Serena's POV

My eyes slowly opened as I started taking in my surroundings. I was sat on a dry patch of grass inside a tree... and that's when I remembered why I was here. It was still raining outside and my heart was still aching. It was starting to get quite dark though so I figured it would be best to head back to the dorms.

I got up and started walking back towards the school but I stopped as soon as I heard something.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

That voice. It was Ash! I started walking quickly towards the voice. As I got closer, I spotted a small clearing and sure enough, Ash and Pikachu were there. Ash was giving commands to Pikachu while Pikachu was attacking a helpless rock. I decided to hide behind a tree and watch them train for a while. Come to think of it, I have never watched Ash train with his Pokemon before. It seems like I have found his training area.

After a flurry of commands by Ash and perfect executions of those commands by Pikachu, those two sat down underneath a tree while I just watched them.

As I was watching them, I felt a sneeze come up. It must have been because I was out in the cold for so long. I tried to hold the sneeze in but I wasn't quick enough and sure enough...

"ACHOO!"

That was a very loud sneeze. I noticed Ash and Pikachu turn towards me. I froze. I didn't want Ash to see me like this. This would only worry him more. My eyes were red and swollen from the crying. My clothes were dirty from sleeping on the ground, my hair was a complete mess from the sleep and the rain.

"Serena?" he said.

Without thinking, I ran. I didn't care where to, I just ran.

"SERENA!!" I heard Ash scream one more time, but I just kept running.

Ash's POV

"SERENA!!" I called out to her. I know she heard me, but she still kept running.

"This isn't good!" I said to myself.

"Pikachu, lets go!" I said in a hurry to the yellow mouse.

I would have used my other Pokemon like Charizard or Noivern to fly to her quickly, but I only bought my non evolved Pokemon today so I could train with them. I ran after her as quickly as possible. I knew what lied in the direction she was running in and it wasn't good. SHe could be in a lot of trouble.

No one's POV

Serena kept running into the forest. She knew Ash would follow her so she didn't stop. Soon, she came to a small incline and she ran up it. As soon as she got to the top, she slipped on the muddy ground and started slipping forwards. She tried to slop herself from slipping but the slope only got steeper making it harder for her to stop.

She looked at what was at the end of the slope and her heart dropped. It was a cliff. She couldn't tell what was at the bottom just yet but as she got closer to the edge of the slope, she saw an almost 20-25 meter drop into raging torrents of water.

Serena then did the only thing she could and screamed. "HELP!!"

While that was happening, Ash was running through the forest towards Serena. As soon as he heard Serena's cry for help, he knew she was in trouble. Ash only sped up and saw the incline. He ran up it without hesitation and what he saw made this mouth dry up of fear. Serena was at the edge of the cliff and was slipping off of it.

Without any hesitation, Ash ran after Serena. Serena had already fallen off and was screaming at the top of her lungs by the time Ash got to the edge of the cliff so Ash jumped after her. While Serena had her eyes tightly shut and was making herself as big as possible to slow her down, Ash dived towards Serena making sure to catch her before they make impact with water.

Serena's POV

I was screaming as loudly as possible. I was scared. I was basically falling to my death. All I could do was wait for the impact. I had my eyes tightly shut.

I was still falling. My whole life flashed before my eyes. The day I got my first Pokemon, the day I met all my friends. The day I started my school at KIT. The day I met Calem. But I had a flashback I couldn't quite understand. It was a flashback of a boy tying a handkerchief to my knee while in the middle of the forest.

As I was reminiscing about my while life, I felt something wrap around me. I thought I had finally made impact with the water, but no, It was two arms wrapping around me tightly.

I opened my eyes to see that it was... Ash?

He grabbed onto my waist and twisted around so I was on top of him and he would make impact with the water first which would cushion my fall.

I sighed of relief but then immediately dreaded everything. Ash was now in danger... and its all because of me. What if the river is really shallow? What if there are sharp rocks underneath the water?

"Ash, let me g-"

Before I could finish, we fell into the water. The current was very strong and the water was really cold. Thankfully, the water wasn't  shallow so there was nothing to worry about. I tried swimming up to the surface but found that I couldn't move and Ash was nowhere to be seen.

I couldn't move my arms or my legs. I had read about this. This was because of the shock caused by how cold the water was. This sudden change in temperature caused my body to go into shock because I wasn't used to it.

I started falling deeper and deeper into the river while being washed away by the current. I could feel all the air escape my lungs and start being filled with water. I was now terrified. I was drowning and there was nothing anyone can do to save me... Ash, where are you?

