Chapter 1
"What are you talking about, Ulrich?" I asked in a confused, shocked, and angered shriek. "I've never liked Odd in that way!"
"Why should I believe you?" Ulrich concerned me in a disbelieved tone; also saddened.
"Why wouldn't you?" I screamed louder as I put my hands on my hips; I was staring straight into his eyes. He looked straight back but stayed silent; I sighed. "Odd is your best friend, plus he has been after that new girl, Julie-Ann." I paused and softened my look as well. "Have you ever seen me jealous when he was with other girls?" he stayed silent.
"People can change." He muttered simply, looking away from me. Anger overwhelmed my body and my expression changed also.
"And apparently you haven't!" I screamed louder and then turned away from him and started walking off.
-End of Flashback-
"Miss. Ishiyama, would you care to tell me what I just said?" my English teacher, Mr. Moreau, asked me with a stern look with the voice to match.
My mind snapped back to reality. I looked up to see the teacher with chalk in his left hand and his right hand was on his hip. "S-Sorry, Mr. Moreau. I wasn't paying attention." I apologized. I looked down at my paper.
"You should be." He replied as he turned back towards the board and continued to talk. "And Shakespeare was born in…" I continued to write notes on what the teacher was describing but I wasn't fully aware of what was going on.
When the bell rang, I jumped in my seat as everyone got up. I grabbed my bag and walked out. When I got out of the building, I saw William smiling as he got up off of leaning against the wall. I smiled weakly as we walked together.
"Are you okay?" William asked, after 30 seconds of silence. I stayed silent; not hearing what he had said. "Yumi, Yumi!" I snapped out of my mind.
"What-huh?" I asked turning towards him.
"I asked if you were okay, you don't seem like yourself." William said, worry showed on his face. After I had told him how he really felt about him, we had just turned into really good friends; like brother and sister in fact.
I just shook my head. "Ulrich and I got into a big fight again." I finally said as I sat down on a bench; my bag on the floor and my head in my hands. William sat next to me.
"What about?" he asked me.
I paused. "All of us, Jeremy, Aelita, Odd, and I, were in the park waiting for Ulrich to finally show up; he was getting dressed and we were going to hang out for a day of relaxing. As we were waiting, Odd was bumped by a girl and he landed in my arms. Ulrich had seen this and thought that Odd and I liked each other. When I ran after him, we argued." I stopped.
"Continue." William urged; I nodded.
"I-I said that I never felt anything for Odd and I never will. H-He said that people could change and I got angry and said that he hadn't." I said. I felt tears fall down my face, which never happened. William pulled me into a hug and I awkwardly put my arms around his neck and let the tears soak his shirt. He just patted my back.
I pulled away abruptly as we both heard a light gasp. I stood up and turned around quickly to see Odd and Ulrich standing there. Tears were still falling down; Odd's eyes widened, but Ulrich just stared at me.
We were all silent. "W-Why was William hugging you? I thought you two were good friends." Odd said. I turned away as I dried my tears.
"I was comforting her, she needed it." William answered for me. I sat back on the bench, my emotions leading me for the first time in years. Fresh tears replaced the ones that were whipped away.
"Is everything okay guys?" a voice I recognized as Aelita's asked. I stood up and grabbed my bag walked past them, making Ulrich fall to the ground when I bumped into him. "What did I say?" I heard her ask as I got out of view. "A-And w-was she crying?" I reached the bleachers and dropped my bag as I sat down.
-Ulrich's POV-
I watched her run off, tears streaming down her face. She had never cried before so I was shocked.
"What did I say?" Aelita asked, very innocently.
I shook my head. "It wasn't you Princess." I said softly.
"I told you that she was hurt after the argument. You should have listened to me." Odd said. I gave him a death glare and walked off starting to think to myself.
She was as angry as I was two days ago. How would her feelings change so fast? I thought to myself as I sat at the bottom of a tree. 'Have you ever seen me jealous when he was with other girls?' Her voice kept repeating in my head. I remember when I was hanging out with Emily Yumi had gotten jealous, despite her saying no to the fact. But when Sissi is around, she doesn't seem to care. I kept debating in my head. Whenever I'm with another girl, she overreacts… I thought. Then, I remember a talk I had with my mother after about a year after I had known Yumi.
-Flashback-
"Hi mom." I greeted as I answered my phone.
"Hello Darling. How is school?" my mom asked. I grunted.
"Same old, same old." I replied.
"What about soccer?" she asked me again.
"Better than my grades; you know that." I told her and we laughed a little. I had a better relationship with my mom than my dad.
"Any news about this Yumi, I have been hearing about?" she asked suddenly, I blushed at the thought of her name.
"I-uh-uh-" I kept stumbling.
"Haven't told her how you felt?" my mom asked knowingly.
"I-um-yeah." I finally answered, still blushing a little. It suddenly stopped as I thought why. "It's just that, I have no idea if she feels the same way. I don't want to make a fool of myself."
