Serena entered her house nervously, and closed the door behind her. "Hello?" She called out, hoping to get no answer.
"Serena?" A voice spoke up, causing the blonde to sigh. Her mother was home. "Serena, how was your day dear?" Serena's mum asked, entering the room and racing over to her daughter, to hug her. Serena found her body grew stiff as her mother hugged her.
Serena's mother then pulled away, waiting for Serena to answer her question. "It was.. good.." She replied. "That's good.. I'm cooking dinner tonight, is there anything you'd like in particular?" The older woman asked, heading back into the kitchen.
Serena blinked in surprise, not remembering the last time her mother cooked. "Uh, surprise me! I'm happy with anything." The girl answered before scratching the back of her head. Her mother was acting like nothing had happened.. did she even remember that she'd striked her daughters face with a glass bottle.
Serena went upstairs and put her school bag down, before going downstairs, hesitantly. "You.. seem to be happy today.." The girl admitted, peering into the kitchen. "Well I am.. I've gone on a few dates with Craig and things seem to be going well." Her mother answered.
"Oh man.. Craig.. this man is probably secretly a drug dealer or something.. give it a few days and Mum will be in a sour mood because things didn't work out.." Serena thought. It was harsh to think this way of her mother, but there was a reoccurring theme where her mother would only be happy when her love life was going well.. it never lasted more than four days..
Serena headed up to her room, despite her mother being in a good mood.. she still didn't want to be around her. The girl closed her bedroom door behind her and sat on her bed, deciding to text Gary as she promised.
Serena: Hey Gare! Sorry I didn't see you later at school.. I had a busy day. Maybe we could hang out tomorrow after school?
Gary was sitting by his bed, throwing his shirt back on. He heard a ding and flinched in shock, before noticing Serena had sent him a message. Eagerly, he picked up his phone to reply.
Gary: Hey Sere, that'd be fun! Meet by the front gate after school?
He then placed his phone back down, and looked to his bathroom door, wondering why Misty was taking so long in there.. as she'd disappeared a few minutes ago.
Misty stood inside the bathroom, locking the door before she whipped out her phone. She began to text Paul.
Misty: Where are you? You said you were starting school on Monday and it's been two days..
Paul was a fast replier
Paul: Aw, does somebody miss me?
Misty: Yes, get your ass to school
Paul: I'll be there tomorrow, moving has been a lot of work.. you know you could always come over ;)
Misty groaned, before typing a reply.
Misty: I have plans with Gary, as usual
The orange haired girl put her phone away, before exiting the bathroom. "Babe, am I staying the night?" She asked.
"If you want, Mum might be here tomorrow morning though." Gary admitted, causing Misty to groan. Misty and Gary's mother didn't get along at all. "I'll take my chances, I want to spend time with you." She admitted. Gary nodded, though he wouldn't admit it, it really bothered him that his mother and Misty didn't get along.
"Hey, are we hanging out tomorrow night?" Misty asked, sitting beside Gary, though throwing her legs over his lap. "Actually, I'm hanging out with Serena tomorrow night." Gary admitted, causing Misty to groan. "Seriously, her?" She asked.
Gary gave his girlfriend an unamused look, "Yeah, she is my friend." He admitted. Misty glared, before standing up. She exited the room and went downstairs, to grab something to eat, pissed off. While she was downstairs, she took her phone back from her pocket to text Paul.
Misty: Still wanna hang tomorrow night?
Paul: Oh absolutely
Misty grinned before putting her phone away. She then took a bag of crisps from Gary's pantry and walked back upstairs.
-
The Next Day
Brendan and Calem entered the school gates, walking hand in hand. They walked past the Serpents hangout at the front of the school, earning glares from everybody there, particularly Misty. Calem glared back as he walked.
"I really don't miss being in that gang.." The raven haired boy admitted, talking to his boyfriend now. "Really? I always thought you enjoyed being a serpent." Brendan admitted. "I did at the time.. but I feel so much more free since I left." Calem admitted.
They entered through the double glass doors into the building, where they saw Ash. "Hey guys!" The other boy greeted them. "Hey Ash!" They both replied in unison, as Ash began walking with them too.
They talked about football for a while, as Ash had a few questions for Brendan, but eventually they all fell silent. "You know.. I think we need to find somebody for Ash.. he's a bit of a third wheel now." Calem teased, causing Brendan to laugh. "Wow.." Ash sweatdropped
"What about Dawn? She'd be perfect for Ash." Brendan teased, causing Calem to laugh now too. Ash just blushed, "We're just friends.." He huffed. Truthfully, the rumours about Dawn and Ash had stopped, now people like Brendan and Calem, genuinely shipped them.
"Speak of the devil, she's coming this way." Calem snickered, as Dawn was on the other side of the hallway, walking over to the trio. "Can you two keep it down?!" Ash squeaked, not wanting Dawn to hear their teasing.
