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Serena was back home in Vaniville town, having returned from Hoenn, for the first time ever since she left on her journey with Ash Ketchum.
Here she was, back after participating in the Grand Festival, for which she had worked tirelessly to earn five ribbons in order to compete. Serena hadn't been expecting contests to be that much harder than her performances, but she quickly learned how different they were. Different enough, actually, to warrant the many losses she had to go through in order to get all five ribbons. She tried to not let this affect her as she prepared to the fullest extent for upcoming the Grand Festival. It showed in her appeal round, as she became part of the top 64 trainers in the battle round. Seemingly, her hard work was paying off, that maybe her loses had a purpose after all.
Then she lost in her first battle round.
As much as it hurt to lose when she hadn't even got close to winning, she accepted the fact that contests weren't for her. She and her Pokemon tried their hardest, so there wasn't any use in being frustrated about it. What she could do, though, was take a break.
After her loss to Aria in the Master Class, she was worried to come home when she hadn't succeeded in her goal. Even after talking with her Mom that night in the hotel, she left for Hoenn without stopping by her childhood home. Now, it was clearly time to take care of herself.
A few weeks had passed as she laid low at the house, not doing much other than settling into a routine similar to that of before she left on her journey. She decided one morning that she wanted to head to Lumiose City, not without her mother inviting herself along for the ride.
"You just got back from Hoenn, don't think I'm going to let you take off so soon!" Grace exclaimed, grabbing Serena by the arm and dragging her to the car. "Besides, who doesn't want to go to the city?"
Her mother drove the two of them there, Serena riding shotgun as she watched familiar scenery whir by out the window. She thought the first day of her journey when she had picked out her Fennekin, now Delphox, and how she was terrified of having to camp outside. She was grateful for Nurse Joy helping her to Pokemon Center, but she had to laugh at her naivety. Leaving home with the only intent to follow a boy from her childhood around was not her brightest idea by a long shot. Thankfully it turned into the best thing to ever happen to her.
As Aquacorde Town and Santalune City were no longer visible behind them, Prism Tower revealed itself in its shining glory, the looming landmark of Lumiose City. It took sometime to get through the lunch hour traffic, but they eventually arrived where Serena was headed. Grace dropped her off at the foot of the aforementioned tower, promising to get her later.
Serena headed inside and entered the anteroom of the Lumiose Gym, where Clembot's voice echoed off the metallic walls. "Welcome to the Lumiose Gym, what is your order of business?"
"I'm here to see the Gym Leader, Clemont," Serena stated, looking up to the screen above the sliding doors. The logo that was previously there disappeared and was replaced with her friend's face. Clemont were wide with surprise, still beneath the same round glasses he had on their journey.
"Serena? Is that you?"
"It's been a while," She smiled. "Are you gonna let me in?"
"I-, Of course!" He seemed to be in disbelief of her appearance, but pushed the buttons to open the doors. They slid open to reveal the blinding light from the battlefield, making Serena squint as she walked forward to see Clemont kicking up dust as he made his way across the field.
"I can't believe you're here!" He exclaimed as he opened his arms for a hug, to which Serena returned. When they broke apart, she took in all the ways he was different from the boy she'd left at the airport, most noticeably the major height difference that certainly had not been there before. He must have been more than a half foot taller than before, but the rest of him was an older version of his old self.
"You certainly grew," She said as she reached up on her tippy toes to ruffle his hair. He laughed as Serena tried to make herself as tall as she could, ultimately settling back on the ground with a pout.
"And I'm guessing you didn't?" He joked, which left him with a playful hit on the arm, and even more laughs than before.
The two of them caught up all afternoon in Clemont's workshop, supposedly there were hardly any challengers anyway, Clemont reasoned. He told Serena all about his new job the city had offered him besides being Gym Leader, which involved creating more efficient solutions for power usage (or that was at least what Serena thought he meant - when he got all worked up and excited about something, she really couldn't tell). He also said that Bonnie had taken off on her own journey around Kalos, and gaining recognition as a great battler while she was at it. Not that it was a surprise to Serena; she always knew that Bonnie would be great at whatever she decided to do.
When Clemont asked about her Hoenn trip, Serena didn't go into much detail about the contests, as unfair as it was after all that he talked about. She didn't want to think about her disappointment and instead recounted some of the more bright moments between her and her pokemon, which he seemed to enjoy anyway.
