"Aaaaaand done!" Megan declared, throwing her pencil onto her desk and whistling "Damn that took forever."

"You sure you're done?" Gladion asked from her bed. She huffed.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Have you answered every question?"

"Yes."

"Written an explanation when necessary?"

"Yes."

"Checked over it to see if you missed anything?"

"...Yes."

He sighed "Megan."

"Okay maybe I haven't. But I seriously don't see the point of checking work you've already done. Can't I just wing it?"

"No! The point of it is making sure you've given it you're absolute all, so you know you got the best grade you could get." He stood, walking up to her and leaning over the chair "Here, let me read it."

He's so close!!!

"Why?" Megan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well you're obviously not gonna do it. If I'm satisfied with your effort then I'll let you stop. If not, I'll give you some tips to point you in the right direction to it being grade A worthy- why are you staring at me like that?"

Megan covered her mouth to stifle a giggle "Sorry, I can just see why Lillie thinks you act like a father sometimes."

His eyes narrowed "Care to elaborate on that?"

"Nah, I'm good."

He grunted "Just give me the paper, troublesome."

She rolled her eyes and handed him her homework "Alright whatever, here you go dad."

He glared at her "You are on very thin ice, young lady."

"Oh I'm sorry, am I too much of a handful? Are you stressed because I'm 'troublesome'?"

"Alright, that's it, you're grounded!"

"Stop ruining my life! Gawd!"

They paused and stared at each other for a moment. Before falling to the floor and howling with laughter.

"Oh God, what are we doing?" Megan yelled into her hands.

"I don't even know, but you gotta admit it was pretty... dad-tastic."

"...Get the fuck out of my room."

They laughed again and turned to face each other, still laying on the floor. Their eyes widened slightly when making eye contact, and they felt as if for a moment, they were the only two people on earth. Megan smiled warmly at him, causing his heart to flutter before he returned it. It seemed to have a similar effect on her.

Gladion reached over, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"G-Gladion...?" A blush was making its way to her cheeks.

"Hmm?"

"W-What're you doing?"

He shuffled closer "Winging it."

He placed his hand on the back of her neck and leaned in, eyes half-lidded, his lips inches away from hers.

Omg he's actually going to do it!

"Megan, Gladion, do you guys want any drinks?" Luke called from the kitchen.

Or not.

The two blushed madly, pulling away from each other and sitting up. They took a second to catch their breath.

"D-Do you want a drink or something?" Megan asked, avoiding Gladion's gaze and twiddling her thumbs awkwardly. He wasn't doing much better as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um... that Hot Chocolate your brother makes is really good..." he murmured.

Megan nodded "Can we both have a hot chocolate?" she called back to her brother.

"Oh." They heard him cough nervously "I was afraid you'd say that... I don't have enough ingredients for that. I could go to the shop and get--"

"No no, it's fine I'll get it!" Megan instantly sprung to her feet, thankful for the opportunity to flee from the awkward situation she had found herself in.

"Meg, you don't have to--" She had already run out the door "Do... That... Okay then."

Luke sighed, running a hand through his hair before walking towards his sister's room. He poked his head through the doorway, finding Gladion sitting on Megan's bed and facing towards the wall, muttering something he couldn't quite make out.

"Did something happen between you two?"

The boy flinched and turned around faster than you could blink, and Luke could see how red his face was. He knew what that meant.

"Gladion, can I talk to you about something?" He asked, walking into the room.

Gladion's face was slowly going back to normal, and he nodded before shuffling to the edge of the bed. Luke sat down next to him.

"Gladion, has..." he began, trying to think of the right words to say. Gladion waited patiently. He could tell this was probably a touchy topic for the older male "Has Megan ever told you about our family?"

...Huh?

Gladion was confused. What brought this up all of a sudden?

Regardless, Luke asked a question and it was polite to answer.

"No, not from what I can recall..." he muttered, pursing his lips together "I only learned about you during our trip to the cinema."

"You mean when she still hated you?"

Gladion flinched "Yes... It was a brief mention, but I may have pushed more out of her."

Luke's stare seemed to harden at that moment, making Gladion realise what his sentence sounded like. He waved his hand rapidly in dismissal "O-Oh! No I didn't mean it like that. I simply made a fool out of myself by assuming, and she corrected me." Maybe it's best not to mention that he grabbed her... he didn't want to lose his teeth today...

Luke hummed "So I'm the only member she's mentioned, huh?"

