Welcome back! I don't really have a lot to say this time. The website says this story has a little over 8100 words in it, but that can't be true. It had 7700, and then I saved it and added like one sentence, and then it jumped up to 8100 words. Not sure how that works, but that's okay. Haven't done a one-shot in a while. I also own nothing here, like Pokemon or the characters. I'd be very rich if I did. Anyway, let's head on!

She had a captivating smile. It often started slowly, with her lips turning upward at a gradual pace. Then as it got wider, it spread to her cheeks and eyes, and the whole area around her seemed to brighten up. Finally, as she grinned at me, a light blush on her cheeks after I accidentally complimented her again, I was able to lose myself in her wonderful eyes, the only thing with enough power to drag me away from looking at her smile.

At least, that's how it felt when I looked at her.

Because after traveling with her for months, I had learned many things. In addition to basic things like learning how to be a better trainer and how to access the secrets of the "bond phenomenon", I also learned a lot about the "domestic" part of life. Stuff I had never paid attention to before. It was a whole new world for me. A whole aspect of life I had never thought of taking part in.

She taught me how to never give up, despite her saying that she learned it from me first. She taught me how to not get sick when training in water (learned that one the hard way). She also taught me how to get in touch with my emotions. She showed me that I could feel nervous about something other than battling. She taught me the value of something as simple as a hug or holding of a hand. She taught me how to be thoughtful and not to be so brash and headstrong all the time.

The truth is, I learned a lot from her. And I like to think I taught her a lot as well. And sometimes, at the end of the day, as she would bid me to have a good night as we were entering our tents, she would offer me that captivating smile of hers. And I would reply with a grin of my own. As I was walking into my tent, I couldn't help but smile to myself like an idiot. I wouldn't ever talk about it with anyone; not even Pikachu, but her smile was special to me. I think Pikachu could tell though. He often saw me get nervous whenever I would slip up and embarrass myself, or saw my stupid grin whenever I spent more time than usual talking to her.

But when I saw her smile, somehow, I just knew that everything would turn out alright. No matter what. Everything would be okay.

And it was.

We met in Santalune City.

Although I didn't know it at the time, we had met before. Years before, back in Professor Oak's camp in Kanto.

I hadn't been in Kalos very long and was very impressed by everything I had seen so far. After meeting Clemont and Bonnie and somehow surviving the whole fiasco with Garchomp and Prism Tower, I was ready for adventure. I caught a Froakie and a Fletchling, and was ready for my first Kalos gym battle. Alexa's sister, Viola, was leader of a bug-type gym in Santalune City, and I promptly got my butt handed to me by her. Her Surskit was very difficult to beat, and proved to be too much for my new team.

In my defeat, I hadn't noticed that I had left my backpack back at the gym. I was…distraught…to say the least. After a string of failures in Unova, I came to Kalos to try my hand at a league again, and I lost terribly in the first gym battle. I trained to counter Viola's battling style, but was nearly overcome again. Truthfully, I was about to give up.

That is, until she came up to me.

She, in her own timid way, reminded me of something I had apparently told her years before, when we were children. She reminded me to never give up, no matter what. And it was that wave of inspiration that got me going again. Back to my regular self. I rose back up, inspired, and went on to defeat Viola. Kalos was going to be different. I was sure of it. I had a real chance at victory this time.

And although I didn't recognize her at the time, when she smiled down at me as she handed me that special handkerchief, I somehow knew everything was going to be okay.

And it was.

I met her again in the Mirror World

That whole day was one giant blur for me. One second, I'm walking in a cave, and then all of a sudden, I'm in a totally different world. Someone who looked just like me stole Pikachu, and I chased after him. In my chase, I encountered Serena. Or at least, someone who looked just like her. She was rude, and called me a crybaby. It was the only time in my life where Serena made me feel uncomfortable. Thankfully, she wasn't "my" Serena. Turns out, by going to chase after Pikachu in the cave, I somehow entered a different world. A mirrored world, where I was weak-willed, Serena was rude, Bonnie was elegant and refined, and Clemont was athletic and magical. It took some time to get used to it, but I figured out quickly that I preferred my world to theirs.

By some miracle, I managed to escape the world in time. I had to get home before the sunset, or I would be trapped in that world forever. With seconds to spare, I got back to the cave and saw my friends slowly drifting away in some portal. I wasn't willing to stay in the mirror world forever, and one look at Serena's worried face across the cosmic chasm convinced me of that.