They went on chatting some more, watching the sun set quickly outside the studio's windows. Autumn made the sun go away quicker, which got Serena thinking of when her and her friends camped out around Kalos. Ash and Bonnie would tell the group increasingly far fetched tales around the campfire and Clemont would make a hot dish to negate the chilling air around them. They would go to bed huddled close in their tents to keep warm, excited for what tomorrow would bring.
The sun finally disappeared behind the hills, which meant it was probably time for Serena to call Grace to come get her. On the phone however, she told her that Meyer had asked them to come to dinner, so Clemont offered to take her back with him. They climbed into Clemont's beat up pickup, which Serena was sure was inherited from his dad, and started driving back to the apartment.
The streetlights were the only thing illuminating the city in the darkness, again making Serena remember moments spent traversing the shops and restaurants on their off days those few years ago. As she sat curled up in the passenger seat, her mind started to wander. She didn't know what she wanted to get out of coming to Lumiose or seeing Clemont. Maybe validate how bad she feels that things aren't like they used to be. That maybe she wasn't the only one in a funk after they had all parted ways. But he seemed to be doing just fine with his new job, and Bonnie was probably on her way to defeating the Kalos League. Not to mention Ash Ketchum, the first ever champion of the Alola League. And yet here she was, having to come back home after losing yet again.
"Hey, uh...can I ask you something?" Clemont asked so quietly, Serena barely heard him over her own thoughts.
"Um, yeah, go ahead," She looked over where he had his eyes focused on the road, but his face read something else.
"Have you...have you heard from Ash?"
Huh? She shook her head. "Why?"
"I, uh, was just wondering after you, ya know..." He stammered, the faintest of pinks on his cheeks.
"Oh, that's what you meant," Serena realized he was talking about her farewell kiss. "I mean, he sent a letter while he was in Alola, saying that we were good friends and that he didn't want anything more. I told him that I understood, but he didn't write anymore after that."
And she really couldn't blame Ash after the position that she put him in. In retrospect, she should have just told him how she felt, but she knew he understood actions more than words. As awkward as it was to talk about it afterwards, she was glad she didn't have to deal with it anymore. She could leave it all in the past.
Except for the fact that without him, her motivation didn't exist.
"Yeah, I don't think he's ever thought about that kinda thing," Clemont said, breaking Serena's thoughts as he parked next to the curb in front of Meyer's shop. "You know, to be honest, I'm pretty sure he hasn't even had 'The Talk' yet."
Serena burst out laughing, because Clemont was probably right. And knowing something like that about Ash, well, it kind of made her feel better.
Grace and Meyer were already eating when Serena and Clemont entered the apartment. They helped themselves and joined the two parents at the table, where Meyer was currently rambling on about some of the things Bonnie had been doing so far on her journey.
"You know, she just defeated the Shalour Gym Challenge! Can you believe it? My little girl is going places," Meyer said, his eyes lighting up even more than they already were when he seemed to have realized something else.
"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you all that she's coming back home!" He exclaimed.
"Really? When?" Clemont asked.
"She said sometime tomorrow, but I can hardly wait! Hey, your guy's little group is almost back together, isn't it?" Meyer laughed heartily, then moved on to tell some other tales of his children to Grace, who simply smiled at his enthusiasm.
Serena didn't bother to listen and instead turned to Clemont. "Hey, he's got a point. Somebody get Ketchum on the phone, right?"
He took a second before he realized Serena was talking to him, becoming a bit flustered.
"Oh, yeah, haha..." He replied, but obviously he didn't mean it. He was just happy a second ago that Bonnie was coming home, yet he was spacing out with an almost sorrowful expression. Serena wanted to ask what was wrong, but decided that the dinner table wasn't the ideal setting, so she settled to wait until after the meal.
They finished dinner listening to Meyer recounting something funny that happened at his shop the other day, which left Grace laughing harder than Serena had ever remembered. Serena left them all to chat while she took over the washing the dishes. When she came back, Clemont was gone from the table, leaving only Grace and Meyer.
"Oh, Serena! We better get going," Her mom realized as she looked at the time on her phone. "Thank you so much for dinner, Meyer."
Meyer stood up from the table, offering Grace his hand. "It was my pleasure, really. Here, let me walk you outside." Grace smiled a shy smile and accepted his invitation. Before they could head to the door, however, Serena interrupted them.
"Um, mom? I was going to stay and talk with Clemont for a bit, if that's okay?"
