Ash woke up to a sunny Saturday. He did his newspaper job and went straight to the riverside. He sat on the old rusty bench and decided to get lost in his thoughts. He sat there for at least half an hour until he heard a familiar voice.
"Ash?" He had heard Serena's soft voice and turned around immediately.
"What are you doing here?" Asked ash.
"I wanted to explore. Why are you here?" Serena looked curiously at ash.
"Well..uhhh, I went for a walk?" He made something up and hoped she wouldn't push on the subject.
"Ok." Serena walked towards him and sat next to ash on the bench. "But why are you really here?"
How did she know I lied?
"It's a long story." Ash had to tell her, after all she was his friend.
"I'll listen." She insisted on him telling her. What choice did he have?

"Fine. It was around 3 months ago when it happened. I was hanging out with my pikachu when a hooded figure came up to us. He grabbed pikachu and choked him. He pushed me away with his other hand and I sat there watching. Eventually pikachu broke out and the guy ran off muttering something. Pikachu ran through the woods nearby and I went after him. He stopped at the river and looked at me. I looked at him and then he ran through a hole and disappeared. It was my fault. So I come here a lot because I want him back. I need him back." He finished his story and Serena looked at him.
"It's not your fault. He probably got scared!" She tried to comfort ash but he was too busy crying.
"It was! I let him get strangled and he ran away because of it!" Ash Shouted quite loud. He was angry, he wanted pikachu back. He wiped his wet cold eyes. He could see Serena trying to talk to him but he didn't care. "He ran away from me because he knew I couldn't look after him." Ash looked at Serena again. And the expression on her face made her seem empty. She had tried to help him but he would just reject all off it.
Ash clenched his fist and felt his mind explode. Too much had happened at once. Thoughts of his mum, pikachu and Serena filled his brain. He couldn't deal with it.
He got up and ran.
As far as he could.
Away from everything.
Wanting to leave it behind.
Serena got up and ran for him. Soon ash was cornered and he broke down again. He couldn't deal with it. He wouldn't deal with it.
"Why are you following me?" Ash turned around with tears down his face.
"Why are you running from your fears?" Serena sound sad aswell.
"I'm tired of it all, why can't it end?"
"Ash please, just come back to the opening I don't want to lose you"
Ash looked at Serena, she was crying.
"I-I'm sorry for this. I don't like the past." He walked towards Serena and she hugged him her sobs seemed to die down. She wiped her eyes and followed ash to the opening of the woods. They soon reached Serena's house.
"See you tomorrow ash!"
"Hm ye-yeah see you." Ash saw her ocean blue eyes and Serena saw his hazel brown eyes. She smiled and walked into her house.