So, I jumped.

I almost didn't make it. I lost my footing as I reached the portal to my world, but she reached out and grabbed my hand. I hate to think of what would have happened to me if she hadn't done that. But I didn't have to worry about it at all. I had made it. Mirror Serena told mine to "take care of me", but I didn't know what that meant. Then, as we were leaving the cave, and I attempted to leave the experience behind with it, she asked me a question I hadn't expected.

"Hey Ash, we're going to continue on our journey together too, right?"

I didn't even have to think about my answer.

"Of course we are! Wouldn't want it any other way!"

And she smiled. My Serena smiled, in a way that the mirror version of her never could. And after such an eventful and odd day, I knew everything from then on was going to be okay.

And it was.

Something stirred in me after the adventure through the mirror world.

I didn't quite understand it at first. Up until then, I had always treated Serena a little differently than friends in my past. I always looked out for her first. I helped her over rocks and stones and fallen tree trunks, and somehow always ended up walking next to her instead of Clemont or Bonnie. I don't know how that always ended up happening, or if it was me doing it or her, but I never minded it. I preferred it, actually. And I didn't know why. I gave up training a few times to help her with Pokevision videos or simply to talk. I talked with her much more than I ever had a female companion in the past.

But after the mirror fiasco, I began feeling something in my chest whenever I looked at her. My heartrate increased and I felt a little shaky sometimes whenever I was close to her. I thought I was getting sick, so I asked Clemont about it. He told me that I perhaps had a cold, and that it would pass with time.

It didn't.

Something about being trapped in the mirror world, away from my family, friends, Pokémon, and her made me realize that I didn't really want to lose any of what I had. Especially her.

But what did that mean?

I couldn't figure it out for the life of me, and I stayed up late over the course of many nights trying to sort out the odd feelings in my head. The heat on my face whenever she would laugh at something I would say. The immense happiness I felt whenever she would praise my battling skills. The nervousness when my hand would brush against hers while we were walking together. She would always jump away first, but only because she was faster than me. I would always recoil away too and apologize at the same time as her.

Then we ended up alone in Coumarine City. Just the two of us. I was very nervous throughout the entire thing, but I tried my best to hide it. I covered up my nervousness with my usual antics, so I think I did a decent job at hiding it. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore, and I went off on my own to try and compose myself.

Something about her made me feel really nervous, and I couldn't figure it out.

We reunited, and were in a train at the end of the day, the orange sunset flowing over beautiful Coumarine City. I had spent the entire day either being nervous, or failing to find a present for my Pokémon, or both. But once again, in a way that I found only she could, she said the perfect things to inspire me. She smiled, and I knew immediately what I had to do.

I ended up getting my Pokémon presents they all loved, and as a thanks to Serena for being herself and for her inspiring words, I gave her the ribbon I had received earlier in the day. She was surprised, but happily accepted it. I'll never forget the obvious blush on her face, and the heat on my own, as I gave her that ribbon.

I talked about it with Pikachu later in the day when I could pull him away, and he told me what I had been feeling.

I had a crush on Serena.

And with that revelation, everything seemed to change. I noticed things about myself in the past that I never knew about before. Truthfully, I didn't really know what to do, and I would never admit it to anyone, but I suddenly became scared of screwing things up with Serena. I didn't want her to leave me because I had a crush on her.

So I told Pikachu that I wouldn't do anything about it, and would just go where the wind took me. I went to bed that night in the Pokémon Center of Coumarine City. As I was walking to my room, I saw Serena showing the ribbon I had given her to Bonnie in the common area. She looked ecstatic. She glanced up at me and grinned. Eyes, lips, cheeks, and even a small blush to add to it.

I smiled back, feeling the familiar nervousness setting in.

But as she smiled with me, the nervousness was accompanied by another, now familiar feeling. The feeling that no matter what, everything would be okay.

And it was.

She wanted to be a performer.

And I supported her 100%.

Her showcase debut was in Coumarine City, and she worked very hard training for it. Prior to this new dream of hers, I had never seen her work so hard on anything. I was proud of her and what she was reaching for, and I made sure to let her know that whenever I could.

