We are finally here! I'll have more notes at the bottom, for now; welcome to the last chapter of our journey with Serena. A lot of foundations were laid in this story, hence why it's so long, and there's still a lot more to go through before her direct sequel! Enjoy and see you at the end.


We're bleeding out

You and I both know it

But how poised we are

Looking over each other's shoulder

-0-

Meeting with Will and Karen always brings a smile to Serena's face. They've been able to hangout sparingly, the tournament aftermath and League clean up keeping Serena busy, so they mostly get to see Lance and the other Elites. Will's peppy, easy going personality refreshes Serena while Karen's cool, calculated wit keeps her on her toes.

Since the acceptance email, Serena has been on fire with her responsibilities; working with the legal team to get their contracts drawn up and their room plans sent to the engineering company. Both have promised to keep their hiring a secret from Lance, should he ask, and they were quick to adjust and approve their room plans before Serena sent them out.

"Serena!" Will's voice permeates her thoughts of work as she approaches their table.

She smiles at them, her eyes gleam as she sets her things down on the table and gives him a quick hug. The energy exchange is minor when they're both conscious of it, so they've gotten better about physical contact and energy shocks together. "Hey, guys."

"Hey," Karen beams, patting the seat next to her for the brunette to sit. "So, it's official?"

"It finally is," Serena opens her bag and holds up their contracts with a grin. "Thanks a million times over for your patience."

"You made our stay amazing," Karen snorts, taking her packet to read over while Will does the same. "How could we say no?"

"I have no other job prospects, so I don't mind staying here," Will shrugs. He leans back to read over his contract, his eyes peering at Serena over the papers. "You're too sweet for us to turn away, too."

Serena laughs, her cheeks flushing at their compliments. "Either way, I hope our negotiated terms are good enough."

The two take another few minutes to read through it all. There were at least two other meetings to get the terms of their contract just the way they like it, with better pay and more tailored vacations to their training regimen. By the end, they're grinning and Serena feels relief washing over her. She fought hard to get the contracts to their standards, she really wants them in the new league.

They sign with little ceremony and she takes the contracts back with a promise to email them a copy of it later.

"Welcome to the Johto and Kanto League," she grins.

"I don't know how you're pulling off this surprise," Will comments with a laugh.

"Lance trusts her," Karen speaks up before Serena can say anything. Her words draw in Serena's attention. Do they talk about her when they're together? "He thinks I'm going to be the eighth gym leader and Will is the first Elite."

He steals a glance at Karen. "He's told you?"

"Yeah," she nods, she turns to address Serena when she tenses at the forlorn look on the brunette's face. "Oh-"

"That's good!" Serena blurts out, regaining her professional composure enough to gather her things and stand. "I have to catch Bruno and Koga before they leave. I'll see you guys later!"

She waves and slips away before Karen can explain and Will can catch her.

The psychic glowers at his friend. "Smooth. She and Lance clearly have a thing and you just tossed your night with him in her face."

"I didn't mean to," Karen groans. "That was a while ago. We haven't messed around since Red was here."

It was true.

Their meeting was fiery and passionate, but clearly that of two people looking for a quick fix. Since then, it has been few and far between until the kid left the league. There were moments she thought he had feelings for her, but seeing him with Serena warned her anything serious between them had a huge chance at failing, and Karen has no real interest in the red head. Now that she'll be his co-worker, their escapades will have to officially stop. Not a difficult decision considering Lance has moved on to other conquests.

She suspects Serena had a little talk with him about sleeping with a potential employee and he backed off for her. There's not a single doubt in Karen's body Serena isn't out to get her. There's zero hostility between the two of them despite brunette's knowledge of their escapades over the summer and spring.

The light haired woman couldn't understand why the brunette, a successful and driven young woman, would subject herself to continuous heartbreak watching Lance run around with other women. It still confuses her.

If she continues on this path, she could be in the Association while dating Lance. They'd been an unstoppable team and power couple. So what was she waiting for?

"It's such a strange thing," Will comments after a moment. "Their relationship seems so simple, but we really don't know what goes on behind closed doors."

