They both now sat in front of a bar at a restaurant, ordering dinner and were now finishing their dessert. The place was right off the road towards the city. It was busy so they decided to take the bar since it had at least enough space to sit. The bar was of a golden yellow, the brightness from it radiating through them and exhibiting the day they just had. Serena was in a stool next to Ash, their shoulders brushing every now and then as they ate.
"Why does your hot fudge cake look better than my pumpkin pie?"
"Considering that you ate three fourth's of yours, I'm going to assume your pumpkin pie wasn't even bad." The corner of Ash's lip tugged up, looking from his almost empty plate to her half eaten cake. Serena tipped her head, pretending to think it over. "I think I should try some of yours."
Reluctantly, he pushed his plate towards her and she straightened with newfound interest, eyeing solidly on his pie. "One bite," he commanded with the point of his finger.
Serena rolled her eyes, pulling the plate towards her. "Greedy."
Ash chuckled and it was then that his phone rang from his pocket. Taking it out, he read the name plastered on the screen. "I'll be right back. It's my mom." He slid off the stool, walking to an empty space of the restaurant. There were less people and less noises around him that he answered. "Ma?"
"Ash Ketchum!" His mom, Delia, yelled through the phone, he had to pull it away from his ear. "I have called you all day!"
Exhaling, he relaxed against a pillar that was positioned next to him. "I've been busy."
"Doing what?"
"You do know I go to college?"
Delia made an oh sound by his reasoning, but continued forward. "Basketball, I assume? The gym? Sweetie, have you ever taken a break?"
"No, not today, and I have." Ash's shoulders tensed. "I am right now, ma."
"And you couldn't answer my calls?"
"I'm... with someone."
"Is it Gary? Tell him I said hello!"
Ash sighed. "I'm not with Gary."
He then heard her gasp through the phone while he already regretting saying anything. "Are you with a girl?" When he didn't respond, he could feel her excitement. "You're really growing up on me! What girl managed to get through you? I love her already! Though, I don't want to become a grandma so soon, sweetheart. Please use protection, if anything."
Ash gaped for the longest, a heated blush crawling onto his face. "That's not— She's a friend, ma. Just a friend. Can you tell me why you called?"
"Can't I check on my sweet boy? I need to see if you're still breathing. You do love to do extreme things and cause trouble at times." She paused for a moment, her tone becoming lighter—hopeful. "What do you and that girl have planned?"
"Why is it that everyone thinks I'm some ticking time bomb?" He questioned jokingly, but piqued by the inquiry. His eyes searched the restaurant thoughtfully. He spotted a large family together, enjoying a meal happily talking amongst each other. "She wanted to me to come with her to visit her mom."
"Isn't that lovely? You're meeting her mother!" It was quiet for a short while, he could hear her soft breathing. "What's her name?"
"Serena." Ash thought about her for a moment, an unknown smile on his lips. "She reminds me of you."
"That settles my heart. Knowing there's someone else who can keep you in check." Ash could hear the sincerity and expectancy in her voice. His mom was one of the best people in his life, always cared and worried for him. Always wanting more for him—regardless of the risks. "I do hope you let me meet her."
"I will, ma."
"I know I tend to worry a lot, but I can't help it when my son is hours away. It's a motherly feeling, I suppose. But anything could happen. This is how you are and I want you to achieve your goals, sweetheart." Letting go of the gloomy feeling in her chest, she continued on with huff. "Now, you are changing your underwear daily, right?"
"Alright! You don't need to worry," Ash said in annoyance by the last part and turned his voice down a notch. "And yes, 'course I'm changing them. I'm not ten years old anymore."
"I know, I know." Delia puffed. "I love and miss you dearly. Please call me any chance you get. The call could be seconds long, but it matters to me."
"I will, ma. I love and miss you too." Ash smiled and exhaled steadily through his nose. He felt the same way. "I'll talk to you soon."
"Oh, and tell Serena I said hello as well. Goodbye, sweetheart." Delia said fast, clicking off before he could reply again.
Ash's walk back to Serena had his mind going places. He can't believe he told his mom about her. I mean, he was going to be with her and meet her mom too, but isn't this something you do when you're—
"You're back."
Serena's voice brought him out of his reeling mind. He looked at her cautiously. "Did you eat the whole pie?"
"No, I saved you a piece," she muttered through her muffled mouth, her fork pointing to the very tiny piece she supposedly left him.
