SO - Hey guys! Sorry for the long delay! We apologize severely and feel bad about it but we're back now and we hope to update like we usually did! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story!
NS - Hey guys, we're finally back. Hopefully this chapter makes up for the amount of time between this chapter and the last, but we'll hopefully have more chapters up soon. Enjoy~
Chapter 7
Odd grinned as he leaned against his bedroom wall, his arms folded as his eyes followed his best friend pace back and forth across the room. His steps had taken on the effect of a pendulum, and Odd guessed that if he stuck a card in-between his friend's eyebrows it would have stuck.
Then again, it was a very important occasion.
"Calm down Ulrich," Odd reassured his best friend, waving his hand in a lazy, unconcerned motion, "He'll be here." Ulrich turned on the spot to look at Odd, and at that moment the comical blond thought that he looked rather like a model in his black suit and tie, his shoes shiny and his hair flawless.
"He had better get here soon," Ulrich replied, checking his watch. "The meal's in an hour and we're meant to meet up with our parents in half that."
"Relax, good buddy, relax," Odd said, pulling Ulrich over to stand beside him, looking into the mirror. "See how good looking we are? There's not a parent in the world who could be upset with their children if they looked like we did, see?" Odd gestured to the mirror. In preparation for the annual dinner the gang had with all of their parents – usually hosted by the Stern family - they were both well dressed in matching black suits and ties, and to Odd's gleeful eyes were perfect in every which way. Just as constant as the changing of the years was Ulrich's nervous attitude towards seeing his family which, just as consistently, Odd tried to ease. "See good buddy – we're gorgeous."
Ulrich rolled his eyes and adjusted his tie again. "Whatever you say, Odd. All I can say is that I'm glad neither of us has a parole officer or anything – imagine the situation if that were to happen."
Ulrich felt his best friend's shoulders tense up beside him, and all his previous foreboding seemed to rush back, threatening to overwhelm him. "Odd…"
"What's the matter, good buddy? You're giving off a scary aura…" Odd said, laughing nervously and backing away slowly.
"Tell me what you know, Odd," Ulrich said, moving to stand in front of the door.
"Nothing, don't worry about it! It's nothing, nothing…"
"Shall I call Jim in here instead?" Ulrich asked quietly. "I'm sure he would be thrilled to find a dog on your bed," he continued, pointing to Kiwi who lounged magnanimously in the middle of Odd's bed.
"You wouldn't good buddy…" Odd laughed, his face a mixture of disbelief and attempted comical relief. "Right…Right?"
"Hand on, I need to call Jim," Ulrich said, cracking the door open, preparing to shout down the hall. "JI-"
Odd streaked across the bedroom and slammed the door shut, clamping his hand over Ulrich's mouth to stop the noise coming out. Ulrich raised an eyebrow, and Odd sighed, backing off to sit on the edge of his bed dejectedly. "You see…" he began slowly, scratching the back of his head as he did so, refusing to meet Ulrich's eyes, "remember when we first met Deane? No? Ahh, then how to say this…Deane, kind of has a…parole officer… But it's not what you think at all!" he followed up quickly, waving his hands spiritedly at Ulrich, who was surrounded by a dark aura at this point as everything sunk in.
For a few minutes, nobody moved, though Ulrich's dark expression was replaced by one deep in contemplation as he played out the situation in his mind. Finally, he sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair, the signal for Odd to relax. "I guess we'll just have to hope it doesn't come up, then…" he sighed, looking off thoughtfully into the distance. "That's the best we can hope for."
"You're reacting very differently to this than I expected…" Odd said cautiously, walking up to his friend and examining him closely, hand on his chin.
"Well," Ulrich said calmly, looking at Odd with an amused, cool look, "Deane is part of the group now, isn't he? We'll protect him as we protected Aelita."
"So cool…" Odd muttered, grinning, and Ulrich grinned again, stepping to the door and throwing it open.
"Shall we go, then?"
Deane walked naturally down the hall, unhurriedly, and though he passed many students none of them stopped to look under his hood or even just to talk. He passed through their midst without them even noticing, which worked just find for him. He walked down the girls' dormitory corridor, coming to a stop at the very last one on the left, knocking curtly. Looking around to make sure no one was near, he pulled the hood even further down over his face, already shadowed beyond recognition.
