~Ash's POV~

Alone with Serena tommorow...? I don't know if I could do it. Should I lie and say I was going to be gone that day too? No, I don't think I'll be comfortable leaving her alone. But still, would I be okay?

"Hey Ash, are you going anywhere tommorow?" May asked.

"Uh, n-no..."

Dawn clasped her hands together. "That's great! Serena you won't be alone tommorow!"

Serena nodded. "Yeah..."

Misty shrugged. "I don't know...I don't think it's a good thing. I mean, will it be okay to leave her with this perv?" She didn't look to happy about this.

I sweat dropped. "Again with this pervert thing?"

Arceus. How many times was Misty going to call me a perv? I was 100% sure I wasn't one. Unless I was and haven't noticed...? But I'm sure I was not.

"Anyways, I'm going to bed." Misty got up from her seat. "Iris, you better get some too. We have to leave early tommorow."

"Yeah, right." Iris followed her out of the living room.

Dawn took May's wrist and dragged her. "Us too, May! We need a good night's sleep for our coordinator stuff tommorow!"

"Wait!" May tried to stop her, but soon gave up since Dawn refused to listen.

Serena and I sat in an awkward silence. I used my phone to pretend I was doing something, when really I was freaking out in the inside because whenever I was around her I tended to feel all weird.

"Ash...?"

Oh crap. She's calling me. I lifted my head from my phone. "Y-yeah?"

"Are you okay? You are shaking."

I looked down at my hands, and they were indeed shaking. I was too focused on trying to keep myself distracted from her that I didn't notice myself shaking. I guess it was from the nervousness I was feeling right now...?

"Ehehe, I-it's because, um..." I tried to think of an excuse.

I felt Pikachu's head drop down onto my shoulder. "Pika.." He lifted his head, trying to stay awake.

"Oh look! P-pikachu is really tired, and I should really put him to bed!" I got up from my seat. "I am sleepy as well, so I might as wall call it a night! G-good night!" I dashed out of the living room.

"Okay, good night...?" She watched me go in confusion as to why I was in such a rush.

I slammed the door to my room shut once I got in. I placed Pikachu onto my bed and let him sleep. I sighed of relief. Thank arceus to Pikachu being sleepy, it saved me just now. I have no idea what I would've said to Serena earlier, and boy was I glad to get out of that.

Serena and I were alone for a short amount of time earlier yet I still couldn't handle it. If I acted like that earlier, then how the hell am I supposed to survive the entire day tommorow?!

Well, might as well prepare for my funeral now. I have lived a good life.

Agh, I need to stop thinking weird. I need to get it together and man up. It's just one day. Okay me, you could do this.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was the next morning. I looked at the time, still half asleep. It was 10:32am. I got up and rubbed my eyes to fully awake myself. Looked like I have slept in. I usually wake up at around 8-9.

Well, the main reason why I usually wake up at that time was because of Pikachu. He'd shock me every morning. But why didn't he shock me now? Was he still fast asleep? I looked over to the corner of the bed, where he usually slept. My eyed widen. He's not there.

I jumped out of bed. "Pikachu?"

No answer. Was he hiding? I looked around my room for possible places he could be. Under the bed, in the closet, behind the curtains, in the shower, even in the toilet. He was nowhere to be found. There was no sight of him.

I quickly changed out of my pajamas and headed out. I ran through the hall and down the stairs, keeping an eye out for him. I would have checked the upper floors, but I didn't think he would be in one of the girl's rooms. Plus, it's not very nice to just barge into one of their rooms like that. Especially Misty's room. She'd kill me.

I decided to check the living room. I looked everywhere, but he was nowhere to be seen. Where the hell was he? Why did he even leave my room in the first place? That was when the smell of pancakes filled my nose. Losing track of everything I was doing, I followed the smell.

I pushed the kitchen door open, literally drooling everywhere. I found Serena in her pink apron again, cooking pancakes. She turned around as she licked the spoon.

"Hi Ash!" She winked.

My cheeks flushed red. "H-hey..."

Why am I finding her so attractive in that apron?! I swear, I have been acting so weird around her lately.

"Pika!"

Wait, was that Pikachu? I turned to the direction of the voice. Pikachu was with Braixen and Pancham, helping Serena. He was happily pouring syrup all over the cooked pancakes. I sweat dropped. He was here the entire time? So much for worrying about him.

"Pikachu has been an amazing help, Ash!" Serena smiled.

