“Ulrich, please don’t go into Lyoko, I’m begging you” she sobbed uncontrollably. As she watched him walk into the factory she saw him go to his death, then she felt herself falling…falling….falling. She began to cry, not for herself, but for foolish Ulrich. “Why couldn’t he listen to me” she thought, “I thought he loved me.”

Then she heard a faint voice, it seemed to come from everywhere…..up, down…left and right. “Yumi, wake up, please wake up” she heard. It sounded like Ulrich, but it couldn’t be, she watched him die, she saw it. “Wake up Yumi,” he was yelling now.

“NODON’TGOULRICHPLEASEDON’TLEAVEME” she yelled all at once. She felt disoriented and weak, her eyes hurt and her stomach ached. “Wha…..where am I” she said weakly, all at the same time it sounded as if she was scared out of her mind.

“You’re in your room,” he said in a whisper, seeing her distress, “you missed breakfast and I was worried.” As he said this he pulled her into a tight hug, he knew she needed it. “You get dressed alright, I’ll be in the woods when you’re ready” he said in a comforting voice.

“Wait, can you wait outside my door, please” she whispered, barely audible. Ulrich saw the fear in her eyes and he didn’t want to see that in her. Yumi, the strongest one of them all, breaking down and pleading for comfort, to many that would mean that the end of the world was coming, but for Ulrich it was nothing new. She always appeared so in control and calm, but when she was with Ulrich she poured her heart out. He knew her fears and her goals, he knew her heart and her mind and all he wanted to do was be there for her.

“Sure, anything for you” he whispered as he kissed her lightly, he knew she couldn’t get enough of those. He walked out of the room to give her privacy and let her change. A huge blush formed on her face when she realized she had slept in only her bra and panties.

As Ulrich walked out of the room his blush formed as well. He was good at hiding embarrassment, but not that good. They’ve been together for a year now and this was the first time he ever saw her in her underwear. A bikini is similar, but not really. “God I love her” he thought out loud as he waited. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, “Yumi, what’s taking you so long” he asked through the door, no answer. “Yumi” he said a little louder, no answer. Gathering his courage he opened the door, only to see the little window on her wall open. He laughed at himself and ran off to the usual spot.

“For all that running you do in your spare time you still can’t catch me” she laughed as they wrestled. She pinned him and he repeatedly hit his hand on the ground to signify ‘YOU WIN, YOU WIN’.

“Well I was being a gentleman and waited outside for you to change, but NOOOOO, you had to run off and leave me there by myself”, he said playfully. They had what some people would call it “Kindergarten love”, they loved to poke fun at each other and playfully fight, but people knew that they had there “intimate time” in which no one dared intrude or interrupt.

“Well, Gentlemen are usually smart” she said as she pinned him yet again. She was always better at wrestling then he was.

“You guys talking about me” asked Odd, wiping the egg off his face, “and why don’t you guys get a room, you know that makes me sick” he said as he stuck his tongue out and made gagging noises.

“Hey, we’ve got a room if you’d rather us go there, then you can think about all the things we’d be doing and you can try and sleep at night with that thought in your head. How’s that” asked Ulrich triumphantly, a sly smile playing across his lips. Odd just stared wide eyed at him, he knew when he lost.

“Ok Ok Ok, enough, I don’t need that image in my head, man now it’s in there. You suck Ulrich” he yelled as he hit his head on the tree, playfully trying to get the images out of his head.

“Hi, how is everyone this morning” said Aelita as she suddenly appeared out of nowhere, glued to Jeremy’s arm. “I hope you all slept well” she said, not realizing the joke that the rest of them seemed to get out of it……well, almost everyone……well, just Odd. He still had his childish sense of humor.

“I’ll bet Ulrich slept well” he said with a huge, toothy smile. Everyone made jokes about them since they shared a room, but the gang knew they never did anything. The rest of the school, however, did not. The students were smart enough, though, not to let it leak to any authority figures. They knew it meant the world for them to have a private place to hang out, and Sissie wouldn’t dare do a thing about it, she knew it would ruin her chances with Ulrich forever, if she even had a chance to begin with. So the teachers let them stay together, and the teachers were none the wiser on the relationship.

“Come on man, why do you insist on making those jokes” he said, obviously tired of the repeated comment.

“Ulrich, you know he’s just kidding” said Yumi, still pinning him to the ground, “besides” she whispered so only he could hear, “you know we’ve been planning on it for a while” she said as she placed a teasing kiss on his forehead.

“I know” he said with a content smile, not a hungry smile, but a plainly happy smile. Happy to be with the girl he loved and happy that she was happy, he wasn’t in this just to sleep with her, he was in this because he loved her. This didn’t seem like typical teen love to them or to the people who were closest to them. This seemed like something more. “We’ll talk about this later, ok” he whispered as he kissed her back.

“Aw” sighed Aelita as she clung to Jeremy even tighter. She couldn’t hear a word, but she knew they were having a moment.

“GAG” yelled Odd, trying to get under there skin. It worked. He loved messing with them, and everyone knew it.

“Come on guys” said Yumi, finally getting off Ulrich, “it’s probably around lunch now.”

“I just thought of something, why are we still here, it’s summer and we shouldn’t be in school” Odd thought out loud.

“Because, we agreed that we would stay here and be on the watch for anything Xana related, if we leave then we’re screwed” whispered Jeremy. Children could stay during the summer with parent’s permission. That was no problem for them. Ulrich’s parents were always away and Yumi’s were really close. Jeremy said he was staying to “further his studies” and they just forged a signature for Aelita. So here they were, slightly for each others company, and slightly for a Xana attack which were few if any nowadays.

“Hey, I’ll race you guys to the mess hall” said Odd getting his game face on.

“You’re on” yelled Ulrich as they both shot off, leaving the others far behind.

“I can’t believe Odd ate that whole pizza, that thing was huge” laughed Yumi as she walked into the room with Ulrich. “It’s already 11, we were out pretty late Ulrich” she said as she looked at the clock.

“That’s ok, we don’t have a curfew, and we’re not babies you know” he said, gazing into her eyes as he walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and placed his lips on hers, he could smell her perfume, what little she wore on common days, and he loved her taste. He hated to admit it, but when they had these moments, he was almost intoxicated; it was like a drug to him, his little natural high. She broke the kiss, realizing what she did, “No, we said no more of this until we came to a decision, remember” she said, walking to her bed.

Realizing what he had done he looked at her apologetically, not knowing what to say. “Sorry” was all he could come up with.

“That’s alright, we just can’t have that happen again until we’ve finished” she said, reading the posters over her bed, not looking at him as she spoke. Ulrich knew she was thinking, not ignoring him, he knew her better then that.

Gathering all his courage he took a leap of faith, “I don’t suppose we can talk about this now, can we?”

She sat in her bed and motioned him to join her, “Sure, but you start” she said.

“Ok….umm…..well you know I love you and I know you love me. So we have to listen to each others side of this, you first” he said, a little nervously.

“I said you start” she corrected.

“I did start, now you continue” he said. He was always good at finding loopholes.

“Fine,” she said, “I think of…um, sex…..as an expression of love, not a thing for just pleasure, do you agree?” He nodded, signaling her to continue. “We love each other and we both agree that this is not just some crush and we both know it’s not infatuation. It’s genuine love.” Her eyes began to water, “we hug and we kiss, but we do both of those with others, kisses with our parents and hugs with our friends. I know they’re not the same, but they’re the same act nonetheless. This would be something that would be special to us both and something that we would only share with each other. I know I genuinely love you, but I’ve got to ask, do you love me?” She was weeping by this point.

He pulled her into the most comforting hug he could muster, “Of course I do, I would do anything for you. I’m sorry if I made that unclear to you, but I would throw my life away to make you happy.” He meant every word with his entire being.

“I know you do, I just wanted to hear you say it. I love you so much Ulrich” she sobbed, throwing her face into his chest for comfort. “Don’t you ever say that you would throw your life away for my happiness, that would never make me happy. Please don’t ever say you’ll leave me for any reason, promise me” she cried, pulling her face from his chest and looking him sternly in the eyes. “Promise me!”

“I promise Yumi” he said, tears trickling off his cheeks. “And I just want you to know, that if you ever need me, I will drop my life’s dream to help you” he said, his voice cracking from his throat going dry. At that they just sat there, holding each other and crying there hearts out. They were not sad, just glad that the other was there with them.

“I love you Ulrich” she said when she calmed down. She got under the covers and watched him get into his own bed across the small room. “Wait, can you sleep in my bed tonight, I need you to hold me now” she said, seemingly expecting a ‘no’ to escape from his lips.

“Sure” he said, a little hesitantly. He put on some pajamas, he was sure she wouldn’t appreciate him sleeping in his boxers with her, at least not now. He motioned her to get out of the bed so he could slide to the side closest to the wall. She laid down in front of him and just sank into his muscular, yet soft chest. He was so warm against her back and his arms were so comforting. He was muscular but gentle, firm, yet melted very easily, tough, yet not so tough that he couldn’t kiss her with fragile lips. He was everything and more to her, not just on the outside, but he was a good person to. He was caring, brave, protective, and he was above all caring. He never left a person face down in the dirt. He could never be so mean as to crush someone, just enough to let them know he wanted to be alone. She loved him for all those reasons, but she loved him for another reason. But she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She never could.

“You’re so precious to me Yumi, don’t ever change” he whispered as he kissed the back of her neck. “I didn’t know how numb I was until I found you; you’ve opened me up to so many new feelings, thank you.” She took all of this in and realized, at that moment, that she felt the same way. She felt so cold after her father passed away and Ulrich was such a comforting friend then, it grew to affection, then it grew to a whole new level. It grew to love, and they both knew it and they wanted to scream it to the world.

She turned over to face him and gazed into his soft eyes, “I feel the same way Ulrich.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and they were so close they could feel each other’s breath.

He took a full breath of her scent in; he loved the way she smelled. Her perfume had long faded now and this was her natural scent. He loved it, he loved her, he loved everything about her, and for the first time he could honestly say he loved life. “You know Yumi, we don’t have to make love if you’re not ready, and I don’t wanna pressure you” he said with concern.

“I want it Ulrich, so much. I want to give you my everything and I want to have yours, we just have to talk about it a little more to make sure we’re both ready.” With that they both fell asleep, in each other’s arm, each having dreams of the other. This was love, sex wasn’t love, making out wasn’t love, beauty wasn’t love. This was, being there for one another and putting there happiness over your own, knowing you couldn’t live without them and realizing that the only reason you were put on this earth was to be with them. They knew it was true love, and they cherished it with every fiber of there being.

“Yumi, Yumi wake up, we’ve gotta go” said Ulrich as he threw his new outfit on. It was something that Yumi had picked herself, a black button up shirt with red streaks on the collar, a pair of Tripp pants, no chains of course, and a new pair of black vans, not too big and not as small as Converse’s. She could hear Linkin Park playing in the speakers.

“Why, what’s going on” she asked groggily. “Oh, what time is it” she asked jumping from the bed.

“It’s 11, we’ve got to go. We slept in, I just woke up” he said, still preparing his outfit.

