A/N: Thank you so much for reviewing my last fanfic, it really is appreciated! I got this chapter done pretty quickly, so I updated. I hope you continue to like this story! The ending of this chapter is pretty crappy, but I didn't really know how to end it so...
Serena ran as fast as she could, trying to catch up to the boy she loved. He was running as if he didn't have time to spare, like he physically needed to be wherever he was going. Serena looked into the distance to try to see where Ash was going. In her sight of vision, Serena was able to make out the outline of a girl, who was walking way off in the distance.
The way Ash was running...He must have recognized that girl somewhere. Otherwise, there was no reason for him to be running towards her.
Serena was barely able to conceal her huff as she followed him, knowing that it would be a while before she came as close to sharing her feelings with him again. Actually no. She did share her feelings with him. He just ignored her. That was definitely going to scar her for a bit.
She didn't think he meant to ignore her, but it still hurt. Like, whoever this girl was, was more important than her. Ash didn't have the time to listen to her first, or at least give her an excuse before running off.
"Hey, Serena? Is Ash running towards that girl over there?" Bonnie asked the elder girl, curiously.
"I-I think so." Serena tried to keep a straight face to not show her annoyance at his betrayal. Her mind spun into overdrive and as her lungs constricted with panic, her thoughts swam in the endless pool that was her mind.
'What if...No it couldn't be. He's Ash. He's too dense to already have a girlfriend!' Serena thought. She was worrying for nothing. Besides, he was her Ash. Her's.
"Aww, Ash has a girl friend." Bonnie said, as if she read the former's mind. Bonnie was always the little match-maker and loved romance and all that stuff. Usually, Serena was happy to take the girl under her wing, as, unlike battling, romance and mushy stuff like that was her forte. That said, when she was matching her Ash with other girls...Well, who wouldn't get annoyed?
Plus, Bonnie's comment hit a little too close to home, considering that the same thought was worming its way into Serena's head.
"He does not!" Serena snapped at the little girl, unable to conceal her anger and worry.
The girl shrank back and inched closer to her brother, who who was watching her with apprehension. Of course, he was as dense as Ash, so it didn't make sense he would understand how she felt either. Sometimes, she wished there was another girl her age travelling with them. Of course, that could also result in competition for Ash, which was totally unwarranted.
"I mean, I don't think so." Serena responded, trying to clear up her answer. As annoyed as she was, she didn't want to hurt the little girl. She had grown to care for her as a little sister.
"Say, Serena. I thought Ash said something before he left. Did you hear?" Clemont asked, relieved the conflict had been solved so quickly.
"Yeah, he said 'dawn'," Serena thought back. What the hell did the sunrise have to do with a girl?
Clemont and Bonnie glanced at each other. "That's Dawn?"
'So it's a name? I guess that makes sense,' Serena thought.
Serena looked at them, confused. "You know her?" How did they know her, but Serena didn't? She did pride herself on knowing Ash from such an early age.
"Well, Ash talks about her pretty often. You know, she's the girl he traveled with in Sinnoh."
Serena did not know what they were talking about. Whenever Ash's past travels and old friends came up, Serena would either tune herself out or just give an excuse and leave. She didn't like hearing about other girls Ash traveled with, or thinking that one day, she would be like one of those girls, a distant memory.
Well, this girl obviously wasn't a distant memory.
Actually, Serena didn't even know Ash went to Sinnoh. All she knew about Sinnoh was that it was a cold place. She'd never seen snow before in her life, but apparently there was a city where it snowed continuously. She also knew that one of Clemont's pokemon - Luxray - originated from Sinnoh.
She turned her attention back to Ash who was now skidding to a stop.
"Ash?" The new girl asked softly as the piplup perched on top of her white beanie jumped off to talk to pikachu. The girl was wearing a red jacket that stopped near her knees, long white socks, pink boots, a white scarf and the previously mentioned beanie. Her long dark hair tumbled down, past her shoulders. Her royal blue eyes sparkled as a smile spread across her lips. She was a few inches shorter than Ash.
Serena's eyes widened and her hand clutched at her chest as Ash opened his arms invitingly to the girl who jumped in willingly. Her head nuzzled against his neck.
'Could they actually be dating. I..I...Now? After I just...after I just worked up the courage to confess. God, please no!' Serena thought.
