Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, One Life (by Boyce Avenue) or Be My Escape (by Reliant K).

Welcome to my new story! This chapter pretty much focuses on Dawn, but all four shippings (DawnXPaul, MistyXAsh, MayXDrew and LeafXGary) are included.

Oh, and if you listen to the songs when they come up in the story it helps a lot with the atmosphere! (Just to warn you, Dawn sings One Life. I know it's sung by a male singer but just imagine a female singer singing it.)

Enjoy.

Chapter One

~ Troublesome ~

Dawn took a deep breath as she stared at herself in the mirror. Her make-up was done perfectly, with light silver eye shadow, pink lip gloss, black mascara, some eyeliner, and some silver glitter trailing down her cheeks. Her dress was a pretty pale pink with a sparkling silver girdling waist, a sweetheart neckline and without sleeves or straps. The dress ruched out from her waist and reached down to the floor. Around her neck was a pretty silver necklace and matching silver earrings dangled from her ears. Her hair was curled and cascaded down her back.

"Dawn? It's almost time," a stagehand called, knocking on the door of her dressing room. Dawn drew in a deep breath. This was her third time running opening the show, but she still couldn't get rid of the nerves.

"I'll be right there," Dawn called back. She glanced once at her favourite hairbrush – a shiny silver one that glittered just like her dress -, forced a smile onto her face and turned around, walking forward in sparkling silver kitten heels. Opening her newly painted pink dressing room door she made her way backstage, being careful not to trip over anything in the darkness.

"Welcome to Camp Sync, where old friendships are strengthened and new friendships that last a lifetime are forged; whether you're new or returning for another year, it's great to see you all! As you all know, this is a camp for fifteen to eighteen year olds, so we've separated you all into your year groups for sleeping arrangements and activities but mealtimes will be held all together as will the campfires. All the information about activities, weekly shows and such are in your information booklets so I don't want to bore you with too many details..." the camp's director, who also happened to be Dawn's Uncle, was speaking to the crowd onstage. Dawn could hear his voice drifting back to her as she waited in the shadows, nervously playing with a strand of her hair.

Dawn could almost recite his speech off by heart. Sometimes mouthing the words as he said them helped to calm her nerves, but this time it felt different. Something she couldn't put her finger on was making her jittery.

"And now, to open the start of this year's camp, give it up for Dawn Berlitz, twice winner of the Camp Sync Trophy!"

Dawn grabbed her sparkly silver microphone off of the box it was resting on and made her way out onto the stage, which was a semicircle under a roof in the middle of all the backstage props and dressing rooms and everything else, but there was also a catwalk attached that was the length of the audience's seats.

The moment Dawn stepped out from behind the curtain, she looked out over the audience and felt her heart leap with nerves, but it was joined with excitement as she heard the music begin to play. Her Uncle had already left the stage, so she glided forwards to take centre stage. Then, she opened her mouth and began to sing.

"You lie awake while the world's asleep,
You made mistakes and you're in too deep,
But now is the time."

Dawn closed her eyes, feeling herself begin to sway with the music as she sang gently and let the music take over control of her body.

"Alarm goes off but you feel too weak,
Your soul's too heavy for your fear,
But now is the time."

A smile crept onto Dawn's face. As she sung the next line, she opened her eyes slowly in time with the lyrics and began to walk forwards, confidently putting one foot in front of the other.

"Open your eyes,
And know you're free to come alive,
You've got to live it while you can,
We only get one life.

Dawn raised her eyes upwards to the stars twinkling above in the night sky. As she walked she swayed with the beat and felt pure exhilaration channelling itself through her words, making the audience begin to move to the beat as well.

"Look to the sky,
Don't ever let it pass you by,
You've got to live it while you can,
We only get one life."

