I awake to the sound of traffic outside and an excruciating headache. Sun filters through the partially open, faded drapes, my eyes shut faster than they've ever shut in my life.

Where am I?

A feeling of dread washes over me. I finally work up the courage to open them again. Outside the window I see the sun rising over the busy street.

This is definitely not my hotel.

The sound of breathing is coming from behind me. I cringe, trying to remember what happened last night.

The last thing I remember is grabbing the nugget. My stomach turns and bubbles, how did I get here?

Quickly, I roll over to see a pair of green eyes staring at me from behind a curtain of pale blond hair.

I shriek, pulling the blankets over my eyes.

"You're okay, it's just me."

My thoughts race. I realize I'm nearly naked and ashamed does not even begin to describe how I feel. A hand gently pulls the blankets from my face, the boy smiles.

"Don't worry, we didn't do anything."

Taking a closer look, I realize it's Gladion.

I don't remember this happening!

His un-styled hair makes him appear very different, softening his sharp jaw line. He looks friendly...almost.

Gladion pulls some hair behind his ear and rests his elbow on the pillow.

"Well, if we didn't do anything then why am I naked?" I ask sheepishly

"Your clothes got soaked during the Pokemon battle. Don't you remember anything from last night, Cup Cake?"

He laughs a little and shakes his head, which makes me feel a little better.

"Not much I guess..." It finally dawns in my foggy mind that he is naked too! "Well, why are you naked!?"

"You threw up on me," he says bluntly.

I just want to burry my head in the sand. Quickly, I sit up to find my clothes, but the room starts spinning.

His ice-cold hands lower me back down on the bed, "Slow down. You're going to be sick for a while, five shots is enough to make anybody miserable, let alone a girl your size. I texted your friends for you, they think you met up with an old friend last night. Sort of the truth I guess," he snickers, pressing his crooked finger against his lip.

"I just checked out the clothes and they are still really wet. It's very early right now and I could really use some more sleep - plus I don't think you're ready to be going anywhere just yet. However, If I'm going to get any sleep at all, you might want to share the blankets with me. I've been freezing since you ralfed on my clothes."

I struggle to fix the comforter, but it's too tangled and I'm too sick. Gladion slips out for a moment to remake the bed. I advert my eyes, trying with all my might not to get caught looking at his unclothed body.

He climbs back in bed and pulls the blankets up to his chin. I close my eyes and try to go back to sleep, but the thin sheets and worn out comforter aren't offering much warmth.

I inch a little closer to him, hoping to get some of his body heat. I rub my feet together trying to generate some of my own, but it still isn't enough, so I inch a tiny bit closer.

Unexpectedly, our bare skin touches at the shoulders.

I pull away quickly and let out a fake snore, hoping he didn't notice my encroachment. Suddenly, his arm scoops under my pillow and he turns his body towards me. I take as it a welcome to scoot in a little closer.

"It's okay," he whispers. "I'm cold too."

He lifts the blankets, inviting me to snuggle even closer.

I gingerly put my hand on his bare ribs, the heat radiating from his body feels spectacular. I lay there for a moment, perhaps enjoying more than just the warmth. He places his hand on my hip and pulls me closer.

Electricity shoots through my body as we touch. My face tingles as his breath gently flows across it. What happened to the easily embarrassed boy I knew from before? He seems too confident with himself to be Gladion. I press my lips into the soft hollow of his neck. I don't kiss, just linger, running my closed lips along his silky skin.

My head spins just a bit. Maybe I'm a bit drunk still.

He slips his hand up my back, running his open palm up and down the length of it. My whole body quakes in response.

After a few passes, I realize that his intentions are to comfort me. I let myself relax a bit, poking my cold feet between his warm calves. The fog takes over again and I find myself drifting back to sleep.

______________________________________

The smell of food fills my nose as I sit up in the bed.

Gladion fully dressed, is standing in the doorway, grabbing bags from the person in the hallway. He shuts the door with his foot, hands full of white plastic bags.

"She lives!" he says with a smirk.

"How do you feel?"

"I feel better, I guess. I'm really thirsty."

He sets the bags on the table and grabs a drink for me at the sink. I sit up in bed and eagerly drink the whole glass. The water sloshes around in my empty stomach, it's been quite a while since I ate anything.

Gladion sets my clothes down on the bed, they are clean and nicely folded. His cheeks flush as he takes a look at me. I quickly pull the covers up to my shoulders.

My face grows hot at the sight of his blushing cheeks. Why does he do this to me? He's not particularly handsome and really, I don't know him that well. Yet, the attraction is clearly there. Forcing the thought out of my head for the moment, I tell myself I'm too old to be having a silly crush.

"Ready to get dressed?" he asks, "or is the room still spinning?"

"I'm fine!" I exclaim, blushing a little more.

He snickers and politely turns his back to me, so I can dress privately.

"I hope you're up to eating," he chuckles, "I ordered way too much food!"

"Oh! What did you get us?! I'm starving!"

"Honestly, I have no idea. I didn't know what I would like so I just ordered one of everything! It was the only place that would deliver out this far," he says as he unpacks all of the paper boxes and styrofoam cups.

