A/N: Hey, it's Lilyana again. Well, if you're wondering why I seem to have dropped off the face of the earth all summer long, It's because I've been out of town for... like, three weeks in a row. I'm going home on the 18th, and I promise you I WILL RESUME UPDATING AS SOON AS I GET HOME! Well... yeah. Okay. The song in this story is one THAT I WROTE, so if anyone turns me in, I WILL MAKE IT MY GOAL IN LIFE TO HUNT YOU DOWN AND TURN YOU INSIDE OUT WITH ONLY A PLASTIC SPOON AND SOME PANTY HOSE. Or maybe do something more pleasant, like haunt your sock drawer.
Yeah. Point is, THE SONG IS ORIGINAL! DO NOT TURN ME IN! OR I WILL HURT YOU VERY BADLY!
Xxxxxxxx
It's midnight and I can't sleep
I'm lovesick or that's what they tell me
Sitting here just talking to you
I'm so nervous I don't know what to do.
Xxxxxxxx
Jeremie leaned back on his bed with a sigh. He was bored. It was late at night, and he had absolutely nothing to do--all his homework was done, he'd already taken a shower, his room was (surprisingly) clean, and his bed had been made (twice!). Now he was waiting on Aelita. Or X.A.N.A., whichever decided they wanted to appear first. He would have been working like mad on the anti-virus, but his mind was occupied with thoughts of the latest X.A N.A. attack. I suppose I should get to work on it…he thought, but just as he shifted his weight to move to the computer chair, Aelita popped up on the screen. Jeremie, however, was still deep in thought and didn't see her.
"Hi, Jeremie!" She called, very cheerfully for it being so late at night (but then again, she was a virtual being, and therefore didn't need sleep at all) after a minute when he didn't reply.
"Wha... Oh, hi, Aelita!" She snapped him out of his thoughts, which immediately shifted from morbid old X.A.N.A. to her. Beautiful, perfect her.
Aelita found it almost comical, the way he jumped up off the bed and managed to get himself to the computer in about three seconds. Normally it would have taken longer, but since his room was clean, there was no dirty laundry and no random computer books strewn haphazardly on the floor, which meant there was nothing to tangle himself in, or trip over. Shortly put, having a clean room made his trip to the computer much easier.
"Hi. What's up?" He asked breathlessly, and she laughed. "What?" He asked.
"Nothing. You just don't seem like you'd be the kind of person to say that." She replied, hiding a snigger behind her hand.
Jeremie almost stuck his tongue out at her. "Yeah, well, I'm full of surprises." He grinned. "I've missed you. I haven't seen you in a while."
"It's only been 12 hours, Jeremie." She said, laughing at him once again.
He thought hard for a response to that. "Yeah, well... I enjoy your company." He grinned. "So..."
"So what?" She asked, turning her head to the side.
He shrugged. "Nothing. The need for something to say, you know?" He grinned.
"Yeah. I know." She grinned back at him. "I'm really glad you're here, Jeremie. I miss you."
"I miss you too, Aelita." For a minute he was tempted to put his hand on the screen, but decided not to. It seemed like a little bit much.
There was a long, drawn out pause, which Aelita broke by asking, "So... what was for lunch today?"
Jeremie burst out laughing. When he could breathe again, he said, "Sorry! Sorry, sorry... it just seemed like a weird way to break a pause..."
"Oh." She smiled. "So?"
"You're being serious?"
"Of course I'm being serious." She laughed.
Jeremie grinned in response. "Okay. Well, we had pizza for lunch."
"What's pizza?"
Jeremie was struck with a sudden thought and realized why he'd had so much free time on his hands--I'm going home tomorrow for Christmas break and still haven't packed!
"Augh!" He cried in frustration, jumping up off of the computer chair and running across the room to the wardrobe, where he pulled out a suitcase and hastily began throwing clothes into it.
"Jeremie, what are you doing?" She asked in confusion, craning her neck to get a better look at him.
