"What do you mean you're not coming in today?!"

"Exactly what it sounds, Lillie. It's not happening."

Lillie's mouth hung agape as Megan's tired voice spoke through her phone. It was Monday, and she was excited to dance with her friends. But one of them was absent, the one who never missed class. Not once!

"But... But why?!"

Megan let out a long sigh "Let's just say I've got some stuff going on at home, meaning I may have to pull out of classes for a couple of days. A week maximum."

"What's going on at home?"

"Ehh, details... Look can you just let Kukui know I'm gonna be absent today? I'll inform him about my situation via email this evening when I have more time."

"But--"

"Thanks, love you byyyye!"

Beep...

Lillie let the hand holding her phone drop from her ear, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she processed the conversation. It just seemed so... I dunno, weird. Megan never sounded that tired, not even after just waking up. She never missed college, and even if she did she would have a good reason and would tell Kukui herself. She always tells Lillie everything that's going on with her. And, she does not HANG UP ON PEOPLE.

Lillie puffed out her cheeks, folding her arms over her chest and stomping over to her friends. Her brother was the first to spot her, and he pulled down his headphones to give her full attention.

"What's with the face?" He asked, gesturing to her face with his forefinger.

"Nothing, just the fact that my best friend's been abducted by an alien." She half joked.

"WHAT?!" Hau jumped up, his arms above his head to over exaggerate his shock "When? How? Why? How are we gonna save her--"

"Hau," Sun pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing deeply "She wasn't being serious."

"You weren't?" The dark skinned boy turned to Lillie, who shook her head in denial. Hau put a hand to his chest, letting out a deep breath of relief "Phew... don't scare me like that."

"But seriously, what's up?" Rose asked, finishing up her stretches.

"Well..." Lillie began to explain the conversation she had with Megan, her friends listening closely with thoughtful expressions. When she finished Sun spoke up first.

"So she wasn't like this on Friday, right?"

"No." Everyone answered.

He hummed "This is strange... I mean even if she was sick she'd at least try to come in, or maybe text us about it."

"You said she had problems at home, right?" Gladion spoke up, playing with his headphones around his neck.

"Yes?" Lillie replied slowly.

"Well, did you ask what the problems were?"

"I tried, she avoided the question." The blonde pouted "She's usually more open about this stuff."

"Well, maybe you should go see her after class." Gladion suggested with a shrug "You might find out what's going on without needing to ask. Plus she might appreciate the gesture, if she's stressed."

Lillie slowly turned her head to him "And you'll come too, right?"

"Why would I?"

"To make it less suspicious, duh."

"Oh yeah her best friend and ex-nemesis showing up at her doorstep uninvited the day she doesn't come in. That's tooootally not suspicious, not at all."

"Gladion!" Lillie stamped her foot "I'm worried about Megan, can you a least be a decent enough person to check up on your friend!"

Gladion paused. Megan was his friend now, and he still kinda owed her for helping him. And, to say he wasn't a tad concerned would be a load of bull. He sighed, bringing a hand up to his face.

"Fine, I'll come..."

Lillie beamed, running over to hug her brother "Thank you, brother!"

"Y-Yeah whatever." He muttered, blushing.

---

Gladion gulped, staring up at the complex with a nervous expression as they moved towards it. Lillie noticed his behaviour.

"What's with the face?" She asked, mimicking his actions from this morning. Gladion glared at her.

"The last time I was here was when I broke up with Natalie..." he muttered, eyes falling to the ground.

Lillie frowned "You're still upset about that?"

"It was a two year relationship Lillie, of course I'm upset."

"But she--"

"Used and cheated on me, I know. And I know I shouldn't still want her but..." he sighed "It's hard to let go, ya know?"

"Gladion..."

"Well, here we are." He stated, pointing at Megan's apartment door.

"How did you..." Lillie trailed off "You've only been here once, how can you remember where her apartment is?"

Gladion shrugged "Photographic memory." he reached out and knocked on the door three times.

Bang

The siblings flinched at the loud sound coming from the other side, and they slowly turned to each other with 'wtf' expressions. The door opened slightly, and someone's head peeked out. It was Megan, but she looked nothing like she usually did. She was paler than usual- and she's pretty pale on a regular day. Her eyes were half lidded and had dark circles under them. Her hair was down and unkept; five times worse than her bed hair. And, she was wearing her glasses. She never wore her glasses!

She was obviously surprised to see the Aethers standing by her door, as she let out a wary "Hi..."

"Hi..." Lillie and Gladion replied slowly.

Megan cleared her throat "Um... what are you doing here?"

"We came to check on you." Lillie answered, sounding worried.

"Well as you can see I'm fine so..." she began closing the door.

"Like hell!" Gladion grabbed the door, yanking it fully open so Megan was fully visible. He paused when seeing all the cuts and bruises on her arms.

"Um..." Megan shifted her weight nervously "It's not what it looks like."

"What happened?" Gladion asked sternly, his face darkening as he stepped towards her "Did someone do this?"

"No..." She sighed "I was working..."

