detachment | amour

4.

Ash and Serena were hanging out at other places too. They got bored of library; not only because Ash finished reading most of the books over there but Serena wanted to explore somewhere else. He wanted to show Serena how the world looked like from his eyes.

Since she was an exchange student she barely visited any places and they made plans on the weekend, going to movies, arcade, trekking to all the places Ash knew. He took her there.

And it was worth it according to him.

He got to see her reactions to every single locations and he adored her. As time passed by he became more and more attached to her. To him, she was comforting. Soothing. She carried innocence and purity and he felt at ease with serena, feeling himself ━ he didn't have to try hard to impress her with anything; she appreciated whatever he did.

He liked Serena alot because she's expressive. She never hid her emotions, she always believed communication is the key.

"Hey! You took me to many places this time I'll plan our outing!" She said and ash nodded, giving a smile.

He didn't mind at all, he just wanted to spend time with her.

Ash followed the address that she sent and it lead to a neighborhood. He was way confused but followed the route eventually leading him into a small cottage. A cozy one.

He opened the gate and felt a musky scent filling the air. Involuntarily his stomach grumbled. He always loved sweet things hence he avoided coffee because it was so bitter he couldn't even handle one bit.

The door opened and Ash was greeted by two old couple who were so excited to meet him. His mouth curved into a big smile as he thought how cute they looked.

Ash entered the house and the scent became stronger and stronger. He had a short conversation with them and later saw Serena near the kitchen wearing an apron cooking food.

His steps halted and she turned to look at him. This was the first time he saw her without any spectacles. Without anything hindering his brown eyes meeting the blue ones. The earth and the ocean. Her hair reached till her waist, it was damp. She welcomed him and introduced her grandparents but Ash was dumbstruck, he felt his system shut down after seeing such a pretty sight of her.

Serena's vision without spectacles was just blurry, she wanted to see Ash clearly, so sprinted upstairs to get her glasses.

"Young man mesmerised eh?" Her grandfather whispered to Ash to which his face reddened.

"Don't worry, I was like you too when I saw her grandmother." He said taking a seat meanwhile her grandmother was crocheting.

"It runs in the genes. The blue eyes. Her mom has it too." He said giving a laugh and Ash laughed along with his new old friend.

After having lunch together Serena finally revealed the cupcakes she had baked. She looked proud on how they turned out, it looked irresistible.

Ash was ready to dig in and when he did take a bite he was transported. Serena was nervous at first but then noticed Ash enjoying every single bite. His dark chocolate eyes glowed while eating and Serena felt accomplished.

"This is so good! Thank you so much Serena!" Ash said stuffing two cupcakes into his mouth.

"This is so good!"

This time he heard his colleagues as they took a bite of the cupcake. Serena smiled looking at everyone who were enjoying the taste but her smile faded when she saw Ash just working. A friend of hers offered the cupcakes to Ash.

They weren't the same cupcakes she made for him but it was made by the same person.

"Sir! Taste this once!" She offered and Ash stopped his work. The whole room was filled with anticipation because everyone did seem to notice some tension between Ash and Serena.
Ash looked at the cupcake and then back at Serena. He finally gave in and took a bite of it bringing back memories which were so beautiful.

He felt bitter even if he was having a cupcake.

"It's really nice Ms. Serena." He said giving a small smile. Serena was ofcourse shocked but then she got a dejá vu, smiling she thanked Ash for the compliment.

"Your boyfriend is very lucky to have you!" One of the male staff commented and Ash stopped swallowing for a second as there was feeling in his chest.

It was definitely not jealously. Something else which he couldn't figure out.

He enjoyed rest of the cupcake and got back to work. Serena was happy that he didn't refuse it because she knows his love for sweets more than anyone else here.

<3 thenkyu for reading!