ASH

Ash frowned uneasily as his phone rang for the second time. His mom was calling him. He could decline it now and make up an excuse for later but somehow he felt the fear of being caught. He face-palmed at himself for being scared of something so trivial. But he had learnt from his childhood that nothing could get past his mother. 

Eventually, he picked up the phone reluctantly and kept it near his ear. "Hello?" 

"Mind telling me where you were?" came the blunt question with a lot of doubtfulness in her voice. He sighed at her ridiculous way of greeting him. He wasn't sure what that woman was thinking or what she would say next; she was just so unpredictable. Fortunately, he kept his cool and answered casually.

"Am I not allowed to use the restroom?" he shot back, making sure to convey his annoyance through the words. Delia just hummed from the other end with raised brows. She felt something off for some unknown reason. It was just a hunch though but she still questioned Ash anyways. Not that she expected him to tell her if anything was wrong. He had a bad habit of keeping his worries to himself.

"Kendra or Jim should have already informed you why I came to Tokyo. I will be staying here for a while until things settle down. Anyways, is everything alright there?" Delia inquired. The auburn-eyed man took a deep breath and let out a small 'hn' to his mother's question. He wasn't particularly lying or saying anything so it was really a lie. Atleast it was to him. 

"Okay, I will call you frequently to get updates. Take care, Ash" and with that she hung up. Why couldn't she initiate a proper conversation with him like she used to? He was her son and yet she couldn't let him open up to her without him hesitating. Her eyes followed to the photograph that she secretly carried everywhere. Her auburn orbs hovered over her once complete family as a lone tear fell from her eye.

They still loved and teased each other but still something felt missing. Ash cared for her a lot and as his mother, she too cared for him, most probably more than he ever did. Then why could Delia feel that everything was just a string of nothingness? She walked over to the window of the hotel she was residing in and looked at the sky solemnly. 

She only hoped that her  son would come back. Little did she know, Ash was also thinking the same thing. Even though, he resolved that he would never see him again.   

SERENA

The silence soothed Serena's nerves. She shrunk back in the jacuzzi tub filled with bubbles as an aromatic scent flooded the entire bathroom. She had discovered the jacuzzi tub the day she came to the mansion and to say that she was thrilled was actually an understatement. She recalled her meeting with Ash's friends as a smile took over her face. They were so nice and fun to be around with. 

But if Serena had to be honest then she would say that she liked the blunette the most, partly because she reminded the honey blonde of May and partly because she had such a cheerful and positive vibe to her. Dawn Bertilz ─ a skilled fashion designer and the daughter of famous Johanna Bertliz. The sapphire-eyed woman wondered it felt like to be so famous. It must have its own pros and cons.

And there was that redhead woman there too ─ Misty Waterflower. She was, in one word, a tsundere. Serena wasn't really fond of the tsundere characters she had been reading about in the novels because they were too difficult to understand but she was pretty sure that she would like to be friends with the redhead anyways. Misty also had three more sisters who lived in three different continents and handled the business there. Unfortunately, the tomboy didn't really get along with them but Serena awed at the fact of having not one but three more siblings. Sounded fun to a single child like her but Misty begged to differ. 

The redhead had also agreed to take her as the model for their upcoming show in two weeks and Serena found the amount of money she was going to receive, worth the trouble. Misty also invited her to her personal stadium where water ballet and preparations for the upcoming phootshoots were being held. 

Her previous opinion on Gary had also changed. Not much but still. He was not bad or a pervert like she had pictured him to be, well, maybe acting as a pervert to tease Misty. Besides he loved to joke around and it was fun to hear him speak moronic things. Serena could laugh freely, forgetting about everything.

And then there was Drew. He was opposite of Gary and tended to stay quiet most of the time. However, he was a very down-to-earth man despite his polite demeanor and a very clever one as well. Someone that Serena wouldn't dare to make her enemy. 

