Chapter Eleven

A/N: Trying really hard to get these out in a timely manner . . . but hey, I'm in the double digits now! Things'll go smoothly here on out, right? RIGHT? BTW: Ulrich's new song (in my head) is "I'm Still Here" from Treasure Planet. He and Jim have a crapton in common. :D

The sky was still dark; it was at least past midnight. Odd wasn't sure what had woke him up, but he cursed it all the same. He hated waking up in the wee hours of the morning and not being able to get to sleep. Don't we all? After tossing and turning for over fifteen minutes, Odd finally decided to just get up and go to the bathroom or something. There had to be some vague reason he was awake.

He threw the blanket from his small form and stepped onto the carpeted floor. His eyes were already accustomed to the darkness, since he'd been asleep for over four hours at least, but he didn't bother opening them anyway. This was his bedroom; he didn't need to open his eyes to know where he was going.

Until he hit his shin on the bed they'd put in his room for Ulrich. Damn, that was the second time he'd kicked the stupid thing. It would be easier if Ulrich just shared his bed.

Odd paused at his door, pondering his last thought. It wasn't something he usually entertained, and just thinking about it left an off taste in his mouth. With a quick shake of his head, he decided he didn't have to go to the bathroom after all. Instead, he headed for his mini-balcony, pulling the door aside and stepping into the sea-filled nighttime air. Something was putting him on edge, but he just couldn't get his finger on what. He noticed a strange feeling in his legs, as though he wanted to run somewhere. This was a feeling he usually attributed to fighting X.A.N.A., or when he was cornered by said virus. It wasn't a feeling he experienced when in complete safety.

He was jittery, and he kept fidgeting with the hem of his night-shirt. Ever since Lyoko, he'd had a sense about him. It was probably a side effect of his foresight power he used to have. He couldn't see the future, no, but he would have feelings. When something bad would happen, or when something was going to change. This feeling was unknown, and it scared him. He didn't know what was bothering him; it didn't seem to have a source. Deep down, he was starting to worry that it may have something to do with his mother. But at this time of night, he had no way of finding out.

Shivering slightly, Odd returned to his room and sat on the edge of his bed. He looked curiously over at his roommate, and wondered if he was dreaming, and what it was about. Knowing him it probably had something to do with Yumi. There was a painful twang in his chest, and as a sort of reflex, he coughed a couple times. Ulrich tossed a little in his sleep, turning toward the blonde but not waking up.

Odd stood and walked the short distance to Ulrich's bed, kneeling by his friend. This was probably pretty creepy, but Odd wasn't really thinking about it at that moment. It didn't matter anyway, Ulrich slept through the night like a rock. Odd usually did too, but that was beside the point.

Ulrich's suntanned face was calm and relaxed, free from all the worry lines that usually marred his handsome face. Odd allowed himself just one moment, and reached his hand out to run a finger down Ulrich's unconscious visage. His hand lingered a second before he pulled away and stood once again. This was all getting too weird for his own taste, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could take it. He collapsed onto his bed and laid his head in his hands. Having Ulrich so close in such a personal environment had wreaked havoc with his emotions; but for some reason, he couldn't regret bringing him. With one final sigh, Odd resigned himself to a needlessly restless sleep and pulled the covers over his head.

Waking up was slow for Ulrich, and it took him ten minutes just to convince himself to open his eyes. Even then his vision was blurry and his head was fuzzy. He must have slept well last night. Pushing himself up on his elbows, he looked around the room. It was still a little strange waking up in someone else's room, but he figured it was just something else he'd have to get used to. His eyes landed on the sleeping figure in the bed a few feet away from his. The light coming through the curtains was soft, so it was probably around eight or nine in the morning. Odd was asleep, but it looked far from peaceful.

It wasn't like a nightmare, he wasn't really tossing or turning, but he was twitching and his expression kept changing. One moment he'd look like he wanted something, and the next as though he'd gotten it. Ulrich smiled; he was probably dreaming about food, knowing him. After deciding that he wasn't going to fall back asleep, Ulrich sat up in the bed and stretched his arms and back. The floor, despite being carpeted, was rather cold from the strong air conditioning.

