Clemont's PoV.

As the afternoon kicks off, I prepare to head to the final lesson of my day: teaching the orange class. Ash walks me down to their classroom and I grin as he pushes me inside - saying; "Go on! You've got this!" I grin and thank him nervously; walking into the room I see about 20 little kids staring at me. One asks: "Are you the science teacher?"

"YUP! I mean.., yes, I am. Now - I'm afraid I don't know anything about you, so how about we play a few icebreaker games!" The reactions are mixed - some look excited about it whilst the others are exasperated.

"Ok - so how about we go around the room - you say your name, your favourite subject at school, and what you want to be when you're older? Sound good?" They nod so I begin.

"I'm Mr Lionne, I like science, as you can guess, and when I was your age, I wanted to be an all sorts of things, like an inventor! That didn't really work out, but teaching was always my second choice. Now - lets go around the room... how about you?" I smile as the class introduce themselves - they seem really nice!

"I'm Ella, I like art, and I want to be a painter!"

"I'm Jack, I like photography, and I want to take pictures to sell!"

"I'm Loui, I like drama, and I want to be an actor."

"I'm Saffa, I like DT, and I want to own a shop that sells things I make!"

"I'm Dannie, I like PE, and I don't know what I want to do yet..." a pink haired isays nervously as I got halfway around the room. She looks ashamed as a few people giggle, so I say kindly; "Don't worry Dannie! I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do at your age, but that's a good thing! It's ok to have an idea of your future, it's ok not to have an idea of your future! Plans can change all the time, so you have nothing to worry about. And the rest of you really shouldn't be laughing - it could be quite upsetting is you laugh at someone and make them feel insignificant."

"How do you know?" A brown haired boy asks me in confusion; I sigh and explain to them.

"I wasn't really liked by anyone at my school. I was picked on a lot, and often I got hurt by the other people in my class beating me up when nobody saw. But what hurt me the most was the words they said, and the way people would whisper and laugh behind my back. It really hurt my feelings, and it made me feel like what they were saying was true! Now I know it wasn't, but back then, it seemed real - I genuinely thought I didn't deserve to smile like they told me. They even said I should kill myself!" A shocked gasp ran around the class and I took a deep breath before continuing.

"I believed them because it seemed to me like they were better than me, or that they were smarter, prettier, cooler, superior. They made me feel so small and it nearly lead to me doing some horrible things, like drugs, self harm and even contemplating suicide! It may seem like just banter, or a joke, but even the smallest of words can really sting and leave unseeable scars. So, just try to be kind to each other, ok kids? You seem like really nice people so there's no reason to end up hurting each other by being careless."

They all stared at me in silence until one person slowly raised their hand. I nod at them and say, "Erm... Leila, is it?"

The girl nods and asks quietly; "Do you still get bullied as an adult?" I think of a way to phrase it so I don't confuse them more, so I reply; "Thankfully not, but some adults are being bullied. Let's just leave this conversation there and all try not to be bullies, hmm?" Everyone nodded at this, and as a hubble of discussion broke out, I let them have a few minutes to talk about it before I calmed them back down again.

Half an hour later, they're all peacefully doing their tests when out of nowhere, we all hear a loud electric bass solo from the room next door. Everyone looks at each other in awe as I look concerned at the sound, having a suspicion of who it is.

"Guys, I'm trusting you not to talk to anyone whilst I go and fix this, ok? Please continue with your tests, ok?" They all nod as I run out of the room and knock on the door. The guitar is so loud that nobody can hear me so eventually I just walk in and yell: "WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

"CLEMONT?!" Ash yells, hastily putting down a red electric bass and staring at me with puppy dog eyes.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" We yell in unison - I glare at him and yell, "What am I doing?! Trying to let my class complete a test in peace before a bass guitar interrupted and distracted them all! What are you doing?!" Ash stares at me guiltily and replies ambashed: "I was just playing a riff! I've always loved the bass so I've been teaching myself to play! Do you play any instruments?"

"After school Ash! I need to return to my students." I reply sadly as I head back to my classroom, leaving Ash alone.

Ash's PoV

He's gone. I sit in silence for about another 35 minutes, just playing the bass with the amp turned off. I really hope he does contribute the conversation!

So, the school day for the kids just finished, but the staff have to go back to the staff room. Waiting for Clemont outside his classroom, I smile as Dannie walks out of the room with a smile on her face. "Getting Dannie! How was the science lesson with Cle - um - I mean Mr Lionne?"

"Great!" The pink haired girl beamed. "He told me I did really well on the test and not to worry. I didn't know adults got bullied though! He's a really good teacher!" As she runs off to walk home with her friends, I get puzzled. 'Adults get bullied too...' does that mean Clemont gets bullied?! I walk into the classroom and he jumps, saying politely: "Mr Ketchum?"

