It is the day after the incidents that look place in the previous chapter. We join Serena as she is making her way to the cafeteria.

With Serena

As Serena was walking along a small dirt road leading to the cafeteria, she hears a voice behind her.

"Hey, Serena, wait up!"

Serena turns around and immediately grows a smile on her face.

"Oh, hey Alain!" she waves at Alain while smiling at him.

Alain smiles back at her while continuing conversing with her.

"So, where are you heading right now?" asks Alain.

"Oh, to the cafeteria. That's where we always go in the morning to have breakfast." she replies.

"Who do you mean by "we"?" asks Alain.

"Well, most of the time, its just Ash and I who have breakfast there, but, sometimes, the whole group comes along. You know... the people you sat with during lunch yesterday." replies Serena.

Alain was got really interested as soon as Serena had mentioned Ash. So... he decided to investigate further to see what Serena thinks of him.

"So... Ash huh? What do you think of him?" asked Alain.

Serena was caught off guard by the sudden question. She hadn't expected it.

"Wh-What? I-I think he is a n-nice guy! He's r-really helpful, sweet, caring, brave, selfless, and those little Z-marks on his face are so cute and his ey-" 

Serena stopped herself as she had realised what she had just said to Alain. She blushed a deep shade of crimson while Alain just smirked at her. Suddenly, that smirk reminded her of the one Alain gave Ash yesterday and she immediately jumped to the conclusion that Alain and Ash hate each other. Serena shook the blush off and decided to confront Alain about it.

"Why do you guys hate each other?" she asked with a slightly serious tone in her voice. She didn't want her close friend fighting with probably her best friend and someone she likes a lot.

"What!? We don't hate each other... its just a friendly 'banter'" replied Alain.

Serena had a look of skepticism on her face. She was about to voice her concern but Alain beat her to it.

"Anyway, lets get back to the main topic here. So... I see that you have feeling for Ash, right?" he says nonchalantly.

Serena didn't know what to do. She knew it was all true but did she really want to tell Alain about it? 'I mean, what could possible go wrong?' she thought to herself. She trusted Alain as she had known him for 2 whole years so she decided to tell him the truth.

"Y-Yes..." she replied.

Alain had a genuine smile on his face for a while... until it changed into a mischevious one.

"You know... I can help you with this." said Alain.

That immediately caught Serena's interest.

"What do you mean?" asked Serena.

"Well... I have a little plan. I just need you to play along. Are you OK with that?" asks Alain.

Serena was unsure, but she decided to go with it. She trusted the fact that Alain wouldn't do anything that crosses a line.

"Um... ok, sure!" said Serena as they reached the cafeteria.

Serena went to the usual table with Alain following her. The whole group was there today, apart from Ash and Mairin. Serena sat on a char and Alain sat opposite her. Alain texted Mairin to come to the cafeteria and a couple of minutes later. she arrived.

"Good Morning Alain!" said Mairin while giving him a sweet smile.

"Morning Sweet Pea." said Alain giving her a warm smile. Mairin walked to Alain and pecked him on the cheek.

That immediately reminded Serena of the kiss she gave Ash which made her blush a little while smiling at the scene in front of her. Mairin walked ahead and too a free seat at the other edge of the table. Serena now really started wishing that Ash was there too. Almost as if someone had heard her wish and granted it immediately, Ash ran in through the door.

Serena was about to get up and go to Ash when Alain stopped her.

"Serena, don't." said Alain.

"What? Why?" asked Serena whith a hint of confusion and annoyance in her voice.

"Just play along. Please?" asked Alain.

"Fine, what do you want me to do?" asked Serena.

"I want you to not talk to him or act like you don't notice him for a while. Only talk to him when he talks to you first. If he asks you to walk with him to class, please say no. I know I'm asking a lot, but it might be helpful to you... and to Ash. Trust me."said Alain.

"WHAT? Why would I ignore Ash like that? I can't do that!" said Serena, clearly furious at Alain's request.

"Serena, I'm doing this to help you!" said Alain. Serena could now see that Alain was serious. Although, she was still puzzled as to why Alain would help her.

Serena finally sighed as replied. "Fine..."

No-One's POV

Ash was running to the cafeteria while Pikachu was on his shoulder, chugging down a bottle of Ketchup. Ash was reminiscing about the events from the day before. Saying he was happy was an understatement.

