Much to both Serena and Ash's relief, Calem did wake up early in the morning and was released from the hospital within the hour. Ash apologized to Calem about a dozen times or so on the way back to Vaniville Town before the couple stopped him with Calum patting him firmly on the back and Serena rebuking him with a half-playful slap upside the head. Ash felt better despite needing to rub his head in pain before they go their separate ways. Ash and Serena continue to message each other via text and email and hang out whenever they have the time. Meanwhile, Calem slowly begins to heal and decides to put a lock on the window upon Serena's personal...request.

A couple of weeks have passed since the disastrous dinner at Calem's apartment, and Serena is at her job in the Showcase Animation Company. In a few hours, the guy who took the general managing job, Alain, will be flying to Sinnoh to aid their animation branch there for a year. Serena's boss, Palermo decided to host a going away party in the entire floor to send Alain off. Serena and many other employees including her friends Shaunna and Nina surround the main hall where Palermo and Alain are standing at the center.

"Artists, workers, good friends," Palermo call out with a proud grin. "Soon, Alain will be heading off to meet with our partners in Sinnoh. I think I speak for everyone in the company when I say we expect great things from him."

Shaunna and Nina scoff in disgust as they reluctantly listen to their boss' speech with Serena.

"Alain, do you have anything to say?" Palermo asks.

"I sure do," Alain says as he steps in with a proud grin. "My fellow animators, it really is an honor to be given this position. I thought I would be waiting for years for this moment, but it looks like I am actually the best person for the job."

"The dickens you are," Nina hisses quietly. "You're only standing there because Serena let you. "

Serena shushes her friend as Alain continues.

"You can be sure I'm going to work hard and get the project off the ground before you know it," he says. "What else can I say but viva Sinnoh!"

Everyone politely applauds and Palermo thanks Alain before she says, "Alright, everyone, enjoy the cake and be sure to say your personal goodbyes, then get back to work."

The crowd disperses to quietly eat cake with only a small group of people coming to wish Alain luck. Serena sighs quietly before walking away toward her desk followed by Shaunna and Nina.

"Seriously, Serena, how could you turn down the position?" Shaunna whines. "You started the project, it's your animation, and everyone knows that Alain is a slacker."

"I know," Serena says. "But the managing position involves more paperwork and business meetings. Plus, I don't know anyone in Sinnoh and I would be away from all of my family and friends."

"Yeah, but that's no excuse to have Alain get the position," Shaunna protests.

"Shaunna, leave her alone," Nina says. " Serena is right. She's got a nice life here with friends like me, kind of you, and let's not forget her relationship with Calem."

"Exactly!" Serena says with a proud smirk. "I love that hunk way too much to leave him for a year. He doesn't even have it in his heart to be away from me for more than a couple days before he returns to my arms right where I want him. Nothing in the universe is going to break us apart and neither of us will let it."

Shaunna and Nina smile and sigh blissfully at their friend's boast.

"I envy you two," Shaunna says. "Five years together and still in love with that tall figure of pure cuteness. It's a wonder he hasn't proposed to you yet."

"Well, we always wanted to wait a long time before thinking that far," Serena says confidently. "Either way though, Calem is mine and I intend to keep him mine."

Shaunna and Nina giggle and nod in agreement before walking away to go back to work. Serena smirks and thinks about her relationship with Calem some more before she quietly begins drawing again. She works for about five minutes before she hears her phone vibrating in her jean pocket. She takes it out and smiles as she sees she has a text from Calem before she opens it.

Calem: Hey, baby. Can we meet at Floyd's restaurant as soon as you get off from work? I need to talk to you.

Serena frowns and looks at the text message with a concerned look in her eyes before she replies.

Serena: Is everything alright?

Calem: Everything is fine. Everything is great, actually. I promise to explain everything when I meet you there.

Serena: Okay, love you.

Calem: Love you more!

Serena smiles at his reply before she puts her phone away and begins to draw again. Suddenly, she stops drawing again as she thinks she thinks he might be asking her to come there to propose to her. Her smirk grows in excitement as she drops her drawing pencil and stares at her hand, imagining a small ring on her finger.

"All mine," Serena says with a big grin.

