Amourshipping : One Day Off

Chapter 5

"What do I think of Serena?" 

Clemont had asked such an unusual question, completely out of nowhere. The group had finished the food Clemont had made, and sat in what had been a fairly odd silence. The only real noise had come from the Pokemon, specifically from Chespin and Pancham, getting into one of their silly fights, and Pikachu and Hawlucha trying to break it up. Serena nor Clemont had even tried to stop the fight, as that seemed to be the routine at that point. 

For Ash, who was normally talkative and energetic, the silence awkward and uncomfortable. He had no idea what was going on. 

"That's right." Clemont said, confirming what Ash had just asked. "I want to know what you think of Serena."  

"... This seems a bit out of the blue, Clemont. What's going on?" Ash said, raising an eyebrow in disbelief that this was just simple curiosity. He was dense, he knew that, but he wasn't stupid.  

"Just... Humor me." Clemont sighed.  

"...She's a childhood friend, and a great friend at present. She gives me inspiration when I'm feeling down, and I admire her willingness to go on until the bitter end." Ash said. 

"Yes, okay, but what do you think of her?" 

Ash stared blankly at Clemont. "Okay, now you've lost me." 

"Do you like her?" Clemont asked. 

Ash raised his eyebrow again. "Yeah, of course I do." 

"Do you like her like her?" 

"... When the heck did you get so interested in my personal life?" Ash asked. "This doesn't seem like you, Clemont." 

"When did you get so perceptive?" Clemont jokingly asked. This got a chuckle from Ash. 

"Do I like Serena like Serena?" Ash repeated. He already knew the answer was yes. He did have basic understanding of the concept of romance. He was dense, but he did have the capacity to understand 

The question now was weather or not he was willing to admit it to Clemont. Clemont was a friend, and since he had saved him from the fall in the Lumiouse Gym, he trusted him completely. But on the other hand, he hadn't even told Pikachu, his most trusted companion and best buddy in the world how he felt about Serena. He had only known Clemont for a while, while he had known Pikachu for years. Somehow, that didn't sit right with him. 

Then again, did it matter? Did it really matter who knew first? Serena was the one who deserved to know, not so much Clemont or even Pikachu for that matter. 

"... You saw how I helped her today?" Ash asked. 

"Yeah."  

"I haven't helped out anyone else I've traveled with like that before. Take that for what it's worth. I helped her before, when we were kids, and back when I went to battle Viola, she helped me. I'm grateful for that. I owe her a lot... So, maybe I do." He said with a smile. 

Clemont smiled. "That's not surprising. You can fool my sister and Serena, but not me." 

"Evidently" Ash laughed. But after he had laughed, a feeling of dread came over him when he realized basically what he had done. "Uh... Why do you care, anyway?" 

"I'm traveling with you guys. I'd like to at least know where everyone stands." Clemont said, giving his reasoning. 

Ash sighed. That made sense, he supposed. But he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that something else was going on. 

That night, Ash went on a small walk. He was unable to sleep, and Pikachu had picked up on this, and accompanied him. They understood each other well enough for Ash to understand generally what Pikachu was saying, but still had to rely on Pikachu's exasperated actions to completely understand for more complicated explanations.