YAY! I decided to update again today since I had this chapter ready. So…here you go!
Well, this chapter has a lot of POV changes, so bear with me. Some interesting things happen in this chapter…
You'll just have to wait and see.
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Chapter 3 – Return of the Past
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Ally POV
I'm still really tired today. I wish I could just be my usual hyper self…oh well. Anyway, the strangest thing happened today. My new friends…
Well, let me start at the beginning. I woke up and got ready for school. It was my first day actually going to school, since I arrived on a Sunday.
I found out that I was in all the same classes as Yumi. Weird, huh? The others are all a grade below us. So, naturally, I sat next to her and we talked for a bit until the teacher yelled at us to shut up.
Anyway, after school, we were hanging around and talking in the courtyard. Suddenly, it started to rain! Everybody grabbed umbrellas or raincoats and put them on. Some people just went under the awnings and overhangs nearby.
Immediately after it started raining, Jeremie pulled out his laptop, muttering something that sounded like "strange…so sudden…maybe…" He trailed off as his computer started beeping.
He glanced at the others and raised his eyebrows. Odd turned to me.
"Hey, we have to go somewhere, and unfortunately, you can't come yet. Maybe sometime soon…" He trailed off as the others began to run away. Suddenly, he was clonked on the head by a hailstone!
"Ow! Hehe…well, it's getting worse. You should get under the awning. I have to go…uh…somewhere…"
After that, he turned around and ran for the park, protecting his head with his hands.
Why run away from shelter?
I shrugged, meaning to ask them about it later, when it started hailing even harder. I ran under the awning where everybody else was and saw Odd's silhouette fade into the shadows of the park.
Those people are idiots! What are they doing?
Anyway, about a half-hour later, the hail just suddenly stopped! Then, about five minutes after that, the gang came walking casually out of the forest, all of them sporting bruises and looking tired. I ran up to them.
"What the hell were you guys doing? Running into the forest while it's hailing hard enough to knock you out?"
Odd rubbed the back of his neck. "Um…hehe…uh…"
Ulrich sighed. "We needed to check something. I'm sorry, that's all we can tell you."
I sighed. Well, if they didn't want to tell me, it was fine by me. I would just have to find a way to keep my curiosity at bay. I'm a very curious girl.
That is, when I don't feel like all of my energy has been sucked from me. I yawned and excused myself to my dorm.
Normal POV
"Why can't we tell her? We could use another fighter!"
"Odd, you know why we can't do that! We have to keep it a secret for now. How are we supposed to know if she will keep it a secret?"
"She seems fine to me!"
Ulrich sighed. This argument was going nowhere, and had been headed in that direction for at least an hour now. Every time one of them came up with a good reason to support their opinion, the other one would shoot it down.
"She would––"
"Shut up Odd. I want to go to sleep sometime before…" There was a muffled whump in the darkness.
"Ulrich?"
No answer.
Odd smiled. Ulrich had taken the brunt of the attack in Lyoko, facing off against several tarantulas and crabs, as well as two megatanks. He had been devirtualized by a megatank shot, and those really took a lot out of you. It's no wonder he couldn't stay awake.
Odd closed his eyes and was asleep in seconds.
Ally POV
YES! I'm back to my usual hyper self!
Coffee is such a wonderful thing! WHEEEEEEE!
After the coffee woke me up, I was finally over the jet lag. I wolfed down my breakfast faster than Odd! I ate just as much too!
When I finished, everyone stared at me. I smiled and fidgeted a little, unable to stay still with the caffeine coursing through my veins.
Ulrich POV
Wow, Ally was definitely different today! She ate her breakfast twice as fast as Odd did, which is physically impossible in my opinion. I decided to break the silence that was caused by everyone staring at her.
"Wow…you're really hyper today! You're acting like Odd…God forbid…"
She smiled. "I'm normally like this! I just had jet lag up until now! Coffee fixes everything!"
"Uh…how much coffee did you have?"
"Um…one cup?"
I sighed. Yeah, right. "No, really, how much?"
"Um…I stopped counting at three…"
Dear God help me!
I looked over at Odd, who was staring at Ally with a dreamy expression on his face. I waved my hand in front of his eyes and brought him back to reality. He turned to me.
"Wha…oh…"
I smiled. "Somebody is in love…"
He grinned. "Yeah…is it as obvious as it was with you?"
Jeremie leaned over. "Yes."
"Wow…it's that bad?"
"Yes."
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Odd POV
Well, this situation is similar to Ulrich's before he asked Yumi out…or sort of…
He never really told me what happened between them…
Well, I'm not going to follow in his footsteps. I'm going to tell her when I ask her to the dance.
