Summary: They have a secret. She wants it stay a secret. He wants to apologize about it. Mallow heard the last bell of the day being rung. After it was heard from the entire school, everyone start gathering their things and heading out the door. As she walks towards her desk to get her backpack, her friend, Lillie, said one last thing before leaving the room. "Thanks for helping me tonight, Mallow." Lillie said her gratitude as she motion to the capsule that is currently in Mallow's arms. "It puts my mind at ease to know that you'll helping me. I'll meet you outside." "No problem!" Mallow yells just so Lillie could hear her since the blonde-haired girl has already left the classroom. Today their class was given an assignment to take of a Pokémon egg, which is currently in incubation inside the capsule. The class had a small problem of how they will take care of the egg at night. Mallow volunteered Lillie with that task as a way to help with her phobia. The blonde bookworm was reluctant at first, but quickly gathered enough courage to take on that task. Mallow, being a good friend, wants to help her out for being so brave, so she offered to help on the first night, which made her friend feel more at ease. When the chef got her backpack on, she head towards the door, but she stop when she notices that Ash Ketchum, her new classmate, is waiting for her at the door. Everyone else has already left the classroom, it is just them in the classroom. Ash look outside at the hall, making sure no one else is around. He motion Pikachu and the Rotomdex to leave the room, which they did. The Rotomdex was confused at first, but complied nonetheless while Pikachu followed his command without a thought in mind. Mallow raises an eyebrow, "Ash?" She said, "You need something?" "Can we talk?" He asked solemnly, "It's about Lillie." "Huh?" Mallow blinked, "What about her? Oh! If it's about the egg, don't worry. I'll make sure that-" "It's not about that." Ash cut her off, "Look... you see... how do I explain this." The chef notices how the energetic trainer started to get nervous, which is so unlike him. He start breaking eye contact, his speech is stuttering, and he is rubbing the back of his neck. She does not like the signs. Mallow frowns at him, "Ash, did something bad happened between you and Lillie?" "What?" The raven-haired trainer look back at her, "No! No, nothing bad happen. Well, sort of is... but I guess it depends on how you see." Mallow put on a determined look, "Whatever it is, you can tell me and I'll help you out." She told him with a supportive smile. "Alright, but first, can you promise something?" "Hmmm? What is it?" Ash motion around the classroom, "Whatever I'm about to say to you, it must never, and I repeat, MUST NEVER leaves this room." Mallow gives him a stern look, "Hai! I promise." She salute while balancing the capsule with one arm. Ash took a deep breath, "Remember the very day I first came to this school, before I started attending the Kukui-sensei's class?" "Yes." She answered simply and quick, anxious to know what the raven-haired trainer is talking about. "I first met Lillie before I was introduced to the rest of you." "Yes, we all know that." She urged him to get on with it. "On that day, me and Lille kissed." ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... "YOU KI-!? Ash was fortunate to shut her up in time, "Shhhhhh! Quiet, I don't want anyone else finding out and I'm sure Lillie doesn't want that either." Mallow nodded before Ash removes his hand from her mouth, "You two kiss?" She asked quieter, "When you guys first met? At that time? But I was there! Lana was there! Even Sophocles was there! How come we didn't see it?" Ash chuckles nervously at that question, "Have you seen how big Lillie's hat is?" That hit her like a ton of bricks. She blushes out of embarrassment when she did not realized the obvious answer to her own question. Lillie's big sunhat hid the view of the kiss that went unseen from her and the rest of her friends. "So how come you two kiss?" She questioned before giving a slight glare, "Did you kiss her?" "Hey wait a minute!" Ash held his arms up defensively, not liking that look on Mallow's face, "Why does it sound like that you're accusing me?" "Because Lillie is not that kind of girl." Mallow threateningly took a step towards the trainer from Pallet Town. Ash quickly shields himself behind his arms, "It was an accident!" Mallow drop the glare and put on a confused look, "An accident?" "Yes." Ash confirmed as he continues to explain, "After I got ran over by those Tauros, Lillie wanted to make sure if I was okay! I was about to answer her, but one of the