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

Meanwhile, later in the afternoon, Ash escorted his nephew, Jeffery to his karate tournament. Since Dawn can't come because of work, she asked Ash to take her son there while Brock decides to join him with Holly to support Jeffery. As the three adults cheer for the ten-year-old boy while he fights another boy from another school, Holly leaves to get drinks while Ash and Brock have a conversation while watching the tournament.

"No, I'm not saying you can't do it, it just will be incredibly toxic," Ash says.

"But it won't kill you," Brock argues. "You can eat your own poop, but if you eat it again, it'll be so toxic that you'll die. So you can eat your poop once but not twice."

Ash groans, uncomfortable with the conversation.

"I wish I NEVER told you how much I was learning when I was in medical school," he whines.

"Well, then our talks would be less interesting, little buddy," Brock says with a grin.

Ash groans in annoyance as Holly confess back with three plastic cups. She hand two of them to Brock and Ash and already begins sipping hers before Ash realizes what's in them.

"Holy cow, how did you get alcohol in a kids karate tournament?" Ash asks in shock.

"A lady doesn't tell," Holly says with a smirk, much to Brock's amusement and Ash's unease. "Anyway, Ash, we don't talk very much. We should get to know each other. Maybe we can start talking about tree big issues of our time."

"Uh...like what?" Ash asks.

"Oh I don't know," Holly says sarcastically. "Maybe gay marriage, abortion, net neutrality, can men and women be friends or do you secretly want to get with Serena Yvonne.

Ash gives Brock a death glare, realizing that he told his new girlfriend about him and Serena before turning to Holly.

"She has a boyfriend," he growls under his teeth.

"Who you apparently knocked out of a window," Holly says with a smirk.

"By accident!" Ash shouts. "Seriously, Brock, how much did you tell her?"

"Hey, it doesn't matter what he told me," Holly says as she begins to caress Brock's cheek affectionately. "Your 'If it starts dirty it ends dirty' argument is crap anyway. I mean when I was at Brock's party I totally forgot that I already had a boyfriend until the next day."

"What?!" Ash shouts, turning to Brock who shrugs.

"Hey, I didn't know she had one until then either," he claims. "She really did forget until the next day."

"Oh, come on, that's ridiculous," Ash rebukes. "You can't just enjoy some stranger's company so much that you forget that you're dating someone else. That's impossible."

"Yes, and yet Brock and I found a way," Holly says with a flirtatious smile. "Face it, Ash, love is dirty. Sometimes it's just downright filthy."

Without another word, Brock and Holly begin to make out passionately.

"Why me?" Ash whines as he turns to watch the tournament in order to distract himself from the loud sounds of his best friend and his girlfriend moving their lips together sloppily.

Finally, the karate tournament ends with Jeffrey making second place. Ash, Brock, and Holly congratulate the boy before Ash begins to escort his nephew back home and so they say their goodbyes to Brock and Holly. Ash and Jeffrey come home just in time to see Dawn come home and happily congratulate her son for winning his trophy. Ash smiles at the happy moment with his sister and nephew before he feels his phone vibrating.

Serena: Hey, you doing anything right now?

Ash: Not at the moment, why?

Serena: Meet me at the front entrance to my apartment building in ten minutes and bring an umbrella. It's gonna be pouring soon.

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

By the time Ash made it to Serena's apartment building, it already starts to rain hard. Ash knocks on the front door and it isn't long before it opens to reveal Serena with a sad look on her face.

"Hey, Ash," she says bluntly.

"Uh... hey Serena," Ash greets. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," she answers.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Ash asks.

"No," she answers.

"Uh...okay, why did you ask me over then?" Ash asks confused.

"Because I just found out that I need a new dress for a company dinner with some of our partners in Hoenn, and I want a guy with me as my escort and judge in whatever dress I try," Serena answers with her arms crossed.

"Okay...so why me and not Calem?" Ash asks.

Serena's commanding frown fades for a moment before she answers, "Because I don't feel like having him with me right now."

Ash stares at her even more confused. He begins to wonder if something bad happened between Serena and Calem. He starts to think this might be a chance to turn the tables into his favor before he shakes it off, feeling ashamed at the idea. His frown deepens as the look of pain in Serena's commanding eyes seem to look clearer.

"Did you guys...have a fight?" He asks.

"I told you, I don't want to talk about it," Serena snarls.

Ash winces at her rude responds and sighs, knowing what he has to do.

"Okay how about this, I'll be your escort if you talk to me about what's up," he proposes. "It might help if you talk to someone about it."