The door opened smoothly, barely making a sound, and in the doorway stood the tall, elegant figure of Mikhail smiling appraisingly down at him. The smell of tea drifted out of their room, and the aroma calmed Deane, dulling his senses somehow. For the twentieth time since finding out that Mikhail and Anastasia shared a room on the girls' floor, he once again questioned how Kadic could possibly allow such a thing. Just as quickly, though, he dismissed the question – he wasn't here to inquire after their relationship, after all.
"Deane Hillard," Mikhail said, punctuating his last name by closing a book he held open, apparently caught in the middle of reading. "To what may we owe this unexpected pleasure?"
Deane looked around cautiously once more before answering. "Is Anastasia here?"
Mikhail studied him, nodding elegantly as his mouth quirked into a smile. "Naturally, as this is our dorm. You'll have to forgive her; she's a little worn out from school today."
"I need her help," Deane said, stepping forward and pushing back his hood, not enough to detach it completely, but enough for his face to be thrust into the light. Mikhail's expression darkened and he stepped to the side, bidding Deane's entry.
"I think you'd better come in…"
As Deane stepped into the good-sized room, the horror that his face had become became even more prominent. His face was covered with bruises – one eye was in the process of turning black – and he was covered with cuts. His lip was bleeding profusely, and a long cut right above his right eye was turning a nasty yellow color. His injuries were a sharp difference to the soft elegance of the room: a large wooden desk with two carved chairs, three ornately-designed chairs around a wooden coffee table, and a large comfortable-looking bed. Mikhail closed the door behind him and walked over to examine his face, sitting him down at one of the chairs of the coffee tables as he did so.
"You've had a rough time…" he said as his light fingers danced over Deane's skin, examining the extent of the damage, and Deane laughed out loud. It was such a tension-breaking comment that he couldn't resist, and sat there giggling until Mikhail brushed against one of his cuts.
"That's an understatement," he responded, wincing slightly. "That said, I need to be somewhere tonight, and I really need to look presentable, and so I thought of someone who is good with makeup and the first person I thought of was-"
"Anastasia, naturally," Mikhail finished, pulling away and walking over to a small sink in the wall, opening some cupboards above it after washing his hands. "Naturally."
"Don't take my services for granted…" the pale, elegant girl said, slipping out of the bed and approaching Deane. Her eyes scrutinized Deane briefly before turning to Mikhail. "His eyebrow, is it-"
"Infected," Mikhail said, approaching the two of them with a first-aid kit. He pointed to the bridge of Deane's nose, tapping it with one finger. "Everything else is self-explanatory, but it's a miracle that his nose wasn't broken, it's only badly bruised."
Anastasia nodded, and walked over to the large desk, Mikhail sliding out another chair to take her place and sitting down. Deane saw him open the first-aid box and pointed at it. "What are you going to do?"
Mikhail smiled. "Well, we need to clean your cuts and bruises first to make sure you're ok. Your eyebrow-" he ran his finger lightly over the cut, "looks like a very small amount of swelling – no infection yet, but it will need to be stitched to stop the bleeding. You lip should too, but I don't want to risk it with your piercings."
"Why are you agreeing to help me?" Deane muttered as Mikhail started cleaning his face, wincing every now and then as he worked on some injury. Mikhail laughed.
"You asked us to help, didn't you?" he replied simply, having finished cleaning Deane's face. His fingers had been surprisingly swift and light with just the right amount of pressure, and Deane hadn't realized that he was done until he had finished. "Now, I can stitch your eyebrow right now, or you can go to a hospital," Mikhail said, frowning at the cut. "It's up to you."
Deane hesitated briefly, but fear of exposure won out in the end, and he nodded, giving Mikhail permission to continue. "Just do it."
"There will be some pain, for a cut like this," Mikhail warned, looking Deane in the eyes. As he did, Deane understood that Mikhail truly wanted to help, to provide the best he could.
He actually cared.
"Do it," Deane said, this time with more vigor. "I trust you."
"Ok…" Mikhail said, pulling out the necessary items. Anastasia walked over with a makeup kit and handed him a mouthpiece. Mikhail nodded and handed it to Deane. "Only a precaution, you never know how bad it may be for you."