"I'm packing."
"Why?"
"Because I have to go home tomorrow."
"Will I see you again?" She asked, horrified, in a tone of voice that made Jeremie burst into laughter again.
"Of course you'll see me again!" He cried, trying very hard not to laugh at her any more. But the way she'd said it... "I'm only going away for two weeks, and you're coming with me. Yumi is going to be here and Ulrich is going to spend Christmas with her so that we'll at least have one fighter in Lyoko if X.A.N.A. decides to act up again."
"Oh." There was another pause. "Wait... I'm coming with you? Jeremie, you know it's a bad idea to bring me to earth; X.A.N.A. would definitely act up... Jeremie?"
He was laughing again. "I mean I'll still be able to talk to you from where I'm going. I just have to be careful, that's all."
"Why?"
"My parents and older sister are… well, they wouldn't be too happy with me if they knew I'd discovered you."
"Why not?"
"Well... there's strange like that. I'm thinking they'd probably hog tie me and throw me in a broom closet."
"Oh." She didn't ask any more questions, so Jeremie turned to throwing clothes back in his suitcase.
"Jeremie?"
"Yeah?"
"You never told me what pizza was."
He laughed. "Well..."
Xxxxxxxx
You smile at me and I smile back
Just wasting time cuz I've got to pack
We're so close it isn't fair
For me to be here and you to be there
Xxxxxxxx
FOUR MONTHS LATER...
"Hello, Jeremie." Aelita was already there, her face the only visible thing on his computer screen, when he walked in the door. He grunted in response, then collapsed on his bed.
"Jeremie? Are you all right?" She asked, with concern very evident in her voice. "Jeremie?"
"I'm fine." He said quietly. "I'm just sick."
"Oh." She was silent for a few minutes before asking, "What does sick mean?"
"Sick... it's when you have a virus or an infection."
"You mean like X.A.N.A. infected me with? That kind of virus?"
"No... not that kind of virus. It means that... Like X.A.N.A. infected you with the computer virus--"
"But I thought it wasn't the same kind of virus..."
"It isn't. Listen."
"Okay."
"Like X.A.N.A. infected you with the computer virus, I was infected with another kind of virus. It's called a cold. Being sick means that you've been exposed to something that doesn't belong in your body, so the natural response is to run a fever and feel very bad for a few days. Running a fever helps your body kill some of the things causing the cold in the first place. Most people get over them in about a week."
"So... Did X.A.N.A. do this to you?" She was shocked—her mouth was hanging open and her eyes were as wide as saucers.
He chuckled. "No, Aelita. It's something that can be passed on from person to person. You give it to people with something called germs."
"But why would you want to give anything that made you feel bad to one of your friends?"
"That's just it... you don't. It just happens. Germs are microorganisms, which means they're too small to be seen. If I cough into my hand, and then touch Ulrich with my hand, anything he touches will have the cold germs on it."
"So if you touched Ulrich he'd have the cold too?"
"Pretty much, yeah. You can minimize the risk of spreading the cold by washing your hands after you cough into them."
"Oh."
He coughed then, covering his mouth with his hand.
"Jeremie!" She cried in shock. "You just put a lot of germs onto your hand!"
"I know." He said, in between coughs. "It's the point. Coughing into our hands is what we do to keep germs from getting into the air--we cough into our hands and hope they don't go everywhere. Then we wash our hands, or use hand sanitizer, which basically does the same thing."
She saw him remove a small bottle of something from his desk, squirt some into the palm of his right hand, and rub them together.
"What's that?"
"Hand sanitizer. It kills germs."
"Is killing germs good?"
"It has to be; otherwise we'd all have permanent colds."
Xxxxxxxx
And every time I see you,
You blow my mind away
You are so beautiful that I
Don't know what to say
It's almost like I'm dreaming
And I'm so afraid I am
But I can't tell you that I love you
'Cuz that's just the way I am
Xxxxxxxx
TWO WEEKS LATER…
"Aelita?" He called, pulling up Lyoko. She was there faster than you could say "Jack Sprat."