For a moment, Serena doesn't say anything. Ash grows worried that he overstepped as she looks at him with a displeased glare. Finally, Serena sighs.

"Fine," she says. "Let's start walking, and I'll talk on the way. Deal?"

"Deal," Ash says appreciatively.

Serena smiles briefly before she gestures Ash to follow her with her hand. Ash catches up with her, opens his umbrella and holds it over him and Serena. For a few minutes, they walk down the street as Ash eagerly waits to hear what Serena has to say.

"So Ash," Serena begins. "Before I explain anything, I need to ask you a hypothetical question."

"Uh...okay," Ash says.

Serena takes a deep breath and stops walking, making Ash stop walking and turns to face her as she speaks.

"So, say a guy texts his girlfriend asking to meet him after work, tells her that everything is great and then when they meet, he begins explaining by stating how long they have been together and then says he believes their relationship is built to last. With all of that said, what do you think he's going to say next?"

Ash stares at Serena for a moment before he scratches his head in thought.

"Well, off the top of my head, he's either suggesting they move in together or sleep together for the first time or more than likely is about to propose to her," he says.

"Thank you!" Serena snaps in irritation. "And here I was thinking only women think that's what the guy is going to say. So, it's not just them, guys know that too...well, most guys anyway."

Ash bites his lip, unsure of what to say next before Serena starts walking again and he quickly follows her, trying to cover her head with the umbrella as she speaks.

"See, I get a text from Calem and he wants us to meet at Floyd's Restaurant to talk about something, and when we meet, he starts by saying how we've been dating for five years and so he thinks our relationship is supposed to last," Serena explains. "And the entire time between when he texted me and when he said that I was pretty sure he was going to propose to me because, hey, your other two guesses are things we agreed are for after marriage, so where else would he be going with that if not proposing to me, right?"

Ash nods and reluctantly says, "And I guess he didn't propose?"

Serena huffs in annoyance and crosses her arms again as she walks.

"Nope," she growls. "Instead, he tells me that he has been asked to take charge in the Kanto negotiations. It's a 6-month contract where he would basically have to live in Kanto where he would have to live in Cerulean City and also travel around the region."

Ash looks at Serena surprised.

"Wow, is he thinking about accepting the offer?" He asks.

"Not thinking, did!" Serena snarls. "He already accepted the job without even asking me! He just knew that I would support him no matter the long distance because I'm his girlfriend of 5 years who always has his back."

"What did you do?" Ash asks.

"Well, what else could I do?" Serena remarks. "I obviously had to say yes, go be lead negotiator. It's what he's always dreamed of and I look like a terrible girlfriend if I told him no, I want you to stay with me!"

"But you do want him to stay," Ash states.

Serena sighs sadly and says, "Obviously. I mean what hurts is that I really thought he was going to propose, and I thought both of us would never have even dreamed of putting our careers before our relationship, but then while I decline to be the manager for my company's project over in Sinnoh for a year Calem apparently didn't hesitate to be lead negotiator in Kanto."

"Yeah, and it's also surprising since you kept claiming that he can't stand to be away for you for more than a few days," Ash says.

"Exactly!" Serena shouts, with her hands in the air before she drops her head sadly.

Ash bites his lip and says, "Or maybe it's just you who can't stand to be away from him."

"Yeah, I guess so," Serena admits. "I wish he just asked if it was okay instead of just assuming our relationship is going to be okay for the next six months. It's just so inconsiderate and I hate that I can't say no because it's his dream."

Ash looks at Serena sympathetically as the two of them stop walking because they are waiting to cross the road. Serena sighs sadly again and looks away from Ash. Deep down, it hurts Ash to see the woman he likes be so sad. He puts his hand on Serena's shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"Hey, it'll be alright," Ash says with a small smile. "I mean it's not like he's staying there for six years and you can still call or Skype him whenever you want."

"I guess," Serena says robotically, not looking at Ash. "It's not the same as coming to my place or his to make out and cuddle with him as much as I want after work though."

Ash winces at the mention of Serena kissing and cuddling with another guy. His mind begins to drift at the idea of Serena passionately making out with him and her sleeping on his chest with her arms wrapped around him. He quickly shakes the thoughts out of his mind as Serena turns to him.

