Things that You Can't Say Tomorrow Day
Chapter 1 - One Last Thing
Serena has spent a good deal of time in Hoenn with friends aplenty, and if there's one thing they all have in common, it's an admiration of Ash Ketchum. Now Serena's group has been given a chance to participate in Contests in the Alola region, and this could be the opportunity she's been waiting for. But people can change a lot in two years.
Characters (projected): Serena, Sawyer, May, Ash, Brendan, Dawn
Pairings: AmourShipping, Hoennshipping
Themes (projected): Adventure, Romance, Friendship
Rated T for safety, though it will mostly fit the K+ content margin.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
So I'm putting my other story on hold for the time being; I've just had so little time to write or really do anything. I've gone down with flu twice, and I'm getting so much homework at the moment, and I decided that I didn't want to stick with something I just couldn't work on. However I've just been itching to write about some of the most recent episodes of the anime, and maybe start a series. I'm going to aim for some kind of satisfactory 'checkpoint' at 40k-50k words, and if there's some decent interest then I'll keep on going.
I think this chapter will be slightly shorter than the rest, sitting at around 2k words. At the moment I intend to update about once or twice a month (I really don't have the time for much more than that).
Do I wanna know
If this feeling flows both ways?
Sad to see you go,
Was sorta hoping that you'd stay.
Baby we both know
That the nights were mainly made for saying
Things that you can't say tomorrow day
.
"Flight H-seven-one Latiasair from Lumiose Airport to Lilycove City departs in one hour from gate thirty. There is no rush," a perfect synthesized voice rang out, followed by a tri-tone chime.
.
Just as the announcer spoke, Ash, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie halted their leisurely stroll in front of a long escalator flight. This was the point of Serena's departure.
"Looks like this is it!" exclaimed Serena, who was a few paces ahead, as she span around. She took a short pause. "Ash, Bonnie, Clemont... You've all given me so much. Too much to measure!"
"Don't forget to call sometime!" Clemont said brightly.
"And I promise I'll catch up to you!" Bonnie added.
"Pikapi!"
Serena looked down for a moment, a single tear welling in each eye.
"Ash... I'm so glad I came on this journey. You were the reason I decided to leave Vaniville Town," she said, before pausing. "You are my goal."
Serena finally believed she had cracked Ash's dense skull; his eyes and mouth were wide with surprise. The siblings behind him exchanged gleeful looks.
And he's gonna have something to look forward to.
"And next time we meet, I'll be quite the looker!" she added with a wink.
"Pikaaaapi..." Pikachu chirped mischievously in Ash's ear.
Ash's eyes seemed to brighten up, even though they hadn't been dark that day. Serena had an internal celebration when he fistpumped.
"I'll be looking forward to it!"
.
Everybody was grinning.
"See ya' then!" Serena said, and everybody gave concurring nods. She turned to the escalators and looked at her feet, letting the moving stairs carry her down. But she felt that something was missing. With a definitive blink, she turned on the spot.
"Ash, I've got one last thing to tell you!"
She dashed back up the descending steps to the top. She leant forwards on her toes and pecked him squarely on the lips. She didn't need to say anything, she realised; Ash probably wouldn't even have heard. He stared at her with wide eyes, and a long restrained realisation. "Thank you for everything!" she yelled, sinking back down on the escalator. She made no effort to conceal the furious red tinge on her cheeks.
.
Clemont, Bonnie and Pikachu couldn't believe what they were seeing, their cheeks turning a similar colour to Serena's, but for completely different reasons. Bonnie was the first to recover, and as Serena disappeared through the floor in front of them, she gave Serena a huge thumbs-up, complimented by the 'Bonnie Smirk'.
"Say hi to Steven and Sawyer for us!" Clemont yelled.
Serena took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. Now that one journey was over, another was just about to begin. She pulled out her mini tablet. By some coincidence, she'd ended up on the same flight as Sawyer and Steven Stone who were returning to Hoenn for research. Sawyer was a slightly short, green-haired boy who tended to wear a short-sleeved shirt under a waistcoat, alongside shorts with full pockets. He had a passion for studying Pokemon battles. Steven was a tall, steel-blue haired man who usually wore a black and purble suit with a huge red tie. Today, he was wearing a sleeveless jacket over a bright orange shirt and grey hiking boots and trousers. He recently became the Hoenn League champion.
