This is an angsty Ash and Serena oneshot (with implied Amourshipping) where Serena expresses how she would much rather follow her path as a performer than date him, which leaves Ash feeling distant and cold...

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Serena's POV:

I found myself sitting beside my desk, daydreaming. I couldn't help but think of the last time I saw Ash was a few months ago, and yet even then, it hadn't been a real reunion.

On that day, I was just waving goodbye to my new friend Chloe, who was boarding the cruise back to Kanto, and then just before it went, Ash ran past me. We had a little catch-up, but it was only for like ten seconds or so. And then the cruise sailed away...

But when I did see him, he just didn't look the same. His clothes looked less mature, and his personality seemed more happy-go-lucky, or at least compared to the Ash I kissed back in Kalos.

He was like a handsome prince back then, one that I felt would sweep me off my feet and whisk me away to his faraway castle. But no matter how much he's changed, he is still as oblivious as ever.

I don't really feel the same way about him now, and I would actually prefer to pursue my career at becoming a top coordinator in Hoenn now instead. But if he did actually happen to have feelings for me, I had to let him know!

So I got out my Rotom Phone and decided to leave him a text:

Me:
Hi Ash, I know we haven't really chatted in a while, but if you aren't busy, maybe we could meet at Sushi High Roller and have a catch-up? Preferably just us two

I added the last part because I didn't want him bringing any of his new travelling companions with him.

Almost immediately, he sent a reply saying that he could meet me there, and I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing I could finally chat with him about everything that had happened.

I put on my grey tank top, magenta plaited skirt, and grey bowler hat before jogging down the stairs. I waved goodbye to my mom and then headed out to Lumiose City.

When I got there, I waited outside of the shop until he arrived. I knew he would take a while, but I was very patient to wait.

After a few hours, I could see a raven-haired boy with a red cap and Pikachu on his shoulder and knew for a fact it was him. I ran over but didn't try to hug him or anything since I didn't want him to think I'm going to try and kiss him again.

"Hi Ash!" I waved.

"Hi Serena!" He waved back, Pikachu copying him.

We both entered the building, but as we walked to the reception, I kept my hands behind my back so we wouldn't end up holding hands. He looked a little disappointed by this but just tried to ignore it and continue.

We both ordered and then sat down at a table we were assigned to. At first, I thought there would be an awkward silence after the... kiss, but I looked over to see he was beaming at me and was buzzing to ask a question.

"How have you been recently?" He asked.

"Oh well..." I put a finger to my chin as I thought of an answer, "Pretty good, I just came back from Hoenn and so I'm going to stay here for a while to train to become Kalos Queen!"

"Nice," He replied, grinning, "I just became the World Coronation Series' new monarch!"

I had previously been sipping out of a glass of lemonade that had been placed on our table during the conversation, but I suddenly spat it out, completely forgetting I was sat opposite to a world champion!

"I can't believe I completely forgot about that! Me, May, Max and Lisia, watched you before we did our contest, you were amazing!" I exclaimed.

"Well, thanks!" He replied, his voice sounding a little embarrassed as he scratched the back of his neck and blushed.

Soon enough, the sushi was brought to our tables, and we began eating. But as we did, the one thing I had brought him here to talk about was weighing on my mind, as I didn't know how to say it or how he would take it.

"Ash, there's something we need to talk about!" I exclaimed after finishing my sushi.

The raven-haired boy, who had still been eating, put down his chopsticks and then looked at me with confusion. Pikachu, who I had completely forgotten, was there, put down his bowl of pokémon food, and stared at me too.

"I feel we need to talk about... the kiss!" I explained.

Ash still looked confused. Had he completely forgotten about the most embarrassing moment between the two of us?

"What kiss?" He asked.

I facepalmed myself and then tried to think of a way to remind him what happened a few years ago.

"So like, before I left to go to Hoenn, I kissed you on the lips! Do you remember now?" I asked.

He put a finger to his chin in thought, and then he finally came to the realisation, and his hazel brown eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah, I remember that!" He replied.

I took a sigh of relief, but right now, it wasn't the time to relax.

"Well, I would really like it if you could forget all about it!" I said.

"What? Why?" He asked, his face now looking disappointed once again.

"A lot has happened since then, and I feel like I should really be focusing more towards performances and contests than dating," I explained.

"Oh, okay..." He sighed and picked up his chopsticks and began eating again.

I was so confused, like, why was he upset? He never showed feelings for me during our travels, so why did he look so depressed that I no longer wanted to try and get with him?

"Did you... like me?" I asked.

"Well, I guess so," He mumbled, continuing not to make eye contact with me.

My mind just blowed at that moment.

"Really, you never showed any interest before, and you did'teven remember the kiss!" I exclaimed, "Why do you like me now?"

"Well, I don't really like anyone that kind of way, I just liked the idea of dating you because you're a nice person and you were attracted to me before, as I realised after the kiss," He answered.

All of this information was so shocking, but there was one thing I didn't quite get.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Like, I just don't really feel attracted to anyone. It's just that I got out of a break-up recently and didn't want to feel lonely!" Ash explained.

"With who?" I questioned.

"This girl called Iris, we've been friends for a some time but recently I met up with her again and we started dating because she had feelings for me," He answered, "But we got into an argument..."

"Oh no, I'm so sorry you're had that happen!" I exclaimed.

He sighed and told me it was fine. He continued eating his sushi until I could see a question spark in his head.

"So, do you still not want to be with me?" He asked, ready to be disappointed by my answer.

"I'm sorry but no..." I sighed, looking down to avoid his gaze.

When I looked up again, I realised he had finished his plate and was now getting up to leave. Pikachu, who looked really concerned, hopped onto his shoulder, and then he walked off.

"Wait, Ash!" I called, but he couldn't walk like he hadn't heard me.

I chased after him until we were out of the restaurant.

"I'm really sorry, I just feel like focusing on my goal right now, just like you did with yours!" I apologised.

He turned around, and I could see tears forming in his hazel brown eyes.

"I'm sorry too, I shouldn't use my break up as an excuse to be bitter with you," He sighed.

I ran up to him and wrapped my arms around him. This scene was so wholesome I started crying, too.

So when I let go, I took hold of both of his hands and said the following,

"I hope you find your someone out there!" I said, "And even if you don't, that's okay because you'll always have great friends beside you!"