Chapter 10: From Within
Fresh from talking with Serena, Ash lied in bed wondering about his feelings. All of this abrupt change was understandably uncomfortable for him, as he entered himself into a rare sleepless night. Having lied with his eyes wide open for a while, it was soon apparent to him that his mind was still in overdrive, and so he got out of bed and stood to watch his sleeping friends. Bonnie and Clemont's beds were adjacent to his, where they were both peacefully snoring away, having been asleep for a while already. Looking to his left, he saw Serena's bed, which was opposite to him. She gracefully slept completely still, lying on her side, with her left arm tucked under the duvet, with her right stretching out, holding a grip on her warm covers. He wouldn't dare disturb her slumber in the position he found himself gazing at. He once again found that the word "cute" was springing to mind again, prompting further dread that a "beautiful" would accidentally slip out of completely nowhere once again. Yet no matter how much he denied it, there she was, the beautifully cute girl who had kissed him on the cheek little over twenty minutes ago. The girl which he felt unusually strong towards, who ever since the fashion show had been playing on his mind- he still wondered whether he was ill.
After a day of being baked in the sun, their room was warm, too warm for Ash in this state. He was still in his pyjamas, but was discontent with trying to sleep, and wanted to return to the cool night. Pikachu had an ear raised while he stood up in the room. He caught his trainer looking indecisive, after already enduring a light sleep. The navy night sky was perfect for anyone to sit alone and reflect on events, and Ash was no different. However he didn't feel alone, he was accompanied by the light of a thousand stars, all shining over him, as they had done for all of the times he had been next to Serena. Now they turned their attention to him, as he tip-toed past everyone letting Pikachu closely follow, before gently shutting the door as he paced himself downstairs to exit through the Pokemon Centre's rear door, into the field. Nurse Joy was on her night shift, waiting for weary trainers who had just survived Laverre's Nature Trail to flock in at any moment. She double-took at Ash upon seeing him come down, just to make sure he wasn't another dazed sleep-walker amongst the summer heat. He passed her with a friendly smile, and pressed on his three PokeBalls to enlarge them, ready to be deployed.
The rear doors slid open, and Ash felt the night breeze welcome him. At such a late hour he was alone on the large field, but wouldn't be for much longer.
"Come on out, everyone." He ordered at a reduced tone as he didn't want to potentially wake anyone. He threw his PokeBalls up into the while Pikachu leapt down from his shoulder, where he was then joined by Frogadier, Hawlucha and Fletchinder after their initial flash of blue light upon entering vanished. His group cheered gleefully as their trainer knelt down to sit on the grass with them. Frogadier entered with one of his many ninja poses, next to Hawlucha with his arms raised ready for combat, where behind him was Fletchinder, flapping its wings in anticipation for some action.
"Hey guys" They immediately noticed a slight change in tone though.
"I'm sorry that we haven't been able to do much training since the gym battle; the truth is, I've been feeling kinda funny lately." He nervously said as they all stood around him. Fletchinder edged forward, and stretched out a wing around Ash's back, as if it was trying to comfort him. Pikachu's eyes widened in curiosity as he tilted his head to the side. "Pika..?" Hawlucha lowered his battle-ready arms.
"It's sorta about... Serena." Frogadier looked up. After the recent spotlight on him and Braxien, he was certainly in a position where he could vouch for Ash. Hawlucha on the other hand now looked the most confused.
The breeze kicked up a notch, and Ash felt the wind begin to lightly run through his hair. He looked up to the night while his Pokemon edged in closer to him.
"I've been feeling funny like this ever since the fashion show." He uttered. Frogadier stepped forward, and began to speak.
"... A warm feeling every time you're with her? Yeah that kinda makes sense." He scratched his chin in deep thought. "Aren't you the same with Braxien?" Frogadier placed a hand behind his back and scratched slightly in embarrassment. Hawlucha crossed his arms as it began to communicate with Ash.
"... I know it's strange for me to not have my mind on training like this, but recently I feel kinda... different towards her."
Fletchinder flapped its wings impatiently and had a clear message towards Ash.
"What do you mean she's been feeling like this for a while?"
All four Pokemon facepalmed themselves after becoming dumbstruck from Ash's incredible armour of obliviousness.
