Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko
Chapter 7
"Uh, thanks, Jeremie," said Aelita, surprised. She looked at the nurse. "Is he alright?"
"That fight must have created some problems," said Nurse Dorothy. "However, it's not very serious. He should be back to normal soon. But I'm taking caution, and he's going to need someone to watch him for the rest of the evening. Ulrich, Odd, would either of you care for the job?"
"Sorry, Nurse Dorothy, we've got, uh, homework," said Ulrich sheepishly. "Why not Aelita?"
"Ms. Stones, do you object?" asked Nurse Dorothy, looking at her.
"Not at all," said Aelita, glancing down at Jeremie. He was asleep.
"Good, take him to his room, he should be fine there," said Nurse Dorothy. "We need to keep cots in the infirmary free."
"We'll help you, Aelita," said Odd, lifting up Jeremie. They made their way to Jeremie's dorm, trying not to knock into any students.
"Okay, Princess, you think you've got it covered?" asked Ulrich, setting the genius on the bed. Aelita nodded. "We'll see you around, keep us posted."
After they left the room Ulrich glared at Odd.
"Jeremie ran into Theo's buddies, huh?" asked Ulrich, smirking.
"It's a lot better than the real story!" said Odd, crossing his arms. "I'm surprised Jeremie was able to last that long at the gym."
"He only did because you were muttering Aelita's name in his ear!" said Ulrich, restraining a laugh.
"He would have lasted longer if he hadn't tripped and hit his head on the treadmill," said Odd, smiling.
"Okay, so defending Aelita's honor sounds a lot better," said Ulrich. "Let's go get some dinner, I'm hungry."
Aelita sighed and sat down next to Jeremie on the bed. She set his head on her lap. Cradling it gently, she felt guilt flood her senses. How could she be angry with him now, while he was in pain?
"I'm sorry, Jeremie," said Aelita, bending down and kissing his forehead. She drew circles around his eyes with her finger, as if to bring back his glasses. It didn't work, but she didn't expect it to.
Aelita waited minutes, or maybe hours, until he started moving. He sat straight up, looking confused, but Aelita grabbed his shoulders and set his head back on her lap.
"You need your rest," said Aelita.
Jeremie couldn't understand what was happening. The last thing he remembered was going to that infernal gym, then he lost his balance and blacked out for some reason. He vaguely remembered waking up a while ago, but couldn't recall any details. Hopefully he didn't embarrass himself.
Aelita noticed Jeremie's eyes were wide open, and staring at the ceiling. Was it wise to be thinking hard after receiving a lot of physical pain? She should probably play it safe, but how could she wipe away all thoughts from his mind? Knock him out? That might do more harm than good.
That note she had found at breakfast yesterday came into her mind. Go with your gut instinct. Maybe it was time to do so.
Jeremie wasn't entirely sure what to do now. He was certain of a few things. One, he was in his room. Two, Aelita was holding him. Three, he had no idea why. He stole a couple peeks at her every few minutes, and she smiled each time. It seemed like he was forgiven.
"Jeremie, are you feeling alright?" asked Aelita, setting a hand on his arm. He groaned loudly as pain shot through it. "Jeremie!"
"I'm fine, Aelita," said Jeremie, trying to sit up. His muscles were on fire and he froze, keeping down a yell.
"You're not fine," said Aelita. "That fight must have exhausted you."
"Fight?" asked Jeremie, confused. He didn't remember any fight. "I guess."
"You're not working on the antivirus tonight," said Aelita firmly.
"What?" asked Jeremie shooting up and ignoring the pain. "Aelita, you can't be serious!"
"I am," said Aelita. The words "gut instinct" were racing through her brain.
"But there's so much work to do! " said Jeremie, not believing his ears.
"And you can do it some other time," said Aelita.
"But Aelita, I-" said Jeremie, but he made the exact same discovery Aelita had a few days previously. It's rather difficult to speak when you're being kissed.
Aelita knew that there would be consequences after this, but she couldn't really worry about them right now. The option of thinking about Jeremie was just so much more appealing. She pressed her lips on his gently, not wanting to cause more pain.
Jeremie's mind was blank. Aelita sure knew how to make him forget what to say. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her, but something held him back. Wretched shyness!
Aelita held his neck gently and felt his body tremble. She moved back abruptly, afraid she had made him ache.
