Author's Note: As stated in the summary, this story is a sequel to The Camera Eye. If you have not yet read The Camera Eye and have any intention of doing so, now is the time to turn back. Massive spoilers lie ahead.
For Lucy, who fills my life with color.
Any Color You Like
Chapter One – Mad for Years
Serena promised she wasn't going to cry.
That was what she told herself, anyway. The trouble was, she was a terrible liar. She always had been.
She buried her head on Ash's shoulder, hiding her eyes. Somehow, she was supposed to kiss him goodbye.
It was ridiculous. It was a travesty. After everything they had been through together, she was supposed to simply let him leave. But how could she? How was she supposed to release him from her grasp? How was she supposed to just let go of him and let herself be dragged away by an escalator while he walked down the jetway and boarded a plane to another continent? How could this be happening?
She lost herself in the feeling of his body against hers and the smell of his jacket. With his arms around her, he caressed her, the slow motions of his hands like the pendulum of a clock that ticked away their last few moments together.
There was a click of static, and a voice spoke over the intercom.
"This is a boarding call for Kanto Airlines flight 721 with service to Viridian City, departing from gate E4. We are still looking for passenger Ash Ketchum. Repeat, Ash Ketchum, your flight will be departing from gate E4 shortly."
Serena clenched her eyes shut. She knew what would happen next.
Ash moved.
"Serena…"
Ash's hands moved from Serena's back to her shoulders. The length of his arms separated them, increasing the distance between them. It was the first step down a slippery slope that would place them thousands of miles apart.
Serena supposed that Ash trailed off because he did not know what more he could say. In the course of the last two days, he said everything. Nothing helped. All the promises in the world failed to make this any easier.
Serena tightened her lips and bit down on them, inhaling deeply through her nose. When she exhaled, she opened her eyes and looked at Ash.
There was a warm, bittersweet smile on his face. It made Serena's heart twitch. How could he smile at a time like this? She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but the words turned to mush before she could say them. She clenched her jaw shut. She shook her head again and again.
She was not going to cry. She was not giving up. She kept her promises.
"Serena?"
The intonation of Ash's voice, that tiny hint of hope in the way he said her name jarred her out of her reality and pulled her into his. This was not the time for tears. This was not the time for giving up. This was not the end. This was the beginning.
She swallowed the lump in the back of her throat.
"Ash?"
She hated the way it sounded as soon as it left her lips. There was no hope in the way she said his name. There was nothing but uncertainty and fear. She couldn't stand it. She was better than this. She was stronger than this. She was going to make it right.
"Ash."
She said his name again. It was more forceful this time. Ash's eyebrow raised.
"Yeah?" he said.
"Ash."
She said his name again. Once more, the determination in her voice grew. She placed her hands atop his shoulders and looked him in the eye.
"What?" said Ash.
"Ash!"
"What is it?"
Ash looked so confused. Serena knew he didn't understand. There was so much to say, and so little time.
"Ash," she whispered.
Ash's eyes searched her face.
"What's going on?" he whispered back.
Serena lost herself in his eyes. She could not make sense of them. This was supposed to be hard, wasn't it? Why, then, did it not look nearly as difficult for him as it was for her?
She knew better than to dwell on the thought. She took a deep breath through her nose, steadying herself. As she let it out, a trace of a smile crept onto her face.
"I can do this," said Serena.
Ash's smile became even more certain. He nodded.
"Yeah, you can," he said.
His hands slipped from her arms and came to rest at his sides. Serena watched the motion, knowing what she had to do next.
She pulled her hands away from his shoulders, breaking contact. She folded them behind her back.
She felt cold. Exposed. Alone.
There was silence for a moment. Ash scratched the back of his neck.
"So, I guess this is goodbye for now, huh?" he said.
Serena did not reply. She did not even nod.
"I'll see you again soon," said Ash. "I promise."
Ash had a million promises. Serena had a million questions. When she spoke, she did not ask a single one of them. She knew Ash had no answers.
"I'll miss you," she said.
For the first time, Ash faltered. The confidence in his face flickered like the light from a candle. It was there one moment, gone the next, and then back again like nothing ever happened.
Serena knew him. She knew it meant he felt the same way.
The hesitance in Ash's eyes vanished, replaced by the glint of an idea. He slipped one arm out from beneath the straps of his backpack, then dug into it. From his bag, he removed a familiar, neatly-folded piece of white cloth.
Serena's heart froze. The lump in her throat returned. Ash was going to make her a liar.
Ash held the handkerchief out for her to take. Wordless, she extended both hands and took it from him. She pressed the fabric between her fingertips. It had been so long since the day she returned it to him, yet the seams felt so familiar, memories of years long gone returning as though it had only been yesterday.
Ash looked off to the side. He rubbed a finger underneath his nose.
"I thought that maybe it could help you feel better again, like the first time," he said.
When he looked at her again, it was with the goofiest grin, one that made it impossible for Serena not to smile, if only for a moment.
