Connecting Heartstrings | Gladion

>>Chapter 13<<

The school trip was over. (Y/N) kept the memories of what she lived in Akala island close to her heart. She was at school, hearing all of her classmate's presentations about their Pokémon research on the island. She didn't pay much attention to them, they were all talking about Pokémon she had seen by herself on the island and none of them caught her attention.

It was (Y/N)'s turn to present. She got up from her seat and walked to the front of the classroom to talk about her discoveries. She was not one to suffer from stage fright, but she froze as soon as she saw Gladion staring at her. She tried her best to look away but was caught up in his gaze. She slowly looked away as her cheeks burned bright and tried to focus on her presentation.

— "You all probably know this Pokémon, but since I'm new to Alola, I found it quite impressive." — (Y/N) started, trying her hardest not to look at Gladion. — "Marowak is a fire and ghost type Pokémon, I found it at the top of the Wela volcano, dancing around." — Everyone looked confused when she started talking about Marowak's dance moves, was that unusual? — "Since y'all don't believe me I'll just show you." — (Y/N) said, earning the interest of everyone in the room.

(Y/N) took out a pokéball and threw it up in the air. Gladion smirked, knowing what was going to happen. Marowak appeared before everyone, tall and proud. It was now part of (Y/N)'s team.

(Y/N) remembered how Marowak asked to be caught right after Umbreon won the battle against him. Perhaps Marowak thought of (Y/N) as a formidable Pokémon trainer who could help him grow stronger. Whatever the reason was, (Y/N) liked having Marowak become part of her small family. With his strong personality and perseverance, he fit right into her team along with the rest of her Pokémon. (Y/N) didn't usually catch just any Pokémon. She needed to have a strong connection with them for her to even consider taking out a pokéball. And Marowak had earned his place fair and square.

Marowak made a show out of (Y/N)'s presentation by showing his dance moves to everyone in the room. (Y/N) felt proud and felt like she had beaten everyone's presentations being the only one in the group to actually catch the Pokémon they chose.

...

School was over and (Y/N) was sitting on a bench, eating a malasada when Hau appeared out of thin air. It seemed the malasada smell had the power so summon him. Hau ran up to (Y/N) and greeted her by asking if he could have a malasada. Next to him, Lillie laughed at his eagerness and intense desire for the doughnut-like treat.

— "Why don't I buy all three of us some malasadas and we can sit and talk?" — Lillie suggested. Hau immediately accepted and (Y/N) laughed and got up from her seat, following her two friends into the malasada shop.

After they had ordered, Lillie turned around to look at (Y/N) with worry written all over her.

— "(Y/N) you haven't been answering our texts since last week, is everything okay?" — Lillie asked, hoping her friend would be okay.

— "It's alright, Lillie. You don't have to worry about me." — (Y/N) replied smiling. — "I simply forgot to reply, I'm sorry for any misunderstanding I may have caused."

— "It's just...after how my brother screamed at you...I want to apologise on his behalf..."— Lillie tried to find the words to fix her brother's actions. (Y/N) smiled widely.

— "He already apologised."

— "HE WHAT?!" — Hau said, standing up and slamming his hands on the table. He couldn't believe what he had heard. Lillie looked just as shocked as Hau did, only without the screaming. (Y/N) laughed at their reactions and part of her regretted telling them and decided not to explain what happened. She wanted that moment to remain only between her and Gladion. Also, Gladion was probably gonna kill her because Hau would definitely pester him with questions and mockery. She was definitely dead.

(Y/N) was about to change the subject when the door to the shop opened. Gladion walked in.

Holy ****. (Y/N) could clearly see her funeral.

And right on time, Hau started screaming.

— "GLADION, YOU ACTUALLY SAID SORRY?!" — Gladion turned to look at (Y/N) and she just lifted her shoulders and mouthed "I'm sorry" to him. He turned to look back at Hau.

— "I'm mature enough to admit when I'm mistaken." — Gladion said, sounding a tad irritated.

— "But you've never apologised to me."

— "Because you're always wrong." — (Y/N) tried to stifle her laugh but they both noticed her reaction and turned to look at her.

Once again, Gladion's gaze met hers and she started blushing madly. (Y/N) wanted the earth to swallow her whole. Was she gonna blush every time she saw Gladion? Of course, Gladion noticed the tint on her cheeks and smirked. He was definitely going to tease her later. (Y/N) sighed, accepting her fate.

— "Well, aren't you GLADion you apologised? — Hau said, attempting to make a pun and effectively irritation Gladion.

(Y/N) couldn't hold it in. She burst out laughing. She was wheezing and trying to calm herself down. There were tears in her eyes from all the laughing. Lillie just sat there, watching the whole situation unfold in front of her.

— "Why are you here, brother?" —Lillie asked curious. Come to think of it, no one knew why Gladion was there. (Y/N) did not picture him as a malasada enthusiast like Hau.

— "I saw you guys here and decided to come and congratulate (Y/N) on catching Marowak." — Gladion then turned to look at (Y/N) and smirked. — "Maybe we can battle sometime. I won't take no for an answer." — (Y/N) smirked as well.

— "You're on."

Gladion left without saying another word and when (Y/N) turned to look at her friends, she could see Hau smiling widely. (Y/N) knew he was about to say something stupid.

— "Lillie didn't you feel the tension between those two?" — Lillie looked at him, completely clueless as to what was happening. — "You could literally cut the air with a knife.... Where are my malasadas?!" — (Y/N) laughed once more. Hau had the attention span of a froot loop and she absolutely adored it. He was so fun to have around.

(Y/N), Lillie, and Hau spent all day talking and catching up. (Y/N) had a great time with them. Hau made everyone laugh and have fun, and he nearly ate twice his weight on malasadas, which impressed (Y/N). A lot. Before leaving to go home, Lillie invited her to a slumber party at her house. (Y/N) accepted, curious as to where she lived, given the fact she paid for around 800 malasadas without batting an eye. She also hoped she would see Gladion there.

(Y/N) went home thinking about how lucky she was with the life she had. As she arrived home, the first thing she saw was the bouquet Gladion had left in her hotel room. Some of the flowers were already withering away. An idea suddenly popped into (Y/N)'s head. Pressed flowers.

She ran to her room to get some books and started stuffing them with the flowers. After all, she wanted to keep them forever.