It was a regular day at Pokemon School and Ash was swinging with his chair in class. He watched Pikachu played something with Sophocles' Togedemaru and Lana's Popplio, and drummed his desk with his pen.
They should have gone to the beach today to study the Water type Pokemon, but Alola's weather had decided to start raining just that day. Instead of going to the beach, the class had stayed indoors and Professor Kukui had let them do what they wanted. In Ash's case, it meant boredom.
He let his gaze get around the class and at the same time think about what he would start doing. His gaze wandered in the direction of the teacher's desk, which was empty. Professor Kukui had stated that he had something very important for Principal Oak and left the class with each other. It hadn't bothered them, since they would get along with each other very well.
Ash then shifted his gaze away from the teacher's desk and to his left. On his left, Sophocles put together something new for his invention and was very focused looking. Kiawe instead polished his Z-ring and Ash wondered if he should do the same.
It was then that a burst of laughter sounded from his right and he curiously turned his gaze in that direction. Mallow, Lana, and Lillie had gathered around Lillie's desk and apparently talked about something that made them all giggle.
"What are they talking about?" Ash thought aloud and for some reason, the giggling of the girls reminded him of another girl whose laughter had always sounded nice to him and who he suddenly felt a longing for. I wonder where she is now, he thought and felt for some reason a peculiar, fuzzy feeling in his chest and stomach when he thought of this honey-blond-haired girl.
He had never felt such a feeling before and wondered what it might be. Maybe I'm hungry, he thought, though the feeling didn't felt hunger. Rather, it felt like a flock of Butterfree flew in his stomach. And why does Serena's thinking make me feel that way? he pondered and decided to ask it Professor Kukui later.
"I was thinking the same thing," came next to him and his thoughts were interrupted. He turned and saw Kiawe watching the girls as well. "What?" Ash asked confused, Serena still spun in his mind, and Kiawe clarified, "That's what the girls are talking about right now."
"Oh that," Ash realized and tried to whip Serena away from his mind. Did not work out. "Yeah, I wonder it too"
But they didn't know that Mallow had happened to hear Kiawe's question and now got up with her hands on her hips. "Oh, what are we talking about? Love, of course!" she exclaimed and Kiawe and Ash stared at her.
"I didn't know you are a romantic person," Kiawe said and Mallow raised an eyebrow. "Isn't everyone even a little bit? Even Sophocles," she said, and Sophocles looked up at his invention when he heard his name say.
"What about me?" he asked, but Mallow did not answer him. Instead, she closed her eyes, crossed her arms in her chest, and danced in the middle of the class.
"How does it feel to be deeply in love?" she pondered and others stared at her. "When thoughts are filled only with pictures of the object of love and want to be close to him or her all the time"
She spun around and then continued. "And what about kissing? I've never kissed anyone, I wonder how can that feel..."
"Neither do I," Lana said, interrupting Mallow's monology. "But I've always wondered what it feels like... probably nice..."
"I haven't kissed anyone before either," Lillie said in connection with the conversation. "But I haven't really thought about how it feels"
"Shame," Mallow said, then turned abruptly around, now looking directly at the boys who had listened to the conversation more or less with interest. She grinned and asked, "What about you? Have you ever kissed anyone? Kiawe?"
She stared straight into the boy's eyes and Kiawe exclaimed, "What?! No!" and Mallow measured him with her gaze. "I guessed so," she stated, then turned to Sophocles. "And you're not either"
"Why do you think so, even if you didn't even ask?" Sophocles muttered, but then said, "But no, I'm not."
"I knew you haven't. And Ash isn't either," Mallow said, ending the interrogation, and Ash returned to the reality of his thoughts, which, for some strange reason, had rejoined Serena.
"What about me?" he asked in confusion and Kiawe stated, "Ash, are you okay? You seem somehow absent today"
"I'm okay, I was just in my thoughts," Ash said, rubbing his head and Mallow said, repeating a recent message of the matter: "I just said that you did not seem to be kissed anyone"
"Me? Actually, I am," Ash heard himself saying and regretted immediately that he had opened his mouth.
Complete silence descended on the class. Even the sounds of the Pokemon had been muted. Everyone stared straight at Ash and then everyone shouted in one voice, "WHAT!?"
"YOU'VE kissed someone?!" Mallow exclaimed in great amazement and Kiawe and Sophocles stared at Ash. Ash felt himself slip from the power of their gaze from his chair to the floor. "Where? When? With who?"
"It was definitely only on the cheek," Lillie said, trying to ease the confusion and Ash again found himself saying something that he regretted again a moment later: "In fact, it was on the mouth."
"What! Have you been kissed in the mouth?!" shouted Mallow and stared at Ash so sharply that Ash felt himself shrink to that place. He wished even Pikachu would have been with him in it, but it had disappeared somewhere with the other Pokemon. Traitor, Ash thought and scratched his cheek nervously.
