Update: The chapter had grammar errors and somewhat lacking. Both problems were fixed.

Sunday

Aelita feels a little guilty, but she really does not want to be lonely anymore. After that wordless breakup, Aelita sought comfort. Obviously her first choice was Yumi, but she found her to be busy with William. Next, she went for Odd but remembered that he and his girlfriend usually disappear after school ends, probably at a secret location where Odd hones his skills and shows them off to his girlfriend.

Her last resort was her stoic friend, Ulrich Stern. However, she dreaded what his answer would be because when she went to look for him, words quickly spread that Ulrich saw Yumi kissing William.

Aelita has seen how Ulrich acts when 'William' and 'Yumi' are both used in the same sentence and it is never good. Thankfully, Ulrich agreed to spend the weekend with her. She is really grateful for Ulrich for making time for them to spend together, which is probably a hard thing to do right now with his broken heart and all. She could relate but decided not to bring up the topic.

The last thing she needs for Ulrich and herself is to remind themselves of their heartbreaks. Ulrich is never the one to open up his feelings and Aelita really does not want to make the situation awkward.

The pinkette decided to wear clothing that was similar to the ones that she wore when she first materialized into Earth. With XANA gone, she thought it was time for a change in attire. The differences between what she is wearing now to what she wore when she first virtualized were that the skirt is pleaded and colored a dark purple, the shirt is now a black tank top under a dark purple, almost black, jacket. Decorating the skirt is a floral pattern.

Aelita was just brushing her hair when she heard the knocks on her dorm room door.

She turned her face away from her mirror and called out, "Come in."

Ulrich slowly opened the door and let himself. He is wearing his usual dark green shirt and blue jeans, but instead of wearing his usual army jacket, he is wearing a cameo version which he also leaves the zipper open. Also, he is wearing a pair of decorative dog tags on a ball chain.

"You ready to go, Princess?"

"I am, but let me fix my hair for a few more seconds."

The only male in the small room knew that 'a few more seconds' might translate to at least twenty to thirty minutes. Not wanting to stand that long, Ulrich decided to make himself comfy on Aelita's bed, pulled out his cell phone, and surf through the web.

"So what do you want to do exactly?" He asks. She never really told him how they were going to spend the day off, she just invited him.

Aelita thought about it for a moment, "Maybe we could go to the mall?"

He shuddered at the suggestion.

"No way am I going to carry bags full of clothing all day." Ulrich half-joked, which Aelita laughed at.

"Oh?" Aelita decided to play along, "Afraid of a couple of shopping bags are we?"

Ulrich look at her and raised an eyebrow, "A couple?"

He then reminded her of how much stuff that he and the others had to pay for and lug around the day she would be a permanent resident of Earth. Luckily for their Japanese friend, she was made an exception to carry anything.

The pinkette giggled at the joke, remembering the anguish looks on her male friends' faces.

"That's because I had nothing at all." Aelita protested, defending herself. "Besides, if I was going to buy stuff as much as before, where would I put them?"

One of the disadvantages of living in a boarding school is the limited space. If there is one thing Ulrich is jealous of Aelita is that she does not have to share her dorm room. Not yet, anyway.

"True." Ulrich agreed before looking back at his phone, letting Aelita go back to brushing her hair.

The male brunette searched up the website of the local mall, looking to see if there are any events going, hoping for some excitement other than just shopping or looking around. Unfortunately, there is nothing special going on today, but quickly remembered some movies that just got out on theaters a couple of days ago.

"How about a movie?"

Aelita smiled at the suggestion, "Sounds good, but which one?"

"We'll figure that out when we get there." He told her as he put away his phone. "You ready?"

"Mhmm." Aelita nodded as she put down her brush and stood up. She looks at herself one last time before giving herself a nod of approval. "Let's go."

The movies that were showing were new a couple of days ago, so not many were in line to watch. After deciding which one to watch, they went and bought their tickets with Ulrich paying for both of them.

"You don't have to do that, Ulrich." She informs him. "I can pay for my own."

"Don't worry, Princess." He assures her. "I got some money to spare."

Ulrich hid a frown behind the assuring smile. Like all of the kids at Kadic Academy, who live in the dorms, he gets a monthly allowance from his parents, but mostly from his father. Although instead of giving a fixed amount for each month, his father has a system on how money he will give to his son, which is the better his grades are, the more Ulrich will receive.

It was a good thing Kadic Academy provides free food for their students or else Ulrich would not survive for long in a month without food. He barely gets any money at all, but since he has been improving his grades, his father has been sending more money and a lot more often than before.

Ulrich really hated his father's system and is one of the things he does not share with his friends, but unfortunately, for him, it is also one of the things that Odd finds out about him and shared with the others. There were times they have offered him free money, but he refused the handouts.

Aelita frowned as she watches him pay for both of the tickets. What she really hates about not having parents, save for them being dead and missing in her life, is that she becomes financially dependent on her friends.

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