Denial

As everyone cheered and crowded around Serena, Ash just stood there, motionless. He was too late, and he couldn't believe what he'd heard; Serena was leaving, just like that, without any kind of warning or clue. But, everyone else was so happy for Serena, they didn't even notice Ash was frozen as an Ice Beam attack.

"I can't believe it," Clemont said as the excitement began to die down. "You actually got an offer from Palermo herself? She's the agent who helped Aria become Kalos Queen! Just when did this happen?"

"Oh, um," Serena began. "It actually happened right after the Master Class performance. Palermo offered me the spot after I got knocked out of the competition, but I told her I wanted to finish traveling with you guys first. So, she gave me her number, and I decided it was time to call her." As Bonnie stood there, giving Serena the biggest hug she could give, she opened her eyes and saw Ash standing separately from the group hug, frozen. It hit her like a ton of bricks and she immediately broke away to turn their attention to Ash.

"Hey wait a sec," she began. "Ash had something important to say too!" Clemont realized that Ash had wanted to ask her to come traveling with them before she told them the news, and suddenly worry overtook his face. He turned his head alongside Serena, wondering what Ash was going to say next. "Ash wasn't there something important you wanted to ask Serena before Team Rocket interrupted us?!" Ash just stood there, without saying a word. Until, Bonnie's words snapped him out of it, and he finally processed what was going on.

"U-uh um," he stammered nervously. "Sorry, what was the question?" Bonnie shrugged in annoyance and repeated.

"Did you, or didn't you have something to ask Serena?" she said through her teeth. Ash looked straight to her and gave a faint blush that couldn't be seen, but he just glanced down and looked at them with a casual reply.

"Nothing important," he said. Bonnie and Clemont suddenly got hit with a look of shock as Ash said it was nothing. "It was just about where we all wanna get lunch; I overheard someone in the center that the roads might be open soon, thought we should fill up." Bonnie was so irritated with what he just said, and was just struggling to keep from blurting out the truth, but Clemont put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head to it.

"Oh, okay," Serena replied happily. "I just had a snack with Shauna, but now that you mention it I am rather hungry. I'll head in and get us a table." She walked ahead of the others, and pet Pikachu on her way in. Ash was about to follow, but Bonnie grabbed him by the arm and jerked him back.

"Why did you do that?!" she whispered angrily. "You were gonna ask her to come with us, and you just… just.. Why did you do that?!" Ash pulled his arm away from Bonnie and tried to explain.

"It wasn't the right time," Ash used as an excuse. "Serena had this big news, and mine would've just ruined it." Ash began to walk away, with a scowl on his face.

"Come on," Serena called out. "You guys coming, or do I have to eat by myself."

"We're coming," Ash called back, before looking at Clemont and Bonnie. "Not a word about this to her. I'll ask her myself later, right now has to be about Serena." Ash walked ahead acting like everything was okay, but Bonnie was just sad about what had happened. Clemont walked up behind her and she gave him a hug.

"Is Ash really going to ask her?" she asked her big brother. Clemont looked at her and sighed.

"I don't know, but I sure hope he doesn't keep it to himself," he replied. They both looked down just as they walked off to join Ash and Serena, worried that she would be the only one not invited to come along to Alola.

***About 20 Minutes Later***

"Hm, this is pretty good!" Ash said stuffing his face, trying to break the silence they had. The crew had found a large table and sat down to lunch with Shauna and Sawyer, enjoying the Pokémon Center's new All-You-Can-Eat Buffet. Everything seemed normal, just a group of friends eating, but if you'd had lunch with them more than once you'd be able to tell something was off. Ash was eating more than he usually ate, Serena was a lot more set on her food, Clemont could barely touch his noodles, and Bonnie was just chewing on the same piece of bread for the past 5 minutes. Sawyer didn't eat with them often enough to notice, but Shauna could spot each little thing from a mile away.

"Is everything alright with you guys?" she asked with concern. Everyone looked at her and just asked what she meant. "Well, everyone just seems a little… tense. I don't know why, but you do."

"We're fine Shauna," Ash replied. "Don't worry, it's alright."

"I guess we're just on edge because this is the last leg of our journey through Kalos," Serena continued. "After we get to the next town, we're all going to go our separate ways and start a new chapter."

"Speaking of which," Sawyer interjected. "Shauna told me about your apprenticeship with Palermo. Congratulations on that, that's really big." Serena just blushed a bit, Sawyer just flattered her, and she couldn't help but be a bit embarrassed by it. "So when are you gonna meet her? I heard she's pretty high maintenance, so I'm guessing soon." Serena jumped back a bit at that; it was true that Palermo was a little demanding during their call, and Serena did know just when Palermo wanted to see her.

