"Well done Ash. You are some trainer." Elaina extended an arm for Ash to shake. He took it firmly.

"Yeah, but you really got me there with those tactics." Ash let go and scratched the back of his head. "I haven't battled in a week and it really showed there."

"Your Pikachu packs quite a shock." Aron joined the conversation along with his brother.

"Wow, I want a Pikachu who can thunder bolt like that. You were amazing!" Leon piped in. I couldn't help but contribute too.

"That's Ash for you. It doesn't matter what you throw at him, he usually manages to come out on top." I smiled at him. Ash looked at me and laughed a bit, his cheeks tinted slightly pink.

"Hey, I have a question!" Ash broke eye contact with me to look at the siblings. "You each used a move in our battle that you never used in the tournament. Why?" I blinked then looked between Ash and the siblings. They really did that? I never noticed. Of course Ash would, he had memorized every one of their moves off by heart. "Froakie never used double team until this battle. For Eevee it was attract and Chespin was energy ball."

All three siblings burst out into laughter. Ash narrowed his eyes at them. I just stared, dumbfounded.

"Oh yeah!" Elaina exclaimed. "That was my idea. You see, I saw you and Serena watching me very carefully while I battled. You seemed interested and I assumed you may ask me to battle later. Then I saw you study my brothers too so I told them to hold back on one move so that when we battled you, we would have the advantage of surprise!"

That's what she was doing when we made intense eye contact during the tournament. She was calculating her strategy.

"You had a tactic before I even asked to battle you. Can you read the future?" Ash asked, a sheepish smile crossing his face. Elaina giggled.

"Im not psychic Ash. It's called being aware of your surrounding and paying attention to others body language." Ash could learn a thing or two from her I thought to myself. In that instant she looked at me with her piercing green eyes. It made me slightly uncomfortable and I shifted towards Ash. "My mother taught me how to do it..." She trailed off, studying me more carefully now. Elaina looked between Ash and I. Her face pulled into a knowing smile.

"Ash went to the Kalos league you know?" Bonnie chimed as she played with Dedenne in her bag.

"Bonnie, that's for Ash to tell not you." Clemont moaned at his little sister.

"You went to the Kalos league? Cool, I read about that once. Don't you need like...eight gym badges to go there?" Leon asked intrigued. Something about what he said confused me. Most people hear about the Kalos league on TV or maybe go to one or two. He said he 'read about it once' and that just didn't sound normal to me.

"Uhh...yeah. It was pretty cool." Ash scratched the back of his neck casually.

"And he made it to the finals too! Except he lost." Bonnie pouted.

"You made it to the finals! You must be really good. No wonder we lost." Aron's face was alight with curiosity.

"Wow Ash. You weren't kidding when you said we'd need all the help we could get." Elaina smiled contently.

"But I've been battling for a long time. You guys are just beginners." Ash complimented.

"It was really nice to meet you all. Unfortunately my brothers and I need to get to a Pokemon Center. That battle really took something out of Eevee and I would like Nurse Joy to see her." Elaina explained, biting her lip as she remembered her loss. I guessed she was the kind of girl who hated losing.

"That's alright. I guess we will see you around?" Clemont suggested.

"Yeah, I hope we see you soon. Maybe then you can teach Ash how to be aware of his surroundings" Bonnie snickered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash yelled out in confusion.

"Oh nothing." Bonnie giggled and I laughed along with her. Ash was so dense. But he was my dense Ash.

"Bye!" Leon and Aron called in unison as the trio began walking away. As their figures got smaller I remembered something. Immediately, I started running towards them.

"Elaina! Wait!" I yelled to get her attention. She paused mid step then turned to me. "We never got to finish our conversation."

The girl tilted her head then remembered the small talk we made before the battle. Her lips transformed into a grin.

"Why don't you tag along." She suggested. "We can finish our conversation on the way."

"Sure!" I replied then gestured for Ash, Clemont and Bonnie to follow. The little blond girl skipped up to us, all too happy to come along. Ash and Clemont shrugged before jogging to catch up.

"So this is your first time in Lumiose; what brings you here?" I asked expecting an everyday answer. Instead I got a blank and slightly heart broken face. Elaina looked at the street while she chewed her bottom lip. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. After a few seconds of silence, she began telling the story of her past.

I stood in awe and listened to each word she said. Her tone was so casual that it almost seemed unreal. By the time her story was almost done, everyone had gathered around her. We huddled like creatures in the cold and listened to the girl speak. Ash had a sorrowful look on his face and Clemont's was wrinkled with worry. For once, Bonnie held a serious expression and Dedenne stayed silent.

"...and now we're here. We worked so hard to get here that nothing could make us happier. You really don't have to pity us. Really." Elaina said as she took in our expressions. "We are happy now. Our parents aren't that bad. They were just trying to do what they thought was best for us."

