I practically skipped to my journalism class, my lips buzzing from the farewell kiss Paul had given me by the main entrance to the school. He wasn't big on public displays of affection, but since we were late there was no one there to see us. I put my hand to my lips, feeling them tingle. He was an amazing kisser.

I slunk into the classroom, embarrassment flooding over me. I had never been late so far this school year. Mrs. Robbie only gave me a nod and continued rambling about politics. I made my way to the table in the back where I sat with my friends. Misty looked up and raised her eyebrows as I slid into a plastic blue chair.

"Dawn, why are you late?" she whispered, tilting her head to once side. Shaggy tendrils of red hair tumbled over her shoulder as she observed me.

I smiled weakly. "I overslept." Something hit my elbow and I jerked my head to the side. Ash was grinning at me mischievously, his hazel eyes bright. He reached over to the eraser he had thrown at me and picked it up.

"Is that what you did?" Ash said innocently. "Was Paul with you?"

Misty crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. She scowled at her boyfriend, who smiled sheepishly at her. I watched her eyes soften and I felt my heart melt. They were so adorable; seeing couples together just made me miss Paul even more.

"Okay, then," Mrs. Robbie announced. "I'll leave you to it. Remember, this assignment is due in a month and is worth half of your final grade!"

There were moans as she retreated to her desk. I propped my chin on my hands and sighed. I had been too busy thinking about romance to pay attention to what she had been saying. My being late didn't help either.

"So, were you with Paul?" Misty asked, eyes wide. "Did you guys...you know..."

Ash gave a low chuckle and she shot a death glare at him. He turned away and started up a conversation with one of his friends. I shook my head from side to side rapidly. My cheeks burned under her inquisitive gaze.

"No." I shrugged. "We went out last night though. Nothing out of the ordinary." I noticed the suspicious expression on her face and giggled. "Misty, if we ever did that, I would tell you. I promise!"

"Good." She beamed at me, her sky blue eyes flashing. "I would tell you too." She leaned back in her chair and watched Ash, who was fooling around with his friends. "I don't think Ash and I are going to be doing anything anytime soon, though."

Ash swivelled back to face us. "Are you talking about me?"

"Of course we are. All we ever talk about is how attractive you are." Misty rolled her eyes.

"Really?"

Misty snorted. "God, how'd I get a dumb ass like you as my boyfriend?"

"Aw, Misty. You know you love me!" Ash leaned across the table and patted her head. Misty squirmed away but her cheeks were cherry red.

"You guys are so cute together," I said suddenly, unable to keep my lovey-dovey emotions in check. "Even when you fight, I can still tell that you guys will be like, married some day."

"Yeah, sure." Misty twirled a green pen around in her fingers, feigning nonchalance.

"We will be," Ash agreed. "So will you and Paul, right?" He grinned widely when he saw the expression on my face. "There's no couple in this school who's more in love than you guys!"

My tongue toyed with the cut in my lip and I remained silent. I was secretly pleased that Ash had said that to me; it was always good when my beliefs were reinforced. Paul and I were perfect together. Even someone as clueless as Ash could see that.

"Paul is definitely the coolest guy in school," Misty said. She smirked at Ash. "He's more mature and intelligent than others I could name."

"Ash is definitely the nicest guy in school though," I piped up feebly, not wanting the two of them to grace me with one of their infamous lover's quarrels today.

"That's true." He turned to Misty with an eager expression on his face. "Hey, Misty! Did you know that there's going to be burgers in the cafeteria today?"

"Really? My favourite ones?"

He nodded. "I'll buy!"

"Thanks!"

My heart pounded in my chest. Burgers? Was the whole world out to get me today or something? I couldn't even hear the word without feeling Paul's cold eyes on mine, feeling his fists as they...

The bell rang and I jumped to my feet.

"Eating with Paul today?" Misty called after me.

I gave her a thumbs up without turning around. It hadn't really been a question; Misty, Ash, May, and Drew all knew by now that Paul and I always ate lunch alone. It had been that way for weeks already. I knew that May and Misty would have liked to have eaten lunch alone with their boyfriends and they were jealous of me.

After a boring second class of Math, I was ecstatic when the bell rang. My pace quickened as I made my way to Paul's locker. Paul was too good to me; he was always so romantic and protective. He had insisted that we eat alone in the courtyard when the weather was nice, since we "can always hang out with our friends at any time but we only have a short while to be together".

I came to a halt in front of his locker. He wasn't there, which was atypical. He tended to wait for me, since my class was farther away than his was. It didn't matter; I deserved to wait after being so late this morning. I watched couples holding hands walk by and I smiled to myself. I would be one of them soon when Paul arrived.

"Hey."

I turned and faced Paul. I was so happy to see his cool, confident face that I couldn't resist hugging him. He relented for a second before getting out my grip.

"Dawn, what's the matter?" He twirled his lock combination and opened the door. "You're acting like I've been away for weeks."

I shifted from foot to foot. "I was just really glad to see you."

"You know I don't like it when you do that kind of thing in front of others."

