He Who Calls
Chapter 32
"Let me through," said Aelita desperately. She was standing outside Milo's room. Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd had formed a human wall in front of his door.
"Convince us you weren't cheating," said Odd.
"Was Milo doing something bad?" asked Yumi. "Did he give you reasons to want to do this sort of thing?"
"No, Milo didn't do anything bad, and I wasn't—"
"If Milo didn't do anything bad, you were cheating!" shouted Yumi, her eyes filling with tears. "You're a whore!"
"Whoa," said Ulrich. "Don't go too far on this. How do we know Aelita's lying? Maybe Jeremy did attack her."
"Oh, come on," said Odd. "'This isn't what it looks like' is the worst response ever."
"But don't you think Jeremy might have been acting a little too slick through this whole thing?" argued Ulrich. "A little too prepared? We know he just broke up with Emily—"
"Which gave Aelita the perfect opportunity to get back with him," said Yumi, still barely keeping her tears in her eyes. "Maybe they were even dating when Jeremy was dating Emily too. Maybe they're both cheaters. But that doesn't make Aelita any less guilty!"
"We don't know whether Jeremy attacked her or not!" said Ulrich again. "Think about it. What would Aelita stand to gain from lying if she knew Jeremy was openly admitting she had been cheating? If Aelita's story is true, Jeremy is lying and easily gaining Aelita. We, playing stooges, don't let her see Milo until she can prove things. Their relationship decays as every day Milo grows more certain Aelita is cheating. Aelita knows we're furious at her and Yumi thinks she's a whore, so she has to turn to Jeremy, which is what he wanted all along. Doesn't that seem a little too convenient for Jeremy?"
"But the flaw is if that's true, Aelita would hate Jeremy for screwing up everything," said Yumi loudly. "Why would she turn to him? Jeremy could figure that out!"
"Unless he thinks that Aelita likes him back," said Odd, picking up the train of thought. "He might think his kiss enthralled her, made her like him even through everything he's done."
"All right," said Yumi. "Let me get this straight. Either Jeremy attacked Aelita or Aelita is an adulteress?"
"Aside from the fact that adultery only applies when you're married, that's the general idea," said Aelita. "And I'm not an adulteress. Therefore Jeremy attacked me."
"We have to go talk to Jeremy about this," said Odd. "Aelita, I'm convinced. I say you can see Milo."
"I think you're innocent. I say go in," said Ulrich.
"I'm not so sure," said Yumi. "But go in. Convince Milo and you have a majority of four to one. Plus undecided me."
"What happens if I have a minority that believes me?" asked Aelita.
"Expulsion from the group," said Odd. "Until further notice. But don't worry. Milo will join your cause. Besides, the worst that could happen at this point is a tie, if Milo and Yumi go on Jeremy's side. Go in." Aelita walked into the room. Milo was sitting at his laptop on his desk, typing furiously.
"You know," he said, looking up at her. "If you wanted to date Jeremy instead of me, you could have just said so. There was no need to cheat."
"That's what I'm here about," said Aelita. "I swear to you on whatever in the universe you like, I did not cheat on you."
"Swear on yourself," said Milo bitterly. "Know forever that if you're lying now, you are unworthy to be in this universe, and everyone knows it. Take that vow and I'll believe you, because I don't think you could live with the guilt of knowing everyone hated you."
"I swear on my self, my honor, my integrity, and my innocence," said Aelita. "Further more I plan to get back at Jeremy for attacking my self, challenging my honor, throwing my integrity into question, and tainting my innocence."
"Was that an oath of revenge?"
"Yes. And it's well deserved. Yumi thinks I'm a whore."
"I know this is undeserved, but just to be sure, you're not a whore, are you?"
"No. And I do deserve that for letting Jeremy within ten feet of me."
"Let's go ask Jeremy about this," said Milo with a grin. He took Aelita's hand, and they walked out the door to find Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, and Juanita. Odd and Ulrich were holding Jeremy by the shoulders, and he was struggling to get away. Yumi and Juanita were holding another Jeremy down, and he was also struggling to get away.
"Milo," said Juanita. "One of them is the Man in Grey."