(Okay, yes I know I said I wasn't going to post for awhile. But... I got really bored so I started to type, and.... I didn't really stop. So yeah, Um. Here.

Also If you're expecting another fluff filled chapter then... Spoiler alert. It's not. Mwahahah)

Megan was pretty light on her feet today. She seemed more open. More laid-back.

More... cheerful.

The thing is she had been that way since the ball, and that was a week ago. She never complained to her brother, nor did she give any second thought to helping him with washing the dishes. She hated washing the dishes. Hell. She even smiled at Leven once or twice. Leven. The boy she hated more than brussel sprouts! Was she...

Swapped out for an alternate Megan who doesn't hate everything?! Because right now that seems very likely!

"Luke!"

Speak of the devil.

The man turned away from the kitchen counter, noticing his little sister standing behind him fully dressed and with her purse in hand. He raised an eyebrow.

"Where are you going?"

She grinned, gesturing to the piece of paper he was currently writing on "That's the shopping list, right?"

"Um, yeah?"

"Is it done?"

He tilted his head "I believe so?"

"Great!" She held her hand out "Give it here!"

Okay, this is just too weird.

Luke narrowed his eyes, hiding the paper behind his back "Okay, what happened to you at that party?"

"It wasn't a party, it was a ball."

"Same difference."

She hadn't answered his question, which made his gaze harden. Megan rolled her eyes playfully. He knew she was dating Gladion, so she assumed it would be alright for her to say what she did.

"Nothing really happened..." she then slapped her hands over her cheeks, stars in her eyes "I'm just head over heels for Gladion Aether, that's all."

Luke blinked, his lips parting slightly as his sister may as well have had hearts flying around her head. Damn did she have it bad.

It made him smile.

"Oh look at you!" He cried out, scooping her up into his arms "This is wonderful, my sister's in love!"

Megan nearly choked "L-Love?! Um... I don't know about that, yet."

"Oh?"

"Yeah..." She was suddenly bashful "I think it's too soon for this to be love. For now, let's just say we're in... like."

"In like, huh?" Luke almost laughed, his sister was so cute. He put her down, handing her the list with a smile "Alright, if you say so. This is what you wanted, right?"

"Yup."

"Do you need me to lend you money?"

"Pfft, no." She rolled her eyes "I'm employed now, remember?"

"Right, right. How could I forget?"

Megan laughed, giving her brother a final hug before shipping towards the door. He watched as she stepped out, leaving him alone in their small yet homely apartment. He put a hand to his chest, his eyes welling up with tears as he thought about his sister's bright eyes.

"Gladion... Thank you..."

---

"Okay, let's see here..."

Megan glanced down at the list her brother had written down, consisting of groceries and other necessities for their two person home. A basket was hooked over her arm, already containing a pack of rice and a couple containers of spices as those were the aisles she went into first. She glanced down the list, seeing what was closest to her current location. It seemed to be... Doritos?

...

She fucking loved her brother.

With a smile she made her way to the necessary aisle, humming the song on the radio which seemed to be Camila Cabello's Havana as she went. As soon as she got their her eyes lit up; they were on sale! Hell yeah!

She skipped right over to the Doritos section and grabbed two bags of Chilli Heatwave, dropping them into her basket before moving along. Bread. That was the next thing on the list.

To be honest, she wasn't too sure about why she was so bright and bubbly. I mean... it's not like much happened at the ball. All it really was, was that Gladion had made it clear he wasn't interested in anybody else... and he danced with her... and told her about his childhood... and gave her a necklace--

Okay yeah she may have a brief idea on why she was so over the moon.

What? She was a simple girl. She liked simple things.

She let out one of those sighs that are usually heard from lovestruck schoolgirls, reaching up to hold the pendant that still hung around her neck as she turned the aisle--

Only to see a familiar face. She raised an eyebrow.

"Avory?"

The caramel haired boy flinched at his name being called, his charcoal grey eyes turning to her in surprise as she approached. His lips curved up in an awkward smile "Megan, hi! What are you doing here?"

His speech was rather rushed, making her raise an eyebrow "Um, shopping?"

"Right, right! Of course you are!" The man laughed, his hand coming up to ruffle the hair on the back of his head. Megan tilted her head.

"You alright there, Aesen?"

"Yes! Yes, I'm fine."

...

"Okay..." Megan averted her gaze "This got awkward real quickly."

"U-Uhm, sorry..." Avory grabbed a random thing from the shelf "Anyway I gotta get going, my uh- my cat's waiting."

"You have a cat?"

"Yup! Her name's... Einstein."

"Ein--"

"Okay good talk gotta go bye!"

The man attempted to back away, leaving the younger female behind, but obviously the odds were not in his favour as a pair of hands slapped onto his shoulders.

"Hey, asshole!"

Oh no...

He turned around to meet his girlfriend, hoping to shield her from Megan's view and vice versa "Hey, Hun! Fancy seeing you here!"

Laura sweatdropped "Wha-- babe, we walked in together."

"I knew that!"

"You're so weird," The woman went to look over his shoulder "And who's that chic you're talking--"

Her eyes widened. So did the girl's on the other side.

"Megan?!"

"Laura?!"

Avory facepalmed "Oh no..."

The two sisters stared at each other, jaws dropped and indexes pointed towards the other as they tried to process who exactly they saw in front of their eyes.

"What are you doing here?!"

"What are you doing here, with him?!"

