Oi, this chapter is way longer than my usual ones, so have fun xD

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~Ash's POV~

The sun was shining brightly through the window, lightening up my room. Fletchling were flying through the skies of Kalos, chirping along the way. I brought my sight away from the window and towards Pikachu, who was sitting on my bed.

"Morning buddy." I rubbed his head. "I'll go get ready, you can go meet the girls downstairs, they should be awake by now."

"Pika!" He nodded, and squeezed through the opening of the door before leaving my room.

It had been a day since we left Kanto. We just got back to Kalos yesterday, and we were all pretty exhausted back then. We took it easy for the day. We used that time to rest up, and now, the next morning, we should be back to normal.

I didn't want to leave Kanto, I really didn't. Mostly because it was my hometown. I knew we could always go back, but then that meant we would have to pay this time, since it would no longer be a contest. Because of that, I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to Kanto for awhile.

We said our goodbyes to Brock before leaving, and he was quite upset with us. He complained how he didn't get to see very much of us, since we didn't do too much there. But we told him, that if we do ever come back, we would let him know so we could spend time together again. That seem to have cheered him up a little.

But I am glad to be back in Kalos. More specifically, I am happy to be in my own room again. Sure, I could say enjoyed just a little bit of the time I had sharing a room with you know who, but I did miss being in my own.

It didn't take me too long to finish up getting ready for the day. Before I knew it, I was already making my way through the stairs of the dorm. The faint voices of the girls could be heard coming from the living room, and soon got louder as I got there.

"Morning." I said as Pikachu jumped onto my shoulder at the sight of me.

"Good morning!" The girls replied in unison, minus Misty. She just didn't care that I was here.

We all sat down and watched TV. Breakfast wasn't really an option at the moment, because nobody was hungry. As much as I wanted to concentrate and watch the show on TV, I just couldn't because I could feel my phone buzzing nonstop in my pocket.

I didn't bother to open the messages, because I already knew who they were from. I did not know that they wanted, but it must be really important for them to be texting me like this.

"Who is it?" Dawn said as she saw me take out my phone.

"Uh, it's Gary," I replied as I read his message. Turned out he was spamming me with the same text message over and over again.

Serena, who just finished up brushing Braixen's tail looked up at me. "What does he need?" She asked.

I sighed. "He wants me to come over, him and the boys have something they want to do."

"Why don't you just go?" Misty said. "It seems like he really wants you there."

"You're just saying that because you want me out of this dorm." I sweat dropped.

She shrugged. "Well, I can't deny it."

"Yeah, yeah." I got up from my seat. "I'll get going then. I'll see you girls later."

I left the dorm, leaving Pikachu behind, and made my way to the guy's dorm. Whatever they needed me for, it better be good. It was unusual of Gary to be begging me to come over like this.

It didn't take too long to get to their dorm. Eventually, I found myself in front of their door. I rung the doorbell, and waited for an answer. I waited, then heard a click, followed by the door opening.

"Ashy!" Gary said. "Took ya long enough."

"So why did you ask me to come over?" I said and wiped my shoes on the mat as Gary closed the door behind me.

"Let's get together with the other guys first!" He dashed into the hall, taking a quick turn into the living room.

I followed him in, to see the boys scattered around the room. There was mess everywhere, from candy wrappers to popcorn all over the floor.

"Seems like you guys have been busy," I sweat dropped. "We just got back from Kanto and you already busted up the place."

Gary patted the spot next to him, indicating me to sit down. "Forget about that!"

I sat down and looked around me. I noticed something was missing. A certain blonde inventor, Clemont.

"Hey, where's Clemont?" I asked.

"He's over at his dad's place." Drew replied. "He had some work to do there, and I think he's supposed to be gone for the whole day."

"I see."

Gary leaned back on the wall with his hands behind his head. "Well then, now that Ashy-boy is here, we can tell him about the thing we were talking about last night!"

"Oh!" Barry said. "Good idea!"

"Huh?" I looked at everyone. "What are you guys talking about?"

Drew crossed his arms. "Ash, do you know what day it is tomorrow?"

"What? Uh..." I rubbed the bottom of my chin, thinking if there was something important I was missing. "I-I don't know..."

Gary face palmed. "Forgetting about one of the best days out there, sheesh."

"I'm sorry, alright." I rolled my eyes. "Now what is it, you guys make me want to know even more now."

"It's Valentine's Day, duh!" Kenny said.

