Love in the Time of Tropics

Chapter 21: A Race

As of the posting of this chapter, the entire Alola Trilogy is completely written. Therefore, there is never a need over the next many, many months of publication for this to ever really go off-schedule. But for now, let's enjoy Chapter 21!

Chapter 21

A Race

"I hope they're doing okay..." Clemont spoke, his voice trembling as he gripped on the edge of the stone balcony they had been directed to. His gaze was cast downward towards his nails instead of overlooking the jungle where the trial was currently taking place. Serena's own expression turned from one of scrutiny to worry and she looked over at her friend.

"I'm sure that Bonnie will be just fine," she reassured him. The words didn't appear to do anything to assuage his fears however, the lemon blond inventor digging in even further to the point that his fingers were turning red. Serena sucked a breath in and reached over, touching his shoulder as she balanced her egg carefully. "Clemont."

"What? I'm fine! I'm fine..." he blurted out, clearly without thinking. It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself of this notion. "It's just...the last time Bonnie was really left all alone..."

"But she's not alone," Serena reminded him. Clemont finally looked up at her and the Performer could now see the trepidation present in his gaze. He really was frightened about leaving Bonnie alone. Of course, she knew he trusted Ash, but none of them knew how deadly the jungle could possibly be. It didn't help that Rotom was taking pictures of every Pokémon and adjusting his calculations for success every couple minutes.

"I know she's not..." Clemont expressed. His fingers stopped digging into the stone, but were now piercing into his palm. "I just...if I'm not there to protect her..."

"Clemont, what's wrong?" she asked quietly. For a brief moment, she wondered if all of this was really just about Bonnie being on her own with Ash. Clemont had been acting off since they had left Melemele, really. It wasn't obvious, but there appeared to be something on his mind that he was struggling with and didn't want to tell anybody about. "You know you can tell me anything. I think of you as my best friend, and I know Ash feels the same."

"Mm," Clemont vocalized. He appeared conflicted, but without him saying anything, it made it impossible for her to discern just what he was conflicted about. That frustrated her. How could she help people, bring a smile to their face, if they weren't willing to open up and talk about it? Hoping to encourage him, Serena reached forward and took his hands, feeling them unclench in her own. It was a start. "It's just...how do I put it..."

"Try with words, Clemont," she told him softly. The inventor sucked in a breath and then spoke only two words, ones that appeared to encapsulate everything.

"I'm scared."

Serena wasn't sure what to make of that. Scared of what? Losing Bonnie? Ash not completing his trials? Or was it something different? Something so far beneath the surface that Serena couldn't understand? She frowned a bit, even though she knew that offering Clemont a smile might have been for the best. Not knowing which of those it could possibly be, Serena decided to deal with the one that she figured was the easiest. "You know, you don't have to be scared for Bonnie all the time. She's grown a lot and been through just as much as the rest of us. In less than a year she's going to be her own trainer and have lots of her own adventures and all we can do is support her from afar."

"I-I know that!" Clemont insisted, his cheeks going pink. Serena tilted her head, much like Ash and Pikachu when they were confused about something. "It's not that, it's-" The sound of footsteps coming out to the stone balcony interrupted him, causing him to shake his head. "It's nothing."