NOTE: Hey guys! Next chapter! :)

Onto some questions...

DJKitKat12: ...Will Alain or Gary ever get other love interests?

Yes they will. I will not say who, although I feel it is somewhat obvious. Gary's will happen pretty soon, while Alain's will be slow going.

The rest of you seem to have your own thoughts about how the situation is going to be dealt with for Serena and Gary. I'd say a couple of you guys are right, but in a different way. haha.

Bluejack222: is the kiss still cannon?

Unfortunately, the kiss is not cannon, so Alain is her first kiss. I didn't expect such a thing to happen in the anime, so its not in here. haha, but again, alot of things aren't.

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed since last - Daisy Pragnya, DeretAmourShipping, UptownFunk, Pokemonmeat, skyblu23, gabed1298, Sol, Q-A Authoress, FantasyLover88, gurkaran23, Guest, JayFan67, aliensinnoh, Rebelling Death (I'm sorry you don't like the story anymore).

Anywho, enjoy the chapter! :)

Chapter Sixteen: An Unwanted Arrangement

Serena sat still with her spine perfectly aligned against the back of her wooden chair. She kept her hands on her lap, her eyes glued to the Lumiose Galette that was sitting on a dainty white dish. She frantically tapped her forefinger against the back of her other hand as her eyes followed the delicious treat that was being lifted from the piece of porcelain. Her eyes glazed over the flowery like patterns that painted the outer rim of the dish before glancing up to see the specialty pass through the lips of the boy who ruined her entire week. Her heart would not rest as the brunette took another bite of the galette, savoring the taste before finally swallowing it.

She pursed her lips together as the boy continued with eating the rest of his treat. They were sitting in the school café for twenty minutes now without a single word being exchanged. She just watched Gary scroll through the café PokeTab, ordering a bunch of Kalos specialties, and eat them as each one was placed on the table. For the whole week, she hasn't said a word to him, and he hasn't said a word to her. Serena knew that he was up to something. She just didn't know what. And then, that morning, she woke up to a text from Gary, telling her to meet him at the Academy Café.

She rolled her eyes then glanced over to the right side of the table. Sitting just by the corner of the table was the camera that caused her several more sleepless nights. Ever since the incident, she freaked out and didn't know what to do. She thought about going to the girls or Alain or even Ash, but she knew that Gary wasn't as dumb as she thought. He wasn't that bright, but he surely was someone to be cautious of, especially in this kind of situation.

She didn't tell anyone about what happened and from the looks of it, Gary seemed to have done the same. She really wanted to ask someone for help, but she was worried that going to someone would cause her racy photo to end up in the school paper. She had to be careful with what move to make. Going to Ash seemed to be the safe bet since he was Gary's roommate and all. Ash could easily grab the camera from him, but Serena felt too embarrassed to go to Ash. Especially after what happened when they went to Lumiose City. She was just too shy to talk to him, and well, if Gary caught him trying to take away his camera, there was a chance that Gary would show him her photo. It was too risky. Going to the girls just meant having Dawn yell at Gary until he would give it back and going to Alain would end up in a billion lectures plus a fist fight in front of the entire school. Those two scenarios would draw a crowd and have people asking questions. That would surely result in her photo being leaked.

"What do you want?" Serena muttered, her gaze fixated on the camera. "We have to meet the others by the bus stop soon."

Gary placed the remainder of his galette back on the plate before wiping his fingers on the white napkin that was folded nicely on the other side of the table. He then took a swig of water before lifting the camera that was causing Serena's eyes to water. She slightly shook her head, blinking in the process before looking back down to the dainty piece of porcelain.

Her eyes then shifted upwards as Gary slid the plate to the side, making room for his camera. Serena gulped, the lens of the camera was facing him, and facing her was the screen. The screen was black for a brief second before showing a picture of her topless. In the picture, one of her arms was raised, reaching for the towel. If he came from a different angle, her arm would be covering her chest. If only that was the case.

Serena's face flushed a bright shade of red. The longer she stared at the photo, the more she felt ashamed. She couldn't believe that she let someone take a picture of her like that. She furrowed her eyebrows and took a deep breath before lunging forward to grab the device that was loosely placed between his grasp.

