Connecting Heartstrings | Gladion

>>Chapter 14<<

Today was the day. (Y/N) was going to Lillie's house for a slumber party and had a plan to snoop around Gladion's room. Was it dark and full of posters? Did he have a stuffed animal? Was there BLOOD on the walls? (Y/N) was curious. After all she knew next to nothing about him. Gladion was not one to talk and even though they could be considered close friends, Gladion never talked about his personal life, which made (Y/N) all the more curious to find out for herself. Was it a violation of his privacy? Perhaps. (Y/N) decided to call it "Involuntary secret sharing".

Lillie had told (Y/N) to meet her at the docks. They apparently had to travel a bit to get to her house. Where the hell did this girl live? She knew they were probably rich, since Lillie and Gladion always spent money like it was poison they needed to get rid of, but having their own island? Where they Pokémon traffickers or something? (Y/N) felt a bit unnerved and intimidated, but curious as to what she would find. Maybe their parents had...a rock band or something.

Come to think of it (Y/N) knew nothing about their parents, or their family for that matter. She wondered if they were ashamed or maybe the topic never even came up. What (Y/N) knew is that she had more and more questions which every step she took towards the docks.

(Y/N) was walking next to Umbreon and towards the docks. The sun was shining bright and Umbreon made it very clear he disliked the heat by constantly whining and pulling at (Y/N)'s dress for a break.

(Y/N) was wearing a grey sundress and matching sandals, she was getting used to the weather but still refused to stop wearing dark colours. It was part of who she was, no matter how much her friends insisted light colors were better for the heat. If the edgelord could pull it off, then so could she.

She finally arrived to the docks and saw Lillie and Hau talking to each other. When they turned around and noticed her, she started waving and walked towards them.

Umbreon, who was out of its pokéball, started walking around a Rowlet, curious about the tiny creature. Rowlet's head followed Umbreon to the point where its head was completely backwards, which scared Umbreon, who got in a defensive stance and started growling at the tiny owl-like Pokémon. Hau lifted up Rowlet, laughing, and turned to Umbreon.

— "Don't worry, Umbreon. He's harmless." — Hau explained to the Pokémon. Rowlet flew a bit and decided to nest on Hau's head, before comfortably falling asleep. — "See?"

Umbreon looked at Hau a with an unsure expression on his face, he still was confused as to what that Pokémon was and did not trust it. Umbreon decided to hide behind its trainer, making (Y/N) chuckle.

— "It's okay Umbreon, you are safe."

Umbreon came out from his hiding spot and laid down on the ground while the group of friends talked. The conversation was superficial. Mostly about what they did recently in school and extracurricular activities. (Y/N) was listening Hau's story about a football game he had a couple days ago when a massive yacht came into view.

— "That's our ride." — Lillie said while turning towards the humongous vessel. (Y/N) was at a loss of words. Was she friends with a millionaire?

They all boarded the boat and it started moving towards a direction completely unknown to (Y/N). After all she had only been to Akala and Mele Mele, she didn't know much about what was around the islands.

After around half an hour a building in the middle of the ocean came into view. (Y/N) froze. It was the Aether Foundation. Lillie confirmed that's where she lived, apparently her mother was the president of the foundation. (Y/N) couldn't and didn't want to believe it. The very people that had taken her family away from her. She was friends with the enemy? Endless emotions started boiling up one after the other. (Y/N) was completely in over her head. She adored Gladion and Lillie, but she had come to Alola with the sole purpose of getting revenge from their family.

At least now she knew why they were millionaires. Umbreon felt (Y/N)'s internal conflict and decided to sit on her lap and rub his head against her as some sort of emotional support. (Y/N) mindlessly started petting him while thinking about the past.

When (Y/N) was young, her father worked for the Aether Foundation. (Y/N) was too little to know the details but she knew he was some sort of scientist. He created things. She remembered her father had a rivalry with another sort of authority there named Faba. All she knew was they had a massive fight and (Y/N)'s father threatened to quit the project and take all of his discoveries with him. A few days later, a giant truck crashed into her father's car, killing both her parents, leaving (Y/N) completely alone. A few years later she learned it was no accident. The police report stated that the person who crashed into their car was none other than Faba himself. For that, she despised all of Aether. They had taken her parents away and she planned to take her father's invention back. They did not deserve it and it was not theirs to take. Her father's project on Aether was all she had left of him and she was willing to take it back no matter what it took. It was rightfully hers.

(Y/N) didn't notice she was frowning until she heard Hau's voice.

— "Is everything alright, (Y/N)?" — Hau said worried, looking at his friend. (Y/N) wasn't sure how to respond. She felt like she could trust Lillie and Gladion but what if they knew about her father? What if they were okay with it? Did they even know who she was? She knew she couldn't tell anyone about her plan but now there was a conflict of interest. Could she really steal from her friends?

(Y/N) didn't want to lie to her friends so she just smiled at them, trying to reassure them and get them off her case. She tried not to think about it but as the boat neared the Aether Paradise, she grew more and more anxious. What if someone in there knew who she was?

She got off the boat as soon as they arrived and noticed Gladion waiting for them at the entrance. Hau ran full speed ahead and tackled Gladion into a hug. (Y/N) laughed. Gladion did not think it was funny. Hau ran in circles around Gladion talking about how much fun it was gonna be to spend the night with him and play games and do the things that boys normally do. Hau really wanted to be friends with Gladion and Gladion wanted him as far away as possible. It's funny if you think about it.

As everyone walked inside towards the mansion, (Y/N) took a deep breath and tried to focus on having fun. At least now she had an easy way in to complete her mission. Umbreon walked next to her, ready to attack anyone who recognised its owner. They were in enemy territory now.

A/N: Sorry for not updating! I'm in the middle of finals and doing my best to survive, I promise I'll update more as soon as the exams are over. Please vote and comment!