Aelita screamed and woke up. She was covered in sweat and shakily got out of bed. Every night now, the same girl was in all her dreams. Her joyful laugh and sweet voice still echoed through her head when the door flew open. “That’s the third time this week you’ve screamed, how can I get a good nights sleep with that?!” yelled an agitated and angry Sissi. “I’m sorry, I just…” “You know WHAT?! I don’t care! I’m going back to sleep, and if I hear you one more time… I’ll… I’ll… you’ll find out!” Sissi slammed the door and Aelita could just hear her stomping down the hallway and muttering to herself. She sat on her bed. The clock read 4:00 am. She knew she would never get back to sleep. Aelita lay on her back and gazed at the ceiling, wondering who the girl was, and why was she always visioning her.

“…And then a big, ugly beast dressed like Sissi came in a stole my socks!”

“You know, next time you have a dream, I’m not going to ask you what it was about.” sighed a bored Ulrich, who had obviously tried the shut Odd up the past 15 minutes.

“Hey guys, anything new lately?” asked Yumi as she arrived in the cafeteria for lunch. “Actually there is. Last night I had this dream and…” Odd’s voice was muffled when Ulrich put a firm hand over his mouth. Odd moaned complaints and tried to push his hand away, but failed and resorted to sitting there quietly and scowling at Ulrich. “I will take my hand away, if you promise to shut up” Odd rolled his eyes and nodded and Ulrich took his hand away. Aelita who was with Yumi, sat silently next to them, picking at her food. “Hey, Princess, anything on your mind?” asked Odd, who had noticed Aelita’s usual way of acting when upset. “It’s nothing, Odd. Don’t worry about me”.

“Well I don’t think it’s nothing” said Yumi. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I saw that girl again; you know the one I’ve been dreaming of? These visions have been becoming more persistent I think I should go to the hermitage, to see if I can find out where they are coming from”.

“Oh no, we’ve been through this before, Aelita. Every time you step foot in that place, bad things seem to happen. Maybe you should stay here, and see if the dreams go away”.

 “But I can’t Ulrich! Every time I have a vision, it last for longer and I feel that eventually I might never wake up from them!” cried Aelita, desperate to get her point of view out and for them to let her go to the Hermitage. She would hate to have to sneak out behind their back. “Maybe we should ask Jeremie, he seems to have all the answers.” Suggested Odd. And as if timed Jeremie came into the cafeteria. “Sorry I’m late guys, I was working on the antivirus and didn’t realise so much time had past. Hey Odd, could you pass me that sandwich, I’m starving!”

“MY SANDWICH!” cried Odd and hugged it to his chest til the mayonnaise started to squeeze out. Ulrich shook his head and Aelita started giggling. “Hey, I got a smile out of Ms. Depressive!” Jeremie looked at her concerned. “Is there something you want to talk about?”

“I’ve been having these dreams lately and I know they’re coming from the Hermitage and I wanted to go there to see if I can find some things out” She took a deep breath. She thought she would get it out all in one go. She squirmed under Jeremie’s scrutinizing gaze. She always felt uncomfortable when he looked at her; Aelita stared at her feet when she felt a blush coming. “I don’t think you should go, I mean, terrible events seem to happen there and…”

“I knew you wouldn’t let me! You are so stubborn and overprotective!” yelled Aelita. She felt tears in her eyes but didn’t bother to wipe them away. She just ran from the cafeteria and into her room. “Aelita, wait!” Jeremie called out. He put his head in his hands. “Sometimes, I wish she was still on Lyoko, at least she would be safer there”.

“Maybe you should go apologize? Aelita can’t stay angry at you forever” said Yumi. “I think your right. I’ll go now”. Jeremie walked off in the direction of Aelita’s room.

Aelita cried into her pillow. She let out all the emotions she had bottled up inside her over the past few weeks. She heard a knock on her door. “Go away!” she moaned and put the pillow over her head. “Aelita, it’s me! Can you let me in, I want to talk to you!” There was nothing for a few moments but then the door opened a bit. “What do you want?” Aelita asked, her voice cracked a little and her eyes were red. “Aelita, I’m sorry for what I said. I guess I am stubborn and overprotective, but I don’t want you do get hurt. I care for you Aelita, I care for you a lot” She opened the door a little wider. She could never stay angry at anyone, let alone Jeremie. She smiled at him “Do you want to come in?” He smiled back at her and she felt so elated and happy she completely forgot about the vision girl.