Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko.
Hello peoples. Yeah, just so you know, when I say confusing things like last chapter, you didn't miss anything, it's just me being me. You can expect me to elaborate sometime soon.
So…sorry it took me so long to put the last chapter up. I've been going through some personal problems lately-not something I'd care to talk about much, so don't ask, please. And no, it wasn't something trivial like 'my boyfriend dumped me'. Definitely more serious than that.
Anyways. I know you wanted an answer to my cryptic-ness. So here you are.
So I ThoughtElaine strolled calmly back inside, ignoring the overdramatic beating of her heart-after all, the corset she'd been strapped, wrapped and similarly caged into was reason enough for her heart to beat faster than it normally would.
However, something told her it was the boy-Alexander was the reason her pulse hurtled out of control…She only wished he hadn't left her.
"Elaine, darling, you shouldn't be out in the sun without your hat! Why, you might get freckles!" Lena gasped at the thought. Elaine rolled her eyes but smiled charmingly.
"I wasn't out there five minutes, Lena, darling." She consoled her maid. Lena fluttered around for a few seconds, settling a hat atop Elaine's head.
"Lena, it's not that serious! It's just a dinner date!" Elaine protested, batting her hands away.
"Now, Miss Elaine," Lena began, "this man is your future husband. Don't you want to make a good impression?" Elaine gave her a look that said "are you insane?"
"Um, it's an arranged marriage, Lena, I don't think either of us have a choice in the matter, so therefore, what's the point?" Elaine asked. Lena smiled charmingly, as though Elaine were a thoughtless child.
"Now, now, don't you fret your pretty little head about it. Lena will take care of you." Lena tied the hat before Elaine had a chance to struggle.
Elaine clenched her fists and tried to take a deep breath, which didn't help…After all, who had ever heard of a girl in a corset who could breath?
"Miss," another maid said, curtsying, "your father wants you in the dining room." Elaine gave the maid a curt nod and left for the dining room.
If she had to do this, she was going to do it with as much dignity as she possibly could.
After spending the rest of her night tossing and turning in her bed, Ella was almost ready for the morning.
When light finally shone through the window, Ella rolled out of bed, pulled a scarlet shirt and jeans on, quickly put some makeup on, shoved some papers in her backpack and set off to the nearest coffee machine.
She stopped in front of the school vending machine and stared at it blankly, reading the little signs. She yawned and hit the coffee button a little harder than necessary. A little brown stream of liquid filtered into her cup. She poured some sugar and cream into her cup, stirred it, and was about to take a drink when-
"Boo!" Odd yelled.
"WHAAAAAA!" Ella screamed, arms waving involuntarily, Her coffee flew through the air, hitting Charlie in the head. Ella tripped and hit Odd, knocking him to the floor. She fell to the ground, letting out a little grunt as her back hit the wall.
Odd and Ella looked at each other and burst out laughing. He got up first and took a step towards her to help her up.
"Need help?" he asked, offering a hand. She giggled and took it. He pulled her up a little harder than normal, and she hit his chest, almost sending him flying again. He looked down at her and she looked up at him.
They kissed each other just as Ulrich walked up. His mouth dropped open in shock. Charlie, who had just finished cleaning coffee out of his eyes, saw, too, and raised his eyebrows.
After a few seconds, Ulrich coughed loudly. They jumped apart, Odd grinning like an idiot, Ella blushing furiously. Ulrich stared at them.
"When did this happen?" he asked. Ella looked at the ground.
"Yesterday, after we came back from Lyoko. Odd pulled me aside and told me he'd had a crush on me for a while, and asked if I'd go out with him," she looked up at Ulrich, "I said yes." Ulrich gave Odd a dark look.
"Odd, could I talk to you for a second, please?" he grabbed Odd's arm and pulled him a little bit away.
"I thought I told you not to mess with her!" he said in a loud whisper. Odd blinked.
"I'm not playing with her, I think I might really like her." Ulrich blinked.
If he really likes her, then when they break up, I can't…Woah, what? I like Yumi, not Ella…Ulrich thought.