The voice came over the intercom again.
"This is the final boarding call for Kanto Airlines flight 721 to Viridian City. Repeat, this is the final boarding call for flight 721 to Viridian City. Passenger Ash Ketchum, this is your final call to board."
Serena looked past Ash. A short distance ahead, Pikachu stood in the entrance to an empty jetway, calling to Ash. Next to Pikachu, an attendant stood at a ticket kiosk. The attendant hung up the microphone and sent Serena an annoyed glance.
Serena's world suddenly seemed so much larger. She and Ash were far from alone. There were hundreds of people all around, sitting on benches and waiting to board their flights. The sounds of their conversations were deafening in comparison to her words. None of them seemed to have a care in the world, oblivious to what was happening in her heart, right there in plain sight.
Ash looked toward the gate. Pikachu waved at him. He looked back to Serena, then began to take a step. Before turned away, he spoke.
"I'll miss you, too," he said.
For a fraction of a second, it looked like he was going to escape, but Serena did not allow it. In an instant, she closed the distance between them, wrapped him up in a crushing embrace, and kissed him as if her life depended on it.
For one more moment, she believed. She believed in hope. In determination. In love. In life. In Ash. In herself.
And then, she pulled away for air. She knew he was going to slip away. She opened her eyes, and she saw Ash backing away from her, ready to turn toward the gate. His fingertips traced down her arm, and she closed her hand around his wrist.
She was not letting go. She was not giving up.
Ash slipped his hand through her grip and instead locked their fingers together. For a moment, the two of them stood there, hands joined, alone and silent in the sea of people.
A little bit longer was all Serena wanted. One more moment. And then another, and another, and another, forever.
Ash gave her hand a squeeze.
Before she could squeeze him back, he escaped her grasp. He took a couple of backward steps, his eyes lingering on her.
"See you soon!"
Ash broke into a full sprint toward the gate, waving his boarding pass wildly. He shoved it into the attendant's hands, ran up the jetway with Pikachu, and turned a corner. Serena stood there rooted to the spot as he disappeared from her life once again.
The attendant closed the jetway door.
He was gone.
Serena stared at the door. She felt her heartbeat, hammering inside her chest. The world had gone silent again, like everything around her had stopped. It felt like the end, no matter how much she tried to tell herself it was not, that it was only the beginning, and that the separation was only temporary.
She looked out the window next to the gate. The plane sat on the tarmac outside. For a moment, she wondered if Ash had been too late, if perhaps he was stuck at the end of the jetway, begging to be let on the plane. She hated to admit it, but she hoped he was. She hoped to see him come back out of that door any second now, grinning like a fool.
Her hopes were dashed when the plane began to back away. She waited a few seconds longer. The door never opened.
She tore her eyes away from it all. She was not going to watch. She couldn't do it. She was not going to watch that plane take Ash away from her. So, she turned away.
Her legs moved independently of her thoughts. Without thinking, she stepped onto the escalator past the gate, and it carried her to the level below. Without looking, she stepped off of it.
She couldn't see. She was much too busy staring at the handkerchief.
Only when she heard a disgruntled voice behind her did she look up and realize she was blocking the exit. She stepped aside, and she ran a clammy hand over her forehead.
And then, she saw Clemont and Bonnie. They sat by themselves on a bench. Clemont was hunched forward with his elbows on his knees and chin in his hands, lost in thought. Bonnie stared at the floor, listlessly swinging her dangling legs.
Both of them looked up when Serena approached them.
Clemont opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. A terrible silence stretched on and on. Serena broke it with a sniffle. She plopped down onto the bench with them and covered her face with the handkerchief. All she wanted to do was to smell it, to feel it with her face, to get some tiny slice of comfort from it.
But instead, she used it to hide her eyes, determined to keep her promise for a little while longer. She was not giving up.
"Serena?" said Bonnie.
Serena shook her head.
"He's gone," she whispered.
Her heart throbbed. Her words cemented it. Now, it was real.
Ash, her boyfriend, was gone.
Serena examined her face in the bathroom mirror. She wasn't sure what she expected to see. There were no traces of tears, nor anything else amiss. She had not broken her promise to herself, yet she felt like a liar anyway. Her eyes lied. They looked normal, but she felt as empty and as lost as she could ever remember feeling. An hour of soul-searching while sitting on top of the toilet lid and staring at the tiles on the shower wall had accomplished nothing, other than making her stiff. She was still alone.
She didn't have much of anything with her, either. She had the clothes she was wearing, three Poké Balls, a postcard, a letter, and a handkerchief. The loose white sundress and flats she wore had once been Korrina's. The postcard was a souvenir from Monego City, purchased with Ash on their final day there. The letter was from Aria, left for her on the waterfront bench they had shared so many times. The three Poké Balls held Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon.
The handkerchief sat on the vanity next to the faucet, neatly folded. It was still dry. She had done her best to fold it up in the same way Ash had kept it folded in his bag, the creases on it persistent from remaining that way for months and months, giving her a helpful guide. It was the same way it was folded when she gave it back to him.
