The Fireworks

The Fireworks.
Serena awoke to a bright light coming from the window early in the morning. The sun rays sent a warm feeling from her face all the way down to her toes which were cold from last night. Serena knew she shifted in her sleep for years so she found herself lying on her cold bedroom floor. She wondered when the cold got to her but noticed she didn’t take the blanket with her when she fell to the floor last night. Serena grabbed onto her bedpost to support herself off the floor and made her bed, gently pressing out the wrinkles in her sheets and laying her blanket symmetrically with her pillows. Looking around her room it was exactly the same as she left it before her journey, the only difference was the multiple pictures on a cork board on the wall with her the gym leaders, with her mother, some with friends and the picture she took with everyone at her parade after beating the league. Next to the cork board was a glass hanging case with her metal, a lasting symbol of her completion of the Pokémon league.
Serena quickly shook herself out of memory lane and ran over to her dresser, she pulled out the one piece dress she wore often, which was a combo of a black sleeveless shirt and short red skirt attached at the ends; which she put on a hanger for now. Serena ran over to her bathroom and stripped out of her pajamas, walking into the bathtub and turned the water on. She made sure to wash her long golden brown locks of hair with care and wash her slender body with the special soap she buys the keep her skin as radiant as it could be; a girl has to keep her looks up even in her adventures. Serena stepped out of the shower and took a clean fluffy towel out of the cabinet, drying her delicate skin as she walked over to the large mirror in her room. She took out a brush and hair dryer from the drawer to brush to style her hair, making it slightly poof out but look healthy and silky to the touch.
Serena took the dress she picked out earlier and she put it on, slipped into it from the bottom and slipping on her knee high black socks. She ran over to the mirror and spun around, doing a curtsy afterwards telling herself “Gosh I look so cute in this!” though noticing what she did Serena kept her serious composure; she really tries to keep her girlish side in. Serena walked downstairs and grabbed her pink brimmed flat hat with white sunglasses attached for sunny days, she quickly slipped on her high-top pink shoes. “I’m going out Mom.” She said while walking out the door. From her skirt pocket came the sound of the Holo Caster ringing; she pulled out the caster to see Shauna was calling. Serena answers with a calm yet serious tone.
“Good morning Shauna. What made you call me out of the blue?” Serena asked without being sarcastic about it, due it to being so frequent of her to call.
“Serena I need to meet up with you… I need to talk to you about something, maybe some life counseling.” Shauna quietly asks.
“Okay Shauna I can do that, but why are you so down?” Serena asked with great concern. She’s never this down; Shauna is normally a hyper and peppy girl like a small child with too much sugar in their system.
“I’ll explain it to you when we meet up, I’ll be in South Lumiose at Café Introversion.” The Holo Caster went blank. Serena stood there with worry in her mind; she’d never seen Shauna look so sad before. Serena reached into her other pocket and threw out her pokeball which contained Talonflame, which latched onto the back of her dress and lifted her into the air, setting a course for Lumiose City. Due to Lumiose not being too far away from Serenas home town of Vaniville it didn’t take long for her to arrive. The City was just as busy as normal, taxis flying by and lots of fashionable people flooded the sidewalks. The large buildings towered over everything, piercing the clouds that would reach to heaven itself. The largest tower stood in the middle of the whole City, the Lumiose City gym which was modeled after the Eiffel Tower, a model which was found in old books from the past.
Serenas Talonflame dropped her in front of the Southern Pokémon center; Serena returned her Pokémon and popped on her thin rollerblades to skate off to Café Introversion. Passing by all the various shops, the scent of bread and crescents’ wafted in the air and the people say “Good day to you!” or “How do you do today?” as Serena passed by. They all knew her; she’s very popular everywhere she goes because of her champion status. Riding with the wind in her hair she pulled out her map on the Holo Caster to make sure she’d be going into the right café. And she was, because out front of a red colored café was two outdoor tables which one of them has a cute petite girl. She wore a pink, short sleeve shirt with black ribbons going down the front. The shorts that she wore had black frill coming out of the leg holes that gave sort of a Lolita look to a pair of worn blue jean shorts. Her hair shared the same color of her skin, which was light brown in color. Her hair was done up in ponytails and some hair that rings around where ponytails start and to this day Serena still wonders how she gets her hair to do that.
Serena saw in Shaunas big brown eyes a look of sadness, Shauna noticed Serena staring at her from across the street, trying to keep a perky attitude but slumping back into a sad expression. Serena walked over to the table and pulled out the seat across the table from Shauna and sat down. The two girls sat in silence for what seemed like forever, not a word was said till Serena broke the slience.
