Odd closed the door behind him as he left his dorm to go to Aelita's. The past few weeks had taught him a few things. He had learned that he was capable of being attracted to a girl without focusing on just the physical aspects alone. He learned that he enjoyed spending time with her and that they had more in common with each other than he had previously thought. He also learned that he would have to do something if he wanted to let her know just how he felt about her. If he didn't do it soon, he would live to regret it for the rest of his life. With those thoughts in his head, he decided that tonight would be the night he would make his move. With that goal set, Odd walked up the stairs to the girls' floor and spent the time thinking about how he would confess to the girl of his dreams.

Aelita sat at her desk staring at the monitor. For what seemed like countless weeks, she had heard nothing from Jeremie. No voice mails on the phone. No emails had arrived in her computer. It was as if he had lost all means of communication at once. While this was due to the fact that he was busy with the program, as he had stated in his last email to her, it didn't help that Aelita never wrote back to him either. She had so desperately wanted to tell him what had happened to her but she had not built up enough courage to do so. How would he react? What would he say and do? With him being so involved overseas, would he even care? The possible answers running through her head frightened her. As she continued to stare at the monitor, she heard a knock at the door. She shut off her monitor and opened the door.

"Hey, princess," Odd greeted.

"Hey yourself," she responded as she stepped aside to let him in.

Odd walked inside the room, hands nervously placed in his pockets. Instead of just saying things outright, he decided to try and ease into the subject. "So, how are you doing?" he inquired.

Aelita fidgeted after closing the door. Bad thoughts concerning Jeremie still lingered in her mind. "I'm doing good, I suppose," she answered.

The purple-clad boy looked at her face and saw a change. Instead of the bright and cheery face he saw these past few weeks, he saw a face that displayed worry and fear. He decided that what he had to say was not important at the moment and concentrated on Aelita's issues. "What's wrong?"

The girl was caught off guard by the question. "Nothing," she said as she tried to avoid the issue.

Odd shook his head. While a simple 'no' would suffice for other things, this was something he could not simply ignore. "Seriously, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I told you, nothing is wrong," she repeated.

Odd folded his arms. "I won't stop asking until you tell me," he threatened.

Aelita sighed. Odd was stubborn when he wanted to be and this time was no exception. Sooner or later she would have to tell her friends the truth. Since he was in the room, it only made sense to tell him first. "Do you remember when I said that I had told Jeremie about my pregnancy?" she asked.

He nodded, wondering where she was going with this question. "Did he finally write back to you?" he asked as she shook her head. "Why not?"

There was a brief pause before she answered. "I never told him about it."

Odd's face expressed shock. He couldn't believe that Jeremie was never told what was happening back home. "Why didn't you say anything to him?" he asked.

"I'm... afraid," she confessed.

Odd began to fear for the worst. "He's not..."

Aelita shook her head, knowing exactly what he was implying. "He wouldn't even think of laying a hand on me," she explained. "But there are times where he gets so obsessed over things that he forgets everything around him, even me. When XANA was still alive, he was so driven to defeating him that he chose him over me. If it wasn't for a return to the past and a change of heart, he would have still been stuck in his room working on a program instead of joining the rest of you guys attending my first concert with the Subdigitals. With him overseas attending a special program, he might be in his obsessive mood again and not care that I'm about to have a baby. As much as I don't want to believe that'll happen, I don't want to find out whether or not I'm right." As she seemed like she was on the verge of tears, Odd reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"You shouldn't ever have to worry about someone you love not returning that love to you," he said. "And if you still feel that will be the case, then maybe it's time someone else loved you. Someone like me."

Aelita attempts to weep had ceased, replaced with confusion as she heard what Odd had said. "I don't understand."

"From the moment we kissed in the factory, I knew you were the one for me," he explained. "You and I were like kindred spirits that got along so well I could hardly imagine life without you there. The only reason I didn't go after you then was because of Jeremie. Since he was my friend, I respected his wishes and backed away. Now that he put you in this position, however, it's clear that he doesn't deserve someone like you." Before Aelita had a chance to respond, Odd moved forward and pressed his lips gently against hers.

The sense of euphoria had hit Odd. The kiss in the factory was manufactured to chase away Herve and Nikolas but it awakened feelings he never knew he had before. While it was the first time he physically kissed her, Odd felt no emotional attachment to the action. This time however, was different. This time, Odd felt happiness. For once, he didn't get just any girl but the girl that was a lot like him in many ways. He had found his soul mate and confirmed it the only way he knew how. Kissing her was like a dream that he thought would never end.

Until Aelita pulled away.

The euphoric feeling Odd had experienced had drifted away, leaving behind a feeling of confusion at what had just happened. He looked at her and asked, "What's wrong?"

Aelita blinked twice, a look of sadness draped over her face. "I can't do this, Odd," she said.

Odd reeled from the comment. In his mind, he had always imagined that Aelita felt the same way about him as he did about her. He had not imagined that this scenario could happen. "Aelita?" he asked.

"Odd, you've been a great friend to me, especially these past few weeks," she explained. "But that's just it. I can't see you as anything more than a friend. Right now, my heart still belongs to Jeremie and it will still belong to him when he returns from his trip. Even if this all ends up badly and I lose him, you're not going to be able to replace him right away. Maybe things will change later down the road but for now, you'll always be a great friend and nothing more. I'm sorry."

Those words hit Odd squarely in his chest. The thought that his love for her was only a one way street made him realize that when it came to winning Aelita, he was no longer in the running. While he was cringing on the inside, he put up a good front on the outside. "I understand," he said as he placed his hands in his pockets and backed away from her. "I'm... I'm... going to get out of here... and leave you alone for a wile." Before another word could be said, Odd approached the door and left the room as quickly as possible.

As Aelita sat down on her chair, trying to forget what had happened, her computer produced a familiar sound not heard in some time. She turned on her monitor and noticed that a notification came up informing her that she had just received new email. Aelita grabbed her mouse and clicked on the notification to open the new email.

"Hello love,

I'm sorry for not writing earlier. Things have really ramped up here on campus and I seem to be getting involved in everything, leaving me precious little time to myself. Judging by the fact that you haven't responded to my last email, I can see that things back home have become a lot busier as well.

Like I said before, things have become busy during my stay here at MIT. At first, I thought that I would be learning much more about computers and computer programming languages than I ever thought possible. However, it turns out that as far as the program is concerned, I know more than the instructors here. So now, instead of sitting down and learning with the rest of the students selected for this program, I'm the one that's helping to teach them how to do things. For once, I'm glad to have fought against XANA since it accelerated my learning rate on computers and their languages.

I wish I could write more. Unfortunately, classes call again. Please write back soon. I miss you dearly.

Love,

Jeremie"

Aelita realized what to do. No matter the consequences, she would have to tell Jeremie now what had happened. Before she changed her mind once more, she clicked on a button and began typing out an email.

Odd unlocked the door to his dorm room and went inside. Despite the fact that the lights were still on, there was no one else in the room save for a sleeping dog. He looked around the room and found a note on his bed from Ulrich saying that he would be back late that night since he was hanging out with Yumi. He was glad that Ulrich was out having a good time. It meant that his best friend would not have to see him break down and cry.


Chapter 11 is now complete.

With the story already taking a turn few could have predicted, the assumption is that the end is coming soon. While this is correct, there's still one little loose end left to tie up.

Chapters 12 and 13 will be posted soon, signaling the end of the story.