"Not so fast," he said with a smirk on his face while pulling the camera back. He then grabbed his book bag from the ground and tucked his camera into it. "I'll delete the picture and even give you the SD card if you do me one little favor."

Serena sat back in her seat with a scowl on her face. "What?" she asked with crossed arms.

"You have to be my girlfriend until the end of the semester. I think that gives me enough time to get you to fall in love with me." He smirked once more before meeting the honey blonde's eyes.

"Wh-What?" Serena managed to utter. "No way!"

"Then I'll show this photo to Alain. He's like obsessed with you right? At least that's what Ash says…"

"I'll go to the headmaster!" Serena tried, ignoring his comment on Alain.

"Are you sure you want to bring the headmaster into this situation?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. He pursed his lips before resting his elbows on the table and clasping his hands. "If he hears about this little problem of ours then he will have some issues with his idea of unity between the two genders."

Serena puffed her cheeks out in anger. Everything was running so smoothly. She couldn't ruin the transition just because she forgot to lock a door. It wasn't her fault though. It was an all girls' school for years! It was just something she wasn't really used to.

"Fine." She gritted through her teeth before reaching beneath the table to grab her bag.

"And Serena?" said Gary. "You better make it believable or the photo will end up somewhere you don't want it too."

The honey blonde sighed, her fingers laced around the brunette's as he lead her outside the school gates. She puffed out her cheeks, feeling her orange juice burn her throat as it regurgitated up her esophagus. She unwillingly swallowed the acidic liquid, surprised that being pulled into being Gary's girlfriend would actually cause her to vomit.

"Let's see how your first performance goes," he whispered into her ear before looking straight ahead with a wide smile spread across his face.

Serena groaned quietly, quickening her pace as Gary pulled her forward to match his speed. She could tell that he was clearly enjoying this and wanted everyone to know about there newly formed "relationship".

She looked straight ahead to see that everyone was gathered around the bus stop. The bench by the stop was stacked with bags and everyone was conversing with one another. May was talking to her partner, Arnold. Miette was talking to Shauna with Alain standing there in complete boredom. And by them was Dawn who was petting Pikachu while talking to Ash.

Serena's eyes lingered over the Alolan Champion. She raised her free hand, pulling it close to her face while slightly parting her lips. She pressed the nail of her thumb up against her teeth, and began chewing on it with anxiety.

Because of Gary, her problem with Ash was put on hold. Whenever she saw him in class, Gary always came into her view and her thoughts of him subsided. But now that they were going to Snowbelle City, Serena knew that she had to complete the assignment with him. Which meant that they would have some alone time together.

Thump.

The beat of her heart quickened at the thought of being alone with Ash. She kept her gaze on him longer than she ever has during the entire week and the longer she stared, the more she felt herself returning into a familiar state.

Ash then turned his head in her direction, smiling at her the second he met her eyes.

Thump. Thump.

Serena took her nail from out of her mouth and brought her hand to her chest. This feeling… she hasn't felt it in a long while. Not just for him, but for anyone. Serena gulped, her eyes still glued to his like his was glued to hers.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

She profusely shook her head before looking away. She couldn't possibly like him again. Not in that way. It just couldn't be…

She looked back up to the raven haired Champion who averted his attention back to Dawn.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Could it be possible?

"Everyone!" Gary called out in a piercing loud tone. "I have an announcement to make!"

Serena stumbled backwards, startled by Gary's insanely loud voice. She then looked over to everyone in front of her. They all had confused expressions on their faces. Serena, herself, was confused for a second until she realized that Gary was still holding onto her hand.

"As of this morning, Serena and I are officially a couple," he said with proudness. "As of now, she is my girlfriend!"

Serena slightly puffed out her cheeks, feeling another wave of orange juice traveling up her throat. Swallowing hard, Serena bit her bottom lip before briefly examining everyone's faces one by one. They were ten times more confused than they were a second ago.

"What?" Dawn said, her eyes blinking. "What did you bribe her with?"

"This isn't a bribe. This is the real deal, blue."

"Stop calling me that," Dawn retorted before stomping over to the pair. She leaned in close, examining Serena's face. "Serena," she said. "Just tell me what he did. There is no way that you guys are dating. Was it some kind of dare?"

Serena stared at Dawn who was closely examining her. She then glanced over to Gary who was squeezing her hand while doing the same thing. She had to deal with her blackmail somehow, but it couldn't be like this.

