Call to Action: Chapter 3.
Silence fell over the group of students on the street. Ulrich and Yumi stood staring at each other, eyes locked with open mouths. Ulrich struggled to find the words to speak, as did Yumi until Odd spoke up.
"Yumi?!" Odd almost shouted, standing in front of Ulrich, snapping the duo back to reality. Yumi's eyes moved from Ulrich to Odd, who she didn't notice at first, her mind being solely focused on Ulrich. Odd almost dashed towards his old friend, wrapping his arms around her and just about picking her up off the ground.
"Odd!" Yumi laughed, hugging the blonde back, "Long time, no see!"
"Tell me about it!" Odd grinned, putting her back down and looking at at her, Yumi only now realizing she had to look up to meet his eyes.
"Hey Yumi! Wait up!" a voice called out, Yumi turned to see Aelita waving her arm as she ran after the Japanese girl, "I told you I had to tie my shoe... lace..." she trailed on, looking at who was standing in front of Yumi with his trademark grin, "ODD?!"
Aelita just about tackled her friend in a hug, which Odd easily responded back with his own hug, both of them laughing as they hugged. They let each other go and took a step back.
"You've grown up, Della Robbia!" Aelita smiled, poking him in the chest, causing Odd to rub the back of his neck with a smile.
"We all have!" Odd laughed, gesturing to her and Yumi before swinging his arm around to gesture at Ulrich who stepped out from behind Odd.
"Hey Princess." Ulrich waved, speaking for the first time since their arrival. Aelita blinked slowly and soon found herself hugging Ulrich.
"ULRICH!" Aelita almost shouted, "It's so good to see you both!" she laughed, the trio finding themselves smiling at each other.
"It seems you all know each other." Goss smiled, leaning against the door of the house.
"Oh, that's right." Yumi said, looking at Goss with a smile, "Goss, this is Aelita, one of our oldest friends from highschool!" she said, gesturing to the pinkette.
"Aelita? Nice to meet you!" Goss said, extending his hand to shake Aelitas.
"Nice to meet you too!" she beamed, shaking his hand with a smile.
"So, you all know each other huh?" Goss questioned, bringing his hand to his chin, wondering why Yumi had never mentioned any of them.
"We were the closest of friends in highschool! We've got a lot of catching up to do!" Odd beamed before noticing Ulrich staring at the ground, so was Yumi.
"Why don't we go inside for now, the neighbors might get worried about all the shouting!" Goss laughed, inserting the key into the door and pushing it open.
Following him inside, they found themselves in a hallway with stairs to their immediate left. Walking down the hallway, they passed two rooms, one being Goss's bedroom and one being a bathroom. Further down the hallway, they pushed open a door and found themselves in a kitchen that was bigger than Ulrich and Odd expected. The first thing Odd noticed upon entering was that the kitchen stretched around a corner, connecting to a living room. Placing their suitcases in the corner, Odd coughed when he noticed Ulrich and Yumi still staring at each other.
"So..." Aelita said, feeling the tension in the air, aware of what had happened those years ago with Ulrich and Yumi. Goss thankfully, was quick to pick up on this and suggested a house tour. While walking to the door, he snapped his fingers.
"Yumi, you've got my books, huh?" Goss asked, gesturing to the books Yumi forgot she was holding.
"Oh, right..." she responded, taking her eyes off of Ulrich and looking at the books in her hand that Goss gently took from her. Yumi instantly felt her eyes wonder back to Ulrich.
"Right so, I'm gonna take these two on a tour, you two obviously have some catching up to do." Goss smiled, ushering Odd and Aelita out the door.
"No wait, it's fi-" Ulrich started but before he could finish, the door closed behind Odd as he picked up his and Ulrichs suitcase.
"I'll bring these up for us!"
Silence once again filled the room, both Ulrich and Yumi being too confused and nervous to speak. What felt like minutes passed before Ulrich decided to speak first.
"So..." he started, feeling his brain stop when Yumi looked at him. Snapping himself back, he continued, "How have you been?"
With Goss, Odd and Aelita.
"This is my room!" Goss said, pushing his bedroom door open. Odd and Aelita peered inside the room and was surprised at how... normal it was. Part of Odd expected his room to be full of gym equipment, considering Goss's physical shape but was surprised when not one piece of equipment was there.
"It's very pleasant." Aelita said, putting her finger to her chin.
"So that's code for boring, gotcha!" Goss laughed, entering his room and placing the books he had gotten back from Yumi onto his desk.
