After about ten days, Satoshi was released from the hospital just as the doctor predicted. I was relieved to see him out of there even though Satoshi was still in pain, and he gained nasty scars on his chest and thigh. Cilan took Satoshi in his dorm while we finished the rest of the spring semester and then Sonia arranged a place for Satoshi and me while he spent summer school privately.

As Satoshi spent much of his time in summer school and physical therapy, I spent my time in the summer making plans to transfer to Anistar High and find a good place for Satoshi to stay near my home with the help of our friends who wanted to pitch in financially. My mom also looked into places for a possible job for Satoshi that he can manage despite his bad leg and his lack of work experience. Ultimately, though, she decided to train Satoshi to be her assistant mechanic. Satoshi and I instantly disliked the idea, but we relented when my mom pointed out that it would be better for him to learn to be a hard worker despite his condition with someone we know. Plus, it also meant we could be around each other when I'm visiting home for the weekends.

Despite things looking good enough for my beloved and me, things weren't going as well for the art program. True to Sonia's prediction, Princess Miette did have the theater destroyed for our defiance. The act discouraged many students who had been dreaming of more plays and concerts with the theater on top of being forced to sign similar statements to hide what happened on opening night of Spectacular, Spectacular. Some students even decided to go to a different school for the next year out of hopes that they will find better opportunities for their respective crafts. Sonia did her best to keep her head up high despite knowing that her art program was declining drastically.

The only positive changes we saw was that the host club was disbanded, and Jessie had been sacked as a member of the board for signing the contract that allowed Abigail to kill whoever's the princess wanted. Countless girls were devastated that the host club was gone and we made sure to keep Satoshi's whereabouts a secret from them so that only I am rightfully there to comfort him. The former hosts, who also signed statements from the king, looked for other clubs to be a part of the next school year while Drew and May started a steady relationship.

At the end of June, Satoshi finished his physical therapy, having started to get used to walking with a cane. One month later, he finished his summer semester, and we had a private graduation ceremony for him with our friends and their families. Soon after, Satoshi and I began getting ready to fly to the Kalos region. Before we left, I privately called my mom to make sure that we were set for a special surprise for when my boyfriend when we landed at the Kalos airport. Sonia, Principal Magnolia, Bonnie, Iris, Cilan, May, Drew, Dawn, Kenny, Octavia, and Andy all came to see us off at the Galar airport. Once we are at the point where only passengers can enter, we all started hugging and saying goodbye to our friends.

"I'm gonna miss you a lot, Serena," Bonnie whined as she hugged me tightly.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Bonnie," I said with a sad smile.

"I wish there was a way around you needing to come back to Kalos," Dawn said.

"Yeah, maybe there is a way you and Satoshi could still go to Galar Academy in secret so that we can still go to school together," May said.

"It would be nice if we didn't have to be apart from you," Octavia said.

"Yeah," Iris agreed.

I shook my head and said, "I don't want to be apart from you either. You're all the best friends I could ever have. But it's for the best that Satoshi and I leave. Our place should be away from the life of wealth and high-class."

"But won't it be difficult for Satoshi to adjust to living a life without any of that?" Kenny asked.

"We're counting on it," I answered. "But I think it's better that he learns to live a normal life as opposed to living with wealthy people trying to please people who never truly loved him. It's going to be tough, but my mom and I will be there for him."

Sonia nodded and said, "That's mature of you, Serena. But if you ever need something from any of us for any reason, just give us a call, and we'll do anything within our resources to help you."

I gave my former teacher an appreciative look and said, "You've all done more than enough for us, but I promise to keep in touch with all of you. And if you are ever in the Kalos region, feel free to drop by Vaniville Town if you have the time."

"Promise," The seven of them said simultaneously before we all got together in a group hug.

At the same time, Satoshi was shaking hands with Drew, Cilan, and Andy.

"Thank you again for taking me in while I was in therapy, Cilan," Satoshi said.

"Think nothing of it, Satoshi," Cilan replied. "It was my pleasure from one co-host in love to another."

Satoshi nodded and turned to Drew.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do in the upcoming school year now that the host club is gone?" He asked.

"Not really," Drew answered. "I guess like you, the future is a big mystery. Maybe I'll try a musical instrument so that I could be a musician together with my girlfriend."

Andy chuckled and said, "That'll be hard to do. May's been a pianist for ages, and you'd be a beginner in whatever instrument you decide on if any at all."

Drew shrugged and said, "Eh, as long as I'm with May, I'll try for as long as it takes. Whatever I decide, I'm going to make sure I never put anything before her again like I promised."

"Good," Satoshi said. "Take it from a guy who put his girl before literally everything, it's worth it."