"Hi, Jeremie." She smiled. "I haven't seen you for a few days. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. I've been studying for a big test all week. I really haven't had time to be on the computer for a while."
"I feel the sudden need to check your temperature." Aelita said. "You? Not having time to be on the computer? I think that cold addled your brains more than you'd like to think."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He smiled. "So… has anything interesting happened on Lyoko recently?" He felt the need to say something… anything… to get her to talk. She'd been unusually quiet (well… for her, at least…) and it was making him very uncomfortable.
"No, not really…"
"Aelita, is anything wrong? Did Odd say something again? Because if he did… I have ways of… elimination…" He cracked his knuckles, hoping to do a somewhat good impression of an evil doctor in the middle of trying to take over the world. He hoped for a laugh. He didn't hope for a weak smile and a nod of the head.
"I'm fine, Jeremie, I promise. I'm just thinking. I've got a lot on my mind."
"Really? I'm willing to lend an ear, care to share what's bugging you?"
"I'd rather not. Thank you, though." She sighed forlornly, then said, "Jeremie, it's really late. You should be in bed."
"I'm not tired, and I know you don't need to sleep, so I'd really rather just stay up, if it's all the same to you."
At that moment, Aelita was spared having to talk to Jeremie by Odd, who came waltzing into the room as though he owned the place. He saw Aelita, waved to her, and said, "Einstein, I need help."
"Yes, Odd, I gathered that much from the beginning. Might I recommend you see the school shrink before you go elsewhere?"
"Ha, ha. Very funny. I need help on my physics homework… it's due tomorrow. I promise I'll never bug you ever again about you-know-who…" Neither Jeremie or Aelita could miss the sudden look he shot towards Jeremie's computer.
"Like heck you won't." Jeremie groaned. "All right, all right. I'll be right there." He turned to Aelita. "Is it okay if I go?"
"Hmm? Yeah! Yeah, sure it is. You go help Odd. I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Jeremie. I'm sure. I'll be fine."
"All right, then. We'll be here for a while, and I'll be up all night… if you need anything, call me…"
"I will. Goodnight, Jeremie."
"Goodnight, Princess."
After she'd logged off, Jeremie turned to Odd. "She's been acting weird ever since you mentioned liking Samantha. What else did you say to her?"
"Nothing!" He protested, turning to his physics paper. "I swear, the only thing I said was that I liked Sam. It's SAM. S-A-M. Not Samantha."
"Well… Ugh." Jeremie gave up and started explaining physics. "Okay, so to understand how…"
Three hours later, it was well past one in the morning, and Odd had just finished his paper. "Thank you very much, Jeremie!" He said, standing up and stretching. "You ROCK!"
Seeing his opportunity, Jeremie pounced, taking Odd's paper and holding it dangerously close to his paper shredder, which he knew wasn't plugged in... But Odd didn't know that. Which made it all the easier to threaten the poor kid into telling him what he needed to know…
"So then I was like, no way, and… Jeremie? JEREMIE! HEY!"
"Give me an honest answer, Odd. Did you or did you not say anything more than mentioning Samanth… Sam?"
"No!" He cried, lunging for the paper. Jeremie dangled it even closer to the shredder. "Yes! Augh! Yes, I mentioned something else!"
"And what might that be, Odd?" Jeremie asked, holding the paper a little closer…
"I mentioned to her that she likes you and you might like her! And she seemed to be fine with it!"
"You shouldn't assume things like that, Odd." Jeremie said, taking the paper out of harm's way and handing it to the boy. "Because now she's being weird. Tonight she barely even talked to me at all…"
"Well… I just thought…"
"Don't think. It doesn't suit you." Jeremie said with a grin. "Okay, you have a physics test tomorrow! What are you still doing up?" He pointed towards the door, put on his very best Headmaster Delmas scowl and said, very sternly, "Out!"
