In his lifetime, Ash had made a lot of dumb mistakes. He didn't like to admit to said mistakes, but they happened from time to time. In a way, he supposed messing up school property — by accident — was one of those mistakes. Although, when he felt the pressure of Serena's lips on his own, he wondered how much of a mistake it truly was.
Of course, kissing her again was also a mistake. Maybe, probably. All that distraction. The way she looked at him even when pissed off, and the tension. He could've cut it with a knife.
Yes, doing the tango was much better for them, but it didn't help when it came to how much he wanted her. His fingers occasionally brushing over the upper curve of her ass. He could feel her breath tickle his lips, her blue eyes so close to his brown ones. She was out of it if she thought he didn't notice how she moved in a little closer every time, or how her eyes flicked to his lips.
She wanted to kiss him too. He knew.
When Serena was looking at him, holding her face and kissing her couldn't be helped. She was addicting, her lips were addicting, and she was such a damn distraction, but Ash was truly starting not to care.
"But truthfully, I like... being distracted by you."
Ash couldn't believe he actually said that to her. Since when did those kind of words come out of his mouth; it was lame. He was stuck doing these lessons and he wouldn't be able to move on until he won her forgiveness, but now he was starting to wonder if he would ever be able to move on.
Then, he thought maybe they needed to do something to get it out of their systems to get it out of the way. They've almost done so and from the way she acted when he kissed her, he had a feeling she thought the same.
"If there's a chance we happen to do anything like that, I'd want it to be because I like you and care about you. Not because I hate you."
But why did Serena have to go and say that? It threw Ash completely off guard. Mostly due to words that lingered on his own tongue — ones he was unable to say.
"I like you too. More than you know."
If he said that, it meant caving into his desires. It meant he would let her be a distraction. He would never return to his intense level of focus on basketball at this rate.
But he still felt such a pull to her.
Even now walking back to his dorm room, he kept fantasizing about what would've happened if he walked her home. She said she wouldn't kiss him again until after the competition because she was still mad at him. He wondered how true that was. She kissed him tonight multiple times.
Ash's feet stomped against the ground, the leaves crunching under his shoes. The fall air was growing colder, crisper, and he wondered if the first snow would arrive soon. Snow meant some of their work outs would be held inside, something he wasn't looking forward to. He enjoyed the outdoors. Hopefully the snow would stay away until colder months.
He glanced towards her dorm building, wondering if she made it back yet. Their campus was safe. There was no need to walk her back, but oddly enough, he wanted to.
No. There were too many other things to focus on now besides school and basketball. He now had the competition. He decided that if he was going to do this whole dance thing, he might as well do it to the fullest. Ash Ketchum didn't half ass anything, especially if there was going to be a competition involved.
He kicked his shoes against the wall, knocking the dirt off before heading inside of the dorm. He swiped his card, opening the door to see Gary slouched over his desk, completely asleep. Ash scoffed, clicking his tongue. This was why the idiot always failed everything cause he couldn't stay awake while studying.
"Gary," he said, poking the back of his head. "Sleep in your bed. Seeing you like that is hurting my own back."
"The hell—" Gary jolted up, his eyes blinking as he turned to see Ash standing over him. "Woah, huh? Wait... what time is it?"
"Almost ten," Ash answered. "What the hell you doing?"
"I was studying, but I got pretty damn bored. Psychology is not my thing by the looks of it."
Ash wondered if any class was really Gray's 'thing'.
"Right." Ash nodded firmly, smacking his back. "Go to bed already."
Gary winced at the contact and sighed. "Damn, alright, alright. I'm going." He stretched up as he pushed himself out from the chair and away from his desk. "How was practice?"
"Fine," Ash grunted, flopping down at his desk. He had a test tomorrow, one he only partially studied for. Not that he really needed to, but the last time he didn't study, he accidentally flopped a math test he should've easily passed. The last thing he wanted was Professor Oak telling him to take more study sessions and maybe with someone who is irritating, unlike Clemont.
"Fine?" Gary smirked, leaping onto his bed. He had a surprising amount of energy for someone who had just been abruptly woken up.
Ash looked at him in annoyance. "I said that, didn't I?"
"I think that's a somewhat good review when it comes to your dance lessons." Gary laughed, folding his hands under his head. "Did you kiss Serena again?"
Ash cleared his throat, looking at him awkwardly. "What are you on, man? Coach will get onto you if I tell him you've been smoking. Ruin you, literally."
"No, don't pull that shit on me." Gary glared at his friend, but shook his head. "I mean normally you come in all pissed after dancing, but you seem really chill tonight. I just assumed that meant you guys kissed or something."
Ash didn't answer for a moment too long. "Terrible assumption."
"Honestly goes a long way, Ashy-boy." Gary sighed happily, looking at the ceiling. "So you did. Are you guys finally together? Great that you're finally giving in to your wants."
"We're not together!" Truth is, he didn't know what they were. Just dance partners for now? "Even if we did kiss a few times, it doesn't mean we're dating."
"I just hope eventually you'll walk in here and tell me you two are together." Gary lazily moved his head towards Ash. "I'll finally feel at peace."
Ash flopped down onto his bed. "Not gonna happen."
Even if he was starting to feel like maybe that was what he really wanted.