"Yeah, good to know, heh." I chuckled.

I watched as Pikachu finished pouring syrup on the last plate of pancakes. Standing here made me even more hungry.

"Ash, you can take your breakfast now." Serena said.

"Really?" My eyes lit up. "Awesome!"

I was about to take one of the plates on the table, until Serena stopped me. "Wait! Pikachu made some pancakes specifically just for you!"

Pikachu handed me a plate of pancakes that he had made himself. I stared at the plate. It looked like Serena cooked the pancake and he decorated it. It was not covered in syrup. It was ketchup, topped off with blueberries.

I sweat dropped. "Ketchup..."

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded. He sat down and awaited for me to try it.

"Ash...at least try it!" She placed her hands on her hips as she spoke. "He made it just for you!"

I gulped. I took a fork and cut a piece of the pancake. I closed my eyes as I popped it into my mouth. Oh my arceus, this was not good. I faked a smile. "I-it's delicious..."

"Pika!" Pikachu happily jumped, feeling proud.

I forced myself to swallow it. I gagged once, but managed to get it down my throat. I stared at what I just ate. Did I really have to finish this?

Serena giggled at me. She must've figured it didn't taste very good. "Now c'mon. Let's move to the dining room." She said as she walked out.

I followed her out. Misty and Iris were sitting on the dining table, waiting for breakfast.

"Ah, there you are! Time for pancakes!" Iris said.

"Where's Dawn and May?" I asked.

"They left early." Misty replied.

I sat down in my seat. "Oh...okay then."

During breakfast, I forced myself to eat the pancake Pikachu made. I had to admit, it tasted bad, but I didn't have the guts to turn down the pancake he made.

Soon, Misty and Iris left, leaving Serena and I alone. Okay...here we go. I just had to get through this day, then I'll be fine.

"So Ash...you have nothing planned for today?" Serena asked.

"N-no. I am guessing you don't either?"

"About that..." She scratched her cheek. "I decided to make some brownies later for when the girls come back, but it turns out I don't have the ingredients. So it looks like I will have to go grocery shopping. You want to come?"

Well, I had nothing else better to do. I guess it'd be okay to go with her. Nothing wrong with that, right?

I nodded. "Sure, I'll come."

We made our way to the nearest grocery store. Serena walked in front of me, while I stayed close behind. Now that I thought of it, it wasn't that bad being alone with her. It wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be. Maybe this day will okay after all.

I looked up to the sky, which was gray in color. It looked so dull, like it was going to rain. There was no sunlight, just clouds.

"Oma, you are Serena Yvonne!" A girl squealed as she ran up to Serena. (A/N - Oma is the short for oh my arceus.)

A few other people heard, and began to surround Serena. I sweat dropped as I watched them swarm around her.

"I am such a huge fan!"

"Can I please have your autograph?"

"I want a picture!!!"

Serena tried to get everybody to calm down as she backed up. But the more they shouted, the more people found out and joined in. She didn't look like she was enjoying it at all. I looked around her. They were giving her no space. Serena looked uneasy due to the amount of people there.

I quickly pushed my way through the crowd to get to her. I grabbed her arm and dragged her out.

"A-ash?"

"Okay guys! The Kalos Queen is busy right now, so she has to go. See ya!" I said, and ran off with her.

A few people chased us for a few blocks, but I managed to get rid of them sooner or later. Luckily, we somehow ended up right in front of the grocery store. We leaned on the building and panted.

"T-thanks for that..." She smiled.

"No problem...those people were a little too crazy about you."

She replied with a giggle, and entered the store. I let her do what she needed to do while I admired all the different food I found around me.

"Alright. I got everything I need for the brownies, so let's go!" She said.

"Yeah! I can't wait for them!" I exclaimed. All the food Serena cooked were delicious, and I could only imagine how amazing these brownies were going to be.

"Well, the sooner we get home, the faster you'll get them." She winked.

I jumped. "Awesome!"

While she was payed for the groceries, I decided to wait for her outside. I opened up my phone, only to get a weather warning that there was a chance of a thunderstorm.

"Alright Ash. Let's-" Her voice trailed off as she saw how it looked outside. Like earlier, the skies were gray. Rain had already started to fall.

"Crap! We need to hurry up and get home before the thunderstorm! The rain is still light, so we'll be fine! C'mon!" I ran off.

"O-okay!" She replied and followed me.

