“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.