"Well…Okay, I guess. Just…Don't hurt her, okay? She's like a sister to me" I wish…He thought. Odd nodded and looked over Ulrich's shoulder.
"Hey, look-It's Yumi and Jeremie." He said. Ulrich turned and waved at Yumi. She smiled brilliantly at him and ran up.
"Hey! Ulrich, could I talk to you?" Yumi asked, a light blush staining her porcelain cheeks. He nodded and followed her away, while Odd went back to Ella and kissed her again.
"Ulrich," Yumi said, "I wanted you to know that I've had a crush on you almost since I met you." Ulrich was so shocked he couldn't move. Yumi blinked after a second.
"Um…Ulrich, are you okay?" she asked. Ulrich blinked finally.
"I…I…I…I thought you liked Charlie!" he said finally, still in shock. Yumi shook her head, black hair flicking back and forth.
"No, we tried, but we were better off as friends, not in a romantic relationship. Not like I've always wanted with you," She blushed again, and looked at the ground, biting a lip, "But if you don't want me, then I guess I understand…After all, Ella is really much prettier than I am."
"Yumi, I don't like Ella like that. She's like…Like a little sister. Plus, even if I did like her like that, which I don't, she's with Odd." At this, Yumi looked up in surprise.
"Really? I didn't think they'd ever end up together."
"Yeah, it came as a bit of a shock to me, too."
"So…" she began, then bit her lip, stopping.
"Yeah?" Ulrich asked tentatively.. She smiled at him.
"Are we…together now?" she asked. Ulrich grinned at the word.
"Yeah…That is, if you want to be."
…:…:…
Ella smiled at Odd again, and kissed him.
"I had a great time tonight, Odd. Thanks." He grinned and leaned forward to kiss her yet again. It felt almost wrong to her, somehow-Like she were kissing a relative. A cousin, maybe, or a brother.
Odd was having similar feelings-Yes, he did care for Ella a lot. But not as a romantic interest. He did put on a brave face for her, though.
After all, he thought she liked him, so why would he hurt her? After all, Ulrich would seriously hurt her if he thought Odd was going to hurt her.
…:…:…
That night, Ella had another dream about Ulrich. But this time, she was crying and he was comforting her:
"It's all right, Els," he told her, holding her close and rubbing her back as she sobbed into his shoulder, "It's all right to cry. I know how you feel-It's okay to be angry at her for leaving you. Let it out." She wrapped her arms around him tightly as though her heart were broken.
"I…Just…Don't understand why…I can't stop…hurting….Ulrich…It hurts too much…" she sobbed, long brown hair tangled and matted, mascara smeared over her face.
Ella watched herself cry and wondered why she would be wearing all black-She hated black. It was depressing and colorless.
"Ella, listen. You need to stop hurting yourself," Ulrich said solemnly, carefully extracting himself from her grasp what seemed like hours later.
Ella stood and watched the two, noticing that Ulrich had grown his hair out longer.
"I can't, Ulrich," the other Ella answered finally, "I can't. You don't understand-you don't understand how the numbness pushes in and cripples you, until you can't think and can only watch everyone else live life. You don't understand how horrible it feels to know that no matter who you know, no matter how long you live with it, you'll never get better, never live again."
"Ulrich," she whispered a few seconds later, eyes searching his, "Ulrich, I want to die."
A scream woke her. She almost fell out of the bed when she heard it, until she realized it was her screaming. She clamped a hand over her mouth and let go a few seconds later, when she could trust herself not to do it again.
She laid back down, and listened to her ragged breathing in the darkness, hoping nobody had heard her.
It had just felt so real. In fact, she could understand why the other Ella had done what she'd done.
Shortly before they'd left Elko, she'd taken a Swiss Army knife to her shoulder, and still bore two silvery, jagged scars from the encounter. She never spoke of it; It was something shameful she wished she'd never done, and was glad the scars had healed so well—they were almost unnoticeable.
And she never wanted anyone to notice them-not anyone, not ever.
Okay, so that's it for the chapter. I just had nothing more to say…Although I'm going to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. There are only a few chapters left for this story-somewhere between 6 and 8, so REVIEW while you still can.