Meaning of the Rose
Serena couldn't help showing a big smile as she looked at herself in her bedroom mirror: she was fully dressed and ready to go for her date. Since it would be in broad daylight, as it had been organized to be in the afternoon, she was wearing a pale pink frilly dress that had a white sleeveless cardigan over it, bright pink tights with pale pink Mary Jane shoes, a pale pink felt hat that had a white stripe around the top over her cream coloured hat that she had done loose which also had a hot pink flower accessory on the side and she had a pale pink ribbon purse over her shoulder. As Serena was happily looking at her reflection to make sure that she was fully dressed and ready to go, she could hear footsteps coming up the staircase and turned to see that it was her mother, Grace. "Well, it looks like someone has really outdone herself this time." Grace commented looking at Serena with a bright smile on her face and her hands on her hips.
"I know, right? So what do you think? Is it a bit too much?" Serena asked slowly turning herself around so Grace could see what she was wearing. Once Grace had a close look at what Serena had decided to wear for today, she shook her head as Serena turned herself the right way around.
"I wouldn't say so. In fact, I'd say it looks great. I'm sure that he'll love to see you." Grace replied. Just then, the two could hear a knock on the front door downstairs and turned to look down the stairs. "Well, it looks like he's here already. Why don't you go downstairs to see him?" Grace suggested. Serena happily nodded in agreement with a bright smile so she made her way down the stairs while Grace watched on for a few seconds before following after her.
With Serena, she arrived at the bottom of the staircase and ran over to the front door before opening it to see who it was. Sure enough, standing there was none other than Drew Hayden. After a few seconds to notice this, Serena slowly showed a bright smile. "Hi, Drew! It's great to see you!" Serena cheerfully exclaimed before she stepped forward and tightly hugged Drew. Drew stared at Serena in silence with an expression of surprise before he started to smile; he loved to see Serena when she was this happy, and it was never more obvious than when he came to see her. After a few seconds, Serena realised that she was hugging Drew a bit too tightly for his own good and immediately let go, hiding her hands behind her back and looking down at the floor with a nervous smile. "Oh, sorry about that. I hope you're not too bothered by that. It's just that I always get so excited when you come to see me." Serena quickly said. Drew simply showed a bright smile and shook his head in response.
"No, that's okay. Nothing makes me happier than seeing your smile." Drew replied. Serena looked back up at Drew hearing this and her smile immediately grew brighter and she could feel her cheeks start to glow bright red. Drew then looked down to see what Serena was wearing and then he lifted his gaze back up to her placing his hands at his sides. "Well, you certainly got yourself ready for today. You do realise that we're only going to Aquacorde Town, right?" he asked, noticing the frilly pink dress that Serena was wearing.
"I know. I just wanted to make sure I was wearing something you thought would look beautiful." Serena replied, as she turned around to show what she was wearing with one hand on her hip like she was posing for a photo shoot. Drew couldn't help shaking his head in amusement and looked back up at Serena as she stood properly. "Knowing you, Serena, anything you wear would be beautiful to me." Drew commented showing a sincere smile as he was saying that. Serena happily giggled at this compliment, and then she turned around to see Grace coming over while Drew looked up at her.
"Well, from the looks of it, it seems like you two are enjoying yourselves. Are you both ready to go?" Grace asked. Drew and Serena both nodded in agreement; they had everything they needed. Then again, Drew didn't have anything with him and all Serena had was her purse around her shoulder.
"Yeah, Mum. We're both good." Serena replied. She then turned to Drew and showed a bright smile. "So then, shall we get going?" she asked.
"I'm ready when you are." Drew responded. With this, he offered his arm out and Serena placed her arm around his and the two headed out of the house and started to make their way to the front gate leading to the road heading towards Aquacorde Town. As the two walked out of the front pathway, Grace watched them on and waved.
"Have a great time, you two! And be careful!" Grace called. Serena looked back as she heard Grace's calls and waved back. "We will! And don't worry! We'll just be in Aquacorde Town!" she replied. Drew was watching this and looked over at Serena with a puzzled expression once she lowered her arm and looked back at him.