"I know, but—"

He slammed his locker shut and marched away. I hurried to keep up with him, my heart deflating in my chest. I saw people I knew giggle as we walked by; they thought that we looked good together. They couldn't see the tenseness in Paul's shoulders, they couldn't see the worry in my eyes. Cool air rushed past my face as I followed him to our spot in the courtyard; we usually sat on a bench beneath a tall oak tree.

Paul came to a sudden halt and I narrowly managed to avoid bumping into him. I stood behind him, waiting for him to make a move. The air was still and silent as we stood there; no one else was outside. If they were, I didn't see them.

"Paul, I'm sorry," I said when it was clear that he wasn't going to do anything. "But is it really so bad for me to hug you? I mean, it's not a kiss or anything."

He turned around slowly and faced me with cold eyes.

"You know that I don't like it. When someone tells you that they don't like something," he leaned in towards me, "that means you don't do it." He pulled away and sat down on the bench.

"I'm really sorry." My voice trembled slightly, despite my best efforts.

"I hate it when you cry."

I blinked back the tears that were welling up in my eyes. I couldn't be such a baby, especially not at school. There was no point in crying. Tears wouldn't solve anything. They would only make him angrier.

"Should I go?" I whispered. "Maybe we just need some time to cool off—"

"Sit down and shut up," he instructed in a bored tone.

I did as I was told and he glanced at me from the corner of his eye. Apparently what he saw satisfied him; my tears were firmly held back and my mouth was set in a neutral line. There was nothing on my face that could cause him to hurt me.

His hand began to stroke my thigh gently and I shivered beneath his dancing fingers. The wind whipped my hair back and the last remnants of my tears dried up. His fingers became rougher and I let out a gasp as he inched his hand up my skirt.

"Paul—"

He removed his hand and looked at me. "It's okay. I'm not going to do anything inappropriate. We are at school after all." He smiled at me, the ice gone from his eyes. "You're really beautiful though. It's hard for me to resist."

He wrapped an arm around my waist and we leaned against one another on the wooden bench. I stared at the trees and flowers that surrounded us, a smile on my lips. Paul had told me that I was beautiful! All my insecurities and fear vanished as he linked his fingers through mine.

"Are you hungry?" he murmured, lips brushing hotly against my ear.

I prayed that my stomach wouldn't betray me. "No."

"Good."

He caught my lips with his and nibbled them gently. Pleasure whooshed throughout me as I eagerly kissed him back. This was another good thing about eating out here: privacy. And with privacy came his passionate kisses, since there were no probing eyes to observe our behaviour. I ran my fingers though his thick hair as he held my face in his hands. He pulled my closer to him, varying the intensity of his kisses.

I was sure that we were going to end up doing it right there in the courtyard, but his kisses ceased until we were both panting slightly, faces turned away from each other.

His eyes met mine. "I love you."

"I love you more," I replied, basking in the warmth of his voice and the words that he had spoken.

He laughed as he helped me to my feet.

"Dawn, no one has ever loved anyone the way I love you."

His eyes travelled up and down my body and I blushed. I was glad that I had worn my favourite pair of black tights today; sure they hid the bruises well, but they made my legs look slimmer beneath my jean miniskirt.

"You're beautiful," he repeated. "In fact, you'd be perfect if you listened to me once in a while."

"I always listen to you," I stated, feeling slightly irritated.

He tapped me on the nose. "I would hope so. You don't want to be around me when I lose my temper." He stroked the hidden bruise around my eye so gently that I barely felt his touch. "Want to go see a movie tonight?"

"Okay," I agreed, glad that I had finished all my homework already.

We walked back into the school, standing just far apart enough not to touch, but close enough that people would know we were together. He smiled down at me and I beamed back.

"I'll pick the movie, okay Dawn? I don't want anything like last night to happen again."

He gave my arm a quick squeeze and tender bruises throbbed beneath my sweater. I nodded quickly. That would never happen again. I knew what Paul wanted and I was not going to fail him.

Ash watched as Paul squeezed Dawn's arm. He didn't know why, but it bothered him. He certainly never squeezed Misty's arm so aggressively. Ash watched them as they walked down the hallway. It was weird how they were supposed to be so in love, but they didn't touch each other. Ash always made any excuse he could to have Misty's hand in his. And was it just a trick of the light, or was there a purple shadow around one of Dawn's eyes?

"Ash, come on," Misty said, tugging on his sleeve. "The bell rang. We're going to be late if we don't hurry—"

Ash looped his arms around her waist and planted a kiss on her lips. After seeing the strange thing going on between Paul and Dawn, he needed something to lift his spirits. But even as he kissed Misty, he couldn't get thoughts of Dawn out of his head.

What the hell's wrong with you, he scolded himself. You're crazy. Everything's fine. Dawn would tell me if something were wrong, anyways. Wouldn't she?

A/N: I've chosen to continue with this, at least for a while longer. Thanks for all the reviews! You guys made me very happy and convinced me that writing this story won't be a waste of time. :]