From Another Region

Chapter 11: He was there the whole time!

(Eclipse's PoV)

"Now what do we do?" I ask, as we leave the malasada shop.

"There's lots of time. I could still gather everyone up for a welcome party." Hau suggests.

"Hau, we've been over this." Gladion says, running a hand through the hair covering his right eye.

"You're just assuming she doesn't want a welcome party, though." Hau argues.

"I know her." Gladion argues right back.

I raise my hand meekly. "Thanks for the thought, Hau. But, I'm not too big on social interaction."

"Then Hau come you got along with us just fine after landing?" The twins ask in unison.

"Well, even though I never knew your names until today, I already sort of knew all of you, so it was just easier I guess." I explain.

"Already knew us?" The twins chime.

"Believe it or not, Gladion isn't completely ashamed of us, guys." Lillie says, rolling her eyes.

Gladion sighs, looking off to the side. And argument seems to start for no reason.

"How should we know that?!" The twins shout.

"Calm down." Hau says to them. "They do have a point though, Lillie. We know we're his friends, but we don't really expect him to tell stories about us."

"You helped save our mother, idiots." Lillie nearly shouts.

Their voices get quieter, and I lose the conversation, getting dragged away from them. Umbree follows me, confused. Gladion has my left hand in his right as he walks away from them. I start actually walking with him, so he doesn't have to drag me.

"Dumbasses..." He mumbles under his breath, letting go of my hand now.

"We're just going to leave them back there?" I ask.

"Yup. They'll get over it." He says.

"But, they're your friends." I say.

"Yeah, you are too." He stops, sighing and turning to look at me. "I already told you; I didn't invite them. They invited themselves. I just wanted to meet you. To actually see you for once, and not just words on a screen."

He turns and starts walking again, and I follow, walking for a while. Eventually, we're back on the beach we washed up on earlier. He keeps walking til we're on a bit of beach that I couldn't even tell was here.

Probably to hide from the others, given Gladion's mood.

He sits down, looking out at the sea, and I mimic him. Umbree starts to run around, exploring and leaving us to talk.

He breaks the silence suddenly. "This is what I wanted. Just us and a chance to talk face to face... And, maybe a hug..." He mumbles the last bit.

"You got a hug." I say.

His face turns a light pink. "Yeah, but I cut it off short, because I didn't want things to get awkward..." He explains.

I smile before sneaking under his right arm and wrapping my arms around his torso, hugging him as tight as possible. He chuckles, hugging me back. We let go of each other, just sitting beside each other now.

"There, not awkward." I say.

His small smile appears again.

"How come you don't smile this much around the others?" I ask.

"I don't know. They're great friends. Though, don't tell them that; it'll get to their heads." He says, me laughing in response. "But, I see them all the time, you know?"