NOTE: Hey guys, Next chapter. Woot Woot.

Onto a question!

Guest: ...is there going to be a sequel to this story?...

Yeah. It will be titled Kalos Academy: Rivalries & Firsts. :) You can visit my profile for a summary or go to my tumblr for updates revolving around the story. my tumblr is the same as my username here. :)

Thanks to everyone who commented on the last one! - Guest, aliensinnoh, Daisy Pragnya, Q-A Authoress, Renegade Reviewer (Yeah, the CavalierShipping seems kinda random, huh?) , Nexxus176, StreetRacer-Sam, gurkaran23, FantasyLover88. :)

Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty One: Final Exams

Serena looked down to the color-coated timetable in front of her. The horizontal column indicated the days while the vertical one indicated the time in hourly intervals. Each student in the Performer's program was given one regarding anything for the upcoming finals. The boxes highlighted in red signified an exam while the boxes highlighted in pink signified an evaluation. Everything else that was highlighted in yellow showed a review class, and those were usually mandatory.

She sighed, her mind feeling uneasy as she stared at all the colors. There was barely any white on the sheet. She threw her head back and groaned, raising her hands to massage her temples. They just got back from their long weekend, and they were already being bombarded with extra work. By the looks of it, she had four exams to complete and three evaluations. She wasn't worried about her exams though. They usually involved a lot of memorization, which was way better than something that involved critical analysis or solving equations. Those were the type of things that Clemont usually had to complete, and he wasn't even in school.

She shuffled a few of her papers to the side, eagerly searching for the schedule that contained the dates for any upcoming Showcases. The second she found it; she pulled it out from her folder and placed it in front of her. She pressed her index finger against the smooth surface, gliding it downwards as her eyes scanned the words on the sheet.

December 9: 10AM: Fleurrh City.

She frantically reached for her exam timetable, wondering if she was going to be able to participate in the show.

"December nine…" she muttered as she looked over to the sheet.

She scrunched her brows, seeing that she had an evaluation that day at the exact same time. She pursed her lips together, trying to prevent an angry squeal from escaping her mouth, but she ended up throwing her head back, and letting out another groan. With what happened during the Snowbelle Showcase, she was feeling like she was behind. She knew it was only her second Showcase, and she still had awhile until the Master Class, but she was revving for another win.

She cleared her throat and adjusted her blazer upon noticing a few other students eying her like she was some kind of crazy maniac. Serena smiled at the students who were sitting at the tables next to her before leaning over, trying to hide behind the small, confined walls of her cubicle.

"I guess I'll just have to wait until the exam period is over." She sighed before pulling out her phone to check the time.

She still had some time to kill before meeting up with Miette to prepare for their etiquette evaluation.

Serena slid her thumb across the touch screen and pressed on her photo album. She bit on her bottom lip as she stared at the last picture that was saved to her phone. It was during their trip in Snowbelle City. When they had their first meal at the café, Dawn asked a waitress to take a picture of them. They all crowded around the brown, upholstered couch and smiled widely at the camera.

Serena swiped her finger to the left to view more pictures. They took at least three to make sure that everyone was looking their best. All the pictures were fairly similar though. She turned the brightness up on her phone and began to inspect everyone's face. May was sitting on the armrest with Arnold awkwardly standing a few inches beside her. Arnold wasn't really a part of the group, so May threw her arm around him to make him feel like he was. May smiled brightly while Arnold had a look of shock on his face. It almost looked like May was about to give him a noogie. Standing behind the couch were Dawn, Gary, Alain, and Shauna. Dawn and Gary looked like they were competing for widest smile, while Alain had his arms crossed with a complete look of boredom on his face. Shauna had her shoulder brushing up against his arm and was leaning over the couch with a small smile on her face. On the opposite side, sitting on the other armrest was her brother Calem. He just somehow made it into the picture. If Serena remembered, he disappeared after she bumped into him in the lobby. The second they decided to capture their first memory together; he just somehow jumped in and made a peace sign with both of his hands.

Serena slightly shifted her gaze to the left to see Miette, her, and Ash sitting on the couch. Miette had her legs crossed, and instead of smiling, she had her usual 'I'm a supermodel' face. Serena had no clue as to why Miette always had a need to look like a supermodel. She kind of looked like Alain's twin in the photo.

Serena looked to the middle to inspect her facial expression. She just had her arms on her lap and was smiling sweetly. Nothing unusual there. She let herself linger over her image before deciding to look at Ash. It was strange not seeing Pikachu in the photo, but Serena remembered him saying that him and Pikachu weren't together as much as they were when they were kids. Besides, the little mouse like Pokémon was playing with the rest of their Pokémon at the play center. Serena slightly glanced up to look at Ash. He wasn't even looking at the camera. He had his head slightly turned to the right, his eyes glued to something beside him. Serena wanted to believe that he was distracted by May, or Dawn and Gary's usual bickering, but the longer she stared at the photo, she knew that he was staring at her.

