Author's Note: Hey guys! So I'm back after being offline for a while.

I understand that I've been neglecting this story, and I do apologize for that. Hopefully you will enjoy this chapter despite the wait.

Here goes!

After parting ways with Leon in the Wild Area, Gloria decided to go for a stroll in Dappled Grove. She had Rillaboom out by her side, and a lot on her mind. After being lost in her thoughts, she made a decision.

"I… know you aren't going to like hearing this Rillaboom… but…"

Rillaboom already knew what she was going to say, but he listened anyway.

"I… want to be with him. With Bede…"

Rillaboom did feel a little displeased, but seeing Bede's recent change and Gloria's obvious love for him. He couldn't help but feel happy for her at the same time.

"The time that I've spent with him. I've seen the real him, the real Bede that was hidden beneath that frosty exterior. And… I love him." Her heart pounded like crazy when she made that declaration.

Rillaboom's eyes widened. Then he vocalized via a few grunts in a less aggressive manner.

Gloria smiled, "Aw, Rillaboom! That makes me so happy!"

Rillaboom smiled and nodded in a way that said, 'I support you'. This made Gloria feel even more giddy, "Hehe! I know it's going to be quite a change for you. But I appreciate your support!" She then clenched her hands, "Okay… I made up my mind… I'll tell him how I feel! I just hope he accepts my feelings…"

Rillaboom grunted again. Gloria replied with a sigh, "Yeah, maybe I should tell Hop first. That's a good idea. To be honest, I'm terrified… but if I'm gonna go through with this then I have to!" She took a deep breath, "Okay… you can do this, Gloria…"

Rillaboom's nose suddenly caught a whiff of something. And it was something that was familiar to him in a bad way. He whirled around to face the direction of where he detected the smell. He squinted his eyes and let out a low growl.

Gloria noticed this, "Rillaboom? What's wrong?"

Without warning, Rillaboom suddenly turned to Gloria and picked her up to throw her on his shoulder. Gloria was surprised, "Ah! Rillaboom!?"

With her safely on his shoulder, he leapt onto the biggest and tallest tree and climbed upward. Taking care to keep her secure so she wouldn't fall. Once on a high branch, he took her and held her carefully in his arms, like a child.

Gloria was now extremely confused, "Rillaboom? What are you doing? Why did you bring me up here?" She held onto him tightly and looked down toward the ground.

A few seconds later, she came into view. Gloria immediately recognized her.

"Is that? It is! Miss Oleana!? No way!"

Oleana turned her head from left to right, observing her surroundings. Rillaboom concealed them both behind several leaves, while still able to have her in sight.

"That's odd." Oleana was heard saying, "I could've sworn I heard her voice here…"

Gloria was baffled as to what was happening. She continued to listen.

"Hmm… I guess I was imagining things."

Oleana huffed and continued onward.

Once she was out of sight, Rillaboom decided to wait for several minutes. Gloria was completely bewildered, "What is she up to now?"

Once Rillaboom was certain she had gone far away, he held tightly onto Gloria and climbed down the tree cautiously. Once on the ground, he set her down. Gloria brushed off the little leaves that had accumulated on the lower half of her dress.

"What on earth was she rambling about? Rillaboom? What do you think?"

Rillaboom shrugged with a huffing noise.

Gloria thought about it, then sighed, "It sounded like she was looking for me. But why? I'm done with her!" She adjusted her green hat, "I've got enough on my mind already… why is this happening now?"

Rillaboom put his large hand on his trainer's shoulder, trying to comfort her. She looked back to him.

"Let's go, Rillaboom."
Off they went in the direction of the Motostoke Riverbank.

Once she crossed the bridge, she decided she needed to rest. She took a seat on a log that was in the shade of a large tree. Both she and Rillaboom looked at the river from there.

"It sure is beautiful, isn't it?"

Rillaboom kept a firm face and snorted once. Gloria could tell he was still concerned about Oleana.

