"You get it?" I asked. Ulrich walked out between the others, a guitar in his hand. I smiled.
"As promised," he said, handing it to me. I only had about another half hour until I was 'officially' cleared to get out of the hospital, but I needed something to take the boredom off. At least I could properly use my arms now. Haven't tested any of my other limbs.
"Nice," I said, grabbing the instrument and putting my hands in place. "Where'd you get this?"
"Thank Ulrich. He bought it," Yumi said, making me look towards him.
"Why, you spoil me," I said with a mock bashful grin.
"I could take it back," Ulrich said with a smirk.
"Alright, I'll stop playing around," I said as I examined the guitar. I couldn't help the small smile that came to my face as I started to remember some of the stuff I practiced before I became 'disabled.'
"Play something," Aelita said with a reassuring smile. I then rubbed the back of my head.
"Um... well, I haven't necessarily practiced..." Liar.
"Practice now. It's just us around you," Jeremy said. I looked down at the guitar.
"Hell, why not?" I said. I sat there for a second, thinking about what I wanted to play. Suddenly I started strumming, and immediately knew what I was playing. Far From Home by Five Finger Death Punch. Out of all things. Then I missed a note, and it ruined my focus.
"Dammit," I said, staring at the guitar. "I was actually doing good for a moment."
"What do you know? It's one thing you don't know immediately," Jeremy said.
"I'm kind of glad for that. I kind of like the fact that I have to actually focus," I said before trying it again. My fingers strummed the guitar again, and the music came out just as straight as I started the last time. Except it was more consistent.
"Another day in this carnival of souls," I hummed softly before blinking in slight surprise. Then I stopped. Maybe that was just habit. Should not have opened my mouth.
"Mess up one of the words or something?" Aelita asked.
"No, not that or anything," I said, looking down at the guitar.
"Then why stop? It was sounding pretty good," Yumi said.
"It's just..."
"You said you would take the formal stuff a little more seriously. Go on. Try it," Aelita said, making me look back at the guitar before sighing. I started strumming again before closing my eyes. Think of the peaceful days... just sitting back and relaxing... focus on what you're playing...
Another day in this carnival of souls
Another night's end, ends as quickly as it goes
The memories are shadows; ink on the page
And I can't seem to find my way home
And it's almost like
Your heaven's trying everything
Your heaven's trying everything to keep me out
I kept strumming a little while longer before I stopped as I laid the guitar in front of me.
"I mean, it's not the greatest, but it's good enough for me at least. At that point, the drums start to come in and I'd rather not try the rest of it without them," I said as I looked up. All of them were staring at me in a perplexed fashion, and couldn't help but feel uncomfortable from the stares.
"Er... what's with the looks?" I asked hesitantly.
"I think I speak for all of us when I say how baffled I am when it comes to how idiotic you can be," Aelita told me. I simply blinked at her. For some reason, I didn't take that as a bad thing.
"What she means by that," Ulrich said at my blank look. "is that you are no where near as bad as you claim to be. I wouldn't say you're at the Subdigitals level or even some of the other bands I've listened to, but then again, they are popular bands who are professional at what they do, so that doesn't mean too much. That wasn't nowhere near as bad as you thought as it was going to be."
"I'm with Ulrich. That was actually pretty good. What was the song called?" Odd asked.
"Far From Home by Five Finger Death Punch. I love the band and their music. I don't know why it popped in my head, but it felt like the right thing to play at the time," I told him.
"Perhaps because in your case, the lyrics are pretty literal," I thought.
"Have you finished it with that program?" Jeremy asked.
"No, not yet. Maybe that was why I played it. I didn't think about it. It just sort of... happened. It's nothing any of you have heard yet," I told them.
"Try something else," Aelita said.
"There's nothing else I want to play without an electric guitar. Most of the songs I love have em. Disturbed, other Death Punch songs, etc," I said.
"Then you need to borrow one or buy one. You actually have talent wise guy," Aelita said, lightly punching my arm. I turned slightly red while rubbing the back of my head.
"I guess I did kind of try to sell the fact that I was going to be the worst at this, didn't I?" I said hesitantly.
"Yes. But all that matters is that you work on it now. Who knows. You might be able to make a career out of this," Jeremy told me.
"They aren't my songs," I reminded them.
"To the rest of the world they are. Because I doubt anyone's going to find any of the people you say made the songs. The important thing is that you can pull them off. And you can sing them. That's all that matters," Yumi said.
"And considering you have access to a program that does all the instrument work for you, you don't even necessarily have to learn how to play the instruments," Odd added.
