Nicolas and Herb wandered the courtyard before breakfast.

"So, what's the play this year?" Herb asked.

"I don't know," said Nicolas. "We may be doing a musical. There are a lot of choices, but no one has said anything about which one they want to do. I can write the script adaption like I did last year, but I wouldn't mind having a little extra help."

"Who would help you?" asked Herb. "I'm not much of a school play person."

"Maybe I can get Aelita to help me," Nicolas said.

"Doubt it," said Herb. "She and Jeremy are inseparable."

"Who else would do it?" asked Nicolas.

Nicolas looked over at Aelita. She was sitting on a bench with the rest of her friends. They were listening to Eva, except maybe for Jeremy, who was balancing his laptop on his lap and typing furiously. Eva was holding a small notebook in her hands and reading from it. Curious, Nicolas walked over to listen, but Eva heard him coming and looked up.

"What, Nicolas?" she asked.

"What are you reading?" asked Nicolas.

"Poetry," replied Eva.

This sounded promising to Nicolas. "Really? Who's it by?"

"Mr. Poliakoff!" called the art teacher at that moment.

"Gotta run," said Nicolas. He ran to the teacher.

"That was weird," said Ulrich.

"He probably wanted to say hi to Aelita," said Odd.

"I found another replica," said Jeremy. "We'll destroy it tonight."

"Okay," said Kayla. "What do you want us to do?" She pointed to herself and Eva. They never went to the network before. They knew about the Skid and that it didn't have room for both of them. There was an extra nav skid, but neither of them were keen about having to hang upside-down.

"You two will go to Sector Five and protect the core of LYOKO," said Jeremy. "XANA may try to attack while the others are away."


After supper, the LYOKO warriors went to the factory. It was Eva who first noticed they weren't alone.

"Look over there," she said, pointing to the shore.

The others turned to where she was pointing.

"That looks like Nicolas," said Yumi.

"What are we going to do?" asked Kayla. "He may see us."

"This has happened before," said Aelita. "We need a distraction."

"I'll go," said Eva. "Kayla, can you protect the core by yourself?"

"No problem," replied Kayla.

"See you later," said Eva.

Eva climbed down the embankment. "I wasn't expecting to see anyone here," she said, startling Nicolas.

He turned around. "Hey, Eva. What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask the same of you," Eva said.

Nicolas held up a fishing pole. "Fishing," he answered.

Eva raised an eyebrow.

"What about you?" asked Nicolas.

"Going for a walk," lied Eva.

"Have a seat." Nicolas patted the ground beside him. Eva sat down. "Want to try?" he asked, offering her the pole.

"No, thank you," Eva politely said.

Nicolas shrugged and turned back to the river.

"You like poetry?" he said.

Eva turned. She wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question. "Yes," she replied.

"What were you reading this morning?" asked Nicolas.

"'Ugly Beauty'," replied Eva.

"I don't know that one," said Nicolas. "I'll have to read it sometime."

Eva looked at the river. "She sits in front of the mirror and stares / her countenance something she cannot bear. / Soft is her face, gentle are eyes so green. / No one knows what her body was, what her face had been. / Skin deep is what beauty is truly / her soul, the opposite, dark and ugly. / Perfection she could not achieve / never lovely as others believe. / Too much, not enough, too big, too small / she sees the imperfections invisible to all."

Nicolas was staring at her. For a long time he had seen only a rough looking girl who was always quiet and mysterious. Now he saw that Eva had a love of poetry.

"That's amazing," he said. He chuckled. "I can think of someone that poem reminds me of."

"Sissi?" asked Eva.

"Yeah."

Nicolas could see that there was something else, something more personal. "That poem," he said, "who wrote it?"

Eva turned, a flicker of interest in her dark eyes. "I did."

"You really have a talent for it," said Nicolas. An idea occurred to him. "Um, Eva?"

"Yes?"

"I don't know if you like school plays, but would you mind helping me out with this year's?" Nicolas saw her frown. "Not play a part, but help me write the school script?"

"What's the play?" asked Eva.

"I'm not sure," said Nicolas. "There are a few choices, but no one's made a decision. I was hoping to do another Shakespearean. Last year's wasn't great, but it did well. Would you be interested?"

