Just wanted to note. There is a lot happening in this chapter in terms of Serena coming to terms with sex with Lance. There will be a sexuality talk and I don't want any of you thinking I'm trying to represent the only way to go about it. This is a mix of my own experience and conversations I've had with people in my life. Serena, at the moment, isn't wrapped up in labels because of everything else that's happening so she won't be exploring anything right now. There will be references to their night together and exploring that if anyone needs a warning.

I hope you all are staying safe out there!


Serena...

The whisper of Lance's voice in her ear jolts her out of sleep. She stares at the ceiling of the pokemon center through the blur of her tears. A sinking feeling fills her chest, almost like she's being pulled underwater. Sitting up, she swipes at her face, her breathing coming out ragged as she tries to shake off the remnants of the dream. Ty cuddles closer, his enormous body nearly pushing her off the bed as he does his best to comfort her.

Lucky for her, he's gone back to being the cuddle-bug he used to be as a Cyndaquil.

"I'm okay," she whispers and buries her face into his fur.

Lance left a few weeks ago to be on Cinnabar Island while Serena stayed and trained in Fuschia City. She's hanging around here to get used to training without Lance and to clear her head. It's been weeks since Celadon, but her mind can't let it go. It's like a curse; reminding her of Lance touching her and whispering her name when she's sleeping. Her scars ache each time she wakes, as if telling her to stop being a baby and get over it.

Glancing at the clock it reads five in the morning.

Great.

With a frustrated sigh, Serena kicks off the covers, giving Ty more room to sleep, and heads to the shower. The rush of hot water on her face soothes her pounding head as she ignores the whisper of fingers running along her spine and to the place between her thighs...

Focus!

She smacks her fist against the wall of the shower and squeezes her eyes shut harder. Just like that, her day is already in shambles. The only thing keeping her from focusing on those thoughts are battles. It's not something she expected to turn to, but it's all she has out here and she's been working so hard.

Wynn has evolved into a dragonair, Sygna a seadra, Thea learned Psybeam and Ty learned Thunderpunch. She remembers all those trainers willing to help him learn the attack, it was a long and grueling process leading her to stay an extra month, but the results are worth it.

You are doing great on your own, she tells herself as she shuts the water off and gets changed. Soon it'll just be a distant memory, the faster time passes by the farther away you'll be from it.

Clair has no idea it happened either. Serena isn't ashamed by it, she just doesn't want her to start something with Lance. The two always butt heads, this would be the tipping point and she's not sure how she would handle it.

Is that selfish?

She's not sure. It sucks not having anyone to talk to about it (there's no way she'd tell her mom or dad). She can manage one lone problem.

Or secret?

She doesn't care... Or does she?

"Enough!" she whispers to herself. "Just focus on your gym challenge today."

Ty groans as she opens the curtain, the sun barely past the horizon through the mountains and forest surrounding Fuschia City, and boots up the computer. She pulls up her email to see one from Clair, her mother and Layla. She falls into the hum of routine, reading through and answering each email with her own stories and news. From there, she looks at the weather and rechecks her schedule to see her gym match is at 9 that morning.

After two months here in Fuschia, Serena feels ready to explore the surrounding area before heading to Saffron City. Now that she's starting on the last half of her badges, after barely five months of being out and about, Serena really wants to take her time. The Championship battles for this year were too early for those starting out in April, given they took place that same month.

The Indigo League, like other leagues, are not like gym battles. These are experts in their types of pokemon and have battled for most of their lives. Once done with the badges, Serena plans on going to Johto to train with other Johto native trainers to prepare for the league championships. Months of prep will go into her team. So much training until they drop, she almost feels excited at the thought of being tucked away in a mountain somewhere training day in and day out.

For now, she'll go the way they came, up Cycling Road and through Celadon. Might take around a week to get all the way there, but it'll be worth it. The gym will be difficult, psychic types are tough and with no pokemon to have the advantage Serena will have to be quick witted to get past the gym leader.

She sits back in her chair, a map of Kanto in front of her.

She has no use to go to Lavender Town, who wants to see a pokemon graveyard next to the radio tower? Not her. She'll skip that part of the region and explore the Seafoam Islands after Saffron. There are supposed to be a variety of pokemon types to work with. It'll be the perfect haven to train in after Cinnabar Island and before the last leader.

During her stay, her mother came by to supervise her training, the punishment she gets for running off on her own. It was the worst time for Serena to watch her mother and Lance get along so well, it would be impossible to tell her mother what happened after watching the two talk and her mother comfort the both of them from the raid. It was an uncomfortable week with her mother breathing down her neck and making sure she was behaving.