"How does she react around you?" my mom asked me. I seriously thought and then remembered the incident with Emily and what happened on Lyoko; I blushed again.
"Well, there was this one girl I was hanging around to get some space from my friends. When Yumi found out, she kind of overreacted. Yet when Sissi comes around and bugs me she doesn't seem to care." I explained. My mom stayed silent but after a couple seconds I could hear a smile grow onto her face.
"If I'm right, it's because she likes you." My mom said.
"So what?" I said confused.
"It's not 'so what'. She really likes you. She has a crush on you." My mom explained; I blushed. Before I could answer back, I saw Odd coming into the room. He smiled when he saw me blushing.
"I-uh- got to go Mom." I said stuttering again.
"Okay Darling. Sweet dreams." My mom said before hanging up. I closed my phone and put it on the side table besides my bed.
"Another talk about Yumi?" Odd guessed, smiling wider.
"Shut-up." I said, leaning back against my bed; my hands behind my neck. She loves me. I kept thinking.
-End of Flashback-
She loves me…that's why! I screamed in my head as I jumped from my position on the ground. I ran back to, hopefully, my friends were still there.
I got to the spot I had left them to see everyone there but William; they were talking, but it stopped when they saw me and my smiling face.
"What's got you so happy, Ulrich?" Aelita said while Odd was smiling a little.
"I just realized something. Yumi-" I was cut off but a bloodcurdling scream; I froze as the others jumped out of their seats. We all knew which scream that belonged to…Yumi.
-Yumi's POV-
I just sat on the bleachers letting my tears fall and my emotions let go for once. I didn't bother to look up because I didn't care if anyone saw me like this…not anymore.
Why would Ulrich say that to me? I thought to myself. I see the way he looks at me. I can tell he has feelings for me, I just now it. I thought of something my mom told me in one of our talks.
-Flashback-
I was in my room and my mom was sitting next to me. "I just don't understand mom. He looks at me the way you tell me, but he doesn't make the move." I had said.
My mom smiled at my frustration. She put a hand on my shoulder; my head looked up to her. "Boys have a hard way of showing their feelings. It's hard for them because they don't want to be rejected." She had told me. I nodded. "Now go to bed and think about what I said…it might help later." I nodded my head again as she got up and headed towards the door.
"Mom," I said, she looked at me with a smile. "thank-you." She nodded.
"Anytime sweetheart." My mom said.
-End of Flashback-
'…hard way of showing their feelings…they don't want to be rejected…' my mom's words echoed in my head over and over again like a tape, but then I realized…he cares about be, no wait, he loves me. That's why he is always so…what's the word, um, so him. He doesn't know what to say.
I heard a twig snap and my head snapped up as well. I looked up to expect William or even Ulrich or my other friends but instead I saw Jim. I whipped the tears away. "I'm sorry Jim; I just wanted to be alone. I'll move if you want." I said, starting to get up.
"No it's fine. I wanted to talk to you anyway." Jim's voice, mixed with darkness, said. My eyes widened as I looked at his eyes to see Xana's symbol in Jim's eyes.
"X-Xana, w-what do you want with me?" I asked kind of scared.
"Nothing that your friends will find out fast enough." Xana's voice said as Jim's lips turned into an evil grin. His arms grabbed me and I screamed like bloody murder before he electrocuted me…and everything went black.
-Ulrich's POV-
We were frozen from the scream; along with everyone else. I didn't bother to wait to see if it was a Xana attack; I wanted to see what had happened to Yumi. I ran as fast as I could only to see no one at the bleachers. I stopped, and stayed silent until my phone rang.
"Hello?" I answered.
"SOS Xana. I think it has something to do with what happened to Yumi." Jeremy's voice informed me.
"I'm on it. I'll meet you at the factory." I said before hanging up. I ran towards the factory, looking for any traces of Yumi.
-Yumi's POV-
I woke up find myself in a pair of arms. I opened my eyes to a crack to see Jim's red jacket and the inside of the factory. Wait, the factory? I thought that he'd want Aelita.
I bent my elbow and shoved it into 'Jim's' chest. His body fuzzed up as I dropped to the ground. I stood up immediately but Jim was already on his feet. I gulped in nervousness as I hoped that the others were on their way.
Jim lunged at me and I jumped out of the way; making Jim fall to the ground. I jumped on his head and jumped off of it , landing at the entrance of the factory.
"Grr." A growl escaped Jim's mouth as he grabbed my wrist and threw me into the elevator.
"Owww." I said while putting my head. Jim was getting closer to me and grabbed my shirt, picking my up off the ground and throwing me against a wall. I didn't get up because I didn't have the energy.
"Yumi!" a voice said. I looked up weakly to see Ulrich and the others standing at the bottom of the ropes. Ulrich ran over and tackled 'Jim' to the floor while Odd and Aelita helped me up.
"Are you okay?" Aelita asked, worryingly.