"Actually, she did mention that," Serena answered. "She wants me there as soon as possible, so in order to do that, I have to catch the next train to meet her in Coumarine City, tomorrow." Tomorrow! Everyone in her group jumped up in shock at what she said, all she did was go stiff and explain. "Yes, tomorrow. The roads should be clear by tomorrow morning, and the last train to Coumarine City until next week leaves tomorrow evening." Everyone listened and understood, they just sat down and tried to resume eating. Bonnie finally finished that piece of bread, though it was all she grabbed at the buffet.

"I'm getting some more food," she said as she grabbed her tray and walked off. Shauna knew things weren't right, and realized Bonnie would be the link to figuring it out.

"I think I'll join her," she said as she finished the last bit on her plate and got up to go after Bonnie. Bonnie had already made it to the serving station by the time Shauna caught up. "Okay, what's with the awkward silence? Usually, everyone's going on about how good the food is, or chatting about something that happened today. Bonnie, what's going on?" Bonnie tried not to say anything, but she had to say something, even if it was just an excuse.

"It's just what Serena said," she replied. "We're all tense because our journey together is ending, and it's a little sad." Shauna listened to her and just gave a sympathetic smile.

"Hey, don't worry," she said. "I know this big change can be scary, but you're all still gonna be friends afterward, right? You'll always be together, even if you're apart." She just chuckled a little as she bent down to give Bonnie a little hug, which did help her a lot.

"Thanks, Shauna," Bonnie said with a faint smile.

"No prob," Shauna said as she started to turn her attention to the snack bar. "Ooh! Cantaloupe!" Shauna darted for the fruit, and Bonnie stood next to her getting berries to continue their conversation.

"I just can't believe things are gonna change so much," she said. "I know it has to, but traveling just won't be the same without Serena." Shauna had snatched and eaten a cantaloupe slice when she said that, but realized just how out there that comment was from what she thought was going on.

"Huh? What does that mean?" she asked. Bonnie froze as Shauna asked that, she didn't even realize it had slipped out, but she was so dazed she couldn't help it.

"Oh, um, nothing!" she replied trying to make her way back to the table before Shauna could ask more.

"Bonnie," Shauna said as she grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her to face her. "What do you mean it won't be the same without Serena, what am I missing here?" Bonnie tried to keep any more from slipping out, but Shauna had cornered her with a hard stare, and she didn't know what else to do.

"Okay, okay," she said giving in. "Ash wanted to ask us to come traveling with him in Alola."

"What?!" Shauna quietly said, shocked at what she'd heard. Serena hadn't mentioned this at all. "Is that why everyone's so quiet?! Did Ash ask her and she said no?!"

"No," Bonnie interjected. "He hasn't even asked her yet, she told us she was leaving before he even could." Shauna couldn't believe what she'd heard. "Don't tell Serena any of this! Ash says he doesn't want to get in her way, but I'm not so sure." Bonnie walked off, back to the table while Shauna just stood there, trying to contemplate what to do next.

"MmMm! That was good!" Sawyer said as he finished his meal with the others. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm full. I think I'll get some extra training in before dinner. I'll see you guys later!" Sawyer dumped his dish and ran off.

"I think I'll get some more berries myself, I'll be right back," Serena said walking off to get more. Bonnie had just returned to the table as she left, which is right when Clemont put down his fork and started to talk.

"Okay, enough of this," he said to Ash sternly. Ash jumped back and stopped focusing on his food, confused but paying attention.

"What are you talking about?" he asked as if he didn't know.

"Seriously Ash, we need to address the Donphan in the room," Clemont continued. "Are you seriously not gonna say anything to Serena at all?!" Ash was caught in a tight spot but tried to wriggle his way out of it.

"Well, why should I?" he asked retaliating a little. "She came to us and said she'd made some new plans before I could ask. Asking her now won't do much good."

"You heard her, she had just called up Palermo before she told us," Clemont said.

"Yeah," Bonnie concurred. "I mean, it doesn't sound like she really wants to go. If she did, she would've said something a long time ago." Ash knew what they said made sense, but he still didn't feel comfortable with it.

"What can I do about it?!" he said whispering. "It's not like I can just walk up to her and ask her to put her dreams on hold just so she can come traveling with me somewhere far away!" Clemont and Bonnie looked at Ash with a bit of puzzlement. "Us, us, I meant us! Look, either way, I can't just come out and ask her like with you guys; she says she's got plans now, even if they were last minute."

