Author's Note: Here's the next chapter guys. Let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko or any of the show's characters.
"Replacement"
Yumi growled in annoyance as she slammed her books onto the granite table top in her chemistry class. The slam echoed loudly off the surrounding walls as she pulled out her metal chair to take a seat.
"I can't believe him! Why is he going to the carnival with Sissi, someone we both hate?"
Yumi's bantering was so loud that she didn't hear the door open.
"Something the matter Yumi?" William's voice came.
Yumi looked up as the raven-haired boy set his books down to take a seat beside her. Yumi eyed him cautiously before replying.
"I'm fine William…Just a little stressed from al the homework I have to do this weekend."
"Oh yeah, me too." He smiled. "You'd think our teachers would lighten the load since it's getting closer to Thanksgiving break."
Yumi nodded before averting her gaze to the table top. An awkward silence fell over the two of them but was broken as Yumi began rolling a pencil across the table top as William watched her intently.
"So…" she said casually to break the silence. "How've you been lately?"
"I've been okay." He shrugged. "I'm still trying to get used to life again."
William looked away in shame as memories of being under XANA's controlled filled his mind.
"I can't believe I allowed him to…control me like that." He whispered.
"Whoa there pretty boy." Yumi said jokingly to lighten his mood. "Stop right there. We aren't going to mention XANA or Lyoko ever again. Understand?"
William's lips curved into a smile. "I understand."
Their conversation was cut short as the classroom door swung open as more students began to fill in the empty seats.
"So Emily?" a voice came from behind them. "Would you like to go to the fall carnival with me tomorrow?"
Yumi's face angered at the mentioning of the carnival and William didn't fail to notice.
"What about this fall carnival has you so upset?" he asked.
"It isn't the carnival I'm mad about, it's Ulrich!"
William sat upright at the mentioning of his rival.
"He's taking Sissi to the carnival." Yumi sighed. "Is he dumb or what?"
"Yeah," William agreed. "He's totally clueless. So…you obviously wanted to go with him, am I correct?"
"Well…yeah." She admitted as her cheeks flushed. "I thought it would be fun, you know? I mean, we haven't spent any time together since we shut down the super computer and I've…felt like we've been drifting apart."
William smiled as he took her hands in his. "Well this may not help your friendship, but it may lift your spirits a little. Why don't you and I go to the carnival together? It could be loads of fun."
"I don't know William."
"Oh, come on Yumi. We can go as friends. Does that make the offer any more tempting?"
Yumi giggled as she pulled her hands from his.
"Okay, I'll go with you!" Emily shouted behind them.
Yumi turned to William and motioned her head towards Emily and smiled softly. "What she said."
William jumped to his feet and cheered with excitement.
Mrs. Hertz Class
"Good morning class." Ms. Hertz said as she walked into her classroom. "I'd like all of you to pass your homework to the end of your tables before splitting into groups of two. Hop to it!"
The students gathered their science assignments as they started talking amongst each other.
"I may not be attending Kadic next year." One girl said.
"Good Lord!" someone shouted from the rear of the classroom. "Do you smell that? Odd, di you take your shoes off again?"
Odd turned around and stuck his tongue out. "No!" he shouted. He then turned around to face Ulrich. "So buddy, want to be lab partners?"
"After the mess you put me in outside, I'm going to have to pass." Ulrich said. "Find yourself another partner Odd."
"Oh, come on. You're still mad about that? It's been ten minutes Ulrich. You've got to get over it."
Ulrich shook his head in disagreement before turning to pass in his assignment. As he looked up, he spied Sissi as she quickly glanced at him before looking away nervously. He smiled.
"Hey Sissi?" he called out to her.
Sissi nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice, but she recomposed herself before looking up to lock eyes with him.
"Y-yes?" she stammered nervously."
"Want to be lab partners?"
Everyone gasped in shock as silence filled the room. Sissi looked around at the shock on everyone's faces before turning back to Ulrich.
"You want to be partners with me?" she asked in surprise.
"Of course." He smiled. "It won't be that bad."
Sissi smiled before nodding her head quickly. "I don't see why not. Sure Ulrich, I'll be your lab partner."
