Well, I couldn't decide who to pick of my reviewers to dedicate this chapter to (other than my 106th reviewer), so everyone who reviewed chapter 12 gets dedication. :P

My 106th reviewer: Girl-Ulrich

Angie Bower (anonymous)
Little Vili
Aelita Lyoko the 2nd/Virtual Freak
(anonymous)
Keiko Nishidera (You've been reviewing for a while but I haven't mentioned you ever… sorry.)
Mrs. Odd Della Robbia
sohowisYumi2181
XoXoXOdD's-ChIbIlOvErXoXoX

Thanks, guys! You mean a lot to me. :)

I haven't decided yet whether to dedicate the last chapter to anyone… so I guess we'll see what happens with that.


-13-
-Unwanted-

Jeremie's P.O.V.

Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd were on their way to the hospital. I had called them a few minutes earlier with the news, but apparently they were already coming.

I took a deep breath, which was slightly shaky. Everything that had happened was just such a shock… It felt so… strange… and intense. My world was full of blurry stars… and I didn't know what to believe anymore.

I didn't deserve her waking up. Not one little bit. But she did… and…

Wow.

I sighed, and sat back in the small, grey waiting room chair, anticipating my friends' arrivals.

The hospital staff said they were just going to look Aelita over a bit to see if she really was okay after her strange coma. None of them could believe she'd just… woken up. She was considered a miracle case now; and no one really knew what to think of it. But Aelita's doctor, the woman, had said that if she looked well enough, they'd be willing to release her right away.

Suddenly, a noise from behind me jolted me out of thought with a not-so-pleasant start. I then realized that the noise was a voice… of a girl. "Jeremie? Is it… true?"

I looked over my shoulder, to see that the voice had belonged to Yumi. By her side was Ulrich.

I nodded.

The Asian girl and my other intense-looking friend walked over to me, and took advantage of two seats near mine.

Suddenly, Yumi couldn't stop smiling. "So… are you going to tell us what happened?"

Ulrich said, "Yumi, maybe we should tell him our news first…"

Yumi looked over at Ulrich, and they seemed to be communicating telepathically or something. Then, after a long, awkward moment, she returned her eyes to me. "It's a long story. But Ulrich's right, you need to hear it."

The girl's dark eyes found Ulrich again, and, with their creepy little mind-reading looks, and they seemed to be asking each other who wanted to tell me what they had discovered. I guess Ulrich won. He was just getting ready to tell me, when the ER doors opened, and in came Odd with a strange girl I had never seen before.

"Hey guys," he said with a wave.

I noticed that Yumi seemed to stiffen. But I didn't say anything.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"This is Rhiné. Rhiné, meet Ulrich, Jeremie, and Yumi."

The girl with the long, red hair who was called Rhiné smiled sweetly and kind of bounced up and down on her heels. "Hi!" she said in a perky voice, and, although I would never in a million years have said anything, I already hated this girl.

"Are you Dr. Bachelder's daughter?" Yumi asked, while silently offering Odd and the girl two seats near ours with a nod of her head.

"Yup! That's me!" she giggled.

Yumi and Ulrich, once again, exchanged 'the look' that suggested that they were speaking in some strange way. When they were done, they looked back at us.

"If you're her, then you have stuff to hear about," Ulrich said seriously.

"Really? Like what kinds of things?" Rhiné asked innocently.


Aelita's P.O.V.

It hurt.

The room seemed to be choking me while this woman informed me of things… things that I… I didn't know what to make of. She was, undoubtedly, the one who had kissed me on the forehead while I was asleep. And now, while checking me for errors, (or just problems, I suppose they don't call them errors here on earth), she was telling me things. About my past… and who I was now.

I listened intently as she drew the thick, dark fluid out of my arm, and, for a moment, I didn't know what to focus on more; her shocking words, or the fact that she had just stuck a, well, frankly, unpleasant metal object into my arm and took away what keeps me alive. For a test, she said. To make sure I was alright.

I knew I was alright. I knew my virus, and Xana, were both gone. I killed him and it. He wasn't coming back. But I wouldn't say anything about that… Xana, I felt, was just a thing of the past, who carried painful memories with him to the digital void I had expelled him to.

I looked up at the woman, who was now telling me she was willing to release me from the hospital. She said she'd give me my clothes back, and as soon as I was done dressing, to come see her at the front desk. There would be no need for a medical bill. She would take care of it.

I sighed. Mother was paying for me.

Mom.

It didn't sound right. It didn't sound right at all. I wanted it too. I really did. But I couldn't change the fact that… well, never mind.

So, in the bathroom, I put on my old clothes, which consisted of my skirt, shoes, jacket, and my yellow top, which was dotted in the front with a brown stain. My blood.

And then I was checked out, after a wait that lasted all too long.

Running out of the doors to the waiting room in the ER, I ran over to Jeremie, ignoring everyone else, and hugged him tightly.

