Thank you to Sexylyokofan for naming Ulrich's parents: Henrich and Anna Stern
--
Kadic Academy, Principal's office, Sunday 2:30 AM: Principal Delmas and Yumi's parents marched back into his office after fruitlessly searching the science building for the four missing children. As odd took a seat in the middle of the office he faced a very upset Mr. Delmas. "IS THIS YOUR IDEA OF A JOKE" he bellowed.
"No sir." Odd offered weakly. Inwardly he really wished this were all a joke. Unfortunately it wasn't and what he was putting everyone through was now weighing heavily on his conscience. He started out with the best of intentions but it was looking like he had delivered the worst of results. The only bright side was that after a return to the past nobody would remember this whole ordeal.
Mr. Ishiyama balled his fist and pounded on the principals desk, "where is my daughter," he yelled. Odd winced at the sound and tone of his voice, the combination of anger and worry cutting deep into his mind.
"Pease, Odd. Just tell me where my daughter is." Mrs. Ishiyama pleaded. Odd looked over to her, wondering how to answer. He briefly wondered how answering with Mr., Mrs. Ishiyama, I drugged your daughter and Ulrich then put them into a scanner in order to transfer them to a virtual reality called Lyoko so that I could combine their minds and make them realize that they love each other. Thing is, I didn't really know what I was doing and screwed it up. Now Jeremy and Aelita are there, working as hard as they possibly can to undo what I did in order to save your children. Would go over. He decided not very well and instead answered with "I don't know."
"How can you not know, the five of you have been inseparable for the past two years." Jim roared. "If they're in trouble then you have to tell us so we can help."
Odd looked up at Jim, crushed expression on his face. "I just can't, I'm sorry."
Principal Delmas heaved a resigned sigh and picked up the phone on his desk. He dialed and spoke then looked up to the room, "The police will send a car around shortly. Hopefully they can be of some assistance." He looked to Odd, "I'm calling your parents to secure their permission to have the police question you."
A few minutes later Odd heard something he had always longed for, his parent's disappointment. He recalled a saying, be careful what you wish for as you just might get it. His parents were now pleading with him to tell the staff what happened, sounding severely disappointed that he wasn't interested in helping his friends. Odd could finally take no more and fell to the floor, curling into a ball and sobbing. He kept repeating, "it's all my fault" over and over.
A little while later, Yumi's terrified parents watched as Odd was sedated by paramedics and strapped to a gurney for transport to the local hospital. Principal Delmas made calls to Jeremy and Ulrich's parents to inform them that their children were missing and that the police were going to search their rooms. Searches of Jeremy and Aelita's rooms revealed computers with heavily encrypted volumes that were taken away for analysis. William had been interrogated but didn't give up any information on the whereabouts of the missing teens. The detectives next began to try and retrace the kids last steps in the hopes of finding any sort of lead. Sunrise shed no light on the disappearances.
It hardly mattered as shortly after ten O'clock a white dome spread over the planet, rendering hours of police work and parental worry mute. Odd was too heavily sedated to notice the temporal wave pass over his body. When he regained consciousness he found himself at the factory, everything ready for what turned out to be the worst mistake of his life. He hoped that Ulrich and Yumi had made it. He tried to log into the supercomputer and found his password rejected. He left the lab, hoping that everything was fine, fearing that it wasn't. It was the longest, most painful walk back he had ever experienced and he figured that whatever happened it was only the beginning.
--
Kadic Academy, Ulrich and Odd's room, Saturday 8:30 PM: Odd paused at the door, wondering what he would find. He spent the entire walk back feeling sorry for himself and letting his mind roam its darkest corners. When he got to campus he found himself unable to just go to his room and see if Ulrich was there. So instead he wondered around campus, trying to listen for news that Ulrich had collapsed or disappeared. But eventually he couldn't take the suspense and made his way to the dorms, to his room. Now he was here, about to find out the consequences of his actions. He entered the room and saw Ulrich alive and well, talking on the phone. He was overcome with joy that he actually hadn't killed his best friend and rushed forward engulfing Ulrich in a hug. He looked up at Ulrich, "is Yumi ok?" He asked hopefully.
"Yes, no thanks to you." Ulrich spat back, words full of venom. He pulled Odd's arms off his body and shoved him away. "Yumi, I've got something to take care of here. Can I call you back?"
