I wasn't... exactly planning on updating this story. It was a great oneshot, and I was planning on leaving it that way. But I got the idea... and circumstances kinda forced me to write this. It seems kind of... rushed, and I apologize for that. I tried to take my time, but I couldn't really help myself.
Anyways, this whole chapter is a birthday present to a very special friend of mine, I know she loves this story. I also know she's going to hate me because I already got her a birthday present, but like I said, I couldn't resist myself.
(Ulrich P.O.V.)
"Ulrich, what is up between you and Yumi lately?" Odd asks me, snapping me out of my thoughts.
It's past dinner, almost time for lights out. Odd was trying to pass the time by drawing a picture of Kiwi, but failing miserably because Kiwi wouldn't hold still.
I, on the other hand, contented myself to just sit and ponder. My mind wandered, everywhere from the first time I saw Kiwi, to something Aelita told me earlier today, and quite often to Yumi.
Right now it's June, school just got out. In March, the best and the worst thing in the world happened to me. I finally asked Yumi how she felt about me, kissed her, and asked her to be my girlfriend. That's the good part. The bad part is that Yumi still isn't my girlfriend.
Due to her father's beliefs, I am not allowed to date Yumi until I am sixteen. He said that in March, I will be sixteen on the first of October.
We have only kissed once. We hug each other regularly. But we do spend lots of time together.
But it just makes it all harder.
Odd, Jeremie, and Aelita have no idea what has gone on between us.
"Nothing Odd." I say nonchalantly, but he looks skeptical.
"Liar. You've been avoiding her lately." I look up at him, amazed that he noticed that.
"Have not."
"Yes, you have. I've been watching you more carefully the last week, you've barely said anything to Yumi." I look at him amazed.
"…Wow, you really noticed that? That's… amazing Odd." He just shrugs it off.
"Whatever, that's not the point. Why have you been avoiding her?"
"It's… none of your business Odd." I reply, turning to face the wall.
"Since when have I cared what's none of my business?"
"Good point."
"So… why?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Come on buddy."
"No."
"What, are you suddenly afraid she doesn't like you again? I've told you a million times to ask her out, she feels the same way about you." The minute he says that, the pain suddenly becomes unbearable. I close my eyes, but I can't stop a single tear from sliding down my cheek. I quickly wipe it away, but not before Odd sees.
"Ulrich…? What's up? Come on, you can tell me. I promise, I'll take it seriously." I look at him, and he is serious for once. For once. And he looks sad too.
"Back… wow, has it been that long already? Back in March… I did ask Yumi." I say. He silently walks over and sits on the other side of my bed.
"Ask her what? If she liked you or if she would go out with you?"
"…Both."
"And…?"
"She likes me back Odd. Just as much as I do, if not more."
"… I told you so. But continue." I look at him for a moment, before looking down again.
"Then I kissed her and asked her to be my girlfriend."
"Good! What happened?"
"She said she would love to, but there's a problem. Her dad requested he meet her boyfriend before hand."
"So?"
"So her dad strongly believes that being fifteen is too young. Yumi is sixteen, and I am only fifteen. He said he likes me, but he only wants me dating Yumi when I turn sixteen."
"But that's still four months from now… wait a minute! You've known Yumi likes you for 3 months?" Odd says, his mouth gaping open.
"Yeah. And it was really hard to keep away from her."
"You amaze me sometimes too Ulrich." I just shrug.
"So… why have you been avoiding her lately?" He asks, and I wince.
"Yumi's birthday is tomorrow. I wanted to get her something… nice. Something besides what a normal friend would give her. But I don't know what to do."
"Something tells me your not telling the whole truth…" Odd says, and I stare at him again.
"Since when did you become Dr. Phil? And since when did you suddenly become good at guessing right?" Odd just shrugs and smiles.
"I dunno. But tell me the rest." I sigh and look away.
"It's getting harder. I'm not even halfway there, I don't know if I can make it all the way to my birthday without doing something I would regret. I've been avoiding her because… somehow, it makes it easier."
"I understand. So, what do you want to get for Yumi?"
"I don't know…"
"What does she like?" I think for a moment before responding.
"She loves the beach…"
"So, let's go to the beach."
"And how do you propose we get there?" I ask, suddenly annoyed. He just smiles.
"Leave that to me."
The next day, the principal called an assembly in the gym, something that apparently even Sissi didn't know about. I was theorizing with Odd, but he was being strangely quiet.
"Odd…?" I say, looking at him as we're walking down to the gym. He's quietly smiling, obviously deep in thought. Then a thought strikes me.
"You know what this is about, don't you?" I ask him, he just shrugs. I look at him strangely until we reach the gym. We meet up with Aelita and Jeremie in the gym, and Yumi comes in soon after. We all take a seat, waiting for it to start.
