Alone [IkariShipping/Paul x Dawn]

The Future

"Won't you please stop loving me to death?" I sang, as I ended on my final chords. The boys and I cheered as we wrapped up the
hardest bits and pieces of this song.

Gary smirked, laughing before he even got the chance to arrive at his joke. "So, now that we know that this song is about Dawn, can we please invite her over?"

Drew vigorously nodded in agreement. "Yes! Please invite your girlfriend over. I like her more than you, Paul."

I blushed, laughing at their comments. I hesitated slightly, but asked, "Want me to call her?" Both of the boys nodding their head silently as if my phone was readily dialing. I pulled out my phone, and my fingers nervously fumbled over the keys as I searched for her contact. When I found it, I shushed the two of them and prayed that the blunette would pick up, butterflies loose amongst my stomach.

After a few seconds of slight tension in the air, the rings stopped and I heard a soft voice answer, "Hey." Dawn seemed lightly shaken, but it could be the fact that she wasn't expecting me to call.

"Hey!" I replied, maybe a bit too excited. Drew snickered at my clear boyish crush on the girl. But I couldn't help it. "What's up?"

"Oh nothing," the girl paused and then added, "Just homework. You?"

"I'm hanging out with Gary and Drew, and we were wondering if you wanted to come over, too?"

I could almost hear the girl's smile. "Anything is better than pre-calc, even hanging with you losers." Then we shared a small laugh.

"Don't accuse me of being the loser here. You're the one who was doing homework, loser."

"Uh, do you want me to come over or not?"

I pleaded, sarcastically, "Gary asked. Not me." I even put my arms up, defeated, but of course Dawn wouldn't see them.

"I'll be over soon, loser." She hung up, and I sighed. Looking back towards Gary and Drew who wore the exact dumbfounded expression as the other. Both were so completely exaggerated, I could've laughed.

"You guys are so flirty, what happened?!" Drew asked, amazed at what he had witnessed.

"Nothing!" I yelled, defensively. I walked closer to the guys, as if whispering the words would help. "We just, kissed. But nothing's happened since."

Gary jumped and Drew's arms crossed, as if to say a job well done. Suddenly, the doorbell chimed, and I jumped, saying that I would answer it. I ran upstairs to the door, and opened it as soon as it came into view.

Dawn stood, luminous as ever. She was wearing tight jeans and a longer sweatshirt that was designed with lettering I couldn't read. Her hair was in a messy bun, and her makeup was lightly done. As soon as the saw me, she hugged me tight, her head buried in my chest. My chin on her head and arms wrapped around her as well. When we released, she whispered, "Hey," looking into my eyes and smiling slowly. It was funny how we weren't awkward in the slightest. We knew the feeling was mutual and we were both waiting for the right time. Until it came though, I was incredibly happy where we were.

"Hey, we're all downstairs." I said leading her to the area she'd only been once before.

Both Gary and Drew ran to give the girl a hug when they saw her and she smiled, "It's great to see you guys again!"

"You too, Dawnie, we're happy you made it!" Gary hummed.

"Thanks," she mumbled, blushing lightly as she looked down, embarrassed.

We played music all night, and it was simply one of the best nights of my life. Seeing Dawn happy, being with my friends and her and music. It was just a great day.

~X~

"Can you grab me the pasta?" I handed the blunette the dark blue cardboard box, and she spilled its contents into a boiling pot of water.

"Soo," I started. "How long will it take?"

"Give or take ten minutes," the girl hummed.

My eyebrows furrowed, "And how do you know it's done?"

The girl's eyes widened, in shock at my lack of cooking knowledge. "You can throw it against the wall to see if it's done, but don't because I don't want to clean the wall." Dawn paused, sneaking a glance at me. "You can just tell when it's done, it'll look stringy, like pasta." I nodded at the girl's words, crashing onto her sofa, and her following suit. She smiled, "What's new?"

"Nothing really. My guidance counselor's been up my ass all weekend, trying to get me to choose schools."

Her interest peaked, I could tell in the slight movement of her shoulders, but her voice remained soft and concerned, "Do you have any in mind?" Before I answered, she added quickly, "Do you want to go to college?"

"Of course I do, it's just that the situation stresses me out."

"I can help you choose! What do you want to go for?" Dawn grabbed her laptop and opened it up, furiously typing away at the keys.

"Music, easy."

She continued to type away, "In the area? Or out of state?"

"Close to here," I sighed. "I want to stay close to all my friends here."

"Oh! The college right by here has a really good music program," Dawn exclaimed, turning her laptop for me to read. "They have performance, production, therapy."

"Music therapy? What is that? It sounds interesting."

Dawn typed madly and read aloud, "Music Therapy is an established health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals. After assessing the strengths and needs of each client, the qualified music therapist provides the indicated treatment including creating, singing, moving to, and/or listening to music. Through musical involvement in the therapeutic context, clients' abilities are strengthened and transferred to other areas of their lives. Music therapy also provides avenues for communication that can be helpful to those who find it difficult to express themselves in words. Research in music therapy supports its effectiveness in many areas such as: overall physical rehabilitation and facilitating movement, increasing people's motivation to become engaged in their treatment, providing emotional support for clients and their families, and providing an outlet for expression of feelings." She quickly added, "That sounds amazing."

"It does..." I sighed again. "I guess it's the best option for me. I don't really know."

Dawn met my gaze, "Paul, what's wrong?"

"I hate being forced into things, I feel like I'm being boxed into my future and I wish I had more time."

"You don't have to make a decision anytime soon. And if you hate it, you can always stop or switch things around. You make up your future, not anyone else. We're all just here to help you succeed." The girl nodded along with her words, her blue orbs bright as ever.

"Thanks," I mumbled, smirking a bit with her comforting words.

We chatted for awhile about random subjects until Reggie called me, yelling that I'd been out too late.

"Hey, that was my brother, I've got to head out." I sat up, getting ready to leave, about to meet her lips with my own when she backed away quickly, yelling, "Oh shit! The pasta!" The girl ran to the pot in her kitchen, and sweatdropped, "It's burnt..."

"How does that even happen?"

Hey y'all!

I feel like I never do Author's Notes? I want to change that, and be a little more interactive with you guys. What do you think?

Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter. There's going to be a little bit of hopefully cute filler-y stuff before I move onto a bigger plot part.

Also! I published a new Ikari book called 'Con Man and Princess.' Please check it out! It's a lot different from this story.

Until next time!