NOTE: Hey guys... sick... but managed to finish this. I think I feel a bit better not that its night time. lmao. o_O I know it has been awhile, but I was finishing up another story, and then a few things popped up. I should be focusing on this one now (this one is almost done too).
Anywho, thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. And yeah, it did escalate quickly didn't it!? lol
Thanks to - Darkness171717, FantasyLover88, RenegadeReviewer (thanks so much for your thoughts :)), gurkaran23, Ryanthelion42, c00k33s, Nexxus176, Q-A Authoress, Guest, aliensinnoh, philly cheese dude (thanks for the honest opinions :)), Megan Finstrom, JayFan67, Guest, LadyKapuletty (thanks :D I unfortunately can't view that link for some reason), Daisy Pragnya (I hope nothing was too bad for you to be in the hospital), Peter, Tsav.
Enjoy the chapter! :)
Chapter Twenty: Girl's Day
Serena's eyes fluttered open. She pulled her covers up to her chin, staring at the ceiling above her. She took a deep breath, feeling as if a dozen needles were prickling her chest. The slightest movements ached her. She's never felt so emotionally… dead. She could lift up her arms or legs, but it hurt. Whenever she rolled over to get comfortable, the weight of lifting one of her arms was so unbearable. For the entire night, she laid there as motionless as she can, staring at the ceiling before slowly floating off into dreamland. And when she thought that she would be able to get at most, six hours of sleep, her relentless mind woke her, and she stared at the ceiling for another half hour. And then the process repeated. Before she knew it, a portion of the darkened ceiling was reflecting the brightness of the sun.
She couldn't stop thinking about what happened with Ash or about what happened with Alain.
Her romantic feelings were still new, and it's been years since she's felt that way. It was foreign and it caught her by surprise that Ash made a move on her. She wanted to say that it felt great, but she wasn't so sure. He started it, but he was also the one to end it. It made Serena wonder if he genuinely wanted to kiss her or if he was just caught up in the moment. He wasn't the same dense boy from her childhood, but he wasn't much of an amateur either. He must have gotten some kind of experience from Alola. But what? And that note she wrote about kissing him, she knew that he saw it too. How was she going to face him after that?
Alain was a whole other story. Everything with him seemed so simple. She was aware of his feelings for her, and she thought that he was aware of hers towards him. Maybe not. She thought she was so close to him, yet after last night, she's never felt so distant. She's always told him about how she wanted him to improve, to train more, to live up to the title. He just never listened. She felt incredibly bad for yelling at him, but she felt that he deserved it. He needed a wake up call. And the way that he told her that she belonged to him… it drove her insane. It made her feel like some kind of Pokémon that was misbehaving. She was furious, yet she still had a need to apologize to him.
"Rise and shine ladies!" May's voice echoed through their sleeping quarters.
Serena heard her footsteps prance about the room. She then shut her eyes as May opened the curtains widely, allowing the ceiling to be fully exposed to the bright rays.
"Ugh, May, Can you not?!" Dawn yelled out, irritated.
Serena shifted her head on her pillow, turning to the right to see Dawn getting out of her bed to close the curtains. She then shifted her eyes to Shauna and Miette who were pulling their covers over their heads.
"It's already 9AM! It's our last day! We need to do something together before getting on the bus tonight," said May.
"I'm not in the mood," said Dawn while slumping over to her bed.
Serena sighed before deciding to sit up. She wasn't going to get any sleep anyways. She was trying for hours. She might as well do something.
"What is wrong with you guys?" May asked before sitting next to Dawn. "You all came in here last night like something terrible just happened."
"I was stuck. On the slopes. With GARY!" Dawn groaned before taking the pillow closest to her and screaming into it.
"Maybe." May smirked. "But I don't think that is what's bothering you."
Dawn sat up to look at the brunette. "You mean other than hearing his obnoxious stories?"
"I think something happened to you and you aren't telling me. You aren't telling us." She pressed her index finger against Dawn's nose before standing up again. She faced the foursome and began pacing the area. Miette and Shauna pulled their covers to the side, suddenly interested about May's words regarding Dawn.
"In fact," May continued. "I think four of you are hiding something. Something must have happened to all of you yesterday."