Xxxxxxxx
It's after two when you talk to me
And I forget that it's my turn to speak
You smile at me and log off with a grin
And I wonder when I'm gonna see you again
Xxxxxxxx
THREE DAYS LATER...
"Aelita?" Jeremie called, immediately after logging onto Lyoko. "Aelita, are you there?"
She appeared a few seconds later. "I'm here!"
He heaved a sigh of relief. "Good."
"Yeah." She laughed nervously. "Jeremie?"
"Yes?"
"I missed you."
"I missed you too, Princess."
"Why are you on so late at night?"
"Because I can't sleep and tomorrow's a Saturday, so it's not like I have to be up early or anything. I can sleep as late as I want to!" He cried cheerfully, in a very un-Jeremie-like manner.
"Oh." She smiled. "Well..." There was a long pause before she asked, "Jeremie, what is like?"
"Like? It's a word that we use in sentences, you've used it thousands of times already--" He was already rambling.
"No, what is like? Odd was talking about Samantha before on Lyoko and said he liked her."
"Oh. That kind of like." Jeremie felt the heat rush to his cheeks. "Like is... it's something that happens when a boy and a girl are attracted to each other... Sometimes two boys or two girls can be attracted to each other, but that's not normal, so don't go getting any ideas..."
"Do you like me, Jeremie?"
Wow, Jeremie thought "Well... Like can also be used to say 'I like you as a friend'."
"Do you like me?" She asked again.
"As a friend." He said. It was the hardest thing he'd had to do in his life, but losing Aelita because he'd said the wrong thing would probably be harder.
"Oh." He could have sworn her face fell, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he said, "X.A.N.A's been pretty quiet lately..."
"Yeah, he has." She said softly. "Listen, I need to go do... I just need to go, okay?"
"Aelita?" But it was too late. She was already gone.
Swearing, he turned to his open door and saw Ulrich standing outside.
"What?" He asked sullenly, his cheerful demeanor gone.
"I saw that. You know she loves you, right?"
"Love? Love is a very strong word, my friend."
"Yes, Jeremie! Love!" Ulrich cried exasperatedly, making Jeremie jump several feet into the air. "What Yumi and I have! What Odd and Samantha have! What everyone knows you and Aelita have, you're just too scared or stubborn, or maybe even both, to admit it!"
"I'm not scared." Jeremie said.
Ulrich snorted, and from where Jeremie was sitting it looked almost like he'd rolled his eyes.
"All right, I am scared! What if she doesn't like me back? What if, because I tell her I like her, she ignores me and I lose the one thing I actually have a reason to live for—no offense—and… what if… what if she loves me back? What then?"
"Have you been listening to anything I've been saying? SHE'S. IN. LOVE. WITH. YOU!" Ulrich emphasized each word by poking the bespectacled blond boy squarely in the chest with his forefinger.
"How do you know?" Jeremie swatted Ulrich's hand away and rubbed the now sore spot on his chest.
"Because I watch the way she stares at you when you're talking to her! I listen to her on Lyoko during the parts of the conversations you can't hear! And when someone mentions your name she turns her head so fast that if she could actually feel anything, it would give her an awful crick in the neck, and then she looks at them like… like…" He ran his fingers through his messy brown hair. "Jeremie, you're sixteen! You should know when someone loves you and when they don't."
"Ulrich… You're right. I'm no good at telling whether she likes me or not, but… but…"
"Does she really love you or am I making it up?"
"Yeah. Does she really love me… or just like me? There's a difference."
"She loves you, Jeremie. You should be able to tell."
Xxxxxxxx
I love you babe, you know it's true
I love you and all the things that you do
Like asking 'bout love and dancin' in the rain,
And your laughter wipes away all my pain
Xxxxxxxx
THREE DAYS LATER...
