Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko.
XXX
Yumi's parents were arguing again last night. They're never very loud about it; that's not their style. It could just have been a hushed conversation, except that Yumi can tell from the tone of their voice and the terseness in the air that it's an argument.
This morning she can't seem to pay attention to anything. William pokes her in the shoulder during math. "Hey," he says. "Didn't you get any sleep last night?"
Except he whispers it, of course. She's been staring out the window and jumps a bit at his voice. "Not really," she sighs. "My parents were at it again."
William leans in a bit closer. In the background, Mr. Weber is explaining something about square roots and getting carried away with his piece of white chalk. "Yelling, huh?" William asks softly from her right.
"No." It surprises her a bit, that that's what he thinks her parents are like. "No, they're always really quiet. But I know they're arguing."
"You just stay awake and listen to them?" he breathes. His shoulder is just barely touching hers. It's making her a little uncomfortable, so she begins copying down the problem on the board. The truth is, Yumi doesn't know if she likes William. She likes being friends with him. But every so often he'll say things that just make her feel awkward, or he'll do something that he probably thinks is like putting a move on her. She doesn't want that. She doesn't want to be fought over.
Maybe William senses her discomfort, because he pulls away, albeit with a little smile. Yumi tries to focus on Mr. Weber, but ends up sneaking a glance at William's notes. He's drawn a little cartoon of her in the margin of her paper. She wants to laugh. He's surprisingly good at art. Really, he's her type of person: they like the same music, the same books and movies. If only he'd stop trying to hook up with her…
The bell rings and he touches her shoulder. "See you tomorrow?" he says hopefully, shouldering his books. Yumi smiles up at him. "Sure," she answers, then turns away to put her things in her bag, blushing a little.
XXX
The whole gang is waiting for her when she walks out of the building: Jeremie fixing his glasses and talking distractedly to Odd, Aelita laughing at something one of them said, Ulrich watching her as he counts change from his pocket. "Hey, guys," Yumi greets them. Odd salutes her jokingly and Aelita waves hello. She loves hanging out with her friends, no matter what they're doing. And yet—she can feel Ulrich staring at her back as they walk in secret toward the factory.
What is he thinking? She wonders.
XXX
"Okay," Jeremie says as they gather around him. "We'll just do some routine exploration of Sector Five, nothing major. I want to see if we can discover any information about the antivirus. Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita, I'll scan you in a minute. Yumi, stay up here for now. If someone gets devirtualized, I'll send you to Lyoko in their place. Got it?" He pushes his glassed further up his nose, and Yumi glances at him, amused what a good leader he's becoming. She remembers the shy, geeky Jeremie Belpois she used to pass in the halls before she knew him. He's changed a lot. They all have.
On the screen, Yumi watches as her friends are transported to Lyoko, landing in the forest region. "I'm calling up the Transport Orb," Jeremie announces as he types SCIPIO with precision. He leans back, smiling.
"Yumi, I've got to ask you something," he mutters so the others can't hear. "It's about William."
She puts her hands on her hips and scowls lightly at him. Is it so strange that she'd want another friend outside of the group? Someone her age, that she could talk to about normal things? "What about him?" she asks impatiently.
"I haven't talked to the others yet about this. Mostly because—well, Ulrich—"
"Doesn't like William?"
Jeremie hesitates. "Well, yeah. But XANA is getting stronger, whether we like it or not. That's why I was wondering if—if you would ask William to join the group."
"What?" This was definitely not what she was expecting. Instantly, Yumi replied, "No. William's too unreliable. Jeremie, I just don't think that's a good idea."
"We need another Lyoko warrior," he counters logically, as usual. "It's okay. Just think about it, please, Yumi."
"All right."
On Lyoko, Ulrich yells, "Jeremie! Are you paying attention?"
They both giggle at his indignant voice, and Yumi softens. Jeremie turns back to the computer to give instructions on finding the key, and Yumi tunes out, thinking again of William, Hiroki, her parents, her friends.