Calem wasn't a very sociable guy, and when it came to communicating with people, he wasn't very good at it.

And by people, he meant girls.

There was no time for Calem to bother with socializing, not when he had to train to be the Kalos Pokemon League Champion. He was better with Pokemon rather than people, and he wanted it to stay that way. However, that didn't mean Calem didn't have friends.

He had three, actually. Shauna was his closest friend; they had known each other since they were very little. He met the inseparable duo Tierno and Trevor along the way in Trainer School, and the four had been one big group of friends ever since. Each one of his friends had insanely different personalities, and if they all hadn't met Calem when they were younger and got used to his serious, straight-to-the-point demeanor with a touch of anti-socialness, they probably wouldn't be friends with him now.

It's not like he was opposed to socializing and meeting new people, he was just a tough guy to get along with. He was incredibly stubborn, and he focused mostly on training and developing battle strategies, even though he was lacking a single Pokemon. With both of his parents being successful Ace Trainers, Calem was determined to surpass them. And what was the only way to do that? Become champion, of course.

And now, knowing there was a new girl next door that he had yet to meet, he found himself curious to find out what she was like. Can't really blame the boy for being curious, can you?

...but first, he had to get past the psycho Rhyhorn guarding her front yard.

Calem blinked owlishly at the large rock creature about to charge at him, taking a cautious step back. "Easy, now... I was invited over, I swear!"

Rhyhorn scowled at Calem and kicked at the ground, not listening to him. His rocky shoulders were squared as he locked onto his target, preparing to charge with an overpowered rollout attack.

A nervous bead of sweat trickled down Calem's forehead as the teenager watched his life flash before his eyes. If he didn't get out of this agitated Pokemon's way, and fast, he was most likely about to be shishkebabed. And frankly, Calem was quite fond of the idea of remaining in one piece for the rest of his life.

Rhyhorn grunted and lunged forwards, running across the front yard at top speed towards the stranger who had dared to trespass on his property. There was no way he was going to let this stranger break in and do weird things that perverted teenage boys do to his precious Serena!

Calem panicked and jumped out of the Rhyhorn's way, then immediately bolted for the front door when Rhyhorn ran past him and skidded to a halt before he collided with the white picket fence. Thankfully, the front door was unlocked, just as Grace said, and Calem quickly ran inside and shut the door behind him.

Calem panted and let out a heavy sigh, slamming his back up against the door and sliding down it a little. "Phew..."

Entering a stranger's house unexpected even with permission to enter still felt wrong to Calem, and he was going to ring the doorbell in order to not seem rude, but...well, then again, Calem wasn't really expecting there to be an angry Rhyhorn guarding the front lawn. What the heck did Grace even feed that thing!?...

When he steadied his breathing and felt relaxed now that the danger was over, Calem stood straight up and took one more step further into the house. It was small and quaint, and strangely enough, it looked like a mirrored version of his own house. And if this house was similar to the floor plan of his, then that would mean the entire second floor was a bedroom, which most likely belonged to her.

Er, what was her name?

...

Calem mentally smacked his forehead. "Idiot...you jumped the gun and forgot to even bother to ask what her name is."  He internally kicked himself for that slip-up.

To his left was the kitchen, straight ahead was the living room, and he assumed that wrapping around the living room towards the back right was Grace's bedroom. Which meant the staircase leading to upstairs was... Directly on his right.

Calem wasn't nervous; he really wasn't the type to get nervous. He was too stubborn and brave for that; that wasn't his current dilemma. He just felt awkward walking up to some girl's room and introducing himself.

...well, if he got slapped for invading her privacy, he'd blame it on the Rhyhorn.

He took one deep breath before taking the railing and beginning to walk up the carpeted stairs. Her bedroom door was shut, and he could've sworn he heard voices on the other side, but Calem couldn't really discern what they were saying.

Before he knew it, he found his knuckles gently brushing against the wooden door, and he had this feeling of soul-crushing regret begin to grow in the pit of his stomach as soon as he did it.

The door was gingerly opened not even a few seconds later, and Calem was left blinking repeatedly at the girl in front of him with a rather odd look on his face.

Now, being someone as stubborn as he was and fiercely determined to achieve his dream, Calem wasn't really one to take an interest in people. So to say that this was the first time he was actually alert to the appearance of someone was definitely unheard of. Especially since it was a girl.