The next day, Serena's breakfast group was smaller than normal since May and Drew went to the dance studio earlier to work on a variety of things. The two usually disappeared when the end of the semester and competitions drew close, spending all their free time working on their dancing. Serena silently wished she could get Ash to feel the same.
She practically folded her body over the table. "I'll just be upfront. We kissed."
"I thought you weren't going to do anything like that?" Misty replied, looking a tad bit confused, but not surprised nonetheless.
Dawn tapped a rhythmic tune against the edge of her plate with her fork. "About time she finally took my advice. I'm proud."
"And what exactly was your advice?" Clemont asked as he fixed his glasses, glancing at Serena.
Dawn simply laughed, shoving some eggs into her mouth. "To just do whatever she wanted, duh? The easiest thing for her to do if you think about it."
"That isn't our best case scenario," Clemont stated, frowning. "Surely there's several other options."
Serena knew it wasn't fair to expect Ash to give up basketball. Even watching him the one time she had, she could tell he adored the sport. The fire which often glistened in his eyes when he was so determined was apparent to her that day. As much as she hated the idea of how violent the sport could get, she kind of wanted to watch him again. If only to see him so passionate.
She had seen him look that way a few times before. He didn't enjoy half-assing things, so the often times she would catch glimpses of determination in his eyes, whether it be when they were dancing or... making out.
"Are you alright, Serena?" Clemont asked softly, gently touching her shoulder.
She let out a surprised gasp when pulled from her thoughts. "Yes, I'm fine."
Clemont nodded. "I know how Ash can be. Don't allow it to take a toll on you."
"I wish I was as good as you, Clemont." Serena sighed, looking down at the food on her plate. She was a mix of anxious and hungry. The more she thought about kissing Ash, the stupider she felt by how she still wanted to. She couldn't do that anymore.
She felt a little foolish, but even with the whole competition, if he would just ask her out on a real date, there's a possibility that she would've accepted his apology far sooner. She was so tired of him dancing around his feelings.
"Oh my gosh, Serena! Don't look so sad. You kissed a boy you like. Big deal!" Dawn scoffed, waving her hand up and down. "You should do what I told you and enjoy it. Right now, you could even get him to do whatever you wanted."
Serena didn't know how she felt about that. She was already getting what she wanted by having him do the competition.
"I wanted him to think I wasn't going to do anything like that until after he actually did what I asked of him," she explained, dropping her head to the table.
"I wouldn't worry so much. Ash did agree to it." Clemont reassured her. "He won't have intentions to back out now."
"I didn't think he would at this point," Serena muttered.
Admittedly, she was mostly worried they would both get far too distracted at this point. Whenever he kissed her, she seemed to lose control of her mind, wanting to give herself completely to him. The most important thing to her was getting him confident enough for the competition.
Confident enough with dance, that is. Ash Ketchum had plenty of confidence, but she wanted him to excel at this.
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Despite what he may say or do, he does like you."
"I suppose." Serena bit her lip, trying to find the words. "Ash doesn't do things he doesn't want to do."
"Precisely." Clemont laughed. "He doesn't. Still, Serena, even though I am a friend of his, I want him to treat you better. He's been very confusing and difficult so to say with you. On and off."
"I know." Serena bit the inside of her cheek. "That's another reason I feel incredibly stupid. I'm aware he's not... perfect. At least the way he acts."
"Well," Misty hummed thoughtfully. "Gary filled me in about that roommate. He definitely knows how to be a complicated ass when it comes down to it. Most of the time, it's unintentionally."
"I won't deny that," Clemont said in agreement. "He has... an overwhelming amount of emotions, but it always comes out in what's not intended. It's as though he doesn't fully understand how to process anything else."
"I'm sure a lot of his frustration is coming from liking you so much and not knowing what to do it with it, or how to handle it," Dawn suggested with a slight giggle. "I can see him all tortured in his room, staring at his hands like 'what do I do with these emotions I feel for the most gorgeous girl I've ever encountered?'" Dawn's Ash impression wasn't very close to him, but Serena couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh, stop it!" As she spoke, her cheeks grew a redder shade. "I doubt I'm the most gorgeous girl he's ever seen."
"Not at all. You're very beautiful, Serena." Clemont said as if it were a fact and Misty nodded her head at that before he continued. "I've never seen Ash act about anyone the way he acts about you. I can only infer that's part of why he's having such a difficult time with it. It's something he has genuinely never experienced."
"Isn't that cute?" Dawn sighed dreamily. "His first love."
Serena heart skipped a beat. That couldn't be the case with me? Could it?
"Love? Dawn, please, it's nothing like that," Serena denied, waving her hand quickly.
"You never know," Dawn said, her voice humming in a teasing sing-song tone.
Clemont rubbed his hands together. "Love is a very complex emotion. I could see why Ash would find it difficult to comprehend."
"Please don't encourage her, Clemont," Serena flailed, biting her lip nervously. "I really just think it's a simple crush."
"Perhaps you're right." He chuckled. "But you never know. Love does come when we least expect it."
Misty joined in with a grin, shrugging her shoulders. "Based on stories Gary has told me, would Ash even process it as love?"
Serena listened as she tried to calm her heart down, but it wouldn't stop fluttering in her chest. Love? That was too intense of an emotion. It was something she hasn't given herself the luxury to feel since her time in highschool. It was something she never even considered now — let alone with Ash.