At Fault

A/N: -_-""" Twenty minutes… It took me twenty minutes to come up with that chapter title… D= I feel dumb today. XD Ack! I keep getting distracted! Stupid brain… -3- XD

To the story!

"It's really stupid how she thinks that just because I'm not the best kid that I'm high. Same for Delmas. It's shit," Ulrich stated, standing in his room with Alice while he tried to put his lip ring in without using a mirror.

"Teachers are dumb as shit. That's why I dropped out," Alice told him coming to sit next to him and kissing his cheek. "Why don't you ditch the rest of the day and we'll go to my cousin's? We can order pizza because one of them got off their ass and got a job."

"Your lazy cousins that got kicked out of the house for not doing anything?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

She nodded and laughed. "They realized that I wasn't going to go and get a job and buy them food so they flipped a coin to find out who would end up getting a job."

Ulrich laughed with her and thought about her proposition and then said, "I can't… My parents will kill me if I get kicked out and I need to save the other strike I've got for when I can't take this shit anymore."

She shrugged and then said, "Suit yourself. I'll come by once school lets out and then maybe you can come over. Or you can find it yourself. Either way you'll be happy."

Ulrich waited for her to leave, waited ten seconds to let her get down the hallway so she didn't think he was following, and then left to go to lunch.

When he reached the cafeteria, got his food, and sat down he was joined by Yumi.

"You know you really hurt us when you left," she stated, getting right to the point of coming over unlike Odd and Aelita had or would have done.

"No shit? I would've never guessed with how much you guys have been trying to get me to come back. I mean, it's not like one of you comes over here or talks to me every day to try and get me to talk to you," he stated as he put a bite of food in his mouth. (a/n: No shit is Ulrich's catch phrase. XDD)

"Ulrich, you realize that Xana is winning and sooner or later he's going to kill one or all of us. Every single Lyoko Warrior before and now. That includes you. You've fought against him and I really doubt he's going to just leave you alone. Understand?" she asked with a frown.

"I'm not a dumbass. I understand French, Yumi. Hell, I understand English, too. If Xana were going to try and kill me don't you think he would have tried to already? All he's done so far is attack everyone and he didn't attack me once while I was on my own in America," he stated, refusing to look at her and instead focusing his gaze on his mashed potatoes.

"So you're just going to sit by and watch as Xana kills us all, are you?" she asked, the hurt in her voice evident to him, whether he was looking up or not.

This was what he was trying to avoid. Seeing his old friends again always made a small voice in his head say 'go back and help them. Ditch Alice.' At this moment the stronger voice was the one saying stay with Alice. Even though he was with Alice his heart still beat a little faster at just the sound of Yumi's voice. It nearly ripped in two at the sound of the hurt in Yumi's voice… "That's not the point…"

"Then what is, Ulrich? Enlighten me," she stated firmly, with the hurt still evident.

Ulrich messed with the ring on his lip and began to think. Yes, things on Lyoko were hard for his former friends, but did they really need his help that badly or did they all just want their best friend back? "Yumi, I left Kadic to get away from the Xana shit and-"

"And then you got into drugs and alcohol so your parents dragged you back here. I know. Odd and Aelita told me the story. You've had your break from Xana, Ulrich. We need your help…"

Ulrich bit his lip to try and bite back the response he knew that she wanted to hear. She wanted to hear that he was going to come back to them… He liked the freedom he had now, though… He didn't want to leave that freedom… He decided on an answer in a question and one that he needed an answer to. "There is no 'we'. You need me because William still isn't back. You'd be content if he were here, wouldn't you? You'd have your boyfriend and you wouldn't need me. All you ever did was toy with me, anyway. That's all the both of us ever did. I got sick of all the games."

-Yumi-

She had to admit that the last few things that Ulrich said were true. Back then they had just been playing games with each other, but she wouldn't be content if William was there, whether Ulrich thought so or not. As she quickly thought over all of what Ulrich said she realized something… He was blaming her for his leaving… If that was the case was he saying that she was the reason that he turned out the way he was now? "Ulrich, I-"

"Save it," he stated as he got up and left her alone.

Yumi watched him leave and thought about what he'd said… Was it really her fault that Ulrich had left?

(*)(*)(*)(*) After School (*)(*)(*)(*)

-Ulrich-

"Are you alright?" Alice asked him as they sat in her room at her cousin's. They were alone in the house and it was really warm so, neither had much clothes on. Ulrich was shirtless and wearing shorts and Alice was in a tank top and underwear.

Ulrich stared at his hands and frowned. He knew that he should be standing by his friends and helping them, but he couldn't help but want to be free of that responsibility… He shrugged in response to Alice's question.

"Listen, if it's your old friends then I can go and have a word or two with them," she told him in an impatient tone.

A small smile tugged at the sides of Ulrich's lips and he shook his head. "It's just that there's something that they want me to do and it's a huge responsibility… That's part of the reason that I left Kadic in the first place, was to get away from that responsibility. They think that now that I'm back, against my will, that I'm just going to be all nice and happy and deal with it. I refuse to do that. It's bullshit."

"So basically they can't take care of it themselves and so now are crawling to you for help when you clearly don't want to?"

"That's the gist of it."

Alice sighed and kissed his nose. "Listen, I'll talk to them if you want me to, but for now you and I are going to spend time together and you're going to cheer up, got it?"

Ulrich kissed her back and nodded falling back onto the bed.

A/N: We all know what they're doing. XD (I hope… -_-") anyway, so we now know that Yumi thinks that Ulrich blames her for his leaving. XD What shall happen next? Only I shall know! -^- so review to find out. XD

Read and review!

~MoonlitxAngel (Moony)