“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.