Serena blushed and Ash seemed confused. "What do you mean?" he asked and Mallow explained. "Well, you hold each other's hand and look like you've been doing on something..."
"Isn't that Mallow enough," Kiawe interrupted and nodded at the other two (Serena blushed more realizing what Mallow meant and Ash seemed even more confused)
Serena quickly took the grip from Ash's hand. "Sadly disappointing, but no, we're not together," she said, shaking a few branches from her head and brushed her clothes more evenly.
Even if I wish we were, she still thought in her mind and glanced at Ash, who seemed confused about the whole thing, and noticed Pikachu sitting on Ash's shoulder again and sighing, as if saying his trainer was a really dense idiot at times. Then Ash suddenly seemed to recover and asked Mallow and Kiawe, "Why were you two here anyway?"
To Serena's surprise, Mallow seemed to blush a little. "We were.. on a walk," she said, glancing at Kiawe, who nodded and also seemed to.. blush? slightly. "Yeah, and we were just going..."
He couldn't finish his sentence as a raindrop interrupted him. It hit right on his nose (Mallow giggled a bit) and he looked surprised. He looked up at the sky and soon more drops fell.
They realized that it was starting to rain and realized that they would get wet through if they didn't go to some shelter quickly. (Mallow no longer giggled) "Let's go to Professor Kukui's house, it's closest," Ash said and the others nodded, agreeing. "Right," they said and set off to run towards the house.
On the way, the rain increased more and more and also started to rain hard. They realized that this would not just be a small downpour that would pass in an instant, but a decent storm that could last a long time. Hopefully, there will be no thunder, Serena thought as she secretly feared thunder.
The rain got harder and soon the road was rippling out of the water. Serena felt her shoes get wet soaking and other clothes as well. Soon she was quite soaked and water was running down her hair and face. Fortunately, Professor Kukui's house was getting closer and closer and they ran towards it as fast as they could.
Professor Kukui seemed to be facing them at the door as they rushed towards it. "Quickly inside!" he shouted and shielded himself from the rain with his hand.
Mallow and Kiawe were the first to get inside and Ash quickly followed them. Serena was just getting to the stairs of the house as she slipped and fell, feeling a disgusting pain on her knee.
Ash was just getting inside when he heard Serena exclaim and turned just right to see that she had fallen to the ground. "Serena, are you okay?" he exclaimed and rushed back to Serena. "I guess, knee and ankle hurt just a little bit," she said, and tried to get up, just slick on the ground again.
She tried again, but as the ground was wet and slippery, her sore ankle did not provide enough support, the wind was now blowing really hard and the rain was whipping her eyes, she could not get up but fell again. Ash couldn't bear to see her lying on the ground, and without thinking anything, lifted her in a bridal style on his lap and quickly carried her inside.
Serena was quite surprised by Ash's work, but didn't complain. They also got inside and Ash lowered Serena gently to stand.
But as Serena tried to lose weight on her sore ankle, she whimpered in pain and faltered. She would have fallen again if she hadn't received support from Ash's shoulder. (Pikachu had gone inside before Ash.)
"Are you sure you can walk?" Ash asked worried and Serena realized she couldn't. There was too much pain in her ankle.
Leaning on Ash's shoulder, Serena limped on the couch and stretched her sore leg straight so that her ankle rested on the coffee table. Mallow fetched her some dry towel that Serena could wrap.
Serena took her wet shoes and socks off her feet and looked at the damage the fall had caused. There was a small wound in her knee, but it didn't bother her, it would heal quickly. More worried was her ankle.
On the outside, it didn't look any abnormal, maybe a little swollen. But as she tried to lose weight on it, her ankle whistled in pain and Serena whimpered.
They couldn't go to the Pokemon Center for Nurse Joy because of the storm, so they had to settle for what was found in the house. Professor Kukui brought Serena a cooler bag, which she pressed over her ankle to ease the swelling. It helped a little.
With the help of Mallow, she limped into her room and changed her dry clothes. She then returned to the living room where the others were and sat back on the couch, resting her ankles on the coffee table with a cooler bag.
For a moment they sat quietly in it until the house suddenly went dark. The storm had apparently cut off the electricity and Professor Kukui went to pick up a few candles and a flashlight. The house did not have a backup generator and no one had a large enough Electric Pokemon to generate electricity. So they lit candles and lit the room with flashlights.
****
Professor Kukui soon left the four of them and went to the kitchen to make some food. Serena looked at the others. Ash sat at the other end of the couch and leaned his hand against its armrest. Mallow and Kiawe sat almost next to Serena very close to each other.
No one said anything for a moment and they sat quietly until Kiawe asked, "So, what would we do?"
They thought for a moment until Mallow said, "Let's play something." The others nodded and Ash asked, "But what?"
