Firework Love

Calem soon found himself near the balcony of Parfum Palace. As he stepped out through the open door, he was met with a surprise: standing at the balcony watching the sun slowly set over the horizon in the evening sky was Shauna; she had her arms rested against the balcony and she was slowly kicking her leg while watching the sunset with a bright smile. "Shauna?" Calem asked, as he slowly stepped out to see her. Hearing a voice behind her, Shauna turned her head with an expression of surprise and a bright smile immediately crossed her face when she saw Calem walking over towards her.

"Oh, hi, Calem! Glad you made it! I think the fireworks are about to start." Shauna said, waving cheerfully as Calem walked over to stand next to her. The two then looked out at the sky to notice the sun had disappeared over the horizon and as the colour of the sky changed from orange to dark blue, stars slowly started to shine like little lanterns leaving Shauna looking up with a smile of awe. "Wow... isn't the night sky beautiful? I don't know if I've told you this, Calem, but every night I would always look up at the night sky to see the stars shining above me; it's just a sight that always amazes me." Shauna commented, turning her glance to Calem who turned his head to face her, before turning her attention back to the sky. Calem nodded in agreement showing a smile that matched Shauna's; he never ceased to be impressed by the wonder of the night sky.

"Hey, Shauna?" Calem asked. Shauna turned her glance to him with an expression of surprise, wondering what he had to say. "Thanks for helping me catch Furfrou in the garden. I doubt I would have been able to do it on my own." Calem said. Shauna simply showed a bright smile; she was more than happy to help him.

"Oh, it's no problem! That's what friends are for, right? Helping each other out if one of us is in a tight spot and always supporting each other." Shauna cheerfully replied. Calem nodded in agreement, and Shauna turned her attention back to the night sky as she stared up with a smile of awe on her face. As Calem watched her, he found that he was unable to take his eyes off her.

'Man, Shauna really is someone special. I mean, how could anyone not like her? She's so cheerful, full of energy, and she'll always do whatever she can to help anyone, whether or not she knows them. I guess I should consider myself really lucky to know someone like her, considering that I've only been here in Kalos for a short time. I'm really glad I met Shauna.' Calem thought to himself, watching Shauna with a bright smile. After a few seconds, Shauna turned her glance to Calem showing a shy smile, much to his surprise.

"Calem?" Shauna asked. Calem turned his head to Shauna with an expression of surprise, while she turned her glance down as she felt a blush start to streak across her face. "I... I haven't watched fireworks alone with a boy before." Shauna simply said. She then noticed Calem's hand placed on the balcony and placed her hand on top of his, prompting him to stare at her in surprise as they both turned their attention back to the night sky. "Even though we haven't seen them yet, I know I'll never forget those fireworks." Shauna continued. She then looked up at Calem with her smile glowing brighter as she finished "...Because I watched them with you."

Calem simply stared in silence as he listened to Shauna, and then he could feel his cheeks start to glow bright red much to his surprise and he turned his glance down wondering what had gotten into him. 'I don't get it. How come I'm feeling like this? I've only known Shauna for a short while, but it feels a lot longer than that. It's almost as if... she doesn't just see me as a friend. Maybe... she sees me as something more. And as hard as it is for me to believe... I have the same feelings for her.' Calem thought to himself. He was then snapped out of his thoughts when Shauna quickly pulled her hand away and turned her glance down showing an expression of uncertainty, having just realised what she was doing.

"I – i'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking." Shauna quickly said; she was feeling worried about what Calem would say having just noticed her behaviour towards him. 'What has gotten into me? I've just realised that I have feelings for Calem, but I'm going about expressing them the wrong way. I don't want to rush things with him, but I don't want him to think there's something wrong with me.' Shauna worriedly thought to herself; it was something she didn't expect to happen, but she did, in fact, have feelings for Calem. He was always helpful, friendly to others around him and he saw the best in people no matter who they were. She honestly didn't expect to grow feelings for him this quickly, considering that she had only known him for a short while during their journey, but it just seemed to happen by itself. She then turned her glance back up to Calem, feeling uncertain of what he was going to say having just noticed that her secret had gotten out. After a few seconds, she was met with a surprise when he showed a bright smile and took her hand in his.

