(Serena's POV)
"Now then... Styling, s'il-vous-plait!"
With the snap of Monsieur Pierre's fingers, the Pokemon Styling Theme performance began. I scanned through the available accessories displayed in my dressing room.
"That... and that! All right!" I exclaimed, spotting a white and pink hat and two different colored ribbons.
I approached Fennekin to compare the pink and blue ribbons.
"Yeah, pink it is."
I placed the white hat on her head and attached the white cravat around her neck. Then I cut the ends of the pink ribbon and tied the ribbon into a bow on her cravat. I checked her appearance and adjusted her white hat to make it perfect.
"Hey, Fennekin. We've done a lot of training for this day, haven't we? And now, we'll give it everything we've gone through since our journey!" I exclaimed.
"Fenn!" she barked happily.
The hourglass continues to make ticking sounds.
"It's time for the secret final adjustments!" Pierre announced.
While Pierre made his announcement, I continued to place more accessories on Fennekin. She wore a pink skirt with white booties to match her outfit. And I also wrapped a string of turquoise beads around her tail.
"All right, you're done, Fennekin!"
Then the sound of the ticking hourglass vanished.
"Styling time is over! Now then, please proceed to the runway."
The first performer, Blanche, walked out with her Meowstic, which was dressed with a tie and bracelets. And then the second performer, Clarice, walked out with her Fletchling, which was dressed with a tie and a top hat.
"Finally, Serena and Fennekin!" Pierre called out.
As Fennekin and I walked out to the runway, the audience began cheering. I smiled and waved to the audience. I looked down to my partner who was feeling excited as well.
"Fennekin, somehow, I'm having so much fun!" I exclaimed.
"Fenne—"
All of the sudden, Fennekin tripped over her bow and fell. Her hat had fallen from her head and the beads decorated on her tail had scattered across the runway.
"Fennekin!" I shouted as I knelt down and cradled her in my arms.
"Fenn..." she whimpered.
I held Fennekin close to me. I suddenly felt surrounded in darkness with only the spotlight on me. And I can feel the world around me falling into silence.
My eyes shot open as I quickly sit up from my bed. I looked around the pitch dark room and I realized that it was only a dream.
It was still early in the morning and school doesn't start for another four hours. So I fell back on my bed and closed my eyes.
... a dream that really happened.
~~~~~~~~~~
It was the next day, and as usual, I walked to school with the girls. Our conversation was mostly taken over by May and Dawn as they were talking about their club meeting yesterday. May was complaining about how Mr. Harley embarrassed her in front of everyone.
"Ugh! Can't you believe Mr. Harley? He decided to play the old recording of Max telling the Tentacool story to the club members yesterday! I can't believe he still kept it after all these years!" May cried.
"What's wrong with Tentacool, May? I think they're really cute!" Misty exclaimed.
"Don't you love Tentacool because it's a Water-type Pokemon, Misty?" Iris asked.
Misty giggled. "That's true. I love all kinds of Water-type Pokemon! Even if they're also a part Bug-type like Surskit."
"But what's this recording about Tentacool? Was it really embarrassing for May or something like that?" I asked.
Dawn grinned. "Oh, it was about when innocent, little May was surrounded by a bunch of Tentacool at the beach and then her mom tried to ca—"
"DAWN! DON'T MAKE ME TELL KENNY!" May shouted and threatened Dawn.
"Wah! I'm sorry, May! I'll keep my mouth shut! Just don't tell him!" Dawn begged.
Wow. I know that May gets really upset about food, but I never seen her acting this scary before. I guess it's wise that I don't mess around with her personal stories.
May cleared her throat. "Anyways, I was more surprised that Brendan was the club president of the coordinator club."
"You mean the dude with white hair?" Iris asked.
"Well, that's actually his weird-looking white knit cap he wears to cover this scar on his head," May explained. "But I really didn't know that Brendan was interested in Pokemon Contests."