"Anyway, let's not dwell on me and my boyfriend," she says. "We have some shopping to do."

"Uh...yeah, right," Ash says with a weak smile as they cross the road and make it to the dress store. Ash shakes the water from the top of his umbrella before he enters the store just in time to see Serena already looking at the dresses.

"Ah, home sweet home," she says with a happy grin before a red dress on a mannequin catches her eye. She runs over to it and smiles brightly, much to Ash's amusement.

"I take it you want that one?" He asks, trying to keep himself from chuckling.

"I sure do, Mr. Ketchum," Serena says with a smirk. "This is so mine, no questions. Love at first sight I say. Excuse me, ma'am."

The woman standing at the front desk walks over to Serena and Ash and asks, "Yes, may I help you?"

"You certainly can," Serena says pointing at the mannequin. "I'd like to try on this dress, please."

The woman frowns nervously and says, "We only have the one left and it's a size two. Are you a two?"

"Yes," Serena answers proudly.

The woman's frown deepens as she looks at Serena's figure with an uneasy look in her eyes.

"Excuse me a moment, I'm going to get the measuring tape," she says.

Serena gives the woman a menacing glare and growls, "I. Am. A. Two."

The venom in her voice sends shivers down the woman's spine.

"O-o-of course, Madame. My mistake," she says nervously. "Please come right this way to our fitting rooms and I will have the dress delivered right away."

"Thank you," Serena says with her proud smirk returning. She gestures Ash to come along and he silently follows her to the fitting rooms. The woman from the desk guides Serena to one of the rooms and Serena enters with a smile. As the woman leaves to retrieve the dress, Ash decides to find a spot against the wall to lean on, take out his phone and play a game on it while he waits. The woman eventually comes back and brings the dress to Serena's fitting room on a hanger and then leaves for Serena to try it on.

For a few minutes, Ash just plays on his phone, waiting for Serena. As he played, he began to imagine how beautiful she will look wearing the dress. The dress itself looks pretty by itself but in his eyes, Serena is purely beautiful as she is unbearably snarky. It seems kind of cruel that for Calem's brief moment of presuming Serena's feelings about their relationship, Serena would want to show herself in this red dress to Ash first instead of her boyfriend of five years.

Then, he lowers his phone and wonders if he ever could become her boyfriend. It seems like there's a chance that maybe within a few months things between her and Calem will fall apart because of the long distance. But then it might take a while for Serena to want to date anyone as she would probably be too brokenhearted. The idea makes Ash frown as it was hard enough to see her sad just because her boyfriend is going to be away from her for so long, and he doesn't even want to imagine how hard it would be to see her feel much worse. And even if Ash does find a chance to date her, he doesn't know if she would ever feel the same way. On the other hand, Serena found a way to find love with someone so friendly and upbeat like Calem, so the idea of her dating someone shy like Ash doesn't seem too impossible. But then again, if she felt that way about him, maybe they wouldn't be just friends and just jump into dating like Brock and Holly. The more Ash thinks about it, the more he doesn't know what to do with, everything going against him. It seems like deep down the only that that's clear is that he's falling for Serena and there isn't a darn thing he can do about it.

"Ash."

Ash breaks his train of thought as he hears Serena whisper loudly from her fitting room. Ash hesitates thinking he was imagining it until she spoke again.

"Ash, are you alone?" Serena whispers.

"Uh...like, in the universe," Ash asks confused.

"No, I mean in the hallway," Serena answers.

"Erm, yes," Ash replies, unsure of where this is going. "Do you need me to get you any help?"

"No! No, please don't!" Serena begs with a hint of panic in her voice. "I just...I need you to come in here."

Ash blushes furiously.

"W-w-what?" He manages to say.

"I'm in the middle of taking the dress off and I'm kinda stuck so I need you to close your eyes, crawl under the door and help me get it off," Serena says.

"What?" Ash says panicking. "Can't I just get the woman from the front desk."

"No! No, I don't want her help, just get over here," Serena begs desperately. "Just help me get it off and keep your eyes closed. Please, Ash!"

Ash's face is red all over at this point. The whole thing makes him uncomfortable, but at the same time, he really wants to help Serena because of the desperation in her voice. Finally, he sighs and decides to bite the bullet.

"Okay, I'll help," he says.

"Do you promise to close your eyes and keep them closed?" Serena asks.

