Hey guys! I am seriously freaking out about how hard writing is becoming for my fics. This chapter, I was stuck in fits of writer's block, and it was even worse for 'Mission Interference.' Oh, and I'm sorry for the slightly vulgar language used in this chapter. It's just that everyone is pissed, you know? Oh, snap! Now you're excited, aren't you? Haha, go ahead and read! Read!

"No human being is constituted to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; and even the best of men must be content with fragments, with partial glimpses, never the full fruition."

-William Osler

Chapter 10: Lie, or Truth?

Crystal chandeliers pervaded the main room of Du Gourmand with white light. It was a gorgeous sight. Antique french chairs adorned with ornate fabrics were paired with perfectly squared tables covered with simple white tablecloths, and large windows let in a panoramic view of the moon and ocean. Roses in glass vases and napkins folded in odd patterns were situated strategically atop the tabletops, the silverware not a hair out of place. The carpet was black, etched with intricate patterns that matched the chairs, and the ceiling was painted a matching gold, edged with black. Large, ebony columns polished to perfection distinguished the eating area from the dance floor, decorated with beautiful flowers. In the corner was a live band which played the classical music and a DJ who put on the hottest hip hop tracks.

When Aelita, Yumi, and Milly arrived, a majority of their classmates were already there, having the time of their lives. Proper chatter between the elite streamed throughout the room, mostly of topics that Yumi will most likely never get the chance to experience. She surveyed the crowd, looking for any sign of that head of navy hair, but nothing came up. Yumi frowned and checked her phone just in case she missed a text.

When she realized what the heck she was doing, Yumi shook her head and stuffed her phone back into her purse. She wasn't supposed to be the kind of girl that waited on a guy! She was independent, strong enough to deal with her classmates herself -if William didn't show up, so what?

Aelita rose an eyebrow, noticing Yumi's slight change in mood. She placed a hand on her hip. "Yumi, who are you looking for?" she asked.

Briinnggg!

The screen of Yumi's cellphone lit up to show a notification. It was a text from William. Unintentionally and completely ignoring Aelita's random inquiry, she unlocked her phone with a swipe of her finger and proceeded with reading the text:

Yumi,

I'll be there in ten minutes.

-Will

Even with a text written in such brevity, it was enough to put a smile on Yumi's face. She shifted her gaze to find Aelita giving her a slight look of disapproval, her arms crossed. "What?" Yumi asked, slowly placing her phone back into her purse. "Why are you looking at me that way?"

"Yumi," Aelita began, "are you hiding something from me? Is everything okay?" A look of utter concern chose to settle upon her elfin features, bringing genuineness behind those seemingly useless questions. Unfortunately, it instantly released a wave of guilt in Yumi's direction as well. She didn't show it, though, as she tried to play if off.

"Yeah!" Yumi answered almost too abruptly, giving Aelita a hair flip that was so out of character, it sent chills down both their spines. Aelita's frown only got bigger, though, as Yumi began to whistle 'nonchalantly,' her arms crossed behind her back. She tried her best to keep her gaze from Aelita's penetrating emerald eyes. "Let's just have some fun, Aelita," she said in a last desperate attempt.

Saving Yumi from another string of suspicious looks from Aelita, Jeremie thankfully arrived. "Hey!" he called, walking over to them from the dance floor. The blonde looked just dashing today in his gray and white flannel shirt and matching scarf, a pair of dark jeans completing his outfit. Thoughts of Yumi's uncanny behavior were thrown out the thousand dollar windows as Aelita settled with blushing bashfully and sending goofy smiles his way. Truth to be told, on the inside, she was freaking out about Jeremie's possible prom invitation tonight. And the possible thoughts of him not asking her yet once again lurked as well.

"Thanks so much for coming," he continued, giving Aelita and Yumi their own kisses on the cheek. He even bent down and gave Milly a hug. "Yumi, Milly, you both look great... A-and you too, Ae-aelita!" Jeremie was simulating Aelita's blushes subconsciously as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. Tonight, he was freaking out as well- he wanted this night to be the night where he asked Aelita to prom.

Milly curtsied. "Why, thank you, Jeremie," she replied. "You're not so bad yourself!" She put her hand on her hip and gave him a wink which was a cross between an eye twitch and closing both eyes. Even so, Jeremie was still flattered.

