Spitfire, Chapter 31: Echo

When Serena spoke, Ash couldn't hear it, it came in like a super sonic wave, and he could barely understand her words. Did something happen? A lot happened. Did she mean in the last hour or the last two days, or the last week? Because in the last hour he realized that the girl he intentionally avoided in fear of never being good enough liked him as much as he liked her. In the last two days he realized that his friends were some of the best, patient people in the world, and in the last week, he learned a very complex answer to a simple question.

"Do people change when they kiss?" He had asked Misty so many years ago. Initially, the answer he hoped that it would be was 'no', because he didn't want to change. He also didn't want to kiss anyone. But the reality of it was yes, people do change when they kiss. For example, Ash changed in many ways, from a bumbling good nature kid that he was, to a bumbling good nature mess that he is now. After kissing Serena at the championship, and any time following that, he felt hollow; an odd burning sensation in the back of his throat, some general discomfort, but over all, he felt wrong. He knew that kissing her was wrong, that leading her on was wrong—to put it plainly, he didn't know how to tell her he didn't want her, because while he felt differently, he could never imagine why. He tried to argue with himself countless times that he had no good reason not to like Serena; so he must have, somewhere! But he didn't. Only now did he realize why that was.

When he tried to come up with a conclusion for the sporadic feelings that he had, Misty always came up; either from something she had said before, or because he wanted to ask her what she would do. Even if it wasn't a romantic memory, he still always thought about her in the best, and worst of situations. Whether Ash knew it or not right away, it was always Misty. When he envisioned having a girlfriend, he envisioned not Misty originally, but someone just like her. Not that there was anything wrong with Serena; it simply didn't reflect in him the same way that Misty always had. No matter the situation he found himself in, Misty bailed him out. No matter the horrible situation Misty found herself in, he always bailed her out. Rather than doing the saving all the time; Misty was someone he could count on to always be there. He could lean on her strength, and not just rely on her support.

Hell, he would have bet on his life that if he had actually called her when he was in his hotel room after the championship, sitting confused and troubled; she would have done anything possible to help him, whether it inconvenienced her or not. Even though she knew that she loved him, and and would ultimately be helping Serena rather than herself. Even though he hadn't spoken with her in months; he knew that she would have been there. The same way that she was here for him at the party. That's who Misty was, and it wasn't just for him. She helped everyone in any way that she could. A part of him always looked up to her, seeking her approval to the point that he would occasionally act out just so she would pay attention to him.

It was really strange, realizing all of this now that the option to smother her with his weird affections finally surfaced. He exhaled, and Serena whom he had forgotten was standing next to him while he ventured off into his own world shook him gently.

"I asked if you were alright, Ash?" She echoed sweetly, and after looking at Misty who had started to doze off in her seat, he glanced at Serena.

"Yeah, actually." He said confidently and bit his bottom lip, "I need to talk to you though..."

"Oh, about what?" she said with a smile, hoping for good news. He raised his hand to point towards the Kitchen, which held so many embarrassing moments for him now, and opened his mouth when the front door swung open. Revealing Gary standing there with his hands in his pockets; Ash's thought disconnected and he looked wide-eyed at him.

"Hey! How's Professor Oak?" Ash asked rushing from the living room entrance to his former-rival, sort-of-new-rival.

"He's okay. They're keeping him in over night, but he will be out in the morning." Gary sounded relieved when he spoke, letting out a gentle sigh while Ash pumped his fists up happily.

"That's awesome! He looked like he was in pretty rough shape..." Ash said, only to get a shrug from Gary.

"He's a tough guy," he played it coolly while approaching Serena at the door and giving her a curt, polite nod before stepping in the living room. Misty had dozed off in her seat, leaning over the arm rest on one side, and Tracey over the opposite arm rest. May and Drew had also fallen asleep in a cute way; May's head was on his shoulder, and his on her head. The rest of them, played a casual game of cards, and Brock dinged around in the kitchen. Gary shook his head slightly,

"Wheres the other two?" He asked, referencing Cilan and Iris, Ash pointed down the hall and then up the stairs.

"In the shower." He asked, feeling a bit nervous that he and Gary were talking. Actually, this was the fist time he and Gary spoke since Ash caught him... As if it happened only a second ago, Ash started to fume mentally. He stopped himself from exploding by counting back from ten, and sigh instead. It didn't matter, that was then, this was now. So long as Gary didn't try anything now, it would be perfectly fine.

