Pairings: Calem x Serena, Trevor x Shauna, onesided Trevor x Serena and onesided Calem x Shauna

Timeline: Post endgame

Warnings: Angsty fluff with mild "who da thunk it" clichéness

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

Authors Note: NA

.X.

"It's going to become obvious if you keep staring like that, Trev," Shauna says. She flops down next to me on the bench I'm currently occupying. Her eyes are sad.

"Staring at what?" I ask, pretending I'm not fully aware of what she's implying. Shauna nudges me.

"Don't do that," she snaps, "just admit it. Save yourself the trouble of having to explain it later." She doesn't get it.

"What about yourself?" I fire back. She goes quiet. "You can say I'm obvious all you want but at least I don't stalk her whenever we're in the same town. You seem to do that a lot to our friend."

Shauna punches me, hard. It's only then do I see the angry tears in her eyes. I deflate. "I'm sorry. I'm just so wound up I don't know where I'm supposed to hurt."

She screws up her face in an attempt to be angry with me. How can she be? We're in the same boat. Finally, as if a light goes out in her, she sighs, "I know. Me too."

We both turn to face the couple we were just so blatantly staring at. Neither of us speaks. It aches too much to voice it anymore.

I hadn't a clue in the world when they fell for each other. I always thought they were too busy being rivals to even look at the other person they way they look at each other now. With adoration. Love. The way I'd always hoped—the way I want her to look at me.

Calem says something to Serena that makes her laugh. My heart clenches. They sit so close to another, spooning ice-cream in each other's mouths. It's hard to believe they were anything but a couple at one point.

I feel dirty for just imposing in on their date like this, but I can't help it. Some part of me wants to know what's so special about Calem and why don't I have that quality to attract Serena to me?

I glance at Shauna and know immediately she's thinking the same thing as I am. It's puzzling. Unfortunately, I don't have the picture to go along with the puzzle to solve it. Just glimpses of an image that if solved would make everything right – clear in this world. But I don't have the full picture.

"Can we go somewhere else?" Shauna says brokenly. I nod. She stands, fleeing away from the square. I didn't move quite fast enough, witnessing Calem kiss Serena.

"Shauna…" I say once I find her. I have nothing else to say. She knows it, too. I kneel next to her to draw her close.

She takes a shuddering breath, "Trevor… Every time I look at them, I can't help but wish it was me instead of Serena. Serena's my best friend and I want nothing more than for her to be happy, but I can't help but want it. I want to be the girl that Calem looks at with such loving eyes. I want everything I can't have. Serena's been through so much for us – she deserves to have him – but if she hadn't come into the picture, Calem would have fallen for me." I still don't say anything. "Does that make me a bad person, Trevor? Selfish even?"

I hesitate. Everything she just said is how I feel as well. If Calem hadn't helped Serena against Team Flare or if he just didn't exist, Serena would be mine. However, there will always be this big 'what if' hanging over our heads. If Calem didn't exist, Serena might find someone else. There will always be someone else.

So I say, "No, you're not selfish. You're human. We all have these thoughts, Shauna. These dreaded feelings of desire that ultimately make us feel guilty in the end. I have them too. Every time I see them together, I wish I could reverse the clock and tell her I love her before she realized it was Calem. I want nothing more than for us to have Calem and Serena – respectively. At one point, perhaps, our romantic feelings towards Calem and Serena could have been made true. We just took too long. There's nothing we can do to change that, though." Jeez, I'm getting sentimental. Tierno would have a field day. "I just want her to be happy." That line is such bullshit, but I don't say this to Shauna.

Shauna looks at me with trusting eyes, "Can we invent time travel, Trevor? For just you and me?" She wipes her eyes, "Or maybe we just enter into a universe of our own, one where we could craft the circumstances ourselves. A world that we control. One where we can be happy all the time. One where Calem and Serena see us differently." Shauna balls her fists, "Don't we deserve to be happy, Trevor?"

"We do," I agree. After a moment, I say the words I never wanted to hear. I say them simply because they need to be said. Or so I tell myself. "So we have to stop dwelling in these feelings that we have that will never be reciprocated. We have to move on, Shauna. It'll take time, feelings don't just disappear overnight, but it has to happen. There's other people in this big world. Someday, I'd like have a girl who looks at me like Serena looks at Calem. For that to happen though…" I trail off, needing a moment to gather my courage. "For that to happen… I have to stop loving Serena."

Shauna's silent, mulling over my words. "And I have to stop loving Calem." Our words have a sense of finality to them. Maybe now we could actually be content with our friend's relationship, now that we've admitted these feelings will never go anywhere.

"I should have fallen in love with you first, Trevor. Maybe then it wouldn't be this painful," Shauna says bitterly. The girl I'm so use to being around – bright and cheery Shauna – has been replaced by this sullen girl. I can't help but think the same thing, regardless.

I squeeze her hand, standing. I help her to her feet. "Under any other circumstance, I wish I fell in love with you first." I don't let go of her hand and she doesn't pull away.

Shauna's right. If we fell in love with each other first – or anyone else for that matter – it wouldn't feel as if I was constantly being strangled. Strangled and stabbed. There's too many 'what if's' in this world and it's making my head hurt. Everything else hurts, so why should my head suffer as well?

"Let's go back," Shauna whispers, only to correct herself, "let's go home, all of us." I nod.

I glance at our connected hands and smile sadly. If I fell in love with Shauna before this mess happened, maybe then would I have a picture to put my puzzle together.

For now, however, my puzzle will remain thousands of pieces with no clear end result. After all, isn't that what it's like to be in love?

.Fin.

This turned out more bitter and lovely than I intended – not to mention longer. I honestly love this little snippet I wrote. Shauna clearly has some feelings for Calem and I have a little headcanon that Trevor's in the same boat as Shauna. So sometimes, you just have to pick yourself up and realize there will be someone else. You have to believe that. Anyways, enough of my philosophical tidbit, I hope you enjoyed and you'll be seeing me again in some more light hearted fics.

~Emerald~