Eva thought for a moment. It wasn't a bad idea. It would give her a chance to be in the spotlight a bit more and hopefully up her profile. And it was something she would have an easy time doing.

"All right, I'll think about it," Eva finally said.

"Great!" said Nicolas.

"I said, I'll think about it," Eva repeated. "Don't get any ideas that I'm jumping on this bandwagon right away. We'll see how things play out."

"Yeah, I know how much you don't like Sissi," said Nicolas.

They sat there for a long time, mostly in silence as to not scare away the fish. Nicolas only caught a few before deciding that he was packing up to leave for the night. The others still hadn't gotten back when he was ready to leave. Eva wasn't sure that she should walk back to school with him when he offered. She finally decided on going back. It would raise questions if she didn't, and she could always run back to the factory if she needed to. Hopefully the others were okay.

Back on campus, Eva pulled out her mobile and called Jeremy.

"Are things okay there?" asked Eva.

"Things got a little rocky, but they're on their way home right now," answered Jeremy. "They should be home in about five minutes."

"I'll see you back at school," said Eva, and she hung up.


On Saturday afternoon, Kayla waited outside the dance studio where she took her ballroom dance lessons. She had her arms crossed and kept looking at her watch. She was expecting her partner.

Kayla gave up and went inside. Class was about to start.

"Break into pairs," said Ms. Riddle.

Kayla stood by herself.

"Miss Olson, where is your partner?" asked Ms. Riddle.

"Not here," replied Kayla.

A vicious girl, Aria, looked over at Kayla and smirked. Aria was not a well-liked girl. She was cruel and manipulative and petty, not to mention extremely jealous of Kayla, who was prettier than her in every way.

Kayla caught her smirk and glared.

"Excuse my tardiness, Madam Riddle," said a hoarse voice from the doorway. It belonged to a teenager dressed sharply, brown hair pulled into a ponytail, and a fedora pulled low over the brow to hide the eyes.

Ms. Riddle smiled. "Oh, don't worry, dear," she said, staring at the newcomer. "You can pair up with Miss Olson."

"Where were you?" Kayla asked, holding her hand out.

"Sorry. I couldn't find the lifts for the shoes."

Kayla looked over at Aria. She was staring at Kayla's partner with interest. Kayla could see the scheming look in her eyes.

"You have Aria's eye," Kayla said with a smirk, "Eva."

Eva chuckled. "Is this the girl who's such a pain?"

"Yeah," replied Kayla.

"All right, let's begin," said Ms. Riddle. "Ah, young man, do you know how to dance?"

"Yes," replied Eva.

Ms. Riddle turned on the CD player and began class.

"They need to pick the pace up a little," Eva muttered to Kayla. "I could go to sleep."

Kayla laughed. "I'll see what I can do. Do you want to tango?"

Eva smirked. "I could use the exercise."

They waited until the end of class to request a dance. Eva asked since she could tell she held some sway over Ms. Riddle.

"Tango?" asked Ms. Riddle, a little surprised at the request. "All right."

Eva and Kayla took the floor. They easily moved around, Eva more than able to support Kayla's weight during a lift.

"Ballet practice paid off," whispered Kayla.

"I knew it would," Eva replied.

Kayla caught Aria glaring at them. She smiled, amused that she was able to irk her rival in such a way.

After class, Kayla went to the bathroom to change clothes.

"That is some partner you have," Aria said.

Kayla looked in the mirror. "Thank you."

Aria began to change her clothes as well. "So are you dating?"

"Dating?" asked Kayla. She shook her head. "No."

"So how do you know each other?" asked Aria.

"From school," answered Kayla. "We have classes together."

"Ah!" Aria was quiet for a moment. "So you wouldn't mind if I asked him out?"

Kayla almost burst out laughing. "No, not at all," she said, forcing a snicker back. "I don't think he would want to go out with you. You're not his type."

"And what is his type? Pretty princess with golden hair?" mocked Aria.

"He prefers a modest girl," Kayla answered, ignoring Aria's tone.

"Okay," said Aria.

They left and found Eva waiting outside the bathroom.

"Hello," said Aria in a sultry tone.

Eva glanced at her. "Hello."

Aria could see that there was no interest in that hoarse voice. "I'm Aria. What's your name?"