Just a few days ago he would have been lost in the large house the Della Robbia family owned, but he had figured out the way to all the important rooms, like kitchen where he was headed now. The kitchen itself seemed empty without the smiling faces of the family he was staying with. Ulrich supposed late-starters ran in the family. He reached into one of the two large refrigerators and pulled out a jug of orange juice. Just as he closed the door he saw Odd's father's face behind it.

"Boo!" Ulrich nearly dropped the juice, but thanks to his decent reflexes managed to catch it quickly. His heart was pounding and he was glad he didn't give in to the punch reflex he'd felt. Odd's dad could easily break him in half. He closed his eyes as he tried to catch his breath.

He heard the man's booming laugh and felt a thick, heavily muscled arm on his shoulders. "Gotcha didn't I? You're up awfully early for a school kid ya know." After Odd, his dad had the least amount of accent in his French.

Ulrich wasn't sure if he was supposed to respond with something, so he just answered with a nervous "yeah", and a shrug of his shoulders. He was never really positive how to act around Mr. Della Robbia, as the man was built like a tank but seemed to have about the harmful capacity of a fluffy kitten. Ulrich was usually wary around parents, due to his own father, but Odd's dad was a new species altogether.

He sat at the table with his glass of juice, looking out the window at the trees in the back yard. There was a decent sized pool in the yard, along with a Jacuzzi. The deck was large, with a concrete patio attached and a stone grill set up, waiting for the perfect night for a grill out.

"Look who's up early enough to sing with the roosters!" Ulrich turned his stare to look at the doorway at the sound of Mr. Della Robbia's words. Elizabeth was standing there, rubbing one of her eyes and heading toward the second fridge.

"It's hardly early, Dad. It's only seven thirty. Nothing compared to your daily routine of waking up at five o'clock sharp." She pulled out a carton of eggs, a pack of bacon, a thick slice of ham and some milk. "Can you grab a tomato, a pepper and some cheese for me, Ulrich, hun?" Seeing as her hands were full, it was hardly an unfair request.

Mr. Della Robbia got three pans and a skillet ready for his daughter and took the eggs from her arms. Ulrich, not really sure what to do with his load, just stood nearby waiting to be informed. "Can we trust you with a knife, hun?" Elizabeth looked at Ulrich with a half teasing, half serious expression.

Thinking about his skill on Lyoko with his sabres, he figured cutting up some vegetables wouldn't be an issue. "Sure, I can do it." He looked around for a moment before Mr. Della Robbia, reading his mind, reached into a cupboard and handed him a cutting board. Ulrich takes the board and vegetables and tomato to an open counter space, setting everything down. After giving them a quick rinse, he set to work.

Of course, it wasn't not as easy as he'd expected it would be, but he didn't have too much trouble with it. His cuts were a bit lacking in finesse, but got the job done. By the time he was finished, Elizabeth had cooked up the ham and her father was starting on omelets. Ulrich thought back to the last time he'd had omelets, which he couldn't say he remembered. Elizabeth smiled and took the cubes from him. "Good job, dear."

Before he really got into wondering why Elizabeth ended every sentence with some form of pet name, he heard what sounded like a dozen people running down the steps at full pelt. Adele and Pauline poked their heads into the kitchen, grinning but still looking a little tired. "Good morning! We smelled breakfast!" They said in unison, sitting at their places at the table. Ulrich was about to grab some plates, but Mr. Della Robbia took them from his hands.

"I'll get these, kiddo. You go wake up sleeping beauty, okay?" he winked at the brunette and nudged him towards the stairs. Ulrich got the message and set up them, headed to Odd's room. He opened the door and was less than surprised to see that the blond hadn't moved a single inch since he'd left. With a fond smile on his face, he walked over to the bed and did what he usually did every morning.

"Odd! If you don't get up now there won't be any breakfast for you!" Odd shot up like a bullet, shirt askew and hair a disaster. "But you should probably comb that nest on your head first."

"Screw you, my hair is always beautiful."