Ash reached the cafeteria and bursted in through the door to have the enticing aroma of bacon fill his nose early in the morning. He made his way to the counter to get his breakfast, after which, he made his way to his group of friends. When he reached the table, his smile turned upside down at the sight of Alain and Serena conversing so easily. Serena hadn't even noticed him there. Her and Alain seemed to be enjoying themselves... so Ash decided to let them be for now and looked for an empty seat. He found one next to none other than... Mairin.

Ignoring Ash like that was killing Serena from the inside. She didn't want to treat Ash like that at all... but Alain did say that he would help her.

Alain too noticed that Serena wasn't too happy about it. However, what really got Alain panicking was the fact that Ash went and sat next to Mairin. Alain decided not to think of it too much for now. Instead, he decided to look around the table and see what the others were doing.

Drew and May's conversation:

Drew: June, come on, don't eat so much! You're going to get fat!

May: WHAT DID YOU SAY? IT'S MAY, YOU SALADHEAD!

Over to Dawn and Paul:

Dawn: Paul?

Paul: Troublesome?

Dawn: I told you to stop calling me that!

Paul: Hmph... Pathetic!

Now Iris and Cilan:

Cilan: This food is exquisite. The intricate blend of the sour Aspear berry and the spicy Cheri berry is a combination to marvel at.

Iris: Uh... what?

Now Gary and Misty:

...... There was no conversation.

Gary was basically unconscious on the table while Misty had a mallet in her hand and a glare that could pierce right through you.

To Mallow:

.... She was asleep.

and finally, to Ash and Mairin.

Alain decided to concentrate on their conversation as he wanted to make sure nothing fishy was going on between them.

"Hey Mairin!" said Ash while smiling at her.

"Oh, hi Ash!" she replied, smiling back at him.

Ash looked at Mairin and noticed that she was wearing a nice white dress with Gracidea flowers.

"Oh, you changed your outfit! It looks great on you!" said Ash while smiling brightly at her.

Mairin blushed at the compliment and smiled back at him.

"T-Thank you, Ash!" replied Mairin.

Ash grinned at her and started devouring his food. Little did the two of them know that Serena and Alain had heard the whole conversation... and Serena was very jealous now while Alain was about to blow up from anger.

Soon, one by one, all of Ash's friend left the cafeteria to go and do their own thing leaving Ash, Serena, Mairin and Alain in the cafeteria. It was almost time to head to class so Ash stood up and walked to Serena.

"Hey Serena, do you want to walk to class together?" asked Ash while smiling at her.

Serena looked up at Ash. 'On no... he's giving me that smile. This is going to be hard!' she thought to herself and the replied.

"I'm sorry Ash. I have something to talk to Alain about so I'll go to class later." she said forcing herself to smile.

This upsets Ash but he returns a forced smile too and replies.

"It's OK Serena. I guess I'll see you in class then!" he says.

Ash starts walking back towards his seat next to Mairin to pick up his bag while Serena glares at Alain. 'This better be worth it, Alain!' she thinks to herself. Alain was just sitting there smirking at the whole scene. 'This will definitely make him jealous. If anything, it will foce him to realise that if he doesn't make a move first, someone else will!' he thought to himself. The two were broken out of their thoughts by Ash speaking up again.

"Hey Mairin, since you're here, and we have the same class, do you want to walk to class together?" asked Ash. He was completely oblivious to what he was doing. All he wanted was a friend to walk to class with.

'What the fuck is guy doing? Is he planning to do to me what I'm doing to him?' Alain thought to himself. He couldn't let this happen.

Alain then faces Serena.

"I'm calling this whole operation off!" he whispered to her with a very serious tone to his voice.

"What? Why? I thought you were helping me!" whispered Serena. She was slightly confused.

"Fuck this shit!! I'm not risking my relationship with Mairin for anything. That idiot is so dense, he doesn't even know when he, himself, is flirting with someone." whispered Alain.

Serena now knew what Alain's plan was all along. He was trying to make Ash jealous! She then caught on to why Alain decided to all it off. This only made Serena smirk.

"Don't like the taste of your own medicine?" asked Serena while smirking at him.

Alain just glared back, got off his seat and started walking towards Mairin.

"Yeah sure As-" Mairin's reply was cut off when Alain grabbed her hand and started walking out of the cafeteria while dragging Mairin out.

"Alain, what are doing?" asked Mairin.