"Yeah, sure." Yumi said as she hung up. Ulrich didn't tell her what he had to do and now she worried about what had come up. For all she knew it could be nothing. Maybe Ulrich found Odd and was beating some sense into him. But it could also be related to Jeremy and Aelita who really looked terrible after coming out of Lyoko. If there was one thing she could still trust it was that right now Jeremy and Aelita would tell her they were fine no matter what their true condition. She decided to personally make sure that they would be fine, grabbed her school bag and put some books into it then headed downstairs. She asked her parents for permission to spend the night with Aelita so she could study. With a permission slip in hand she headed for school.
Odd looked up at Ulrich and saw rage, hatred and maybe a little gratitude mixed in. "Ulrich, I'm so sorry, I."
"Shut it." Ulrich yelled. "Do you ever think of anyone but yourself? Do you even think at all? Where the hell did such a stupid idea come from anyway?"
"Ulrich, I just thought you needed a little push towards Yumi. I only wanted."
"And that's the fucking problem with you. It's always about you. It's always what you want!"
"I wanted to see my best friend happy and if Jerm."
Ulrich hauled off and punched Odd in the gut, causing the purple clad teen to double over in pain and cough as he struggled to breathe. "If Jeremy what? You don't know what he and Aelita went through to rescue us. Don't you dare hang this on them."
"Jeremy and Aelita didn't want to help put you and Yumi back together. I had to do something, I couldn't just let you break up with your true love." Odd wheezed out.
"No, you thought it would be better to show her everything, every embarrassing memory, every dirty thought, every insulting one. How would that have helped me?" Ulrich demanded loudly.
"I'm sorry." Odd replied sincerely. "I didn't think..."
"No! you didn't think" Ulrich shouted, cutting him off. "You never think, you just do, you enjoy yourself then let everyone else clean up the mess."
"Hey, I had to get interrogated when you guys were reported missing. I had to stall by leading everyone on a wild goose chase while you were gone. It." Odd was forced to stop as Ulrich punched him in the stomach again. He doubled over and this time fell onto the floor, gasping for air.
"You deserved it. You deserved that and more for what you did to Yumi. Now I want you gone, out of Yumi's life, out of my life, out of everybody's life!"
Odd looked up to see Ulrich's face contorted into a mask of anger and hate. His eyes were sunken and narrow, the chocolate irises radiating a bone chilling coldness. Ulrich's jaw was set into a menacing scowl that left no doubt of his intentions. His hands were balled up into tight fists and he was in a fighting stance that would have sacred a XANA specter. He decided there was no point in arguing further. "If you're with Yumi now," Odd struggled to say. "That's all that matters. As long as you're happy then what happens to me doesn't matter," Odd said as he left the room.
Ulrich's anger faded with that comment. He recalled being wrapped in Yumi's arms and he had never felt better. And even though it wasn't pleasant, telling Yumi everything had been a wonderful release. For the first time in the past week he had real hope and it was all because of Odd's actions. Now that he thought about it, even Jeremy had made some very questionable choices during the fight with XANA. Everyone had been able to forgive him, did Odd deserve the same?
Odd walked down the hall, stifling his tears as he tried to find someplace to spend the night. He stopped at Jeremy's room and knocked on the door. When no one answered he knocked more loudly. After a few more minutes he door opened a crack and then quickly shut in his face. He heard the sound of the lock and tried to talk to Jeremy through the door. "Jeremy, open up. I just need some place to stay tonight. Ulrich's pissed."
"Good. Now go away." Jeremy yelled at the door.
Odd walked away wondering where he could go next. He wondered if he could fake something severe enough to convince the school's nurse to let him stay in the infirmary again. He began walking in that direction, racking his brain for an idea.
--
Yumi arrived at school and went upstairs to Aelita's room but found it locked and, presumably, empty since even knocking loudly got no response. She went downstairs and knocked on Jeremy's door only to hear "Odd go away," yelled through it.
"It's Yumi," she shouted back. "I wanted some help on an assignment," she quickly added for the benefit of a passerby.
Jeremy opened his door and Yumi pushed her way into the darkened room and quickly shut the door behind her. She flipped on the light and watched as both Jeremy and Aelita reacted to the sudden brightness. Once they had recovered Yumi gave an apology to both teens and then told them what her plan was. Aelita looked up to Yumi, "so I can't stay here tonight then?" The disappointment was unmistakable.
