Chuckling, I ran outside and headed for the commons feeling better than I could ever remember.  My legs were the one part of me that didn't hurt too bad – other than a bruise on my hip from falling on the shower floor they were in pretty good shape.  It didn't seem like my feet were touching the ground anyways.

"C'mon – be there!  Please, be there!" I whispered to myself as I ran towards the bench outside the great hall.  "Be there, be there, be there!"  I wanted to share this wonderful feeling with someone, more than anything – I felt light, like every movement was effortless.  Even the pain in my belly was forgotten for the nano.  So when I saw her sitting there my heart just about popped right then, I was so happy.

"Hi." She smiled, draping her arm over the back of the bench.  She looked incredible – she was wearing black shorts and a black-t-shirt and it totally showed off her teal skin.  In class she wore her gold hair short, sort of pinned up in back, but today it was flowing down to her shoulders.

"Hi." I smiled, suddenly a little nervous.  "Sorry I'm late."

She giggled.  "Are you gonna stand there all cycle?  It's more comfortable over here!"

"Sorry!"  I leapt over to the bench and sat down next to her.  "I like your hair this way."

"Thank you – you're sweet."

"I like it the other way, too.  I like it any way.  Thanks for waiting.  I'm…  I'm happy to see you."

"You too, Cutie."  She frowned.  "What in the net happened?  Your lip is swollen!"

"Nothing-"

"And your hand is all bruised, too!  Are you all right?"

"I'm pixelacious, Lisa." I sighed.  "Now."

"Were you in a fight?  Oh, you poor thing!"

"Yeah – but I'm fine."

"Did that null Zip hit you?  You're half his size! Oh Enzo-"

"I'm fine!  It's OK!"  I grinned and grabbed her hand, all my enthusiasm bubbling up out of control.  "Lisa, it was amazing!  I was in the rec room, OK?  I was playing 3D pinball.  I guess it's dorky and old-fashioned and stuff – but I like it.  Anyways I was playing pinball and someone hit me on the back of the head, and it was Zip!  He told me to move 'cause he wanted to use the machine, and then he told me to get out of the rec room 'cause it was for cadets only and I'm not a real cadet.  Maybe I should've, but I was really mad, y'know?  And my big brother told me if you stand up to bullies they get freaked out and leave you alone, so I did!  I told him to byte me.  Sorry!  Anyways I told him, and he spit on me.  Can you believe that?  So I went after him and we started fighting and he hit me a couple times, I guess that's why my lip is swollen.  But I started thinking about games I'd been in and Bob and what my brother told me and I figured I was faster than he was, so I started moving and dancing and then I hit him in the nose and man, you should have seen him, was he mad!  So he tried to hit me and I pushed him down, and then he went after me but he missed and then I faked him out and, Pow!  I hit him really hard right under the eye – Quantum said he won't even be able to see out of it for cycles and I guess that's how I bruised my hand but it doesn't hardly hurt, even.  And then that null Calisto grabbed me and held me while Zip punched me in the tummy - I mean stomach - but then Quantum-"

"Enzo!" She put a finger to my mouth.

"Yes?"

"Are you all right?  That's all I care about!"

"Yeah!" I panted.  "Fine."

"Good." She grinned.  "I was worried about you."

"You were?"

"Yeah!  I mean – you're so sweet, and I know you must've been really upset about the other night-"

"You were worried about me?"

"Of course I was."

"Wow."  I don't know why I did it, but I guess I was so drunk on adrenaline I couldn't stop myself and User, she looked so beautiful.  I leaned my head over towards her and closed my eyes and aimed my lips for hers and somehow I found them with our noses only bumping a little bit.  It seemed to last about a millionth of a nano and there was a jab of pain where my lip was swollen and it was over and I pulled back, horrified with myself.

"Enzo!" Lisa gasped.

"Oh, crash!  I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that!"

"My goodness…"

"Sorry!"