Tauros headbutted her from behind and...well you know the rest." Mallow has a look of understanding when she remembered that particular Tauros, "I see." She said as she nodded, "So how come you two didn't show any reaction to that kiss? I mean, Lillie got scared to that Tauros instead." "Exactly, I guess you can say we were saved from embarrassment by Lillie's fear of Pokémon." Ash answered her with a chuckle, "Because, you know, that Tauros did touch her." The chef mentally slap herself, "I completely forgot about that." She sighs, "So why bring it up now?" "I think Lillie's mad at me." "Mad at you? Lillie's a sweet girl, she would neve-" Suddenly a thought went through Mallow's mind, "Wait, have you two talk about that kiss?" Ash sighs, "That's the thing, we haven't talk about it yet. Which is why I need your help." "Mind explaining?" Ash shook his head with a frown, "I tried to talk to her about it several times already, but every time I mention the word 'kiss', she makes up some sort of excuse and leaves or goes to you and Lana. The rest of the time, she acts like that kiss never happened while she tries to avoid me. It almost feels like she acts like I don't even exist." Mallow frowns when she hear the sadness in Ash's words. Ash speaks the truth when he said that Lillie has been avoiding him ever since he started attending their school. The only times Lillie acknowledges Ash is when the entire class is close together, but even those times she avoids Ash as much as she could. The chef has always thought it was because of her friend's shy personality and the fact that Ash keeps a energetic Pokémon around him does not help with any interaction between them, but it seems her reason is much deeper. "I see, so that's why she's been avoiding you. I always thought it was because Pikachu was always with you." Mallow murmurs, "Is that why you tried to help her on that fishing assignment with that Milotic? So she could warm up to you?" "Yeah," Ash said, "I really don't want things to be awkward between us. I tried to fix things, but she still ignores me when I try to bring that kiss up, which is why I need your help." Mallow smiles at Ash's honesty, she always admire that part of him. "Ash, what you're doing is honorable, but you should've told me this earlier. I would have help with you and your situation if you did and settle things a lot sooner, but you don't have to worry anymore. I'll go talk to Lillie about it." "No!" Ash yelled, surprising the chef, "If you talk to her, she'll find out that I told you about the kiss and might end up getting mad at me more." Mallow giggles at Ash's exaggeration. Although it is true that Lillie will probably catch on pretty quick that Ash spoke to Mallow about that kiss since neither Ash or Lillie have not told anybody else, until today where Mallow found out their secret from the raven-haired trainer. "Ash, like I said before, Lillie's a sweet girl, she hardly gets mad at anyone." She assures him. "Still, I don't want to risk it." He said, "Which is why I want to talk to her myself." Seeing that he wants to do this himself, Mallow nodded in understanding, "So what can I do to help, then?" Ash smiles, "Can you think up of an excuse that you can't make it to her house tonight?" He asked, "That way, I can fill in for you while I get enough chances to talk to her since it is her house." "You sure that plan can work?" Mallow asked, "She could ask the others to fill in for me." Ash grins, "Already got that covered. Kiawe has a big delivery today, Lana has doubled the training time with Popplio's bubbles, and Sophocles-" "Is always busy after school!" Mallow finished for him as she snaps her fingers, "Of course!" She beams. "See? This plan is foolproof." Ash said with a grin. Mallow's smile slowly deteriorated, "Wait, what's stopping her from ignoring you? She could also have you kick out of her house." Despite that convincing possibility, Ash's grin did not waver, "Don't worry, I got a plan for that. Now lets go, we don't want to keep Lillie waiting." She nodded, "Alright, I'll leave it up to you, Ash." Ash Ketchum, for once in his life, is glad that he did not encounter his friend, Brock Slate, in a new region, but at the same time he wishes that he was here. He needs guidance for situation which he would always get from his longest ex-traveling companion. He usually gets battling advice from the far more experienced Pokémon Trainer and Breeder with some food on the side which he gratefully appreciated. However, if there was one thing that did he not want to learn from his friend was his teachings of how to approach the opposite sex. Being 10-years old when he first