"Hey, since Gary is here now; shouldn't we get your mom?" Serena asked while approaching the kitchen. She peeked in to see Brock and Delia discussing new books while taking turns preparing sandwiches for the group. A simple meal, unlike the last one.

"Hey, Delia, Gary is here... so if you wanted to get started..." Serena said gently, causing the older woman to stop placing tooth picks between the bread and smile up at the blonde.

"Is Professor Oak okay?" She asked carefully, wiping her hands on her apron as she removed it. Serena nodded happily in reply, hopeful that what ever Ash had to talk to her about was something of great importance... Though it didn't seem that way—since he dodged the subject so carefully. Delia sighed in relief while beginning to clean up. In the mean time, Ash hadn't broken his glare at Gary.

"What's the stare for?" Gary muttered while putting his hands on his hips disapprovingly, Ash grit his teeth and forced a smile.

"Nothing." Ash offered through grit teeth and shoved past Gary as quickly as possible and directly towards Misty where he poked at her to wake her up. Serena watched this with wide eyes, and her shoulders fell as his personality completed a 180 degree turn. From the thoughtful, depressed sounding Ash, to the Ash that poked happily at Misty's ribs until she swatted at him in a sleep driven daze. Serena's blood ran cold, and she straightened her back before clapping her hands aggressively.

Everyone shot awake, even those who were not asleep jolted from their seats into standing positions.

"Everyone outside! We're taking a group picture!" she shouted, desperately wanting to separate Ash and Misty, and for as long as possible, avoid the inevitable.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXO

Misty was one of the last one's out, mostly because she borrowed some make-up from Dawn to cover up the worse injuries on her face. The redness from when Serena had slapped her had long since faded; the tender skin was still there, but it no longer puffed up. Instead, she was given a lovely decorative split on the left side of her bottom lip, accompanied by a lovely blue and red-ish ring that grew worse by the minute. She touched the flesh of her lip, thinking that it wouldn't be a bad idea to ice it later while the back door swung open and closed beside her several times as her friends entered the house and exited frequently.

Cilan had finished in the washroom right before Misty decided to apply cover-up to her face. She winced, it stung every time her finger bumped it, and she wondered just how she managed to kiss Ash earlier without screaming. Or how he could stand the probable taste of blood when he kissed her. Her cheeks flushed at the memory, and she coughed awkwardly. Even when no one was around, she felt so anxious about what had happened. Sometimes even guilty.

She watched as May, who had went to grab a new bandana rushed outside again, and finished applying her cover-up. The blue and reds could be seen a little, but it was much better than what it had been. Glum, she stared in the mirror, the split on her lip poked out like a sore thumb, but she wouldn't let that stop her. It was only a picture, and what better way to start a conversation than trying to explain why everyone was wearing bandages. She grinned at the thought and turned the corner to follow May, only to collide with the royal-purple haired, dragon type gym leader.

"I'm so sorry." Iris grumbled, and Misty swore to herself that if she ran into one more person, she was going to just walk around flailing her arms and shouting "I'M RIGHT HERE" around every corner. Instead, she rubbed her head lightly, realizing whom she had stumbled upon.

"Oh, you must be Iris." Misty suggested quickly, and Iris gave her a sort of nervous, dodgy smile in return. Ash had mentioned briefly that Iris was shy around new people, and preferred pokemon. Misty gave her a dazzling smile in attempt to calm her nerves.

"I'm Misty. It's nice to meet you." She said while sticking out her hand, Iris shook it happily and relaxed a little.

"The water-pokemon trainer, right? Ash talked about you a lot."

"I seem to get that a lot. All bad things, probably." Misty laughed awkwardly, only to see Iris purse her lips.

"Annoyingly positive, actually. I thought you would be an angel or something."Misty twitched at the comment, almost hacking on air while a blush crept over her face, Iris gave a short shrug, "I'm actually a little disappointed that you're not."

"That I'm not an angel? Oh jeeze." Misty laughed while scratching her cheek with her index finger, Misty stammered slightly, "but, uh, while I have you here; can I ask you a sort of really awkward question?"

Iris's face scrunched up; "uhh... sure, I suppose." She said while blinking at Misty. She looked once at the exit, and then again at the red-head.