"Cut the formal crap Clem: staff meeting now! Get yo ass to the staff room and - uh..."

I exclaim before freezing. He's talking to a student... crap! I'm dead!

"... um... sorry Jemma! Didn't see you there - anyway, erm, see you i the staff room? K bye!" I yell befire I run out in shame. As I get to the staff room, Principle Sycamore is waiting for me there.

"Ah, here he is! Mr Ketchum... Mr Lionne is coming - right?" He asks skeptically.

"Yup - he's just helping a student out but he aid he'll be here ASAP." I reply, hoping that Clemont isn't too late! Right on cue, the young blond haired boy rushes in, panting. "Sorry... I'm late... student... you know..." he stammers. Wow - he's really bad at athletics but he's still cute! He blushes as everyone stares at him - I get that he doesn't like to be the centre of everyone's attention so I yell: "SO... what's going on?" Clemont gives me a small adorable smile as Sycamore says:

"Fundraisers - the slot for it is in 4 weeks. We need everyone's help because it's saving for a new classroom." He looks at Clemont with a smile and says; "A science lab, to be precise. However, it's a huge cost. We need that fundraiser to be a success - any ideas?"

We all think for a moment before Grant smiles and nods his head, saying; "What about a musical theatre play? We have a band playing underneath and the kids performing!"

"Not everyone likes that kind of thing Grant..." Viola counters. We all have some kind of idea and all chip in.

"How about a bake sale?"

"Maybe a fashion show!"

"What about a PE trip?"

"A small festival?"

Clemont sits there thinking before suddenly dating; "What about we do all of them?" Everyone looks confused so he says; "We have a big sunmer fair; we have multiple stands for foods, photos, paintings - we have a band or 2 playing on a stage so people can watch, but everyone hears the music! We have a small fashion show that people can pay to see, and then we have athletic stands like a penalty shoot out! You know: a typical school carnival!"

Everyone stands in a stunned silences - the nerd goes red and backtracks; "I-I mean... it's proabably a stupid idea - we, erm... it was daft..."

"Not at all! I'm just surprised we didn't think of it!" Korrina cries - everyone makes noises of agreement and I clap a flustered Clemont on the back. Principle Sycamore beams and said happily: "That settles it! We have a fair - and since it was Clemont's idea, how about he runs it?"

"ME?!" Clemont examines. "OH NONONONONONO! I'm not great at that kind of thing..."

"Come on!" I say. "It's for a good science lab! And your idea! Who better to run this?!" Everyone agreed with me so the scientist sighs and nods, saying nervously; "Ok... ok. I'll do it!" We all get excited and clap, patting him on the back and all talking at once - he looks like he wants the ground to swallow him whole! I beam as well - he goes even redder as he says quietly; "Th-Thanks guys!"

After the staff meeting's all over and we're all assigned our roles on the project, I grin at Clemont and we go to the staff car park together so he can hang out at mine.

"Here's my car..." I say sheepishly - it's a bit wrecked around the edges and there are a few issues with the engine but other than that I couldn't be prouder of it.

"It's... it's really nice Ash! Maybe at somepoint you'll let me fix it up a bit? I'm, um, rather good with mechanics if I say so myself!" I grin and happily accept his offer before showing him a bashful smile and opening for the door to him like a 'proper gentleman' as my mother says.

About 20 minutes later, we've arrived at my house - well, me and my mums house. As we get inside, my mum - Delia Ketchum - smiles at us both and says happily; "Clemont I presume? Ash told me so much about you; so happy to meet you in person, but.. I'm afraid not might not be the beat time..." I open my mouth to protest but Clemont beats me to the punch.

"Oh... ok. In that case, I'll just get the bus home - you actually live on my way home so if you like I can help Ash get home safely too on other days of the week?" The nerd says politely. My mum grins at the offer and says thankfully; "That's very sweet of you dear, but only if you want."

"Why can't he stay for dinner?" I ask in confusion. "You said he could earlier mum!"

"Well Ash..." Delia makes to respond but the kitchen door is flung open from behind the three of us.

I stare.

Delia stares.

Clemont stares for a split second and tries to run out of the door but slips on the rug, sending him falling headfirst into the nearby coffee table.

Standing in the doorway is a young lady, pressing her back against the doorframe to show off her... female things. A red hatis delicately balanced on her small head with her brown eyes illuminated and her red lips in a smile. She's wearing a long red t-short with black leggings underneath and josh brown boots; clothes that really show off a stunning figure. She flicks a mass of honey-blond hair behind her shoulder saying sexually; "Hey Ashy! It's been AGES since I've seen you! So. Ready to hang out?"

I sigh in defeat and look at my shoes, saying awkwardly,

"Hi Serena."