Listen to the wind

Chapter 2: past memories catch up

Serena woke up on the sofa. A fluffy pink blanket had been draped over her and a fennekin cushion lay under her head. Drew, she thought, laughing inside. They had stayed up after that awkward situation watching contest replays and, later, watching films and drinking hot chocolate. Just the way she liked it, a warm and (slightly) cheesy evening in autumn spent with the boy you loved. Hot chocolate with six marshmallows in, Drew's personal preference and what they both agreed to be the perfect hot chocolate to marshmallow ratio.

She got up and ran upstairs, opening curtains as she went. Her room was right to the stairs, stray issues of Coordinator Weekly lay around her feet. She sighed and jumped on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Drew. Was he awake yet? It was already, what, eight, according to her alarm clock.

"About time you got up, Se." She blushed lightly at her nickname. Drew was the only boy she knew who made the most annoying of names sound adorable.

"I am up."

"You haven't changed." He looked at her.

"Don't look at me like that! And you haven't changed either." Serena squealed. She was comfortable squealing around him because she knew he never minded.

"True." He was still in his purple dressing gown. "But I've had breakfast."

"Why do you get up so early, Grasshead?"

"When did you become May 2.0? Go scoff some pancakes and get changed. Now get out of my sight!" He swatted her hair playfully as she ran down the stairs again.

He had called her like May. That meant he liked her, right? She thought as she chewed her pancakes, the sweetness of the syrup just a little too less. Or maybe it meant she was annoying. She grabbed the bottle of syrup, intending to add a little but instead creating a sticky mess.

"Ugh." she muttered to herself as she wiped it clean. Two hours before she had to be dressed and ready for an hour and so of contests, cheering, and watching May kiss Drew on the cheek. She shouldn't be thinking like this. She was sixteen and currently single and should not be having a crush on a boy at least two years older than her, and taken as well. He was a legal adult while she was still a child. Maybe he saw her just as an over enthusiastic kid, unlike May, who spoke kindly and beautifully; was both older and fuller than her; who actually looked good in short skirts. As Drew's girlfriend she was surprisingly nice to her. Upon her arrival in his house she had said, "It's like you're our little sister, Serena. Don't worry about anything, if you ever need another female figure in your life I'm always around."

Drew had spoken along the same lines. "I love you like May loves Max. You'll be fine, Se, your big brother Drew will always be here for you." She had laughed at that one. He wasn't really her brother, or anything like it as he liked to pretend.

"Now let's not waste this pancake." Serena said to herself, and shoved the remaining food in her mouth. It was time to get changed.

As she searched through her wardrobe for her usual contest clothes, Serena thought about Ash. He was so perfect; admittedly a little dense but brave and kind. She thought about Bonnie. She was in Unova, and she had really grown up. her blonde hair reached her shoulders, it must've hurt her when she had to cut it because "the school said it was too long". Bonnie had dated more boys than the number of times she thought about her. A new guy every couple of days, and always more pop music and dancing in the streets in short skirt and high heels. She thought about Clemont, he was blonde and beautiful and sweet. He made her laugh when his inventions exploded and made her cry when she had to leave.

Finally she thought about herself. She was so young then. Her little twelve-year-old heart had finally gotten what she had longed for, she was travelling across the region with the boy she loved (and certain other people) and she was in paradise. Ash Ketchum, he had made her heart shake. Now that position was taken by Drew, equally perfect and a lot more charisma. This was her decision, she had moved to another region and left Ash behind. She was sad at first but reminded herself that first love didn't mean true love. She left for a fresh start, less of her mother and her friends and Ash and showcases and more of sky and freedom and Drew and contests.

The dress she had chosen wasn't exactly short, but barely reached her knees. It reminded her of the dress she wore on her first showcase, when she had moved on from being lost to being confident. It was pale blue and had a pink bow to the right on the darker blue sash, with a frilly hem and neck. Her hair was in bunches tied with hair bands covered in tiny blue flowers. It made her look like a child, but what else was she? She wasn't eighteen or anywhere near that. It was her last contest for a while and she wanted to make it special.

"Serena?" Drew popped his head in. "The Contest's been cancelled. May is coming over, and you're leaving in two hours for your flight to Unova. You should probably get changed," he added, as he closed the door behind him.