JC: Okay.... it's been a solid couple months since I've updated.

Gary: YEAH MAN! I THOUGHT YOU GUYS WERE DEAD!

Me: We were in the same place....I made breakfast for you this morning!

Gary: *sweatdrops* Oh yeah..

Paul: Idiot.

Dawn: How about you try a mirror yourself?

Gary: DAMN!

Ash: LANGUAGE!!! PUT 5$ IN DA JAR RIGHT NOW MAN!

Serena: *sweatdrops*

Me: I actually had to read the last chapter because I didn't remember it. But I'm not sick anymore!

JC: SAME!! WOOHOO!

Paul: Just get on with the chapter or else Gary and Ash are gonna go nuts.

Me: Fineeee. JC help me out here.

JC: OKAAAAY.

Dawn shivered in the bleachers, very irritated with the way Kenny approached her. He was so damn annoying, trying to act like everything was fine. It really wasn't, and she hated him for it. He used to be her best childhood friend, until he got all caught up with everything else. She was also jealous of something else, but she didn't really want to admit that.

Okay, she was mad about the homecoming court, especially Hilda. The way she tried clinging to him, how she flirted with him, how-

No. She HAD to stop thinking about it. Why would it bother her anyways? ha, like seriously?

Liar.

Dawn bit her lip, knowing that she kept lying to herself. Deep down in the pit of her stomach, she knew that all the lies were just covering up the truth, but she was afraid of the truth itself.

She shook her head, stopping her thoughts completely as she watched the half end, the game coming back to life again. This was going to be one long, cold night, and the night was only just about halfway over.

-----

" AND THE STILL, UNDEFEATED WILDCATS WIN 49-42!" The man screamed, while the crowd was all hyped up. The cheerleaders doing their victory dance to the beat of the band playing the school song, the student section jumping up and down, making the bleachers shake. Dawn quickly got up and sped walk through the crowded place, successfully avoiding Ursula and everyone else. She made sure her hood was on, tugging at it to cover herself. she felt a few raindrops land on herself, and soon enough it was pouring down, unable to barely see. It was a blend of rain and hail, which sucked.

Dawn shivered again and hugged herself, waiting for her mother to hopefully come pick her up soon, the rain was definitely going through her thin scrappy-looking jacket, making her skin freeze.

"Dawn?"

She quickly spun around to see Ash looking at her confused, carrying his stuff with him.

"Uh, hi Ash." Dawn replied with a quiet voice, the rain and wind howling in their ears.

"Dawn! Why are you all the way out here?! It's freezing! May, Serena, Misty, Leaf, they were worried about you!" Ash ran over to her.

"I'm just waiting for my mom, that's all" Dawn said, but Ash sighed in response. "Why wait all the way out here though? Come on, say hi to everyone!" Ash led her back, even though Dawn objected several times.

She saw all her friends in a small group, laughing and chatting as usual. Ash flashed one of his goofy grins at her, which she returned with a small smile.

"Hey guys!" Ash yelled, grabbing the attention of their friends. All of their eyes widened to see who was walking beside Ash, and May hugged Dawn once they approached them.

"Dawn! Where the heck were you?!" May asked with a grin on her face, but Dawn only returned it with a shoulder shrug.

"Geez, you're soaked! It's freezing out here!" Misty said, her teeth chattering together while jumping only slightly on her tippy toes. Gary casually wrapped an arm around her, causing an elbow to fly right into his chest.

Dawn smiled at misty and Gary bickering with one another as she hugged herself to attempt a useless effort to somehow get warm and block out some of the rain and hail. She felt the rain suddenly stop, so she looked up to see that the rain stopped only on her.

"Little blue, you're very Troublesome." Dawn looked up to see Paul holding a coat over their heads, him flashing a smirk her way. she stomped her foot, making some of the water on the ground splash.

"I'm not." She replied, sighing heavily through her nose while pouting.

"Didn't know you would be here." Paul admitted, as he kept looking at the short blunette. She just looked at the ground, not knowing how to reply. "Why were you standing in the rain over there?"

"Waiting for my mom...." Dawn mumbled under her breath, she didn't know why her mother wasn't there to pick her up yet, and she prayed that nothing bad happened.

"Just walk back with us, it'll probably be easier. Nobody I know likes standing in this damn weather." Paul offered, watching the rain and hail get even heavier, if that was even possible. Dawn bit her lip and shook her head, she had to wait to make sure nothing went wrong.