"Um... nothing! Let's get to class quickly." replied Alain while looking straight ahead while exiting the cafeteria.

Inside the cafeteria, Ash and Serena watched the drama unfold. Ash then decided to speak up.

"What's up with Alain?" asked Ash.

'Wow, he really is dense...' thought Serena while giggling.

"Uhh... don't worry about him." replied Serena while smiling at him.

Ash then realised that Serena was the only one left there. His eyes lit up.

"So, Serena, since Alain isn't here anymore, do you want to walk to class?" asked Ash.

Serena's eyes lit up too.

"I'd love to Ash!" she replied looking at him while smiling.

Ash and Serena then started making their way out of the cafeteria and into the school.

After 4 lessons and a multitude of brain-numbing classwork, it was finally lunch time. Alain has been staying particularly close to Mairin while being wary of Ash. They decided to not have lunch in the cafeteria and instead walk around the school together. Ash found this suspicious. First the incident in the morning and now, those two just isolating themselves. He decided to drop it for now.

Everybody had already made their way to the cafeteria. Ash often would have been the first to get there, but, he was held back as Pikachu decided to run off in the other direction and Ash had to chase after him.

After finally catching up to Pikachu, Ash picked him up and decided to confront him.

"Pikachu, why did you run off like that?" ash Asked his trusty partner.

"Piiiiika..." said Pikachu while shrugging his shoulders.

"What do you mean, you don't know? Honestly, sometimes, I really start wonder if there's something wrong with you!" said Ash while giving him a puzzled look while chuckling a little.

Pikachu just smiled back at his trainer.

"Lets go Pikachu, if we don't hurry up, we might miss lunch... and there might not be any ketchup left!" said Ash.

"PIKAAA!?" replied Pikachu, clearly horrified that he might not get any ketchup.

As they started making their way back, Ash collided with someone.

"Oomph... sorry!" said Ash.

"I-It's alright." said the other person. He had a relative deep voice and one that Ash recognised. He hadn't talked to this person in weeks.

"Oh, hey Calem!" said Ash while smiling at him. Ash looked behind Calem and sure enough, Shauna was there.

"Hi Shauna!" continued Ash.

Calem was taken aback. Even after almost killing his Greninja and severely injuring him in the process, he still decided to talk to Calem with a smile. Calem felt extremely guilty. Being with Shauna had changed Calem into a better person. Over the past months, Calem had become more understanding, more mature. He wasn't as arrogant as before. Calem took this as a chance to repent for his mistake and ask for Ash's apology.

"Hi Ash!" they both replied.

"Ash, before you say anything else, I really want you to know that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have treated you like that during the battle. I was acting stupid. I even over reacted after the battle. I know you're a good person and I feel ashamed for doing that to you. I'm really, very sorry and I hope you can forgive me." said Calem while looking to the floor.

Ash could see the he really did feel guilty and he really did regret what he did. For Calem to come and apologise to him was a big surprise. It was a big change from the Calem from a month ago. Ash looked at Shauna and then back at Calem and then smiled.

"Don't worry Calem. I forgive you. You know, it really was one of the best battles I've had in a while. I expected nothing less from a Kalos Elite 4." said Ash while grinning at him.

Calem blushed at Ash's complement.

"Thanks Ash!" replied Calem while smiling back at him.

"Hey guys, I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in a jiffy." said Shauna as she ran towards the bathroom leaving the two trainers alone.

"Whatever you do Calem, don't let Shauna go. Whatever she has done for you, You've turned into a much better person. With her by your side, you'll reach great heights! There's no doubt about it!" said Ash. This caught Calem by surprise.

"Of course Ash. I love Shauna with all my heart and I'll keep loving her no matter what!" replied Calem.

Ash smiled and nodded at Calem.

"So... how are things between you and Serena?" asked Calem with a smirk.

"Wh-What?... What are you talking about?" asked Ash, trying to act oblivious, however, Calem saw right through it.

"Don't like to me Ash. I know you like her. The thing is, I honestly believe that you two deserve each other. I was never a good boyfriend to her... and I feel really bad for ditching her like that for Shauna. Thankfully, you were there for her when I wasn't. I know you'll take good care of her." said Calem as he gave Ash a genuine smile.

Ash sighed in defeat and smiled back at him.

"Don't worry Calem, I'll take good care of her." replied Ash.

