Pokemon fanfic: "Through Horn-Rimmed Glasses" by Avi As Dawn and her friends enjoyed themselves at the Pokemon Summer Academy, Conway observed them at a discreet distance, the sunlight glinting off his glasses, as he did so. Conway didn't consider himself a stalker. More like, a Pokemon Watcher (or in his case, a "Dawn" Watcher). (Granted, he was supposed to be a Pokemon trainer, but the same rules applied...) He did the same things that a Pokemon Watcher would: he observed his subject, took note of their habits, and the company they kept... And if others questioned his motives, he would explain that it was all in the name of scientific research. At least, that's what he kept telling himself. In reality, he wasn't quite sure why Dawn intrigued him so... She seemed like ordinary girl, accompanied with an ordinary starter pokemon, in the middle of an ordinary training journey. She loved dressing up, training her pokemon and wanted to be a top co-ordinator, but these were all common traits that Conway had observed in other girls as well. But surely there was something special about this girl, something that he could quantify or measure, that made Dawn stand out from the rest (or more importantly, stand out to /him/). Conway then thought back to the first time he met Dawn; he distinctly remembered thinking of her as just another cute young girl... Like most people, she had seemed put off by his initial staring (although Conway had always made a point of seriously scrutinizing someone he had just met, especially if they were going to be his tag team partner). And by the time their first tag battle had begun, Conway had already formulated the most optimal strategy for the two of them, planning the perfect defense to compliment Dawn's battling style. After their win, Conway did have to admit that he and Dawn made a good team. But what surprised him most was Dawn wanting to know more about his strategy and tactics; no one had ever seemed interested in his battling strategies before. And when she grabbed his hand (her eyes lighting up as she did so), Conway suddenly felt flustered, and confused... (For someone who was usually so confident in his abilities, it was a bewildering feeling, to say the least.) It was a shame that he and Dawn didn't win the tag battle competition, Conway mused, but he had chalked it up to experience, and took it as an indication to reformulate his battle strategies. However, he did have to admit a tiny bit of regret, at having to part ways with Dawn. It was this tiny bit of regret that bothered him; for someone who had to know the "whys" about everything, he was determined to figure out the reason behind this, as well. So, it was no coincidence that that he and Dawn met up again at the Pokemon Summer Academy; Conway didn't believe in luck, or fate. Once he had learned that Dawn had signed up (no need to go into /how/ he knew, he had his ways) Conway made it his business to sign up, as well. It was unfortunate that he and Dawn didn't end up on the same team together, but Conway considered this a minor setback, and stepped up his efforts to observe her. (Some might consider his methods unorthadox, but Conway was rarely interested in what other people thought, once he set his mind to something.) (Granted, even Conway had to admit, perhaps sneaking into the Red Team's dormitory in hopes of pairing up with Dawn /was/ a bit much...) But whenever Dawn would actually take notice of him and smile, he really does think it was worth all the effort. END ***** I've always had a soft spot for Conway (although in the Pokemon Summer Academy episodes, he did get a little too "OMG creepy stalker" for my taste). Still, I could see him reasoning out why he would follow Dawn around so much... Hence, this 'fic. :) *** Copyright, Aviatrix8, 2009. Pokemon and all related characters are property of Nintendo et al., and are used without permission.