Dawn lowered the microphone and took a deep breath, properly looking at the audience for the first time as she reached the end of the cat walk and turned round. She searched for her friends first, and then began connecting her eyes with new people in the audience who she had never met before. As she did this, one boy in particular caught her eye. It was hard to tell exactly what he looked like because of the lights onstage, but he had purple hair and held her gaze evenly as if unaffected by her singing.

"You've lost your faith and a life that's cursed,
You've cried so hard inside it hurts,
But now's the time.

"Outside the sun is coming up,
Inside you think you've given up,
But now's the time."

Dawn didn't break eye contact with him the whole time she sang those two verses. She had glided almost unconsciously back up the catwalk and was now back on the main stage, about to begin the chorus once more. The boy's expression had changed while she was singing. As she looked at him now he wore a softer smile upon his face. But then she heard the music building up and she tore her eyes away from his, letting her gaze slide over the rest of the audience.

"Open your eyes,
And know you're free to come alive,
You've got to live it while you can,

We only get one life.

"Look to the sky,
Don't ever let it pass you by,
You've got to live it while you can

We only get one life.

"One life...

It's time to stay up and fight,
It's time for making it right."

Feeling her eyes slide back to the purple-haired boy, Dawn began walking around the stage again, this time heading for the steps leading down into the audience. She hadn't planned to walk amongst the audience during this song, but the music had taken over and she was letting it lead her wherever it wanted her to go.

"We only get one life,
One life,
One life,

And when it feels like a lie,
I'll be your reason to try,

We only get one life."

Dawn wandered through the audience dazzling them with her smile. They moved around her as she singled out different people, singing one line each just to them. Her head was filled with the lights and the beat of the music so she didn't even know what she was doing anymore; she was whirling around like a glittery tornado, having a brilliant time and enjoying every single moment.

Then she reached him. The boy with purple hair. She came to a stop in front of him, singing the next lines softly as if he was the only one listening.

"Open your eyes,
And know you're free to come alive,

You've got to live it while you can,
We only get one life..."

His eyes were a deep onyx colour and they stared right into her dark blue ones. She felt her breath catch a little and for a moment, it felt as though time had frozen and it was only the two of them staring right into each other's hearts.

The band once more began building up for the chorus and Dawn snapped out of it, blinking and stumbling away from the purple-haired boy. She noticed he looked just as startled as she did before she was pulled back in to the whirlwind of magic and music, climbing back onto the stage.

"Look to the sky,
Don't ever let it pass you by.

"You've got to live it while you can,
We only get one life.

"One life."

A huge grin decorated Dawn's face as she made her way centre stage. She opened her mouth wide and gave the penultimate verse all she had.

"It's time to stay up and fight,
It's time for making it right,

We only get one life,
One life,
One life."

"And when it feels like a lie,
I'll be your reason to try,
We only get one life...

"One life."

Dawn finished, breathing hard. Her chest was heaving as she lowered her microphone, smiling out at the audience. For a few seconds she let them cheer and applaud her as she caught her breath, but her time on stage had not finished yet. As was traditional, she still had a short speech to give. Luckily she felt much more relaxed now and she was able to raise the microphone to her mouth with confidence.

"Hi guys!" she called, her eyes sparkling and her voice still slightly breathy from the performance. "Like my Uncle said, I'm Dawn, and I just wanted to thank you all for being such a great audience tonight, even though the night has only just begun. Since the camp director is my Uncle then he always expects me to give a speech after I officially start the camp, but I don't want to bore you so it'll be short, I promise! That song was called 'One Life' and I wrote it two years ago to perform the first time I opened Camp Sync. This is the third time I've performed it and I think it was the best performance yet. Hopefully this means the next six weeks of Camp Sync are the best six weeks you're ever going to have in your life! For those of you who haven't yet heard, the camp's motto is 'Let old friendships be strengthened and new friendships that last a lifetime be forged'. I know some of you will think that it's just a motto but trust me, it's much more than that. I know I've certainly made more friends here that I'm never going to forget than anywhere else! Thanks again, and good luck to the next performers – let's hear it for new singer, Misty Waterflower!" Dawn finished with an elated call, backing off the stage clapping as a girl with fiery orange hair stepped out from behind the curtain.

