fates collide // an ash xy love story

xxiii // i need you

In an instant, the door is swung open and Hannah is pulled out from behind by her waist. The security guard then runs into the room and grabs Ava by her outstretched fist and in an instant puts it behind her back, her now not being able to move.

Hannah sighs in relief at the sight of Ava being contained, and then she hears a sigh from slightly above her. Hannah attempts to elbow whoever is holding her with her right arm, but it never makes contact with their stomach, rather Hannah looks up to see Ash's arm wrapped around Hannah's waist with his left arm, and his right arm stopping her elbow attack.

At the sight of Ash, Hannah breathes a sigh of relief and then abruptly gets out of his arms to apologize, "Sorry Ash! I didn't know you grabbed me..."

"Nah it's all good, I should've given you some sort of warning beforehand," Ash exclaims, rubbing the head of Pikachu who remained on his shoulder for the whole thing. Soon, Hannah and Ash are getting back into a normal conversation like nothing abnormal had even occurred. Ava kept screaming at the two of them, but neither of them found they cared.

The security guard walked over to the two of them and told them of the charges and how they were both to fill out a statement. When they both agreed the security guard went with Ava to put her into custody, leaving Hannah and Ash alone in the entrance to the field. Luckily for them, no cameras were present in this area, so no recording would occur of the two of them. Unfortunately, that also means there is no recording of Ava and her harassing Hannah, but there are witness statements that the police can use.

"That all happened in the time frame of the workers fixing the arena, how crazy is that?" Ash states to Hannah, with her agreeing with a small nod of the head. They both look to the field to see Ash's arena being one of a forest landscape. They both talk for a little while longer until the security guard returns to his post. He tells Hannah to leave the outside area promptly and she obliges, just going back into the lounge to see Ash walk out and face his new opponent named Astrid.

The battle ends promptly, with Ash winning against Astrid with two available Pokémon to use left. He exits the field and whilst walking through, Hannah does too. There is nothing awkward occurring between the two of them, but a small high five between the two of them is one of significance. They then have a break for the field to change and for the staff, so Ash and Hannah sit the room talking about nothing and everything.

When the time came for Hannah's battle, she instantly stands up and summons Weavile out of her Pokéball. The two of them walk out of the waiting room with an aura of confidence surrounding them, and soon enough it's time to battle their next opponent, Audrey.

Thankfully for Hannah, Audrey is a nice person who is respectful of both her and her Pokémon, someone Hannah hasn't encountered for a long time. A bit of a tough battle on Hannah's part, but she still ends up defeating the girl with all her Pokémon still conscious.

She walks back to the waiting area, a little surprised to see Ash still waiting there for her. Ash hears footsteps approach him and he perks up, tilting his head upward to see Hannah walking up towards him. A small smile graces his lips as he stands up and extends his hand forth to the girl.

She looks at it for a little bit, before calming her composure and accepting his hand. Their fingers slowly and calmly interlock as they walk down the deserted hallway, away from any peering eyes that dare to disturb the silence they have created. The only peering pair of eyes belong to the creature atop of Ash's shoulders, not daring to create a ruckus.

"Let's go," Ash says to Hannah, him looking ahead and seeing a door that leads to the outside forest surrounding the buildings.

"What?" Hannah asks him, slightly turning her head to look at him once more, "what do you mean, Ash?"

"I mean, let's go. Who cares if people see we are missing? Who cares if people question our absence? Who cares what other people think of us. I think we should go." Ash states to Hannah, still looking forward and not seeing her face show slight signs of apprehension.

"Ash, where did this sudden burst of confidence come from? Why are you so desperate to escape?" Hannah questions him once more, with him finally sharing eye contact her.

"After the league is over... I'm scared that we won't be able to see each other anymore. I'm scared you will forget me, and you will find someone better. I guess... my fear of losing you is greater than my fear of getting caught." Ash trails off at the end, and his hand loosens its grip on Hannah's.

Hannah looks toward the door and sees the light leaking through into the building. The outside seems tempting to them both, sharing the mutual feeling of wanting to run. So, Hannah takes initiative. Gripping his hand tighter than before, she begins to make a run for it, towards the door, or as they see it; freedom.

Ash wasn't expecting his arm to jolt, but he recovers from his slight stumble, more overcome with excitement than fear. They both didn't know where they were going, but for the moment they didn't care. They both didn't care enough to notice there was another set of eyes on them as they ran. A set of murky blue eyes glaring at the two of them as they ran through the doors, livid at the sight of their blinding smiles.

However, his presence was noticed last minute by Ash's most trusted partner. Pikachu looked last minute towards the man, barely seeing his figure before he the two naïve trainers were out of the building heading for who knows what.

---

hello everyone! hope you're having a good day/night!

Thanks, everyone!

- Hannah ✨