"Err…you don't think it looks too… Oh, I don't know, much?"

Olivia was turning around in slow circles in front of her vanity mirror, twisting her head as far as it could go to check every detail of Kathryn's ensemble—a hand-me-down outfit, odd as it may be—and was a tad bit uncertain. No offense, it was her exact style that her two sisters rejected: a nice, punk-ish look, with some innocence thrown in to spice it up. Olivia would never know what it could be doing in Kathryn's closet, which was probably the flashiest colored piece of furniture she would ever encounter. Even her twin, Kayla, the Allen family jock, was speechless.

But the label was not the problem; it was the quantity. Olivia was wearing a black-and-gray tube top, which ended about an inch or so from the hemline of her tight jean Bermudas, also given a silver studded belt. Yumi had let her borrow an old pair of cerulean-blue shin-high boots, and was more than pleased that they went along well with her beautiful blue eyes, which were even brighter and more mysterious thanks to some dark brown eyeliner and a dusting of indigo eye shadow. To complete, she'd kept her pendant, which had been given a new gold chain by the ever-so loving Ruth.

Yumi turned her around to blow a piece of hair out of her face, flattening it down with a tiny drop of gel. Her friend was still wearing the normal boots, but replaced everything else with a short jean skirt and a black camisole with a fancy design in the corner. Her gold hoops clicked against her neck as she observed with mock seriousness.

"Not too much… you could have gone a bit down low on the eye shadow," she said quietly, and then began to laugh. "Don't worry! You look fantastic!"

Aelita was reapplying some pink lip gloss in the corner, and for the whole time she was spending at Olivia's, she kept giving Yumi and Olivia compliments on their more "outgoing" looks. And in return, Olivia smacked her head with a throw pillow. Aelita looked amazing, with her pink-and-green checkered mini-skirt going greatly with her hair and eyes. With it, she wore a bright green-collared shirt with rolled up cuffs, along with some diamond studs she borrowed from Olivia.

"It's not too much at all. Stop worrying, you're fine."

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure…?"

Yumi flicked away a tiny clump of indigo eye shadow, restyled a loose strand of hair, and then gave Olivia a playful tap on the temple. "There. Now you got yourself a chance at that beauty pageant."

Aelita laughed. "And I'm sure Odd and Ulrich won't be too disappointed when they see you two."

If there was anything Aelita had not said, she was only masking her disappointment that Jeremie would be skipping out on her. And, if there was anything that her two friends could do to make her feel better, it was cut off by Olivia's mother knocking on the door, announcing that she would be dropping them off.

-+-

Odd had to admit, the band playing was more than he bargained for. Typically, (or just a bad perspective from his hard rock, eighteen year old cousin Cole) all high school-made music groups just didn't seem to have that certain zest that the more "national icons" promoted. But these guys, going by the name of (1) Martyr Relief, had some pretty good potential. Everyone seemed to like them.

Looking around, Odd was just able to glimpse the light blue highlights in his girlfriend's hair near the stage. Next to her was Aelita, and surrounding them was the makings of a mosh pit, already screaming and singing along with the dark haired vocalist. Laughing, he turned away to give Olivia a bit of time to herself, just as he was going to treat the night with some good, old-fashioned snooping.

Oh, how he loved it.

Slipping through the bodies that were jumping and dancing wildly, Odd found himself near one of the corners in the gymnasium, ducking behind one of the snack tables. What was he hiding from, exactly? Well, only just the possible wrath of a very easily angered friend of his.

Yumi, who by the way was looking pretty amazing tonight, was standing rigidly, talking to her date.

Her voice was stern. "It's just too confusing for me right now." What was it about their relationship that made Yumi so frustrated? One minute they're the schools hottest couple, and then the next they seem to be the school's most destructive. Ulrich liked Yumi, and Yumi liked Ulrich; what was so difficult? Did they fight earlier?