"That's kind of the same with me and Kenny," Dawn said, recovering from her earlier shock. "Even though we grew up together, I didn't know he was into Pokemon Contests as well."
"Although Brendan started out as a Pokemon Coordinator a few weeks ago, I was absolutely shocked on how well he showed off his Milotic's beauty in front of us. No wonder he became the club president," May said in awe.
"That reminds me. Serena, you and Shauna are having the performer club meeting today, correct?" Misty inquired.
"Yes, we are," I replied. "And I'm pretty excited since Madame mentioned that it will be a much more exhilarating experience."
"Definitely! May and I had fun in the coordinator club than the classroom. Especially when we practice along with other people!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Well, now I'm looking forward to everything the performer club has to offer me," I giggled.
When we arrive at the school gate, Misty and Iris headed to their homeroom and May and Dawn stayed behind with me.
"Oh, I almost forgot! Serena, how did it go yesterday?" Dawn asked.
"Did what go yesterday?" I questioned.
"Have you forgotten already? Did you tell Ash that you were the girl from summer camp? And not to mention, did you get a chance to tell him your feelings?" Dawn blurted out.
"Wait, what?!" Misty shouted.
Oh no. Misty and Iris were standing right behind us. But I thought they went to homeroom already.
"Um... Dawn? I thought we weren't supposed to say anything about Serena's crush on Ash, especially when we're out in the open like this," May sweat dropped.
Dawn realized what she said and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh shoot! I didn't know they were there! I'm sorry, Serena!"
I felt my heart stopped when I heard what May and Dawn had unintentionally revealed to them.
No need to worry, Serena! May and I won't tell anyone.
It's only been two days and the Meowth is already out of the bag. But I guess it wasn't on purpose since Misty and Iris were here for some reason. I wonder what they are going to say now.
Iris spoke up, "Umm... we were going to tell you that we should go eat lunch in the courtyard today, but..."
"But instead, you should explain to us about what's going on," Misty finished. "And I'm not going to pry information from May and Dawn since it looks like Serena was the one who wants to keep it a secret."
Misty and Iris turned their attention towards me. Misty's glare was making me feel hesitant to tell them, but I can't hide the truth from them forever. They are my closest friends and it wouldn't be fair to leave them in the dark.
"Well, Serena?" Misty crosses her arms.
I took a deep breath and spoke, "The truth is that I like Ash. I'm sorry that I didn't tell this to the both of you. I was just embarrassed to talk about my feelings to other people."
Misty and Iris stared blankly at me until they managed to process the words coming from my mouth.
"WHAT?!" Misty and Iris shouted in unison.
~~~~~~~~~~
(Ash's POV)
As fourth period ended and lunch break begins, Drew and I joined Gary, Kenny, and Clemont in the cafeteria. Calem wasn't going to join our group because he and Trevor had to report their research to Professor Sycamore.
"Uhm... excuse me. Are you Ash Ketchum?"
A girl with dark blue twin-tails approached our table.
"Yeah, that would be me," I replied.
Gary whistled. "Wow, when did you get so popular with the girls, Ashy-boy?"
"Shut up, Gary," I glared at him.
"Anyways, my name is Crystal. I heard about what happened to you and I would like to apologize for my friend's behavior."
I raised my brow. "Your friend? Does that me—"
Gary interrupted. "Hold up! I know who you are! Gramps hired you to help him with his research by catching Pokemon and filling out the PokeDex."
Crystal smiled and asked, "You're Gary, right? Then I would like to thank your grandfather for helping me repair Earl Dervish's Pokemon Academy in Violet City. It would have been demolished if it weren't for him."
Gary scratched his head. "Um, sure. And you also have my thanks for helping him out when I was acting like an asshole trainer back then."
"Aww, is Gary getting embarrassed?" Drew snickered.
Gary elbowed Drew's stomach and he crouched and cried from the pain.
I cleared my throat. "As I was saying before, were you talking about Ethan?"