"I understand." Clemont was the first to speak. "Parents can be over protective sometimes and I can see how someone could think Pokemon are dangerous. I'm sure there are others who feel the same way, I have just never met them."

"I'm sorry." Bonnie cried as she wrapped her arms around Leon's legs. He looked down at her then began muttering reassuring words.

"Anyways, can we forget about this for now? It makes me kind of uncomfortable." Elaina laced her fingers together and Aron held a similar frown.

"That's alright!" Ash said cheerfully. "We can talk about battling instead." He turned to Aron and Leon before they carried on their conversation. I looked at Elaina with a smile and we both laughed. Without a second thought, everyone resumed what they were doing and we were headed towards the Pokemon center again.

"So, how long have you and Ash known each other?" My new friend asked.

"Umm...we have been traveling together for about a year now but I met Ash long before he came to Kalos. We first met at Professor Oak's summer camp a long time ago..." I explained the story of how Ash saved me in the middle of the woods. The memory always made me smile. I noticed myself getting carried away with the story as I beamed contently. "...and that's how I met Ash."

The grin plastered across Elaina's face could not have gotten any bigger in that moment. It practically stretched ear to ear and was ever so slightly menacing.

"Sounds like the perfect beginning of a love story to me. And speaking of love, how long have you had a crush on Ash?" She teased me as if it was nothing. I jumped out of my skin at the question. A string of disbelieving sentences ran through my brain at top speed. How could she know? She must be joking. She can't know. But how can she possibly know?

"Excuse me?!" I yelped, my voice jumping an octave.

"You heard me." She hushed her voice then leaned closer to me. "How long have you had a crush on Ash?" I gulped. She knew. A girl I just met knew my biggest secret. Was I really that obvious?

"It is true that Ash is a person I admire but that doesn't mean-" I was cut off by an all knowing Elaina.

"Oh come on Serena! No need to deny it, I can see it as clear as day." After her statement I remembered something, Elaina said she was good at being aware of the people around her and their actions. She must have picked up on me. It made me upset that I was still that obvious. In my opinion, I was doing a pretty good job at hiding my feelings.

"What makes you think that?" I asked more shyly, knowing that she had figured me out.

"The way you shuffle closer to him when you're shy or feel threatened. Or the way you stiffen when I look at him for more than three seconds, even if it's just a fraction. And the blushing! Serena, you really need to work on keeping your blushing under control. In the hour I have known you, you have blushed twice and both times from something Ash said."

I bit my lip. She was right. I never even knew I did some of these things but now it seemed plainly obvious.

"You shouldn't worry though. The only reason I found out was because I was specially looking for it. No one would ever know otherwise. Unless they know you really well of course." She reassured me. I felt my shoulders relax. "Just everything about you screams 'I'm in love with Ash'" She commented just to tease me. I began laughing but stopped myself short.

"I'm not in love with Ash." I can't be, right? The word love sounded so serious. Like, the love of my life. I couldn't be in love with Ash. I just had a crush on him.

"That depends, how long have you liked him?"

"Ever since we started traveling together I guess."

"A whole year!? You totally love him!"

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"What are you two fighting about?" We heard Ash call from behind us.

"Nothing!" We shouted back in unison then burst out laughing at each other. Something about Elaina's company seemed soothing and natural.

"So...what did you see from Ash?" I said in a smaller voice. I couldn't help myself, my curiosity got the better of me.

"I knew you would ask that." Elaina continued to laugh then her face became serious as she cleared her throat. "I didn't see much from Ash. He was harder to read."

"What do you mean? Ash can't keep emotions from showing on his face."

"Yes, but it's all the obvious ones. Ash is a very optimistic person and all I can see is the cheer in his actions. But I don't care about those things. Anyone can see that. I like to look for the things that people are feeling deep inside, the ones they are hiding from the surface. Usually I can spot small things that people accidentally allow to leak through their defenses. But other people are better actors than others, so it differs. Either Ash is really good at hiding his feelings or they're just...not there."

"Oh." I whispered as I looked down at the ground.

"But don't worry, very optimistic people almost always have something to hide. And I'm committed to finding out what's behind Ash's cheery smile." Elaina winked at me. I couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.

"How old are you?" I managed between fits of laughter.

"I'm sixteen."

"You're the same age as Ash and I." I stated.

"Well, this ought to be interesting."

"Very"

We walked the rest of the way engaged in conversation. We laughed and talked about our demanding parents. Soon we found ourselves fantasizing about shopping.

"I've never actually been shopping you know? I just read about it in books." Elaina smiled sheepishly.

"Really? I'm totally taking you shopping! How about we meet up tomorrow and we can go out to the boutiques." I requested eagerly. Nothing better than an excuse to shop more.