Her father also called a lot more often to know where she was, what she planned on doing and how long it would take her to get from place to place. If Serena tried to be vague Aaron informed her that he could assign her personal guards to follow her everywhere. He still calls to this day, so Serena tries to give as much detail as possible and calls him with any delays she may experience. He gave no end date to these check-ins so Serena is hoping to get off with good behavior.

She closes the map, email and the computer with a sigh. "Might as well get some last minute training in, Ty."

"Phooonn!" Ty groans from the bed, flapping his arms in a flare of his usual dramatics.

"Let's go!"

XxXxXxX

September 10th

That battle was tough!(it was a few days ago, I'm a lot less angry now) Koga deserves to be a leader later on in the lineup or even the Elite Four. I got my ass beat so bad I disappeared into the forest for about a week to train again. He was a sweet guy, encouraging me to work harder and complimenting my pokemons' strength, so I couldn't be too angry he ran me into the ground. But still...

I finally went back today and it went much smoother this time. He did manage to do a great number on Sygna, but it was Wynn and Espeon that really pulled the team forward. Ty did the finishing blow to his Crobat, and wow, it was stressful. I was actually sweating from the exertion and effort. My adrenaline was running and... wow. I like that feeling, I felt so in control and powerful. My pokemon and I were in sync and just feeding off of each other's energy, it was amazing. For the duration of the battle I wasn't concerned about anything Lance, Clair, my parents, etc... I was focussed on the battle and trying so hard to win!

Anyways, I'm going to look around here for a day or two and then I'm heading to Saffron (finally) and I swear, if I get lost there's going to be murder.

XxXxXxX

"Be sure to stop by to see Mr. Natsume before your battle with him," Rowan advises as Serena relaxes in the phone booth at the pokemon center in Saffron.

The city reminds her of Celadon, big and bustling. Being the central hub of Kanto, it's much larger in size and mirrors Johto's hub, Goldenrod City. There's so much to do on every street Serena feels as though she needs to stay for a while, take a break from everything that's happening and just relax. Her mother told her about the Natsume's, the family that helped her when she first began to show signs of psychic powers, and suddenly, she needs to see them.

It took about a week of traveling from Fuschia due to weather conditions, training and check in calls with her parents. The dreams are becoming less and less as Serena focusses on her training and pokemon. Slowly she has come to accept his feelings were not mutual and no one is to blame for that.

The pain however? The hole in her chest as she wishes for someone to brush their fingers through her hair, or the feel of lips against her own or her scars or even the safety of being held close to someone's chest hasn't gone away.

She debated on telling her mother, but what would she say? Would she be punished for doing something so reckless again?

"Honey?" her mother peers into the screen a little harder.

Serena pulls herself to the present and offers a half smile. "I'm listening, I'm just thinking of all the things I wanna ask them."

Not a complete lie. She has so many questions, like, why are her powers so subtle and quiet after that outburst? It was supposed to be something dangerous that she was going to struggle through, but there's been fewer hiccups than expected. She wants to know what happened that night, her parents always avoided the question growing up, never really explaining to her what Mr. Natsume said to them. She only got to deal with so much more practice after that.

"I get it," her mother nods, barely convinced. "Let me know what they say."

"I will, they live near the gym, right?" Serena promises and gets a paper to write down their address.

"I'll email Morgan and let her know that you'll be stopping by," her mother beams as they hang up.

Serena lets out a slow breath and glances at the paper with her notes scrawled on it. Morgan, Paxton and their daughter Sabrina live two blocks from the gym in a condo much like she and her parents lived in in Celadon. Serena never kept in contact with them, though, clearly her mother did and quite often. They sort of faded into the background as life went on, she feels some shame not keeping in contact with Sabrina. The girl is a powerful memory in her head.

Her name gets called overhead by Joy, alerting her to head to the counter to collect her pokemon. This pokemon center has to be the largest in all of Kanto with four floors and probably hundreds of rooms. It's more like a hotel than anything. There's multiple Nurse Joy's here and a crazy amount of staff to keep everything running. It's got the city feel with the hanging lights, high tech furniture and immaculate floors.

Trainers fill the large lobby talking amongst themselves and creating a loud buzz of voices and pokemon cries. She squeezes through the crowd on her way over, picks up her pokemon and nearly sprints out the door to try and get clear of the trainers.

Outside it isn't much better with even more people streaming up and down the crowded streets. This many people sets Serena on edge, her scars tingle and her stomach churns, she hitches up her scarf (a strange sight in the city in the summer) and ducks down the street towards the gym. No one bats an eye in her direction as she follows the map in her mind up each street with a careful glance to ensure no vehicles hit her.