"Well, yes. And I told him to come here, but I guess they haven't found him yet," Crystal said.
"Wrong! Silver and I found him, Crystal!" a familiar voice exclaimed.
We turned around to see Leafia and Silver dragging Ethan towards me.
"Owowow! I was going to see him to apologize, so there's no need to drag me here!" Ethan retorted.
"We found you sleeping on the roof, Ethan," Silver reminded him.
"Geez, are you taking this seriously?" Leafia complained. "Otherwise, I would have to tell Crystal that you have fee—"
"Ahhh! Ash, I'm sorry for running you over with my skateboard! But I swear to Arceus that it wasn't on purpose!" Ethan shouted, cutting off Leafia's words.
I chuckled, "It's no big deal, Ethan. Just don't ride your skateboard again."
"Hahaha, right..." Ethan sighed in relief.
~~~~~~~~~~
When we finally ended the whole skateboard incident, Ethan and Crystal decided to stay with us while Leafia and Silver went somewhere else.
"Are you going to join the Battle Dome, Ethan? You were pretty strong when we had our battle last time," I said.
"Our battle was fun, but I'm not joining the Battle Dome," Ethan answered. "Don't get me wrong. I love battling, but instead, I'll be joining the Pokeathlon Dome."
"What's the Pokeathlon Dome?" Kenny asked.
"It's a place where Pokemon can compete against each others' strengths," Crystal explained. "It originated from the Johto region and I'm joining as a member, too."
"That sounds amazing! But I don't think I can handle that sort of thing since I'm not very good with exercise," Clemont said.
"Don't worry, Clemont! Your amazing inventions makes up for everything!" I playfully threw my arm around his neck.
Clemont chuckled, "Hahaha, guess you're right, Ash."
For some reason, I felt a strange presence behind me. But when I turned around, there was no one there. Was it just my imagination?
"What's wrong, Ash?" Clemont asked concernedly.
"It's nothing. I just had a weird feeling that someone was watching me," I said, staring at the corner where I felt the presence.
"Maybe you have another secret admirer stalking you?" Gary snickered.
Geez, I hope not.
~~~~~~~~~~
(Serena's POV)
At the courtyard, I ended up telling the whole story about me and Ash to Misty and Iris, along with Shauna and Bonnie.
"Oh my Arceus! You like Ash, Serena?" Shauna asked enthusiastically.
"Ahahaha! Who knew she would fall for a kid like him?" Iris laughed.
"Shhh! Don't say it aloud! What if Ash comes around and hears you?" I warned them as I checked my surroundings.
"So when are you going to confess to him?" Dawn asked.
"That's way too early for me to confess now!" I exclaimed while hiding my blush with my hair. "And besides, I don't know how he feels about me."
"Then I can go ask Ash if he lets you take care of him!" Bonnie exclaimed.
"Please don't, Bonnie..." I groaned.
"What do you think, Misty?" May asked.
During the whole conversation, Misty hasn't said anything.
"So that's how it is..." Misty muttered.
"Did you say something, Misty?" I asked.
"Nothing, I'm just happy that you found someone, Serena!" Misty said with a smile.
"Thank you and I won't hide secrets from you and Iris again."
"Hahaha, you better tell me next time!"
~~~~~~~~~~
(Ash's POV)
After lunch period was over, I walked to my history class with Ethan and Clemont.
Ethan spoke, "Hey, Ash. I gotta question for you."
"Sure, ask away," I said as I drank from my water bottle.
"That chick with the honey blonde hair... is she your girlfriend?"
I suddenly spat out all my water on Ethan.
"What the hell, man?!" Ethan shouted.
"S-sorry, Ethan. But what makes you think that Serena would be my girlfriend?"
"Well, it looked obvious how she was worried about you yesterday. And it's natural for a girlfriend to be worried about her boyfriend when they got knocked out by a skateboard. So I kinda assumed you two were."
When Ethan described the situation, I can feel blush forming on my cheeks. I don't have that kind of relationship with Serena, but...
