I do not own Code Lyoko. See full author's notes at the bottom. Also, this one got long and didn't really stick to the prompt, but it started as a drabble prompt, so it stays in the collection rather than being posted as a stand-alone.

Prompt: Blink

Characters: Yumi and (? ? ?)

Words: 643

Rating: T

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I blink, and I blink again. The words are still scrawled there, on the paper and in little light aftershocks on the back of my eyelids. I don't want to see them – my mind refuses to properly process them – but the evidence is laid out before me.

A love note, slipped into my bag without my noticing. No name, no distinguishing features. Just two sentences: "You are my everything, yet you have no idea. Meet me by the vending machines after school, and I will show you what I mean."

Okay, so not so much love as just a spurt of feeling dumped onto a page in a non-descript hand. It piqued my curiosity despite my better judgment. After all, Ulrich was the one for me, even if we seemed to be taking our sweet time in building a relationship. And it just did not have the feel of a XANA plot – emotions have never been the AI's strong suit.

So I found myself sheltered behind the corner of the cafeteria just after the last bell had rung, surreptitiously keeping an eye out for my mysterious correspondent. Then, like with the letter earlier, there was an image I won't soon forget, but hope to hell I one day can.

A flash of glossy black hair. A glimpse of a pink shirt with a heart in the center. Who knew she was aiming for my heart and not Ulrich's.

I turn away, stunned. I don't want to look back, but make myself do so to assure myself I wasn't seeing things. She is still there, a small frown on her face and a skittish look in her eyes. I slouch behind the wall, cursing my luck; it is her, and she wasn't just passing through the meeting spot.

My heart beats triple time in my chest and I mull over the dilemma. To go out and face her now would cause a scene, even in the shelter of the vending machine alcove. To turn tail and flee was appealing, but against my nature. I could hear her footfalls around the bend, nervously pacing the tile.

I counted to ten and took what I hoped was a calming breath before taking a step out into the open. But I paused, for she was just turning to leave. I must've just been in the edge of her field of vision, because she whipped around to face me. She was tried for a composed countenance, but the tension underneath was unmistakable.

She opened her mouth to speak, and I opened mine. We both stilled at the others' movement. In the pregnant pause, I made up my mind. Shouldering my bag and standing up straight, I looked Sissi directly in the eye. I mouthed "I'm sorry" to her, and offered her a parting bow.

I turned and tried not to beat a hasty retreat. I did not want to see her face crumple or hear the oaths she'd surely swear against me. I sought out Ulrich and just latched onto him as soon as I found him lounging in his room. Odd excused himself at that, and for that I was grateful. I did not want him to see me lying to myself. I did not even want to see the love in Ulrich's eyes directed at me. Right now, I was worthy of none of it.

I kept my head down, buried in his chest, so I would not see the person I was. The one who, no matter how many times I blinked to clear my vision, did not change.

It felt wrong to abandon Sissi, but then why did it feel wrong to be here as well? As I tried to relax into Ulrich, I did not have the answers. I felt as if I did not know myself. I only felt like a monster.

A.N. – This little fic is not meant in any way to bash homosexuality. I merely wanted to show how torn up inside a person might feel in turning down someone's unwanted/unexpected advances. This happened to me once (though not in the situation depicted), and I felt awful afterwards for being too callous in my treatment of the person. This was written to show there's pain on both sides in the exchange.