"Code: Insomnia"
By cdc100
Summary: Jeremie is having fits in his sleep. Aelita wants to know what's wrong with him and he insists that nothing is wrong. Find out what happens.
Disclaimer: This is a work of pure non-profit fan fiction. I do not own any of the characters, their weapons, their abilities, or any of their universes, nor do I own any of the lyrics that will appear in later chapters, or any of the products mentioned in the story such as Coca-Cola, or Playstation. If anybody is wondering about the night terror thing, I got it from Boston Legal. I might use more story points from Boston Legal.
Note: I don't know if I'm spelling Jeremie's name right. I've seen it spelled, "Jeremie," and "Jeremy," so just bear with me. If anyone thinks I should change the spelling, send me a review. Yolande is pronounced, "Yo-lawn-duh." And if you're going to read this story, PLEASE at least have the decency to leave a review!
Chapter Ten
"Alone with his Princess"
Jeremie and Aelita just got back to their room after their appointment. He had been given a copy of his brain scan results from Dr. Jameson. He perused it one more time before stuffing it into a folder, which he subsequently stuffed under his bed.
"I think we ought to go grab dinner," he said.
"Good. I could out-eat Odd right about now," said Aelita.
"Alright, let's go," said Jeremie. He then took Aelita by the hand and led her to the cafeteria.
Jeremie smiled at his princess. He loved her laugh and her smile.
"Okay, Odd. Let's go grab some dinner."
"Hey!" she replied.
They had finally made it to the cafeteria. Jeremie led Aelita up to the line. He grabbed as much food as he can, so as not to let Aelita chew him out. But, when Jeremie looked behind him, Aelita was gone. He walked up to the table to ask the gang if they had seen her. Hope nothing happened to her, he thought.
"Hey, guys," said Jeremie.
"Hey, Jer," called Yumi.
"Have you guys seen Aelita?" he asked.
"We thought she'd be with you," said Odd.
"Well, she was, but now I can't find her. Where is she-? OOOF!" he was cut off by something knocking him to the ground. The next second, Aelita was on top of him, and he was lying spread-eagle on the floor of the cafeteria.
"I'm okay," said Jeremie. That was a lie. His head hurt. Aelita was smiling as if she had won the Lottery. The whole gang looked at them with their mouths opened. Odd actually driveled some of his food out of his mouth. Aelita had just jump-tackled her boyfriend to the ground. She then bent down and kissed Jeremie squarely on the lips.
"I'm okay," he repeated. That was the truth. The only girl he ever truly liked just kissed him on the lips.
Odd came over to help Jeremie get up. He extended his hand to the latter.
"Grab my… what do you call… hand," said Jeremie. Odd did so, and when he did, he landed right on top of Jeremie's face.
"OOW! I'm okay," said Jeremie. His voice was muffled
He then shoved Odd off of him, and got up.
"Would you guys excuse me? I've got to go to the bathrooooOOOAH!" yelled Jeremie. He had just slipped on something, and was now coasting really fast into the food storage of the cafeteria.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" yelled Jeremie.
"OOOOOW!!" he yelled again. Jeremie began sailing through all the pots and pans, saying "ow" with each obstacle that he hit, and the gang flinching with each "ow."
"OW!"
he hit a skillet. "OW!" he hit a strainer. "OW!" He hit a
bucket.
He finally came to a stop, hitting one of the
refrigerators.
"OOW!
OH! YOU'VE GOT TO BE-!" He was cut off by a skillet on top of the
fridge hitting him on the head.
BOOOOOOOOONG!!
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!"
Odd cracked up laughing.
"YOU JUST KNOW THAT THAT'S GONNA LEAVE SOME KIND OF MARK!" he yelled.
Ulrich walloped him on the head.
"OW!"
Yolande was taking one last look at Jeremie.
"Nothing serious, just a few minor cuts, a few bruises, and a minor bump on your head. Just take it easy for a couple of hours, you'll be just fine."
"Thanks, Yolande," said Jeremie.
Aelita took Jeremie back to his room, and sat him down on the bed.
"Now, where does it hurt?" asked Aelita.
"Why
are you asking me that?" asked Jeremie. "Yolande already examined
me."
"I know, I was gonna…" began Aelita. She looked over
to one side, not sure whether to finish that sentence.
"Yes,
Aelita?" asked Jeremie.
"See, I saw this music video one
time. 'She's Somebody's Hero.' I can't remember who sings
it. It shows a woman kissing a child's wound, and the child
smiles."
"Oh," said Jeremie. "Well…"
"Never mind," said Aelita. She felt stupid.
"No! It's okay, Aelita!"
"Really?"
"Yes," said Jeremie. He then pointed at his head. "Here's one."
Aelita bent forward, and kissed Jeremie's head. Surprisingly enough, it actually made him feel better.