Serena shook her head before placing her phone on the desk. She could feel her pulse quickening and her cheeks starting to burn. She picked up her phone again before sliding her finger to the right to inspect all the photos. He was staring at her in all of them.

She chewed on her bottom lip before gently throwing her phone across the desk, hearing a thump as it hit the back wall of the cubicle.

She found it so strange. They were only there for three days, and they came in like a great group of friends, looking forward to their long weekend. And then they left, divided from one another.

Ever since they returned to school, Serena's been trying to distract herself from what happened by drowning herself with all the exam info. When she returned to Professor Sycamore's class, Gary and Dawn weren't even bickering with one another. In fact, they couldn't even look at each other. Dawn made it seem like that kiss between her and Gary was nothing. She wouldn't even go in detail about it when it first came up. Dawn even said that she brushed her teeth and scrubbed her lips a billion times after that. But after seeing those two in class, Serena wasn't convinced that that kiss meant nothing. She caught Dawn staring at him a couple times with a faint blush on her face. She couldn't believe it at first since Gary was such a narcissistic jerk, but Serena never knew of their interactions when they went off to complete their own assignments. Maybe Dawn started to like him without realizing. Serena just had to watch them for the time being.

Ash was busy burying his nose into his book. She wasn't sure if he was trying to hide from her or if he was really studying. She had to assume the latter of the two. When they were at that café, he seemed like he was really focused on getting a good grade.

May seemed to be the only one who was her usual upbeat self. She even got a new friend out of it. Her and Arnold have gotten closer, and not in any kind of romantic way. Serena was pretty sure that Arnold was going to May for relationship advice about another girl in their class.

Miette and Shauna seemed to be keeping themselves busy as well. They were always smiling widely, but Serena could tell that they were having a hard time coming into terms with their broken hearts. Serena was so sure that Shauna would stop talking to her after that. It was her idea to try and pull her and Alain closer together. She really wanted to make sure that her and Shauna's friendship wouldn't break again that she completely lost insight of what Alain would want. And when she sat down to really think about it, Alain wasn't the type to move onto another girl so easily. Once he cared for someone, whether it is a friend or a significant other, he treasured him or her more than he treasured himself. Even if the way he portrayed it was drastic, he was genuinely a great guy and anyone would be lucky to have him around.

It was a shame that things took a turn after that trip. Serena wasn't even sure if she could depict it as a good turn or a bad one. She just knew that things were awkward and tangled right now. She hoped that the long exam period and the break would fix everything that's happened in the last week.

Serena stood up from her chair and tucked all of her belongings into her bag. She grabbed onto her phone, inspecting it for any kind of scratch before tucking it into the pocket of her blazer. She then comfortably fitted her bag around her shoulders, and tucked her chair back into the cubicle before walking around a few tables to get to the exit.

She sighed, thinking about Alain as she began walking through the narrow aisle that was created by the towering bookshelves. He was her best friend, and she wasn't acting like one. He wasn't acting like one either, but she still wanted to make up with him.

She took a turn, passing a couple of students who were sitting on the ground, already studying for their own finals. She grabbed onto the strap of her bag before briefly turning her head to her left, spotting a familiar face between the cracks on the shelf.

She stopped for a second, hiding behind the shelf as she saw Alain standing next to a table, placing some of his belongings on it. Serena took a step back and made a turn, ready to mend what was broken between the two, but she stopped as she saw another figure taking a seat at the table. It was Shauna.

Serena stepped back into her hiding spot before deciding to spy on the two.

"Look," Alain sighed after taking a seat next to Shauna. "I'm sorry for lashing out on you. It was wrong. I shouldn't have channeled all my anger towards you."

Shauna opened her mouth and blinked several times. She looked shocked, like she wasn't expecting any kind of apology from the guy who caused her heartache. "Oh…" she murmured, fumbling with one of the buttons on her blazer. "It's no big deal… you were angry…" she said after some time. "I would have done the same if I was angry."

"That doesn't mean that it was right," he said before looking her straight in the eye. "I know that you've been trying so hard to get on good terms with me, and I've been brushing you off like an annoying bug. I never meant to." He sighed. "I just-"

"Really like Serena, right?" she said with a faint smile on her face.

He hesitated for a moment, but simply nodded his head. "But now I lost her as a friend."