 I got up and turned to flee the scene of the crime, but she grabbed my belt.  "Wait!  Where are you going now?"

"I- I'm sorry, OK?  I wasn't thinking-"

"Sit."

"But-"

"Sit!  OK?  Are you totally offline?"

"But…"  As great as I'd felt a milli earlier, I would have gladly crawled into the ground and disappeared if I could've.  What in the net made me do that?  "Lisa, I'm sorry."

"You should be!  Now sit down."

"OK." I said meekly, sitting next to her but not looking at her.  "Crash, I'm so sorry!  I know it was wrong…"

"Yes it was.  Do you think that's how I wanted my first kiss to be?"

"What?"  I did look at her now.

"Sure, Nullhead.  I didn't even get a chance to think about it and it was over!  Besides, we shouldn't be kissing out in public like that anyways.  Boys and girls aren't supposed to fraternize, you know?"

"Your first kiss?"

"Yeah."  Lisa looked disapprovingly at me for a nano, then smiled.  "Don't look so surprised!"

"Sorry, I…  I just didn't- I dunno.  I thought you were just mad because it was me."

"I'm not mad."

"Oh!  OK, good…"

"And I don't mind that it was you, either…"

"Dude!  Are you serial?"

"9-pin." She giggled.  She ran her finger across my hurt lip, which made me tremble all over.  "Poor Enzo.  I hope he didn't hurt you too much."

"N-no, I… I'm OK.  Just a little bruised, I guess."

"I hope you hurt him, though."

"I guess." I sighed.  "Not too bad, though.  I just want him to leave me alone."

"Oh, Enzo." She said softly.  She grabbed my hurt hand in one of hers and slowly stroked it with the other, making me tremble again.  "You're very odd, Enzo.  You're not like any other boy I've ever met."

I wasn't exactly sure how to take that.  "Oh, I- um…"

"Poor Enzo." She giggled.  "I meant it in a good way.  They're all so macho and pushy and, you know – stupid.  But you're totally different.  I've never met anyone like you."

"Uh – thanks!"

"So why are you so different, huh?"

"Well – it's kinda a long story."

"You and your long stories!  You always start them and never finish them.  I'm not letting you get away with it today!  Why don't we take that walk you promised me?"

"Really?  You and me?"

"I don't see anyone else here!"  She kept stroking my hand a few more times and then stood up, pulling me gently after her.  "You really are sweet, you know that?  C'mon."

"OK." I smiled.  I liked being sweet, if she was the one thinking I was.  I was happy enough just to hold her hand and see her and smell her and listen to her, when she felt like talking.  So that's what I did for a while.

Walking hand-in-hand she was taller than me – but only a little.  In the last minute I'd seen more different shapes of girl than I'd ever dreamed existed, but hers was just perfect for me – thin but a bit muscular, with the most amazing little curves in the most amazing places.  Just being close to her made me happy.

"So…" she finally said, when we up on the crest of the hill overlooking the system.  "Which long story do you want to tell me – the one about how come you've never really talked to a girl before – sort of – or the one about why you're different from all the other boys?"

"Uh…"  I smiled at her and I could feel myself blushing.  "I guess they're kinda the same story, really."

"Oh – that's too bad.  So I only get one story now?"

"Yeah – I guess!  Do you really want to know?"

"Enzo!  Stop it – you're driving me offline!"

"Oh, I…I…"

"Enzo." She sighed.  "C'mon – let's sit down and you can tell me all about it.   I don't even know your last name – what is it?"

I sat next to her on the ground and we stared out over the campus and the city beyond it.  "Matrix.  What's yours?"

"Jobs.  But we were talking about you, not me!"

"Yeah."  I looked over at her and smiled.  Our hands were clasped and our forearms were touching and I was starting to sweat even though it was cool on the hill.  "I guess I am pretty weird.  I always thought so, anyways.  You sure you want to hear it?"  She glared at me.  "Sorry!  I just don't like to talk about it.  Not here, anyways.  I don't- it's just weird."

