Connecting Heartstrings | Gladion

>>Chapter 11<<

(Y/N) was sitting on a rock on the beach, looking at the ocean. She heard steps in the sand. She knew it was Gladion, but she didn't turn around.

— "We need to talk." — Gladion said, not moving from his spot.

—" Can I pick the subject?" — (Y/N) replied without turning around.

— "What? No, I mean..."

— "Then no." — (Y/N) said as she got up to leave. She turned and looked at Gladion straight in the eye with a serious look in her face.

— "Why not?" — Gladion asked.

— "Because you're an asswipe." — (Y/N) stated like it was nothing. Gladion looked at (Y/N) annoyed. He knew he had messed up but he was really trying to open up and apologise, which never happened, and (Y/N) was not being of any help. In truth, (Y/N) had already forgiven him. She spent a lot of time sitting in her room looking at the flowers. True, she was going to throw them away, but the fact he made the effort was enough for her. But she still wanted to make him pay for how he treated her, or he would get used to forgiveness.

— "Could you please be serious, (Y/N)?" — Gladion said, his patience slowly slipping away.

— "HI Gladion. I'm serious." — (Y/N) said while trying to hold in the laughter. Gladion groaned in frustration. Talking to (Y/N) was impossible.

Gladion felt like giving up. (Y/N) was mad at him, and rightfully so. He had massively messed up by yelling at her when all she did was try to help. But (Y/N) didn't seem willing to talk to him.

— "Fine, Gladion. What is it?" — (Y/N) said in a more serious tone. She had her fun, now it was time to fix things with the edgelord.

— "I wanted to apologise."— (Y/N) stayed silent waiting for the apology. Nothing happened.

— "...Well are you going to?" — (Y/N) said. What kind of apology was that?

— "I figured out a better way to do it." — Gladion said smiling and held out his hand.

(Y/N) was unsure about taking his hand. A simple "I'm sorry" would suffice. But Gladion had something else in mind. (Y/N) already blushed enough around Gladion, she figured actually holding his hand would make her face bleed from all the blushing. Nonetheless, she took his hand and Gladion started guiding her through the beach. Holding hands felt too weird, yet right. (Y/N) felt his hands were too soft for the rough personality he had. She could feel the warmth of his hand and how he held her hand firmly, not willing to let go.

After a few minutes walking they arrived to what looked like a cave, and Gladion walked right inside, taking (Y/N) along with him. It was dark. (Y/N) couldn't see Gladion in front of her, which made her feel anxious, but she still felt his touch and that reassured her. She had no idea where they were going but she trusted Gladion. How could Gladion even see where they were going? Maybe he knew the path from being here before. After all, he had spent his whole life in Alola, so this was probably easy for him. (Y/N) felt she was being led through a massive maze drowned in darkness. The maze went on and on and (Y/N) began to get nervous, what if Gladion left her there, in the middle of the night? No one would hear her scream. Maybe it was all part of his plan to get rid of her. Thoughts started running through her head and did not stop. (Y/N) didn't realise she was squeezing Gladion's hand until he squeezed back. Her cheeks began to get red. Not like anyone could see, but that single act from Gladion reassured her a bit and she focused on following Gladion wherever it was they were going.

They finally arrived at the end of the maze and the sight was amazing. Glowing crystals covered the whole cave, shining in a million different colours. There was a small, hidden beach, and (Y/N) could see underneath the water thanks to the light from the crystals everywhere. She was fascinated to say the least. (Y/N) then realised Gladion hadn't let go of her and she blushed. This time Gladion noticed her blush and when he tried to look into her eyes, he realised (Y/N) was looking down at their intertwined hands. He realised what he was doing and quickly let go, blushing a bit himself. Gladion walked to the centre of the cave, mostly so (Y/N) wouldn't see the pink adorning his cheeks. He sat down on the sand and patted the spot next to him, gesturing (Y/N) to sit next to him. (Y/N) walked the few feet that separated her from Gladion and sat next to him, unsure of what to say.

— "Words are overrated." — Gladion said, (Y/N) turned to look at him. He was now laying down on the sand and staring at the coloured crystals on the ceiling. He turned to look at (Y/N) and did something (Y/N) did not expect. He smiled at her. A genuine smile.

Gladion had never shown this place to anyone. Not even his sister. He hoped (Y/N) understood his way of apologising by sharing something special to him. He was not good with words and figured that if he tried saying sorry, he would probably mess up again. So, all he had was this place. He would come here to hide when he was younger. His family used to come to Akala during the summer and every time he would hide in here and stare at the ceiling full of lights and colours. He was sure (Y/N) would like it.

They were both laying down in the sand, close to each other. (Y/N) could hear Gladion breathing. She turned to look at him. He was staring at the crystals in the cave and his green eyes reflected all the colours in the cave.

(Y/N) cursed herself silently after realisation hit her like a train. She was falling for Gladion. The part she hated the most was admitting Ilima was right. She was too proud to admit she had feelings for him. She would never say it out loud. Especially because she was afraid of what he would say if he found out. Rejection was too much for her to handle and as much as she thought of Gladion holding her hand, their weird bond was not worth risking just for a small crush.

(Y/N) felt her world falling into pieces. She could not allow herself to have feelings for him, and yet she was already in love.

A/N: Sorry for not updating during the weekend, I promise I'll update more this week!