"Hey, it's all right, Shauna. If I'm being honest, I haven't seen fireworks alone with a girl either. And... I'm glad I'm seeing them with you too." Calem said. Shauna nearly jumped with an expression of surprise on her face, wondering if she was really hearing this. Her wonders were then confirmed as Calem continued. "This may sound a bit crazy for you to believe, but... I've started to see you as more than just a friend. I'm not sure how it happened, but even though we've only known each other for a short while, it feels like I've known you my entire life. I know I'm not really an expert when it comes to how relationships work, but I have a feeling that this is what it feels like to want to be with someone special: you want to give them everything you feel they deserve, you want to be for them and keep them safe no matter what comes their way and you always want to make sure they're happy and safe with you. And Shauna, that's exactly how I feel for you. I want to do all of those things for you." Calem explained, turning his glance to Shauna with a bright smile on his face. Shauna was staring in silence as she listened to Calem, before a big smile quickly came to her face.

"Calem... that's exactly how I feel for you too! I couldn't have said it better myself. And if it's what both of us want, I couldn't ask for anything else." Shauna replied. The two then brightly smiled at each other, but their attention was caught when they turned their glances to see a bright yellow ball of light soar into the sky before bursting in an explosion of colours: the fireworks were starting. The two then turned to watch the display, with fireworks of varying colours lit up the night sky. As they watched the fireworks, Shauna wrapped her hands around Calem's arm and rested her head on her shoulder. Calem turned his glance to her and showed a bright smile seeing how content she looked before turning his attention back to the firework display.

After a few seconds, the firework display ended and Shauna was left staring in silence before a smile of awe slowly crossed her face. "Wow... that. Was. Amazing!" Shauna happily exclaimed, jumping up in the air while Calem turned to notice her excitement, with a matching smile showing on his face; he felt glad to see that Shauna enjoyed the display as much as he did. "I don't ever want to forget this, so I'll keep this memory in an album in my heart." Shauna said. She then turned to Calem, showing a bright smile as she grabbed both his hands in hers. "Thanks so much for seeing this with me, Calem." she added.

"No problem, Shauna. I enjoyed watching the fireworks with you too." Calem replied. Shauna stared at Calem with a big smile before she walked forward leaving only a few inches of space between her and Calem, with him wondering what was up with her, and pressed her lips against his. Calem stared in stunned silence before he slowly returned Shauna's kiss, the two then wrapping their arms around each other enjoying the feeling of their friendship becoming more. After a few seconds, the two let go with them simply smiling with each other. "Wow... I didn't see that coming." Calem commented.

Shauna showed a bright smile and cheerfully giggled to herself. "But it was still a pleasant surprise, wasn't it? And it also means you're my boyfriend now!" Shauna happily said. Calem then nodded in agreement, knowing that Shauna was right. The two then started to make their way out of the palace, walking hand in hand. "I wonder how the others will react when they learn that we're boyfriend and girlfriend now. I bet they'll be thrilled!" Shauna cheerfully said, placing her spare hand under her chin to think about what Serena, Tierno and Trevor would say when they learnt about the news.

"I won't lie, Shauna. I'm new to how being in a relationship works." Calem said. Shauna turned her glance to him, the smile still remaining on her face. "That's okay; so am I! But that's a good thing, because we'll both learn about this together. And we won't be going on this journey alone anymore either; we'll be seeing what the rest of Kalos has to offer together." Shauna replied.

Calem nodded in agreement with a big smile; that sounded good to him once Shauna described it that way. He was now looking forward to finding out what his journey through Kalos would offer and he knew he wouldn't be doing it alone, because Shauna was with him.