lovely Mine! Please review! I absolutely love reading them! I'd like to drop my other fanfiction and get Lovely Mine out there! Favorite it! Add it to your communities! Recommend it! Follow my story! I beg you! Give me a chance!

Stay Lovely!

~Bear!