They'd agreed to meet at the gate. Serena meandered through the airport, stopping at a couple of gift shops and duty-free stores along the way. She bought a travel adapter so she could charge her tablet in Hoenn, a neck pillow for the flight, an exorbitantly expensive pair of headphones as well as some light snacks and a drink. She was so tempted to buy some clothes, but she restrained as she realised how much money she had already managed to spend. She made it to the gate only a half-hour later, where Steven Stone and Sawyer were chatting.
"Ah, Sawyer, Serena's here!" the older Hoenn champion said, "Lovely to see you again!"
"Yeah! It's cool that you're coming to Hoenn as well!" said Sawyer excitedly. The green-haired boy had a little sparkle in his eye. He was bursting with eagerness to see his home country. Serena carefully placed her few bags on the seat two down from Sawyer, and politely sat on the seat between.
"Travelling light?" Steven asked. There was a noticeable difference between his and her luggage loads.
"Yeah, I checked in my suitcases, with the help of Ash, Clemont, Bonnie and the Pokemon, so I wouldn't have to worry about them now."
Sawyer couldn't help but giggle; he and Steven had two large suitcases and a rucksack each. "We've got more in the hold!"
.
When the three settled down, Sawyer noticed Serena looking a little far-off.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Umm, you know, saying goodbye and all that. I'm probably not going to see them for a while."
"Did you tell finally tell him?"
"Sorry, tell who what?" Steven joined in, intrigued, even though he already had an idea of what this was about.
The pink was returning to Serena's cheeks when she sighed.
"I didn't tell Ash. I just... ya know, and he seemed to understand."
"Always thought you'd make a good couple. May always seemed quite argumentative."
"N-no, we're not a couple, I mean, I'm not going to see him for another two years at least!"
"Haha, I'm sorry, I couldn't resist." apologised Steven.
"Anyways, who's May?" Sawyer asked.
"I think Ash mentioned her before. She travelled with Ash through the Hoenn region." Serena explained.
"I'd love to meet some of Ash's old friends. I bet they're similarly talented at whatever they do," said Sawyer.
"Yeah," said Serena. A little guilt ran through her for the pride she felt when Steven compared her and May's chances with Ash.
"When Ash was in Hoenn, May lived in Littleroot Town," Steven said. "I'm sure we could say hello."
.
About half-an-hour later, the synthesized tannoy rang out again; "Flight H-seven-one Latiasair from Lumiose Airport to Lilycove City is now boarding at gate thirty."
"That's us," Steven said brightly. The three of them collected their luggage and wheeled over to the surprisingly short queue leading to the gate.
"Umm, Serena, where's your seat?" Sawyer asked.
"Hang on..." Serena fumbled around in her pockets, eventually withdrawing a boarding pass. "Economy-class, forty-two-E." She folded it up and tucked it inside her passport so she could find it easier when she reached the front of the queue.
"Oh right, of course. Sawyer and I have both got Business-class seats," Steven said with a frown. "I'm sure we can sort something out."
When they reached the front, an attendant greeted them.
"Hello, miss! Please place your passport on the scanner and show me your boarding pass," said the woman politely. Serena quickly drew her passport from her sleeveless-cardigan pocket and placed it on the scanner, pulling out the pass that was folded inside.
"Serena Gabena, thirteen," Serena said, anticipating what the attendant was about to ask for. She quickly compared the photo on the pass and the real image, before ripping off a tab and handing Serena her papers back.
"Have a great flight!" the attendant said, before moving on to Sawyer, while a male attendant checked up on Steven. The attendant repeated her lines and Sawyer complied eagerly.
"Sawyer Atohs, twelve," Sawyer said with a wide grin. The attendant compared the image with Sawyer himself, before ripping off the tab and handing him his paperwork.
"Have a great flight!"
