Writers block has struck hard and fast on the Soft Thing Series. So I have decided to write this idea I've had bouncing around in my head for a while. Instead of InsecureJeremie, or HurtComfortJeremie, we get to see another Jéremíe, a shy, but confident one. This is just an excuse to write cute fluff. So, Fools of Our Selves.
Aelita Hopper.
I nearly had a heart attack when Jéremíe asked me to go to the dance with him. Though still only a few weeks on earth, I knew that he had squashed quite a bit of self doubt and shyness to even broach the subject. I, of course, had been hoping he would ask, so I accepted his invitation rather quickly.
For once, Kadic was having the dance off school grounds, and everyone in our group was bringing a date now that Jéremíe and I were going. Yumi and Ulrich had finally broken down and admitted how they felt, and Odd was bringing his fairly steady girlfriend Samantha.
Yumi and I had brought some of my stuff to her house, and her mother was going to drive us to the dance. Jéremíe and Ulrich would be walking downtown, and Odd was picking Samantha up.
Yumi and I were getting dressed now, in our respective colors. Where Yumi's dress was black and lacy, mine was pink and satiny, which was the earth material that I was most fond of. The dress fit snugly, but Yumi had helped me pick something modest. She told me that I would be quite the center of attention, and that I looked phenomenal, but I didn't care about anyone's attentions but Jéremíe. I twirled around the room, acting rather childish, but I didn't care. Today was going to be the best day ever.
Jéremíe Belpois.
We had an hour and a half, and Ulrich seemed determined to spend it complaining about the suit jacket he wore. If it wasn't too small, it was too brightly colored, and if it wasn't too long, the buttons didn't look right. I personally found Ulrich and Yumi's relationship to be too chaotic. Neither of them would truly care if the other looked perfect, but they were a pair of perfectionists. I glanced at my watch for the fourth time in ten minutes, silently willing the time to pass more quickly.
Though I had been ready for a while now, I went back to making sure that I looked presentable, not wanting to embarrass Aelita. I knew that she would look stunning. I hoped that I could begin to compare to the pink haired angel. I still found it strange that she had even accepted my invitation to the dance. She was very much the perfect girl, and I hoped to protect that. Finally, Ulrich decided to stop fussing with his jacket, and we prepared to leave. It wasn't quite time yet, but it would be soon. It was a bit of a hike to the club where the dance was being held, and the last thing that we wanted was to be late.
One Hour Later.
Ulrich and I stopped at the bridge, which had a pair of policemen at the entrance. Apparently they had a professional checking the cables for wear and tear, a routine inspection. Ulrich frowned at this setback, but the other bridge was somewhat further down the river. My hand went to my pocket to send a message to Aelita, but I found that I had forgotten my cell phone. The policemen had mentioned that the engineer would be done in about fifteen minutes, so Ulrich and I sat down to wait. He tried to send a message to Yumi, but his phone was running on a different provider, and he had no service.
Aelita Hopper.
Yumi and I arrived at the designated meeting point. Odd and Samantha were there, but no Ulrich and, more troubling for me at least, no Jéremíe. I opened my purse and checked my phone, but I had no messages. Neither did Yumi.
Yumi, looking rather crestfallen, held to the belief that they were on their way, and suggested that we go in ahead of them. Disappointed, we entered the dance hall. The lights were low, and coloured lights flickered across the room. Colored banners hung from the walls, and a loud bass beat permeated the area. The DJ sat on an elevated stage, and the floor was already crowded with people. For a few moments, I tried to follow my friends, but Odd and Samantha started to dance, and I lost them in the crowd. Yumi was pulled away from me by a gaggle of upperclassmen, leaving me alone.
I retreated to the side of the room, sitting down on a long bench. I waited there for a while, watching the door for any sign of Jéremíe. About twenty minutes passed, and I sighed, giving up. Suddenly, someone sat down next to me. I looked up in surprise, and was pleasantly surprised to see Jéremíe. Apparently, he had managed to get here after all. He looked extremely happy to see me, and I didn't even bother to ask where he had been. He told me anyway, but I forgave him immediately.
Neither of us had any particular interest in going out on the dance floor, and instead, we sat in silence. Every now and again, Jéremíe would move as if he was going to say something, but then he would sit back in his chair without saying anything.
It is entirely possible that we would have spent the evening staring awkwardly at each other, both too shy to make a move. However, the DJ announced that it was time for the "couples only" dance, and Jéremíe stuttered out an invitation. I accepted, and together, we made our way to the dance floor, blushing beet red. To our surprise, a slow song that I had composed for the Subdigitals came on, and we began to feel a little less awkward, dancing to my own music. Jéremíe proved to be a decent dancer, and I allowed him to lead. We danced past Ulrich and Yumi, and Odd and Samantha, but we only noticed them vaguely, our attention elsewhere. Now, we only cared about each other. We moved to the center of the dance floor, and for the first time, I allowed my emotions to get the better of my shyness, and I kissed Jéremíe square on the lips.
