A/N: So, again, I don't own this, going to set up the pairs soon, blah blah blah… No lemons this chapter. Probably won't be in this story. If there do happen to be, I will up the rating, k? No worries. :)
Chapter Two: Singing in the Rain
Aelita POV
Faye woke up early the next morning, probably because I had warned her about Sissi's shower habits the day before at dinner. She tried hard to avoid waking me up, but I had already been awake for a while, because I'd had a nightmare, so it wasn't necessary. As I looked up at her back from my bed, she started to change clothes. Startled, I looked away, not wanting to intrude on her privacy. She pulled on the robe of hers and then turned back to look at me for a second. Me looking back at her must have startled her, because she dropped the pair of shorts in her hand and jumped.
"Aelita! You startled me. I didn't know you were awake," she said, picking up the shorts and putting them back on her bed.
"I'm sorry, I've been awake for a little over an hour. I didn't want to wake you," I answered, watching her as she folded her shorts and tank top neatly and made her bed.
"It's alright. Are you going to shower this morning?" she asked, turning back to me.
"Um, now that you mention it, yes, I think I will," I said, deciding that I wanted to after all.
"Do you want me to wait for you?" she asked, leaning lightly against the wall as she watched me get up.
"No, I don't think you have to. You'd better get there before the line starts getting long," I said, gathering my shower things.
"Okay. I'll see you here after," she said, smiling as she left. After gathering my things, I left. By the time I got there, she was already in the shower, but there wasn't a line. I got into the one next to hers, the only open one, and turned on the water. As I washed my hair, I heard her singing softly to herself, her voice clear and gentle, just barely audible over the sounds of water slapping against skin and the floor. I finished my shower and walked out to get my robe, which had fallen out of the little shelf in my stall and been kicked into the aisle between the showers. I did this as she was walking out of her stall and accidentally bumped into her. The soft material of her robe brushed against my skin as I fell backwards, prepared to hit the floor, only I didn't. Her hand reached out and caught me so fast I didn't realize she had until she pulled me upright.
"I'm sorry, Aelita, are you okay?" she asked, picking up my robe for me and handing it to me. I quickly covered myself, blushing slightly.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I just, um, didn't see you," I said awkwardly.
"I should have been watching where I was going. It was my fault," she said, pulling her loosely fastened robe more tightly around her. "You're done, I take it?" she asked.
"Um, yeah, I've just got to grab my stuff and I'm ready." I did so, and together we exited the showers. We got back to our room and started getting ready.
Faye POV
So after that encounter with Aelita in the showers, it was a little awkward once we got back to our room. Aelita dried off quickly and got dressed, hanging her robe up to dry. I dried my hair and put it up in a loose bun, using the mirror on the back of one of my closet doors. The trouble was, if I shifted wrong, I could see Aelita's small frame in the background, and her movement would draw my eyes to her. Finally finishing my hair as she was finishing dressing, I started to dry off and change into clothes as well.
Aelita POV
I watched from behind her as Faye pulled her long, nearly-black hair back into a loose bun, skipping a hair dryer and instead just using a towel. The robe was loose, but because it was wet, it hugged her curves tightly, making me slightly jealous as I thought about how I didn't really have any curves. I mean, I did a little, but not like her chest, which was slightly bigger than Yumi's, or her subtle yet defined hips. I felt kind of flat in comparison, but tried not to think about that as I watched her put on very little makeup in the mirror, accentuating her pretty face. Her eyes weren't black like Yumi's, but they were brown, a nice medium brown with glints of amber in them. She and I looked nothing alike, I realized. She was even fairly tall, where I was short, though I thought maybe the age difference contributed to that. I also decided that she shared a lot of Yumi's qualities, but slightly lighter on all of them. Even her skin was a shade lighter than Yumi's.
I finally finished dressing and went to brush out my hair, not needing a mirror. My hair was short and didn't need anything done to it. As I glanced back at Faye, I noticed she had put on her bra and underwear, making me turn away, slightly uncomfortable looking at so much of her exposed body. I watched her shadow put on her pants, tank top, and jacket, then she came and plopped down on her bed across from me sitting on mine. Together, we put our shoes on, me taking slightly less time since I didn't have to tie them. I stood and fixed my bed and pajamas, then looked at her. "Ready for your first day at Kadic?" I asked, smiling at her.