With the revelation that I had a crush on the girl, I had to figure out what I was going to do. The fear of screwing up and driving her away was there, but I also had a great desire to be around her at the same time. Having a crush was something that was totally new to me. I had never experienced it before, and I didn't really know how to act or what to do. So, I tried to act as normally as possible. We both trained for our respective goals, and I had succeeded in my step of beating Ramos and getting another badge. Hers was next, and she was ready to try her hand at performing.

She looked amazing in her dress.

I wanted to tell her that, but didn't know how. So, I settled for not commenting on it. I was certain she was going to succeed in her first performance. She just had to. She had trained so hard, and looked more ready than ever. Unfortunately, though, Fennekin had a costume malfunction. Apparently, Serena had failed to account for Fennekin's small stature when cutting the size of her Pokémon's costume, and she tripped on it. Fennekin fell, and Serena was out in the first round. My heart went out to her 100%, and even though our other friend, Shauna, won the showcase, I still believed Serena would have won by a landslide had she been given the chance.

For the rest of the day, Serena didn't smile very much. Well, she did, but they were all fake smiles. I could see right through them. She wasn't taking her loss very well, and I wanted to talk to her about it, but I didn't know how. Give her the same inspiration that she had given me back in Santalune City. I didn't see her for a while, but when I did, she looked completely different. She had changed up her clothes, switched out her hat, and even cut her hair. The best part? The ribbon I had given her was adorned on the front of her dress. Right next to her heart.

I loved it.

I even worked up the nerve to agree with her when she said her outfit was cute. I was proud of myself for that.

Just like the Serena I had come to know over the past several weeks, she continued to be an inspiration. She failed, but bounced right back, more ready than ever to pursue her dream of becoming a performer. And with her new look, we ran off to our next destination, eagerness in all of our hearts.

She was leading our little pack for once, and looked back at me as she ran. She saw me staring at her, and a light blush came onto her cheeks. She winked, and grinned at me. I smiled back. Even though she had lost, I knew everything was going to be okay in the end.

And it was.

It started slowly.

Coumarine City was a place of many revelations for me. With me at a loss for what to do about having a crush, I tried to be there for her in every way I knew how. Unfortunately for me, I didn't know how to do much.

As our journey continued, we grew closer. My nervous smiles in the beginning grew into more confident ones. She grew into herself and seemed to act more confident as well. I began to go out of my way to make her laugh or smile, and Bonnie would often pull me aside and make fun of me for "flirting" with Serena. I didn't know what that word meant, and thought it was a bad thing judging by how Bonnie was acting.

"I see you flirting with Serena all the time now, Ash…Got something you want to tell her?" Bonnie whispered, leaning in close to me from behind a tree.

"Flirting? What do you mean? Tell her what?"

Bonnie laughed to herself. "Don't play dumb with me, Ash. I see how you've been treating her lately."

"Why are you whispering? Am I doing something wrong?" I asked, nervously looking around to make sure nobody was listening in on us.

"Only if you don't mean it! You could hurt someone if you do that! Now when are you going to make a move on her?"

"I-I don't really know what you mean, but I don't want to hurt Serena!" I said, and then scurried away.

I awkwardly asked Serena about it later in the day. She didn't really want to tell me what it meant. She got all red in the face and muttered things about how she was going to have to have a talk with Bonnie about saying things like that, and reassured me that I wasn't hurting her. I ended up asking Clemont, which was my last resort, and he gave me the dictionary definition of what the word meant.

"Oh, flirting? Well, if I recall correctly, it means "to behave amorously without serious intent". Why do you ask?"

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "Oh, no reason. Thanks Clemont!"

I didn't really know what intentions I could possibly have had by acting that way towards Serena, so I attempted to push it out of my mind. Serena had already told me I wasn't hurting her, so what was the harm? I continued trying to make her happy as often as I could, and in doing so, it made me happy. If that was what flirting was, then I didn't know how anyone could dislike it!

And as time went on, I noticed that the more I "flirted" with Serena, the more confident around me she became! She seemed to get closer to me all the time for some reason, which I didn't argue with, and she asked me what I thought of her less. She still got red in the face sometimes, but I always liked it when that happened, so I never said anything about it. I didn't realize that I got red in the face too sometimes until Bonnie pointed it out. Serena had given me a quick hug after I praised her new performance routine, and I felt my face heat up again.

"Look, Ash is blushing, Serena!" Bonnie yelled from my right out of nowhere.

