A Dream, A Destiny 2

Mothers rights

Ash POV

Once at Coumarine park after we took the train which didn't take that long to arrive at our destination, we walked around the small, windswept grounds, trying to find a place for our time capsule.

"Ooh, Ash! Over here!" Sere waved at me in distance over to a pile of rocks that looked promising. I trudged over to her to see what the excitement was all about. "See, there's a hole right here that's big enough for our capsule!" She pointed at a massive oak tree with a small opening in its trunk. "I doubt they'll chop it down in the near future. What do you think?"

"Its perfect," I replied, swallowing hard. The ferry trip here had played havoc with my stomach, awakening my nausea again. Sere took a closer look at me. "Are you okay, Ash?"

I waved my hand, nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine." I said, but really I wasn't and Sere could tell of my expression.

"Give me the capsule and I'll put it in the hole."

I handed it to her and she jammed it in, pulling a few rocks from the pile to place in front of the hole 'just in case'. Then she stood back to look at her handiwork.

"Good job, Sere," I said, putting my hands on her shoulders. "And we're going to meet in this same, precise spot in exactly 5 years-."

"To the date?" Sere cut in to ask.

I nodded. "To the date." I was silent for a moment. "And if anything happens to me-."

"Ash!" Sere sounded scandalised.

"No, really, Sere. If anything happens to me- if I don't make it, all I ask is that you give Leaf all my stuff. But keep the t-shirt and the letter. Those are yours."

Suddenly. Sere clung on to me, hiding her face in my chest. "Nothings gonna happen to you, Ash," she said, her voice muffled by my t-shirt. "You're going to have surgery, get better and meet me here in 5 years and we're going to laugh at this very conversation. Okay?"

I stepped out of her embrace, cupping her exquisite face in my hands, gazing at her watery glistened eyes. "Yes, ma'am," I smirked, feeling better nevertheless. Sere's little motivational talks always had a beneficial effect on me. "Now, are you gonna kiss me or what? Just so we can remember that too when we come back in 5 years."

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Serena POV

There's just something about spending an afternoon with the guy you like, watching him get tackled by a gang of rowdy preschoolers and seeing him enjoy every minute that makes me want to burst into song.

Liar!

Okay, so I had to blame my off-key singing while preparing dinner on something, and Ash did look super cute playing with the kids at the daycare and- I'm rambling again. Let's just say it was a nice change for me to waltz around the kitchen, singing 'pretty girl' and daydreaming about Ash. For the past week, I had been the living definition of 'nervous wreck' in the apartment. Alain was drinking again. I still hadn't forgotten the whupping he gave me last time and I was trying to stay out of his way as much as possible and get his meals cooked ahead of time. Unfortunately, we had precious little in the way of food but I did what I could. Mom still refused to take my money.

Still, I refused to get bogged down in negative thoughts as I danced around in a tiny kitchen, humming happily. I turned to snag the pepper shaker from the counter, almost shrieking as I saw Mom standing in the doorway, an amused grin on her face.

"Mom you scared me!" I exclaimed and let out a sign of relief as I leaned against the countertop, my heart thudding in my chest as I fanned myself with a spatula.

"Sorry," Mom snickered, not looking apologetic at all. "But you were having so much fun; I didn't want to ruin it."

"How long have you been there?" I immediately asked.

"About halfway through the song." She winked at me. "Great singing voice. You must have gotten that from me." How embarrassing. "I figure you had a good day?"

"I did, mom," I said, my heart still thumping. I didn't have the disposition to handle scares like that. "I went to the daycare after school."

"With a certain special someone?" Mom asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Ye-es," I admitted, a bashful smile twisting up my lips and a red blush forming across my cheek. I tried to look away from my mum's gaze but I was too late as she caught my smile.

"You two sure have been spending quite a bit of time together lately," Mom noted, shrugging out of her black jacket. I took it from her and placed it on the coat hook behind the door. "I'm surprised you're not going steady yet."

I giggled. Going steady? Please don't let this be a prelude to a 'back in my day' speech! "Well, he hasn't exactly said anything about us 'going steady'," I admitted. I can't hide much from Mom, I trust her too much.

To be honest, I wasn't quite sure where I stood with Ash. Sure, he kissed me often and it was good, but he didn't really say anything about us dating, or if we were exclusive or just hanging out. And I really wanted to know. It would be really awesome to hear him introduce me as 'my girlfriend.' I smiled to myself. Introduce me to who, though?

"Do you think he's serious about you?" A voice suddenly spoke out. Sounding more reasonable than normal.

I looked up at my mom in surprise and she gazed back at me.

"I think he is. Well, to be honest- I really don't know," I muttered under my breath, looking down at the ground.

"I know you don't want to hear it, but I have to ask you this, simply because I'm watching out for your best interests," Mom said softly.

I nodded in response. I knew she was looking out for me and I wouldn't expect anything less from her. It just sucked that I didn't know if Ash liked me enough to want to date me or not.

"I know mom."

"This is, in all probability, just a passing fling for the boy," my mom continued calmly. I swallowed past the lump in my throat. "How often do you see something like this happening, Serena? An heir falling for a girl from the ghetto?"

Sighing and knowing that she was 100 percent right, I replied, "Not very often."

Especially not in our hood.

"It's basically the kind of thing that only happens in novels or in fairytales. This isn't fiction, its real life. Your life. I'm not trying to say that Ash Doesn't care about you. All I'm saying is that you probably shouldn't take this to heart. That way, if he ends up dropping the ball on you, you'll leave with most of your heart intact."

"I understand," I said woodenly, not liking this little lecture at all. Shouldn't take this to heart? Surely it was too late for that by now. Ash already has most of my heart.

"Maybe I'm wrong. I hope I'm wrong, Serena," Mom said, reaching out to pat my hand. "But boys like Ash and girls like you- its never meant to be."