Serena looked over to the rest of the girls before looking away. She was so caught up with her own problems that she didn't even think about what was happening with the other girls. She remembered coming back to the lodge and seeing Dawn and Gary by a few paramedics. Miette was sitting by a window with a blank stare, and Shauna was already in bed when she decided to go back to their room. She supposed there could have been something wrong, but it all seemed normal to her.
"Aren't you two supposed to finish your assignment today?" Serena asked, her heart feeling heavy upon saying the word assignment. It was all because of that assignment that triggered those events.
"While you four were sulking, Arnold and I woke up early to complete it," said May. "We're already done."
"And Gary and I finished it on the slopes yesterday," mumbled Dawn with her arms crossed. "We found a hoard of Delibirds…" she trailed off before leaning back towards the headboard and closing her eyes. It was like she just didn't want to recount the events that occurred the day before.
Serena looked down before looking over to Shauna and Miette. They were trying to pay attention, but they all looked loss in their own thoughts as well.
"Since it's our last day, why don't we do something just the five of us?" May suggested. "I mean, Arnold has to complete a different assignment with Gary, and Ash and Alain are no where to be seen. I mean, Gary saw them come in, but they were gone when he woke up."
Serena perked up upon hearing Ash and Alain. She began to wonder how they were feeling. She knew that what happened was probably affecting Alain, but Ash? She wasn't so sure. He was sort of a mystery to her. All she knew was that he was no longer dense.
"I got us five passes to go Rhyhorn racing," said May before pulling out five tickets from her pocket.
"Rhyhorn racing?!" Serena and Miette yelled out at the same time.
Serena looked over to Miette who was looking more flustered than ever. The honey blonde just didn't want to go Rhyhorn racing because of her brother. He was probably going to tease her and try to get the details of her and Ash's so called 'date'. If anything, Miette should be ecstatic to be near her brother. She had a huge crush on him since forever.
Serena squinted her eyes at the bluenette before looking away. There could have been a chance that Miette saw him with Lacey. But how could she? Her brother was one of the last people off the slopes. She couldn't have seen him with her, especially when she decided to go to his Rhyhorn class.
"I think it will be fun!" said May. "Besides, I'm sure your brother will be able to help me with getting you guys to talk."
Serena glowered at May. She should have seen this coming. Her brother was May's secret weapon whenever she wanted to get information out of her, or anyone else.
"Hey squirt!"
Serena frowned upon seeing that wide and bright smile plastered on her brother's face. That obviously meant that his date with Lacey went exceptionally well. Or, he was just hiding his true feelings.
"Hey…" she lowered her voice as she passed him into the rental equipment booth. The rest of the girls followed behind her as Calem walked closely next to her.
"Date didn't go so well?" he whispered into her ear as she reached the counter. He then leaned against the counter and eyed her with curiosity as the worker went to the back to fetch some equipment.
Serena closed her eyes and sighed. "It was an assignment." She gritted through her teeth. "ASSIGNMENT!" she yelled out before punching him on the arm.
Calem groaned in dismay before standing up straight. He then looked over to May. "She's definitely hiding something," he chuckled, garnering another punch from Serena. "Gosh squirt… When did you get so strong?" He laughed loudly, before clearing his throat. "Hey, Miette," he said rather awkwardly.
Serena reached out to the helmets that the man placed on the table before returning to the back. She began to hand them out to her friends, but immediately looked to Miette upon hearing her brother's greeting.
"Hey… Calem…" Miette said with a small smile.
Serena tilted her head to the side before shifting her gaze between the two. Miette wasn't her usual peppy self, and instead of drooling over him, she couldn't even bare being in the same room as him.
The body language definitely made Serena think that it had to do something with Lacey. It just had to.
"Okay then," said Calem before grabbing the last helmet out of Serena's grasp and placing it on her head. "Since you guys are in your suits, and have all the padding you need, let's start off with one race!" he said in a loud voice. "According to May, you guys all have a secret, so last one to finish the race has to spill."
"MAY!" Dawn yelled out in anger.
"What?" May said. "I practically told you that I was going to get Calem to help me out."
Serena sighed. She didn't get why this was needed. No one was willing to talk, but surely, everyone was going to talk later. That's how it was. Everyone just needed time to recollect their thoughts before spilling their emotions.
"Serena," said Calem. "If you come in last place, I'll be very upset."