"Anyway, I need to get to lunch now. See you around!" said Ash as he and Pikachu ran to the cafeteria.

As Ash got to the cafeteria, he saw a really worried looking Serena sitting on a chair with her eyes wandering the room. Ash approached her and spoke up.

"Hey Serena, what's wrong? You look worried." said Ash.

"ASH! There you are! You're never, I mean NEVER, late for lunch. I was so worried!" said Serena as she looked up at Ash.

Serena then realised that she might have over-reacted... but it was too late now.

Ash just looked at Serena and smiled down at her.

"Don't worry about me Serena. Pikachu just randomly ran off and I had to chase him to find him and bring him back." said Ash while scratching the back of his head.

Serena looked at Ash and then at Pikachu who was happily sucking on a bottle of Ketchup. This made her giggle. It was quite clear to her that Pikachu loved ketchup a lot and Serena found it absolutely adorable.

"Hey, Ash? Do you mind if I train with you everyday after school? I want to practice performances! Please?" asked Serena with her eyes shimmering with hope. She also used it as an excuse to spend more time with Ash.

"Sure! It will be nice to be able to have some human company during training!" replied Ash while giving a fist pump.

Serena giggled at Ash's actions. She found it really interesting that Ash could get excited about almost anything.

Soon, they all finished lunch and headed to their lessons. After 4 more lessons, it was training time for Ash and Serena. Like the day before, they first went to the training area where Ash and Serena trained by themselves. Ash coming up with battling strategies while Serena coming up with performance routines.

After a couple of hours of training, they both walked to the same cliff to watch the sun set all over again. It was just as magical as the day before. The two of them loved spending time with each other.

The two started making their back to their dorms by taking a detour through a cobblestone path. On the way, Serena spotted a beautiful white flower growing just beside the pathway. It had unevenly split petals with large, long anthers sticking out. She stopped walking to admire it. It was almost as if there was an invisible force pulling her towards the flower. Almost as if the flower was calling out to her, to tell her something important. Something she needs to know. She felt a connection with the flower, but she couldn't tell why. She knew she had seen the flower somewhere before but couldn't remember where exactly.

Ash had noticed that Serena had stopped walking and was staring at something. He walked over to what Serena was looking at and his eyes immediately lit up and a wide smile broke out on his face. Ash knew that Ash and Serena had a history with the flower. It was a symbol to what they had when they were kids... and out of hundreds of different types of flowers in the forest, for Serena to stop and admire the that particular species filled Ash's heart with joy.

"Those are Honeysuckles. They are very common in Kanto. Especially in Pallet Town and Viridian Forest." said Ash while smiling at her.

Serena looked up at Ash.

"I think I've seen these before... but I know it wasn't recently. It's a vague, distant memory, but I know its there." said Serena while turning her attention back to the flower and smiling softly at it.

Ash watched on as Serena started at the flower for a little longer. Ash was starting to feel more and more relieved as Serena started remembering more about her time during the summer camp 10 years ago. After being content with the amount of time she spent with the flower, Serena turned to Ash.

"Let's go back. I'm tired now Ash." said Serena while giving out a little yawn.

Ash just smiled at the sight in front of her which he found quite cute. The two then started walking back to their rooms in comfortable silence. The moonlight illuminated the path Ash and Serena walked on as the cool breeze relaxed the minds and bodies of the two. On the way, Ash and Serena passed the cafeteria and decided to have dinner there.

Nothing much happened during dinner. They then decided to finally head back to their dorms.

"Good Night, Ash!" said Serena as she smiled sweetly at him and walked into her room.

"Good Night Serena." replied Ash as he gave her a warm smile.

Serena closed her door while Ash climbed one more set of stairs and walked into his room.

Serena wasn't used to extreme training like this. Rhyhorn racing was different as she never got as tired as this. She took a shower, changed into her pajamas and, as soon as Serena's head hit her pillow, she dozed off.

Ash thought about his whole day. First the Alain thing, then Calem's apology, and finally, the Honeysuckle. He just smiled at the thought of the Honeysuckle and fell asleep too.

End of Chapter 13.

I guess you guys have noticed that I have changed the cover of the book. I really wanted to change it because I thought the previous one was a bit too bland.

We should be over half-way through the book already... and nothing bad has happened... yet.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

Next chapter should be up tomorrow.

Thank you so much for reading.

See you in the next chapter!