Chapter 4: Too Close
A few days later the gang was sitting at breakfast. All seven of them. Andie and Jak had been tagging along with the other five kids for a little less than a week now, and things were going pretty well. Lately there had been no attacks and the siblings were doing more than good in their classes. All in all life was going pretty well for the group. This morning they were discussing music.
"I'm telling you, 80's was the best time for music!" Andie practically screamed at Odd.
"WHAT? It was totally the 90's!" he retaliated
"You've got to be out of your mind," she threw her arms up in defeat.
"No Andie, YOU are. The 90's was great for techno."
"Yes, but 80's was the best time for metal!" Andie said in a 'duh' voice.
"Don't make me put you two in separate corners," Yumi said sarcastically, as she sipped her coffee.
"Hush up, Mom," Odd said and stuck out his tongue. Yumi stuck her tongue out too. Jeremy looked up over his laptop and smirked,
"You guys 1800's were the best."
"What the heck was in the 1800's?" Odd asked, annoyed that the conversation turned into something smart.
"Beethoven wrote his first symphony. Life just got better from there."
Odd and Andie sighed at the same time, looked at each other, and said,
"JINX!! You owe me a soda!"
"Guys, I'm pretty sure sighing at the same time doesn't count as a 'jinx'," Jeremy rolled his eyes. These two had been arguing over music and "jinxing" themselves all week.
"Does too!" Odd and Andie said simultaneously, "JINX!"
Ulrich just sat at the opposite end of the table as the squabbling two. He smiled as he mashed up his already mashed scrambled eggs, not really eating. He liked seeing Odd happy, and he liked it even more that he was right. Odd had been himself around Andie and they really hit it off! Ulrich was also upset that he couldn't take his own advice when it came to Yumi. He was himself around her, but he just didn't know how to transition it into a deeper friendship, and from there to a relationship. He looked over at her, shyly. She took another sip of her coffee as she read over the paper she had written the night before. She tucked her hair behind her ear and Ulrich's stomach flipped. She had the most amazing eyes; so dark and thoughtful, but cunning and playful at the same time. She looked up at him at that moment, but instead of looking away quickly like he usually would Ulrich looked back.
I love you, he thought, I love you and I will tell you soon. He smiled at her, and to his surprise she smiled back. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as he thought. The group finished up their breakfast and started to head to class. But Jak pulled Andie back behind the rest and whispered in her ear.
"There's something going on with these kids. Something isn't right."
"What are you talking about?" she whispered back.
"They're hiding something, I just know it!" he insisted.
"Like what?" she asked, slightly annoyed. He knew she didn't believe him.
"Like that thing with the bugs. These kids seemed to know what was going on. Odd knew exactly what to do, remember? And when the cockroaches were all over me, it was like they were hypnotizing me… almost like they were trying to take over my body."
"You were probably just going into shock or something," Andie answered, practical as always, "I think you're just being paranoid."
Jak sighed. Maybe he was just being paranoid… No. He knew something was up and he was going to find out. Though he couldn't figure out was why they hadn't done anything weird this past week. Well, Jeremy was always hiding his laptop from sight, and Yumi was always glancing suspiciously at Jak. But other than that they hadn't done anything. There was no sneaking off or weird happenings going on. He decided to just keep an eye on them and see what happens.
While Jak and Andie were whispering to themselves behind the rest of the gang, Yumi pulled Jeremy and Aelita aside.
"You guys, I think Jak knows something," she whispered.
"What do you mean?" Aelita asked.
"I don't think he knows everything, but he's definitely suspicious. I've been keeping an eye on him and he seems to be putting pieces together."
"I agree, Yumi. He is definitely on to something, but maybe his guesses are completely off. Maybe he just thinks we're rebels or something," Jeremy said.
"No I think it's more than that. Remember he covered for us with the bug thing? He knows we had something to do with it."
"Guys," Aelita interjected, "its fine. They're nice, smart kids who just need friends. I say we leave it alone."
"And I say they're getting too close! At least Jak is," Yumi retorted.
"Well we can't very well just ignore them now," Jeremy pointed out, "It's gone too far."
"I know that's the problem!" Yumi insisted, "We can't just sneak off whenever there's an attack. And we can't go into the past every time. What are we supposed to do? Take them with us?"