"Then don't just ask her," Clemont said. "Like Bonnie said, it doesn't seem like she really wants this. You need to find out how she really feels about it; get her alone, spend some time with her to find out what she really wants, and then if she has doubts you ask her."

"How?!" Ash asked with a sliver of hope that he was right.

"I have an idea," Bonnie interjected, grabbing their attention. Meanwhile, Serena was going to get food, just when Shauna came up to her and stopped her in her tracks.

"We need to talk," she whispered in an angry tone.

"W-wha-what?" Serena stammered confusedly. "I-I was just about to go and get more ber…" Shauna stopped her right there and slid some of her berries onto Serena's plate.

"Here, you can take some of mine," she interrupted. "Why did you call Palermo?! I thought you told her you were gonna finish your journey first?!" Serena's face began to frown.

"I told you," she replied. "I'm sick of waiting, and I'm moving on myself. We were all going off on our own by tomorrow anyway, and I figured I'd left her waiting long enough."

"Call her back," Shauna replied. "Tell her you need to postpone, that you need to visit your family first, SOMETHING!" Serena just became more and more irritated.

"I told you, I'm moving on!" she retaliated as she started to walk back. "Why do you care so much anyway? I thought you understood me when I told you about this earlier."

"I did until I just found out that Ash was planning on taking you to Alola with him!" Shauna replied. Serena froze and almost dropped her plate as she turned around in shock. "Yeah, he was going to ask you to come traveling with him, but you tossed out this Palermo news before he had a chance!" Serena couldn't believe what she was hearing, she had just tried to move forward, with the biggest step possible, and now she was being told she took it too soon. "You need to cancel on Palermo, give Ash the chance to ask you so you can go together!"

"I-I-I," Serena stammered. "No-no way you must've heard wrong, Ash said he didn't have anything important." Shauna couldn't believe what she was hearing, and it just irritated her.

"Are you kidding?!" she said. "This is the special moment you said you've been waiting for, and you're just gonna let it slip away?!"

"I'm telling you, Ash isn't going to say anything," Serena said as she continued back. "If he were, he would've given me some sort of clue by now. Like wanting to talk to me, some sort of sign." Shauna just put her hands on her hips and pouted. Was Serena really just going to let this pass, or was that all just a ruse? Meanwhile, just as they were both approaching the table…

"So, you have the plan?" Clemont whispered to Ash.

"I've got it okay, I'll handle it," Ash replied as he turned around to face Serena. "Um.. Serena?" Serena looked to Ash in sudden wonder of what he was going to say next. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about. So, if it's okay with you, could we meet up later?" Shauna bumped her in the arm, but Serena just rubbed the pain down and glared at her before turning her attention back to Ash.

"Sure," she replied. "But, I need to pack up my things for my trip, so I won't be free until dinner." Clemont and Bonnie glanced at each other, and gave each other a smirk, as they proceeded with Phase 1 of The Plan.

"That reminds me," Clemont said as he got up out of his chair. "I actually have a big project I need to be working on before we all leave, and now that I know you'll be on a train tomorrow, it looks like I'll be working on it all night. So, I won't be able to make it. " Bonnie looked at Shauna and gave her a wink to try and message her about what they were doing. Fortunately, she could already see where they were headed.

"Yeah, I won't be able to make it either," she said playing along. "I need to get some practice in on a special new performance, and I'm gonna need Bonnie's help perfecting it!" Bonnie didn't see that part coming but was just as giddy as a Happiny about it.

"Yippee!" she said forgetting about the plan. Serena stared at her, confused at why she seemed so surprised. "Um, yeah! I'm just really excited," she said barely covering it up.

"Well," Ash said. "Sawyer said he'd be training all night, so I guess that means it'll be just the two of us. That okay?" Serena's face just became shrouded with red as she tried to process what she was just asked, but all she could do was stand there.

"Serena?" Shauna asked, trying to snap her out of it. "Serena!" With that, Serena shook her head and snapped out of it.

"U-um, sure," she replied. Her face was almost a fiery red, and Ash's face wasn't exactly much better.

"Great," he said awkwardly. "Should we say around 8?"

"Um, okay," Serena said. Ash gave an awkward smile and sat back down in his seat.

"You wanted your sign Serena," Shauna whispered. "Well, that was it." Serena couldn't believe what was happening, and neither could Ash. He couldn't believe he let Clemont and Bonnie talk him into this, talking to Serena now was tough enough as it is. They were both nervous as a Wurmple in a Pidgey's nest, but at the same time, they both felt kind of excited.