"Students, please quiet down." Mr. Delmas says through the microphone. Everyone quiets down immediately.
"We missed our annual school trip this last year because of unforeseen reasons. Due to this, and some other leverage, we have decided to have a surprise trip to the beach!" The whole gym breaks out in cheers, people smiling and laughing. Mr. Delmas tried for a long time to quiet them down, and when he finally did, it was only for a moment while he finished explaining procedures.
I look over at Odd with a knowing look, and he just shrugs.
Yumi rushed home to ask her parents and to have them sign the permission form required for all day students.
Odd and I ran back to our dorms to pack, as did Aelita and Jeremie to their separate dorms.
Mr. Delmas told us that it would be a three day trip, we would leave tonight, get to the beach early tomorrow morning, and we would come home the next day. We would get to spend the whole day at the beach.
As it neared nine o'clock, our departure time, I met up with Yumi. I greeted her with a hug, as has been customary for the last… I don't know how long. Ever since that first kiss.
As we board the charter bus specially provided for this trip, I make sure I get a seat next to Yumi. I look around for Odd… Jeremie… Aelita… anyone else. But they were all farther back. I make eye contact with Odd for a second, and he winks at me. I can't help but smile.
Thanks Odd…"What's up Ulrich?" Yumi asked, holding my hand lightly.
"Odd just made sure we got left alone for the trip…." I whisper.
"Why did he do that?" Yumi asks, puzzled.
"Because… I told him about us…" I say, looking into her eyes. She smiles.
"Odd can be really nice when he wants to." She says, and I nod.
"Yeah, he's not always obnoxious…" I suddenly get a burning desire to kiss Yumi. After all, I've only done it once in my life…
I lean closer, and so does she. But when we're only centimeters away, I realize what I'm doing and pull back.
"We can't…" She opens her eyes, but keeps leaning forward.
"Yes, we can…" She says. I carefully maneuver around and kiss her on the cheek.
"We can't." I say more forcefully. I put my arm around her, and she leans on me. I put my other arm around her, holding her tightly to me.
"Comfy?" I ask. She nods.
"Extremely…"
"Good." The bus starts up and we take off. The bus ride is uneventful for the first hour and a half. After that Yumi begins to drift off to sleep. After all, it is about 10:30. At about 11:00, she finally manages to fall asleep, despite the loud bus. I stay awake the whole time, I can't seem to sleep. What I… almost did… earlier was still haunting me.
At 1:00 in the morning, we finally arrive. I'm not sure why we left so late, but I suppose it was because Odd somehow managed to get the school to go. I don't know how he did it though.
I gently wake up Yumi, and we all head into the large gym where we were staying. The school somehow managed to attain permission to use a high school gym nearby. The boys slept on one side of the gym, the girls on the other, teachers down the middle. Most of the students fell asleep due to the long car ride.
The next day can only be described as amazing. We woke up early and spent the whole day at the beach, with all the surrounding shops ready for us. We had hot dogs, burgers, smoothies, souvenirs, everything. We spent the whole day together. I spent the whole day with Yumi, talking, laughing, and having fun. At sunset, we all sat on beach towels and watched the sun go down.
Curfew came way too soon. Before long, we were all in the gym, settling down for bed. Morning came quickly, and soon we were boarding the buses to leave. We all took the seats we had before.
"Hmm… Ulrich? Penny for your thoughts?" Yumi asked as the bus started up and started moving. I laugh slightly to myself.
"I was about to ask you the same question." I say. Yumi laughs quietly too.
"Don't avoid the question." I sigh and pause for a moment to gather my thoughts.
"I had a lot of fun today… more fun then I've had in a long time…" Yumi nods, then settles down in my arms again.
"Me too." She says. We sit quietly, enjoying each other's presence for about half an hour or so.
"Can I ask what you're thinking about again…?" She asks, and I smile. I sit her up straight and look deep into her eyes.
"I know I'm going to regret it, but this is what I'm thinking about…" I say carefully. Before she can respond, I lean in and put my lips to hers. I pull away, and through unspoken agreement, we both just settle back into our previous positions. I notice Yumi fall asleep again, but she wakes up on her own about ten minutes before we get to the school. She leans up and kisses me.
"Ulrich…" She says… "Does this mean we are going out now?" I shake my head.
"I'm sorry Yumi, but no. This is a one-time thing. I still believe that we should obey your parents." Yumi sighs.
"Can we at least… still kiss each other…? Now that I have the taste I… don't know if I can live without it…" She says hopefully.
"I guess that would be okay… just… only every once and a while. Okay?"
"I guess that's fair." She says.
"Is it too soon to kiss you again?" To answer her question, I lean down and kiss her again.