It was the morning before school started. Every one of Ash's friends are making their own way to the cafeteria. Calem is already there and Serena soon enters the cafeteria.

With Serena

As Serena walked into the cafeteria, she saw Calem. Calem was sat on his usual seat with a cup of coffee in front of him. After the events of the day before, Serena had been quite wary of Calem. She had never seen Calem being that angry or reckless before, however, they were still in a relationship and Serena believed that it was her duty to help Calem though this.

As Serena walked towards Calem, she noticed that he was staring at someone. His eyes showing some form of desire and... lust? Serena quickly followed his gaze and found a girl, not much shorter than her. She had brown hair tied into two ponytails, one on each side. She had slightly tanned skin and green eyes. She wore a pink short sleeved shirt with a pair of short jean shorts.

Serena admitted that she was quite attractive, however, she didn't like the way Calem was looking at her.

"Ahem!" said Serena, trying to get Calem's attention.

Calem still didn't shift his gaze. It was almost as if he was entranced by her.

"Calem?"

"Calem!?"

"CALEM!!??"

After four tries, Calem finally snapped out of it.

"Huh? Wha- oh, good morning!" he said with a nervous smile.

"What were you looking at?" asked Serena sternly.

"Oh, umm.. I... I was looking at that new student... I was thinking about having a battle against her!" said Calem, chuckling nervously.

"Oh! I see!" Serena said while smiling at him.

'How can I even think like that about him? Calem would never betray me... right?' Serena thought to herself.

"Speaking of battles, I didn't see you after the battle yesterday. You often come running to me after my battles... why didn't you do that yesterday?" asked Calem.

It was now Serena's turn to be nervous.

"Well.. you see... I was spending time with Dawn and the others. Turns out they have known Ash for ages, so they thought it would be nice if I get to know him. Turns out he is qui-" Serena was cut off by Calem.

"What!?? You were with him instead of me after the battle? WITH HIM!?" Calem started yelling while banging on the table, which scared Serena.

"Calem, you're scaring me a little." said Serena.

"YOU KNOW WHAT THAT FUCKER DID TO ME YESTERDAY AND YOU STILL WENT TO HIM??" yelled Calem. Getting angrier by the second.

"Calem, this isn't like you! Please stop yelling!" said Serena, on the verge of tears now.

Calem now realised that he was yelling quite loudly and the whole cafeteria, including the new girl, was staring at him. After noticing that she was taring at him, Calem tried to act calm and sat down.

Serena was looking at the ground now, trying to hold tears back. Although she thought Calem was a nice person, he would yell at her like this quite often, sometimes for the stupidest of reasons.

Calem finished his coffee, stood up and left, without looking at Serena once. Serena completely broke down after this.

A couple of minutes after Calem left, the doors to the Cafeteria opened again and Ash came running in, ready to get breakfast with Pikachu on his head, holding on for dear life. As he was running to the buffet table, he saw something from the corner of his eye that made him stop on his tracks. He felt a horrible twist in his stomach and his heart ached at what he saw. Serena was sitting in one of the corner tables. Her hands were balled up into fists and you could see teardrops falling onto the fists.

Ash immediately ran over to her.

"S-Serena? What's wrong?" asked Ash.

As soon as Serena heard that, she instinctively tried to wipe the tears off her eyes and smile at Ash... but she just couldn't bring herself to do so. She could hear how concerned Ash was and felt that it would be unfair to pull an act like that on him, so Serena did what she thought was logical and looked up at Ash.

"Don't worry Ash, I'll be fine..." she said.

Ash could hear how upset she was and to him, it felt like a needle piercing though his heart.

"Serena, its alright if you don't want to tell me, but I'm here if you need anything. I'll always be there when my friends need help!" replied Ash while giving her a warm smile and sitting down next to her.

As soon as Ash said that, Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and nuzzled his cheeks against Serena's hands.

"Chaaa..." he said while smiling up at her.