"Morning guys!" Dawn chimed, as Calem and Brendan quickly changed their tune. "Morning Dawn!" The trio chimed. "I gotta ask you something, Ash." Dawn said, looking to Ash. "Uh sure." Ash replied, giving Calem and Brendan a look as if to say, "Can you give us a moment?"
"We'll see ya later Ketchum." Brendan decided before he and Calem walked off, still hand in hand. "They're so cute together.." Dawn said quietly, once the couple left. "Aren't they?!" Ash boomed.
"So I wanted to ask," Dawn began, with a tone of nervousness in her voice. "If you wanted to come over for dinner tonight." She said, with a smile. "Yeah! That'd be great!" Ash boomed, a bit surprised by this. "My mum is uh.. kind of asking about you." Dawn admitted, a little embarrassed. "Aww, you've been telling your Mum about me?" Ash asked, teasingly. Dawn blushed for a moment, "..Maybe.. she's been asking questions ever since I went to your house..." She confessed, embarrassed.
Iris and Hilda walked passed the pair, catching Dawn's attention. "I'll text you details a bit later, kay?" She smiled. "Sweet, see you!" Ash smiled back before Dawn skipped off after her friends.
-
Gary's eyes fluttered open, seeing Misty fast asleep beside him. He couldn't help but smile, before he rolled over to check the time on his phone. It was 9:30.
"Class has already started.." He thought before rolling back over to face Misty. Gary was usually a bit early so he could hang out with his friends.. rarely was he late.
"Misty, wake up." He said quietly, as his girlfriend groaned in response. "I don't want to get up, your bed is too comfortable." She huffed. Gary just laughed, before getting out of bed himself.
"We're already late for school." Gary admitted, wanting to see his friends. "I don't care.." Misty groaned. Gary just chuckled, before he left his bedroom, deciding to make the pair some breakfast.
Misty tried to fall back to sleep, but her phone buzzed, waking her up. "Ugh.." She groaned, rolling over to grab her phone, to see Paul had messaged her.
Paul: Where the hell are you and Gary? And why aren't Ash, Calem and Serena wearing serpent jackets?
Misty sighed, realising she hadn't caught Paul up on the recent drama in the gang. She sat up, deciding to finally leave her boyfriend's bed. She was excited to see Paul.
Misty: We're leaving Gary's house soon, I'll catch you up on the drama later today
Paul: Calem is holding hands with some dude?? Wtf have I missed??
Misty: I'll tell you everything when I get to school.. man chill with the questions, I just woke up
Paul: See you soon then
Misty: Bye xx
The orange haired girl changed into new clothes, before pulling on her leather jacket. She'd brushed her hair before taking her belongings and heading downstairs.
She noticed Gary and his mother in the kitchen. "Why are you making two breakfasts?" His mother asked. This caused Misty to scoff. "Morning Mrs Oak." She huffed before stopping as she was beside Gary. "Oh.. good morning Misty.." Gary's mother replied. It was clear the pair didn't like eachother.
"Morning babe." Misty said, before reaching up to kiss Gary's cheek. "Don't bother making me food, actually I'm gonna go wait in your car." She gave a smile. Truthfully, she didn't want to be around Gary's mother.
"Uh alright.. my keys are.." Gary was cut off. "It's all good I got them." Misty said, dangling them in her hands. She then headed towards the front door, closing it behind her, not saying goodbye to Mrs Oak. Gary sighed, still needing to eat and get changed.
"You know.. there's a lot of nicer girls you could be dating.." Gary's mother admitted, eyeing her son. Gary and Misty had been together for over a year and his mother and Misty still didn't get along.. it really hurt him.
"Mum.. I'm not in the mood for this conversation, I am late." Gary admitted, before taking a bite out of his freshly cooked toast. "You're always late when this one comes over.." Mrs Oak admitted. "Mum.." Gary groaned.
"How about Serena? She was lovely. I think she would make a much nicer girlfriend than Misty." Gary's Mum admitted, causing Gary to choke on his food. "Serena and I? We're.. just friends!" He insisted. "Besides, I love Misty, you know that." Gary reassured her.
"I know.." Gary's mother replied, wanting to say something like "You two won't last", but didn't. She seemed to have annoyed her son enough. "She is changing you.." Mrs Oak spoke up.
"What?" Gary asked, after finishing his toast. "Misty.. you're making obvious changes to be with her.. this isn't you." She admitted. Gary sweatdropped, "You sound like Serena.." He huffed.
"Well.. we've been with you your whole life, we know who you really are." His mother admitted, with a smile. Gary decided not to comment on that. "I'm going get ready and go now, because.. I am late." Gary concluded before racing to his room.
About ten minutes passed and he came out of his room, dressed in clothes for school, and his leather jacket. He pulled his bag onto his back and shoved his cigarette carton as deep into his jacket pocket as he could. His parents despised smoking and he was trying his best to hide from them that he smoked.