"As ready as I'll ever be," she said, standing as well.
"Alright, first we go to the science building," I replied, heading out the door. We walked along the path, chatting about first day nerves, the awkwardness of earlier forgotten. As we made our way towards Jeremy, Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi, Sissi walked up to Ulrich and began her antics. Faye and I quickened our pace to see what the fuss was about this time.
"Ulrich, sweetie, I got permission from my father for us to go out to a movie this weekend! Isn't that great?" she asked excitedly.
"What movie is it?" Faye asked, striding up to the group and standing next to Yumi. I stood by Odd.
"What's it to you, fattie?" she asked, making me mad instantly. How dare she call Faye fat? "This date is private, for Ulrich and me only."
Faye glared. "Are you going to actually shut up for a little bit and watch the movie, or do you intend to torture him with that annoying voice of yours?" Herb and Nicolas snickered at her joke, making Sissi even more angry.
"Wanna talk about torturing people with your voice? Yours in the shower this morning was like nails on a chalkboard," she said.
"At least she took a shower this morning, Sissi," I said. "I hope that's just a new perfume and not how you actually smell." Odd laughed.
"No, I'm pretty sure she's always smelled that way," he said.
Sissi's cheeks turned red with anger as she looked at the three of us, but before she could insult any of us again, Ulrich piped up. "Sissi, not only do I not want to go to the movies with you, but I can't go to the movies with you because I'm going to the Subsonics concert with Yumi," he said.
To her shocked face, Jeremy added, "Better luck next time!" and we walked off, leaving her with Herb and Nicolas as we walked to the Science building.
As we were leaving, I heard her say, "Two Ishiyamas are even worse than one!"
"Okay, so that girl's really irritating," Faye said to the group as we walked. "Does she do this a lot?"
Jeremy smiled. "Every time she sees Yumi and Ulrich together."
"Or just when she wants to hear herself talk," Yumi added, a light blush appearing on her cheeks at Jeremy's comment.
"Or when she just wants to be mean," I added softly, recalling my first days at Kadic. "It's best to stay clear of her and not listen to anything she says."
Faye nodded as Yumi stopped at a classroom door. "Well, this is our stop. See you guys later!" she added, smiling at us.
"Do you know where your next class is?" I asked Faye, not wanting to leave her if she needed help.
"She's got it with me, so I'll show her," Yumi said. Faye smiled and nodded.
"Oh, okay. We'll meet up with you guys for lunch, then," I said, turning to walk with the boys to class. I glanced back, watching first Yumi then Faye disappear into the classroom.
They boys and I talked about Faye as we went. "She seems really cool," Ulrich said to us as we entered into our own classroom.
"Yeah, I like her. Not afraid to take on Sissi," Odd replied, smiling.
"I think it's cool how she does mixed martial arts, too," Ulrich added.
"And archery," said Jeremy. "Remember she was telling us about that tournament yesterday?"
"She's really nice, too. I like her," I added in.
"Do you think she could be good for Lyoko?" Jeremy asked us in a hushed voice as Mrs. Hertz walked in.
"I think we probably should get to know her better first," Ulrich said quietly as Mrs. Hertz started talking about photosynthesis.
"Yeah, but we should definitely mention it to Yumi. I mean, it could be really cool having another person to help out. Especially with things in Sector 5. That Scyphozoa is horrible," I added.
"Aelita Stones," Mrs. Hertz said, looking at me. "Seeing as you must obviously know all about today's lesson because you're talking instead of listening to me, please come up here and write the chemical equation for photosynthesis."
I got up from my seat and walked to the board, then wrote the equation with ease, as I did happen to know all about today's lesson. I loved plants. Botany was really interesting. When I finished, I put the chalk down and looked at her, checking for her approval. Irritated that she couldn't embarrass me in front of the class like she usually did with Odd or Ulrich, she told me to go back to my seat and that if she caught me talking again, she would give me a detention. I sat back down and listened to the class long lecture of things I already knew.
Faye POV
I sat next to Yumi at one of the lab tables in our Chemistry class, nervously glancing around. She smiled at some guy as he barely squeaked into the door before the bell rang. He smiled back, and then looked at me as if confused.