"...who are you?" She asked him accusingly, almost glaring up at him out of confusion.

She was five-foot six-inches tall with the brightest and bushiest honey-blonde hair he had ever seen. Her grey eyes were narrowed at the sight of him, and that was what snapped Calem out of his momentary daze.

"Oh, I'm your neighbor." Calem instinctively held out his hand for her to shake, almost forgetting his manners. "My name is Calem. Calem Xavier."

The girl stared at his hand strangely before redirecting her scowl back up at him. "And you're breaking into my house, because...?"

Calem immediately held out a hand to stop her as his shocked eyes instinctively widened at her question. "Oh, no, I didn't break in. Your mom invited me over---"

That was apparently all she needed to hear. Her intense sigh and eye-roll combo almost made Calem quietly chuckle from how amusing it was. "Of course she did..." The girl looked into her room for a split second before turning her head towards Calem once more. "Well, I suppose you can come in."

"Thanks." Calem nodded his head to her politely and followed the blonde into her pink-themed room when she left the door wide open for him. He took notice of the several unpacked boxes stacked up against her walls, and the Charmander making himself comfortable on her bed.

Wait, what?

Calem blinked once, twice. So he didn't hallucinate the rare Kanto starter just lounging in her room...? Apparently not...

The girl ignored his presence and resumed packing various supplies into her red purse as she talked to him. "I'm Serena Yvonne. Sorry my mother dragged you into putting up with me..." Serena shoved a few extra shirts into her purse, not even looking up at the boy standing in the middle of her room.

"Well, it really was no trouble." Calem had already said it before he suddenly recalled his near-death experience with the Rhyhorn outside. "Er, well, I mean...I would have met you in an hour at the meeting, anyways..." He seemed to be losing the ability to speak to the pretty girl without tripping over his words every three seconds.

Serena stopped all of her movements and froze in the middle of packing a few extra things into her purse before standing straight up and looking over at Calem. "Oh. So you're one of them, huh?"

The way she quizzically blinked at him almost made Calem forget who he was for a second there. "Yes, I am. And I understand that you're one of them as well?"

Serena bit down on the inside of her cheek. "Something like that..." She forced out a reply, leaving something out of it.

Calem quirked an eyebrow at the strange girl across the room. She was a bit cold and distant, wasn't she? It was hard to believe her and her mother were related...

Well, perhaps it was just a front, and she was actually a different person when you got to know her?

...hopefully.

"Hey, you." Serena looked over at the Charmander lying on her bed with his feet kicked up, lounging carelessly. "Make yourself useful and take this downstairs." She picked up her red purse that was strangely capable of carrying an impossible number of items and tossed it to the orange lizard, who immediately caught it in his mouth and willingly took it downstairs. Now that she was done packing, Serena rested her hands on her waist, quirking an eyebrow at Calem across the room. "Why didn't you just ring the doorbell? I would have let you in..." She added the last part quietly.

Calem could only just sweatdrop at her innocent question. "Well, that was my original plan before that Rhyhorn of yours nearly killed me."

Serena was almost a little shocked to hear that, and her eyes widened as she looked at Calem. The teenage boy watched as the corner of her mouth twitched, and Calem nearly drew his head back in shock when Serena...laughed at him.

Her laugh was so pure and innocent, and that was the first time he had ever seen her smile. It was hard to believe such an emotionally-distant girl was capable of laughing and smiling like an angel.

"I'm sorry..." Serena quieted her laughter while wiping at a stray tear forming in her eye. "I shouldn't have laughed. Rhyhorn isn't a fan of guys, you see." She almost seemed awkward as she scratched the back of her head.

Calem slowly found himself beginning to crack a grin at her immediate change in mood, but when both teenagers heard the front door open and slam shut, Serena's uplifted mood immediately dissolved back into its gloomy one.

Calem barely had time to turn around before loud thudding footsteps began running up the stairs, followed by someone shouting, "CALEM DEREK XAVIER!"

Uh oh. He knew who that voice belonged to.

"Oof!" Calem stumbled forwards, nearly losing his balance when someone slammed into him at full force. "Agh, Shauna...be careful!"

Serena's scowl quickly found its way over to the other side of the room, and she frustratingly threw her hands up into the air. "Why does everyone keep breaking into my house!?"

