Despite not being a popular spot of Kanto, the environment of Pallet Town was as cheerful as some of the tourist spot. However, the same could not be said about the mood of raven haired Kanto native. Normally, Ash would enjoy the view of route one but his mind was already preoccupied to think rationally. And it was leaving a negative impact on him as well. And currently, instead of having his eyes fixed on the view, we found them stuck on the honey blonde haired girl who was sitting in front row, next to Professor Oak.
It had been over an hour since the three of them had landed in Kanto. Professor Oak was already ready to pick them up. However, he didn't expect some company. He wasn't complaining though, meeting a nice young girl, who was a big fan of him and his work was rather pleasing to him. And since they had left the airport, Ash couldn't help but think about what had happened during and before their flight.
"You okay?" Gary spoke in low tone so that only Ash would listen to him. Momentarily taking his eyes off her, Ash looked at Gary and nodded before turning back to her.
Gary's eyes narrowed a little. He was quiet frustrated that he could not help his friend in the situation. However, the stubborn teen wasn't even ready to listen to him either. He had suggested him to let it be, might Serena will recover from whatever reason she had left for the ride in her emotional trauma. But Ash had done exact opposite, thinking all about her. But he wasn't to be blamed either. He understood why he was doing this. Ash had told him what happened between the two before they left Hoenn, and to be honest, he was quiet surprised himself. But it was obvious to him that Serena had made her mind to follow Ash nonetheless.
"Take it easy, Ash. It will be alright," Gary said, placing his hand on Ash's knee, earning his attention. Ash looked down at his hand then at him. He took a long breath and nodded quietly. "You know I'm here if you need any help."
"Yeah, I'll try. Thanks," Ash replied, giddily.
The rest of their journey passed in silence as well. Where Ash had his eyes still fixed on his new friend, Gary had been pondering for something that could help Ash. It wasn't just about Ash. Serena was his friend too. He just could not let her be when she was going through something so big that left her devastated. He was a human too.
After entering in Pallet Town officially, the silence was broken. It was surprise for both the Pallet teens that it was Serena. Her eyes were opened wide, shimmering brightly and hairs were swaying along the air as she looked around. The beauty of the town was unparallel in its own way and she couldn't believe that she was going to stay here. It was all so dreamy. Maybe this was the reason why Ash was so kind, sweet and calm as well. He had adopted the traits from this town itself.
Soon enough, the jeep came to a stop and everyone quickly got out of it. Serena looked around; her eyes were filling with joy as she swayed around childishly, taking the sight of the town. But she stopped when her eyes landed on, probably the biggest house she had ever seen. It was spread widely and even had a wind mill, what she assumed to be in backyard of the house. Her eyes quickly noticed a notice board which read, 'Laboratory of Pokémon Professor Samuel Oak.'
"I'm sorry Ash but I'm afraid I would not be able to drop you home. You wouldn't mind walking, would you?" Professor asked in an apologetic tone.
"It's perfectly fine, Professor," Ash said. "Good luck with you work, see you later, Gary," Ash said shaking hands with him.
Gary nodded and smiled. "You know where to find me if you will need some help," Gary said, giving a knowing look and motioned towards Serena who still seemed to be admiring the place. "I'll see you later."
Ash let Gary's hand go and turned to Serena. "Hey Serena, you are coming, aren't you?" Ash said, making her look towards him. Her eyes lit up immediately and she nodded. "Alright then, let's go," he added and started walking away from the lab, leading her as she followed him with distance of merely about an inch between them fixed. Ash managed to notice it but said nothing, still pondering on what to do with her. He was desperate to help her out but he was struggling to find a starting point. Lowering his speed, Ash looked back from corner of his eyes and noticed that Serena was still looking around. Her arms were clasped together behind her back. A gush of wind flew by causing her hairs to sway around. She smiled between her hairs before wiping them aside.
Ash did not know what exactly he was thinking. All he knew that he was feeling tingling sensation running down his spine, as he watched Serena. "You seem to enjoying yourself," Ash commented.
Serena turned to him and smiled. "Yeah, this place is really beautiful."
"Then wait till you will see my house. The best part about it is the flower bed that my mom looks after every day. Her work has paid greatly," Ash said.
