(Serena POV)

The thought of Ash having a younger sister had lingered on my mind for the rest of that shift and still bugged me as we left his uncle's cafe, both of us a little sweaty and hot. I was so tired and all I wanted was to get a lift home with Ash, go to my room and fall asleep on my bed straight away. We reached his car, and I stood by the door, waiting for Ash to unlock it. But he walked on past, not looking back.

"Ash, where are you going?" I called after him, seeing him turn around to face me.

"There's a subway station literally down the next street. I was going to get that home," he said, pointing behind him to the street behind him. "I'll come get the car tomorrow."

"I don't have any money to pay for a ticket though," I sighed, showing him the contents of my purse.

"I'll pay, don't worry." He smiled.

"You're a life saver, thank you." I smiled back, as I ran a little to catch up with him.

We continued our way on to the next street, one that led into one of the main suburbs of Hau'oli, as the early evening nightlife started to prosper on the streets. Nightclubs were opening, people coming out of the bars on both sides of the street after watching the football (or soccer if you prefer that) from probably the UK or Germany, and cars were coming thick and fast, numerous taxis dropping off passengers on the pavement and picking up new ones on the fly it seemed. This hustle made it hard to keep up with Ash in front of me, not having as long kegs as he did. His towering height made him stick out amongst most people, however, so it was easy to see where he was.

I was getting afraid of losing him, and I grabbed for his hand, missing it. I grabbed for it again, and this time succeeded, grasping his fingers in my own, and pulled myself forward to be next to him as we continued walking down the street.

"You OK there, Serena?" He turned to me and had to look down to see me, showing off his tall frame. I estimated that he was around 6" 2', which explained why he had about a third of a foot in height on me, as I stood at just about 5" 10'.

"Yeah, I just didn't want to lose track of you, with so many more people here than usual," I explained, dragging him forward after spotting the subway entrance just a few hundred metres in front of us.

We soon got there, and Ash placed his back kindly on my lower back as we descended down below the surface. It felt warm like he was a protector to me. It didn't feel like it, I knew it was just an act of kindness to help me down those steps, but it felt really natural. Just the thought of it made me blush a little, the heat of my face increasing with every step towards the platform to take us home. He even stared off the pervert, that according to Ash, was trying to look at my ass, making me even more embarrassed then I was already was.

Our train finally arrived, and soon we were going upwards towards the surface, the neon lights in the distance penetrating the black sky above us. Seeming as me and Ash were all alone in the carriage we had chosen, I turned to him, that one question still on my mind.

"Ash, why didn't you say that you have a sister?" He seemed to sigh as if it was an annoyance. I would have loved to have a younger sibling, a brother or sister I didn't care. But I've never had the chance, due to that thing. If I was Ash, even if his brother was famous, I would still not see having a younger sister as a bad thing.

"Well," he started. "It's kinda a long story."

"It's honestly fine if you don't wanna say," I shook my hands as if to say stop if you want. "Sorry if it's a tough topic."

"Don't worry about it." He said, looking like he needed to get the topic off of his chest. He didn't seem upset at all, he looked like he was slightly hurt. "Alex, we all love her as a sister. She's funny, smart, a good laugh, annoying sometimes, loves shopping, clothes and food, she's a proper normal girl. I just don't have the time at school to talk to her at all is the main thing."

"Then why don't you talk to her at lunch?"

"Because she prefers to hang out with her friends instead of her brother. I think she's also embarrassed as she doesn't have any skill because of mine and Red's fame, it means she's the odd one out. And this has led to some issues in the past." He sighed, signalling something bad must have happened.

"Has she been bullied at all?" I asked, knowing from past experience how she must feel if she had been. His slow nodding and slumped nature confirmed my suspicions, and I instantly felt bad for him. I took his hand in mine and squeezed it, showing that I was there for him if he ever wanted a word.

"I know how she feels Ash," I said as I squeezed a little harder than before. "What she needs right now is for you to be stronger for her, and to be in her life more then you have been recently. Think, she'll be here by herself after this year, what is she going to do if it starts up again?"

"Not much," he muttered.

"Exactly, and promise me you'll make up with her, she sounds really sweet," I said with a small smile, as the train pulled up to a stop at the station we had to get off at. "Come on, they'll be expecting us." We walked off the train to the sight of the beach off in the distance underneath us, and along to take the stairs back down to level ground.

The rest of the walk home was a quiet one, not much being said as we walked side by side looking towards our block. The lift was the only main sound we could hear once inside the building as we began the slow climb up to the top floor. The lights were still on in the hall as we walked out of the lift to our front door before Ash stopped.

"Hey, Serena," he said in a soft voice.

"Yeah, Ash," I said, moving a strand of hair out of my face, cocking my head to the right slightly.