She didn’t even bother to ask him to leave the room, she began to change right there in front of him. He dropped his half untied shoe and couldn’t help but stare. As she unclipped her bra from the previous day he got so red in the face that it looked like he was about to explode. He watched as her elegant body was becoming more and more exposed. He tried to find the words to tell her he was still there, but he couldn’t get a word out. As she slipped her panties off she was completely exposed. He was infatuated and he couldn’t help himself, his brain shut down and his body took over, he took her into such a passionate kiss, his hands exploring as they pleased. Yumi didn’t seem to mind him, her hands exploring as well. He was massaging her breast and she let out a moan of pleasure. She slowly unbuttoned his shirt and threw it to the floor. His tongue was begging for entry, she opened her mouth and they were locking tongues as they couldn’t let each other go. She began to unzip his pants and they fell to his feet. Her hands began to explore once again and she found the top of his boxers.

She threw those to the floor as well and began stroking him slowly, almost teasingly. He moaned and began to rub her and he could feel her getting wet. His mouth began to move elsewhere and he found her nipples. His mouth was so warm to her, she could barely contain herself from screaming in ecstasy.

She moved him onto the bed and position herself between his legs. She took him into her mouth and she began to move up and down, up and down. She loved his taste and she couldn’t help herself from letting her tongue stroke the tip. She couldn’t get enough of him.

She moved him onto the bed and looked at him predatorily. She moved him on top of her and moved him close to her. “Please Ulrich, you know I want it” she moaned.

As he was about to slide into her she heard a faint sound coming from the outside of the room, it sounded like voices. “Yumi, Yumi wake up, it’s time to go you guys” said Ulrich. But he was right here, then she looked up to Ulrich and there was, not Ulrich, but her father.

“WHATTHEFUCK” she screamed as she shot out of bed, startling both herself and Ulrich. “What’s going on” she screamed, looking at Ulrich. He was in his pajamas, lokking at her with confusion.

“You had a nightmare, that’s all. It’s ok” he said, putting his hands on her shoulder to stop the shaking. She calmed down eventually and she looked at the clock, 11 o’clock. She moved it over as a coincidence and forgot all about it.

“I’m ok, I’m fine now” she reassured herself in her thoughts. “I’m fine, just a nightmare, just a nightmare.”

“Do you want to talk about it” he asked with concern, “you’re in a cold sweat.”

“No thanks, I’m fine, I just need a shower” she said as she grabbed a towel and hurried to the shower rooms. “Wait, I almost forgot” she said as she came back into the room and kissed him good morning.

“Have a good shower, I’ll see you at the usual spot, see you there” he said as he began to dress himself.

“I feel so dirty, I need to get clean” she thought out loud as she scrubbed herself everywhere, trying to get the memory out of her head. “Ulrich will be there for me, I’ll talk to him about this. I need to tell him, he needs to know” she thought. “I’m going to tell him” she assured herself.

“Odd, you’re never gonna change, you’ll always be a pig” joked Jeremy, watching Odd finish his 3rd helping of eggs. “Come on Odd, Yumi and Ulrich aren’t up yet, we’ve got to go get them soon” he said, looking at his watch for the umpteenth time, he was never one for patience with Odd’s eating.

“Alright, get off my back, I’m done already” Odd said, pancake still in his mouth.

“Why aren’t they up early like the rest of us” asked Aelita, curious as to why they always seemed to wake up much later then everyone else.

“Some people need more sleep then others, they could have been up late or they could have been tired and needed extra sleep.” Aelita normally caught on quickly; she just needed some reminders occasionally.

“I know why Ulrich and Yumi never wake up early” said Odd, a sleek and toothy smile beaming at the both of them.

“What was that” came a distinctly shrill voice. It was Sissy and she had been listening in on there conversations and butting in, the usual. “Why aren’t Ulrich and Yumi ever up early” she asked in an almost demanding tone. She had a stern 'Well, I’m waiting' look on her face.

“I was kidding Sissy, now buzz off, I’m trying to finish eating” retorted Odd. Telling off Sissy had become an art form for him, it came naturally. “Besides, you can ask them yourself if you’re so curious, their room number is 552 in building 4” he stated, not even looking at her.

“Um, thanks Odd, I’ll go ask them now” she said, hoping to get a reaction. She got none, so she threw her left over food away and scurried off to the room.

“Odd, what do you think you’re doing, she won’t leave them alone now” said Jeremy, rather loudly, he seemed to have startled Aelita in his little outburst.

Odd, just smiled at him, “I know” he said, “Ulrich still owes me 50 bucks, just a little payback.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you” was all Jeremy said before heading off to help Aelita redecorate her room, she may have not been from this world, but you could tell she was a growing woman. An interest in clothes, romantic movies, moving heavy furniture, well…..not her moving it, having Jeremy do it for her, she was well adapted to earth living by this point. "Meet us at the spot in a little while."

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“Why did you wait in the room for me, I thought you were going to the spot” Yumi said, both happy he was there, and embarrassed that she was in only a towel. The dream replayed in her mind, she had to tell him sooner or later.

“I don’t know, I just thought I should give Jeremy and Aelita some alone time while Odd’s too busy stuffing his face to notice them swapping spit” he said, laughing a bit at his own joke.

“Bull, you were just hoping to see me naked” she said playfully, not realizing someone was anxiously listening just beyond the door. The little towel fight ensued as they grabbed the nearest piece of clothing and started to towel whip each other, laughing at the top of there lungs. Ulrich, being the always excellent and 'lucky' shot that he was, accidentally hit the part of her towel that held it up, the towel dropped faster then a rock and Ulrich was speechless. Yumi, on the other hand, was clearly embarrassed and jumped under her covers as fast as she could.

“Get out, I need to change” she said hastily. He left without a word and was glad to be out of there, his face felt hot and he was a bit dizzy. On his way out he ran into Sissy as he shut the door, more like over her then into her, he was almost running out of the room.

“Ow, what was that for” she whined, holding her head, “you could really hurt someone like that.”

“I’ll try harder next time” Ulrich said coldly, he wasn’t in the mood. “How did you get our room number anyways” he demanded.

“I was just going to ask you, if you, maybe, you know, wouldn’t want to…” she was tripping over her words, “would you go to the summer dance with me” she said all at once.

“No.” He said no more, he said no less, he walked into the room, and he shut the door in her face. She was hurt, badly. He was always mean to her, and she was so tired of it. He could have left it at a 'no' but h never did, at least she walked away when she was angry.

She ran off as fast as she could, he was never kind to her. She ran into her room and shut the door, crying into her many pillows as she sobbed out the built up frustration, she hated liking him knowing he wanted nothing to do with her. She saw a little pair of scissors on the shelf, she wondered, would it be better. “Would I be better off” she thought out loud, she had no one to hold, no one to hang out with, and no one to love. Her father was always too busy for her and her mother was never around. Her friends were parasites and she had no one to really talk to. She was completely alone now, and she was better off.

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“Who was out there” Yumi asked, pulling her black sweater down over her red bra and pale skin.

“No one I want to talk about” he sighed, holding his head in pain. He watched as she went to her mirror and began to comb her black hair; it was longer now, almost down to her shoulders. He loved to hug her from behind and he took the chances he got, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek, “Have I told you that I love you today” he whispered and he began to caress her cheek.

“I’m sure you didn’t have to say it” she whispered back lovingly, enjoying the time she got with him. The times when they were alone were in the mornings and in the evenings, rarely in between, and they took full advantage of those times. “Ulrich” she said, “can I tell you a secret” she asked, moving to face him.

“You know you can trust me” he reminded her, taking one of her hands in his own. “What’s on your mind?”

“I don’t really know how to say this,” she was nervous, “and I’ve never told anyone this,” she was really nervous. “My father, he, umm…..he used to…...” she was the one tripping on words now.

“Yes Yumi” continued Ulrich, a concerned look on his face.

“He used to rape me,” she hung her head in shame and began to cry. She was so glad she could just say it to someone, just to get it off her chest. She was sure Ulrich would never look at her again, how could he, she was dirty and she wasn’t a virgin. The moment wouldn’t be as special when it came and she knew she deserved to be called dirty.

"Oh my God!" Ulrich put his fingers under her chin and brought her gaze to his. “Its ok, everything’s going to be fine. It wasn’t your fault.”

“But I’m not a virgin, it won’t be my first time like it will be yours” she shot back, tears pouring now.

“That doesn’t matter, what matters is we love each other and we can be together. You didn’t want to give it up, he took it away, and it wasn’t something you could control.” His eyes bore into her own and she knew he wasn’t lying. “Do you love me” he asked, continuing his argument.

“Yes” she said, dropping her stare to her feet, she didn’t deserve to look him in the eye.

“Then that’s all that matters” he whispered. He knew she needed to see someone about this whole ordeal, he wasn’t the type of person who had been through this. He pulled her into a comforting hug and just petted the back of her hair, whispering comforting words to her, and was being what he was best at, comforting. She loved his comforting words and she loved how he wanted her happy. This was love, being there for one another at the darkest time. Being there for the other, even when it’s an inconvenience.

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“Man, 5 plates of bacon can get to you” said Odd as he aimlessly strolled the girl’s hallway. He was bored out of his mind and was waiting for the rest of the gang to call him on his cell when they were ready. He turned when he heard a faint sound. Was it laughing, no…….it seemed more like sobbing. Someone was definitely crying in there room. “Hey, are you alright in there” he asked through the door, not wanting to intrude.

“I know I’m better off dead” he heard. This was his cue to bust through the door and see what was going on, and that’s just what he did. He threw the door open and saw Sissy with a broken pair of scissors in her hands, the blade pushing on her wrist..

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING” he screamed, jumping at her and wrenching the scissors from her. “Do you have any idea what you were about to do” he yelled at her.

“I….I don’t know…..I don’t know anymore” she sobbed, burying her face in his chest. He was a bit stunned, but he saw what kind of state she was in and decided to comfort her.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to yell, I’m sorry,” he said softly so as not to upset her further, “do you want to talk about it” he asked. She shook her head in approval and looked for a place to sit, the room had been completely trashed and all the chairs were broken, so he sat on the bed, which was equally torn up. She seemed as helpless as a little girl now; she crawled onto him and sat in his lap, holding him tight. She was entirely broken down and she needed someone to hold her, even if they didn’t mean it. “So what has you acting like this” he asked, not letting go.

“All I want is someone to understand me, I want them to look behind my eyes and see what I really am. I really am shy and I just want to fit in, I’ve always wanted to be apart of your group, but I’m always rejected. Why am I such a burden for you guys” she asked, demanding an answer for all the mistreatments.

“You’re not a burden, you just get annoying after a while” he said. He didn’t want to lie. “If you really need us this bad I’ll talk to the guys for you, ok. I’ll talk to them and you can come with us to Aelita’s birthday party, ok. Just call me if you want to talk.” He got her off of him and started to clean the room. It was the least he could do for being so mean to her for so long.

“Odd, do you want to go to the dance with me?” She didn’t know what came over her, she just asked, like instinct.

He had to think for a bit, she said she wasn’t anything like she normally acted, she needed someone to talk to, and above all she needed a friend. “I’d love to” he said, equally stunned by what had escaped his lips. He couldn’t believe it; he just agreed to go out with Sissy…….Sissy of all people. He couldn’t believe it.

“Thanks Odd, you don’t know how much that means to me” she said, obviously calm enough to be by herself for a bit.

“No problem, like I said, call me if you want to talk” he said as he finished cleaning the major things.

Odd’s phone started to buzz; the guys were ready for him now. “I guess you have to go now” said Sissy, a little disappointed.

“Yeah,” he sounded just as disappointed as she did. Before he could turn to the door to leave she gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you for stopping me, I don’t know what came over me” she said, a little blush forming on her face.

“No problem” he said nervously. He left hurriedly and was beet red in the face, he felt hot and sweaty, but strangely comfortable. He was hoping it would pass, it was probably all the bacon. Yeah, it had to be all the bacon.