"That's not what I meant!" Aelita pouted, earning a stifled laugh from Odd.
"I know, I know, I'm just messing with you!" Goss responded, walking back towards the door and closing it behind them as they continued the house tour.
"Bathroom!" Goss stated, slapping his palm on the door opposite his bedroom before making his way to the stairs, "Lets head on up and meet Hugh!"
Making their way upstairs, they found themselves on a landing, with doors scattered along its length with another staircase at the end, which Goss stated was the attic and currently in the midst of repairs. Stopping at the first door, Goss opened it and gestured inside, revealing another bathroom, this one with a shower which as Goss explained, the downstairs bathroom didn't have. Moving on from bathroom, they moved to the next door which Goss knocked on.
"This is Hughs room!"
Almost as if on cue, the door opened to reveal the second of Ulrich and Odds new roommates, Hugh Eners.
"Hey!" Hugh smiled with a wave, which Odd and Aelita responded with their own smiles.
Hugh was smaller than Odd, roughly 5 foot 7 and was very skinny. He had short, black hair and bright green eyes that were almost currently closed with how big he was smiling. Gesturing them in, they found themselves standing in a room, that unlike Goss's, was very bright and eccentric, covered wall to wall in posters with a computer desk in the corner with enough screens to rival Jeremies' back in Kadic.
"Hugh is our local nerd but he's a whiz with numbers!" Goss smiled, patting Hugh on the back, physically moving him, causing Hugh to wave him off with a hand.
"Anyone is a whiz with numbers compared to you, Goss!" Hugh responded, earning a round of laughs from everyone, after the laughter ended, Hugh looked at Aelita with confusion, "Wait, who are you?"
"Oh! I'm Aelita, I'm an old friend of Odd and Ulrichs, I'm staying with Yumi." Aelita explained, earning a nod from Hugh.
"Oh, Yumi Ishiyama?" Hugh asked, Aelita nodded in response, "Ahh, Goss, Yumi and I are in the same course!"
"Oh, that explains the books!" Odd stated before remembering the other two in the house.
"Speaking of, where is Ulrich? I'd like to meet him if he's staying with us!" Hugh laughed but stopping when Goss placed his hand on his shoulder.
"All of these guys were friends back in highschool and Ulrich and Yumi... have a past?" Goss responded, "I think at least?" he continued, his eyes moving to Odd and Aelita.
Odd nodded with a sigh, Aelita shuffled in spot, both of them clearly uncomfortable with talking about the situation.
"Well, we'll let them talk and we can finish the house tour!" Goss said, ushering them to the door with a smile.
With Ulrich and Yumi.
"Yumi," Ulrich started, clearing his throat, "I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize Ulrich." Yumi responded with a sigh, rubbing her arm.
"I do Yumi," Ulrich exclaimed, leaning back against a countertop, "My dad wanted me to go to college back home and I just... "
"Ulrich, really, it's okay." Yumi smiled, trying to reassure Ulrich.
"It's not Yumi," Ulrich sighed, hanging his head, "I didn't even keep in contact." he continued, feeling himself well up with shame.
"We're both to blame for that I think." Yumi said, her stomach feeling heavy seeing Ulrich beat himself up over something he had no control over.
"I wanted to message you but I couldn't, and the longer I waited, the harder it was to message you." Ulrich explained, finally bringing his eyes up to meet Yumis', which to his surprise, were welling with tears.
"Ulrich..." Yumi muttered, her voice trembling. The truth was, she was furious with Ulrich at first when he left, the first couple of weeks with no contact filled her with rage when she thought about how everything was thrown away or how they left so many things unsaid. As the weeks turned to months, Yumi realized she wasn't mad at Ulrich but mad at herself for not saying the things she really wanted to before he left. Ulrich stared wide eyed at Yumi, noticing her trembling lip and welling eyes.
"Wh-?" Yumi started but then realized what had happened. Ulrich had wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, something he didn't have control over, almost like his body moved on its own. Smiling into his chest, Yumi hugged Ulrich back. They stood in silence like this for minutes before separating finally.
"I missed you Ulrich." Yumi smiled weakly, wiping her tears away with her sleeve.
"I missed you too Yumi." Ulrich responded with his own smile, both of them feeling the tension in the room melt away.
They both stood in the kitchen, filling each other in on things in their personal life. Mostly how Ulrichs father was still... well, his father and about how Yumi managed to get her own place after working in a store for over a year. As they spoke, they both had the same mutual feeling.
Happiness.
Aelita, Goss and Odd.
