Hey guys, Jeff here!
Well, as promised, this is the 2nd chapter of this week out of the 3, so look forward to the next one soon ;D
Anyway, just to say, I do apologise that this chapter might be too long, but I felt that it needed to be this long, so just sit back and relax as you read this chapter. Hopefully you guys enjoy it nonetheless even though it is very long. I think the longest chapter ever in a story... xD
Without further ado, let's get to reading...
Ash sighed. "Well, at least that's over. Let's head home, okay?"
Serena nodded. "Yeah, sure. Are you all right, Ash?"
Ash smiled. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. What about you?"
"I was kinda scared, but at least everything's good now." Serena replied.
Ash gulped. "Well, hopefully nothing like that ever happens again with us. I mean, that was kind of unexpected."
Serena nodded. "I know, but at least we're all right. I'm glad that our mums came out at that time otherwise I don't know what might have happened with us."
Ash sighed. "I'm gonna head home now, so see you tomorrow."
Serena shrugged. "H-Hey, Ash? Can you do me a favour?"
Ash titled his head. "Yeah? What is it?"
Serena blushed slightly. "Um… could I walk with you to school tomorrow?"
Ash smiled. "Sure! Why not? I'm gonna make sure I get up earlier than usual though."
Serena giggled. "All right then, see you tomorrow."
At that moment, Ash and Serena both went on their separate ways, meaning by that as they both headed home, but at least that wasn't really far to go, because they were neighbours afterall. They were both glad that now they were both finally home, away from any trouble, as they both know that they will be safe there with their mothers by their side at least.
They don't really know what happened a few moments ago, how this random person waited for them and demanding Serena back or something along those lines, how they don't really know what he was really talking about. Both of them were really unsure what had happened at that point, because both of them had no clue in the first place; but what they took away from this incident that this person or whoever it was will come back, and will probably have someone with him at that point, which definitely makes Ash and Serena worried, but for now, they can rest at ease.
(With Ash; Ash's house)
Ash entered his home without hesitation. He did his normal routine when he normally enters his house, by taking off his coat and hanging it in the coat hanger on the entrance, and then takes off his shoes and places it neatly in the shoe rack at the bottom of the cloth. After that, his mum then greets him and tells him that dinner is ready before heading up the stairs, rushing up the stairs as he was looking forward to eating dinner, which is the typical behaviour of Ash, and rushes into his room. Inside, he undresses from what he wore today and changed to his more casual and more comfortable clothes that he wears around the house, which is just a simple black t-shirt and grey shorts. After placing his bag on the side of his bed, he the rushes out of his room and heads straights down into the dinner table without hesitation. Interestingly, he always did this routine in record time, normally about ten minutes or maybe less, which his mother is always surprised about, but what do you expect from Ash? When it comes to food, he always does things as fast as he can.
Ash smiled. "What do we have for dinner tonight?"
"Um, I prepared curry with rice for tonight." Delia replied as she served Ash with some rice onto his plate.
Ash laughed. "Nah, that will be all right to eat."
Delia pouted. "Oh Ash, don't be picky with your food."
Ash laughed. "Why would I be picky? You know that I will eat anything as long as it is edible."
Delia smiled. "You never change, do you Ash?"
At that moment, Ash and Delia tucked into their food, with Delia savouring every bite, whereas Ash is eating as fast as he can, probably because he didn't really have time to finish his lunch and therefore he is really hungry, or maybe even that he thinks that he is always in a race when it comes to eating his food; but normally both is the scenario for him, which Delia isn't really surprised about. The curry that they were having is not really special; it was just a normal dinner. The curry was normal and was served with normal rice; but before you know it, Ash has already finished his plate, and since there is no seconds, he just has to wait before his mum finishes.
Ash sighed with relief. "Wow, mum, that is delicious!"
Delia giggled. "Oh, thank you Ash, but normally you don't compliment me that much."
Ash scratched his head. "Well, since I didn't get to finish my lunch today, then I was kinda hungry when I eventually got home."
"Why didn't you get to finish you lunch today though?" Delia asked out of curiosity.
"Oh, it's because Professor Oak talked with me during lunch." Ash replied without hesitation.
"So, why were you talking with Professor Oak?" Delia asked once more. "Is it because you were late again? On the first day back too."
Ash laughed nervously. "Huh? Well… I… I was kinda late today, but that wasn't really the reason though…"
Delia raised her eyebrow quizzically. "Oh, so what did you talk about with him?"
