"Hey, what do you think you're--!"

Gladion was pushed into the nearest studio by his two male friends, who followed him inside with angered looks on their faces. Rose and Lillie followed suit and closed the door behind them, before Lillie turned to her brother and crossed her arms.

"Okay. Explain."

Gladion averted his gaze clenching the object in his fist painfully "What is there to explain...?"

"Um," Hau scoffed. Gladion had never seen him this mad "The fight in general for starters. And also there's the whole kissing Sadie, and - let's not forget, how you and Megan were DATING!"

Gladion flinched. Either from his change of tone, or the painful reminder.

"How long have you two been a thing?" Sun demanded lowly.

"... Since after the assessment." The blonde muttered in response. Rose scowled.

"You guy kept something like this from us for that long?!"

"We thought you guys wouldn't approve..."

"Irrelevant, Gladion. You kept this from us." Lillie bowed her head slightly "That hurts. Probably not as much as Megan's hurting right now, but it's like you guys don't trust us anymore..."

Gladion's head shot up "Wait, you don't think I'm hurting right now?! Did you not see what happened?!"

"Yeah," Sun sneered "We saw Megan upset about you apparently cheating on her--"

"That's not what happened!!!"

They all flinched at the accused male's outburst. He stopped, curling into himself as if he regretted yelling at them.

Lillie had known Gladion all her life, despite only seeing him once or twice a year, so she knew when he was lying. This wasn't one of those times. She sighed, taking a step forward "So what did happen?"

Gladion wished he didn't recall. He wished he never allowed Sadie to stay. He wished he had done more to stop her. He wished he never gave Megan a reason to run away... He opened his palm to glance down at the pendant, which now had a snapped chain from when Megan ripped it off and threw it against the wall in tears.

Why do I always end up hurting her...?

"Sadie came onto me..." he finally muttered out, jaw tight and voice strained "She was watching me practice, which I allowed without really thinking... but suddenly she hugged me and started whispering about how she could get me anything I wanted if we were together, even when I kept telling her to stop. I even told her that I liked someone else, but she got mad and she--" He gagged in disgust, in both Sadie and himself "She kissed me... and I couldn't do anything to stop her..."

The boy covered his face with his free hand "I wish I did more... I wish I put in more effort to get her off me instead of freezing up... And now, I've hurt Megan in ways that may never be healed and I just can't forgive myself! I really am just a pile of... of junk food!"

His friends watched him as he dissed himself, unsure what to say or do. Some of them were still skeptical; what if he was putting on an act to get on their good side, to make sure he stayed in the clear?

"What if he's lying...?" Sun muttered, fists clenched at his sides.

"He's not."

"Lillie--"

"No, I know he's not lying!" Lillie exclaimed, sliding in front of her brother to shield him from judging eyes "Everything he's saying is truthful and I'll tell you why!"

Rose crossed her arms "We're listening..."

"Well for starters, if he was going to cheat it definitely wouldn't be with Sadie. Gladion gets ridiculously uncomfortable around her, for obvious reasons, so he wouldn't have the guts to make a move on her. Second, I've known him all my life, so I pretty much know everything about him. I know when he's lying and he's definitely not lying. And third--" She grabbed the pendant out of Gladion's hand and held it up "--This."

Hau's breath hitched.

"It's the necklace Megan threw away," Rose said slowly "What about it?"

"Yeah," Sun agreed "Why is that important, guys give girls jewelry all the time."

"But this isn't ordinary jewelry." Lillie stated, causing her friends to raise an eyebrow. Behind her Gladion let out a sigh, stepping out of 'hiding'.

"It's our family symbol..." He muttered, taking back the necklace and holding it delicately as if any carelessness could shatter it "It's special to us Aethers, because it's a family tradition for us to reserve this charm for... somebody very special."

"Somebody we decide to be 'the one'." Lillie continued, glancing over to Hau who had his hand over his chest. Where his own Aether symbol was placed. That's what it meant? Did Lillie really think that way about him? Did Gladion really think that way about Megan?

"So..." he began slowly "It's kinda like a promise ring?"

"In a way, yes." Lillie confirmed, before addressing her other two friends "So, do you still think he's lying?"