He scratched his head, confused, feeling slightly silly that he was only just beginning to understand the situation. Yet it wasn't just him who was part of change in the past few days, Serena was still getting over the Showcase and so Ash didn't quite know what the best thing to say to her would be. He stood up, and began to walk around the field aimlessly while his Pokemon followed. He seemed to be lost in a cloud of thought and confusion, mainly because he was trying to come to terms with the fact he had feelings for Serena. He couldn't deny that she was special to him, he had begun to realise everything about her. As he walked around, an abundance of thoughts began to fill his mind, until Pikachu caught him in his tracks. "Pi-pika-pi!" The yellow mouse screeched to his wondering trainer, causing him to suddenly stop on his way. He looked around at his Pokemon all looking up at him. "Y-you're right, Pikachu... Maybe I should say something to her."
Pikachu was right. All of this thinking had sent Ash dizzy from walking around the field. He had to do something. He had to let what he was feeling so strongly on the inside come out to the realities of the outside, which meant that firstly, he had to give a long hard think about what Bonnie said. He decided to lie down on the grass this time, while is Pokemon soon followed, with their ears primed and ready to hear their trainer's strange new thoughts.
"Bonnie said that the nice warm feeling... is love." His words sent shock-waves through his Pokemon; having the word 'love' associated with Ash was borderline impossible, yet there he was, with the word leaving his own lips.
"She may be a kid, but she seems to know a lot about that stuff... I mean we always see her proposing for Clemont's sake, right?" He let out a laugh, yet he soon found it strange the thought of something he had previously observed as a joke had become a serious reality for him.
"Maybe she's right..." Ash digressed into self-doubt, yet his Pokemon, his friends, were nothing short of the opposite. Pikachu hunched down onto all fours and spiked his tail up, Fletchinder flapped its wings while harking its cry, Frogadier gave a confident look up to Ash, as it postured its body into a fighting stance while Hawlucha had latched onto the feelings being conveyed, and shouted with a clenched fist. Ash was taken back by their passionate reaction. They couldn't have been more sure, while Ash couldn't have felt more dumb. His Pokemon rallied him into the belief that he had to make his move. She had to know, for Serena had been around Ash for so long, while Frogadier had also had a conscience on the matter for a considerable amount of time.
"But... how do I do this..." He wondered, but then suddenly got up and put on a serious face.
"Come on guys, it's time for some late night exercise." Ash seemed spurred on all of a sudden, as the raven-haired trainer abruptly dashed off, still in his pyjamas, out of the field, with his Pokemon following behind. He was almost completely convinced, but he wanted to make sure, he wanted to know he could trust himself. He ran away from their accommodation in the Pokemon Centre, and headed for Laverre's streets. The scent of blown out candles still present in the atmosphere as the quiet city slept. No street lights were there to illuminate the path for him, but only the natural light of the night's stars shining the way. They were guiding him, with a sense of fate, Ash followed where the elements directed him to go. Frogadier comfortably kept to his trainer's pace, with Pikachu endeavouring on all fours. Hawlucha and Fletchinder soared up to the sky, occasionally eclipsing the moon's gaze. They spiralled and performed various acrobatics in the air as they lit up Laverre's skyline. They were showing what it was like to love; with their beautiful, dazzling display in the lights, they flew with such glee, like they had a reason that they held strong. For Fletchinder and Hawlucha, all they wanted was for Ash to realise what he was feeling, he was the reason they were so spurred on to blitz ahead high above the traditional buildings. Ash was coming to know that his reason, his motive that revived his passion for his dream, was Serena.
The narrow roads twisted and turned as the city entered a more complex route. Ash glanced up to see the familiar sight of Laverre's iconic tree, the home of Valerie's gym. The memories of his gym battle flooded back, where he tactically edged out Valerie. He remembered the awe of Sawyer's face, and the sheer delight and relief on Serena's before she mobbed him. He hinted a shy smirk as he scratched underneath his nose, had he not been later bundled by Bonnie then he would have perhaps enjoyed the moment.
He escaped from the winding narrow streets and stopped to gaze at the tree. In front of his very eyes, Hawlucha and Fletchinder accelerated to the summit as they circled the large, ancient landmark. They were enjoying the chance to stretch their wings, they had grown concerned for the sake of their trainer, but now it was all becoming clear to him. He could accept it within himself, but Serena still needed to know.
"Fletchinder, Razor Wind!" He commanded with energy. Fletchinder took a moment to prepare itself, before hurling a cluster of sharp blades of wind into the sky. He saw the beauty in it, and amused himself that he had almost inherited Serena's eye for detail in performing. He smiled as the blades met the end of the tree's branches, cutting off leaves and swirling them around the sky. He turned back at the canvas he would be touching once the sun returned. He had asked Serena to come shopping with him ahead of the festival later in the day. The sun would surely be rising earlier. He turned back at the huge old clock, with the hand nearing 3am, he suddenly realised how long he had lived through the night, yet there he stood, in the heart of the city playing with his Pokemon in his pyjamas.
