One More Night
Chapter 8: The Spy
Aurora was humming to herself, smiling as she towel dried her hair in the bathroom. After the kissing incident with Ulrich, they continued their run for another hour and a half, then parted their ways when they got back to the school. She had just taken a shower and was getting ready for the oncoming day at school. She had decided to go with an edgy look, tank top with a giant white tiger on the front with a short black leather jacket, a gray scarf wrapped around her neck, high waisted leather leggings and some black high top sneakers with studs on the back and front of the shoe. She curled her hair and braided her bangs back, with some magenta lipstick and gave herself a smokey eye. She smiled as she looked at her reflection and left the shower room, she had about thirty minutes until first period and at least wanted to grab something on the way from the cafeteria.
Getting back to her dorm her eyebrows raised on surprise as she saw another pink rose taped to her door. "Hm? Another one?" She lifted it off the door. "But no note this time..." She frowned and went into her room and picked her phone up off her desk.
'Ulrich, you don't need to send me flowers, haha.' She pressed send and looked back at the rose in her other hand. A few seconds later her phone buzzed and it was his reply.
'I never sent you any flowers...' Then who could it be from? Aurora frowned and put the rose in a bottle of water like last time.
"Oh well, this is a mystery to be solved another day." Aurora put her hand on her stomach as it growled. "Right now, the beast needs to be tamed." She grabbed her purse and tucked her phone in the inside pocket as she grabbed her sketching pad and folders and left for class.
She headed to the cafeteria and grabbed a few things for breakfast, then headed to her classes. In Hertz' class they had to take a test and then watched a video on human reproduction, and had to take notes, not much happened other than that.
"So have you figured out what you're gonna do for your inspiration painting?" Odd ran up behind her as she walked to their art class. She turned her head to look at him and shook her head and frowned.
"Nope. I've been racking my brain trying to figure it out. How am I supposed to know what inspires me if I don't even know what I want to do with my life?" Aurora frowned looking down at the ground as her shoes scuffed on the ground. A chilly breeze blew by them and Aurora shivered.
"Me neither. This one's really got me stumped." Odd sighed, walking with his hands linked behind his head. "Hey, so your parents are out of town right?"
"Try out of the country...why?" Aurora looked over at him with a suspicious look on her face and he grinned.
"Well I've sort of got an idea..."
"We are not throwing a party at my house." Odd's jaw dropped as she was shaking her head.
"Awww, c'mon! How did you know I was going to say that?!"
"Because I can read your mind, duh." Aurora laughed as they walked into the art room and took their seats. Ms. Noue started playing classical music as they sat down to their sketching pads, and started making art.
"C'mon, you know it would be fun." Odd whispered and Aurora rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, do you remember what happened last time we both were drunk? I don't think I want a repeat of that."
"Oh come on, you so do." Aurora covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing, and shook her head.
"You can say whatever you want, Mr. Della Robbia, we are not throwing a party. Besides, what ever would you tell your precious Sam?" Odd was quiet for a second before answering her.
"...I broke up with her." Aurora's eyes widened as the words left his mouth and she turned in her chair to look at him. He seemed to be staring at his notepad, all his concentration focused on sketching.
"You can't be serious." His hand stopped moving and he looked over at Aurora, nodding.
"I did. Something hit me the other day.. I didn't like how she talked to you and... I don't know. I just don't wanna be with her anymore."
"So you wanna throw a party at my place to celebrate your new single life?" Aurora let a half smile grace her face and Odd shrugged looking back to his sketching pad.
'Hopefully not single for too long.' His brown eyes sparkled with hope as he smiled a little and continued sketching an outline for his painting.
"And you think throwing a party in the middle of the week would be a good idea because...?" Ulrich asked Aurora while they were standing in line for their food. They had both decided to go with American hamburgers.
"It was originally Odd's idea not mine. Besides I was just asking you what you thought of the idea." Aurora shrugged poking at her fries.
"Well I just don't know if anyone would even go, it's the middle of the week and we have school tomorrow." Aurora raised her eyebrow and looked up at Ulrich.
