A/N: Well, I'm wrapping this story up with this chapter. There's not going to be an epilogue or anything, this is it. I may base a one-shot on it later on, but that's a major 'might.' Well, I hope you enjoy the end. Here goes.

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Title: When a Genius Falls in Love

Chapter 4: To Understand Confessions

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Aelita's eyes widened in shock when she felt Jeremie's lips upon hers. She didn't understand. All she knew was that she liked the feeling that was welling up inside her chest. After what seemed like forever, it all ended. Jeremie was standing in front of her wearing on his face a shade of red the world has yet to see. This made Aelita understand even less. When she didn't say anything, Jeremie looked to the ground. He cleared his throat, mumbled something inaudible under his breath, and dashed toward the stairs.

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The next morning, Aelita met up with Yumi outside the school. Aelita had been thinking about what had happened the night before and couldn't make any sense of it. So, naturally, she sought the counsel of another female. Aelita told Yumi what had happened, and Yumi had been strangely interested in the whole story. Yet something else Aelita didn't understand. Yumi just smiled.

"He likes you," Yumi said to her. When Aelita replied that she thought Jeremie liked everyone in their gang, Yumi was forced to elaborate, "No, Aelita, he has special feelings for you. I think he loves you."

Here, Aelita began to understand. During the movie the previous night, she had caught a few random words that she didn't really understand. 'Love' was one of those words. "Yumi, what's love?"

Yumi had to think a minute. How could you describe something as abstract as love? "Well... Love is when you have unique feelings for someone. When one person means more to you than anything else in the world. It's a matter of the heart. When you have love, you feel like you're walking on air; you feel like you've got everything in the world, just as long as you have that one special person. But if you don't have love, you feel lonely and you feel like the world is a cold place. Especially if you've had love and lost it. Love can hurt more than any physical pain."

The explanation was a bit long and involved, but Aelita thought she understood. "So what do I do?"

"That depends. Do you love Jeremie?"

Aelita needed only a moment to think. "Yes, I think I do."

"Then you should go tell him."

Aelita began walking toward the dormitories, but stopped after just a few steps. "There's one more thing I'd like to know, Yumi."

"Okay, what is it?"

"What is 'embarrassed'? Jeremie said he had it. Is it a type of illness?"

To Aelita's surprise, Yumi chuckled. "No, Jeremie isn't sick. 'Embarrassed' is when you feel uncomfortable about a situation. He probably just didn't know how to react, so he became embarrassed. It's nothing serious."

"Oh. Okay." Aelita didn't really understand, but she guessed that it really wasn't important after all so she said goodbye to Yumi and started towards Jeremie's room.

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Aelita knocked on the door. "Jeremie? May I come in?" The door was slung open almost immediately.

"Aelita! Good morning!" Any further words refused to leave his mouth.

Aelita, who obviously had no idea how delicate a situation love is, said cheerily, "I love you, Jeremie!"

Jeremie thought he had misheard her at first. "Wh-what?"

"I love you," Aelita repeated casually. The calmness with which she said it was almost unnerving.

"D-do you even know what love is?" Jeremie asked, thinking maybe Aelita was just repeating what she heard on the movie the night before.

"Of course I do. Yumi explained it to me."

That settled it, then. Aelita knew what she was saying, but how could she say it so easily? After a moment's silence, Jeremie said weakly, "I... I love... I love you too..."

Aelita's reaction was disturbing. She just gave a smile, said "That's great, now let's go to breakfast!" and took Jeremie's hand to lead him to the cafeteria. Jeremie had no idea if Aelita grasped the full concept of 'love,' but he was glad that she at least knew he loved her. It didn't need to be said that they were going together; it was understood by them and by the rest of the gang. Aelita and Jeremie were a couple, and all was well.

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A/N: That's it. The story's over. What did y'all think? Be sure to review with your comments!