“Hey Jeremy,” said Aelita, looking up from her book. She and Jeremy were waiting in Aelita’s room for a bit, they planned on heading out for the willow shortly.

“Yeah?” He was preoccupied by his own book at the moment, they were the proud bookworms and everyone knew it, it was there thing.

“Why don’t we ever kiss like Ulrich and Yumi do” she asked. This was extremely random, and Aelita was never random. This had gotten Jeremy’s attention rather quickly, and he was looking for an answer to this question, ‘why DON’T we kiss’ he thought to himself, he didn’t know. “Um, I guess we never get time to, I think.” He was looking rather nervous at the moment.

“Well……would right now be a good time?” She edged closer to him, putting her book down and shifting her weight onto him, she was so close now. She could smell his breath….cherry mint, her favorite. She could feel his skin, so soft and pale, he seemed almost fragile.

He was so close to her; he could feel her breath on his face, he was nervous to say the least. But oh how he had wished for this moment. There faces were so close now, and he could feel his anxiety fade away, all that was real was Aelita and himself, they were the only ones who existed now and no one could ruin this moment for them. There lips touched and he could feel reality slip away. He was dreaming, he had to be dreaming because this was all too perfect to be real.

Her hands began to explore and all logical thought was lost, she let instincts take over and concentrated on the moment. Her tongue begged for entrance, and Jeremy gladly accepted. He had such a sweet taste, she loved it, and she loved him. There tongues met as they kissed and they could feel the kiss growing more and more passionate. His soft lips, his warm breath, his gentle touch, his kind heart, all were things she would never dare change about him. She would never change him, she would never want it.

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Odd just sat there in shock, he couldn’t believe it. He was going to ask out Millie, sure she was younger, but she was better then Sissy, right? He didn’t know anymore what he thought of her. Sure she was obnoxious, but she never did anything to seriously hurt anyone from the group. She had made threats, but never went through with them. ‘Maybe she really is different’ he thought. Her face kept repeating in his mind and he could still feel the kiss on is cheek. Did he like her, he was so sure that he hated her just this morning, now he couldn’t say that. He tried as hard as he could to think negatively of her, but he couldn’t find the words, and when he did he always found something to counteract the negative 10 fold. He was going to talk to Yumi, maybe she would know what to do, she was always there for him to talk to, she was his psychiatrist of sorts. “I’ve gotta talk to Yumi” he said to himself, heading off to the willow.

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Jeremy was feeling her entire body, putting every inch of it in his memory, he had no idea where Aelita had learned to do this, but he didn’t care. He finally stopped exploring and found a spot where he was just fine, one hand on her hip and one on her cheek. He was a gentleman, and he would never keep his hands in places that would offend a woman, he was guilty of exploring, yes, but he wasn’t about to have Aelita think any less of him. He loved her too much to have that.

She broke the kiss, she had gone as long as she could without air, and she opened her eyes and waited for Jeremy to do the same. She was so calm and peaceful; so serene, like a love induced high that made her feel so warm inside that she felt like melting.

He opened his eyes, still lost in the moment, and found a beautiful girl staring at him, this wasn’t just Aelita anymore, this was the girl he loved, and the girl he would never forget. He looked into her eyes and he just held her for a bit, soaking up every last bit of the moment.

“Come on, we need to go meet Odd soon. We should get going” she said, holding his hand as she got up.

“Aelita, I’ve wanted to say this for a long time……. I….I love you” Jeremy said. He felt this was the perfect moment to say it.

“I love you to Jeremy” she replied, giving him a gentle kiss on the lips. “Now come on” she said as she let go of his hand and began to run, “I’ll race you” she laughed.

“You’re on” he said.

This was love, showing each other you care by some thing as simple as a kiss, something as simple as racing each other, just to hear the other laugh, just to see the other smile.

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“Yumi, we’ve gotta hurry, the guys have been waiting” said Ulrich, running as fast as he could. He had left the guys to themselves yesterday and he didn’t want to be late again. He looked back and he couldn’t see her; she wasn’t racing like she normally was. He looked around for her, and he saw her on the old bench, that bench brought back memories. He slowed down and walked over to her, “Hey, are you ok” he said worriedly. Yumi was never one to back down from a challenge, and she never backed out of a race, Ulrich was deeply concerned about her.

“Just thinking” she replied, but she wasn’t thinking about anything she would want to remember. She looked up to him and motioned for him to sit with her. “I want to ask you something” she said, dropping her gaze to her feet.

He was concerned about her, she was acting so sad lately, and he knew what it was about. “Yumi, if this is about what I think it is….. I don’t think any….,” she cut him off mid sentence.

“No Ulrich, this is something I have to ask you, would you help me look for a person who could help me get over my father?” She took his hand and was practically begging him; she was so used to people letting her down, that paranoia never faded it seemed.

He just held her, “Hey, you know I’d do anything for you” he whispered to her. He could see people staring, but he didn’t care, she needed him right now. “Of course I will, I want to help you, you have to understand that. I am not out to get you, I promise. I’ll make some phone calls and see what I can come up with, ok” he said, reassuring her that he was a man of his words.

“Thank you” was all she could say before bursting into tears, burying her face in his chest so no one would see her weakened state. She could feel him put his arms around her and was whispering to her, he was so good to her.

“You don’t need to thank me,” he whispered, “I’m here to help. I’ll always be here for you, I swear it.” He lifted her face gently and just stared in her eyes, such a beautiful brown. Everything about her was perfect, he loved her so much. He placed his hand on her cheek ever-so delicately and lightly kissed her, he didn’t care if people saw anymore. If it would make Yumi happy, even only for a short time, he would go to the ends of the earth.

She just couldn’t explain it, she had other boyfriends before, she had loved before, but not like this. Nothing she had ever experienced made her feel like this. So cared for, so loved, protected, and practically worshipped. She would never doubt him again, he would always be there. She broke the kiss and just stared into his eyes. This was love, going out of your way to truly help the other, she would never doubt him again, not again. “Come on Ulrich,” she said as she wiped a tear from her cheek, “the guys are waiting for us.”

They both got up and just walked slowly, hand in hand, sneaking glances of one another, all the while catching the other doing the same. Many people disregarded the little things like that, but Ulrich and Yumi knew how much the little things meant.

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“Ok, this is just ridiculous” Odd said in frustration while pacing back and forth, “How many times can they be late. It’s been the same place at the same time every day since school got out, why are they always late?” Odd was none too happy about them taking so long on a daily basis.

“Now Odd, they’re not late every day” retorted Aelita in a rather motherly tone, not too firm but not too soft. “And you know they like their….alone time….” she said, looking at Jeremy for a confirmation. He nodded and she continued, “And I’m sure if you had someone like that you would want alone time with her.” She saw that both Odd and Jeremy were shocked by her forcefulness; she knew she wasn’t normally like that and it shocked her as well.

“And speak of the devil, look who decided to show up” Jeremy said sarcastically as Yumi and Ulrich came into view. He was also getting tired of their constant tardiness.

“Yeah yeah, we had to stop on the way here, something important” said Ulrich, looking at Yumi with concern. She didn’t seem to catch him, so he continued, “Ok, so what’s the plan for today” he asked, letting go of Yumi’s hand and taking his normal spot against the tree.

“Well, Aelita saw this really nice place in town, it’s the only club in town that’ll let minors in, we were thinking about going there tonight” said Jeremy, he was a little more then excited about it, he knew Aelita had never been to a big party before, and a club was the closest thing he could think of before the school dance and her party.

“That sounds great” said Odd, a huge smile on his face. “Um, can I bring someone extra, I mean if you guys don’t mind” he said hesitantly, sitting down in his usual spot.

“O-o-o-o-h, Odd’s got himself a girlfriend, come on tell us who the lucky girl is” said Ulrich, he picked him up to his feet and playfully punched him in the shoulder. “Come on man, tell us” he said, everyone nodding there heads and looking at him hopefully.

“Um, you guys really want to know” he said, he wasn’t so sure, he knew he had to tell them, they were his friends and they would be cool with it, he hoped. “It’s….um….it’s Sissy” he said, not looking at one of them. He gained the courage to move his head upward, what he saw is what he expected. Every one of them staring at him in disbelief, Ulrich especially. Aelita was the least shocked of the group.

“Wait, hold up, Sissy is your….she’s your girlfriend” asked Yumi, not sure of what she had heard, a hint of disgust and disbeleif in her voice. She looked at Ulrich to see if he had heard the same thing she had, she just looked at her, mouth agape.

“Well, she’s not my…girlfriend technically; we’re just going to the dance together” he said, trying to regain some self-respect.

Yumi saw how he was reacting, she walked up to him and pulled him behind the tree away from the others. “Are you alright” she asked quietly, not out of shock but out of concern. She had never seen him like this before, he seemed upset at something. “Look, none of us….it’s your choice, you know. If you like her then we’re happy for you” she said, she knew how much her words meant to him. She placed her hand on his shoulder, assuring him that she meant it. “You do like her, don’t you” she asked, still a little shaky on the details. He just nodded so she continued, “Hey, when did you know you liked her” she said, a sly smile on her face.

“Um,” he said in a whisper, “well I was wandering around the rooms and I heard this crying, so I went in the room to check it out, and Sissy was there, she had cut her wrist a little but I stopped her before she did any real damage. She sat on my lap and we talked, she’s really not as bad of a person as we all thought. She was so broken down, because all she’s wanted is for us to like her and accept her, so I kinda told her that she could hang out with us more, and that she could come to Aelita's party. And... I don’t know... something just clicked at that point. It's really weird, like I can't get her face out of my head.” He seemed more level headed, all he needed was to hear how it happened and to know that his friends supported him, that calmed him down a great deal.

“Alright, I’ll talk to the guys for you if you want, and then she can come to the club and all of us can just talk, ok” she said, planning the evening out as she spoke.

“That would be nice, thank you so much Yumi, what would I do without you” he said only half joking.

She just punched him in the chest playfully, “I know” she said, hoping to get a smile. She got it out of him, and they walked back to the other side of the tree and the group was looking at them expectantly. “Ok you guys, this is the plan” she said in her leader-like tone, “Sissy is coming with us to the club, and we are gonna talk to her before we go, and no being nasty to her alright, this is not the time to make jokes about her. She's also coming to Aelita's party, that's if the birthday girl doesn't mind.”

Aelita shook her head, "No, it's alright, I don't mind." She never had anything against Sissy, she just kept her mouth shut when she was around.

"Then it's settled" said Yumi. Ulrich looked at the gorund, he was sure Sissy would ruin there night and she would wreck the party. He was hoping Odd would prove him wrong, he really was.

“Alright Odd” he thought out loud, “she’s just a girl, ok. You’re just gonna go in, ask her to go to the club, and be out. Alright, that sounds like a plan.” He didn’t know why he was so nervous, but it seemed he couldn’t help it. His palms were sweaty and he hadn’t eaten lunch that day, he just didn’t have it in him to eat before talking to her, and knowing Odd, that was a bad sign.

He walked up to her door and lightly knocked, half hoping she wouldn’t be there. As he waited he heard sheets rustling, he heard someone curse under there breath. Then he heard light footsteps coming towards the door, needless to say his mind was making assumptions.