Ash shrugged. "Well, I… I-I can't really tell you, but all I can say is that it was about Serena's past~"
"That girl whom you're with? Is it that in your first day you already got yourself a girlfriend?" Delia teased.
Ash blushed. "N-No! I-It's not like that. Anyway, Serena's past is a serious matter in hand, so don't take it too lightly."
Delia chuckled. "Okay, okay. So, anyway, why did Professor Oak involve you with Serena? Have you got some connection with her or something?"
Ash scratched the back of his head. "I don't really know. He just personally asked me to not tell anyone what I have found out about Serena from him, but also he told me to be Serena's guide for the next few weeks."
Delia nodded. "I see. So, why you in particular though."
Ash put on a straight face. "Is that supposed to be a compliment or something else?"
Delia laughed nervously. "No, not really. Anyway, so why did he choose you in all seriousness?"
"I don't really know." Ash answered honestly. "But you might be right when you said I might have a connection with Serena."
Delia giggled. "Oh Ash, you don't remember do you? You can be so dense sometimes."
Ash titled his head. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"Oh, it was nothing!" Delia immediately answered without hesitation.
'He doesn't remember her at all?' Delia thought. 'Well, it was a long time ago, but still… then again, if he remembers her, then he will also remember about everything else, which will mean that... anyway, I have to be careful.'
Delia smiled. "By the way, I saw when you were with Serena coming home, there was some suspicious man standing in the way. Do you know who that was?"
Ash shrugged. "To be honest, we don't know. All we know is that that person knows the two of us."
"All right. Be more careful then when you're outside. Especially when you're with Serena." Delia spoke with concern.
Ash nodded. "I will. Anyway, I'll be heading up to my room."
At that moment, Ash stood up from his place at the dining table and helped Delia carry the dishes to the kitchen, where she will then clean them up. After that, Ash headed straight up the stairs and into his room. Not surprisingly, he then went straight and lied down on his bed, facing the ceiling. He doesn't really know what to do then, but he felt very nervous. He thought about what happened today, how he became friends with Serena, got told about Serena's tragic past, then being stopped by a mysterious figure on the outside of their houses as they were both heading home this afternoon. He felt very unsure about that and became self-conscious and worried for himself as well as Serena.
Ash turned and shook his head. He was kind of thinking things too much, but then again, a lot of things did happen on his first day back at the school, but it was because of, what he thinks, was Serena. How he is involved with Serena meant that he was also getting involved with everything about her too, which didn't really matter that much to him, but still… there was still something that was bothering him, but he couldn't really point his finger at it. All he can think about was what happened with this mysterious figure. When he mentioned Ash's name, Ash felt very uneasy as if he started to remember something and then at the same time felt a surge of power in his right arm, but he's convinced that there's nothing suspicious about it. Was it about his past? The one that he couldn't remember? Did something happen with him back then? Has he felt something like this before? He's not sure.
Ash glanced out of the window and looked outside. He started at the night sky with questions circling around his head and then looking down to see Serena's house and wondered about her, about how she is doing after that ordeal…
(With Serena; Serena's house)
Serena sat at the table, gazing at the food that is presented to her by her mother. It was one of her favourite foods that she always wanted to eat when they have moved; it was pot roast. She always liked, no, adored having pot roast for lunch or even dinner, since she just loves the taste of the whole dish, but this time, there is something wrong with it. No, that's not it, it's not because the dish is wrong, it's because Serena has got something else in her mind other than eating. Something is just bothering her that makes her just stares at the food and not eats it, which bothers her mother a bit.
Grace raised her eyebrow quizzically. "Serena? Hey, are you spacing out?"
Serena shook her head. "No, it's nothing."
"Well, I'm kind of conscious, since you're not eating, especially when it's pot roast, your favourite." Grace added.
Serena took a bite. "I'm just really worried. About myself as well as Ash…"
"Oh, you care about him that much." Grace teased. "I saw that he walked you home. You haven't let any other boy walk you home, since~"
Serena blushed. "I-It's not like that! Um… t-there's nothing b-between us…"
Grace giggled. "Really? We'll see about that~"
Serena blushed madly. "H-He's only with me, because he was asked by Professor Oak to be my guide for the upcoming weeks. As I don't know my way around and all that…"
Grace nodded. "That's because I asked Professor Oak to do so."
