Not My Friends (Pokémon)

Revelation

A/N: Finally, the next chapter! I truly, truly apologize for how long this update took. The entire story was on a Microsoft Word document on my main computer, which crashed a while ago. I'd already finished half of what I had originally planned to be this chapter, and I was so annoyed by losing it even though it hadn't been completely done that I stopped. Once my main computer was up and running again I'd planned to continue the chapter from where I left off, but it's still not back up, and so shortly ago I decided I would simply rewrite this chapter. I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer. I hope it was worth it!

Gladion looked around warily. The blur was slowly fading away from his vision, and he noticed now that, aside from having apparently been laid down on a bed, his friends were surrounding him. They all looked concerned, but Lillie in particular had her eyes wide as could be. She was horrified, and emeralds were obscured by glimmering tears.

The tears slid down the young girl's face and her lip quivered. "Gladion, I'm so sorry that I...!" She took in a small gasp of air. "If I'd known seeing our mother again would do this to you, I would have—!"

Gladion reached up to wipe away his younger sister's tears, grimacing. He hated to see her cry, especially since he had so many vivid memories of both of them crying in response to their mother.

"Don't. Don't cry, Lillie; it's okay. I'm going to be fine." Mustering up all the strength he could, Gladion managed to smile.

This, however, only seemed to make Lillie more furious.

"No, you don't! I'm not a little girl anymore, Gladion! You don't need to tell me things are fine when they're not!" Lillie sniffed loudly. A solemnly-smiling Selene handed her a tissue, of which she wiped her nose with.

Upon hearing this, Gladion realized something: Lillie really wasn't a little girl anymore. It was such a wonderfully shocking revelation that he might have tripped had he not been lying down in the first place.

She'd grown so much, and he hadn't known. She wasn't the same shy, afraid girl she once was. She had bravery, determination in her eyes.

She'd grown this much, and he hadn't been there for her.

Gladion smiled painfully. "Lillie, when...did you become who you are now?"

Lillie blinked slowly in confusion. "What? I'm not really sure what you're talking about..."

"What I mean is that you're right. You're not a little girl anymore. But the last time I saw you before I ran away, you still were." Gladion bit his lip. "So when was it that you became such an impressive sister?"

Lillie blinked again before laughing freely, her laugh washing Gladion's vision in gold. "Oh, Gladion...It certainly wasn't when I ran away. I was still the same. But meeting all of them, especially Selene..." She trailed off, glancing at Selene and Hau on her right, then at Elio on her left.

Gladion smirked at Selene, who smirked back. "I guess I owe you one for helping Lillie become the girl she is now, hmm?"

Selene snickered and waved a dismissive hand at him. "You don't owe me anything. She already had everything within her; I just helped her bring it out. But if you really want to owe me something, then yeah, Gladion, you owe me one."

Suddenly, the blonde's eyes strayed to Hau, who was fidgeting uncomfortably on the side.

Had Hau said he loved him?