This time it was a five-foot tall girl with two dark brown twintails. She was dressed in a hot pink shirt accented by comically large black bows and a pair of blue denim shorts, along with her pink strappy sandals and matching hand bag. She was practically jumping up and down with boundless energy.

Her green eyes lit up at the sight of Calem. "Calem! I've been looking for you everywhere! If we don't leave soon, we'll be late for the meeting! And I reeeeeally want to meet my new partner!" She almost whined that last part as she pulled on Calem's jacket sleeve.

Calem's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline at the sight of his best friend, unsure of what to even make of this. "Shauna, how did you know I was here?"

Shauna scoffed as if it were completely obvious and Calem was just an idiot or something. "Uh, hello?" She held up her Holo Caster and waved it back and forth. "I LoJacked your Holo Caster years ago!"

Calem's eyes darted between the crazy girl and the Holo Caster clipped to his belt with a paranoid look on his face. "Wha---why!?"

Serena awkwardly cleared her throat, and the girl Calem had called Shauna turned to look at her. "Oh, hello there! What are you doing here?"

Serena stared at her in awe, completely dumbfounded. "Uh, I live here...?" She answered obviously. Serena wasn't sure if this girl was unobservant or just plain stupid. Or possibly both.

"Oh, right." Shauna laughed it off before grinning brightly at Serena and waving. "I'm Shauna! It's nice to meet you, er---"

"Serena." The blonde finished Shauna's sentence for her, a little annoyed by the spastic person infiltrating her home uninvited.

Calem was completely unfazed by Shauna's eccentric and energetic behavior, but he was curious about one more thing. "Shauna, how did you get past the Rhyhorn...?"

Shauna almost laughed at how stupid a question that was. "What, that little guy? Awwah, he's the sweetest thing!" Her bright grin lit up the room as she recollected on the past five minutes, and Calem nearly doubled over in surprise when she referred to the Rhyhorn as 'little.' "I had to stop and pet him for a few minutes before coming inside, of course!"

Calem incredulously threw his hands up into the air. "Seriously? Is it really just me that he hates?"

Serena chuckled darkly under her breath, tilting her chin down far enough for the brim of her hat to cover her eyes. "I told you that he hates guys..."

Shauna quirked an eyebrow in Serena's direction, having an extremely late reaction. "Ohhhhh, so you're the new girl, right? Meaning you're also one of us!" She extended her arms into the air, almost as if she was giving her an air hug from a distance.

Serena plainly rose an eyebrow, disinterested in this whole conversation. "If by one of us you mean one of the Dexholders, then yes. I am."

Shauna excitedly clapped her hands together. "Oh, goody! I really look forward to getting to know you, Serena!" Her grin was so bright and cheery that Serena thought she might puke at the sight of it. "I'm so sick of being the only girl in our group..." Shauna stuck out her bottom lip to pout, sighing as she relaxed her shoulders. "I need a girl best friend who will go shopping with me!"

"Oh, goody..." Serena muttered under her breath, stressfully rubbing at her temples. Was it just her, or were these two giving her a headache?

Calem glanced down at Shauna. "Hey, Shauna, didn't you say we were going to be late for the meeting?"

Shauna snapped her eyes open in shock, having completely forgotten the sole purpose of her being here. "Oh my gosh, that's right!" She dashed across the room and grabbed Serena's hand before immediately pulling her towards the door. "Come on, Serena!"

Serena struggled to form a proper sentence, bewildered and speechless as the strange girl dragged her out of her own bedroom. "Uh, wha... Hey, wait, stop! Would you cut that out already!? Let go of me!"

Calem chuckled to himself before following the two girls downstairs, listening to Serena's very loud protests and Shauna's giggles. "If she can't handle me or Shauna, I can't wait until she meets Trevor and Tierno..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And here is chapter two~! I wrote this at 1AM because I felt like writing. That...apparently seems to be the one time of day that I actually get stuff done, oddly enough...

XD anyways, I hope you all enjoyed reading this! Just a little side note here, if you're reading this book solely for the battle scenes, then you'll be disappointed to hear that I will barely be writing any at all because they're really not my forte and I feel as if they distract readers from the important part of the story: the plot. If you're a fan of battle scenes, I'm sorry ^-^;; but if you're like me and don't particularly care for them, then you're welcome!

Read, comment, vote, and enjoy! :)