"What?" I asked, rubbing my hands across my face. "Is that what that is!?"

Suddenly, I realized that Serena's face was all red too when Bonnie said that, and it clicked for me.

I was blushing.

She was too.

I blushed when she did things that made me feel special.

She blushed when I went out of my way to make her feel special.

I had a crush on her.

Did that mean…she had a crush on me?

If so, what did that mean?

I had many, many, many questions, but almost no answers. Luckily, Clemont silenced Bonnie, and Serena seemed to regain her composure quicker than I did. She started laughing, and the sound was heavenly. Soon, I couldn't help myself, and I started laughing too. We laughed together, and I glanced over at her after several seconds nervously, and she was grinning at me, her hand over her ribbon.

Even though Bonnie teased me regularly about things I didn't understand, Serena still smiled at me. And that smile meant something that I was beginning to see as absolute truth.

No matter what, everything would be okay.

And it was.

Miette told me I was in love.

She was a very confusing person in pretty much every situation I encountered her in. She seemed to go out of her way to get under Serena's skin, but I still thought of her as a friend. Serena was invited to a dance party by Pierre, the guy always talking at showcases, and she had to bring a date. Pikachu had told me in the past that a date was when two people who liked each other went out and did fun things, like eat food, play games, and talk. Needless to say, I was all over wanting to do those things with Serena. But, unfortunately for me, Eevee was only comfortable around Clemont's Bunnelby. That meant that Clemont would have to be her date. I was saddened by this at first, but didn't want it to show, so I told Clemont that he would have a blast. If Serena had fun, then I would have fun too. Even if I wasn't her date.

Serena seemed a little sad by this, but I understood why she was doing it. She wanted her Eevee to have a good time, and I respected her for that. Afterall, she cared about her Pokémon's happiness a lot, often times more than her own happiness, and that was something I admired her for. She was always so caring.

Miette turned up out of nowhere, like she usually did, and asked me to be her date. Eating food, playing games, and talking with Miette wouldn't be even as close to as much fun as it would be with Serena, but I accepted anyway. I knew I would have to dance too, and thinking about being close to Serena and dancing made me nervous. Doing it with Miette didn't make me feel nervous, so I figured that wouldn't be a bad thing.

When I saw Serena in her dress, I was floored.

It had happened before, with the Fennekin costume months earlier, and the Florges costume at the Gourgeist festival. And then every time she performed too. But this time in particular, she looked even better in her red formal dress. I hated my fancy clothes, but I had to wear them in order to be Miette's date.

The night was okay. I kept glancing over at Serena whenever I could, checking to make sure she was having fun. I knew that a fancy dance event was her kind of thing, so I wanted to see if she was enjoying it. She looked like she was having fun, but not as much fun as I thought she would. Finally, the time came when we had to dance with our dates, so I had to dance with Miette. I was terrible, and I hated to think of how much worse I would have been if I had to dance with Serena, even though I secretly wanted to.

Miette saw how often I was glancing over at Serena, and leaned in close to whisper in my ear as we were stumbling over each other. "How long have you liked her?"

"What?" I asked, momentarily shocked. "What do you mean?"

Miette rolled her eyes. "I know you're not that dumb, Ash. I can see it in your eyes every time you look at her. You like her. Admit it."

I sighed, accepting defeat. I had been caught. I had never admitted my crush to anyone except for Pikachu before because I was worried about what they might have thought. But, Miette didn't travel with us, so perhaps she was safe to talk to? "I do…" I said quietly, feeling my face get a little warmer.

She squealed then, making me jump. She squeezed my arms before we did a terribly executed twirl. "I knew it! I've been trying to get her to confess to you for months, but she could never work up the nerve!"

Wait…

"Confess to me? You mean…"

"Yes, you dolt!" She glanced around to see where Serena was. Luckily, it seemed, she was far away, dancing over with Clemont. I looked over at them longingly until Miette brought my attention back to her. "Serena likes you too." She said quietly. "She has for a long time. I've told her a hundred times to confess to you about how much she likes you, but she won't do it. That means that you have to do it!"

"I have to do it?" I repeated, suddenly feeling very nervous. "But why I do have to say anything? Why do we have to confess? Can't we just have our crushes on each other and go out on dates?"

Miette's eye twitched momentarily. "Y-yes, Ash. That's called dating. It's what happens when two people like each other, and then they tell each other. Then, if they date for long enough, they fall in love, and get married."