Yumi shook her head, "no. But look at the bright side, you won't get caught together either. Imagine what would have happened if Jeremy had just told Jim to go away without answering the door." With a disapproving glare split between both of her friends she added harshly, "And I don't like the idea of you two sleeping together."
Neither Aelita nor Jeremy had the heart or energy to argue right now so they kissed each other good night then parted company. After watching the girls go Jeremy gathered his kit and went to the washroom. When he came back to his room he changed into his pajamas then got into the empty bed. It was impossible to not notice just how much larger and emptier the bed felt without Aelita to share it. He pulled the blankets tightly against him, missing Aelita's warmth and the feel of her body against his. After forcing himself to not dwell on it he managed to fade back into sleep.
Aelita unlocked the door to her room then went to wash up. She came back and handed Yumi the room key then watched as Yumi left, presumably going downstairs to see Ulrich. Aelita locked the door behind Yumi, changed and crawled into the empty bed. She already missed sleeping in Jeremy's arms, missed his warmth and the tenderness of his embrace.
--
Yumi knocked on Ulrich's door and was surprised to be told to go away until she remembered that Odd shared the room. The mere thought of Odd made her blood boil, after all he had done to his supposed friends he deserved a painful, lingering death and decided that she should be the one to give it to him. She pounded on the door in her anger. Two students looked curiously at Yumi and then scurried away as she turned a murderous glare on them. "Ulrich, it's Yumi so open this door."
Ulrich opened the door and apologized to Yumi who cut him off with a curt "It's ok," before walking into his room. She made certain that the door was left partly open and, glaring at Ulrich, demanded to know where Odd was. Ulrich answered in what he hoped was a soothing voice. "I don't know. He came by earlier and I told him to leave and not come back."
"That's all you did" she exclaimed. "You should have kept him here, I'd have loved to give him some badly broken bones before I killed him."
Ulrich almost stumbled back under the combination of Yumi's angry glare and voice. He answered her question in a soft, calm voice still hoping to soothe her. "Yumi, calm down. Odd isn't here and beating him to a pulp won't undo what he did."
"You're defending him!" Yumi shot back. "He drugged me, and you stand there defending him!" She spun around and marched towards the door.
Ulrich grabbed Yumi's shoulder, "NO! Well yes but... I mean."
Yumi turned back to face Ulrich. "Spit it out Ulrich," She demanded in a harsh tone. "It's him or me." She crossed her arms and glowered at him, waiting for a response.
"You." Ulrich answered back immediately, hearing some of his own anger at being yelled at in his voice. Forcing a calmer tone he continued "Odd said he didn't care what happened to himself as long as you and I were happy." Yumi's expression softened after hearing that and Ulrich decided not to press his luck. He waved toward the bed and watched her sit down on it. He sat down next to her and waited silently while she calmed down. When she no longer looked like a raging storm Ulrich spoke to her, asking why she had come.
"I was worried about our two geniuses, I've never seen them affected that badly by Lyoko. I'm staying over tonight to make sure they're ok."
Ulrich smiled appreciatively, "They're lucky to have a friend like you."
"Thank you. Now I've got to go check on Jeremy then head upstairs to change. Night Ulrich."
Ulrich looked up at Yumi as she got up. He felt the heat on his face and was certain he looked as red as a tomato as he considered a more serious response. "Night Yumi... Love you."
Yumi turned abruptly, her own face scarlet. She regarded Ulrich for a few seconds then replied "Love you too" before leaving.
--
Kadic Academy, Sissy's room, Saturday 10:00 PM: Sissy's eyes swept her empty room, catching her reflection in the vanity that occupied a large portion of her wall. She looked herself over wondering what was going on. This morning had been a disaster and afterwards both she and Ulrich simply avoided each other as much as possible. The few times they did see one another were filled with exchanged awkward looks and regretful expressions. The looks hadn't gone unnoticed and even started a few rumors though none had made it to her father. But none of that was important, not with the turmoil her morning had created. She looked into the mirror, wondering about the person staring back at her.
That person was a pretty, young teenager who didn't mind flaunting her body. She was among the social elite, always surrounded by girls who took her seriously. She had power and influence, being the principals daughter. She could use the schools rumor mill to elevate or to humiliate with impunity. But what did she have to show for it?