"In that case, it's more or less I want to learn it. I mean, learning to shred a guitar would be awesome," I said.
"If you want I can give you some killer tips," Odd said, sticking his nose up in the air in a superior fashion.
"Can you even play?" I questioned.
"He actually can, surprisingly. Even more surprising is that he's actually good," Ulrich told me, making me raise an eyebrow.
"Really? Huh. But in any case, I'd rather learn it myself. I mean, I definitely still need work. There are times I miss a note because I'm not quite accustomed to how the guitar works, but that only takes practice. Believe me, I'm actually glad I'm not amazing at it first off. I'm like the fact that it's something I actually have to work on," I said with a smile.
"You have a good start already. Just capitalize on it, and you'll be even better," Aelita said, making me nod.
"You wanna try?" I asked, holding the guitar out towards her.
"Oh, no. I have three things I would like to focus on. Making mixes, singing, and dancing. Instrument playing is something I could possibly do, but don't feel as if I need to," Aelita explained, causing me to nod.
"Well, in any case, I'd predict you'd be talented at all three," I said, making her smile at me.
"I could say the same about you," Aelita said.
"You two could work together," Ulrich suggested. I looked at her.
"That's not a bad idea. You want to?" I asked.
"Depends on how it would work. There are things I definitely want to do for myself, and I'm sure you could say the same," Aelita said.
"Oh, for sure. But there are a few things we can do together. Eh, we'll work it out later," I said, grabbing the guitar again before strumming out the first few seconds of Far From Home again. "For now, I'm just ready to get out of this damned hospital so we can make plans."
"Well..." Jeremy said with a small clear of his throat. "You still have a few minutes before you can be released."
"Great," I sighed before I heard a knock on the door. "Come in." I was expecting a nurse. I wasn't expecting Emily.
"Oh. Hey Emily," I said, giving her a small wave and a friendly smile. She started to do the same, but her smile slowly eased its way off her face. And given the way that Yumi was staring at her, I didn't quite blame her.
"Yumi, stop. I'm not upset at her, so you have no reason to be," I told her. I was actually kind of glad she showed up. Her presence did remind me of something I thought about while stuck in the hospital bed. Something that involved the promise ring that was still in my drawer back in my door.
"I'm going for a drink," Yumi said, walking past Emily.
"I'll talk to her," Ulrich said before walking out after her.
"She's still a bit upset," I said casually as my finger lightly traced the guitar.
"That's an understatement," Emily said as she looked down at the guitar I was holding. "Sick guitar. I didn't know you played."
"He does now," Aelita said with a smirk.
"Ignore her smugness. She's content with the fact that she got me into doing stuff like this," I said with a grin.
"'I was right' is what you mean," Aelita said, making me sit up and grab her before pulling her closer so my mouth was next to her ear. She only giggled.
"I'm not as much of an invalid as I was a few days ago. Don't think I won't subject you to The Tickle Torture again," I said before letting her go.
"Fine. You win," she said. Didn't stop her from giggling like I actually was tickling her. Emily stared at me, and I couldn't really distinguish the look she was giving me. She then looked at Jeremy before looking back at me.
"So, um... are you doing well now?" Emily asked in a somewhat awkward tone.
"Better. Couldn't half move when I first got in here, so I'm definitely much better. Thanks for coming by," I said with a gentle smile.
"Sure. I only knew you were here cause I overheard you all talking about you being in the hospital," Emily said, making everyone stare at her.
"You were eavesdropping?" Odd questioned with a raised brow, making her turn slightly red.
"It wasn't intentional. I mean, I do sit near you in social studies," Emily said.
"True," Jeremy noted. I was more worried about her possibly hearing something about Lyoko. I couldn't have been the only one.
"Anyway, I'm due to be released in a few minutes," I interjected smoothly. "While you're here, should I show you what I've learned thus far?"
"Learned? You mean the guitar?" Emily asked.
"Yeah. It's pretty fun to play to be honest," I said, holding the guitar in front of me.
"I'm afraid that'll have to wait," the doctor said, making everyone look at him as he walked in. "For the last few minutes, I'll be running a few more tests to see if he is in the condition to leave."
"Oh, that's fine," Aelita said as she grabbed the guitar from me. "We'll meet you outside."
"Can't wait to leave this stupid bed," I said as I shifted to get into a more comfortable position. Everyone left before I looked at the doctor.
"Some nice friends you got there," the doctor said.
