my best friend's brother is the one for me

Chapter 5

"I could just stay like this all day," is the first thing Leon says to her when she wakes up the next morning, and Gloria nearly jumps before she remembers that, oh yeah, he spent the night with her. Because this is still a thing that's really happening, despite how unbelievable it may seem. "But we've both got places to be, huh?"

"Good morning," she mumbles in response. "What time is it?"

"About time we start getting ready for the opening ceremony," he replies. "Wouldn't look good if either of us was late, and probably even worse if both of us are late. I haven't been awake for very long, but I wanted to let you sleep in a little bit longer."

"Nah, I should get up too," she says, though she wishes she didn't have to. She wishes that they could stay like this all day, but it's a big day for him, and an even bigger day for her, so that's not an option. After getting to spend so much time with him after only knowing him for a short time, she's gotten spoiled, but she knows that she'll probably have less opportunities to see him once her journey is underway. There is a part of her that wishes she could just stay at his side, but she'd never admit something like that to him.

She's lucky that she's gotten this much, she reminds herself as she gets up to start getting dressed. Leon is completely out of her league, and probably never would have noticed her if she didn't have the benefit of hanging out at his family's house for years before they met. One night with him is nothing short of a miracle, let alone two. Let alone whatever might happen if they do cross paths on their journey, but she's still trying not to get her hopes up that he will want to see her again.

Once the two of them are dressed and cleaned up, Leon decides he'll leave her room first, and give her some time before she leaves as well, so that they can make sure no one notices them leaving from the same room. Just a precaution, he assures her, but he's pretty sure that they should be good to go.

"Don't be nervous or anything, you're gonna look great out there!" is the last thing he says before taking his leave.

Gloria sits by herself for a moment, making sure that she has everything properly packed. After she checks out, she's going to be on the road for a while, relying on the camping kit her mother gave her before departing. Whenever she can find lodging, she's sure she'll take it, but in the meantime, she needs to make sure that she's properly prepared.

Finally satisfied, she stands up and puts on her bag, heading out so that she can meet up with Hop and go to the stadium. It's still weird looking him in the eye after what she's done with his brother, but it's getting slightly easier, and still, he remains oblivious.

~X~

Everyone in the stadium has their reasons to be excited, and being announced in front of the crowd like that is a surreal experience, but Gloria can only curse her single-mindedness, as she continuously finds her thoughts drifting back to Leon. There isn't a single person in this massive stadium that doesn't know who he is, and probably countless who would give anything for just one night with him, but she's actually lived it, and she and Leon are the only two people who know that. It's a pretty wild thing to think about it, which is why it's hard to stop thinking about it, until the ceremony is over.

She's able to see Leon briefly before she leaves, but it's public, and they behave just like a man and his little brother's best friend should.

~X~

After that, it's traveling and training, preparing for the first gym in the challenge. It isn't hard to find her way to Turffield, so most of her time along the way is spent getting her team prepared for it, after she's caught a few things to give her an advantage over Milo. Leon will text her, and whenever she has signal, they'll sometimes go back and forth for a while, until his messages have her so flustered that training is the last thing on her mind.