It all came to me once I heard it. "Oh, right! Now I remember! Now I feel like an idiot." I sweat dropped.

"Cause you are one." Gary smirked.

"Watch it." I glared at him.

Paul sighed. "Are you guys done?"

I cleared my throat. "Y-yeah."

I could tell by the look on his face that he was tired of Gary and I going at it with each other so early in the morning. Well, it wasn't my fault, Gary was the one who started it.

"Anyways," Kenny said. "We've been planning on giving chocolates to the girls tomorrow."

"W-wha??" I lurched back in my seat. "But don't you only give chocolates to the one you... l-l-love...." My face heated up as I finally figured out what the boys were trying to do.

Kenny nodded his head. "Right! But..." He stopped for a moment, before thinking. "I don't think it's entirely for the one you love, I think giving chocolates can also mean as a thank you, like to your mom, or a really close friend!"

"R-right." I nodded.

"The thing is, we didn't want to just tease you about giving chocolates to Serena and just leave us on the sidelines." Drew said. "So we decided that we would be giving some as well to the girls we've been matched up with."

I scratched my cheek. "I-I guess if you guys were doing it with me, it would be fine..." All of a sudden, a picture of myself giving Serena chocolates  popped into my head. My face heated up once again. "B-but I don't know if I can do it!" I cried.

"Dude, calm down." Drew sweat dropped. "It won't be that bad, all you have to do is give her the chocolates, it's pretty simple."

"Yeah!" Barry nodded. "Everyone else is doing it too, so you won't be alone!"

"But Barry you didn't even get a match on that day. Who are giving the chocolates to?" I asked.

"Iris. She didn't get a match either, so I'll just give one to her, as close friends!" He replied. "And the same goes for Miette and Clemont. We have to tell him though when he gets back."

I nodded. "Good enough." I looked around the room again, before realizing something. "Wait... What about Kenny and Paul? You two are just both gonna give Dawn chocolates?"

"Yeah!" Kenny replied.

"Looks like it." Paul crossed his arms.

"But hear this!" Kenny pointed at Paul. "I'm going to give Dawn the best chocolates out there, so watch out! I won't get beaten by you!"

Paul smirked. "So this just turned into a competition of some sort." He then gave a smug grin. "You're on. May the best guy win."

I watched as the guys talked about what kind of chocolates they were going to give each girl. They actually looked excited, and looking forward to it. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad after all. I mean, I get to give Serena chocolates. Maybe that will tell her a little more about how I feel towards her.

"Alright then!" I got up from my seat. "Let's do this!"

"Aye sir!" Gary cheered.

I looked at him, before sweat dropping in return. "Okay then, so are we gonna leave to the store now?" The boys all stared at me with the 'are you kidding' look plastered on their faces. "Huh? Did I say something wrong or?"

"Idiot, we are not buying cheap, manufactured chocolates from the local store!" Gary replied. "The best chocolates come from the heart of the one giving them, so that means we have to make them ourselves!"

"Make them... But none of us can cook, and Clemont is out doing things so he can't help us." I said.

All the boys surrounded me with evil looks on their faces. "That's where you come in, Ashy-boy." Gary snickered.

"H-huh?" I backed up, starting to get a little freaked out. "W-what's happening?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We were in front of my dorm. I still wasn't told about what the guys were planning, and I was starting to feel really suspicious. As we were about to enter the dorm, I got in front, stopping them from going inside.

"Alright, why are we here???"

"Oh right!" Gary said. "Almost forgot to tell you!" I rolled my eyes in reply and let him continue. "So here's the plan. You are going to go in there and get Serena to teach you how to cook. Then you will come back and tell us everything she taught you so we can make the chocolates!"

"W-wha?!?" I jumped back. "N-no! Do you know how embarrassing that would be???" I lowered my voice and said, "Especially if it's with the girl I like! Are you guys insane?!?!"

Drew shrugged. "I'm sorry, but it's the only way."

"But why is it only me??" I said. "Why don't we all ask her to teach us instead?"

"Number one," Kenny put a finger up. "You are the one most closest to her, so it would make more sense. Number two, we need to somehow distract the other girls from going into the kitchen as she is teaching you so they won't suspect a thing."

"B-but-"

Gary placed his hand in front of me. "No buts! You are going in there and learning how to cook, and that's final!"

"What about Serena?? Because she is the one going to teach me, she is going to end up finding out! I am literally going to ask her how to make chocolates, there's no way she won't figure out what's happening!"

