“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.