Chapter 3: Code Pain

"Hey Been looking for you?" Ulrich shouted at odd as he rolled in the cafeteria 15 minutes late for dinner.

"your search is over." Odd replied hanging his head and clumsily grabbing a tray off of the stack where he let it clatter onto the table in front of the lunch lady.

"My best computer back!" she kind of exclaimed "I'm sorry but it looks like we got nothing left except Mystery meat surprise." and she plopped down a chunk of something that might have once been meat on his tray.

"Thanks Rosa." he mumbled not even looking at her as he walked off.

he walked for a while glancing at all the falimar faces Clair the ever so witty, methyous, jack, Emily Leduc, he remembered the rumor he had started about her last year. and for a moment that put a smile on his face "Ah she was a spitfire.." he thought

Finally he sat down at the table with Ulrich well on opposite ends really, He was still mad, shocked and Embarrassed that someone might see his bloody knuckles by what he had seen.. but most of all he was Hurt, Deeply hurt. It would have been better if she had just spit in his face and ripped out his Liver, But she went straight for the heart. He gulped Uncomfortably as the Mystery meat seemed as if it would get stuck in his throat and he thought of seeing them, Her in that position, without him being underneath her his hands caressing her soft Pink hair and..."

"So where were you at?" Ulrich asked scooting over next to his old friend. "Its not like you to be late for dinner specially when its Meat byproduct surprise." Then Ulrich's sharp eyes caught the image of torn flesh on odds knuckles.

Slowly he looked at his friend then slowly and seriously asked "Odd what happened?" He cocked his head at him and gave him the evil eye.

"mmmmmm... Nothing." he mumbled shoveling a huge bite of meatloaf into his mouth hoping not to be bothered any further.

'Odd"

"Ok.. ok." Odd popped off not able the keep up this silent act Of all the things odd was good at he never really was good at lying or keeping quiet about something going on, it always tore him up inside made him feel worse. Odd sat up straight, took in a beep breath and all the courage he could with it, looked Ulrich in the eye and then spoke as calmly as he could considering. "If I told you that I beat he ever-loving hell out of Jeremy, would you believe me?"

"sigh, So you know..." Ulrich grimly replied.

"Yea, I know!" Odd snapped back. "when were you guys planning on telling me, After the wedding! I mean common! the only thing they got in common is they're smart!" He paused sinking his head into his hands. "What's a girl like that doing with with a guy like Him?" Odd asked as the anger turned into sadness.

"I don't know brother." Ulrich replied "you were gone all summer and... and you know Aelita as delicate as a flower, she needs love odd, what else can I say."

"And what! you think I couldn't Love her? What dose he have that I don't?" Odd fired back

"Common odd you know you as well as anyone, about how you flip over every other girl ya meet, Aelita was just always there and you two spent a lot of time together, it just all makes sense how you would developed, feelings for her..."

Odd looked up at Ulrich with an evil eye showing his displeasure with the whole "Explanation thing"

Non the less Ulrich continued though uncomfortably so. "Look Odd don't put yourself through this. And If its any consolation" Ulrich said as he stood up from the table. "I won't say the best man won, but I don't want anybody getting hurt anymore than they already have either So if your not gonna do it for anybody else do it for her, stay away odd..."

Those words stung worse than his bleeding fist and no less than having half of his knuckles broken, Stay away odd..." those words were like an old record stuck on repeat continually playing the same annoying 2 seconds of music, over and over and over and over... they bit him to the bone. But Ulrich was right Aelita was like a flower, only this flower had thorns, a bunch of them.

As odd sat there thinking about his flower he noticed the piece of paper Ulrich had slipped under his tray while he wasn't looking. He played with a couple of moments then unfolded it. It was a large white sheet of paper with nothing on it Except in the far left corner it had a phone number. Odd studied the clumsily hand writing for a few moments unable to decider it when.

"Hey this is Sam's old number" He whispered to himself...

Thanks for the reviews thus far please keep em comeing. And if you want tell me your ideas bout what should happen and what you think is gowing on I really appricate them. Though i cant gaurentee ill use em they do help me with developeing the storyline.

Icesythe