Moon found her chin lifted up and Gladion's lips pressed onto hers.
Moon's initial reaction was confusion. Why was Gladion kissing her? She then noticed a light musky cologne. It actually smelled nice. She didn't notice it before. Not that she was very this close to Gladion before...
Wait a minute! Moon put her two hands on Gladion's chest and pushed him away. She glared at him. "What are you doing?" She spat out.
Gladion stared at her for a moment, then smirked. "Took you a moment to react there. And I'm pretty sure you were kissing back."
Moon felt her cheeks turn hot. "I was not!" She retorted. Then she realized something else. "How could you steal my first kiss?"
Gladion raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is that a big deal?"
Moon looked back at him. So maybe in Alola, stuff like first kisses were no big deal. But still! Moon thought. She noticed the bus pulling up. As she got on, she turned around and glared at Gladion. "I hate you." She told him before climbing the remaining stairs.
Moon fumed the rest of Saturday night and Sunday morning. She barely slept during the night. What right did Gladion think he had to just kiss her like that? Maybe he did this with all unsuspecting girls, and he was a cocky jerk like that. She tried not to think how soft his lips were, and yes, maybe she did kiss him back briefly. But she didn't like him. There was no reason to like him.
Moon stared out her bedroom window, knowing she had homework to tackle yet. There was no reason to like him. She barely knew him. All she knew was that he skipped class and hung out on the roof when he was skipping class. Plus he was friends with or part of Team Skull. That was bad enough news as it was. Moon tapped her fingers impatiently on her desk. Maybe Gladion would be alright looking if he got a proper haircut. The jagged, French fry over one eye wasn't really her thing. But he did have nice eyes.
Gah! Stop it! Moon told herself. Don't develop a crush on the guy. Don't!
She threw herself into doing her homework, and once that was done, she laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She reached for her cellphone and started scrolling through her favorite photo accounts on Flickr. She noticed the more serious photographers kept to that photo sharing app. There was one account in particular that had really beautiful before dawn photography. That spurned an idea in Moon's head. She doubted Gladion was the type to get to school on time. Maybe she could get to school early and take pictures then. She would scout it out tomorrow before school.
The next morning, Moon took an earlier bus to get to school a thirty minutes before her usual arrival. Some kids who had morning practices were already there. Moon recognized a few and waved to them. She dropped off her belongings to her locker and headed up the stairs to the roof. She carefully peeked around the entire roof and saw no sign of the source of her anger. Good.
She was about to head to the exit when she heard the door open. Moon hid around the corner, hoping whoever it was didn't come in her direction.
"What was so critical that I needed to meet you here this early before school?" Gladion said.
"I don't think being with Team Skull is helping with anything." Moon heard a familiar voice say. "Why are you friends with them, Gladion?"
"It's what I need to do right now, Lillie." Gladion replied.
Lillie and Gladion? Moon was surprised. She didn't want to eavesdrop but she couldn't very well reveal herself either. She carefully peeked. Sure enough, the two were there, facing each other.
"It just worries me." Lillie reached for Gladion's cheek and touched it.
Gladion face softened. He looked a lot less scary than he normally did. Moon didn't realize he could look like that. "Thank you, but I promise you I have my reasons."
"Still..." Lillie looked uncertain.
"I promise, this is for our benefit. I'm thinking of you, Lillie." Gladion reached out and hugged her. He then said something that Moon couldn't hear. Her heart beat painfully.
Gladion released Lillie, who had tears in her eyes. She wiped them away. "Okay, I won't approach you on the matter anymore and trust your decision."
"Thank you."
Moon could hear the first bell ring.
Gladion nodded to the door. "Go ahead. I'll follow in a minute."
Lillie took one last look at Gladion before heading through the door. Gladion sighed and walked to the roof's edge. He took a look out at the beach and ocean before turning around and heading indoors.