The door opened and there stood Sissy, in her black bra and panties, staring at Odd. She turned so red so fast that she thought she was going to pass out, she could see that Odd was just as embarrassed. “Um….hi…um…..I’ll be out in a second ok” she said hurriedly as she shut the door. She walked to her closet and picked her baggiest pants, she didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable with her in tight pants. She knew his entire gang hated to admit it, but she was one of the most beautiful girls in school, probably the most beautiful period, but Odd and the rest of his friends would never admit it. She changed out of her nightshirt and put on her purple baby tee, she had to be comfortable to. After she was dressed and had run a comb through her hair, she opened the door, “Do you want to come in” she asked, slightly hidden by the door.

“I hope I didn’t wake you up” he said, walking through the doorway hesitantly, he didn’t know why he was so nervous. He looked around, the room was much better then it was before, but a lot of small items of furniture seemed to be missing, as well as some pillows and a mirror. “I could have cleaned this for you, I don’t mind.”

She was slightly taken aback at this, he never offered to do anything that would remotely help her before, maybe he was different then he made himself out to be as well, maybe the two weren’t so different after all. “Um, you don’t have to offer to do things for me; it’s alright, but thank you though. And I was taking a nap, but I don’t mind,” she said, a content smile on her lips, “it’s nice to see you.”

Now he was taken aback. Sissy…..being sweet, she was never sweet or even kind as a matter of fact. “It’s nice to see you to…..um…..me and the gang are going to a new club in town tonight, I was wondering if you wanted to go with us” he asked. Part of him was yelling “SAY YES”, and the other half was screaming “WHY DID YOU HELP HER IN THE FIRST PLACE”. He couldn’t choose between the two, so he just waited for her answer.

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“I’d love to” said Aelita excitedly as Jeremy brought his Xbox 360 into her room; she loved to play video-games even more the Jeremy did.

“I don’t mean do you want to play it, I mean do you want to have it” corrected Jeremy. He was hoping to give Aelita a great present, just for being a great person. He saw the look on her face,pure shock.

“Jeremy, I can’t take this, you saved up for a year to buy this” she said rather loudly. She liked getting gifts, as would anyone else, but she couldn’t take his favorite piece of equipment next to his computer.

“But I want you to have it, think of it as a late Christmas present” he said as he hooked it up to her little TV. “Besides, it’s not like I’m throwing it away, you love this thing more then I do, and I want you to have it.” He got up from the floor and took her in his arms, giving her teasing kisses. “I love you.”

She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a littlemore then a teasing kiss, “I love you to Jeremy, thank you so much” she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. “But I have nothing to give you in return” she said slightly down-hearted.

“You don’t have to get me anything in return, it’s alright” he whispered. He leaned his head on top of hers and just stood there, taking in every second. She leaned into him and placed her head under his chin and into his chest, he felt like the happiest person on earth, and he felt right at home with her in his arms.

She had noticed that he’d grown taller in the last few months, he was 5 or so inches taller then her now, and he looked much bigger then he was. She didn’t care if he was muscular or fast or athletic, she just loved him with all her heart and she never wanted to let go of him. She nestled into his chest and sighed, she was more then content. Sheknew thatEarth would bring new feelings, but she never imagined anything like this, she was attracted to Jeremy while in Lyoko, but she never thought she could feel this way.

“How does a nice nap sound” he whispered, motioning towards the little bed, only big enough for one person. But he was sure he could make it work.

“Aren’t we a little old for naps” she said as he walked her to the bed. She got under the covers and Jeremy followed, she nestled into him and she turned over to face him. She wrapped herself around him, taking in his warmth.

“Not when we have 2 hours to kill together.” He began giving her light kisses and looked into her eyes, such a beautiful blue. He was so nervous when Aelita first kissed him but he quickly got used to it, he enjoyed kissing her because he knew it made her happy, and he knew she enjoyed kissing him because it made him happy.

“I love you” she said as her eyelids began to feel heavy. The last thing she saw before she drifted off to sleep was the warm face of the boy she loved, and the boy who taught her how to feel and who opened her mind to the most wonderful things, literally.

He saw her drift to sleep; he felt the same effect slowly creep upon himself after a few moments. She was so warm and soft, he felt so content that sleep was bound to creep upon him. “I love you to” he said as he began to drift into pleasant dreams, dreams including only him, his love, and no one else in the world.

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I’d love to Odd” she said surprised, “but why would you ask me to go, you guys never ask me.” She walked over to the bed and patted on the spot next to her, he sat down and she turned to face him, waiting for a response.

“I’m asking….because I like you…..I like you a lot.” He felt embarrassed to say it, but he kept himself in check and didn’t show it. The last thing he wanted to do was offend her.

“I like you to” she said as shesettled into him, she felt him move back a bit, but he settled into her quickly.

“You know that I don’t care what my friends think about us. And you know that I like you even if they don’t.” He felt all his doubts about her just slip away. He knew this wasn’t a mistake, he was sure it wasn’t, it couldn't be. “And you know that….I’m really thankful that I caught you before you did something stupid.”

“I’m glad you stopped me to.” She nestled into him even more now, lying her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his waist. She felt his arms around her shoulders and she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, but what she saw was his face coming slowly towards hers. She leaned in and their lips touched, she felt uncomfortable for a moment, then it slipped into happiness.

The kiss didn’t last long, but it had meaning all the same. “Did we just kiss” said Odd playfully. He was still Odd, making jokes as usual, but Sissy didn’t seem to mind.

“I think we did” Sissy said, giggling and playing along. They laughed and she and Odd both got up. He pulled her into a warm hug and she hugged him back. She could tell he wasn’t one to take things too fast, but he also wasn’t one to drudge on slowly.

“Do you wanna go out for coffee before we go to the club” he asked. He gave her a toothy smile, eagerly waiting while she thought. He knew she was teasing him because she took an extremely long time to think about it, trying to hold back her smile.

After she had her fun she got on her tip toes. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and looked him in the eyes. “That would be nice” she whispered. His face began to glow and he let go of her slowly. She walked to her nightstand, which was missing a mirror and was a bit dented, and got her shoes from under it. “Shoes would be nice to” she joked.

She got her shoes on and the both of them were out the door, hand in hand as they walked to the coffee shop just outside of school. But someone was watching jealously as they made their way there. A certain someone pushing up his glasses constantly and someone who was sweating profusely under his heavy sweater.

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“Ulrich, what time were we supposed to meet the guys” asked Yumi, reading a fashion magazine to pass the time. She looked up from her reading and saw Ulrich with a swimsuit magazine; she just rolled her eyes and went on with her reading.

“Um, wait…..what time did they say” he asked himself. He looked at his arm and saw that he had written what time they were supposed to meet. “Oh, here it is, 8:30. And the club opens at 9.” He put his magazine down and walked to the little computer by the window, plugged in his headphones and started zoning as he listened to “Her Ghost In The Fog”, this was his favorite song that Yumi had showed him, probably his favorite song ever. After she moved in he began to listen to more and more types of music, most of it introduced to him by Yumi.

Yumi watched as he began tapping his foot and nodding his head with the beat. As he mouthed the words, she remembered the lyrics. Yumi thought of something she felt she had to ask him. She got up from her bed and walked over to him, she lightly tapped him on the shoulder and he opened his eyes.

“What’s up” he said concernedly, she looked sad and like she had something on her mind. He took off his headphones and turned the computer screen off; he didn’t want to be distracted by the images on the screen.

“Ulrich, what would you do…..what would you do if someone…….you know…..if someone took my life.” She saw that this had caught him quite off guard, “I’m sorry, that was random” she said, “I shouldn’t have asked you that so suddenly.” She turned around to sit on her bed when she felt him grab her arm, rather violently. She turned to face him and he suddenly grabbed her by both of her shoulders and pulled her into a passionate kiss and she completely melted into him, placing her hands on his chest. She felt the kiss become more and more passionate, and she could feel him become more and more aroused. “Ulrich, oh don’t stop” she moaned, she felt his hand explore inside her loose t-shirt and she couldn’t help but gasp in pleasure.

“Why should I keep going” she heard him say between deep breaths, “I’ve already taken everything from you.” She broke the kiss and lifted her head to face his; she didn’t see Ulrich’s bright face this time. She saw a man standing there, with deep blue skin, sunken yellow eyes, and a black toothed smile. It looked vaguely like her father, but something seemed off. Her face twisted in horror as she broke away from him. She got on top of her bed and backed up as far as she could; he crept closer and closer towards her. She screamed and he was immediately on top of her, covering her mouth with his hand. “Wanna have some fun” he laughed. Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched him slowly unbutton his soiled and tattered shirt.

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“My, he’s really different then I thought he could be” thought Sissy, waiting for Odd to return with there drinks. “And now that I think about it, he’s taller then me. I never noticed that. It must be because he slouches, and he’s much more handsome now that I look at him” she thought out loud as she watched him walking back to the table. She thought this out loud, but she said it quite softly, she didn’t want to seem weird on there first “official” date.

“My, aren’t we deep in thought” he joked as he set the drinks down, one in front of her and one in front of the empty seat. “What were you thinking about” he asked, being playfully nosey.

“O, you know, girl stuff” she said, trying to seem nonchalant. “Thank you for the drink by the way.” She took a sip of the mocha... mint, her favorite. She closed her eyes; she hadn’t had one of these in months. Her father was a bit strict on the school caffeine policy. She opened them to see Odd staring at her, a smile on his face. “What” she asked.

“Nothing, I’ve just never noticed how blue your eyes are.” She smiled and turned her head a bit, laughing under her breath. “What, you don’t believe me” he said, knowing that she was at least somewhat humble.

“No, it’s just most guys would compliment on my clothes or howhot I am, but you’re not most guys, are you?” She stood up and moved her chair next to his, taking her drink with her. They were both on the balcony of the café, a little table for two or three and a nice umbrella to keep the hot sun off there heads. “I like that, you’re different, but a good different.”

“Thanks” he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder to hold her close, “and you know, a few days ago I never would have thought this would happen. I’m glad things changed.”

“I’m glad they did to” she added, leaning her head into his chest as he stroked her silky raven hair. She placed her ear on his chest and listened for his heart beat. Thud…..thud…..thud, the sound was so strangely soothing, it quickly calmed her. His warmth against her was much better then the mocha. Yeah, this beat a mint mocha by a long shot. “Odd, you don’t think things are moving too fast, do you?”

“Oh….um……does this bother you” he asked, beginning to let go of her.

“No, no,” she said, “I was just asking to see if this was moving too fast for you.” She looked up at him and saw him smiling.

“Man, you had me worried there for a second. I thought I’d messed up already” he joked. “No, this is moving just fine to me, how about you?”

She leaned into him even more and whispered in his ear, “I think this is perfect.” She leaned in to kiss him, knowing no one else was on the balcony to be offended. He leaned into her gently and there lips met. His lips were so warm and tender, and she had the feeling that his heart was the same way.

His mind raced as his heart sung, he just wanted to let go of himself and let this go where it may. ‘I couldn’t ask for anything more,’ he thought, ‘I wonder what’ll happen when we go back to her room.' 'What, what are you thinking, you know that shit got you in trouble before.’ It seemed that 2 sides of him were arguing, ‘But why can’t this just be fun?’ ‘Because you remember what happened.’ ‘Yeah, I remember, but this won’t be like that.’ ‘Don’t fool yourself; this is just like every other time.’

She gently broke the kiss; eyes still closed, and rested her head on his shoulder. She took a long breath and slowly exhaled, this is what she needed all along. Ulrich wasn’t even a thought anymore. All that mattered was the moment, his warm body, his infatuating scent, and this strange and new feeling of contentment. She was sure of it, this is what she was missing all those years, and this is something Ulrich couldn’t give her, not now……not ever.