She wasn't sure what was more touching - that he thought to give it to her again, or that he had taken such good care of it. She knew he had taken it out of his bag to look at it several times over the course of their travels. She had stolen glances of him doing it out of the corner of her eye, usually excusing herself afterward because she blushed like mad. Evidently, Ash had made sure to fold it up the exact same way every time.
Serena sighed, then looked into the mirror again.
This was the beginning. She kept telling herself that, anyway. She hoped it was not another rotten lie. There was a long road ahead of her, and there was nothing left for her to do in here. Leaving her few belongings on the vanity, she switched off the light and stepped out the door.
Though she had been there before, she was not quite familiar with the layout of Clemont and Bonnie's home. She poked her head into a few rooms before she found her bearings.
She stepped into the kitchen. Bonnie sat at the kitchen table, staring out the window. She held a glass of lemonade between both hands, and a pitcher of it sat in the middle of the table. A buttery scent wafted all around as Clemont peered into the oven, inspecting a tray of croissants.
Bonnie noticed Serena first.
"There you are!" she said. "I was worried, but Clemont told me to leave you alone."
Bonnie stuck out her lower lip and lowered her head. Serena's heart melted.
"Aw, Bonnie…"
Serena went to Bonnie's seat and wrapped her up in a hug.
"I'm okay, really," said Serena. She turned her attention to Clemont. "It smells good in here."
Clemont closed the oven and waved off her comment.
"I'm afraid I can't accept any compliments for these," he said. "It wouldn't be fair. These are instant croissants. Dad had some sitting unattended in the refrigerator, so I decided to put them to good use."
Clemont held up an empty cardboard tube which had been popped open and had the label torn off. Serena shrugged.
"That still sounds good to me," she said.
"I figured you might be interested in something to eat after all that," said Clemont. "The kettle has been boiled, if you would care for some tea."
Serena found a suitable cup and a saucer inside one of the cabinets and filled the cup with steaming water from the kettle. She dropped a tea bag into it and took her cup over to the table. She sat down next to Bonnie.
Serena joined Bonnie in staring out the window. It was a mundane summer afternoon in Lumiose City. The hot, heavy air weighed down everyone and everything. People passed by on the sidewalk every now and then, sweltering in the heat. Serena considered herself lucky to be indoors.
For a while, it was unusually quiet. Bonnie was the one to break the silence.
"I wish Ash was here…" she said.
Serena glanced at Bonnie, then looked into the steam rising from her cup. She had yet to touch the tea.
"Me too," she said.
"I think it's safe to say that we all wish that," said Clemont. "Ash always knew just what to say to lighten the mood. That's one skill that I'm afraid I haven't acquired yet."
Serena looked at Clemont. He was leaning against the countertop, with one hand in his pocket and the other on his chin. He seemed to catch notice of Serena, and their eyes met. He looked away from her and scrambled for more words to stave off the awkward silence.
"But we still have plenty of things to be cheerful about!" said Clemont. "I, for one, am looking forward to making some much-needed improvements to my design for Clembot. I never could do it while we were away. That, and I have an idea for a Pokédex enhancement that I need to share with Professor Sycamore. It will be good to get a chance to meet with him under some more peaceful circumstances."
Serena knew it was a façade. As distraught as she was, she knew Clemont had it just as bad. He had said goodbye to both his best friend and his girlfriend in the past two days. Korrina had not returned to Lumiose City with them. Instead, she returned to Shalour City, back to her gym, her duties, and the real world.
With that in mind, Serena was certain that the improvements Clemont wanted to make to Clembot were actually meant for testing the Korrinabot he began crafting in Monego City.
"I guess Dedenne and I get to sit around and cheer for you in your gym battles," said Bonnie. "How exciting." She finished her statement with a sigh, placing both elbows on the table and resting her head in her hands.
"I say that's an improvement over you constantly trying to find me a wife," said Clemont. "You'll just have to find some other way to occupy your time, because for now, I'm quite taken."
A hint of a smile formed on Serena's face. It remained to be seen what Bonnie would do with her life now that Clemont was in a relationship.
But something about Clemont saying for now stuck in the back of her head like an itch.
Bonnie crossed her arms.
"You could have picked someone who lives closer to here, you know!" she said.
"Nonsense!" said Clemont. "I didn't pick Korrina! Circumstances simply happened to allow it! And furthermore, I happen to be working on an invention that will make it so that the distance doesn't matter at all!"
Bonnie raised an eyebrow.
"So you finally get a girlfriend and the first thing you wanna do is try to blow her up?" she said.
"Bonnie!"
While Clemont fumed, Serena hid her mouth behind her hand and tried to suppress a giggle.
"I'm just saying, it sounds like a bad idea," said Bonnie. "But if you really do make some amazing invention and it works, let Serena use it, too!"
Serena knew better, but she couldn't help but chime in.
