(Megan POV)

It's been three weeks since the beach incident. We try not to bring it up if we can, but sometimes the squad check on me to see if I'm alright. I know they're just worried, but it does get kinda annoying. Anyway, Gladion was currently out somewhere with Wicke, like he's been doing a lot lately. He would never tell me why, but I can sense it's not good. The fact he comes back looking mentally hurt and scared adds to my suspicions, including the fact he now unexpectedly pulls me into hugs which could last from ten minutes to half an hour. I want to ask him about it, but I know if I do he'll just deny that anything's wrong. The best thing I can do is wait for him to open up to me. Hopefully I can be patient enough for that.

Besides, free hugs from bae! (Did I seriously just say that?)

I lay on my bed and stared up at the ceiling with my hands resting on my stomach, as it rose and fell to my breathing. Lillie was in the room with me. She sat on the black beanbag chair, which was in the corner, and was brushing Dana's silky white fur.

I sighed for like, the hundredth time.

'Okay, what's wrong?' Lillie spoke up.

'What?' I asked, lifting my head from my pillow to stare at her.

'You've been sighing ever since I got here. We both know that's not normal, even for you.' She picked up Dana and walked over to my bed, sitting on it with her legs criss-crossed. 'Now, tell me what's up.'

'I am not sure what you mean.' I raised an eyebrow.

'Meg.'

'Fine...' I groaned. 'Something has been on my mind, anyways.'

'I'm all ears.' The blonde responded, placing Dana on her lap.

I sighed, again, and sat up properly so I was more comfortable. 'It's about your brother.'

'What about him?' Lillie tilted her head, raising an eyebrow and pouting slightly.

'Have you... noticed anything off about him? I mean I know he's shut off, but has he been acting different? Or is it just me?'

'Different how?'

'Like, I don't know, he's more silent than usual and isn't around Aether Paradise as much. Whenever he is here though he always looks so sad, instead of the Edgelord I know. Also he tends to give me ridiculously long hugs, which is definitely unlike him. I know he's isolated, due to... reasons. But this is a bit too distant, even for him.' I finished and ran a hand through my hair. 'I was just wondering if you've noticed anything strange about him, that's all.'

Lillie took in my words, before breaking eye contact and placing her hand to her chin to think. 'Now that you mention it, he has been going down to the labs a lot. I've known about it for a bit but never said anything, because I never thought too much into it. But, after what you said, it is kind of suspicious. As for his mood drop, I know he hates being asked about his emotions so I just shrugged that off too. I guess little signs could lead to big things.'

'I see...' I nodded slowly with a frown.

'I'll keep an eye on him, if that'll make you feel any better.'

'That would be great. I know he's been through some tough times and I want to be there for him. But I can't do that if I don't know what's going on. Same goes for you and everyone else. I just don't want to see him hurting.'

Lillie was silent, so I turned to her to see if she was okay.

She was

A bit too okay if you ask me...

'Uhh... Lillie?'

The girl had her hands over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming, causing her face to turn slightly red, and was bouncing up and down on her butt. Dana and I exchanged glances and sighed.

'Lillie, I'm aware Gladion and I are you OTP. But now? Seriously?'

'I'M SORRY!' She exploded 'I CAN'T HELP IT! YOU TOO ARE JUST TOOOO CUUUUTE! AND BROTHER'S NOT EVEN HERE!'

I stared at her blankly, before facepalming. 'Seriously? Who else do you ship?'

'Oh that's easy. I've shipped Matthew and Ashley since they first met.'

I cringed. 'Oh Arceus I remember your reaction when they told us they're engaged. Welp, that settles it, Edgelord and I are never getting married.'

'WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!'

'It's best for all of us, my dear.' I told her with fake sadness as I rested my hand on her shoulder.

'B-But... my ship...'

'Okay you know what? Instead of watching other couples, why don't you get a partner? That way you can fulfill all your fantasies.' I suggested.

Lillie tensed up, and her cheeks dusted pink as she began twiddling with her thumbs. This made me smirk.

'Oh so there is someone~?!' I exclaimed, inching closer to her.

'W-What?! No there isn't!' She squeaked.

'Lies!'

'What?'

'You're lyyyyying~' I teased, nudging her. 'Now tell me, who is he/she?'

'W-Well... he's a strong, well-known trainer in Alola... a-and he's really nice and kind and-'

'Yeah there are a lot of those in Alola, sweety.' I sighed. 'Come on! I need details!'

'U-Uhm... Okay fine...' she sighed in defeat. 'I like this guy, he's a real happy fella who doesn't let anything get him down. I've liked him for awhile now, and want to tell him, but I just get nervous. Especially when he hugs me unexpectedly and- uhm... what are you grinning at?'

I stared at her with a mischievous grin, with my cheek resting on my palm. 'It's Hau, isn't it?'