Back in her dressing room, Dawn could still feel the electric atmosphere rolling off the stage. She had taken off her dress and was in the process of removing her makeup as she thought over her performance. As she had told the audience, it truly had been the best performance she had ever given. She wondered if it was all because of that boy with the purple hair... She had felt a connection to him while she was singing and she was sure he felt it too.

"Dawn?" someone knocked on her door. Dawn jumped, startled out of her thoughts.

"I'll be out in a sec," Dawn called, hurriedly removing the rest of her makeup and making sure she was presentable in her usual outfit before stepping out of the dressing room.

Closing the door behind her, Dawn was surprised to find her best friend at Camp Sync, Ursula, waiting for her. "Ursula, hey," she smiled.

The peach-haired girl grinned back, pulling her into a hug. "Ohmygosh Dawn, that was absoloutly amazing!" she exclaimed.

"Shh," Dawn hushed her. There was a performance going on right now, and they had to be quiet or else the audience might be able to hear them. "But, thanks," she added. "It was good, wasn't it," she grinned, slightly more confident.

Ursula took Dawn's hand, leading her out of the makeshift building so they could re-join the audience like performers were supposed to do after they had finished their song.

"You looked absoloutly gorgeous – where in the world did you get that dress? And your singing was the best I've ever heard!" Ursula gushed as they slipped into the back of the audience.

Dawn shrugged. "I found it at the shopping centre on the other side of the river. I was so amazed to find it, because I thought it was just perfect," Dawn whispered back, pressing her mouth to Ursula's ear so they could be heard over the current singer, a boy with messy black hair. "Who's that singing now, anyway?"

Ursula glanced up at the stage. "I think his name's Ash, but whatever."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "We're supposed to be watching and listening," Dawn pointed out when there was a lull in the music.

"Yeah, but we'll get to meet everyone over breakfast tomorrow anyway and there'll be loads of other chances to see him sing," Ursula replied, raising her voice as the music got louder.

"True..." Dawn agreed as the music came to an end.

"Thanks guys!" The singer, Ash, called out enthusiastically over the applause he received. He left the stage and Dawn caught her breath when she saw the next singer taking the stage.

Beside her, Ursula gasped. "Ohmygosh, who is he? He's, like, soooo hot!" she exclaimed. Dawn nudged her friend, wishing she wasn't quite so loud, but she didn't take her eyes of the new singer.
"I'm Paul Shinji, and I'm singing a song I wrote called 'Be My Escape'." It was the boy with the purple hair and the onyx eyes! Dawn let Ursula's chattering fade into the background as she stared at him. He was wearing baggy trousers and a dark blue jacket – the same clothes he was wearing earlier, Dawn noted. He didn't change at all for the performance, she realised. Of course you didn't have to dress up, but most people did. Dressing up was part of the fun of it.

Camp Sync was quite a competitive camp as well as one that encouraged people to sing their hearts out; at the end of each week everyone had to give a performance of a song they had either chosen or written, and the three judges at the camp would decide how many points to give them based on their performance. At the end of the six weeks all the points were added up and they could give one final performance, with the people with the highest number of points performing last. The person with the most number of points at the end won the trophy, as Dawn had done for the past couple of years.

But then Paul began to sing, and every other thought vanished from Dawn's mind.

"I've given up on giving up slowly,
I'm blending in so you won't even know me,
Apart from this whole world that shares my fate."

Paul's hands were in his pockets since his microphone was on a stand. His voice was deep and gruff, and fairly rough to start with, but Dawn was entranced all the same. It held a raw depth of emotion that tugged at her heart.

"This one last bullet you mention,
Is my one last shot at redemption,
Because I know to live you must give your life away.

"And I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity,
And I've been locked inside that house all the while you hold the key,
And I've been dying to get out and that might be the death of me.

