Happy Monday! :)

Chapter 4

"Come on, boys! Four more laps! I'll make men out of you yet!" Jim shouted enthusiastically as the soccer team ran laps around the field.

Ulrich's head throbbed but he was glad for the exercise that loosened up his stiff muscles. He wasn't sure how far they had run since the start of gym class but he was certainly thankful that they only had four laps left.

The non-athletes were playing some sort of mixture between soccer and baseball but, according to Jim, any exercise was good exercise, and he let them carry on.

Even though they had 8th period gym together, Ulrich still hadn't seen Yumi. He figured she was in the gymnasium practicing her martial arts. Jim had always been especially lenient with the Japanese girl because she always attributed her incredible skill to the older man's fine teaching and guidance.

Finally, Jim announced that class was over and everyone started walking back to the locker rooms.

Yumi appeared around the corner and leaned against the side of the gymnasium, apparently waiting for Jim. Ulrich quickened his pace.

"I think I have that vault down now, if you want to see it." Yumi was saying to Jim as Ulrich reached the pair.

"I always want to see what my best student has been working on," the older man beamed. "You know, when I was younger, I was on the national vaulting team."

Yumi grinned knowingly and Ulrich nudged his coach's arm. "Why didn't you ever tell us? The team would be so impressed."

Jim's cheerful expression immediately turned serious. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"You don't have to." Yumi shrugged. Then, she turned her attention to Ulrich. "What do you want?"

Her unfriendly tone stung him slightly but he tried to brush it off. "I just wanted to talk to you for a minute."

Jim looked from one teen to another and then back before nodding slowly. "Well then, I'll just be in my office. You can show me another time, Yumi. I'll still tell Mr. Delmas that you practiced today."

Yumi watched the gym teacher retreat awkwardly before crossing her arms and leaning back against the wall. "Yes?"

Ulrich tried to swallow his nervousness. "I just wanted to say 'hey'."

The corners of her lips twitched and Ulrich knew she was trying not to smirk at his shyness.

"Jim ran you guys pretty hard," she commented, watching the team slowly pass by over his shoulder.

Ulrich shrugged. "We've done worse."

There was an awkward silence. Yumi watched him expectantly.

"I was wondering... if maybe you would want to get dinner or something sometime," he finally forced out.

Yumi's expression was unreadable.

Then, she laughed. "If I didn't know better, I'd say it sounds like you're trying to ask me out."

Ulrich frowned. "I'm being serious."

Yumi looked at the boy in front of her sympathetically. "You can't be serious. You have no idea what you'd be getting yourself into."

"I think you'd be surprised," Ulrich countered. "Besides, I thought you said you weren't with William anymore."

Yumi looked away. "It's not... You don't understand. It's complicated."

"I understand that you should be able to see whoever you want whenever you want. I'm not scared of William."

"You should be," Yumi scoffed. Then, she sighed. Wasn't this boy just repeating what she had herself earlier that day? Besides, what could it hurt? No one would have to know...

"Fine." She finally gave up. "When and where?"

Ulrich smiled widely. "Tonight? And anywhere you want. My treat."

Yumi smiled back despite herself. "I know a great sushi place. Meet me outside my building at 7:30?"

"Sounds good," Ulrich responded with a goofy grin that almost made Yumi blush. "I'll see you then."

"See ya," Yumi said as he walked towards the door to the locker room. Once he was out of sight, she relaxed against the cool brick behind her and sighed. He looked so adorably attractive with his messy hair and flushed face from running.

Yumi groaned to herself. What on Earth had she just gotten herself into?

.

"You look nice," Ulrich commented as they walked towards the restaurant.

"Thanks. You too." Yumi replied, trying not to stare at the boy beside her. It was true, in his dark jeans and crisp green shirt, he certainly looked older than he was and Yumi was thankful that he had changed out of William's clothes. She adjusted her own shirt nervously and hoped he was being sincere.

Yumi Ishiyama had spent more time picking out her outfit that afternoon than she cared to admit.

When they finally reached the sushi place, Yumi picked a table by the windows and they ordered.

"This is nice," Ulrich finally broke the silence.

Yumi smiled. "I know it's not anything fancy, but the food is always good and it's close."

"No, I mean it. I really like it," he insisted.

"I'm glad you like it," Yumi responded.

They sat in silence for another moment and Yumi wished she were better at this whole "dating" thing. She couldn't remember the last time she had been on a real date.

Their food came and polite conversation was made between bites.

"So you've been playing soccer since you were little?" and "You were born in Japan? Your French is perfect." and later, "The weird kid with spikey hair is named Odd? How appropriate."

Finally, they were finished eating.

"Who's that?"

Yumi realized he was looking at a picture in her wallet. They were getting ready to leave and Yumi had pulled it out to pay.

"That's my little brother," she answered as Ulrich took the bill from her.

"I didn't know you had a brother. He goes to Kadic, doesn't he? I've seen him around before." Ulrich put a card in the bill folder and handed it to the waiter.