"I don't think so," said Shauna, placing a hand on his arm. She then quickly pulled away and began to fumble with her buttons again. "Friends fight. I mean, I was fighting with her for years…"

"I guess." He sighed. "But she was right. I'm a mess. I'm a Champion, and I haven't been acting like one. I want to apologize to her, but I don't… I don't want to do it until I can show her that I'm doing better."

"Doing better?" Shauna questioned.

"I would like your help, Shauna…" he said uncomfortably. He then lifted one of the textbooks he placed on his desk. "I can't be her friend again if I can't be my own friend… I need help with preparing for my battles with the Elite Four and Diantha."

Shauna smiled, but still had a look of shock on her face. "I would love to help you, but why are you asking me for help…?"

"Because Serena really wanted the two of us to be friends again." He hesitated for a moment. "And she needs to see that I'm actually trying. Not just because she asked me to, but also because I need to. Because I want to."

Serena took a step back before deciding to quietly walk away. She smiled, feeling as if things were slowly starting to get fixed. So maybe Alain didn't like Shauna, but there was nothing wrong with still wanting the two of them to be together. Maybe he would end up liking Shauna, and the two could be together. It was just going to take time.

Serena smiled wider, knowing that her friend was going to return to the dorms with a wide smile on her face. She lifted her hand to her mouth, intending to hide the wide smile that was replacing her current facial expression.

As she lifted her arm, she bumped into a student that was entering the library.

"I'm so sorry," she said, turning around to apologize.

"It's fine. It happens."

She looked up to see that the person she bumped into was Ash.

Serena gulped, trying to play it off as if she didn't notice him. "Okay," she murmured, feeling her heart pounding through her chest. She kept her eyes glued to the buttons on his blazer before turning around, intending to exit the library.

"Serena," he said. "I really need to talk to you."

The honey blonde gulped before stoically exiting the library. She could hear him calling out to her, but she just wasn't ready to face him. She didn't know what to say, what to do. It was all too much for her to handle.

"Serena."

"Huh?" Serena stopped in her tracks as she felt a hand gripping onto her wrist. She slightly turned her body, looking down to see his hand on her.

Serena took a step back, her mind ready to mentally explode. He was touching her and it was driving her crazy. After all that transpired, that was all that she could currently think about. She shook her head, trying to shake away her thoughts before slowly glancing up to look at him.

He had a look of sorrow on his face. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened in Snowbelle City," he said. "Just let me explain." He let go of her wrist, allowing it to fall against her side. "Please?"

Serena's lips trembled as she opened her mouth to say yes. She then nodded at him and pointed to one of the few, cemented tables that were sporadically placed around the library.

"Great." He smiled as Serena followed him to a table located by the exit.

The honey blonde removed her backpack from her shoulders and placed it on the ground beside her. She then slightly lifted her phone from her pocket to check the time. She had ten minutes until she had to meet Miette.

"Do you have to be somewhere?" he asked after placing his own backpack on the table.

"I have to meet Miette soon," she answered. "We're going to study…"

"Right," he said, tight-lipped. "I guess I should make this quick then."

Serena simply nodded as she placed her hands on her lap. She then hunched over to stretch her back. She barely had her bag on for five minutes and she was already feeling the after affects of it being so heavy.

"I fixed up our assignment and handed it to Professor Sycamore. You don't have to worry about it," he said after a minute of silence.

Serena sort of forgot about that assignment. She thought her Pokémon grabbed it, but maybe Ash grabbed onto her notes while she was having her quarrel with Alain.

"You seemed to have been going through a lot," he said awkwardly. "So I decided to fix up the assignment and make it presentable. It didn't take me a long time to do it, so you don't have to worry about it."

"Thanks," she said. "Is that all that you wanted to talk about?" She pursed her lips together, trying to hide the need to start some breathing exercises.

"No," he said before looking down. "I wanted to apologize for kissing you… I didn't mean to…" He then reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be the note that caused him to kiss her in the first place. He extended his arm, handing it back to her. "I didn't mean to read it," he said as Serena grabbed it. "I heard Alain getting violent and I wanted to make sure that you were doing okay. I stood up and I stepped on it and without realizing, I looked down and saw it…"

Serena took a deep breath before opening the note to see Ash's footprint on it. "It's okay," she said. "It was an old note. It's not a big deal."

"It's not?" he asked, almost looking hurt.

"I-" Serena stopped, trying to read his expression. She felt like Ash liked her, but if he did, why would he say that he didn't mean to kiss her?

She took a deep breath, deciding to come clean. "I wrote it a long time ago," she said. "I… uhm… I had a huge crush on you when we were kids." She felt her heart thumping like it was about to break her entire body. At the same time though, she was slowly starting to feel relieved. "It started when you first helped me in the woods at Professor's Oak's summer camp."