As I thought that, I could see something blue, white and black coming towards me. I couldn't hold on though. Seconds later, I passed out. My vision wen't completely black.

Ash's POV

After falling into the river, I was winded quite badly. My stomach was hurting quite badly and I felt like I was about to throw up. I looked around but couldn't see Serena. I had her in my arms but the impact and the current tore her away from my grip.

I waited a couple of seconds, withing for her to resurface, but when nothing happened, I started getting worried. Pikachu was already on the shore, shaking the water off of him.

WIthout any second thoughts, I took a deep breath and went back under the water. The water was pretty clear so it was relatively easy to see. I started swimming deeper and deeper but couldn't find Serena anywhere. I was running about of breath so I went to the surface, took another deep breath and went back underneath.

I started swimming with the flow of the water. As I was going deeper, I spotted something Pink and Red getting dragged away by the current. I knew immediately that it was Serena. I used all my energy to swim towards her and sure enough it was her, but she was in a bad condition. She wasn't moving at all and her skin looked really pale, almost turning blue because of the lack of oxygen.

I quickly grabbed her by the waist and started swimming towards the surface. The lack of oxygen in my lungs was getting to me too. I felt myself starting to back out. I felt my eyes starting to slowly shut and my legs give out. I didn't want it to end like this. I took a quick glance towards Serena and I knew I wanted to save her. It felt like all my energy was restored just for the sake of Serena. I used what little juice I had left to make one final push. Moments later, we resurfaced. I look deep breaths and swam towards the shore. Pikachu had been following me on the shore this whole time. As soon as I got to the shore, I laid Serena on the ground and felt her pulse. I panicked for a moment when I couldn't find it but immediately sighed a breath of relief when I felt a rhythmic throbbing on her wrist.

I then checked her breathing. I broke a cold sweat when I couldn't her her breathe or feel her exhale through her nose or her mouth.

I knew I had to do something. She was completely passed out and she was turning more and more blue. She must have swallowed a lot of water. I had to start performing CPR on her.

I started off with chest compressions. I did about 20 of them but I still got no response. I knew what I had to do next. It was rescue breaths. I had to do this for Serena. I placed one hand under her chin and slightly tilted her head upwards so her wind pipe was straight. Then I clamped her nose shut with two fingers. I then put my lips on hers and locked then tightly so no air could escape. I firmly blew air into her mouth. Her chest rose but nothing happened. I blew the air in again and nothing happened. I repeated the process again and again. After about 30 more seconds, when I gave her another mouth-to-mouth, she finally started coughing up water.

I sighed a huge breath of relief but knew that it was no time to relax. Serena finally coughed up most of the water from her lungs and sat up. She looked around, still in a daze and was breathing heavily. She then locked her eyes with me. I saw her eyes tear up again. I was about to say something but she quickly threw herself onto me hugging me tightly as she sobbed into my already very wet clothes.

I wrapped my arms around her tightly while I felt my cheeks starting to heat up. I quickly shook it off though. I knew Serena needed my support right now because it must have been terrifying being in her shoes right now.

"Serena?" I said as softly as possible.

She looked up at me. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying and she looked so weak and fragile.

"We need to start moving. It's almost night time and its still raining. We need to change out of these clothes as quick as possible." i said while tying to give her a comforting smile.

She nodded and tried to stand up but fell back down. I caught her before she fell on the ground.

"Don't move too much. You are very weak right now. You almost drowned."

"What should we do then, Ash?" she asked.

Her voice sounded very croaky.

"Don't worry, just hop on." I said as I crouched down and turned by back towards Serena. I could have carried her bridal-style but I thought it would be too uncomfortable for her and me. I was feeling weak too so I thought it would be easier if I carried her on my back.

"A-Are you sure Ash?" she asked.

"Of course I'm sure! Now come one!" I said as I moved my back closer towards Serena.

I left two arms coming around my neck, one from each side. The interlocked right underneath my chin. I placed my hands underneath Serena's thighs as I lifted her up. I stood up and walked forwards giving Serena a piggy back ride.

"Thanks Ash." She said as she rested her head on my back, but I didn't mind it. All that mattered was that Serena was safe and everything was alright. 

"No problem!"

Pikachu soon jumped on top of my head.

"So... am I some sort of human taxi for you guys now?"

"Pika Pika!" replied Pikachu while Serena slightly giggled.

Hearing Serena giggle made me feel so much calmer. After taking her out of the water, she seemed to be traumatised by the experience. Hearing her laugh or seeing her smile just puts my heart at ease.