Serena rolled her eyes before buckling the clasp on her helmet. She then marched outside towards the racing area, and eyed the small racetrack. After the storm, Serena thought that the Rhyhorn lessons would be put on hold. She was sure that the track would be absolutely covered in the white flurry. She was wrong. The round track was spotless with piles of snow shoveled over to the side. The weather was pretty nice, so the workers must have shoveled the snow to the side to continue on with the lessons.
"Wrong one, squirt," said Calem before placing his hands on her shoulders and making her turn her body to the right.
Serena's jaw dropped upon looking at what her brother was pointing at. Instead of being round and relatively uniform, it started off on the top of a hill and down a slight slope to the very bottom. She couldn't even see the finish line since it seemed that the slope continued down pass a clearing of trees. Stationed at random intervals of the course were shallow mud pits. She seriously had no idea as to why there would be mud pits on a course. It seemed completely random to her.
"Are you serious?" asked Serena.
"Yep, I got the workers to clean it up the second I got May's call. It was supposed to be closed due to all the snow, but I managed to make it work in the end."
"Isn't this for advanced riders though?" asked Serena. "We're not advanced riders…"
"You're an advanced rider. You've been Rhyhorn racing plenty of times, and you're good enough to be a professional," he said. "Plus," He took a few steps forward to stand in front of the girls who were standing side by side. "I've worked with all of you before. I know you all have the skills to go through this track."
"But I never really worked with you before…" said Shauna with her hand up.
"You did when you were younger," said Calem, pointing out the friendship that Serena and her had before what happened. "And, you're Kalos Queen. I know for a fact, that you can do this."
"What makes you think that this race will get us to talk about what happened yesterday?" asked Dawn.
"Then it will be the usual."
"The usual?" asked Shauna.
Serena puffed out her cheeks before letting the air escape from her mouth. During spring or winter break, Dawn and May would always go to her house in Vaniville town. Neither of them would go to their home region since the break wasn't long enough for them to enjoy their stay. When Miette finished visiting her hometown, she would come by, and Calem just always happened to be there. They set up obstacles all the time, created their own games, and raced each other. The loser always had to complete some kind of punishment. It was usually harmless, but still bad enough to make you squirm.
"Yeah," said Calem. "Drink a disgusting concoction the other's make in the kitchen. That could be avoided though. Just talk out whatever problems you're having."
Serena looked down. She didn't want to talk about what happened. She wanted to avoid it. At least, for now.
"Disgusting concoction?" Shauna questioned. She looked a bit distant, almost like she wished that she didn't severe the friendship she had with Serena.
"You'll see, one day." Calem said before ushering the girls up the hill and behind a few bars. On top of the hill were several different stations for each racer on the track. There were already five Rhyhorn's waiting on standby with workers making sure that the saddles were correctly positioned.
"Anyways," Calem continued. "The race will start with the sound of a whistle. I'll be over there riding on my own Rhyhorn to make sure that no one is cheating." He pointed to his own separate Rhyhorn that was waiting for him by the track. He then grabbed a video camera from one of the workers who passed by him. "I'm also going to film this." He held the camera up.
"Why?" Serena asked.
"'Cause mom would love to see you race." He smiled widely before waving the five off and returning back down the small hill.
Serena groaned as her and the others positioned themselves on top of their own Rhyhorn's. As Serena readjusted herself in her seat, she bent down, feeling the tough exterior of the Rhyhorn's forehead. "We got this," she said while momentarily closing her eyes. She could easily sense the calmness of her Rhyhorn, and in return she felt at ease. She knew that she was going to be able to ride well with her chosen companion.
"I don't think I want to do this," said Dawn.
Serena turned her head to look at Dawn who was sitting atop a Rhyhorn who looked a little unsettled. It was slightly swaying from side to side, while jumping on the spot.
"I think yours is just revving to go." May laughed.
"I don't think-"
TWEEEEEEEET~!
Serena's vision immediately jolted straight ahead as Dawn's cries echoed through the slopes. The sudden amount of movement on the small slope caused a tremor in the earth's surface, causing a few clumps of snow to trickle down the hill or off the branches of the pine trees surrounding the area.
The honey blonde held tightly onto the lead ropes, making sure that her Rhyhorn wasn't going to slip on the icy surface. She had to make sure that her Rhyhorn had the proper footing and speed to get through this course without any kind of mistake. She didn't want to lose and drink something disgusting. She knew May and the others all too well. Even if she came in last and told them what was bothering her, they were still going to make her drink the wretched liquid they were going to create.