"Is that how that works!?" I asked a little too loudly. A few couples looked over at us.

"Yes!" Miette replied, sounding a little agitated. "How else did you think people got married!?"

"I'm…not sure. I figured it just kinda happened, I guess. Never really thought about it before."

"Oh Arceus. Serena, you have a lot to teach this boy…" Miette said, looking to the side. "Look, tell me how you feel about her."

"How I feel about her? Like, describe her?"

"Yes, Ash. Describe her."

I looked over at where the girl in question was standing. She was dancing with Clemont, and they looked to be doing only slightly better than Miette and I were. Only because Clemont wasn't messing up as often as I was though. They talked, and Serena would laugh every once in a while. Seeing her laugh made me smile.

"I guess…" I began, attempting to pull out everything I had thought about during those long nights probing my emotions. "She makes me happy in a way that nobody else does. Like, when I look at her, I feel all warm inside. I actually thought I was sick when I first started feeling that way! She inspires me every single day to be better, and I really like how she cares about people and Pokémon so much. Ooh! I also really like how she looks in anything she wears, and…"I paused. "I think I'd do anything to make her happy…"

Miette smirked and winked at me. It made me slightly uncomfortable, knowing how she acted around Serena and all. "Wow. Never knew you had such a romantic side to you. Sounds like you're in love."

"In love? Is that when you tell someone you love them?"

Miette shook her head. "Yes, Ash. I'm not going to explain how love works to you. You should be able to figure that out. You just have to tell Serena that you love her and go from there."

"Well, when do I do that?"

"Preferably sooner rather than later. You'll know when you're supposed say it."

"I will?"

"Yes, Ash." She winced as I stepped on her toe again. Thankfully the music seemed to be winding down. ""You'll know when the time is right to tell her that you love her."

I smiled down at her just as the music ended. "Thanks Miette. I won't let her down."

I separated from Miette and looked over at Serena just as she did the same to me. We locked eyes, and I waved. She shyly waved back, smiling at me. I had just found out from Miette that I was in love, and the thought scared me a little. I had never felt that way about someone before, and was more than clueless. It seemed so much more complicated than having a crush on someone. Perhaps I should ask my mom for advice?

Never mind. That was probably a bad idea.

But as we looked at each other from across the dance floor, my fear of the unknown world of "love" disappeared as soon as I saw her smiling at me. I didn't know what to do about my "love", but if it was with her, I was willing to learn.

Everything was going to be okay, no matter what.

And it was.

We grew closer.

After the dance and finding out that I was "in love", as Miette put it, I decided that I should try and spend as much time around Serena as I could. I had no reason to doubt what Miette had said about Serena liking me too. My problem was that I didn't know what to do about it. How does one "date"? When does one say "I love you"? What happens after that? I felt like I was starting out as a trainer back in Kanto again. My solution, like I said, was to spend time around her. It made me happy. It seemed to make her happy. Everybody won.

I timed my training around her performance practice so that I could watch and give her praise, pointers, or ideas. She seemed very receptive to my increased presence, and I could tell that it made her happy. Mission successful. We often walked and talked together during our break times of the day, and she even started waking up at the same time that I did so that she could join my morning runs! I liked that. Many nights during the week, we stayed up late talking and laughing together. Clemont would take Bonnie to go to sleep, leaving us to our conversations. One night, we sat next to each other by the fire, and she laid her head on my shoulder as we looked up at the stars. I never wanted her to move.

As we grew closer, I began to notice differences in her and in myself. While everyone would agree with me if I said I was an "act first, think later" kind of person, I had noticed that I was a little less willing to jump off of buildings thanks to Serena. Whenever I was about to do something dangerous, I would think "Would Serena like it if I got hurt?" and that forced me to try to find a different solution. Sometimes there wasn't a different solution that didn't involve death-defying stunts, but at least the thought crossed my mind.

Serena, on the other hand, was nearly a totally different person. Gone was the timid and shy girl who could barely talk to me back at the beginning of our journey through Kalos. Now Serena was bristling with confidence, and was someone I could rely upon to do anything. She had grown into a beautiful, strong, and confident girl, and I was proud to have been a part of her change. Of course, she credited me for her change, but I didn't think I had nearly as much of a role as she says that I did.