"And even though there's no way in knowing,
Where to go I promise I'm going because..."

Paul took the microphone off its stand and began walking forwards as he sung the next bit. He kept walking, right to the end of the catwalk, and because Ursula and Dawn were right at the back of the audience it felt like he was walking straight towards them.

"I gotta get outta here,
I'm stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake,
I gotta get outta here,
And I'm begging you, I'm begging you, I'm begging you,
To be my escape."

Paul's eyes skimmed the crowd, not lingering on any one person. Next to Dawn, Ursula was babbling on about how hot he was and how she was going to go and find him after he finished singing to try and get to know him.

"I'm giving up on doing this alone now,
Cause I've failed and I'm ready to be shown how,
He's told me the way and I'm trying to get there.

"And this life sentence that I'm serving,
I admit that I'm every bit deserving,
But the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair.

"Cause I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity,
And I've been locked inside that house all the while you hold the key,
And I've been dying to get out and that might be the death of me.

"And even though there's no way in knowing,
Where to go I promise I'm going because...

"I gotta get outta here,
Cause I'm afraid that this complacency is something I can't shake
I gotta get outta here,
And I'm begging you, I'm begging you, I'm begging you,
To be my escape."

Paul's eyes finally came to rest on Dawn. He was walking backwards now, towards the stage, but his eyes were fixed on hers.

"I am a hostage to my own humanity,
Self-detained and forced to live in this mess I've made,
And all I'm asking is for you to do what you can with me,
But I can't ask you to give what you already gave.

"Cause I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity,
And I've been locked inside that house all the while you hold the key,
And I've been dying to get out, that might be the death of me.

"And even though there's no way in knowing,
Where to go I promise I'm going because..."

Dawn felt like he was singing directly to her, even though she knew it was stupid. He didn't even know who she was. But there was something there in his eyes that made Dawn feel like she had known him all her life. Paul had settled into the song by now and his last notes were spot on, losing Dawn in the music.

"I've gotta get outta here,
I'm stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake,
I've gotta get outta here,
And I'm begging you, I'm begging you, I'm begging you,
To be my escape.

"I fought you for so long,
I should have let you in,
Oh how we regret those things we do.

"And all I was trying to do,
Was save my own skin,
But so were you,
So were you."

Paul finished and clipped the microphone back onto its stand before walking offstage amid a huge applause which Ursula enthusiastically took part in. But Dawn was lost in her own world, thinking about the onyx-eyed boy with purple hair.

"And there we have it, girls and boys – Paul Shinji with 'Be My escape', the last performance of the night," the camp director announced, walking onstage. "Now there are refreshments if you'd like to head inside the lunch hall to your right and get to know each other a bit before heading off to your cabins. Now, since tonight is the first night, I want everyone in bed by two O' clock, but on regular nights midnight is curfew. Anyone found outside of their cabin after the curfew will be punished. And on that note, let's all head inside!"

Ursula grabbed Dawn's hand and began pulling her towards the lunch hall. "Come on! We have to find that purple-haired hottie," she squealed.

"Wha-what?" Dawn blinked. She must have been in her dressing room for ages if all the signers had already finished performing. Glancing at her Pokétch, she saw that it was just gone one. They had just under an hour before curfew.

"Dawn, you remember Melody, Brianna and Leticia, right?" Ursula had seen her other friends and dragged Dawn through the milling crowd towards them.

"Yeah, hi again," Dawn smiled at them. They had all met the previous year when Ursula had invited them to Camp Sync.

Melody grinned back. "Hey Dawn, it's awesome to see you again. You totally stole the stage tonight!"

Dawn shook her head, laughing. "I wasn't that great, but thanks anyway."

"No, you were totally the best female singer," Brianna complimented.

"Anyway," Ursula cut in. "I really want to go and find the hot guy who sang last, so I'll catch up with you all later, okay? We're all in the same cabin, luckily," she said before diving into the crowd.