"This hurts a little, too," said Jeremie, pointing at his lip.
Aelita leaned in and kissed Jeremie's lips. It wasn't long before Jeremie started kissing back. Jeremie stood up from his spot and began rubbing Aelita's back as they kissed. She moaned with a mixture of pleasure and surprise, and let his tongue enter her mouth. They continued with this for a while. Aelita reached up and pulled Jeremie's glasses off. Finally, when the need for air became too much for them, they separated.
"Are you feeling better, Jeremie?" asked Aelita.
"Well, I'm in my room, alone, with the best girl I could ever ask for. So, yeah," he answered with a smile. This earned him another kiss. Jeremie sat down on his bed and leaned his back against the wall. Aelita sat in his lap.
"Kiss me," said Aelita.
Jeremie did so. He kissed her on the lips as she had.
Aelita was really enjoying having Jeremie for a roommate. She hated seeing him sad or lonely, and now, she could actually make sure that he would never felt that way ever again. She leaned against her prince's chest for a while, when something came to her mind.
"Jeremie?" she asked.
"Yes, Aelita?" he responded.
"I was wondering…" she began.
"Yes?"
She hesitated, but then decided that she had already begun, so she might as well finish. She did so.
"A few days ago, when we found you at the factory, you said that the reason you had those… monstrous night terrors was because you had been bullied."
Jeremie looked alarmed at this. He had a flashback to the bully that tortured him when he was small. He shuddered as he remembered it. He remembered feeling the immense terror that gripped him at that age, the pain in his eye, and in his stomach. The moisture on his face as the rain fell on top of him. Aelita saw this, and tapped him on the shoulder, bringing him back to reality.
Jeremie looked at the pinkette sitting with him.
"What about it?" he asked, cautiously.
"Well, you don't have to if you don't want to, but…" she began. "People tell me that the best way to express pain is to talk about it."
Jeremie looked at the floor. He had put this behind him, and yet, why did it haunt him so? He looked at the princess sitting with him. She was looking at him with concern in those beautiful green eyes. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, let out a big sigh, and began telling her his tale.
"When I was… six, I began going to school. I was in the third grade. I had skipped two grades." He paused for a moment. "As you know, I had to wear glasses. Because I was, and still am, nearsighted. At first, my school days were fine. I went to school, did my work, and came home. I didn't have any friends. If anything, I had a larger academic life than I did a social life. But, I didn't have any problems. Until…"
He trailed off. He now looked very sad. Aelita didn't like seeing him sad.
"One day, I was coming home from school, and on the way, I met a trio of kids that were much taller than I was. At first, I didn't think they would be that much of a bother to me, so I just decided to walk by them. My mistake. One of them grabbed me by the backpack, and pulled me in front of him.
"'Hey, little kid. What are you doing on our side of town?' he asked.
"'Nothing, I'm just trying to get home,' I answered.
"'Well, if you want to get home, you'll have to pay the toll,' he said."
"Toll?" asked Aelita.
"There was no toll, Aelita. They just prided themselves in beating up and taking money from kids half their size."
"Couldn't they just be arrested?" asked Aelita.
"Who's gonna believe a six-year-old, besides, of course, my parents?" asked Jeremie.
Aelita was stumped. Jeremie had a good point.
"Anyway, the group had me in front of them. I didn't know what to do.
"'Hand over all your money,' the one who grabbed me said.
"'I don't have any. I spent it at the school,' I said. That was an even bigger mistake.
"'Well, I guess you're not going home anytime soon,' one of the other boys said. Then, they held me by my arms and legs, making sure I couldn't get away. I struggled against them, but, they were just too strong for me. They reached their destination. One of the kids got out a bundle of twine. Where they got it, I have no idea. Another one held my hands together, and his buddy tied them together. After they were finished with that, they tied me to a lamppost, and took off my glasses.
"'What's your name?' asked one of them. I presumed that that was the leader.
I didn't answer, and he pressed my head against the lamppost.
"'What's your name?' he asked again, more forcefully than before.
"'Jeremie,' I answered, weakly.
"'Jeremie…?' he asked.
"'Belpois,' I answered.
"'Well, then, Jeremie Belpois, have a nice day!' They laughed their heads off, and left me tied to that lamppost. I was there for five hours. My family started looking for me at around four o' clock. That was my usual get-home time. They finally found me around eight o' clock. I was really cold. Then, I finally saw a patrol car drive up to where I was, and they immediately jumped out and untied me."
"Yumi told me that it has to be twenty-four hours before you can officially call someone 'missing,'" said Aelita.
"Well, my dad has ties to the police. For which, I'm very thankful."
"Jeremie?"
"Yes, Aelita?"
"How exactly does your dad have ties to the police?"