She squeaked, her blush becoming more visible as she quickly turned away. '......no'

'Oh my Arceus, it totally is!'

'No it's not! I mean come on he's too happy all the time! He's weird, and is too outgoing! Why the hell would I like someone as kind, strong, amazing and handsome as him- oh crud...'

'OH MY GOSH I KNEW IT! YOU TWO SHOULD TOTALLY GO OUT!' I screamed, as I flailed my arms around.

'No way! I-I mean... there's no way he likes me back...' Lillie muttered as her eyes fell to the ground.

'...Are you seriously this dense?'

'Huh?'

'C'mon Lillie, it's Hau! He's liked you for the longest time! How can you not see he has the hots for you, girl?'

Lillie's blush deepened even more at my words as she began playing with her long platinum hair, which I've learned is a classic move a girl makes when she's talking about a guy she likes. She's got it, and she's got it bad.

'S-Still, what am I even supposed to say to him? What if I make a fool out of myself -- What if-'

'Girl! Chill! Okay you know what, I'm gonna help you make this happen.' I told her as I pulled out 'my' phone and began texting.

'What are you doing?'

'Texting Hau to set you guys up.'

'Won't... you need my phone for that?'

'Yup.'

'I don't think I under... wait... HEY THAT'S MY PHONE!' Lillie yelled and reached out to grab her phone, but I just pulled it out of her reach with a smirk.

'And... send~' I sang as soon as I finished the text. Lillie was finally able to snatch the phone from me and read the text I sent to Hau. Her face turned red as a tomato berry.

'Hey Hau, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to hang out sometime. Just us two. I'd love to get to know you more and catch up. Xxx'

'You can thank me later~' I chimed, showing my Skitty grin.

'That won't be necessary...'

'Say wha...?'

'I won't need to thank you later... Because I'm going to kill you now!' Lillie yelled as she lunged for me. I yelped and shot back, which unfortunately caused me to fall off the bed, before bolting out of the room. 'Megan get back here!' I heard Lillie bark.

'Nope!' I ran down the halls, hearing the thumps of mine and Lillie's bare feet colliding with the floor. This continued, until I spotted another person who was walking towards us.

'MAAAAATTHEEEEW! HELP MEEEEEEE!' I screamed as I dove behind the twenty three year old male, who was slightly surprised to find me running towards him.

'Megan? What's wrong?' he asked as he looked at me from over his shoulder.

'Angry Lillie... coming this way...' I told him out of breath. Immediately, Lillie skidded around the corner and halted in front of Matthew. She was panting angrily.

'Coward... hiding behind a tall person for protection.' She mocked.

'Anything to keep me alive!' I squeaked, gripping onto Matthew's black t-shirt. He was still confused.

'Okay, what exactly is going on here? Why is Lillie so upset?' he asked.

'Megan texted my crush!'

'Oh is that al-' He was cut off, as Lillie shoved her phone into his face. After reading the text he looked at me, eyebrow raised. 'Kisses? Really?'

'Hey! I thought it was cute!'

(Timeskip)

After a long a** lecture from Matthew (I almost typed Luke, omg), and spending the rest of the day taking care of the Paradise, I decided to crash early since I was tired. Gladion still hadn't returned though, which concerned me enough to keep me awake. I stared at the empty part of the bed where he usually slept and sighed, hoping he'd come back soon.

It seemed like my prayers were answered, as the bedroom door opened to reveal my boyfriend, looking absolutely exhausted. I turned over, pretending to be asleep as I listened to his movements. I heard rustling, which meant he was changing into his PJs, before the sound of the bathroom door opening and closing. After a few minutes of silence he came out, and I heard the creaking of the floorboards getting louder before feeling the mattress weighing down. Gladion shuffled under the bed covers and tried to get comfortable, until I felt his arms snake around my waist and pull my back into his chest. He nestled his face into my neck and let out a content sigh.

'Goodnight, love...' he whispered, before going silent which told me he had fallen asleep.

'...Goodnight...' I whispered. After a few minutes I too fell asleep.

'What? Where am I? Why is it so dark? Where is everyone?'

Questions kept replaying in my head as I looked around the dark space. It didn't look like there were any people or Pokemon around. Just then though, two figures came into view. They looked like they were... arguing?

'Wait... that's... me and Gladion?'

I stared in shock as the two far too familiar people fought. I looked like I was close to tears, and Gladion... he looked mad, terrifying even. I wanted to stop it, I wanted to turn away, but I was frozen in my place. The me in the scene reached up to grip her hair and began yelling something I couldn't hear. But she was cut off as Gladion grabbed her wrist. His face was serious, yet it also held fear. He looked at her wrist before letting go and backing away, tears were in the brims of his eyes. He said something, though again it wasn't audible.

