ASH

Ash felt a whack on his head and he lifted his head from the paperwork, annoyance on his face. He saw the tissue paper ball rolling away on the floor. He scowled "What the hell, Gary?"

Gary shrugged. "Nothing, just that you have been scribbling your name on that paper for the past ten minutes."

Ash frowned and looked at the paper on which he was supposed to sign, instead filled with his name from top to bottom. He groaned internally, knowing that he would have to do it all over again.

"Dammit" He mumbled, curling it into a ball and tossing it in the dustbin. Gary looked on with an amused smile that irked the auburn-eyed man.

"Did you get dumped by Serena?" The brunette asked nonchantly, leaning back on his leather chair. He wasn't surprised when Ash turned to give him a piercing glare.

A heartbeat later, Ash sighed, resigning himself to his work. "You can say that."

"Wait" Gary said, his eyes widening. "Seriously? Did she reject you?"

"Worse" Ash gave up trying to focus. He rolled his eyes, tiredly "She didn't say either yes or no."

Gary winced. "That sucks. What does that even mean?"

"I have no idea."

"And you didn't ask?"

Ash paused, his finger loosely wrapped around the handle of the coffee cup as he blankly stared in it. "No, I didn't."

"But why?" Gary frowned, his own coffee forgotten and practically cold. He flinched when Ash suddenly slammed his head on the table, the papers flying about the room.

"I don't know" A barely audible mumble came from his raven-haired friend. "I don't think I can face her. I don't know how to face her. And what am I supposed to say anyways?"

"Well" Gary thoughtfully tilted his head. "I would go straight ahead and ask. I get that it is easier said than done but that is what I did with Misty and it worked. You know the story."

Ash managed a smile as he remembered how chaotic that day was. How Misty - the tomboy of the group - had stubbornly denied her feelings, only to say yes when Gary asked her out directly.

"You cornered her into agreeing" Ash joked lightly.

"It worked though?" Gary grinned at his childhood friend. "I am sure it will work out for you too."

Ash smiled faded a bit. "Maybe."

SERENA

9:15 am.

Serena looked at the time nervously. Bonnie, her seventeen year old companion, whisked away two bowls of icecream as she put maple syrup on top of hers.

"Relax, Serena" Bonnie grinned childishly. "I am sure it will be fine."

Serena gladly accepted the younger girl's reassuring words. She took the bowl of icecream and scooped a big bite out of it. It relaxed her somewhat a bit.

She felt slightly at ease, the burden of carrying the secret now shared by her and Bonnie. She didn't know why she had confided in a young girl rather than May; something took over her when the lemon blonde girl had smiled and held her hand to take her to the kitchen.

And in a moment of weakness, she had blurted it all out. She was glad for the fact that Bonnie promised to keep it a secret.

"I am very thankful to you, Bonnie" Serena said, her voice is a grateful whisper. "I never knew it was so hard to keep secrets."

"You can always talk to me" Bonnie smiled with her pale blue eyes. "I like having you around."

"Me too" Serena said honestly. They ate in a comfortable silence. When the clock stuck half past nine, she rose to go. She offered a smile to Bonnie. "Thanks a lot for the ice cream, Bonnie. I am feeling so much better now."

"Ice cream always helps" Bonnie grinned back. "You are always welcome to have my ice cream."

"Big sacrifice" Serena joked.

"I know."

SERENA

It wasn't difficult for the honey blonde to spot the café she was looking for. Serena, at one glance, knew why Calem had chosen this place.

The café stood under the canopy of a maple tree, tucked in the farthest corner, away from the hustle of Paris. It wasn't a surprise that Calem would choose it; he was after all a Ketchum too and rumours would do no good to him and his family.

She was greeted by his figure leaning against the worn-out leather couches. She brushed past the retro and vintage things, and made her towards him.

He looked up from his phone and offered a polite smile. It was then Serena saw the dark circle around his eyes and the exhaustion on his face. She wondered if she looked like that to him to as well.

"Hey" She said awkwardly, slipping into the empty couch in front of him.

"Hi" He replied just as awkwardly, ruffling his hair. It didn't go unnoticed by Serena who had seen Ash do the same action on occasions when he was nervous or uncomfortable.

"I am sorry to text you so sudden" She started. "It must have been difficult for you and I understand if you wouldn't want to talk but -"

"Relax" Calem laughed, his voice strained. "I came here because I wanted to talk too. Also -"

He paused, as if rethinking but continued anyways. "How is Ash?"

"Good" Serena answered, fiddling with a loose strand of her hair, not knowing what else to say.

Calem didn't press her for more. Instead he smiled a bit. "That is a relief. It is cowardly of me to ask this to you rather than him but I don't think I am ready to face him or Mom just yet."

"But you are going to face him someday soon, right?" Serena asked, masking the desperation behind her words.

"Maybe" He shrugged. "Is he still mad at me?"

Serena fell silent, recalling the day when they had watched the fireworks together and the conversation between the two of them. Finally she opened her mouth to answer "Honestly, I don't know about that."

Calem gave her quizzical look as she continued to speak. "But what I know is that Ash is not the kind of person to hold grudges against people. He is kind, sweet and understanding. If you tell him your reasons, I am sure he will understand and welcome you back."

Silence lingered between the them, the faint whistling of a kettle sounding distant to the honey blonde's ears.

"And what if I don't want to go back?" Calem asked. Serena gave him a faded smile.

"You want to though. If you didn't, you wouldn't have met up with me, knowing exactly what I want to talk to you about."

"Right" Calem gave a faint smile of his own. "Will you help me then?"

"Only if you will not do anything that will hurt him" Serena replied. She had already hurt him because of her ignorance and she couldn't let him get hurt again by it the second time.

"Never" Calem said solemnly enough to make Serena believe it. "I will never hurt my family again. All I need is a second chance to make it right."

Second chance.

Serena hoped for the same. A second chance to fix the errors. And even if she couldn't get hers, the least she can do is help Calem to get it.

"I will help you" She said. "I have a plan."

SERENA

Serena and Calem walked out of the café, the latter putting on a cap and sunglasses. They both walked to the area where Calem had parked his Dacia Sandero - a car common in Paris.

Serena smiled at his humbleness.

He stood in front of his car, the keys dangling from his fingers. He grinned, his features much more relaxed than they had been half an hour ago.

"Thank you so much, Serena" He said sincerely looking at her in the eye. "Really. I mean it from the bottom of my heart."

Serena blushed, embarrassed at his genuine words. She waved her hands. "P-Please, I did nothing much."

"You have done more for me than I can be grateful for" Calem replied. The honey blonde smiled bashfully in return.

"Then I will see you later" Calem said as he climbed in his car seat. He poked his head out of the car window. "As per the plan."

Serena nodded, her lips curved in a small smile. "As per the plan."

Calem revved the engine as the honey blonde took a step back. As the wheels began to roll, the raven haired man looked back at Serena as if something was holding him back.

"Is something wrong?" Serena asked, her brows creasing.

"Nothing" Calem grinned. "I was just glad that my little brother found someone who loves him so much. I said right, right?"

Serena opened her mouth to tell him that there was nothing more complicated than their relationship right now; that she was trapped between the shadows of reality and fantasy; that society wasn't merciful to those who went against its unsaid rules.

Yet she found herself speaking - her heart speaking. "Yes."