Trying to play it off as a casual question Misty shrugged her shoulders and shook her hands out. "You don't by any chance like Ash more than a friend, do you?"

Iris scoffed, a small demeaning smile pulling at her lips. She raised her hand to her lips to stifle her laughter, "Me, like a kid like Ash? No way." She laughed slightly, holding her stomach. But at Misty's awkward glare and red face, the humor drained from Iris's body.

"Why? He doesn't like me, does he?!" She whispered in absolute horror; this time, Misty laughed. At least Iris was genuine.

"No, not like that." Misty managed.

"Oh thank heaven." Iris sighed, holding her hand against her chest. Misty thought she was going to skate away from this damage free, but then after Iris's relief passed she looked at Misty skeptically.

"Why do you want to know? Isn't he dating that blonde girl?"

Misty's mouth fell open and she turned her back to Iris nervously, "Just you know... Crazy things have happened." she said queasily, scuffling her feet onto the porch before Iris could ask anymore questions. She watched Misty leave with wide eyes and shrugged as she followed.

When Iris stepped out, following Misty, Ash greeted Misty first, and then Iris. "It's good to see you, Iris. Now that Team Rocket isn't going crazy." he suggested and Iris relaxed a little and nodded while approaching Cilan. She wasn't ready to be apart of the spill of other trainers in the field past the porch.

"It's good to see you, too. Sorry for everything getting crazy there for awhile." She flipped her tied back hair; changing her pigtails out for one solid pony tail that fell well past her hips. She wore a white, long sleeve shirt, as well as white leggings, but had a long and flowing tan sash around her torso that fell at her waist and went back up around her neck. She also had a black belt, which carried her pokemon now that they had been returned to her. She, as well as Cilan were clean for once; and Cilan smiled at her arrival.

"Alas, the smell of dirt no longer penetrates the dark beauty." He said kindly, getting a frown from Iris.

"I don't like it when you do that." She grumbled, while folding her arms.

Ash seemed to miss the exchange however, the moment Iris walked away, his attention faded back to Misty who adjusted her messy, wind blown hair. She also touched her lip obsessively, as if poking it would make it vanish. Chuckling, he grabbed her arm to bring it down and away from her lip. She tossed him a lazy glare.

"You look fine." he chortled, "It makes for a better story, anyways."

"You're not the one with the busted lip." She said accusingly, though appreciative at his attempt to help, she smiled. Serena didn't feel the same way, obsessively watching the way his hand didn't move away from her wrist right away. Tracey piped in at the same time, wrapping his red-head band around his forehead to cover his own bandages.

"Yeah, but at least neither of you have to worry about your girlfriend seeing the picture and freaking out." He managed, getting an awkward chuckle from both Ash and Misty as they moved away from each other, blushing fiercely. The less they knew, Misty reiterated in her head, the better.

XOXOXOXOXXOXOXO

When it came time to finally stand as a group for the photo, it was rather problematic because of the injuries cast amongst some of the males; namely Drew and Tracey, who had a few nagging aches. Misty managed to pull on a second set of black gloves before the picture, to cover up the gaudy bandage that was around her right wrist, but everyone else was maneuvered in a way that their bandages wouldn't be as obvious in the picture. Unlike usual, Ash also dragged her around whenever he moved positions. While he wasn't able to form words why he wanted her beside him, he knew that he wanted her there regardless. Misty didn't seem to mind, and because she was one of the tallest females, only being a little shorter than Iris, no one complained that they stood together in the back. Except for Serena, who screamed mentally.

Well, either they noticed and didn't care, or they acted like Dawn who muttered to Paul "It's about time" when she didn't think that Ash was listening. Apparently, it was obvious that something had happened, at least to Ash, who had finally awoken from his depression of the last few days and was actually having fun around his friends, and making jokes.

The only one who seemed disturbed by his new infatuation with the red-head was Serena. Shamelessly, she watched every time Ash touched Misty, the moments when he would pull on her arm jokingly, avoid letting Misty and Gary anywhere near each other, and most importantly, the moment that seemed to go unnoticed by anyone else; that warm, infectious smile that Ash only shared with her. He lit up around her, and the worst part was that it wasn't just now. It started the moment she walked through the door a day ago. Serena's chest burned, trying to keep her attention on her companions rather than the giggling duo behind her.