"They're my best friends. Wouldn't trade them for anything," I said with a wide smile.
"I can see why. Now... you trying to become a musician or something?" the doctor asked, making me raise an eyebrow.
"Aren't you supposed to be testing whether or not I can be released?" I asked.
"I am, but I thought I'd just make brief small talk. If you're not comfortable with that, we can move on," the doctor told me.
"Well to answer your question... kind of?" I said with some hesitancy.
"Well, for some extra reassurance, I think you play fairly well. Never heard that specific tune either," the doctor said.
"How did you even hear that from here?" I asked.
"I was near the front desk, and these walls are purposely made thin in case things go awry with patients. Add the guitar that one of your friends took from you, and it's not that hard to piece it together," the doctor told me.
"Whatever you say Dr. Detective," I said, making him smile in a good natured way.
"Alright. That's enough of that. Firstly to test whether or not you're cleared to leave, get up," the doctor told me. I stood to my feet, and it felt so good. Especially considering that I was not wincing in pain with every movement.
"That's a good sign thus far. Now, bend down and touch your toes," the doctor said.
"I'll do you one better," I said as I flipped forward and stood on my hands. I then pushed myself up and down, and there was no soreness in my limbs. "Hahaha!"
"You can get down now," the doctor said. I then eased myself down, and he was writing something before looking back at me.
"You heal fast. I wasn't quite expecting for you to be able to do something like that," he said.
"It feels good to get moving after being bedridden for the last few days," I told him.
"I'm sure. Now, if you want, you can call your guardians to come get you," the doctor said.
"Nah, I'll just walk. It's not that far of a walk back to where I'm going," I told him.
"Alright. Then goodbye. And I hope you you succeed in your 'kind of' music career," the doctor said with a wide smile.
"Well, I hope you succeed in your 'kind of' detective job," I said with a smirk as I waved and headed outside. Like they said, all of them were still waiting outside.
"I'm cleared, bitches!" I said in a gleeful tone as I held my arms out at my side. Multiple heads turned around before briefly after, I was tackled and in the center of a group hug. I noticed that Emily was not here. Guess she went back to the school.
"Bout damn time, if I must say," Ulrich said.
"Yes. I agree. But do you mind not trying to take all the air from my lungs?" I said with a grin, and the grips eased.
"So, you're good to go?" Yumi asked with a smile.
"Yeah. I'm in perfect health. And Aelita, if you don't mind..." I said, looking at her. She then held the guitar out towards me, and I grabbed it. "One thing I am curious about. Was XANA active at all during those three days?"
"Not once. I didn't like it either," Jeremy said with a small frown.
"I did," Aelita said, making us all look towards her in a sort of perplexed fashion. "You had time to recover without him trying to make your condition worse."
"That's a good point," Odd said.
"Still, after what happened the last time, I would think he would try to hit us even harder," Jeremy said.
"Maybe he's taking the time to recharge. He did so much the last time he was active," I told him.
"That's also a possibility. But as of right now, let's not focus on that. There's something more pressing I need to discuss with you," Jeremy said, looking at me.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I also noticed that upon your transfer, Franz Hopper sent us some data to us as well. With it, we can recreate Lyoko," Jeremy told me.
"That might take a while," I told him.
"It most likely will. Me and Aelita have been working on it just about every day, but extra help would go a long way in finishing it," Jeremy said.
"You've got my help," I said immediately.
"Good. At least I know for a fact you can function without sleep for the most part," Jeremy said.
"I can function well enough as the living dead. I'll be fine when it comes to the late nights," I said, cracking my neck.
"You do realize if Jeremy has his way, you're going to look like zombies, right?" Ulrich asked with a small grin.
"I don't like it, but it's something that has to be done. Someone has to do the dirty work," I told him, making Jeremy smile at me.
"Well, at least you understand how important this is. Given how we have no access to Lyoko, therefore no towers to deactivate to stop XANA, I don't know what might happen," Jeremy said.
"Robert's right. Lyoko needs to be recreated if we're going to deal with XANA at all," Aelita said.
"We can compile the data later on today. Right now, I just need to get something to eat," I said.
"You read my mind," Odd said. With a knowing grin, we high fived each other while the others rolled their eyes.
"Shall we take you to an all you can eat buffet?" Jeremy questioned rhetorically.
"With those two, it won't be all you can eat after they're done with it," Aelita said, making everyone laugh.
"I'm not even going to deny that," I said, my head raised slightly in pride.
"Me neither," Odd said.
"Amazing. We have the very first human garbage disposals as friends," Yumi said, shaking her head.