"Only if it's safe!" she said. "It would be awful if either Ash or I blew up after how long it took for us to get together."
Clemont's shoulders slumped, and he looked at the floor.
"This invention isn't an explosion hazard, and you both know it," he said.
Serena sent Clemont an apologetic glance while she took a sip of her tea at last.
"And unfortunately, your situation is rather different from mine," said Clemont. "I regret to say it, but I'm at a loss as to what I could do to help you."
Serena tightened her lips and focused on her tea again.
"I don't know what to do, either," she said.
"You're gonna go be with Ash, right?" said Bonnie.
Serena looked Bonnie in the eye for a moment, but then she frowned and turned her eyes away.
"I wish it was that simple," said Serena.
"Is he coming back?" said Bonnie.
"I don't know," said Serena.
"Didn't you guys talk about this?" said Bonnie.
Clemont made an ill-fated attempt to hush Bonnie. Serena knew it was futile. Plus, at the moment, Bonnie's bluntness felt more like a breath of fresh air than a slap in the face. It had been two days of endless uncertainty and vague promises to see each other again soon. Years of longing to be together, followed by days of longing to stay together.
And now they were apart.
"We kind of talked about it," said Serena. "We promised we would see each other again soon, no matter what. That was it, though. Ash didn't know what would happen when he went home, and neither did I. That was the best we could do."
Bonnie folded her arms again. She pouted, once more turning her attention to the window.
"Bonnie, it is not your business what Serena and Ash decide to do in their private lives," said Clemont. "You may not like it, but what they do is up to the two of them."
Bonnie tightened her arms.
"So you're gonna leave, too, aren't you?" she said to Serena.
Serena was taken aback by how defeated Bonnie sounded. She knew her response was only going to make things worse.
"I have to," said Serena.
"No you don't!" said Bonnie.
"Bonnie!" said Clemont.
Bonnie ignored Clemont's interjection.
"You don't have to do anything!" she said.
"That is not a valid argument!" said Clemont. "I've told you a hundred times!"
Serena knew Clemont was not exaggerating. It was one of Bonnie's favorite excuses, and it drove Clemont up the wall every time. This time, though, it seemed like Bonnie had a point.
"You don't even want to go home, do you?" said Bonnie.
Serena hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.
"See!" Bonnie said, wildly gesticulating at Clemont. "I told you Serena would rather stay here and be my sister!"
Serena's face scrunched up in surprise.
"Your sister?" said Serena.
"Bonnie…" Clemont grumbled. He covered his face with his hand, shaking his head.
Then, there was a hint of smoke in the air. Clemont made a stupefied sound and scrambled to remove the tray of rather crispy croissants from the oven. While Clemont wasn't looking, Bonnie stuck her tongue out at him.
"Bonnie, I really do wish I could stay, but I can't," said Serena.
"Yes you can!" said Bonnie.
Serena shook her head.
"I'm sorry, but I can't. We can't really be sisters, either, but we always will be in our hearts. I promise. I have to go home, though."
"Why?"
"Because my mom is expecting me, and we have a lot of things to talk about."
It was clear that Bonnie was not satisfied. She pouted and looked away again.
Clemont removed his oven mitts and approached the table.
"To put it mildly, this is not how I would have preferred to broach the subject," he said. "However, Bonnie has a point. You really do not have to go, should you want to stay with us."
"I wish I could, but I can't impose on you all," said Serena.
"Actually, it would not be an imposition," said Clemont. "It would be an invitation."
Serena raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?"
"Bonnie and I discussed this with our dad," said Clemont. "He agreed, rather enthusiastically, that you are welcome to stay with us for as long as you want, whenever you want."
Serena's face slackened.
"Are you serious?" she said.
"Very much so," said Clemont. "As our dad put it, you will always be welcome here. He wished to extend the same offer to Ash, as well."
Serena's mouth hung open, but no words came out for some time. Instead, she held a hand over her heart and stared at Clemont.
"I… I'm touched," said Serena. "I really am. I don't know what to say."
Bonnie leaned forward and placed her elbows on the table. She spoke in an airy tone while she looked up at the ceiling.
"How about Oh thank you, I'd love to stay!"
Clemont gave Bonnie a quick glance, but he did not bother to scold her. Instead, he looked back at Serena and nodded in Bonnie's direction.
There was a long pause.
"I need some time to think," said Serena.
Serena took a croissant and her cup of tea and left the kitchen. She wandered her way up the stairs, finding her way to one of the more abandoned rooms of the house. She supposed it had once been a guest bedroom, based upon the folding cot hidden in the far corner. Its present purpose was a storeroom for an endless assortment of electrical parts. Towers of boxes filled the room from floor to ceiling, all bearing the logo of Meyer's shop.
Serena smiled to herself as she waded through the mess, making her way to the window. Clemont really was his father's son.
She set her teacup down on the windowsill. She had no doubt Clemont would be right at home in this place. She shook her head at the idea. What a concept, being at home at home.