For three days, Jeremie stared at his blank computer screen, wondering where the heck Aelita was and why the heck she wasn't answering him when he called. He was just about to call Odd and ask him to go to Lyoko to check on things when Aelita appeared.
"Jeremie!" She cried. "I… I didn't think you'd be in…"
"Of course I am! It's the weekend… You know I never go anywhere…"
"I know, I just thought… you'd be out with the others or something..."
"Nah, Ulrich and Yumi are out on a date and Odd's with Sam listening to some old records or something. I'm working on the anti-virus, but tonight I don't really think it wants to be worked on. I think I've undone more than I've done."
She nodded absently. "Jeremie?"
"Yes, Princess?"
"I missed talking to you."
"I missed talking to you, too. It's been killing me."
"I know." She smiled. "Jeremie?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry… for the way I acted the other night. If you only like me as a friend…"
"Only?"
"Shit!" She cried, covering her mouth with her hand.
Jeremie was appalled. "Where'd you learn that word?"
"From Odd."
"Oh. Go figure." Jeremie shrugged, then continued. "So… If I only like you as a friend…"
"Look, it's not what it sounds like…"
"Sure it is. You like me."
"I… I… Jeremie, it's not really like I could help it, you know, it just happened, but I promise it won't come up again if you want to just be friends or something… I promise!"
"Aelita." If he'd been there with her, he would have slapped his hand over her mouth to keep her from rambling any more. "Who said I only wanted to be your friend?"
"You did… three days ago…" She was confused. "Wait… You… Jeremie, what the heck is going on?"
"The only reason I said I only wanted to be your friend was because I thought you only wanted to be my friend! I didn't think… Well, I was afraid of what would happen to us if I said I liked you… as more than a friend, so… well, the results were less than desirable and I wish I hadn't said it now, because… Well… I do like you… as more than a friend…and…"
"You're so cute when you're flustered." She said, grinning. "I'm glad. I was beginning to wonder how much longer I could hide it."
"I think the others have known for a while, don't you?"
"Of course I do. I was the one who told Ulrich and Odd how I felt about you…"
"Where was Yumi?"
"She was devirtualized or being virtualized or something… I don't know where she was. In any case, she wasn't with us, so…"
"Aelita?"
"Yes?"
"Feel like waiting a few days to tell the others?"
A playful grin crossed her face. "Oh, sure. Why not?"
Xxxxxxxx
And every time I see you
You blow my mind away
You are so beautiful
That I don't know what to see
It's almost like I'm dreaming and
I'm so afraid I am
But I can't tell you that I love you
'Cuz that's just the way I am
Xxxxxxxx
EIGHT MONTHS LATER
Jeremie rushed around his room, pulling on his socks and shoes, not caring if he knocked things over or spilled the contents of his book bag on the floor. "I found it!" He cried gleefully, contacting Lyoko and calling "Aelita! Aelita!"
She appeared. "Yes, Jeremie?"
"I found it! I found the anti-virus!"
"Really?"
"Yes!" He twirled around in his computer chair, and Aelita grinned. She'd never seen him this happy before, and for some reason (other than the fact that she got to leave the deserted place known as Lyoko and cause death for a very pesky and annoying computer virus named X.A.N.A.) she was filled with a sort of glee she'd only felt once—eight months before, when Jeremie had confessed that he liked her as more than a friend.
"Jeremie, you should tell the others!"
"I will. You get to the tower and tell me when you're there. I want to install a firewall."
"Okay!" She disappeared. He picked up his cell phone and punched in the first number that came to mind—Ulrich's.
He was pacing the confined space of his dorm. "Ulrich, pick up the phone! Pick up… pick up pick up pick up pick up pick up…"
"Hello?" A very groggy Ulrich said, from the other end of the line.
"Thank you!" He cried. "Listen, I found it!"
"You found what? And next time you find something, please don't call me at three in the morning… I really don't want to celebrate anything right now…"
"The anti-virus, you idiot!"