Karen stares at the spot Serena once sat, her eyes contemplative as she replays all their interactions wondering if there's a clue in one of them. "It really is. Only time will tell, I guess."

On the way to Lance's room, Serena tries to ignore the swirl of emotions in her chest at Karen's words. Bruno and Koga signed their contracts with little issues, they promised to keep Lance's acceptance under wraps; not a hard endeavor considering their paths don't cross too much outside of meetings and training.

All that's left is for the red head to sign his Champion contract thinking it's a renewal of his Elite Four contract. For the past three years, he's never read his contract renewal after negotiating his pay and such like that. There's been no reason to, this year his meeting went the same as usual and his terms were accepted easily. His pay raise is a whole lot more now that he's champion, something he won't notice until his first paycheck in the New Year, the only difference is a more intensive training schedule and workload with paperwork from both regions.

"Lance?" she pops her head into his suite, the biggest one, though he doesn't know it.

"Yeah?" he peeks his head out from the kitchen. "What's up?"

"I need your, uh, contract renewal signature," she holds the clipboard and points to where he has to sign.

"Not going to let me read it?" he raises a brow.

She gives him a flat look, her heart racing thinking of course this is the year he wants to read it. She has no plans if he pulls out the contract and reads its contents, the surprise would be ruined early she guesses. "Are you going to read it?"

"Ha, no," he snorts and signs where she says. Much to her delight and relief. "Who's the new Champion?"

"Hopefully, you'll like her," she shrugs and stuffs his papers away when he's finished. "The Association and Elijah were very impressed by her application and video footage."

"They needed footage?" he crosses his arms.

"No, but it helps," she laughs. "Don't worry about it. Just wait for the Gala."

"Okay. Fine."

The music's good

As we go down with the ship

Oh, Lord, how it feels

To be sinkin'

OoOoO

"Have you told them yet?" Rowan brings a mug of tea to Serena as snow falls in Blackthorn.

Serena stares at the sparkles of snow, breathing in the silence that comes with a good snowfall and marveling at the warmth the tea brings. The year is coming to its close and everything is in perfect order, giving her this time to relax and let go of all the stress leading up to this point.

She did it.

The regions are coming together, Lance is Champion, Clair is the eighth Gym Leader and Serena... Well. She's leaving.

Tension has been rising subtly between her and Lance as she keeps the surprise from him, but also ensures he's still working hard. Clair has been pushing for her to be a gym leader, but she doesn't feel that's the path for her. So, instead, she pulled some strings for a private jet flight to Sinnoh, courtesy of the Association for after the Gala.

She wants to get an early as possible start without seeing too much of the new year in Johto and Kanto. One look and she could get sucked back into her assistant job easily and it would destroy her. Giovanni is out there somewhere, and so is this pokemon she's connected to.

Aaron explained everything to her and while she was mad for awhile, she understood why he would hide it from her. After much deliberation, even with Blaine, she decided it wouldn't be worth the trouble to see Dr. Fuji. The old man isn't interested in talking and if she has nothing to leverage against him, it would end the same way as it did with her father. Part of her thinks it would end worse; seeing the man that did this to her with no hesitation. She understands where he's coming from, no one says no to Giovanni, but she was a child...

So with everything for her finished here, Serena saw no reason to stay and has decided to search for the answers in the world. The only ones who know are her parents, and she wants to keep it that way for as long as possible. Lance and Clair would have a fit and try to convince her to stay despite understanding why she would need to leave.

"I'll let them know before I go," she sips at her tea, breaking the silence between them. "Just not now."

"You don't think Lance will need your guidance?" her mother poses with a raised brow.

"I trust him to do his best with the info he has," she shrugs. "Despite being an idiot, he does what he thinks is best when it comes to work, and I'm willing to trust him enough to relinquish control to him."

"That's my girl."

-0-

Feels like a crime

The love we had was magic

But the show is over

And everyone's gone home

Is it worth it all?