She nibbled on the croissant. She was so out of place here. This was not her home. It never would be. Was it any worse than what awaited her at her actual home, though? There was no way her mother would ever understand. Her mother would never agree to let her travel to Kanto to see Ash. She probably wouldn't even allow him in the house if she knew the full story. Not after everything that had happened.
Footsteps echoed down the hall, approaching her. Serena turned to look at the open door in time to see Clemont knock his knuckles on the doorframe a few times. He met eyes with her. He smiled.
"I apologize for intruding," he said.
"You're not intruding," said Serena. She set her half-eaten croissant down on the windowsill next to her teacup. "If anyone's intruding, it's me."
"That is thoroughly and demonstrably false," said Clemont. "I have no doubt that you understand that."
Serena gave him an aside glance, then looked away, out the window.
"I do," she said.
For a while, neither of them spoke. Clemont waded his way through the mess. Clumsier than her, he knocked over several boxes along the way and had to stack them again before joining Serena by the window.
Several possible sentences ran through Serena's head before she found one she wanted to say.
"I wish I could stay."
Clemont folded his arms behind his back, continuing to gaze out the window.
"We all do," he said.
"I mean it," said Serena. "I wish I could. I wish we could all just be here together and-"
Serena shook her head. She rolled her eyes as Clemont looked in her direction.
"This sounds so dumb," said Serena, "but I wish we could all just stay here and be friends forever. Wow do I feel stupid saying that…"
"Well, I wish we could do that, too," said Clemont. "I know we cannot, though. Bonnie is coming to terms with that, in her own way."
The corner of Serena's mouth turned upward. She stifled a small laugh.
"You and your dad are going to have your hands full when she gets to be our age," she said.
"The understatement of the century," said Clemont. His mouth also turned upward into a hint of a smile.
"Korrina will be great with her."
"You would be, too."
Serena's heart twitched.
"I hope I'll get to visit you all," she said.
"I hope so, too," said Clemont. "I know I've never told you this, but you've been such a positive influence on Bonnie's life."
Serena was quiet for a moment.
"Thank you," she said.
"If anything, it's you who deserves the thanks," said Clemont. "You and Ash have done so much for Bonnie, and for me."
Serena raised an eyebrow.
"Ash, sure, but what have I done for you?" she said.
"You helped pull me out of my shell, so to speak. So did Ash, for that matter, but he helped in a different way. He taught me to always have the courage to pursue the things I love. You taught me not to be afraid of my emotions, and to open up to people."
Serena rolled her eyes. She barely contained a scoff.
"Oh, please," she said. "I'm like the least emotionally open person ever."
"I disagree with your assessment of yourself, and I maintain what I said."
"I kept my feelings hidden for years!"
"I would have kept mine hidden forever without you showing me that it was acceptable to have them. I have no doubt that had I continued down the course I was on before we met, Bonnie would have spent her entire life trying to find a match for me, with no success."
"I didn't have anything to do with you and Korrina."
"I think you have more to do with it than you realize," said Clemont.
"Honestly, I don't really understand how you two got together at all. It just kind of happened all of a sudden."
"That much, I agree with," said Clemont. "I struggle to understand it, too. It's odd how quickly things can change."
Serena nodded.
"I know what you mean," she said.
"This has been a rather sudden and dramatic turn of events for you and Ash, hasn't it?" said Clemont.
"Yes, it really has."
"Perhaps this is an odd question, particularly coming from me, but how are you doing?"
Serena blinked, then glanced at Clemont from aside. He was right that it was an odd question. He had never asked her such a thing before.
"I'm okay," said Serena.
"Now, I don't mean to doubt you, and I admit that my intuition could be wrong, but everything I have ever heard about emotional conversations leads me to believe that you might not be telling me the whole truth."
Serena narrowed her eyes. It was rare to see it, but bluntness ran in the family. She sighed.
"I'm not," she said.
"I suspected as much."
"I have no idea what I'm doing."
"Nor do I."
"I've been waiting for this for years," said Serena. "Years. Almost as far back as I can remember. Now it's finally happened, and it's nothing like what I expected."
"If I may ask, what exactly did you expect?"
"Not this. Not being separated again right after we finally got together."
"I understand how difficult that is," said Clemont. "I have to admit, the circumstances surrounding me and Korrina are less than ideal for a relationship."
"At least you have a plan."
"I do, although I have no idea if it will work."
"It'll work. You're a genius."
Clemont scratched his head.
"There's a well-known saying about genius and insanity, you know," he said.
"You're not crazy," said Serena. "If anything, I'm the crazy one."
"You appear to be entirely sane to me," said Clemont. "Then again, genius and insanity. Perhaps I am not the best judge."
"I know you're right. That I'm not crazy, I mean. I just feel like I'm out of my mind for getting so involved in all of this. I never expected the stakes to be so high."
"I'm not sure I follow."
"Well, I never thought I'd end up in a love triangle with the Kalos Queen, for one."
