Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko.

Chapter 1

Yumi looked out the window of the plane, flying over Italy. She sighed as she remembered that any money she had earned over the past two years would be gone. Oh, well, it was worth it. Something in the back of her mind told her she'd be hugging Ulrich too much to remember.

"Shut up," whispered Yumi quietly, going red.

Don't deny it.

"Watch me," murmured Yumi, but that didn't stop her from blushing more.

"Yumi, why are you talking to yourself?" asked her father.

"Oh, I-I'm just a little...homesick?" offered Yumi. Takeo Ishiyama shrugged and went back to talking with his wife.

That was close. Almost as close as you want to be with Ulrich.

Yumi started grinding her teeth as she looked back at the ground. If she didn't know it was just plain stupid, she'd throw her brain down there.

Ulrich sat down on his favorite tree in the park. No one would interrupt him here. That's because the only people who knew he was here were the rest of the gang, except for Yumi, and they respected the fact that this tree was his.

His heart thumped loudly when he recalled that Yumi was finally coming back from Japan today. Blood rushed to his face and he groaned. Why did he always think about her so much?

Because you like her, genius.

"No, I don't!" said Ulrich quietly, not feeling like arguing with himself.

You're right. It's because you love her.

Ulrich didn't say anything, but instead shot his fist at the tree he was sitting on, picturing it to be his conscience. It wasn't such a great idea. Ulrich cursed under his breath, trying not to feel his throbbing hand.

Odd sat in the courtyard, watching his friends. Jeremie and Aelita, having been together for a week, were making cow eyes at each other. Ulrich was staring up at the sky, like he was waiting for something to fall down on them. He saw Melanie pass by, and winked at her. She giggled.

"Yep, I've still got it," said Odd, satisfied.

"Huh?" asked Ulrich, coming back to Earth.

"What was that?" asked Jeremie and Aelita, snapping out of their dreamworld.

"Ugh, it's so hard being best buds only with people who are in love," said Odd dramatically.

"Hey, guys, what's up?"

"Yumi!" cheered the four, running up to crush her.

"O-Oxygen," gasped Yumi, pointing to her throat. The gang released her. Ulrich was the last to let go. "What did I miss?"

"In case you haven't figured it out, Mr. and Mrs. Einstein have made it official," said Odd, smiling.

"You're getting married?!" asked Yumi, looking at Jeremie and Aelita in awe.

"No!" said Aelita bashfully. "We're dating."

"You don't say!" said Yumi. "Congratulations."

Yumi looked back at Ulrich. He'd grown a few inches since she last saw him. Actually, he was a little bit taller than her!

"Yumi, a-are you okay?" asked Ulrich, noticing her staring at him.

"I'm fine," said Yumi, glancing at the concrete beneath her feet. "I'll fill you guys in on everything that happened later, but I've got something to take care of."

Ulrich watched her go until Odd poked him.

"Ulrich and I have some business to attend to as well, don't we?" said Odd. Ulrich nodded.

"Yeah, we'll catch you two later," said Ulrich. Jeremie and Aelita barely noticed.

"Azra," said Yumi.

"Thanks, Yumi," said Azra.

"No problem," replied Yumi, smiling. "Naomi."

"Finally!" said Naomi.

"Melanie," said Yumi. The list when on and on, where Yumi put twenty euros in each girls' hand.

"Sissi," said Yumi stiffly.

"Ishiyama," retorted Sissi. Yumi shoved the thirty euros in her hand. Sometimes, bribery was the best solution.

"Thanks for helping out Aelita, everyone," said Yumi. "I'm sure she appreciated it."

"We didn't think it would be so hard for her and Jeremie to get together," confessed Emily.

"But you did it, and that's what I payed you for," said Yumi, smirking. "I'll see you around."

"Alright, men, you did a swell job!" said Odd cheerfully.

"We couldn't have done it without you," added Ulrich.

"Enough chit chat, where's our money?" asked Thomas impatiently.

"Fine, here," said Odd, handing the banknotes out.

When Ulrich reached William, an uncomfortable silence dawned on them. Yumi was back, and their "truce" was over. William nodded curtly, and Ulrich moved on.

"Nice job," muttered Odd supportively. "I know that wasn't easy." Ulrich shrugged.

"It's been a blast, guys," said Ulrich. "Jeremie and Aelita have never been happier."

"Did you guys have to take a week to pay us?" asked Bastien.

"Hey, we aren't made of money!" said Odd. "I've got five sisters at home, and Ulrich's dad wasn't too eager to give him three advances on his allowance."

Aelita looked back at her boyfriend, her finger over the cellphone in her hand.

"Ready, Jeremie?" asked Aelita.

"Ready," said Jeremie, smiling.

"Okay, good luck," Aelita said, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll go meet the girls and make sure they know the plan."

"And I'll call up the guys," said Jeremie. "And then we'll each start Plan A."

Aelita nodded and left the room, dialing Yumi.

"Hey, Yumi, can you come visit me at Kadic?" asked Aelita. "I've got a date with Jeremie, and I need some help picking out an outfit."

"Okay, Aelita, I'll be right over," said Yumi, standing up from her sitting position on the bed and slipping on her boots.

Yumi pulled on a jacket and let her mom know where she was going, promising to be back in time for dinner. She took a shortcut to the academy, and ran into William.