"I would love to see that and…" Serena paused and her demeanor dropped a little. She didn't bother to think about it before but now that she was almost here, she realized, what would Ash's mom think of her? What would his dad think for her? She didn't bother considering it. Now it was messing with her head. She was growing nervous.
"What's wrong?" Ash asked, concerned on noticing the sudden change in her.
"I was…thinking…" Serena responded. "What will your mom think of me?" she whispered, blushing in embarrassment.
"Are you crazy?! Sure mom will love you. I mean, why not? I know you are a great person, and a friend. Even I love you," Ash said, without realization but when the words were finally out, his face burned up and he was left speechless. "I di-didn't mean to say that," Ash fumbled, apologetically, looking away from her.
However, Serena did not know if she should be happy to hear that, or not. But her crimson face was telling that she was considering his words, that's how embarrassed she felt, but appreciated as well. He said he loved her. Then why was she feeling unsure of it? Because she did not want him to love her, not in just any way. And from his voice she doubted if he meant that as friend or something else. She did not want to be his friend anymore; she wanted to be something else. All her life she had been fumbling around, trying to find someone who would be her whole world. Never did she think that it will be some random guy she would run into, befriend with.
She might still be friend to him, but he was something else to her. She was a broken mess before, just scattered pieces of who she was. She tried hard, to be whole again, all by herself, but the world never let her. In fact, they stole herself away from her. She lost herself. But then he came. And now whenever she sees his face, she knew she was finally his, a part of his life. She found everything that she had lost before. Whenever he would call her name, she would go to him in pieces, so he could make her whole again.
Unfortunately, she knew it was just her fantasy so far. He still sees her as a friend. She knew she was his, she had announced her to be his everything. But what about him? Was he hers? She was as broken as before. She wanted to be whole again. And she wanted him to make her whole again. And she knew she will try harder, she will do anything she could to get him, to win him, to make him hers. She would choose to die rather than living without him. That's how she had fallen for him in such a small amount of time.
A silly smile made its way on her lips and she shyly looked up at him. "Ash," she called him, causing him to look back at her. "Did you mean what you said?"
"I…" Ash was about to respond, then realized what she was asking for. To be honest, it was embarrassing for him to answer. "I didn't mean to say that, Serena, I was just-" but before he could complete, Serena stopped in front of him. By the time he realized it he was right on her nose. She was a little bit taller than him, but that didn't help bringing them closer, symmetrically. Her smile widened further and she placed her index finger on his lips, shushing him. Ash wanted to pull back immediately, but she wouldn't let him. Call her selfish, but Serena was enjoying that too much, being so close to him. She knew it wasn't just her fate that brought them together. Even if he did not consider her something more than a friend, she would still fight and successfully steal his heart. It was her reason to live now, she wouldn't step back now.
"I know what you mean, Ash," Serena said, almost whispering. Her hot breath countered his face, burning his soul further. His face was heating up fast and cheeks were turning red. "But I want to know, Ash. Did you mean it?" Ash gulped, barely could talk anymore. So, he nodded instead. Her smile widened on his response and she finally pulled back with a, "Thank you". Ash let out a sigh of relief. Just what was happening with him?!
"Here we are," Ash announced proudly as he and Serena stood in front of a house. It was white, with what seemed like a very light shade of pink on its walls. The roof was red, bent like most of the traditional Japanese houses. There was a door on its very right corner and a small dirt path that was joining to the main way. There was also a yellow mailbox at the edge and rest of the property was covered in wooden fences. There was a small garden on the right side of the house, with so many flowers blossoming in the summer season. It was the time when sun shine most in the season and it was giving a fruitful effect to this particular garden. Serena was completely amazed by how neat and tidy it was. She had never seen a garden more beautiful than this before. "My home."
"It's adorable," Serena whispered dreamily.
"Alright, let's get in," Ash said and took steps forward, towards the door. "Mom, I'm back!"
Serena quietly followed him. The more steps she took, the more uncomfortable she felt. It was rather weird, while she was going crazy over this raven haired boy; she was finding it hard to face his mother. But she couldn't get a logical reason behind it. Was it because she wanted a perfect impression on her before she could be Ash's bride? Just the mere thought of it brought blush on her face and she quickly shook her face to hide it. She couldn't make fool of herself. Still, she thought. Could it be the reason?
