Hey, everybody, back with a new chapter! :D It's a bit longer, so that's better, I guess. XD Like always, I would like to thank BreadLoaf, ulrichyumilover, The Eccentric Gamer, and camilleRomance for reviewing! :) Thank you so much for all of your kind words! ^~^

Chapter 4: Leaving

"Excuse me, but what is the meaning of this?" Annette put her hands on her hips as she descended the staircase, still in her silk pajamas. "I don't remember you telling us that you were having company over, dear.."

Unfortunately, Seth was following close behind, and he had a disconcerting look on his face. He focused his gaze on Ulrich and added, "We need to talk, young man."

Ulrich directed his line of sight towards his parents, then back at his classmates. Becoming a snitch wouldn't be so admirable, he figured. "Mr. and Mrs. Stern, we realized that things were getting a bit too loud..." It was Odd that chose to take the lead, fortunately for Ulrich, "So we were just about to leave, really-"

"Is that so?" Seth shot sarcastically. "Ulrich wasn't alowed to have anyone over at all." It was then he walked over, and grabbed the home phone.

"I'm contacting the police," he announce forthrightly, causing solemnity to fill the room. "You kids shouldn't be out alone so late at night."

At that, Odd shrunk back, and, instinctively, Ulrich grabbed Sissi's arm.

"It's your turn," he frantically hissed into her ear. "You screwed up, and it's time for you to live up to it."

"If you really think that's the case, Ulrich dear," she scoffed, "You don't know me." Sissi turned to face the rest of them. "We're leaving!"

Without warning, Emmanuel ran towards the door and lugged it open. "Hey!" Seth screamed, unable to leave the phone post as the kids streamed out. Frustrated he didn't know any of them, he slammed the phone out of anger.

"Ulrich, I'm going to rely on you to give me all of their names," he asserted, grabbing the boy's collar.

Ulrich furrowed his eyebrows. "No," he said simply, removing his hands from his shirt. It was then he could notice Seth biting down on his jaw, and his face turning slightly red.

"Honey-!" Annette interjected.

But it was too late. Flexing his hand, he shortly gave Ulrich a hard slap across the face.

"You irresponsible imbecile," he seethed as Ulrich sucked air through his teeth. "You think you could get away with this party?!"

"You asshole!" Ulrich only cried, placing a hand on his sore cheek.

"Seth, Ulrich-" Annette attempted futilely to console them.

"Shut up." Ulrich only lowered his head, stunned, tears once again burning at the back of his eyes. "I'm going up to my room."

The sounds resonated with each step. "There's nothing I can do," he continued on his way up, "to prevent tomorrow from happening." He supposed that if he said the words to himself, it wouldn't cut into him as much as usual.

It worked.

Ulrich left with his father the next morning. The mere thought of kissing this place goodbye didn't exactly appeal to him, and so he continued giving his father the silent treatment.

The cityscape zoomed past as he looked out the window. He turned the knobs that corresponded with the air conditioner, and placed his free hand against the vent. The boy let out a breathy, sarcastic laugh as the unusual sensation graced his fingertips—and it was oddly refreshing too, with this summer air.

"You're easily amused." Ulrich turned to look at his father, startled.

"Hm, I forgot you even spoke." The teen slumped in his chair, giving him a fleeting glance.

"Still giving me the silent treatment, aren't we?" Seth's eyes remained glued on the road. "Ulrich, this is the perfect opportunity to start over."

Annoyed that Seth was acting as if nothing happened, he bitterly retorted, "And what makes you think I would want that?"

"You think I couldn't tell? It's painfully clear that you're disconnected from the rest of your classmates."

"Fat chance."

"Explain the party, then."

Ulrich only jutted out his lips and crossed his arms, slumping even further into his chair. It was then he decided to pull out his phone, wanting desperately for a distraction.

As a result, he brought up Facebook's newsfeed. His notifications sign lit up with a bright red. Meanwhile, a couple recent statuses from his classmates were of the first things he saw, the notable one being Sissi's:

Elizabeth Sissi Delmas

Yesterday at 23:40 near Paris, France

worst after party eveerr! keep it up Ulrich, and youll need to find yourself another gf soon! D: —with Ulrich Stern and 26 others.

44 Likes 6 Comments

Ulrich didn't necessarily find the "threat" concerning considering he didn't really like her in the first place. Therefore, he merely dismissed the status—but that didn't stop him from opening up the comments out of pure curiosity. Some were from this morning:

Emmanuel Maillard and 43 others like this.

Julien Xao: hey, when ur looking for a new bf, can i be a candidate? ;D

Hérve Pichon: Back off, she's mine!

Elizabeth Sissi Delmas: eww Herve, go away! D;

Anaïs Fiquet: tell 'im, gurl!

Odd Della-Robbia: chill guys we've put him in enough trouble already.

Emmanuel Maillard: but u gotta admit the party was lame

Ulrich grimaced at a few of them, and frowned even further when he realized that his father may be right. However, he made a mental note to call Odd later.

Ah, Odd Della-Robbia. Also a soon-to-be junior. Known as "Kadic's Casanova," "The Romeo of Today," and also another one of God's fallen angels, he was extremely attractive—and nearly in the same league as Ulrich. His flamboyant personality matched his outlandish hairdo, which was notably spiked to a point. Oh, and purple was his favorite color. He was genuinely a great friend of Ulrich's, one of the few decent people that attended Kadic...Although his bad jokes may be a bit overwhelming at times.

Aside from Odd's, the rest of the statuses didn't really show much else, neither. It was mostly a bunch of complaints about last night, really.

Odd Della-Robbia to Ulrich Stern

12 minutes ago near Paris, France

sucks dude that ur dad is doing this to u. But do ur best, good buddy, learn lots, n remember, fish can swim! ~in bocca al lupo! :D

8 Likes

The brunette shook his head at the eccentric teen's spontaneity, but smiled at the "good luck" in Italian. The message admittedly lifted his spirits up a bit, and as a result, he sighed in temporary content.

Maybe this won't turn out to be so bad after all..?

Author's Note: Well, there you go. :) I haven't typed in shorthand since 7th grade, so sorry if it's a bit inaccurate. XD Like it, hate it, let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts! :)

Ooh, and ever wondered how the characters look like in Kadic Uniforms, like I depicted in this story? Check out my DeviantART page if you're feeling up to it. ;)