29.
chapter twenty-nine:
Misty's advice...
do I follow it?

Breakfast had been a haughty affair. Serena had to join her friends, and I was left with my group of peculiarities. She did invite me, but I turned her down, considering my presence more of an alien invasion in their gang than a welcome change.

And so, I was playing with my mashed potatoes. I liked being alone; it makes me think clearer, but right now, I wasn’t being alone. I was feeling lonely. Despite Gary sitting beside me, in spite of Misty’s attempts to start a word-building game.

I glanced around to distract myself. Professor Sycamore was dining with Professor Olympe and our drivers. May and Drew had a table for two, chatting and giggling. Dawn was with her homies: Barry, Kenny, Zoey, and, surprisingly, Paul. There was the Alolan gang too, joined by Hau. Clemont was talking excitedly with Sawyer. They were accompanied by the rest of the second section.

And then there was Serena’s group. They seemed to be in the middle of a photo session. I could not help the tinge of jealousy that crept into my veins when I saw her laugh at something Trevor said. They were huddled so close over his selfie stick. So close.

"Ash!" I turned my attention to Misty as she spoke, "Something with 'S'."

"Serena?"

Misty rolled her eyes while Gary started laughing his head off. Eh? "Arceus, give him some temporary forgetfulness potion or something. I’m so done with him."

I cringed when I realized what had happened. "Sorry. Um, stealthy."

"I’m going to pretend that never happened," the girl added. "And you better too, Gary!"

I zoned out again, trying to set a premise for my future confession. I could ask her to dine with me for lunch and admit everything when it’s almost time to leave for the bus. That way, even if she doesn’t like me—oh, that thought hurts—she would not have time to comfort me.

I sighed. This was a lot harder to implement. "Ash, something with 'L' that’s not 'love'."

"Shut up, Misty," I retorted, mulling over my porridge. "Lost."

"Hey, what’s up with this guy?" Gary asked, throwing an arm around my shoulder. I frowned. I hated talking about myself. "Either he’s your local lovesick puppy or your average depressed teenager!"

"Thanks for pointing that out."

Misty leaned over the table, flicking her spoon. "Look, I won’t stop you from talking to her. If you’re so inclined, go ahead. Nobody’s stopping you, but for goodness’ sake, just don’t start brooding over your soup. We’ve only got one opportunity to go out like this!"

I downed the porridge in one go and stood up. "I’m not! I was just planning… something," I began, unsure whether to confide in them or not. They were my best friends, no doubt, but they weren’t Brocko.

He always knew what I was feeling, as if he were my bloodline. I instantly regretted not asking him for suggestions while we were at college. Not that I was physically fine to pop in, either.

Gary grabbed my arm and pulled me back to my seat. "Tell us if you want to, and we’ll help!" Misty nodded in agreement. I considered them for a minute before delving in, making sure to keep my voice low.

"I’m thinking of telling her how I feel, but—" I was cut short by the girl’s squeal before Gary silenced her. "But what if hell breaks loose and she doesn’t feel the same way?"

"Well, you never know until you try," Gary pointed out. "What say you, Misty?"

The girl shrugged, leaning back in her seat in thought. "Initially, I didn’t want to tell you this, but I think you might use some confidence." That perked my ears.

"Yeah?"

"I hope you remember our existence in Vaniville. Just saying, since you never spent much time with us in the hotel," she added upon my frown. "Based on her body language, I could ascertain that she very much fancies being around you. When she was hurt, it was like she wanted you near without actually asking for it."

My eyebrows shot up as a strange fuzziness settled in my stomach. "Really?"

The girl nodded and continued her meal for a minute before speaking. "And if you haven’t noticed, she didn’t hesitate to dance with you on stage."

"But we were forced to!" I exclaimed, feeling my cheeks burn at the memory.

"Yeah, but if I were her, and should I be paired with you or Gary, I’d rather protest to that idiot, Anastasia, who hosted the event alongside Drew, than lead you to the dance floor with no prior plans for a duet."

I fell silent, letting her words sink in. Serena was incredibly creative in aspects of dance and singing. That might be a contributing factor, but Misty wasn’t entirely wrong either.

"Moreover," she leaned forward with a smirk, "I hope I’m not the only one who noticed how she liked being close to your—" She made a heart shape with her hands, and I flushed. "Am I, Gary?"

Gary, who had been drumming the table until then, looked up. "Yeah. She had all three sets of moves just to be close to your chest. Like, hell, man, if you didn’t notice that!"

I rubbed my palms together, trying to keep down my blush. My heart was dancing jitterily. "I—yeah. I did."

Misty blew out a rasp. "There you have it."

I looked at my soup. The veggies were slowly swirling around, and I noticed I had been stirring it absent-mindedly. Were my friends really right? Did she show interest in me?

Thinking too much only made my head hurt, so I snapped to a conclusion. "Aight, fine! I’ll do it. Today!"

My friends beamed at me, and we went back to our breakfast and resumed the game of word-building. During that, I was determined not to stare at Serena and give my plan away. All I had to do now was ask her to spend a couple of minutes with me on the picnic blanket.

You: Hey.

Serena <3: hi :]

I took a deep breath and exchanged glances with Misty and Gary. The two of them nodded in silent encouragement.

You: Can you spend some time with me when we reach the top of the mountain?

Serena <3: why not? ;)

Serena <3: Hold on. Are you talking about dining with you? :0

You: Yeah, if you’re okay with it.

Serena <3: oh.

Serena <3: Um, Ash. I’m sorry... Everyone’s got plans for a group game and I’m part of it too...

My smile fell.

You: Oh.

Serena <3: I’ll let you know if I can take up your offer. :)

I didn’t reply. I didn’t want to.

"Look, Misty. She’s been at it again," I said, lowly. The girl cocked her head to the side. "I dunno, but I feel like… she doesn’t want to spend time with me alone. It’s like she finds some excuse to wriggle out of such situations."

"Nah, mate," Gary hurried to reassure me, but I wasn’t sure it would do any good. "Maybe they really have plans, and you were a tad bit late at asking her. You can’t blame her for circumstances, can you? Don’t lose your patience just yet. Sometimes, love is a long way coming, and confessing is just the first stage."

As I stared at my empty dish, I could only hope he was right and that she wasn’t avoiding me.