"Someone has a sweet tooth." Ash eyed her lightheartedly, sitting back down in the stool next to her. Realization came over him. "My mom told me to tell you that she said hello, by the way."
Serena tried to hold off the smile on her lips. "You talked about me to your mom?"
Ash huffed and grinned. "I didn't have a choice. Motherly instincts, you know?"
Thinking along the lines with that, she remembered how it happened when she was on the phone with hers before. "I can't deny that."
Serena flushed as she looked at him, still munching, her cheeks blew out adoringly. At that moment, he wanted to kiss her. He had wanted to kiss her all day. Honestly, her giddiness as the hours passed made him want to rip out his own heart and hand it over to her on a silver platter. Tell her to do whatever she pleased with it. He threw that notion out the window just as quickly as it came. The unconscious part of his mind told him she was already doing whatever she pleased with it.
"We should search for a hotel soon," she said gruffly, swallowing the rest of what was in her mouth. "It's getting late."
During the unplanned day, he forgot they would have to find a place to sleep for the night. "Right. We'll head down the road and when we get closer to Vaniville Town, we can stop somewhere."
"Okay, then." Serena nodded. "I am getting sleepy."
They leave the restaurant, driving on the road through the night, driving past hills, and trees. An hour passed before Serena realized how late it had gotten. Looking out the window, she eyed a gazebo with benches, which she assumed must have been a park area. Fluttering her gaze towards Ash, she searched the mirror that looked towards the trunk.
Toying with her blanket, she spoke up. "Maybe we can sleep in the back of the car for the night?"
"Huh?" Ash looked over at her stunned, his brow crinkling in horror. "I'd be fine with it, but I'm not so sure either. We're not spending the night in the back of a car."
"Why not?" She raised her eyebrows as she shrugged. "We're only a few minutes away from Vaniville Town and it's late. We don't have to pay one hundred dollars for two rooms when there's enough room for the both of us back there."
Ash raised a matching brow. "You're okay with sleeping beside me in a confined space?"
"As long as you keep your hands to yourself," Serena said firmly, "I don't see the harm."
Ash looked over at her carefully before he eyed the road leading to the open space on a field with surrounding trees. "Yes, ma'am."
He pulled over near the empty field, a large lake taking up the middle, the trees surrounding it. The white and red gazebo Serena spotted earlier was across from the water, a pier on the other side of it. There was no one there, no other cars in sight but ducks swimming and swaddling about. They were most likely not allowed to park, or be there but Ash figured they could set out to leave before any park patrol comes and hands them a ticket.
Ash parked the car and being able to take a step out into the night, Serena stretched her legs and inhaled the beautiful green trees and grass, hearing the sounds of the ducks splashing in the waters or the crickets chirps echoing. There was a reflection of the stars in the sky on the rippling waters.
They laid side by side on the hood, staring up at the night sky full of blinking stars. The woods nearby sounded freeing, sounds of quacking and chirping through the crisp air, the leaves shuffling against each other creating whispers in the dark. Neither one said much as time had passed since stopping. Each other's company was comforting enough.
Serena had grown close to Ash to a point she felt at ease, secure, and safe. That even the quiet didn't scare her. It was like she gave in to him and she didn't mind. She wanted to fall and enfold herself in this overzealous—
"Have you ever been in love?" She suddenly asked.
So surprised by the question, he snapped his head to face her, but she continued to look up at the stars, purposely ignoring his gaze. Eyeing the side of her, he thought it over. "Nah."
It was true. He had never been in love. The only ones he ever loved were his mom and friends he met over the years. Love was a serious notion he never understood or dared to get close to. Perhaps, it was a weakness. He had proof of that.
Ash gulped at the sight of Serena. She looked as if she was lost in a trance and he wanted to ask what was on her mind, but he thought better of it. Ignoring the heavy pushing on his chest, he looked back up at the glinting stars. "Why do you ask?" He mumbled through the quiet.
"No reason, really. I thought I was in love with my ex from freshman year of high school," she murmured softly. The crickets sounded like they were getting louder with how long the silent had swept between them before Serena spoke up again. "But he just wasn't the one."
He didn't know if he was wrong to say, "I never heard this story?"
"It never came up." Serena chuckled quietly. "And you never asked."
"Fair enough."
"He never made me feel good about myself or never seemed to—" She stopped to sigh, "I guess you could say I could never find him dependable or compassionate in our relationship."
There was something in Ash that held disappointment at her words. Now he wants to rip the guy's throat out if he ever meets him.