"Thanks for that, just now," he smiled and pulled me into a warm hug. I was shocked, to say the least, I thought he would have just said thanks. But this felt so nice as if it was meant to be. It made me smile and blush, and I wrapped my arms around his waist in return.

"No problem," I said, muffled in his chest. He released me and looked back down at me.

"May I ask something now?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"What you said earlier about feeling how Alex?"

"Yeah..." I knew what route this was going down, and although I was his friend and there for Ash, I wasn't going to open up about that yet.

"Have you been bullied in the past?" I gulped. He hit it right on the head, and I knew I had to stall him for now. I wasn't ready, and I didn't know how long it would take for me to be.

"Do you mind, if I don't want to answer your question at this moment? It's just hard for me to..." His soft finger pressed itself against my lips, stopping me in just a simple action, making me blush and look away awkwardly, turning my feet side to side.

"It's fine, just say when you are." He smiled before walking in and saying one more thing. "As you are for me, I'm there if you need someone to talk to."

That boy was too friendly for his own liking, and a kind one at that he was.

(Ash POV)

That talk Saturday evening on the way home made me feel so much freer and refreshed. I don't what she did, but Serena knew what to say. I guess it was partially my fault for all what happened to Alex in the past, but it was time for me to rectify it for good. That meant introducing her to everyone properly, taking her to school with us, and inviting her over for dinner and other usual things that family do.

And I started that with texting her last night, telling her that I wanted to make amends for the past and that I was picking her up from Kukui in the morning. My mum thought that with me already covered by the school, that Alex would stay with Kukui when at school. She said she enjoyed it, especially as Kukui has a really cool house with a loft conversion and the beach on his doorstep. And he also has another place that I use myself, but I tell you about that at a later date.

This had resulted in everyone being up earlier than anticipated and out the door 10 mins early, and maybe even a little speed limit breaking from myself to get to Alex quick enough to make the trip to school.

We finally arrived, and there she stood outside the door, waiting in a pair of jeans and a jumper, her bag draped over her shoulders. One of the interesting things about Alex is that she looks nothing like me or Red. Us two have black spiky hair like our father, brown eyes and a tanned complexion, as well as small birthmarks that look like lightening just under our eyes. She, however, looks more like our mother, lighter eyes that were hazel, chocolate hair long like my mother's, and her fair skin on top too. However, she is still kinda tall like us two, standing at 5"10', and can give Gary a run for his money any day of the week.

"Hey Ash," she said quietly once she sat down next to me in the front. She seemed very quiet, which was usually abnormal, but I knew she was happy underneath her outer layer of non-confidence.

"You OK?" I asked, placing my hand on her knee in a caring way, with a small smile. She nodded and I drove away to school. She mainly stayed quiet for the journey, just saying hello to everyone else, and even managed a small smile for Gary.

We soon arrived at school, students passing on by as I pulled into park, girls waving at me, even Drew and Kiawe were waiting on the benches nearby, sitting in the backrest, waiting for us to get out.

"You coming, Ash?" Gary asked as he slung his bag on.

"Give me a minute," I shouted back as he nodded and left to go and speak with Drew and Kiawe. I turned to my sister, who seemed more relaxed then she was a matter of minutes ago. "You okay now?"

"I have one question," she said, her sad tone coming through a lot. "Just why has it taken you all of this time, Ash?" She looked at me, her eyes starting to water and swell up. "I'm not on your or Red's level, and to me, it felt that you have never seen me there, and left me there to fend for myself. Why now have you taken an interest in me?"

I was a mix of emotions right now. On one hand, I felt happy that I was being brave and trying to recuperate my relationship with my closest family member, but on the other hand, I was feeling guilty and an idiot for what I had done. As well as others hurting her, I had hurt Alex the most when she needed me the most. Of course, she had Kukui, but as the closest to her, I should have been there instead.

I felt my hand tighten around her leg, a slight wetness on my cheek I could feel slowly sliding down. Soft fingers, one that were ones of my own family, slowly intertwined with my own, squeezing in reassurance it was OK. "You know that blonde girl just now in the back?" Alex nodded. "Serena made me change my perspective on life. She is the one that has sorted this out, and I intend on keeping it this way."

"Good, cause if you don't, I'll tell Kukui, and Serena that you broke her promise..." She grinned as she got out of the car, doing the same as me. "Makeup hug?" I nodded, and she morphed into my frame, leaving only just enough room for me to place my head on top of her and stroked her back.

"Come on, you better go to lesson, come sit with us all at lunch." Alex nodded, and jogged off to go meet her friends, waving as she went.

"Dude, since when have you made up with your sister?" Drew asked as I walked over, taking me in for a half hug.

"Since a matter of fewer than 24 hours ago," I stated happily, as the bell rang for the first lesson. "Come on, I'll explain on the way."