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Gladion’s hand swept over the snow as he brought one end of his board up into the air, causing a white spray to go flying, before he swept on through to another turn, going back and forth all the way down the mountain.
All too soon, he’d come to the end of this descent, and then he’d push his way back over to the ski lift for another round. It was repetitive really, but Gladion didn’t mind much, his Christmas vacation had just ended anyways and being sick had been the perfect reason for him to get out of the house and get some fresh air. Of course, his mom thought he had meant a walk, but for all he cared, she probably was wondering by now just how long of a hike he was taking.
His throat burned from the cold he had received, and he sneezed violently into his jacket. Really, he shouldn’t have been out on the mountain at all in his condition, his little sister Lillie would have told him he was being an idiot, but Gladion had his reasons. One of them just so happened to be the girl sweeping back and forth down the mountain in front of him.
Inwardly, Gladion shamed himself for knowing what school she went to when he didn’t even know her name, and again, he scolded himself for also knowing that Alola High had a few more days of break then his prep school. This had been his fourth or so rundown already, and each time he had hoped the assistant would suggest that he and Moon take the chairlift up together, because even though break was coming to an end, the place was still packed, but every time, Gladion was always in the wrong line, in the wrong spot, at the wrong time. At the moment however, his only concern was that she wouldn’t realize he had been basically following her around like a love-struck puppy this entire time.
Gladion watched as she tucked her poles under her arms and leaned into each and every turn, making it as real and exciting as she could for herself. She made skiing look exciting, and that had caused him to almost question his choice of the snowboard. He wasn’t sure why he was exactly attracted to this particular girl, since he had never actually talked to her, but he had a hunch.
He first noticed her when he had a year of snowboarding under his belt. Unafraid and already able to take on the bigger slopes, Gladion’s younger self lived for danger and the thrill of speed. He had just come off of the chair lift when he saw her, sitting in the snow, her eyes splotchy and a man, who he assumed to be her father standing next to her impatiently. She was scared and frightened of the slope at the time, and it very might have been, her first time actually going down a mountain.
Gladion hesitantly buckled his boots in as he watched as her dad began gesturing down the mountain and how she yelled back about how she hated skiing. Her father replied with something along the lines of, ‘you’ll either figure it out or you’ll die going down this mountain. Who knows, what if you actually like it?’
The rest of that season, Gladion didn’t see her little black helmet and blue goggles again, and he wouldn’t see her until two seasons later, when she whipped by him and crashed.
Really, even though Gladion didn’t know her, he had watched her grow and develop, from the girl crying at the top of the slope to the speed demon racing down the descents before him. And he had been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of her without her goggles and helmet on, and he had to admit, words couldn’t describe how beautiful he thought she was.
He turned the final bend to the last descent and was surprised to find that the girl was already nearing the bottom of the mountain. Gladion swept back and forth, down the slope, his eyes landing on a jump he was heading towards. In his condition, he really shouldn’t, but he would not leave this slope without taking one leap off a jump.
There was an angle and a rhythm to snowboarding that seemed almost necessary every time he found himself going off a jump. Just a little adjustment here and there, and he was in the air. By this age, Gladion’s stomach hardly realized the difference between being in the air and being on the ground anymore. He reached the arm that was behind him down and gripped his board between his feet, using his momentum to spin himself around in a frontside grab.
His landing was not as beautiful as his stunt was. Gladion’s board hit the ground at a bad angle and swept underneath him, causing a puff of powder to fly up around him. His board slipped upward momentarily, before it continued on it’s way down, dragging the boy with it, and had it not been for his years of practice, Gladion probably would have ended up rolling all the way down the rest of the slope.
Shakily he brought himself up again, and then continued downwards, board under his feet after a shake of his head. He could almost hear Lillie explaining how it was reasons like this that Gladion should not be snowboarding at all and how, give or take one or two more accidents, he probably would end up in the hospital.
Gladion glanced back down the mountain, almost afraid that the girl had run off, but was even more terrified by the fact that she had not and had seemed to have witnessed his entire fluse.
He came to a halt in a puff of snow, and ashamedly, marched back to the chair lift.
Gladion wondered if the girl even knew about his existence. He knew she had seen him several times, but what if she never quite took it into her head that he was an actual person and all his worrying was in vain, because at the end of the day, Gladion wouldn’t be the snowboarding boy, but just another tourist. Was it possible for a girl to not notice something like that?
“Hey, would you mind joining this young lady up the slope?”
The assistant stood next to the girl, who had pulled her goggles up onto her helmet and was beaming at him. Gladion’s heart nearly stopped and he could just barely find the strength within himself to nod.
They stood side by side until the chair lift swept them off their feet.
Gladion was in a state of panic, completely unsure of what to do now, because of course he hadn’t thought much further then maybe take the chair lift up with her.
“You’re Gladion right?”
Gladion was very glad he hadn’t pulled his goggles up, as it was his last line of protection. And had she just talked to him? Had she actually just now used his name? What if he was just imagining the whole conversation? A second ticked by and Gladion realized that he’d rather make himself look crazy randomly answering question she maybe didn’t ask then sitting their completely ignoring everything she had maybe just said.
He gave her a nod and sniffled. The girl grinned at his response and tapped her skis together. “Then you’re Lillie’s older brother right?”
Gladion’s heart sank. Was she really only talking to him because he was siblings with Lillie? For all her shyness, Lillie apparently could really steal the show.
“Yeah, last time I checked.”
The girl laughed at his awful joke, much to his surprise and relief. “A friend of mine is good friends with her and he won’t stop talking about her. Didn’t that fancy prep school you go to just finish their break or are you still on it?”
Not only was he classified as a rich kid in her mind now, he was going to be seen a ditcher! Gladion contemplated jumping off of the ski lift, but his sneeze interrupted his thoughts and he shook his head. “No, we’re back in school. I’m sick, my parents wouldn’t let me go.”
She quirked an eyebrow at him. “But they let you go shred your snowboard?”
“Actually for all they know I’m just going on a really long hike right now,” he admitted. He felt like such an awful person telling her all this stuff. But he wasn’t going to just stand by this interrogation, he would also have to get some words out. “I see you here a lot.”
The ground suddenly seemed so much more inviting then it had been the first time.
Her smile only grew bigger. “I see you here a lot too.”
At least he wasn’t as invisible as he thought he was. “I don’t know your name," he blurted out. His mouth had separated from his brain and he no longer was in control.
She grinned widely at him, the same beautiful sparkle still dancing in her eyes. Gladion's stomach went into a barrel roll and for a second her forgot to breath. Next time, he swore to himself, he'd not do something so challenging. Of all the mountains he chose to climb it had to be this one.
"It's Moon."