-0-

December 28th- Annual Winter Gala

Serena bursts awake at 8am, stopping her alarm and sitting up to stretch out her arms and legs. Ty grumbles from the floor, having rolled off the bed sometime in the night, and Thea stretches her paws out as she lays on her side at the foot of the bed. Beside her bed sits her hiking pack, a new one since the one from her journey looks a little beat up and won't be able to weather the places she plans on going.

She packed until late last night, the book Clair bought her fits perfect at the top of the bag for easy access. Her pokemon will be joining her, no more gym challenges, and if she's going to be searching for this pokemon, she'll need her team to be strong through training in rough terrain. She plans on scouring Mt. Coronet to see if it's really the mountain from her dream, changed from time in the elements. Her father will keep looking for clues around Kanto as the G-men try to locate all the bases Team Rocket had and keep her updated.

"Today's a big day," she tells her pokemon, running her hand over Espeon's soft head. "We have a lot to do all day and then it's time to go."

Her pokemon grumble in response, both Ty and Thea, as they try to savor some more time to sleep. She chuckles at them before getting up to shower and change for the day. With the Gala starting around 7:00, and most of the preparations getting done beforehand, Serena keeps her clothing casual. She'll need to ensure everything is running smoothly as Elijah would the years prior.

Serena reaches the league in record time, despite the cold temperatures threatening to freeze Wynn's wings. She slips off her dragon type and dusts the snow off her pokemon's wing covers, an athletic fabric meant to protect from the cold but still be flexible enough for flight. The pokemon shivers at the falling snow, winter reasonably being her least favorite season, before being returned to her ball where it's nice and warm.

Inside, League employees bustle about the new building, carrying decorations, or holding maps to get their bearings before tonight's showcase. It will be the grand opening of the new building tonight, with the Gala actually being held in the front lobby. The first two floors will remain open while a projector covering the width and partial height of entrance will display everything at the height of the third floor. With sixteen gym leaders, four elite members, the champion, members of the association and grand council, the two floors will be adequate space for it all.

News outlets will station along the walls near the entrance with cameras on tripods and reporters getting their own spot. Fans will be delegated to the front steps but not allowed in until the next day when all new merchandise and stores will be open to the public.

The first floor will be the reception area for trainers with a pokemon center able to house up to fifty for special events or the conference, for the finalists, and the pokemart across the way laden with trainer necessities at reasonable prices. The second floor has been upgraded for souvenirs for tourists with merchandise for every gym leader, elite member and champion, at least after tonight, and some Silver Town small owned businesses, including a cafe serving homemade pastries, sandwiches, and Serena's favorite coffee, a smoothie shop and a pokemon food store.

Serena beams at her ideas come to life as she ascends the steps to the top. She wanted any visitors to be able to relax and have a good time while here at the league. When she reaches the top, she turns to admire the view of the open concept. The glass ceiling provides a wondrous view of the weather outside, sunny despite the cold with some clouds lazing by.

"Looks good," Aaron greets her.

She jumps and smacks his arm. "You're the worst."

"Didn't I teach you to be aware of your surroundings?" he laughs, taking a sip of coffee. "So, have you told him?"

"Nope," she grins. "He thinks Will is the eighth gym leader and Karen is the first elite four member and the new champion is a woman from Sinnoh. It's going to be worth taking everything over from him to see his face when I tell him later."

"You kept it under wraps well," Aaron smiles. He pulls her into his side and kisses her temple. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Dad."

For the morning, Serena helps set up the projector screen and such, playing through some of the slides for Clyde to see what it's going to look like. She then goes over the itinerary of the night with Ren and again with Clyde, who is now head of the tech department in the league. All 16 gym leaders will be awarded certificates for passing exams and inspections, Clair will give a speech on behalf of gym leaders for the upcoming year, all four elites will be awarded their certificates and then Lance will be announced as Champion. To finish off the night Serena will make a closing statement, which she has written out and placed on the podium, to usher in the new year.

It's going to be great.