I turns out that we had been swept quite far by the river and it was already very late. It was almost completely dark and I couldn't see where I was going.

"Hey Serena, we might have to find a place close by to stay for the night. I can't see where I'm going and it is starting to get quite cold. With wet clothes, we might fall ill."

"Huh? Where can we stay? There aren't even any houses around here." she replied.

I thought about it for a while. It was true. As far as I could tell, there weren't any houses around here. We were in the middle of a forest somewhere outside Lumiose. All our electronics were damaged because of the water and we couldn't even call for help. I was starting to give up hope when I heard Pikachu.

"Pikapi, Pika Pikachu!" he said.

I looked towards where the noise was coming from. Pikachu was there, sparking his cheeks to give off light. He was next to the wall. It had an indent in it. My eyes lit up as I realised what it was.

"Great job buddy! You found a cave!" I said as I walked towards the cave. I saw a few broken sticks and twigs just inside the entrance so I picked them up. I went inside and it was quite big. It was quite deep too so the cold from the outside wasn't going to directly reach us.

"Hey, Serena, I'm going to place you down on the floor now, okay?" I asked her.

"Oh, O-Ok..." she replied. She sounded a bit disappointed.

I placed her on the floor next to a wall so that she could sit up straight. I then placed the sticks and twigs on the ground with some tinder on top and called Pikachu over.

"Hey buddy, can you give me a hand over here?"

Serena's POV

Ash carefully set me down on the floor. I could tell that he was completely exhausted but he still insisted on carrying me all the way here. I have never met anyone like him before.

"Hey buddy, can you give me a hand over here?" he said to Pikachu.

Pikachu ran over to Ash.

"Use a very weak thunderbolt to light this tinder here." he said and Pikachu obeyed. As soon as Pikachu used a small thunderbolt, the cave lit up. There was a small fire in front of me.

"Thanks Pikachu!" Ash said as he rubbed his head.

"Chaaaaa~!" Pikachu cooed.

I couldn't help but smile at their interaction. Ash treats his Pokemon like they are his friends. Calem, on the other hand, treats them like his servants. To Calem, Pokemon are just things that eat, sleep and train.

As I was thinking about that, I realised that I was thinking about Calem. That reminded me of what happened today. I instantly broke down.

Ash must have noticed this and ran over to me immediately.

"Serena? What's wrong? Does something hurt" he asked frantically. I could tell he was panicking and worrying about me. I felt really guilty for making Ash feel that way.

I looked up at him.

"Don't worry Ash, I'm fine." I said giving him a fake smile.

Of course, he didn't buy any of it.

"I might be quite dense at times Serena, but I can tell when things are wrong. There's obviously something wrong here and I want to help you. Please don't push me away Serena." he said.

I looked into his eyes and could see that he really cared and was actually worried about me. I gave in and told him about today. I told him about Calem breaking up with me, the things he said to me and also how I felt when I was drowning.

"I'm really sorry to hear that Serena but over the years, during my journeys, I've learned a lot from the people I have met and I have come to understand that everything happens for a reason. Maybe what happened was for the best Serena. I mean, you are an amazing person. You are so selfless and so caring. You treat almost everybody equally and you are an all round nice person. I don't know why Calem would choose Shauna but I can tell you now that any guy would be very happy to have you." he said with a warm smile.

His words were so sincere. He meant everything he said and that made me feel so comfortable. Ash could even heal the pain caused by a heartbreak. His words made me tear up while my cheeks started flaring up.

"T-Thank you Ash!" I replied while smiling at him. I didn't even care if he could see my blush.

"Hey, I'm only being honest with you!" he replied with a grin.

We didn't say anything for a while. We just sat in a comfortable silence. During this silence, I had the chance to fully look back at the day I had today. First that embarrassing moment with Ash and then Calem breaking up with me and the Ash saving me from drowning, and now, I'm here in a cave with Ash. I blushed at the thought of spending the night together with Ash. As I thought about Ash, I remembered what Mallow said during Lunch today so I decided to ask Ash about it while trying to be a little secretive about what I really wanted to know.

"Hey A-Ash... do you have a c-crush on anyone?" I asked. I don't know what I was hoping for. It has already been established that I have feelings for Ash. If he said no, it would crush me. If he said yes, I would hold on to hope that it was me.

"H-Huh?" he asked. To be fair to him, that question did come out of no where.

"Well?" I tried to give him a little push.