Ash held the door knob and turned it open. The door let out a small creaked sound before opening. Ash quickly stepped in. Serena quietly followed him but stopped immediately on the door when she heard a new voice, probably Ash's mother.
"Welcome home, honey," Delia said, stepping down from stairs with a vacuum cleaner in her hands. "How was your trip?" she asked.
"It was really amazing, mom. We had tons of fun. Oh, and we also made a new friend," Ash explained as he started to remove his he feet out of the shoes.
"You did? That's wonderful, dear," Delia said. By the time she said it, she had placed the vacuum cleaner aside and was right in front of her son. Her eyes immediately darted over his head though, looking at stranger that was standing in her front door. "And who might you be?" she asked, politely.
Ash quickly turned around, noticing her mother looking at Serena with a curious stance. "Oh, this is the friend I was talking about, mom," Ash said with a smile.
Serena was completely nervous when she was mentioned in. But now that she was noticed, she couldn't ignore it any longer. So, gathering her all courage she stepped in the house with her hands clasped together in her front. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Ketchum. I'm Serena," she said in the most polite way she could muster, bowing in front of her.
"It's nice to meet you too, Serena. But please, call me Delia," Delia said, smiling. An unwanted feeling rushed in his body when Ash noticed her mother's face getting a silly expression. "Oh, she is such a fine looking young girl. Isn't she adorable, Ash?" Delia almost squealed with a dreamy expression.
"Eh…Do you really have to ask me that?"
"Th-Thank you," Serena replied, sheepishly, her cheeks turned red and she stared down at her feet. Despite earning a compliment from Delia, she was still nervous.
"Oh, and by the way, I forget to ask you. Can she stay here, mom?" Ahs asked.
"Of course, she can, sweetie," Ash said and turned to Serena. "You are welcome to stay here as long as you want. Make yourself at home," Delia said. She once again turned to Ash. "I've cleaned your room, Ash. Why don't you show her around until I'll get the guest room ready?" Delia suggested thoughtfully. However, the word 'guest' caused Serena's heart to wince in pain. So she was just another guest to them?
"Yeah, sure. Come on, Serena," Ash said and quickly grabbed her wrist, dragging her upstairs. She barely could have opened her shoes when they disappeared around the corner, heading upstairs, to Ash's room. Delia giggled and walked to the door, closing it. Coming back, she noticed Serena's shoe lying around and placed them together. She then walked back into the living room and then in kitchen, preparing lunch for the two friends.
Ash closed the door behind in rush as Serena fell down on her knees. "What was that all about, Ash?" despite her best, she couldn't help but complained at how Ash treated her.
Ash grinned cheekily. "Sorry. I think I was pretty excited to show you my room," Ash replied, rubbing the back of his head. Serena was pretty annoyed, but the moment she saw Ash grinning at her, even if stupidly, she felt all her annoyance fading away. She just couldn't stay mad at her, no matter what. She smiled back at her and stood up again. Serena looked around in the room. It wasn't much small, but wasn't so big either. It was almost exactly as the same size as her own room. It had a window and desk beside it where lies Ash's computer. There was wardrobe on the left side. As she looked around, she started taking steps back and eventually, fell down on the comfy bed. It was pretty much similar to her room.
"It's nice and pretty tidy," Serena commented.
"Thanks," Ash said, sitting next to her on the bed. "So, since we are here now, what would you like to do?" he asked, thoughtfully.
"I…don't really know," Serena said. "I didn't know that I would get chance come with you, here," she said and paused, turning into her direction. "But I'm glad I got to," she smiled as sweetly as possible. Ash smiled back then looked away from her, nearly blushing. He might not admit it openly, but he knew he was getting affected by her presence. He did not know if it was good or bad, but he wanted to be get affected more.
"You haven't' answered yet," Ash mumbled, loud enough for her to hear.