Ulrich's eyes widened in disbelief, as if Yumi had sentenced his exile. "But you said--"

Odd didn't listen to the rest, purely out of boredom. This was just going to be another regular fight among them, but for some uncertain reason, Odd wasn't quite sure what the outcome would be.

-+-

"And I said to stop being so stubborn! Get up there, for goodness sake!"

Aelita gave Olivia a playful push towards the stage's stair case. By now Martyr Relief had taken a brake, which cued the next, more envious event: the beauty pageant.

Three participants were standing in the stage light, neither one so differently affected by the attention. From left to right started with Caroline Savorani, with hands on hips, gazed out at the crowd almost carelessly, sometimes letting out a long sigh to prove her point. Next was Sissi Delmas, occasionally shoving the others aside, more intent on winning this year just like every other year. And last, was Olivia, who at first was looking uncomfortable, then more disgusted as she shouldered Sissi away from her.

"And the winner," Mr. Delmas began, opening an envelope. "Caroline."

Aelita gave a small clap, watching with amusement as Sissi threw her fists down; her mouth opened in a silent "What!" By the reactions of the students, they seemed more surprised than Sissi herself, who was the principal's daughter, anyway. But of course, the next response to surprise was happiness.

"Did you see that?" Aelita jumped slightly. She hadn't noticed Olivia walking towards her, with her mind elsewhere. "I never would have thought losing something would be so hysterical." Aelita couldn't help noticing the bitter gleam that darkened her friend's eyes, as if she hadn't intended to blatantly bring up her old life. But she soon started smiling and laughing, making jokes on the look on Sissi's face after losing.

That reassured Aelita. "At least Caroline won, huh?" she pointed out cautiously.

Olivia opened her eyes, looking at her pink-haired friend. She stared at her in unconcealed puzzlement, but amidst there was a humorous smile. "Oh, sure. You really don't think I care about a pageant, do you?"

In some way or another, this made Aelita laugh. So typical Olivia, always surprising you with uncharacteristic answers. "I guess not." She turned around, squinting in the dim light to catch a glance at the clock on the opposite wall. "It's almost ten o'clock. The dance will be over soon."

Olivia suddenly looked more thoughtful, narrowing her eyes in deep concentration. To Aelita, she reminded her of those dramatic teenage girls she had seen in movies, always having an epiphany at the very end of some formal event. At a second glance, she found it hard to believe that Olivia looked more agitated, as if she were trying to remember something so vital that she might explode in a fit of bad-tempered grunts.

Then she spoke, her voice so low that Aelita had to ask her to say it again over Martyr Relief's second-to-last song. Olivia began fixing her hair, a nervous habit. "It's been three months to this day that I first met you guys."

Feeling a pang of fierce sympathy, Aelita leaned forward and gave her short hug.

"Come on," said Aelita, grabbing her hand and dragging her away from the stage, "let's go find the others."

-+-

Yumi had no idea what events had went from her and Ulrich trying to make up to standing outside, against the two maple trees, at night. The air was brisk and surprisingly chilly for June. A few small stars could be soon through the trees adjoining branches, along with a waning moon cast into the clouds, glowing an odd silvery-yellow against the dark leaves.

The whole gang was here. Even Jeremie, who Aelita had convinced to come out from his "cave of endless work" for who knows what, was there. Olivia and Odd took their places on the ground next to the smallest tree. Ulrich and Aelita were standing in the small space between them, and Yumi leaned against the second maple tree.

From the bright light coming from the opposite building, Yumi guessed that the dance was over. Soon, boarders would be herded back to their rooms and the day students would be picked up. That meant Yumi only had a short time to chat before her mother came to get her in… six minutes. Her mother made it clear that she would be there at exactly ten-fifteen.

"So…" Ulrich muttered, giving the ground a kick. "Why are we here again?" Yumi found herself asking the same question with mild irritation.

Aelita glanced at Olivia. "Well…summer vacation starts tomorrow. And we met Olivia here on her first day."