There was a long pause, in which Jeremie heard lots of rustling over the phone. He assumed that Ulrich was pulling on clothes.
"Listen, I'm going to call Yumi… call Odd, okay?" He said.
"You don't have to call Yumi. She's here with me."
"What is Yumi doing in your dorm at 3 in the morning? She's supposed to be in college!"
"Jeremie, it's still Christmas break. She's got every right in the world to drop by and see me before she has to go back."
"Well… right, fine. I'm letting you know now, if you get her pregnant you will marry her without second thought…"
"Jer, we're engaged. Tell anyone and I'll kill you. Let on that you know and I'll kill you. Act surprised when she tells you, ok?"
"Or you'll kill me?"
"Yeah. I'll kill you."
Jeremie laughed. "Right. Meet me at the factory as soon as you can, okay?"
"Okay."
"Okay. See you there." Jeremie hung the phone up, then called Odd.
"Odd! PICK UP THE FRIGGIN' PHONE!" He yelled, after listening to it ring close to 12 times. Finally, Odd picked up. "Odd! THANK YOU! Okay, listen, I need you to get to the factory."
"Is… is it an attack?"
"Oh, you're with Sam." He said, realizing from the way Odd made it sound like Jeremie was having an asthma attack that there must have been another person who wasn't in on the secret present. "Listen, I found the anti-virus. I need you to go to the factory so we can get Aelita to Earth. NOW. Yumi and Ulrich are already on their way."
"I'll be right there!" Odd said, in a very good imitation of a panic-y voice.
Once at the factory, Jeremie assembled everyone in the scanner room so he could work the computer from above. He contacted Lyoko, then pressed a few keys on the computer, hit the enter key a couple times, and then called over the intercom, "Okay, you guys! Ready?"
He knew he wouldn't be able to hear them reply, but it was his way of warning them that their lives were about to change forever.
Ulrich heard the scanners whir into life, and saw one of them vibrate something awful. Not that it meant anything bad, but still. He was either still on Lyoko or in the scanner when they started vibrating like that.
The door opened to reveal Aelita, curled up on the floor of the scanner exactly like she had been the last time they tried this.
Jeremie appeared through the elevator a few moments later, and came towards Aelita with something like caution. "Is she all right?"
"We didn't touch her." Ulrich said. "Left that for you. Don't worry, she's only sleeping."
"Aelita…" He knelt and started shaking her shoulder. "Aelita… Come on, I know you sleep like a rock, but at least you could wake up and say hi to everybody..."
She opened her eyes, slowly, and smiled when she saw Jeremie's face about three inches from hers. She blushed, which made him blush, which made everyone else laugh. "Hi guys." She said, sitting up and leaning back against the wall of the scanner. "Long time no see, huh?"
"Yeah."
And suddenly, everyone was hugging her.
Xxxxxxxx
It's midnight and I can't sleep
I'm lovesick, or that's what they tell me
Sitting here just talking to you
I'm so nervous I don't know what to do
Xxxxxxxx
ONE YEAR LATER…
One year later, everyone was at the senior prom. Jeremie was antsy—and who wouldn't be? It was PROM, for Pete's sake. ANY guy had every right in the world to be as nervous as heck when they were going to prom with the girl of their dreams.
However, Jeremie had even more right to be scared senseless… he was going to propose. To Aelita. At the age of 18…
It was enough to scare any man out of his boxers, which didn't even come close to how Jeremie felt…
He, Ulrich, and Odd were sitting on the bed in Jeremie's room, all lined up against the wall, while they waited on the girls. Odd was going alone—he and Sam had broken up earlier in the year. Ulrich was, of course, going with Yumi.
Ulrich's cell phone rang, and he picked it up. "Hello? …yeah. No, don't tell me what it looks like! …Really? Cool. …Yeah, they're right here. …Okay. Okay. Okay, yeah, we'll be there in a minute. Okay. Love you too." He hung up. "They're ready."