As Jeremie's face began to flush once again, Yumi shifted her gaze over to Aelita, whose face was scrunched together in such an unusual expression, it looked as if she was going to vomit any second now. Unfortunately, Yumi couldn't help but agree. Her sister cannot be flirting with the guy she liked.

A server came up to the group with a tray of toasted brie lathered graciously in a thick pesto sauce. Milly instantly ripped her attention away from Jeremie and clawed one of her hands onto the platter. "Oh!" she exclaimed, stuffing one whole slice of the crunchy appetizer into her mouth. "This is delicious."

Jeremie laughed as Aelita's eyes got wider the more she ate. "That is quite an appetite your sister possesses," he whispered to Aelita.

Aelita crossed her arms, looked to the ceiling, and sighed loudly. She turned over to Yumi and gave her a look.

Help.

Yumi instantly shot back to attention. She gave the room a once-over once again, looking frantically for any distractions that would keep Milly away. Everyone was in their respective cliques, giving Yumi their usual disdainful looks. She only glared back, even scaring some of them away. Yumi sighed, and turned her attention back to Milly. She nudged her on the shoulder. "Hey, Milly," she whispered, looking around the room. "I think I saw a server bring out a whole new tray of escargot. Looks good."

In response, the redhead clasped her hands together. "Oh, yay!"

And like that, she bolted for the waiter, leaving the three behind.

Yumi then leaned into Aelita. "Have fun with Jeremie," she whispered. "I'll keep an eye on Milly."

Aelita looked over to Yumi, a grateful smile on her face. It looked as if she was on the verge of tears. There was a pause, and then Aelita wrapped her arms around Yumi's neck, squealing with thankfulness. "Thank you..." she replied.

And like that, Aelita parted from Yumi and gave her one last smile. Then, she surprisingly took Jeremie's hand in excitement and dragged him over to one of the tables, causing the blonde to nearly trip over his shoes.

Yumi sat down on another one of the tables alone and found Emily entering through the door. She waved her over. Unfortunately, it was Herve who took the signal instead, and walked over to Yumi with a smile.

"Hello, Yumi," Herve greeted, readjusting his glasses. "Isn't it just a pleasant evening? The weather is just so immpeccable- not too humid, not too dry. The food is just so lavishing as well- have you tried the brie? It's certainly savory, relishing, especially that pesto sauce! Perfectly seasoned. It's also a pleasure to see you here tonight. You look very nice."

Yumi gave Herve a gracious smile in politeness. "It's nice seeing you as well, Herve," she answered, not knowing what to say.

He smiled back, not taking note of the awkwardness threatening to settle in. He motioned to the dance floor, thrusting his thumb in its direction. "Would you like to dance?" he then asked.

Yumi looked over to the dance floor and frowned. So many of her rivals were already there, probably ready to tick her off at any given chance. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with their grousing. Really, she found Herve to be a nice guy -except when he was following Sissi around, of course- but that wasn't enough to make her dance with him. That was when Emily came walking over. Yumi's face brightened up to the unforeseen distraction. "Um, hey, Herve," Yumi began, shifting her gaze over to Emily, "have you met Emily Leduc?"

Herve nodded and greeted her with a smile. They quickly exchanged brief greetings. Herve literally brushed off Emily, who didn't seem to care so much, and looked back to Yumi. "So?" he asked, gesturing with both hands to the dance floor. He rose an eyebrow. "Shall we proceed?"

Yumi restrained herself from sighing in exasperation. She didn't want to dance with Herve -not at a time like this. She didn't want William to think that she had her eyes set on someone else and back off. She really liked William, and she didn't want to drift away from him. Finding there was no other reason not to dance with Herve, Yumi wordlessly complied and tentatively took his hand. She grimaced when she found them to be very clammy from cold sweat.

Was he seriously nervous? Yumi scrunched her face in slight contemplation. He can't possibly be nervous around her, can he?

When they arrived at the dance floor, a slightly elevated stage paneled with dark wood, Herve awkwardly wrapped his arms around Yumi's waist and pulled her close. Even worse, Yumi horridly found that Herve was at least a head shorter than her.

Curse her father's genes.

When they began to sway to a sweet piano piece, Yumi recognized it to be Bartok- one of her favorite composers. She slowly smiled and began to concentrate on the skillfully played variations rather than the awfully tricky situation she was stuck in. She imagined Emily watching several feet away with a tiny smile of utter amusement etched into her face. She grimaced once again. Herve continued to trip over his own feet rather than Yumi's- she almost sighed in sheer frustration. Herve should've realized how much of a mistake it was to invite one of the most well-known dancers of the school to dance with him when he couldn't even coordinate his own pair of feet.