"Amen, brother," Andy agreed while glancing at Octavia while she was talking with me.

We continued saying our goodbyes until a woman in an intercom announced that I was time for passengers flying to Kalos to start boarding. Satoshi and I looked at each other with sad smiles before we stood next to each other to face all of our friends. Everyone tried to hide their dread to see us leave as we looked at each other in silence. Sonia looked at the teenagers around her and decided to speak up.

"Serena, Satoshi, good luck," she said. "May you find happiness despite whatever troubles await you in Kalos."

"And may The Lord guide you all with what lies in store for you," I replied with a smile.

With that, Satoshi and I grabbed hands and started making our way to our plane, saying goodbye to everyone as we walked. We showed our tickets to the attendant and made our way to our seats in the middle of the plane. I helped Satoshi to his seat before putting our suitcases in the overhead bin above us and sitting next to him. As we were waiting for the plane to take off, I looked in the window from my seat and frowned at the sight of Galar's beautiful countryside. Satoshi noticed my sad demeanor and looked at me worriedly.

"Serena, are you okay?" He asked.

I snapped out of my daze and turned to him.

"I'm fine," I said. "It just hit me that we'll never get to be in Galar ever again. I guess I'm a little sad because I have gained so many happy memories here with you and our friends, and I can never come back here."

My beloved smiled sadly back and took my hand.

"We'll make new memories in Kalos," he said. "Memories where we can be together without hiding our love from anyone."

I smiled and squeezed his hand before resting my head on his shoulder.

"I can hardly wait," I said. "I think you'll like living in Vaniville Town. It is more peaceful there."

"I'm sure I will," Satoshi said. "And, I hope I can manage to learn how to be a mechanic with your mom."

I chuckled with my mouth closed and said, "Well, she usually only works on cars, so it shouldn't be too hard with your bad leg so long as she's there to help."

Satoshi hummed in acknowledgment and said, "All the same, I look forward to meeting your mom, living close together, not having to deal with schoolwork, and a couple other things."

I lifted my head to look at him curiously and asked, "Like what?"

Satoshi scratched the back of his head with his free hand and said, "Well, I did say a while back that I might let you introduce me to The Lord you follow."

"Really?" I asked, my eyes lit up.

"Yeah, and I also said there must be something about your faith that would shape you to be the kind and wonderful person I love so much. So I've been thinking about it over the summer and decided that there's no reason not to finally do that now that we can be together without hiding our love," Satoshi said with a toothy grin. "Besides, I think I'd be pushing my luck if I held off doing that any longer after having a near-death experience."

My smile grew, and I kissed him on the cheek.

"You're absolutely right," I said. "And nothing would make me happier than introducing you to him."

Satoshi kept his toothy grin for a moment before he leaned in to give me a kiss on the lips. When we parted, we looked at each other lovingly before I rested my head on his shoulder, and he rested his head on mine as we waited for the plane to leave.

****************************************************************

The flight to Kalos was mostly quiet. Occasionally, Satoshi and I will have a brief conversation, but for the most part we simply enjoyed each other's company with my head on his shoulder and his head on mine. After flying for two-and-a-half hours, the plane landed late in the afternoon. We waited until we came to a complete stop to stand up and take our luggage. We walked together hand in hand with Satoshi using his cane with his other hand until we made it outside where my mother was waiting for us. I let go of Satoshi's hand and ran over to my mother to hug her. She smiled as she hugged me back before turning to Satoshi.

"So you're the boy whole stole my daughter's heart," she said as she broke the hug.

"Yes, ma'am," Satoshi said.

My mother walked over to him and carefully looked at him from head to toe.

"You sure are a scrawny guy," she said. "I'm gonna have to fix that while teaching you to be a mechanic. Though I hope you realize that I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're Serena's boyfriend."

"I understand that, ma'am," Satoshi said calmly. "Serena explained that to me long before we left."

"Good," my mother said. "And I hope I don't have to say that you better be taking good care of my daughter always, you hear?"

I rolled my eyes at my mother's warning while Satoshi chuckled nervously.

"You don't need to worry about that, ma'am," he said in an assuring tone. "If anything, Serena's been taking care of me."

My mother smirked at turned to me.

"That's what I like to hear," she said proudly. "Nothing like knowing that my daughter takes the initiative to look after her man like I did with her father."

"Mom," I groaned in embarrassment.

"I'm kidding," my mother chortled. "But it's good to know that Serena's there for you."

Satoshi smiled and nodded. I smiled in approval before I realized something.

"Hey, mom, isn't she here with you?" I asked.

Satoshi and my mother looked at me, confused until the latter realized what I was talking about and smiled.

"Don't worry, she's here," she said. "She just needed a moment to hide and collect herself first."