Her mind raced, however in support of Ash's new actions. She choked. When he introduced her at lunch, how he acted at the table with her; when they talked around the living room; at the party when they were competing in pictionary. Whenever she was around, he was happier; even when he was mad at her. Serena could feel the air drain from her lungs; it wasn't fair.

Of course, she didn't say any of these things while she posed for the pictures that Delia took of the group. She didn't want to disturb any one else.

"If we can get a nice one, I promise to make red-bean rice balls." Brock grimaced aggravated and unable to see from the flashes that had gone off, courtesy of Delia.

"Well stop squinting then, Brock." May laughed, poking at the dark skinned trainer who looked absolutely disgusted by her comment.

In the end, the final position was Ash standing in the back row; with Misty on his left, and Iris on his right. Gary stood beside Cilan, who stood beside Iris; with Tracey, Brock and Paul to Misty's side. Below them, Dawn and May knelt in the second row with Clemont, Drew and Max at the edges; and finally, Bonnie and Serena sat up front with large, adoring smiles. Whether they were honest smiles or not, they all grinned for the picture, giving them a brief, ageless moment of their happiness together.

"That one was perfect!" Delia shouted, lowering the camera to hear a loud group sigh.

Serena's chest still felt heavy, but she pushed a believable smile at anyone who spoke with her, laughing when she was expected to, and smiling when she was supposed to. Even though everyone else seemed totally happy and natural; nothing could change the fact that when she looked at Ash, her heart shattered. After the final picture, most of the trainers started to pile back into the house; but Serena pushed forward to find Ash, though in the swarm of people; he seemed so hard to grab on to. She was drowning, trying to paddle up a waterfall with several holes in her ship.

"Oh, speaking of pokemon," Misty's voice started sounding painfully louder than everyone elses. Serena could see her facing Ash with a delighted smile on her face, "I've been meaning to ask if I could see your Greninja again; that's the final evolution of Froakie, isn't it?"

"That's right!" He exclaimed, smashing his fist into his palm, "I wanted to show you earlier, but I was..." He stammered off as Serena made her presence known to the couple who weren't acting like a couple by touching the hem of Ash's sleeve. With her mouth drawn into a frown, she looked at the ground, allowing her hair to cover her eyes.

At first, Misty was going to ask her if she was okay, but then thought better of it. The last person Serena probably wanted to hear that question from was Misty. Especially if Serena concluded what had happened on her own. Ash stared at the small blonde with an exasperated look, unsure of how to handle the pounding in his chest while this hollow girl held onto his sleeve.

"Serena...are you okay?" Ash asked suddenly, having not clued into why she was upset.

"I.." Serena replied slowly, looking at her shoes. "Was wondering if we could have that talk now..."

"Wha—Oh," he said and then added again sardonically, "oh..." He looked up at Misty briefly, who wished more than words that she could be there to talk to Serena; and for once since she arrived, wished that she could actually help. But the last person Serena wanted to talk to was Misty; that much was clear.

"Actually, let's take a rain check on greninja... I told May that I would help her..." Misty looked at Ash and then at Serena and inhaled, "I'll talk to you later." She added quickly and then excused herself, making sure not to touch Ash, or stare for very long.

After watching the gym leader leave, Ash looked back down at Serena, and then mustering his best attempt to make her feel better, he took her by the hand and led her to a path beside his house.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Carefully, he guided Serena down to the pond, where the late after noon sun caused the water to glisten. He had his hands shoved into his pockets, having decided to let her hand go after the start of the walk, favoring instead the warmth his pockets brought him. Plus, he didn't want Serena to get the wrong idea... Serena didn't speak until they reached the tree line, where a few large rocks sat around the water. Ash walked over to one of the larger rocks, and took a seat, waiting for Serena to follow. Pikachu jumped from his arm, and began to play with some of the loose grass at the shore of the pond.

"This place is gorgeous..." Serena remarked sullen, staring at the overgrowth of green trees that fell in bundles around them. The smell of grass and dirt filled her nostrils, putting her at a slight ease as she sat on the rock near his. Pressing her feet into the ground, she twiddled her fingers together. She wasn't hopeful anymore. No, anything Ash had to say wasn't going to leave her with the butterfree feeling she hoped that it would.

She inhaled, trying to prepare for the worst. In turn, Ash rolled his tongue around in his mouth and raised his eyebrows and let them fall, as well as closing his eyes to gather his thoughts. Misty wasn't the only one that wished she could be here. It would be so much easier if he had told her to do this for him; but like she told him earlier; he was the one that needed to acknowledge his mistakes. Not Misty.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Serena choked, tugging on her skirt.