Every day I strove to see her smile. Every day I strove to be as close to her as I could be. But the time never felt "right" to tell her that I loved her. Miette told me I would know when the time was right, but I didn't know when that time was supposed to be. The days passed as quickly as they came, and I was attempting to get my last badge from Wulfric in Snowbelle City.

It was the only time that I ever doubted the power of her smile.

I had lost. I was utterly beaten, and had failed Greninja, myself, my friends, and my Pokémon. In my shame, I fled and went to be alone in the nearby woods. Serena, being the caring person that she was, came after me. She tried to make me feel better, but it didn't work. Usually it did, but this time, things felt different.

She smiled, but I rejected that feeling of warmth it usually gave me. I snapped at her, she yelled back, and she ran away. Not before reminding me of how different I was acting though. I had made her cry, and I felt even worse.

She was right, too. I was acting like how I was back in Santalune City, all those months ago, except much worse. What if I had rejected her optimism and inspiration back then? What would I have done? Would she still have traveled with me? Probably not. All the happiness that I learned to feel simply from being around her would not have happened.

So, I strove to change. I wouldn't give up. I couldn't give up. So, I didn't. After a short-lived fiasco of a storm, I met up with Greninja and made amends with him out in the woods. Then, when the storm was over, I met up with Bonnie, Clemont, and Serena again. I was nervous as to what would happen when we saw each other again, but that disappeared as soon as I saw her lips curl up into a smile once I apologized to her and everyone else.

I beat Wulfric and went on to the Kalos League. And it was all thanks to her.

Her smile was enough. Once again, like the laws of the universe, her smile told me that everything, no matter what, would be okay.

And it was.

Lysandre.

He and Team Flare were on a quest to change the world for the "better", as they put it. Humans were corrupt and greedy, and only sought to destroy and take advantage of everything on Earth. Lysandre had failed to see the good parts of humanity though. How humans could be willing to sacrifice everything for the greater good, and how they formed amazing bonds with Pokémon and achieved things that nobody had thought possible before. I disagreed with the very basics of his ideology, and made it known in my attempts to stop him. He was on the run too. Slowly, we were defeating him. We had already defeated his Pokémon, which even included his Mega-Gyarados.

Then he took control of a Megalith crystal. I didn't really understand how it all worked. All I knew was that there was a man hellbent on the destruction of everything that I held dear, and that he needed to be stopped. Through my bonds with my Pokémon, and the help of everyone I had gotten to know since arriving in Kalos, Lysandre would be stopped.

That didn't mean the Megalith Zygarde wasn't powerful though. Because it was. And I experienced that firsthand. Lysandre seemed to be getting desperate, realizing that we had cornered him. He took command of the Megalith Zygarde, and shot a terrifying blast of power at our group. Luckily, Valerie had her Spritzee summon a Light Shield, and we were saved from the majority of the blast.

We were not so lucky when the next one came. Another blast headed our direction, and it hit the ground right next to our group. We were blown all over the place by the force of the blast, and we were lucky that nobody was injured. A little dazed, but not injured. Squishy and the other Zygarde seemed to see our plight, and jumped away from Bonnie. They started glowing, but I did not see what was happening.

I was looking at Lysandre, murderous intent clear in his eyes, as he charged up another ray. I knew he would not miss this time. Soon enough, he yelled out and released another attack. It did not strike Squishy though, but instead seemed to be intended for us. The beam swept around the group, as he seemed to be wanting to cause as much damage as possible. Some people had their Pokémon shield them with their special moves, and others were able to jump behind a rock or get away at just the last second.

Not her.

No time to think. I ran.

Serena, being the person that she was, had pushed her Pokémon out of the way with just a second to spare. There was too little time to save herself and all three of her Pokémon, so she made a choice. They were saved. She was not going to be.

Not until I showed up.

With all the force I could muster, I pushed her towards the nearby rock with her three Pokémon. In doing so, the blast struck me instead of her. Direct hit. I felt nothing but a great heat, and then my vision was covered with whiteness and my ears were ringing.

I opened my eyes a few moments later, and that's when the pain hit me. It was immense, like all of the nerves on my left side were on fire. That must have been the side that took most of the blast. I coughed, and blood came up. It sputtered across my cheek.

"ASH!" I heard someone yell. Although I couldn't tell who it was.