"Unbelievable! Of all people, it's you!" Mallow said, sitting down in her chair and looking at Ash sharply. "Now, you're telling me all about this thing. It was guaranteed to be a girl, wasn't it? But when? And why? And most of all, who was that girl?"
"Um..." Ash began and a picture of Serena running up the escalator towards him appeared in his mind. "It wasn't important at all"
"Yes it is, and now you're telling us who it was, where it happened, and who it was. I'm waiting," Mallow stated and crossed her legs, and folded her arms. Ash tried to come up with some escape from the situation, but came up with nothing and groaned, "Fine."
"It was in Kalos..," he began, but Lillie interrupted curiously, "Have you been in Kalos? Kalos' Pokémon are really fascinating, I have read the many books.."
"Shs, Lillie, don't interrupt, I want to hear this," Mallow hissed and Lillie fell silent and looked a little offended. "Fine," she muttered and sat her hands folded in her chair.
"Uh... Yeah..", Ash tried to put his thoughts together and started again, "So it was in Kalos. At the airport, actually. I and my friends Clemont and Bonnie had come there to take another friend of ours to Hoenn's plane. Well, this friend was then landing at escalator when she suddenly turned, ran up and well.. kissed me"
Saying it, Ash again felt that strange feeling in his chest and he felt his cheeks flush for some reason. It didn't go unnoticed by Mallow, who began to have a hunch about something.
Others listened to quietly Ash story and there was only the rain of water crackling against the roof. "And what was the name of this 'friend'?" asked Mallow, breaking the silence, and Ash replied, "Serena. Her name is Serena."
"What happened then?" asked Lana curiosity and Ash continued his story: "Well.. escalator carried her away, and she exclaimed, cheeks red, "Thank you," Oh, and before she went to the escalator, she said something that I am her goal, and that the next time we meet, she's going to be an even more attractive woman. I'm just wondering what she meant by that.. "
After Ash said that, Mallow, Lana, and Lillie blinked their eyes and then burst out laughing. Ash looked at them very confused and even saw Kiawe and Sophocles grin knowingly.
"Ash, how dense are you?" Mallow asked out of her laughter and Ash replied in confusion, "Dense? I'm not dense. And there's nothing to laugh about this."
"I'm sorry Ash, but you're dense," said Lillie slightly apologetically Ash and Ash stared at her in amazement. "How?" he asked and Lillie was just answering, but Mallow interrupted her.
"Wait a minute, Lillie, I want to find out one thing first," she said and then said, pointing her words to Ash, "Ash, how did you feel when this Serena kissed you?"
"Um..." Ash started and thought. He hadn't really thought about it before, but now that he started thinking about it, he found that he had really liked it. "Nice. It felt nice."
"And how do you feel about thinking about this Serena?" Mallow continued, clearly chasing something that Ash did not seem to realize, however.
Nonetheless, he thought for a moment and then said slowly, "Well, it feels nice too. Thinking Serena makes me a strange feeling, like a swarm of Butterfree, was fluttering in my stomach. Yeah, and I feel such a weird, fuzzy feeling in my chest. Thinking Serena makes me smile for some reason, and a strange heat often rises on my cheeks when I think of her. What bothers me? Am I getting sick? "
Mallow grinned and then said, "I knew it! Listen, Ash, you're not getting sick. You're just in love. To Serena! And I feel like this Serena is in love with you, too."
"Oh," was all Ash got to say and stayed to think about it. Meanwhile, Lana moved next to Mallow, and said quietly, "Well played, psychologist," Mallow smiled smugly.
Serena is in love with me? Ash thought and suddenly, everything started to snap into place. Miette's whispers for Serena, how Serena always blushed near him, and how she had fallen in love with the blue ribbon he had given her. And lastly, that kiss. Ash made up his mind to hack his head at his desk. Why did he have to be so stupid?!
"What am I doing now?" he muttered and heard Mallow answer, "Call her. Or write a letter. Anyway, but probably you want to tell her about this," Ash found himself nodding.
That's when Kukui entered the class, saying, "Sorry I'm late. Principal Oak left again to tell me about the intricacies of Alolan forms and... What's the meeting here? And what's bothering Ash? Is he sick?"
He looked at his class, and Ash, who was lying with his head pressed to his desk. Mallow grinned and said, "Oh yes, he's very sick" (Professor Kukui's look turned very worried) "Namely the lovesick" (The professor's look turned very surprised) "He just heard that the girl who kissed him has a crush of him and it takes time to digest it"
Professor Kukui looked surprised. "Has Ash been kissed? Where? And when? And who is that girl?" he asked curiously and Mallow grinned even wider.
And so Ash got to go through the story again, the rain dropping happily to the roof.