"Yes!" Aelita all but yelled. She usually was shy and quiet, but lately this whole thing had been getting on her nerves. Yumi didn't push the subject further. She just huffed and caught up with Ulrich and Odd.
"Aelita… we can't just ignore the problem. We're going to have to decide soon," Jeremy said, trying to calm her and talk sense into her at the same time.
"I know," she answered, "I really think we can trust them."
Jeremy put his arm around her and squeezed her shoulder as a sign of comfort. She leaned her head into his and whispered in her quietest voice.
"When are we going to tell them about us?" she asked.
He just smiled and kissed her on the temple,
"We can tell them whenever you want to."
"How about at lunch?"
"How about now?" he asked, with a devilish grin that was very uncharacteristic. He grabbed her hand and ran off to the others ahead shouting, "Hey you there! We have something to tell you!!!!"
Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, Jak, and Andie all turned with a puzzled look on their faces.
"What?" Ulrich asked.
"Yeah… we're going to be late for class," Yumi added.
"Well this is more important," Jeremy insisted. He cleared his throat, squeezed Aelita's hand and announced: "We're official. We've decided to stop hiding our feelings and just come out with it…" He stuttered for a second, "I, uh…"
"I love Jeremy," Aelita finished, smiling the brightest smile.
"And I love Aelita," Jeremy finally said, smiling as well. They both looked up at the group of kids in front of them. Yumi looked amused while Ulrich smiled. They both knew this was coming. Odd's jaw was practically touching the ground in shock, and Jak and Andie looked confused.
"You mean you guys weren't already going out?" Andie asked.
"Um…. No," Jeremy answered.
"Oh! Wow, you guys just seemed so close. I assumed that you were a pair."
"WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN???" Odd asked, "I mean I've know you since forever and I had no idea!!!!"
"That's because you're so dense Odd," Yumi laughed. Ulrich laughed with her. Soon everyone was laughing as they headed to their first period class together. Late.
Because the day started out so cheerfully, it continued to be pleasant. Even the teachers pardoned them for being late. Lunchtime rolled around and the gang was still very cheery as they sat down with their trays of sandwiches and whatnot. They talked happily about the morning, while Jeremy and Aelita held hands on top of the table. It was about halfway through lunch when Sissy sauntered over trailed by her two cronies.
"Well… I had heard about you two new students but haven't had the chance to meet you yet. I'm Sissy Delmas, the principal's daughter. And you will do well to remember that."
"Hi!" Andie replied with her usual smile, "I'm Andie, and this is my brother Jak."
"Hello," he said pleasantly, but barely making eye contact with her. Sissy just huffed and turned her attention to Ulrich.
"Well Ulrich, dear, it looks like I've got another girl to look out for now. She might try to steal you away from me!"
"Ugh. Sissy, it's not like that…" Ulrich tried to explain. He was so tired of her pretending like they were still together. He felt like it was giving Yumi the wrong signals. He wished his feelings didn't get all jumbled up all the time.
"Well whatever!" Sissy answered, "Just you stay away from her!"
Ulrich finally had enough of this. He was determined to set things straight so he could have a clean start with Yumi.
He finally found his courage.
"Look Sissy!" he stood up from his bench, "We're through! We've been through for a while now! Why can't you just accept that? And no! I will not just stop hanging out with my friends just because you tell me to. You can't tell me what to do or who to like. I am not yours to control anymore so just… just… BACK OFF!!!"
"What… well I… FINE!" Sissy yelled back, rushing away as hot tears welled in her eyes. Herb and Nicholas chased after her as she stormed out the doors of the cafeteria.
Ulrich sat back down next to Odd who cheered for him.
"Yeah! That was great Ulrich!! I can't believe you finally stood up to her and she really listened!"
"Yeah…" Ulrich responded. He was slightly jittery. He didn't really know how to react. He could fight in Lyoko all day long, but a real world issue really took a toll on him. He sighed trying to calm down.
"Thanks Ulrich," Andie said quietly.
"What? Oh, yeah. It's not your fault Andie. She does this with everyone… I just finally got the nerve to tell her to stop."
"Well that's good!" she said with her famous smile. Yumi was smiling too, but she was trying to hide it behind the tuna sandwich she was eating. Ulrich noticed. Maybe soon he would get the courage to talk to her. Really talk to her, about everything.