Seeing the smile on Ash and Pikachu's faces made Serena smile too. 'Like trainer, like Pokemon.' she thought. His words alone comforted her and eased that pain that Calem gave her. It was the first time that the pain had subsided that quickly for Serena. Ash had had a positive impact on her in a matter of seconds and Serena couldn't help but be thankful to Arceus that Ash was in the right place, at the right time for her.

"Thank you Ash!" she replied with a genuine smile.

No one's POV

Ash and Serena talked for a while. Not too long later, all of their friends arrived and they had breakfast together.

I was soon time to start classes. Since KIT doesn't have a lot of students, all students in each year are in the same class, meaning Ash and all his friends had all the classes together.

They all soon got to their first lesson, which happened to be Mathematics. As they entered, they saw that Calem was already there, sitting alone at the back. The teacher was Professor Rowan.

"Ah, Ash, it is nice to see you again." he said.

"Its nice seeing you again too Professor Rowan!" Ash replied.

"As, stand at the front for a while please. I need to introduce you too the whole class." said Rowan.

Ash agreed and stood at the front while everybody went to their seats. Ash noticed Serena going towards Calem which upset Ash. However, as Serena was about to sit on the seat next to Calem, Calem quickly put his bag on the seat, stopping Serena from sitting down. Serena looked really upset and this angered Ash. Ash then noticed that Serena went and sat next to Dawn.

"Ok, quieten down everyone. We are supposed to be having two new students here today, however, the other one doesn't appear to be on time, so lets allow this young man introduce himself first." said Rowan while pointing towards Ash.

"Hi! I'm Ash Ketchum. I'm from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region." said Ash while giving out a friendly smile. Ash took a quick glance at Serena and saw her smiling back at him. This eased Ash's heart a little as it showed that Serena wasn't hurt from Calem's actions anymore.

"Thanks Ash, now please go sit next to Gary." responded Rowan while pointing towards Gary.

Gary was sat right behind Dawn and Serena. As Ash walked to Gary, he smiled at Dawn and Serena, which both of them returned.

"Ashy-Boy! This is going to be one amazing year! Especially since you're here!" said Gary to Ash once he sat down.

"Yeah, yeah..." replied Ash, still not amused by Gary's nickname. Even though it had been around 14 years since Gary started calling him 'Ashy-Boy', Ash still found it annoying.

Gary just chuckled.

Moments later, the door opened again and Serena's eyes widened. It was the same girl from the cafeteria again. As the girl walked in, Serena looked over at Calem who was, again, staring at the girl.

Professor Rowan asked the girl to introduce herself.

"Hi, My name is Shauna. I'm from Vaniville Town." said Shauna while giving out a sweet smile.

To Serena, she seemed like a nice person. It didn't look like she would be a bully or anything. She seemed down to earth and relatively friendly.

"Ok, thanks Shauna. Please take a seat next to Calem. Calem, could you please raise your hand to let Shauna know who you are please?" said Rowan.

Calem immediately threw his bag off the chair and raised his hand. As soon as Shauna saw who it was, she blushed a little, and it didn't go unnoticed by anybody... especially Serena. Serena looked back and Calem and found him blushing while smiling at her. Serena's head immediately drooped.

As Ash was right behind Serena, he noticed every single one of Serena's movements and understood exactly what was going on. He knew Calem was starting to develop feelings for Shauna and Serena and Calem were having a fight. About what, Ash didn't know.

Ash looked over to Calem and saw him talking to Shauna. Shauna seemed nervous and kept blushing a lot while Calem had a huge grin plastered on his face. Ash felt anger rise inside of him, but soon let it subside as he thought it might be fore the best. Although what Calem was doing was very selfish of him, Calem seemed happy. Ash just couldn't be angry at that. After all, no matter what, the only reason why we ever do anything is to find happiness. The sole reason we all live and work hard is in order to be happy. Happiness is everybody's ultimate goal. No matter what type of person Calem is, he deserved to be happy. That's what Ash thought. However, something else immediately crossed his mind. 'If Calem takes this further, it will completely break Serena.'. Ash kept thinking about what would happen to Serena if Calem was to start liking Shauna a lot more.

