Lilo and Stitch: Is This Love True

Chapter 11: I Can't Anymore

Over the rest of the week, the same set of events occurred. Lilo would take Stitch to hula with her, where she would try to work things out with Victoria. After she would fail, she found herself feeling angrier at the sight of her friend each time. Seeing this, Stitch would then feel more resolve to find the cure for Lilo. He stayed up each and every night to research Hunkahunka and his effect on people. After he had found out about the untested variables, he started to run simulations of everything he could think of. Trying his best to remember every detail about the night Lilo got pecked, he imputed test after test. Ultimately, with no result. Lilo noticed that Stitch was starting to become more and more tired. Despite being created to cause mass chaos and destruction, he still needed sleep. Each day he was finding himself sleeping less and less at night. Thankfully, no one noticed him sneaking out, and he would always wait until Lilo was asleep before leaving. Stitch already believed he was too far into the ruse to tell anyone, the thought of asking Jumba for help left him long ago. Determined to figure this out, he felt like he had almost found an answer.

Completely losing track of time the previous night, Stitch found himself with no sleep. By the time he finally got to lay down, Lilo's alarm had begun to ring. The sound grated at his ears like he never knew was possible.

Trying to shake off his sleepiness before reaching the breakfast table, Stitch couldn't help but let his head slowly fall forward. He wanted to sleep so badly, but didn't want to miss hula class with Lilo.

"Are you okay, Stitch?" Nani asked as his head was nearly into his cereal bowl.

Hearing his name shocked Stitch to his senses, he jumped up onto the back of his chair wondering what was going on. "Gaba?"

"Woah. Calm down there." David said, picking him up and putting him back in his seat.

Stitch looked at the faces of those around the table. Nani, and Jumba looked really surprised, while Pleakley stared at him with a spoon hovering in his mouth. When his eye's met the concerned gaze of Lilo he began feeling extremely embarrassed.

"Soka." He said with a laugh. "Meega just tired."

"Clearly." David said as he took his seat. "Haven't you been sleeping well?"

Stitch just shook his head, finally taking his eyes off of Lilo. "Meega going to get fresh air. That should help." He excused himself from the table and the others watched him leave the room.

"Well that was odd." Pleakley said, finally closing his mouth on his spoon of cereal. He continued to talk with his mouth full. "I wonder why the little monster isn't sleeping."

Lilo shot up, sending her chair skidding backwards as she slammed her hands on the table, shaking the boxes and bowls of cereal. "Stitch isn't odd or a monster, Pleakley!" She shouted at the thin alien, making him gulp down his food in slight terror. "Don't ever say that again!"

The rage that filled Lilo's eyes burned a hole through Pleakley. Jumba and David just sat in silence with their mouths hung open. No one had ever seen Lilo get so mad so quickly. Nani was the most shocked at her sister's behavior.

"Lilo, what's gotten into you?" She asked, not fearing her sister like Pleakley did.

A second later, Lilo looked like she had returned to her regular self. Her eye's softened back and she lifted her hands from the table. If the sudden rage wasn't strange, how quickly she went back to normal was. She looked between the four at the table, but mostly at Pleakley.

"I-I'm sorry, Pleakley." She backed away from the table a few steps. "I...I should get going." She ran from the room, only to return immediately to put her chair back then run back out again.