She walks for fifteen minutes and finds herself standing in front of a large building, light yellow with a red roof. Serena's head tilts back to see how high it goes, counting 8 floors, each floor dotted with windows and balconies offering beautiful views of the city. One of her less sketchy memories is sitting on the balcony in Celadon watching the sun set past the buildings with her mother. It was their favorite way to spend time together.

The front doors slide open to a small lobby with tile floors leading to the elevators. Serena passes by people getting their mail or meeting up with friends and slips into the elevator. She presses a button for the fifth floor and takes several deep breaths to steady her racing heart.

Once on the correct floor she heads straight to their door and raises her fist to knock. In a classic show of psychic fortune telling, the door swings open and Serena raises a brow at the girl barely younger than her standing in the doorway. She has long dark hair pulled in a single braid down the back of her head. Dressed in a plain red shirt and leggings, the girl looks ready to relax at home for the rest of the night. Piercing light red eyes peer at Serena as though she knows everything that's going to come out of the girls mouth.

"You must be Serena," she finally offers a small, kind smile. Her low voice comes out firm. "I'm Sabrina."

"I remember you," Serena offers her own broad grin and holds out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, officially."

"Likewise."

Sabrina keeps her hand and pulls her into the entryway. She calls for her parents, announcing Serena's entrance in a business-like tone. Pulling off her shoes, Serena places them in the closet to the right of the front door and follows the other girl into a long main room.

It's a bright room with a far wall made entirely of windows overlooking the city. The earth tone walls and furniture are welcoming as she glances around. Abstract paintings decorate the wall as though she's in a museum and the plush carpet soothes her sore feet. The dining room table, which greets them first in the long front room, is made of glass with enough seating for six and already set for four.

Serena's stomach growls as the aroma of food wafts in from the kitchen past the table. The younger girl escorts Serena there where both of Sabrina's parents stand together making food. Paxton looks just like he did all those years ago, murky eyes giving off that all-knowing sense while his brown hair is unkempt probably from his hands running through it often. She immediately relaxes in the house when she remembers how much he helped her out the day her powers decided to get her kicked out of school. Morgan looks a lot like Sabrina with dark hair and light colored eyes, but her mother has the softer version of Sabrina's face. Serena pictures Sabrina looking a lot like her mother when the girl gets older and how beautiful she'll be, but dangerous.

Above everything in the house, the comfy decor and the clear familial love, Serena can sense a strong current of psychic energy. Some coming from each parent and a lot coming from Sabrina. This is a family with strong bloodlines. It's no wonder her parents brought her here first when the clan was out of the question.

"Hello Serena!" Morgan pulls her into a gentle hug. "We are glad you could join us for lunch. You've gotten so much bigger than the last time we saw you, you have your mother's eyes but father's nose."

"Oh, uh, thanks," Serena smiles a little shyly. "Thank you for having me here, and also for your help that day."

"Of course," Paxton greets her next with a handshake. His eyes gleam at her. "How have you been?"

"To be honest, confused," Serena lets out a breath, her shoulders relaxing as she takes in this family of psychics. "I think I need help."

This seems to bring smiles to each of their faces. Paxton promises to hear everything, but they must eat first. Sabrina watches with a twinkle in her eye as Serena moves to pick up plates and silverware rather than use telekinesis. No one makes a comment about it as they gather and dig into the food.

Lunch is a protein packed salad of grilled meats, leafy greens and an assortment of roasted veggies. Homemade lemonade is served for drinks and a pecha berry crumble offered as dessert. Serena has two servings of the crumble as it has been so long since she had homemade anything. Center food has nothing on a meal like this no matter their selection.

"So, has anything else extreme happened since that day?" Paxton questions after finishing his dessert.

"Not really," Serena leans back in her seat. Her gut instinct says to trust these people considering they've been behind the scenes helping her for so long. She's not sure if it's the food, atmosphere, or undercurrent of power that's loosened her tongue, but she knows she's safe here. "I only use my powers for small things. Like, things out of reach, shutting doors or picking up my friends when they were in trouble. I haven't tried anything else."

"I understand the Blackthorn Clan has a history of families with psychic powers?" Paxton tents his fingers over his lips, his thick brows drawn together to focus on Serena.

"Yes, but it's nothing like this," she responds, can she delve into Blackthorn secrets? They're jerks so the answer is yes in her eyes. "Theirs are more to do with dragon types, reading their minds, healing them, even controlling them. Some may have the ability of foresight, like my mom can a little bit, but it's not common."

