Chapter 3: Leaving France

Author's Note: I couldn't think up a good title, and I was rushing to get this posted. So, hope you enjoy! Oh, just a warning, I have writing cramp. Forgive me if everything sounds… crappy. And this chapter is dedicated to Julianne, who helped me understand my depression, and gave me good ideas for this chapter - without even knowing. Thanks Jules! You rock!

nExT dAY: In the morning, cafeteria

"Hey guys.", Yumi said, smiling weakly.

"Hey Yumi," The boys chorused.

Yumi glanced at Ulrich. Her eyes asked him if he told the gang.

He shook his head, and she nodded slightly.

She sat down, and sighed.

She looked at Ulrich again.

He hung his head.

Odd and Jeremie were busy discussing Lyoko when Yumi interrupted.

"Guys, I have to tell you something." Yumi said softly.

"What?" The boys asked, still discussing Lyoko, and unaware someone would be missing from breakfast the next day.

"I'm… moving to America." She choked out, "To be a model."

Their reactions?

Jeremie's mouth was open wide.

"How are we supposed to fight XANA," Jeremie cried. (A/N: There will be no XANA, but I just had to put that line in. It's such a typical
Jeremie line.)

Odd's jaw seemed to have fallen, and the spoonful of cereal he was about to eat almost dropped. He didn't seem to notice.

Ulrich wasn't in shock. He just looked grim, and if you looked hard enough, you could catch a glimpse of a tear welling up in his eye.

Yumi had a sort of pained expression, like she was trying to stop from bursting into tears.
.
"When will you go?" Odd managed to sputter.

"I'm leaving today, around six."

"What!" Both Jeremie and Odd cried.

Yumi just sat there, tears in her eyes that were threatening to fall.

"Ooo! Yumi's crying!" Sissy taunted as she passed by their table, her lunch tray in her hands.

Odd then smirked a little, and told Yumi, "Well, we should at least humiliate Sissy one last time…"

Yumi looked at him quizzically, and saw a foot innocently stuck out.

She couldn't help but snicker.

Sissy glared at her, then looked lovingly at Ulrich.

Ulrich looked disgustingly back at her.

Sissy made her way towards him, (more like ran…) unaware of a certain someone's foot in her way…

"EEK!", She screamed as she tripped over Odd's foot, her lunch in her face.

"Ooohh!" Sissy growled. She got up, with her macaroni-and-cheese in her face. (A/N: Sorry, I don't know what French people eat.)

She stormed out of the cafeteria. The cafeteria was silent, but as soon as she was gone, everyone went into a fit of laughter, and some Sissy-haters applauded and hooted.

Odd stood up and bowed.

"Thank you, thank you!", Odd shouted above the thundering students.

Yumi just laughed, and wondered how she would ever live without her friends.


At the place where the jet plane is (or however you want to say it.)

Yumi wiped away the last of her tears, and smiled at her friends.

"Jeremie, I hope Aelita gets materialized soon. Call my cell when it happens." Yumi said sadly.

"We will." Jeremie nodded.

They then did a group hug, and the pilot came down to tell her they were going to leave in two minutes.

She nodded at him.

"Well this is it." Yumi sighed. "Come visit me sometime."
"Well, at least we get to see your face in a magazine, or on TV!" Odd said, trying to cheer them up.

Yumi laughed a little, and she knew she would miss Odd's sense of humor.

"Hey Yumi, what company are you working for?" Odd asked.

"Well…" Yumi began.

Ulrich took that as a distraction, and opened her suitcase, and dropped a small box inside. He quickly zipped up the suitcase.

Odd noticed, and Ulrich put a finger to his lips, signaling Odd to keep it a secret.

Odd grinned and gave him a thumbs-up sign.

"You want my signature before I go?" she laughed. "If I ever become famous, you could show off to everyone!"

Ulrich smiled as he heard her laugh.

"Sign my shirt," Ulrich laughed too, and she smiled, and signed her loopy signature on his sleeve.

Odd and Jeremie followed the example, and soon they all had her small signature on their sleeves.

"It'll be nice to show this off one day when you get famous!" Odd joked. "We can sell our shirts for a bunch of money on E-Bay!"

Yumi rolled her eyes, and told him she would never be that famous. (Show how much she knows…)

"Want to take a picture with your friends, Yumi?" Her mother offered.

"We have to go soon."

"Sure mom." Yumi replied.

She put her arms around Odd and Ulrich who was both by her side, and Jeremie was next to Ulrich.

They all grinned like maniacs, knowing they probably wouldn't see each other for a while.

Yumi's mother took the picture and smiled, and told Yumi it was time to leave.

Yumi sighed, and nodded.

She hugged each one of them induvidially, but held onto Ulrich just a second longer.

"I'll miss you all!" Yumi shouted, as she boarded the plane.

She waved from the plane window, and the jet lifted off, and flew west, leaving the boys in wonder what will happen in the future.

Ulrich kind of crumpled to the ground, and stared at the sky.

He didn't admit his feelings to her. He wasn't scared when he fought in Lyoko, even if his own life was at stake. And he wasn't afraid to
tell off Sissy anytime either. What made it so hard to just tell Yumi what he thought of her?