"Ae-Aelita," said Jeremie, hundreds of thoughts swarming in his head. At least he didn't freeze up.
"Yes, Jeremie?" asked Aelita nervously.
That did it. Jeremie became a statue at that moment, not able to move or speak. Aelita sighed and kissed his cheek, before standing up. It was time to retire to her room for the night; she had a feeling Jeremie would be okay. At the very least he wasn't about to start working on the antivirus.
"Aelita!"
Aelita looked up from her book, surprised. Someone was pounding on her door and calling her name. She moaned, recognizing the voices that made more drama in her life than Xana it seemed.
"Yes?" asked Aelita, opening the door.
"We know about the kiss!" said Melanie, squealing.
"How do you know about these things?" asked Aelita, eyeing them both suspiciously and exasperatedly. "It only happened twenty minutes ago!"
"Word gets around fast!" said Lola, shrugging. "So, did he freeze?"
"Not at first," said Aelita, staring at the ground. "He said my name this time."
"And..." said Camille, egging her on.
"Then I replied, and then he froze," said Aelita, scratching the back of her head. "That's progress, right?"
"I guess," said Naomi, rolling her eyes. "But we still have a lot of work to do. I'm assuming you two are over this squabble?"
"I think so," said Aelita. "He wasn't upset with me."
"Excellent," said Azra. "You think you could sweet talk him into going to the party?"
"That's my job!" said Emily, frowning.
"Well, if he's knocked out, he can't exactly go!" said Azra.
"I'll do my best," said Aelita, not wanting another argument to come up
."Jeremie," said Ulrich, shaking the boy's shoulders. "Jeremie!"
"Here, let me," said Odd, bending down to Jeremie's ear. "Jeremie, Aelita's going to marry Theo!"
"Huh?" asked Jeremie, jumping.
"Well, that made you move!" said William, smirking.
"Einstein, what happened?" asked Odd.
"Aelita," said Jeremie, smacking his forehead. "I, I-"
"Did she kiss you?" asked Bastien, one eyebrow raised.
"Y-yeah," said Jeremie, a small blush on his face.
"I can't believe you froze all over again!" said Thomas disbelievingly.
"I managed to say her name," said Jeremie defensively.
And then you froze," said Odd pointedly.
"Well, yeah," said Jeremie glumly.
"Jeremie!" said Ulrich, groaning. "She kissed you because she likes you! Do you want her to stop kissing you?"
"No!" said Jeremie, red tainting his cheeks.
"Then buck up and kiss her back!" said Alexandre. "Looks like going to the gym didn't toughen you up. It's time to go to Plan D."
"Which is?" asked Jeremie, a bemused expression on his face.
"D stands for double-date!" said Odd, smirking.
"Excuse me?" asked Jeremie, blankly.
"Double-date," said Ulrich. "You're going on one with Odd and Melanie."
"Excuse me?" repeated Jeremie.
"Better face facts, Jeremie, you're going on a date with one of Melanie's friends," said Alexandre.
"Huh?" asked Jeremie.
"We got him to say something else!" said Romain, chuckling.
"Melanie couldn't resist my charms," said Odd, his head up high. "I asked if I could bring a friend and she said yes! She's bringing this girl she knows."
"I thought the whole point of these was so I'd be dating Aelita," said Jeremie, stunned.
"This is a way for you to get dating experience without embarrassing yourself in front of her," said Thomas. "It's not like Aelita's ever going to find out."
"A double date," said Aelita slowly. She remembered reading about them and asking Yumi, but it was still something to think about.
"I'm going on a date with Odd," said Melanie, looking proud. "I asked if I could bring a friend and he agreed, saying he would bring one, too."
"I don't want to go on a date with anyone but Jeremie!" exclaimed Aelita.
"Aelita, have you ever been on a formal date?" asked Claire suddenly.
"No," admitted Aelita. "Unless you count that study date."
"We don't, and this way you'll know what one is like!" said Heidi, gesturing wildly.
"Is this Plan G or something?" asked Aelita, exhausted from all this plotting.
"Of course not, silly!" said Melanie. "This wasn't planned! It just happened! You can call it...Surprise A if you want."
"The date's tomorrow," said Lola. "Get some sleep. You're going to need it."