Clemont hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"You make a good point," he said.
"That, and I just can't afford to lose him."
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
"I can't lose Ash. I just can't."
"You probably have a better understanding of the situation than I do, but I was not under the impression that you were in any danger of losing Ash. Not for anything longer than the short term, anyway."
Serena folded her arms.
"It's complicated," she said.
"I'm not certain that this is my business, but is there any reason in particular to fear that things are not going to work out between you and Ash?"
"Yes."
"I see," said Clemont. He rubbed his forehead.
Serena knew that he did not see. He had no way of knowing. As if Clemont was admitting it, he removed his glasses and inspected the lenses. He grabbed a fold of his coveralls and took to polishing the lenses in awkward silence.
"It's my mother," said Serena.
Clemont paused. He shifted his bare eyes up to look at her. They were so beady without the lenses covering them.
"Is there reason to suspect that she would oppose you and Ash being together?" he said.
"Yes."
"Has she met Ash? I struggle to imagine she would find his character lacking."
"That's not it," said Serena. "It's… complicated."
Clemont placed his glasses over his eyes again.
"Hmm," he hummed. "Well, I won't probe any further. I doubt there is anything useful I could say about the matter. I trust your judgment."
Serena frowned, watching her faint reflection in the window.
"Thanks, I think," she said.
Everything was quiet for a while. The silence between them was interrupted only by the occasional passing car in the street below.
When Clemont opened his mouth to say something, it drew Serena's attention. Clemont faltered for a moment.
"This is more difficult than I ever expected it would be," he said. "Saying goodbye, I mean. I don't know how Ash managed to get so used to doing this."
"Me neither," said Serena. "It kind of scares me, actually. I don't know how he makes it look so easy. He was smiling when he left me at the airport."
"I suppose that's typical Ash, isn't it?" said Clemont.
He smiled at Serena. She smiled back.
"Yeah, it is," she said.
"It helps that this is not truly goodbye."
Serena paused.
"Maybe you already guessed it, but I was planning on spending the night here," she said.
"That was part of the reason I came up here," said Clemont. "We need to move enough of these boxes so that you have sufficient space to open that cot."
Clemont pointed with his thumb toward the folded-up cot in the faraway corner.
"The sofa is fine, really," said Serena.
"Nonsense," said Clemont. "What kind of hosts would we be if we offered to let you stay here indefinitely and then failed to provide you with any sort of appropriate bed?"
Serena looked all around at the mess covering the room.
"You would be my best friends," she said. "You would be Clemont and Bonnie. And your dad, too. You would be too kind, really."
Serena tightened her lips. She looked at the floor. Her words seemed to silence Clemont, at last leaving him at a true loss for words.
Awkward silence was the last thing she wanted, though. And so, after stealing a quick glance at him, Serena took a step toward Clemont and wrapped her arms around him.
"Thank you," she said.
For a moment, Clemont did not move. He was as still as a statue beneath her touch.
But then, he returned the embrace.
"You're welcome," he said.
They lingered for another few seconds, then separated. This time, it was Serena who was at a loss for words.
"It isn't truly goodbye, though," said Clemont. "Not even when you leave."
"That's what Ash would say."
"I admit, I probably heard it from him."
"He would also say we would all see each other again someday," said Serena.
"We will," said Clemont.
Serena did not respond. She weighed Clemont's words. They were the same as Ash's, yet they sounded so different.
"I'm completely serious," said Clemont. "I plan to make a point of it. Wherever you may go, we will see each other again. We all will."
With a bittersweet smile on her face, Serena looked up at Clemont and met eyes with him. She held him in her gaze for a long time, longer than she could ever remember doing before.
She believed him.
But even more, she knew what she needed to do.
After a tedious effort to clear some space in the guest room, Clemont left Serena on her own. There was one more thing Serena needed to do, and she dreaded it. She was not sure how long she paced around the room. She was only sure that it was an unnecessary amount of time. It was evening by the time she worked up sufficient courage, aided in part by Clemont coming up with an excuse to take Bonnie with him to their dad's shop and leave Serena by herself for a while.
Her hands were cold as ice as she sat down at the phone kiosk and dialed the familiar number. Even though she helped herself to another cup of tea, she shivered while the dial tone pierced the silence.
The phone rang three times before her mother picked up.
"Hello?"
Serena knew the number would be unfamiliar to her mother. She would have to announce herself, as much as she did not want to. Her throat felt so inexplicably dry.
"Hi, Mom."
"Serena!"
The video feed crackled a few times and changed from static to a view of her mother's face. The familiar scene of the kitchen, unchanged in years, was visible in the background.
"There you are!" said Grace. "I was getting worried about you. Where are you? What number is this?"
Serena could barely force herself to speak. Every single word was destined to be yet another step down a slippery slope.
"I'm in Lumiose City," said Serena. "I'm at Clemont and Bonnie's house. This is their phone number."
"Oh, I see," said Grace. "Are you staying with them tonight?"
