It has been two weeks since Ash met Serena at Brock's party and he hasn't seen her since. The small parchment containing her phone number lies crumbled in his bedroom trash bin as he has made no attempts to see or speak to her again. The fact that she had a boyfriend the entire time they talked at the party still stings after having a nice time getting to know her. And yet, while life has been going on like normal apart from no longer keeping Miette's voice message on his phone, he can't help but continue to think about her. He doesn't want to admit it, but he enjoyed her company even if she is snarky.

Meanwhile, Brock has unsurprisingly ended up hooking up with the amber-haired woman he met at the party. Ash has dropped by Brock's place a couple of times since the party to learn that her name is Holly and she was invited to the party by her friend Autumn who for some reason decided not to come to the party without telling her. Holly doesn't seem to mind, however, as she and Brock have been meeting almost every day if for no reason than to just make out vigorously for hours on end. Brock has started to talk about virtually nothing but Holly whenever he talks with Ash which bothers him, but at the same time he knows that Brock is like this with every woman he successfully starts to date and this new relationship will probably blow over within a month or two if his women-obsessed friend is lucky.

Tonight, Ash has decided to try to go out more by going to the movies. A small theater at Lumiose City is doing a double feature with the movies The Garden of Words and Your Name. After buying his ticket, Ash grabs a small bag of popcorn, chocolate raisins, and a soda before finding a seat in the front row of the theater room a few minutes before The Garden of Words begins.

Unknown to him, just half a minute before the movie begins, a certain woman with short blonde hair enters the theater room and starts watching the movie only a few rows behind Ash.

A couple hours later, the double feature ends and Ash leaves the room, throws away his trash and exits the building. Standing on the sidewalk, he takes out his phone and begins texting to Dawn that he's coming home soon. As he does, Serena exits the theater, takes out her phone and starts texting just a few feet from Ash without either of them knowing. As they text, Ash notices that someone is standing near him and he looks up from his phone to realize that is Serena before he quietly turns back to his phone hoping she doesn't notice him. Likewise, Serena looks up from her phone to see Ash right next to her, but she frowns before turning back to her phone, hoping he might notice her. The two of them remain silent with their eyes glued to their phones until a cab parks on the sidewalk.

"Either of you need a lift?" The cab driver asks.

Both Ash and Serena look up and look at the cab and then at each other and chuckle, pretending to be surprised that they were right next to each other the whole time.

"Oh, hi," Ash greets with a sheepish smile.

"Hi," Serena says with a friendly grin before turning to the cab driver. "No thanks. We're okay."

The cab driver nods in understanding and drives away as Ash and Serena turn to each other.

"Wow, Ash, I didn't see you there," Serena lies.

"Yeah, I didn't see you standing three feet from me either," Ash lies with a chuckle. "Were you at the movie theater this whole time?"

"Yeah, I was supposed to come with my boyfriend, Calem, but then he had to work late," Serena grumbles, clearly displeased before giving Ash another friendly smirk. "But hey, I like watching movies by myself. In fact, I think it's really cool that you came all by yourself."

"Uh...yeah, super cool," Ash says, scratching the back of his head. "So did you enjoy the movies?"

"Oh yeah, can't get enough of them," Serena answers.

"Me too. They're two off my favorite movies...even if their depiction of love is unreal," Ash says.

Serena looks at the shy guy in confusion.

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"Well, the reality is love is just a means for people's selfish desires that can turn you into a worse person," Ash answers.

Serena furrows her brow and crosses her arms.

"That doesn't make any sense coming from you," she says plainly. "I don't think you can openly say that The Garden of Words and Your Name are two of your favorite films and then say that love makes you a worse person."

Ash frowns and says, "Well, honestly, it's totally irrelevant. I mean Your Name is kind of like a fairy tale where two people can be meant to be together through some mythical connection and do all these noble and courageous things to please the other, but in real life, love is just an all-purpose excuse for selfish behavior. You lie and cheat and hurt people and it's okay because you're in love. That's why I think The Garden of Words is more realistic because the two people in love ended needing each other just for that brief time for their own personal needs."

Serena continues to stare at the nervous man skeptically, making him uneasy.

"I can't tell if you're cynical or the world's strangest, super-crazy, romantic cheeseball," she says. "You did go watch two popular romantic films by yourself on a weeknight like a complete loser."

Ash winces at her words.

"Well...you came anyway after your boyfriend ditched you, so who's the real loser?" He asks, trying to sound tough.

Instead of looking hurt, Serena giggles at Ash's comeback.

"Touché," she says with a smirk.

Ash smiles back, feeling a little better with Serena's response. The two of them continue to stare at each other until Serena speaks again.

"Are you hungry?" She asks. "I don't know about you, but I am a lady who needs some real grub after that pitiful bag of popcorn."

Ash is taken aback by what she's proposing for a moment before he smiles and quickly nods, "Yes."

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

Ash and Serena walk several blocks from the movie theater until they find a 50's diner and decide to eat there. When the waitress brings them their food, Ash is excited about what he ordered while Serena is disgusted.

"I don't know how you could have ordered fried pickles," she rebukes. "Pickles are disgusting. A pickling is like embalming, basically. Like a pickle jar is like a tomb for cucumbers."

Ash looks at Serena unfazed with her ridicule.

"Honestly, Serena, I have violated many corpses in medical school losing my lunch heaven known how many times in front of my teasing classmates to know that pickling is not the same as embalming."

Serena looks at Ash confused until she remembers.