Laura's shocked expression morphed into a nervous one, as she began twiddling her thumbs and glancing everywhere in the aisle except for Megan "You see... Umm... He's--"

"He called you hun."

"Yeah well--"

"You called him babe."

"There's a reason--"

"Laura."

Laura instantly froze. By her tone, Megan definitely did not want any excuses to get around this conversation "Y-Yeah?"

"Is Avory your boyfriend?"

...

Laura wasn't sure how it came to this. She had hidden him from her family for so long. She had protected her location so Luke and Megan wouldn't come and try and drag her out. She protected her relationship with Avory so Megan wouldn't hate him, because she knew they were in the same class.

And now, all of that was for not. Because fate seemed to line up their fucking shopping trips. And what was worse, was Laura couldn't bring herself to lie to Megan.

"Yes... He is..."

...

"I see..." Megan turned her head away, expression unreadable "Why didn't either of you tell me?"

"We- no, I didn't want you to hate Avory." Laura mumbled, holding her upper arms while Avory remained silent. He didn't want to say anything, in case it would make the situation worse. The teenager across from them ran a hand through her hair, unable to respond. That mystery boyfriend, the one that Laura had run off with... he had been so close for so long.

So close to her. So close to her friends. So close to Gladion.

Wait...

Gladion went to Avory's house, didn't he? And... and he said he had to leave because of something...

Avory invited me over his after class so we can review. Well... as long as we're quiet about it and don't disturb 'the girlfriend'.

Like his girlfriend coming home

Her eyes widened, and her jaw clenched. All this time, he knew... and he kept it from her like it was something small. Wasn't he the one who said they shouldn't keep secrets from each other?

Well apparently that rule doesn't fucking apply to him.

She pivoted, walking in the opposite direction to her sister and not so secret boyfriend. She heard Laura call out to her.

"Where are you going?"

"To finish shopping," she began, her hand tightening on the basket handle "And then, I have some junk food to take care of!"

That necklace around her neck felt so amazing to wear a few minutes ago... now it just felt heavy.

---

Gladion sat at his computer, typing up an email for his father talking about all the things he forgot during his time here. He wanted to make sure Mohn knew about everything he had done over the past four years of them being apart. Call it cheesy if you want, but this was really the only way for his dad to know how his son was growing.

~Bzzzt bzzzt~

His eyes averted themselves from the screen to his phone, which was currently vibrating on his desk to show someone was trying to call him. Raising an eyebrow he picked up the device, checking the contact to see if it was someone he knew.

Sarcastic brat is calling...

His face immediately lit up, and he answered it immediately "Hello?"

"Hey, Frenchfry!"

Uh oh, something was up. Her voice was higher and... overly friendly. And if you listened closely, you could tell her teeth were bit together too. Gladion frowned.

"Are... you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay, why wouldn't I be okay?"

That was a rushed answer... something's definitely up.

"Anyways, how are you?"

"I'm--"

"That's great! You know what, the craziest thing happened today. You wanna hear about it?"

"Um--"

"Great! So, I was shopping, actually in a good mood, when who should I stumble upon? Why, Laura of course!"

Her voice was getting higher. How she hadn't broken her phone yet was beyond Gladion. He raised an eyebrow.

"That's... good?"

"I know! And guess who was with her."

He was starting to get a little nervous, but he didn't know why "Who?"

"Her boyfriend." She answered, her voice taking a complete 180 so it was now low and menacing.

Gladion was silent, his eyelids flying wide open as he tried not to drop his phone from the shock. He knew what was wrong now...

And he was terrified.

"You knew, didn't you." She growled "About Laura and Avory."

He gripped the corner of his desk, beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he chewed on his lip. He had to be careful. He knew Megan was seriously upset, and he didn't want her to explode. She was a ticking bomb right now, so he had to figure out which wires to cut.

First he took a deep breath, then he spoke.

"Yes... I found out the day before the assessment."

Megan scoffed "I figured as much. So you've kept this from me for that long, huh?"

"Yes..."

"Why? Why would you keep this a secret?" Her voice became shaky as she spoke "She's my sister, don't you think I have the right to know?"

He said nothing.

"Do you remember what you said to me before, right? How I shouldn't keep secrets from you, no matter what? Well that's exactly what you did. You kept a secret, about my goddamn family! You tell me not to keep things to myself, and yet you do the exact same thing. That's... that's so hypocritical, Gladion!"

Gladion clenched his jaw "I didn't tell you because it wasn't my place, okay? Laura or Avory should be the one to tell you, not me. This is not something I should interfere with."

Megan let out yet another scoff "Is that the only reason?"

He was silent... it made her want to scream. He still wasn't telling her everything.

"Fine... I get it, you're doing what seems 'right'." Her voice became only above a whisper "I'll leave you be, now."

"Megan, wait." Gladion suddenly spoke, pausing her reach to the hang up button "This doesn't mean I don't still care about you, you know that right?"

Megan didn't answer straight away. Her hand gripped the handle of the plastic shopping bag tighter as she glared down at the concrete path. She could tell he was sincere. She could tell he didn't intentionally do this to hurt her.

But right now... she was too upset to care.

"Yeah." She muttered, before hanging up.

Gladion sat there, frozen as the haunting 'beep' of the other line being cut off rang through his ears. He slowly lowered his phone, his hand beginning to shake as he stared down at his knees. The voice she used, he had heard it before. It was the voice of hatred she used when they wanted nothing to do with each other. And just like before, she spat out her words. Just like before, she didn't stick around for him to respond.

Just like before... Her tone was ice cold...