This story was inspired this morning from a song I heard in the car while driving to school. Points if you can guess the song! Enjoy.
Odd smiled to himself, looking about the mass of people that filled the gym. It may have taken a lot of hard work, but here he was, finally graduating for Kadic Boarding School. With a grin the blonde fought his way through the herd of people in search of his friends.
"Odd!" a familiar voice shouted, getting his attention. Odd turned to see Ulrich heading this way, Aelita in tow. "Odd, come with us into town!"
"Why?" Odd asked, greeting both his friends with quick hugs.
"Because we" Ulrich said, motioning between himself and Aelita, "and Jeremy and Sissi are going to meet Yumi and William and go eat and hang out for awhile. Want to come?" Ulrich had to shout to be heard over the crowd of students.
"I'd love to," Odd shouted back. "But I have to pack, remember? My plane leaves in two hours." Ulrich gave a disappointed sigh, but didn't press the issue.
"Alright, do you want me to tell Yumi and William hello for you?"
"If you could," Odd said, giving his friends a thankful smile. Ulrich nodded, and then proceeded to pull Odd into a crushing hug.
"Have fun in…where are you going again?" he asked once he released the blonde.
"Germany," Odd told him. "And then Australia."
"Right," Ulrich said, committing the information to memory. "Well, where ever you are, make sure you write. I expect postcards. And don't forget, Yumi and I will be living just down the street from here, so you can always come and visit."
"I know, I know," Odd said, smiling. "You've only told me what? Twenty times?"
"Shut up," Ulrich said, giving the smaller boy one last hug. He then disappeared back into the crowd. Odd watched him go, then suddenly realized something. Ulrich had left something behind when he left.
"Aelita?" Odd asked, turning to the girl. She was staring at him with a rather blank expression. "Uh, are you okay?"
"You're leaving?" Aelita asked quietly. She then had to repeat herself, the question being swallowed by the crowd's noise. Odd paused a moment, then nodded.
"Yeah, I thought you knew." Aelita shook her head.
"Oh. Well, yeah, I'm…" Odd trailed off, looking around the still crowded graduation area. "You know, maybe we should go somewhere a little quieter." Aelita agreed, so Odd took her hand and lead her through the masses and out of the crowded gym. The pair then walked a ways in silence, until they reached the edge of the tree line surrounding part of the school grounds.
"Okay," Odd said, looking down at the grass.
"So, you're leaving?" Aelita prompted. Odd nodded.
"Yeah. I meant to tell you about it. Since I haven't really decided on what I want to do with my life, I figured I could just try traveling for a while, see what inspiration I get. Actually, I was going to ask you if maybe you wanted to go with me…"
"Me?" Aelita asked, a little taken aback. She immediately found a little voice in her head telling her to go for it, say yes. But instead she asked, "Why? Why me, why not someone like Ulrich?"
"I, uh…well, Ulrich already has his plans with Yumi," Odd said, only partially answering the question. The other part, well, he just didn't feel this was the time to burst out with an 'I love you'.
"I'm sorry, I can't. And not because I don't want to," she added hastily when she caught sight of Odd's badly hidden disappointment. "It's just, I already have plans for that school in Paris." This was true, Aelita did have plans for another school in Paris, an arts academy she'd been looking at for a while now. And Odd realized he couldn't drag her away from that.
"I understand," he said, giving her a small smile. "Well, maybe I'll see you around then?" Odd would have then just walked away, but something he hadn't been expecting grabbed a hold of him, and he did something neither teen was expecting.
Odd leaned forward, planting a light kiss on Aelita's lips. He then realized what he was doing and pulled back in shock before scurrying away. He didn't wait to see how Aelita would react to his impromptu kiss.
And so he missed the look of surprise that graced Aelita's features as she reached up and brushed her fingers against her lips. And he missed the small blush and happy smile that followed.
Odd sat on his hotel bed, staring out over the city of New York. He had come here after spending about a month in the English countryside, trying to work up the courage to visit Aelita. But he had recently decided that after not seeing or hearing from her in almost eight months, it was better to leave her be.
And so, in hopes of knocking thoughts of the pink haired girl from his mind, Odd decided a radical change in scenery was necessary. But to his through disappointment, Odd found that the move did little to free his mind of the girl that kept it tangled.
Letting himself flop back into the sheets, Odd decided that maybe all he needed to rid himself of these thoughts was a good night's rest. And so he kicked off his shoes, curled up under his blankets, and shut his eyes, letting himself relax into the plush hotel bed.
Ten minutes later he sat back up again, letting out a breathy sigh. This sleep thing wasn't working out like he had planned. So Odd decided to try something else. With yet another sigh, he climbed out of his bed and moved over to the window across his room. There he leaned against the cool window sill, looking out over the bright lights of the city at night.
But even as Odd tried to use this view to clear his mind, he couldn't help but think of how the lights in the windows reminded him of the way Aelita's eyes sparkled. It was at this moment that Odd realized that getting Aelita of his mind wasn't the problem. It was figuring out how to get her in his arms.
And with that thought in mind, Odd quickly gathered up his already packed bags, and hurried out of his room.