Kayla wondered if Eva was prepared for this. Who was she kidding? This was Eva she was talking about. She was always prepared.

"Ricky," Eva replied. "Short for Ricardo."

"Ricardo," repeated Aria, rolling the r's. She began to invade Eva' personal space. "You know, I like a boy who's not afraid to admit he likes to dance. Some find it demeaning." Aria ran her hand over the shoulder of Eva's jacket. "Would you like to go out sometime?"

"You don't waste anytime," said Eva. "But no, thanks. I'm not interested in the dating scene. I have other things to worry about."

"Too bad," said Aria. "Maybe this will change your mind."

Kayla's jaw dropped as Aria kissed Eva. Eva was too shocked to do anything for a second. She pushed Aria away, gave her a disgusted glance, and turned to the nearest exit.

"Slovenly cow!" hissed Eva. "Let's go, Kayla."

Kayla hurried after Eva, leaving behind a very confused Aria.

"I cannot believe. . ."

"Believe it," snapped Eva, rubbing her mouth with the back of her hand and spitting on the ground.

Kayla giggled.

"What?" growled Eva.

"That was hilarious," laughed Kayla.

"It's not funny," said Eva.

"Yes, it is. Did you see the look on Aria's face when you called her a slovenly cow?" Kayla shrieked with laughter as they walked down the street. "Your face was priceless, too, but hers!"

Kayla's house was closer than the school. Bon Ami greeted them at the door, jumping up on Eva, able to recognize her immediately. She patted him on the head before taking off her jacket and throwing it on a chair, striding to the nearest bathroom.

"I am glad you find this so amusing," said Eva.

Kayla walked over to the bathroom door that Eva did not close. Eva was standing at the sink, a washcloth hanging over the side and the bottle of mouthwash in one hand. She gargled and spat before washing her mouth with scalding hot water.

Eva looked over at Kayla and glared. She pointed a finger at her. "We do not tell anyone, and I mean anyone, about this."

The threatening look Eva was giving her didn't stop Kayla from bursting into another fit of giggles.

"Got it," said Kayla, trying to control her snickering.

Eva changed out of her dance clothes and pulled on her classic baggy jeans and oversized T-shirt. She went into the living room and plopped down on the sofa, Bon Ami jumping up and curling up in her lap.

"Drink?" called Kayla from the kitchen.

"Do you have any of that green tea lemon stuff?" asked Eva.

Kayla took a large pitcher from the refrigerator. "Yep! Fresh batch!" She looked at what else was there. "Do you want me to heat up some leftover stir-fry?"

"Is that your supper for tonight?" asked Eva.

"It might be," answered Kayla.

"Then no."

Kayla came to the living room. "You need to eat."

"I've been," said Eva.

"Eva!"

Eva threw her arms up. "What? I'm eating. Ask Odd. He's only be getting about half of my meals now."

"Eva Maverick!" Kayla let out an exasperated sigh. "You know what: forget it! You're having that stir-fry." She went back into the kitchen.

"You can't force me to eat it," Eva told her.

"Watch me!" yelled Kayla.

"What are you going to do, shove it down my throat?"

Kayla came back to the living room. "You're eating it. If I have to puree it and stick a hose down your throat to get you to eat it, so be it."

Eva smirked. "You're starting to turn into me."

"Far from it," said Kayla. "I'm just looking out for you. I'm not going to let you starve yourself. Got that?"

Eva was quiet for a moment. "Got it."

"Good!" Satisfied, Kayla went back to the kitchen to heat the stir-fry.

Eva looked down at Bon Ami. He was looking up at her with his brown eyes.

"What?" she asked.

Bon Ami put his head down.

Kayla came back ten minutes later with stir-fry and drinks. She sat beside Eva on the sofa and picked up the remote to the television.

"So what will it be — Smokey and the Bandit 2 or Matilda?" asked Kayla.

"Smokey and the Bandit 2," replied Eva. "Dom DeLuise always makes me laugh."

Kayla gave Eva a funny look. It was rare to see Eva smile, much less laugh.

"Okay," said Kayla, getting up and putting in the movie.


I hope I spelled Dom DeLuise's name correctly. I wanted this chapter to have a little twisted humor in it in some form. Please review!