"I understand, your mother kept in contact with me throughout your childhood and she noted that not much happened after that incident and the second one with your friends," his eyes twinkle at the mention of Lance's birthday. "You are brave for saving your friends and standing up to the rest of the clan."

"I couldn't let them die," Serena mutters, her fists clenching in her lap. "The clan will never accept me unless I do something grand in their eyes... I'm more worried about my powers. They've been quiet for so long, but sometimes my scars hurt."

Paxton frowns and glances at his wife. The two share a conversation, Serena can feel it in the tips of her fingers, a buzzing of energy across the table. Sabrina seems to join in, her eyes focussed on her parents while her body leans forward either subconsciously or consciously. Serena feels awkward not being able to join them and opts to pour herself another glass of lemonade.

"Serena," Paxton finally addresses her after a few moments. "Forgive us for discussing in front of you. We were wondering if you would be comfortable staying with us for a few days so we can help you develop your powers and be comfortable with them?"

It doesn't take much for her to nod. This is an opportunity that may not come later when she needs it. "I would like that very much. I'm here for however long you will have me, if that's okay."

Morgan beams and clasps her hands. "I'll have one of the trainers gather your things at the center and bring it here. You'll stay in Sabrina's room in the top bunk, we can rearrange the living room for your lessons."

Ooh, lessons, Serena beams at the prospect of being a student again. Clair and Lance are going to have a field day for this.

"We can begin right away then," Paxton claps his hands and suddenly the dishes are floating off the table and into the kitchen. His eyes have a ring of blue around them, as do the dishes, and he uses some swift motions of his hands to get the trash out so he can clear plates and stack them neatly in the sink. Serena watches in awe of his control over multiple jobs at once, would she be able to do this?

With practice, yes, and this too, a voice answers in her head.

"Sabrina, ask permission first," Morgan chides her daughter with an apologetic look at Serena. "You're new to this so it's polite to ask first."

"It's okay," Serena waves off Sabrina's apology before the young girl can get it out. "I'm not used to people being so open with what they can do. For the longest time I've been scared to use my powers and be different, but you guys are just living with these powers. I want to experience that as much as I can."

The family glances at each other, small smiles forming on their faces as the dishes settle and Sabrina welcomes her into their home in her head.

September 17th Training Day 1

My mind is going to explode with all the information and use I've put it to today.

First off, there's this cool, underground, group of psychics that talk with each other, research their origins, etc... the Natsume's are apart of and now I am too. It's not like a cult, even though it can kind of sound like it. It's just a way for people that have psychic powers can reach out to others that may be able to help them like I am getting from Sabrina. It's a cool idea and I hope to meet a lot of people that are registered in a book Paxton has in their home.

Day one of training was grueling and now I have a headache and my brain is a bit fuzzy with details. I remember meditating as a way of letting go of thoughts outside of my tasks, no easy feat it took a LONG time to get my head clear of thoughts. Then we started with simple exercises, the classic bend a spoon (i couldn't do it) and open a book page by page ( i made it to page 15 before it got harder to turn the page).

Sabrina has excellent control over her powers, able to do everything I did twice over in the time it took me to not even do it once. She assures me it's because she's been training since she could walk so it looks easier when she does it. I like her, she's like Clair but less competitive. She is focussed more on herself and her own future. She wants to be the gym leader after her father, and create an outreach program for kids with psychic powers ( if i go through with my plan I am definitely helping her). Isn't that amazing?

My scars ached after training, so much so, Sabrina had to put numbing cream on my back. It was so bad, worse than the headache and they have no idea why. I hope it's not like this everyday.

September 20th Training Day 3

Turns out, my scars will hurt after each day of practice, but it can be managed with long breaks between exercises and letting up as soon as I start to feel an ache. To be honest, I feel like Paxton is hiding something from me. Each time my scars hurt he is oddly unaware of anything about them and told me not to look into it until i was ready for something dangerous to happen.

So he definitely knows something, but won't tell me. Mom and Dad probably told him not to say anything and just like I promised I'm not going to try my luck with this. I'm going to have to wait until I'm older or something. It's frustrating but I remember how I felt in the flower shop basement and there's no way I can put myself through something else like that.

Sabrina found out about what Lance and I did. It was awkward and infuriating because I knew I shouldn't have picked that memory to protect. They said to pick something that elicits a lot of emotion and it was the first thing to come to my mind, but because I am still so hurt about it Sabrina had no trouble getting through my defenses and saw almost all of it.