"During my senior year, my mom called, once again telling me she couldn't make it to my dances. It was like she never attended them or tried. I didn't understand why. I thought maybe she really did hate me for doing ballet rather than following her footsteps." Ash turned back to watch her as she talked, the topic of her mother catching him by surprise again. She looked past him as she was thinking of that day, he supposed. "Even though I had to rush to class, I didn't. I was alone and finally cried." Her voice was light and of a whisper. "But then I met another boy."
Ash eyed her lips, then looked back up at her eyes. Knowing where she was going with her story, he wanted to interrupt and have her stop. But a part of him wanted to hear it out. He was a friend, right? Friends listen. Friends give advice. They talk about what's on their mind.
"We met in the empty hall and surprisingly we had a class or two together." She breathed in for only a moment. "Somehow, I wanted him the moment we met." Ash wanted to frown, but instead he puffed out gently, which went unnoticed by her. Her eyes still trained on a faraway place. "I went on this huge ramble over my mom and he didn't make me feel bad for going on and on. He consoled me and made me feel safe." She finally looked at him, her eyes were bright and almost tearful. "I thought I was safe."
Ash wasn't sure where Serena was going with this, but he hated how she could make him feel sorrowful when she was talking about this.
"I hadn't felt that way in a long time... after my first ex. I didn't think it was possible to feel that way again. It was like he saved me from making this huge mistake and from myself because I wasn't in a good place. Coincidentally, he was dancer too. We slowly got closer, became good friends, then became partners. Before I knew it, I fell in love with him." She smiled wistfully, like she was in a memory she didn't want to get out of. "Well, I thought that was what love was. Someone who made you feel noticed, safe, and cared for. It should be because he made me happy."
If you danced with Serena, no one would look at you any differently. Except maybe her because she'll be happy.
Ash didn't know what clicked to make him think of Clemont's words at a time like this.
Serena was never one fond of relationships. She didn't like getting close to somebody in that way because of how this could happen. Then, you came and proved that. Still, she was happy dancing with you. She has feelings for you.
He watched as Serena's face downcasted and her eyes fluttered to his, staring into him deeply. Ash couldn't look away from her raptured gaze even if he tried. Observing her neck and how her throat contracted from a gulp; it was like she was scared of something.
"If you've never been in love... what about fate? Do you believe that certain things in life, the people we meet are beyond our control? That some things are just... meant to be?"
Ash didn't believe in any of that either. They could feel each other's breath. The wind sighed, as though it could feel the moment too. "I wish I did."
Their faces were already close and before he knew it, he was moving in to brush his lips over hers. He didn't kiss her. Instead, he hovered over her, just breathing her in. He desired to press his lips to hers—take what he wanted. Take her.
That time after her performance flashed in his mind.
"Why haven't you taken me?"
"Is that what you want?"
They were playing with fire.
Rather, reluctantly Ash gave her the choice to bridge the tiny gap between them. He looked at Serena through hooded, intense eyes. Hers were studying his whole face and he could see she was becoming sadly emotional.
"We should get some sleep," Serena purred, her lips feathering over his. She wanted to give in, but it would break her if she did.
The heart-wrenching moment made her eyes water more. His jaw stiffened so much so she thought it would crack; in the end he backed away from her, sliding down the hood. From the corner of her eye, she watched him sit there, dragging his hand down his face in frustration, but then he jumped off. She heard him walk through the crunching leaves, but it sounded like he was drifting somewhere far away from the car.
Don't dwell on it. Don't dwell on it. Don't dwell—
Staring at the night sky, she breathed and swallowed thickly, picking her chin up, she tried to air out the tears that were beginning to fall. Placing her hand over her chest, she felt her heart pound hard and painfully; she could barely breathe. Throughout her speech, she tried so hard to press down on this feeling. She didn't expect to feel this woeful and it scared her more when it escalated looking into his eyes.
Ash was going to kiss her and if he did, she wouldn't have stopped him. It would be deceptive. A betrayal. To him. To herself. Their friendship. Their partnership.
Serena kept repeating those words, but every time they drifted through her mind they lost meaning. The moment those lips would touch hers; he would seal them with the promise of nirvana, something she wasn't ready to give into.
She kept telling herself she didn't feel anything for him, at least anymore, but every time she was around him, that was proven wrong. She thought a friendship could overcome anything, even with her faults or his. That they couldn't lose each other because of what they felt, but doubt whispered in her ears—telling her they were already on that path.