"Bite on this," Anastasia said, her voice soft and not uncaring. "This isn't the first time we've had to treat people. We've had far worse."
"Mmph, 'fank 'you." Deane said, his words obscured by the mouthpiece. Mikhail rolled up his sleeves and poised over Deane's face, giving him one last chance to refuse. Deane shook his head before Mikhail could get the words out, and the tall elegant boy nodded in understanding.
"Let's begin, then," he said quietly.
It was over almost as soon as it began, or it seemed that way for Deane. Mikhail's fingers were swift and precise, never wavering or making any unnecessary movements, finishing the job faster than any doctor Deane had been treated by before had done. Opening his eyes and touching the newly-cleaned, newly-stitched area gently, he felt a long row of tiny, perfect stitches. He suddenly felt stupid for the mouthpiece, and spat it into Mikhail's outstretched hand. Laughing at his embarrassment, Mikhail stood and walked over to the sink with the first-aid kit, washing his hands of the small amount of blood that had continued to trickle out before he had finished, and Anastasia took his place facing Deane. He gulped apprehensively for some reason, and he saw a smile stretch across her face.
"Relax," she said, examining his face. "This will just take a moment…"
Meanwhile in the girls' room, last minute preparations were being made. Close to done, the girls took turns examining themselves in the mirror, praising each other's looks as the time for departure inched ever closer.
"I think I'm done," Yumi said happily, looking at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a single sleeve black dress with black high heels, but managed to make the simple attire look stunning. Aelita had done her hair up on top of her head in a beautiful and intricate bun, and Yumi had placed a purple flower in it, setting off her entire outfit stunningly.
"You look so beautiful…" Aelita sighed, looking happily at Aelita. "I'm glad I was born, since I can see this…"
"What are you talking about?" Yumi asked, crossing the room and giving Aelita a hug. "Look at you! You've grown so much since we first met you on Lyoko."
"Really?" Aelita asked as Yumi pulled her over to the mirror. She was dressed in a sleeveless white sundress with a pink cloth belt around her waist and a pair of white flats. As Yumi continued to flatter her, she seemed to perk up, and decided that she was ready to go too, then.
"Will Deane be alright tonight?" Aelita asked Yumi as they headed out the door, flipping the lights as they did. "He's not exactly parent material, I think…"
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure he'll make a great impression. It's not like he fights or anything, right?" Yumi replied humorously to Aelita, closing the door.
"No, I guess he doesn't."
"It'll be fine, Aelita. Deane is fine."
Deane inspected himself one last time in a long mirror hanging in the reception of the hotel, turning his head in various angles to check if any bruising was evident. He felt along his eyebrow too – he could feel the stitching, but thanks to Anastasia's makeover even he couldn't see where the fine, perfect stitching was. Stepping back, he had to admire the pale, elegant girl's artistic flair: not a blemish was visible on his face or neck, and even his cuts had been faded into the contours of his face.
"I really should thank her again for this…" he murmured, deeply moved. Then, turning, he strode down the wide, carpeted hallway, lit intermittently by lanterns along each side of the wall. After Anastasia had finished with him, he had returned to his room and slipped into his evening wear, hurrying to meet the schedule set out by Ulrich for the dinner that night. He would stand out as his parents would not be in attendance, but he was fine with it, as Aelita was in the same situation. Now, dressed in black jeans, a collared white shirt and black tie, along with a black waistcoat and dress shoes, he felt quite at home among the other nicely dressed patrons of the hotel the dinner was being hosted at.
Coming to a set of double doors, he read the name next to it: Franz/Shaeffer Dinner. Smiling to himself, he adjusted the silver bracelet around his wrist, fixed his tie one last time, and pushed open the doors, stepping into the room.
"I'm here at last," he said, his voice carrying across the room and around the round table in the center where his friends and their family sat.
"I'm here."
SO - We hoped you enjoyed this chapter, admittedly Noble did the entire chapter themselves with little to no input from me! So all credit goes to Noble! Anyway, we hope you enjoy and we'll see you next time!
NS - How was it? We would really appreciate any reviews, thanks~ I hope you enjoyed!
Quotes
ShadowOdd - "I HAVEN'T SLEPT IN 27 HOURS"
Noble Scotsman - "Yay~ Done~ Finally~"