"Really?" He perked up.

"Yeah," she admitted. "But then I came back here to Kalos and didn't think much about it, until you came here to participate in the league. My feelings for you returned right away. But then you lost, and you were so eager to try out the league in Alola. It... uhm… made me really sad to be gone from you again."

"Oh, I didn't mean to-"

"No, I get it. You were chasing your dreams. I was just a little girl who had a huge crush. It's not a big deal," she said. "I just realized that you were so focused on your dreams, that it was foolish of me to chase after some boy instead of my own dreams. So, I started to focus on myself."

"So." He looked a bit confused now. "You don't have a crush on me anymore?"

"No, I still liked you, a lot." Serena began to ramble. She was admitting more than she wanted. "But I didn't want to, so I ended up with Alain."

"That's why you dated Alain?"

"It was wrong of me to, but I was young and stupid. But it did help me, and I stopped liking you. Plus, Alain became a really good friend of mine, so things turned out well."

"So… you don't like me," he stated.

"I- uhm…" She looked away. "I don't know, Ash. I think I'll always like you more than a friend. But, I tried so hard to get over you. It feels weird to revert back to how I felt when I was ten."

"Well, I… I like you Serena. More than a friend."

Serena bit on her bottom lip, not wanting to look at him. She kept her gaze down at the sidewalk. He just said that he liked her. More than a friend. As in romantically, yet she wasn't feeling as happy as she thought she would be.

"I don't really know how it happened, but everyone I met in Alola seemed to have someone special in their life," he continued. "They were always asking about my love life, but I never really understood. Until one day, you popped up into my mind. And then it wouldn't stop. And I liked it."

Serena took a deep breath before slowly turning to face him again. "I never thought that you would develop feelings for me while I was trying so hard to get over you."

"Uhh… yeah…" he said shyly, reaching to rub his nape. "It's weird, isn't it?"

She simply nodded her head, and the two sat there in silence.

"So, what should we do about it?" He looked to her with hope. He reached out, about to grab her hand, but stopped himself, and instead fumbled with his fingers.

"I don't know," she said. "I've imagined this moment a thousand times in my head, but I'm not as happy as I thought I would be. Maybe it's because all my work to get over you suddenly went to waste." She held her hands out in front of her defensively. "Not like I don't like being your friend or anything. It's just… it hurt when you left… and I don't want to be hurt again. You're important in Alola. You could easily be gone by next semester."

"Oh," he said, sounding disappointed. "Then I don't mind being friends if that's what you want."

"But I don't want you liking anyone else," she blurted out before covering her mouth with her hands.

Ash chuckled. "I won't," he said. "But, can I… at least take you out on a date? My friends in Alola said it's what you do when you like someone. I wanted to experience one with you."

"Being alone on the mountains, wasn't enough?" she joked, still feeling uncomfortable by her random word vomit. At this point, she was just saying anything. She already admitted her past feelings towards him.

"No," he said. "It wasn't a date. It was just an assignment."

Serena shifted her gaze to the left, Calem coming into her mind. This whole time, her brother had her convinced that it was a date, and it wasn't.

"A date is harmless, right?" he asked. "I won't make any moves on you. It will just be two friends hanging out together." He smiled widely. He seemed so eager to take her out.

"I guess," she said. She never really thought that a date would be important to Ash. It was all so weird.

"How about this then," he said. "If we both pass all our exams with an A, I'll be able to take you out. It's a harmless bet. And you don't have to worry about saying yes or no. It's all up to the results."

"Uhm… okay…" She decided to agree, despite her last agreement turning out horribly because of Dawn.

"Great," he said, extending his arm to shake her hand. "It's a bet. And no purposely failing your exams."

Serena smiled. "I wouldn't do that. My grades are far more important than a date."

"I'll see you at the end of the exam period then. Study hard." He grabbed onto his bag and stood up from his seat.

"You too." Serena smiled as she watched him enter the library.

Serena knew that she was going to be able to get A's on all her exams. Everything was relatively easy this year. She wasn't sure if Ash was going to be able to though. Deep down, she really wished that he would.

Next Chapter Summary: A Wonderful Semester

"Hey! It's been awhile," said Ash. "It feels like it's been a year."

Serena smiled. "It always feels that way when its exam time."

"So, shall we get to it then?" He lifted his envelope and pointed to hers.

NOTE: Next chapter will be the last one! I also have a couple one-shots planned around the series, so look forward to those if you'd like. It doesn't really focus on amourshipping though so its up to you if you want to read it. :) I'll post a description on my profile when I can.

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