Serena knew that what she was about to say was a half-truth at best. Or at least, not quite the whole truth.
"Yes, I am."
"Well, that's nice," said Grace. "It must feel good to be back in a proper home after so long on the road. Did you have a good time in Monego City?"
Serena remained as still as stone, refusing to allow her face to give away anything. On the monitor, her mother's eyes moved about, scrutinizing her expression.
Every word she spoke was another step toward the point of no return.
"I did," said Serena. "It was really fun."
She could already feel the heat rising in her face. She was a terrible liar. She always had been.
"When do you think you'll be home?" said Grace. "Tomorrow night? The day after that?"
Serena bit the inside of her lip.
"I don't know," she said.
"You don't know?"
Grace's voice was incredulous. The intonation of her reply made Serena's stomach squirm.
"I'm not sure," said Serena.
"Why not?" said Grace. "What do you mean?"
"I-"
Serena couldn't find the right words. She stared at her lap.
She couldn't stand the way she felt. She was supposed to be stronger than this. These worries were not supposed to burden her anymore. And yet, at the slightest hint of consternation in her mother's voice, she withered.
Serena grit her teeth. There was no sense in putting it off any longer.
"I'm not coming home."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm going to Kanto."
There was a moment of silence.
"You're what?" said Grace.
Serena looked up at the screen again, with a crease in her brow. She repeated herself, more forcefully this time.
"I'm going to Kanto."
"Kanto? Why? How? Did it occur to you that maybe we should discuss this?"
Grace's confused expression tightened the longer she spoke. Serena's face tightened in turn as she steeled herself for the barrage of questions.
"I'm not coming home. I'm going to Kanto, whether you like it or not."
For a moment, Grace appeared taken aback. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but nothing came out until she closed it, shook her head, and tried again.
"I'm not necessarily opposed to this, but you really could have done a better job of bringing this up with me," said Grace. "This is so sudden. What caused this? What's gotten into you? Why are you so insistent about this out of nowhere?"
"It's where I want to be. My journey isn't over yet."
Grace narrowed an eye. Serena knew she was scrutinizing her phrasing.
"Your journey doesn't have to be over yet," said Grace. "I just wish you had talked to me about this first. I would have been more willing to figure this out with you if you hadn't waited until right now to dump this in my lap."
"I didn't have a chance to do it until now," said Serena.
It seemed like an obvious lie. She had not been in the wilderness for the last two weeks. She had been in the richest city in the world.
But it wasn't a lie. Both of Grace's eyes narrowed.
"Did you only just decide this now?" she asked.
Serena swallowed. She hurried to say her answer, even though she knew it was a trap.
"Yes."
"Serena."
Grace's head rolled back, and she covered her forehead with her palm. Serena continued to stare her down through the screen.
"Mom."
"This is quite a big decision to make so quickly," said Grace. "What happened? What made you want this all of a sudden?"
Serena had every intention of explaining, but she couldn't find the right words. It was impossible to know where to start.
And in her moment of hesitation, her mother connected the dots.
"Ash is from Kanto, isn't he?"
Serena tried to hide the crack in her composure. She was certain her mother saw it anyway, that momentary widening of her eyes.
"You met him at camp," said Grace. "I remember now."
Serena wasn't sure if she should be surprised that her mother remembered. She had mentioned Ash and Kanto only a few times in the years and years since that camp, content to keep that secret to herself, lest her mother find that particular dream and dismantle it piece by piece.
But her mother remembered.
"Serena, you can't keep chasing him."
Serena's face flushed with warmth.
"I'm not chasing him anymore!" she said.
"You can't spend your whole life running after him. You can't make him love you."
"He's my boyfriend now!"
Again, Grace appeared taken aback.
"Your boyfriend?"
Serena fumed. Did her mother not believe her?
"Yes!"
"When did this happen? While you were in Monego City?"
"Yes," said Serena, "and that's why I haven't had time to talk to you about this! We only got together for real two days ago."
Grace raised an eyebrow.
"Two days?" she said. "Two days, and you want to travel halfway across the world to be with him?"
Serena grimaced at how foolish it made her sound. It was a gross oversimplification and she knew her mother knew it.
"It's not like that!" said Serena. "I've known him for years! I've wanted to do this for years!"
Grace shook her head.
"I know you think that makes it sound better, but that makes me even less willing to allow you to do this."
"What? Why?"
"Because you think you know what you're getting yourself into, but I know you don't."
"You don't know Ash!" said Serena. "Don't tell me you know him better than I do!"
"I'm not talking about Ash," said Grace. "I'm talking about love."
Serena could have scoffed. She had a dozen scathing retorts lined up in her head, ready to go, but her mother spoke again.
"You need to take it slow," said Grace. "It's too easy to get in over your head before you realize what's happening. I've seen it so many times."
"You are not going to keep me away from him!" said Serena.
"Maybe not, but I'm not paying for you to go to Kanto unless you can demonstrate to me that you can keep a level head about this, and this conversation is not helping your case."
