Rumor Has It

-2-

The rest of the journey to Anistar City was mostly uneventful. Occasionally, the group got side-tracked, or had to stop Team Rocket from doing something idiotic. The worst part of trip was the trainers who came up to Serena and congratulated her for her new girlfriend. At first, Serena had protested that Miette wasn't her girlfriend, but eventually she had resigned herself to a life of teasing.

However, once they got to Anistar City, everything changed. "We should head to the Pokémon center before it gets dark," Clemont said. "And in the morning, we should check the dates for when the next Pokémon Showcase here will be."

Everyone murmured in assent, and they made their way through the maze of streets to the Pokémon center. Serena, however, stopped cold when she saw just who else was entering the Pokémon center. She recognized that short blue hair and Slurpuff instantly. "Oh, no," she muttered to herself. "It's Miette." She hadn't seen Miette since that day in Dendemille, where the picture was taken, and she wasn't sure if she could face the other girl now that they were 'dating'.

"Serena, what's wrong?" asked Ash, noticing that she was lagging behind the rest of the group.

"N-nothing," Serena sputtered, feeling her face begin to flame. 

"Alright!" Ash said, and Serena blinked. How could he be so dense? "Let's go then!" Ash grabbed her hand, dragging her along. To her surprise, Serena did not feel any of the warm crush tingles that usually came with touching Ash. There wasn't anything there--- just the feeling of Ash's hand in hers. He felt like Clemont, she realized with a surprise. Clemont, who she didn't have a crush on. Could this mean....?

Serena's train of thought was interrupted by the Pokémon Center doors opening, bringing her closer to Miette. Holy crap, this was not gonna be fun. 

"I'll go get us a room, okay?" she said. She didn't want to be with her friends in a place with Miette. They'd tease her until she dropped dead from it. 

Staying in Anistar City must have been popular this time of year, or she'd have a lot of competition in her upcoming Showcase, because there was a line leading up to the counter. Serena shrugged. Her friends would have to wait for the free food and cheap board. She took a few steps forward--- and almost ran back to her friends when she realized that she'd have to stand in line behind Miette. No, she could do this. She was too much of a coward already. She'd just have to hope Miette wouldn't notice her.

But apparently, Miette did, because she turned around. When she saw Serena and her Fennekin, her eyes widened and a faint blush stained her face. "S-serena!" she said, nervously. "I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Of course I'm here! I'm not about to stop at one Princess Key!"

Miette smiled shakily. "I g-guess I should've thought of that. But there are other Showcase location around Kalos, s-so..."

Serena steeled herself, and met Miette's eyes. "The next gym badge is here, too, and you know Ash is trying to conquer the gyms."

Was it Serena's imagination, or did Miette look kind of jealous at that? Before she could confirm her suspiscions, however, Miette was smirking again. "Of course. You'd do anything for Ash Ketchum."

The Serena before the newspaper article would have agreed, but now she found herself truthfully saying, "No, I wouldn't."

Miette glanced from side to side, and leaned in close to Serena, her breath tickling Serena's ears. "Look," Miette whispered. "After we get our rooms here, we need to talk."

Serena squirmed uncomfortably. Miette was so close to her, and she could feel her face heating up at the proximity. "About what?" she asked.

"You know what," Miette hissed. "That pesky gossip columnist. The one who made everybody congratulate me on my new girlfriend."

"Okay," Serena gupled. Miette could be surprisingly scary.

"Right," Miette said, and pulled away. Serena put her hands up to her cheeks. They were definitely warmer than usual.