Paul sighed, wondering why she was being so stubborn. "I'm not leaving till either you come with us or you get a ride little blue, it's dangerous to be standing out here alone."

"Obviously it's dangerous everywhere in the stands too with all of those jerks." Dawn mumbled back, pulling out her phone to call her mother. They both stood in silence as she heard the ringing through her phone, nobody picking up at all. Paul watched her as she shifted her feet, dabbing her toes in a puddle.

"Why isn't she picking up?" Dawn quietly asked, her voice wavering from fear. He raised an eyebrow, wondering if something was wrong.

"Troublesome, something wrong?"

Dawn didn't reply, just stared at her phone. Who could she call now? Her breath was shaky, knowing only one other person that she could contact.

Her father.

She took a deep breath and clicked he call button on his number, then slowly put the phone to her ear again, hoping that he'd pick up and that he'd ignore ignore it too. She didn't know what she wanted.

"Where da HELL ARE YOU, YOU-YOU  B-BITCH!?!" Her father screamed into the phone, making Dawn close her eyes from the tears pricking her eyes again. He sounded really drunk, and her stomach dropped inside her.

"Where's mom?" Dawn asked confidently, while Paul gritted his teeth from hearing his words.

"Got ina cah 'ccident. It's all yur fault she's der!!! You disgrace to ME!! I HATE YOU! YOU SHOULDN'T  HA BEEN BORN!!" He screamed, continuing to yell at Dawn through the phone as she choked on her breath, tears slipping out of her eyes.

"That's enough." Paul growled, swiping the phone from the silent crying girl, who was frozen in place. He put the phone to his ear, growing angry by the man's words.

"-YOU DAMN BITCH!! YOU-"

"Shut the FUCK UP." Paul spat, silencing the drunk man on the other line.

"Who the hell is DIS!?!"

"Your worst damn nightmare." Paul said, hearing the man shout random insults for a second until he hung up. He looked at the short blunette, who stood there with tears spilling out of her navy blue orbs, the tears dripping onto the ground with the rain.

Everyone was staring at him with wide eyes, hearing the whole conversation between him and the drunken father of hers.

"Is she okay?" Serena whispered worriedly. Paul shook his head, not looking from Dawn.

"I'll take care of it, put the gear back." Paul said in a monotone voice, looking at Ash, Drew, and Gary, who nodded back and led them all back to the school, hauling all of their gear with them.

Paul wrapped the coat around her, not caring if he got soaked. Dawn was now sobbing, not wanting to believe what her father had said to her.

"W-why would h-he say tha-at? My mom's in a c-car accid-dent!" Dawn cried, burying her face in her palms.

"It's not your fault little blue." Paul mumbled, hoping it would ease the sobs, but it only made Dawn scream in anger.

"YES IT IS!"

"No."

Paul brought Dawn into his chest, letting her sob for a few minutes. He stroked her back with a light touch, hoping to ease the crying.

Dawn didn't even realize that he'd been slowly walking them back until they were at the door of the apartment him and Ash shared. It was completely silent, other than the quiet sniffling sounds Dawn made, while Paul unlocked the door and opened it for them.

Dawn looked up at him, who waited for her to go in first. She sighed, then slowly dragged her feet inside and sat on the couch, not saying a word. She blinked and hasn't realized how much it stung her sore eyes.

No words were said for another few hours, not even when Ash had entered and almost started celebrating over the game until Paul dragged him who-knows-where and probably told him to shut up or else he'd regret it.

It was definitely an uneasy, restless night for them.

Dawn couldn't sleep, she kept tossing and turning on the couch, pulling the blankets closer to herself and shutting her eyes tightly. That didn't work either. Her mother was somewhere where she didn't know, and she could be hurt. Her father could've been lying, right? About the car accident?

Right?

She didn't want to believe it. But a small part somewhere in herself she knew that he'd been telling the cruel truth. Silent tears slipped from her eyes as she laid on the couch with the blankets covering her whole body.

Dawn decided that she'd leave tomorrow morning to find out what happened to her loving mother, who'd given up everything for her to be successful.

Gary: That was good, thank ARCEUS you updated.

JC: This was kind of a filler chapter to get an update going, and hopefully have no writers block.

Ash: *crying* I DON'T WANT JOHANNA TO DIEEEEE!!!!!!!! *wails and weeps*

Dawn: *sobbing* I actually read it and I can't stop cr-crying!

Paul: *facepalms* Oh Arceus....