'Why did he react that way? Why did he look so scared.' I thought to myself. But then it hit me. The me in the vision moved her hand in a quick motion, and Gladion acted to stop her.

... He thought I was going to hit him...

Why would he think that? Shouldn't he know I would never hurt him? Does he not trust me enough.

The me in the vision looked heartbroken, as if she had the same thoughts. Then... she said something I never thought I'd hear myself say.

'...Maybe everyone was right...' her voice got colder with every word. 'Maybe we shouldn't have gotten together...'

After that she just ran away, leaving Gladion frozen in shock. The image before me faded, leaving me alone once again. I fell to my knees and tears began rolling down my face. Why would that happen? Sure Gladion and I fought. Who doesn't? But never like that.

...Megan...

I heard someone call my name.

...Megan

Where was it coming from?

Megan.

I looked around, but no one was in sight

'Megan!'

I jolted awake to someone shaking me and calling my name. I turned over to see who it was, to find Gladion staring at me with a worried expression.

'Gladion? Are you okay?' I asked.

'Me? Are you okay? You were crying in your sleep.' he responded.

I sat up and touched just below my eyes. And there were indeed tears. Gladion sat up too and crawled until he was in front of me. He gently cupped my face and began wiping the liquid away. 'What happened?'

My eyes fell to my knees. 'I just had a dream that... wasn't very nice.'

'... What was it about?'

'We had a fight.'

His eyes widened slightly. 'As in-'

'You and me. Yea...'

'...What were we fighting about?

I took a deep breath 'I don't really know. I couldn't hear what we were saying. But-' My lip began to tremble. 'I did hear one bit. Though I wish I didn't... it was my words.'

'What did you say?'

I drew a sharp breath and looked up at him. He generally wanted to know. More tears left my misty eyes as I spoke the words I heard. 'Maybe everyone was right... maybe we shouldn't have gotten together...'

He froze, and his hands fell from my face to my shoulders. I continued talking. 'I have no idea why she-... Why I thought to say that... but I know for a fact I would never...'

'Megan...'

'You did something unexpected, too...'

'What did I-'

'You thought I was going to strike you!' I blurted, before sobbing uncontrollably. 'I made a quick motion to grip my hair, but you stopped me! Because you thought I was raising my hand against you!'

Gladion drew a sharp breath, his hands began trembling on my shoulders. I covered my mouth to muffle my sobs which echoed round the room.

(Gladion's POV)

I had no idea what to say. I knew it was only a dream, but it really felt like I hurt her. There she was, crying in front of me out of pain and fear. It made me think about our future. Wicke and I still hadn't figured out how to stop... what would happen to Megan. So if... if this dream wasn't a dream, which I prayed with all my heart it was... it would happen in the near future, within this year. Oh Arceus please don't let it happen.

Another sob escaped Megan which brought me out of my thoughts. My heart panged with pain to see her beautiful face in tears. Gently, I pulled her onto my lap and wrapped my arms around her. She gasped into my chest, but soon relaxed into my embrace and returned it.

'You know I'd never think you'd strike me...'

'I know... I just- it felt so-'

'Shhh, I know. But it wasn't real, so you can stop crying.'

I began stroking her hair to calm her, which seemed to work since her son's slowly subsided. I tried pulling away to look at her, but she buried herself deeper into my chest.

'Meg?'

'Can we just... stay like this a little longer?' she asked, her voice muffled. This made my lips curve upwards into a smile.

'Sure... Yea...' I chuckled as I once again wrapped my arms around her, this time enjoying feeling her in my arms. I didn't know what the future held for us, but I did know two things. That she was right here with me now, and I would love her until the end of time. Dead or alive.

'Gladion?'

'Yea?'

'Remember when we made our relationship public, and most of Alola said we weren't meant to be together?'

'...Yes...'

'Well... screw what they say! I love you, and I want to spend my life with you! So haters back off!'

Her statement got a laugh out of me, causing me to squeeze her even tighter. 'God I love you! You always know how to make a situation happy.'

'I do try~'

A/N: AWWWWW! LOOK AT THE COOT LI'L COUPLE!

SO, LILLIE LIKES HAU. AND ACCORDING TO MEGAN HE LIKES HER BACK. MEGAN HAD A NIGHTMARE ABOUT HER AND GLADION HAVING A HORRIBLE FIGHT. WHAT COULD IT MEAN? WHAT DO YOU THINK GLADION MEANT, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MEGAN?! WHY AM I YELLING?!

I... don't know... oopsie~

Anyway I actually enjoyed this chapter, and I'm hoping the next one will be equally as fun to write. It involves a certain champion meeting someone~

*Gasp!* Spoilers!!!!

Anyway I'm gonna go now. I'm sick...

Bai my beautiful, awesome cinnamon rolls~

Silver out!!!!