He looked down at her, she seemed so content, so at peace. He tightened his grip, to let her know that he would always be there for her. He felt he had to tell her his secret. “Sissy, can I tell you a secret” he asked, eyes closed. He didn’t see her, but he felt her raise her head, “Of course you can Odd,” she said.

“Yumi, Yumi wake up” Ulrich said frantically. He shook her shoulders repeatedly, and now he was getting worried. She was in a cold sweat and was even paler then normal. She was mumbling incoherently, it sounded as if she was crying. “Oh come on Yumi, wake up. Come on Yumi, you’re scaring me now.” She was shaking on her own now and Ulrich immediately let go, “I’ve gotta do something” he thought. Then an idea hit him, unlike his old room, this room had a sink. He filled a cup with cold water and threw it into her face, she didn’t wake up. “Shit, what do I do now” he asked to no one in particular. He sat on her bed and put his arms on her shoulders gently, “Yumi” he whispered.

She shot out of her dream and into his arms, she could feel herself shaking violently and her clothes were soaked. She tried to speak, but it was all garbled and she could tell he didn’t understand what she was saying.

“Yumi, you have to calm down” he whispered so as to not upset her further. He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her forehead. “It was only a dream,” he said in an almost fatherly tone, “it’s alright now, no one’s going to hurt you.” He could feel the shaking begin to subside, he stroked her hair gently as she began to cry.

“Ulrich….I think something is wrong with me. I…. keep having these dreams” she said in between deep breaths. “Please help me” she pleaded.

He pulled her head from his chest and lifted her face to his level, “Yumi, I promise, I will call someone tonight, ok. I’m going to get you help, anfd if you ever, and I mean ever, want to talk about it, I love you and I’m always going to be here for you.”

She was looking into his eyes as he said this, “I love you and I’m always going to be here for you” She could tell in his eyes that he was telling the truth, he had a fatherly look in his eye and a gentle tone in his voice. She was crying, yes, but she was holding back as much as she could. She finally let it go, burying her head deep into his chest.

He wrapped her in a tight embrace, “That’s it Yumi, just let it all out, cry all you want. It’s all gonna work out soon, I promise.” He felt his shirt becoming soaked, but he didn’t care, once she calmed down enough that she could have a conversation with, he began to speak again, “Come on, how does some hot chocolate sound?” She nodded her head in approval and he stood up. He helped her to her feet and made sure she could stand on her own, it appeared so. “First thing first, let’s get you some dry clothes and clean you up a bit, do need me help” he asked. She nodded her head in approval once more, knowing she was too weak in this condition to do much of anything. He began searching through her drawers, looking for her most comfortable clothes. He found a worn cotton shirt and a pair of sweat shorts, and held them up to see if she approved. When she nodded he went into one more drawer to pick out a clean bra and a clean pair of panties. He didn’t know what was the most comfortable for her, so he just guessed. He held those up and she approved of those as well. It seemed as though she wasn’t even paying attention, like she was somewhere completely different.

“Alright, lets get you out of these wet clothes before you catch something, they’re drenched.” He was trying to maintain a calm and collected attitude so she would feel calmer, it seemed to be working. He could tell she was too drained to do this by herself; he lifted her arms and pulled the shirt over her head. It came off rather easily, all going smoothly. She began to wobble a bit and Ulrich was quick to react, quickly supporting her weight and setting her on the bed. He really needed to maintain calm and collected now, he began to undo her bra in order to replace it with a new one. He had a bit of trouble at first, but he quickly figure out the complex puzzle. She was so beautiful, but he forced himself not to stare, the last thing she needed was to think Ulrich was anything like her father.

Knock….Knock…Knock. Someone was knocking on his door, and at the worst possible time. “Just one minute” he said loudly. He replaced her bra and shirt rather quickly. Now was the hard part, he had to replace panties and pants. He couldn’t appear aroused by this, although he knew he would be, and he couldn’t stare. Knock….Knock….Knock. “I said one minute.” He pulled her socks off and threw them with the rest of the clothes; he’d take care of those later. He could tell by her face that she wasn’t all there at the time; she was staring blankly at nothing, which made the task a bit easier. He unbuttoned her dark blue jeans and slipped them off her, such beautiful and slender legs she had, milky white complexion and such fragile skin. He always knew she was beautiful, but he never actually witnessed it. This was do or die time, he slowly pulled her panties off her hips and down her legs. Once they were off her tried as quickly as he could to replace them, his heart was racing and his mind began to wander.

He finally replaced them with a fresh black pair and slipped her into the sweat shorts. “Better” he asked, trying not to sound shaky. It seemed as if she just realized she was there, she shook her head a bit and looked in his eyes. “Thanks” she said extremely weakly. He got a warm wash cloth from the sink and wiped away the make-up that had begun to run. He got the sweat and dirt off of her face and gently kissed her, “All better” he said, as if he were talking to a small child that needed comfort. He heard footsteps of whomever was outside, they were walking down the hall, then the sound was gone.

“That hot chocolate sounds really good right now” she said with a hoarse voice. “I need something to drink. She got up from the bed, reassuring herself that her legs worked and slowly walked to the sink, she got a cup full of cold water and quickly gulped it down.

“Alright” said Ulrich, “can you walk?” He looked at her concernedly and waited for an answer.

She thought about it, “Yeah, yeah I can walk fine now” she said. “Let’s go get that hot chocolate now; I really need to talk with you.” He led her out of the room and he walked closer then normal to her, just in case she lost her balance.

He had the most terrible gut feeling, there’s something she wasn’t telling him about this whole thing. He would wait until she felt it was the right time, she didn’t need him prodding in her personal affairs, even if they were in love. She needed her space now more then ever.

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“I think I woke him up, so I just came back” explained Jeremy, Aelita didn’t look convinced. She looked at him skeptically and he couldn’t lie. “Alright, Yumi and him were in there and he was telling me to wait a minute, I heard someone dressing themselves so I just left. I didn’t want to deal with an awkward situation like that.” She looked like she was thinking about it, then she gave in.

“Ok, you win” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “So what do you want to do before we go to the club?” She sat down next to him on the floor and took out her book from under the bed, “Serial Killers” it read on the front in big white letters.

“I don’t know,” he thought about it for a few minutes, and he couldn’t think of anything creative. “You want to just go for a walk?” She set her book down and nodded her head.

“Ok, but I need to change first,” she said, “it’s too hot outside for me to wear this.” She had her heavy cotton night shirt and a pair of heavy jeans, not exactly the kind of clothes to keep you cool.

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“Alright, I’ll just wait outside for you” he said, he turned around to walk out the door but she grabbed his arm before he could leave. “Jeremy” he heard her say. He slowly turned around and looked at her. “Yeah” he said, a bit of a stutter in his voice.

“What does…..sex feel like” she said. She just blurted it out, like it was a normal question to ask you peers, let alone your boyfriend. She didn’t realize the kind of embarrassment a question like this can cause.

Jeremy looked for the words, but he had trouble finding them. “Um, yeah, it does. Do you know what…..that…means” he asked.

She nodded her head, “Yes, I know what the action is.” She looked at Jeremy, who seemed to be sweating a bit at this point. She tilted her head to the side out of confusion, Jeremy never acted like this when she needed something explained.

“No….no, I mean do you know…..do you know what it means….um,” he was looking for an intelligent word to use at this point, “Do you know what the symbolism of it is?” Yeah, that sounded about right, Aelita could always understand things better if they were explained to her intelligently.

She thought about it for a minute, she knew what the action was, what it produced, safety precautions, and health risks, but she didn’t think she learned what it symbolized in any text book. She shook her head; Jeremy normally explained things to her if she didn’t understand.

He was looking for the right words again, thinking of a way to explain this in a way that wouldn’t embarrass either of them. “Um…..here, come here” he said as an idea hit him, why explain it yourself when someone else can do it for you. He sat down at the computer and went to Google, searching SEX. He got hundreds of sleazy sites, searching through each description to find one that would explain it without turning it into something profane. He finally found one, “Ok Aelita,” he said, “just read this and it’ll explain it. I’m going to step out to get some air for a while; I’ll be back soon, ok.” He grabbed his bag containing his laptop and other belongings and kissed her goodbye.

“I love you Jeremy” she said after he kissed her, “be back before 7:45 so we can get a head start” she said as she read, never looking from the screen. The page didn’t contain any pictures, but it explained everything, exactly how the action was done, positions, laws. She finally found what she was looking for; it read “Sex is not something you should take lightly. It is a way to tell someone that you love them with all your heart and soul, it is a way to tell someone that you’d give your everything for.” She began to ponder this subject, then she realized why Jeremy was in such a hurry and she began to blush wildly

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Odd thought for a moment, could he really trust her, she did all those horrible things to him and the rest of the group. But she said those were just so they would pay attention to her, she must have thought bad attention was better then no attention, and he decided. “Sissy, the guys and I, we have this secret that we’ve kept for a long time. We’ve never shared it with anyone, but I think I can trust you.” Odd felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. This was the most well guarded secret any of them possessed, and he was about to reveal it to someone he hated just 5 days ago. “You see…..Sissy, we…...”

“Hi Sissy” yelled Herb, opening the glass doors and jogging towards them. He looked at Odd in a weird way, the same way he used looked at Ulrich. “Hey Odd” he said, not so enthusiastically. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything” he said, pointing at the both of them.

“No….not at all” Odd said through clenched teeth, trying not to lash out at her friend. He hated being interrupted, especially when he was having such a wonderful time. He looked at Sissy who seemed to be taking it much better then he was. She was wearing a smile and a warm, welcoming look on her face.

“Hey Herb, I haven’t seen you in a while,” she said, “How’ve you been?” She stopped leaning into Odd and sat regularly in her chair. She took a sip of her drink as Herb pulled over a chair from another table.

“Oh, you know, just working on some projects here and there” he replied, waving his hand dismissively. “The usual, you know.” Sissy nodded her head at this, he was always working on this or that, and occasionally the ideas that worked were pretty cool, but that was rare if ever. Herb looked at Sissy, then he glanced at Odd, “Um….I can come back at a better time if you’d like?”

Odd was cut off by Sissy instantly. She hadn’t known him for a long time, but she knew damn well what he was about to say. Sissy took her hand off Odd’s mouth and signaled for Herb to take back his seat, “Come on, I haven’t seen you in a while” she said.

As Herb turned around to take his seat he began to look confused, “Um….. are you feeling alright Sissy” he said, raising an eyebrow.

She just looked at him blankly, “I’m feeling much better…..thanks for asking, but where did that come from?” She looked just as confused as Herb did.

“Because...” he was searching for the right words, “you aren’t normally this….friendly.” He was hoping she didn’t take it the wrong way.

She just looked at Odd and smiled contently. “Well, I’ve been in a kind of ‘friendly’ mood all afternoon” she said, giggling slightly. She began to lean into Odd once more; he set his drink down and placed his arm around her shoulders to hold her closer.

Now this was something Ulrich would have to see to believe. Sissy….being sweet, caring, friendly, and giggling like a school girl, that would just freak Ulrich out. But Odd…..well Odd didn’t seem too surprised by it. In fact, he actually couldn’t think of anything else he would expect at this point.

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“Are you gonna be alright Yumi” asked Ulrich concernedly. She hadn’t said a word since they got into the cafeteria and she didn’t seem to be awake. She looked as if she was sleeping with her eyes open.

