Wednesday, June 12 – Jerlita prompt; Miscommunication

Following the gentle shuffle of slippers against the tile flooring, she turned the corner in the hallway. Slowing walking away from her, she recognized her mother immediately.

"Mom!" her voice echoed against the cold walls.

The blond woman turned to face her daughter, a smile adorning her gentle face. She reached a hand up and her daughter ran towards her, arms stretched in front of her. Just as she was about to reach her mother, to finally be in her arms again –

Aelita found herself sitting in her bed, suddenly much too awake. A long sigh blew through her lips as she ran a hand through her pink hair. She pulled her blanket off her body, which was covered in a light sheen of sweat. She blinked back the beginnings of tears, reminding herself that there was no point in crying. A glance at the red shine of her clock told her it was just after midnight.

I hope he's still awake… she thought. He's probably up working on that virus to destroy XANA.

She swung her legs off the side of her bed, slipping her feet into a pair of fluffy pink slippers. As she stood, she gave a quick glance to the photo on her desk. Aelita had been just a little girl when the photo was taken; she had a hand stretched out towards the camera and was in her mother's arms. Aelita couldn't help but to return to those times. She wanted more than anything to see her mother again. This was the third time that week she had been plagued with the same dream – being so close to her mother, but never actually making it to her.

She left her room and started down the stairs to the boys' floor. When she reached Jeremie's door, she turned the handle and poked her head in.

"Jer-"

Sitting on Jeremie's bed was Laura. Again. Aelita quickly closed the door and ran back up to her room, tears threatening to fall. When she reached her room, Aelita fell onto her bed and let her gentle sobbing rock her back to sleep.

Her alarm woke her the next morning in time for breakfast. After dressing herself for class, she walked into the bathroom and looked at her face in the mirror. There were dark circles under her eyes; she obviously hadn't slept well. The same nightmare had woken her two more times that night. Aelita let out a quick sigh and finished her morning routine.

When she arrived at breakfast, she saw Jeremie standing in line and felt a flutter in her chest and a warmth growing towards her cheeks. That all changed when she saw who he was standing with; Laura. Laura was laughing at something Jeremie had said. When her eyes caught Aelita, she threw the pinkette a contemptuous look. Jeremie had turned to follow Laura's gaze and saw the back of Aelita's head as she ran out of the cafeteria. Jeremie immediately dropped his tray and followed after her.

"Aelita!" he called as he stepped outside the cafeteria doors.

She didn't slow down. By the time Aelita had begun to slow, Jeremie was breathing heavily. He eventually caught up to her, and put his hand on her shoulder. She pulled quickly away from him and refused to face him.

"Aelita," his voice was soft and made her heart ache.

After a long pause, Aelita found the right words, "I thought that when you materialized me we had something special. I never thought I'd be so easily replaced."

"What are you talking about, Aelita?" Jeremie asked, oblivious to her jealousy.

"Laura," she spat, turning to face the blond boy. "You two are together all the time."

Jeremie looked confused for a moment, and then realized what she was saying.

"You think… you think Laura and I are… what? Together?"

Aelita simply scoffed and crossed her arms, glaring down at the ground. Jeremie would have laughed if she wasn't so angry. He found it ridiculous that she would think that he would ever love anyone else, ever even think about anyone else the way he thought about her. He took a step closer to the pinkette, and gently put a hand under her chin. Before Aelita could protest, Jeremie touched his lips gently to hers. She froze for a moment, then closed her eyes and deepened the kiss, bringing her arms around Jeremie's shoulders. Jeremie's hands hugged her waist, drawing her closer. After a moment, the two broke apart, staring into each other's' eyes. Aelita felt the redness of her cheeks, but she didn't mind.

"You have no reason to be jealous," Jeremie said softly. "The only girl I want to be with is you, Aelita. You mean the world to me."

Aelita smiled and buried her head in Jeremie's neck. After a few moments, the two walked back to the cafeteria, hand in hand.