"Ash.....um.." Serena breaks the silence.

"Yeah, I uh, better be going, Goodnight" I make my way out of the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The heat of the summertime sun beats down on my sweating brow. Dabbing with a handkerchief doesn't help too much in making me any more comfortable.

Giving up on the idea of getting more done today, I stop and lean against one of the overpass fences, resting my bag on the ground.

The stores in the town are well-stocked and offer enough variety for me to get by, but at least an occasional shopping trip to the city is something that can't really be avoided.

The city's layout is getting more familiar.

I feel my pocket vibrating. By the time my phone's begun to ring, my hand is already fishing for it.

A glance at the screen shows a caller number I don't recognize. Strange.

I press the button to answer the call and bring it to my ear.

"Hello?" I say.

...

"A...Ash?" A familiar voice could be heard.

It's Serena, her voice is very soft.

"Hey, what's up?" I smile.

"U-um....I...  u.... If...if you're not bust..I-I was wondering if y-you would...l-like to ....m--"

"Meet up?" I finish her sentence.

"Yes! U-um..I mean...."She trails off.

She sounds really wound up about this. I can hear muffled voices in the background.

"That sounds fine, where are ya?" I question her.

"I-I'm in...the city..." She says to my surprise.

She's here all alone? 

"Works out perfectly; I'm just wandering around there now. Where are ya?" 

She manages to stammer out the street name, address, and some basic direction to where she is. Luckily it's not too far, so I agree to see her soon before hanging up.

I look up to the sky. The summer heat is beating down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time I manage to stagger up to the cafe where Serena is, I've started to wheeze. I'm sweating so much that I feel like a melting popsicle, and ca barely hold the bag in my hand.

I scan the heads to see if I can find her.

Sure enough, her head is kept low and the table she's sitting at is right beside the building is an inconspicuous corner.

I walk up to the table and she notices me.

"A-are you feeling okay?" She looks at me with a worried expression.

"Just...not very fit anymore...don't mind me" I chuckle but her expression doesn't change.

A waitress thankfully arrives and sets down a cup of tea in front of Serena.

"Excuse me, may I place an order?" I ask her.

The waitress nods and gives me a couple of seconds to look at the menu.

"Uh....mango smoothie, please?" I ask.

She nods also giving me a wink before walking inside to prepare my drink.

"N-Not coffee....?" Serena questions my order.

"I think I'd die from this heat if I had something like that right now." 

She seems taken aback; a very unexpected reaction to my lame joke.

Serena silently drinks her tea while I wait for my drink, confirming that it's the right temperature with a small sip before she begins in earnest.

Eventually, the same waitress as before walks over, handing me my drink. I gather the change from my pocket it and drop it into her waiting hand before she goes off to attend to another customer. My eyes linger on her as she walks away.

"Do you think that she looks....pretty...?" Serena notices me stare at the waitress.

Serena follows my gaze, her eyes taking in the waitress that severed us. I can feel my blood slowly going to my cheeks as I rest my smoothie back on the table.

"Nah, can't really say I'm into that look. She just looked a lot like an old friend I knew before my heart attack." 

"D-Did you have many friends?" Serena's hands quickly move to her chest as her eyes open wider in curiosity.

"You bet I did. There was Clemont....Bonnie....Cilan....Calem......Kenny.....Paul, Richie.....urm...Drew......Max......Tracey and many more, if I'm honest." I smile at all the great memories I had with them all.

"Do you still talk to them?" She asks.

I shake my head.

"You're not....saddened by that? Or angry?" She says.

"Y-Yeah....but that's life, nothing was ever wasted with any of them, they'll always be in my heart." I smile at my words.

"But....besides, once I came here I found new friends" I wink at her which causes her to blush.

We both take a sip from our drinks.

"I didn't know you had a phone. How'd you get my number?" I smile.

"D-Dawn...gave it...me." She blushes with a cheeky smile.

"Ya'know you could've just asked; I'd have given it to you." I say

She gives a childish giggle with a nod. I can't help but smile. 

She moves her hands to her chest(just slightly above the collar bone), it's like she's missing something there, wait a minute.

"Serena! I'll be right back!"

"Wait, w-what? Where are you going?" She looks up at me.

"Just stay here! I'll be back before ya know it!" I fist pump and make a break for the cafe's gate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As much as I'd have liked to have jogged back, I know full well that I couldn't. I end up walking back to the cafe, a light blue bag in my right hand.

Serena notices me quickly, looking about as confused as she did when I left. I deposit the diminutive bag in front of her.

"Is this....?" She trails off.

"It's for you! You can open it!" I smile at her.

"B-but..." She plays with her thumbs with a slight blush.

"Go on" I smile.

She slowly opens the bag and picks its contents out.

A light blue ribbon dangles from her fingers.

Serena's eyes light up when she looks at it. It's the kind of reaction I was hoping for.

The summer sun's light shines off the bright blue silk, the colour fits her eyes perfectly.

She lowers it and places it on the table and looks at me once more.

"I...but...it's not Christmas, or my birthday..." She says,

"It's fine, don't worry about it! I saw you looking at it in that shop the other day, plus the colour suits your eyes perfectly!" I fist pump. 

"I-I don't have anything to give you..." She looks down.

"It's fine, friends can give things to each other like this sometimes, right?" I smile at her.

"Friends" Her eye lids slightly close and she blushes.

She looks to me and smiles as she holds her ribbon up.

"Thank you...Ash" She smiles.

"You're welcome, I guess I'd better be going if I want to catch the next bus back to town. You coming?" I stand up.

"Ah, y-yes." She stands up from her chair.

We walk side by side as we make our way to the bus station, exchanging no words between us. Serena's gaze is firmly locked ahead of her, though she looks very happy with herself.

I'm not sure what I should say to her, but I'm also not sure that I need to say anything. The fact that Serena is happy, and happy because of me, is enough to make....to make me feel complete....