Ulrich had rejected every one of her advances. He had even rejected her inadvertent promise of sex, choosing to pursue Yumi even though he was fighting with her. She knew boys weren't supposed to reject any opportunity for sex and it made her wonder what Ulrich saw when he looked at her. She was pretty, she wasn't shy about it and she kept up with the latest fashions. Yumi always wore the same boring black outfit and her powerful physique was more intimidating than inviting. How he could find Yumi more attractive than herself was a mystery. Another one was why he stuck by the nobodies he called friends when she could make him the king of the school.
But then there had always been something different about Ulrich's group of friends. Aelita had shown up and before proving she had anything to offer they accepted her into their circle. Jeremy, the schools lowest nerd, was treated with respect and even affection. Yumi wasn't made to feel uncomfortable because she didn't conform to the school's norms. Odd, the screw-up goofball who always got them into trouble, was always forgiven and welcomed back time and again. None of them cared the slightest bit about popularity or power, they even stuck up for the younger students and helped out around campus. The whole group made no sense yet they always seemed happy.
And with that realization her reflection seemed to stare deeply into her soul. It dared her to say that she was jealous because she knew that Ulrich, Odd, Yumi, Jeremy and Aelita didn't feel alone when they were together. It demanded that she admit to punishing their group because hers didn't bring the happiness she saw in them. She turned away from the mirror and turned off the lights then headed to bed. She began to cry as her mind continued to tear at itself. She was alone, unlike Aelita there was no one she would trust to call and come running to comfort her. The thought made her cry harder and eventually she cried herself to sleep.
--
Kadic Academy, William's room, Saturday 10:00 PM: William lay in bed reflecting on the latest development. A consequence of having a profile in the supercomputer he remembered being woke up in the middle of the night and questioned about the disappearance of his four friends were. He had figured that since Odd was accounted for it probably wasn't a XANA attack. He proclaimed his ignorance and was eventually let go. Then the return trip happened and he called Jeremy who explained what had happened.
The news that Yumi and Ulrich were, once again, a couple hit him like a blow to the chest. She had told him that she needed her space when he asked her out after the breakup. Like an idiot he had given it to her, telling her that he would back down and wait for her to recover. He knew it was a stupid move but he also knew his chances were slim to start with. She had told him that after all she and Ulrich had been through their bond wasn't going to break easily.
The problem was he didn't really want to give up. He had tried that once and Ulrich hadn't used the opportunity he had and it left Yumi miserable. Ulrich was, to put it simply, not good enough for Yumi. Yumi deserved to be loved by someone who would love her back without hesitation or regret and Ulrich simply couldn't do that. But how he could show her that was a question that didn't seem to have an answer.
--
Kadic Academy, Aelita's room, Sunday 9:30 AM: Yumi watched as Aelita woke up and seemed to quickly search her bed before sighing softly and rolling over to look into her room. She saw Yumi and wished her a good morning then asked how Jeremy was the last time she checked.
"He seemed fine last I checked." Yumi replied with a smile, finding that Aelita's first concern was Jeremy to be rather cute. "You both developed a fever overnight. It broke at around the same time for both of you. How do you feel?" Yumi didn't conceal the concern she felt for her friend.
"A fever?" Aelita said concerned. "Do you know how high?" Aelita paused slightly and then answered Yumi's question with "I feel pretty good, though I had." She took a quick glance at her clock. "Over twelve hours of sleep."
"I don't. It wasn't very high at least to my hand. Any Idea why you would develop a fever?"
"No." Aelita's expression turned thoughtful and after a short pause she continued "If you wanted a guess, I'd say that altering Lyoko's time base, combined with the amount of time spent in the simulation affected the way our memories were integrated into our brains. For what it's worth, unless Jeremy and I figure out what is going on we won't be attempting to mess with Lyoko's time base anymore. I think we'll also avoid staying on Lyoko for that length of time as well."
"Good." Yumi said sounding just a little like a pleased parent. "Now about you and Jeremy sleeping together." Yumi's disapproval showed plainly in her voice.
Aelita sat up in bed but still had to look upwards to meet the older, taller girls eyes. "What about it? We spent the last two nights together. We made out yesterday morning but that's as far as we've gone." Her reply was delivered in a low voice but without any hint that she thought she had done anything wrong.