She pulled away as fast as possible and apologized, but I told her I learned my lesson and asked her not to tell my mother. But her mom was there and saw it too. Morgan talked with me telling me it's not my fault that I had feelings and that trainers find sexual freedom when they're on their adventures and it's normal to be experiencing what I am. I broke down and asked if the pain will go away and she apologized saying it's a question for my mom. We agreed that she would tell her and Mom replied that she would be stopping by Saffron before I left so that we had time to think about it.

I feel so embarrassed about it, but they're unbothered by it. They gave me the rest of the day off and Sabrina cheered me up by showing me to the bookstore in town. I bought another journal for when this one runs out, a beach themed notebook and some pens to go along with it. We also stopped at a local bakery for the best pastries I've ever had!

September 22nd Training Day 5

I keep having these weird dreams like I'm alone in a city unfamiliar to me. I'm flying around the streets at night, and no matter how far I go, I come back to the same street. Over and over again. Something about this street makes me cry. I feel like I'm being run over by a car. I hear the sound of tires screeching and then nothing.

There's a bright light and suddenly I feel confined in an invisible wall. I'm calling out for help and I can feel something on the other side of the wall, watching me and waiting. I don't know what it's waiting for, what it is or why it's there. When I wake up I'm in so much pain, Sabrina and Paxton have to help me siphon away the extra energy I'm creating to.. Well, they're not sure what it's trying to do. Paxton finally let me discuss it with him.

He said my powers are reaching for something, I think looking for something. I think it can lead to whatever happened to me. Just as he said before, it's too dangerous for me to look for answers on my own and warned me that he is going to be updating my parents on what happened.

What's happening to me?

September 24th Training Day 7- Last Day!

I can officially bend a spoon, flip through the pages of a DICTIONARY, read minds (though I'm not a fan of that power) and protect my mind. Paxton is amazed that I learned and mastered these skills so quickly and encourages me to not be scared to practice in the future. So far my back is quiet but i'm not going to push it anymore today. I am excited to have these new skills at my disposal, however. I'm not planning on using them for much, especially for things with Lance...

Anyways, my gym battle is tomorrow morning with Paxton and after I'm getting lunch with my mom to discuss what happened with Lance and the Natsume's. I'm grateful for this family and hope that I can do them proud with what I can do and what I will be able to do in the future. I won't let them down!

Walking up to the Saffron Gym Serena feels an air of power wrapping around her, urging her to move forward and take Paxton and his trainers head on. The sun shines on her back as she walks up to the tall building. Windows line the front of the gym, allowing passersby the view of the dirt battlefield inside. Pillars of white marble line the entryway heading towards the entrance where a glass door awaits, sitting open as if waiting for her.

Serena takes a final breath and steps over the threshold and into the cool air of the gym, brimming with psychic energy all around. High ceilings and plenty of sunlight greets her as she spins around to take in the gym around her.

The attendant greets Serena with a polite wave and nods for her to head to her spot on the field. Three trainers await in a line across the field off to the side of the opponent square. The first one introduces themself as Luca and the first battle commences immediately.

Blood pumping and ears roaring with that same blood as she calls out her own pokemon and she dives headlong into the fight. Psychic types prove difficult within the first two minutes of the battle. Their non-physical attacks are nearly impossible to dodge and even harder to counter attack. Teleporting around the field to dodge is amazing when it's a concept but annoying when it's a strategy.

Extreme Speed is the epitome of Serena's strategy against Kadabra and even that proves to hardly help Wynn keep up. Finally, Serena understands that an all-out attack, over the whole field, is more helpful than anything direct. She commands Wynn to flood the field with Thunder Wave, sparks bouncing along the ground, through the air and rain down from the ceiling as Wynn flies above it all trying to ensnare Kadabra.

It works.

The psychic type reappears from teleport into a net of sparks and hits the ground unable to move. Wynn redirects her flight and uses her speed to use Slam, her body coming down hard on the opponent and causing dust to fly up.

One down two to go.

The rest of the trainers' battles go as such, leaving Serena mentally exhausted as Paxton enters the field. He offers her five minutes to heal up her pokemon and prepare for the battle ahead, a standard all gym leaders use when they have trainers before their battles. During the five minutes Serena pumps herself up. Her hands shake as she sprays Potions on her pokemon and offers them all water.

"You look ready," Paxton comments from across the field. His voice echoes throughout the gym. "You have worked so hard on yourself for the past week, I hope you continue to grow and not be shy about what you don't know, or understand. As you've witnessed, psychic types are hardy, which is a trait that rubs off on us trainers." He winks at the end, referencing her Espeon and how much their personalities have rubbed off on one another. "Let us begin."