"Uh… um… Ae…Aelita…." He stammered, which evoked a grin from me, even though I wasn't in the most optimistic mindset. Jeremie had always had a way of making me feel better, no matter my mood. That was one of the reasons I felt so connected to him.

And then I realized something else: the real Jeremie was back. The clumsy, smart, shy one who I had always loved. He was mine. All mine.

I pulled away, and turned my attention to the four other people standing in the ER. "It's so wonderful to see you all again…" I said, smiling.

Ulrich looked unkempt… or, more so than usual. But, like Yumi, he seemed genuinely happy, which made me feel a little better. I shuddered, thinking what they might have gone through while I was asleep…

As for Odd, I couldn't really tell what he was feeling. He was smiling, and seemed glad to see me. But there was more that he was worried about behind that smile… I got the impression that those worries weren't for me, though.

And then, of course, he really needed to fix his hair, which was messier than Ulrich's, desperately trying to hold its normal structure but just barely doing so.

By his side was someone else…

"You're Aelita, right?" the girl with the long hair spoke up cheerfully.

"Yes, that's me. Who are you?" I asked with a smile.

"I'm Rhiné! I'm your sister!" she squealed.

I took a step back, and began to feel the same thing I felt while the doctor was looking at me to see if I was alright. Claustrophobic, like the walls were moving together, and the air in the room was steadily running out. My heart began to race, and my stomach turned upside-down.

I gulped. A mother. A sister.

No.

I thought I was going to throw up. "I'm sorry, but I've got to…" I didn't even finish my sentence. I was already running out the ER doors.


Odd's P.O.V.

I watched Jeremie run after Aelita with a sigh. Looked like things weren't gonna be back to normal for a while, even though Aelita was awake. I was worried about her, but I knew there was nothing I could do. This was for she and Jeremie to deal with.

Ulrich was talking to Rhiné. Yumi's arms were crossed, and she was staring off into space, obviously in her own little world.

I decided to seize the moment.

I coughed. "Um… Yumi?"

Life jumped back into her eyes, and she unfolded her arms as she turned her attention my way. "Yes?"

"I…I'm really sorry… for… everything…"

Yumi smiled. "You don't have to say you're sorry," she dismissed my apology with a small flick of her wrist. "It wasn't your fault anyway."

"Yes it was," I defended.

"It… it really wasn't, Odd. It was Xana. He had control of you."

"I know… but I don't understand… And why is it that I haven't felt him recently?"

Yumi opened her mouth to respond, but Ulrich cut her off. "Sorry to bug you guys, but, uh, Rhiné and I are just going to go outside and continue our conversation… we don't wanna get in the way," he said softly.

I knew what he was doing. He was just trying to give us some privacy.

Yumi nodded with a smile, and Ulrich and Rhiné exited the waiting room silently. After they were gone, Yumi looked back at me.

"Um, as I was about to say… your virus… we learned about it from Aelita's doctor. Apparently it thrives on a person's mental instability and takes control of them by hitting their weak points. Jeremie was affected because… well, I can't say for sure why he was so unhappy, but he was and so Xana was able to target him. I would suppose that he took control of you because you were unhappy, but it started to go away after you found this Rhiné girl."

"Oh…" was all I could think of to say. For some reason, the air around my face suddenly felt cold, as a blush clinched my face. The mention of Rhiné seemed to be it. But… I didn't want to think about that, much less talk about it.

"Anyway, you probably know more about it than I do…" Yumi shrugged.

"Um, Yumi, about this whole… crush-on-you thing… I um… I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable… and I know you love Ulrich… and I'm sorry… god… I… I feel so stupid now…"

Yumi burst into laughter. "Odd, shut up and give me a hug."

I looked up at her, and couldn't keep a grin from twisting around my face. We embraced.

"I love you, Odd," she said seriously, though the hint of a giggle was still on her voice.

"I love you too, Yumi."

"But only as a friend," she added, with a big grin.

I laughed. "Back atcha." Then, after a pause, I added, "But you had better not talk that way so much, or I just might try to kill Ulrich again."

Yumi grinned and ruffled my hair playfully. "You had damn-well better not… Or you'll have me to deal with."

I chuckled. "Hey, how about you and I go find Rhiné and Ulrich and go back to school to grab something to eat? I'm starving."

Yumi smirked and rolled her eyes. "You're always so hungry, Odd! I swear, when you grow up you're going to be like five hundred pounds."

I snorted. "Hah, like that'll ever happen. I'm too cool to be five hundred pounds!"

We walked off together, laughing.

And I realized… life really wasn't so bad for me. In fact, it was really, really good. It didn't matter if Yumi didn't like me in that way. We could still be friends, and we could still care deeply about each other. We didn't have to be lovers to be special to one another.

Yumi and I would just be friends. And I suddenly realized that that was just how I wanted it.


Just a little note: don't judge Aelita's situation quite yet. There's still stuff about her that we don't know yet.

Well, one more chapter to go! Please review. :)