By that time, she will have told Lance about his new position and will be awarded best friend of the year award from him. She's been working hard to make this night as perfect as possible and while he's been busy training and doing interviews, she hopes he'll be as surprised as she thinks he'll be. There hasn't been time for them to hangout and she misses being around him in a non-professional setting.

The day passes quickly as Serena helps set up tables and chairs, some staff members go around placing name cards in the appropriate spots, leaving her to head to the kitchens to check on the food. It'll be mostly finger foods, something to pick at until the after party in Celadon City the gym leaders have planned. The wait staff look presentable and ready as she meanders from the Head Chef office back to the lobby.

With the sun setting, Serena can't believe it's all coming together.

She oversees the last minute details of signing receipts and filing them away for the league to take care of in their treasury before checking in with Clyde. Since the downfall of Team Rocket, Serena finds herself hanging around the young man more and more. He's nerdy, but calm and collected and has saved her butt from losing computer files more than once. So far, he's one of the few she can rely on to get some things done around the league.

"All the elites, minus Lance, are in Silver Town," he informs her with a smile. "You've got two hours to get ready, is that enough time?"

Serena grins. "Yeah, I don't plan on dressing up too much since I want to leave tonight."

"I'm gonna be sad to see you leave," he sighs. "Send me a postcard?"

She wraps him up in a hug. "You know it."

On the way to the temporary building, Serena texts Lance asking about where he is before landing and greeting everyone else. With Lance absent it makes it easier to sneak them to the main building to give them a tour of their rooms. Will loves his room with the trick of the light creating cubes floating up from the floor, an idea he got from a friend of his in Johto. Koga likes the trees and plants thriving in his room, the spots on the roof open to allow in light and moisture at will. Bruno's room makes her sweat as she takes him through, showing the pit of lava beneath the bridge leading to his battle field. Vents release the excess heat to protect the crowd from overheating and the floor along the seats casts out cold air to keep them cool while a battle rages on.

Lastly, is Karen's room. Set up to be darker in palette with dark purple floors dotted with shimmering gold stars. Red curtains line the side of the stadium seating, giving a theatrical feel to the elegant atmosphere of the room. Blue crystals jut out of the pit near the entrance and behind her spot, dark and ominous as they enter through the main door.

They praise their rooms, their eyes glowing with determination to make the new year great. It nearly brings tears to her eyes to see them content with the changes. But with time creeping closer to seven she sends them back to their new apartments to get ready.

After saying goodbye, she rushes off to Lance's room to get it ready for the surprise. She checks her phone to see no answer and hopes he'll be back from where he is in time for the Gala and his debut. A spike of irritation rises in her chest thinking he's somewhere goofing off right before the Gala and it takes a minute to calm down from it. He wouldn't miss this Gala either way, he enjoys being in the spotlight and has been excited to see the renovations as everyone else.

It just wouldn't make sense.

Once in his rooms, she adjusts his new outfit, inspiration taken from a Gym his father trained in a region far away. Navy blue with orange lines marking down the front of the jacket and pants. She got him new black boots and a long black cape with a red underside.

Kaida and her mother helped her pick the cape out and she hopes he enjoys it.

She rushes off to Champion's office to get ready, donning a simple navy blue short sleeved dress with light brown booties and a black cape. She pulls her hair back into a single braid and applies a minimal amount of makeup, something easy to take off when she gets on the plane.

By 7:00 she's ready and wondering where Lance could be as she heads to the main area to greet the incoming guests.

"Clyde?" she calls him. She comes up to the main from his work station near the stairs on the second floor.

"Yeah?" he responds, dressed in a nice floral button up and tan skinny jeans. He keeps his eyes on his laptop while typing. "What's wrong?"

"I haven't heard from Lance, can you let me know when he gets here?" she bites her lip.

"Of course."

With him figuring that out, Serena heads back down the stairs to welcome the new gym leaders and converse with association members. Her parents join the fray and everything starts out well with laughter, food and drink buzzing around the room. Despite her laughter and poise, Serena's eyes dart to the clock and down again to her phone.

Where are you Lance? She demands, growing more and more frustrated by the second.