Lunch ended and the kids dispersed to their afternoon classes which put Ulrich, Odd, and Andie in gym together. They were playing soccer. Jim put Andie as goalie for the first game, trying to see what she was made of. She crouched nervously with her hands bent at the elbow, hands up and palms out. She gulped as the ball was taken from Odd, dribbled down the field, and shot right in the left corner of the goal. She dove a full second late. Ulrich ran over to get the ball and whispered to Andie,
"Don't worry. It's just a class... just do your best and don't get too nervous. Jim's just a jerk."
She smiled back at him, thankful for the advice, but still very, very scared. The second time the ball was kicked towards her she swatted it out of the net. Since it went past the goal posts it still counted as a point, but she was becoming more confident. The next one she caught in her gut. The one after that she slid and stopped before it even got three feet away from the goal. She started to really enjoy herself and from that moment on nothing got by her. She was smiling triumphantly as she walked back to the gym building, Odd and Ulrich on either side of her.
"You did great!" Ulrich said, patting her on the back.
"YEAH! You totally rocked out there! You were like 'BAM' and then like 'WHACK'. It was awesome!"
"Thanks guys!" she said, embarrassed by all the attention. She waved at them as she walked into the girl's locker room. Since she was really active this class she took her time in the shower, and when she was done all the other girls were gone. She got dressed and walked up to one of the mirrors. She took out her brush and as she was trying to untangle her impossible hair, she noticed something in the mirror. One of the sockets sparked. She thought nothing of it; Jeremy did say that the school was old. It was probably just some faulty wiring. Then she saw something move. She spun around quickly.
"Hello?" she called out.
"Hellooooooo," someone (or something) whispered. Suddenly a thick black smoke came from the socket and straight for Andie. She barely had time to scream.
The last thing Andie remembered was falling to the floor.
"Andie? ANDIE!!!??" she heard someone yelling her name. She also felt someone lifting her head and putting it on something more comfortable.
A phone rang.
"Jeremy? Yeah Andie's been attacked! How do I know? I just do! Get Yumi and Aelita to Lyoko NOW!"
It was Odd's voice yelling into the phone. She tried to tell him she was alright, but all she could do was open her mouth.
"Wait Odd… I think she's waking up!" she heard Ulrich say.
"Andie? Andie can you hear me? Are you alright?" Odd was right next to her now, holding her hand.
"Uhhhhh… Odd?" Andie whispered.
"Yes! Yes Andie I'm here. Don't move it'll be over soon," Odd said, trying to sooth her. He rubbed her hand with his thumb.
"What… what's going on?" she asked.
"Don't talk," Ulrich advised her, "You should save your strength."
"Jak… Jak knew you guys were… up to something," she whispered. Odd and Ulrich looked at each other to make sure they had heard what they thought they heard. Just then Odd's phone rang again.
"Hello? Yeah. No, she's awake and talking but still hurt. What's going on? Nothing? What do you mean nothing? He shut it down himself? Why would he do that? Alright never mind. But listen, she just said that Jak was suspicious… Yeah, yeah I know. Well don't go into the past now! Well XANA attacked her directly, maybe even possessed her. She's bound to remember anyway, right? Well she seems fine now… Hold on I'll check."
Andie felt Odd push her hair away from her forehead and inspect each of her hands.
"Hey Andie," he whispered to her, "I'm going to lift up the bottom part of your shirt if that's alright… I just need to look at your stomach real quick."
She nodded and he pulled her shirt up ever so slightly, just to make sure there was no mark.
"Jeremy?" he spoke back into the phone, "Yeah she has no markings. Yes of course we'll bring her to the infirmary!! Alright. Meet you there."
He terminated the call and took Andie from Ulrich. Both boys rushed her to the nurse as fast as they could without jostling the girl.
"Goodness! What happened to her?" Andie heard a woman yell. She felt herself being placed on a bed as Odd and Ulrich tried to explain.
"We found her just outside the locker room. She must have slipped on some water or something."
"Did she hit her head?"
"We don't know… she was just lying there."
Andie felt the nurse do a quick check of all her limbs, head and chest. She opened one of Andie's eyes and flicked the light of her penlight across her pupils. Andie winced at the brightness.
"Andie? Andie dear can you hear me?" the nurse was asking.
"Mmmm," Andie responded, trying to roll her head.