"I--" Rose paused "No, I know he's not lying. I had a feeling things weren't how they seem, because I know Gladion isn't the type of person to cheat. It's just... seeing my friend in such a heartbroken state, I wanted someone to blame..."

Gladion frowned "But it is my fault--"

"No it's not." Sun interjected "It would be be your fault if you started it. But you didn't, Sadie came onto you. And you froze because you didn't know what to do. You and Meg are both victims here, Gladion. And trust me I know what an intentional cheater looks like."

Leven...

"Okay so we all know Gladion's innocent, great." Lillie began "Now we have to address the other big problem. Megan still thinks she saw Gladion cheat."

"So? We can all just defend him." Rose shrugged.

Sun shook his head "It's not that simple, Rose. Megan's in a heartbroken state right now, so we can't really negotiate with her. She thinks she saw Gladion kiss Sadie, and that image is fixated in her brain. She didn't see all the stuff before that... If we talk to her right now and try to convince her she didn't see what she saw, it'll put her in a state worse than the one she's currently in. She'll be conflicted."

He and Gladion made eye contact during his explanation. They both already knew Megan's pain... and that made Gladion feel even shittier than before.

"So..." Hau silently muttered "What should we do?"

Sun let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair "The only thing we can do. Give her space until this whole thing blows over. And even then, after what she pulled earlier proceed with caution. She might act with hostility if we hit a nerve."

"So you're saying we... don't talk to her?"

"We can talk to her, just not about this. Gladion on the other hand..."

They all turned to said boy, who had his head down while he lightly shook. He was trying so hard to keep his composure, but it was easier said than done. He'd been assaulted, accused of cheating, and his girlfriend dumped him. All in the same day. No wander why he was clutching that pendant so tightly. It was almost definate that he would break when he's alone.

"...Can I ask you guys something?" He finally asked, voice breaking slightly. When they nodded he continued "How come you guys aren't that surprised or mad about mine and Megan's secret relationship?"

"Oh, well you see..." Lillie rubbed the back of her neck "I kinda expected it."

"What?"

"Neither of you did much to hide your feelings, Gladion. So I more or less knew." Sun smirked, while Hau grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah me too."

"Wait, what?!" Rose gawped "You all knew about this?!"

"Yeah," Sun raised an eyebrow "Didn't you?"

"No! I just thought they were really close fr--" She began to think back on the times Megan and Gladion were together, only to realise it was obvious "Oh..."

"'Oh' indeed." Lillie sniggered before once again turning to her brother "But anyway why do you ask?"

"I... thought you'd be mad at the fact we were together..."

"Mad? Why would I be mad?"

"You said you didn't like the idea of us dating."

"When did I--" she paused, realisation in her eyes which made her sigh "Oh, Gladion... I only said that because I didn't want you two to get hurt. You're my brother, and she's my best friend, so of course I'd be a little bit weary if you guys hooked up. But to be honest, it's really up to you who you want to be with. And if that's Megan, then I'll have to suck it up. Besides, as long as she makes you happy, I'll approve."

"So... you're not mad?"

"I'm more mad about the fact you guys didn't tell me."

Gladion's eyebrows furrowed as his eyes fell to the floor "Knowing that would have saved us a lot of grief..."

"Gladion?"

He glanced up to Sun, who had stepped forward and was giving him the look of a protective brother.

"Fight for her, okay. It's not over yet, and quite frankly I hate to see Megan this hurt. So, fix it... and give Sadie a piece of your mind while you're at it."

Gladion didn't talk to Sun as much as he talked to the others. The ravenette always seemed rather distant from him and they never really had full conversations. But that was probably due to Sun viewing himself as Megan's brother, and watching another man get close to her probably made him jealous. But now, behind that brotherly glare, was also a look of trust. A look that gave Gladion the strength to say:

"I will."

---

Megan walked into her favourite coffee shop with her head down, her hair cascading down over her face to hide her bloodshot eyes and red nose from the employees and other customers. After what just happened she couldn't even stay for class and therefore stormed out of the building as soon as she stopped uncontrollably sobbing, hoping getting a hot chocolate would temporarily ease her wild running mind. She stepped into the line, taking out one of her earphones to allow the real world to reach her ears.

Huh... it sure is noisy today...