He exhaled sharply, recounting Misty's words; "I...uh, Serena you and me, we..."

Unable to hear him say it after all, she inhaled sharp; cutting out her tears before they spilled. "I know." she said sadly, looking down at her hands. Ash turned away from her in unison, curling his legs up against the rock.

Serena hiccuped slightly, breathing heavily, "I don't think we ever were, anyways." She confirmed, looking down bitterly, Ash nodded his agreement slowly.

He concluded, "No, I don't think that we ever were."

For a few moments, silence fell between the two of them as crickets chirped in the background as he looked up, generally feeling bummed out about their situation. He brushed his hands together and finally looked at her.

"Can I just ask why?" She managed, and Ash could honestly say that he wasn't prepared for that.

"Because I don't feel the same way about you." He said abruptly, surprising himself with his force and word choice. Serena shook her head, dipping her toes in anger.

"You sure it's not because of Misty? You two looked pretty happy during pictures." She grumbled childishly, pulling her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around her legs.

Ash scowled, "Misty has nothing to do with us."

"Really? She didn't influence your decision at all?"

"Not until after I had already decided for myself, Serena." He glowered, glared now at the blonde, but when he looked at her; he felt bad. She wasn't angry, she was sad; and she had every right to be.

Serena sighed, "So you never... from the start?"
"I didn't know how to tell you." He argued, though the excuse sounded fairly weak aloud.

Serena scoffed, "No, it was my fault. I pushed myself on you." Serena suggested, suddenly blaming herself. "If I hadn't, it would have worked for us right?" She bargained, but Ash shook his head.

"No, Serena. I know that you said that you love me, but I don't love you in that way. I don't think...No, I know that I never will. I'm sorry." He corrected himself a few times, avoiding the use of obscurities. He had to be clear to Serena. That much he knew, especially after her proclamation the night prior, that she will fight for him no matter what.

She sighed, and rubbed her face tiredly; "Mew, I feel so stupid." She grumbled, laughing pathetically at herself. Ash wasn't sure what to say, so instead he said nothing; and for a short while, neither did she.

"I'm sorry," Serena said suddenly, catching Ash off guard. She watched the fish jump in the pond while Ash watched her.

"No, I should be the one who apologizes." he suggested timidly, but Serena shook her head once again.

"No. I do." She looked at Ash for a moment, and then looked away, touching the ribbon he gave her very gently. "I saw it the moment she walked into the house; the way your eyes lit up when she walked into a room: honestly it terrified me."

Ash blushed slightly, having never noticed such a silly sounding thing before; "I don't know what you're talking about..." He denied, glancing away, but Serena touched her boots and smiled.

"That's why I blamed her, you know? When May kissed you. I knew that she didn't cause it; she's too loyal to ever suggest such a thing to anyone, especially to May, who was confused as all sin...but I blamed her because I thought..." She looked down and sighed, "I thought that if she hadn't showed up, you and I could be happy. We would return to our travels like nothing had changed, an we would be together. I blamed her for all the times when you wouldn't talk to me, the times you got quiet, and even when you stopped smiling after the championship. Somehow, it was her fault."

Ash narrowed his eyes, unable to make sense of what she was saying; and believing that it sounded really strange and slightly degrading. He wanted to question her, but she beat him to it.

"That was what I believed until I saw you in the market with Dawn. The way you acted, so full of confusion and life... it was adorable." Serena chuckled, getting a pout from Ash, she looked him in the eye daringly, "But it wasn't because of me. I was wrong to say that I could make you love me. I'm sorry."

Ash's mouth hung open, unsure about what to say until he managed a smile; "You and Misty followed us?"

"Well, technically Misty followed you, and I followed her." Serena admit sheepishly while rubbing the back of her neck, "Something about you overhearing something."

Ash smiled at that comment, clasping his hands together for a moment before letting them fall to his sides and prop him up. His face scrunched up happily, recalling the memory that freaked him out only a few hours ago; "Yeah..." He said softly, a dazed look in his eye. Serena reeled him back in though by clucking her tongue.

"So you don't like me, even though you said last night that you weren't sure;" Missing her point he narrowed her eyes, " Are you sure you like her?" she asked abruptly, catching him off guard.