"Come on Ulrich, it's two days before Winter Break, there's going to be alcohol and girls there. Do you really think no one would come?" They got to the front of the line and both paid for their food as they went to their table and sat down waiting for everyone else to join them.
"I just don't know if it's a good idea." He frowned.
"What's not a good idea?" Yumi asked as she took a seat next to Ulrich. Aurora tried to avoid looking at her, suddenly feeling extremely guilty about their kiss from earlier.
"Aurora's thinking about throwing a party tonight. One of Odd's genius ideas." Ulrich rolled his eyes as he took a bite of his burger.
"Hmmm maybe it wouldn't be such a horrible idea. After all the hard work we've put in this semester, it would be nice to have a little fun." Yumi smiled and Aurora leaned back in her seat crossing her arms.
"It's settled then, party at my house, tonight."
"Wahoooo! This is gonna be so fun!" Odd yelled pumping his fist in the air as he walked over, catching Aurora's last sentence, and Ulrich shook his head, sighing.
'This is going to be a horrible idea..'
"I just need to go back to my dorm and get a few things then we can go to the liquor store and then my house."
"You sure you don't want me to go with you?" Odd asked her as they were walking back towards the dorms. Aurora shook her head and smiled handing him her car key.
"Go ahead and wait for me in the car. I'll be there in like five minutes."
"Yes master." He sighed and Aurora laughed heading into the dorms as he went the opposite way. She hurried down the hall and up the stairs to her room. She opened up her door, and stopped herself once she had pushed it halfway open. There was a piece of white paper stuck on the door, and she reached for it.
'What is it with people leaving stuff on my door...?' She opened the note and her eyes widened in shock.
'I know your secret. You better watch out, bitch.' She blinked reading it over a few times and bit her lip. 'Who would leave something like this on my door...?' She shook her head, crumpling up the paper and tossed it in the trash. Looking over at the desk, she saw that the rose she had received was gone, meaning someone had been in her room... She suddenly felt very unnerved and backed out of her room and tried to walk as calmly to her car without attracting anyone's attention. She had forgotten to check for one thing.
"Hey you okay? You've been quiet like this whole car trip." Odd frowned, looking over at Aurora. They had the radio on so it wasn't too deathly silent, but it was unusually quiet, even for her.
"Huh? Oh...yeah I'm good... Just trying to concentrate on the road..." Aurora blinked. She had zoned out and didn't even realize it. The idea of someone being in her room...just freaked her out. Maybe it was time to start locking her doors like Ulrich suggested. Lord only knew what someone would find in there...not even beginning to mention who knew their secret. The only person she had told was Odd...unless Alexei had somehow found out...she had no idea who would be doing this to her.
'Yeah I'm sure that's what it is.' Odd frowned, looking over at her again. She had worry written all over her face. 'What's going on in that little brain of yours...'
"So how much liquor do you think we're going to need?" She asked him, trying to distract his mind, which honestly wasn't too hard.
"Well the fact that the whole school will probably be there should factor in.."
"Oi vey..." Aurora sighed, and Odd laughed.
"But most people will probably bring their own drinks because people are so damn picky. So two of everything should suffice." Aurora glared in his direction.
"You need to remember that I'm on limited funds here, I don't want to alert my parents that I'm throwing a crazy party while their out of the country. Last thing I need is for them to check on me every day." They pulled into the store and bought a bunch of liquor, with Odd's approval, making Aurora spend much more than she wanted to, but she trusted his judgement, which may or may not have been one of her dumber ideas.
A few hours later, ninety percent of the school was at her house. She had locked the door to her fathers' office, making sure no sneaky fingers got into his secret government information.
Aurora was having a pretty good time, she had to admit. She was a little tipsy, but that was all in good fun. Ulrich and Yumi had disappeared somewhere inside her house, Aelita was playing DJ, Jeremy was firmly attached to her hip to keep away all the drunken boys...and so that left Odd. Where was he? She didn't feel comfortable at a school function like this with out him here.
"Awesome party, Aurora!"