"I…um," Serena was struggling to came up with something she could do, though; she did not know what she could do in a town she did not anything about. An idea then came to her and her eyes lit up. Opening her bag, she reached out for her tablet. She quickly opened it and searched through the guide to see what she could do around in Pallet. As she did that, she noticed a few emails were popping in notifications. Even Ash noticed that but decided not to look through them; rather he focused on what she was doing. Serena fumbled through the list and noticed several interesting things that they could do. However, there was a problem with every of them.
"It's really a shame that we cannot do anything of it today. You see, every of these spot is outside of Pallet, in other cities or towns. And it's already half past noon," Ash admitted, sadly.
"Oh," Serena muttered with a neutral expression.
"Don't worry. We can go there someday. After all, you aren't a one day guest," Ash added on noticing how sad Serena was getting. Serena smiled at his efforts, but Ash knew she still seemed pretty upset about it. "How about I show you around Professor's lab? I bet he wouldn't mind it…plus I want to see Gary too," Ash confessed. Serena stared at him with interest. He was willing to do anything just to make her smile. She smiled at him.
"Thank you, Ash. I would love to go with you," she admitted, but then did something that took Ash off guard. She leaped over him, tackling him with a massive hug. She wrapped her arms around her neck while burying her head on his shoulder.
"I…uh," Ash tried to respond, but instead find himself blushing. His hands were frozen in their place. He did not know if he should push her away or embrace her. Luckily, he was saved when Delia called them from downstairs.
"Lunch is ready Ash!"
"Yeah! Coming!" Ash yelled back in response. Taking the hint as well, Serena pulled herself away and quickly got up, walking out of the room. She turned the door knob open and walked out, leaving Ash alone to ponder on his thoughts. However, merely after a second or two, her face peered inside the room again.
"Uh, Ash? Can you tell me where the bathroom is?" she asked.
"Yeah. That's just opposite to this room," Ash said, pointing towards the room in front of his.
Serena looked at it then turned back to Ash. "Thanks," she said and disappeared once again.
Ash let out a huge sigh of relief when she was out of his sight. "This girl was pretty crazy, I'm sure," Ash mumbled, still could not process the event rationally, that had happened just a minute ago. He was about to go downstairs as well but stopped when he noticed Serena's tablet still lying next to him. Gary's words from few days ago repeated in his head.
If she was really trying to hide something, we need to figure it out. And only you can do it, Ash. You are the only one here who is closest to her.
Ash remembered he was pretty offended by that statement until Gary explained what he meant. Ash chuckled at the memory; he could be really dense sometimes. However, once it faded, Ash stood up and headed for the door. He closed it and made sure to lock it. He walked back and picked up her tablet, going through it and checking the notifications. His eyes immediately spotted the one he was looking for. "Gotcha," he said and extended it. As he suspected, it was from her mother. Before opening, he decided to note down the number of her house. He walked to his desk, pulled out a notepad and noted her number on it. After that, he opened it. The inbox open, showing tons of mails from her mother. He decided to go through all of them and opened the first. "Please, forgive me Serena, but this is for your own good," Ash mumbled before started reading.
It took a whole lot of time but by the time ended reading them all; everything started making sense to him. Why she was so desperate and why Serena was behaving so weird. However, it still didn't justify her attitude towards him. "Guess, I've got a lot to discuss with you, Gary," Ash mumbled to himself before throwing the tablet back on the bed, so that Serena wouldn't be suspicious and headed down for the food that he had missed for a whole week.
Here you had another update. I'm quite surprised, but pleased nonetheless by the sudden increase in support. So, I've got a lot to discuss with you guys.
Together with a friend of mine, I'm going to start a whole new project, an original one. It's an epic story that will take place in ancient times when dragons used to exist (since it is mine story I think I have full right to decide what will be time line and universe). It will a story of a young boy, alone child of the greatest General of the Dragon Village. However, he is socially outcaste because of his poor reputation. The story will unfold the mystery of how this young boy managed to be the best dragon rider of the village, aiming to be the Dragon Master one day.
So, it was a very slightest hint of the project. Please, please, let me know what you think about it. The story will come out on my Wattpad account with the same name, StreetRacer-Sam. Make sure to check that out as well. The links are in profile.
As for this chapter, let me know what you think of the story so far. Any mistakes? Let me know and I will correct them immediately. Thank you. Next update will be on next Sunday.
Till next time.