Gladion nodded, before thinking for a moment "Though, I recall you and her mentioning a 'Laura' during my stay here, but I'm not sure if she's family or--"

"Oh she is." The man cut him off, exasperated. He glanced at the clock in his sister's wall, calculating what time she'd be back before turning to the french fry haired boy again and sighing "Okay look, the reason I'm about to share this with you is because of how happy you make my sister."

"What do you--"

"I haven't seen a smile that big on her face since our family split apart." The man gave a small sad smile, leaning back on his arms "That was about six years ago... Until you guys became friends, she seemed so lost, so distant. She acted cold around everyone that weren't Laura and I." he sighed again "After our parents split up, our dad cut off all ties with us period. He moved far away from us, taking everything him and mom earned to build a stable lifestyle with him... And mom, the only way she could take care of us was by getting a well paid job in Canada... She left me to take care of Laura, Megan and myself, occasionally sending us enough money to get by when she can. It was just us three, and then in a blink of an eye... it was only Megan and I. Laura moved out without our consent, going to live with her mystery boyfriend while this place served as a drinking chamber for her... I can't say I blame her, she had never really been stable with her emotions even as a child. But all of this, even though she was still surrounded by people who loved her, caused Megan to snap. She became cold, untrusting to anyone but me. She never had any friends when she was in school, besides Lillie who she had known when she was five. She dedicated all her free time to help me support the two of us... it's still a mystery to me how Sun, Rose and Hau were able to crack that little antisocial shell she seemed to build around herself..."

Gladion's heart sank. He had recalled how the girl had been so cold to him when they weren't on such good terms. Heck, even when they met in that dance studio she gave off this aura. One that told him not to get too close. The walls she had put up... he still wondered how he made it past the one keeping her from liking him.

She had chosen to be alone for so long...

He began to feel guilty.

"I'm baaaack~" Megan sang as she opened the front door, kicking it shut behind her before making her way to the kitchen. She dumped the bags onto the counter, rolling her shoulders back and stretching afterwards. She walked towards her room, which she assumed was where the boys were. She pushed the door open, only to pause as both pairs of eyes turned to her. "Oh, sorry were you having boy talk?"

Luke smiled, shaking his head as he stood "It's okay, we were done anyway." He pat Gladion on the shoulder before making his way to the door "I'll leave you two be now."

Megan watched him leave, eyebrow raised before turning to Gladion. She pointed to the door with a frown "What was that about?"

Gladion shrugged, oddly silent as his eyes travelled to his knees. This only confused her further.

"You alright?"

He nodded slowly.

Megan sighed, going to sit down next to him and placing a hand on his shoulder "If this is about our little moment, then you don't have to dwell on it because that's all it was. A moment--"

Gladion was quick to grab her arm and pull her against him, wrapping his arms tightly around her back. She gasped as he pushed her head against his chest.

"Gladion, what's this about?"

He shrugged, not loosening his grip on her "I just needed a hug, I guess..."

I can tell when you're lying.

Megan sighed, hugging him back "You're sure?"

He nodded against her shoulder.

What did Luke tell you?

"Alright... just remember that's I'm here if you ever want to talk."

That's what Gladion wanted to tell her. But now wasn't the time. Besides, he was content with holding her in his arms. For now, at least, that's all he needed to stay secure

"Thank you, Megan..."

---

Gladion had left after a couple more hours of tutoring Megan. Well, that's what they told Luke they were doing, when really they were too comfortable in that embrace. Kinda weird, as about a month ago you wouldn't be able to pay them to do that. Funny how things change.

Megan lay on her bed, eyes fixed on the shelves on the other side of her room. It was where she kept all her merch. She popped her lip, turning onto her side and staring at her hand.

What did Luke tell him? Why did he act so... pitiful?

The question repeated in her head over and over. Yet, she didn't act on it. She wasn't sure if she actually wanted to know or not.

And then, there was his arms around her.

She brought her hand up to her mouth, hiding her blush from the big blue teddy that sat in the corner of the room. She groaned, rolling into her back again and hiding her entire face in her hands.

"Why are feelings so confusing?" Her question came out muffled. Not that it mattered, no one was here to listen anyway.

Damn it.

Her heart was pounding again.

She gripped her shirt and let out a breath, trying to calm down the flush on her cheeks.

Damn it... Damn it. Damn it damn it damn it damn it!

She had never had this feeling before; it was all foreign to her, meaning she couldn't tell if they were good or bad.

But she did know one thing... that those feelings were aimed at Gladion.

She let out another irritated noise. It was too late for this. She had college in the morning, and she'd rather not be cranky during class. She could put these thoughts aside...

... Right?

Well, she'll have to at least try