"Bye Mum." Gary called, walking into the kitchen. Gary's mother spun around, giving her son a smile, "Bye dear, have a good day." She said before she hugged her son. "Thank you.. see you tonight." Gary said, hugging his mother back.
He then pulled away and walked over to the front door. "Love you." He called out before he opened it. "I love you too." His mother called back, before she heard the front door close.
Gary was grateful for his parents, they were still together after being married for nearly 15 years. He felt like out of all of his friends, he was one of the only ones to have both a good home life, and have parents that are still together.
He approached his car, where he found Misty sitting in the passenger seat, tapping away on her phone. He got in the driver side after putting his bag in the back.
"Can we stop for food?" Misty asked, once they started driving. "Babe I literally made you breakfast." Gary sighed. "I wasn't going to stay there and eat while your Mum was there." Misty huffed. "I did tell you there was a chance she was going to be home." Gary added.
-
Gary finally parked his car at the front of the school, he started to feel like there was no point in going, since it was already third period.
The pair exited the car, taking their bags before entering the school. Gary held a coffee in his hand, while Misty held a coffee and a paper bag, containing food.
"Are you gonna skip class and stay with me?" Misty asked, innocently. "No, I am too behind my classes." Gary admitted. This time, Misty didn't seem to complain. "Okay." She just answered.
They entered the school building and passed the lockers, noticing Paul who was trying to get into his locker.
"Paul, hey man!" Gary boomed, excited to see him. "Hey guys.. how do these stupid locks work again?" Paul asked, with a laugh. "I have no idea." Misty admitted, barely using hers. "Let me show you." Gary decided, before walking Paul through on how to open it. "Thanks Gary." Paul replied.
"I'm gonna head to class but we've definitely gotta catch up during lunch." Gary smiled. "Yeah, definitely!" Paul grinned.
Gary then said goodbye to the pair before walking off. "Are you actually going to class?" Misty asked, munching on food as she stood by Paul's locker. "Now that you're here, hell no." He admitted. This caused Misty to grin, "Perfect." Paul soon closed his locker after shoving his bag into it. "So tell me, what happened to the gang?" Paul asked, as the pair began walking to the serpent hang out at the back of the school.
"Serena and Calem both left the gang, both being little bitches." Misty summed it up. "Calem has a thing for a football guy, they are so gross." She scrunched up her nose. "And Serena became a cheer slut." Misty concluded. "Oh god.. I didn't realise Calem liked guys." Paul admitted. "Neither.. honestly I'm just waiting for them to break up to watch Calem try and join the Serpents again." Misty said before taking a sip on her coffee. "I definitely couldn't see Serena as a cheerleader." Paul admitted. "She's surely horrible at it." Misty replied.
"What about Ash?" Paul asked. "He was forced to leave, he cheated on Ursula with Dawn." Misty admitted. "Wait, really!? You mean, Ursula is single now?" He asked, sounding hopeful. Misty shot him a glare, feeling jealous. "No.. I made up rumours so I could kick Ash out.. Ursula believed the lies and dumped him." Misty confessed. "She's a fragile one, I wouldn't go for her yet, if I were you." Misty said sternly.
The pair finally approached the hangout, where Misty and Gary had been the afternoon prior.
-
Serena and Dawn sat together quietly in class, Dawn scribbling something down on paper.
"Hey Dawn.." Serena began talking, in a whisper. "Yeah?" Dawn answered, also in a whisper. "What are you doing?" Serena asked, with a sweatdrop. "I am drawing.. I am an artist." Dawn joked. "Our first competition for cheer is next week, I'm trying to figure out some ideas for it." The girl explained. "Next week!?" Serena blurted, her eyes widening. "Yeah, I told everyone on Monday." Dawn said, before realising Serena was absent on Monday. "Oh." The blue haired girl blurted, realising her mistake.
"Don't worry, we still have plenty of training sessions before we go." Dawn insisted. "Oh god.. the nerves are real.." Serena sweatdropped.
-
The end of school came around faster than expected.
Serena said goodbye to Dawn, Shauna, May, Iris and Hilda, as they were walking towards the school gate together. "Where is she going?" May asked. "She's got a date with Gary." Dawn teased, loudly.
Serena felt her cheeks flush, as she approached Gary who was leaning on the side of the school gate.
"Hey Gare!" Serena greeted, stopping once she was in front of him. "Hey Sere!" Gary smiled, standing upright now, off of the wall. "Got any ideas on where we're gonna go?" Gary asked. Serena smiled, "I think I know a place." She decided, before she started to lead the way.
Iris and Hilda left the group, heading to Hilda's car. Drew, Ash, Hau and Brock had joined Dawn and Shauna as they walked, once Calem and Brendan left also.
Once they got to the gate, everyone began parting ways. "I'll see you tonight." Dawn smiled to Ash, as she'd texted him details earlier. "Yeah, see ya tonight!" Ash smiled before they parted ways.