"I apologize," Herve mumbled in random intervals, looking down at his feet. "I'm not a very good dancer."

"It's okay," Yumi insisted, guilt pondering the back of her mind from Herve's genuine effort. She continued with trying to make her moves less complicated as to make things easier for Herve. It didn't seem to work, though.

"You're certainly a fantastic dancer," Herve complimented.

"Thank you." Yumi smiiled slightly from the seemingly simple statement. It meant the world to her, even from someone as dorky as Herve. "It means a lot," she added.

The two continued to dance in silence for the next few minutes. Yumi drowned out all background noise and concentrated on Bartok's expertly crafted piece. Yumi then wrinkled her nose as Herve began to emanate an unpleasant body odor from what she guessed was his perspiration. She frowned, scrunching her eyebrows in pity for the guy.

"Thank you, Herve, but I'll be happy to remove the lady off your hands," said the random voice of a man. Low, masculine, yet suave. "I'll take it from here."

Yumi turned her head in surprise. It was William, looking drop-dead gorgeous in his black and white striped shirt, olive toned unbuttoned blazer, and navy slacks. "Surprise," he mumbled. A greeting which consisted of yet another one of his cocky grins happily invited Yumi. She couldn't help but smile, no matter how hard she tried to keep it back. This was mostly because William was handsome, and, heck, he knew it.

Herve seemed to sigh in relief and pulled away. Despite her wishes being fulfilled, Yumi slightly frowned in response. But washing away her slight offensiveness immediately, William bent into a bow and offered a hand out to her. It was the perfectest, cutest, sweetest invitation. "Shall we?" he asked, directing her a wink.

Yumi's heart surged. Tears threatened to well in her eyes, though she refused to let them out. She never realized how much of a luxury kindness could be, and being wanted by someone as cool as William brightened her spirits dramatically.

Finally, there was a nice respite from repeated put downs aimed at her lately, non-stop.

Yumi turned to look back at Herve. She was slightly hesitant. "Go ahead, Yumi," he answered, slightly downcast yet elated at the same time.

Yumi gave him an impassive nod and gingerly put her hand inside William's, flattered by the invitation. In response, he flashed a slight grin and gently intertwined his fingers with hers. Yumi couldn't help but reflect his smile.

Ulrich was already behind William before they could even go one step into their dance. He was looking equally gorgeous, yet casual in his olive-toned loose knit sweater over a white undershirt with cuffed sleeves and a collar, paired with black jeans and dress shoes. Yumi narrowed her eyes at the sight, not wanting him to ruin her night. He wouldn't dare.

Actually, he would.

Ulrich tapped William lightly on the shoulder. William turned in response, and, finding Ulrich there, he let go of Yumi's hands and sent him a hidden smirk. Ulrich only frowned, clenching his fists as if he was refraining from beating the living daylights out of this guy. Yumi frowned as well, disappointed that William was actually immature enough to want to deal with this guy.

"Hello," Ulrich greeted impassively.

"What's up, Ulrich?" William shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Long time, no see, huh?"

"Actually," he began, "it seems more like it's too short of a time... Would you care to join me outside?"

"Really, Ulrich-"

"My pleasure," William answered, cutting off Yumi's attempt at an interruption. She frowned as the two glared at one another and walked out the doors of Du Gourmand. Yumi's heart dropped.

Yumi sighed and sat herself down at her previous table, a strand of hair falling over her face. Sweeping it back behind her ear, she found Sissi, who was with Laura, sitting herself down across from her. The two weren't really friends; they were just happy to find that the two of them had a common goal of attacking Yumi, and, at other times, Emily. Sissi deemed Laura as too nerdy and uncool, and Laura deemed Sissi as too stupid and superficial. "What do you two want?" Yumi snapped. Her downcast expression immediately turned into that of anger.

"Well, that's a nice way to greet someone who wants to help you." Sissi held her hands up in defense. "Fine, Yumi, if you don't want it, then I guess I'll leave."

"That's totally fine with me." Yumi clenched her fists under the table, along with her teeth. "I don't want your bullshit, Sissi," she fired back. "I don't ever recall another time where you actually cared about my well-being."