"Not really." I muttered as I rubbed my head. I looked up to see Ulrich and 'Jim' fighting. My eyes widened. "Get Aelita to Lyoko so she can get to the tower." They nodded. "Now!" They ran towards the elevator.
I ran to Ulrich's aid. I pushed 'Jim' to the side and grabbed Ulrich's hand. I rushed him to the elevator; we got it just before it closed. When we got in I fell on the floor, breathing hard. Everyone was looking at me and Ulrich. I looked down to see Ulrich and I still holding hands. He blushed but I couldn't concentrate. My vision was getting fuzy.
"Yumi?" Ulrich asked, worried. My name came out of his mouth slowly as I blacked out into his lap.
I began to get my senses back; first hearing.
"You just now realized that Ulrich?" Odd said, about to burst into laughing. "You couldn't tell that Yumi felt that way about you and not me?"
Suddenly, I felt something on my arms; a pair of hands. "I'd shut up if I were you Odd. If Yumi heard what you said a minute ago, she'd probably hurt you." Ulrich's voice said.
"Why did she blackout though?" Aelita asked; she was a little naïve about this sort of thing.
"If I know Yumi, she probably put up a fight when she noticed what Xana was doing. Then when she grabbed my hand and rushed us into elevator, which must have made her body very exhausted. Her mind was protecting itself." Ulrich explained. I realized I was able to open my eyes.
"She defiantly loves you Ulrich." Odd said.
"Shut up Odd!" I said weakly as I opened my eyes to see Ulrich was holding me. He was staring at me and I was staring back. I smiled and blushed a little
"What?" Odd said, trying not to laugh as I blushed in a deeper shade as the situation I was in. Usually I would smack Odd, but my body didn't want to move from its position. I had my eyes look around.
We were in the Supercomputer room; Jeremy was in the chair with Aelita in his lap. Odd was leaning against the thing that looked like a dome without the top that usually held a virtual image of Lyoko or Sector. I looked to see Ulrich and I were against the wall.
"What happened?" I asked; kind of confused. "What about the tower?"
"Umm. Yumi, we have already taken care of the tower. We were waiting for you to wake up so you weren't confused when we did a return to the past. You have been out for about 35 minutes." Jeremy informed me. My eyes widened as I lifted myself, reluctantly, from Ulrich's hold.
"Wow." I said, holding my head a little.
"Are you okay, Yumi?" Ulrich asked me as he put a hand on my shoulder. I smiled to myself.
I looked at him, still smiling. He stared into my eyes and I knew we had forgiven each other. I leaned in and closed the gap between our lips. He was shocked but kissed back.
I pulled away after a couple of seconds; blushing. I turned away as Odd started laughing. "What do you think?" I answered Ulrich's question; he was also blushing.
"I'm going to start a return to the past." Jeremy said. We nodded as we looked at each other our cheeks getting redder by the second. "Return to the past, now!" the white light enveloped us and sent us back in time.
-Earlier-
"Miss. Ishiyama, would you care to tell me what I just said?" my English teacher, Mr. Moreau, asked me with a stern look with the voice to match. I looked up and smiled.
"I'm sorry." I said. "I'll make sure I don't doze off again." The teacher looked shocked.
"Make sure you do." Mr. Moreau said as he turned back to the board only to have the bell ring. I stood up and William walked with me.
"You okay? You don't seem like yourself." William said, concerned. We walked outside; I saw Ulrich waiting by the lunch doors, he smiled and I blushed.
I turned to William, blush gone. "I'm great, just great." I said.
"Ulrich finally tell you how he felt?" William said, smiling a little at me. I blushed.
"You could say that." I said as I went to Ulrich.
"How was class?" Ulrich asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. "Better than before." I said as I hugged him. I saw William smiling at me, the respectful kind of smile.
"Come on love birds." Odd said as he reached us. I pulled away, blushing lightly. I turned towards Odd and hit his shoulder. "Ow." We all laughed, except Odd.
I took Ulrich's hand in mine. "Let's get lunch." I said.
"About time, too!" Odd said, we laughed again. "What I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry Odd." Aelita said.
"He has 4 stomachs, remember?" Jeremy said.
"Stop making fun of me!" Odd said in mock anger. I shook my head.
"Typical Odd." I said, Ulrich laughed at my humor.
When we finished our food, Ulrich and I walked out of the lunch room. We sat at our usual bench, sitting next to each other.
"I'm sorry about what I said. I should have believed you." Ulrich said. I smiled. I kissed him again.
I pulled away to see him blushing a little. "I forgive you." I said.
"I can tell." He said, I blushed as he took my hand and kiss me again.
-Unknown POV-
I watched Ulrich kiss Yumi and I flamed up. How dare she! I thought. No one dares steals my Ulrich. I thought for a minute. I will get my Ulrich dear back. No ifs ands or butts.
Just so all of you know; I'm going to redo this since I've gotten stuck. Sorry for the late notice but I've been very, very busy. I'm going to go off a different plot so…stay tuned!