"He was the Police Chief for seven years. You would think that holding that position, he would remind you of Ulrich's dad, but, surprisingly, it didn't change him. He is the nicest man one could meet. The police are always bugging him about being reinstated, but my dad refuses.
"Anyway, they untied me, and they asked me if I was Jeremie Belpois. I said that I was, but wished I wasn't, and they asked me to come with them to the station. My parents were waiting for me there. When I got there, my mom practically suffocated me, she was so worried. The police told them about how I was tied to a lamppost. My mom was infuriated, and wanted to hunt those kids down. The police asked me to give them a description of the kids, but I couldn't really remember. When my parents brought me back home, I remember my mom giving me cookies and milk. She always did that whenever I had a bad day, though, I never asked.
He smiled for a moment, remembering his mother's sweetness, and then reverted back to the frown he originally bore.
"Unfortunately, the ridicule didn't stop there. The next week, I met those exact same kids out on the playground. The bell had just rung for everyone to come inside. One of them pinned me against the wall, and demanded that I give him my homework. I told him that I wouldn't, and punched him in the stomach. He grabbed my neck, throttled it against the wall, and punched me in the stomach, too. After that, he pulled off my glasses, and… well, you can guess what happened."
Aelita couldn't bear to picture it, but couldn't help it. She saw in front of her eyes, a cute little boy with blond hair and glasses being beaten by a trio of ugly kids about her height. When the kids cleared the way, she saw the boy laying on the ground, crying.
"It took the teachers a while to realize that I had been beaten up. They took me to the nurse's office. Or, they must have. I don't really remember. The only thing I could remember was not being able to see out of my left eye, even with my glasses. It was really swollen. One would think that having gone through something like that, you would remember their faces perfectly, but… I didn't." Jeremie was crying, now. His voice hadn't broken, but tears were rolling down the sides of his face.
Aelita was crushed. She wanted to find those boys and beat them up good.
"It didn't stop there, either. I never told anyone about the abuse, because I didn't want to be known as a tattletale. As a result, I would wake up- well, not really- screaming in the middle of the night, and try to jump out of either a window or off the top of the house. I actually ended up in the ocean one time. It kept going until I was ten. The boys met me on my way home from school again, and demanded that I give them my glasses. I refused, and they knocked them off my face. One of them punched me in the stomach yet again, and, while I was holding on to my stomach, one of them kicked me…" he didn't finish his sentence, but pointed down, toward his lap.
Aelita began crying, too.
"One of them actually came up to me afterward and said, 'Wow, you do have some. We were beginning to wonder.' Then, after that, one of them stepped on my glasses. I laid there waiting for my… well, you know, to get better, picked up my glasses, and went home. I had to walk real slowly, because I couldn't see anything two feet in front of me. I finally made it home, but, my mom didn't notice anything other than the fact that I had come home late. I went up to my room, and closed the door. I punched the wall, I cried, I asked him (He pointed up toward the sky), 'why?', I stomped, I threw stuff, I kicked my pillow across the room. Finally after- well, I can't really tell you how long I was doing that, but, after a while, my mom came into my room and calmed me down. It took a few minutes for me to settle down.
"'What's wrong, honey?' she asked. And I told her what happened. I just stayed there and cried. She didn't try to stop me.
"'I usually don't warrant crying unless you've been hurt really badly,' she said. 'But you've been hurt, so you can cry.'
"I laid there crying for… who knows how long. My mom was infuriated. That's her. That's my mom. She really cares for her kid. And who can blame her? I'm her only child. Anyway, she had a discussion with my dad, and relayed to him everything that I told her that day."
"Do you remember any of the conversation?" asked Aelita. She was still crying, but still not as much as Jeremie.
"Some. They were both very calm, but I could tell that my mom was not thrilled.
"'Something has to be done about this, Michael. They only pick on him because he's small, and because he's smart,' she said.
"'Let's call the school board,' my dad said.
"'Why not the court?' my mother asked.
"'Don't get me wrong, Rachel. I want them to pay just as much as the next person. But, no judge is going to look at a claim like this without laughing. Trust me, I know,' said my father.
"After that, my parents called the school and asked for profiles on the kids that had harassed me, and she brought it to the school board. She was able to get the kids suspended."
"Only a suspension?" asked Aelita, still tearing, but nowhere near as much as Jeremie was.
"Now I know that my mom would love you," said Jeremie.
"Why?"
"She said the exact same thing. In fact, after their suspension was up, my parents had another discussion.
"'I want to move him to a different school, Michael,' said my mom. 'First, that school isn't challenging him enough, and second, those jerks are getting more and more violent with him. This has actually been going on since the day they brought him to the police station! They actually broke his glasses this time. And kicked him in the…' she didn't finish her sentence."
"So, anyway, my dad suggested that I be moved to Kadic Academy. He said that it was one of the most challenging places he'd ever been, he made some of his best friends here, and that I'd be away from the bullies. So, here I am. It's been three years since I had my last night terror. But, last week, they came back."