Everyone was milling around inside the lunch hall (the tables were packed away and stacked round the edges apart from a few tables lining the room which were piled with food), and Dawn hadn't really had a chance to catch up with her thoughts yet.

"Oh, that's great," she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. The exhilaration from her performance, while still making her ears buzz, was beginning to die down a little now.

"Yeah, so, anyways, I also want to go and find someone," Melody said. "That really cool guy with black hair – he totally smiled at me while he was performing!"

Brianna laughed and shoved her. "Mel, Ash, like, smiled at everyone," she giggled. "But I'll come with you. Who knows, maybe I'll find my Drewy-babe," she added.

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Drewy-babe?"

"Yeah, he's so cool! I, like, melted when he began to sing," Brianna explained dramatically before she and Melody departed leaving Dawn with Leticia.

"So..." Dawn began awkwardly. "Anyone you want find?"

Leticia's eyes danced with amusement. "Nah, I'm good at the moment. Although, I wouldn't mind seeing that Gary guy again," she admitted. "Still, I'll probably meet him properly tomorrow. Hang on – there he is!" she gasped, pointing over Dawn's shoulder. Turning around, Dawn spotted a tall, handsome boy with spiky brown hair making his way through the crowd. "Do you mind?" Leticia checked. Dawn shook her head and Leticia shot off to confront Gary.

Left with no-one to talk to, Dawn wandered aimlessly through the crowd until a familiar voice called her name.

"Lucas!" Dawn exclaimed, turning around as a cute boy with short black hair and a red cap enveloped her in a hug. "Hey!"

Lucas pulled away, grinning, but his hands didn't leave her waist. "Dawn, it's so great to see you again," he greeted her. "Your performance was amazing!"

"Yeah, everyone keeps saying that," Dawn laughed. "Sorry I missed your song, that dress was hard to get off," she apologised.

Lucas' eyes twinkled. "I don't mind, that dress looked gorgeous on you so it was worth it." Dawn blushed and Lucas cleared his throat. "Anyway, have you seen the rest of the gang yet?" When Dawn shook her head Lucas let go of her waist and took her hand instead, leading her through the crowd.

The 'gang' consisted of her, Lucas, Rudy, Brendon, and Silver. In her first year at camp, when she was fifteen (the camp was for teenagers aged fifteen to eighteen – Dawn was seventeen and so in the third year), she had made firm friends with the four boys and Ursula, however the boys didn't get along with Ursula so she had to split her time evenly between them. The next year when Ursula had brought her other friends along Dawn had become good friends with them as well, so had to split her time between 'Lucas' group' and 'Ursula's group'. This year she was pretty sure the same thing was going to happen. Of course, she had other friends as well like Barry, Kenny, Zoey, Marina, Jimmy and pretty much all the other regular campers of every age, but she wasn't as close to any of them.

"Hey guys, look who I found," Lucas called out to three boys hovering near one of the refreshment tables.

"Dawn!" all three of them exclaimed. Dawn laughed as they all enveloped her in massive bear-hugs.

"Can't...breathe..." she gasped. After they let her go and had all complimented her earlier performance, they began chatting in general about the past year. Dawn stayed with them for about half an hour before finally excusing herself. She was feeling slightly lightheaded and so she slipped outside.

It was dark outside the lunch hall but the stars were still twinkling in the night sky above. Dawn had to creep around the back of the lunch hall to avoid being seen by the stagehands who were clearing up after the opening show – people weren't supposed to go out alone after dark, just in case some mad serial killer was lurking around.

Behind the lunch hall there was a stretch of green and the edge of the forest which bordered the camp, but it was too dark to see much. Dawn was just walking around, clearing her head after the excitement of the night, when she heard voices.

"So, you really think this will work?" a male voice asked.

