"Why, don't you look handsome?" Aelita said.

"I know," I said with a grin. She giggled before swatting me on the arm. I straightened the graduation cap on my head putting my hands on Aelita's shoulders so I could look at her better. "You don't look so bad yourself. Not better than me, but good."

"Excuse me if I disagree," Jeremy said with a grin.

"Thank you Jeremy. An officer and a gentlemen you are," Aelita said with a smile before looking to me. "You said that came from a movie?"

"It's the title of one. Never seen it. Just heard of it," I told her.

"Everyone, get in line please! Get in order!" Mrs. Hertz exclaimed, gesturing her hand so everyone would form up. There were students in between us every so often, but Jeremy was ahead of each of us followed by Odd, then me, then Ulrich, and Aelita was behind him. Sissi then had to squeeze in right behind Odd because she was trying to 'fix herself up.' Honestly, I would never understand what is it with girls and 'fixing themselves up.' It's graduation, not church.

Yumi and William had already graduated the year before, and she was actually studying photography down in an American college while William didn't bother with further schooling. He was satisfied with his job as a mechanic. It was only a year after XANA was destroyed that we learned he had an affinity with machinery. At least the kind that involved engines. But they both said they would be down here for today.

Then they started to call names. Jeremy was one of the first few people called, and then we all had to hear the long list of scholarships, his talents technology wise, and accomplishments that he racked up. One of which included valedictorian. Honestly, the guy did more bonus point assignments than any of us. So that wasn't much of a surprise.

Odd was up next, and considering he didn't have XANA as much of an excuse, he pulled up his grades to where he didn't considering getting a C as an accomplishment. The years prior... his grades weren't in the shitter per say, but they weren't great either. Just enough to get by. He didn't fill out that many scholarships, but honestly, his parents were going to pay for his school anyway.

Sissi was directly after Odd, and her grades were more like Odd's. Initially, there weren't horrible by any means, but they weren't great. But she wasn't really interested in having good grades. Just going to cosmetology school. That does not surprise me all that much.

I was up next, and while I didn't get valedictorian like Jeremy rightfully deserved, I had plenty of other extracurricular stuff to make up for it. It kept track of my music talent, the two track championships I had won since XANA went down. Yes, I picked up track as something to do on the side when XANA disappeared.

And like Jeremy, they took note of the fact that I was good with technology. Honestly, I think I might've gone deaf from all the cheering. I think it might've had something to due with the fact that I did more performances that the Subdigitals gave me and Aelita, and they were introduced to more songs. I haven't introduced Disturbed. Not yet. One day though.

It was great for scholarships as well. I had some for music, track, and academics. I would have plenty of spending money in the bank no matter what school I went to. And that, by all intents and purposes, was worth going to college.

Ulrich was next, and he did much better than Odd when it came to improving his grades. He graduated with honors like me and Jeremy and more than likely Aelita. Not only were his grades good, but he was able to focus more on soccer, and at the very least, his father seemed to have been satisfied. At the very least he said he was proud of him for finally getting his act together. Ulrich seemed to accept it, but I ended up rolling my eyes. He could've done more to try to help him instead of just lecturing him. It would've gotten in the way of XANA, but the point still stands.

And then Aelita was next. I gave her a wide grin as she walked by, and while she didn't turn around fully, I saw her eyes glance towards me. The smile on her face grew more defined. And she had changed in that past few years.

Not attitude wise. It wasn't going to change that she would complete the cycle of being more like me. But no, I'm talking about physically. Even in a graduation gown, like, the girl had curves. Like, damn. Not to mention the others areas she had grown in...

I had to shake my head clear of my thoughts so I could focus on the fact that Aelita had also graduated with honors, her wide talent in music was quite a marvel, and like me and Jeremy(no surprise here), she was great with technology. And she had scholarships in each of the areas.

"It is with great pride I introduce the class of 2008!" Principal Delmas exclaimed, making people make the auditorium fill with applause. I was smiling the entire time as I, along with the rest of the people graduating, threw our caps up in the air like every graduate did when they graduated. It had a strange feeling of satisfaction that came along with it. I didn't understand it.

"Hey guys!" Yumi exclaimed to us, waving as soon as we stepped off the stage. She was with her family as well as William, who were all smiling as well.

"Well, well. Miss Yumi Ishiyama. Haven't seen you in ages. Still looking lovely I see," I said with a smile as I walked up to her.

"Charmer. Nice to see you too," Yumi said, giving me a kiss on the cheek before embracing me for a hug. "Where is he?"

