Not Part of the Plan

Carousel - Part Two

"Where are you?" Hau asked over the phone.

"Hau.. It's only 6:01, I didn't realize I'd have to be there on the dot. I'm almost there." Gladion reassured, slightly annoyed.

"I'm just sooo excited!! I think I see you!" Gladion noticed the boy rushing through the crowd towards the entrance, where he was. "Hi Gladion!" Hau exclaimed, Moon following behind.

"Hey." Gladion responded, yawning. The festivities had already started, and many food stands were up. He noticed that Hau had already helped himself to a malasada stand.

"Lillie should be here soon!" Moon said, happily texting on her phone.

Lillie? Lillie was the friend Moon invited? This might be awkward. Did he pretend not to know her, or admit they were family? What if she told them how he had left her? Would they be upset with him? "Great." He responded with, trying to poker face.

Lillie entered, seeming surprised to see him. Hau noticed, but wasn't sure if he was looking too deep. Moon hugged Lillie. "You made it!" Lillie laughed.

"Of course!" She smiled. "I wouldn't skip out on a date with you, Moon."

"........ Date?" Gladion was shocked. His sister was with Moon. She never mentioned anything about sexuality at Aether. Did she fear the reaction he would have?

"Oh, I guess I didn't say it, but they're a couple. Just started dating!" Hau smiled, before slowly frowning. "Wait.. Don't tell me.. You don't accept that?"

"What? No! Of course I accept that! I just wish I would've known." He made eye contact with Lillie while saying it.

"Why, do you have a crush on me?" Moon teased, sticking her tongue out.

"That's not it!" He groaned. "It doesn't matter who I like. Let's just enjoy ourselves, ok?"

"I'm good with that!" Hau perked up. For some reason, he didn't like hearing that Gladion liked Moon. What if it was true, and more importantly, why did it matter to him?

"I agree." Lillie took Moon's hand as they made their way to Malie Garden. When they got there, Lillie and Gladion we amazed by the lights! They made patterns of pokemon, and the river had lanterns drifting through it. It was beautiful. Besides that, a few carnival rides had been set up. A carousel, a ferris wheel, and a small rollercoaster, with it's seats shaped like a Weedle. There were also countless carnival styled games, pokemon plushes as prizes.

Hau's eyes lit up. "What should we do first?"

"I want to try some of the games!" Moon had a determined look in her eye, as she rushed forward. Her and Lillie went to a ring toss game, While Hau and Gladion strayed off to a dart game. They were colorful balloons lining the dart board, with Rowlet plushes lining the counter.

"I want to play!" He payed for three darts, and proceeded to waste two, missing both times.

Gladion scoffed. "Let me try it."

He picked up the final dart, closing one eye. His hand began to twitch, throwing him off. He waited, hoping it would stop, but it didn't. He was nervous of failing in front of Hau. "You can do it Gladi! I believe in you!" Hau grinned, and Gladion's hand calmed. He was able to throw the dart, piercing the smallest balloon on the board. Enough to win the Rowlet despite missing the other two darts. The person in charge handed it to Hau.

"Thanks Gladion!" He hugged him tightly, similarly to earlier. Hau looked up into his eyes, and Gladion froze. He just realized why he felt this way.

Gladion realized he had a crush on Hau.

"Woah, you two love birds almost done with your sweet embrace?" Moon laughed, walking up to them. "These games are rigged, by the way. No way anyone can land a ring on a bottle top." She sighed.

Hau let go. "I-It's not like that! He won me this Rowlet plushie! So they're not completely impossible." His smile returned.

"Wow! I'm impressed!" Moon gave Gladion a slight punch on the shoulder. "You're really good!"

He laughed, actually laughed. "It's nothing." He smiled and looked at the Rowlet. "It's the least I could do for a friend, I suppose."

Over the night, they played games, ate different types of food, rode the carousel, and even got Lillie to ride the roller coaster! They were having a blast. "I want to ride the ferris wheel." Lillie pouted, having not enjoyed the coaster at all.

"Fine fine. Let's go! It'll be romantic!" Moon's eyes gleamed, as she got in line for the big ferris wheel. The group followed. "I guess that means we're riding together!" Hau grinned at Gladion.

"Yes, I suppose so." Gladion tried not to show his happiness that things had ended up this way. He still didn't even know how Hau felt, and he didn't want to rush anything. He didn't even know if their relationship would work out.

As time passed, the line moved on, and they got on. Gladion stared below as they were slowly boosted higher. It was an amazing view. "Hey.. Hau. I wanted to properly give you an actual thanks." Gladion blushed a bit embarrassed. "I'm really thankful to be your friend. When I'm around you, it's like seeing a different me, who
can socialize and have fun. It's a part of me I thought I had lost a long time ago." Gladion looked away, not wanting Hau to see his blush that had slowly increased.

"I'm happy. I'm really happy to hear that. I'm glad you're able to open up to me, you know. I thought that you'd never talk to me, that you weren't interested in some boy who wanted malasada. I thought, for sure, 'He'll never message me.' But here we are! Having the time of our lives! I love you Gladi!" Oops. Hau needed to backtrack, he'd talked without thinking. "Er, like a bro!"

Gladion didn't know whether it was a real slip-up, or if he actually meant it as bros. He couldn't help but hope that Hau liked him back. The wheel began to move again, and they were brought down, and off of the wheel.

That's when Gladion noticed his phone ringing. Plumeria: 3 missed calls. "I need to take this!" He rushed away from the Hau, going aside where no one was. "Hello?" He answered.

"Where are you? It's been awhile, usually you don't take this long!" She hissed.

"I'm sorry, I got sidetracked." Gladion winced. He didn't know how to get out of this one.

"I expect you to get the job done. It's good pay. I wouldn't want to have a grudge against you, Gladion." She said, with a tone that had the edge of a sword in it.

"I know. I'll steal Hau's Raichu. I've found him." Gladion sighed. He heard a gasp. Moon was in front of him, holding two ice creams.

"This isn't what it looks li-" She quickly shoved the ice cream into his face, "You're not going to get away with this!" She growled, before running.