Sissi puffed up her cheeks and exhaled. "Fine, to tell you the truth, I couldn't care less about you," she confessed. Yumi cocked her head to the side and rose an eyebrow, satisfied that she pointed out right. "But I do care about Ulrich," she continued. "I heard from Aelita that you have been hanging around William Dunbar lately."

Yumi rose an eyebrow and took a sip from her seltzer. "So?" she asked.

"So?" Sissi also rose an eyebrow, along with Laura. "Any talk about William literally upsets him, after all he has done to him."

"Are you saying that it was William who screwed Ulrich over?" Yumi asked. "I don't believe you."

"Choose what you want to believe in," Sissi retorted, leaning over the table to look at Yumi hard in the eyes. "But let me tell you this: We don't want him around. He's dangerous. I can't believe how much of a bitch you're being, after how nice Jeremie has been to you. You have literally ruined his party."

Yumi narrowed her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sissi. So save it, huh?" Yumi got up from her chair. "I know about the rivalry between Ulrich and William, but why should I pay attention to that? It's not like I'm friends with Ulrich. So stop paying so much attention to who I hang out with, and find another pastime." She then began her walk away and looked back at the pair of them. "By the way, William wasn't going to bother anyone until Ulrich came up to him."

When Yumi was halfway to the doors of Du Gormand to checks things out between William and Ulrich, Aelita was there to stop her, completely oblivious to the current situation. "Yumi!" she exclaimed over the beat of Zedd and Matthew Koma's song, 'Spectrum'. She sent her a worried look. "What happened with Sissi? You two didn't look exactly the happiest of people..."

When Yumi finished retelling the whole conversation, Aelita sighed loudly, shaking her head. "Yumi..." she said quietly, "I really think that William isn't a person you should be hanging around with. I haven't been hearing good things about him."

Yumi squeezed the space between her eyes with her thumb and index finger. She shifted her gaze back up to Aelita. She couldn't believe that she was against her as well. "Why should we even believe Sissi?" Yumi retorted. "It's not like she has exactly been peachy with me."

"Yes, but still..." Aelita replied, looking over to Jeremie. He was sitting at a table at the opposite side of the room chatting comfortably with Laura. Yumi noticed that Aelita's face fell at the unexpected sight. "Jeremie told me that the story William claimed to be true was an complete lie."

Yumi frowned. Hearing that Jeremie also thought the story to be a fabrication was really discouraging. Yumi found Jeremie to be a really nice guy, someone who wouldn't believe something that was untrue. But nevertheless, Yumi retaliated with, "But through Ulrich is the only way Jeremie got this information. He could've been lying."

Aelita crossed her arms and shot Yumi a look. "Yumi, Jeremie wouldn't have a reason to lie to me. And he's too close of a friend to Ulrich to even expose his past with William. He would rather keep it to himself."

Before Yumi could reply with what first popped into her mind, Milly was already there to interrupt her. "AELITA!" she yelled over the loud music, stuffing more food into her mouth. "Can you believe that I'm the only sophomore attending this party? This will so bump up my status back at Lyoko Academy. Oh, what if I get asked to prom?!"

She was talking so loudly that even a few students turned to direct a glare towards her. Yumi blinked at the fact that they weren't for her and looked over to Aelita, who was turning paler by the second in response to her sister's behavior.

Yumi scrunched her eyebrows in concern. "Milly," she whispered. "I think you should lower your voice a little. You're not acting like a proper...er... Lyoko woman." Yumi almost purged her dinner at the fact that she even considered using that phrase. If Lyoko women were so proper, they wouldn't pull pranks immaturely at the scholarship students.

Milly put her hands on her hips. "I'm only having fun," she said defensively. "Loosen up a little, Yumi -you're so uptight." Then, unfortunately, Icona Pop's 'I Love it' came on. Milly pressed her palms against her cheeks. "Ohmigosh!" she exclaimed. "This is the track from last summer's party that was so hot! I swear, the dance floor was manic."

Yumi and Aelita both looked up to the ceiling in exasperation. Aelita began to bite her lip in apprehension. Not letting anyone stop her, Milly bolted for the center of the dance floor and began a dance that was a mix between 'The Harlem Shake,' 'Gangnam Style,' and 'The Dougie.' Aelita leaned her head against the wall and groaned. "Please make her stop," she mumbled.