Aelita sat alone in her dorm room, having a problem similar to the man she was thinking about. Aelita had spent a lot of time after her kiss from Odd thinking about how this made her feel, and what it meant between them. She had never really thought of Odd as someone more than just a friend before that.
But after months of contemplation, Aelita was beginning to think that maybe that was no longer the way it was. And after a little more time thinking, Aelita had decided she liked that idea. Her and Odd? It worked for her. But now that she had accepted this thought, she discovered a problem. She had no idea where to find Odd.
Aelita sighed unhappily, lounging back against her bed. She thrummed absently as the guitar in her hands as she thought over this new issue of hers. 'Maybe someone else knows where he is,' she thought, turning to look out her window. 'But who?'
As she tried to come up with someone who could be tracking Odd's whereabouts, Aelita stood up and made her way over to the window, looking out over Paris. As she looked over the different lights twinkling in the night, she found that they reminded her of Odd. An Odd who she was deciding she couldn't live without.
And so Aelita decided she would just have to go find him and tell him this herself. And she knew just who to ask for directions. Aelita just hoped that after eight months of nothing from her, Odd hadn't already moved on.
Ulrich was sitting on his couch, absently flicking through the channels on his T.V. when he heard his doorbell ring. It rang three times before Ulrich decided he'd better go answer it. And so with a disgruntled mumbling, Ulrich climbed out of his couch and went to answer the door, deciding that anyone who wanted to show up at this late hour had better be pretty important. Thankfully this person was important.
"Hey Aelita, what are you doing here?" Ulrich asked, giving the pink haired girl a hug.
"Hi Ulrich," Aelita said. "I actually just came over to ask you something. You…um, well, you wouldn't happen to know where Odd is by any chance, would you?" She then found herself blushing and turned to look down. Because of this, she missed the grin that flashed across Ulrich's face.
"I do, actually," Ulrich said, regaining his friend's attention. "Last I heard, he was leaving for New York."
"Oh," Aelita said, slightly put out. She had been hoping he was somewhere a little closer. She didn't exactly have the money to fly herself to New York right now. "Well, thank you Ulrich," she said, giving the boy a quick hug and turning away from his house.
"Hey, do you want to come in, stay for a while?" Ulrich asked, surprised by Aelita's quick retreat.
"No, maybe another time though," Aelita said, giving a little wave. Ulrich then watched as she walked away from his home and off down the street. He then went back in his house, shutting his door behind him.
"That was…weird," he muttered to himself, returning to his place on the couch just as Yumi popped her head around the corner.
"Who was at the door?" she asked curiously.
"Aelita," Ulrich said with a grin, "she wanted to know where Odd was."
"Did she now?" Yumi said, dropping onto the open couch cushion next to Ulrich. "Didn't I tell you they would be after each other?"
"Yeah, and didn't you think it would be Odd who made the first move?" Just as Ulrich finished his question, the doorbell rang again.
"Looks like Aelita's back," Yumi said, smiling at Ulrich. "You'd better go get it."
"I'm going, I'm going," Ulrich grumbled, heading back over to the door. He pulled it open, prepared to greet Aelita, when he got a little shock. It wasn't the expected pink haired girl on the other side of the door, but Odd.
"Hi Ulrich," Odd said, giving a sheepish grin. "Sorry to be dropping in on you like this, but I was just curious, you wouldn't happen to know where Aelita is by any chance, would you? I tried her school, but she wasn't there."
"Uh, actually she just went that way," Ulrich said, pointing down the side walk. "She was just here looking for you."
"Really?" Odd asked, looking down the side walk. Ulrich nodded. "Cool, thanks," Odd said, then he disappeared down the street, leaving Ulrich alone in his doorway. With a shake of his head the boy shut the door and returned to his couch, and Yumi.
"Was that…Odd at the door?" Yumi asked once Ulrich rejoined her. Ulrich nodded.
"Yes, that was very odd."
Aelita wandered her was along the sidewalk, not really paying any attention to where she was going. After a bit of meandering about, Aelita was surprised to find that her legs had carried her back to where her feeling for Odd had begun, Kadic.
Deciding she had nothing better to do, she made her way onto the school grounds, again letting her feet lead the way. Aelita found they took her straight to where she and Odd had shared their first kiss. With a small smile Aelita moved over to where she had been standing during the kiss. She then closed her eyes, and whispered, "Odd, I love you."
"I love you too."
Aelita jumped, her eyes snapping open. They were met with the sight Odd standing in front of her. He gave her a little smile when he caught her eye.
"Hi Aelita," he said, shuffling his foot nervously. "I think we need to talk."
Aelita seemed to disagree, as she suddenly lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Odd's neck and pulling him into a kiss. Odd was surprised, but not displeased, and quickly wrapped his arms around her waist, returning the passionate kiss. Eventually the pair broke apart for air, both smiling.
"So Odd, still think we need to talk?" Aelita asked impishly. Odd just answered with a grin before pulling Aelita into another kiss. "I love you Odd," she whispered against his lips when the pulled apart again.
"I love you too," Odd said. "And I think that's all the talking we need."