"Ulrich," Aelita hissed in a low whisper, "what on earth are you doing? This is some kind of joke right?"
"Great, first Odd and now you. Will you guys stop making such a big deal over everything I do?"
Jeremy, Aelita and Odd stared at him in shock. He was in more of a bad mood than usual.
"I think this Lyoko withdrawal is starting to take its toll." Odd whispered to Aelita and Jeremy.
Lunch
"So, what's this Lyoko withdrawal nonsense Odd keeps going on about?" Aelita asked as she shoved a handful of potato chips into her mouth.
Odd took a sip from his milk carton before slamming it down on the table, some of its contents spilling out.
"It's self-explanatory." Odd said. "It's also the only plausible reason to explain Ulrich's sudden acts of insanity. Since we shut the super computer down, he's been a little loco en el coco."
Aelita nodded as she drank a small amount of her own milk. "Well, if Lyoko withdrawal is what's doing this to him, it would certainly explain his sudden interest in Sissi." She said in disgust.
"Speaking of Sissi…" Jeremy said, his voice trailing off. "Here she comes right now with our dear friend Ulrich."
The three former Lyoko warriors looked up as the sound of Ulrich and Sissi's laughter filled the room.
"You should've seen the look on his face!" Ulrich exclaimed as he burst into another fit of laughter. Sissi's own laughs echoed along with his as she complimented him on his humor.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Odd moaned as he held his stomach.
"Hey guys." Ulrich said once he reached their table. "You wouldn't mind if Sissi sat with us today would you?"
"You've got to be joking." Odd said.
Sissi looked at Odd with slight hurt in her eyes. "Oh, come on." She pleaded. "I promise to be quiet. I'll even ignore your snide comments and corny jokes."
Aelita couldn't help but giggle at the girl's plea. "Okay Sissi, you can sit with us." She smiled.
Sissi thanked Aelita before taking a seat in between Ulrich and Odd.
"So," Ulrich spoke to clear the air of the rising tension, "we're heading to the carnival tomorrow around seven. Where do you guys want to meet up?"
"The courtyard?" Aelita suggested.
"Nah." Odd said. "The bus stop."
"I can't find my bus pass." Ulrich sighed.
"Um, I have an idea." Sissi said quietly. Everyone turned to her. "My cousin Patty's going to be in town tomorrow and she has a jeep. She's supposed to be going to the carnival with a few high school friends. I could ask her to give us a lift."
"That's not a bad idea." Aelita smiled. "Good thinking Sissi."
"Thanks Aelita. I'll go call Patty now to make sure it's okay."
Sissi grabbed hold of her cell phone and hopped up to make her call.
"That was awfully nice of her to find us a ride." Aelita complimented her. "It seems she can be nice when she wants to be."
"Yeah." Ulrich agreed. "I got the chance to talk to her during science class and as it turns out, she's a pretty cool person. We actually have a lot of the same interests."
"Kill me now!" Odd wailed.
"Would you give it a rest already?" Ulrich snapped. "Just give her a chance Odd. I did and so far, I have no regrets. Sissi's actually a pretty cool person when you get to know her."
"Come on Odd." Aelita said. "Let's give it a try."
Odd's eyes moved between his two friends before he released a sigh. "Fine." He huffed as he bit a large chunk out of his sandwich.
Ulrich and Aelita smiled at him before continuing on with their meals. A few seconds later, Yumi and William appeared.
"Hey guys." Yumi greeted with a smile.
The others responded with light nods and waves. Their eyes widened when they spied William standing beside their friend.
"What's up guys?" he greeted casually with a small smile.
"Um…nothing?" Ulrich said, unsure of how to react.
"Mind if I join you guys for lunch?"
Ulrich exchanged glances with Odd, Jeremy and Aelita. None of them wanted the guy there but it appeared for some reason that Yumi did. He shrugged as he made his final decision.
"I'm not going to stop you. If you want to sit with us, go right ahead."
Yumi raised an eyebrow curiously as William took a seat beside Aelita. She walked around the table to take her usual seat in between Odd and Ulrich but she stopped at the sight of another lunch tray in her spot with untouched food on it.