"We just thought this could be a little, as cheesy as it sounds, moment, before we all kind of disappear for a couple of months," Olivia added, her cheeks flushing. "I mean…I don't think I'll see you guys till August. Kayla and I are spending July in New York."

Empathy made Yumi's impatience melt away. For once, she looked at four of her friends with a new understanding. Jeremie, despite his absences, was considerate enough to take a break from his work to spend the few moments he had with his companions, quite knowing that it may be a while before they reunite next year. Aelita, with her stubbornness and quick thinking, was able to see through the depressing, yet drawing, words the Martyr Relief vocalist uttered to come to a realization. Odd, with all the quirky and uninterested habits he had, was able to learn what devotion and loyalty meant. Lastly there was Olivia, as broken and torn up as she was inside, could never have ignored what her new friends taught her.

But Yumi couldn't say the same about her and Ulrich. Both of them were too choked with pride to find any real meaning in any of this. Or find any real meaning for each other.

Yumi glanced at her date, whose brown eyes were trained on the ground. For the first time, she envied Odd's and Olivia's relationship, as well as the one blossoming between Aelita and Jeremie. She could easily picture them together for a long time, regardless of the parental advice that early bonds don't last long.

Maybe that was just there problem, her and Ulrich's. Perhaps they had proven that theory right and only needed time to work out dating and who-liked-who. But it was only a thought. Did Yumi really believe in happy endings?

"We may be separate for a little while over the summer," Jeremie pointed out, "but that doesn't mean we're gonna break apart."

"I agree." Yumi surprised herself with speaking firmly. She couldn't even scrap together a hint of doubt in her certainty. "I think we've proved that, if nothing else."

Aelita, Odd, and Olivia looked from Jeremie to Yumi with fierce joy shining in their differently colored eyes: a warm green from Aelita, a lively hazel that belonged to Odd, and a mysterious cerulean from Olivia. Even Ulrich managed to look up, smiling as he gazed at Yumi with barely suppressed admiration…and was even more surprised to feel her hands sweaty…but only a little.

And then…

…there was loud honking in the distance,

Yumi was eventually bombarded with hugs; Aelita and Olivia making her swear to call them if they weren't around, Jeremie too, but only as a "safety precaution" need be X.A.N.A got his head stuck in their business again. Odd amused himself by trying to shove Ulrich, who was a good few inches taller, closer to Yumi. He eventually gave in, and ended up nodding his head curtly as Yumi disappeared.

-+-

Ulrich, Aelita, and Jeremie had left soon after Yumi went home. That left Odd and Olivia still leaning against the tree trunks, shoulders touching and heads close together. Neither one had spoken a word, only listening to the gentle sounds of rhythmic heartbeats and the swaying of leaves.

Olivia took a big breath, reflecting on the pros and cons of moving to France had brought her.

Cons: Olivia still missed the last friends she had back in New York, who were still counting the days until she came to spend July with them. Along with that were the horrible weeks in which she had to endure Lyoko, feeling so free and able to run, only to figure out that she had been a temporary science experiment, built and created before she was born to protect Aelita.

Pros: She had made the best friends any girl could have.

Looking back at Odd, she almost jumped when he gave her a little kiss on the forehead. His smile calmed her nerves, and Olivia settled back against the trunk of the tree yet again. "My mom is coming soon."

"I know." Odd wrapped his arm around her shoulder, keeping her close to his shoulder as humanly possible.

Olivia laughed hoarsely, shoving him aside playfully. "It's only one summer, you know. It's not like I'm leaving forever!"

"I know!" The warm-hearted tone in Odd's voice betrayed his anxiety that Olivia described. But, he knew she was right. They still had plenty of school left…quite sadly.

And then Olivia looked at him again. "We all know."

I'm so glad I recovered from my writer's block. Anyhow, this is the end of the second-to-last chapter, and then Return of the Wolf will be finished. But watch out later for the sequel, The Resurgence.

(1) Martyr Relief is a made up band name I created. They don't really exist.

-O.D.R