teenage nightmare ² ━━ amour

3o.

3o.
chapter thirty:
are we...*gulp*
falling apart?

I stared at my screen as we trekked on.

Serena <3: I'll let you know if I can take up your offer. :)

"Come on, man. I'm sure she'll find a way," Gary cheered.

I grunted but didn't reply. Several events flashed in my mind during the walk. Back when everyone was doing something for the inter-school competition, I just wanted to be with her, but she invited her friends along; even when we did find ourselves alone, she inched away as far as she could from me. The talks about her taste in music, her social life—they were really rare.

In fact, now that I thought about it, she rarely confides what happens in her life to me. It has always been me who sends her the first good morning, but the initial good nights would be from her.

Then there had been that peculiar time when I confessed I had found new friends in Misty and Brock, and she had told me that I might no longer need her. I had hurried to tell her that I loved talking to her not just because I was telling her my burdens, but because it actually felt good. However, it was as if she did not wish to talk to me...

I took a gulp from my water bottle. I could faintly hear Dawn reprimanding me for the action, but I was too mulled over in my thoughts for it to actually make sense.

Sometimes, I feel like I'm just a chapter in her book while she's been my whole story.

The sun was out, shining overhead. However, it wasn't so warm, seeing as we were amidst deep woods. The canopies of trees only allowed daylight to streak very minutely to the ground. Thick undergrowth crushed under our boots—moss and lush grass.

Toadstools and fungi grew in nooks, and large roots almost tripped people. May nearly fell, but Drew and Barry managed to catch her by the elbows. Ever since, all the clumsy members of our group were made to walk between the sturdier ones.

I was a special case, having gone through physical trauma lately, and was surrounded by Gary and Misty despite not being clumsy.

Professor Sycamore was leading with Professor Olympe behind us to make sure nobody was left behind. All of us had access to their numbers in case we found ourselves lost.

Lost.

The word reminded me of an exhilarating yet sorrowful memory of the distant past: my first encounter with Serena and a pinch of her optimism.

It was in the Pallet woods, back when we were six-year-olds, when she had lost her way and injured herself. While I had been on the run from Gary and several bullies, I encountered her, vulnerable and crying out for help.

Never would I have realized that helping her out that fine day would forge a beautiful friendship.

One that looks on the verge of crumbling.

I shook the bitter thought away and concentrated on the flora around me. It might sound fairly simple, but it was a hard task to admire something when you might potentially lose a precious gem on the hunt for something better.

It was times like this that I wanted to run to my bedroom and curl up under the covers: dilemma. I couldn't face the cruel, green-eyed monster—Jealousy—because of how easily replaceable I was. Nobody could shake that feeling away, I realized with a pang of hurt.

My foot hit something hard, and I kicked it forward in desperation: a wayward stone rolled over. I continued playing with it as it rolled down with gravity. Torturing an inanimate object seemed to be a real stress buster. "I spy with my little eye something that starts with 'R'," I spoke, surprising myself.

"Root?" May asked, turning around to face me. I shook my head.

"Rock?" Kenny guessed, and I nodded in affirmation. "Yes! My turn. I spy with my little eye something red."

I looked up in confusion as Gary and Misty exchanged glances over my shoulder. Red? In the middle of the woods?

"Duh, May's attire," Drew replied. Then we noticed that—a very red—May was wearing a set of crimson overalls. "Anyways, I spy with my little eye something big—whoa!"

"Look out!"

My eyes widened, and I pushed Gary to the side, diving with him face-first into the soft grass. The rumble of the rock passed our hearing, and we looked back. It was a medium-sized rock, but dangerous nonetheless. Ahead, the Alolan students and Professor Sycamore were all gasping for breath as they lay on the ground.

With a sudden surge of panic, I looked at where Serena's group had been. A relieved sigh escaped my lips upon seeing them in the same position as the rest of us, breathing hard.

"It would be better to be watchful of what's ahead!" We faintly heard Professor Sycamore's voice. "I'll try to send a warning should there be any more landslides!"

Barry gave a quick thumbs-up to indicate that we had heard him. Gary helped me back to my feet, thanking me for the save. I shook it off and looked over my shoulder to catch a glimpse of Calem helping Serena and Lisia up. Phew.

The trek continued for what stretched out to be an hour. Upon reaching the top, May, Dawn, Kenny, and Gary fell to the ground, panting and puffing. I couldn't help the smirk that graced my face. "Here I am, my entire right side sore and an injury to the chest, and here you guys are, perfectly fine yet low on stamina!" I teased.

Dawn gripped a handful of grass and threw it at me. It didn't make it halfway through. "We aren't used to hiking, mate," Kenny said through gasps. "Not to mention the occasional roll of some insane boulder."

I said nothing and instead looked at my phone. There was no notification besides one informing me that my network pack was running out soon. I frowned and looked over at where Serena and her group were. Trevor seemed like the only one tired out in their group.

I held back a sigh as I saw Serena offer her water bottle to the boy. Am I seeing things wrong, or is she getting distant?