“Huh……oh yeah, I’m fine” she said, coming out of her daze. She took another sip of her hot chocolate and set it aside. “Ulrich, I have to tell you something. I haven’t told you the whole truth about my father.” The fragile mood she had been in earlier had faded, now she looked determined and serious. “You see, my father did use to…..” she couldn’t bring herself to say it, “but my mother….she really didn’t know.”

Ulrich coughed on some of the drink he was taking, he was curious to say the least now. “How did she not know” he asked.

“He….he never really did it when she was around,” tears were forming in her eyes from the memories, “and he would always threaten me, he said if I told her he would kill me. I should have stuck up for myself,” she was visibly crying now, feeling the full brunt of what she thought was weakness, “I should have told someone.”

“Yumi,” Ulrich said comfortingly, “that’s nothing to be ashamed of.” He moved from his seat across from her to the seat next to her. “Don’t ever make yourself feel like it was your fault.” He grabbed her free hand and held it tightly, “You do realize we have to tell your mother, right” he asked. She nodded her head and squeezed his hand, he was a good person, he only had her best interests at heart.

“Can you tell her for me,” she asked as she looked him in the eyes. “I don’t think I could bring myself to tell her.”

Ulrich wiped a tear away from her cheek and stroked her hair. “Anything,” he said, “anything to make this easier for you. You’ve been through stuff that I can’t even imagine, and if there’s anything you need I’ll be happy to help.”

“Hey, we’re trying to eat here, why don’t you guys get a room” yelled a random person from across the cafeteria, he wasn’t joking around like Odd. The boy stood up, he was looking for a fight in all the wrong places. The long time students knew how Ulrich got when confronted like this, normally they would have called the nurse by now, but this particular kid had been acting tough all summer, and they needed some entertainment.

“You wanna say that to my face” retorted Ulrich, standing up as well; Yumi didn’t need some punk yelling at her. Ulrich looked around the lunchroom: good….no teachers. He stomped across the room to the boy, he looked like a rising 6th grader, ‘Figures’ Ulrich thought.

“Why don’t you” the boy said, jabbing Ulrich in the chest with his finger, “and you’re little fuck buddy go get….” The boy didn’t get a chance to finish. Ulrich immediately punched the boy as hard as he could in the stomach, causing him to slump over in pain.

Ulrich picked the newcomer up and held him by his shirt in the air, “If you ever talk about Yumi that way again,” Ulrich said menacingly, “I swear to God, you won’t ever say anything about anyone ever again!” He threw the boy to the floor and walked away, he knew he had won. He brushed himself off and resumed his conversation with Yumi.

“Was that really necessary” she asked, she raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a scornful look.

“No one talks about you like that while I’m around” he said defending his actions. He took a huge drink of his coffee and slumped forward slightly.

“Thank you,” she said, “but could we keep those encounters to a minimum. It’s not worth it.” He nodded his head and stood up.

Ulrich took her hand and picked up her drink, “Let’s finish this conversation in the room, then we can call the guys to get ready, does that sound good” he asked. From the corner of his eye he saw the boy hurrying out of the cafeteria, his buddies laughing at his defeat, he was obviously not happy about getting beat up for the first time at Kadic.

She nodded her head as she got up from her seat, “Yeah, that sounds good.” She kissed him on the cheek and they walked out of the lunchroom. On there way to the room, Yumi saw Jeremy wandering the grounds looking bored. “Hey Jeremy, what’s up” she yelled, trying to catch his attention.

Jeremy looked up from the ground and saw Ulrich and Yumi waling hand in hand out of the cafeteria, “Hey you guys” he replied. He jogged over to them, he looked a bit embarrassed.

“Listen Jeremy, Ulrich and I have to go for a little while,” said Yumi, hoping to finish the disgusting subject about her father and get a plan set up before they went out that night. “Meet us at the tree at 8:30, I promise we’ll be there on time today.”

Jeremy laughed whole heartedly, “I hope you’re on time, you guys better not fall asleep or anything because we’ll leave you this time.”

As they watched Jeremy continue on his way, seeming to slip back into deep thought, Ulrich and Yumi continued on there way. Ulrich was thinking of a plan the entire way to the room, everything needed to be perfect if he was going to break this to her mother.

“Tamiya…..come check this out” Millie said in utter shock. She couldn’t help but stare at the horrible sight.

Tamiya stood up and looked in the direction Millie was facing. “No way, is that Odd…..with Sissy?” Tamiya couldn’t believe it either, “Are they holding hands?”

Millie just stood there, completely dumbstruck, this couldn’t be happening, no way they were a couple. “Uh huh” was all she could think to say. Her eyes got wide as she made a huge realization, “Tamiya, get the camera, this is what we’ve been waiting for all summer. Go hurry” she said as Tamiya ran off.

“Wow, you like Noam to” Odd said, a playful smile on his face. He didn’t think she had such a good taste in music. He sat down on a bench and motioned for her to join him; she accepted the invitation and sat down. “You know, we’ve got more in common then I thought we did.” He took her hand and looked in her eyes, she deserved at least that for what he was about to say. “I’m really sorry for the way I’ve treated you in the past, can we forget it ever happened” he said hopefully. This subject matter had been bugging him since they left the café, and he really needed to set things right with her.

She edged closer to him, squeezing his hand tenderly. “I’m sorry to Odd” she said. “I shouldn’t have been such a pest to you and your friends…..but I suppose they need to hear this to, don’t they” she asked.

“Yeah” was all he could think to say. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her close. “Sissy, I’ve got to ask you this and you’ve got to be honest with me ok” he said as he turned his head to look her in the eyes. She nodded her head and waited for him to continue. “Do you…..do you still like Ulrich” he asked, a little downhearted.

She could see how much he hated asking this, she knew he really liked her and she knew he despised the thought of her still liking Ulrich. She lightly kissed him on the cheek and brought him into a warm hug, “No, I don’t like Ulrich like that anymore” she said confidently. “I like Odd Della Robbia” she said, kissing him again. “I like him a lot.”

Odd just smiled contently at this, he felt an intense feeling of tranquility wash over him. He held her even closer now and just took in everything. He couldn’t remember the last time he had heard birds singing. He closed his eyes and stroked her cheek gently.

“So how long have you two been a couple?” Sissy opened her eyes to a camera in her face and a microphone to her mouth. She was never comfortable in front of a camera; “Um….why are you asking” was all she could think to say. This had caught her completely off guard.

“Because this is the biggest news that this school has seen all summer, that’s why” Tamiya said eagerly, never taking the camera off of Odd and Sissy on the bench. They still had yet to let go of each other.

Odd was none too happy about having another moment interrupted, and these were his friends this time so he had to calm himself down now. “Come on Millie, this isn’t that big of a deal” he retorted.

Millie almost dropped her microphone at this, “Are you insane, the whole school is under the impression that you hate her.” Tamiya still had her camera locked on the couple.

“Hey, I want to get a few things straight with the school then” he said directly to the camera. “1…. I do not, in any way or form hate Sissy. I don’t see how anyone could hate her. 2….I’m going to the summer dance with her, and I’m going to thoroughly enjoy her company.” He was trying to use proper English to further his point, not many had seen Odd talk like that. “And 3….” He didn’t say anything for this statement. Instead he leaned towards Sissy and caught her in an intense kiss. He pulled away, leaving Sissy wondering what had just happened. “Do I make myself clear” he asked the girls. They both nodded, that was all they could think to do. They stared at Sissy, and then at Odd, back and forth with mouth’s agape. This was just too much for there brains to process at the time. “Good” he said in a tone signaling that he was done with this interview.

Millie and Tamiya ran off in a hurry, they needed to get this in the school paper and in the weekly news update. This would be old news in 5 days, but they didn’t care, it was too good to pass up.

Sissy looked at Odd again with a flattered smile. She hugged him lightly, “That was sweet” she said as she leaned into him. He turned slightly so she could lean into his chest and not into the side of his arm. She was almost lying on Odd as they sat in the bench.

“What was” he asked, gently rubbing her stomach. He always thought this was a sweet gesture, but most girls didn’t find this sign of affection too appealing. Sissy seemed fine with it though, and it appeared that she wasn’t ticklish, Odd wished he could say the same.

“You said you don’t know how anyone could hate me.” She smiled slightly, closing her eyes once more.

“It’s the truth; I don’t know how anyone could hate you.” He closed his eyes as well. “You’re sweet, you’re funny, and you’re beautiful.” He could feel her flinch slightly as he said this.

“You…you really think I’m beautiful” she asked. She opened her eyes slightly, just to take in her surroundings.

“I don’t think you’re beautiful….I know you’re beautiful” he whispered. He kissed the back of her neck and rested his head on hers. “Don’t let anyone make you feel any different. You are a good person; you just have to show the world the wonderful person that you’ve shown me.”

“Odd” she said as she closed her eyes again.

“Yeah” he replied.

“Thank you” she whispered. A tear trickled down her cheek and she hoped that Odd didn’t notice. No one had ever made her feel so special. She took one of the tender hands that was wrapped around her and kissed it gently. She could care less if anyone saw this moment; all she cared about was Odd right now. ‘Why am I so open to him this early on’ she wondered. She didn’t pay it any mind after that though.

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Jeremy was making his way to Aelita’s room on the 3rd floor; he was deep in thought the entire way there. ‘Where did she learn to kiss like that’ he thought. ‘Where did the sex thing come from?’ He had to figure that out later, he stopped at her door and knocked lightly. He knocked again when he got no response, and then he turned the knob. It opened slowly and he saw Aelita on her bed with headphones on. She had the music playing loudly; Jeremy could actually hear the words, which were few for the amount of techno she listened to.

She noticed him enter the room and she removed the headphones. She placed them to the edge of her bed and patted on the spot next to her.

“So, did you find the info you wanted” Jeremy asked, hoping she wouldn’t ask him the question.

“It’s a lot to take in all at once” she said, re-reading the text in her mind. Someone you deeply love and care for. “Jeremy, have you ever thought about having….you know……with me?”

‘Damn it’ he thought to himself. He knew this was coming. “You see Aelita, you and I are still virgins, and this stuff requires a lot of consideration. You could get pregnant, I could hurt you somehow, there are all kinds of risks we would have to take into consideration.” He thought he did a good job of dissuading her from furthering the topic.

“You didn’t answer my question though, have you ever thought about it?” She was determined to get an answer.

It looked like he’d have to try harder in the future because it didn’t look like he did a good job of dissuading her. He sighed, knowing he couldn’t win this one, “Yes…I have thought about it, and I’m assuming you’ve thought about it to.” She nodded her head, “But you know we don’t have to have sex to prove we love each other.”

“I read that if one of the two people aren’t ready, it doesn’t mean they don’t love you, it just means that it’s moving a little too fast for them, is that the case here” she asked.

Jeremy looked so relieved at this, finally she understood. “That’s exactly what it is, I do love you” he said, taking her hands. “I’m just not ready for that right now.” He looked her in the eyes; he looked almost as if he was expecting her to be mad. “I love you” he said.

Aelita smiled and rolled her eyes jokingly, “I love you to” she giggled.

“What’s so funny” Jeremy asked, his own grin forming.

“Nothing, come on” she said excitedly. Let’s get ready for the party tonight. You call the others and I’ll get dressed.” She nudged him out the door and flashed him a sly and toothy smile as she shut the door slowly.

“Girls” he said as he rolled his eyes. He got out his phone and began to punch in numbers.

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“So…..any ideas” asked Ulrich as he opened the door to there room. He allowed Yumi to enter first and locked the door behind him; he knew she didn’t want to be interrupted during this talk. He took a seat in front of the computer and Yumi sat on Ulrich’s bed.

