When We Were Younger. |Gladion X Moon|Pokemon Romance Novel|

-23-

The landscape whizzes by as I gaze up to the window. I'm overwhelmed by the odor of Meowth that seems to have permeated every fiber of the back seat of Nanu's vehicle. I cringe as I come face to face with a Meowth's back eye.

Nanu grunts disapprovingly from the front seat. He reaches back and slides open the fiberglass partition.

"Hands down. Remember, we're trying to be sneaky."

I roll my eyes and return them to my chest. Although I'm greatly in his debt, I don't feel the need to pretend I enjoy laying on this stinky, uncomfortable, car floor.

"By the way, your boyfriend made it out, they just found his motorcycle ditched on the side of the highway."

"He's not my boyfriend," I reply, grudgingly.

"Whatever. He's a genius! I mean, this guy is SLICK...literally, slick," he chuckles, "He iced the roads! ICED THEM!! Bahahaha! I'm actually sorry I missed out on Alolan officers trying to drive on ice. I guess it was a total shit show."

"So, we are going to pick up Hau...then what?" I ask.

"I bring you to the docks and we never speak of this again," he replies.

"Why are you helping me anyway?"

"Well, truth be told...I'm helping your boyfriend."

"Ugh. Stop calling him that!!....Why?" I ask pressingly. What could Nanu possibly have to gain from helping Gladion?

"HA! You don't even know who he is, do you?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'll let him explain then, it's not really my place."

"It's not really my place," I whisper mockingly to myself.

Nanu rolls his eyes in the front seat. His eye brows crinkle and his tired, red eyes narrow as he chews the inside of his lip.

"These are the kind of feelings you get when you go and fall in love with somebody before you get to know them...and don't tell me that you don't. Your anger towards him says it all."

"My anger? Isn't that the exact opposite of love?"

"You wouldn't be so livid if you didn't expect better from him. You've seen it, I've seen it...he's a good guy."

"And how exactly do you know him?"

"I'm a cop, he's a criminal...we've met before. I'm not going to delve real deep into it, but just give the kid a chance, okay. He's been through more than you know."

"Can you imagine what it's like to be Gladion? The only person he really has to hold onto is that fish-dog thing...and it used to hate him! If he can win that thing over, maybe he can win you over too!"

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. He's right.

"Well, we're here. Stay put...and no funny business! I know my career's in the toilet, but I'm not quite ready to flush."

Several minutes pass and the sweat begins to pour down my forehead as the car becomes unbearably hot. My gut wrenches, we can't waste any time.

Finally, the car door opens and Acerola sets a neatly folded pile of clothing on the seat. She somberly hands me Lillie's oversized hat and a pair of dark sunglasses. Next, she bends over and pulls a weird cap over my head, carefully tucking all my hair into it. When I sit up, she places a long, violet wig on my head.

"You better change clothes too. We saw you on the news," she whispers, "Be careful."

Acerola waves as we pull away from the house. I wrap my arm around Hau and he rests his head on my shoulder.