started, he met plenty of girls in his first year of being a Pokémon Trainer, but he viewed them as boys who just like to wear pretty dresses, put on scented perfume, and wear skirts most of the time. He used to wonder why Brock would profess his love to every pretty women he sees. Whatever the reason was, he was not interested if he ends up looking like a fool when Brock does it. However, he soon found out that reason. Giselle, that name still lingers through his mind to this day. After all, she was his first love and who could blame him? The last time he saw her, she was the most beautiful girl he ever saw. She has gorgeous, long, silky brown hair, which is what caught his eyes in the first place. What really made him fall in love with her was her body; despite being young, she had already started blossoming into a young woman's body. She has a curvaceous body that can make other girls, her age, jealous, since she could swoon boys by just simply showing them her beauty without much effort. After his encounter with Giselle, he lost some respect for Brock. After reflecting on how he was acting when he first laid his eyes on Giselle, he berated himself for two reasons. For one: he treated Giselle like a piece of candy and not view her as a person; she may have had a foul personality, but she is still a human being, not an item that could be easily be replaced. With that thought, he felt remorseful for all the women that Brock flirted with, no one should be treated like that. The other was how he made a fool of himself, he was supposed to be helping, not stand there and make goo-goo eyes. He was no worse than Brock! Ever since then, he swore to himself to never act like that again and never treat girls like eye candy. Although, his tomboy of a friend, Misty, makes it hard to treat her as a woman. None the less, he still gives respect to the opposite sex, unless they disrespected him. Even though he told himself to treat women like he would with any people, there were actual times that he eyed at them, but quickly shake that feeling off by reminding himself to keep his promise, which is why he tend to train his Pokémon a lot to get his mind out of it or just look the other way. Thanks to his own promise, the people around him view him to be a very dense teenage boy who has yet to reach puberty, even though he already mentally and physically did. He was alright with that, he rather be seen as a dense person than a pervert. When he had those rare fights with his previous two female companions, he felt awful afterwards. To this day, he still regret those petty arguments and even believes he is the one who is the cause of their fight. Even when May and Dawn said that they already forgave him, he wanted to take responsibility of his own actions. He has still not forgotten his show of apologies to his female companions. After his first argument with May, she had him pay the bill at a really expensive restaurant after filling her bottomless stomach; that was definitely not Ash's night, especially when he found himself not eating one dish and finding his Trainer's Bank account having a rather large hole. It was worse with Dawn, she had him go shopping with her; like before, his bank account was depleted to a whole new low and he spent the whole day carrying shopping bags full of clothes without any form of help. Still, he was glad to make amends with them. Now here he is, seeking forgiveness from an almost reclusive girl. He has been hiding a frown every time he saw her get along with the others, but not with him. He knew he has screwed badly, even if it was an accident. He could have done it sooner, but that was not before he made his mind up to stay in Alola to attend the Pokémon School. He thought that accidental kiss could easily be put behind them since he was only there temporarily on vacation, but he thought badly. When he learned that he will be in the same class as her, he tried to apologized to her right way, but she scurried away when he mentioned that kiss. He had to fix this! Several Hours Later "That's a heartwarming scene." Ash thought with a smile as he continue to watch the scene. Lillie is blissfully hugging the egg against her chess and has her cheek on it, content on enjoying the warmth and feeling the life radiating from the inside of the egg. It is truly a beautiful scene and calming too. Watching her reminded Ash why he is at her house in the first place. He mentally berates himself from deviating from the plan. His plan was to gradually warm up to her so she would not feel as nervous as those previous times, which is why he tried helping her with her fear of touching Pokémon and complimenting