Her eyebrows furrowed at the loud voices coming presumably from her right. She tried to tune out the conversation, but the longer she stood there the more that 'talking' sounded like arguing.

"M-Ma'am, please calm dow--"

"Calm down?! Listen here you little brat, I want a refund!"

"D-Do you have a receipt?"

"Receipt?! Why do I need a receipt?! I just want my money back!"

"It's just part of our policy, ma'am--

"You know what--"

Megan turned her head towards the woman yelling at the young employee, obviously ticked off by her attitude. The woman suddenly stood, grabbing her empty coffee mug in the process.

"--I'll teach you to respect your elders!"

She launched the black mug at the teenager, but he managed to duck just in time so it wouldn't hit him. However, this meant there was a mug flying across the coffee shop towards the customers.

Well. One customer in particular.

Megan was suddenly knocked backwards as a force nailed her in the forehead, causing her to fall onto her butt and a round of gasps to fill the shop.

Great... Megan thought as she hunched over, holding her head in her hands as she hissed in pain. Just what I needed to end this perfect day.

Bystanders began to crowd around her, while mutters of concern for the girl filled the room. The first one to her side was the employee, who knelt down and supportively held her shoulders.

"Oh god, Miss? Are you alright?" He asked panickedly, obviously unsure what to do. Megan groaned and slowly looked up at him to show she was fine, but that only made him gasp "Oh no, you're head!"

She raised an eyebrow and looked down at her hands, only to see red liquid coating them. A small gasp escaped her lips.

"Ava, get the first aid kit!"

A woman behind the counter nodded and rushed into what was presumably the employee locker room to get the requested item. Meanwhile the teen tried his best to soothe Megan's panicking. Being surrounded by strangers didn't help her mental state at this time.

And then, she heard it. Her saviour.

"Give her space."

Someone pushed through the crowd while trying to get them to back up from the injured girl. He explained to them that being surrounded wouldn't help her in anyway and could make it worse instead. Cautiously the bystanders began to disband, leaving Megan with the employee and the calm stranger. He suddenly turned to her and bent down, addressing the teenager next to her.

"Let me tend to her, I'm a professional in healthcare." He said softly, in a voice that sounded somewhat familiar.

Cautiously the employee nodded and scooted away to give them some space, which was when Megan looked up at the male that saved her from panicking due to claustrophobia.

He was a young looking man in his late teens- early twenties at most, with kind looking ebony black eyes that clashed with his roughed up look. He had at least one piercing of every kind on his face; eyebrow, nose, lip and ears, and he had an undercut that got longer at the front which draped over his eyes slightly. His skin was darkish, and he wore a black hoodie which added to the 'don't fuck with me' look he seemed to be unintentionally rocking.

Who is this guy?

The man took a fresh napkin out of his pocket and began softly dabbing the blood from Megan's forehead, making her hiss slightly.

"Sorry," He grimaced, inspecting the wound "This will most likely leave a bruise... Does anything else hurt? Like, did you land awkwardly when you fell?"

"No..."

"That's good. It should make things easier when we move you."

Megan frowned "Move me where?"

"Somewhere more comfortable for you," he explained with a gentle smile "I doubt you'd want to stay down here on the floor."

"...Good point..."

Why does he sound so damn familiar?!

"So..." The ravenette muttered, brushing Megan's bangs away to give himself better access to the wound "Come here often?"

"The floor?"

"The coffee shop, dummy."

She shrugged "Sometimes... It's usually when I have something on my mind, but after that mug attack all my problems were probably knocked out of my brain."

He snorted slightly "I don't think this will give you amnesia."

"Oh, what do you know?"

"I am an apprentice in healthcare, so... a lot."

Wait...

That also sounded familiar. Megan slowly looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, eyes narrowed "Why are you helping me, anyways?"

He shrugged "I dunno, it feels like the right thing to do?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm a decent human being."

"Why?"

"Because--"

"Why?"

"Are you seriously just saying 'why' now?"

"Why?"

"You are, what is the--"

"Why?"

"Why do you keep asking me why?!" He finally yelled, shoulders raised and eyebrows scrunched together. At this point Megan was certain her hunch was correct, so she she felt like it was right to say:

"Why do you care?"

And then, the lightbulb went of in his head.