"Just come up with a good excuse! We're counting on you." Drew said as he was about the knock on the door.

I sighed, giving up. "Alright fine. And it's my dorm, no need to knock." I said as I pulled the door open. "Just come in."

The boys followed me through the halls and into the living room, the most likely spot in which all the girls would be.

"Hello ladies!" Gary stepped into the living room, surprising the girls.

"Gary?" Miette said. "And everyone else too? What are you all doing here?"

Barry took a seat on the couch. "Here to hang, of course."

"I'm sorry," I said. "This was all kind of a surprise, they wanted to come over so I just brought them, haha.." I scratched the back of my head.

"I see, that's fine then." Iris replied.

Us boys exchanged looks at each other, trying to communicate. We knew we had to find some way to get Serena into the kitchen with me, without getting the rest of the girls too suspicious. That was when Gary thought of an idea.

"Oh man," he rubbed his stomach, "I am really hungry, I haven't had breakfast yet..."

He then looked over to Paul, telling him to continue. "U-uh, yeah," Paul nodded. "We are really um, hungry."

"Oh, do you want me to go get some food then? We have leftovers from last night in the fridge." Serena offered.

"Yes please." Gary smiled.

Serena left to the kitchen, leaving the rest of us behind. The boys immediately looked over at me, motioning towards the kitchen. Knowing what I had to do, I got up from my seat and followed. "I'll go help her with the food then."

"Alrighty then." May replied.

Gary watched me as I disappeared into the hall, before making the next move. "Alright, who wants to play some video games? I'm a hardcore player, so you girls better watch out!"

"Oh, really? None of the girls were able to beat me, let's see if I can keep it that way." Misty said. "You're on."

I was able to hear them talk as I walked up to the kitchen. I hope Gary's way of keeping the girls busy with video games were enough to get them distracted. I was about to turn into the kitchen, until I was stopped as I almost bumped into Serena, who was just leaving the kitchen with the food Gary asked for in her hands.

"O-oh!" I backed up. "S-sorry!"

She giggled in return. "That's alright."

She was about to walk pass me, before I called out to her. "Wait, Serena!" She then turned back around, facing me again. "Uh, I need your help with something..."

"My help? With what?"

"Um, well, you see," I scratched my cheek as they started turn pink. "I-I want you to teach me how to cook..."

"To cook? This is a little unexpected coming from you, haha," she said. "What for?"

That was when I blanked out. Shit, what for, what for. I stared back at her as I tried to think of a reasonable enough excuse as to why I wanted to cook. "W-well," I said, saying the first thing that came to mind. "I-I figured I wanted to make food for my mom to thank her for the things she's done, I-I guess..."

"Oh, really? What do have in mind for her?"

I really hated Gary and the others for making me do this. I sighed and gave her the answer. "Chocolates."

"Hmm, you got it," she winked. "Let me just give Gary his food and I'll be right back!"

"N-no! Let's just do it now!" I said. "Gary and his food can wait!"

"Huh? Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah! Now let's get going!" I pointed to the kitchen.

"Hehe, sure!"

It was easier than I thought it would be to asking her to teach me how to cook. I didn't think she'd agree so quickly like that.

I watched her as she got the stuff ready. I had no idea what she was doing, since I had no knowledge of cooking whatsoever. Sooner than I knew it, there were various kitchen utensils and ingredients around the counter.

"Hey," I said, realizing something. "How do you have all the exact ingredients for chocolates already? I was pretty sure we had to go out and buy some first."

That seemed to have throw her off guard a bit. She hesitantly answered, almost in a panic. "H-huh? W-well, I just happened to have these ingredients lying around, haha..." she laughed nervously.

"Right..." I sweat dropped, finding it a little weird with the way she acted just now.

After all that, she slowly guided me through each step. It looked quite hard, and I did have some last minute doubts about this entire Valentine's Day plan Gary had. But Serena told me it gets easier once you get the hang of it. She also said she'd write up the steps for me on a piece of paper for later.

Though, at the same time, all this kind of made me worry, because I knew I wasn't going to be able to be as good as her, and that I might just end up burning Gary's dorm down when we do it ourselves later.

Well, it was worth the try.

Right now, I was watching Serena blend all the ingredients together. It seemed like this was the last step. From what I remember earlier, she told me that this was pretty much the last step. All we had to do next was to place the mixture into trays and freeze it overnight, I believe.