Ash didn't see this as an opportunity for him to make Serena his own. At this moment, Serena's emotions were a lot more important to him. Ash knew that Serena would need a lot of help and support over the coming weeks and months and he promised to himself that he would be there for her whenever she needed him.

Serena looked at Calem and Shauna again, and seeing them so close only hurt her more. She tried to think of them as just friends but the blush on their faces told her otherwise. Dawn was gently rubbing her forearm, trying to make Serena feel better as she too knew what was taking place between Shauna and Calem.

The lesson soon started and it consisted of relatively high level mathematics. Ash had learned a lot on Maths in Alola and as they started doing Matrix Algebra, Ash just yawned and looked out of the window. He had already done this in Alola and was quite comfortable with them as he knew what to do.

Soon, he started thinking about how his life had changed in just under a month. A month ago, he was still travelling and meeting new people, making new friends and catching new Pokemon. Now, however, he was in a school with his good friends that he had met at one point during his journey.

Ash was broken out of his thoughts when the bell rang and Rowan announced that the lesson was over. Ash got up with Gary and they made their way to the next lesson, which happened to be English.

Eventually after two more lessons, it was finally lunch time. Ash had been noticing Serena's behaviour the whole day and Serena looked really upset. Calem had been completely ignoring her the whole day and had been hanging around with Shauna.

During lunch, everybody was talking amongst themselves while Serena stayed completely quiet and barely touched her food. Ash noticed this too. Ash himself was now starting to get very worried. Serena was very upset and was quite fragile. Ash knew that he would have to be very careful with her when he confronts her. Ash was also worrying because of the fact that she had barely eaten anything during the whole day. She hadn't eaten breakfast in the morning and she basically skipped lunch.

After four more lessons, the school day was over. Ash saw Calem and Shauna walking together towards the woods and saw Serena leave by herself, walking towards the dorms. He quickly got and ran to Serena. Once he caught up to her, he spoke up.

"Hey Serena!"

"Oh, Hi Ash..." she replied, not even looking up at him.

"Serena, I don't know what you're going though. I have never been in the situation that you are in right now, but I want to help you. I'll be right here and listen to you." Ash said honestly.

Serena wasn't surprised by the fact that Ash knew, almost everybody in the whole class knew why she was upset. She just sighed and continued.

"I don't know what I've done to deserve this Ash. I have always been there for Calem when he needed me. I have always supported him and stood by his side." Serena said as tears started falling down her face.

"Today was just horrible. I felt so useless and helpless. Calem didn't even try to talk to me today... I don't know what to do Ash." she finished, tears streaming down her face.

"Serena, it will be OK. You have feelings for Calem and if Calem returns those feelings to you, then he will come back to you, no matter what. Just don't give up until the end." replied Ash, hoping it would cheer her up somehow.

Serena looked at Ash. Hearing the words 'Don't give up until the end' triggered something inside Serena. Those words bought warmth and comfort to her but she didn't know why.

"You're right Ash. Thanks for being here for me." replied Serena while managing to pull off a small smile.

Ash smiled back at her.

"Hey, do you want to go to the cafeteria? I know you haven't had anything today. Its really bad for you to stay hungry for such a long period of time you know?" asked Ash.

Serena opened her mouth to say something but Ash immediately interrupted.

"And don't you dare say no. I know you haven't eaten. I was with you during the whole day so I know!" replied Ash.

Serena broke a wide smile towards Ash. She found his caring personality very sweet. It was nice that Ash was there for her again, like he was in the morning. She really enjoyed Ash's company too. Their conversations often seemed to flow quite nicely and they always had something to talk about. Serena enjoyed Ash company and little did she knew that Ash's thoughts and feelings towards her were mutual.