I sighed and closed my eyes.  "The reason I never talked to any girls before is 'cause there aren't any where I come from.  Well, except AndrAIa – and she's old.  Old-er.  Like 2.5 or something."

"No girls?  You mean it's all boys?  That sounds horrible!"

"No!" I laughed.  "It's not like that.  It's…  See, there aren't very many sprites where I come from.  Most of them were nullified in an accident, when I was 0.4.  My father, too."

"Oh User – really?  That's terrible!"

"Yeah – I guess."  I fidgeted for a nano, trying to figure out what I wanted to say.  "Anyways, Dad was a scientist and he… He was doing an experiment and he was nullified and most of the small sprites were, too.  Well – all of them, actually.  So there weren't really any girls to talk to when I was growing up.  Boys either."

"Enzo!"  She squeezed my hand tighter, and I winced, but I think she thought it was because I was remembering bad stuff.  "So – you grew up all by yourself?  With your mother?"

"There were binome kids, but…"  I smiled a little.  "And, uh – my Mom was already deleted when the accident happened, so-"

"Oh, Enzo!  You poor thing."  She gave me a quick hug, but I just stiffened like a board I was so surprised.  "Enzo, that's so sad.  You were all alone?"

"No!  Dot was there – my big sister.  She's a lot older than me, and she took care of me.  And Bob came along a while later, and he was like, totally my best friend."  I squeezed Lisa's hand and smiled reassuringly.  "It really wasn't that bad, honest!  Dot totally loves me and she takes great care of me.  And she and Bob sorta fell in love – took them a while, though!  Boy, they had some fights…  But now he's like my Dad, and Dot was always like my Mom…  It's OK."

"Wow.  You didn't miss growing up with other kids around?"

"Heh!  I wouldn't say that.  I hated that part.  But what could I do?  That's how it was, so..."

"Enzo…"

"So buttons." I sighed.  "That's why, you know…  Why I act like such a total feeb around you.  I don't mean to be basic – I can't help it.  And you being so pretty doesn't help-"

"I don't think you're basic!  I never thought that.  I think it's sweet.  I think you're sweet."

"I know." I giggled.  "You said that."

"Smart ascii.  I mean it – I think you're the nicest boy I ever met.  I wish some of those other guys grew up like you did, if that's what it takes to give them some sense."

"Thanks!  I, uh…  I guess that wasn't such a long story, really."

"Maybe not.  But I'm glad you told me."

"NP.  Um – what about you?  Where did you grow up and everything?"

"Let's save it for another cycle." She grinned.  "So we'll have something new to talk about."

"OK. Cool.  So – what now?  You wanna walk, or-"

"No – I like it here.  Don't you?"

"Yeah!  It's really nice."

"Mmmm."

"Sorry I kissed you.  Like that." I sighed.

"I'm not."

"What?  You're not?"  Figuring Lisa out was still totally beyond my skills.

"No – I was hoping you would."

"R-really?  You were?"  I could feel myself starting to blush.

"Yeah." She giggled.  "I wanted you to be the first boy I kissed, Cutie.  I knew it that first cycle, when you were so adorable and flustered.  You did it a little sooner than I expected, but you're full of surprises, so…"  She grinned mischievously and swiveled to face me.  "Let's do it right this time, K?"

"Oh, User!  N-now?"

"You don't want to?"

"No!  I mean – yes!  But I- I don't really know how."  I think the sweat was pouring off my face by this time.

"Neither do I – I've never done it before, either.  But it looks easy enough."

"Lisa, I…  I dunno if I can."  Kissing her the first time happened because I hadn't stopped to think about it – I'm sure I would have chickened out if I had.  Now I had nothing but time to think about it.

"Don't be scared." She smiled, and took my hands in hers.  Fat chance! I thought.  "Let's just try it and see what happens, OK?"

"OK."  My mouth moved, but I have no idea if any sound came out.