"Yes, I promise," Ash says sincerely.

"Thank you, Ash," Serena says appreciatively.

"You're welcome," Ash says with a small smile for her appreciation as he gets down on all fours and closes his eyes. "I'm coming in."

"Okay, and remember, eyes closed," Serena says firmly.

"Understood," Ash says as he begins crawling under the door into the fitting room. He carefully stands up, until he is facing Serena.

"Ash, are you in here?" Serena asks. "I can't see you because the dress is covering my face."

"Yes, I'm here," Ash says nervously. "W-what exactly do you need me to do?"

Serena takes a deep breath and says, "Okay, here's what happened. I tried it on and I think it got hooked on my bra or something, and now I can't get it off."

Ash grows even more uncomfortable at Serena's explanation and fights off an embarrassed whimper.

"You're not gonna laugh, are you?" Serena asks.

"No, I'm not," Ash says as calmly as he can. "I can't even see what's going on. I mean I don't know if I"m facing the front of you or the back."

"I think the front," Serena says.

"Uh...okay," Ash says before he gulps silently. "Then, since the problem is in the back, you should turn your back on me."

"Are you sure?" Serena says nervously. "You're going to keep your eyes closed, right?"

"Yes, I promise," Ash assures.

"Okay, I'm turning around," Serena says.

With his eyes closed, as hears Serena move until her back is facing him. He takes a deep breath before he stretches out his arms until he feels her back. Ash feels the heat on his face increase as he carefully finds where the dress is stuck and carefully begins to lift it off of Serena. He manages to get it all the way up to Serena's shoulders until it gets stuck and Serena whimpers uncomfortably.

"It's okay, it's okay," Ash says as calmly as possible.

"No, it's stuck again," Serena says worryingly.

"Okay, why don't you turn around and face me," Ash suggests.

Serena quietly obeys and turns to face Ash. Ash begins to get Serena unstuck again until he subconsciously opens his eyes to see the dress covering Serena's arms in the air and all of her face except for her lips. Ash's eyes are glued to her lips, however, and his mind begins to think about how wonderful it would be to feel them pressed again his. For a moment, his head leans closer to her as it to kiss her before he snaps out of it and steps back. He shakes his head to get the thoughts out of his mind before he closes his eyes and gets the dress completely off of Serena. Serena sighs in relief and smiles at Ash as she sees him standing there with his eyes shut.

"Thank you," she says softly.

"No worries," Ash says. "Should I hold on to the dress while you change.

"Mmmm-hmmm," Serena answers.

Serena turns around to grab her clothes before she suddenly stops. She turns back to Ash and debates about something in her mind. She decides to learn closer to him to check that he really has his eyes shut and her appreciative smile grows when she sees that they are. But suddenly, she finds herself leaning closer to him. Her eyes are suddenly fixed on Ash's lips and her lead leans closer to them as if they are the most interesting thing in the world. But then she stops with her lips only a couple inches away from his before she mentally shakes her head, turns around and changes back into her clothes. When she's completely dressed, she sighs before turning to Ash.

"Okay, I'm dressed. You can open your eyes now," she says.

Ash sighs in relief as he opens his eyes.

"Let's...uh...let's not to that again," he says.

Serena snickers lightly at his comment.

"Yes, I can tell from your face that was too much to bear," she says with her snarky grin returning, making Ash turn even redder. Ash, nervously struggles to say any words before he finds Serena hugging him tightly and whispering, "Seriously, Ash, thank you."

Though the hug doesn't stop him from blushing, the appreciation in her voice and embrace makes Ash feels better. He smiles kindly and tightly hugs her back.

"What are friends for?" he says despite feeling a little pain in his heart for saying the for "friends."

The two of them hold each other for a couple of moments before Serena break the hug, much to Ash's disappointment.

"Well, now to buy this beauty," Serena says with a grin.

"You're still going to buy it?" Ash asks confused.

"Of course, doofus," Serena says, lightly slapping Ash upside the head in a playful way. "I said it's mine no questions, and I meant it. Sure I'm going to need to adjust it a little so this doesn't happen again, but that's never stopped me from getting what I want before."

Ash can't help but chuckle in amusement, glad to see Serena's stubborn side again.

"Now come on," Serena says, grabbing Ash's hand and leads him out of the living room. "Let's go buy it and then I'll get you some ice cream for your services."