Eventually, Ash and Serena finished eating. Ash walked Serena to her dorm.

"Thank you for everything, Ash. You've helped me a lot today." Serena said giving him a sweet smile.

'Oh sweet Arceus, that smile!!' Ash thought.

"No problem Serena!" replied Ash while giving her a warm smile.

Serena then walked into the lobby and watched Ash through the window as he headed back towards the school. Serena went up to her room and sat on her desk. It was only the second day and they already had homework. Serena set about doing her homework.

With Ash

As Ash walked back to the school. He noticed that it was quite empty. The school had always been relatively empty due to the lack of students, but now, it seemed like everybody had returned to their dorms. As Ash walked through the school, he noticed Calem and Shauna again. They were talking and laughing with each other.

Ash didn't know what kind of person Calem was completely, but from yesterday's battle, Ash could at least tell that Calem was loyal. No matter how bad the situation got for him, he always trusted his Pokemon. He might have gotten cocky, but there was a sense of mutual trust and respect between trainer and Pokemon. Ash couldn't feel a wave of love between them, but from what Ash could tell, Calem trusted his Pokemon and was loyal to them. He wouldn't let them suffer too much during battle. Calem was loyal to his Pokemon. Often, people treat other people like they treat their Pokemon, and Ash knew that. Ash knew that Calem didn't love people that much, but he knew Calem can be loyal and trustworthy. That is why Ash wasn't too stressed out during the whole day. No matter what happens, Calem would stay loyal to Serena. If he wanted to move away from the relationship, he would confront Serena about it first.

Ash left the two alone. He couldn't come in between them as what they do is their own business. He swiftly walked to Prof. Sycamore's office and asked for a room change. Sycamore agreed to Ash's request and changed the room to Kappa 4. Ash thanked Sycamore and left.

Once Ash got to Zeta 4, he called Gary and the other boys and they moved Ash's stuff to his new room. Ash finally settled down. It had been a long day for him. Ash, Gary and the other boys, including Calem, went to the cafeteria to have dinner while the girls decided to prepare their own dinner.

After dinner, they all returned to their respective rooms and called it a day.

The next day, it was the same case. Although Calem and Serena started talking again, it was clear that they were not as close as they used to be. Calem hung out with Shauna more often which upset Serena a lot and Ash would be there to help her and cheer her up, which would always work.

This kept happening more and more often.

As the days and weeks passed, Calem and Serena got further and further apart. Calem and Shauna started to hang out more often while Serena got closer and closer to Ash.

While Calem got happier and happier with Shauna, all Serena could do was dwell in what Calem and her had. It was pretty apparent that Calem and Shauna had feelings for each other and although Serena didn't want to believe it, it was true. Calem and Serena did hang out from time-to-time, but it was nothing like it used to be from Serena's perspective. Calem would barely pay attention to her and he would often cut the dates short. Serena's worst fears were becoming a reality... she was slowly losing her boyfriend so someone else.

Serena had met Shauna quite often and she had quite a bubbly personality. She was nice and friendly and always ready when anyone needed her. Shauna reminded Serena of Dawn. Serena actually liked Shauna a lot. That's the reason why Serena couldn't be angry at Shauna. She could see that Shauna never took Calem away from her. Calem and Shauna just seemed to get along together and their chemistry was better than the one between Serena and Calem.

Serena knew that the day would eventually come... all she could do now was wait...

End of Chapter 8.

Sorry for not updating for quite a while. I have been quite busy lately. I am only free on Wednesdays and the Weekend so that's probably when I will upload more chapters.

This chapter tries to bring Ash and Serena together. I don't know how good of a job I did but I hope it was alright.

Anyway, next chapter, there should be some huge moments that should bring Ash and Serena even closer. Things should take a turn for the better for Serena from here onwards though.

Thanks for reading!

See you in the next chapter!