When the announcement starts for everyone to take their seats and Ren takes the podium to announce gym leaders, Serena's ready to lose her mind.

Thankfully, Clyde texts her phone and she practically sprints out of the lobby to beat him to his room. She jogs down the hall in her heels, hearing giggling and hushed voices and comes to a halt right outside his door.

There he stands with a girl at his side, his face looking a little flushed and his eyes glazed with pleasure. It cuts into her to see him like that, but she forces herself to focus on the surprise to keep her emotions in check. The click of her heels catches his attention and his expressions changes to surprise when he regards her.

"Rena?" he raises a brow, his hand lowering from the girl beside him.

"Where have you been?" she huffs. "I have been worried, the Gala has started and you're late."

"So? The Elites don't get mentioned until 8:30, I have more than a half hour until then," he shrugs with a sly smile to the girl next to him.

He hadn't been with anyone for the past few months, from what Serena recalls from his mentioning he wants to 'focus' on his career. So she can't help the frown that crosses her features when he takes a step towards his room. He notices her frown and huffs at her.

"Serena, please," he rolls his eyes. "It's a pre-celebration party for two. Get the stress out before heading up there."

"I just, wait," she holds out her hands, stepping in front of the door. "There's just-"

"Come on," he growls. "You've taken control of everything for tonight, can you just let me have some fun? Why don't you go follow Red?"

This feels almost like a smack and she stands up straighter to glare at him. "What does he have to do with this? Don't tell me you're jealous of a 15 year old?"

"No! You've just been so... Ugh!" he shouts back, taking a step away from the girl. She excuses herself and scurries away while Lance finds more words. "You always have control of everything and have to know what I'm doing and where I am. Treating me like a child, but this is the first time I've gone out in a while."

"Lance, listen-" she tries to interrupt.

"No, you listen," he shakes his head. "I think we need space. You trust everyone else but me, and I get that it's because of what happened on the S.S. Anne, but that was years ago. I've changed and worked hard to be a good elite member since Saffron City. I thought you would be proud to see me come a long way, but it doesn't feel like it. Truth be told, I don't think I can grow if you're going to be doing this all the time, it's only going to hold me back."

Blood roars in Serena's ears, his words ring in her ears over and over again in the seconds of silence between them. She fights the urge to scream at him, the words clawing their way up her throat as she processes what he said. How easy it would be to tear into him about how she 'treats him like a baby' because he acts like it.

It takes all her resolve to hold it in and, instead, she moves like a robot to open the door. Her heart pounds against her rib cage, begging for the ache to go away as she lets the door swing open behind her. The look of anger on his face, anger at her, paints itself clearly in her mind as she crosses the empty room to the bedroom door.

The one person who's saved his ass all these years and he thinks she's holding him back?

When she turns around she can see the confusion on his features staring at the outfit on the bed. She takes a calming breath to ease the pain and forces herself to keep her voice even. "I nominated you to be Champion three months ago, they accepted it. I wrote you a speech but feel free to deviate."

She gestures to the bed where his new clothes sit and watches the shock register in his features. He turns to say something but she holds up her hand. "This is why I was asking where you were and took over the Gala from you again. I get it, I've been controlling and breathing down your neck for so long, it makes sense why you're angry. I'm sorry I've been holding you back, I only wanted what was best. I don't care what you do with whomever anymore, I do care what you do with your new position as Champion. But I'm trusting you to do what you've always done; the right thing."

"Rena, I-" he stammers, picking up the robes.

To let him apologize would be to stay here and let it happen again sometime later. It's putting off the inevitable; they do need space. To grow and learn what the world has to offer without the other being the safety net. The past few years working at the league has built up to this, the moment she makes a decision for herself to leave.

It was bound to happen... right?

She crosses the room, tears spilling down her face and glances back at him. His glassy gold eyes hit hard, but she keeps strong. "Don't mess it up, I won't be around to clean up after you... Goodbye, Lance."

The door shuts between them and she scurries back to the main room, behind the scenes to find Clyde to change the slide while Clair gives her speech. She beams at her blue haired friend standing before everyone looking amazing and professional. Her voice carries around the room, breathing confidence into each person present.