Aelita and Jeremie were still crying. Jeremie's voice actually broke toward the end of his story. Aelita slid on to Jeremie's lap and hugged him. She hugged him tight.
"I'm so sorry, Jeremie," she said. Her voice was cracked. They both cried on each other's shoulder.
"How could somebody be so mean to a sweet boy like you?" she asked.
Jeremie shrugged. He continued to cry. They both lied down on the bed, never letting go of the other. Aelita leaned toward Jeremie and gave him a rather wet kiss. They did not need to part for a while, for they breathed through their noses. Jeremie rubbed Aelita's back some more, and Aelita stroked his. They finally stopped crying after a while.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you, Jeremie. Nobody should ever have to go through that, especially not you," said Aelita.
"It's not your fault, Aelita," answered the bespectacled boy. "I'm glad that you are here with me, though."
"Why?" asked Aelita.
"For some… reason… you just… seem to make me feel better," said Jeremie.
She stared at him for a moment, and then took off his glasses. She then kissed him on the forehead.
"Jeremie. I'm going to sleep in your bed again tonight. And there is not anything you can say that will stop me."
Jeremie smiled at the princess on top of him. How could anyone be as beautiful and as sweet as this girl? He thought.
Aelita was about to get up, when Jeremie stopped her.
"Aelita, there is no need for you to sympathize with me. It's in the past. The distant past. I know that I was crying, but I'm pretty much over it."
"Well, I'm going to sleep with you tonight nonetheless."
"I just didn't want you going to bed with me for the wrong reasons," said Jeremie.
"Does a girl need a reason to go to bed with the boy that she loves?" asked Aelita.
Jeremie shrugged.
"Fair enough," he said.
Aelita got up from the bed.
"I'm going to go change, Jeremie," said Aelita. "I'll be back, okay?"
"Take your time, Aelita. I'm in no hurry."
With that, Aelita left. Jeremie took this opportunity to change into his pajamas. After changing, Jeremie laid in his bed for a few minutes. He thought about what happened when he was younger, and what would happen if his friends found out. He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Aelita at the door. She had on a pink bathrobe.
"Are you ready for bed, Jeremie?"
Jeremie nodded.
Aelita took his answer, and removed the robe. Instead of her pink T-shirt with the A, she was now wearing pajamas that came in the form of a pink skirt, and a pink spaghetti-strap top that showed her stomach. It looked like it was made of satin, or silk. Jeremie nearly had a heart attack.
"Is everything alright, Jeremie?" she asked.
He gave a couple hundred rather violent nods, until Aelita caught his head.
"Do you have any idea how I came to get this?" she asked.
"I do not!" he answered. He was still staring at her with wide eyes. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you look?!"
Aelita smiled at this, and kissed him on the lips once again, causing him to open and close his mouth like crazy. Aelita must have looked beautiful.
"Yumi and I bought it one day. We went shopping downtown, and we just happened to go by a pajama store. I said to myself, 'Well, Jeremie loves seeing me in pink, and it is my favorite color. I think Jeremie will like this.' Was I right, Jeremie?"
Jeremie didn't answer for a few seconds. He was still opening and closing his mouth incoherently. He nodded his head a couple of times. He couldn't lie to her. She looked- there was no other word for it- fantastic.
She laid him down on the bed. When she touched him, he shivered a little. She unbuttoned Jeremie's shirt and threw it to the foot of the bed. She then pulled back the covers, and climbed in with him. He grabbed the covers, still shivering at the sight of the girl next to him, and pulled the covers over them both. He secured the covers over Aelita, making sure that she wouldn't be too warm or too cold. This earned him another kiss on the lips.
"How did I get lucky enough to get such a sweet girlfriend?" asked Jeremie.
She kissed him again.
"Luck had nothing to do with it. And even if it did, I'd be the lucky one."
"How do you figure that?" asked Jeremie.
"Well, you saved me from the supercomputer, you materialized me, you found me an antivirus, you helped me regain my memories, and on top of all of that, you are helping me find my father."
Jeremie leaned in and kissed Aelita on the lips. It wasn't long before they parted. Jeremie began massaging Aelita's side, stroking her hair, and holding her close.
"Hey, Jeremie?"
"Yes, Aelita?"
"Do you think I should let my hair grow?"
Jeremie thought about this for a moment. He pictured Aelita with long hair. He decided that she looked good both ways.
"You can if you want. I think you'd look beautiful either way."
Aelita leaned in and kissed Jeremie on the cheek, and closed her eyes. She fell asleep within minutes. Jeremie leaned in and kissed her on the forehead.
"Buenas noches, mi princesa hermosa," he said, before drifting off to sleep.
To Be Continued…