New Year's at Yumi's
A/N: I'm new here and am just now getting into the groove of things. I've done writing off and on for several years but I'm just now trying my hand at fan fiction. But why am I telling you this, since you're here for the story and not some author note. Anyway, constructive criticism is much appreciated. Enjoy!
It was New Year's Eve at Kadic Academy and snowflakes gently floated down from above, whisked to and fro by the light breeze, before settling lightly upon the frosted grass. The sun had set recently behind the horizon, leaving wisps of pink to intertwine with the steadily darkening blue sky. With most students gone for break, the campus was practically a ghost town. All except for five students who sat sprawled across a brunette and a blond and purple-haired boy's dorm room. Ulrich, the brown-haired co-owner sat upon his roommates bed, while said roommate, Odd, sat on the floor leaning against the bed. Kiwi, his dog, was curled up in Odd's lap panting happily as his owner scratched him behind the ears. Sitting on Ulrich's bed was a blond bespeckled boy who was blushing vividly, as was the pinkette sitting close to his side.
Odd laughed loudly, falling onto his side and sending a very disgruntled puppy across the floor. "Einstein, if you don't stop blushing, your face might stay that way forever!"
Behind him, Ulrich chuckled good-naturedly as he stood to retrieve Kiwi. A raven haired girl who had been sitting quietly in the desk chair spoke up while grinning, "Come on, Odd, leave Jeremie alone. Tormenting the resident genius wasn't the reason I asked you all to come here."
Odd stopped laughing enough to sit up and answered, "Yeah, speaking of that, why ARE we here?"
Ulrich smirked, responding wryly, "You'd be here sleeping anyways"
"Hey!"
"Children Please!" Yumi yelled exasperatedly. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Aelita quipped, "Carry on."
"Thank you" Yumi sighed dramatically, "I was wondering if you guys had any plans for tonight?"
"Well I haven't had any dinner yet and then I planned playing video games till the sun came up in the morning." Odd answered while rubbing his stomach.
"So nothing important," Yumi replied.
Odd huffed, mumbling under his breath, "Nobody values the importance of food."
Ulrich chuckled at his always hungry friend before answering, "I'm up for anything that beats staying here all night."
From their position on the bed, Jeremie and Aelita chorused, "Nope." They glanced at each other they quickly looked away, cheeks tinted red.
Yumi smiled brightly, spreading her arms wide, "Great! That means you're all coming to my New Year's party tonight!"
The rest of the room's occupants cheered loudly and stood up. Odd and Ulrich high fived on their way out the door. Jeremie smiled at Aelita, who in return gripped his hand, causing him to blush brightly. Aelita giggled as Jeremie led her out the door. Yumi stood up, chasing after her friends, "Guys, wait up, we have to make a quick stop at the grocery store!"
The gang exited the store, the sliding doors opened, the heat from the building giving way to the cold December air. Aelita shivered as the breeze met her petite frame, stealing from it a good deal of its warmth. She snuggled closer to Jeremie, causing a red tint to glow on his cheeks. He wrapped his arm around her frail body, pulling her closer. She buried her head in his shoulder, effectively hiding half her face from the cold. Yumi, who was walking slightly ahead along with the others, noticed the little display of affection and smirked over her shoulder at the couple. Jeremie blushed lightly while sticking his tongue out at her, as Aelita hugged to Jeremie, completely oblivious to the outside world.
Jeremie looked down at the girl in his arms, amazed that not so long ago she was trapped in a computer and he had willingly taken the challenge to free her from her prison. He never believed it could've paid off so much. He gently ran his fingers through her silky pink hair, relishing the feel of it against his frozen finger tips. He breathed, taking in her heady scent. Aelita lifted her head off his shoulder and looked into the endless depths of Jeremie's sapphire eyes. They shone with life and glistened with loving care. If she stared for too long, she would lose herself in those eyes. Not that that bothered her. She loved how, with the burden of X.A.N.A lifted from his shoulders, his eyes and face had regained much of the vibrancy that the fight had taken from him. She smiled up at him then glanced at the scenery surrounding them. Icecicles clung in clusters hanging from gutters on building roofs, while the crystal snow fluttered to the ground around them. Aelita loved winter. She loved the way the cold nipped at her nose and the way light glittered on the frost on windows and in the grass. She loved the way nature could appear so dormant yet so alive at the same time.
Aelita tore her gaze away to return her head to its previous position against Jeremie's shoulder. She spoke so only Jeremie could hear her, "Thank you."
Jeremie sent her a questioning gaze, "For what?"
"Everything. For allowing me to be here to experience all of this. For giving me the chance to live. Thank you."