I pull my pants up and take a seat at the table, grabbing a random box and cup of soup. I eagerly dig in, taking several bites before looking over at Gladion.

He tries very hard to pick up a single noodle, only to have it fall into his lap. I watch him for a little while, he obviously doesn't know how to eat with chopsticks and is getting quite frustrated.

"Like this!" I say, reaching over to manipulate the chopsticks in his hand. He resists at first, but quickly gives in.

Moving the box a little closer to his face, he starts poking strands of noodles in his mouth, carefully slurping them up.

I go back to my meal, but I keep glancing over at him. He catches on and gives me an irritated look.

"Stop staring at me," he groans, "You make eating with these things look so easy!"

"Sorry! I'm originally from Kanto. People eat with them often back home," I explain.

His face grows curious.

"So, you're from Kanto? Do you happen to know Red or Green? Sorry, you probably get asked that a lot!" he says as he stuffs more noodles in his mouth.

I take a big sip of my soup from the cup, laughing to myself. Of course, everyone from Kanto personally knows Red and Green.

"Red is my older brother!" I say with a big smile on my face.

Gladion nearly chokes on his noodles. His eyes grow wide, and he leans closer to me.

"You're kidding me," he says in a very serious tone.

"I am!" I burst out laughing, "I've never met either of them, but I do idolize them. But what seriously, trainer doesn't?"

His face softens and he laughs a little.

"Sorry. I knew that was a dumb question," he says, looking a little embarrassed.

"But, my dad did meet Red once!"

"Yeah right," he mumbles with a mouth full of food.

"No, really! He did!" I exclaim, "My dad worked as a scientist at Silph CO, in Saffron City. He was held hostage when Team Rocket took over, Red was the one who liberated him."

"Your dad's a scientist?" he says with a raised eyebrow.

"Was a scientist, He passed away when I was 10..." I explain, bracing myself for the typical apologies.

"My dad is gone too," he sighs, "He disappeared several years ago. Nobody knows if he's dead or alive."

"I still have my mother though, she lives here in Alola now. We moved here about 3 years ago."

"My mother is still around too, but she isn't someone I like to talk about."

He folds his arms and tries to act like it doesn't bother him, but his expressive eyes tell me that he is deeply bothered by it.

He stands up and begins to clean up the left overs. I reach out and rub his arm supportively. Our eyes lock and he allows himself to gaze into mine for a moment. He seems to be growing more comfortable with my company.

Instead of calming my urge to get to know him, his answers only make me more curious.

I watch him tidy up his apartment, we don't speak for several minutes. For a boy his age, he is very clean.

Gladion makes the bed, carefully tucking the corners and sides in nice and tight. Improvising, he wets a napkin and wipes down the table, smiling softly as he cleans the space in front of me.

I watch him wash out the plastic and styrofoam cups from our take-out meal. Sadness comes over me as he puts them away in the empty cupboards. He appears to have nothing to his name.

Still, I can't help but feel tender towards him.

I feel myself falling in love with him as I sit in this wobbly old chair. The realist in me is screaming infatuation, but it truly feels like more than that at times.

Regardless, I never want to leave this room. I become saddened at the fact that I cannot stay with him.

With a broken heart, I watch him take hair styling products out of his backpack and walk to the bathroom.

Gladion leaves the door open, so I watch him style his hair out of the corner of my eye, knowing it will be time for me to leave soon.

My heart starts to ache, as he pulls a comb out of his back pocket, slicking his hair back into that familiar style.

He notices that I'm watching. I advert my eyes as he grows closer and I halfway expect him to tell me to leave.

Instead, he hands me his comb. I take it and run it through my hair a few times until it untangles.

"I'd let you use my toothbrush too, but that's just gross!" he says, making his usual side mouthed smirk. He reaches into his pocket and offers me a piece of gum.

"Ready to go?"

We trip over each other as I try to leave, but he catches himself on the wall. I apologize quickly and wave goodbye. Laughter follows from behind as I walk down the hallway.

"You're going the wrong way!" he says, trying to hold in his snickering.

"Did you really think I'd make you find your own way home?"

"Well, umm..." I feel stupid now, I really have no idea where I am.

"Follow me," he says gesturing to me. "I have a ride in the back parking lot."

Silently, I follow him down the narrow halls of the large apartment complex. I catch him glancing over at me from time to time. I really enjoyed spending time with him, even though it was a bit awkward.

We walk to the far edge of the parking lot and he pulls away a tarp, revealing a stylish black motorcycle. He straddles it and puts the keys in the ignition.

Gladion offers his hand and I use it to steady myself as I straddle the seat behind him. With the faintest touch, I put my hands on his hips, but he reaches around and pulls them tighter.

We stop a block away from my hotel.

I carefully climb off the back of his bike. We gaze into each other's eyes for a moment, I have a strong urge to kiss him, but his eyes dart down to the ground.

"Take care of yourself," he says in a serious tone, "This isn't Akala Island, you have to grow some street smarts if you want to stay out of trouble. Next time you might not be so lucky."

"Thanks for everything Gladion, I owe you one."

"Like I said, take care of yourself," he warns before speeding off, without saying goodbye.