Yumi looked into the green eyes of the girl she considered her sister. Those green eyes held a certainty and level of trust in Jeremy that Yumi was incapable of matching for anyone at the moment. She would have trusted Odd with her life, had on more than one occasion. But Odd had betrayed her and the group, taking advantage of all the trust he'd earned to try and force her into intimate contact with Ulrich and nearly killing her in the process. Much more harshly than was warranted Yumi replied "you're showing Jeremy an awful lot of trust by sleeping with him, are you sure you're ready for what could happen because of it."
Holding unto her calm voice Aelita asked "is this about me and Jeremy or about Odd?"
"I trusted Odd, would have trusted him with my life and he lures me to the factory, drugs me and then nearly kills me. How can you be so sure about Jeremy?" Yumi demanded.
"Jeremy wouldn't take advantage of me." Aelita shot back, bristling at the thought. She forced herself to calm down and continued more softly. "I can't explain Odd's behavior. I can only assume he, like usual, didn't consider the consequences before acting. But let me ask: you've known Jeremy longer than any of us, do you really think he would take advantage of me?"
"And that excuses his behavior?" Yumi shot back angrily, ignoring the remainder of Aelita's question. "How can you defend what he did to me?"
"No, it doesn't. And I can't." Aelita said, maintaining her measured tone. "But it does offer an explanation. He thought he could get you and Ulrich back together as a couple. All other consequences were irrelevant in pursuit of that goal. He simply didn't think about what drugging you would do or what you would associate with it."
Aelita got out of bed and put her hand on Yumi's shoulder, looking into the taller girls eyes she said: "My father did essentially the same thing to me, using my blind faith in him to place me in the supercomputer. He thought he was doing the right thing but it nearly resulted in the end of the world. But out of it all I got the best friends I could ever have and Jeremy, who's so much more. I've managed to forgive my father for what he did to me and I think you'll eventually forgive Odd as well, but I know from experience that it won't be easy. And Yumi, like me you are getting something out of this ordeal. You and Ulrich took the first real step towards making your relationship work because of it. Focus on that if you need to and don't forget that both Jeremy and I will always be here for you if you need to talk." Aelita slowly pulled her hand away from Yumi's shoulder and turned to gather her shower kit. She laid an extra set of towels out for Yumi then headed for the showers, leaving the older girl to consider her words.
Yumi remained in the room and forced herself to calm down. As calm returned she reflected on the conversation and realized two things. First, Aelita again sounded wise far beyond her years. Second, she left one of Aelita's questions unanswered. She did know the answer though, it was that Jeremy would sooner die than take advantage of Aelita or anyone else for that matter.
Odd though was a different story. Aelita was right, Odd probably didn't intend to induce all the fear, pain, anguish and distrust that he had. But she wasn't so sure that she could forgive him. Luring a girl somewhere and drugging her to get what he wanted, no matter what the intention, couldn't be tolerated. The thought brought fresh rage flooding into her system and she ignored the towels Aelita had set out, changed and headed for the gym. It wouldn't be as satisfying as beating Odd but she needed to do something.
--
Kadic Academy, Jeremy's room, Sunday 11:00 AM: A freshly showered Yumi walked in after knocking and found Jeremy and Aelita trying to help Ulrich with something on the computer, she assumed it was his report but she had something more important than finding out to do right now. "Good morning Ulrich, Jeremy," she greeted. Turning to Aelita she asked "hey Aelita, can I talk to you for a minute in your room?"
"Um, sure." Aelita replied uncertainly as she got up from the bed. She walked over to Jeremy and kissed his cheek. "Remember this is Ulrich's report you can't do it for him," she quipped lightly.
Jeremy smiled up at her, "but it'd go so much faster."
Ulrich turned in his chair to face Yumi, "Good morning. I... uh." He stopped as his face started to turn crimson. He continued after Jeremy nudged him, "I was looking forward to seeing you this morning, I was a little disappointed when you didn't come down."
"I'm sorry. This morning I got reminded of Odd and just needed to punch something. I didn't want to take it out on you." Yumi replied, wishing Ulrich hadn't said anything.
"Oh. Uh ok" Ulrich replied, not knowing what else to say.
Jeremy broke the awkward silence after a few seconds by saying, "maybe we can all go off campus for lunch, get out and just relax for a few hours."
