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ᴺᵒʷ ᵖˡᵃʸᶦⁿᵍ; [ Last Cup of Coffee by Natsumiii, Valkyrae, LilyPichu ]

0:22 ——◦———— -1:10

↠ⁿᵉˣᵗ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ↺ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ⊜ ᵖᵃᵘˢᵉ

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-Your POV-

     Compliments. No one disliked receiving them. And luckily, I was a master at giving them out to everyone I knew.

     I sat, spooning strawberry shortcake into my mouth, a hand under my chin as I stared out the window, eyes glazed and deep in thought.

     The enticingly sugary flavors of the fluffy cake layers are coated in thick vanilla frosting and carefully decorated with dainty sliced strawberries. The berries' tasty hint of fruity tinge contrasted with the mellow pastry components. There truly wasn't a better dessert to savor on such a serene morning.

     I carefully cut and pop another chunk of the sweet into my mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "I wonder..." I mumble, swallowing. I pictured his unreadable expression and piercing emerald eyes. "What sort of compliments would someone like him want anyway?"

     I also needed to be able to meet up with him in the first place. If I barged into his apartment again, things could only turn sour.

     Finishing the last bite of my early-morning dessert, I exit the cafe and head down Royal Avenue, letting the sugar flow bring a smile to my face as I take in Alola's natural beauty. The street known as Royal Avenue was actually pretty developed, all thanks to the famed Masked Royal who held matches in a stadium lining the road.

     As I strolled down the paved sidewalk, athletic running shoes clicking against the cement, the venue held my gaze. To be honest, the flashy, ridiculously enormous, domed arena would catch anyone's eye. But for me — it wasn't the structure itself that I paused to stare at.

     It was the person standing in front of it... the male who lives in the flat next door.

     He stood, hand on his hip, back facing me. "Hmph. Why do I do this... Every time something brings me down, I end up coming right back here again..."

     Hesitantly, I step closer, trying to hear what he could be possibly mumbling about.

     "Come on, Null. We'll beat everyone who stands before us. We're going to be strong enough to protect them this time..." He begins to enter the building, but I hastily rush forward.

     "Hey, it's you again!" I call, waving my arm in the air like a maniac.

     The guy swivels around with piercing eyes that seem to see right through me. "What do you want?"

     This stumped me. What could I use as an excuse...? Oh! "I'm here to challenge the Masked Royal! And you as well, I assume?"

     "I'm not here to play. I'm here because you can't protect anything when you're weak." He glowers, not at all impressed by my lie.

     I'm left without anything else to say to him, and he knows it. He turns to the entrance of the stadium once more, where his expression isn't visible. I open my mouth to say something, but he speaks before I can utter a word.

     "You're that (Y/N) everyone's talking about?" He asks, still not looking at me.

     "Yep, that's me!" I chirp, thrilled to bits that he knew my name.

     Unexpectedly, he scoffs, muttering, "Hmph. Not very cautious, huh? Even some Pokemon have a better sense of self-preservation than you apparently do."

     I hold my tongue while my eyes begin to water his accusation. The merciless words nipped me, but I still held my head up high — though I couldn't find the courage to look at him anymore, instead letting my eyes dart to the horizon, the Battle Royal Dome, anything but his rigid figure turned away from me.

     "Alolaaa, friends!" I jump, startled when a cheerful, childish voice shouts from behind me.

     Hau enters my line of sight, trademark grin across his face, deep green ponytail bobbing as he rushes up to meet me.

     "Alola, Hau," I return the traditional greeting, wiping my eyes.

     My boisterous rival didn't seem to notice my distress, instead, eagerly noting, "You've met Gladion?"

     "Eh heh, yeah, I guess so..." I answer, glancing over to where the blond was standing moments ago, only now to be slamming the door behind him, Poke ball in hand as if ready to take on the universe. "Hey, wait!" I cry, but the entrance slides shut, and I have to follow him inside, Hau at my heels.

     I didn't get the chance to compliment him yet!

     Once I've entered the arena, I spot Gladion off to the side, registering in a four-way battle with the Masked Royal.

     "Hey! Gladion!" Hau exclaims while I run over to him at full speed.

     "You only have one volume, don't you?" He grumbles, glistening emerald eyes glaring at Hau and me. "Ever heard the expression that silence is golden, you two?"

     My pace slows, and my raised hand drops to my side, limp. The ecstatic grin that I'd recovered now fell into a pout. Why was this guy so unapproachable? Why did he shoot me down before I could even get a syllable out of my mouth?

     "Are you entering a match? Can we join?" Hau says, now standing next to me.

     "I can't very well stop you, can I?" He replies bluntly. "But don't you dare say a word about this being fun."

     "Oh, um, of course!" I swiftly respond, snapping out of my trance.

     "Hmph... So you're not quite as dumb as you are naive."

     That was the last straw for me. Abruptly spinning around, I stomp out of the building, furious. My footsteps echoed in my ears along with my heavy breathing, but not any louder than my thoughts of failure.

     Even I didn't quite know why I was trying so hard to crack a tough nut that simply wanted to be left alone.

     I was completely sure of one thing though. I wasn't going to give up here.

     I had more tricks up my sleeve, and I was certain that I could brighten Gladion's seemingly dark and gloomy life with a bit of a push in the right direction.

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Author's Note:

I decided at the last minute to post this early — you're welcome!! Make sure to vote if you liked this update, and look forward to future chapters!

Word count: 1048 words