Serena pulled her bathrobe on her dainty body and walked out of the bathroom, after giving the tub a loving pat. She wore her new set of clothes that Bonnie had given her and inched closer to the mirror to take a look. It was fascinating how good the young lemon blonde was at fashion. Pink lips curved upwards as she ran her hand to straighten her hair when suddenly the memory of Ash ruffling them from the morning came in her mind.

Blood suddenly rushed to her face. She wasn't really used to kindness from people and Ash's warmth towards her made her feel a bit weird internally. Her heart would flutter uncontrollably at even the tiniest of his sweet actions. Her eyes lowered to her feet. The concept of gentleness was new to her but she pondered if this was really the way how her heart should react to his gestures.

She shook her head and picked up the folder that Ash had given her to verify from the list of the businessness they had recently invested in. It wasn't much hard for Serena - she had always been a smart student but unfortunate to not get enough opportunities. She smiled in a bittersweet manner and headed to the east wing of the mansion. 

ASH

The light breeze of the evening caressed Ash's sun-kissed skin as he completed the last bit of his analysis on the Hawaiian Project. He still hadn't bought his flight tickets to Hawaii yet because of a single thought that was troubling him continuously - leaving Serena behind. He wasn't sure when his mom would come back [she never tells him when she is coming back] and if she sees Serena, then boy, he was doomed. 

Ash could tell the honey blonde woman to not tell his mother anything but she was too easy to read and his mother was too sharp to not notice. Ash groaned. It would be better if his mother enquires Serena in his presence. So should he take her along with him to Hawaii? Thats a good idea to keep her presence a secret for the time being. His thoughts were pulled into a stop as the door was shot open and the person he least expected to see, strode in carelessly. 

"Leaf?" he questioned with a raised brow as he stood up. The short woman didn't even seemed the least bit intimidated by the height difference as she continued to stare at him with a bored expression. He spoke up again with confusion. "What are you doing here?" 

"What are you trying to do by spewing out nonsense about me, Cuz?" Leaf glared. Ash frowned as he ruffled his hair sheepishly. 

"Well, I have my reason. But my question first, why are you here again?" he asked and turned to give a suspicious look to the amount of luggages his cousin was carrying with her. For someone with such a fragile figure and absolutely no exercise to keep her fit, she sure was strong. The brunette rolled her eyes sassily as she flicked her hair. A sly smile was plastered on her face as she turned to him. 

"Oh, I am staying over for a few days" she declared as Ash looked at her with wide eyes. She shrugged nonchantly. "The winter break has started and I am going to stay until Christmas. Nice, ne? It would be so much fun!" 

Ash sweatdropped at the starry eyed Leaf who rolled on her heels in excitement. He wondered how someone could switch their mood so easily. One moment she was upset and now she was practically on cloud nine at the fact that she would be celebrating Christmas with them. Neverthelessly, he couldn't help but smile back at her enthusiasm. "Thats great, Leaf. I am sure others will be thrilled to hear about that too" 

Leaf grinned before a slight frown settled on her thin lips. "Do you think Aunt Delia would be back for Christmas? I heard that she had gone to Tokyo. Honestly, I was kind of unhappy but I didn't wanted to mention her that" 

"Perhaps" Ash replied casually. "I am not sure though. Nobody knows about her plans. She can drop by tomorrow, for all I can say"

Leaf hummed before plopping to the nearest chair and casted a questioning glance at Ash. "Since I answered your question, I am sure that you obligated to answer mine now. And you better have a good excuse to that stunt you pulled. I nearly got over a hundred messages and posts asking about my so-supposed fractured self"

Ash nervously laughed as he scratched the back of his head. "I am so sorry for lying but I swear I had a reason. Its a bit - scratch that - a hell lot complicated. I don't know from where I should begin" 

"Begin from the very beginning" Leaf urged, slyly grinning. "I haven't heard any rumors about you so I doubt it will be that big of an issue though. Even so, I know that its not a great deal for you to not let your personal life leak out to the media, ne?" 

"You can sorta say that. But this situation isn't just about me this time"