"I know buddy, I'm thinking the same thing. What does she want with me?"

Rillaboom nodded, still facing the river. As if he were expecting to see her again.

Gloria replied, "I appreciate you protecting me. It's in your nature as a Rillaboom after all. I'm not gonna worry about her for now. I have to deal with my 'Bede' problem! Now, how should I do this?" She folded her hands nervously, "Hop… you've always been so kind and understanding… I just hope you can be that way when I tell you what's going on… I think I need some tea, let's go to the café!"

Gloria called a taxi to request to be taken to the café in Hammerlocke. It was the same one that her and Bede went on their first date. Rillaboom rolled his eyes with a smile, knowing his trainer was stalling. But he wasn't going to stop her from having her tea. When the taxi arrived, Gloria recalled Rillaboom back to his pokeball before boarding, off to the café they went.

Upon arrival, Gloria stepped off and thanked the driver. The taxi took to the sky as Gloria entered the sweet-smelling place. To her surprise, she was the only one there. She immediately walked up to the front counter and waited for someone to come to the counter.

"Gloria!"

Gloria whirled around upon hearing Hop's voice behind her. There he stood at the door with that typical big 'Hop' grin on his face. He waved excitedly and approached her with lightning speed.

"Hop…! Um, hi!" Gloria fumbled with her greeting. She was not at all prepared for this sudden encounter.

"Gloria, how's it going mate!?" Hop replied, "Are you all right? I was worried about you!"

"Y-yeah! I'm so sorry. I was just… ah…" Gloria was freaking out on the inside.

"Don't worry about it, Gloria." Hop assured, "Just know I'm here for you, all right?"

Gloria was happy to hear this, but it did little to ease her nerves, "Thank you… Hop. Um… actually…"

Hop looked at her curiously, "Gloria?" He grinned again, "Haha… you look like you want to say something."

Gloria was fighting hard to work up the courage, "Hop, I…"

He was starting to vibrate from excitement, "Let it out Gloria! Remember, I'm your best pal here! You can tell me anything!"

"It's not easy for me to say!" Gloria blurted with some frustration, "But I-"

The sound of the door opening and closing stopped her in her tracks, and her heart stopped with terror when she saw that it was Bede. His eyes widened seeing the two of them there.

Hop muttered under his breath, "Oh, heck no…"

Gloria became frozen with fear, "Oh no…"

As Bede approached them, Hop was ready for action, "Don't worry, Gloria. I can handle him!" He stepped in front of her.

"Hop…" Gloria uttered.

"Gloria?" Bede spoke, sounding puzzled.

Hop was defensive, "What do you want, mate?"

Gloria squeezed her eyes shut, hoping this was a bad dream. But she knew she was awake, which made it all the more terrifying. She could feel her heart trying to pound out of her chest.

Bede crossed his arms, although he was nowhere near as pompous as he was during his last encounter with Hop, "What are you doing here, Hop?" He replied.

"I'm here with Gloria of course!" Hop declared, "Did you forget she's my best friend? Look, if you're here to give her a hard time again, I'm not gonna let that happen!"

Bede was annoyed, "Ugh… look, that's not what I'm here for…"

Hop caught on to Bede's lack of usual arrogance and decided to comment on it, "Huh, you've certainly toned it down. Where's that usual attitude mate? Did you lose it somewhere?"

"Hop…!" Gloria whispered harshly. Hop looked over his shoulder, "Don't worry, Gloria. He's not getting through me!"

Gloria slapped both her hands over her reddening face, her mind was screaming at her to do something, anything.

Bede looked at Gloria before focusing back on Hop, "Tch… you're still as loud as ever I see…"

"I guess Opal really did some miracle work on you, huh?" Hop snorted, "But listen here! Gloria's not in the mood for whatever condescending thing you've got to say to her, got it!? He looked over his shoulder back to Gloria with a playful expression, "My brother told me something VERY interesting about you Gloria! That means you and I are gonna have a little chit-chat!"

