"Aw, god damnit!" Ulrich Stern cursed out loud towards the night sky, which was heavily dotted with stars and angrily lashed out with his foot, kicking a stray stone and sending it straight into the trunk of a tree. Only for it to ricochet off the rough wood before zooming straight back towards the teen. Where it smacked him squarely in the jaw. He lost his footing and thudded onto the ground with a loud bone-jarring bam! "Son of a…!" He sat up and grabbed the rock and threw it back towards the tree, watching with satisfaction as it sailed right by said plant before thumping onto the grass behind it. "Stupid rock!" He halfheartedly wiped away a small trickle of blood away from the corner of his mouth and let himself fall back onto the ground. He sighed, seeing his breath appear for a brief second before fading in a white, whispy cloud of air. "I can't do anything right can I?"
~CL~ CL~ CL~
Yumi Ishiyama walked down the hallway with the rest of the gang beside her, they had just come back from checking Odd's and Ulrich's room, wanting to talk with the brunette. Only to find out he wasn't there, or anywhere else in the school. "Where do you think he could've gone?" asked Jeremie Belpois.
"Anywhere but here," replied Odd Della Robbia. At a first glance, you might've say that he was stupid, but in some cases the young blonde knew what he was talking about and the others nodded, knowing what he meant. Out of everybody, besides Yumi, he knew where the brunette liked to go and be alone and think to himself or to just even sit around and sulk in private.
"Alright… and 'here' would be…?" Aelita Stones trailed off, feeling a tad bit clueless.
"Anywhere," repeated Odd. "The Rec Room, the gym, the lunchroom,"
"The factory, the benches," continued Jeremie.
"Or the forest," finished Yumi. She suddenly came to a stop and stared at the others with wide eyes. They looked confused for a split second before realization hit them harder than a blast from an atomic bomb.
"The forest!"
"He must be there!" said Jeremie.
"It's the only place he goes to after he storms off," Odd continued.
"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Aelita.
"Let's go!" called Yumi. They raced down the hallway, coming to the front of the school in record time. They burst through the front doors. Just in time to see Ulrich thud onto the ground with a loud bam that made their teeth chatter.
"Ouch… That's gonna hurt," whispered Jeremie.
"Son of a…!" The others turned and watched as the brunette sat up with a growl and chucked the rock back at the tree, making it sail right by and thump onto the grass behind it. The brunette wiped something off his face before falling back onto the ground. "Stupid rock!" They slowly walked up to the brunette, who had not yet noticed them as he sighed. "I can't do anything right can I?"
~CL~ CL~ CL~
"That's not true," Ulrich craned his neck back against the grass to see his friends looking down at him. He snorted and rolled over onto his side. Deftly avoiding their gazes.
"Yes, it is and you all know it," Jeremie sighed at his stubborn teammate, shaking his head in doubt. He plopped down next to him in the grass.
"No, it's not so quit tellin' yourself that!" The brunette snorted.
"You can't tell me what I can't say to myself!" he stubbornly retorted. "Who are you my mother?" Odd rolled his eyes and sat on the brunette's side for his answer before Jeremie could give a reply. "Guh! Get off!"
"No, you need to get it through your thick head," He tapped on the side of Ulrich's head with his knuckles. "And see that you can get things right. Well… most of the time," The brunette muttered something under his breath before sitting up, dumping the startled blonde onto the ground. Or rather onto Jeremie.
"And can't you get it through your thick head and see that I. Don't. Care!" He stood up and began to walk away when something suddenly tugged on his sleeve. Or rather two somethings. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Aelita and Yumi gripping the back of his jacket sleeve with sad expressions. He rolled his eyes and shook them off. Or tried too but saw that they held a firm grip. With a small growl he hung his head and pounded a fist against his forehead.
"You know that isn't true," said Aelita.
"Yes! It is! Quit saying that because you know it is true!" growled Ulrich. "How many times do I have to tell you guys!"
"You don't have to tell us because it. Isn't. True!" said Yumi. "How many times do we have to tell you?!" Ulrich just snorted and ripped his arm away from the two girls. He walked away from them, deeper into the forest.
"Where are you going?" asked Jeremie.
"Far, far, far, far away from all of you!" hollered the brunette, disappearing swiftly into the shadows. The genius sighed, leaning back on his hands.
"Should've expected that," Odd glared at the spot where his best friend had just been standing and stood up.
"Are you going to follow him?" He turned his head to see Yumi and Aelita looking over at him. He nodded.
"Yup," he confirmed. "And I'm to keep following him until I finally pound some sense into that thick lump he calls a head!" Both girls cracked a small smile as Jeremie stood up.
"Alright then… let' go after him before he does something stupid," he said brushing grass off his blue turtleneck.
"Knowing him… he probably already did," said Yumi.
~CL~ CL~ CL~
Ulrich angrily kicked a rock, making it fly into a boulder. It bounced off and ricocheted back towards him. Learning from his mistake last time, he sidestepped and cracked a slight smile, hearing the soft clack of stone against stone. He continued onward, feeling stray blades of grass brush up against the material of his black sneakers. The wind blew around him, ruffling his green jacket and black t-shirt and making his hair whip and fly into his face. The scents of wet earth, fresh scentless air, and wet leaves invaded his senses. A small smile formed on his lips. He felt a little better but his anger and depression still stuck to him. Sticking closely to his soul like the unruly strands of a sticky cobweb. He sighed, settling onto a nearby boulder. Nestling down into a comfortably cross-legged position, he looked up, seeing the small dots of the stars gleaming sadly in the sky.
