"And the winner of the Kalos League is Ash Ketchum!"

"What an amazing battle with Greninja!" Clemont exclaimed, pushing up his glasses.

"Yay, Ash!" Bonnie shouted out.

But Serena didn't hear either of them. She was already running to meet him.

Suddenly, she turned to face the other direction. Not too big a motion, and not too loud a sound. But it woke him up anyway.

So Ash checked the clock. An hour had passed since he'd climbed into bed. It was a miracle that he'd managed to get even a minute of sleep. Before a big battle, he tended to be full of energy...and not tired at all.

Soon enough, he walked down the stairs and into the hallway where she was waiting. But he didn't seem to notice her.

"I came to tell you that you did a great job!" she said with a smile. Still, he didn't respond. He went right past her.

She shifted a bit. And a bit more.

"Are you awake?" he whispered.

He got no answer...just kept on watching her sleep. It was a bit strange...

And-typical Ash-there was something sticking out of his pocket. It looked like...a bookmark? No.

"Where's that ticket to?" she asked. No reply came. "Come on! Don't go!"

He jumped up. Was she talking to him?

"Serena, I'm not going anywhere!" he exclaimed.

She couldn't hear him. But two siblings did.

"W-what did you say?" Clemont yawned.

Bonnie's eyes blinked open. "Did you say something about Serena?"

He just pushed open the door and left.

She followed. "What's wrong?"

He continued, now sprinting, to wherever his destination was. She couldn't keep up. "You can tell me! What happened? Ash! Please! Don't go!"

"Serena! I'm fine! I'm right here!" he insisted. "I'm not leaving you! What's going on?"

"I think she's talking in her sleep..." the blonde inventor told him.

"So, then...I'm..."

"In her dream." the other lemon-head finished.

"It doesn't sound like a very good one...should I wake her up?"

"No! Don't!" Bonnie had a smug smile on her face. She wanted to hear what would happen next.

Yet he didn't turn back. He was just getting farther and farther ahead, and she couldn't reach him. She never would...he just kept on going on and on, forward and forward...

"No...Ash...why...Don't go...I never told you..." The first tear slid down her cheek.

Serena woke with a start. "Ash!"

"Yeah...?"

"What? Wait...how..." And then she realized. Of course.

The moon was shining, just hours before the first battle of the Lumiose Conference was to begin. Her four best friends were standing around her bed.

"Are you okay? You were saying something like 'don't go'..." the raven-haired boy asked her, concerned.

"ASH, don't go." Bonnie corrected with a smirk.

Her face turned bright red, obvious even in the dark. "I-I'm fine! It-it was just a dream, that's all!"

"What did you 'never tell him'?" the little girl continued to tease.

"Bonnie!" If it was possible, Serena's face became even more red.

Clemont and Ash exchanged confused looks.

"Just...sorry I woke you guys up...And on the night before the League...See you in the morning." She pulled the blanket back over herself.

"It's all right. I wasn't really sleeping that well anyway- too excited for the battle!" Ash told her with a smile.

As her friends got back into their own beds, she let out a small sigh of relief. It was just a dream. Of course he would never leave out of the blue like that, or refuse to talk to her.

But how much longer do I really have?

Author's Note- This is just a one-shot that I thought I'd share to bridge the gap between chapters of Gathering My Passion!

Just to clarify...

1. It takes place in the middle of XYZ 32(after the opening but before the battles)

2. This story is NOT related to my other Amourshipping stories or one-shots!

Hope you enjoyed it!

As for the Lumiose Conference...

:(

I stil have hope for the Team Flare arc, though. Lysandre at the end...