"I love you, Shulk. I've had these feelings since I first met you, and I feel like now would be a good time to finally tell you," Melia said.
Shulk looked very surprised as Melia said this. "I..." he said, at a loss for words. Melia looked into his eyes. Her eyes were shining, even though the sun was at her back. "What do you say? If you need, you don't have to respond right now,"
Melia scooted closer to him, curious for his answer. "I... Melia... I don't know what to say right now," he said, blushing. She smiled. "It's ok. You don't need to reply right now. I can wait for you to make a decision,"
Shulk stood up, smiled at Melia, then checked the time. "It's 6:00. Should I wake everyone up?" Melia nodded.
They worked together to wake everyone up. Everybody but Reyn and Sharla would wake up. They were still snuggled up together. When Dunban looked over at them, he could help but let out a little laugh. "Looks like the two lovebirds are enjoying their rest together," he said.
Riki wobbled over to Reyn and Sharla. He whacked Reyn in the head. "No more sleepytime!" he said. Everybody laughed. Reyn woke up from that whack. He opened his eyes slowly, and said, "Ow! Furrball why'd you do that- Huh?" He noticed Sharla in his arms and quickly got away, blushing.
Everybody was once again laughing except Reyn. "How long have I been like that? I don't remember doing that last night!"
Sharla woke up not long after. As she got up, she saw Reyn still staring at her, surprised. "Reyn, what's that look for?" she asked. Riki said, "Reyn and Sharla hugging each other in sleep like Riki and wifeypon do!" Sharla suddenly looked shocked and started blushing. "Is that true?"
Reyn looked away. "That's how it seemed. I mean, I guess I'm okay with it now," he said and laughed right after. Sharla blushed even more and stood up. "Reyn, you... Oh, forget it. Let's just go,"
As they walked further along, Shulk could see Fiora dragging behind. He slowed down and got next to her. "Fiora, are you okay? You're dragging behind," he said.
"I'm fine, Shulk," she said, smiling, "Don't worry about me. I'm just still a little tired, is all," She looked up the huge Mechonis Field. "I can hardly see the top. I wonder how long it'll be before we reach it,"
"Me too," Shulk said. He was still thinking about what Melia said before. Her words were ringing inside his head. "I love you, Shulk. I've had these feelings since I first met you, and I feel like now would be a good time to finally tell you,"
Fiora looked over to Shulk and saw that he looked like his head was in the clouds. "Hey, what's on your mind?" she asked. Shulk jumped out of his thoughts and turned to Fiora. "Oh, um, it's nothing," Fiora looked concerned. "You say that every time something's on your mind. Come on, tell me," she said as she put her hand on his shoulder.
Melia looked back to see where Shulk was since he wasn't ahead of her. As she looked, she saw Fiora put her hand on his shoulder, and he smiled. Melia looked back forward and felt enraged towards Fiora.
Dunban noticed Melia looking kind of mad. "Hey Melia, something up?" He asked. Melia looked at him, rage still in her eyes. "No, nothing's up. I'm just fine," As she said that, she felt tears forming in her eyes. "No, not now!" she thought.
"Are you sure? You look like you're about to cry. Not just that, but you look mad at something. Tell me what's up," Dunban said. Melia merely shook her head. "You wouldn't understand. I also wouldn't want anybody else knowing," she said. Suddenly, she started crying.
"Are you okay, Melia?" Dunban asked as she started crying. "Guys, we should probably stop walking for a while, something's wrong," he said directing to Reyn, Sharla, Riki, Shulk, and Fiora.
Reyn, Sharla, and Riki looked back to see Melia crying. They rushed over. "I've never seen you cry, Melia! Is something wrong?" Sharla said. Shulk and Fiora caught up with everyone and saw her.
Melia sat down on the ground as everybody surrounded her. "Everyone, I'm fine. I just..." She started sobbing harder. Shulk and Dunban looked the most concerned. "Are you sure you're fine? You're crying even more!" Shulk said.
She looked down. "It's okay, Shulk. I... I just..." She thought back to when she confessed to Shulk. She still hasn't gotten her answer, and it's been about 5 hours. Then she looked at Fiora. Fiora was right behind Shulk. "I'm just... I don't want to say it," she said. Shulk thought he knew what Melia was talking about.
"Melia loves me, and I was hanging around Fiora to make sure she was okay. Maybe she was jealous of me being concerned about Fiora," he thought.
"Hey, guys, would you mind if I talked to Melia privately?" Shulk asked. "I think I know what's bothering her," Melia looked up at Shulk with a gleam in her eyes. Everyone but Fiora nodded and left.
"Shulk, how in Bionis would you know and nobody else would?" Fiora asked. Shulk smiled at Fiora and said, "Don't worry about it for now. I want to talk to her privately." Fiora nodded and left for the other group. Melia stood up and said, "Are you sure you know what's wrong? I doubt you would,"
Shulk smiled at her. "I'm not sure if I know what's wrong, but I can at least guess." Melia blushed. "I believe it has something to do with Fiora, am I right?" he asked.
Melia looked shocked. "Shit. How did you..?" Shulk grinned. "I remembered what you told me this morning, and I'm pretty sure you'd be jealous if I hung out with Fiora," Melia looked down. "Shulk, I... Yes. I'm envious of Fiora, as much as I hate to admit it," she said.
Shulk put his hand on her shoulder. Melia looked up, eyes sparkling. "I'm just concerned about Fiora. She toppled last night randomly, and now she's falling behind. And don't forget I thought she was dead just 2 months ago! I just want to talk to her because I care about her. I also care about you, Melia," he said. Melia smiled, wiping away her tears.
"Shulk, you still haven't given an answer to my question. I'm curious on if you feel the same way. Of course, if you still don't know, that's alright," Melia said. Shulk blushed a little bit. He forgot he hasn't given an answer. "Um, I'm still not sure. I'm sorry, Melia. I need a bit more time to decide," he said. Melia nodded. "That's fine by me. Take your time,"
Shulk and Melia walked back to the group. Melia started saying, "Shulk knew exactly what was wrong. Don't fret, I'm fine. He helped me feel better." He smiled, saying, "Yeah, I'm actually surprised I knew. She's a tough shell to crack!" Melia laughed a little bit and blushed.
"I hope he says yes," Melia thought.