"I'm positive," a second male voice replied. Dawn gasped silently. That sounded like her Uncle! But what was he doing out here at this time of night? She saw two figures walk briskly around the corner of the lunch hall and she stumbled backwards, towards the cabin closest to the lunch hall, to avoid being seen.

"When will you have the papers?" the first voice asked.

Shoot, Dawn thought. They were still heading her way.

"They should be ready by the end of this week." Upon hearing his voice a second time, Dawn was fairly sure he was her Uncle.

Dawn was still backing away, until her back hit something hard, making her cry out in surprise. She quickly covered her mouth with a hand but it was too late.

"Did you hear that?" her Uncle asked his companion. Dawn stood up and looked around desperately for somewhere to hide. She didn't even want to think about the consequences if she was caught.

"I think it came from over there," the first man replied and they began making their way towards Dawn's hiding place. Shoot, shoot, shoot! Dawn felt her way along the cabin until she found a window. It was hard to see much in the darkness but luckily for her when she pulled on the glass the window swung open. Without a second thought she reached her hands inside the cabin and jumped, pulling herself up with her hands until she was in a sitting position on the window ledge. In her panic she wasn't being careful and so she fell backwards, inside the cabin. With a sharp intake of breath she closed her eyes, waiting to hit the ground, but she never did.

Frowning slightly, she opened her eyes to see two onyx eyes staring back at her. "What in the-" the boy who had caught her began to exclaim. It barely registered in Dawn's head that this boy had just saved her a broken bone or two by catching her when she fell off the window ledge – instead she jumped out of his arms and pressed her hands tightly over his mouth. In her haste she used more force than she meant to and the boy, taken by surprise, stumbled backwards. He fell over, taking Dawn with him, and they both ended up sprawled on the floor. Or at least, the boy ended up sprawled on the floor – Dawn ended up sprawled awkwardly on top of him.

"Oww..." Dawn groaned.

"What-" the boy began again, but Dawn hurriedly placed her hands over his mouth again (but with much less force this time).

"Shhh!" she hissed.

For a moment there was nothing to be heard but silence. Then, Dawn heard her Uncle's voice again.

"There's no-one here. It was probably a Pachirisu or something," he said. "Come on, let's get back to the lunch hall; it's almost two O' clock, time to send those kids off to bed."

Dawn waited until she was sure they had left before finally removing her hands from the boy's mouth with a sigh of relief. "They're gone," she exhaled.

Suddenly she was dumped on the floor as the boy under her abruptly stood up. Dawn sat up with a small cry of surprise as the cabin light flickered on. Dawn blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light and she looked around. She was in a standard cabin, with six bunk beds (four to six people were always assigned to each cabin), a small toilet/wash room attached on the side and a sofa with a couple of chairs placed around the small fireplace. Then her gaze drifted over to the person standing by the light switch.

"What in the name of Arceus is going on?"

Dawn stared at the boy. He had purple hair, onyx eyes, and a thunderous expression. Even when he looked mad, he was still ruggedly handsome, Dawn noted. Although he seemed to have forgotten the moment they had shared when their eyes connected during her performance earlier. Unless he hadn't felt it at all, and it was all in her imagination...

"Well?" the boy folded his arms, glaring at her.

"Oh!" Dawn was jolted back to reality. "Umm... it's kind of a long story..." she began. "Hey, you're Paul, right? Paul Shinji?"

Paul nodded curtly. "I'm listening."

Dawn stood up, dusting herself off. "Oh, okay... Well, I felt a bit lightheaded after the show finished so after chatting to my friends for a bit I left the lunch hall to clear my head. I snuck round the back when I heard my Uncle approaching with some other guy and I panicked – we're not supposed to be outside after dark, you know, in case some mad serial killer is hanging around?" she tried to joke, but Paul was still glaring at her with that stormy look on his face. "Well, anyway," she coughed, "I found myself backing up against this cabin so I felt my way along it until I found a window – thank Arceus it was open – and I fell inside, and... well, you know the rest," she attempted a grin but it died away under Paul's cold glare.