Moon sat there for a moment. What had she just witnessed? She never saw Gladion be so...tendertowards anyone. And was this some secret Lillie was hiding? No wonder Lillie kept to herself. Wait,Moon thought. Are those two dating? It seemed like it, right? And it would make sense that Lillie didn't want anyone to know she was dating the delinquent of the school. The thought of it bugged her a bit, especially when she reflected back to Saturday. So it clearly had no meaning behind it. She concluded. Not that she thought it did, but this confirmed it. Moonlet the ache in her heart dull into anger. What a jerk! Moon thought. And here I was possibly developing feelings for the guy! Well, good riddance!
Moon stood up. She was sure their trip to the roof was not a regular happening. And if it was, her presence would surely make them avoid doing so in the future, as Moon was certain they didn't want anyone to know about their relationship. She headed indoors, feeling better knowing Gladion was just playing with her.
Moon barely made it to the classroom before the final bell rang. Hau looked at her with a question in his eyes regarding her late arrival. Moon mouthed "after school" to him, and he nodded.
After school, Moon met up with Hau and Sun. Hau put his hands on his hips and frowned. "So are you going to tell me why you were almost late this morning?"
"You were almost late?" Sun asked.
Moon bit her lip. She hated talking about people behind their backs, no matter how much she disliked them. "I think Gladion hides on the roof when he skips class. I went to the roof this morning to make sure Gladion didn't hang out there that early. I rather avoid him." Well, nothing she said wasn't true.
"I'm not surprised. Gladion is bad news. But supposedly he is passing his classes and still shows up everyday, so the school can't reasonably kick him out." Hau shrugged. "Well, good thinking though."
The three walked together off the school grounds. "So the Spring festival is coming up soon!" Hau grinned.
"Don't think you'll win again, Hau." Sun threatened.
"What's the Spring festival?" Moon asked.
"It's an event our school puts on that is open to our parents and family and all of Hau'oli City. We make up different stands like decorating cupcakes or carnival games. It's a big fundraiser but also a lot of fun! And homerooms get judged on a few different aspects. There's prizes for creativity, who brings in the most money and so on." Hau grinned.
"Ooh, that does sound fun." Moon nodded.
Hau grinned at Sun. "It looks like its two versus one though."
Sun's mouth dropped open a bit in realization, then he smiled, looking determined. "My homeroom will not lose to yours, Hau and Moon."
Moon grinned also. "Challenge accepted."
They reached an intersection. "Well, I go this way, guys! I'll see you tomorrow!" Hau waved.
"I'll walk with you to your bus stop," Sun said.
Moon nodded and two two walked down the street in an awkward silence.
"Soccer practice is starting soon." Sun spoke up. "And then games will begin a couple weeks after that."
Moon looked at Sun.
His cheeks were tinted pink. "It would be cool if you could come to a game when you can. They can be fun to watch. Um, I mean Hau also comes when he can."
Moon smiled. "I'd love to come see you play."
Sun blushed deeper. "Cool."
They reached the bus stop. "Thank you for waking with me. I'll see you tomorrow." Moon told Sun.
"Yeah!" Sun smiled. He waved before heading off.
The bus pulled up a few minutes later and Moon got on. Now that she had some due time, she reflected back to the scene from this morning.
Lillie and Gladion? She wasn't expecting that. But maybe it did make sense, given how Lillie and Gladion seemed to keep to themselves. Gladion actually seemed like a normal human being when he was with Lillie and was completely nice to her. He said he was part of Team Skull for their benefit. What did that mean? All Moon had encountered so far with Team Skull was petty theft. How was that beneficial?
When the bus arrived at her stop, she got off, still deep in thought. Hau told her Team Skull was a gang of teenagers. Moon didn't have much experience with gangs, but was their whole purpose simply to cause trouble? Moon frowned. There had to be more to it than that.
Later that week, there was a discussion in homeroom regarding the upcoming spring festival. They had to decide what why were going to do as a class.
"Bake sale?" One girl suggested.
