Gary groaned loudly and stormed into the next room, slamming the door. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER?!" I heard him yell.

Meanwhile, Lorelei and Lance were whispering furiously in a corner. Bruno and Greta paced back and forth like they were waiting for some catastrophic news. Professor Oak was fanning himself with a clipboard, muttering under his breath, "Oh, dear. Oh, dear. This is worse than I thought."

I sat on the floor, utterly confused. "Uh, hello? Why is everyone acting like I’m dying or something?"

Lance whipped around, holding the green bottle up like it was a cursed artifact. "Mia, do you even know what Modafinil is?"

I blinked. "Nope. Should I?"

"It’s a wakefulness drug!" Lorelei said, her voice trembling with concern. "It’s meant for people with sleep disorders, not for someone to take casually—let alone for two weeks straight!"

I frowned. "Okay, but it kept me awake, so it worked, right?"

Gary burst back into the room, looking absolutely furious. "MIA, THAT’S NOT HOW IT WORKS!"

"Why are you yelling?" I asked, shrinking under his glare. "It’s not like I’m dead."

"You could’ve been!" Greta exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "Do you realize how dangerous it is to misuse medication like this?!"

Bruno crossed his arms, looking more serious than I’d ever seen him. "And you didn’t think to tell anyone you were struggling to sleep because of the Elite Four challenge?"

I shrugged, trying to play it off. "I didn’t want to bother anyone. I mean, you guys are all busy being, you know, elite and stuff."

Lance pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mia, we’re the Elite Four, not heartless. Of course, we care about you!"

I blinked, genuinely surprised. "Wait... you do?"

Lorelei knelt down in front of me, her expression softening. "Of course, we do, dear. You’re not just some challenger to us—you’re family."

Bruno nodded. "And family takes care of each other. Always."

For a moment, I just stared at them, completely floored. "Wow," I muttered. "I thought you guys were just, like, self-centered battle maniacs."

Greta rolled her eyes but smiled. "We might be battle maniacs, but we care about the people who come through here—especially someone as spunky as you."

Gary huffed, crossing his arms. "Spunky? She’s reckless and ridiculous!"

"Hey!" I shot back, but before I could say more, Oak cleared his throat.

"We can argue later," he said firmly. "Right now, we need to figure out what else Mia has been taking."

Reluctantly, I opened my bag and pulled out the collection of bottles I’d been hiding. Everyone’s faces turned even graver as they examined the labels.

"These are painkillers," Lorelei muttered, holding up a small bottle.

"And these are anxiety meds," Lance added.

"Half of these shouldn’t even be mixed," Greta said, her voice tight with worry.

Gary stared at the pile in disbelief. "Mia, why didn’t you just tell someone you were struggling?"

I hesitated, looking down. "I didn’t want to seem weak, okay? Everyone else seems so confident and strong, and I didn’t want to let anyone down."

There was a moment of silence before Oak stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Mia, asking for help isn’t weakness. It’s strength."

Lorelei nodded. "You’re brave for facing the Elite Four, but you need to be brave enough to take care of yourself too."

Bruno gave me a rare smile. "And if you ever need us, we’re here. Always."

For the first time in a while, I felt my tough façade crack a little. "Thanks, guys," I mumbled.

Gary sighed but gave me a small smirk. "You’re lucky you’ve got people who care about you. Don’t take that for granted, okay?"

I nodded. "Okay. I’ll try to be less... you know, reckless."

"Good," Lance said firmly, handing me a glass of water. "Now, drink this. You’re going to need it."

As I sipped the water, I couldn’t help but feel a strange warmth in my chest. Maybe the Elite Four weren’t so bad after all.