A/N: Holy crap, two in the same month? Or should I say year… Regardless, have another Jerlita fluff songfic. This one kind of wrote itself, and I do believe it has a little more meat to it than the last. The song is Alone With Me by Cher Lloyd, I've been going through a kick with her lately. Heh. Anywho, as last time, if any classic authors who actually know me are out there, please give me a shout in the reviews! Or give me a shout anyway… Reviews are nice. XO
"Oh! A costume party!" The pinkette's green eyes brightened at the thought. "Jeremie, can we go?" she asked enthusiastically. Parties at Kadic Academy were rare- especially fun ones. The blonde boy smiled, unable to disappoint her.
"What are we going as?" Jeremie sighed playfully. He could tell she had her heart set on this, and he wasn't going to be the one to let her down. He watched Aelita ponder.
"How about Bonnie and Clyde!" she beamed. They had been learning about the bandits in history, and it was just the type of compromise she knew Jeremie would be at least tempted to go for.
"I was thinking of maybe going as Albert Einstein," Jeremie offered. Although, judging by the annoyed look on Aelita's face, he figured he'd better just give in and be Clyde Barrow. "I'll do some research… Maybe I can make us paper maché guns… Jim won't take them if they're newspaper, right?" he thought.
"You're the best!" Aelita beamed. She was absolutely giddy.
-
Jeremie and Aelita were actually able to attend the party without an attack from their cyber foe, XANA. Which, honestly, is an amazing feat. Luckily, the Lyoko warriors ended up with the night off. The crew was all there- Jeremie and Aelita as Bonnie and Clyde (artificial guns in-holster, but Jim hadn't spotted them yet); Ulrich ever-so-creatively went as a samurai, accompanied by the even less clever geisha Yumi (although at least Yumi was Japanese, so it fit); Odd's date was a pretty redhead by the name of Holly, who he had met at Yumi's one night Yumi's poor neighbor had come over to introduce herself on a night when the entire gang was over). It was obviously Odd's choice of costume- Holly was dressed as an angel in white, blonde streaks flowing from root to tip of her long hair, and Odd was in some sort of red suit that was supposed to make him look like a demon. The only reason he was identifiable was because of his angelic date.
"And what are you supposed to be?" Jeremie had asked his bizarre friend, skeptically. He had a right to be wary, as he was plenty used to Odd's antics.
"I'm a devil!" Odd defended with a slight pout, gesturing to the seraphim on his right. Jeremie pursed his lips as he studied the couple.
"If this is hell, remind me to repent later," he joked to the pinkette on his right. She giggled in agreement.
"Hey, don't trash it, I worked hard on this!" Odd exclaimed disappointedly. Holly put a comforting hand on his back, even though secretly she thought the idea was a little cliché as well.
-
Astonishingly, as the party picked up the ordinarily uptight Jeremie actually began to relax some for once. He swayed and grooved to the pounding bass in a way that he ordinarily never would. Aelita had wondered for a moment if someone had spiked his punch, but decided against it.
He grooved between just about everyone in his circle of friends (staying a moderately safe distance from Holly, as he seemed to be unsure of the stranger at this given point), and seemed to actually be having a good time. Proof that having a positive mindset really can change one's life, perhaps. Or at least for a night.
Regardless, as much as she hated to admit it, Aelita was actually kind of annoyed by Jeremie's random change of heart. Why wasn't he standing by the wall, chatting with her? She like to dance, sure- but this had been her idea after all… All she wanted was a little time spent with her favorite person, was that too much to ask?
Eventually a slower song came over the speakers, and Jeremie's grooves seemed to dwindle very abruptly. His carefree attitude was now replaced by a sort of awkwardness, as he knew what the slower beat entailed.
A sidelong glance at Aelita, and a blush. Her heart pounded- she was sure she could read his mind.
Odd and Holly intertwined had immediately at the sound, and Yumi and Ulrich were already trying to find the proper movement to the beat. Aelita decided to save Jeremie some trouble.
Before Jeremie had a clue what was happening, Aelita's arms wrapped around his neck. She smiled at him cautiously, heat creeping to her cheeks. Jeremie blushed madly, all the boldness had obviously been fueled by the previous throbbing bass. She smiled softly at him as he placed his hands on her waist timidly.