"So all it takes is one night, and it will be done?" I asked.

"Yup."

"What happens when you leave it in the fridge for too long? Will it get ruined? Will it still be edible, or would I have to throw it out? Do you mind telling me exactly how long I have to-"

Suddenly, Serena turned around to face me. I felt the spoon she was using slightly brush against my skin, before she popped it into my mouth. "You talk too much, Ashy-boy."

I yanked the spoon out of my mouth. "D-don't call me that!" I said, subtle blush forming on my cheeks.

She giggled in return. "Yeah, yeah," she then brought her hand closer to my face as she spoke. "Sorry, I kind of got used to the way Gary calls you... It's actually kind of cute..." She said, using her finger to wipe the excess chocolate from the corner of my lip.

"I-I-" I stuttered, watching her wipe her finger against her apron. "O-okay...?"

I could feel my face heating up, causing me to look away in order to hide my reddened face. I gently slapped my cheeks using both hands, getting myself together.

"Well then," she said as she began pouring the mixture into the trays. "All we have to do now is leave it in the freezer overnight and it should be done!"

Having calmed down from earlier, I replied as if nothing happened. "Great! I can just use Gary's freezer at his dorm!"

She nodded, before handing me the tray full of the soon to be chocolates. "Alright, there you go!"

I looked at the tray, scanning each of them one by one. I was amazed by how great of a cook she was, and how she made it look so easy. "Woah, Serena you're amazing!" I said, taking the tray.

"Eh??" She blushed a light shade of pink. "Uh, t-thank you..."

Not noticing how flustered she was feeling at the moment, I ran out of the kitchen, back into the living room with the others. Serena joined me as well, stopping beside me once we got there.

Looked like Gary and the others did a good job distracting the other girls, because they didn't even realize we got back. It seemed they didn't even notice we were gone for awhile as well.

Gary noticed me standing there, and looked at the tray I had in my hands. His face lit up with joy, as I gave him a thumbs up.

"Alright!" He got up from his seat. "I think it's about time we boys get going."

"What? Already?" Iris pouted, putting the game controller down. "Right when it was my turn..." She sighed.

"We can play again sometime, don't worry." Kenny chuckled.

The boys started exiting the dorm, as I followed close behind. "I'll be hanging a little while longer at their dorm," I waved to the girls. "I'll be back later tonight!"

"Yeah," Dawn waved back. "See ya later!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was the next day. The day had finally come, it was time to give the girls all the effort we put into last night.

Us guys spent the entire evening making chocolates. And boy, it was exactly the way I thought it'd be. We struggled so much making the chocolates, it was the hardest thing ever. Watching Serena do it seemed so simple, yet once you do it yourself, it was a whole different story.

I don't even know how, but there were a couple of explosions. I had no idea what Gary was doing, but I turned away from him for two seconds and all of a sudden the chocolates he was making in front of him went boom. Even he didn't know how he did it.

There was also this one time where Drew was being careless and accidentally put in salt into the mixture instead of sugar. When he tastes the mixture to see how it tasted, his face immediately turned green, and almost threw up.

But eventually, we managed to make decent pieces of chocolate. Of course, in order to follow the theme of Valentine's Day, the chocolates had to be in a shape of a heart. That only made me even more nervous about giving them to Serena, but thinking how the other guys had to do it as well made me feel a little better.

To reward ourselves from the hard work, we have decided to eat the chocolates Serena and I made yesterday at the end of the day. Of course, I couldn't use those chocolates we made together and just give her that, because I had to make them myself.

Anyways, at the moment, it seemed like a normal day. I was in the living room with the girls, and the guys. We decided we'd give the girls their chocolates whenever we felt like it was right.

Before we knew it, the first few people had already made their move. Barry had already given his chocolates to Iris, with no trouble. Then there was also Clemont, who made his chocolates while at his dad's place, handed them over to Miette, shaking like crazy.

After that, there was Drew. "Well, because it's Valentine's Day, I decided to make chocolates. So, uh, here you go." He said.

I could tell he was trying to keep his cool, when really he was probably freaking out on the inside.

"Oh?" May looked at him in surprise. "That's really kind of you, thank you." She said, accepting the chocolates.

But then that was when something unexpected happened. May reached into her back pocket, pulling out her own piece of chocolates. "And this one is for you, Drew." She smiled.

He hesitated to take it, surprised that she made some for him. "U-uh, thanks..."