OoOoO

"Congratulations!" Rowan squeals while spinning her daughter in her crushing grip. "I'm so proud of you!"

Serena laughs, swinging to and fro, as her mother continues to talk about how excited she is about the battle results. "Thanks Mom!"

Within the last five minutes of the battle, Rowan arrived after flying for most of the morning on Flygon. After the battle, Serena accepted the Marsh badge from Paxton before he turned to reveal her mother waiting happily on the edge of the field. Serena let out a happy scream and it led to the situation now.

"You were amazing, sweetie. You've really grown into being a trainer," Rowan pulls away and takes her daughter's hand. "Your father and I are so proud."

"Thanks, Mom," Serena blushes under her mother's loving gaze.

"It's good to see you, Rowan," Paxton greets her mother with a grin. "Your daughter has done extremely well."

"Thank you, Pax," she responds with one of her dazzling smiles. "It's good to see you're doing well. Thank you for helping my daughter with her powers."

"Of course, she is a fast learner," he replies. "There's much for you two to talk about, so I won't keep you any longer."

With that, the two head out of the gym and to a cafe just down the street.

They walk in silence, Serena gathering her thoughts and coming down from her battle high while Rowan gives her the chance to do so. The street is void of some cars near the edge of the city, and the buildings tend to scale down this far out from the inner city.

Pidgey and Spearow flap far above them, their cries pierce the sky with joy, reminding Serena of early mornings in Blackthorn when she and her mother would meditate in the yard.

They come to a small building on the corner of the street. It's modern looking on the outside like the rest of the city and emits a wondrous aroma of coffee, tea and pastries. Written in black blocky letters on a white background is the name 'Saffron Cafe'. Plain and simple.

The two head in, give their orders and opt to sit on the back patio where a small fountain splashes and a live band plays some indie songs. Serena settles into her seat but struggles to dig into her danish and mug of iced tea while Rowan returns and gets right to business.

"So," she states after a quick sip of her hot tea. "What happened between you and Lance, sweetie?"

Serena's blue eyes fall to her shaky hands, all the emotions she's been bottling up and keeping from her mother finally come out. She tells the whole story, how it all began and how it made her feel. Her face burns the whole time, it's kind of embarrassing to get into such details of a sexual encounter with your mother, but Serena is clueless to the whole thing. She's desperate for somewhere to stand, she needs this.

By the end, she feels breathless, her chest heaving with the effort to say everything she wants to hold back. As the story comes to a close, Serena feels a weight lift from her shoulders as she finally meets her mother's understanding eyes. It's surprising to see her mother not as angry as she assumed she would be for her not sharing everything with her.

"Oh, honey," Rowan offers a kind smile. "That's a lot to hold onto."

Feelings of warmth and validation flood Serena and tears well up in her eyes. "It is."

"Listen, I don't care if you're out here sleeping with people. We went over all the ways to be safe and you know how to defend yourself," Rowan reaches over to grasp her daughter's hand. "As simple as you want it to be, having sex for the first time without having any real idea of what it entails is not simple. I never put much pressure on you learning about sexuality or anything like that because you weren't interested in stuff like that. But I see now that I should have because you weren't."

Serena wipes her face with a napkin in her free hand and tilts her head at her mother. "Why?"

"So this wouldn't happen," Rowan responds. "You need the information to have your own agency over your actions. You accepted something based on your emotions, which is okay, but now you're confused as to why your feelings are hurt, and that's not okay. What Lance wanted in that situation and what you wanted was different, and it's not either of your faults."

"Okay?" her daughter looks confused and she chuckles.

"How do you feel about that night?" Rowan releases her hand to grasp her own mug and hold it to her lips.

"I told you already," Serena blushes.

"I know, but think about it."

So she does. Her stomach gets all warm when she thinks about the way Lance looked at her and held her. She felt good and then she didn't, it's simple and she repeats as much to her mother.

"Does it feel bad when you realize he didn't want the same thing? Or when he said he didn't see the act the same as you did?" her mother responds gently.

"I don't even know what I wanted afterwards, I've never really given dating a thought?" Serena admits. "I mean, Mom, I haven't had a crush on anyone, ever!"

"That's okay," her mother nods in response. "Not everyone has to have a crush. You had Clair and Lance to be happy with."

"But isn't it different?"