"That's right, you're a dropout. I remember you said that at the party," she says before digging into her burger and fries.

Ash nods and takes one of his fried pickles and munches on it happily much to Serena's disgust.

"Seriously, Ash, how can you stand that?" She rebukes again.

"Aw, come on, Serena," Ash protests with his mouth full. "The whole idea of deep-frying food is that it makes everything taste better. Everyone knows that."

"Not me. I hate deep-fried food," Serena snarls bluntly.

"What?" Ash shouts in disbelief. "You don't like fried chicken?"

"Nope," Serena says.

"French fries?"

"nuh-uh"

"Onion rings?"

"Ew,"

"Fish and chips?"

"Disgusting."

"Donuts? Funnel Cakes? Deep fried banana sandwiches?"

"No, but I hear DJ Leo had one of those when he died," Serena says.

"Ah, I heard that too," Ash says. "And he also ate something called Fool's Gold."

"What's that?" Serena asks curiously.

"No idea, but apparently, DJ Leo had forty pounds of undigested feces in his stomach when he died," Ash answers.

Serena frowns disgusted and sarcastically says, "Thanks for saying that in the middle of dinner. Why don't you say diarrhea the next time I take a bite?"

"Uh...diarrhea?" Ash says nervously as Serena eats her burger earning a roll of her eyes.

"Seriously, is this something you learn in medical school?" She asks annoyed.

"Yes, actually," Ash answers honestly. "I had a class where they tell you what to expect when examining a corpse using examples from dead celebrities."

"Oh yeah?" Serena asks with a raised eyebrow. "How much feces did Cynthia have?"

"Tons," Ash answers before eating another fried pickle.

Serena glares at Ash before she asks, "How in the world do people decide to weight the feces?"

Ash shrugs nervously and answers, "I guess in the case of someone like DJ Leo since he's the King of Wubs, people might have actually fought for that job."

"Seriously?" Serena asks unamused. "You're suggesting that people would be desperate to do that if they can't be ones to examine his body or dress it up for the funeral?"

"Well, people do crazy things when they're big fans of someone popular," Ash says with a shrug.

"Clearly," Serena says before taking another bite of her burger. "Still, I wonder what this Fool's Gold thing is. I mean is it a food that is colored like gold or the imitation of expensive food like fish or steak?"

"I never thought of it, to be honest," Ash says scratching his chin. "Honestly, all my teacher said was that it was one of the last things DJ Leo ate."

Serena pouts in a grumpy yet childish way that makes Ash giggle before she says, "Well I'd like to find out because the more I think about it, the more not knowing will drive me crazy."

"I could look it up if you'd like," Ash offers, trying not to laugh.

"You better," Serena says pointing at Ash with a fork full of coleslaw. "You brought it up, so it's only fair you fill in the blank."

"Yes, ma'am," Ash says.

Serena smiles, satisfied with his answer before they continue to eat in peace. After they paid for their food, they take a bus back to Vanivllie Town and walk to the from entrance to Serena's apartment, talking the entire time. Ash grows more comfortable around Serena as she seems to enjoy his company with each passing moment. In the end, both of them are smiling as they make it to the front door.

"Well, I had a good time talking with you, Serena," Ash says.

Serena's smile suddenly turns into a suspicious frown.

"Is that so?" She challenges. "Then how come you haven't called me?"

Ash freezes in place, shocked. Serena crosses her arms giving him a displeased glare. Ash tries to think of a good excuse, but his tongue is tied, making him feel worse. Finally, Serena sighs and speaks with her arms still crossed.

"Listen, Ash, I get it," she says calmly. "I've been dating Calem for five years and it's natural that guys don't like to hang out with a girl who already has a boyfriend. Trust me, I know. You're not the first. But you know, it really sucks that they act this way. I mean it honestly makes me feel like guys are only interested because they wonder how I look with my clothes off. But you don't think about just my body, do you?"

"No! No! Goodness, no!" Ash says waving his hands.

"Good," Serena says firmly. "Because honestly, I think it's better that a guy knows that a girl is taken so that there's no confusion. Plus, for all your stumblings, you seem like a nice guy and I would like it if we are friends."

Ash is taken aback and how serious Serena is about being friends. In his mind, he's hesitant because deep down he wishes he can be much more than friends with this beautiful, no-nonsense woman, but for his own personal reasons, he has no desire to try to break up a woman with her boyfriend just for his own selfish needs. He also considers that either way spending time with Serena still feels like a great way socially speaking to move on from Miette.

"So can we be friends?" Serena asks, snapping Ash out of his thoughts as she takes.out her hand.

Ash pauses for a second before he gives Serena a toothy grin and shakes her hand saying, "Yeah, why not? Friends."

Serena smirks, satisfied with his answer.

"Excellent," She says. "Now do I need to give you my number again?"

"Uh, that won't be necessary," Ash assures. "I'm pretty sure I still have it somewhere in my room."

"You better," Serena warns. "Remember, I know where you live. So don't make me storm over there and force you to talk to me because I will."

"Okay," Ash says with a nervous grin. "Well...good night, Serena."

"Good night, Ash," Serena says with a pleased smile mirk and she enters her apartment building.

Ash stares at where Serena was for a moment before he sighs and begins walking back to Dawn's house. Deep down, he still wishes that somehow he can become more than just friends with the snarky, honey-blonde woman, but at the same time he feels happy because this also means he can start to spend more time with her.

Maybe...just maybe that will be enough.