"Thanks for inviting me!" People called out to her and talked to her that she was sure she had never seen before. Sure, maybe she had passed them in the halls, but neither ever made a conscious effort to get to know one another.
'Odd where are you..?' She frowned as she had searched practically the whole downstairs of the party to no avail. Either he was doing really well at avoiding her, or he was upstairs. But why wouldn't he be down here enjoying himself with everyone else?
She shrugged and decided she may as well try to find him. Aurora made her way upstairs and went down the hall. What do you know, Mister Mystery was crouching by the wall his head poked around the corner.
"What exactly are you doing?" Aurora asked him, her arms crossed and eyebrow raised. He jumped up in shock and waved his hands in front of him before pressing his finger up against his lips telling her to be quiet. "What's the matter?" She went and crouched next to him and looked around the corner and he pointed to down the hall. "Alexei...?" She whispered.
"He's speaking in Russian, so I can't understand him.." Odd whispered. Aurora's eyes widened when she realized he was standing in front of her fathers' office door. Aurora closed her eyes and focused her attention over on Alexei who was on the phone with someone.
"Ya popytalsya voyti, no ona zaperta, i ya uveren, chto on ne nastol'ko glup, chtoby ostavit' yego dveri bez trevogi..." (I've tried to get in, but it's locked and I'm sure he's not stupid enough to leave his door without an alarm...) Alexei spoke into the phone and paused waiting for a reply. "Net, ya ne byl v sostoyanii nayti mesto . Avrora i yeye druz'ya, kazhetsya, chto-to skryvayet, khotya, oni dumayut, chto ya sovershenno ne obrashchaya no ... khe da." (No I haven't been able to find the location. Aurora and her friends seem to be hiding something though, they think I'm completely oblivious but... heh yeah.)
'What is he talking about...?' Aurora blinked. Hiding something? Did he know of the secrets of Lyoko too? He obviously hadn't figured out it's location though, otherwise he would have been all over it.
"Ya eto sdelayu. U menya glaza na neye, i ona prakticheski obernutyye vokrug moyego pal'tsa v lyubom sluchaye." (I will. I've got my eye on her, and she's practically wrapped around my finger anyway.) Aurora scoffed quietly at his mark.
"Vokrug pal'tsa, moyu zadnitsu.." (Wrapped around his finger, my ass...) Aurora whispered as her eyes narrowed. Odd looked over at her, wondering what exactly was going on.
"Ne volnuytes', ya planiruyu, chto na poiske informatsii iz. Eto prosto slozhnym, tak kak ona, kazhetsya, telokhraniteley vokrug neye dvadtsat' chetyre sem'. Da, pogovoryu s toboy pozzhe. Do svidaniya"(Don't worry, I plan on finding that information out. It's just complicated since she seems to have body guards around her twenty four seven. Yeah, talk to you later. Bye.) Alexei hit the end button on his phone and pressed his hand to the door, and Aurora stood walking down the hall.
"Alexei, kakogo cherta ty zdes' delayesh'?" (Alexei, what the hell are you doing here?) Aurora's voice raised as she charged towards her ex-boyfriend. Odd stared stunned as she dashed down the hall, and he followed quickly after her.
"V chem delo printsessa? Ne rad menya videt'? Ya prosto khochu uvidet', chto za zdes'. Kakov vash bol'shoy staryy papa dolzhen spryatat'sya v lyubom sluchaye?" (What's the matter princess? Not happy to see me? I just wanna see what's behind here. What's your big old daddy gotta hide anyway?) Odd didn't like that they were speaking in Russian, A) he couldn't jump in and defend Aurora if she needed it, and B) he didn't like being out of the loop, so he frowned watching the two go back and forth in a foreign, to him, language.
"Eto ne tvoye sobach'ye delo. Ubiraysya, poka ya ne nadrat' tebe zadnitsu otsyuda sam." (That's none of your damn business. Get out now before I kick your ass out of here myself.) Aurora shook her head, flashing a dangerous glare in Alexei's direction.
"To, chto vy dumayete, chto ya boyus'malen'kaya printsessa, kak ty?" (What you think I'm scared of a little princess like you?)