"Sounds like your mum's being a bit overprotective. She knows that we're not going too far, right?" Drew asked. "Oh, she's just concerned. Aren't all parents like that when their children start to grow up?" Serena asked in response giving a little shrug with her free shoulder as she was saying that. Drew showed a small smile at this reply and then he nodded in agreement; he couldn't deny that was true. The two stepped out of the front gate, which automatically opened as they approached it, and made their way down the path until they arrived in Aquacorde Town.
"I still remember the first time I came to this town. Back when we started on our journey together and we got to know each other, talking about what our dreams were and what we wanted to do with our lives. It seems like that was only yesterday..." Serena sighed as she and Drew came into the town; she still remembered when they both first arrived here together at the beginning of their travels. Drew looked over at Serena hearing her say this and slowly nodded in agreement; he still remembered that day just as vividly as she did. The two then came to a small table with three chairs and pulled two back and sat down on them, with Serena placing her purse down on the third chair beside her. "Do you still remember when we first came here, Drew?" Serena asked.
"Yeah, I sure do. Back then, we didn't think very much of each other and only had our own prejudices to go by. I used to think of you as a pretty girl who only thought of the latest styles and wouldn't know the first thing about being a Trainer or Coordinator." Drew replied, a smile of amusement slowly showing on his face as he thought back to that day. Back then, it wasn't quite as entertaining, but now Drew and Serena could look back on those early days and only laugh.
"Yeah, that's right! And I thought you were only a stuck-up, arrogant show off who never thought about others. I was a major case of judging before understanding back then, wasn't I?" Serena asked as she showed a bright smile and started trying not to laugh. Drew nodded in agreement and then the two started happily laughing, still thinking about how they thought of one another when they first met. After about a few seconds, the laughing subsided and the two looked at each other with bright smiles. "But...now those days have gone by and look where we are now. We're the most unlikely match in Kalos, but I wouldn't want it any other way." Serena added, resting her chin with her closed hands that she had placed against the table.
Drew nodded in agreement with a bright smile on his face. While he hadn't been the best person back then to Serena, he had decided to keep those past days as a lesson to himself and now he only wanted to be the best person he could be now...for Serena. He then looked up as he suddenly remembered something he wanted to give her. "Serena, this is something for you." Drew said as he pulled something out of the back pocket of his pants and showed it to Serena: it was a thornless, bright red rose. Serena looked at it in silence for a few moments before she brightly smiled and took it.
"Wow, this is beautiful. Thanks, Drew." Serena said as she looked up at him. She then remembered something else from during their journey together and showed an expression of confusion. "I just realised something. How come you always have roses? During all of the time we've been together, you've always had roses. Why them in particular?" she asked.
"Well, I've always heard that red roses represent love. I always liked that how with one red rose, you can show someone how much you love them and that you can show how you want to give someone you really care about love and passion that they deserve. So, I always have a rose with me because I want to show you how much I love you, Serena." Drew explained showing a sincere smile all the while. Serena was silent as she listened to this explanation and then a big smile showed on her face as it suddenly made sense: all of the times Drew offered her a rose during their journey was because he was trying to tell her that he loved her without words. As soon as this clicked in her head, she got up from her seat, walked over to Drew who was looking on wondering what was happening and then gave him a sweet, tender kiss on the lips. After a few seconds, Serena then lifted her head up while Drew remained in his seat, with a wordless expression on his face.
"Well, I guess it took me this long to figure that out. But now I'm glad you decided to make it crystal clear for me. Thanks, Drew." Serena said before she went over and sat down back on her chair. Drew was speechless for a few more seconds before a big smile slowly showed on his face and he could feel a deep red blush streaking across his face.
"Well, I guess this time I'm the one who's at a loss of words." Drew commented. Serena couldn't help laughing to herself and nodded in agreement; she had a feeling that she should try that more often. It would be worth it to see what Drew's reaction would be.