Serena knew better than to inquire about what she would have to do to prove herself. It was an impossible task.
"Even if you keep me here in Kalos, you won't come between us!" said Serena. "We made a promise to each other that we would see each other again soon. If I don't come to him, he's going to come to me! He will find me, no matter what. I know he will."
"If he's going to come back for you, why do you need to go see him, then?"
Serena made an indignant noise.
"You can't be serious!" she said.
"I am serious," said Grace. "If he promised you he was going to come back for you, why are you in such a hurry to go be with him? Do you not trust him?"
Serena felt like she had been slapped in the face.
"Mom!"
"Serena, I know this is not what you want to be hearing right now, but you need to slow down and think about this before you do anything. If you want to travel with him again, talk to him first. Make plans, then share them with me. You can't just throw yourself at him blindly!"
"I'm not throwing myself at him!"
"I would hope not, since you don't seem to trust him enough to believe he will come back for you!"
"It has nothing to do with trust!" said Serena. "It's because for the first time in my life, I'm getting a chance to take charge of my own life, make my own decisions, and make my dreams into reality! I will not let you stop me from doing that!"
Grace shook her head.
"I'm not going to stop you," she said. "I really can't do anything about it from here. I'm not helping you, though. I'm sure that airfare to Kanto costs a fortune. It's up to you to come up with that money on your own. If you want to make your own mistakes, you can earn them. I'll be here if you change your mind."
The mention of money made Serena freeze. Airfare was only the tip of the iceberg.
"Actually, I need more than a plane ticket," she said.
"Oh?"
Serena spoke tentatively, not looking at the screen.
"That's part of why I called, actually," she said. "I kind of lost all of my belongings in Monego City."
"You what?"
Serena looked up at the screen and showed her mother her open, empty hands.
"I lost everything," she said. "Even these clothes are borrowed."
"How?" said Grace. "What happened? Were you mugged?"
"I ended up taking a dive into the harbor with my bag, with all my stuff in it. It all got ruined."
Grace sputtered as she tried to find words, grasping at her head.
"You did what?"
"It was an accident," said Serena. "I fell into the harbor one night, and it took a long time to get out of the water."
It wasn't exactly an accident, but Serena didn't even dare to try to explain.
"How did you accidentally fall into the ocean with all of your belongings?"
"It's a long story."
"I bet it is."
Serena had no interest in elaborating. She kept silent for a while. Her mother broke the silence.
"You lost everything?"
"All I have now are my Poké Balls," said Serena. "That's it."
Serena heard a loud, scratchy sound, and the camera shook. Her mother put her elbows down on the surface of the kiosk and wrapped her hands around the back of her head.
"Serena…"
"I'm sorry," said Serena. "I didn't mean for it to happen. I know some of that stuff was expensive."
Grace looked up and glared at her through the camera.
"You can forget any chance of getting a ticket to Kanto," said Grace. "That tablet alone was worth that much money! And all your clothes…"
Grace trailed off, covering her face with her hands. She rubbed her temples, muttering to herself.
Serena had no idea what else to say. There was no hope of her getting anything she wanted from this conversation. She sat there watching her mother attempt to recollect herself.
Grace looked up at the camera again.
"I don't know what to tell you," she said. "Come home if you want to, but otherwise, you're on your own. I can't help you."
Serena pressed her luck.
"Can you at least help me get a new bag and some new clothes?" she asked.
"Not when I know that any money I send you is going to go directly to your Kanto travel fund!"
Serena pressed again.
"I have nothing, Mom. I really need it."
"And I really need you to not make foolish mistakes with your life when I can see you heading right towards them."
"I'm not being foolish. I'm following my heart!"
Grace let out a breath and shook her head.
"One day you'll understand what this sounds like from my point of view," she said.
"Maybe one day you'll understand it from mine!" said Serena.
"I already do."
"No, you don't!"
"I know firsthand," said Grace.
"You don't know Ash!"
"I know exactly what it's like to be young and hopelessly in love. You don't have to make the same mistakes I did."
"It's my life! I get to live it how I want!"
"And it's my place as your mother to tell you that I think you're making a mistake."
"It's my right to make mistakes if I want to!"
There was a pause.
"You're right," said Grace. "It is."
"Then why are you doing this?"
There was another pause. Serena felt something hanging in the air, like a spark waiting to ignite.
And then it did.
"Because I don't want you to end up like me!"
The sound of her mother's voice echoed through the empty house. Serena instinctively recoiled, backing away a few inches. Despite years of bickering, her mother's yell was unlike anything Serena had ever heard before. The words were neither composed nor deliberately chosen. They were raw and disarming.
Bitter anger lined Grace's face. When she spoke again, her voice was eerily even and calm. It made Serena shift in her seat uncomfortably.
"Don't give yourself to someone who won't give you anything in return."
Serena glared back at her mother. She leaned in closer toward the camera.
"Ash isn't Dad," she said.
She hung up.