SERENA 

Serena felt she was on the verge of dying out of exhaustion.

She had never anticipated that Ash's words would come true, for she thought that the shopping drill would be over soon enough. Her heels dragged themselves on the posh marble, the screech deafening but her feet too tired to give in to her ear's complaining. Leaf hummed brightly as she led the way, grinning ear to ear at the sight of luxurious things that Serena could never even look at. 

She had been instinctively calculating the amount of money Leaf had been spending and couldn't help but shudder at the thought of fifty thousand euros being spent on clothes and heels. It was enough for her to buy a whole apartment and still there would money left. However, she was in no position to comment. Just because she had seen the worst didn't mean that she had the right to criticize anyone. 

"Well, did you enjoy?" Leaf turned her neck back slightly and smiled at Serena who shot a polite smile in return. 

"It was fun" In all honesty, Serena enjoyed her time if she doesn't consider the aching of her feet. She just could never get used to heels. To her, sneakers were just the right kind of footwear.  And yet, her hand was carrying another pair of heels. She sighed again. They were expensive, almost around 20 euros but Serena figured that she might as well buy them for her temporary job. After all, she did feel bad when she turned down the sweet Bianca on buying anything. 

"Then maybe, we can drop by again" Leaf hummed happily. She seemed quite content. Well, it would been weirder if she hadn't been after spending so much. It was around twenty thousand euros that the upbeat brunette had leisurely handed over to the hawk-eyed salespeople who drooled over at the thought of the commission they would recieve from the bounty bills that the shopaholic teen dropped nonchantly. 

Serena gave a tight-lipped smile. She liked Leaf but not enough to endure another torturous shopping expedition with her. It was a downright refusal. Besides, it was only a matter of time before she leaves and they won't see each other again. The other half of the world that expected people to be up at five and at one of their many jobs on time before even the sun could rise was where she belonged. The life she had temporarily hogged up would be rightfully given back to someone who deserves it.

To someone who would be worthy of assisting Ash Ketchum. Serena frowned slightly when her heart felt heavy with an uncanny loneliness. May would be with her and they would live comfortably together. She would have everything she needed. Rationally speaking, even the  jacuzzi was the hardly the reason for her to look back. Right; there was nothing. There was nothing. 

As many times as she repeated the three words to herself, the cracks in her soul somehow grew. 

ASH 

"Great, things have finally decided to work in my favor" Ash smiled triumphantly, looking at text message he had recieved from his mother. The dinner plans with Miette's family had been canceled and nothing could make him more glad. Delia had turned down invitation down as she wouldn't be able to make it, considering the amount of work that was pending. Ash himself was engrossed in the affairs of the Hawaiin projects and was immediately required to be present there. 

"Now, the only thing that worries me is her response" Ash eyed the two tickets that laid on his lustrous obsidian desk. He had impulsively bought them but he was very much unsure. Serena was, so far, an unpredictable woman. Infact, she had been unpredictable since the first time they met. Her random outbursts and instinctive acts only surprised him every single time. 

"Mr. Ketchum?" Ash flinched when he heard Serena's voice reverberate from behind the door. His heart quickly raced as he told her to come in. He winced at her pitiful appearance. The bright and optimistic energy from morning had faded into tiredness and longing for sleep. She had every ounce of his sympathy; he knew shopping with Leaf was as difficult as working out hundred trigonometry questions.

"You don't look too good" He coughed, masking his laughter at the woman who was shaking at her knees, trying to keep up a professional smile despite failing miserably. Serena grumbled, not liking the fact that was called out even when she was trying her hardest to maintain her composure. 

"Serena died after nine hours of honorable Operation Shopping. This is her zombie speaking" Serena joked sarcastically, arousing another bout of laughter from Ash. His voice made her heart flutter rapidly; she must be going crazy. She only hoped that he couldn't hear the sound of her heart thumping against her chest. That would be so embarrassing. 

"Well, zombie Serena, I have a prospect for you" Ash smiled, his words were playful but his tone turned ccomparatively serious. Serena wasn't too keen on hearing it. Everytime she accepted one of his grand proposals, she always ended up guilty afterwards. He helped her out when May got into an accident, offered her tons of money in exchange for a secured job that she didn't even worked for and thanks to him, Misty had chosen her to be her model. She was just being more and more indebted to him and it wasn't comforting.

"I have an urgent work in Hawaii and I want you to come alongwith -" His words were cut short when Serena abruptly interrupted him. 

"Forgive me but I can't" The honey blonde pursed her lips, her tone sounding too curt even to her own ears. Ash looked astonished at the sudden denial but soon his expression melted into of puzzlement and then worry as he attempted to persuade her. He walked around his desk until he was standing in front of her, his lean and toned figure towering above her. 

"Serena, please try to understand. I am sure that there are lot of things that you must be concerned about but leaving you here alone would only make it more difficult for both of us. There are a lot of reasons why I shouldn't leave you alone here and I am afraid that I can't even give you a proper explanation. I just, please reconsider it. Ugh, no, I am sorry" At this point, his fingers racked through his hair in frustration. He didn't even know what he was saying. 

"I - I need to think" Serena hesitantly answered as Ash blinked in surprise. It wasn't that Serena didn't understood where his concerns were rooted but going somewhere so far away made her hesitant. Besides, she was worried about May. What would happen to her when she is away? Serena was the only one May had and she wasn't ready to leave her unattended in the hands of strangers. The brunette, regardless of her anger problems, was naive to most of the things. 

"If you are worried about May, then it won't be a problem. Drew can regularly check up on her. I would have not minded if she stayed in the penthouse but unfortunately that can't be done so, this is the only thing I can do" Ash said, as though reading the blue-eyed woman's thoughts. 

"I will have to meet May before deciding anything" Serena replied without missing a beat. Drew was trustable from what she had recognized but May had never met him. It would probably be uncomfortable for to have an unknown man check up on her. Ash nodded, complying to her demand. 

"I understand. You can take your day off tomorrow and meet her. I hope for an affirmative answer tomorrow evening" Ash smiled gently, the upturn of his lips rather pretty in the young woman's eyes. She had often thought that he was very good-looking but even such a small action made him captivating. The honey blonde's face turned pink as she nodded, ignoring his eyes. 

"Yes, Ash" Was all she said before excused herself and bowed, shutting the cabin's door behind her. In a split-second, she was sprinting off to her room, warmth spreading across her face. She didn't even knew why she was running. She was definitely not immune to the smiles on such a handsome face.