Just as Sawyer and Serena were turning away, Steven whipped around suddenly and asked the woman: "I was thinking; us three are friends travelling together, but I think there's been a mistake somewhere down the line, because Serena's ticket is in a different section. Do you think-"
"Wait, sorry, are you... umm, Steven Stone?" the woman asked.
"Why, yes, I am."
"Wow, my son is a huge fan of yours! He keeps going on about how when he's old enough, he'll challenge the Hoenn League and take you on... and-" she paused for a moment, looking at her little monitor at her standing desk. "Okay, it turns out there is a free seat right next to Sawyer's and yours. You're in luck! Oh, and one thing; please could I have your autograph for my son?" She held out a small slip of paper with her black pen.
"Sure!" Steven said, signing the piece of paper with a very artistic, articulate signature. "Thanks so much."
"No, thank you!" said the woman gleefully.
Serena, Sawyer and Steven all wheeled their luggage through the suspended bridge to the large aircraft waiting. "So, Business-class? Not too shabby!" commented Sawyer.
"Yeah, that was nice of the woman," Serena said.
"Our seats are twenty-A, B and C. Would you like to sit next to the window, Serena?" asked Steven.
"Oh, yes please!"
.
The three of them got on board quickly, stowing their luggage and taking their seats. The Business-class section had three columns, each three seats wide. Serena sat next to the window, Sawyer next to her and Steven sat next to the aisle. Each seat was highly adjustable and very comfortable with a little screen that folded from beneath the right armrest, and a controller for it in the left armrest. Steven was quite engrossed in his surroundings.
What a luxurious way to travel... I bet Ash travels like this, Serena mused. She took a clear bottle of soda from her rucksack and gripped the top, twisting forcefully.
"Want a hand?" Sawyer asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nah, I've got this..." she clamped her hand around it hard and yanked the top off. She took a long swig of the sweet liquid. "Do you want any?"
"I'm fine for the moment, thanks," Sawyer replied as Steven finally felt satisfied that he had archaeologically examined every square-inch of his seating arrangement.
The aircraft eventually closed its doors as the last of the passengers climbed aboard. It spent the next fifteen minutes taxiing into a takeoff position. The plane had a slightly odd class arrangement, with the Economy-class divided in two and Business-class in the middle, over the wing. Serena watched in awe of the flaps and ailerons as they extended into their takeoff positions.
"Have you ever flown before, Serena?" Sawyer asked curiously.
"No, actually. I guess this is my first time!" Serena replied slightly nervously. She hadn't really thought about the specifics of the flying aspect of her journey.
"Well, your first time can be quite a rush. But you'll soon get used to it!"
"Yeah, the first time is always super exciting, and so is the second and third," Steven said. "And it looks like we're getting underway!"
An air host and hostess walked down each aisle, demonstrating in great detail how various pieces of safety equipment worked.
"Please fasten your seatbelts, and keep them fastened whenever you are seated."
"Umm, Steven?" Serena asked.
"Yeah?" Steven replied.
"What are those yellow masks for?"
"Ugh, they're just a safety precaution, in case something goes wrong. You don't need to worry about them," he explained. "And I guess it's time to buckle up!"
Steven and Sawyer quickly tightened their padded belts around their waists, and then Sawyer leaned over to show Serena.
.
The plane's four turboprop engines emitted a deep whirring din which slowly climbed in pitch until it rose to a noticeable hum, largely muffled however by the aircraft's insulation. The titanic machine lurched forwards, gradually building up speed until it reached about the centre-point of the runway, before it heaved upwards. Its nose lifted to about twenty degrees and the huge aircraft began to climb rapidly. Serena had never experienced anything of the sort. She peered out her window and scanned the terrain.
"Wow! Look down there!" Serena cried out, pointing ambiguously out the window.
"Huh?" said both the males. Sawyer leaned over. Shrinking rapidly were the tiny, waving figures of three kids; a boy with bright blonde hair in a light blue jumpsuit, another with raven hair under a red cap and a yellow mouse on his shoulder and a small girl with an orange rat on her blonde head.
"Hey! It's Ash, Bonnie and Clemont!"
Although she knew there was no chance the three of them would notice, Serena waved furiously. She kept waving even after the figures turned to specks.