He sighed. He knew the answer. There was only one thing he feared in life- rejection. He hated to be rejected. He wanted his way. If he could prevent rejection, he would do it. And so far, the only way to avoid rejection is to stay away from it. And now that Yumi was gone, there was no use to avoid it. He also wondered how Yumi would react to his gift…

"Hey man. You okay down there?" Odd asked, "I know you already miss Yumi. We do too."

Jeremie nodded in agreement, still a bit shocked Yumi had left.

Ulrich shook his head and got up. "Maybe I miss her a little too much…" he mumbled.

"What was the box anyway?"Odd yelled after him.

Ulrich was already out of earshot, as he left the dazed boys, and headed back to school.


Meanwhile, on the private jet plane…

Yumi, in the meantime, had discovered a mini-fridge.

"Too bad Odd isn't here…" she smirked, and opened a can of Pepsi.

She sighed, and leaned back, as she remembered her friends.

Maybe she should write in her journal to pass the time.

"What's this…?" She murmured, as a small, beige box with red, beautiful ribbon tied on it, fell out.

She carefully untied the ribbon, and opened the box, gaping in disbelief.

Inside, delicately put in tissue paper, was a golden, heart-shaped locket.

She slowly opened the locket, not knowing what to expect.

There was a picture of the gang inside, when Aelita was temporarily materialized.

On the other side, the words were engraved: To Yumi- I love U

Gasping, she analyzed the possibilities of who wrote it to her.

Theo? Herve? Nicholas?

No, it can't be… they wouldn't put a picture of her group of friends in the locket.

She began to recite mentally her guy friends: Jeremie- he had Aelita. Odd- he had Sam. Ulrich- he had…

She almost dropped the locket then, she was so shocked.

No way…

Did he actually feel the same way as she did?

She smiled at the thought, and fastened the locket on.

Maybe he really does love me…

I don't really like this chapter, but please R&R anyway!

Review Replies:

Aelita6349- I'll try to speed it up! I'm just not in the writing mood. Too much of my social life gets in the way. --" My friends can be a pain in the neck. Thanks for the compliments!

ChinaWings- Um… Fanfiction said something about disregarding spelling and grammar. Most likely Yumi won't forget her friends, but I won't guarantee. I'll try!

…- I don't remember you reviewing it. Oo; lol. Oh, and thank you! I hope this chapter was better than the second!

mysticmagicmage- Personally, I agree with you. I think the newer version is more understandable than before.

aZn sIsTeR- Thanx for everything! You're the best! –inserts smilie-

American-Kitty- Thank you!

Calm89- Okay, we'll see if he comes back. I still didn't really figure out anything in advance yet.

Andy-c.o- Hope you liked it!

Tessa- Thanks!

Yumifansanchez- You didn't hear? Fanfiction deleted the old version. Oh, and thank you for your compliments!

SHAYNA!- lol. Thanks!

Yumi Stern- Actually, I don't think anything. oO; lol. By the way, in your last review, you said you might e-mail me. I would love if you did! No one's e-mailing me anymore… -yawn- Thank you for your support!

xx Painful Bliss xx- Yeah I know…that's the one that I'm reading! > lol. Try to update ASAP. If you can't, I totally understand. Just do what you can.

Luna- Hmm… the idea isn't that bad. I'm not sure about the therapy part. But I like how the cat's name is Lyoko, and the gang has to prove they know about Lyoko before they can talk to her. But they have to talk to her to prove that they know about Lyoko. Oo; Well, thanks for the idea! I'll consider it!

Yumi-Ulrich4ever- Thanks!

Raven-Angel-of-Darkness- Thanks!

roxy- I couldn't think of anything else… -shrug- Do you have any other ideas? If you do, e-mail me or something. I'll re-post the first chapter.

Watch It Fade- I wouldn't want to flame you… even though you really hurt my feelings. –shrug- I accept your apology. I hope we can still be friends…? E-mail me or IM me if you want. I won't scream at you, I promise.

Anime Bubbles- Nah, not humiliating. More like, jumping to conclusions. I used up all my dramatic stuffs on the –other- story. P Ya, I want to be an eye doctor. I want to help people, but I HATE blood. So like, yeah. Lol.

Nick- Thanks!

Krazy- I never knew my story had that impact on people! lol. Thanks!

Afraid Of Life- Okay, thanks for your opinion. Thank you!

magicalfairy12- Eh, I tried. But in my eyes, she'll always be a jerk. I view her as my annoying 6-year old cousin. What can I say? Lol. I'll try to make her more complex. I don't even do comic. Just relief. It's so awesome that people see things in the story that I don't. Sometimes it gets me way freaked. Loll.

Lune-Solei- What was true? I identify with her a lot? Huh? Lol. Thanks!

Lyoko-Luver- Hmm… I'll keep that idea in mind. Yeah, I'm going to fast forward in either the next chapter or the chapter after that. So much pressure! Lol. Fantabulous is my fav word! lol. Thanks!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! R&R!

--jEnN