"Well… Have fun, kids!" Odd said, standing up and stretching. "This is where I head for the food."
"Oh, come on, Odd." Ulrich said, elbowing the blond boy in the side. "Are you telling me you're going to miss a chance to see Yumi and Aelita in strapless dresses?"
Odd and Jeremie both whirled around, though for different reasons. Ulrich was lucky they both started yelling at him at the same time, otherwise he'd have found himself being called some rather nasty names.
"Okay, okay! Okay! Just Yumi, then!"
"Yeah, but you do anything that comes close to removing that dress and I'll slit you open." Odd warned. He sighed. "All right, I'll come, I guess… I have to be a chaperone…"
"Ha, ha. Very funny." Ulrich said, stepping out of the school and getting into his car. "Okay, you guys. Let's go."
Later that night at the dance, Jeremie and Aelita were fast-dancing to some heavy metal song Odd had picked out. Feeling that it had to be now or never, Jeremie leaned in and whispered, "Marry me…" Into Aelita's ear.
The music was too loud, so she yelled, "WHAT?"
"Marry me." He said it louder this time, but apparently the music was still too loud.
"WHAT?" She yelled again, turning around so she was facing him.
Jeremie took a deep breath, then yelled, "MARRY ME!"
Fortunately for him, Aelita heard. Unfortunately for him, so did half the school, since at that moment, Odd chose to change the song from something heavy metal to something nice, soft, and slow.
Aelita stared at him in complete and utter shock (along with both the Junior and Senior class of Kadic High) before bursting out into the biggest grin he'd ever seen on anyone's face, let alone hers, and threw her arms around his neck. "Yes! Yes!"
The entire auditorium burst into applause as he slipped the ring onto her finger.
Xxxxxxxx
You smile at me and I smile back
Just wasting time 'cuz I've got to pack
We're so close, it's finally fair
For us to be here and them to be there.
Xxxxxxxx
NINE MONTHS LATER…
"Jeremie!" He heard her call. She was shaking him, but he didn't want to get up.
"Mmmmm… what?" He asked, rolling over to find his glasses. "Aelita?"
"It's tomorrow! Are you excited?"
"Are you NUTS? OF COURSE I'm excited! I'm spending the rest of my life with the woman of my dreams!"
"Yeah…"
"Well... You know the drill. Bad luck for the bride to see the groom on the day of the wedding…"
"Ah, but the wedding isn't until tomorrow, my dear Aelita! We still have all day…"
She grinned playfully at him. "As much as I would love to see you right now, I gotta go pick up Yumi for the rehearsal dinner."
"You never did tell me who the other bridesmaid was, you know." Jeremie said, catching her by the wrist. "Tell me?"
"Fine… It's your sister."
"My sister." He said in disbelief. "Are you kidding me, because if this is a joke, it's NOT funny."
"Yes, Jeremie, your sister."
"…Okay… And what, exactly, is my sister doing in our wedding?"
"Well… I needed another bridesmaid… and we really bonded over the summer. She's a pretty cool person."
"Yeah, yeah. Okay… if you gotta go…"
"Yeah, I'm going to be late… I'll see you tonight!"
"Okay." And before they knew it, the day of the wedding was upon them. The actual wedding took about fifteen minutes—by far the shortest wedding anyone had ever seen.
It was the reception that got them, though. In all, it was a pretty small wedding—the entire senior class was invited, but only about half came. When you factor in the fact that the whole class was made of about 150 people, it meant there were very few people who actually came. Odd was there with his newest girlfriend, an American girl named Parker (A/N: I couldn't just leave her out of all the fun, now could I? It's the only mention of her, I swear.).
Odd was the DJ. He'd managed to find some good stuff that wasn't on a record, or from 1970… No, most of what he'd picked out was actually current. Which was very nice, considering Jeremie and Aelita were both very up-to-date people.
