I know you were probably expecting this chapter to be Ash and Serena's set up date but I just wanted to add in another chapter real quick. Because I wanted to show you that although I haven't been writing the scenes, the 'love lessons' are still ongoing.
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"Alright, I'm only doing this because I want to, not because you asked this morning." Elaina told me with her eyebrows knotted into a firm expression and her teal orbs hard, capturing me in her stare.
"Whatever floats your boat." I replied with a malicious smirk that I knew would fuel her fire. Elaina was easily angered, I recognized that fully, but still the child within enjoyed sparking her temper like a toddler with putty in his hands.
Elaina glared at me, as anticipated. She parked herself on a love-seat sized bench that lined a common street of Lumious city. The city was busy like normal, a steady flow of people mindlessly passing by with various Pokemon in tow. The Kalos sun had a harsh glare that bore down on me, heating each fiber of skin until I tingled with warmth. The place still had a faint nose-twitching sent of baked croissants tinging the air. I copied the golden blonde by taking a seat on the opposite side of the bench.
She pursed her lips, briefly let her eyelids flutter closed and became entranced with her thoughts. Her unique lessons had been an eyeopener for me. I found myself gaining interest in the actions of others and trying to conclude their thoughts. The new hobby was a practicable skill, that, may not have been a habit like Elaina, but something I increasingly did more and more. At the very beginning of this extravaganza, Elaina instructed me to practice everything she taught in real life, it was one of her necessary rules. And so I did. With each day that passed it surprised my how much more prominent these things became in my thought process, and I found my way of thinking began to change. Queer at first, but soon I became comfortable plunging myself into a world of emotion.
Of course, I always kept Serena in the back of my mind. After all, she was the reason I started my 'love lessons' in the first place. And as promised, I did apply what I had learnt to studying her. But I had a weird reaction to it. I saw the blushing and I saw the way she tensed when I was near. However, I always seemed to lose my sense of knowing with Serena, every initial thought contradicting itself and over thinking. The extent of my knowledge became worthless, for in my mind, she was different. Or even in some cases I felt as if she was polar opposite.
"As far as I'm concerned, we've covered pretty much all of how love can inflict weakness upon a person. We've done blushing, becoming distracted, infatuated, how we change ourselves to please them, purposely going out of our way to put ourselves in situations with the one we love, even putting their needs and demands before our own. But we must remember that love is certainly not just a weakness. In fact, it is a strength that can largely out weigh all these weaknesses combined." Elaina explained as she took on the tone of a professional.
"That's a lot of weaknesses. Love doesn't exactly seem like much of a good thing to me right now." I pointed out and Elaina shook her head vigorously with disagreement.
"Not at all, Ash. What you have to understand is that love comes with many consequences, but overall, it's still a very good thing. Love is what sticks all our limbs together, it's why you and I are sitting here now. How we can draw a smile to our face. The consequences of love are little things we learn to look past, for these things mean nothing when compared to the total gift. You'll understand someday, Ash. Love is the best thing a person could possibly have." She glowed with a grin as the wisdom poured from her mouth like a waterfall of knowledge that she couldn't contain, for she didn't have the capacity to really know such things.
"But I do understand! I love and care for my friends so much." I countered, wondering why she possibly thought I hadn't experienced love, I was a well loved person.
"Of course you love your friends! Just like you love your mother and your Pokemon. And you understand that love. Some might go as far as to say you're a master at it, not that I personally would. But you asked me to teach you about Erros, a different kind of love to that of your friends. And that kind of love, you don't understand at all." The golden blonde argued.
"Then explain how this type of love can have so many weaknesses? Why is it any different?" I asked with concern. In my opinion, there was nothing wrong about having close friends, but this kind of love had consequences that didn't sound very appealing.
"Now, this is starting to invade the personal territory that I don't have very much experience with. So I'll try another approach. Tell me Ash, is there anyone in you life that makes you feel strong by just their single presence? Would you be obliged to push yourself further if they were there with you? Is there anyone in your life who has given you the strength you need to accomplish your goal? Cause that's real love." Elaina resorted in a soft tone.
At the mention, by the lullaby of those very words, my mind raced to Serena, without a split second to think. It was a second nature reaction that left the image of her dazzling cerulean eyes filling my mind. I remembered the first day she came to me in Kalos, her pearly smile brighting each fiber of her face and the gawky way her expressions held each cheek.
She was the one that helped me win that gym battle, it was the reason I invited her to journey with us. And she never failed to inspire every tactic I performed there after. She always said she wanted to battle like me, but she was the inventor. Her support on the sidelines of every struggle pulled me out of whatever abyss I was hiding in.
She gave me strength. She didn't even realize it and I never confronted her as much as I should. Didn't make it less true.
"Feel obliged to push yourself further when they're with you...makes you stronger..." Elaina mumbled under her breath, but the words half whisked away by the wind still caught my ears.
"What did you say?" I asked, intrigued by her sudden conversation with herself. As I spoke, she jumped, staring back at me in alarm, as if she had forgotten I was there.
"N-nothing. S-sorry...I-I've got to go." She stammered before abruptly standing upright. She immediately began to walk away and I stared in some sort of temporary shock. But Elaina paused after a few paces and glanced at me over her shoulder. "We need to go to Lumious park tonight."
I continued to stare at her in confusion as the strange assemble left her mouth.
"What do you mean? Why do we need to go to Lumious park?" I questioned, scanning the golden blonde for more signs of her weird behavior. But the teacher is as good at reading as she is hiding.
"I mean, I want to battle you at Lumious park tonight." Elaina said as she composed herself and pulled a forced smile onto the edges of her lips. There was a pause before I answered as a result of me trying to decipher her reasonings.
"Of course. But I hope you're ready for another beating." I teased with a smirk that I hoped would bring back the normal Elaina. She tried to smile back, but it quickly faltered and I noticed the normal competitive spark that illuminated her eyes at the mention of battles was not there.
"Right...I-I mean, yeah right! Think again Ketchum." Her voice was the same sarcastic and shallow tone she normally used with me, but there was something lacking. "Anyways, see ya later! Ash." And with that she waved a halfhearted goodbye. I didn't bother to return the gesture, just watched her figure disappear into the crowded flow of city goers. Until that blue ribbon in her hair that Serena stressed over just blurred into the other colors of the streets.
That was...odd.
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Pinky promise next chapter will be the date chapter!!! Just thought this was a cute little update...and I'm ready for the buses.