~CL~ CL~ CL~
Odd stepped over a thick tree root and growled, yanking a clump of leaves off the sleeve of his purple hooded sweatshirt. He threw them down towards the ground before plucking a twig from his hair. "Argh! I freaking hate nature!" Aelita stepped over small patch of newly sprouted clovers and looked over at him.
"Then why are walking through the forest?"
"To find Ulrich and knock some sense into that thing he calls a head!" Yumi rolled her eyes, climbing lightly over a moss-covered tree stump, feeling the rough bark brush against her clothes. Feeling a sharp piece of twig tug lightly on the sleeve of her black cardigan. She pulled the fabric loose before brushing a speck of dirt off the bottom of her red t-shirt. "He's always gotta be difficult! Hmph! Always running away from his problems instead of facing them. Always makin' excuses," Odd rambled darkly.
"To be fair, he's got a fairly good reason," Yumi said softly. Jeremie looked towards her, wiping his glasses off on his sweater, his eyes telling her to continue. "He's upset about what happened in Lyoko earlier, what with Xana throwing him into the digital sea and everything…" she paused, taking a quick breath before continuing as Aelita glanced over at her, curiosity gleaming in her soft emerald orbs. "His father's also been on his case, hassling him about his grades and saying how poor they were and how he could do better," She softly kicked a rock away from her, hearing it clack softly against another stone. "I even overheard his father on the phone earlier, discussing about how he might end up disowning Ulrich and leaving him in the care of Jim, Mr. Delmas, or at a nearby orphanage," Jeremie's eyes widened and Aelita gasped.
"H-He can't do that!... C-Can he?" she shakily asked. Her raven haired friend nodded and a sob choked at the back of the pinkette's throat. "Oh no…" Odd felt tears trickling out from the corner of his eyes and he quickly wiped them away, sniffling softly afterwards. He rubbed his nose against the sleeve of his shirt.
"We better find Ulrich and try to reason with him," he whispered. "This has probably gotten under his skin and has made him irritable," He picked his way around a stump. He suddenly stopped and held his head up high. The others stopped to stare at him. "We need to let him know that we're here for him, tell him that we'll right at his side, and help him get through whatever decides to happen," He flashed a smile at the others. "After all, we are warriors right?" They nodded, smiles lighting up their own features. The blonde's words bringing them out of the eternal abyss of darkness. "Warriors… Best friends don't leave one another behind when they're in need of help or comfort," He jumped on top of the stump next to him and pounded a fist against his chest. "And right now… Ulrich's hurting. So it's up to us to come to the rescue and help out of the pit of despair. So enough talking!" He jumped off the stump quicker than he had jumped onto it. "Let's go find him and show him that he still has people that care about him!" The others nodded pumped their fists in the air, smiles lighting up their faces. "Alright then, let's go find him! Our best friend is hurting so let's go cheer him up!"
~CL~ CL~ CL~
Ulrich miserably tossed a rock into the small stream that snaked underneath him from he sat perched, cross-legged on top of a large outpointing rock, with the tip slightly hanging over the edge. The soft gurgles and pops of the water soothed his nerves a bit but it didn't completely, not even partially take away the pain growing in his chest. He looked up at the sky, seeing the stars gleam softly and coldly from where they hovered millions of miles away. Making them look like little diamonds that were embedded in the darkest, most finest woven tapestry of pitch black silk. He looked back down at the stream and tossed in another rock, hearing a small sploosh! He closed his eyes, feeling an imaginary beat begin to pound at the back of his head. He softly began to sing.
I dreamed I was missing, you were so scared
But no one would listen
'Cause no one else cared
After my dreaming
I woke with this fear
What am I leaving
When I'm done here?
So if you're asking me I want you to know
His friends quietly exited out of the grove of trees and brushed the leaves and twigs from their clothes. They looked back up to see Ulrich with his back to them, still singing softly to himself. But was somehow singing loudly enough for them to hear.
When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some reason to be missed
Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest
Odd walked up from behind and stood near the brunette's right, putting a hand on his shoulder to let him know that he was here. He glanced up at him before looking back towards the stream.
Don't be afraid
I've taken my beating
I've shared what I made
The others came up and surrounded him, gently placing their own hands on his shoulders. And he silently held back the tears that threatened to fall as he continued.
I'm strong on the surface
Not all the way through
I've never been perfect
A picture of his father flashed through Ulrich's head and he shook his head, feeling his friend's grips tighten a smidgen on his jacket. Knowing they were trying to comfort him.
But neither have you
So if you're asking me I want you to know
Odd sat down next to him and softly added his voice to his friends.
Ulrich & Odd:
When my time comes
Forget the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some reason to be missed
Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest
Yumi sat on Ulrich's other side and gently wrapped her arm around his shoulders. Aelita hugged the brunette from behind as Jeremie sat on Odd's other side, draping his arm across his fellow blonde's shoulders in a brotherly way. Ulrich's voice suddenly cracked and a tear slid down his cheek.
Ulrich:
Forgetting all the hurt inside you've learned to hide so well
Pretending someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are
Yumi, Aelita, Odd, and Jeremie joined in and added their voices to his, wrapping their arms around him in a hug.
All:
When me time comes
Forget all the wrong that I've done
Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed
Ulrich sang alone again.
Ulrich:
Don't resent me
And when you're feeling empty
Keep me in your memory
Leave out all the rest
Leave out all the rest
The others softly joined in on the last verse.
All:
Forgetting all the hurt inside you've learned to hide so well
Pretending someone else can come and save me from myself
I can't be who you are
Ulrich sang alone once more, his voice cracking.
Ulrich:
I can't be who you are