"I'm sure the rats would agree." He skillfully caught the pillow that was thrown at him, but missed the half-hearted punch to his shoulder delivered seconds later. Before he'd even tossed the pillow back where it belonged, Odd was already in the bathroom brushing his hair. Assuming that he'd be down shortly, Ulrich went ahead down the stairs to sit at the table. Odd was quick to follow, sitting next to him.

The plates were already filled with food and Ulrich could feel his mouth begin to water. After a few short moments, the entire family, sans one, was at the table, and the food was beginning to disappear. There was a little light conversation, as there always was at this table, but it wasn't as loud as lunch and dinner. Perhaps the entire Della Robbia family was full of "not morning" people. Not that Ulrich would argue.

Once the plates were empty and everyone was content, the twins started gathering up the dishes and set to cleaning them in the sink. One washed and the other put them into the dishwasher. Ulrich pondered a moment on what it must be like to have a twin. It would be convenient, and it would be nice to always have someone there who understands you. But then again, it might get awfully annoying. Though he hadn't seen Adele and Pauline fight, he imagined he'd fight with someone just like him all the time.

He was jolted from his thoughts when Odd pulled on the back of his shirt, ushering him towards the living room. Elizabeth was setting up a game system, and had just attached it to the back of the large television. The system itself looked ancient, but apparently it still worked. She shoved a game cartridge into it and flipped the on switch. The Nintendo logo popped up on screen, followed by the title "Mario Kart". Ulrich had heard of this game, but he'd never played it.

But apparently, he would today. He took the controller handed to him by Marie, hesitating, but sitting next to Elizabeth when she patted the ground next to her. Odd sat on the other side of his sister and Louise sat on Ulrich's other side, though a few inches away. The menu popped up and Elizabeth chose the track and level. Elizabeth would be Princess Peach, Odd was Toad, Louise played Luigi, and Ulrich chose Mario, as he was the only one he recognized. They ran Ulrich through the controls seconds before the light turned green and everyone was off. Needless to say, he ended up off the track more than he was on it, and lost the first round fantastically, but he was starting to get the hang of it. By the third round, he was at least staying on the track. He still lost, but he didn't lose quite as badly.

He hadn't expected this game to be as fun as it was, and it wasn't long before he forgot himself in the moment, laughing and having a good time. Every once in a while Elizabeth would push him, as if they were actually in the go-carts, and surprisingly enough, it really didn't bother him. Once or twice, he even pushed back. The crazy thing was that Louise, who kept to herself mostly, would usually win the races. Everyone else was throwing each other into the lakes, throwing bombs at each other and generally cheating the heck out of the game.

When the game was over, Louise won the game easily, and Elizabeth came in close second. Ulrich and Odd didn't place, but were beaten by NPCs. They played a few more rounds, Ulrich only getting a little better but still losing every round. They stopped playing when Marie's watch alarm went off and the girls all looked at the clock. "La Bella Vita is on!" Adele and Pauline shouted and the television was quickly switched to cable and they changed the channel to something that looked suspiciously like a soap opera. Odd and Ulrich left, the former informing the latter that it wasn't an interesting show at all, and would be even less so since Ulrich wouldn't understand a word of it.

"You know what, I have a movie upstairs you've been wanting to see for a while. It's that one that came out in Japan a while ago. I really wanted to see it, so I got it online But it's the American remake. I heard it was better than the original." Odd tugged Ulrich towards his room.

"What movie is it?" He followed obediently, truly curious.

"It's a surprise!" Oh how Ulrich hated surprises. Well, at least this one would be over with soon.

They sat on Ulrich's bed, which was apparently a futon, something Ulrich hadn't noticed even after sleeping on it a few nights. Odd put a movie into the DVD player and hit the play button, not turning on the television until he'd sat next to Ulrich. He was a little closer than Ulrich would have normally sat to anyone, but he didn't let it bother him.

The menu for The Ring came on to the screen, and Ulrich was already on the edge of his seat. Sure, it was kind of weird watching a horror movie before it was even time for lunch, but Ulrich really couldn't care less. He'd wanted to see this movie since he watched the trailer ages ago.

