78.
chapter seventy-eight:
fate loves us!

The car bumped, then the brakes were hit abruptly. I smashed face-first into the back of the driver's seat. My nose stung, and I leaned back. My eyes traced the girl, who was rubbing her forehead, cursing under her breath. I could faintly hear her over the speeding traffic.

"Freaking cabs. That insufferable blind piece of a goblin—!" I snorted back a laugh, but she didn't seem to have heard it.

We were on our ride back to Vaniville. After stopping by a miscellaneous store and getting souvenirs for each other, we decided to call it a day and get back. There was packing to be done, and my car was parked in Serena's parking lot. Not to mention, Gary and Misty would have my head should I refuse to drive them back to Lumiose to get ready for the road trip.

"Just a little bit more, and we'll be back in Vaniville," I comforted her. She gave a displeased sigh and held onto the cushion of the passenger seat tightly. I had to agree; taxi drivers were insanely wild in their work. If there was any other person capable of rendering me breathless, besides Serena, of course, it had to be them.

Several minutes passed before the two of us tumbled through the doorway of her house. I sagged into one of the sofas as the girl hurried to get us a soda. "Do you have to leave immediately?" she asked, entering the living room with two tall glasses of fizzy drinks. I shot her a grateful smile, picking one of them.

"You don't wish to see me massacred by Misty, do you?"

"'Course not."

"There you have your answer." My smile disappeared when her face fell. The downsides of her demeanor fading never failed to make me squirm like a worm with guilt. "Serena?"

"Oh," she paused and laughed soberly. The girl lugged down half of her glass and began choking on it.

"You baka!" I reprimanded, patting her back. Something weird filled my chest when she started laughing and coughing at the same time. It took her a good few minutes to regain her composure, but the humor never left her eyes. "Nobody's stealing that from you!"

"Of course, of course." All the good cheer drained out from her face immediately when our eyes met.

"Hey, Serena. What's bothering you?" The girl shook her head dismissively, but I pressed on. "You underestimate my ability to read your mind, girl. I can tell you're feeling low."

Serena heaved a heavy breath. "What can I say, Ash? I had so many expectations and dreams, teenage dreams, when you called me one day to tell me you'd be studying at Kalos High.

"But hell broke loose because of one silly mistake I made. I regret not being able to spend time with you like this, not confessing before or hearing you admitting feelings. I'm scared that tomorrow's road trip might be the last time we'd be with each other in person, and then I'd lose you forever." A shiver ran through her, so I held my arms out.

The honey blonde happily obliged, climbing into an embrace that lasted for several sunlit moments. It felt extremely refreshing to hold her warmth in, and the smell of her strawberry-scented hair surely was my favorite odor in the world—rejuvenating and dizzying. I. Love. This!

"You think I wouldn't visit you even if I don't make it to the next year?" I whispered, pulling her closer. She didn't back away, nor did she answer, so I went on. "As for the regrets, if we were to start pointing fingers, we'd have a lot of blame to put around. You weren't the only one who lost her teenage dreams. I faced my teenage nightmares the entire time."

"Huh?"

"You didn't wish to listen to me, I didn't put a rein on my emotions, and it spiraled out of control. When in pain, our voice fades into the void. I think that's what happened to us."

"I'm so sorry—"

"As I said, if we were to point fingers, both of us should be apologizing along with Circumstances bowing deeply to us." Serena chuckled and pulled away. Her right hand absent-mindedly hammered my chest as her gaze bore into mine. We didn't blink, and an alarm in my mind went off when she spontaneously twisted to the left and leaned in.

Is this the time?

Ignoring the bell going off, I shut my eyes, feeling her free hand slither to the back of my neck and caress my hair. A soft breeze blew, nimbly replaced by her warm breath on my lips. My chest tingled with anticipation, as if a faraway car would quickly alight in front of me to pick me up.

Fate really hated me, hated her, hated us. It stepped in again, and I imagined it to be wearing some sort of evil cloak, bellowing behind it as it clapped its hands at our defeat.

My phone rang, and we jumped apart, embarrassment written across our faces at the yet-again failure of an attempt at locking lips. Eyes as wide as saucers at the name, I picked up the call reluctantly. "Um, Mum? Hi?"

"Hello? Ash?"

"Mum?" I awkwardly met Serena's gaze. She blushed, looked away, and attempted to scurry away. I grabbed her wrist to hold her rooted to the spot. "Anything wrong?"

"Oh, no! In fact, I'm really ecstatic right now! Professor Oak informed me that your college ended. Where are you now? When are you coming back?" There was an unusual tint of upbeatness in her tone, one that left me scratching my head in confusion.

"Yeah, it did. We have a road trip coming up the day after, so I'll be returning by this week, Mum."

She let out an excited squeal, one that echoed through the phone so loudly that it caught even the awkward Serena's attention. "Is that so? I'm waiting for you to come back home, sweetie! There's something really good for you here!" Home.

"Right," I replied monotonously. "Is that it, Mum? I gotta go."

Then came the heart-stabbing disappointed voice. "Yes, of course. Bye, sweetie."

"Bye."

The call ended promptly, and I tore my gaze away from the screen showing a smiling photo of my mother. Her flaming locks were tied into a ponytail, and she was smiling widely as if she had just seen something so enthralling. I realized that it had been a fond picture for me all along.

"I was under the impression your mother seldom called you?"

"Yeah," I replied, scratching the back of my head. "She wants me to come home as quickly as possible. Apparently, there's something in store for me there. Arceus knows what."

Serena gave me a sympathetic smile and patted my arm gently. The touch ignited the flame of passion that had been doused by the phone call, and I smirked at the girl. "What say you to resuming that very 'compromising position' of us, Serena?"

She rolled her eyes and ushered me to the doorway. "What's ruined is ruined. Maybe another day—" My heart fell, and I feigned a sob. It only proved successful in eliciting another roll of her eyes. "What, I don't want my boyfriend beheaded before we even get to say goodbye." She emphasized the term of endearment with a poke to my chest, and I chuckled, using her pointer to pull her towards me.

"You don't have to say goodbye to him, you know?"

The atmosphere shifted from awkward to playful in no time, and we were laughing our heads off at each other's expense. As if on cue, Gary missed a call, and I finally butchered up to leave.

"Thank you for today, Ash. It was really fun—our first date," Serena exclaimed, her eyes glinting with an emotion I couldn't comprehend. I grinned back at her and opened the door. The chill breeze blew in at once, sending shivers up my spine.

All I want to do now is grab Serena and watch a movie with her and hot cocoa.

Gary missed another call.

Okay, no.

"I don't know how much of a reassurance this would be, but with the help of you, Misty, and Sensei Calem, I hope I'd be able to score well in certain theory subjects, girl. I don't wish to jinx myself, y'know, neither do I want that frown gracing your beautiful face."

Serena exhaled, a smile still etched across her lips. "Of course. I'll really look forward to spending the next year with you, Ash."

Maybe it was her way of saying I like you without actually telling the triggering word.

But how do I say it back?

— 💌 —

Hey guys!
satosere16 asked for a fanart of Ash asking Serena for the movie date (with clip and all), so I made one. Thought to share it with y'all! Let me know how it looks!

Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x