On the other side of the room, there was Paul and Kenny were in front of Dawn. They were both holding their chocolates out, talking at the same time.

"H-here you go Dawn!" Kenny said.

"Take it." Paul said, not bothering to look Dawn in the eyes.

She took both chocolates in her hands, face starting to turn red. "U-um, thanks guys, b-but Paul, I-I'm sorry," she revealed chocolates from behind her back, holding them out. "I only made some for Kenny..."

Kenny's face lit up with joy, he looked like he just won the lottery.

"That means... I lost..." Paul said, watching Kenny and Dawn. Similarly to Misty's dark aura the other day, Paul began to emit some around him, as he kneeled down in shame.

I tried my best to hold in my laughter after seeing how Dawn chose Kenny over Paul. It was quite funny. I then looked around the room again, when a certain conversation caught my ear.

"Uh, only because it's Valentine's Day, I'll give you these!" Misty said, handing Gary chocolates. "B-but just so you know," she placed her hands on her hips, blushing. "I didn't only make some for you, I made some for the others too! So don't go thinking you're special or anything!"

"R-right..." Gary sweat dropped.

Having enough of just listening to other people's conversations, I decided it was finally time for me to get moving. I got up and moved towards Serena, who also happened to be listening to the other's conversations as well.

"Serena."

She looked up at me, already having figured out what I was about to do. "Hey," she said, a tint of pink already forming on her cheeks.

"T-thanks for teaching me how to cook yesterday," I said. "So uh, these are for you," I rubbed the bottom of my nose with my finger. "I-I hope you like them..."

She happily took the chocolates, the blush still not leaving her cheeks. "That's really sweet of you, thanks Ash!"

"Aha," I chuckled. "Y-you're welcome!"

"Well," she said, pulling out chocolates from behind her. "You know the reason why I already had all the ingredients yesterday?" She said as she handed me some chocolates as well. "It's because I have already been planning on making you some from the start."

I gave her a small laugh. "So we are just going to confess now?" I said, taking the chocolates. "If so, well then, the reason I asked you to teach me how to cook wasn't for my mom, it was so I could make chocolates for you."

She giggled in return. "I can see that."

I glanced over to the side, to find the boys waiting for me. Looked like they have finished giving out their presents, and I was the last one.

"Well," I turned back to Serena. "I-I hope you enjoy them." I gave her a smile, before taking my leave and back towards Gary and the others.

"Wait, Ash!" Serena grabbed onto my wrist, stopping me from going. Before I could even turn around, I felt her tug onto my arm, using it to pull herself closer towards me.

I felt a pair of soft, small lips against my cheek. The gasps of everyone around the room could be heard. Serena stayed there for a few seconds. I stood there, frozen.

As she withdrew, I turned my head towards her. She was blushing a deep shade of pink. She then gave me a small smile. "Happy Valentine's Day, Ash."

I blinked once, twice. My cheeks have turned crimson red, smoke began emitting from my face, finally realizing what had happened. "W-w-wha...??" I stuttered.

I looked around me, to find my friends all with the same expression. They all had their jaws dropped, not believing what they just saw.

"WHAT THE HELL????" Misty roared, causing everyone to look at her. "ASH KETCHUM!!!!"

Feeling my hair blow back as she yelled, I finally got back to my senses. "M-Misty?"

"YOU PERVERT! WHAT KIND OF DRUG DID YOU PUT INTO THOSE CHOCOLATES TO HYPNOTIZE SERENA INTO DOING THAT?!?!"

"D-drugs?!" I shouted back. "Where in the heck did you get the idea of me using drugs?!"

"Misty!" Serena started. "There were no drugs at all!"

"Prepare the bus, just incase!" Gary said.

"C-calm down..." Miette anxiously held out her hand towards Misty. Even she was terrified.

Misty reached into her shirt, pulling out a broom. "YOU PERVERTED FREAK!" She yelled.

"Woah there!" Drew held the broom down.

Serena left my side and ran up to join the rest of the group. I sweat dropped as I watched them get Misty to calm down. Not like I wasn't expecting it.

Terrifying, violent, loud, overprotective. That's Misty for you.

My eyes shifted towards Serena, who could be seen explaining things to Misty. Forgetting about everything going on around me, I brought my hand up to my cheek and held that same, exact spot.

I found a smile slowly plant itself onto my face. I couldn't help it. I wasn't expecting her to do that. I kept staring at the Kalos Queen in front of me, as I whispered quietly to myself.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you too, Serena."