"Oh, of course, hun," Grace replied. "Just make sure not to stay too late if he's going to drive you back to the hotel."
"Don't worry about that, you can always stay here," Meyer assured her. "Just tell Clemont to keep that door open, will ya?" He added with a wink.
"Will do," Serena answered as she headed towards the hall. Clemont's door was shut, but Serena could see the faint glow of a light underneath it. She knocked lightly on the door, not getting a response. She was about to knock again when it swung open to reveal a slightly disheveled Clemont
"Oh, uh, hey," He stammered, probably not expecting to see anyone else for tonight. "Are you leaving?"
"Um, no, my mom is. I was actually hoping we could talk, if that's alright," Serena asked.
"Uh, I guess that's alright..." He trailed off quietly. He didn't move at first, thinking Serena would do something, and turned red as he realized his mistake. "Oh! We can go out here," He extended his arm, gesturing to the balcony at the end of the hall. Serena followed him with apprehension, warily concerned with the fact that his entire behavior was off.
Clemont led her to the terrace where the bright city lights were in full view over the skyline. Serena went to put both hands on the railing to take it all in. Clemont stood beside her, arms crossed and not nearly as engaged in the view. Serena turned away from the view to see if he would say anything, and when he didn't, she chose to get the ball rolling herself.
"You never said how pretty it was out here, Clemont. Although, you can barely see the stars."
Yet, he still stayed quiet, prompting Serena to turn back to the city view. She was startled, however, when he appeared beside her at the railing, eyes looking solely at the dark sky. Then he finally said something.
"...We always used to watch the stars, you know? Back then, when we couldn't sleep, or just because; that was his favorite thing to do."
Serena nodded along, knowing exactly what he was referring to. On their journey, she could hear Clemont and Ash talking about constellations while she lay awake in her own tent. She used to be jealous of their one on one time, but she eventually realized how selfish that was, as Ash wasn't her's to be jealous over.
She waited a bit more in silence before Clemont continued. "Do you still...like him?"
"I-, um," Serena stuttered, finally getting her share of Clemont's nerves. Of course he had to ask what she was she was trying to avoid. She pushed away the scared thoughts anyway and forced herself to answer the question.
"I don't think of him like that now, but after he left, I didn't have any other motivation. I thought if I just kept holding on to my feelings, everything would be fine. But I know now that it won't work like that."
He nodded in understanding, but looked down to his feet and gripped the railing with white knuckles.
"Serena, I...I really miss him," Clemont's voice was strained and weak, something she hadn't heard very often from him. "He used to be all I could think about, and now he's just gone. Gone off to some other region with new friends while I'm stuck here. He's moving on and so are you and I'm left behind, and even then, I still can't stop missing him."
Then it clicked.
"Oh, you...I get it," She said, moving to put an arm around him. To be completely honest, she didn't really get all of it, but she realized that her friend had felt the very same way she did about the very same boy. And while she got to declare those feelings in front of an entire airport, he was left with nothing. Of course he would be upset hearing about him.
He took off his glasses to rub his eyes before he faced Serena. "Do...Do you think I'm stupid? For still feeling like this?"
"Wha- Of course you're not stupid! I think...I think you can feel however you want. Nobody can tell you what's right to feel and what's wrong."
"You really think so?"
"Definitely. And if someone says otherwise, well, Bonnie and I can have at 'em."
Clemont smiled at that, even if it was barely better than the frown that was just on his face. "Oh, come here," Serena said as she wrapped her arms around him and him doing the same.
Clemont was really too big to hug for Serena's shorter arms, but it didn't change how nice it felt regardless. On their journey, they were definitely not this close and touchy, being there wasn't that much in common between the two in the first place. But Ash Ketchum had fatefully brought them together to end up talking on this particular night. It was no use denying he was something much greater than they could fathom, it was enough to see the way he touched their own lives. Clemont's admiration of Ash was his own to deal with, and Serena knew that he didn't need to change how he feels to move on with his life. She, on the other hand, needed to learn and lead for herself, which meant that Ash couldn't be holding her back any longer.
From the moment he grabbed her hand at the summer camp, Serena felt herself being roped in by Ash's gravitational pull to be dragged around for a wild ride. Now that he left her, it felt more like she was floating in a pond, stranded, due to the ripple of his actions.
What her journey taught her, however, is that she could swim for herself. And that was exactly what she was going to do.