"So what if it is?" Serena pauses to consider this. Giving Rowan time to continue on with her meaning. "Romance isn't all there is to life, honey. Do your father and I want to see you happy? Yes, but that can be on your own or with someone. We don't care, we never pushed anything on you but were open when you asked questions, which you didn't do much of." She laughs at Serena's groan. "I'm sorry, that's on us for not coming forward."

"But I felt something for Lance, I wanted to do those things with him," Serena continues on. "But when I think about it with anyone else, I don't feel the same."

"You definitely have feelings for him," Rowan confirms and Serena starts like she'd been slapped. "Honey, it's okay."

"No, it's not. He's my best friend-"

"Which is where relationships should stem from, or at least have as a base," her mother interrupts. "I'm not saying every friendship needs to turn into a romantic relationship, but a romantic relationship should stem from a friendship. Why do you think your father and I have gotten as far as we have?"

"Because he's so weird, who else would want him?" Serena manages to joke using the words her mother did long ago on their anniversary.

"Well yes, that, but also because we were friends for years before we started dating," her mother laughs.

"I don't want to date, Lance," Serena shakes her head, but she can't hide her smile when she thinks of them holding hands. Grow up!

"Then don't date him," her mother shrugs. "You can't keep denying how you feel, though. That's why you feel like this. You aren't letting yourself feel those emotions, let them run their course and then they'll fade away. Maybe not completely, but it won't hurt as much to think about it."

"Was I wrong to... uh, do 'it' with him?" Serena can't bring herself to say the word, her face flushes again and she looks away.

"No, you followed your feelings," Rowan shakes her head. "You just weren't prepared for the outcome."

Serena slumps in her chair, deflated by the conversation and the course it has taken. "You're not mad at him are you?"

"For breaking your heart? Yes," her mother states flatly. "But for giving in to his own emotions? Not really. His parents raised him the same way Aaron and I raised you, to be open with anything and he's directing his energy that way."

"Can I still be friends with him?"

"I don't know, can you?"

Serena considers it. Her mother is right, she wasn't prepared for Lance's rejection the day after or how easily he was able to put it behind him like she was another notch on his belt. It is entirely understandable they had two different experiences that night and while she can be mad that it happened and ended the way it did, she can't be mad at Lance. All of the good he's done can stand against this one time.

"I think I can," she finally lets out a sigh. "It sucks, but he's so important to me. I can't let one mistake pull us apart."

"Are you going to talk with him?" Rowan raises a brow.

"No, my problem was more with me," Serena answers tentatively.

"You should still talk to him," her mother's brow furrows. "I'm sure he'd want to know how hurt you were."

"It's in the past," Serena responds in a hard tone. "Please."

Rowan sighs, but she doesn't press further. As Serena grows older, she needs to start making her own choices no matter what her mother wants. "Okay. Now onto your training."

Serena describes the exercises she was asked to perform along with how her scars felt after each training session and then the dreams. Her mother's frown deepens and she leans forward as if it will help her gain a better understanding of what's happening. To recall the dreams is to recall how they made her feel, Serena pulls the scarf around her neck tighter to fight off the chill running down her spine.

"That's... strange," her mother comments when her daughter is finished. Mugs and plates set aside, the two now face the stage where a lone guitarist is plucking chords to create a chill atmosphere. "Are they the same dreams each night?"

"There's sometimes a difference between them but not much," she responds with a glance towards the sky. It's around midday but with her chills, she feels as though it's evening. There's still so much for her to do today. "I don't want to look into it yet."

"Good," her mother sighs. At Serena's questioning glance, her mother smiles. "You know that I have a pretty good foresight. When I try and look towards what you're going to find, it's dark and cold."

"Dark and cold?" Serena stares at her mother with wide eyes.

Rowan almost never speaks about her precognition in the house, she prefers to live in the moment with her family. Since their return to the Clan, the Elders have asked her to share what premonitions she gets that has to do with Clan business. Working her powers takes an immense amount of energy out of her mother and so she refrains from doing so at home.

To find out her mother has been seeing into her possible futures is a strange feeling for Serena. Is her mother proud of the possible choices she could make? Is she already trying to steer her clear of some of them?

"I am not steering you in any direction," her mother wags a finger at her daughter. "You know me better than that. I just wanted to see if I could figure out whatever is going on with you by taking a peek."

"When does it turn dark and cold?"

"I'm not telling you," Rowan shakes her head. "It doesn't mean you're dead, but it means that there is more to it than we know about."

Knowing that's as far as she will get on the topic Serena accepts her mother's words and leans back against her chair again. The two take a few moments to settle down and process the information shared between them. It goes without saying that Aaron will not be hearing about what happened under his nose (a fact Rowan absolutely enjoys holding over her husband until Serena is older) but he will hear about the dreams.