Yumi watched in horror and pity for Aelita as Milly cleared away the area surrounding her, enjoying the undivided attention she was getting. In contradictory to what was going on through her head, many of the fellow students were smiling in amusement in response to her choreography rather than in amazement. Some of them even pulled out their mobile phones to videotape. Simultaneously, Yumi was slightly offended- she couldn't believe that this was merged into the same group of art as the dances she was taught. Shaking her head, she decided to help Aelita and slowly walked over to the front of the crowd, taking much care towards not drawing so much attention to herself.

Meanwhile, in the parking lot of Le Cheval Blanc:

Ulrich and William spent a short time of awkward silences while riding down the elevator. The two of them wanted to get through this as fast as possible- their conversation wouldn't be as heated while they let the trip down gradually ebb away their edginess. William casually leaned against the railing in the back while Ulrich tensely stood up front, looking at the elevator meter intently as the numbers decreased.

When the meter read LOBBY, the doors opened with the ring of a high pitched bell. William instantly got up to a standing position and walked out, but not before Ulrich did.

The parking lot was a large block of space with the peripheries marked with towering white pillars and ficus trees. William leaned against a pillar in question, shooting Ulrich looks of taunt. "So..." he trailed off, "what is it you want to say to me?"

Ulrich clenched his fists, keeping his back to William. He didn't turn to see the evil smirk on the dark teen's face. There was a long fit of silence. "I thought that from last year you received the message to stay away from Kadic or Lyoko," Ulrich spat. "But it seems like it never got through to you."

The edges of William's lips upturned into a slight grin. He crossed his ams. "But we're not at Lyoko or Kadic, are we?" he asked.

Ulrich whirled his head and sent him a death glare. He refrained himself from lunging for William's lanky frame. "Cut the crap, will you, William?" he fired back. "You know what I mean."

William held his hands up in defense. "I was just keeping Yumi company," he replied, shrugging with ease. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I was protecting her from what you and your fellow elites do to her."

Ulrich turned and angrily grabbed for the collar of his blazer. He pinned William against the pillar. It didn't seem to intimidate him, though, for his grin was still dominant. "You stay away from her," Ulrich snarled. "Or I swear I will keep you away. I don't want the same to happen to her."

William laughed coldly. "Oh, Ulrich, do you really think I'll be scared of you?" he taunted. "Besides, you told me I should respect the younger girls and go for the ones my age. I easily recall that Yumi, in fact, is clearly in my age group."

Ulrich scowled. "Of course I would say that to you," he hissed. "Especially after what you did to my-" Instantly, his face fell, clearing of all anger, and tears began to burn the back of his eyes. He shifted his gaze to the floor and willed himself not to weep in response to his heart becoming heavy. He didn't want to finish the sentence. It was all too painful.

"It's not my fault that she was naive," William said, knowing fully what he was going to say without the slightest bit of sympathy. He sounded more like he was trying to provoke Ulrich. "Poor thing, she is." William feigned sadness by directing a fake frown. "Too bad her parents back in Africa didn't want her, and your parents ended up having to adopt her."

Ulrich lifted his gaze, his brown eyes literally beginning to shine with anger. "D-don't you fucking dare talk about her that way," he quivered, having the hardest time steadying his voice. He clenched his jaw. "Sh-she was the sweetest, most innocent little thing, until you came in and took ad-dvantage of her."

"I didn't take advantage of her. She simply brought it upon herself." William's eyes took into that of boredom, and he jabbed his fist into Ulrich's stomach. As he doubled over in pain and threw impulsive curses, William simply stepped out of his grasp. "Are we done, Ulrich?"

"Leave the party," he spoke through his clenched teeth, still grasping his throbbing stomach. "I don't want Jeremie getting upset."

William held his hands up in defense. "Fine, whatever," he replied. "But I'm only leaving for Jeremie, not you."

Author's Note: I cannot thank everyone enough for all of your kind reviews, favorites, and follows. You guys are awesome! Hopefully, this has met your expectations, or even exceeded them. (: Oh, and just a certain fun fact: In the book, the character William is portraying (George Wickham, also known as Wick) didn't show up to the party because of his fear of the character Ulrich is portraying (Will Darcy). I was thinking of doing the same, until I found out how excited you guys were about William crashing the party from your reviews. Also, I found it really out of character for William to be scared of Ulrich. It isn't exactly something he should be feeling. So, you're welcome. (:

Thanks for reading, guys! ;)