Gloria could feel sweat on the back of her neck. Her heart had fallen into her stomach. She couldn't even think anymore, her mind had completely stopped. All she could comprehend was that this was the most terrified she had been in her entire life.

A smiling Hop was completely unaware of Gloria's state, "Okay, okay! Sorry Gloria! Leon spilled the beans to me! But don't be mad at him, okay? We can talk about this!"

Gloria finally mustered a bit of courage to barely glance at Bede. He had a shocked expression that slowly melted into a forlorn one. The gym leader muttered, "I… see. Well, sorry to interrupt then…" He said that last sentence with bitterness in his voice. Immediately after he finished speaking, he turned around and sped out of the store, slamming the door behind him.
Gloria panicked as he disappeared from view. The fact that they were in a public place was the only thing keeping her from absolutely losing her composure. But she wasn't mad at Hop because she knew it wasn't his fault.

Hop shook his head, "Sheesh, what a piece of work… Hey, he's gone now Gloria. It's okay! I'm a bit surprised, he usually doesn't give up that quickly…" It was then when Hop noticed that Gloria was stressed.

"Gloria? Whoa, hey… what's going on? Why do you seem so… tensed up?"

"No way!" Gloria cried out before running out the restaurant. This stunned Hop, "Gloria!? Where are you going? Gloria!"

He was just about to run after her when the shop attendant appeared from the back. He was apologetic, "I'm so sorry for that wait! I was in the back and didn't hear anyone come in! What would you like to order?"
Hop awkwardly faced him and politely replied, "It's all right mate, hey listen… uh… I'll come back later. Something came up. Bye!"
And he took off running after Gloria, leaving the confused shopkeeper standing there. Who promptly shrugged it off and went back to work.

Gloria was running around in a panic with no particular direction in mind. Her eyes darted among the many heads that crowded the streets.

"Oh no, oh no! This is bad, this is so really bad! I can't believe I let things get like this, ugh! Why me!?"

That's when she saw him, just as he walked into an alleyway. She immediately ran to follow, calling his name.

She caught up with him in the empty space, "Bede!" She hopped in front of him, "Bede, I'm so sorry about that… I-"

"Don't."

Bede's single word response caught her off guard, "What…?"

He turned away from her, "Just don't, Gloria. I don't want to hear it."

"What… are you talking about?" A confused Gloria replied.

"Don't act dumb!" He snapped. This caused her eyes to widen, "Bede, I don't understand. What are you…?"

"Why are you here anyway? Just go back to Hop why don't you?" He sneered, turning his back to her, "I don't want to see you anymore…"
Tears were welling up in his eyes, but there was no way he was gonna let her see. He immediately began to walk.

Gloria meanwhile, was stunned. She reached out to him, touching his shoulder, "Bede…!"

He whirled around and shoved her hand away, "Get lost!" He shouted.

Time stopped. Their eyes locked. Gloria recoiled, her face reading a mixture of shock and hurt. Bede instantly regretted his harsh words, but he was too hurt. Before he could do anything else regrettable, he dashed away. Gloria didn't notice the tears falling from his eyes. After watching him leave, she put her hands on her face, and her back to the wall. She slowly sank to the ground and sobbed softly.

"Why…?"

"Gloria?" Hop's voice echoed off the walls. Upon spotting her in the ally, he rushed to her, "Gloria? Whoa, what happened mate!?" He fell to his knees in front of her, "Gloria, talk to me. What's going on?"

With tears streaming, Gloria spoke softly, "Hop… It's probably too late now… but I need to tell you something…"

"What is it mate? You can tell me!" Hop listened readily.

Gloria took a deep breath, of course she was still terrified. But there was no sense in hiding it now.

In Ballonea, Bede burst into his apartment and slammed the door shut. He immediately fell onto his bed and screamed into a pillow. He did that one more time before throwing it to the ground. His steam now spent, he fell backwards on his bed and stared at the ceiling in his dark room.