"Yeah maybe." Ulrich responded, "if we can get this work done."
--
Kadic Academy, Aelita's room, Sunday 11:05 AM: Yumi shut the door behind her and walked to Aelita's desk, taking a seat on her computer chair. Aelita sat down on the bed and faced Yumi. "So what did you want to talk about?"
"First, I owe you an apology, I do know Jeremy well enough to know that he wouldn't treat you with anything less than the respect you deserve. I was surprised to hear that you and Jeremy were sleeping together and... I guess I overreacted."
Aelita smiled kindly at Yumi as she accepted her apology. "That's ok, considering... I know you didn't mean anything by it."
"Thanks." Yumi paused then decided to add her opinion. "Aelita? It's only my opinion but I think you're both moving too fast. Things can happen that I'm not sure either of you are ready for and."
Aelita, seeing Yumi's discomfort, stopped her. "Yumi I understand what you're trying to say. Jeremy and I haven't gone any further than making out but just doing that has given us ideas for the future that, quite frankly, scare me as much as they excite me. Jeremy said we should talk to each other about it and that he thought his parents would be willing to answer any of our questions."
Yumi breathed a sigh of relief that she wouldn't be the one explaining. "I think you should take Jeremy up on that offer." After a few seconds she added "yesterday you told me to resist the temptation to go into Ulrich's mind, remember?" Aelita nodded yes and Yumi continued. "That was good advice, even if I didn't want to hear it at the time. Sex is going to be a powerful temptation for both you and Jeremy. Don't push yourself further than you're comfortable with and don't let yourself get pushed either. Understand?"
"I understand," Aelita replied. "And I'm glad that you're here to look out for me and that you'll let Jeremy and I develop at our own pace. Your support means a lot to me."
Yumi smiled at her pink haired friend and got up. Both walked back down to Jeremy's room and collected their boyfriends to go out for lunch. On the way to the restaurant Jeremy walked hand in hand with Aelita while Ulrich and Yumi walked side by side. Aelita seeded a conversation then slowed down, causing her and Jeremy to fall behind Yumi and Ulrich. Jeremy leaned close to Aelita and whispered "good job" as he listened to the couple in front talk to each other.
Yumi and Ulrich were enjoying their light conversation so much that neither noticed Jeremy and Aelita slip behind them nor did they notice that the other couple was no longer participating. Unfortunately, as they neared the restaurant Yumi did notice Odd as he turned down a side street. All the good feelings she had evaporated and she took off running after him, rage fueling her body. Ulrich, Jeremy and Aelita ran after Yumi but it was clear that she was going to beat them to Odd.
Odd heard running and shouting and turned to look behind him, then faced forward and ran as fast and as hard as he could. But as fast as he was, Yumi was much faster and caught up to him, giving him a hard shove. He stumbled as Yumi's push added to his momentum then fell, barely managing to get his hands up to protect his face as he skidded to a stop on the concrete sidewalk. He saw Yumi's shadow as she walked up to him, felt his heart pound with exhaustion and fear. He marveled at the effect of adrenaline and whatever else was in the bodies flight or fight response. All of his senses were heightened and he didn't feel much of the pain that his torn knees and hands were surly radiating into his body. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew Yumi was going to beat him to a pulp he would have enjoyed the effect.
Yumi picked Odd up by the collar of his shirt and tossed him back onto the ground, face up. She stood over him and demanded that he get up so that she could show him how much a real woman appreciated being drugged. When he didn't respond she set grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him up unto his feet. Then she kneed him in the groin, sending him to the ground screaming in pain. Before she could do anything more Ulrich, Aelita and Jeremy had their hands on her, pulling her away and shouting for her to calm down, that it wasn't worth it. She struggled, watching as Odd slowly picked himself up then run off. With the focus of her anger gone it began to dissipate.
Odd painfully made his way back to school, wondering how Yumi could still be mad at him for making Ulrich her boyfriend. It wasn't like she had never taken risks to save he friends, she even died once and still came back for more. He continued on his way to school, trying to ignore the pain of his injuries. Trying to ignore the pain that his friends were inflicting on him with their neglect.
