A/N: So, as promised in the notice on my profile page, I'm posting today (it's still Tuesday somewhere :D). Enjoy the read!

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko! Only my imagination :)!

Emily was on her way from the first floor to the main office downstairs to check something with Jamie. "He'd better not have ruined the entire program," she grumbled. When she wanted to start with the last flight of stairs that would bring her to the ground floor, she heard a female voice.

Someone was on the phone.

"No way, is that true?! I'm happy for her. She really, really, really deserves some happiness. You know, at first, I thought William was actually a great person. He and Yumi really seemed to match. But I guess she was just putting on a front, for everyone to see." There was a pause. "No, no, I didn't mean that in a bad way. Yumi doesn't seem like someone who displays her troubles for others to see. Sometimes, not even for her friends."

"Yes, I bet she'll tell me soon. I'll pretend you haven't told me yet," the person giggled. "I'll talk to you later, I was supposed to be on a coffee break. See you at home, bye."

Emily peeked at who was about to exit the stairwell and recognized the woman as the receptionist. Then she recalled her name was Kelly and that she was Odd's current girlfriend. "So Yumi and Ulrich are dating?" Emily concluded by herself. The brunette continued on her path to her desk in the main office. The moment she entered, Jamie came storming through the door. It startled her. She watched his speed walking figure and noticed he was holding his nose. "Nosebleed?" One look inside the office told her nobody had witnessed what had happened. Emily decided it didn't bother her enough to go after him. She'd ask later.

Yet, she cast her gaze towards Jamie's quick footwork to see if he wouldn't collapse midway. "He seems okay?"

That's when she became aware of the long line of colleagues, all waiting their turn for the coffee machine. After paying closer attention her focus went to Yumi and Ulrich, who seemed to be very close and happy. The conversation she overheard minutes ago played in her head. Emily had always agreed that the two of them had a special bond. While standing in the office's door opening, she wondered whether it was apparent to others as well.

Was she an exception?

She shook her head. Just because she had once been in love with Ulrich Stern, didn't mean she was one. Their friends, probably family and other people who have known them longer all belonged to the group who would most likely be able to perceive that invisible barrier. And Emily knew she was part of the 'other people'. Thus, definitely not an exception.

Emily could accept their relationship. She didn't really have a problem with Yumi, but couldn't settle for a friendship with her either. Even if she was never acknowledged as one for longer than a month or so, she had always categorized Yumi as her love rival. Most of all, she wanted to stay cold to Yumi. Hence her snide remarks towards the Japanese woman. The remainder of her feelings kept her calm and collected attitude afloat to be able to treat Yumi like a normal colleague.

When she recalled all of her past attempts at messing with their relationship behind the scenes, she could only feel sorry towards them. But Emily never felt true remorse. She was simply trying to achieve what anyone with real feelings for someone would do. Getting that person to notice you and hopefully be yours. Too bad for her, she failed. Not once did it come to mind to apologize to either Yumi or Ulrich.

The only person she felt deserved her apology was William Dunbar.

"Hey Emily, have you seen Yumi?" William had asked her. It was the first time William had spoken to her. If he hadn't, she might have never grabbed the opportunity to interfere. "No, I haven't. Why?" She questioned as innocently as possible. "I wanted to ask her if she would like to go to the upcoming Subdigitals concert with me," he explained while still scanning his surroundings for the girl. "Oh, the concert. I overheard her talking to the other girls of our class that she wanted to go with Ulrich, but he doesn't want to go. She seemed pretty down," she informed him.

William perked up at the unexpected news, yet tried to stay casual about it. "I'll continue my search then," he hurriedly said. Emily nodded and William took off.

One lie couldn't hurt right?

It was true that Ulrich didn't want to go. The reason being the upcoming exams for Physics and Biology, which he needed to pass. It was true Yumi wanted to go with Ulrich and it was true she was down. However, the two weren't related. Emily hadn't finished listening in on the conversation. She didn't know why Yumi was feeling down.

Later, Emily learned Yumi and William had gone to the concert together. Apparently he had claimed it would make her feel better and convinced her with his best efforts to go on the date with him. Yumi had acted surprised, because she couldn't recall that she had told William why she was feeling down. Meanwhile, Emily assumed William thought Ulrich was the reason.

There was a great possibility that moments like that had triggered William into thinking he had a chance. Emily had just been the main instigator in the background.

The final straw she created that led to the eventual falling out of Ulrich and Yumi was the one she regretted the most, in afterthoughts.

Graduation day.

Emily really couldn't bother to give her past high school life a second thought. The only word that would describe it was 'boring'. There hadn't been a day she had stood out, except for her exceptionally high grades that were announced after each test. She had the ability to get along with everyone, but she felt it was troublesome to call them her friends.

They had already received their diplomas and were waiting outside for the final group photo to be taken. She had spotted Yumi, who seemed to be looking for someone in the crowd. "He isn't coming," Emily thought to herself.

Why?

Because she got him into detention at the end of the school year. The night before graduation day she had accidentally bumped into Ulrich. His attire had told her he had been on his way to leave the dorms. "Hey Emily, shall we just say that you never saw me?" He sheepishly asked her. She had a rare shy moment when he looked straight at her with a wide grin on his face. "Uhm, sure," she had replied.

"Thanks! I forgot to give Yumi something and I really have to hand it to her today," he quickly disclosed, while trying to hide a small box behind his back. Before Emily could respond Ulrich had left for the emergency exit where there was hardly any patrolling.

