Brock giving me the green light for the Lumiose Camp is incredible enough, but also approving my visit to Clemont's house? It's a downright miracle.
I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, though, so after school on a Wednesday, I hop into Clemont's SUV and we're driving down the street toward the electrical goods store that his father owns, since they live on the upper stories.
There's just one tiny problem.
My heart hasn't stopped racing ever since Serena took the seat next to me, and it's making my brain go haywire. Granted, my heart also pounds when I fight Brock or when I have a nightmare about the Varyas tearing me apart, but somehow, I don't think it's for the same reason. There's no way my body is registering Serena as a threat to me… So what can be the cause?
"Ash? Hello? Earth to Ash!"
I jolt. "Uh… Yes?"
Serena's lips twitch like she's suppressing a smile. "Clemont and I were discussing how we'll be splitting the teams. I suggested girls versus boys."
"Teams?"
"For the doubles match later?"
Right. Badminton.
"Yeah, sure. So you and Bonnie are against Clemont and me, right?"
"Yep."
"Um, just a heads up, Ash, I kind of really suck at sports…" Clemont pipes up from the driver's seat.
I wave a hand. "It's fine, it's just a friendly match! Win or lose, all that matters is we have fun… Although I'll make sure victory is ours!"
Serena is tugging back her hair into a ponytail. "Yeah, not if I have anything to say about that." She snaps her fingers. "I know. Let's make the losers treat the winners to ice cream."
The thought of biting into a cool, refreshing ice cream in this sweltering heat makes my taste buds water.
"Deal!" I say immediately.
Bonnie is standing outside the store, tapping her foot on the ground and carrying a bag with the rackets and shuttlecocks. Meyer stands next to her, and waves at us as we approach.
"Take care of your sister, Clemont," Meyer says as Clemont rolls down the window. "You know what a handful she can be."
"Hey! I am not a handful!" Bonnie complains as she clambers into the car, and I shift to make space for her. Of course, that ends up with me being pressed against Serena's side, and my stupid heart, which has barely calmed down, begins its furious galloping again.
"You can trust me with her, Dad," Clemont replies. "I won't let her out of my sight."
Bonnie huffs. "What am I, a golden retriever?"
Serena puts one finger on her lips. "Well, with your blonde hair and energy… That may not be too far off."
"Serena!"
She giggles when Bonnie pouts. Something in my chest tickles.
Clemont drives us to a nearby grassy field where we set up the court and split into our teams. Across from me, Serena begins stretching, and even decked out in a simple sweatpants and form-fitting tee, she still looks like a… well, goddess.
I blink, a bit surprised at my own train of thoughts.
"Hey Ash?" Clemont begins nervously. "Are you sure you want me to serve?"
I flash him an encouraging thumbs up. "Have more faith in yourself, okay? And it'll be good practice. I can't be the one serving all the time."
"Um, if you're sure…" Clemont rolls back his shoulders, widens his stance and clutches his racket until his knuckles turn white. "Here I go!"
He tosses the shuttlecock high in the air. Swings his racket. And somehow hits the shuttlecock backward. We watch as the shuttlecock goes sailing behind him, landing on the ground a few feet away.
"Uh…" I break the silence, scratching my head.
Clemont drops his racket, covering his face with his hands. "I can't do this. I'm hopeless when it comes to sports!"
"Nonsense. There was a lot of power in your swing, so that was something, at least," Serena says, trying to cheer him up.
"And yay, you didn't hit yourself in the face this time!" Bonnie adds, stifling a laugh.
I pick up Clemont's racket and hand it to him. "C'mon, you can't give up before starting."
"I can't even start!"
I thump him on his back. "Try again. This time, instead of throwing it into the air, why don't you just release it and hit it from a lower angle?"
I demonstrate for him, and the shuttlecock flies in a smooth arc. Serena jumps and catches it with her hands nimbly, sending me a bright smile. Butterflies erupt in my stomach.
"Alright…"
It takes Clemont a few tries before he gets the hang of the underarm forehand stroke, and when he finally executes a proper serve, he bounces around excitedly. "DId you see that? Did you see that?"
"Great job, Clemont! Keep it up and you'll be unstoppable in no time."
"Now that might be an over-exaggeration…" Bonnie mutters.
We resume our game, except now there's a new obstacle.
"Heugh… heugh…"
We're three minutes into the game and Clemont's stamina is already failing him. Serena smashes the shuttlecock toward him mercilessly, and I throw my body to the side, deflecting it. Of course, Bonnie is ready, purposely hitting it lightly so I'm forced to dash to the front to receive it. It's looking less like a doubles match and more like a one-on-two match with a huffing Clemont flailing behind me, doing some sort of bizarre acrobatics.
"Time out!" Bonnie calls eventually. "Clemont, pull your weight!"
He's gasping for breath and too exhausted to reply. His usually pale face is flushed, and beads of sweat drip from his forehead, falling into his eyes. He blinks them away.
"Let's take a break," I suggest. "And we kind of already lost, so how about Clemont and I go buy ice cream?"
"Ice cream! Hooray!" Bonnie celebrates.
By the time we walk to the nearest convenience store, Clemont's breathing has returned to normal.
"Sorry, Ash, that was pretty lame of me," he admits, kicking a stray pebble.
I nudge him. "Just a game, remember? Also, you can't be good at everything. If you're insanely smart and talented at sports, what does that leave for us mere mortals?"
He snorts, but I'm glad to see him enlivened by my words.