"AHHHHH!" Dawn yelled out in horror.
Serena blinked before looking to her left to see Dawn's Rhyhorn zooming right past her, nearing the mud pit in front of them. The bluenette held tightly onto the reigns, but was being moved around like she was on the back of an angry Tauros.
The honey blonde laughed along with the others as Dawn's Rhyhorn slid through the muddy pit with dollops of mud flying around. Dawn yelped as the mud splattered throughout her entire body.
Serena held her arm up, trying to block the incoming amount of mud flying her way. She could feel the wet globs hitting her arm as she tugged on the reigns to command her Rhyhorn to jump over the pit. Her companion happily obliged and immediately jumped up and into the air. Serena braced herself as she grabbed onto the reigns with both of her hands, hoping that she didn't make a bad move. Her Rhyhorn then landed on the ground with a loud thud, causing more clumps of snow to tumble down the hill.
"SERENA!" She could hear a few of the girls yelling out behind her.
Serena turned around for a brief second to see that her action caused her Rhyhorn to splash an enormous amount of mud on everyone. She giggled, but immediately began to feel the after affects of her move. Due to the icy surface on the course, Serena felt her Rhyhorn losing it's footing as it began to slide down the slope.
"It's okay," she whispered, rubbing her Rhyhorn's forehead, trying to calm it down.
Her eyes then opened widely as her Rhyhorn's feet slid into another mud pit. She didn't realize that the next pit was that close.
Serena sat back up as her Rhyhorn continued with sliding down the muddy area. She held one of her arms up to shield her eyes as she felt her Rhyhorn slowly get ahold of its footing. It then slowly started to continue onwards, and Serena sighed in relief as she continued on with the race.
She looked behind her at the others who all had a look of regret on their face. They just started sliding down the next mud pit, and Serena began to giggle at their widened eyes and mouths. She then looked forward and continued with guiding her Rhyhorn down the track.
She could feel the others closing in on her, but she didn't want her Rhyhorn to lose its footing again. Serena bent over, and looked straight ahead of her as she entered the clearing of trees. She could see another mud pit in front of her, and just a little ways from that was the finish line. She took a deep breath, getting her Rhyhorn to slightly increase its speed.
The galloping Rhyhorn entered the last shallow mud pit and Serena looked just beyond her, making sure that there was no hidden ice to make her Rhyhorn slip again. She continued forward, getting her Rhyhorn to decrease its speed as its muddy footprints exited the last muddy track. In one final burst, Serena and her Rhyhorn trudged onwards, being the firsts to cross the finish line.
"I knew you would be first, squirt," said Calem as Serena jumped off of her Rhyhorn to pet it. "I still don't get why you wouldn't be a Rhyhorn racer. You're so good at it now."
"You're the racer," said Serena before looking to her right at the girls who were all relatively close to each other in the race.
She could still hear the screams escaping from Dawn's mouth as she was the second one to cross the finish line. Behind her was Shauna, and then May, and finally, Miette.
"HAH!" said Dawn as she jumped off her Rhyhorn. "Miette has to spill first~!"
Serena looked up to her older brother as he slowly began to walk away from the other girls. "You did something to Miette, didn't you?" she asked as the other girls began to talk with one another.
"I didn't do anything," he said. "I just said the truth."
"The truth?"
"Look on the bright side, squirt. You don't have to drink anything disgusting."
Serena then watched her brother walk away with his Rhyhorn by his side.
The five of them sat by the fireplace, still wearing their soiled Rhyhorn coveralls. Their faces and hairstyles were a complete mess, but none of them cared as they sipped on their hot beverages while enjoying their tray of sweets.
"So you waited for him?" asked May.
"Yeah…" Miette looked down, not wanting to continue with explaining her feelings.
Serena took a bite of a graham cracker while looking at the heartbroken Miette. She's told her a million times that Calem was too old for her. That Calem just wasn't good enough for her. Her brother was a complete playboy. She deserved someone else.
Her suspicions were correct. While she was with Ash at the café, Calem must have gone back to his teaching area with Lacey, and Miette saw the two. Miette was tired and said more then she wanted. She called Lacey another ditzy girl for Calem to fool around with. Calem got angry, and told Miette that she was too young, and too inexperienced for him. Lacey didn't want to be caught up in the middle of the drama, so she left.