"This is your room Odd," Goss said, tapping one of the doors before pointing at the one to the right of his, "And this is Ulrichs!"
Opening the door, Odd stepped into his new room. It was just a little bit smaller than their dorm back in Kadic but this time, Odd had it all to himself. Walking into the middle, Odd smiled as he looked around, his room already had a bed, wardrobe and a desk in it, which Goss explained was provided by the school but not to expect the most stable of furniture with a laugh.
"That doesn't fill me with confidence!" Odd laughed, placing his suitcase down on the bed, "Is it okay if I put this one in Ulrichs room?"
"Sure!" Goss said, leading the way to Ulrichs room and opening the door, revealing the same contents as Odds' room. Placing the suitcase on the bed, they exited the room. Odd looked down the way they came, noting the bathroom, then Hughs room, then his own and finally Ulrichs. It wasn't until his eyes moved down the other end of the corridor, he noticed one last door.
"What's in there?" Odd asked, lifting his finger to point at the door.
"Oh," Goss coughed, "That's Kales' room."
"Kale?" Aelita questioned, tilting her head in confusion since she had never heard the name until now.
"He's another person that lives here apparently," Odd responded, looking at Goss, "Can we take a look? I mean, we've seen all the other rooms!"
Goss looked physically nervous when Odd asked.
"The thing with Kale is, he's a very private person so maybe we shou-" Goss started but stared slack-jaw at Odd who had already moved to the door and was currently opening it, "Odd, wait!"
Odd gently opened the door and looked inside the room.
The room was dimly lit, the curtains drawn closed. The first thing Odd noticed was a light, smokey scent, he then noticed a bed and a chest of drawers in the corner with an ashtray on top, facing against a computer desk with two screens on it. A few posters and picture frames were scattered on the wall, which Odds' eyes traced until he his eyes fell onto a desk that had various objects on it, Odd squinted in the darkness to try make out what it was before he felt a hand pull him out of the room and slam the door closed. Goss let out a sigh and leaned on the door.
"There, you've seen it!" he laughed nervously, filling Odd and Aelita with questions.
"Sorry, I was bit forward there." Odd grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"It's alright, don't worry about it." Goss smiled, gesturing them to follow him as they walked back towards the stairs, "Reckon it's safe yet?" he asked, jerking him thumb at the stairs.
"Hopefully!" Aelita sighed, knowing that the conversation between Ulrich and Yumi could go either way.
With Everyone.
Making their way back to the kitchen, they opened the door and let out a sigh of relief when Ulrich and Yumi looked up at them with a smile from the seats they took at the table. Not wanting to ask any questions in the moment, Odd spoke up.
"We've got some nice rooms, Ulrich! A lot like the dorms!"
"Oh, really?" Ulrich smiled contently, showing Odd everything was perfectly okay.
"Yeah, we just need to unpack and wait for the rest of our stuff to arrive!" Odd said, leaning against the door frame.
"Why don't you guys unpack now? We can all help!" Goss smiled, patting Odd on the shoulder.
"That sounds like fun, you guys in?" Odd grinned, gesturing to Yumi and Aelita.
"Sure, it'll be fun!" Yumi nodded, Aelita nodding in agreement too.
The next few hours were passed with the group spread among Ulrich and Odds room, unpacking and laughing with each other, even Hugh had offered to help out which meant the 6 of them should have the task done in no time, which wasn't the case since they played music and were more occupied with having a good time. Odd and Ulrich both smiled at each other, both of them happy with staying with Goss and Hugh, realizing they'd be fine here. When they finally managed to finish unpacking, they found themselves sitting in the living room, continuing to laugh at whatever horrible jokes Odd brought to the table before Goss stood up.
"I think we deserve a drink for a job well done!" he smiled, opening the fridge to reveal different bottles and cans, "So what's your poison? Beer? Spirits?"
"Beer." Ulrich and Odd said in unison, raising their eyebrows at each other. They had never drunk alcohol together before since Ulrich left almost as soon as he became of age.
"Alright!" Goss said with a smile, grabbing multiple cans from the fridge, knowing him and Hugh would be drinking the same, "Yumi? Aelita?"
"I don't drink all that much but screw it, I'll have a beer if everyone else is!" Yumi smiled, "Aelita?"
"I've actually uhh," Aelita blushed, rubbing her neck, "I've actually never had alcohol."
Goss laughed as he retrieved yet another can from the fridge, passing them out to the others and placing one in the hands of Aelita.