“Alright Shauna, what was it that you need from me?” She tried to say without seeming insensitive, but felt it might end up being something silly like Shauna didn’t get what she wanted and is crying to her about it. Shauna looked up from the table, her eyes and face covered in lines of tears flowing from her gentle brown eyes.
“Serena… Calem has been saying some very hurtful things to me. He’s been making fun of my looks, he’s told me I’m an annoying little brat, he’s been bullying me relentlessly and all this because I…. I told him that I loved him.”
“Oh that’s all? Over a petty love conf- Wait excuse me, I think I just heard you say he’s been bullying you because of this?” Serena was shocked yet not surprised by this just because Calem was a quiet guy to begin with, she figured he’d be a bit unbalance. Shauna nodded her head slowly as she pulled her leg out from under the table which had a bandage on it.
“He ended up pushing me to the dirt after the confession and I got scraped pretty badly, he then brutally insulted me afterwards.” Serena was now pretty concerned knowing how that kind of guy works, they won’t stop till they break a person and in this case it’s a frail girl with a broken heart.
“Shauna I have a proposition for you.” Shauna looked in Serenas eyes quietly like a sad lost puppy hoping for safety.
“Calem wouldn’t dare stand up to me knowing his gap in power compared to me, he might be a guy but he’s pretty scrawny to be a manly man. How about I take my time to protecting you when you need it most? I don’t have many things going on anymore since I’ve completed my journey.”
Shaunas eyes lit up like fireworks and she let out a squeal or excitement.
“Really Serena, you’d do that for me?!” Shauna shrieked in happiness, making Serena blush intensely from what she just suggested.
“W-well it’s only for your personal safety Shauna….” Suddenly an idea popped in Serenas mind.
“Hey Shauna I have an idea.” Shauna looked up at her with hopeful eyes of it being something fun.
“How about I take you up to the Parfum Palace and spend the night there? It’ll be my treat and god knows you could use it Shauna.”  Shauna looked at Serena in silence, excitement building up in her soul and Serena could tell.
“You don’t have to tell me, I know the answer is yes. Meet me there at sunset today, I’ll be at the front gates and have a room already booked for us.” Serena got up and brought out her Talonflame, the bird once again grasped its master’s shirt and whisked Serena back to her home. Shauna took suit and brought out her Togekiss to whisk her away.
Later that night at the front gates of Parfum Palace awaited Serena with a large bag filled with many things for the night stay such as beauty supplies, some clothes and a surprise. Right on the dot when the sun was setting Shauna arrived riding on her Togekiss, her face brimming with an excited smile of what’s to come. She really did like surprises and couldn’t wait for what’s Serena had planned. Shauna hopped off her Togekiss and returned it to its ball, running over to Serena, huffing a bit from the short run.
“I’m sorry if I’m late Serena, I didn’t know what I needed to bring so I brought a change of clothes and games.” Serena laughed lightly and smiled.
“You really didn’t have to bring anything with you besides clothes Shauna; I’ve got most of the night covered. Here Shauna, take my hand and I’ll lead you in to our room.” Shauna slightly blushed and took Serenas held out, the two of them walking into the courtyard which was massive. It had well trimmed bushes in the shape of all kinds of different Pokémon, Furfrous and Swirlix, Spritzze and Gogoats. And speaking of large things, the Mansion was massive with an old timey feel to it, like an old century castle you’d see in history books or fairy tales. The massive front doors were opened up by a pair of butlers who were expecting the two girls; Shauna was amazed by the lovely interior of the mansion, the beautifully designed wooden flooring to the elaborately designed bashe wallpaper.
In the front room was a collection of golden statues of Pokémon and one of which stood out the most was the most elegent water Pokémon known; Milotic. The two girls were lead down the halls and up the stairs to the mansions bedrooms which were off limits for most to sleep in except those of high honor, and being the new champ Serena got this special honor. The butler opened the door to one of the rooms in the hall to show off a bedroom just as lavish as the rest of the mansion, a long mirror took up most of wall to the side which was lined with an extravagant design made from gold, and at the far back or the room was a king size bed with a overhand on top with white, gold and red trim hanging down. The green sheets were spread onto the bed which stood out from the rest of the room but added some character to the bed.
Next to the bed has a large dresser of which Shauna put her bag down on, as Serena walked over to the door leading into the bathroom.