"I still think that you deserve someone else," said Serena.
"I guess," said Miette before taking a sip from her mug. "Enough about me though. Shauna is next."
"Wh-What?" The brunette almost choked on her cookie.
"It's your turn. It's only fair."
"But I think mine gets tangled up with Serena's problems…" said Shauna.
"Great," said Dawn. "Then I can go last."
Serena glared at the bluenette before looking over to Shauna. May or Miette didn't seem to care. May didn't have any problems, and Miette just finished with spilling out hers.
"You guys left me on the slopes with Alain yesterday," said Shauna.
"Yeah, how was it? Did you two make any progress?"
Shauna set her cookie back onto its plate. She then smacked her hands together, trying to rid of any crumbs that were clinging to her fingers. "It was fine. I guess. After leaving the slopes because of the snowstorm warning, we waited in the lobby for everyone else. And then you and Arnold came by." Shauna pointed to May. "Saying you were going to get us a table at the café to eat."
"Yeah, I remember that," said May. "And then Alain said that he wanted to wait for Serena and Ash because they should be done with their assignment."
Shauna nodded. "Well, I waited with him, but no one was coming. Alain started to get agitated, and I could tell that he was on edge. I just didn't know what to say to him. And then you and Arnold came back out, asking for Dawn and Gary."
May nodded again, remembering the events that happened.
"They weren't anywhere to be found, and then the snowstorm came, and we started looking for them, and asking for help from the workers…"
"Yeah…"
"When we went our separate ways, Alain was getting angry because Serena and Ash weren't back yet either. He was starting to get worried. And then he started to yell at me. He started to tell me that it was my fault. That if I weren't the one distracting him, he would have been able to watch Serena better… I mean I like him… and it just hurts to hear him say that he wants to watch you." She looked straight ahead at the honey blonde.
Serena looked down as the other girls turned to look at her.
"Did Alain find you?" asked May.
"Yeah," Serena mumbled after some time. "He did."
"What happened?"
"He… uhmm… he pretty much yelled at me too." She sighed.
"For the same thing?" asked Shauna.
"Yeah." Serena shrugged before tossing her graham cracker to the side. She then looked up to the rest of the girls. "He said you were some kind of distraction, so I could be closer to Ash." Serena closed her eyes for a second. "He also said that I belong with him and no one else…"
"Possessive much?" said Dawn. "What made him finally admit it?"
"…he walked in on me kissing Ash."
"WHAT!?" The girls around her gasped before leaning in close, waiting for more details.
"We were just waiting for our dinner. And then he found one of the notes we hid in our room." Serena looked at Miette.
"Oh yeah," said Miette. "Him and Gary have our old room, don't they?"
Serena simply nodded before Miette asked her which note it was.
"It was a really old one," said Serena. "I don't even remember writing it."
"What did it say?" asked Dawn, eager to know what the note said.
"That I would kiss him one day…"
"AND IT HAPPENED!" Dawn said, almost squealing. "So does that mean that you like him again? When did you even start liking him?"
"I don't know," Serena said before pushing Dawn's face away. The bluenette was so interested in her love life; she was inching in closer by the second. "He kissed me, and then Alain came barging in right away. It happened too fast. I don't know how I feel."
May sighed. "Wasn't it just four months ago when we were worrying about our first student council meeting?"
"Yeah," Dawn agreed. "Now we're worrying about boys. I'm not sure if I like it."
"You?" asked Serena. "You didn't even tell us about what happened with you."
"Well, since yours is the cherry on top, then I guess I could spill mine," said Dawn. "Gary kissed me when we were stuck in that cabin."
"WHAT!?"
Next Chapter Summary: Final Exams
"Serena," said Ash. "I really need to talk to you."
"Huh?" Serena blinked, looking down to the hand that was gripping onto her wrist.
"Look, I'm sorry about what happened in Snowbelle City…" he said. "Just let me explain."
NOTE: So, this chapter was more or so setting up things for the next story. It was setting up, I suppose, other pairings for it. I still hope that you guys enjoyed it though.
As usual, leave a like, follow and/or, review ! :)
I'd love to know what you guys are thinking!