She moved one hand up and brushed my face.  "He didn't hurt you too much, did he?  Will it be OK?"

"No, he…  It's n-not t-too bad."

"Maybe I can make it better."  She held my cheek in one hand and slowly started her face towards mine.  The first thing I could see was that our noses were gonna hit again, so I tilted my head to the right.  She picked up my cue and tilted hers the other way, and we got closer and closer and it seemed to take forever and ever and everything was slowed down, like when Zip's clumsy punch was looping towards me.

When we were almost touching I closed my eyes and then I could feel the warmth of her lips, they were so close, and then we were touching and there was a nano of pain where my lip was swollen, but she was soft and smooth and totally gentle and then the pain was gone, and everything was sweet and warm and perfect and we were kissing and it was the most alphanumeric thing I've ever done in my life, including games.

We held our lips together for one breath, and then two, and the air from her nose was warm on my face and my hand was on Lisa's neck and hers was still on my cheek.  I can't even describe what her lips were like, but I'll try – they were like everything I'd ever imagined a girl's lips were only a thousand times better.  They were warm, and they tasted sweet, and they curved to meet the shape of mine and mine did the same for hers and it was absolutely amazing and I don't think anything in my life will ever measure up to that first real kiss.

We finally pulled back and stared at each other for a nano, my hand still on her neck and hers on my cheek, and we were breathing heavily and then we both smiled.  "Crash!"

"That was better.  Definitely better."

"Oh, User!  That was-"

"Yeah, huh?" she grinned.  "Is your lip OK?"

"User, yeah!  Did I…  Was it OK?"

"Graphical."  She leaned in and kissed me again, quickly, and it was a short burst of explosive happiness.  When she kissed me it was like a shot of energy that started at my lips and shot out till it touched every part of my body.  "It was amazing."

I stared back into her big, dark eyes and felt like I was dreaming, like this couldn't be real and happening to me.  "Totally amazing.  I really did it OK?"

"Enzo!  Of course you did." she giggled.  She snuggled up next to me and put her head on my shoulder, giving me an incredible whiff of her shampoo.  "My poor Enzo…"

I was stunned for a nano, but then I really, really liked having her head there.  I slowly, very slowly extended my arm around her and laid it on her shoulder, and when she didn't protest I hugged her a little bit closer to me and kissed her on top of the head.  It was the first time I'd ever done that to anyone – Dad and Dot and other sprites had kissed me there, but I'd never kissed someone else and I thought maybe I could get used to it.  "User, you're so beautiful Lisa…"

"Thank you." She whispered.  "So are you."

I didn't say anything for a little bit – I just held her and lived inside the smell of her hair and the way she felt next to me.  "I still can't even believe you wanted me to kiss you."

"Why not, Silly?"

"I don't know." I sighed.  "You don't mind that I'm, you know…  Short and not very strong and my voice is still high and everything-"

"Stop it.  You're being basic, now."

"It's just – there's so many other guys here and they're all so much more grown-up than me-"

"No they're not.  You're more grown-up than any of them."

"Really?"

Lisa lifted her head and smiled at me.  "You were nicer to me than any boy I've ever met.  I knew there was something special about you that first cycle, in the mess hall.  And I was right."  I couldn't say anything – I just stared at her completely amazed, and she giggled and kissed me on the nose, which made me giggle too.  "Cutie."

The whole moment still had a dreamlike feel to me, like it couldn't possibly be real.  "You're the most amazing girl I've ever met."

"Yeah, well – since I'm basically the only girl you've ever met…"

"No!  No, that doesn't matter, you're pixelacious and nice and beautiful and…"  And I hugged her then, a real hug, not like when she'd hugged me and I'll gone all stiff like a corpse.  And she hugged me back.

"I've never met anyone like you, Enzo.  I can't believe you had no parents and no friends and all that and you're still so- I don't know…  Hopeful.  If it were me I bet I'd be pretty mad and depressed."