"Y-Yeah, I do..." he replied while staring dead ahead while smiling a little. I was really hoping that it was me. 

I braced myself again while I asked him another question.

"Who is it?" I asked teasingly. I needed all my confidence to do that.

He smiled at me and them continued.

"I met her when I was only 7. To me, she was the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. We met during a summer camp back in Pallet Town. We used to play together everyday during the summer camp. We spent all our days together. She was nice and sweet. She was always there for me and I was there for her. We were the best of friends. Just before she left, we promised that we would meet each other one day and we promised that we would never forget each other." he had a very wide smile on his face. He was still staring at the same wall. It looked like he really loved that girl. That shattered my heart. I was doing my best to hold in my tears and Ash didn't even seem to notice me. He was lost in his own world with the girl of his dreams.

His smile then turned into a frown.

"But she didn't keep her second promise..." he said.

I was really surprised now.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well... I got to meet her again but... it seems like she doesn't remember me at all now..." he said. He looked really upset. That just made me really angry.

Ash doesn't deserve this. He is such an amazing person and this girl just goes around forgetting him? What the actual fuck?

"Ash, its just like you said earlier. Everything happens for a reason. Maybe this girl will remember you one day... or maybe... you'll find someone else?" Serena said. She was really hopeful that Ash would consider her second suggestion... but she lost all hope as soon as Ash spoke.

"I'll never be able to forget her, Serena. She was the only one who has ever made me feel that way. She was special and I could tell that from the moment we met. After she left, I started missing her more and more. I will never forget her. Part of reason why I went on a journey in the first place was so that I could meet her again." he finished.

Ash has been waiting for this girl for 10 whole years? What chance do I have against someone like that. I felt completely demoralised now. I was depressed about the fact that I will never have a chance with Ash.

I then looked at it from Ash's point of view. He was waiting for someone who has forgotten about him. He spent more than half of his life waiting for her to come back to him. It must have been very painful for him. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Ash. I could see that he still had a frown on his face.

"So Ash, how did you guys meet?" I asked.

"Well, that's a story for another day. It is quite late already and we have school tomorrow. You must be pretty tired too." he replied with a warm smile.

I was sightly disappointed. I wanted to hear about how they met but Ash was right. We needed to get some sleep.

"Alright, Good Night Ash!" I said as I shuffled into a more comfortable position.

"Good Night Serena!" he replied.

I shut my eyes and tried so sleep buy couldn't. The walls were too hard and cold. The wind was blowing into the cave too. Sitting in front of the fire had dried my clothes but I was still cold.

Ash must have heard my teeth clattering.

"Serena, are you cold?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah.." I reply.

Ash then stood up and walked next to me and sat down. He sat down so that he was blocking the wind from reaching me. He took his jacket off and placed it around me. I blushed heavily at his gesture.

"Th-Thanks Ash!" I manage to say.

He looked at me and gave me a smile.

"Aren't you going to be cold though?" I asked him.

"Don't worry about me." he replied.

I couldn't do that after everything he had done for me today. I then mustered up all my courage and wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly and didn't let go. I then rested by head on his shoulder.

He tensed up a little because of my actions but soon relaxed.

"Thank you, Serena." he said as he rested his head on top of mine.

I just giggled a little.

Hugging him gave me warmth and comfort. He has always been there for me and, now, I wanted to do something for him in return.

"No, thank you, Ash." I said while giving him a peck on his cheek.

Ash's whole body twitched when i gave him that kiss. It made me giggle again. My whole face was probably as red as a Tomatoberry but I didn't care. I just rested my head on his shoulder. I heard Ash give a content sigh and he rested his head back on my head.

Moments later, Ash's breathing became relaxed, soft and rhythmic meaning he fell asleep.

I knew Ash had a childhood love but I wanted to win his heart. I wanted to be the one who belongs with Ash. I will do everything to keep him happy from now on. I will always be there for him when he needs me and that is a promise that I make to myself.

As I thought about that, I too felt sleep crawling in. Soon enough, my eyes shut and I went into a deep slumber.

End of Chapter 10.

10 chapters already. Thanks for all the views and votes guys. It really means a lot to me!

So, amazing things should start happening between Ash and Serena from now on. As I said in an earlier chapter. I have already figured out the plot and the ending for this book so everything should flow smoothly. If you guys do spot any mistakes, please let me know.

Next chapter will be marking a new beginning for Ash and Serena. There will be new students coming in very soon too... some good, some, not so good.

Again, thanks for reading.

See you guys in the next chapter!