Scars (An Amourshipping Story)

'Gifts'

The summertime sun is something to be savored, but when combined with the clean country air, it's all the better.

The track and field club members are horsing around on the field ahead; some are playing with a soccer ball, others are talking, and a few laugh as two of them mock-fight with each other.

None of them pay me any heed as I sit alone on the grass, underneath the shade of a particularly large tree. It's a nice and peaceful moment after a dreary day of schoolwork.

 I hear footsteps approaching from behind me, and I turn to my side to see one of my classmates taking a seat beside me. I'm taken off guard, as the two of us haven't talked before, and I didn't think anyone would notice me here.

"Sup" She says.

"Hey, what's ya name?" I ask her.

"Just call me Iris." She winks.

"Not going to play?" I point over to the soccer field.

"Nah, just gonna rest for a bit." She gives me a goofy smile.

After a moment of silence and birds chirping away, she speaks.

"You've been hanging around with Serena and Dawn, right?" She smiles at me.

"Yeah" I respond

A loud whistling from the field attracts our attention. One of the players is on the ground, clutching his leg, and the others stop play to jog up to him, leaving Iris grimacing.

"Looks painful." She sighs at the player being carried off the pitch.

"Hanging out with Serena, you keep some pretty strange company." She says spontaneously. 

"Urm, how?" I raise an eyebrow.

"It's just that Serena's kind of...I don't know?" She scratches her head with the only remaining hand she has.

"Shy?" I suggest.

 "Yeah. Not that I don't think she's a nice person, though. She's perfectly nice...but just has a lot of issues, can't really say it without sounding mean" She says.

"I'll take it as it comes. She's a nice person, and I think that should be all that matters." I smile at her.

Iris' eyes narrow a little, and her smile spreads.

"You really like her, don't ya" She winks

"W-what?!" I felt myself blush. I...now that I think about it...I do really like her.

"T-To be honest....yeah, I do. I'd appreciate it if ya didn't tell anyone." I smile.

"Yup, you can trust me." She winks again.

I look at my watch and lunch is about to end.

"Lunch is about to end, wanna head back?" I look at her, "Yeah, we'd better had." She responds.

I pick myself up off the grass and dust myself off, offering a hand to Iris to help her up as well. She takes it and easily pulls herself up, showing the muscles moving in her toned bare arm in the process.

 The two of us start the walk back to the main building through the gardens, talking as we go.

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A light breeze blows the scent of early summer around my head while I wait for Dawn.

Small white clouds litter the sky, breaking up the monotony of the blue.

"Ash? You here?" I hear Dawn say.

I stop gazing into the sky to examine Dawn.

With a pink and black dress and pink boots, in addition to a beanie on her head.

"Yeah, over here, Dawn, near the gate." I smile.

"Were ya able to sneak away from Serena?" I chuckle.

"Yes. It not uncommon for me to go out during weekend, so I don't think she noticed anything suspicious." She smiles softly.

"That, and...she has someone she sees." Her eyes close.

"Serena's seeing s-somone? Really?" I felt my heart be ripped out of my chest.

"No, it's just she sees a therapist every so often on weekends." She notices my reaction.

"Thank god..." I mumble.

..

"Right that's let a move on!" I fist pump.

She grabs my arm because of her blindness and we head into the city.

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Walking around the city, I feel a distinct nostalgia. The smells, the traffic, the tall buildings everywhere...It's a lot like my native city, save for the raised walkways.

"You know....it was quite a surprise that Serena likes to sing, Have you ever heard her before?" I ask Dawn.

"I have actually. She's pretty good." She smiles.

Damn, that girl is full of surprises.

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After a while of walking around, we come across an antique shop.

"An antique shop, I bet there's something in there she'd like." I fist pump.

"Let's check then" Dawn smiles. We both enter the shop.

The store has a strange, musky scent to it. The layout is more like a garage than a store; things are strewn around the floor without any immediate semblance of order.

"What did you get her last year?" I ask Dawn. "I got her a doll, which she loves" She responds.

Thankfully, there's lots of dolls.

"It's our lucky day, a doll shop." I smile.

"Good! Could you please pick one for me, Ash?" Dawn asks me, well, it makes sense because she's blind.

My eyes wander across the collection; each one is as exquiste as the one before it. The sheer number of styles is boggling, but eventually one catches my eye.

"That one!" I grab it off the shelf.

I pass it to Dawn and she feels it.

"It feels beautiful. Do you think ti would suit Serena?" She turns to me.

"Yeah, it actually kinda looks like her." I smile.

"In that case, I'll trust your judgment. You gonna get her something as well?" She asks.

"I'll get her something....but another doll wouldn't be such a great idea." I scratch my cheek.

A ribbion catches my attention...a light blue ribbion which looked beautiful. But it's not good enough for a birthday present.

"Chess! I'll buy her a chess set!" I make up my mind. I keep looking for the chess set and to my expectations, there it was. 

"How much is this?" I ask the store owner.

"I'll let you take this now for 7000 yen." He gives me a price.

I balk a little; I wasn't expecting to spend that much, but this does seem perfect. The again, maybe that's a testament to how well he worked out how muc he could make me pay.

"Couldn't make it 5000?" I give him the puppy eyes.

"Eh, 5500, no lower." He smiles.

"I'm sold. Oh, we'd also like to get that doll.." I hand him the items.

"Yes, of course, but it is 20,000 yen for the doll" He continues to smile.

Dawn reaches into her purse as I reach into my wallet and we both hand him the requested price.

We exchange and be on our way back to school.

Sorry about the short chapter, I have school tomorrow and now I'm going sleep! ;_;

See you tomorrow, if I do have the time to update! I love you all - Pokeamour