"So you were hiding from your Uncle," Paul concluded.

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, that just about sums it up."

"So not such a long story after all," Paul pointed out. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go to bed." He stalked past Dawn to his bunk and sat down.

Dawn hesitated. "What are you doing out here? Didn't you want to get to know anyone else?"

Paul ignored her.

"Or, are you hiding from someone too?" Dawn guessed. Paul looked up at her.

"Are you going to leave?" he growled.

Now that the angry look was gone from his face, Dawn felt her confidence return. "Not until you tell me what you're doing out here," she said stubbornly.

Paul gritted his teeth. "Fine. I'm hiding from a stupid girl with peach-coloured hair," he grunted.

"Ursula?" Dawn guessed. Paul just grunted again and pulled his bag out from under his bed.

"You know, Ursula isn't that bad," Dawn tried to strike up a conversation. "She just gets a little bit excited sometimes, that's all."

Paul pulled out his iPod and plugged in his headphones, turning up the volume so loud Dawn could hear it from where she was standing.

"Hey, I'm only trying to be friendly," she shouted at him. He took out one earphone.

"Well, don't," he snapped. "Go away, troublesome girl."

Dawn gaped at him. "I'm not troublesome!"

Paul gave her a 'yeah, right, and I don't have purple hair' look.

"I'm not!" Dawn defended herself.

Paul sighed. "You break into my cabin and fall on top of me, then you tackle me to the ground because you're hiding from your Uncle, and now you're bothering me more than anyone else has in my entire life. You're troublesome," he stated.

Dawn was just trying to think of a good comeback when suddenly the cabin door banged open. She whirled around, squeaking with shock as a tall guy with spiky brown hair stood in the doorway, a smirk on his face.

"Well well well, what have we here? Paul breaking camp rules with a girl already?" he shook his head, tutting.

Dawn flushed. "I'm not... We're not..." she stammered, hardly noticing the cold night air that drifted in while the boy stood in the open door way.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Troublesome was just leaving," he said firmly, putting his earphone back in.

The boy with spiky brown hair strode in, followed by two other guys; one with green hair and the other with black hair. "The name's Gary," he introduced himself, bowing slightly. "And these are Ash and Drew."

Dawn stared at them. "Hi," she said.

"Now, care to tell us what you were doing with Paul in our cabin?" Gary smirked as Dawn wriggled uncomfortably.

Dawn was trying to think of what to tell them when Paul suddenly stood up. "She was hiding from her Uncle. Now she's leaving," he growled, dropping his iPod back on his bed.

"So soon? But you only just got here," the boy with messy black hair complained. "I'm Ash Ketchum by the way," he added with a grin.

Dawn smiled back. "Hi Ash – oh, hey, did you talk to a girl called Melody earlier?"

Ash lifted his eyes to the roof of the cabin as he thought. "Umm... Yeah!" he exclaimed suddenly. Gary wacked him over the head. "Sorry," Ash muttered sheepishly as Dawn gave him a bemused look. "But, yeah, I think so. Why?"

Dawn shrugged. "No reason. She's one of my friends and told me she was looking to congratulate you on your performance or something," she explained, deciding not to use Melody's actual words.

"Oh," Ash nodded.

Dawn squeaked as someone suddenly began to push her towards the door. "Hey!" she turned around to see Paul with a determined look on his face.

"I told you to leave," Paul glared at her.

Gary, who had just been unpacking his suitcase, stepped between them, holding up his hands. "Whoa, no need for a fight," he joked. "Down, Paul," he said, talking to the purple-haired teenager like he was a naughty puppy. To Dawn he added, "Don't listen to him, he's always this grumpy. You'll get used to it."

Dawn glanced at Paul whose glare was now fixed on Gary. "No need to worry, my friend Ursula is way worse in the mornings," she laughed.

Paul rolled his eyes as went back to his bed.