The cool blast of air when we enter the Pocket Mart feels amazing. We head toward the ice cream section, where Clemont shows me his favorite one. It's a lemon-flavored popsicle with an orange coating.
"Man, I remember the first time Mom made me try it… It was so sour I teared up," he says, smiling fondly. His smile fades and a pensive look comes over him.
"Your mom?" I prod gently. Clemont has never mentioned her to me before.
"Yeah. She…" he falters, but continues, "She was a scientist who specialized in deep space."
Was.
"I'm so sorry, Clemont," I say awkwardly, not sure what is the appropriate response. If there even is one.
"She's not dead," Clemont snaps, and I flinch.
"Sorry for misinterpreting your words!"
His anger subsides as swiftly as it has come, and the tension drains from him. "No, I'm the one who should be apologizing for lashing out at you." He rubs a hand across his face, staring at the ground with dim eyes.
"She disappeared a few months after giving birth to Bonnie," he whispers. "She went out to buy groceries and never returned. We searched for her for years, before Dad called a stop to it and concluded that she was probably dead, murdered by some sick psycho."
The sheer anguish on his face tugs at my heartstrings. "Clemont… I – I don't even know what to say. I'm sorry." Despite my stumbling words, Clemont manages to smile.
"Thanks, Ash. You know, during the ride to Lumiose City on the first day I met you?" Clemont broaches, flicking his fingers like a nervous habit.
"Yeah?"
"Well, I recall Brock saying he's your legal guardian. Does that mean…?" he trails off awkwardly, leaving his words hanging in the air between us.
"Yeah. My parents are dead."
He sucks in a breath, and then nods his head. "I'm sorry, too. For dredging this up and for… for your loss."
"It's fine. It happened a long time ago," I say, trying to shrug off the dull ache.
"It's not, Ash," Clemont refutes gently. "The pain never fully goes away. I just think of it as a part of my mother that still remains with me."
I've never thought of it that way before, but it resonates with me. We share a bittersweet smile, before we remember the task at hand: buying ice cream. Clemont grabs his popsicle, along with a grape-flavored one for Bonnie, and I choose a chocolate cone with hazelnut topping.
"What do you suppose Serena will like?" Clemont asks.
"Hmm…" From my many conversations with Serena, I recall that she likes sweet things with a hint of sourness. I peruse the assortment of flavors, and my eyes land on a small tub of strawberry ice cream with raspberry drizzle. Bingo. "That one."
"Okay," Clemont says, trusting my judgment. And indeed when we finally get back to the girls, Serena beams when she sees what I've selected for her, exclaiming that it's exactly what she's craving right now. We dig into our desserts, and each frozen bite of delight feels amazing under the scorching sun.
After eating, we play badminton for another hour, spirits boosted by the ice cream, and Clemont gradually improves until we can manage a decent rally. He's much more relaxed and this time we don't get utterly crushed by Bonnie and Serena. He drives us back to his home, Bonnie dozing off in the car, and Serena humming to herself.
"What song is that?" I ask, feeling a strange compulsion to get to know her better.
"Hmm? Oh, it's 'Delphic' by Aria." Serena's cheeks heat up as she reveals, "Aria is my favorite idol. I really look up to and respect her. I… want to be just like her."
"Dream higher," I urge her. "Don't just be like her – surpass her! I believe in you."
She blinks, then her eyes soften. "Thanks, Ash."
From the rearview mirror, I catch Clemont looking at us curiously, but he doesn't comment.
He parks the car and carries a sleeping Bonnie into the electrical goods store. Serena and I follow behind him. Meyer is working hard, tending to a customer, but he spares us a quick greeting when we enter. Near the back of the store is a flight of stairs leading to his home, and while Clemont tucks Bonnie into her bed, Serena and I settle down in the living room.
The floor is lined with spare electrical parts and half-completed works that we take great care not to disturb. A pile of unfolded laundry is dumped onto the couch, collecting dust. There are detailed sketches of yet-to-be-realized inventions scattered throughout the room in Clemont's thin scrawl, and I crane my neck, marveling at a humanoid robot that he seems intent on creating, named "Clembot".
"Sorry for the wait!" Clemont reappears, closing the door to Bonnie's room behind him. "Do you guys want any drinks? Tea?"
Serena and I both decline. Clemont whips out a box of board and card games, and we decide on Regional Wars. Each one of us randomly selects a card with a region on it, and the goal is to build the landmarks of each region while simultaneously sabotaging the other players' development. The catch is that players can both form alliances and commit betrayals, and in the end, Clemont achieves a dramatic victory by double-crossing both me and Serena and leaving our regions in shambles.
We play another round of Regional Wars before Meyer returns with takeout bags. Bonnie wakes up in time to eat dinner with us, and the cozy, homely feel draws a quiet, contented smile on my face.
I've never felt quite this at ease before, not even at Pallet Town, and it's somewhat ironic that I'm feeling the safest when I should be fearing the most for my life. I've always yearned for a normal life, and sitting right here in Clemont's kitchen, eating pizza and sharing goofy jokes, there's nowhere else I'd rather be at.
A/N:
Thanks for the favs/follows, and I hope you guys like this new chapter.
Just a little update on my life right now: a family member very close to me was recently in the ICU and stepped down to the HDU today. I don't want to delve too much into this, but it has been a couple of very tense and stressful days. Writing fanfiction does help, but my works may come across as disconnected because of my current state of mind, so I ask for your understanding.
Until next time!