“Um….I was thinking we could eat dinner at my house one night and...we could tell her then.” Yumi didn’t look too excited about this, but she knew it had to be done. “Does tomorrow sound good” she asked.

“Yeah, whenever you want” Ulrich said with a warm smile, trying his best to be as comforting as he could. He noticed that she was still unusually pale and she had dark rings under her eyes. “Yumi, are you gonna be alright, you don’t look so good.” He got up from his seat and sat down next to her, staring at her concernedly.

She moved the stray hair from her face and smiled weakly at him, “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ve just been thinking a lot lately.” She hung her head once more, “I’m sorry I drug you into this, it really isn’t your problem.” She just stared at her feet, feeling ashamed.

“Hey” he said as he put his hand on her knee. He knelt down in front of her and was able to see her face now, she looked so sad. “If anything makes you this upset, it hurts me just as bad as it hurts you.”

Yumi lifted her gaze from her feet to his eyes, and she could see them begin to water slightly. “You don’t deserve to feel like this Ulrich” she said, almost defensively.

“And neither do you” he retorted. His expressions went from sad and caring to strong and determined. “You’ve got to understand Yumi, you didn’t do anything wrong, you didn’t do anything to deserve this.”

She could tell he was hurting with her, but he was trying his very best to hide his pain. He didn’t need her feeling like she made him sad.

“I’m gonna go in the hallway for a bit, ok” he said as he stood up. He kissed her on the cheek lightly and as he walked out he said “I’ll be right back.”

Yumi was left in the room, obviously confused. ‘What was that all about’ she thought. She shrugged it off after a few moments and went to the computer; she pulled up her iTunes and put on her headphones. ‘Cold would be good right now’ she thought. Cold always made her feel better; it was like someone shared the pain.

She was only seventeen

And forced to blame it on herself

As she hides away to tame the pain she feels

She was thrown into a scene

A drunken man without a will

And a God that makes mistakes and still pretends

She felt like they wrote this song just for her. The tears began to pour from her eyes and she just sat there, wallowing in the pain. She removed the headphones after a few minutes; she couldn’t take the vivid memories anymore. ‘Ulrich’s always been there for me’ she thought. ‘I don’t deserve such a wonderful person.’ The thoughts were so bittersweet, she loved him so much and she knew how much he loved her, but she was bewildered with guilt knowing she had no way to return his kindness. She hung her head in shame, finally giving in to the guilt. “Maybe he’s better of without me” she said quietly, the hot tears flowing from her sad eyes. After she had calmed herself down to the point where she could think clearly she crawled up into a ball on Ulrich’s bed. She took his pillow and buried her face in it, it was so cool against her hot cheeks and it smelled heavenly. She just laid there for a few minutes. She lost track of time as she let her mind wander.

Knock….. ‘I’m not here’ she thought. Knock…. “Busy” she said loudly.

“Yumi, it’s me. Can you unlock the door please” asked Ulrich.

She got up quickly and wiped the stray tears form her eyes. She brushed her shirt clean and ran her fingers through her hair; she knew she had to look terrible because she knew she felt terrible. “Just one minute” she said. She looked in the mirror to see how she looked. Good, she didn’t look as if she had been crying anymore. She opened the door to find not only Ulrich, but the rest of the gang including a smiling Sissy. A small smile formed on her face, “Hey guys, I thought we were gonna meet at the spot” she said.

“Yeah, we were but you know Ulrich being the nice guy that he is” said Odd as he caught Ulrich in a playful headlock and gave him a noogie, “He told us it would be a nice surprise if we hung out here for a while.” Aelita was smiling sweetly, holding Jeremy’s hand and a box of chocolates…..wait chocolates.

“What’s the candy for” asked Yumi. They were in a dark purple box and the words “CHOCOLATE” was printed in dripping red colors on the front.

“They’re actually for you” Aelita said, handing the box to Yumi. The entire group smiled as Sissy pulled out another box, this particular one was wrapped in traditional birthday wrappings. She handed it to Yumi as Ulrich led everyone into the room. He gave her a small kiss as he walked past.

Yumi unwrapped the gift to find a small box inside; she carefully lifted the top off the box to find a little music box. A huge smile appeared on her face as she lifted its lid. It played a cute Japanese nursery song, it was the same song her mother used to sing to her when she was a small child or when she needed to be comforted. “Oh my God” she said when the music stopped. “Thank you Sissy” she said, she pulled Sissy into a huge hug and smiled cheerfully. She led her into the room when she felt the hug had gone on long enough. “This was really sweet of you guys” she said, taking a seat next to Ulrich on her bed. Jeremy had seated himself in front of the computer, naturally, and Aelita was sitting on his lap. Odd was joined by Sissy on Ulrich’s bed. “What is all this about” she asked, the surprise still evident on her face.

“Well,” said Jeremy, “We were gonna meet at the spot like we said we would.” He motioned towards Ulrich, “But then Ulrich called us up and said you were feeling kinda down.”

Odd couldn’t resist the urge to get in his part of the story, “But when he called me up I said ‘Why don’t we get her something, that always cheers people up.’ So me and Sissy ran down to this store in town and bought you the flowers, and Sissy found that little music box on the shelf behind the counter.” Odd gave Sissy a playful hug and fell backwards, staring at the ceiling. “Sorry about the birthday wrapping, it was all we could find.”

A childish smile crept onto Yumi’s face when he said that, “You know Odd, it plays the song that my mother used to sing to me. It’s a Japanese lullaby.” Everyone just stared at her wide eyed.

“Is it really” asked Sissy. She couldn’t believe it; this was a weird coincidence to say the least. After a few minutes of playful laughter and childish jokes, Sissy spoke up again. “Um, you guys” she said, slightly embarrassed. She stood up so she could look at everyone at once. “I want to apologize for all the times I was nasty to you” she said sincerely. “Can you forgive me?”

Odd was the first to respond, “I do” he said standing up.

“Me to” said Aelita. She stood as well.

Jeremy stood up and took Aelita’s hand, “No point in holding a grudge” he said, outstretching his hand to shake hers. She grasped his hand and they shook confidently.

Yumi, on the other hand, stood up and gave her a welcoming hug. “It’s cool” she said. She took her seat next to Ulrich, and they all waited on him.

After a few short moments he stood up and took a deep breath, “I’m sorry for all the times I made fun of you” he said. Sissy looked shocked to hear Ulrich apologizing to her; she thought she’d be the one doing all the apologizing. “And I’m sorry for all those times I never gave you a chance.” He stretched his hand out and waited for her to return the gesture.

Sissy, in fact, pulled him into a tight hug, “Friends” she asked.

The corner of his mouth rose as he smiled tiredly, “Friends.”

“I don’t know Herb” Nicholas said worriedly. He looked down at the little piece of paper once more, mesmerized by the hurtful plan. How could Herb think of something so nasty, normally Sissy was in charge of that.

“What are you talking about, this is perfect” Herb retorted. They needed to be taught a lesson; no one stole Sissy from him. “Now, are you in or not” he asked, looking at Nicholas menacingly.

“I’m in I’m in.” He put his hands up defensively as though Herb would try to hit him.

“Now, all we’re missing is a little spy work.” Herb put his hands under his chin and began thinking deeply. “I’ve got it” he said suddenly, “I’ll follow Odd and Ulrich and you follow the other 3.”

“Hey, why do I have to follow 3 people and you only have to follow 2” Nicholas whined. He hadn’t done any real work all summer and the last thing he wanted was to start before school.

“Stop whining, now we’ve gotta go out for supplies later. I’ll call you then.” Herb got up from his seat and left the room, leaving Nicholas with his thoughts.

‘Man, why do I have to help him with this, it’s his problem’ Nicholas thought bitterly. ‘He’s lucky he’s my best friend or I wouldn’t be doing such mean things. He’s just mad that Sissy chose Odd.’ Nicholas stood up and walked to his bed, “I think a nap would be good right now” he said to no one in particular.

-------------------------------------------

“Come on Jeremy” Aelita pleaded. She was tugging desperately at his arm, trying to get him to move. “Look, everyone else is dancing.”

Jeremy wasn’t so thrilled about the idea of dancing, partly because he was a bit shy and partly because he simply hadn’t tried before. “Come on Aelita, I can’t dance” he said, praying that she could leave him be.

An eerie grin crept across Aelita’s face at this. She sat down next to Jeremy in the large booth. She edged closer to him, making sure he saw the alluring look in her eye. She wrapped her arms around him and looked at him timidly. “Please” she said sweetly.

‘That was a cheap shot and you know it’ Jeremy thought as he stood up. “Fine” he said in defeat, “but just one song.” He held up one finger to signify he was serious, hopefully Aelita thought he was.

Aelita smiled vibrantly and took him by the hand. She drug him into the crowd of people dancing to the upbeat electronic music, they could both hear Odd and Ulrich laughing hysterically over the music. They were all seated in one large booth with a single candle in the middle of the table.

Aelita began to move her hips and sway to the music; she seemed to know what she was doing. “Now just do what I’m doing” she said, trying desperately to be heard over the music.

Jeremy tried to match her movements, but sadly to no avail. His motions were off tempo and…..well….he just plain couldn’t dance. “Told you” he said to himself, slightly bitter about being drug onto the dance floor only to embarrass himself, he pushed the thought into the back of his mind and smiled at her, acting like he was having a good time. ‘You’re lucky I love you’ he thought.

After the music had stopped briefly Aelita headed for the table, she could see Jeremy following quickly and giggled a little bit. She turned around to face him and took him in a generous hug. “I’m sorry” she said, Aelita could see he didn’t have a good time out there.

“It’s fine” he said, hugging her back. After he let her go he took his seat in-between Ulrich and Aelita.

“Nice dancing Travolta” Odd said sarcastically. Sissy quickly slapped him on the back of the head at this, “Ow, what was that for, I was just joking” he said loudly, rubbing his head in pain.

“That wasn’t nice” Sissy said, scolding Odd like he was a small child. Ulrich and Jeremy both giggled at his embarrassment, only to be slapped by there significant others.

“You shouldn’t laugh at other people’s misfortune” Aelita said. She gave Sissy and Yumi both high fives as the boys just sat there, looking grumpy about being disciplined outside of school.

After a few minutes of silence Odd spoke up “Hey, they’re playing slow songs in a few minutes.” Everyone looked at him skeptically at this. The club was playing upbeat techno and here he was saying they were going to play slow songs. “No, I’m serious guys” he said defensively, “it says it right here.” He held up a little flier that he had picked up when he entered the building. “Here, it says techno/electronica from 9:00 to 10:30, then it’s slow songs until 12:00.”

“What’s after that” Sissy asked, trying to get a good look at the bright yellow flier.

“Um….oldies….does anyone want to stay for that” Odd asked. Everyone looked at him with a disgusted look and shook there head simultaneously. “I didn’t think so” he said in agreement.

“Does anyone want a drink or some food” Jeremy asked as he got up from his seat.

“I’ll have a Diet-Coke” Sissy said, raising her hand.

“Me to” Odd replied.

“I think we’re good” Yumi said, taking Ulrich’s hand in hers and setting it on her lap. She looked at Ulrich with eyes that hinted sadness, but it was buried deep from years of practice. ‘I really do want to trust him…..but why is it so hard’ she thought as she stared into his beautiful green eyes.

“Alright, I’ll be right back” Jeremy said as he walked quickly towards the small bar. It had a big menu of drinks and appetizers over the counter and there was a man in his early 20’s serving both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. “What’ll it be” he asked Jeremy without even looking at him.