Jéremíe Belpois.
My brain imploded.
I had always prided myself on being smart, rational, and ruled by logic. All of that was swept away in this single, emotional moment.
Aelita, the girl that I was starting to realize was the love of my life, had just kissed me, and I would be darned if I was going to shut down.
Through sheer force of will, I broke the shock induced paralysis, and kissed her back. It was only after this that the two of us simultaneously realized where we were. I opened my eyes, and saw that we were surrounded by an expectant ring. They began to cheer, and Aelita freaked out. She broke the kiss, and ran, breaking through the ring. I stood, shocked for a moment, when the crowd roared at me to go after her. I took off running, hoping that she didn't hate me.
I found her sitting on a bench outside of the club, crying softly. I knew full well how embarrassed she must be, as only concern for her was stopping me from curling up in the corner of my room, and never coming back. I sat down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder.
"Aelita", I murmured, "it's okay."
"No, it's not." She sobbed, "We made fools out of ourselves."
"Well," I laughed, "if that's making a fool of myself; I need to make a fool of myself more often."
Aelita blushed a luminous red, but smiled. She seemed to have recovered from her embarrassment, though her cheeks were still flushed slightly.
In the light of the setting sun, we sat together. It was nice, and neither of us broke the companionable silence. Aelita scooted closer to me, and put her head on my shoulder. The sun had gone down, and I was sure that the dance was over, but neither of us wanted to ruin this moment. Finally, the moon began to rise. It was a full moon, and this was the first time that Aelita had been outside to see one. We continued to sit and stare, but finally, we stirred. I stood first, and linked arms with Aelita. We set out for the academy, when I leaned in and kissed Aelita again. This time, there were no interruptions. The air around us was slightly cold, which caused Aelita to shiver. I pulled her closer, still slightly unsure of myself.
Aelita Hopper.
I had recovered from my embarrassment, and Jéremíe was comforting and loving. We sat on the bench, beneath an apple tree. I could feel the uncertainty that we both radiated, but we were happy with each other. Finally, we stood, and arm in arm, began the walk back to the dorms. Then, Jéremíe kissed me. This came as a shock, but we were alone now, so I didn't let it bother me. I kissed him back, and for a while we stayed like this. The night air had a slightly cool touch to it, and I shivered. Jéremíe wrapped his arms loosely around my waist, bringing me closer to him, but I didn't care. In fact, I enjoyed his touch. He was warm, alive. I pulled him even closer, tentatively, due to unfamiliarity with how this world worked. He didn't seem to mind. We broke our kiss, but stayed wrapped in each other's arms for a while. Finally, we grudgingly parted ways, heading back to our respective dorms. After all, neither of us wanted to be caught outside of curfew. We had only walked a few paces, when Jim erupted from a side path.
"BELPOIS! STONES!" he roared "what are you two doing outside of curfew!"
Jéremíe blanched, and I jumped, feeling a bit guilty. However, Jéremíe marshalled his wits for an answer.
"Um," he stuttered, "we were making fools of ourselves."
"Well then the two of you can spend the next two days in lunch detention, scrubbing dishes. That will teach you to be home on time."
He pulled two slips of paper from his pocket, and wrote our KP assignments down. We waited till he was gone to compare them. We grinned. We would be on Kitchen Duty for the next two days, but at we would still be together.
"Jéremíe," I asked quietly, "will there be bubbles?"
I liked bubbles. They were not something that you saw on Lyoko, and their fragile and light nature had made them an earth substance that I enjoyed, at least after Yumi had taught me not to eat them.
Jéremíe, who had looked rather crestfallen until now, suddenly smiled.
"Yes, Aelita, there will be lots of bubbles."
He looked markedly more optimistic about this assignment, and he gave me a quick peck on the cheek, and took off for his dorm room.
Jéremíe Belpois.
As I ran, I wondered to myself. Aelita would act so serious about everything, and then pull a childish comment about bubbles, apparently out of thin air. This is part of what made her so lovable to me. I knew that with her, even Kitchen Duty would be a light, happy time in the beginning of what I now saw to be long years together.
I arrived at my dorm, and threw myself onto my bed, pulling a light blanket over myself, and lacing my fingers behind my head. Very little light filtered through the heavy curtains, and the only light source was the intermittent blinking of my monitor's power indicator flashing on and off. I yawned, and rolled over onto my side. I began to drop off, but my dreams would be good tonight, probably featuring a pink haired angel, one who loved me.
Love, I decided, was a very nice thing.
FIN.
This was fun to write, and is my first story for a couple days. The next chapter will contain bubbles, and childish wonder and excitement. I personally like to write Aelita as having a very childish streak, due to her lack of interaction in the world. Jéremíe, at least my Jéremíe, loves her all the same, though.