"This is ridiculous." The young man paced back and forth throughout his bedroom. "Why would Serena and Trevor be on a date? I never even saw that coming. Since when are they interested in each other?" Calem's Delphox and Meowstic had been watching their trainer's relentless pacing for the past two hours. He had been at it since Serena called and canceled their daily battle since she would be meeting Trevor in Lumiose.
'Why do you think this is bothering him so much?' Meowstic asked his friend. Delphox sighed in response.
'Obviously he has a thing for Miss Serena. As a trainer, he's brilliant. But as a man, he could use a little help.'
"I mean, what would they even talk about? Trevor has no interest in fashion like Serena, nor could she care much about his Pokedex since she's almost completed it herself. The whole idea just sounds like a disaster if you ask me." Calem plopped backwards on his bed, looking more annoyed as he rambled on.
'Nobody asked you.' Meowstic playfully snickered and cuddled up to his troubled trainer. Although he couldn't understand his loyal Pokemon, he could certainly sense their attitudes.
"But what if they actually hit it off?" Calem continued aloud. "I guess it would be pretty awkward when we all hang out if those two are acting all . . . coupley in front of us." He cringed at the thought as he grunted in frustration. His Pokemon exchanged worrisome looks. They had never seen their generally well-composed, gentlemanly trainer get so worked up about seemingly nothing.
"I can tell you guys are thinking something. What's up? Am I being ridiculous?"
'Of course not Daddy,' Meowstic purred, 'I just want you to relax. I'm sure nothing is going on between them anyway.' He smiled as he pet the psychic kitty. He could feel his friends' reassurance.
"You guys are the best. But why is this so aggravating? It's not like . . . I don't know. I hate this." His voice trailed off at the end of his sentence. After all, Serena's dating life was not really his concern. And it irked him that that was the case.
He was too busy further frustrating himself to bother noticing that his doorknob was turning.
"Hi Calem!" A cheerful voice scared him straight out of his concentration. The voice belonged to the young lady who had been causing him trouble this whole time.
"Arceus Serena, can't you knock?" He swore his heart skipped a beat, from being started, of course. "What makes you think you can just barge in?"
"Jeez. My bad." Her cheerfulness turned to attitude quickly. Even so, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for greeting her so coldly.
"It's fine," he sighed as he stood up from his bed. He wanted to apologize, but the whole ordeal with Trevor still left him feeling rather hostile. "You just startled me. So what happened? I thought you were in Lumiose?"
"I was hoping maybe we could still battle today since I got back earlier than I expected. What do you say?" She directed her question more at his Pokemon than at him, to which they greeted the idea with excitement.
"Well, uh, sure Serena. But first," he didn't want to ask, but he had to know, "how was your date with Trevor?"
"My . . . what?" Serena's eyes reflexively widened. She stared at the confused young man for one, two, three seconds, completely stupefied before finally bursting into laughter.
"What's so funny?" He grew more and more confused with each passing second.
"Calem, I only told you I was meeting Trevor. Who said anything about a date?" She still had some chuckles left in her.
"I just thought because . . . you know. You were alone with him. Big city, lots of cafes, I suppose. Wait, so you weren't on a date?" Despite the awkward conversation he put himself in, he couldn't help but feel relieved.
"Trevor is a great guy, but no. It was definitely not a date. He just wanted to show me the new Rotom he caught. They're very rare - not even I have been able to find one yet."
"Oh," was all Calem said. Yes, he was definitely relieved.
"Is that why you've been such a piss baby since I got here?" She tried to say jokingly. Of course, there was a hint of truth behind her playful smile.
"I guess I deserved that," he said as he smiled at the ground. "Wait, why would it bother me if you went on a date with him? What are trying to . . . Didn't you want to battle?" Serena just laughed as he nervously gathered the rest of his pokeballs from his dresser, dropping a couple in the process.
"Why are you so jumpy?" She was purely amused. She kneeled down to help pick up his pokeballs.
"Thanks," he said as he took the ball from her hand. She was nothing but smiles as they kneeled on his bedroom floor together. He felt rather silly for being so nervous around the young lady who was supposed to be his best friend. It didn't help that his Delphox and Meowstic were snickering at his buffoonery. He couldn't help it. She was absolutely stunning. "So. . . Should we battle now?"
"You're on." She replied excitedly, both of them standing up to take the battle outside.
Battling Serena was Calem's favorite part of the day, so despite the awkwardness, he was thrilled. Thrilled because of the battle, and also because he indeed did not need to think about Serena and Trevor together. But was this just a delay? How long before she really does get the opportunity to date a great guy? He didn't think this time. He just spoke on impulse before he chickened out.
"Serena," Calem paused walking out of his door to look back at her, "I'm glad you weren't on a date. With Trevor or . . . with anybody."
And before he had a chance to regret it, he hurriedly continued his way outside, leaving the flustered young champion a deep shade of red in his room.