"Oh, hey, Yumi!" William greeted her brightly. "It's good to see you back! How was Japan?"

"Fine, thanks," said Yumi shortly.

"Was it any fun?" asked William, blocking her way with his skateboard.

"Yeah, tons of fun," said Yumi. "Look, I gotta be somewhere, so if you could move--"

"Really? Where to?" asked William, grinning.

"Somewhere else!" said Yumi. William didn't budge.

Yumi turned on her heel and went in the other direction. William scratched his head in bewilderment as she took another route, wondering what he did wrong.

Yumi was really starting to wish William would bug off. She had had a small, tiny attraction to him at first, but she only talked to him now to make Ulrich jealous. Which was working pretty well. If it weren't for the fact that they kept fighting.

"Aelita?" asked Yumi, knocking on the door to Aelita's room.

"Come in!" chirped Aelita.

Yumi entered the room, and her heart sank. Ten girls occupied Aelita's dorm, all beaming rather mischievously at her.

"Aelita, what's going on?" asked Yumi, feeling uncomfortable under twenty eyes.

"Welcome to class," said Aelita, folding her arms. "You're about to be schooled."

"We know you've got a thing for Ulrich," said Naomi, smirking.

"And we want to help you out a little," said Heidi, shrugging.

"Give us just a bit of your time, and he'll be yours for life," said Jean.

"No. Way," said Yumi, shaking her head furiously. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Yumi, I know you payed for my lessons," said Aelita. "Let me return the favor!"

"How'd you know?" asked Yumi.

"Oh, it wasn't that hard to figure out," answered Aelita innocently. "Also, raising the wages for these girls had it's benefits."

"Aelita, you have no money," said Yumi pointedly. "How could you possibly pay them?"

"Can't we do something out of the goodness of our hearts?" asked Claire, offended.

"Not for under twenty euros!" replied Yumi darkly.

"Or for anything below a B in their classes," added Aelita smartly. "Tutoring can work, too."

"Brilliant," complimented Yumi. "But I'm not doing this."

"You know, as much as I hate to say it, Sissi is actually kind of pretty," said Camille. "And Ulrich is going to realize it eventually. Do you want that to happen?"

"Come on, Sissi is an airhead!" scoffed Yumi. "There's no way he'd ever fall for her!"

"You fell for him," said Azra. "That's what matters. And you want him."

"That's ridiculous," said Yumi, blushing.

"Sure," said Lola sarcastically. "You love Ulrich, you act the same way around him that Aelita does around Jeremie."

"And after going through their course, look how it ended up for me!" said Aelita.

"Ulrich and I are friends, that's all we'll ever be," said Yumi. "I appreciate you going to all this trouble, but you didn't have to."

"Yumi, trust me, I'm not an expert on relationships, but Ulrich has it bad for you," said Aelita. "He literally counted the seconds while you were in Japan. He got to 2,984 before Odd, Jeremie, and I had to slap him upside the head. Then we caught him doing it in secret."

"You're making that up," said Yumi firmly.

"Even if Ulrich wasn't totally infatuated with you, we can still help," said Emily. "Imagine, Mrs. Yumi Stern. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

Yumi's cheeks went red as she smiled. She did like the sound of that. Besides, what was the worst that could happen?

"Alright," Yumi agreed. "A few lessons, but that's it."

"Of course, of course," said Aelita, nodding. "Now, about Plan A..."

Yumi gulped as she went on. What had she just done?

"Jeremie, I'm here," said Ulrich, opening the door to Jeremie's room. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing," said Jeremie, turning around in his chair. "Just wanted to talk."

Ulrich's jaw hung down. Jeremie's former instructors, including Odd, had all joined him.

"What's happening?" asked Ulrich, frowning.

"It's time you and Yumi got together," said Odd. "She just got back from Japan, and she misses you like crazy."

"So?" asked Ulrich, blushing. "We're best friends, it's only natural!"

"Best friend or boyfriend, which would you prefer?" asked Jean-Baptiste.

"Well, I guess boyfriend," said Ulrich slowly.

"Please, you're in love with her," said Jeremie, chuckling. "I want to help you get Yumi just like you helped me."

"Jeremie, how are you going to get that much money?" asked Ulrich doubtfully.

"You know, a good grade in science can be just as powerful as twenty euros," said Jeremie slyly. "We're going to teach you everything you need to go out with Yumi."

"Hold on, who's to say she didn't meet someone in Japan?" asked Ulrich.

"Don't you think she'd have been going on and on about him when she was telling us about the trip?" asked Christophe.

"Point taken," said Ulrich. "She's probably glued to William right now, though."

"I wouldn't put money on that bet," said Theo, shrugging.

"Theo?" asked Ulrich, only noticing him just now. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help," said Theo. Ulrich looked back at Jeremie, who nodded.

Ulrich sighed. He'd been hopeful that Yumi would feel for him the way he did her since they met, and maybe taking these classes would let him achieve that. Just thinking about Yumi's beautiful, porcelain face made him go weak in the knees. And if Jeremie could cooperate with Theo, after everything that had happened between them, then he could let the guys give him a few tips.

"Fine, I'll do it," said Ulrich. He cracked a smile. "I am your humble student. Bring on the plans."

"With pleasure," said Jeremie evilly.