Ash's POV

"So, whaddya think, Ashy-Boy?" Gary asks me. I nod, tucking into my burger. This new cafe isn't too bad. We guys are planning his birthday party, and he has decided to have a pool-party. He winks at us.
"You know what that means, right?" We shake our heads.
"Nuh-uh." Drew states. Gary rolls his eyes.
"Really? It's obvious! Bikini babes!" He smiles at us. Now it's our turn to roll our eyes, me especially. Drew goes a fiery red, and we can all tell who he's thinking about.
"May, right?" Paul leans on the table, chewing his salad. Drew looks surprised.
"How did you kno- I mean, of course not!" He quickly corrects himself. I laugh loudly. Drew gives me a dead-eye, and chucks a piece of lettuce at my face. Pikachu leaps off my shoulder, his cheeks sparking. I gulp, and warn the others.
"Back. Off!" I hiss, but it's too late. He releases a huge Thunder Bolt at Drew, soon spreading to the other boys. I sweat drop at their fried bodies, which are lying on the cafe floor in a heap. People are looking as well, nervously at Pikachu and the guys. Suddenly, Paul jumps up from the top of the pile.
"YOU OWE ME A DELICIOUS CHICKEN SALAD, KETCHUM!" He yells. I can't take him seriously with the soot on his face, but I keep this thought to myself. Pikachu walks down from the table, satisfied that he has done what he needed to do, and hops back onto my shoulder. A waitress comes up from the counter.
"How is the lunch coming on? Oh..." She stops, looking at my friends. Then I recognize her.
"Huh? Serena?" I ask. She nods, smiling. I look at her full outfit. She's wearing the classic waitress dress, with black and white frills at the bottom, though the dress is kinda short, only reaching the top of her knees. The cap she is wearing is matching her skirt, but with a PokePuff embroided on it. That must be the cafe's logo, I think. She sees me staring, and blushes.
"Yeah, I just joined! There's a charity event here this week." She says, and looks back at Gary and the others, apart from Paul, who has gone to the men's room to clean up.
Then, another table calls her over. She looks at me apologetically, and scurries off. The table is two teen boys, who are in my biology class. I look at Serena, who seems flustered, and the boys look smug. I sense something is wrong, then I see them pointing at her, and grinning. I heard them cat-calling her like "Oh, do fries come with that shake?"
At that point, I just snap. I'm so angry right now! In what universe do they think that's cool?! I march right up to my seriously embarrassed friend, and tell the boys,
"Who the hell do you think you are, douchebags?!" I shout, ignoring any attention. They look back with fire in their eyes.
"Why should we listen to you?!" One of them growls. I blurt the first thing the comes to mind.
"'Cuz... 'Cuz, I'm her boyfriend!" I yell. Silence. I can tell that won't go down well. The other guy stands up to his full height, and slaps me round the face, and it stings. Suddenly, Serena takes me by the hand, running out of the cafe and onto the streets. She leans on a wall, sliding down on her back. We both pant, and blush, unable to process what I just said.

"A-are you okay?" She asks, shivering.
"Yeah, I guess. Are you?" I reply, gently putting my hand on the cheek where that guy got me, and I can tell it's gonna be a bruise in the morning.
"No, not at all!" She says, and starts crying. I remember a similar expression when Fennekin fell on the stage at her first Pokemon performance. I put my hand on her cheek, and she sobs into my glove. Once she stops, she looks up at me and gives me a watery smile. I smile back, seeing my best friend. Not he Kalos Queen, not the waitress, but my true friend! But I wanna be more... Serena sees my expression change, and her blue eyes meet mine. I'm not afraid to tell her...
"I-I love you, Sere." I say, without thinking. She stops breathing for a moment, and everything slows down.
"Wha-what?" She breathes, almost to herself.
"I love you." I repeat, and she meets my eyes once more. Nothing more needs to be said.

"I love you too, Ash..."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So, you guys happy? Hehe, I finally got this chapter finished! Serena and Ash finally confessed! Also, because of this chapter being published, I will release the new cover announcement tomorrow, so get commenting soon! Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter!
~Waves out!
Word count: 819!