Their Song—one called True Companion by a guy named Mark Cohn, came on. As was tradition, they shared the first dance…
Xxxxxxxx
And every time I see you,
You blow my mind away
You are so beautiful that
I don't know what to say
It's almost like I'm dreaming
And I'm so afraid I am
But I can't tell you that I love you
'Cuz that's just the way I am
Xxxxxxxx
FOUR YEARS LATER…
"Mommy! Mommy, Aaron pushed me!"
"Yeah, well, Alison stuck her tongue out at me!"
"You started it!" Alison shot back at her older brother. "He did, mommy! He really did!"
"I don't care who started it! I'll finish it!" Jeremie said, coming into the room and slinging his daughter over one shoulder and his son over the other.
"Daddy! Daddy put me down!" Alison demanded, beating her father on the back (HARD!) with her tiny little fists.
"No!" Jeremie cried, twirling around in circles.
"DADDY!" Aaron cried. "Daddy! Wheeeeeee!"
"Aaron!" Alison shrieked.
"What?"
"I can't see anything!"
"Okay, okay. Daddy's dizzy. I'll put you down now." Jeremie said, setting his children gently down in the grass before collapsing in a heap on the ground.
"Mommy, did you see me? I flewed!" Aaron exclaimed, running over to his mother and tackling her just below the knees.
"Yes, Aaron, I saw you!" Aelita cried, prying her three-year-old son off of her knees. "Jeremie? Help?"
"Coming!" He hollered from across the yard. He pried his son off of his (very pregnant) wife, then grinned. "Guess who's getting married?"
"I don't know. Someone from college?"
"Odd."
A/N: Here it is: The one shot of the summer! Or at least, my summer one-shot. There's gonna be another one sometime around Christmas... Yup yup yup! Well, I'm gonna try to finish it tonight, cuz I'm going parasailing tomorrow and I don't want to leave this half-finished with me dead at the bottom of Puget sound, or wherever it is we're going... Yeah.
Well, I did finally finish. It's 12:59 Seattle time, 2:59 Huntsville time, 3:59 where my boyfriend lives (in Virginia) and 1:59 somewhere in between Huntsville and Seattle.
Okay, I realize the whole "Marry me…" "WHAT?" thing was a little corny, but it's much better than the one I had before that, which would be something along the lines of "Aelita, I love you so much. From the moment I met you, I knew you were the girl I wanted to marry, so… Marry me? Please?"
Yeah. Well, I'm glad I'm not a guy. Otherwise I'd have a really hard time coming up with a really good proposal.
ALSO… those of your who read/are reading Lyrical Movement… I have not dropped off the face of the planet, I promise. I'm still here. I'm just… I've been out of town for a couple weeks, so… yeah. I haven't had my computer with me (I have a laptop that's so old and dilapidated that it's been taped to the wall to keep it from falling over and smashing my fingers when I try to type something…
So, yeah. I left the fourth chapter of LM halfway done when I left for Nashville a month ago. I've been home for a week (not all at once, the days have been scattered very nicely) so It's not like I've had much time to write. I've either been doing laundry or driving somewhere. Or being stung by jellyfish. But more on that when I update.
Point is… If you read the end of the story, it's a MAJOR SPOILER for that happens with Odd and Parker in LM, so those of you who are worried they'll never talk to each other again, don't be afraid any more.
And also—I typed this WHOLE STORY on a split keyboard. Do you know how long that took me?
I haven't been keeping an official count, but I'd estimate it at somewhere around 3 hours. This is not only the longest thing (word wise, it's 5,638 words, it's 24,878 characters with no spaces, 30,216 characters WITH spaces, 521 lines, 19 pages, and 339 paragraphs) I've ever written, it's also the only thing that's taken me over two hours to write it. A normal chapter of LM takes me an hour and a half, split up over a week or two. This was written in three hours. You can imagine how much pain my poor back is in.
Yep, I think that's about everything. Until I get back to Huntsville on the 18th…
Much Love Always,
Lilyana