Ally POV
Well, the dance is tonight. I hope I can go with Odd. I really like him, and I mean like.
I hope he'll ask me. Maybe I'll casually bring it up later…
Ulrich POV
Well, now that we knew that they are in love, I was going to make sure they get together. Odd had been feeling lonely recently, since he broke up with Sam. I hoped that this would cheer him up.
I had a feeling it would.
Now, for the plan…
Odd POV
Ulrich said he wanted to show me something out in the hall. I followed him, wondering what it was. He stopped by the front entrance, and told me to stay there.
Weird.
A minute later, Ally appeared, being shooed along by Aelita. She smiled and ran off back up the stairs.
"Well…this is an awkward situation…"
She smiled. "I know. Aelita just said she wanted to show me something…"
"Yeah…listen, I think I know why."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Well…I was going to ask tomorrow…but…I was wondering…if you would go to the dance with me…"
Ally POV
Well…I didn't expect that…I was just silent for a few seconds. Finally I was able to speak.
"Um…okay…" I decided to take the plunge and go all the way. "Um…ever since I first saw you when Aelita introduced us…I have been in love with you…"
Odd POV
She trailed off at the end, her voice barely a whisper. I stepped back for a moment, shocked. She loved me too?
Her face fell. I realized how I must have just looked to her. I hurriedly replied.
"I…I love you too…"
Her sad face lit up. She smiled, then grinned. I joined in too. Unconsciously, we leaned towards each other. Our lips met. That was…the best moment of my life. It was like eternity contained within an hour…but then the eternity ended, infinity became finite once again.
Wow, I'm turning into a poet. Anyway, after we broke apart, she smiled slightly. She waved and ran back up to the girls' floor.
I stood there for a moment, in shock, then I heard a door open. I looked at the entrance and saw…
"Sam? What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you…"
"Why? We broke up!" I was so shocked I could barely whisper.
"I know, but…I…"
She suddenly ran up to me, grabbed my shoulders, and planted a kiss on my face. I stiffened, then pushed her off when I heard a sniff. I looked at the staircase to see Ally running up the stairs.
Oh…great…just when I thought everything was going my way…
I turned back to Sam, angry. "What was that for? WE BROKE UP!"
She smiled. "So? I have to have you! Even if it means making her hate you."
I narrowed my eyebrows at her. "You…you meant for her to see that!"
She smiled. "Yup! See you next time I visit!" She spun around and ran out the door before I could kill her. I clenched my fists and slowly went back up to my room.
I opened the door and slowly came in and sat on my bed. Ulrich glanced at me and smiled.
"How did it go? Did you…oh…" He noticed my dejected look. I pulled the covers up to my neck and rolled over. Why did this have to happen to me?
"What happened?"
"Sam." I took a deep breath, and decided to tell him the full story. When I finished, he sighed.
"Sam…she's always causing trouble…"
Ally POV
I finished explaining what happened to Aelita. She had clenched her fists by the end of it.
"I'll make sure to give both of them a piece of my mind for you, okay?"
I smiled weakly, then pulled the covers up and went to sleep, my dreams filled with Odd and Sam, the image of their kiss burned forever into my mind…
Yumi POV ('cause I haven't done it in a while)
I was talking to Jeremie when Aelita approached with Ally. Ulrich and Odd showed up soon after. But…it was different. Something wasn't right.
Ulrich and Aelita were strangely silent. Ally was ignoring Odd, who looked completely dejected. He stood there silently, staring at the ground.
Odd was sad! No way!
Something bad had definitely happened. I pulled Ulrich aside from the others and looked at him expectantly.
He sighed. "Sam came back. She ran up to Odd and kissed him. He shoved her off, but Ally only saw the kiss before she ran away. They had admitted their love to each other just before that."
"Oh…that must have really hurt, because it happened so soon…"
How can we fix this?
Normal POV
Suddenly, an idea popped into Yumi's head. She whispered it to Ulrich, and he nodded. They walked back to the others and whispered to Jeremie and Aelita, who also nodded.
Ulrich pulled Odd aside, while the others tried to convince Ally to go to the dance anyway, just with their group of friends.
Finally, she relented. "Okay! I'll go. Just don't expect me to have anything to do with…with him."
She walked off. Ulrich came back with Odd, and he nodded. Yumi looked at Odd, who seemed to have some small hope in his eyes now.
"So…you'll do it?"
"Yeah, I'll try and finish by next week…" He trailed off as he turned and ran for his room. The other four teens smiled and high-fived each other.
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What is Odd going to do? Will Ally ever forgive him? Find out next time on "Coming Together"!
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Oh, one more thing. There is a reference to one of William Blake's poems in this chapter. See if you can find it! First one to find it gets the next chapter dedicated to them!