Suddenly something landed on Dawn's head, and she screamed in surprise. "What in Arceus?" She reached up and took a piece of clothing off her head. Upon closer inspection, she realised it was a shirt. A smelly shirt. "Eww," she gagged. Gary laughed and withdrew back towards his bunk. She thought she heard him say 'good one', but she ignored him, her eyes sweeping the room for the culprit.

Someone sniggered from behind her and she twisted round to face the handsome teenager with green hair whom she hadn't properly met yet. He must be Drew, she thought. "Is this yours?" she growled threateningly, stalking over to him. He was leaning against his bed with amusement dancing in his eyes.

"No," Drew told her. "If you want someone to blame, look over there," he pointed to the third bunk where Ash was rummaging around in his suitcase. With no shirt on.

"Ash!" Dawn yelled angrily.

Ash froze. Slowly he withdrew from his suitcase and turned around to face her, a Buneary-in-the-headlights look on his face. "Y-yes Dawn?" he asked innocently.

Dawn narrowed her eyes. "Did you throw this?" she asked menacingly, advancing upon him with the shirt held away from her body.

"Uh... never seen it before in my life," Ash tried a lopsided grin, but Dawn didn't buy it.

"So where's your shirt then, clever-clogs?" Dawn hissed, prodding his bare chest but keeping her eyes on his face.

Ash gulped.

"Give it up Ash, you know you've been caught," Gary chuckled from behind them. Ash sighed.

"Sorry Dawn, I didn't mean to throw it at you. I was looking for my toothbrush," Ash apologised. He stared up at her with such a puppy-dog expression in his eyes that she couldn't do anything but sigh and chick his shirt back on his bed.

"No need to worry," she told him.

"Well, that was a quick mood change," Drew remarked. Once more Dawn whirled around to face him, but instead of getting mad she just grinned.

"You'll get used to it," she smiled.

"Hey! You stole my words," Gary protested.

Before Dawn could reply, there came a knock at the door. Everyone froze.

"Hello?" Gary called out cautiously.

"It's Peter," came the muffled reply from the other side of the door. Dawn's eyes widened. "I'm just coming in to check you're all obeying the curfew," he explained.

Dawn glanced around for somewhere to hide. "It's my Uncle!" she gasped under her breath.

Thinking quickly, Drew grabbed her and pulled her over to the wash room. He quickly shoved her inside and closed the door, just in time as Dawn's Uncle then pushed open the door and walked into the boy's cabin.

"Good to see you're all here," Dawn heard him say. She waited, pressing herself against the closed wash room door, with trembling hands. He might be her Uncle, but she knew he wouldn't go easy on her if she was caught. Especially if she was caught in the boy's cabin.

"If you don't mind, I just need to do a quick room check," Peter continued. Dawn heard some shuffling and then someone else spoke up.

"Could you do it tomorrow? Some of us are trying to sleep." Dawn smiled slightly as she recognised Paul's gruff voice.

"Sorry... Paul, wasn't it? Sorry Paul, but one year we caught a girl hiding in her boyfriends cabin after midnight so now we make sure to do a brief check of the rooms every night to make sure it doesn't happen again," Peter told him. Dawn closed her eyes as she heard her Uncle stride over to the wash room.

"Like any of us have girlfriends, we only just arrived," Drew pointed out hurriedly, but it didn't stop Dawn's Uncle from turning the door handle on the wash room.

Dawn recoiled, her heart beating wildly. She was going to get caught. She knew it.

Author's Note: Wow, that has to be the longest chapter I've ever written! Not every chapter will be that long, I'm sure. Anyway, the other girls (Misty, May and Leaf) will appear next chapter. I just thought it might be interesting if they didn't all start off as friends, but rather they become friends as the story progresses. The plot will start properly next chapter, and stay tuned if you want to find out what happens to Dawn! Will her Uncle catch her? Will she be grounded for the rest of Camp?