Ash hesitated for a moment, sitting upright at the question while his mind raced for the correct answer. Initially, he thought yes. Misty, whose bike he fried his first day of his pokemon journey, who followed him around for weeks, who drove him nuts. Who helped him when he had no idea what was going on his first few years as a trainer, who supported him no matter how far away they were. Who had no problem telling him when he was wrong, but complimenting him when he was doing well. Who was feisty and caring; full of determination and charisma... There was never a dull moment when Misty was around, whether she be going crazy, or over-enthusiastic about pokemon; there was simply something about her that he admired deeply. Something he had never felt before.

He licked his lips, feeling that he could have dragged the memories on forever, recalling times in his life where he had actually been upset when Misty was interested in someone else. This whole jealousy over Gary wasn't a new feeling for Ash; he had felt like that on a couple of occasions before; they simply never escalated as much. Ash had always been overly protective of the water-pokemon trainer...even though she never needed it. He cracked a sincere smile, the pit of his stomach dancing while his heart grew aflutter.

"...Yeah, I do," He paused, closing his eyes thoughtfully, "I...love her."

Shocked by his own words, he turned a shade of pink that Serena hadn't seen before; and she couldn't help but smile sadly. He looked over at Serena, wide-eyed and embarrassed for saying that in front of the blonde; but Serena didn't seem to mind, actually, she clapped her hands together and gave him an earnest smile. Trying to pep herself up.

"I'm so sorry Serena, I didn't..." he started, realizing that the last thing he should tell someone he 'just broke up with officially', was that he loved someone else entirely.

"Please don't apologize. We can't help the way that we feel about other people." Serena assured him, reiterating the advice she had given to Bonnie earlier while holding back her tears. Even though she was devastated, there was no reason to be nasty about it, at least not to Ash. She would be fine, she just wanted to see Ash happy, and if he thought that was with Misty instead of her, she would accept it. No matter how difficult it was.

"Thank you." he said calmly, chest falling as he looked at the pond. They sat for a time, and he stood up finally, and dusted the back of his pants off. She didn't budge.

"Have you told her yet?" Serena asked, tilting her head at Ash. He turned an unearthed shade of red.

"No, I... Misty and I haven't discussed things yet." He squawked awkwardly, rubbing his arm.

"Well, then you better go fix that fast; or someone might snatch her up when you're not looking." She forced herself to wink playfully at him, "Like she did to me." She thought bitterly after her words.

Ash saw through her false smile and offered a sympathetic grimace in return, "Are you going to be okay?" He asked quickly, and his words hit her in the stomach like a wrecking ball. Salt to the wound. Still, she forced a smile.

"Eventually."

"...you're sure?"

"Yeah." she managed, sniffling Shortly after adding, "...No, I... just want to be alone for a little while, if that's okay." She laughed gently, holding her finger to the corner of her right eye. Refusing to cry in front of Ash. He lowered his hat to her.

"You sure? I'll stay if you want."

"Please no." She cracked, and then swallowed hard, "I'll be fine. Just go, okay?" She closed her eyes at him, smiling painfully with the corners of her mouth twitching. Pikachu climbed up onto Ash's shoulder, and spared a short squeak before Ash nodded and started his slow trek back to his house, leaving her perched on the rock.

Half way out of the pond, he stopped and raised his shoulders as he turned back to stare at her; she was looking away from him and he inhaled confidently.

"We'll still always be friends." He tried, but that was the final blow. Tears spilled from her eyes, and she was thankful that Ash couldn't see her face.

"Of course!" She called back, and then after that, Ash disappeared into the fade of the darkening trees.

The tears that Serena held inside glistened down her cheeks in waterfalls, and she turned to look at the water; sucking in her lips as she started to sob. She fell to her knees, huddling herself into a ball while the last few days played back in her mind. She was so happy to have finally gotten Ash, that she hadn't stopped to realize that he didn't return her feelings. Not because she didn't care; but because she knew the moment she kissed him that he didn't love her, and maybe, she wasn't prepared to face that. He never did; and he never would. So she crumbled underneath the sudden pressure, and bawled. Sensing her sadness; her three pokemon popped out of their balls without her permission and stared at her; Pancham, Braixen, and Eevee gave their silent appreciation, nudging her gently. She threw her arms around her three companions, and she wept silently.