We made it home just in time. As we entered the house, I shut the door behind me. The rain poured down hard. It would be right to say it was raining cats and dogs.

"That was close." I said as I looked out the window. Lightning could be seen in the distance. No thunder yet, though. I flopped down onto the couch.

"I-is it really a thunderstorm?" She asked with nervousness in her voice as she sat next to me.

"Looks like it."

She looked down to her feet. She fiddled around with her fingers. It looked like she had the habit of doing that whenever she felt scared.

"Serena, are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, it's just that I don't like thunder. I never liked it as a kid...and I still get really scared to this day."

"Oh...is that so? You'll be fine. We're inside, nothing bad's going to happen, okay?" I said, trying my best to make her feel better.

She nodded. "Yeah...alright."

Thunder echoed through the skies. Serena tried to hold in her shriek and backed up. The lights began to flicker. It flickered a few more times then shut off. Suddenly, we were in darkness.

"What the?!" I looked around me. "Power outage?"

"W-what do we do?" Serena asked. She sounded so scared.

"I don't know...but it will be fine, don't worry!" I took my phone and used it as a flashlight. "We have no choice, I guess we have to wait until the power gets back on."

"Ash, I-I'm scared..."

I couldn't see her properly in the dark, but I could tell the expression on her face was full of fear.

"Hey, it'll be alright. It will be over sooner than you know it. If you need anything, just tell me. I'm here."

"Okay...it'll be over soon." She repeated. "I can do this..."

We spent the next few minutes in the dark. I could say it had been approximately 15 minutes. I wondered how Misty, Iris, May and Dawn were doing. I knew Misty and Iris were safe at Misty's parent's home, but I wasn't too sure about May and Dawn.

I was starting to get used to the dark, due to the amount of time we had been in it. I was starting to be able to see things a little more better.

That was when another loud bolt of thunder happened. The loud sound blasted through our ears, shocking me enough to make me jump in my seat. Serena got even more scared and grabbed ahold of my arm. It was just like the night we watched the movie. But this time, she was literally hugging it, burying her face into my arm.

I stared at her, not knowing what to do. Should I talk to her and say everything will be okay? Or should I comfort her? Will it be okay if I hugged her back? Thinking of all these things made my mind go crazy and made my stomach feel weird.

Another bolt of thunder was heard, and her grip on my arm tightened even more. And it hurt. I tried my best to hold it in and hide the pain I was feeling.

Now she really looked scared. Maybe it was best if I hugged her back? I wanted to help her feel safe. I slowly brought my other arm over to her.

Suddenly, the power switched back on. The bright lights blinded me, causing me to close my eyes and look away. My eyes soon recovered from the sudden light. I looked down to Serena, who was still hugging my arm. She opened her eyes after realizing the lights were back on.

She then noticed what she had done. She was so scared she didn't even realize she grabbed onto my arm. I also realized my other hand was on her shoulder, since I was about to hug her back, but never got the chance to.

She broke away from me. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't realize I just did that! Please forgive me!" She blushed a deep shade of red. She was acting so flustered, it was kind of cute.

"I-it's alright, don't worry! You were just scared, so it wasn't your fault!" I nervously scratched the back of my head.

She didn't answer, but instead just looked away from me, trying to hide her blush. We sat in an awkward silence for awhile, until she got up from the couch.

"W-where are you going?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Ah, I just forgot about the brownies. Now that the power is back on, I can go ahead and make them."

"Really? Awesome!" I jumped for joy, pushing aside everything that had happened. I could already taste them.

She giggled as she walked into the kitchen. "They will be ready soon."

The rest of the day went by quickly. Misty, May, Iris and Dawn all came back soon after Serena began cooking. We all enjoyed the brownies she made, they were delicious.

We talked about what happened during each of our days. Misty and Iris had a great time at her parent's house, of course until the power went down. Dawn and May were outside training, but soon had to spend the rest of the afternoon in one of the nearby Pokemon Centers during the rain.

Right now, I was lying in bed. I decided to go to bed early, since I had a lot in my mind. Or mostly because of what I was feeling right now. What happened today...it kind of explains why I act all weird around Serena. From being alone with her to her hugging my arm like that. It made me realize something.

I had a crush on the Kalos Queen.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And voila, hope you enjoyed the chapter :)

So school is starting, so I apoligize if I don't update reguarly. I will try my best to keep this story alive and going!

And with that, until next time!