"Who are you?" he asked me curiously, glancing from me to Yumi.
"I'm Faye Ishiyama. I'm Yumi's cousin," I said, a little nervous. He had messy black hair that was a little long, and wore Jeans and a ret long sleeved shirt with a black T-shirt over it. He was cute.
"I'm William Dunbar, Yumi's friend," he said, "and you're in my seat."
"I figured she could sit here with us, since all the other tables have two people as well. We can just be a group of three," Yumi said pleasantly.
"Oh, okay, cool," he said good naturedly. "I didn't mean for that to come across as rude. If it did, I'm sorry," he added, speaking to me as he pulled up a chair between Yumi and I. Not long after, the teacher, Mr. Windsor, came in.
"Yes, now settle down class. We have a new student today that I'd like you all to meet. Veronica, would you please stand and introduce yourself to the class?" he said as he pulled out different lab equipment.
"Yes, Sir," I said, standing. "I'm Veronica Ishiyama, but I prefer you call me Faye," I announced, then sat back down.
"Ishiyama?" Mr. Windsor asked, looking over his glasses at the class roster. "Are you two related?" he asked, looking from me to Yumi and back again.
"Yes, Sir," I answered.
"We're cousins," she added.
"Yes, very good, I can see the resemblance. Welcome to our school, Miss Ishiyama."
"Thank you, Sir."
"Yes. Today, class, we're going to learn about a certain group of elements on the periodic table." He set three metals down on the table, and pointed at each in turn. "This one is the most common, this one the next common, this one the least common of the three most common elements in this group. The first two are essential elements; they are electrolytes in the body. The third has many uses as well, commonly used in batteries. All elements in this group are metal. They are also highly reactive and should be handled with care because if they react with water, they explode. Traveling down the group, the elements' boiling points and melting points decrease. Can anybody tell me first the names of these elements, then the name of the group to which they belong?"
I raised my hand. No one else did. Yumi and William looked at me a little shocked. Mr. Windsor, seeming bemused, called on me to answer. I took a deep breath and then pointed at the first element. "That one there is Sodium; it has the chemical symbol Na. It combines with Chlorine to form Sodium Chloride, more commonly known as table salt, and, as you said, is the most common element in this group. The one next to it is Potassium, and it's symbol is K. It's a necessary that one intakes enough Potassium because a deficiency… well, it's not pretty. Most people with Potassium deficiency or borderline deficiency find bananas to be an excellent source to help correct the problem. The last one up there is Lithium, represented by Li. Lithium is the first element in the group, and has an atomic number of three. The three metals you've shown us are members of the alkali metal group, the first group on the periodic table. This group is characterized by high reactivity, low densities, and the possession of one valence electron in their outer shells. The metals are all soft, and all are silver, except for Cesium, which has a gold tint to it. From top to bottom, the elements in the group of alkali metals are Lithium, Sodium, Potassium, Rubidium, Cesium and Francium." I finished, crossing my feet at the ankles as I sat in the stool.
Mr. Windsor looked at me for a moment, as did the rest of the class, most had their mouths hanging open in shock. "Yes, um, very good. Well done, Miss Ishiyama," Mr. Windsor said, finally drawing the attention from me. "Yes, as Miss Ishiyama said, these metals have one valence electron in their outer shells…." He continued. I was listening attentively even though I already knew what he was saying when William nudged my side with his elbow. I looked over to see Yumi and him still staring at me.
"I didn't know you were so smart," Yumi said. "Do you think you could help me with this stuff? I don't understand any of it. Half the words he's saying right now don't even make sense."
"Yeah, do you think you'd help me, too?" William asked me as well. "I don't get it either."
I smiled. "Yeah, sure. Chemistry is really easy, once you figure out what it's all about. I'm sure I can tutor you both."
"Great," Yumi smiled at me, then the three of us turned our attention back to Mr. Windsor. If the rest of my classes went this well, I didn't think I had anything to worry about for the rest of the year.
A/N: Two chapters in two days! That's a record for me, haha. Anyway. So like I said, things will be getting better. Mostly the first few have to be set up chapters. I know, I hate that part, too. Anyway, I'll write again soon I'm sure.