"That would be great! Thanks so much." She cheered and we walked through the sliding doors of the Pokemon center.

The siblings disappeared to find Nurse Joy at the front desk while the rest of us waited patiently on a near by couch. There was a warm feeling in my body that relaxed me. The quietness of the evening left me extremely peaceful and content.

"You and Elaina really seemed to click today." Bonnie noted as we waited.

"She's really nice." I sighed "and she's sixteen you know?"

"I heard what you were talking about." Bonnie smiled slyly.

"You what?!" I said a little louder than I should have. The blond girl snickered next to me.

"What's wrong Serena?" Ash asked, a mixture of puzzlement and concern in the wrinkles on his face.

"Nothing." I repeated to him, my voice softer.

"Are you sure? You seem to be a little...jumpy." The raven haired boy tried to dig a little deeper.

"I'm not jumpy. Don't worry about me Ash, I'm fine." After that I turned back to Bonnie who was consumed with amusement. "You're not going to tell anybody, are you?" I whispered to her.

"No need to worry Serena, your secrets safe with me!" Bonnie chirped before opening her bag to play with Dedenne. I sighed.

"Hey Serena!" Ash called me from the other side of the room. "Can I talk to you quickly?"

"Sure Ash." My mind quickly pondered over the possibilities of what he might want to talk to me about. It seemed private. I met him in the far corner of the room and huddled closer than I really needed to. "What is it?"

"I was wondering if you could ask Elaina if she would help me work on tactics?" My crush played with his fingers before his eyes finally met mine. I smiled, there was a shy side to Ash Ketchum.

"Go ask her yourself." I winked at him teasingly.

"But you're friends with her! She's more likely to say yes to you."

"I'm sure she will have no problem saying yes if you ask her." I began to walk away from my crush but he grabbed my arm before I could escape, not that I minded...

"Come on Serena, I just need one afternoon. Just one training session." His frown was beginning to become a desperate quiver.

"And you'll be asking her for that by yourself. You're a big boy now Ash." I teased him further. To say the least, I was feeling bold and in the moment. Without thinking I ruffled his jet hair with my fingers. Immediately my cheeks warmed and turned a bright crimson. Ash's hair felt soft between my fingers and I wanted to lace them deeper but instead I pulled away.

I was surprised at how reckless I was being around him. I wasn't usually like that, if Ash asked anything of me, I would most likely do it. Maybe I was acting like that because Elaina discovered my secret so easily. I was shy and hidden. Most of my feelings I kept to myself. And any slip up created a panic. I would do anything to put the panic back in place and keep things deep down under.

"If you want it that bad, you'll ask her yourself." I playfully smiled at him before walking away. To be honest, I didn't mind the new way I was acting around him. It was much more laid back and it stopped my heart for going into overdrive.

"Serena..." Ash moaned before trailing behind me.

The three siblings had finished with Nurse Joy and were carelessly chatting to Clemont and Bonnie. Leon's Froakie was perched on its trainers shoulders and Chespin pondered between the cluster of legs. Elaina had Eevee's Pokeball clutched in her hand. She held it tightly and kept it close to her.

Ash and I joined the group who were talking about battling tactics- of all things.

"-the  hurricane you created during your battle with Pidgeotto was truly incredible." Clemont complimented Leon on one of his performances at the beginners league. "The way you turned Pidgeotto's gust to your advantage by having Froakie run in circles was genius. And once you had created the hurricane structure, the bubbles were a perfect touch to add to the mixture. It sucked Pidgeotto right in!"

"Actually, that was my idea." Elaina chimed in "Leon just executed it perfectly."

"How do you even come up with these things?" Bonnie asked as she scratched her head in thought.

"It kind of just...happens." Elaina shrugged.

"Do you want to do something with us for the evening?" I suggested to the siblings "we could show you around Lumiose city."

"That would be great!" Aron smiled at me "we want to see Prism tower."

Suddenly there was a loud rumbling noise that interrupted our conversation. It came from Ash's stomach. The raven haired boy smiled sheepishly as he winced at the noise.

"On second thought, do you think we could go get something to eat. I'm starving." Ash laughed half heartedly. Everyone giggled.

"Sure, that's fine." Leon piped in.

"I know a really good all-you-can-eat buffet! Come on let's go!" I shouted before grabbing Elaina's wrist and dragging her out the front doors.
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Just wanted to let you know that these chapters take a while to write and I'm coming up to exams real soon so updates might be slow lately. Sorry😭

But, on a more happier note, I advise you to read on because although the beginning may be a little boring it gets much better. I really want you to meet Elaina as she starts to get comfortable around the group and really opens up to who she is. It can make the story quite interesting.