"Oh don't move dear! I just wanted to see if you were conscious. Boys, why don't you go find that friend of yours… Aelita, and have her go into Andie's room to get her some extra clothes."
"Alright," Ulrich said, "C'mon Odd!" He pulled his reluctant friend out the door.
"Andie? You're going to be spending the night here… I just want to make sure you don't have a concussion. What day is it today?"
"Uhm… Friday," Andie answered.
"And what's your brother's name?" The nurse continued with the questions.
"Jak. Where is he?" Andie asked.
"I'll have someone call him here just as soon as I'm done. Now, do you remember what happened?"
Andie didn't know what to say. No one would believe that some black smoke from a socket had attacked her. What was Odd saying in the pone? Something about Yumi and Aelita going to Lyoko? And who was XANA? Whatever he was, he attacked her.
"I slipped on some water when I was walking out to my next class. The next thing I remember was Odd and Ulrich carrying me here," she said to the nurse. Odd and Ulrich's story seemed to be the most plausible.
"Right. Well I'm sorry to say that you won't be getting very much sleep tonight. You'll probably wind up with a headache, and I'll have to keep asking you questions like these to make sure you didn't hit your head hard enough to do some serious damage."
"Mmmm," was all Andie had to say. The nurse said she'd be right back with some pain medication and left Andie by herself. She struggled to prop herself up on her elbows, but her head was spinning so much she couldn't keep her balance. She decided to try to open her eyes and see what was going on. She had never been to the infirmary before, but it was as she expected: white. Andie looked around for some outlets, just to make sure this XANA/black smoke didn't try to get her again. She saw the door open, and she almost screamed until she saw it was Aelita and Jak with the rest of the gang.
"Andie! Are you alright? What happened?" Jak was unusually loud as he ran over to his baby sister, checking her forehead.
"Ha… I don't have a fever, Jak," she laughed at her silly sibling.
"Oh, right. I just don't really know what to do," he admitted, as he sat down on the bed next to her.
"I'm alright. Really. I just slipped and fell coming out of the locker room. Apparently I hit my head pretty hard, but I don't think I'm concussed."
"Good, good," Jak said as he rubbed his sister's hand.
"I brought you some clothes," Aelita said, walking over to the bed, "I got your pajamas, and a change for tomorrow. Oh, and your toothbrush."
"Thank you Aelita," Andie smiled, "And thank you Odd and Ulrich. You guys really saved me back there."
"It was no problem," Ulrich said, "I'm just glad you're gonna be alright."
"Yeah," Odd agreed, "that's what really matters."
Just then the nurse came back with a bottle full of white pills for Andie to take. She then shooed the group of kids back to their afternoon classes saying that Andie would be fine and they could visit her later.
They did. After dinner Odd came triumphantly through the door of the infirmary, holding a tray of food.
"Here," he said, as he placed the tray on her lap, "I know you're not going to eat the mush they give you here."
"Hehe, thanks Odd," Andie said as she put a spoonful of mashed potatoes in her mouth.
"You're welcome. I'm just glad you'll be alright. How are you feeling?"
She swallowed.
"I'm alright. I don't even have a headache."
"Good," he said, nervously fiddling with his fingers.
"Uhm… Odd? I uh, couldn't help but overhearing what you were saying to Jeremy on the phone. When you found me that is. And uh, I know that whatever Jak is thinking is true. That you guys are up to something."
"Yeah. Yumi had a feeling he had figured it out," Odd answered, "It's not a simple matter… so I don't know if we'll be able to tell you."
"I think I deserve to know, since this XANA person is after me now," she said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"You're right Andie… you're right," Odd trailed off, "I'm not exactly sure how to tell you, Jeremy's the one who is better at these kinds of things."
"I can wait," she said, "as long as you don't try to 'go into the past' and erase my memory and stuff."
She gave a coy smile and winked. He smiled back.
"No worries. I'll be sure to have Jeremy fill you and Jak in. But for now you need to rest. Everything will be explained tomorrow when you're better."
"Fine," she said as Odd took her finished tray away. She lay down on her side and closed her eyes, "Goodnight Odd."
"Goodnight Andie," he said. He smoothed some of her hair away from her face. Gosh she was so pretty. He left the room and walked slowly back to his dorm with his hands in his pockets. Tomorrow will change everything.