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chapter 3o.
(o6/1o)
an oath under the stars !

preview:

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"You seriously ought to be less clumsy, Serena."

I sighed. I've been hearing the same sentence for two hours by now. "You know, Shauna? I totally love falling!"

Shauna glared before the expression turned comical. "Yeah, you fell down and fell for Ash!"

What?!

"Shut it!" I screamed, trying to calm my heart that was threatening to thud out of my chest. The mention of his name was enough to make me red, and Shauna was such a tease. With no heed about anything other than throwing my pillow at her, I totally forgot about my twisted ankle. A sharp pain shot through, blinding my senses. "Ouch!"

"Oh, my!" I felt a soothing arm rubbing circles on my back. I looked up at my worried best friend gratefully. "I'm so sorry, Serena."

"Hey, that's fine." I waved it off, before turning serious. "Shauna, could I ask a big favor of you?"

"Anything for you!" she exclaimed, taking her seat at the edge of my bed. Ever since tripping on the staircase, I was forced to stay bedridden. That meant a leave from school, meaning letter to Ash: undelivered.

"I missed Ash's soccer match!" I exclaimed. Shauna gave me a weird look, but I continued. "Could you please put this letter in his locker? Before the soccer match ends?" Passing the hastily written letter, I leaned back in my seat. "The number is 287, and is almost always unlocked."

"You mean I gotta make a run for it now?" she asked, sighing and standing up. I sheepishly nodded, eliciting a laugh from her. "Ash and his stupid promises! He doesn't even mind breaking them, and you're here, forcing me to help to not let it break."

Shauna left after giving a thumbs-up. I felt guilty for asking her to run back to school and post it into his locker anonymously. As silence settled, I could not help the unbidden memory of the promise we made under the thick blanket of stars, approximately two years ago.

The velvet green undergrowth felt mushy under my boots as I panted for breath. He was sitting on a fallen tree, doubled over with his cap covering his face. Negativity radiated off him in waves, and taking it as a cue, I approached him.

It was unusual for the Kantonian weather to host a rainy day in the scorching summer, especially in the quaint town of Pallet. Professor Oak's second summer camp was featuring the unusual increase in population of the habitation.

"Hey, Ash."

There was no response from his side for a tense minute. Then, he looked up at me. "I'm sorry for leaving you guys without a word," he mumbled, not meeting my eyes.

"That's okay. I understand that you needed sometime alone. I just came here to tell you that it doesn't matter whether you know him or not. It's not your fault," I spoke breathlessly, but he made no indication that he had heard me. "And you're definitely not unlucky.

"I know the feeling, you know, when my Dad–"

"Mind your own business!"

That was sudden, startling even, to hear such cold words from the boy standing in front of me. He turned his back to me, letting his shoulders sag, and my heart dropped with them. The words that left me next was involuntarily raw. "Right. I should be minding my own business instead of coming after you."

"Serena, I-" He tried interrupting, but I gave him no space.

"What did I think? I thought the both of us were in the same shoes! Just because I'm an outsider in this country doesn't mean I was anything different to your feelings!" When I looked at him, he was but a blur, and I was stubbornly refusing to blink. "Even I have lost sleep thinking of my dad, the one who's a workaholic.

"Of course, my situation is totally different from yours, but even I know what a father's absence does to the child! I'll have you know that it's not just you who was hurt by those words."

As far as I could see, with tears blinding my vision and my hands shivering uncontrollably, Ash was on his knees, doubled over. "I-it's not your fault."

Look at him...how can I be mad at him when he's so broken...?

I approached him slowly. "Do — do you want me to leave?" I asked, unsure if my presence was welcome after throwing such hurtful words at him.

It surprised me to hear his response. "P-please, stay."

Time flew by in a flash. One second, we sat huddled together on the wet grass of Pallet outskirts, just clinging to the other's warmth, metaphorically more than physically; the next, we were lying under the thick blanket of twinkling constellations, discussing events and the faraway future.

It seemed like the others kids calling Ash unlucky for having his father run out on him and his mother's lives was a distant memory, as we lay there talking upcoming anime, school life and the latest book releases.

"Serena, look," Ash said in a low tone. My head turned to look at him, breathing raggedly, as he pointed at the starry skies. "I'll be a star...to you."

"Ash? What do you mean?" I implored, taken aback by what he said. Surely, he couldn't mean...

Instead of replying, he let out a humorless laugh. "It's not what you think. No longer."

"You c-considered...?"

He did not respond to my question, instead choosing to continuing his previous sentence. "You'll leave Kanto as soon as the old man runs out of ideas to keep the camp running."

I nodded, missing his point. If he meant he would miss me, it would make me very happy.

"And we'll be distant friends, again. What I mean is –" He turned away from the skies, a small naïve smile plastered to his face, to look into my eyes; his soul brushing mine. "Even if I'm not physically there with you, remember that I am present for you. Anytime, anywhere; just like the stars."

His words warmed something in my chest, and I struggled to keep a straight face. "The feelings are m-mutual," I stammered, rubbing my sweaty hands on the dewy undergrowth. He had this indescribable effect on me.

Pink tinged his cheeks, and for a moment, I felt like I was falling into something unknown; someplace wherein once entered would give no room for exit. Before I could consider what was happening to me, he spoke again, in that pleasantly raspy voice of his.

"I made you cry, didn't I?" His jaws set, he looked up again. A gentle breeze blew ruffling our clothes and tousling our hair. I took a deep breath. It was refreshing.

"That's alright. You're okay, now?"

"Never better." I smiled to myself. This is the Ash I know. "Er, Serena?"

"Yeah?" I asked, puzzled to hear his nervous voice.

"Can we keep in touch? Y'know, using Discord or the mail?" Breathe, girl, breathe!

It was hard to string related words to form a coherent response, so I nodded. I could hear his secret smile.

"Brilliant!" He sat up straight, looked me in the eye and gave an unforgettable grin that sold my gut away to the butterflies. "I promise you that I'll make you smile, at least once in a day."

"And I you, Ash."

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We're so near to achieving 1k reads! At the time of writing this, we've got 97o views! Thanks a lot, guys! Thank you!

I've decided to post Ash's PoV when this book nears its end. This is so that it feels more like a continuation rather than confusion, lol. Just a spoiler, if you guys wish to know:

The story starts way before this one does, and ends more or less after this one. So you'll get all the required deets about our heroes, and the rest of the characters as well!

Thank you for listening to my rambles, and reading the story too!

Miyoko x