Jeremie smiled softly, kissing the top of her head, "There's no need to thank me, Princess. I'm just happy to have you here with me."
Aelita smiled into his jacket. They finished the walk in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.
The gang arrived at Yumi's house and Odd was first to the door, yelling over his shoulder for everyone to hurry up. Yumi rolled her eyes as she unlocked the door. Odd burst through, making a mad dash for the kitchen, where he proceeded to tear open and devour a bag of chips. Ulrich raised an eyebrow and shook his head at his friend's antics while Aelita giggled as she dropped her jacket across the armrest. Yumi started setting out the food they had just bought as Odd walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch, bag in hand. Ulrich started helping Yumi, asking, "Where's the rest of your family at?"
Yumi answered as she finished preparing the dip, "My parents are at their own New Year's party with some friends and Hiroki is spending the night at Johnny's. So I have the entire house to myself, thus allowing me to throw this magnificent party."
Ulrich grinned, bumping her with his shoulder. Yumi glared playfully and bumped him back. From the living room, Odd whined, "What are we gonna do! I wanna play a game!"
Yumi called back, "Turn on the stereo and dance. I bet if you exercised a little you wouldn't be so scrawny!" She said the last part with a smirk toying at the edges of her lips. Ulrich stifled a laugh.
"I'm not scrawny! I'm svelte!"
Aelita laughed heartily as she skipped over the radio, tuning it to her favorite station. A mixture of new age pop and techno began blaring through the speakers. Aelita started to prance and twirl about, laughing cheerfully the entire time. Odd leapt up to join her, eventually bouncing his way into the kitchen to find a snack. Yumi and Ulrich exited a short time after and curled up on the couch together.
Jeremie smiled, watching Aelita enjoy herself, happy to see her having so much fun. Aelita noticed him sitting on the couch all by himself and walked over, tugging on his arm. "Come on Jeremie, dance with me!"
Jeremie hesitated, knowing he wasn't one for dancing, but he made the mistake of looking into her eyes. Jeremie's resolve crumbled as he stared into those imploring emerald orbs. Jeremie sighed and stood as Aelita cheered and drug him into the middle of the floor. A slow song came on and she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his chest, as he tentatively placed his hands on her hips. They slowly rocked to the music while Yumi and Ulrich cuddled on the couch and Odd switched between dancing and eating what was left of the slowly dwindling food supply.
As the clocked neared midnight, the four friends gathered in the living room migrated to the kitchen to retrieve Odd. Only to find him snoring loudly, face down in a bowl of chips, with his hand still gripping a chip stuck in the dip. The teens doubled over in laughter, their faces turning red. Aelita, still trying to recover, had the foresight to take a picture before waking him. Still laughing, Yumi went to the fridge to retrieve the sparkling grape juice while Ulrich tried to rouse his sleeping friend. Odd mumbled something incoherent and lifted his head out of the bowl. Ulrich fell to the ground, rolling around and laughing uncontrollably while Aelita had to cling to Jeremy who was bent over double. Odd's hair was disheveled and he had broken pieces of chips plastered all over his face with a whole one right in the middle of his forehead.
Ulrich gasped, "You look like you've had a rough night."
Yumi rolled her eyes as she poured the glasses, "Odd go get cleaned up so we can watch the ball drop."
Odd walked out of the kitchen, grumbling to himself. The rest of them filed into the living room with drinks in hand. They anxiously watched the timer tick down. Only a minute until the new year.
"Odd!" Ulrich yelled, "Hurry up or else you're gonna miss it!"
Thirty seconds
"Coming!"
Twenty seconds
Odd rushed into the kitchen grabbing his glass and running into the living room. Together they counted down.
Ten
Aelita intertwined her fingers with Jeremie's.
Nine
Ulrich wrapped his arm around Yumi's waist.
Eight
Odd took a sip of his drink.
Seven
Six
Five
They were all practically shouting now.
Four
Three
Aelita released Jeremie's hand and wrapped her arm around his neck.
Two
She drew their faces together till they were just inches apart.
"One" she whispered as she pressed her lips to his.
Jeremie froze initially but recovered in time to lean in and deepen the kiss. Her smell invaded his senses and clouded his mind. He slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. He couldn't tell if just seconds or an eternity passed as he withdrew from Aelita. He stared into her beautiful emerald eyes, a smile playing with his lips.
"Happy New Year Jeremie." Aelita whispered as she leaned in to kiss him again.
End
Leave your constructive criticism/ ideas or comments in either a review or you can PM me. Either works. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll start on my next story (probably another oneshot) shortly. Thanks for reading!
