Summer was ending. The bright green leaves that clung to the branches of the brown trees were now scattered on the pavement of Kadic Academy. The students were busy in their private conversations they didn't hear the soft crunch of the leaves under their shoes as they headed towards class. Almost all of the students were excited for the white snowflakes that were promised to them by the end of the week. All were ecstatic except for a small group that huddled close to each other for warmth against the chilling winds.
"I thought the wind wasn't supposed to be cold until night." said a tall Asian who was attempting to warm up her hands by breathing heavily into them.
"Maybe we should head to class." replied a pinkette, adjusting her sweating fingers inside bright magenta mittens.
"Aelita's right, class will start soon." Jeremie chimed in, already getting to his feet and waiting for his girlfriend. Aelita quickly grabbed his hand and the two started the small group towards the warm building. A brunette held the door open for them, sparing a smile for the Asian as she passed him.
"I wonder if William will be in class today." Yumi asked as their feet clicked on the tile.
"Well he might. Who knows with him." Jeremie said, holding the door to the math room open for them.
"Well I'll let you know if he shows up while I head towards English. See ya at lunch." Yumi waved her friends goodbye as she jumped up the steps heading towards her class.
"Jeremie, are you going to hold the door open all class period or do you students plan on attending my class?" screeched Ms. Hemphy, who was sitting at her desk.
"Sorry, we were waiting for Odd." Aelita apologized, ushering her friends inside the room.
"Is he going to be late again or not show up at all this time?"
"He might be here. The showers were full when he was getting up this morning." Ulrich covered for his blonde roommate.
"Well take your seats and maybe one of you can keep notes for him while the other takes them for Lily."
"I'll take Lily's." Aelita said, already grabbing two notebooks from her backpack as she took her seat.
"I guess I got Odd's." Jeremie giggled, sitting next to the pinkette.
"Sweet that means I can catch up on my sleep." Ulrich leaned his head against the brown desk, his eyelids slowly beginning to close.
"Speaking of Lily, how is she? Still in the hospital?" the teacher asked, focusing her attention at the small group of teenagers in the back.
"There hasn't been much of a change in her condition. We did promise to let the teachers know as soon as we did if anything happens." Aelita claimed, her voice growing weak as she stumbled over her words. The thought of Lily still daring to draw tears from her emerald eyes.
It has been months since the Lyoko accident and there hasn't been a single trace of Lily anywhere. The group searched tirelessly for her all over the internet and campus but came up short. Slowly they fell into sadness and tried to keep their minds occupied and their lives busy. Jeremy and Aelita threw themselves into the complex lie to cover for Lily incase she was to show up. Yumi is trying desperately to get William back to his old ways. Ulrich was being supportive of his girlfriend's decision while he tries to keep Odd sane.
After Lily had vanished in his arms Odd fell into depression. He slept all day, rarely ate and hardly ever spoke to anyone. occasionally he talked with Ulrich though it was through sobs and chokes. Ulrich would often find himself waking up during the early hours of the morning to find a shivering figure huddled in the corner of the room on top of Odd's bed. Soon Ulrich would engulf his roommate in a tight hug. It was during those moments would Odd confess all the bottled up emotions he had.
At least ten minutes had passed and the teacher was writing a new formula for everyone to follow when the door creaked open. With shuffling feet and a head hung low did Odd finally make his way to math.
"Well look-" Ms. Hemphy's mouth hung open, her words silenced as she saw the young teen shuffle towards his seat. "Welcome to class Odd, I believe Jeremie is taking notes for you." she finished, pity showing in her gray eyes. Odd mumbled a few words to his friends as he flopped into his chair and slammed his head on the desk.
"Don't worry Odd, I'll still have the notes for you." Jeremie said, placing a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Thanks." came the small whimper from the blonde. The class soon became blurred and rushed. It wasn't long till the group rose from their seats and trudged into the hall.
"Hey Odd, were you able to get any breakfast?" Aelita asked, her tiny hand resting on Odd's shoulder.
"No, I was too late. Besides I wasn't all that hungry anyway." Odd mumbled. Though his words were hardly heard everyone had a faint smile on their faces. He was talking to them.
"Well let's head to Geography, Odd." Aelita smiled and took hold of his hand, squeezing it lightly.