Lisa put her head back and my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around her again, loving the way she felt snuggled against me.  "I get that way, sometimes.  Bit it doesn't seem to do any good.  Y'know?  And there's so much amazing stuff to do, I just get caught up in that and I forget all the other stuff."

"Enzo…  I'm so sorry about what those horrible boys did to you."

"Yeah." I whispered.  "It was pretty-  Well… It was awful.  Really awful."

"They're jealous of you.  'Cause you're so much more grown-up than they are and they know it.  You're a man and they're pathetic little boys."

"No, I'm not..."

"Well – you are compared to them.  And they know it.  And I know it, too.  You've been a Guardian three hours already and you lost your parents and they're all worried about their pimples and how their hair looks!"

I laughed.  "Pretty obvious I don't worry about my hair, huh?"  And pimples weren't a problem I'd even considered yet.

"I think your hair is adorable." She grinned and ruffled it with her fingers.  "Scruffy boy!"

"Stop it!" I giggled.  "I'm still a little kid.  I love to play games and goof around."  It occurred to me as I said it just how easily I could be describing Bob – which was definitely something I was gonna have to think about when I wasn't distracted by the close proximity of a delightfully warm, soft girl.  "And I'm still, uh…  I'm still totally homesick."

"So what?  You know what's important to you, that's all.  Besides – I'm homesick, too."

"Yeah?"

"Sure.  But I think you're trying to trick me into talking about myself today instead of waiting."

"No I'm not!  I-"

"Enzo, it's OK!" Lisa laughed.  "I'm just teasing you."

"Oh."  Somehow, I didn't mind all that much.  Neither one of us said anything for a long time after that, and I didn't mind that either.  Sometimes I still felt all tongue-tied and flustered talking to Lisa, but just being there next to her I was totally comfortable and relaxed.  If it was all a dream, I definitely did not want to wake up.

It's amazing how much one sprite can totally change the whole way you exist in the world around you.  Take Dot – if Dot hadn't been around when Dad died, I can't even imagine what my life would've been like.  I don't like to imagine it – in my mind it's a lonely, sad life with no real home and no one to make me feel safe and no one to love me.  But Dot was there – and because of Dot I wouldn't trade my life back in Mainframe for anyone else's.  I'm pretty sure Matrix felt the same way – and what about AndrAIa?  I can't imagine Matrix' life after he left home if AndrAIa hadn't been there.

And Bob – Bob opened up the whole net to me.  He gave me a dream to try and achieve, and he gave me the confidence to believe I could do it – that I could do anything I wanted.  Bob was the whole reason I was even here – he was the reason I was a Guardian and the reason I even wanted to be one in the first place.  If in any little way I was a man already, Bob was the reason I was.

And now it felt like Lisa was that sort of person, too.  I barely knew her, that was the most amazing thing - but it didn't even matter!  For some reason she saw something in me that even I couldn't see, and because of that I felt like I could deal with anything now.  I couldn't wait to wake up the next cycle because I knew Lisa was out there and I'd see her and when I did, I'd realize just how amazing a sprite can be and even how amazing I could seem to someone else. 

I walked with her back down to the campus and we held hands the whole way.  There were a bunch of cadets around when we I dropped her off at the girl's dorm so I didn't get a chance to kiss her again, crash it all.  But that was OK – I was gonna be riding the adrenaline off that first one for seconds, I was sure of it, and besides - we had no classes tomorrow and we made plans to go into town for lunch and spend the cycle together.

So we didn't kiss.  We held hands and sort of stared at each other and then I started laughing, and then she did too, and we laughed for a few nanos and she squeezed my nose and we said we'd see each other tomorrow.  And then I walked back to the dorm thinking about how amazing today had been what with Zip and Quantum and fighting and then Lisa and kissing her and I thought it might just've been the most unbelievable cycle of my life, and if you'd told me all that stuff was gonna happen to me in one cycle I'd have said you were offline.  And tomorrow couldn't come soon enough, either. 

And then the cycle got even more interesting.