Warning: few 4th wall breaks will occur :)
———
"Your soulmate will be the stranger you recognize."
— r.h. Sin
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"Lia let's go!" Leaf happily drags her by the hand into the house after Ash unlocked the door. The house seemed pretty big by the fact that when you first step in, there's a grand entry with two stairs on both sides of the room, the middle leading into the living room.
"Wait Leaf, give me the bag," I ask, gesturing towards the bag clutched in her hands. Her face lights up as she quickly hands it over to me.
"What's that?" Ash asks as he pushes the front door to a close.
"Macarons!" I say, walking over to the dining table and placing the bag onto the glass surface. "These are for you guys,"
I hand them each a macaron and watch as both Ash and Lia's face brighten. Lia takes tiny nibbles of her macaron, but Ash devoured his in one single bite. My eyes widened slightly, taken aback since I really didn't notice how different the two of them were. I giggled a little watching the two of them eat, it was cute.
"I want one," Leaf tugs on my skirt.
"No. You ate three of them already on the way here," I denied her request.
While we were walking, I caught Leaf not-so-secretly devouring the macarons as if she was being slick. Leaf is probably the least slickest person I have ever encountered. She couldn't hide anything to save her life, even if she wanted to.
"Have some of mine," Lia says while she rips apart her, half bitten, macaron in half and offers it to Leaf.
"No no, it's okay!" I say quickly before Leaf can take the piece. "I'll give her mine,"
I reluctantly give Leaf my portion as she takes it, giving me a smug look. How much I wanted to slap that look out of her face would be equivalent to how much team rocket wanted to steal Pikachu in that one show- which is a lot.
"Where did you get this??" Ash licks his lips.
"Oh, I made these myself," I replied.
"Seriously? These taste really good, I feel like I can eat these forever and never get sick of them!" Ash says, reaching his hand into the bag for another one. He stops and turns his head towards me, as if asking for permission, to which I respond with a nod.
"Thank you!" I thanked him as I felt my face heating up. "I've always liked baking as a kid, I could make more things if you wanted to try-"
"Lia, are you done? Let's play!" Leaf exclaims, interrupting me. Lia looks at me and gives a small 'thank you' before walking upstairs with Leaf. I glance at Ash to see if he heard my earlier statement, but he was just munching on his macaron.
"I'll save one for Leaf," Ash mentions, rolling up the bag. "Do you want to put your bag down or..?"
Oh yeah, homework exists. I forgot.
I take my backpack off and set it down to the chair next to me before replying, "I have some homework to finish by this week,"
"Now that you mention it, what school do you go to?"
"Vanville High," I answered, pulling another chair beside me and sat down on it. Cushiony.
"Huh? Then why does it feel like I've met you before?" He looks up as if he was trying to remember something.
I take a good look at his face. There's no way I would forget a face that looks as good looking as his. His voice does sound familiar though.
"Maybe?" I think aloud.
"I don't think I would forget meeting someone like you," He says. I decided to take that statement as a compliment.
"My thoughts exactly!" I told him. "You do seem familiar,"
"Well, I go to Lumiose High, graduating this year!" Ash tells me as he leans on the kitchen counter. "I don't really know what I'm going to pursue though,"
"Do you have any passions?" I ask, taking my laptop out of the bag. "Otherwise, don't feel too stressed, you still have a few months to think about it,"
"I have a few.." Ash says after a few seconds. "But I've tried to go through with them, it's just kinda difficult,"
"Your passion?"
"No, just actually getting a chance to do them," He answers, straining a smile.
I stare at the boy in front of me, his expression looking a bit lost with a mix of sadness in it. His eyes reach mine and as I stared into his, it felt as if there was more to this subject than I know of.
"If you believe in yourself, anything is possible,"
His eyes softened.
"But what about you? When are you graduating?" Ash asks, going back to his usual cheery self.
"Next year, I'm only in my second year," I say, hearing "ohs" next to me. "Actually, to be honest, I don't know what I'm gonna do in the future either. I guess I have no right to give you any advice on the subject," I give him a half smile. I look as he shakes his head with his own signature smile.
"You're right though, I still have time to think," He scratches his cheek. "Thanks Serena,"
There we go again, I could feel my face heating up. I just knew it was getting redder each second I was staring into his eyes. His beautiful auburn eyes that seemed like it could diminish all my troubles in a second and-
Ding
I pull my phone out of my bag and see a notification from my mail app. Ash looks at me with a puzzled face.
"I got an email from my teachers about some homework that I need to redo," I sigh.
"Oh yeah, you should do your work now!" Ash lifts his arms from the counter. "I'll hang out with the two littles,"
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I didn't want him to leave, it felt nice talking to him.
"Thanks again for the pastries." He smiles before walking out the doorway. I stare at the empty doorway for a few more seconds before shifting my attention back to my laptop. Let's try to be productive Serena.
