I got bored in study hall, sooooo...

disclaimer- I (still) don't own Code Lyoko, and the song is by Toby Mac.

Chapter Twelve: Separate Lives; An Aside

I told the girl

That you should treat her

Like a lady, and

She told me all the T

hings you did and

It was shady, man.

The room was quiet until Odd burst in with his usual enthusiasm. Kiwi was on his master's bed, and looked up briefly at Odd's entrance, then laid his head back down. Ulrich was lying on his won bed, and didn't even flinch.

The off-beat boy hovered over his friend, waving an envelope like Ulrich was fish who would take the bait if he only dangled it long enough. "We got a letter from Yumi!"

The sullen boy made a point of turning towards the wall. "Correction: You got a letter from Yumi. Jeremie and Aelita get letters from Yumi. I do not get letters from Yumi, because Yumi has nothing to say to me."

"At least Yumi talks to us, unlike a certain roommate of mine. It's been a month, you can feel free to stop mourning your loss any time here, buddy."

Odd's words stung, but Ulrich accepted them as truth. He had been more quiet than usual lately, choosing his own private thoughts over the company of his friends. He knew it was putting a strain between them, but he simply wasn't in the mood for conversation. "I just don't want to talk about it."

Odd sighed and plopped down on his own bed next to Kiwi. "Of course not. Forgive me for being concerned with your emotional well-being."

The sarcasm shocked Ulrich, but again he accepted it wordlessly. Odd settled down to read his letter with no further comments, except for the occasional nod or "um-hm" to something that his friend had written.

Five minutes later he set the letter down. "Do you want to know what Yumi wrote," Odd asked. He interpreted the ensuing silence as a yes.

She said she's had enough

Well, it sounds to me

Like you're straight out of luck.

"She likes school in America. She says it's easier there, she doesn't have to study as hard as in Japan or even in France. She's made friends, even though it's only been a month." Odd paused to consider his next statement.

"She's met a guy, too."

No reaction. Odd waited, expecting rage, shouting, anything but the oppressive silence that had settled over the room like a fog.

"His name's Chris," Odd added uncertainly. "He plays soccer..." Odd faltered, obviously at a loss. Ulrich still hadn't reacted at all to the news. "They're not going out or anything," Odd amended. "But the way she talks... she seems to like him a whole lot."

I wanna know, wanna know

What you were thinking

I can't imagine why

It didn't even sink in.

They say you never know

What you've got 'til it's gone.

"That's...nice.."

Odd fairly leapt off the bed, startling Kiwi. "Nice! Nice! That's all you have to say? What about true love, and even destiny? You and Yumi are meant for each other, everyone can see that but you!" It was a rare display of temper on the part of the blonde teen, but an ineffective one.

Ulrich rose, his own temper flaring as a month's worth of rage spilled out. "And what would you know about it? She's half a world away now, so what do you want me to do? It's not like I can magically appear before her professing undying love! It's just not that simple, Odd!"

"I want you to swallow your stupid pride and write to her! Try apologizing instead of throwing yourself your own personal pity party. You belong with you, so suck it up and do something!" Odd took a long breath, seemingly stunned by his own words. "Dude, you've never been one who gives up easily. I've seen you fight like heck to beat the odds and come out a winner in the end, time and time again. What makes this any different?"

Ulrich looked down, ashamed of himself, but sticking to his guns anyway. "You can't have a relationship if only one person wants it, Odd. And Yumi's made it pretty clear that she wants nothing to do with me." Ulrich moved to the door and left, slamming it behind him, grateful to be out of the room.

She said you came crawling back

But after what you did to her

She wouldn't have any of that.

The troubled teen pressed his forehead to the wall and slammed his fist next to it. It stung, even though the wall didn't even crack. 'She won't even contact me. How am I supposed to make her understand? She'll just get angry and say that I'm making excuses.'

After a long moment of letting that thought sink in, Ulrich sighed. He muttered the one inappropriate word that Yumi had ever agreed to teach him.

"Chikushou"