"Directly behind me if he saw you as fast as I did," I said with a smile. "And seeing as how he has about as good eyesight as I do..."

"So you leave me for Robert? What would Aelita think of this?" Ulrich said with a teasing smirk as the both of us turned to face him. I chuckled while Yumi rolled her eyes. She didn't even warrant that statement with a response before she kissed him full on the lips.

"She could hardly wait to see you all, you know," Mrs Ishiyama said, keeping track of Hiroki by holding his hand. I noticed he was pointedly looking away from Yumi's public display.

"Feeling's mutual. It's only been a year, but it felt like it's been ages. I think we must have killed an entire forest of trees exchanging letters," I said with a smile as they finally separated.

"It's not often people keep in contact with those they knew from high school. You must all be close," Mr. Ishiyama said.

"More than any other people I know. These are ties I'm not going to give up easy," I said seriously as I looked at the others.

"That's a sign of a close friendship. Well, except for Aelita. I think there's more than that to it, eh?" Mr. Ishiyama said with a fond look in his eye.

"Very much so. And er... sorry about the misleading thing with her being my sister," I told them.

"You've owned up to that already. Several years ago in fact. I suppose your apprehensions of telling us the truth were understandable, but entirely unnecessary in our case. You two weren't even dating back then," Mrs. Ishiyama said.

"Then I got smacked in the face with how wonderful she is," I said, turning to face her.

"Wonderful? Most teenagers I don't give a girl a gold and emerald necklace for just being wonderful. Wonderful is being kind to describe that," Mr. Ishiyama said.

"Yes, I suppose it is, isn't it?" I said with a fond smile.

"He's the 'go big or go home' kind of guy. He never does things in moderation," Aelita said, walking up to us. "At times it's sweet. At other times it proves he's still a stubborn man underneath."

"Oh, believe me. That's a feeling I know all too well," Mrs. Ishiyama said with a knowing grin.

"Hey, everything we do, we do all for you," I said, Mr. Ishiyama nodding in agreement.

"It's why we don't complain," Aelita said with a grin. I playfully flipped the front of her hair, which she had grew out since the years had passed by, making her giggle. I kinda liked how long her hair was now. It was shoulder length now and straight and smooth. But for it to fit in her graduation cap, she had it tied up in a semi-long ponytail.

"Why would you? Anthea never did," Franz said dryly as he walked up to everyone. I grinned at the statement.

"Ah, so you know," I said.

"Of course I know. I was married for years. So you will know my pain of dealing with a duplicate of Anthea," Franz said with a grin, making Aelita smack her father on the arm.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, making me and the Ishiyamas chuckle.

"You strangers gonna join us?" Odd questioned, waving our way.

"We're coming, we're coming," I said as I gestured everyone to come over. "The Duke of Dinner requests our presence."

"With the way he acts and eats? I was thinking more along the lines of the Fool of Food," Aelita said with a grin as we walked over to him.

"How's college Yumi?" Jeremy asked.

"Great. I never knew there was a lot more than photography than the way you took the picture. There's lighting, angles, effects you have to think about. There's a lot more technical stuff involved than I thought," Yumi said.

"The furthest I get involving technical stuff is working with car engines. There's nothing that fits the kind of technical you're talking about," William said dryly.

"More's the pity for you," Ulrich said with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah. At least I get paid good for it. I'm just glad I didn't have to work today to ask for a day off," William said.

"Speaking of that, I had to schedule my exams early so I could make it here with no problems. To say the least, they were hell," Yumi said.

"To say the least, watch your mouth," Mrs. Ishiyama said with a piercing glare.

"Mom, seriously?" Yumi said with a raised brow.

"Yes, 'seriously.' I can't believe Robert got you into that habit," Mrs. Ishiyama said, turning her glare on to me.

"Saying exams are hell are is being kind. Because we're speaking of the actual place. You want to hear bad? You should've heard me when I found out one of those showman people refused to pay me after an entire night of doing songs. I was like a sailor. Thankfully for him, it didn't get violent. I was gonna get paid one way or another," I explained. Some of those places where I ended up getting shows were kind of shady. I doubt Chris knew though. I doubt he would've set me up otherwise.

"The point still stands, one way or another," Mrs. Ishiyama said.

"Your mother's right. There are just some habits that aren't good to get into," Mr. Ishiyama said.

"What habits?" Jeremy's dad asked, walking up to us with his wife along with Odd and Ulrich's parents.

