My Shining Starlight

4. Put Through a Different Kind of Wringer

"Lillie... your eyes are gorgeous," Lucas said, brushing her hair out of her face. It felt so soft.

"Aww... thank you," Lillie said.

Lucas brought his hand up to stroke Lillie's cheek. Her skin felt as supple, smooth, and perfect as it looked. She shuddered, moaning as she leaned into his hand.

"You're just... the cutest girl I've ever met," Lucas said. "You're so beautiful."

Lillie smiled bigger than he's ever seen before, blushing profusely. Her eyes grew shinier, as if she was about to cry.

"You're so sweet," Lillie said. "I think I... I..."

"You what?" Lucas asked, cradling her cheek.

A tear fell from her eye. "I'm sorry," she said, wiping her cheek. "I've never felt this way before. You're so nice to me, you make me feel pretty, and... I feel so happy with you. I think... I think I love y—"

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BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

"Gah!" Lucas grunted. He banged his hand around the general area where his alarm clock was until the beeping stopped. A sudden sting in his leg caused him to inhale through his teeth. He almost forgot how messed up his leg was. The ice pack that was placed there was now melted, just a bag of slightly chilled water. He moved the melted ice pack to his nightstand and laid back, the only sounds in the room being the soft breathing of his sleeping Pokemon and stared at the ceiling to think. It was his way of waking up in the morning, giving him time to think about his daily game plan, or in this case think about Lillie.

He should've figured that Lillie wouldn't really say that she loves him. His heart ached at how beautiful she looked. Even if was just a dream, it was music to his ears to almost hear her confess to him. His heartache turned sour when he considered that Lillie might not have feelings for him. Then again, every time he's been alone with her, they seem to get closer. She even held his hand last night. Not to mention she also seemed very shy around him. He also couldn't deny the gleam in her eyes when she looked at him. On the other hand, she could also just be like that naturally. It could mean nothing special.

Lucas sighed. Was he thinking too hard? Maybe he should just go with the flow and try to read the signs Lillie gave, if any. And above all, be patient with her.

He could think about all of that later. Right now, he needed to get the day started. He slowly moved his leg, stinging his nerves as he did so, but he bit his lip and carried on. It didn't hurt as much as yesterday, so that was a good sign. Sitting on the side of his bed, he slowly put pressure on his legs. Pain shot up his leg, but he fought through it and finally stood up. Taking a deep breath, he tried walking around his room. Thankfully, his limp wasn't as bad this morning. He could walk at a decent pace, but still not able to keep pressure on his right leg for too long. After practicing walking, he headed out to the main room to see his mom watching TV.

"Good morning, dear," she said. "How do you feel?"

"A little better?" Lucas said. "I'm not limping as much, so I think I should be okay to continue today."

His mother looked a bit uncomfortable. "Are you sure?"

Lucas nodded. "I'll just have to be extra cautious with wild Pokemon, that's all."

His mother sighed. "Alright. You should take a shower before you leave, though," she said. "I've got some plastic wrap you can use to waterproof your bandages."

Lucas looked at her quizzically but didn't question her. His mother always knew what she was doing. She was a smart woman. He let her wrap his bandages and he went into the shower. It felt good to get all the dirt and grime out after such a rough day.