Ulrich usually wasn't a fan of horror films, but if they were well done, they could easily be favorites of his. He had high hopes for this one, so he hoped it wouldn't let him down. Odd got back up again to turn off the lights and pull the curtains over his balcony door and windows. He sat back down, maybe even closer this time, but Ulrich failed to notice. Odd selected the language settings, almost clicking on Italian subtitles before remembering Ulrich didn't speak Italian. Chalk it up to being a blonde. With everything set up, French subs and all, he selected play on the screen and the movie turned to darkness.

It took a lot to really shake Ulrich, particularly where scary stories were involved, and he wasn't sure he would be satisfied with the movie in the first twenty minutes. Odd was absolutely enthralled, but this was his thing. It wasn't until about forty five minutes into the movie that Ulrich started really enjoying it. A couple times, though he was loathed to admit it, he even jumped when something scary happened on screen. They were just at the part where the protagonist was trapped in the well, both leaning in towards the television and utterly entranced by the screen, when the door was halfhazardly thrown open, making both teens shout in shock.

Odd's dad laughed in his booming voice and Ulrich noticed that Odd was practically in his lap. The blonde moved before Ulrich could push him away and was already over punching his dad on his massive chest. "We were just watching a scary movie and you had to butt in when it was getting good!" Ulrich paused the DVD and stood, stretching his stiff muscles.

"I was just coming in to say that the girls were all in the pool. They want you to come down and play." Mr. Della Robbia caught his son's hands and pulled him up a few inches from the ground. Odd pulled himself up like a monkey, putting his feet on his dad's belly and pushing away. Ulrich couldn't hold in a chuckle at how ridiculous they looked. Dorkiness was most certainly genetic if this family was any proof.

"We'll come down when the movie's over. We've only got like, twenty minutes left in the film. Which you so rudely interrupted."

"Okay, kiddo. You enjoy your movie and I'll keep the girls from chopping down your door." He let go of Odd's wrists and the teen caught himself in a graceful landing.

"I thought you hid the axe."

"I may have misplaced it."

"That figures."

"Have fun and don't forget to entertain your sisters, or they may go on a rampage again."

"Yeah, yeah." Odd waved his dad away, and closed the door. They moved the DVD back a scene, so they could get into it again. This time, when Odd sat down, he was a more considerable distance away from Ulrich. The brunette was confused as to why this bothered him. Not that it mattered anyway. Ten minutes before the movie ended, Odd's leg was flush up against his own. So much for distance.

Sorry this took a little longer than expected, but I was trying to decide if I should post it at all. :I I don't like pointless filler, and I feel like this was just that. But there was some stuff I wanted to include, and I love writing scenes where we get to see the Della Robbia family interacting with Ulrich and with each other. This was mostly a chapter to show that sometimes there are lazy days when you're on vacation, and this is no exception. (My family always goes on a week long vacation to the beach every summer, so sometimes I spend half the week just sitting in the condo and watching crappy anime with my cousins. So this is just the 'down time' chapter before we get to fun stuff. :D Expect a bit of excitement next chapter, since they'll be enjoying the bonfire with the twins later on this particular day. I think, if I remember my days correctly. Which may not be the case. But enough days have passed by for this to believably be the night of the bonfire. :) I'm getting to work on the next chapter the moment I post this, so it shouldn't be too long now.

Mario Kart is my favorite game of all time. Hands down. I always play Luigi. I have also seen both versions of The Ring, and personally, for the first time ever, I really liked the American version much better than the Japanese version. It was really well done for a Hollywood remake. Not really scary though. Mostly just interesting and suspenseful.

Hope you enjoyed it! And sorry 'bout changing the title without warning, but it really needed to be done. :D This story is now Una Rosa Blu, which y'all need to go listen to. (It's a song, and it's in Italian. I love it and have it on my phone. :3)

On a totally related note, MY BIRTHDAY IS IN 17 DAYS. I'LL BE TWENTY! Gawd I feel so lame. XD I need presents. I'M GOING TO THE ZOO FOR MY BIRFDAY! I get to spend HOURS in the bug place! I'M SO EXCITED! I'm buying a disposable camera or two so that I can take decent pictures that aren't on my phone!

Please let me know if there's anything that needs fixed. I'll wait a couple days before I fix anything, just so that I can get everything at once. :) Thanks guys!