"Cursing," Mr. Ishiyama said.

"Who's cursing?" Ulrich's dad asked.

"It's a habit that my daughter needs to break," Mr. Ishiyama said.

"Dad, it's not that big of a deal," Yumi said flatly.

"I don't know where in what universe is cursing 'not a big deal' for your age, but..."

"I'm nineteen," Yumi said flatly. "And I take care of myself while I'm in college. Cusswords are just a way of getting my point across."

"In a very rude fashion," Mr. Ishiyama said with a pointed look.

"It's not about the cussword itself. It's the way in which you used it," I said.

"He makes a point," Odd's dad said.

"Still, it's a habit kids at your age shouldn't get in. I mean, we're adults and we don't use cusswords," Mrs. Stern said.

"Everyone is different madam. They're shaped different. They act different. They become different people in general. It's not so much about the person's choice of wording as who they aspire to be. I mean, would you talk to a man who has done brilliant things for mankind, but incorporates cusswords into his sentences?" I questioned.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Mr. Stern asked.

"It's not about what the person says. It's about what they do. A person's actions speak louder than their words, and if their actions dictate they're a good person who does good things, what issues does his language really have on his actions?" I questioned.

"I can't believe you made an argument about cussing that actually makes sense. Aren't teens supposed to be illogical?" Mrs. Ishiyama asked.

"I'm smart for my age," I said with a shrug, hiding a grin. "Now how about we go somewhere to eat?"


I cracked my neck as I set my bookbag down. Straight into college right after graduation, and the work wasn't that difficult. Though sitting in a classroom for hours on end was still horrible to this day. Still, better to have something to fall back on if the music career didn't work out.

As soon as I set my bookbag down, I grabbed my phone that had just started ringing. I smiled as soon as I saw the caller ID.

"And how are we today?" I asked.

"Wishing I was at the apartment. I've got some extra studying to catch up on here at the university. I won't be home for another few hours," Aelita told me.

"Such is the price you pay for getting sick," I said.

"If I could've avoided it, I would've. I damn you and your brilliant immune system," Aelita said, making me chuckle.

"I'd give it to you if I could. But we can't all be born this healthy. Not to mention handsome and badass," I said.

"Yeah, yeah. You forgot to add grabby, 'Mr. I Love Boobs,'" Aelita said with obvious finger quotes around the title.

"I can't help it. I am a boob man, and you grew a serious rack," I said with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah," Aelita said dismissively even though I could tell she was grinning. I knew her. "Be home later. Then I'll be the one getting grabby."

"Is that a promise?" I said, the tone of my voice lowering an octave.

"Oh, you know it is," Aelita said in a seductive tone. Then she chuckled. "I gotta go. People are looking at me funny now."

"There's nothing funny about some E rated phone sex," I said, making her laugh.

"That's a new one. Would this even count as losing your virginity?" Aelita asked.

"Nah. Not dirty enough. But don't worry. When you aren't in a public area, we can change that. Or if you don't mind..." I trailed, letting the suggestion hang in the air.

"Bye Robert! I swear..." Aelita said with a laugh before hanging up the phone. I laughed before putting my phone back in my pocket and then heading to the kitchen. I sat down on the couch with two sandwiches on a plate before looking at the mail I picked up. Some of them included letters from the others.

Yumi was still doing good in school studying her photography. William was still working his job while trying to find dates. Odd seemed to have been trying out for an art school while also putting time into skateboard tournaments. Ulrich stayed in France and was focusing more on a soccer career. If he continued, he might be getting signed for at least the college teams. That would be great.

Jeremy was actually here at the same tech school that we were. He just had a place of his own, so there was no letter of his in this pile. I just had to drive a few miles to go see him, but for now, I'd prefer to just relax.

"Driving, college, our own places to live. It's hard to imagine that we're actually living a normal life," I thought with a fond smile as I sat here."And man, does it feel great."

At one point, while I was lying down, my eyes eased closed. It wasn't because of sleep though. Because when I woke up, it wasn't in my apartment. It wasn't back at my college either. Actually... it wasn't any place I had ever been.

"Extraction successful," someone said, making me freeze as I managed to finally sit up. It was impossible because my head seemed to have been held down. I could only move my eyes, and I saw doctors as well as soldiers and a man in a suit. My apprehension only grew.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Mr. Morgan. It certainly means something that you survived where you went," the man in the suit said, making me glare at him. Looks like I was back in my dimension. And I was not happy the way I came back.