"We are dating," she finally said.

"No way," Dawn placed her hands on her hips, still not convinced.

"Yeah," May agreed. "You can't just be dating Gary. It doesn't make any sense. You would have told us if you liked him."

"It caught me by surprise," said Serena." On Monday, he followed me to my dorm during lunch and we talked for the first time… and I really liked it." It wasn't exactly what happened, but it worked.

"That's not like you Serena," said Dawn. "You don't like a guy after one good conversation."

"But…" Serena paused, trying to find the words to convince her friends. She looked over to Alain for a brief second, seeing the flames within in his eyes. That was something she had to also deal with later. "We've been hanging out after class, that's why I haven't been at the dorms at the usual time." Serena looked over to Shauna for backup.

"I thought you were looking for books at the library to help with your last few assignments." Shauna placed a finger on her chin. "I didn't think you were secretly hanging out with Gary." She then turned her body to face Ash. "Hey Ash, has Gary been out from five to seven the last week?"

"Uhh…" Ash began to rub his nape. "He's always out late. I never really know what he's doing…"

"Because Serena and I have been spending time together!" Gary said as their bus pulled into its rightful parking space. "Why can't you guys accept that I won Serena fair and square? If you can't accept our new relationship then you guys aren't really her friends now, are you?"

"We are too her friends!" Dawn spat out. "We know her better than you. She wouldn't just like a guy out of nowhere!"

Serena looked down as Gary and Dawn began to bicker.

She wouldn't just like a guy out of nowhere… Serena glanced up at Ash who was by the bench, gathering his belongings. He didn't seem interested in Gary being her boyfriend. It kind of made her disappointed. She sort of wished that he were as angry as Alain was. When Alain was angry he had something to say, but when he was furious, he kept it all bottled up until the right moment. And Serena knew that the right moment was right after he talked to her to get the truth.

She wished Ash was the same, but she guessed he wasn't. Or he just really didn't care…

"C'mon, Serena," said Gary. "We don't need to deal with all this criticism." Serena returned her attention back to the brunette. She didn't realize that all the girls were now by her side, arguing with him. She was too focused on Ash to even notice. She felt Gary tug on her hand, forcefully leading her to the bus.

"Let's sit away from everyone!" He said out loud, mostly just to irritate everyone else.

Serena grabbed her belongings and was the first to enter the Snowbelle City Lodge. She looked down to the pamphlet that May gave her days before prior to their planning. The pamphlet made the place look so extravagant, and as Serena's eyes glossed over the interior, the place looked exactly like it did in the pamphlet. The place looked very woodsy and rustic, yet still modern at the same time. She couldn't wait to see the rooms they were going to sleep in.

Serena looked back down to the pamphlet, turning it over to take a glance at the pictures of the room. She continued her walk to the check in counter, but fell to the ground as she bumped into someone passing her way.

"Oh crap, I'm sorry I-"

Serena scratched her head as she looked ahead at the black boots in front of her. Her gaze slowly traveled upwards, her eyes coming into contact with each article of clothing. Blue jeans. Blue sweater. Black book bag. Everything on this individual was rather familiar.

Her gaze continued upwards, her eyes widening as she saw his porcelain skin. His gray eyes. And his dark tresses. It was Calem. Her older brother.

"Oh. Hey squirt!" He held his hand out to her, helping her up. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at school?" He waved a finger at her, giving her a look of disapproval.

"It's the long weekend and I'm here to complete an assignment for class." She scowled. "And stop calling me squirt."

Calem chuckled. "I'll stop calling you squirt when you stop being one." He raised a hand and patted her head. "Either you weren't paying attention or I simply couldn't see you because of your lack of height." He leaned down, matching her height. "I think it's the mix of the two."

Serena scowled once more before poking his forehead.

"Oww," Calem stood up straight, rubbing the spot she just poked. "I guess I'll just stay up here then. After all, you can't reach me from here." He stuck out a tongue before scanning the area. "So are you here alone or are you with a couple class-" He stopped as soon as the crowd of bickering students entered the lobby. "I'm gonna assume its them because I see Alain." He then lowered his voice. "Your first boyfriend." He chuckled.