"You know, she is pretty cute," Ethan said. "I wouldn't mind asking her out on a date."
I suddenly crushed the water bottle in my hand.
"Whoa! That poor water bottle!" Ethan exclaimed sarcastically.
"Huh?" I stared at my crushed water bottle.
"Ash, are you okay?" Clemont asked.
"Y-yeah, I guess I'm feeling a bit nervous for the Battle Dome tomorrow," I awkwardly laughed.
~~~~~~~~~~
(Serena's POV)
Shauna and I arrived to the performer club meeting in the theater room. We sat in the front row and Madame appeared on the stage.
"Welcome, girls! It's good to see you all again!" Madame exclaimed. "Though I am the sponsor of the performer club, I am not the club president. Instead..."
Madame paused and signaled a young woman with a Delphox to come to the stage. I couldn't believe my eyes. She was wearing our school uniform, but I recognize her appearance. It was the Kalos Queen, Aria!
"Your club president will be Miss Aria, the Kalos Queen!" Madame announced.
"Oh my Arceus! I can't believe it's Aria! The Kalos Queen!" the girls squealed.
"Hello, everyone! I know many of you recognize me as the Kalos Queen. But for now, I will be acting as your student assistant at Kizuna Academy. So please treat me well and it's a pleasure to meet all of you!"
One of the girls raised her hand, "Excuse me Aria, but what about your duties as the Kalos Queen? Isn't that important since you have to defend your title from challengers?"
Aria answered, "My mentor, Palermo, had allowed me to take time off from my work and attend here. However, I will be staying here for only this semester. And she had already informed challengers that they need to have patience until my return to the mainland."
When the girls were done asking questions to Aria, Madame made an announcement about the club meetings.
"Every Tuesday and Thursday, we will meet here for practice. Do not come on other days because the drama club have their meeting here as well."
Then Madame turned to Aria. "I leave everything to you as club president."
Aria took the stage and said, "Since this is our first club meeting, I would like to say something important regarding our club activities. This club will not only help you with your performances, but you will also learn to perform along with other people."
After her speech, Aria led everyone outside to the fields, so we can have more space to practice with our Pokemon.
~~~~~~~~~~
After two hours of practice, we were allowed to go home. I returned Fennekin and Pancham into their Pokeballs, but then I remembered that I left my handbag in the theater room.
"You're ready to go home, Serena?" Shauna asked.
"Sorry, Shauna. I left my handbag in the theater room, but you can go without me."
"Okay. Be careful on your way back."
When I returned to the theater room, I checked around my seat. But it wasn't around there. I know this was the last place I had my handbag.
"Hey, clumsy girl! Are you looking for this?" a voice rudely called out to me.
I raised my head to see Miette holding my handbag.
"Yes, that belongs to me. May I have it back, Miette?" I asked, staring straight into her eyes.
"First, I want you to keep your hands away from Ash," she said bluntly.
"What are you talking about, Miette?"
"You think I don't know? I know how you feel about him. It's written all over your face. And I know you were with him in the school infirmary, too."
I had a feeling that Miette was going to bring up my obvious crush on Ash. And I already knew that she also has a crush on him. So there's no reason for the both of us to be hiding anything.
"Alright, yes. I do like him, but what does that have to do with you?" I asked with annoyance in my voice.
Miette glared at me. "Look here, I'm the one who will win his heart. And I just want you to stay away from him."
"Well, I'm not afraid of you and I'm not going to stay away from him either."
"Fine then," she scoffed.
When I thought Miette ended the conversation, she walked up to me and whispered something in my ear.
"By the way, I know about your little mishap in the Coumarine Showcase," Miette smirked. "What a clumsy mistake for a clumsy girl like you."
She pushed the handbag on me and leaves.
All of the sudden, my body started to tremble. I wasn't afraid of Miette, but I was afraid of making the same mistake. Then I started to recall the dream I had last night.
Does that mean I haven't let go of that mistake?