"Odd and Robert here! You got it, we'll eat it!" Odd said, putting an arm around my shoulders with one of those smiles you see on cheesy promotion commercials.
"So... if they have a snake, will you eat that?" Jeremy questioned rhetorically, making everyone laugh.
"No thanks. Snakes give me bad indigestion," I said idly.
"Well, it's almost lunch anyway," Ulrich said, checking his watch.
"Let's go ahead and head down to the school then," Aelita said before looking at me. "And on the way, you can play something to keep us entertained."
"And I think I got an idea as to what. It won't sound as good cause I'm not on the right guitar, but I can try it," I said, taking a moment to get every note in my head together. I wanted to make sure I didn't forget anything.
I then began to strum Skillet's Monster, but it didn't take long before I missed a note.
"Ok, playing while moving is harder than I thought," I said as I began to strum again. I lasted longer, but again, I messed up a note. "How do guitarists do this shit?"
"Probably because they've spent years practicing it?" Odd questioned rhetorically.
"It's like your hands end up hitting the wrong string given your movement," I said as I looked at the guitar.
"Try thinking ahead then," Yumi suggested. I nodded and tried to get my hands to and think ahead of the movements that caused the guitar as well as my hands to shift every time I took a step. That definitely helped, as things were definitely coming out smooth.
"That does not sound as good without an electric guitar," I said as I stopped playing.
"Do most of the songs you have in that brain of yours need one?" Ulrich questioned.
"Pretty much. Plenty of them fit in the metal category. But then again, I think it's just the fact that electric guitars amplify what the person is playing, and sounds different when amplified like that. I like them more than regular guitars because of that," I explained.
"So it would've been more useful to buy you an electric guitar," Ulrich told me.
"Well, not really. Electric guitars still need amplifiers and all of that," I told him.
"Regular guitars produce their sound acoustically with hollow wood or a plastic and wood box, while electric guitars produce their sound with a type of signal. The guitar only need an amplifier because the signal is too weak otherwise," Aelita explained.
"And that electric signal is far more intense than the wooden one. Makes sense, really," I said.
"Well, since most of the songs you play don't sound right with a regular guitar, how about a song we know?" Odd asked.
"I don't know a Subdigitals song like I know the songs I know. That's the only reason I'm able to play them half as good as I am," I told him.
"Then take the opportunity to practice," Ulrich told me.
"I could try. Wouldn't hurt," I said with a small shrug.
"I can go grab my albums," Ulrich said as we walked onto the grounds.
"Go ahead. Just meet me in my room," I told him. He nodded and ran off.
"I know I'm a liitle slow on the uptake to ask, but we actually need to work on getting Lyoko rebuilt," Jeremy reminded me, making me groan.
"Dammit," I said. But I knew this was important. "And Ulrich just went off too."
"We won't do it for too long. I know you just got out of the hospital, and I'm sure this is the last thing you wanted to do as soon as you got out. I could just use your help for a few things," Jeremy said, making me nod.
"Then I'll help," I told him.
"We'll head out for the factory then," Jeremy said.
"One thing though. There's a stop I want to make. I've been thinking about it for the last few days," I told him.
"What?" Jeremy asked.
"You'll see. Just... give me a few minutes," I said as I walked back to my dorm. I put my guitar under my bed and opened my drawer. I took out the promise ring I had kept in there and pocketed it. I had kept it in there for the longest. It was time to turn the page on this chapter of my life. Who knows who I would start dating after XANA was over. Because I knew I would have to hold out until then. If I wanted to have a stable relationship that wasn't laced with mistrust.
"Unless I dated Yumi. Or Aelita," I thought before heading out of the room. The first one option didn't interest me. But the second one was... nice to think about.
"Calm your thoughts idiot," I said to myself as the door opened. I turned, and Ulrich had walked in with a record in his hand.
"Hey. Where are the others?" he asked.
"Elsewhere. The issue with rebuilding Lyoko came up, and I need to go help Jeremy with that," I told him.
"Well, it would've been nice to know this before I went to go get the record," he said, his expression slightly annoyed.
"Yeah, Jeremy decided it was a good idea to bring it up after you walked off," I said.
"That's just perfect," Ulrich said before noticing my open drawer. "Looking for something?"
"Not really. I figured it's about time to give this up," I said, holding out the promise ring in my open palm. Ulrich looked at it before looking back at me with a smile.
"One step at a time, right?" he asked, making me smile as well.
"One step at a time," I said as I walked out of the room.