"If you like it, you like it!" Goss smiled, opening his can and sitting back down, "If you don't, no worries! One of us will finish it!"
The group talked as they drunk with the four of them telling Goss and Hugh about funny stories from Kadic, wordlessly agreeing not to reference anything to do with their world saving and Lyoko. Hours passed but no one seemed to care, they didn't have classes until Monday and since it was Saturday, they felt it a good celebration of starting college together. Checking his phone, Goss noticed it had come up on 8pm and before he could even say anything, the sound of the front door opening and closing echoed through the house. Hugh and Goss shot each other a nervous look and swallowed.
"Game faces, everyone." Goss whispered, the others looking around at each other in confusion.
The kitchen door opened and the person entered into the room.
"Hey Kale!" Goss smiled with a wave, Odd and Ulrich moved their eyes from Goss to Kale, finally getting to meet their last roommate.
Kale stood in the middle of the room, his eyes falling on Goss and then moving throughout the others.
Kale was roughly the same height as Ulrich, his eyes deadpan and a deep shade of brown. His dark, brown hair was undercut and split in the front, hanging down over both of his eyes. Various piercings lined the top and bottom of his ears, he wore a white shirt and a pair of black slacks, finishing in black shoes. The most noticeable thing about him though, was the scar on the bridge of his nose which ran horizontal.
"Goss, Hugh." Kale nodded, walking over to the group.
"How was work?" Goss asked, earning a shrug from Kale in response.
"Work was work, I guess." Kale responded, scratching at his ear.
"This is Ulrich and Odd, our new housemates!" Hugh smiled, gesturing to Odd and Ulrich who stood up.
"Nice to meet you!" Odd smiled, extending his hand. Kale looked at Odds' hand before shrugging and shaking it.
"You too." Kale responded, letting go of Odds' hand and shaking Ulrichs'.
"Hey!" Ulrich simply said, while shaking his hand to which Kale returned his response.
"Oh, Yumi." Kale said, nodding in Yumis' direction who waved back with a smile.
"Kale!"
"You two know each other?" Odd asked in confusion at their exchange.
"Yeah, I meet him a few times while studying with Hugh and Goss!" Yumi explained before mentally face palming at forgetting to introduce the last person in the room, "Oh, this is Aelita, she's an old friend of ours!"
Aelita smiled and raised her hand in a wave.
"Hello!" she smiled, Kale tilted his head while he looked at her.
"Hello." he responded with his own wave, causing Goss and Hugh to instantly stare at each other in confusion.
Opening the fridge, Kale sighed when he noticed how empty it was and closed the door. Checking the time on clock that sat on the wall, he turned to the group.
"I'm going to the store, you want anything?" Kale asked, leaning against the countertop.
"If you could, more of these please!" Hugh laughed, shaking the empty can in his hand. Kale nodded in response.
"Anything else?" he asked, his eyes drifting through the others. After a round of 'no' came from the group, Kale stood back up straight.
"I've got some stuff to get for the house, I'm going to need someone to come with me." he stated, checking his pockets for his keys.
Goss blinked slowly, he knew he was too far in to be of any help. Hugh shook his head fiercely.
"We've all had a bit too many!" Hugh laughed, basically slapping Ulrich on the back who coughed.
"I'll go." Aelita spoke, standing up. She had only had half of the drink given to her so she was the most sober in the room.
"Alright." Kale shrugged, walking towards the door, "Back soon."
"Good luck Aelita!" Hugh laughed over the brim of his drink, earning a stifled laugh from Goss who was too tired to try cover the laugh.
Aelita blinked slowly in response and followed Kale out the door, closing it behind her. When they heard the door close, Goss let out a relieved sigh.
"That went as good as it could, honestly!" he laughed, leaning back in the seat.
"He's very..." Odd started, trying to find the words to describe the short encounter.
"To the point? Serious?" Hugh finished for him, Odd nodding in agreement.
"That's one way of saying it." Ulrich laughed in agreement.
"You'll be fine, once he warms up to you, you'll get along great!" Goss smiled, giving Ulrich a thumbs up.
"Will Aelita be okay?" Yumi laughed, half joking and half serious. Goss put his can on the table and leaned forward.
"She'll be fine!" Hugh said, reassuring Yumi with a smile.
Goss leaned back in the chair while everyone laughed and drank, he absently mindedly rubbed the back of his neck. He had known Kale for ten years or even more and he couldn't recall a single time he waved at someone he had just met. Letting out a calm sigh, he rejoined the conversation but still wondered. Why did he wave?