"Hey, what's going on up here?" Ulrich and Yumi came from around the corner, and Alexei shot Aurora a dangerous smirk which sent a shiver down her spine.
"O, smotri , tvoy rytsar' v dospekhakh blestyashchiy pribyl. Vam povezlo, Aurora. No ne volnuytes', ya budu videt' vas vokrug. Vy mozhete rasschityvat' na eto." (Oh look, your knight in shining armor has arrived. You got lucky, Aurora. But don't worry, I'll be seeing you around. You can count on that.) Alexei intentionally brushed past Aurora and Ulrich bumping into them both as Aurora felt herself beginning to shake with both fear and anger. She stared in the direction that Alexei had been in, and felt a hand being placed on her shoulder.
"Hey... you okay?" Odd asked her, and she nodded softly, barely moving her head. He wanted to know what was going on. He had never seen Aurora look so scared, and that made him scared.
Odd found Aurora out on the backyard patio a little later. She was sitting on the edge, swinging her feet, staring up into the night sky.
"Hey, it's freezing out here." He rubbed his arms taking a seat next to her.
"Well then, why are you out here?" Aurora looked over at him, flashing him one of her dazzling smiles.
"Lookin' for you." Odd grinned, feeling himself getting captivated by her beautiful ice blue eyes which were illuminated by the billions of stars speckled in the sky.
"You can go back in, I'm a big girl, I don't need you to watch over me." She shrugged, biting the inside of her lip.
"I was actually curious... about what happened earlier. What is it with Alexei and you? I get he's your ex boyfriend and-"
"He's not a good person. He and his father work for a bad part of the government in Russia. His father is a spy, and I'm pretty sure Alexei is too."
"If he's not a good person, why did you date him?" Odd asked, his teeth beginning to chatter. Aurora sighed, shaking her head at him, and offered him part of her blanket to wrap around his back. Odd took it as an invitation to wrap his arms around her, and pulled her up onto his lap. She wasn't going to complain, it was warmer that way.
"I guess you could also sort of call me a spy yourself. I never dated him for romantic purposes... Just to keep an eye on him and his family. I used to be really curious about my fathers' things, so when he and my mother would go to sleep, I'd sneak in and read his files and well.. let's just say I used to drive my father nuts." Odd couldn't help but laugh at imagining that, but let her continue. "Well, I found information on Alexei, and I had known him from school. Apparently, Alexei had been assigned to watch me and try to get information about my fathers' things from me. Well, no such luck for him because I knew aaaall about his little secret mission. Anyyywho, I started dating Alexei basically to trick him, I was never interested in him in that way." Odd let out a small sigh of relief and Aurora smiled at that.
"What was he doing up there?" Odd asked her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Aurora tensed up when his cold hands snuggled underneath her shirt. Holy crap, his hands were freezing!
"He was trying to get into my fathers' office, apparently they need some information that my father has that they don't. I'm... a little worried that he may be here because of Lyoko as well.." Odd's eyes widened and he turned her body so she was sitting sideways in his lap and she looked up at him. Her face was most certainly filled with concern.
"Wh...why do you say that?"
"He said something about us all "hiding" something. I just don't want you all to get into trouble. I'm talking about really bad people here Odd.."
"I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle. You wouldn't believe the types of things we've encountered before. A giant teddy bear... classmates who turned into zombies..."
"Zombies..?" Aurora raised her eye brow, and Odd nodded vigorously.
"Like I said, we've seen and done it all. Even dealt with government officials. There's nothing we can't get out of." Odd smiled, and Aurora's eyes trailed downward focusing on the wooden porch underneath them, frowning.
'I wish I could believe that.. but you have no idea who we're dealing with here...'
Okay so I was totally planning on adding in some mushy Odd/Aurora goodness, but this chapter totally took off in another direction! D: I'm so sorry! It will be coming soon though, I promise! I'm so sorry if this chapter was boring, le sigh. It's more of a filler with necessary information and events...but there will be more to come soon! Promise!
I hope you all enjoyed and don't forget to review!