Yumi stood circled by her three friends and shaking from shame, guilt and exhaustion. She had gotten her justice and it felt really good to pay Odd back in physical pain for the emotional pain he had inflicted on her. But now it was over and she was beginning to regret her actions. Everyone told her it was ok, that they understood but was it? Odd's injuries would attract attention and her friends had secrets that needed to stay that hidden. Jeremy grabbed her attention be saying "Ulrich, Aelita why don't you take Yumi to the restaurant and see if you can calm her down. I'm going to go after Odd, make sure he gets back to school and has a story to explain his wounds." Aelita and Ulrich nodded their understanding and began to walk off with Yumi. Jeremy jogged to catch up with Odd.
"Hey Odd, don't run, Yumi's not with me." Jeremy called out as he approached.
Odd looked over his shoulder and answered "you want a piece of me too?"
Jeremy was conflicted, he heard the fear and pain in his voice and hated it but also knew it was well earned. "No. I just want to make sure you get back to school and then to the infirmary."
As Jeremy caught up he took a second to look Odd over, "any idea what we should tell the nurse?"
Odd paused, "I could tell her that Yumi got mad at me and beat me up for showing her how much she loved Ulrich and how much Ulrich loved her."
Jeremy scowled, "Yeah and then Ulrich would beat you up for getting Yumi into trouble. And you know what? You deserved this. You lured Yumi and drugged her with the intent of forcing Ulrich to rape her mind. You should consider yourself lucky that you're not dead."
"Lucky, you call being scorned by everyone you love lucky." Odd shot back. "I gave Yumi Ulrich. I gave Ulrich Yumi. They have me to."
Jeremy cut him his voice hard and cold, "Maybe they do and maybe, after everyone calms down and this begins to fade, they'll even appreciate it. But face it Odd, you saw what you wanted and you did whatever it took to make it happen without regard to what it would cost everyone else. How would you feel if somebody you trusted played on that trust to lure one of your sisters into a trap and put their life in danger or drugged and raped her."
Odd got even more angry, "How dare you even suggest that. I ought to."
"You ought to what Odd?" Jeremy challenged loudly.
Odd stopped in mid thought, he would treat anyone who tried to drug one of his sisters far worse than he was being treated right now. He knew that extended to Yumi and Aelita and even Ulrich and Jeremy. The realization of what he had really done hit hard and hurt even worse than the physical pain. He felt Jeremy try to steady him and pushed away, saying he didn't deserve the help.
"Come on Odd, get yourself together. We'll tell the nurse that you had a skateboarding accident and get you patched up. It may be possible for Yumi to forgive you, she knows you're an idiot who rarely thinks before acting."
"Ok." Odd replied meekly but trying to sound hopeful as he walked with Jeremy.
--
Kadic Academy, Jeremy's room, Sunday 12:30 PM: Aelita found Jeremy checking his email and tapped on his shoulder to get his attention. "I brought you something since you missed out on lunch."
Jeremy pushed away from his desk as he gave Aelita a warm thank you. He moved unto the bed so that Ulrich could use the computer to finish his report. Aelita took a seat next to him while Yumi and Ulrich took the two computer chairs at the desk. Ulrich turned towards the computer, "mind if I continue to work on my report since I'm here?"
"Not at all, let us know if you need any help." Jeremy replied.
After a little more than an hour of work Sissy barged in, ignoring the mostly closed door, to find Yumi and Ulrich working at Jeremy's desk and Jeremy and Aelita sitting on the bed with their arms slung around each other's shoulder and a laptop balanced between their laps. Jeremy spoke without noticing the intruder, "got it Ulrich. We'll send you the link... there you go." As he looked up he saw Sissy and announced her presence saying "ever hear of knocking Sissy?"
"If you have girls in the room the door should be wide open." Sissy replied, paraphrasing dorm rules. "And you two" she said with a gesture at Jeremy and Aelita, "are publicly displaying affection. But I can ignore that since I'm sure all of you will be willing to give me a little time alone with Ulrich."
"I know what happened between you and Ulrich this morning Sissy." Yumi stated. "If you're here to discuss that then you can talk in front of all of us."
Sissy's mask began to crumble. She needed to know why Ulrich had rejected her, needed to know what Ulrich saw in Yumi that he didn't see in her. But talking in front of his friends promised to be embarrassing even humiliating. She noticed that they were all staring at her expectantly. She glared back at each one and none seemed the least bit impressed. It was like they were taunting her. Jeremy and Aelita with their easy, practically carefree affection that she might never know. Ulrich, whose love she would never have. Yumi, who was most certainly laughing at her behind her calm face.