-
Aelita couldn't help but be charmed by his diffident ways- she knew he couldn't help it. Someone like Jeremie wasn't exactly the 'dating' type, but it gave her some kind of solace in its own respect. Everything that she saw in Jermeie was genuine, and she was one of the few people on the planet (and Lyoko, for that matter) who could comprehend how his large brain worked.
Unfortunately, the song came to an end so much more quickly than the couple would have liked. The group had spent a fair amount of time dancing and cheering in the hot gymnasium, but their night had come to an abrupt end at 8:00 when they heard a gruff voice intrude over the music.
"Attention all students- get your butts out of my gym," Jim's mouth was too close to the microphone and it had caused a high-pitched squeal to resonate off the high ceiling. "Go back to your dormitories in an orderly fashion, and be prepared for a spontaneous dorm check to make sure all of you hooligans are in the right rooms tonight." By this time Mr. Delmas had successfully wrangled the microphone from the overzealous gym teacher.
"Enjoy your night children," the principal dismissed as the crowd began to dissipate.
"Anyone want to hang out for a bit?" Odd suggested, obviously not wanting to send his adorable lady friend home quite yet. Ulrich surprisingly hadn't seemed opposed.
"I guess we could stay for a bit," Yumi agreed, sending a glance to her neighbor to make sure the decision for the girls to stay was mutual. Holly nodded politely.
"Wanna join them?" Jeremie asked Aelita. She couldn't be the one person to be no- not only would that be rude, it would also be suspicious.
"Sure," the pinkette agreed somewhat reluctantly. Was she ever going to get to spend time with the boy just the two of them?
-
The group had a fun time of course, as they always did. They sat up and talked, filling up most of the space in the tiny dorm room only meant for two people. Jeremie and Aelita had even huddled a bit closer than they usually would- she felt the night had definitely impacted their relationship in some positive way, but it was definitely not the way she had initially thought it would.
Some days she became frustrated by how standoffish Jeremie could be. She saw a great future for the two of them; they already shared a closeness not many couples ever would in a lifetime. He saved her life, and she just wanted to live it with him… Was that too much to ask? Possibly so.
-
A pounding came on the door, and a silence hushed over the gang very quickly.
"Go back to your dorms you miscreants," a half-asleep Jim growled. Luckily he hadn't even bothered to open the door, much less usher the ample guests back to their respected areas. No one had realized they weren't breathing until they heard his footsteps retreat down the hall. They all burst out into a quieted fit of laughter.
"That was too close," Yumi giggled. "Maybe we should split," she said to Holly, who had been snuggled up to Odd across the room.
"You're probably right," she had agreed, peeling herself reluctantly away from her date who had been pouting at the notion.
"So soon?" Odd frowned. He extended his hand in an attempt to reach the ginger before she could escape, but failed.
"It's 11:30," Aelita notified flatly. Never was she known to be the party pooper of the bunch, but there was always a first time for everything. Odd frowned, as his night of partying had clearly come to a screeching halt.
Yumi and Holly scurried carefully out of the Kadic gates, trying their best not to disturb anyone who was actually sleeping like they were supposed to be at this hour.
Jeremie had walked Aelita back to her room on the girl's floor instead of crossing the hall to his room and letting her wander off by herself. Aelita, of course, was extremely grateful for the action.
-
Before Jeremie spun away after his awkward goodnight, Aelita took the chance to do what she had been dying to do all night.
She pulled him close, in a warm embrace. He had hugged her back for a moment, and before he could pull away, she leaned in and feathered her lips lightly against his.
"Thanks for taking me to the party Jeremie," she said genuinely. She loosened her grip on him slightly, so that he could run if he wanted, and she was almost surprised that he didn't.
"You're welcome," Jeremie replied, his voice cracking and his cheeks stained crimson. He very much looked like he wanted to flee, but out of bad nerves more so than disinterest.
She smiled at him warmly, releasing him from her grasp.
"Goodnight Jeremie," she muttered softly as she opened her door.
"Night…" he said quietly in return, making his way back home.