When did Clair get so mature and professional? Serena flinches at the thought of her too focused on Lance to see her other best friend's growth.

She vows to do better for Clair in the future.

It takes a moment, but she explains the changes to Clyde for the final part of the night. She can't stand to be in this building for another second and it must show on her face. Clyde does as told without his usual quips, writing down Lance to give the closing speech and she asks Clyde to inform Lance of her speech cards on the podium.

When he asks about her tears she just shakes her head and says goodbye with another hug. After that, she disappears into the crowd to find her family's table near the front, but off to the side with easy exit access. With her head bowed to keep the press from swarming her, she gets to the table and greets her mother first.

"Honey, what happened?" Rowan finds her alongside Kaida.

She pulls them towards a pillar to keep out of the media's eye while Aaron and Wesley approach. "Lance and I got into a fight. I'm gonna leave sooner than later."

"What happened?" Wesley shakes his head.

"He said he needed space and he's right," she shakes her head back at him. "We've been stuck together for too long. Don't be mad at him."

Kaida rolls her eyes. "Just like his father, doesn't know what he wants and pushes everyone away from him."

"I wasn't that bad," Wesley replies, only to dodge a swipe from his wife with a laugh. He turns to Serena and embraces her tight. "He'll come around, I'm sorry he's a jerk about it."

"Thanks Wes, I'll miss you," she squeezes him tight and then Kaida. "Don't be hard on him."

Kaida cups her face and kisses her forehead. "Your love for our son has always shielded him from the consequences of his actions. He, and Clair, are lucky to have you as their best friend and I await the day they realize this. Good luck on your adventure and don't forget to call us occasionally, okay?"

"Okay," she wipes at her tears more."I've got to find Clair."

Lance's parents step aside to let her through, their eyes meeting as they think about the lesson their son has to learn and what he's going to lose in order to grow. Serena stays along the outside of the cameras until she comes up to Clair standing near the entrance to get a picture with her certificate and with Ren for the paper. Her parents hug Serena, wishing her well and to let Clair handle Lance while she's gone, a scary but satisfying thought.

"What happened?" Clair demands, coming up to Serena, hands on her shoulders. "Did Lance do this?"

"Partially, yes," Serena chuckles. "I never got to tell you, but I'm heading out to Sinnoh tonight."

Clair's face crumples and she pulls Serena in for a hug. "I love you. You're my best friend and I'm so glad you're getting away from the oaf to spread your wings." She pulls back to wipe her tears. "What did he say to you? Want me to jump his ass?"

"No, no," Serena chuckles, waving off her anger. "I think he'll get enough punishment after seeing what I did for him."

"You're too soft on him," she rolls her eyes. "You always try to protect us."

"Because I love you," she reaches up to press a kiss to her cheek. "I'm leaving, though. I can't take the drama and another apology from him. I refuse to start the year like that."

"That's my girl," Clair hugs her one last time. They squeeze each other tight, savoring this last moment, and pull away with sad smiles.

As Ren takes the stand, Serena speaks with his assistant and who makes a few calls to get the jet ready for her in Vermillion. Her parents teleport with her home and help her gather her things while she changes into dark blue and gray athletic leggings, gray tennis shoes and a long sleeved white shirt under a black jacket. It's going to be mid winter, so she tops it off with a scarf and cap to keep herself warm.

With her things packed, the three travel to Vermillion with the league pokemon and stand in front of the airport. She turns to them with tears in her eyes and a heavy heart. They embrace her tight, making her promise to keep in touch and going over her packing list with her a few more times. When her name gets called overhead, she gives them each a kiss and waves goodbye.

"I promise I'll call when I get there," she says. "I love you!"

"We love you, baby!" Rowan calls between sniffles.

Serena disappears into the airport, bypassing security to get straight to the jet where she's welcomed aboard soon after and settles into a comfy seat. One of the attendants flips on the TV for her and it shows Lance standing at the podium, dressed in the new outfit she picked, looking a little young for the part but the look in his eyes promises he's ready. She watches as he stumbles his way through the speech she picked out, but knows he's trying to be genuine.