"Boring!" A bunch of kids countered.
"What about some type of mini restaurant?" Another suggested.
"How many of us can cook well?" Another asked.
The kids all looked at each other and said nothing.
"What about a karaoke showdown?" Moon suggested. "You don't have to be a good singer to put on a show. And people can vote with their dollars. You can even get dressed up for the performances. We can also have concessions and maybe a dance floor area."
The kids murmured to each other.
"I like it!" Hau declared. "Sounds like a lot of fun!"
"Great idea, Moon!" Another kid said.
Hau beamed at Moon, and she grinned back. "Sun is going to choke on his words!" Hau declared. He and Moon shared a high-five.
The rest of the day flew by. After school, Moon headed to the bus stop. As she neared closer, she couldn't help but make a face. Gladion was standing there.
"Well, hi to you too," He commented upon seeing Moon's face.
"What are you doing here?" Moon asked.
"It's been a while since you've come up on the roof." Gladion stated.
Moon shrugged. "I've been busy."
Gladion stared at her. "So it isn't because you're avoiding me?" He smirked.
Moon rolled her eyes. She was too annoyed at him to react to his flirting, and she had gotten over her potential feelings for him. "I don't see how I could be avoiding you when I have no reason to be interacting with you in the first place. It's not like we're friends."
"We aren't enemies, are we?" Gladion added.
Moon pursed her lips. "No, we aren't either. But it doesn't matter anyway." Her bus pulled up. "I need to be going." She started to get on the bus when she felt Gladion grip her wrist, stopping her. She looked back at him. "Let go." She told him, her voice flat.
"No. I want you to see something first."
Moon stared back at him. He wasn't smirking but actually looked serious.
"Are you getting on the bus, miss?" The driver asked.
"She'll catch the next one." Gladion spoke up, pulling Moon away.
"Hey! What are you doing? I have homework to do!" Moon huffed.
"It won't take long." Gladion replied.
"Are you at least going to let go of my wrist?" Moon asked.
"If I let go, are you going to run off?" Gladion asked dryly.
"No! Geez, I'll go see whatever it is you want to show me." Moon shot back.
Gladion promptly dropped Moon's wrist. "This way."
The two headed to Hau'oli Beach. Gladion led Moon to the far end where rocks were more common. "We need to go around the rocks." He began climbing them.
"Really?" Moon asked sarcastically. "I unfortunately have to wear a skirt for school."
Gladion rolled his eyes and offered his hand. "C'mon."
Sighing, Moon took it. The two stepped carefully on the rocks. Gladion then jumped down. Moon followed him.
"Here." Gladion said.
Moon looked at the scene in front of her. It was a small beach area that looked mostly in disturbed. Signs of tide pools were etched in the sand. The sand seemed less rocky too, and almost sparkled. "This is so beautiful!" Moon exclaimed, smiling. Then she remembered Gladion and coughed. "I mean, it's not bad."
Gladion smirked. "I found it the other day and thought you'd like it for your photography."
Moon's mouth twitched. She did like it a lot. But she wasn't about to give Gladion the womanizer the satisfaction of knowing so. She nodded simply. "Thanks for showing it to me. I have to head back now." Moon turned around and started to head to the rocky area.
"Are you and that kid together?" Gladion asked.
Moon stopped and looked back. "'Kid?' You mean Sun? No, but what business is it of yours?"
"None, I guess."
Moon sighed. She didn't understand Gladion. He was too mysterious. She climbed up on the rock and carefully made her way back to the beach. She saw Gladion had followed her, but was frowning at his phone as he climbed off the last rock and stood on the main beach. Moon decided to ignore him and walked away without saying anything.
"See you." Gladion called after her.
Moon gave a half wave without looking back. She headed back to the bus stop and just made it in time for the bus.
She decided she just didn't understand Gladion. He sometimes acted nice but he still seemed like a jerk to her. But Moon decided to put it aside, as her time would be better spent focusing on the Spring festival.