Paul and Dawn: First Light

Chapter 38: Victorious

Chapter 38: Victorious

"Congratulations, Dawn!"

"You did so well, Dawn!"

"Wow, Dawn, I'm so happy for you!"

Everywhere backstage I heard the same thing. Contests sure were different from battles- all sugarcoated and dramatic. Still, I waited for Dawn, deep in the belly of the beast that I disliked. I now had more respect for Coordinators, but if it weren't for Dawn I would never set foot in a Contest Hall again. Soon, I'd be back in my element, training my own Pokemon to do something more meaningful than twirling like ballerinas, and continued chanting this inside my head so I could deal with another hour or so of Contest Land.

After a couple minutes, Dawn broke free of the well wishers and reached her makeup table that I was hiding next to, trying to avoid detection by casually leaning against the wall. The second she saw me a dazzling smile stretched across her face. She ran, picking up bundles of her dress in her hands, and barreled into me.

Her hug was suffocating. I could barely breathe, but wrapped my arms around her all the same; enjoying seeing her so happy, wondering if my rose had added anything to her euphoria.

She finally let go and I took a deep breath and said, "Congratulations."

Dawn trembled with excitement, grinning at me. "Because of the moves you inspired, Paul. And all those training sessions really helped in the battle portion. Without you, I-"

Her face was flushed, from giddiness, winning, or nerves I did not know.

"You deserved it." I paused, drinking in her features, the way her blue hair wove in a bun, wavy locks resting against her smooth skin. "The three hours of work on your hair did wonders."

The compliment made me turn away. I pretended to watch other Coordinators pack up their things.

"Thanks, Paul." Dawn said shyly after a brief moment of silence.

I was about to ask about the rose that was standing in a vase by her mirror when a voice came through the crowd, "Hey, Dee Dee!"

Dawn, sour faced, turned around to see Kenny strolling toward her, arms pumping confidently at his side as he grinned stupidly.

My eyes widened slightly as Dawn muttered, "Crap."

She looked like she had just seen a dead, flattened Durant on the floor and shifted herself a little behind me, ducking her head as if Kenny would fail to see her. I grimaced as Kenny strolled towards us. I would have preferred him sulking like a loser after his catastrophe on the battlefield, but he seemed to revel in his pathetic nature.

"Congratulations." Kenny held out his hand and Dawn, trying not to cringe, stepped out from behind me and shook it. I noticed how she tried to pull away quickly and he refused to let go for a second too long. My eyes narrowed as Kenny continued talking, "So... what's Paul doing here?"

Kenny refused to look at me, though I doubt he would have let his eyes drift from Dawn anyway. An anger that felt so much hotter and unrestrained than normal grew inside me. I had no idea what it was, but I knew it disliked Kenny even more than I did, so I accepted it instead of batting it away like most other meaningless emotions.

"Paul came to watch me in the Contest," Dawn answered.

Kenny laughed. "I thought he hated Contests."

I cut in, "Actually, I'm just extremely picky. I only watch the best Coordinators, like Dawn, who understand what strength can contribute to the performance and don't think too much of themselves like some other Coordinators do. You know, like the ones who focus too much on things like unnecessary flare that make them lose their battle portion in a landslide... or should I say eruption?"