"Odd, did you get two lunch trays today?" she asked him.
"No." he said shooting Ulrich a glare.
"If this isn't your tray, then whose is it?"
"I'm back!" Sissi exclaimed as she walked over and took a seat in Yumi's usual chair.
The entire room seemed to freeze as Yumi's face curled into an evil snarl.
"What the heck do you think you're doing?" she shouted, her voice echoing off the walls gaining other students' attention.
Odd hacked in surprise at Yumi's sudden outburst as Ulrich sank down in his seat. There was about to be a fight and it wasn't going to be pretty.
"Oh, hi Yumi." Sissi said as she stared up at the girl. "Is something the matter?"
"Is something the matter? Is something the matter? Of course something's wrong! What on earth are you doing here? Better yet, why the heck are you sitting in my seat?"
"Ulrich said it was okay for me to eat with you guys." Sissi replied trying to stay calm. "I didn't know this was your seat."
"Ulrich, have you lost your mind?" Yumi growled as she slammed her tray down on the table top. "Why in the world would you even suggest the idea of her sitting with us?"
Ulrich sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Yumi, it's no big deal. Just let her sit here for today."
"No, she can sit here for the rest of the semester if she'd like. I'm leaving."
"Oh, that's real mature." Ulrich said with a roll of his eyes.
"What did you just say to me?" Yumi said balling her fists at her sides.
"That's enough!" Aelita commanded in a stern voice. "Yumi, sit down next to Odd."
"But Aelita-"
"I said sit down. You two are causing a scene over something as simple as a seat at the lunch table. For crying out loud, we aren't five years old. Sit down now."
Yumi sighed in frustration as she stormed over to take a seat beside Odd. She pulled the chair back roughly making it scrape loudly against the floor tile before taking her seat.
"There will be no more fighting today." Aelita spoke. "Do I make myself clear?"
Yumi, Sissi and Ulrich nodded and let the arguing subside so their lunch could continue.
"So," Sissi spoke up after the tension began to die down, "Patty said she'd take us tomorrow."
"Really?" Ulrich said perking up a little. "That's awesome."
"I thought you might say that. Anyways, she said she'll be picking us up at five-thirty, so make sure you guys are ready."
"Why are you leaving so early?" William asked. "The carnival doesn't open until seven."
"I know that." Sissi said with a roll of her eyes. "Patty's taking us to this new pizza parlor that opened up a few blocks away from the fairgrounds."
Odd licked his lips at the sound of the word. "Pizza sounds heavenly right about now." He said.
Aelita and Sissi giggled at the boy.
"Well, it sounds like tomorrow's going to be fun." Ulrich smiled.
The mood lightened a little more as Aelita, Odd, Sissi, Ulrich and Jeremy began rambling aimlessly on various topics. At the end of the table though, Yumi and William were sitting silently unnoticed by their friends.
Yumi's eyes remained glued to Sissi and Ulrich. She couldn't take her eyes off the two of them and the apparent flirting that was going on. If only she had laser vision, she'd blast the smile right off both their faces.
"Yumi?" William called out to her. "What's the matter?"
Yumi blinked out of her thoughts before turning her head to meet eyes with William. "I don't understand." She whispered. "Why all of a sudden is everyone friends with her? Why is Ulrich paying her any attention at all? He's supposed to hate her!"
"It doesn't look that way to me." William said as he motioned his head towards Sissi and Ulrich.
Ulrich's head was against Sissi's shoulder as the two of them laughed along with the others at something silly Odd had said.
"He totally left it all in my bed!" they hear Odd shout through his laughter as he told his story.
Yumi felt her eyes burn at the sight of them followed by this painful aching in her chest. William could see the tears beginning to form in her eyes. He reached out for her hand and gently rested his upon hers.
"You want to leave?" he asked her quietly.
Yumi nodded as she grabbed her tray and stood to dump it. William followed suit but looked over his shoulder towards the others who hadn't even seemed to notice they'd left.
"What kind of friends replace a friend so…quickly?" he wondered aloud.
Author's Note: Aw, poor Yumi! Leave me a review and let me know what you think.