Out of the corner of my blurry vision, I saw a green light that was getting brighter, but I could not concentrate on it. Instead, Serena appeared in front of me. Tears were building up in her eyes, and she looked more scared than I had ever seen her in all the months we were together. She tentatively put a hand on my cheek, and I chuckled. Or, chuckled as much as I could in the moment.

"H-hey…" I croaked out.

She cracked a small smile and choked back a sob. "Ash…Why did you do that?"

"I wasn't about to let you sacrifice yourself for your Pokémon like that…"

"Was this any better?" She asked, barely above a whisper. She rubbed some of the blood off of my face and looked down at her hand. I could barely see how much of it was on there, but it seemed like a lot, judging by her terrified expression.

"To me, yes. This was better. R-rather me…than you…"

Another bright green flash, and Serena looked up to see what had happened. I could hear some loud voices, but could not figure out what they were. The only thing I could concentrate on was the honey-blonde girl sitting over me. Her blue eyes turned back towards me, and I could see the tears threatening to overflow. I suddenly became very tired.

There was a spot of yellow on the right side of my vision and I turned my head to see it as much as I could. It was Pikachu who had run up next to me. I attempted to reach my hand out and pet him, but couldn't find the energy to do it. My hand fell to the ground, but it was quickly picked up by Serena, who held it tightly.

"Hey buddy…Good to see you're safe too…"

"Pika…" He replied, and nuzzled himself into the side of my head. I didn't really feel it though.

"Ash…" Serena said, the tears finally becoming too much. I saw a few streak down her face. "I'm so sorry…"

"Hey…" I conjured up the most reassuring voice I could make. "Don't apologize. I just…wanted to see you safe. I couldn't let Lysandre take you away." I coughed again, making both Serena and Pikachu gasp and come closer. Serena now held a hand under my head and was holding me up. "I will never give up in trying to defeat Lysandre. He…can't be allowed to win."

Serena managed to crack a small smile. It gave me a little energy. "Squishy is defeating him right now, Ash." She said, and let go of my hand to wipe a tear away. My hand got cold in those two seconds it took for her to do that, but thankfully she held it again. "You never give up, Ash. And…that's what I a-admire most about you."

"So…it's over…?"

"Yes, Ash. It's over."

Don't give up until it's over...

When I heard that, the urge to sleep became almost too much to handle. I wanted to close my eyes. For just a few seconds. The only reason why I didn't was because Pikachu fervently began patting my face, and Serena squeezed my hand tightly. When I could see again, she was a lot closer than before, tears running down her face.

"A-Ash! You have to stay awake! Lysandre is defeated, and...Alain is coming over here right now! He's…he's going to have his Charizard fly you to the hospital, okay?"

I coughed again, and conjured up a small smile. I had to be strong. "I don't think that's going to help any, Serena…"

I heard another voice, and Serena looked up. It took her a few seconds to process what this person had said, but she seemed very distraught by it. She squeezed me again, and clenched her eyes shut.

"No, no! He's going to make it!" She yelled out. I hadn't heard what she was replying to, but I had a pretty good idea. "I don't care!" More words I couldn't understand from those around us. "We have to do something! He needs help! Can't you see!?"

"Serena…" I said, attempting to offer my input.

She got a few inches closer, silencing me. "Don't give up on yourself, Ash. I-I need you! Pikachu needs you! Don't give up on him, or me!"

I managed to smile just a little bit and looked at Pikachu, and then back at Serena's tearing up blue eyes. "I would never give up…on either of you…"

Despite my words, I knew what was coming. With each second, growing closer and closer, was the blackness that was beginning to slowly cover my vision. I attempted to turn my head to look around. The terrified faces of everyone I had come to care about in Kalos were around me. Clemont, who was covering Bonnie's eyes as much as he could, even though I could clearly see that she was watching me through the cracks of his hands, and Meyer were there. The gym leaders of Kalos, like Viola, Wulfric, and Korrina. Diantha, the champion, and even Alain. Greninja jumped up next to me, and I wanted to pet him too. Briefly, I wished that my mom and friends from other regions could be here too, although I knew that wasn't possible.

I squeezed Serena's hand as tightly as I could, as I wanted to offer her my support. She didn't react at all though. If anything, she looked more worried, and sobbed a few times.

I never liked seeing her sad. If only she would smile again.

Then it came. It hit me like one of Greninja's water shuriken. The feeling. The one Miette was talking about.

