Going for Glory ;; An Amourshipping Fanfiction

Chapter 33 - Five Minutes

"Good luck guys!" Iris yelled over to Gary and Cilan as they both headed to their respective places within the battling arena. They both turned and nodded, before separating to either side. 

"Erm...Ash?" Serena tapped Ash on the shoulder and he turned around with an inquisitive look. 

"What is it?" He looked at Serena, dead in the eyes and she went red. 

"Can we...talk for a moment?" Serena asked, awkwardly scraping her foot across the floor. 

"Sure" Ash stepped into the main building, the 'backstage' of the arena, where the competitors can rest up before matches or wait instead of standing outside, where every trainer usually went. 

Serena peered over at the clock, then at Ash. She gulped for a moment and then sat down. 

"So, what is it?" Ash repeated, Pikachu hopping onto the bench, sitting on the opposite side of Serena. He looked away and let them talk. 

"I just..." Serena hesitated and then straightened up. "You know Miette likes you? Like you, like me, I mean" She asked.

"I caught on to it when Parker took you guys and tried to make me choose" Ash nodded, making Serena gulp again. 

"What, how?" Serena queried, wondering how Ash knew from that, she didn't know about the riddle. 

"Well, it looks like Parker has been following us all around for a while, his friends included. He gave me a riddle when I was in hospital that time and then that fit all the pieces together" Ash explained, with a softer voice than usual. He could sense Serena's pain and knew she was thinking about what would happen if he HAD to choose. Her eyes flicked up hesitantly again, so she decided to look down to gain a little confidence. 

"If you HAD to choose" She just felt like she had to ask after the thought crossed her mind. "I mean, if you really had to choose, if you couldn't say no or none" Her heart pounded in her chest, like a bass drum with a double pedal. "Then who would you choose?" She flicked her eyes back up, with more seriousness then before. 

The seriousness hit Ash, like a bullet from a gun. He didn't jump up and freak out, he didn't lose his cool. Ash scratched the side of his head and sighed. "I know you said I can't say no one, but I don't know if I COULD choose, in all honesty" 

"Why?" Serena asked flatly. 

"Well, then the other would hate me" Ash reasoned, making Serena panic. She suddenly wished she hadn't asked the question. 

"I wouldn't hate you" She spoke honestly. Serena knew herself she could never hate Ash. She loved him too much. 

"I don't know if that would be possible" Ash looked around awkwardly, then broke the awkwardness. "You have put me in an awkward position here Serena. I have never had a girlfriend before"

"I am sorry" Serena said quietly, before standing up. "Well, I guess we better get back"

"Wait" Ash grabbed her hand and she turned around, slightly red in the face. "Let me promise to you, here and now"

"Promise what?" Serena asked, heating up with Ash touching her. 

"I promise, that by the end of the tournament, I will make a real choice" Ash said, making Serena's eyes widen. 

"You...promise?" She asked in two ways, like she wanted him to promise, but she was confused as to why he was promising at all. 

"Promise" Ash replied simply, smiling at Serena. 

Serena didn't know how to react, so she rose up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips on Ash's cheek for a second, before walking off. 

Ash felt his cheek and then sighed, before following Serena back outside. The look that Miette gave him as he walked back outside told him she knew what they said, to an extent. Ash decided to ignore it and turned to the arena, where Gary and Cilan were just about to battle. 

Then, Miette tapped Ash on the shoulder. "Can we talk?" She asked, making Ash mentally sigh. He couldn't just say no after speaking to Serena, who watched on with a frown as Miette followed Ash back inside. 

"What do you want?" Ash asked, emphasising the 'you'.

"I know what Serena was asking. She wanted to know if you could make a choice-" 

"I know you know" Ash cut her off and Miette frowned.

"Who did you choose?" She asked, obviously wanting to know if he chose Serena.

"Do you have to make such a big deal out of it?" Ash felt like ranting for a moment, but that was out of character and he knew that. "You both like me and I can't just make a choice like that. But there is no need to make arguments over it and even battle each other for me" 

"Wait, you knew why we was battling then?" Miette blushed, shaking her head to remain focused.

"Well, it was mainly Dawn and May, they read you two like children's books" Ash scratched the back of his head and then sighed, for real this time. "So there you go, is there anything else?"

"I..." Miette hesitated and then her expression softened. "Sorry for asking" She said quietly, before walking off. 

"Maybe I was a little harsh with my choice of words there.." Ash regarded his own behaviour, before turning around. "Come on, buddy, lets go see who else wants to speak with us today" He joked, heading back outside.

Serena was thinking over the conversation with a slightly red face.

Why did I decide to kiss him? I know it was just a little peck on the cheek but he didn't expect it and then I didn't want to do it and then I regretted it and then... Her thoughts raced through her mind, missing out all forms of sentence structure and grammar. What did Miette want? What if she kissed him too? What if he really likes her? She continued, jealousy overcoming her. She frowned at Miette who looked back confused, before turning to the match that had commenced.

I promise, that by the end of the tournament, I will make a real choice. That was all Serena cared about. Ash making a choice. Maybe she could finally be his girlfriend, with him sharing her love. But then, negativity crossed Serena's mind. What if he pitied me and just said that to make me feel better? Could he say 'I love you' without meaning it? I don't think Ash could, but he did say he wasn't ready for anything a few weeks back. Maybe he has changed. She started to think a little more positive, but the negative thoughts stayed in her mind, making her worry. 

Serena turned to Ash, who was watching the tense battle with interest, emphasising it with random shouts and fist pumps. Then, she looked at Miette, who was also looking at Ash, but she instantly turned away when Serena saw her. 

Don't worry. Don't worry. 

Serena held on to the thread that had begun to thicken, strengthening itself so it could never snap again, something so strong that it could never break under any circumstance, even after death. Serena held on with all of her life, but she found it hard to keep hold of the thread. Another weight was pushing on the thread, something that was more powerful than Serena's hopes and dreams. Something so strong, that Serena had to work twice as hard to keep it at bay. She wondered if Miette could keep it at bay aswell. Fear. The fear of loss and rejection tugged on the other side, trying to snap the thread. Serena wasn't about to let go, but neither was Miette.

With the love tug of war finally about to begin, and the tournament in full swing, Ash had to think about two things.

His round of thirty two opponent.

And his first and next girlfriend.

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Needed to throw in a quick chapter like this, just to show up with some amourshipping of sorts.

Sorry for it being so short, hope you enjoyed :)