"We know everything that happened between you and Ulrich yesterday morning." Jeremy said kindly and with genuine sympathy. "If you need to talk about we'll listen. I don't even think Yumi's mad at you."
Sissy turned to Jeremy, disbelief clear in her features as she regarded both him and Aelita. She turned to Ulrich as he spoke. "Ask whatever you want. If it gets too personal you can ask Jeremy and Aelita to leave."
Sissy followed her first, most defensive impulse. "Yumi doesn't trust you to be alone with me?"
"I don't trust you to be alone with Ulrich." Yumi retorted.
"Take it easy, both of you." Aelita cautioned. She continued in a kind voice "Sissy, ask your question please. Ulrich has a ton of work to do."
Sissy looked down at the floor, "why not me?" She regretted saying it as soon as the words were out of her mouth. But at the same time she desperately needed to know.
"Partly it's the way you've treated everyone around you. I know you can be kind and caring, you're most attractive when you're being that way but most of the time you act so selfish and stuck up, you treat everyone like they're inferior to you. I can't be with someone who's idea of fun is to bully people. Partly it's my own feelings. But for what it's worth you really had me tempted Friday night."
Sissy looked up from the floor to regard Ulrich. He was standing close to Yumi and she was holding his hand. Both had red cheeks but otherwise they were fine. There was a certainty to Ulrich's words that told her any further attempts to win him would be futile. She turned to leave and was stopped by Jeremy's voice "are you going to be ok?"
She turned around, "I've been left for Yumi. Do you have any idea how humiliating that's going to be!?"
"No, I don't." Jeremy stated simply.
"Is that really all that matters to you?" Aelita asked gently.
"No!" Sissy yelled, pouring out everything she had been holding back and thinking about since yesterday morning. "What matters is that I failed to win Ulrich. What matters is that I'll be alone. What matters is that I'll never know the friendship that you share. I'll never know the affection that you share. I'll" Sissy collapsed into a heap and there were a few students standing outside Jeremy's room looking on. Some were simply gawking, some were openly happy to see Sissy taken down.
Yumi looked out at the small group that had gathered and felt disgusted. Normally she had no problem seeing her romantic rival tossed down a few pegs but this was different. Sissy was here to, in effect, admit defeat and Yumi could understand how she felt. To be gawked at and humiliated at a time like this wasn't right. She released Ulrich's hand, not even realizing she had taken it and stepped towards the door, a menacing look on her face. "Get out of here," she commanded. The crowd dispersed as Yumi angrily closed the door. She turned back into the room and saw Aelita and Jeremy trying to comfort the now crying girl. She looked over to Ulrich, "Come on Ulrich, let's leave Sissy alone. I doubt she wants to be seen right now."
"No." Sissy choked out. "Don't leave me alone, please."
"It's ok Sissy." Jeremy soothed, having had plenty of practice with Aelita. "We're here, we won't leave you."
It took a while but Sissy regained her composure and finally stood up and straightened herself up somehow managing to look like nothing had ever happened. As she made her way to the door Aelita stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. Sissy spun around, "What!?"
Jeremy surveyed the room and got affirmative nods all around. He turned to Sissy, "we can be your friends."
Sissy looked around the room her confused, strange expression met with sincerity from all present. "You'll really accept me into your group?"
"All we'll ask is that you treat us as true friends. We can teach you how." Aelita answered.
Sissy looked to Yumi who answered her questioning gaze. "I don't imagine it'll be the popular thing to do. You may have to accept a change in your social status."
Sissy looked sadly at the floor after hearing that. She wasn't sure she was ready for that. She listened as Ulrich said, "maybe we could learn to be a little more popular. Just don't expect us to bully people."
Sissy smiled gratefully at Ulrich. She felt the expectant looks that everyone was giving her. She flashed a smile at everyone and answered with "I'll think about it" then left the room with a smile on her face and her head held high. She returned the door to the position it was in before she barged in then headed upstairs to her room. She was going to have to do some damage control since some had seen her breakdown. But on the whole she was happier than she had been earlier. The four teens in Jeremy's room shrugged their shoulders and returned to the task at hand, Ulrich still had a lot of work to do and he needed help.