7o.
chapter seventy:
here's to
a new start!

Serena <3: Can you just shut up with these photos of your bed-hair self?! >:(

You: If it makes you blush as red as a rose, I will never. >:)

Serena <3: No, it doesn't. -_-

You: Where's the proof?

Serena <3: There's no proof! -_-'

You: I don't trust you then...

Serena <3: Don't trust. Not my problem. (:

You: C'mon, Serenaaaa

Serena <3: Why are you addicted to my flustered face?

You: 'Cause you're adorable.

Serena <3:

You:

You: Serena?

You: Are you still alive? :0

You: Do you want me to...

You: you know, kiss the sleeping princess awake? :0

Serena <3: Why am I still your girlfriend? -///-

Since the day I became Serena's boyfriend, I woke up to pleasant mornings. The only downside of them was the constant bickers on calls that Gary and Misty got into.

During those starts, Clemont and I would head to the dining hall together. If Dawn and May were present, we'd separate ways. Otherwise, I would join the guy and his sister. I loved those mornings, especially when Serena would join us, and the four of us would talk about anything and everything.

Even after Serena turned down my attempt to kiss her, our relationship hadn't been affected in the slightest. In fact, I found myself holding her hand just below the table without actually going all crimson.

There were times when I'd creep up to her and cover her eyes while Bonnie would shout, "Guess who?" The hilarious thing about the entire ordeal was that she never got us right, as we'd swap places the next time, forcing her into denial.

With a particularly playful encounter when I was buried under a pile of books in the hostel's library, Serena had pulled away some of the larger volumes from my anterior and had leaned closer so that our noses brushed against each other before whispering, "Kimi no namae wa?"

Oh Pikachu, I thought that very night, looking at my plush innocently smiling at me. The poor thing was probably traumatized by the way I was squishing it after a walk-in with Serena's cuteness. I'm truly fascinated with how she's a tiny ball of sunshine!

I mean, what is this wonderful feeling? I can barely put it into words, but all I know is it makes me feel great!

Days bled into nightfalls, but I had a very good reason to wake up as time flew by. Exams were around the corner. Calem was conducting a coaching drive for five subjects, and upon Serena's insistence, I signed up. I didn't regret it.

The boy's masterful teaching could only pave the way for his ambition to become a teacher. I found myself understanding concepts of economic theory much easier than when Misty or Serena had attempted to teach them. Besides, he wasn't even as annoying as I made him out to be; perhaps it had indeed been my jealousy.

With the insecurity out of my sight and a thin sliver of a new dawn, I could clearly ascertain what life was like without a dark cloud looming over my head twenty-four by seven.

Even if it still had its scary moments, it's nowhere close to what I made life to be.

Just with the fragile touch of a piano's keys, the instrument would produce a sound pleasing to hear, soothing to relax to. It seemed like I had been the black and white monochrome keys all along, while the pianists were all those who thought of me as their friend. Everybody took turns playing away the depressing thoughts I harbored.

Need extra help with academics? Misty.

Wanna chill and watch a movie? Bonnie.

Need to explore restaurants of Lumiose? May.

Trip to the library? Clemont.

Rush deadlines with assignments? Dawn.

Play mock soccer? Gary.

Woke up from a nightmare? Serena.

Words had tried to tame me for a long while, and I learned it the hard way that I would obey them all, beautifully struggling with each sunrise while staying true to myself.

"Finally, the time has come. Everything up till yesterday was the prologue~"

I splotched three dots on the paper and looked up to meet the forever that her cerulean eyes held. "You do realize that you're singing out loud, aren't you?" I teased, reaching over to her. The girl blushed and swatted me away.

"I was caught in the moment. I love the songs of this movie. Guess we should watch it."

"Sure, on our July the fourth."

"Right!"

This might be one of your filler chapters, but for me, it was the turn of a new leaf. The lyrics had been right. Up until yesterday was the boring prologue everybody skips. Time has flown to this moment; this particular second when everything was simply going fine, and I was content with what I had rather than recollecting the ghosts of the past.

Just because it was the prologue didn't mean it wasn't any less hard. It was just as hard as the step I was going to take in the future.

And if I wanted to be a better optimist than I was now, I had to make sure to not let the source of sunshine in my life disappear.

"Since one day you'll disappear,
I shall see a sky of falling stars and wish earnest,
To burn this sound of your ecstasy in my ear.
Let each dying celeste fulfill my beautiful mindset."

Dear Serena,
I never knew how it felt to skim over an old book, look at the title of its worn-out jacket, and reminisce about how I managed to persevere through its challenging plotline. I would miss all the red herrings, merge important lines, and end up brooding over characters who never breathed the same air as me.

Now that I realized that it is not the ending that matters, but the journey, I can't help but adore every part of you for pointing them out to me as if I were a wee baby.

What I want to actually tell is...

Kimiyo ga suki da yoi!

- 💌 -

Hey guys!
This was a filler chapter, but trust me, there's another important arc coming after the camping one.

Also, we've only got exactly thirty chapters left to the end of this book. I can't believe how time has skimmed by. It took me three-four whole months to write this book, and it's going to end in another. I haven't yet started writing the promised summer camp prequel since I'm writing another standalone, but I'll start on it as soon as I can so that this series will live on for a while longer than just end on December fifteenth or sixteenth. :]

Here's the translations for some of the phrases used in this chapter:

(Japanese)
kimi no namae wa - Your name?
kimiyo ga suki da yoi - I'm fond of you.

Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x