Yumi nodded proudly. "He's a first-year. He lives in the dorm building next to yours."

Ulrich looked confused before covering it politely. "I didn't realize he lived on campus."

"He's smarter than I am. I want him to be able to focus on school and go to university and he can't do that cramped in a tiny apartment," Yumi said nonchalantly.

Though he was tempted, Ulrich refrained from asking her how she could afford two tuitions at Kadic when she was forced to live in the closet-apartment that she lived in.

"That's really kind of you. You're an amazing big sister," Ulrich said, impressed that their unconventional family of two could be so much closer than his own ordinary family.

Yumi shrugged. "It's what my parents would have wanted."

Ulrich got his card back and they left the restaurant.

"What happened to your parents?" He asked as they walked back to Yumi's apartment. "If you don't mind me asking," he added.

The dark haired girl looked at him for a moment before answering. "They died in a car crash a few years ago. We didn't have enough money to move back to Japan, even though that's where all our relatives lived, so we stayed here."

"I'm sorry," Ulrich finally said.

"Don't be." Yumi answered quickly. "Hiroki and I are doing just fine."

He supposed the siblings were doing pretty well, all things considered.

"You want to come up?" Yumi asked once they reached the lobby of her building.

Ulrich immediately flushed and he struggled to find a response.

Yumi laughed at his assumption. "Not like that. I just feel bad that dinner was so awkward. I could show you the rooftop. It's closed for the winter so it'll be empty."

"How can we get up there if it's closed?" Ulrich asked, trying to recover from his previous embarrassment.

Yumi grinned at him mischievously. "You'll see."

.

Yumi knocked on the door of the apartment beside hers. Ulrich stood off to the side uncertainly.

"Yeah?" A man in his mid-twenties opened the door. The strong smell of smoke wafted out from the apartment.

"I need the keys to the roof," Yumi announced seriously.

The man stared at her with glazed over eyes. "Aliens?"

Yumi nodded. "Looks like it."

The man disappeared into his apartment and returned a few minutes later with a set of keys, a package of crackers, and a blank piece of paper.

"Just ask them to bring my cat back, man."

Yumi took the various objects and tried to hide a smile. "I'll put her on the fire escape for you if they give her up."

"Safe travels." The man waved his arms slowly.

Yumi waved back and Ulrich heard the door close as they walked away.

"That was strange." He commented.

"He's in charge of maintenance for the building. He's also high most of the time," Yumi shrugged before unlocking a heavy door at the end of the hall.

"What really happened to his cat?" Ulrich asked as they climbed the stairs to the roof.

"Sometimes he forgets to feed it so it escapes and comes to my window for food," Yumi laughed. "I'll just put a can of cat food outside his window when I get back."

They found themselves in the maintenance office and then Yumi unlocked the door to the roof.

Ulrich could see across the whole city. "This is amazing," he said quietly.

"Isn't it?" Yumi smiled at him. She pulled two lounge chairs closer to the edge and gestured for Ulrich to sit down.

They sat in peaceful silence, looking out over the city and watching the lights shine against the dark night. Then, Ulrich realized the time.

"They close the gates at 10." He jumped up from the chair.

"Wait," Yumi grabbed his hand. "It's already 9:50. You won't make it anyway." Then, she blushed. "You... you can sleep here again if you want."

Ulrich sighed. He felt bad imposing for the second time but did he have any other choice? "You sure you don't mind?"

The dark haired girl smiled. "It's not a problem."

They walked back down the stairs and Ulrich found himself mesmerized by the way Yumi's shiny hair swept around her neck and shoulder as she walked.

"I'm afraid it hasn't gotten any bigger since the last time you were here," she joked as they entered the apartment.

Ulrich tried to laugh but he found that being alone with this girl now felt a lot different than it had last night when he was too distracted by the pain and nausea to notice the way her eyes sparkled when she smiled and the tiny strip of skin that peeked out between her shirt and waistband when she raised her arms.

"You ok?" She asked as she got a can of cat food out of the cabinet.

"I'm fine," he answered.

She looked at him doubtfully but didn't say anything else. She opened the small window and slid the can along the floor of the fire escape so it stopped near her neighbor's window.

"So, Boarder, what's your story?" Yumi asked, sitting on one end of the couch.

He sat on the other end and shrugged. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know... Favorite color, childhood dreams, celebrity crush, anything."

Ulrich forced himself to relax and tried to formulate his responses. "Green. And I wanted to be an astronaut before I decided to be on the French National team. I don't really have a celebrity crush, I think that's kind of silly."

Yumi smirked. "You're awfully predictable."

Ulrich frowned. "I am not."

The girl sitting across from him raised an eyebrow.

"Then surprise me."

Suspense! :) Also, I will be changing the rating of this story to M. Nothing too explicit will be happening in the next chapter but I want to be on the safe side, just in case.