“I’ll be out in a second and I’ll explain what the plan is for tonight.” Shauna nodded and sat onto the velvet covers of the bed. They were silky and smooth to the touch, a material which would be very comfy on pajamas or sheets such as these. The time passed by and the sun got lower and lower in the window, Shauna wondered what Serena was doing in there to be taking so long; then the door opened. Serena came out of the bathroom with her golden brown locks straightened which made her look a little more childish but just as elegant as before. What she was wearing was the bigger shock that caught Shauna off guard. Serena was wearing a short tan Kimono with black bows attached to the drooping long sleeves. She wore a black sash tied around her waist that showed off her hips and breasts, she also wore long knee high tan socks and black sandals with little tan ribbons on them.
Serena slightly blushed and covered her face with embarrassment being seen like this, Shauna giggling to the sight.
“Serena you look so cute and darling!” Shauna squeaked which made Serena blush more.
“W-well I figured it would be nice to dress up for an night such as this, in Jhoto its custom in their culture to dress in Kimonos for festivals so I went and asked a favor from the Furisode girls to make Kimonos for the both of us.” Shaunas face lit up and she jumped off the bed.
“So you’re saying there’s one for me as well?!” Shauna jumped with happiness in her heart.
“Yes of course Shauna, go into the bathroom and find my bag, it’s inside there. I’ll be waiting for you on the balcony that oversees the backyard of the mansion.” Shauna nodded and ran into the bathroom, Serena then headed out of the room. She walked down the hall and was both embarrassed yet comfy in her Kimono, she wasn’t used to wearing such cutesy clothes like this, but she always wanted to. Serena opened the doors to an open hallway to the balcony, the breeze was cold that hit her legs as she walked was to be expected for the night air. She walked down the hallway that had pillars lined all the way down to the other side which had another door to get back inside. In the openings of the pillars was the balcony which was her waiting spot for Shauna.
The balcony is a viewing point to the backyard or the mansion, which had a maze of hedges that were well trimmed from the gardeners to make it look extravagant for visitors. Then there’s the backyards main selling point, the two large statues of what are known as the legendary dragons in the Unova region, Zekrom and Reshiram. Serena heard the sound of sandals clacking in the hallway and knew Shauna was almost here.
“S-Serena I’m here.” She heard Shaunas shy voice from behind and turned around. Shauna definitely put on the Kimono, it was a short purple one that puffed out at the bottom, and the sash tied around her waist showed her developing hips. The top part of the kimono had the sleeves brushed down slightly to show off her shoulders which she tried covering in her own embarrassment, trying not to show off too much of her small chest. And of course she wore knee high purple socks with black sandals which had little purple bows on them, but what stood out the most was Shauna let down her hair and straightened it as well; her bangs were straightened out and pushed to the side of her face.
“Well don’t you look cute in your kimono Shauna?” Serena teased her for doing the same earlier.
“Y-yes of course I do! I look cute in everything!” Shauna proudly proclaimed as she walked over to the railing with Serena.
“So why are we out here Serena?” Shauna questioned as Serena brush Shaunas hair with her hand.
“Oh you’ll see in a second, it’s a fond memory that you and I hold close.” Shauna looked up at her in great excitement.
“Y-you didn’t! Did you?” Shauna was shushed by Serena and she pointed up to the sky. Shauna looked up as a flash of light shot into the sky and exploded in the air, yes it was as she thought; fireworks. Shauna gazed in amazement at the bright lights and colors filled the dark night sky but felt a cold chill up her body which made her shiver. And to her surprise she felt a pair of arms wrap around her small waist. Serena was holding the small girl from behind to keep her warm, looking down at Shauna with a gentle smile.
“I saw you shivering so I figured I’d keep you warm.” They both blushed, Shauna from the kind unexpected gesture and Serena from the not so natural feeling of doing this in kindness. They both watched the fireworks pop in the air in silence that seemed to last forever, the warmth of their bodies cradling each other gently.
“Hey Serena,” Said Shauna suddenly “Remember the first time we watched fireworks together?” Serena nodded slightly.
“Of course I remember Shauna; it’s one of your favorite memories with me. Why do you think I set this up?” Shauna blushed more hearing this.
“Yes well remember what I said back then?” Shauna asked.
“Of course, that you were happy to be watching fireworks with me alone and that you feel closer to me for it.”
“Yes that. Well I lied, because right now I’ve never felt closer to anyone I know than you. I’m so happy you did this for me, to cheer me up and to keep me strong in a hurtful world.” Shauna rested her hand onto Serena’s and snuggled into her embrace.
“There’s not a single person I’d want to be with right now than you Serena. Thank you for your kindness.” Serena blushed deeply from her kind words and so did Shauna.
The two girls silently watched the fireworks finale, Shauna intertwined in Serenas arms.