"Wait, you asked Professor Oak to~" Serena spoke out of shock.
Grace smiled. "It makes sense, right?"
Serena pouted. "How?"
Grace giggled. "Well, don't you remember way back then? You know him already, and also he looks like he is a trustworthy person that can be by your side."
Serena blushed slightly. "I mean, it makes sense that he's with me, but what do you mean by~"
Grace laughed. "Don't worry about it, Serena."
Serena pouted. "Well, if you say so…"
"Anyway, Serena, I would like to confess something to you." Grace spoke with seriousness.
Serena tilted her head. "What is it?"
Grace nodded. "I'm sorry, okay. I also asked Professor Oak to tell your past to Ash. I know that you don't want to, but~"
"It makes sense, since he's my guide; but did you tell him everything? Everything about me?" Serena interrupted without hesitation.
Grace shook her head and then raised her hand. "I promise, Serena. I didn't tell him everything about you. Only half of it…"
Serena sighed. "Oh… at least that's all right…"
'I know that Serena wants to keep it hidden, but still… Ash needs to find out the rest eventually…' Grace thought. 'For now, things should be kept like this.'
"You got so worked up there for a second." Grace hinted. "Why is that? Was it what happened between yourselves when you were coming home?"
Serena nodded with no answer.
"So, what did that mysterious guy say to you guys? What did he do to you guys?" Grace questioned out of curiosity.
Serena looked towards the ground. "Y-Yeah… he was saying how I should go with him… how he is going to take me back… I-I'm scared…"
"Don't worry about it, Serena." Grace spoke with reassurance. "Remember, you have me by your side, and also you've got Ash too. If this person approaches you or Ash again, tell me or Professor Oak, okay?"
Serena nodded. "I understand; but I'm still curious as to who that person might be. Is it someone I know? Is it someone I met before? Is it~"
Grace smiled, interrupting Serena from finishing. "Don't overwork yourself, okay? Everything's going to be just fine. We're in a completely different life right now, so don't worry."
Serena smiled. "Okay. Well, I'm gonna go up to my room now."
Grace nodded. "All right then. Leave everything here with me; I can do it by myself."
Serena smiled. "Okay! I'll be going then."
'Please, Serena. Be careful.' Grace thought. 'But also, be strong until the end.'
With that, Serena retired to her room. First of all, she slowly walked up the stairs, which made Grace worry about her, since she felt that Serena is overworking herself and worrying about one situation too much, but then again, that one scenario might have scared her, and it had too. No one could really blame Serena for acting like this, especially right after she experienced that, since she is definitely terrified after meeting that mysterious person, but Serena and Grace knew that it won't happen again, or will it…
Reaching her room, she slowly opened her door and closed it behind her. Immediately when she entered, she then turned the lights on and lied on her bed. She spent a few moments lying on her bed and looking up into the ceiling and thinking about what had happened today. She met so many friends today, especially meeting Ash after so many years, but she was kind of disappointed that she didn't remember her at all, but at least they are reunited with him after all this time. Also, she felt much relieved after she found out that she will be spending a lot of time with Ash, since Ash has been appointed the guide for her, which definitely reassured her the most.
On the other hand, what she thought about the most is the meeting with this mysterious figure just outside their house as they were walking home. She didn't expect this kind of thing happening to her, especially when it was her first day at school; but what she didn't expect most of all is that that person knows both Ash and herself, which made her worry even more. It seems that this person know both of them and that they both have something to do with each other, but she just passed that through her mind, because she is confident that it won't happen again.
Serena sighed and turned to face the window. She looked up into the night sky, looked at the stars above, and then looked down a bit to see Ash's house, which is apparently right beside hers. It was a bit of a surprise, but still, she actually felt a bit more relieved.
'Hopefully tomorrow is a good day…' Serena thought.
There you have it, guys! Chapter 9 is done! Hopefully you have enjoyed this chapter! :D
Wow, what can I say with this chapter! There are a lot of things in Ash and Serena's minds, so things are going to get interesting. I wonder what will happen in the next day and also I wonder about Ash and Serena's individual pasts... or maybe they are connected somehow... stick around to find out ;D
Anyways, I'll see you all in the next chapter, but also please put your thoughts of this story in the reviews! Please show some support!
But also Private Message me for any story suggestions!
Also, please check me out on Twitter at jeff_amour if you can for updates of my stories!
So, that's it from me!
See ya! Have a great day!