"Working?" He faltered, his face going back to confused. He was not expecting that answer.

"Yeah... I've been taking over my brother's shift at work until he gets better."

"Luke's sick? What's wrong with him?" Lillie asked, eyebrows pulled down in worry.

Megan sighed, running a hand through her hair only to wince. Presumably there was another bruise on her scalp "He's got food poisoning..."

The siblings flinched again. Megan noticed and sighed, again. She was sighing a lot.

"He's doing better than he was over the weekend, but he's not well enough to work again. I'm just covering for him until he's better, as well as making sure he has what he needs."

"That's very considerate of you, but that still doesn't explain all those bruises..." Gladion reached out to touch a bruise on her shoulder, causing her to whimper slightly. He pulled back immediately, glaring down at his hand.

"Luke's job includes a lot of heavy lifting, which can be extremely painful if you don't have the right body strength... obviously I don't fit that category..." Megan smiled sheepishly.

"Megan..." Lillie went to hug her friend but stopped, realising it may put her in more pain. Megan smiled at her consideration, lifting a hand to lay on top of her head.

"I'm fine, Lillie. I'm just gonna be a little sore for a few days, no biggie."

Lillie nodded, not saying a word.

Gladion watched silently, hands clenched into fists as he mentally scolded himself. He misjudged this girl, badly. He thought she believed she was above everyone else. He thought she liked putting people down for the fun of it. He called her a brat. Yet there she was, slaving away and taking care of her sick brother, limbs shaking and bruised from head to toe. And she still smiled to ensure her friend didn't worry about her.

He could learn a lot from her.

"Megan," He stepped forward, expression serious "I'm going to help you."

Megan blinked "Gladion you don't have to, I can--"

"I'm. Going. To. Help. You. You can't keep doing this on your own, you're exhausted."

"Um! Last time I checked you're not my dad--"

He pushed past her, entering the apartment before glancing at his sister from the corner of his eye "You can go home, Lillie. I can handle this."

"Are you sure?"

Yeah, no need to worry."

Lillie sighed, turning to leave "Alright. But you better take care of my best friend."

"I will."

"Well then... bye." And with that she walked away.

Megan stood there for a moment, not moving for a solid twenty seconds to process what just happened. She then felt something cold press against the back of her head, causing her to whip her body around in surprise. Gladion was standing behind her, an ice pack in hand.

"Where did you get that?" She asked, eyes narrowing.

Gladion snorted "Seriously? You don't know where ice is kept?"

"Well- Yeah but- I meant- Why did- You- Ughhhhhh...." She took off her glasses, groaning into her hands "Just forget it..."

Gladion laughed, before handing her the ice pack "Sit down and ice those bruises."

"But I gotta--"

"Megan." Gladion called out in a soft but stern voice, placing a gentle hand on her arm "Relax, I'll take care of Luke."

"...Promise?"

He nudged her towards the couch "I promise."

She eyed him for a moment, wondering if he was being truthful or not, before giving him another one of her genuine smiles.

"Thanks, Gladion."

Ba-Dump

Gladion's breath hitched, his eyes widening as he stared at the girl. He felt a warmness creeping up to his face.

"U-Uhm, you're welcome. I'm... Gonna go use the bathroom, then I'll check up on your brother."

"Oh, okay."

Gladion turned on his heel and sped towards the bathroom, closing the door behind him and leaning against it. He gripped his shirt over his chest, feeling a strange fluttering feeling in his stomach. What the fuck was that? He had never felt like that around anyone before, especially not her.

He took a couple of minutes to catch his breath, calming himself and the heat in his cheeks down. He sighed, flushing the toilet to make it seem like he did his business, and turned to leave the bathroom.

It was nothing. He convinced himself It just... surprised me is all. Nothing to dwell on.

---

"You..."

Lillie clenched her jaw, glaring daggers at the older female in front of her. She blinked in surprise, not expecting such a dangerous look from such an innocent looking girl. But then she just smiled.

"Well, if it isn't my ex boyfriend's little rodent of a sister." She said in a fake friendly tone "How've you been?"

Lillie's face tightened further "Much better now that you're no longer part of Gladion's life."

Natalie sniffled, feigning a hurt expression "Aww, but I thought you like me~"

"I never liked you!" The blonde snapped, stepping towards the woman "You lied to my brother, saying you liked him, just because he would get you whatever you wanted! Status and money, that's all you liked about him! And then, you broke his heart! He cried real tears over you, you heartless disgusting bitch!"

Natalie's eyes widened, before grinning widely. Lillie did not like that smile.

"Why should I care? It was pretty obvious I held no real feelings towards him, but he was too blind to notice that he was just a pawn. If anything, he deserved to be woken up." She flipped her hair, turning her on her heels to walk the opposite direction. "Though I have to say, he was pretty to look at. Maybe if I'm bored, I'll let him take me back. If he begs of course. Ta ta, bitch."

And once again Lillie was alone, completely frozen and lost on what to do. She began stiffly walking the opposite direction to Natalie, eyes fixed onto the sidewalk.

If only... She thought If only he realised her true colours sooner...