———
I yawn, leaning back into the cushiony chair and bringing up my arms to a stretch. I finished all my work but what's left was the worksheets that needed to be redone. I sat back up-right and looked around for a printer. I look up to see a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, light shining down from the many crystals attached.
This house is huge...I wonder what their parents do for a living. Actually, where are they?
My mom usually leaves the house after cooking dinner since she works night shifts, always coming back in the morning so she can drop Leaf and I off. She raised the two of us alone after Dad died a little after Leaf was born. After that, she started working hard to keep the family stable and fed. I always did what I could to help, waking up earlier so when she came back in the morning, she could have some time to sleep while I made our breakfasts.
My gaze lands back to the laptop in front of me and I remember what I was looking for. Should I ask Ash where his printer is? Hmm.
———
When I reached upstairs, I was met with five doors. One of them was open so I assumed that they were all there. I peered through the doorway, first thing I saw the cute Lia standing on the bed with her hands to her hips. Adorable.
I quietly stepped into the room and everyone noticed the second I did. I take a proper look at the scene I'm in right now: Leaf and Lia were dressed in princess gowns while Ash was wearing a velvety-red satin cape tied around his neck.
"Uh..Ash do you have a-"
"There's the evil, ugly ogre! Lia run!" Leaf yells, pointing at me with her pink wand with a silver star attached to the top of it. Lia stands there, her head tilted to the side as if to take a close look at me.
"But she pretty though," Lia says, turning to Leaf.
"She's tricking you!" Leaf grabs Lia's hand. "Ash save us!"
I turn to Ash as he gives me a downturned smile before he steps in front of the two girls standing on top of the bed.
"I won't let you harm the princesses," He says, lifting his arm to shield them.
I get it now. I'm the villain that he needs to defeat to save the day. All I want is a printer and here I am, being called an ogre by my sister in front of the cutest girl I've ever seen and the most attractive guy I've ever encountered.
I clear my throat, "You stand no chance against me,"
I bend down to place my laptop down safely and then pick up a random toy staff I found on the ground. Holding the staff, I transition to a swinging pose. I swing the staff, rather slowly, at Ash's head. He ducks. He picks up his sword beside him. He brings it up and hits my own weapon. We clash our weapons until finally I hit his sword out of his hand and it flies to the ground.
"Admit defeat," I say to him, pointing my staff to his chest.
"Ash!!" Leaf and Lia squeal in unison.
"Never. I will never give up until the very end!" Ash smirks as he takes his cape off and wraps it around me. It caught me off guard to which he used that moment of hesitation to his advantage. He grabbed the staff from my hands and, gently, pushed me down onto my knees with it. I land on the soft fluffy carpet below me.
"Serena," Ash says, looking down at me. He brings the sword down to my chin, lifting my chin up so I could look at him. "I win," He smiles. I smile back.
I don't mind losing if I get to see that smile.
After I got back on my feet, I saw Leaf and Lia jumping on the bed, celebrating Ash's victory.
"Thanks for acting with me," Ash says, leaning closer to me. Forget being red, I was probably turning purple from the fact that I wasn't breathing. My eyes widened as I felt Ash's hands on my neck.
"There we go," He says, untying the cape and tossing it onto a nearby chair decorated in sequins and feathers. I instantly look away out of embarrassment. What were you even thinking about Serena..
"Oh yeah- yeah I- do you have a printer?" I asked.
"Yep, follow me,"
Ash led me through the hallway into a room with a sign labeled "Ketchums" on the door. He opened the door and gestured for me to come in.
"Is it okay for me to be in here..?" I asked, hesitant to come in.
"Not sure. This is my parents' room. It's also the only one that has a printer in it, but I'm not sure if they would let you in there," He shrugs, sitting down on the bed. "It's our secret!" He grins and brings a finger up to his mouth signaling a "shh" gesture.
I nodded and quickly set my laptop on top of his desk and plugged the cable in, printing the papers.
———
Ash went back to Lia and Leaf a while ago while I was doing my work. Finally, after an hour of mental breakdowns, I successfully finished!
Letting out an accomplished sigh and a tired yawn, I checked my phone for the time: 6:47pm. I finished way earlier than I expected, even with all the noise from upstairs.
I reached in my bag for a source of entertainment, but halfway through blindly searching, I remembered that I forgot to bring a book.
"Agh," I hit my head on the desk and stayed in that position until I heard footsteps from behind me.
"Serena?"
I looked up to see Ash, carrying two asleep six year olds in both of his arms. He looked tired as well- understandable since he played with them for more than three hours.
"Oh, we should get going," I tell Ash as I lift Leaf from his arms and put her on my chair.