He looked around at the shops, there were so many. Unsurprisingly he didn't have a clue where would be best to go, that's something he could rely on Serena to decide. A hint of excitement filled his heart like a void which he didn't even know existed that had at last been satisfied. He reached out an arm to receive Fletchinder, while Hawlucha swooped down to make his landing. Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder while Frogadier kept close by his trainer's side. There they stood close- laughing under the moonlight. It was his battling companions that understood everything about him, more than he understood himself. As the night dragged on he started to draw conclusions.
"I'll do it..." He thought to himself, firing himself up as if it were another gym battle. Ash felt the change in the wind, as it swept another direction, possibly telling him it was time to head back. He felt the change, he felt it from the outside and from within. The lights kept shining on him, the more they were there for him, the more he understood. He took out his PokeBalls once again and recalled everyone but Pikachu back.
"Thanks for being here for me, buddy." He whispered before patting Pikachu on the head. His yellow partner purred from enjoyment.
"I won't let any of you down." The seriousness had returned, but it was an excitable seriousness.
You could introduce the concept of love and somehow get him to understand it, but from the start he always had his heart.
"This is our secret for now though." He later added, adamant that he would stay cool until the moment came, where chance would have its way.
He walked back with a yawning Pikachu getting comfortable on his shoulder, as the familiar red and white lights of the Pokemon Centre came into view. He passed by Nurse Joy, who gave another confused smile after his late-night stroll. After climbing the stairs, their room came into view, where Ash noticed his heartbeat increase. Through the doors were his dear friends, even further on in the room was the girl he had been thinking about quite a fair bit for the past few days. The door tried to creak as he opened it, but thankfully no one woke up. Slowly but surely edging his way back to his bed, he noticed Serena, and stopped to watch her sleep for a while. This time her stretched out arm was held close to her chest, where she now seemed unusually restless. Understandably, it had been a horribly long day for her, yet she didn't seem too comfortable at all. He decided to sit down by her bedside to make sure she was okay. From Serena's deep dream-like state, her restless body sensed Ash approaching from his body heat. After all, he had just been out running, so it was bound to be noticeable. The arm stretched out once again, this time it was towards Ash. Her hand had still been scrunched into a fist, as she remained tense in her sleep. He reached out his hand, and slowly pressed his skin onto hers, taking hold of her tense hand. Immediately she let out a huge relieved sigh, and the restlessness stopped for a moment. Her muscles relaxed. Her hand opened out, allowing Ash to interlock with hers. He again pondered over what exactly he was doing, yet he believed what his Pokemon and his friends had urged him to. With Serena, everything began to feel... just right.
Her skin, soft as ever, warmed to Ash's body heat. Her head turned towards him, as she lied there with her hand in Ash's. He moved in closer, trying to work out whether she was really in a deep sleep or not. He leaned over to her, and gently moved her hair away from her ears to begin whispering.
"Serena..." His gentle voice must have been heard, as the faintest glimpse of a smile returned to her face. She let out another sigh, this time with her other arm emerging from the duvet to cup Ash's face to keep him close. Ash found himself under Serena's control, as she brought her hand up to his back to pull him fully into an embrace.
"Serena..?" He whispered again, but no answer. Her hand moved further up Ash's head, as she rustled his thick raven hair. She pulled him in closer to her, until their faces were touching. Ash's heart had skipped so many beats it may as well have not been working at all, as he raced into a minor frenzy of excitement and nervousness. How he wanted to have the chance to understand Serena fully like this, but he couldn't possibly be seen by Bonnie and Clemont in the same bed as her like they were now- it would come as a bit of a shock. Time was dragging on, and soon the sun would come up, and the temperature would rise above the scale again. He had to get some sleep, he needed to be ready for his daunting shopping experience which he had created for himself. While he felt himself yearning for a few more minutes, he broke their embrace, and leaned away from the bed. His adrenaline rush had come to an end, and much like a sugar rush, he felt drained of energy all of a sudden. He lied down on his bed and felt himself sail off to a peaceful sleep, free of the anxieties of what was going on inside him, thanks to the help of his Pokemon. Serena meanwhile still had her arms out, as she reached for wherever Ash had gone off to, grasping to see if he was still there.
The sleeping performer then returned to her previous resting state, which got worse. She tensed up, and would occasionally gasp in fear. Ash was nowhere to be reached, as her ordeal resumed. She couldn't escape it, as she tossed and turned constantly in the bed.
She was asleep, but she needed Ash back.
She needed him back to dispel this awful nightmare that she was trapped into seeing.