“Um, I’ll take 2 Diet-Cokes and a Pepsi” Jeremy said. He got out his wallet and took a seat at one of the stools in front of the counter.

“It’ll be a minute buddy, I’ve got other orders to fill out” the barkeeper said. He shrugged his shoulder and continued with his work.

Jeremy must have sat there for 3 or 4 minutes, tapping his fingers on the cold wooden shelf in front of him, patiently waiting for his simple order to be filled. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, getting extremely bored, when he felt someone put there hand over his and slowly intertwine there fingers with his. “Oh, hi Ael….” He stopped when he realized it wasn’t Aelita holding his hand, but another girl who looked more or less a year younger then him.

“Hi cutie” said the young, red-haired girl. She smiled seductively at Jeremy, not taking her hand off of his. “Haven’t I seen you at Kadic?”

“You…might have” Jeremy said nervously, his throat went bone dry when he realized that Aelita could be watching. He tried to move, but his mind as well as his body was frozen, he just locked up.

The girl leaned into him, placing her lips dangerously close to his ear. “I’ve liked you for so long Jeremy” she whispered. “I always see you going into that pink haired girl’s room, but why can’t you come into mine” she asked sweetly. She positioned her head in front of Jeremy’s and just looked longingly into his eyes, “Beautiful eyes” she said, looking mesmerized. “By the way, I’m Nicole” she said as she placed her other hand in Jeremy’s lap and slowly leaned into him.

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“Oh my God” Yumi said in disbelief, she cupped her hands over her mouth and just stared at the scene that she knew the rest were witnessing as well. This attractive if not sexy young girl, putting her grimy hands all over Jeremy and kissing him like she owned him, Yumi closed her eyes and waited for what was sure to come next.

Tears welled up in her eyes, Aelita couldn’t bear to watch this unfold, but she didn’t dare turn away. ‘This can’t be happening’ she thought sadly. All the mixed emotions were too much for her to bear. Anger, jealousy, anguish, and worthlessness all found a way to meld together in her heart, and it was just too much. The tears ran surely and strongly as she stormed out the front door, waiting eagerly to wake from this twisted dream. Had she stayed another moment, she would have seen Jeremy push Nicole away and run towards the booth.

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Everyone glared angrily at Jeremy, looking at him with judgmental eyes. “Way to go Einstein” Odd said standing up. He walked away from the table, knocking Jeremy in the shoulder as he walked past. He went to a small corner in the back of the club. Sissy looked at Jeremy, she didn’t look angry, but like she was trying to figure something out. She followed Odd quickly; she didn’t want to be caught in the awkward situation.

Ulrich just shook his head and dropped his gaze to the table.

“No, you guys don’t understand” Jeremy pleaded. “I was just getting my drinks and this girl came up to me, I swear I didn’t do anything” he said in desperation.

“You let her kiss you, and it didn’t look like you were trying too hard to get away” Yumi retorted.

“I froze up ok; I didn’t know what to do.” He ran his hand through his blonde hair nervously as he looked around; he didn’t see which way Aelita had run off to. “You guys gotta believe me.” He looked desperate.

Ulrich thought for a moment, not looking at Jeremy as he pleaded for their help. He raised his head to face Jeremy, and then he looked at Yumi. He sighed loudly, “She ran outside” Ulrich said at last.

“Thank you” Jeremy said as he ran out of the club to go look for her, this would be a long night trying to find her in the city. As he ran around aimlessly searching for her, he hoped that she would be alright when he found her.

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“I can’t believe him” Odd said angrily as he slumped in the cool corner next to the air-conditioning.

“I’m sure it wasn’t his fault” Sissy said, taking a seat next to him. “Come on Odd” she said when she saw that his expression hadn’t changed. “We all make mistakes.” She curled up next to Odd and laid her head on his shoulder, “I’m sure it was just some girl who liked Jeremy.”

“You’re right” he said after a moment of thought. “Jeremy’s not like that, we all know he loves her.” Odd wrapped his arm around Sissy and pulled her closer, she was almost lying on him now.

“He loves her? He actually said that to her?” Sissy looked surprised at his statement.

“Yeah, we all know he loves her. That guy would die for her if given the chance” Odd said, half jokingly.

“Isn’t it a little weird for your friend to be in love with your cousin” Sissy asked.

“What…..Oh, no not really.” Odd had to think about what she had said for a minute, and then his brain kicked in.

“That’s good to know” Sissy said with a smile. “Odd….I know we’ve only being together for a few days now….but….I…I want you to know that I….” Sissy had to gather the courage to continue. “I think I…”

“ALRIGHT COUPLES, LET’S GET ON THE DANCE FLOOR” said the DJ loudly over the PA system. “IF THERE’S A SPECIAL SOMEONE THEN YOU BOTH BETTER GET YOUR BUTTS ON THE DANCE FLOOR. FIRST WE’RE PLAYING “I DIFFERENT KIND OF PAIN” BY THE RELATIVELY UNKNOWN BAND COLD, ENJOY.”

Sissy didn’t look happy to be interrupted by the annoying DJ. She sighed exhaustedly and hung her head a bit.

“What were you saying” Odd said, sounding clueless.

“Nothing never mind…..can we not dance? I kinda just want to sit here with you” she said, nestling against Odd.

Odd put his hand behind her head as the piano began playing over the speakers, he held her tightly as he kissed her soft, moist lips. The kiss was another brief one, but it didn’t matter that much to either of them, they knew how much it was worth. “Sure thing” he said, smiling and staring longingly into her eyes. He leaned into her and placed his hands on her upper thighs, taking in her wonderful scent, and remembering her luscious taste. He lost all sense of reality as he continued to kiss her passionately, and he let his body take him where it pleased.

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As the gentle piano and the sound of a soft ocean breeze played soothingly from the speakers, Ulrich took Yumi’s hand and stood up. “May I have this dance” he asked in a gentleman’s tone.

Yumi lifted herself from the table and kissed him on the lips briefly. “I’d be honored” she said sweetly. As they walked into the crowd, Yumi began to listen to the song; she always liked the vocals better then the instruments.

Before I let you go,

Give me just one more night to show you how I feel

Ulrich placed his hands around her hips and began to slow dance, swaying his body with hers. ‘She doesn’t know how lucky I am’ he thought. ‘I don’t deserve such a wonderful girl.’ He danced closer to her and she pressed her body against his.

I lost all my control

If it takes my whole damn life

I’ll make this up to you

“Ulrich” Yumi said, breaking the soothing silence between the two of them.

“Yes” he replied, continuing to dance slowly.

“What if my mom takes it the wrong way….what if she gets mad at me?” Yumi looked to the ground as she said this, the thought playing vividly in her mind.

Kinda like the waves

That roll there whole life towards somewhere

Crashing on the shore

Ulrich stopped dancing and bent down to position his face in her line of sight. “Look at me” he said, “she’s your mother, I’ve met her before, she’ll want to help just as much as I do.” Ulrich took her hands reassuringly and smiled at her, “I called someone today.”

Yumi’s mouth dropped as she stared at him, he actually got someone for her to talk to. She took him in a grateful hug and a single tear rolled down her pale cheek. “Thank you” she said excitedly. Finally, someone who knew what she was going through.

“You’re first visit is next month, I hope that’s not too much time” Ulrich said, looking concerned.

It’s blown in by the wind

That carry’s the clouds

To hide my wish on a fallen star

“No, that’s perfect Ulrich” she said, trying to sound strong. She brought him into another generous hug and held him like he was a savior. “I love you Ulrich” she said, trying, once again, to hold back the tears, both painful and happy.

A different kind of pain

Is someone there to hold you

Someone there to take you away from me

“I love you to” he said sweetly. He pulled her into a passionate kiss and he could care less if they were in the middle of a dance floor. He closed his eyes, and he could feel her warm breath on the bridge of his nose.

A different kind of pain

Is someone there to hold you

Someone there to take you away from me

She placed one hand on his cheek and one on his hip, loving every moment of it. ‘This si different then what you’re father did to you’ she thought to herself.

‘But what if this is the exact same thing?’

‘It’s not and you know it. Look at all he’s done for you over the past year and a half. How many nice things has he done from the kindness of his heart? You’re father didn’t love you, Ulrich does. It’s as simple as that.’

‘I wish I could believe that so easily.’

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I’ve looked everywhere she likes to hang out” Jeremy said to himself. He was breathing extremely hard and he was sweating profusely, a sweater might have not been the best choice for a summer wardrobe.

Then it hit him, “How did I not look there before” he said to himself, feeling so stupid. ‘Please be ok’ he pleaded in his head.

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“I thought he loved me” she cried. “Why did that girl have to ruin everything, I wish he would have told me he liked someone else.” She didn’t have anyone to talk to, but she needed to get it out of her system. The tears had died down by this time, but she still felt the same way. “Not even Yumi came to talk to me when she saw how broken down I was” she said to herself.

“I…..I’m not Yumi…..but I’ve got some things to say” Jeremy said showing up behind her. They were behind the club near the dumpsters and Jeremy still felt like an idiot for not looking for her.

“Well then start talking” Aelita said venomously. She stood up angrily and stood I front of Jeremy, waiting for his explanation, ‘this had better be good’ she thought.

“I’m so sorry Aelita” he said, taking a step closer to her. Aelita backed away, and Jeremy felt like even more of a terrible person. “This girl just came out of nowhere and started hitting on me, and I froze up like an idiot. I don’t like her, I’ve never even met her before, and I should have stopped her from kissing me. I’m so sorry, can you forgive me” he asked, not moving form his spot and looking into her eyes apologetically.

“You…..you don’t like her” Aelita asked, feeling perplexed. “And she just come out of nowhere and kissed you?” I thought all those terrible things about him, and there wasn’t even anything going on. Aelita sighed exasperatedly, “I forgive you” she said, a weak smile forming on her lips.

Jeremy smiled ecstatically to hear her say that. He took a seat against the wall and Aelita joined him. He took her hand and kissed it lightly, “I love you” he said, hoping she had fully forgiven him.

“…..I love you to” she said finally, giving him a teasing kiss on the edge of his nose. They both giggled at this, they could hear the DJ switching songs; this one had more of a slow techno vibe to it.

There’s something wrong with me

I think it’s starting to show

And I just can’t believe

That you pretend to not know

“Aelita…..can we just put this whole incident behind us” Jeremy asked timidly.

Aelita smiled at him tiredly, and kissed him once more, except this time on his lips. “What incident” she said as she pulled away.

Jeremy got a kick out of this and laughed slightly, trying not to laugh too hard at the lame joke. Her sense of humor had improved since she arrived on Earth, and it was definitely showing.

“Jeremy, do you want to do something tomorrow” Aelita asked.

“Like what” he replied. He turned his head to face her, he was feeling curious.

“Do you want to go to the arcade?” She shrugged her shoulders and waited for his answer.

“That’d be cool, I’ll pay don’t worry about it” he said dismissively.

“Thanks” Aelita whispered as she closed her eyes.

I’m perfect

You’re perfect

We’re perfect aren’t we baby

I’m perfect

Everything is perfect

So perfect, aren’t you

The soothing music and the cool breeze took its toll on Aelita. She had been crying so hard earlier that she didn’t have any energy left. She slowly slipped away and fell fast asleep, right there in Jeremy’s arms.

Jeremy giggled slightly and kissed her on her forehead. “Good night princess” he whispered. She smiled in her sleep and wrapped herself in a ball. ‘She looks so peaceful’ he thought, ‘I’ll wake sleeping beauty up later.’