"Let's get your pokemon checked out," Rowan waves her hand for a cab and ushers her daughter inside. She instructs the driver to take them to the pokemon center before turning to her daughter. "I have Salamence with me to take you to Cinnabar Island, my pokemon is much too small for a trip of two."

Serena's shoulders sag with relief at not traveling all the way back the way she came again to get to Cinnabar. "You're the best."

OoOoOoO

A two week travel time cuts down to nearly five hours of flight from Saffron to Cinnabar Island on her father's Salamence. Wind whips past them as they descend out of the evening sky towards land, Serena's stomach doing a couple flips in the process. The island is small but full of life, with a forest surrounding the base of the dormant volcano towards the eastern end of the island. The town sits nestled to the south with some buildings to mark its edge right outside the sprawling forest.

Aside from the gym, there's not much else to do aside from tour a lab there, look at a haunted mansion and go to the beach. The mayor and gym leader of the town here decided not to build a resort to preserve the ecosystem on the island, so it remains a small town.

"Good luck, my love," Rowan hugs her daughter. "It was good to see you in person and know you're okay."

"Thanks, Mom," Serena squeezes her mother tight. "I really needed to see you too."

"Don't be afraid to ask me to come out and meet you somewhere, my students can wait!" Rowan holds up a finger in a mock scolding. "Be careful when you cross the sea to get back to the mainland, okay?"

"Will do, hopefully Wynn will be a Dragonite by that time," her eyes sparkle at the thought. "We can practice flying then!"

"Ooh, she'll be a quick one," her mother muses thoughtfully before climbing on Salamence. "I love you!"

"I love you too!" Serena calls as Salamence takes to the skies in a powerful lift off.

Serena watches as her mother turns into a tiny speck. It'll be a long flight home, but with her mother's skill and being the only passenger, Salamence will be able to go much faster. Serena stretches her body out, getting out the soreness of sitting tensed on a dragon type for a long time. She turns on her heel and walks down the dirt path towards town.

There's one port in all of Cinnabar with boats giving daily rides to Vermillion or Pallet Town at specific times of the day. In the town are some nice shopping and food stalls, some local produce, craft and hardware shops. According to her mother, Cinnabar has a fluctuating population during the year, not many people live on the island for long as some return to the mainland to be 'more connected' with the world.

The Pokemon Center is easy to spot amongst the small shops and it is impressive with its size: two stories and a hot spring in back. Serena checks in with Nurse Joy, sends out the usual emails and awaits a certain someone that is close by to show up. Now that she's getting more intuned with her mind, it's easier for her to pick and choose what information she can control receiving and what she can ignore.

No matter what conclusions she was able to draw with her mother, Serena cannot ignore the nudge in her mind telling her Lance is nearby. Deep down she missed his presence after their long break and even more so after speaking with her mother in Saffron earlier. How could they not be best friends? She can't imagine doing the rest of her journey, or even her life, without Lance somewhere in it.

"Rena!" Lance's voice catches her attention.

Turning towards the door, Serena waves at him as he saunters up to the counter. "Hey, what's up?"

He wraps her up in a hug, leaning back to lift her off the ground, then setting her down with a beaming smile. "I've been waiting so long for you to catch up!"

"Why?" she frowns. His skin is dark from being out in the sun and there are streaks of blond in his normally carmine colored hair. "Enjoying your vacation?"

"Actually, yes," he wiggles his brows. "I beat the gym and wanted to head back with you to the mainland."

"Oh, I want to have a vacation too," she muses at the thought. "I do need some sun."

"Then take one, there's no rush on the gym battle," he shrugs. "Besides there's a lot of fun to be had."

"I'm not talking about sex," she states in a serious tone.

He pauses at that before nodding. "It's not your thing, I wouldn't push it on you, Rena. You okay?"

Feeling guilty she apologizes. "I'm sorry, I just have been traveling a lot. Mom just dropped me off here."

"Your mom was here?" he glances around the center as if to find her. "Did you say hi for me?"

"Of course," she smiles at him. "She says hello and is proud of you too."

He beams at the recognition jerking a thumb at the front counter. "Did you get a room key?"

"Is it okay if I stay in your room again?" she wonders, suddenly wondering if he was lying and nothing was going to be the same.

Will anything happen again?

No, I won't allow it to, she reassures herself.

"Of course," he smiles before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Glad you're here."

"Yeah," she wraps a tentative arm around his midsection as they march toward his room. "Me too."