"Ok." he said, giving her hand a small squeeze as well. The two walked off to their next class, leaving Ulrich and Jeremie next to the lockers.
"Hey guys!" Both boys looked towards the stairs as Yumi bounded down, a smile on her face.
"What's up Yumi?" Ulrich asked, welcoming the girl with a light kiss on her cheek.
"William was in class today AND he was participating in the activities!"
"No way! That's great. Odd also showed up to class but he wasn't very cheerful." Ulrich commented.
"But he did speak to us and he didn't remove Aelita's hand." Jeremie said with a smile.
"Well that's progress. He'll come around soon." Yumi said, hope shinning in her chocolate eyes.
"Yeah, hopefully it'll be soon."
The school day finally came to an end and the group was thankfully that Odd had stuck around for all of his classes. Not only did he stay in his classes he also shared short conversations with the group.
"Well today was actually very successful. If only we could get Odd to smile." Aelita commented as the group headed to the cafeteria for spaghetti and meatballs.
"He'll smile eventually, I just wished we could get him to eat with us instead of just getting a box and eating in our room." Ulrich sighed, grabbing a plate.
"Don't worry Ulrich, it just takes time. Lily effected us all, she was important." Yumi said, sadness engulfing her voice.
"Not just important. She was loved." Jeremie commented already sitting down.
"Yeah, very loved." a small voice pitched in. The group raised their sad eyes from their plates full of food to find Odd. His plate was partially full and untouched as he took his seat.
"Odd!" Sadness forgotten, the group engulfed the blonde in a group hug.
"I didn't feel like being alone this time." the blonde said, his words no longer mumbled.
"Well we're glad you're here with us." Yumi smiled at her friend, a tear falling from her eyes.
The clock shined 3:30 am. The green numbers illuminating the small room as the two teenagers slept soundly in their beds. On the left was Ulrich who was thankful for the sleep tonight. On the right was Odd, who wasn't crying or shivering with his dog in his arms. Kiwi was also happy that he wasn't dragged from his slumber by his owner. Of course his happy night was interrupted by an unfamiliar scent that passed through his nostrils. The dog leapt from his spot, a growl in his throat. His eyes glaring at the door as a shadow passed by. Soon the growl turned into barks, which woke his owners.
"Odd tell him to shut up." Ulrich groaned, throwing his pillow over his head.
"Kiwi, what's wrong?" Odd asked, trying to shush the raging dog. "Ulrich he's not stopping!" Odd called to his roommate. Ulrich let out another groan but rolled out of bed.
"Maybe he has to use the bathroom." he said, still half asleep.
"Maybe. I'll take him out real fast." Odd said, reaching for the leash. Ulrich, still half asleep, opened the door by accident. As soon as the door cracked open, Kiwi rushed through the gap and raced through the halls. Both boys were wide awake as they chased after the mutt.
"Sorry Odd, I thought you already put the leash on him!" Ulrich yelled his apology to his friend, both of them trying to stay quiet so they didn't wake everyone.
"Its alright, just make sure Jim doesn't wake up while I go fetch him." Odd said, both of them parting ways. Odd took a sharp turn towards the doors that lead outside. He bursted through the doors, only following the vanishing barks of his dog. More sharp turns later had Odd in the center of the forest. The boy was leaning against the brown trunk of a tree, gasping for air.
"He had you running everywhere didn't he?" a soft giggled sounded from the shadows. A slender body strolled into the moonlight, highlighting the person's every feature. The silverness of her hair and the ruby glow in her eyes.
"Lily." Odd breathed, his mouth hanging wide open as he took in her looks.
"Hello." Lily smiled at the boy in front of her and gently placed the dog on the ground. Kiwi's tail wagged as fast as it could go as he watched the two embrace under the moonlight.
"I missed you so much. Are you really here?" Odd said, tears streaming down his cheeks and mixing with hers.
"Yes, I am really here. I promise." Lily replied, smashing her lips against Odd's. "Also I missed you more."
A/N: AHHH sorry for being away! Writer's block has my number and doesn't know how to hang up. Anyways I'm glad that I finally finished this chapter and story. I hope everyone enjoyed it (: thank you for sticking with me during this story and the previous.