If Ulrich hadn't told her, Emily wouldn't have done anything. But today was her last chance to confess to him. She was stubbornly holding on to even the slightest possibility that she could end up as his girlfriend. And that meant she had to prevent a probable increase of feelings on Yumi's side.

She had relayed an altered version Ulrich's story to the head of the dormitory. Emily had explained Ulrich was sulking because one of his best friends was going to leave soon. As a result he was caught at the exact moment he was going to give Yumi the gift. Luckily, Yumi had been out of sight and the head hadn't looked further. Ulrich had simply been taken back to the dormitory while being lectured about the safety of the students in general. Emily had been relieved it had played out exactly like she had hoped. She had kept a close eye on the situation, without getting caught.

Emily glanced at Yumi again, who had walked a little further ahead to speak to William while looking disappointed. "Hey, Emily," a rough grip on her arm diverted her attention to the person who said her name. "Ulrich?" Emily was completely taken aback. "The audience is over there," she recollected herself and pointed to the back with her free hand. Ulrich let her go. "You said you wouldn't tell anyone." He was angry.

"I just didn't think it was such a great idea with today being such an important day to Yumi. What if she had been caught as well?" Emily defended herself.

"Do you really think we would have let ourselves?" Ulrich had a fierce glare. Emily couldn't understand how Ulrich was so confident on not being spotted. Then again, Ulrich must have done it many times before. "Better yet, do you really think it matters? Yumi is a day student..," Ulrich emphasized.

"There is a rule, you know. If you're involved with an affair in which students don't follow the rules, you may not participate in the graduation and will have to receive your diploma separately. Even if it is no big deal for Yumi, her parents would be saddened. Besides, you can just give it to her today right?" Emily referred to Ulrich's gift. However, it was a suggestion she didn't want to make.

"Detention had me busy." The glare hadn't lessened. "Since I was being pitied for whatever reason, they let me go. Now I can only hope I can find a moment with her," he had grumbled the last sentence, but Emily could make it out.

"Sorry, I was being inconsiderate by only thinking about the graduation," she opted for sincerity. It hadn't reached Ulrich. "Just don't interfere anymore," he warned her, gripping her shoulder shortly. "But I actually had something to tell you as well. And I have never really gotten the opportunity to tell you properly. So, if you're done with talking to Yumi, could you listen to me as well?" Emily ignored his warning and was even hopeful at this point because she had his attention. At the back of her mind, she knew she was being delirious.

"If I have talked to Yumi, I might just listen to what you have to say," he lay down the condition.

Afterwards, Ulrich was chased away by some teachers and he reluctantly went to find his friends in the audience. The final group photo was taken and everyone slowly dispersed into smaller groups of family and friends. William came over to her and Emily was grateful she didn't have to search for him.

"Hey," he greeted her. "Have you seen-." She cut him off, "Yumi?" He rose his eyebrows. "Yeah, how did you know?" Emily rolled her eyes. "That seems to be the only question you ever ask me," she said. "I think she went inside to get her bag." William clapped her on the back. "Thanks a lot, I have to say my last words after all," he revealed. "Are you going to confess?" Emily was shocked. "No, the usual good luck wishes and stuff. You know, standard talk. Who knows, we'll talk about other things as well," William was being sarcastic. He noticed her lack of smiles and laughter and coughed. "The answer is still 'no'. I don't think she'll be happy if I do."

Emily shook her head. "But you're always there for her when she's down, aren't you?" She asked. "Yeah, well, I try to be. I have a lot of competition regarding that," he had a grim look as he referred to Yumi's friends, Ulrich in particular.

"If you're worried about Ulrich," Emily began and William scoffed. "Whenever Yumi is sad or angry or sulky and so on, isn't Ulrich a large factor? I get that they're friends and they might hold special feelings for one another, but maybe they aren't capable of going beyond that. It seems painful for Yumi. I haven't really known her all that well, but everyone knows about her and Ulrich. Don't you think she deserves someone who can keep her happy? Someone who can help her overcome her past, help her move on. I would be sick and tired of waiting and hoping for something to start when the chances were nullified," Emily finished talking.

"You're a pretty cool girl, Emily. Thanks for the advice. You should try to be friends with Yumi. If you've noticed all that, you two will be able to get along. I'll give you credit and let her know you convinced me," William had already been turning to leave.

"Wait!" She called out and he stopped. "Don't inform Yumi about getting the idea from someone else. That's stupid. You should know better. Yumi would definitely not like it. We're on neutral terms with each other, but I don't think she'd appreciate anyone judging her love life," Emily quickly said.

"Ah. Well, then you should stick to the befriending," he smiled and went on his way.

Emily had coincidentally found Ulrich searching for Yumi. "What?" He curtly asked when he noticed her gesturing to come over. "Yumi went inside to get her bag," she said. "Thanks," he replied as he too headed inside the school.

In the end she never had another conversation with Ulrich until he started working for the same company in the same team. All because of her mishap with the condition.

Emily thought herself stupid. However, she applied that term to Yumi, Ulrich and William as well. For it was their fault the truth was left behind. Ulrich was too self-restraining. Yumi didn't have the guts. William was the only one who had acted. That's why he was the one who deserved an apology.

Her inner self laughed at her hopelessness. Emily's jealousy had been on another level. Destructive even. And what had it gotten her?

"Nothing."

She entered the office without looking back at the couple.

"Be happy."

A/N: So the first flashback (entirely in italics) is just a random moment in their school life. The second is obviously their high school graduation day. This was the last of the Emily centered chapters. I'm curious about your thoughts for this chapter. Until next time!