"I'll be back," she mutters to herself, watching him address the camera as though he's looking at her. "And you'll see I was right all along."

-o-

Tears fall down my face as I let go

Tears fall down your face because you know

I will be tender with you, oh love

-o-

Lance stares at the crowd, his words to Serena ringing in his head as he pulls out her speech cards from the spot Clyde said they would be. His hands are shaky and he feels as though he's going to break down any second, but he forces himself to hang on to his sanity.

He doesn't see her eyes anywhere and worries she's gone off somewhere while he stands here with a fake smile about to use the speech she should be using. It angers him, he doesn't deserve everything she's given him but he doesn't have the heart to throw it all away after watching her work so hard. He has to go through with this, with his best effort to live up to the standards she set for him or he'll truly be a failure.

"I'll apologize ahead of time that you have to listen to me talk more," he tries to joke, some people manage a laugh in the crowd. "Serena was supposed to be up here, but she is busy at the moment, which is all she ever is it seems." More laughs. He grimaces. "And I don't mean that negatively. She's an amazing person, an amazing friend. The reason we're all here right now, and if that doesn't speak to her strength I don't know what will. On her behalf, I want to thank everyone who has supported her ideas, worked with her for countless hours to get laws passed and to ensure the safety of future generations. What started as a crazy idea turned into a beautiful reality in three years. Three years it took to get to this moment, and that's the beauty of what she can do." He pauses and looks down at the notes, realizing she wrote some things similar and smiles to himself. "She's amazing and let's do right by her and show her we can keep this reality going. Just as I promised to grow as a Champion, I want each of us to promise to grow individually so we may grow together and keep the two regions united! We can do this!"

Ren is the first to stand, his knowing eyes blazing as he smiles and claps vigorously with everyone else following suit in the room before him. Their cheers fill the league, echoing off the walls and filling everyone with hope as Lance descends from the stage. At the bottom, Ren shakes his hand and they pose for a picture before staff and gym leaders converse and pose for more media footage.

"Where is she?" he demands, finding Clair first.

His cousin sneers at him. "She left."

"What do you mean left?" he frowns.

"Hey, you two," Karen calls and gestures for them to exit into the hall. Her eyes tracing the cameras behind them for a moment. They get the idea and file out there to keep away from prying eyes and ears.

Once in the hall Clair crosses her arms and glowers at Lance. "She left for Sinnoh. She was supposed to leave after the party, but someone ruined it for her."

"N-no," Lance shakes his head. "Stop it, tell me the truth."

"It is the truth, dumbass," Clair scowls at him. "I don't know what you said to her, but it made her want to skip the drama and leave. She's planned the trip for a while and wanted to start the new year right. It's been a long time coming."

"She just... left?" he mutters. His back hits the wall and he slides to the floor, staring at his hands as a hole rips itself open in his chest and he regrets everything he said. He knew he shouldn't have said it, not like that, he was just angry and lost his temper.

You lost more than that, a voice taunts in his head.

Clair rolls her eyes and kneels down in front of him. "She's always protected us, supported us in our dreams and whatever you said she didn't deserve no matter how right you thought it was. It's your fault she's gone."

"Clair!" Karen scolds, stepping between them. "He gets it."

"Does he?" she sneers and stalks away. "Congrats on being Champion, cousin."

Karen watches her disappear into the lobby before turning to sit beside Lance on the floor. "You okay?"

"She nominated me and I shoved her away," he states, the distaste evident on his face. "She made me Champion and I told her she was holding me back. I'm a fool."
"You're worse than that," Karen scoffs. "She kept the secret well, she must really love you."

"Yeah, we're best friends," he lets his head fall back against the wall to stare at the ceiling. "I fucked up."

Karen glances at him, wondering if he understood what she meant by her statement. From his response, she supposes not and wonders how long he's loved Serena and fought against those feelings. It makes sense as to why he'd been less sexually active compared to when she first arrived. His problems with Serena had dissipated for a while only to pick back up recently, and he truly didn't notice?