They sat for a moment thinking, until Mallow said, "How about the Truth or Dare? You don't even have to move anywhere."
Hearing the name of the game suggested by Mallow, Serena exclaimed "No!" before she had time to stop herself. Others turned to look at her in wonder. "Why not, Serena?" Ash asked and Mallow looked straight into her eyes, also asking, "Yeah, Serena, why?"
Serena felt her cheeks flush a little and she knew Mallow knew exactly why. She just didn't have the slightest desire to tell the reasons to everyone. "I... fine, let's play that silly game," she said submissively. "Great, I'll start. Ash, Truth or Dare?" Mallow asked, clearly excited and looking at Ash.
Ash thought for a moment and said, "Dare." "Okay, go running outside by that palm tree and then come back." Ash grinned, went to the front door and ran out. After a while, he came back with some water flowing and his hair fluffy.
He sat back on the couch, took the towel left by Serena and dried himself a little on it. Then he turned to look at the honey-blonde-haired girl and asked, "Serena, Truth or Dare?"
Serena thought for a moment and then said, "Truth." "Okay, what was the best experience of our Kalos journey?"
If Serena had been quite honest, she would have said the answer all those times when she somehow happened to be two with Ash. But she wasn't, so instead she replied, "I don't know, the whole journey was wonderful, I can't choose just one,"
Ash didn't look pleased. "But someone has to be above others," he said, and Serena thought. "Well, I loved all the moments we spent at four and a certain performances were nice ... Oh and those dance parties! They were lovely..." Mallow interrupted her. "Hey, hold on, were you supposed to be at the dance party?"
Serena was just saying they weren't a big deal, but didn't have time, as Ash had already explained the whole thing. "Well, yes, because they were related to Serena's Pokemon Performance stuff and we decided to get involved. Dancing wasn't my thing though."
"What are Pokemon Performances?" asked Mallow with interest and Serena, who had come to Alola to take a break from the subject, now had to explain the matter. She sighed and explained the matter to Mallow and Kiawe.
(Skip because you know what they are and it would only take time)
"Wow, the performance sounds wonderful," Mallow said and Serena nodded. "That's what it is, but sometimes everyone needs a break, no matter how important it is"
"Is that why you came to Alola? To take a break from the Performance?" asked Ash and Serena nodded. "A friend of mine from Hoenn said a vacation would do me good, I was pretty.. stressed, and well, here I am"
No one said anything for a moment until Mallow said, "Okay, let's continue the game. Serena, it's your turn to ask someone."
****
Serena found that every time there was a turn of questions for Mallow, she always took her questions or dares in just a not-so-innocent direction. So, when she asked Serena, ("Truth or Dare, Serena") Serena wondered which would be a less embarrassing option. As always, she ended up with the truth.
"Well, Serena. What exactly would I ask you?" Mallow said with a grin, and it occurred to Serena that it probably wouldn't be anything nice and innocent to her. She happened to glance at Ash, and to her chagrin, Mallow noticed it. Her face spread in a wide grin and asked, "Serena, have you ever kissed anyone?"
Serena felt the heat rise to her face and she wondered what exactly would respond. "Well... uh... I..." she muttered and then she heard Ash say something that completely surprised her. "Yes she is"
Mallow turned lightning fast to look at Ash, who realized it might have been worth it to be quiet anyway. "And how do you know that?" Mallow asked, but Professor Kukui's "The food is ready!" exclamation saved him from answering.
They ate quickly and Professor Kukui noticed that the storm had subsided a bit. Mallow and Kiawe decided to go to their homes now, when the opportunity arose, so that their parents would not worry.
Mallow borrowed Professor Kukui's umbrella (she promised to return it as soon as she could) and set off to run towards her home. Kiawe summoned his Charizard from its Pokeball, jumped on his back, and set off to fly to his home island. (in his own words he didn't need an umbrella)
So when they left, Ash, Serena and Professor Kukui were left out of the three. To their delight, the electricity returned and they decided to watch TV for a while. Soon Professor Kukui decided to go to sleep and left Ash and Serena two.
They sat quietly side by side on the couch and watched some show on TV. Then Serena said suddenly, "Thank you, Ash."
Ash turned to look at her. "For what good?" he asked, wondering what Serena meant. Serena smiled and said, "From this day, thank you for asking me for a walk that morning," she explained, and then pressed a small kiss on his cheek to Ash's great surprise. Then Serena got up, and went to her own room to sleep. (limping, because of her sore ankle)
Ash sat in his seat for a moment, confused and wondering what had just happened. He pressed his hand over the point Serena had just kissed and then smiled slightly.
Then he got up, turned off the television, and said to Pikachu, who had been sitting next to him on the couch, and who now had a knowing look on his face, "Come on, Pikachu, let's go to sleep."