"Uh, what are you talking about?" He asked.

I turned to my boyfriend and debated with myself on whether or not to answer.

"I guess this is as good of a time as ever while we wait," I decided before walking over to Satoshi until we are close to each other. "Satoshi, I know you didn't like that I signed the statement even though I made some demands, but there was one demand I made that I think you will approve of more than anything."

Satoshi looked at me, skeptically and asked, "What was that?"

"Satoshi?"

I heard a female voice coming from behind me, and I smiled before moving away so that Satoshi can see who was behind me. Satoshi looked in surprise to see Delia Ketchum in her 50s with her auburn hair turning grey staring back at him. The two of them looked at each other for several seconds before the woman walked over to him and placed her hands on Satoshi's cheeks. Satoshi stared in awe while the woman examined his face with tears in her eyes.

"Satoshi?" She repeated.

My boyfriend stayed silent for a moment before he said, "Mom?"

My mother and I looked at each other, smiling as Satoshi's mom pulled him into a tight hug. He stayed still for a moment before he robotically hugged her back with the arm that wasn't holding his cane. Delia pulled back to look carefully at him and smiled.

"You're so big," she commented.

The too of them laughed before they started hugging each other again. My smile grew as I watched Satoshi close his eyes and smiled as he rested his head on his mother's shoulder, and she petted his head while whispering, "Oh, my precious boy." They held their embrace for a while before they broke their hug and Satoshi turned to me.

"How did you get the king to do this?" He asked.

I smiled and reached into my jeans pocket to take out his golden locket. Satoshi stared at the locket and smiled while his mother looked at him lovingly, feeling touched.

"You kept it all this time?" She asked.

Satoshi turned to her and said, "I did. It kinda was the only comfort I had before I met Serena."

I looked at my boyfriend sweetly while his mother's smile grew as she placed her hands on his cheeks again.

"I never stopped thinking about you," Delia said. "I was always wondering if you were doing well. Though I should have figured that your father would be treating you poorly."

"You know about that?" Satoshi asked.

Delia nodded and said, "Serena and I have been calling each other for the past few weeks after she was able to contact me. I know everything, including what happened at the theater."

"You do?" Satoshi asked, surprised.

"Of course, she does," I said. "Just because I signed a statement to keep what happened a secret publically doesn't mean we can't tell our mothers the truth. It's not like that's King Lysandre's business anyway."

Delia nodded before turning back to her son.

"And believe me, I wish I could have been there with Serena while you were healing," she said.

Satoshi frowned and asked, "But why couldn't you if you've been in contact for so long?"

"Because I had to get my things in order back in Kanto before I could move here," Delia answered.

"Wait, you're moving here?" Satoshi asked, shocked.

"Of course, sweetie," Delia said cheerfully. "I have a better job than the one I had when you were born, and I'm transferring so that I can live with you."

"Really?" Satoshi asked.

"Yeah, when Cilan and the others made arrangements for you to move here, it was actually for the both of you so that you can catch up and everything," I explained.

"Plus, it's probably not a good idea for you to live off your own right after living your life in some fancy-schmancy rich place all your life anyway," my mother added.

Satoshi thought about it before, admitting that my mother had a point. He then turned to me and smiled as he walked over to me with his cane.

"So, you planned all of this for me?" He asked.

I nodded, and he didn't hesitate to give me a firm kiss. I'm taken aback that he would kiss me in front of our mothers, but then I smiled and kissed him back, giving in to the moment. When we parted, he looked at me lovingly.

"You are a very cunning girl," He said.

"I believe it," my mother said with a chuckle. "Serena is nothing if not clever and persistent. She's just like her father; one of a kind."

"She certainly is that, Mrs. Yvonne," Satoshi agreed.

My mother smiled at my boyfriend before she clapped her hands together.

"Alright, enough standing around," she said. "Let's get you kids home."

I smiled and grabbed Satoshi's free hand before I said, "Let's go home, indeed."

Satoshi's smile disappeared, and he looked down from me. Delia, my mother, and I looked at him, wondering if something's wrong.

"What is it, Satoshi?" Delia asked.

Satoshi turned to his mom and said, "Nothing, mom. It just hit me that I've never viewed the idea of home in a positive, meaningful way."

Delia stared at her son for a moment before she smiled and walked over to give him a side hug and kiss his forehead.

"You will, my son. I promise," she said.

"I promise too," I said.

Satoshi looked back and forth at the two people who love him before he gave us a heartfelt smile. With that, my mother led us to the parking lot where Satoshi and I walked hand in hand again with Delia walking close to us. As we got into my mother's car and began driving to Vaniville Town, I rested my head on Satoshi's shoulder again and closed my eyes in bliss, believing that things are going to be okay.