"Look," she stands up. "You fucked up. But Serena saw something in you that made her think you were the right guy for this position-"

"-she's wrong-"

"-no she's not," Karen brushes over his interruption without a flinch. "You said she was holding you back from growing. Then grow up, Lance. I know you're capable of this job because you love this job and she, clearly, saw that too. You think it's some magical process but it's not. Be the man you've dreamed of becoming, that's what Serena wants for you and, frankly, you didn't deserve her giving you this. But you can become worthy of it."

"Can I?" he glares at her from the floor. "I got mad because she wouldn't let me have some fun before this, I'm 21 years old acting like a kid!"

"But you know that, you understand what you did wrong," she argues. "No one's perfect. You started this job at 19, that's super young for an Elite Four member. No one blames you for your behavior, and now you have a chance to move past it all. Besides, you're still so young."

He covers his face with his hands. "I don't know if I can do it."

"You can, you will," Karen grabs his arms and hoists him up. "I'm going to help you, it's my job as the fourth member. You're going to be a great champion and Serena's going to come back and be amazed at what you did. Then you can apologize, she'll forgive you and I'll be in the wedding."

"What?" he frowns at her.

She laughs it off and pulls him to the main room. "Look, we had our fun, and you've had yours. It's time to work hard now that we've played hard."

Despite feeling like he's been punched in the gut, he has to admit that she's right. He can't let Serena's hard work go to waste and if he was willing to yell at her to give him space to grow, then he better grow. Back in the main room, he avoids the swarms of cameras and reporters to go see his parents. They hug him tight, congratulate him and, pointedly, say nothing about Serena when he asks.

"I messed up," he admits to them and his mother takes his hands.

"Yes, you did," she agrees with a gentle smile. "Just like your father, I told her. And also just like him, you'll fix it."

"How mad are her parents?" he asks them with a pained look on his face.

"Who's parents?" Rowan speaks from behind him.

Lance hunches his shoulders, preparing for a hit, as he turns to face her. His shoulders drop seeing tears on her face, but also a smile as she regards him.

She gathers him in a hug. "We're moderately mad at how you treated her, but she still loves you and so do we."

It takes a moment for Lance to hug her back. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"We know," Rowan pulls away to wipe her tears. "We also know she made the right choice appointing you to Champion."

"I'll do my best," he promises.

"You always have."

With that, the rest of the party ensues smoothly until the leaders and elites leave for the night, whether it's the club in Celadon or home. Lance watches them go, glass of alcohol in hand thinking of how fast everything got messed up in one night. He faces the building in its entirety, amazed his best friend spearheaded the project to bring this to life.

He puts his glass up to the building, thinking of Serena as he downs it in one go and ensures everyone gets home safely. Once the lobby is cleared and the cleaning crew has gone to work, Lance wanders back to his room with his cape on his arm.

His words replay in his head as he opens the door and stares at the spot she stood and told him he was champion. The moment she had been building up to for months and he ruined in minutes, all for some ass from a woman he doesn't even remember the name of. His heart aches to see her again, the way her brows furrowed when she was working on something to the way she brightened a room with a simple smile.

He turns the light on in the bathroom and stares at the mirror, glaring at his reflection before glancing down at his phone and dialing her number.

"Hello! You've reached Serena Lockwood, I'm busy and unable to answer, please leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!"

"Rena... It's Lance..."

So will you walk with me

Why don't you?

I'll walk you home one last time then I'll go

Truth is I don't wanna say it but I have to

I'll be seeing you

I'll be seeing you


Okay, I want to thank everyone reading this story for making it here. I post this mainly for my benefit but I'm so happy others have taken an interest in this story as well. As I said above there will be more stories to come. I have two other OC's and they will have their stories between Serena's. I hope you will stick with me through it all to the end!

In the mean time, I will be taking a short break to get the other plots done, etc... Again, I appreciate the views and reviews left on this story!

Cascadenight