"You'll know when the time is right to tell her that you love her…"

It was an odd feeling, and more like a compulsion. I was nearly overcome with the desire to say what was on my heart for the first time in my life, and I put all of my energy into squeezing Serena's hand again. In the past, I was afraid. Afraid of driving the girl I had come to care about the most away from me. In my nervousness and inexperience, I was scared of what would happen if she didn't like me back. Then, I was afraid of screwing things up once I did manage to say it. All of that fear was gone now though. The feeling in my heart grew stronger and stronger by the second.

I was suddenly warm in the face, although I didn't know if I was just blushing, or if I was getting lightheaded from blood loss.

Spurred on by the feeling in my heart, I only had one desire at the moment. One critical want, no, need.

To see her smile one last time.

"Serena…" I started with a cough.

She looked at me hesitantly and adjusted her hold on the back of my head. She got a little closer.

"I…"

"Yes Ash? What is it?"

"I…"

She leaned even closer. Less than a foot separated us now.

"I-Iron tail, Pikachu. Iron tail."

She was quiet for but a second, before a small smile emerged on her face. She laughed amid the tears, and I felt a little life return to me when I heard the sound. Just a little bit.

She remembered.

Serena let go of my hand, and I felt very cold again. She reached up and brushed some more blood off my face, and pushed some of my hair out of my eyes. The urge to sleep was becoming strong.

My mission was only half-complete though. I wasn't going to fall asleep until I had done what needed to be done. She grabbed ahold of my hand again, and I used it as leverage in my pitiful attempt to lean up.

"Careful, Ash. Don't strain yourself too much…" She said, emotion flooding her voice. A few more tears fell.

I didn't listen, and instead managed to lean up a few more inches. I was no doubt helped by her hand behind my head though.

"Serena…" I started again.

She leaned in closer.

"I…"

She cocked another half-smile amid her sobbing. "Yes, Ash?"

"I…I love you…"

She gasped lightly, backing away several inches in her shock. I couldn't tell if her face was red because of her crying, or if she was blushing. My goal was in sight though. She looked shocked, and I heard a few voices off to my side. I did not know what they were saying though.

Finally, her face slowly stretched into a wide grin. That captivating smile reappeared. The one that had hypnotized me countless times before. It spread from her lips to her cheeks, and then to her eyes. Her whole face shone of happiness, even if she still had tears running down her face, and she bent down to my level. She rubbed her forehead against my own, and slowly pressed her lips against mine.

In that moment, I reached peak happiness.

"Ash…" She said as she pulled back from my face, a definite blush visible on hers. "I love you too, Ash. I have for a long time, and I always will."

I took a deep breath. I had accomplished what I had set out to do. I spoke from my heart for the first time in my life, and made the girl I loved smile. One last time. I suddenly regretted not saying it earlier.

The urge to sleep was getting too strong for me to handle, and no amount of hand squeezing was going to keep me awake any longer.

My eyes grew too heavy, and they began to close. Despite that, I could not stop the smile from spreading across my own face.

"Ash…?" I heard Serena say.

She began to fade from my vision, but not from my heart. I could still see her in my mind. From Professor Oak's summer camp when we were children, to Santalune City when I met her again. From the mirror world that enabled me to figure out I had a crush on her, to her deciding she wanted to be a performer. From her outfit change, to the formal dance where I couldn't be her date. From her dressing up in my clothes to protect my health and defend my honor, all the way up to the Master Class. She may not have won the title, but she still was my Kalos Queen. All throughout those times, I could see her smiling face, and felt her unwavering support. She truly did love me. If only I had acted sooner.

I could still hear her angelic laugh, and see her hypnotizing smile.

"A-Ash! Stay with me, please!"

My vision blackened completely, but the image of Serena, lying her head on my shoulder all those weeks ago as we sat by the fire, remained. Nothing but a blanket of stars, the warmth of the fire, and the presence of the other person. She looked up at me and grinned. I smiled back, and put my arm around her, bringing her just a little closer.

"ASH!"

I always knew, from the very beginning, when I saw her smile. Her real smile. That everything, no matter what, was going to be okay.

I closed my eyes.

Even when it wasn't.

I feel as if a lot of words down here detracts from the ending, so I will be brief. I'll be a bit more positive next time. Thanks to everyone who read this story! I appreciate it :)

Twilly