He whispered to himself, "I… knew this whole time that her heart belonged to Hop."

He noticed Hatterene pop out of her Pokeball, but he had no strength to acknowledge her. Nonetheless, she approached him with a sad face as he continued to talk.

"But… there was a part of me that held out hope. That maybe… maybe she might…" He sighed, "But I was foolish to think that…"

Hatterene tried to comfort him, but Bede turned away, "Hatterene, I know you just want to help… but there's nothing you can do."

His phone began ringing, which made his heart stop. Once he got the courage to look at it, he sighed in relief seeing that it was Opal.

Reluctantly, he answered, "Hello?"

Opal's calm voice replied, "Bede? Are you all right?"

He closed his eyes, "No… I'm not…" He whispered.

Opal's response was immediate, "I'm on the way child. Don't go anywhere."

Back in Hammerlocke, Gloria had just finished telling Hop everything about her and Bede. Which included the dates they went on, and things they've spoken about. Hop was utterly astounded with one hand on his head. The same way he would pose when he lost a battle against Gloria, "Whoa… you're really blowing my mind here mate."

Gloria felt emotionally drained, "Yeah, it's understandable that you'd feel that way. But… that's the truth."

Hop responded, "I… I'm just blown away. I never would've imagined that the chap you had feelings for would be Bede of all people. But… considering everything you've told me. Maybe… maybe he's not so bad after all."

Gloria sadly closed her eyes, "But… now he's real mad at me. I don't know how I'm going to fix this."

Hop felt a rush of guilt, "Agh… this is all my fault. I really messed up bad Gloria… I'm so sorry…"

"What do you mean, Hop?"

"I should've listened to Leon and kept my nose out of this until you were ready to tell me yourself." Hop explained, "I was just real excited for you, mate. I was eager to know who your secret man was."

Gloria shook her head, "You don't need to feel bad Hop. This was my fault. If I had told you earlier, I would've prevented this."

The guilt Hop felt was suddenly replaced by determination. He sharpened his gaze, "Gloria, we can fix this!"

Gloria blinked, "How?"

"I have a plan. And I'm gonna need your cooperation on this."

Gloria was unsure, "I don't know Hop…"

He put his hands on her shoulders, "You've built up so much with him Gloria. You aren't just gonna leave it like this just because I was an idiot, right?"

"Um… no, I guess I shouldn't."

"And besides, you love him. Don't you?"

Gloria felt her face redden. After a moment of hesitation, she replied, "Yes… I do love him."

Hop grinned, "Then it's decided! Gloria, I want you to find a place. Somewhere quiet and peaceful. Not a lot of people around. It can be anywhere you want!"

Gloria was curious, "Ah, okay? Sure. What are you going to do?"

"Leave the rest to me. I just want you to find that place, and text me once you get there. Got it?"

Gloria nodded with nervous energy, "All right, I'll do it."

"Great!" Hop replied. Knowing that she was still nervous, he assured her, "Hey, just try to relax as much as possible okay? You can trust me."

Gloria managed a smile, "I know that Hop."

"Best friends." He grinned, and held up a fist. This made Gloria laugh, "Best friends." She replied and returned a fist bump.

After parting ways, Hop began his first step of the plan, "All right, now I know I can't do this alone. So I'm gonna call for an ally." He smiled knowingly, holding up Opal's League Card, "And I know just the person for the job."

In the meantime, Gloria wasn't quite sure what Hop had in mind. But she felt more at ease having her feelings out in the open. She just hoped whatever Hop was planning, that it would work out.

"Okay, he said to find a place. But where?"

Thankfully, she was able to think of somewhere. It was a place without much people, and it was quiet and peaceful. But before she could go, she had to dress more accordingly.

There was quite a lot of snow there after all.

Author's Note: Oh no, trouble in paradise!

See you next time!