her when given the chance, but his mind just had to wander into battling when his eyes spotted the battlefield outside. Speaking of outside, he notices that the sun is almost setting in the horizon and the sky have a tint of orange. He has to talk to her by today! Who knows when he will get another chance like this again. He suddenly felt a tug on his shirt. Turning his head, he saw Mallow pointing to Lillie's door. The chef wants to talk to him privately. Quietly, without disturbing Lillie's state of calmness and catching the butler's attention, the two classmates walked outside of Lillie's room. "I actually came here to see if you needed some help." Mallow explained to him once they were outside of their fellow classmate's room, "So how did things go while I wasn't here?" Ash chuckles sadly, "So far the only thing I was able to do is make progress, nothing else." "Is she at least not avoiding you?" She wondered. "No." "Then this is working perfectly," Mallow smile widely at him. "And I think right now is the perfect time to talk to her!" "Yeah," He agreed, "Think you can keep her butler busy?" Mallow huffed in determination, "No problem, I'll keep him busy for you and I'll make sure to take him somewhere far from here." Ash really has to thank Mallow later. In a flash, the chef was able to get the head butler, James, out of the room. Now it was just him and Lillie alone in the room. Well unless you count the Pokémon egg, Pikachu, and the Rotomdex. He took care of the two latters, "Hey Pikachu, why don't you play with the Pokémon outside." His starter squeak happily before jumping gracefully to the outside. Ash then turns to his living Pokédex, "Aren't you going to join him? There are some Pokémon out there that you could be taking pictures of and collect some info on them." The Rotomdex was easily persuaded as it floated to the outside. Ash sighs, finally alone. He looks at Lillie, who is sitting on the chair and holding the Pokémon. It almost breaks his heart that he must break the scene, but now is the good time as any. "Lillie?" The young lady, who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, opens her eyes, but she was still in a blissful state. Looks back at her classmate,"Yes?" "We need to talk." Lillie finally got out of her trance like state and quickly notices that it is only her and Ash in her own room. She blushes from that fact alone and blushes even more when she saw that Ash was looking directly at her. Into her eyes. "Where did Mallow go? And James?" "They left to prepare for dinner." Lillie immediately sat up, "M-maybe I should go help out." She quickly stood up and started towards the door. Before she could make another step forward, she felt her shoulder getting grab, she did not have to guess who. Knowing that she will not be heard from all the way in the kitchen, she just stood there blushing, not wanting to look at him and too embarrassed to talk. Ash stood in front of her, "Lillie, please." He pleaded as he tip her head up by her chin, trying to make eye contact. Lillie's blush deepen from the skin contact. Knowing he will not put a stop to this anytime soon, she reluctantly opens her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Yes." Ash smiled at her, trying to show her to relax, but it only made her blush more. In all honesty, most of Lillie's time was studying about Pokémon as a means to overcome her fear of them. She never think about the opposite sex with much interest. Until that very day. That kiss. Her first kiss. That boy. Ash Ketchum. Having barely any interactions with boys her age, she did not know what to comprehend from that incident. She was glad for once that her fear took over her and hid behind the boy who kissed her. She hoped that she could feign ignorance about that kiss and just leave that part of her life behind and continue on. She was fortunate to have the mental power to get that kiss to the back of her mind by composing herself after Mallow took that boy's hand and took him away. Unfortunately for her, that very same boy decided to attend her school. Not wanting to appear out of place, she acted like how she usually is while also keeping a distance away from him. She knows that it was an accident, but she is just too embarrassed to even think about it. She does not exactly know what to do. She is too embarrassed to even her ask for advice from her female friends and servants. She tried avoiding Ash so she could finally get that kiss out of her head, but not much success. When Ash came to her home today, he acted like the kiss never happened and act like his usual himself. It made Lillie relieved, but it was too good to be true.