Thankfully, for Serena, the two wiggled out of their embrace soon, but Serena couldn't help but notice that Ash continued to hold her wrists as they faced each other. She could almost physically feel the annoyance, rage, worry, frustrated and upset feelings churning and swelling up inside of her.
'He rarely even touches me!'
"Long time no see!" Ash told the girl, excitement clear in his voice. Serena wished that just once, he would talk to her that way.
"No kidding! I haven't seen you since that one time in Unova! How have you been? And Pikachu?" The girl asked, her blue eyes meeting his brown ones.
"We're-" Ash stopped talking as Bonnie interrupted with a cough. Serena was relieved when Ash let go of her hand to rub the back of his neck. And she smiled as her hands returned to her side, as if she was so comfortable with Ash holding them, she didn't even notice he was.
Serena would practically die blushing if Ash held her arms.
"Sorry guys, I guess I got caught up! Dawn, these are my buddies, Bonnie, Clemont and Serena. Guys, this is Dawn."
'Buddies? Seriously!'
Bonnie chirped a hello, Clemont smiled and the two exchanged some pleasantries, while Serena just stood there trying to keep a straight face. She hoped this girl wouldn't try to cause a drift between her and Ash. She could use Serena's unwelcoming face to make her seem bad to Ash.
But the girl's - Dawn's - eyes drifted over her, and though she obviously noticed the former's discomfort, she didn't comment as her eyes returned to Ash.
"Yeah, these guys take care of me and Pikachu. Don't they, buddy?" Ash asked, looking down at his pokemon-pal.
"Chu!"Dawn laughed as Pikachu jumped comfortably into her arms.
Serena decided to speak up, so she did, and tried to use a polite tone. "So, Dawn. Why are you here, in Kalos. Shouldn't you be in Sinnoh?"
"Serena, Dawn went to Johto after being the runner-up for the grand festival in Hoenn!" Bonnie chirped.
'Coordinator? What's a coordinator?' Serena thought.
"Wow Bonnie, even I didn't know that!" Ash said, rubbing his head. Dawn pouted as if she was appalled Ash hadn't kept up with her feats.
"Well, she was on T.V a couple of weeks ago for a coordinating interview. I watched it while the rest of you were sleeping at the pokemon center."
Dawn laughed as she petted Bonnie's head. "Honestly, I don't remember that interview myself. It must have been from a while ago."
"Runner up again? Did you lose to Zoey? You've got to win at least once, De-De."
"Ash, if you're looking for a pokemon battle, just ask for one. I'll beat you and her." Dawn retorted with a hint of annoyance.
"Wait, you went to Johto? Did you meet May?" Ash asked her.
"I did meet her, but by the time I went to Johto, May went to Unova. She asked about you though. You really should call her. And Misty. And your mother. And Brock. And Iris. An-"
"Okay, I get your point!"
She grinned and a comfortable silence passed between them as they reminisced over their old friends.
'They're so comfortable together. She just shows up out of nowhere and all of a sudden he's all over her. It doesn't seem like their flirting, but still...'
"Well, that doesn't explain why she's here in Kalos." Serena interrupted, with a slight huff in her voice.
"Oh did I not tell you? I came to visit Ash. I was heading over to the Pokemon center to find you guys, but I guess you beat me to it! I'm staying for a week before the next grand festival."
'Great! Just invite yourself over, I won't mind!' Serena thought sarcastically.
"Why don't we set up camp for tonight?" Clemont suggested, to which Ash nodded ecstatically.
"I don't mind cooking. I can even whip up a batch of poffins for the pokemon!" Dawn said.
"You're not used to traveling with us so it makes sense you wouldn't know, but Clemont does the cooking. Plus I usually make pokepuffs." Serena responded, a twinge of rudeness evident in her voice. She was, a little more than a bit, possessive of Ash.
"Oh, Okay." Dawn said a little more timidly, getting the message Serena wanted to send across.
Maybe if Dawn had came earlier, things would have gone a whole lot smoother. Serena wasn't a rude person. She was actually very polite and kind.
"Actually, Dawn's a great cook. Brock taught her everything he knew about cooking human food and her poffins are to die for. Er...for pokemon." Ash told Serena, oblivious to her frown.
"I don't mind taking a break for today. It's always nice to eat another's meal every once in a while." Clemont said.
Serena's frown deepened as Bonnie let out a cheer. She had a bad feeling that this visit, was going cause some trouble.