"Alain," he called out before giving him a nod. Serena watched as her older brother sauntered over to the Kalos Champion, bumping his fist. "It's been awhile."

"Uhh.. yeah," Alain responded.

"Have you been taking care of my sister?" he asked.

Serena rolled her eyes, feeling somewhat embarrassed by her brothers presence. He was a professional Rhyhorn racer, and last time she checked, he was supposed to be in Cyllage City, teaching kids how to ride a Rhyhorn.

"Oh my…" Miette somehow made her way to Serena's side. "Serena… It's your hot brother."

"Please stop," Serena deadpanned as Calem began to introduce himself to the rest of the bunch. Dawn and May already knew him. The both of them were already drooling over his presence.

"Your Serena's older brother?" Gary asked, shoving Dawn and May to the side. "I'm Gary Oak, and I'm Serena's boyfriend."

"B-Boyfriend?" Calem questioned before turning back to look at the honey blonde. "Squirt!" He called out. "You never told me you had a boyfriend." He chuckled before returning his attention back to Gary. "Oak, huh? That sounds familiar… Don't tell me you were the kid who bullied Serena during that summer camp in Kanto."

"I was a dumb kid back then," Gary said, causing Calem to burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Squirt!" He called out once more. "You're dating that guy who bullied you when you were a kid?"

Serena shuffled over to the left, trying to hide behind Miette who was still drooling over Calem. Her brother was seriously embarrassing her right now. Everyone in the lobby had their eyes glued to her and her group of friends.

"Man, that's pretty funny… Although, I thought by now that you would have ended up with… what was his name?" Calem stopped for a second to think. "Ash. Ash Ketchum! You had the biggest crush on that kid for years. What happened to him? If he was here, I bet you two would be dating instead."

Serena's eyes widened as she listened to her brother go on and on about her infatuation towards Ash when she was a kid. Her face turned a bright shade of red as she looked over to Ash who was already staring at her. This could not be happening to her. This could not be happening. She looked away before grabbing onto her bag that was still lying on the floor from when she fell down.

"Your brother is the best," Miette whispered before taking a step forward. "Ash is right there." She pointed to the boy who stood at the back of the crowd next to Arnold.

"Oh.. Oh…" Calem immediately stopped himself from telling any more stories. "Didn't see you there…" he said, awkwardly.

Serena face palmed as May and Dawn ran to her side, ready to take her away from the situation. They were intercepted by Alain though as he grabbed her wrist and began dragging her away from the lobby and into one of the many halls.

"Serena," said Alain after coming to a halt. He let go of her wrist and eyed her with worry. "What's going on? You're not actually dating Gary are you? What does he have on you?"

Serena took a deep breath, meeting Alain's eyes. "Why can't I just like a guy?"

"Because I know you. You don't just like a guy. You have these guidelines. These expectations. Gary doesn't meet any of your requirements. Just admit that he has something on you. I'll pummel him until he gets rid of it."

Serena sighed. This is why she didn't go to Alain. Because he would do that. And she didn't want that. Especially once he found out that Gary got a naked picture of her. Alain would probably kill him at that point. She wanted Alain to help, but he wasn't fit for the job. She couldn't even vent to Alain about it because of how he would handle the situation.

"Answer me, Serena," Alain said with impatience.

"Look, I-"

"Serena!" The honey blonde looked down the hall to see Gary coming her way. "There you are," he said. "Help me unpack, will you?"

"C-Coming," she answered, meeting Alain's eyes for the last time.

This was probably the first time where she didn't let Alain in on a secret. Then again, she seemed to have been doing that a lot lately.

Next Chapter Preview: Snowbelle Showcase

Serena took a deep breath as she stood outside the stadium. She couldn't do it. She couldn't go back in there. She was failing anyways. Her friends were arguing and she was coming in last place in each round. There was no way she could get through the rest of the showcase.

"Serena." A voice called out to her.

The honey blonde turned around to see Ash running her way. He wasn't there for half of the showcase.

"I'm sorry for being late," he said. "I had something important to do."

NOTE: And that brings us to the end of the chapter.

I hope ya'll enjoy it. Also, with christmas around the corner, things are sorta busy atm, so I wont be able to update as fast as I like (but I still try to keep it to once a week). Just a heads up!

Leave a like, follow, PM, or review! :)