Chapter 14 | Emotional Visitors

A few days had passed since Wicke took care of [Name]'s cuts and bruises. They were slowly healing but not at a very fast pace as the liquid in the tank was somehow preventing her from recovering quickly.

"Don't worry, it'll get better soon," Wicke assured her, patting her shoulder as [Name] gave her a little smile. "You just have to let nature do its thing."

The injured female gave her an acknowledged nod and leaned back into the fluffy white mattress, trying to rest awhile to speed her recovery time up. Wicke advised to not move too much or else the wounds will hurt a lot.

[Name] heard the door creak open and softly close immediately after, Wicke must have left by now. She felt bad for taking so much time of her work to take care of her, she should thank her with something later.

A moment of silence greeted her. What was this new feeling called betrayal? She heard about it in the selection of books she read and grew accustomed to it. Somehow... it didn't affect her that much. Lusamine was a dear person to her and had a big impact on her life. If it wasn't for the president, she wouldn't have experienced this tropical region and its diverse Pokémon inhabitants.

A long sigh escaped her dry lips as she reached for her glass of water on the bedside table. She had mixed feelings about this current situation. Shaking her head in frustration, she got rid of the negative thoughts and focused on her short adventure with her friends, Sun, Hau, and Lillie. They always were cheerful and positive despite the situation.

A soft knock on the door snapped [Name] out of her mind. She spoke a quiet 'Come in', before taking a sip out of her glass. Familiar red sneakers entered her room, immediately catching her attention as she raised her head to look who it was.

"Hey."

It was a certain emerald-eyed boy, along with his fiery companion, Silvally. The Pokémon roared cheerfully at the sight of [Name], but the reason was unknown to her. "H-Hello..," she greeted back, waving at him with her hand.

Gladion took a seat in a nearby armchair, letting out a stressed sigh as he petted Silvally. The Pokémon let out a happy cry and snuggled closer to its trainer, enjoying the affection coming from him.

"Don't mind me, those idiots were going to visit you, so I came along. Get well soon."

The corners of [Name]'s lips raised, his presence was soothing and almost relaxing.

"Thank y-you."

Silence dawned on them, it might have been awkward for Gladion, but it was quite peaceful for [Name]. She gently put the glass of water back on the bedside table and decided to wait for the supposed 'idiots'.

.

.

.

The door practically flew open after one minute, revealing the Malasada loving boy, Hau. Instead of having his usual goofy grin present on his face, there was a worried look. "[Name]! Are you okay?!"

His eyes frantically searched for the said person, and as soon as he found her, he dashed towards the white bed. "[Name]! We heard what happened, we're so, so, sorry!" he apologized, muttering the same sentence over and over again. Hau tightly grabbed [Name]'s hand, making her flustered. Tears threatened to roll down his squishy cheeks.

"Oh [Name]! I apologize for not noticing you!" Lillie quickly joined Hau in his apology chant, leaving the black-haired trainer at the doorway confused. Sun honestly didn't see why it was necessary to let all their emotions out, however, he felt quite guilty for leaving the white-haired girl behind.

He trotted over to [Name] and stood above the kneeling and crying duo, mentally judging them. He hesitantly raised his hand, smiled and waved at [Name]. "Hey, [Name]," he greeted.

From the corners of her eyes, [Name] could see Gladion gritting his teeth in annoyance. He was probably enduring the act Hau and his sister were putting up to make up with the recovering female.

"How annoying..," he muttered under his breath.

"Does anything hurt? Should I call Wicke? Oh heavens, I'm so sorry!" Lillie quickly spat out, grabbing [Name]'s hands. "A-Ah, no, it's f-fine..!" she spluttered back, waving her hands in front of her in denial. "Y-You both h-had your own w-worries after all."

Two grateful-sounding whines came from Hau and Lillie as they clung to [Name], scaring her in the process due to her not expecting any physical contact at all. While they were busy crying their eyes out, Sun sighed and tried to chat with the stoic Gladion, who had been watching everything since they arrived. Though he was not really talkative, he nodded after every sentence in politeness.

"Oh yeah," Sun suddenly spoke up as if a lightbulb appeared above him, turning around to face the now calm duo, whose attention he caught.

"Hau, Lillie, we need to get moving if we want to make some progress!" he continued. They wanted to borrow one of the Aether Paradise's expensive yachts to travel to Poni Island, where the Altar of the Sunne and Moone in midst of the vast Poni Canyon stood. A frown appeared on [Name]'s lips. That means they were going to leave, right? She didn't want that. For the first time in her short life, she longed for friendship, the brightness that emitted from it.

Unbeknownst to her, she released a long sigh as she stared at the silky bedsheets.

The pineapple boy and Lillie collected the things they had dropped onto the floor and fixed their ruffled clothes. Sun bid farewell to Gladion, who let out an acknowledging sound.

"W-Well then, s-safe travels, g-guys," [Name] said, waving at them to bid them goodbye.

"Thanks!"

"Get well soon, [Name]."

"We'll be sure to return soon!"

The trio left as soon as they arrived, leaving the emerald-eyed teenager and the patient to their solitude. Quickly exchanging glances, Gladion abruptly stood up, his Silvally releasing a noise of discomfort. He muttered an apology out, as he had accidentally stepped on his claw, and gave him an affectionate pat on the head, making it roar in happiness.

"You know, that sigh of yours sounded really sad."

[Name] switched her attention to Gladion, who was now standing next to her bed. His hands were tucked up in his pockets and a glare was present on his face.

"You should be more honest with your feelings," he continued as Silvally trotted over to him. "But I'm not the one to tell you." He took a seat on the chair beside the bed, which confused [Name]. Did he want to be nearer to her? Maybe she was overthinking it.

All of a sudden, his phone rang, signaling that a message had been sent to him. It was Lillie, his lovely sister.

Lillie
I know this is a big favor to ask of you, but could you please take care of [Name] in my stead? I'm counting on you, Gladion! Thanks in advance.

A grunt of displeasure left his lips, he wanted to spend some time to train with Silvally and his Pokémon team before he did anything else. It was his highest priority right now, but [Name] was recovering from an experiment and Wicke had told him she'd be busy for the next weeks. It would be rude to leave an injured being to rot, right?

"I guess I have to, huh..?"