"Are your parents going to come get you?" Ash looks out the window. "It's getting dark, too dark to walk,"
"Nope, my mom is at work today. I can walk, it's not like some guy is going to run up to me and shove me into the trunk of his car and sell me across the country,"
"It's possible,"
"It's unlikely," I say, not knowing why I'm trying so hard to convince him. Maybe I just wanted to stay here a bit longer...who knows.
"Then I'll walk you back," Ash turns to leave. I lightly grab his free arm.
"It's fine, really," I reassure him.
"Then how are you going to get back?"
As if on cue, my phone starts ringing. I look down at my phone and see Dawn calling me.
"Dawn?"
"SERENA OH MY GOD,"
I pulled my phone away a bit from my ear, "Huh- Dawn what?" My phone wasn't even on speaker phone, but it honestly sounded like it was. I glanced at Ash and he raised an eyebrow, grinning in amusement as he shifted his attention towards Lia.
"Welcome to my nightly rants, STARTING TODAY. Going to the library was the worst decision ever. It was so so so quiet,"
"That's what a library is supposed to be, Dawn," I take a seat onto the chair next to Leaf. "Tell me what's making you snap this evening,"
"Being in the library for a solid four hours and a half was suffocating," Dawn groans. "I don't usually have the guts, but I really felt like dancing to some EDM- in full volume- in the middle of the room,"
"Did you?"
"You know what Serena? I was about to until some girl next to me looked over my shoulder and said, and I quote, 'you listen to this trash? Your music taste sucks,'" Dawn takes a deep breath, "And then I looked her straight in the eye, took off my earbuds, and played Nightmare by Halsey at FULL VOLUME, 100%,"
"You got kicked out on your first day, didn't you?" I sigh.
"DAMN RIGHT I DID, and you know what? I don't regret it a bit. I never ever will, that was my peak moment. I've never felt better, even if—"
"Even if your mom is going to find out and take your phone and car keys away from you?"
"...Save me Serena,"
"I'm already in the process,"
"I LOVE YOU SERENA MUAH" Dawn yells, kissing her phone 18 times.
"Love you more!" I giggle and hear chuckles from across the room. I knew Ash heard the whole conversation, but I didn't mind.
"Oops, I forgot to ask if you wanted coffee, I just exited the cafe,"
"Coffee? At seven o clock?"
"I just got my life sucked out of me for the past few hours, give me a break,"
"Hmm..Can I ask for a favor?"
"Mhm!"
"Can you pick me up from my sister's friend's house?"
"Oh yeah! Play date," I could hear her entering the car.
"Sooo can you?"
"Sure, you owe me two croissants,"
"One. I'm already saving you and your sanity,"
"Fine, send me the location,"
"Byeee, love you Dawn!"
I click 'end call' and turn my head towards Ash. He gives me an amused look and sets Lia down onto the couch a few feet away from the chairs Leaf and I are on.
"Can I have a croissant too? Half joking,"
"For sure!"
Leaf starts to shift around in her seat. I check to see if she's still sleeping. Yep.
"Are your parent's working?"
"Mhm, they don't usually come home until the weekends,"
"They're that busy?"
"Yeah, I have to take care of Lia since it's just the two of us. Not that she's a burden, I love spending time with her," He says, genuine. "Kind of wish the four of us can be together for a whole day at least,"
He gives a strained smile, the same one I saw earlier this afternoon. He looks away, avoiding eye contact, and pretends to be looking at the clock.
"As if your family's never really complete? I understand, it's okay to feel that way," I start, turning my gaze to Leaf, feeling his stare on me. "From my perspective, you're really admirable. You're such a great older brother to Lia, it really shows."
"I hope so."
We talked a little more about other subjects until a ding interrupted our train of thoughts. I should really put my phone on silent.
I turn off my phone and raise it up, "She's outside," I tell Ash. I try picking up Leaf without waking her. I failed.
"I don't wanna go..." she tells me in a drowsy voice. I don't either.
"We have to, I have to make dinner," I say. Wait, dinner. "Ash, are you guys going to eat?"
"We have leftovers from yesterday," Ash reassured me. "You bake AND cook? Wow you're amazing Serena,"
I blush for the hundredth time.
"OKAY LEAF WE GOTTA GO," I put my backpack on my back, leaf in one arm.
"Bye Leaf, bye bye Sewena," Lia says in her tiny voice.
At this point, I melted. Lia is an angel.
"BYE LIA!" Leaf replies, waving aggressively as if she wasn't half asleep two seconds ago.
We step out of the front door and I see Dawn's car outside. She rolls down her window and raises up a drink so I could see. A strawberry banana slush topped with whipped cream.
"Your favorite," she mouths to me.
I smile at her. I turn around and see Ash, his hand on the doorknob.
"Thanks a lot Sere, It felt nice talking with you," he says.
"Sere?"
"Your new name!" He cheekily grins at me. "Bye,"
Sere
He waves at me one last time.
I like that name.
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