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After the last class of the day, I headed outside to the vending machines where the gang was waiting for me. I walked over to them, noticing they were deep in conversation. Aelita saw me first; I smiled at her.

"Hey, Nara. We were just talking about the dance tomorrow," she smiled.

My smile, however, quickly faded. "What dance? Why doesn't anyone tell me these things?!"

"It's been on the bulletin board for the past two weeks," Jeremy pointed out.

"So. I never look at the bulletin board," I told him, making it sound like it was a fact that should be put in a textbook.

"Well, I have to get home, guys. See you tomorrow," Yumi stated, walking away.

"Well this is great. It's way too close to the dance for me to get a date in time," I complained. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ulrich elbow Odd slightly, as if in encouragement.

"Well, um, Nara, if you want, I mean, if you aren't busy, but if you don't want to, I wouldn't mind, but—" Odd stuttered.

"Come on, Odd, spit it out!" Ulrich yelled at him.

"Doyawannagotodadancewitme?" Odd asked so fast that the words merged together. Aelita, Jeremy, and Ulrich laughed slightly.

"Say again?" I asked.

Odd took a deep breath, "Do you want to go to the dance with me?" he asked extra slowly.

I smiled and blushed so my face was every shade of red, "I would love to go with you, Odd."

Aelita tugged on my arm and started pulling me away from the group, "Sorry, boys, but we have to pick out our outfits." We walked up to the girls' dorms and went into my room.

"So, Aelita, are you going to the dance?" I asked as she started to go through my closet.

"Yes," she answered, holding a white dress in her hand. "This is good," she said.

"Not my favorite," I told her. She put it back in the closet and went looking for another. "So, are you going with Jeremy?"

Although her face was hidden from me, I knew she was blushing. "Yes," she answered. She pulled a blue dress out of the closet, inspecting it a bit closer. "How about this one?" she asked, handing it to me.

I held it against my body; it ended just above my knees. "This one's good," I told her. I laid the dress on my bed and we headed for Aelita's room. When we got there, it was my turn to look through her stuff.

"So," I said, starting to look through her closet, "are Yumi and Ulrich going together?"

"Yeah," she answered plainly.

"I bet that is going to make Sissy mad," I stated. We both burst out laughing at this. I pulled a two piece outfit with a belt out of her closet, "How's this?" I asked.

"That's good," she replied.

"We are going to look so good at the dance," I said. She smiled and nodded.

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"I can't believe we got the Subsonics to play!" I heard Sissy shriek as we entered the gym.

"Sissy may be a pain, but it's still cool that she got them to play at a regular school dance," I said. Odd nodded in response.

"She does have her moments," he smiled.

"Let's go find the others," I suggested.

"Okay," he responded. We went off into the heart of the dance floor in search of the rest of the gang. We spotted them waiting for us by the stage.

"Hey, guys!" I shouted over the sound of the band. After a few minutes of talking, we decided that we would hit the dance floor.

"I'm gonna get a drink before we start," Odd said. "Do you want one?" he asked.

"No thanks, I'm good," I replied. "I'll wait here."

"Okay," he answered. I watched him disappear into the crowd. I leaned against the stage and bobbed my head up and down to the beat of the song. A few minutes passed and I started to wonder where he was. It doesn't take this long to get a drink, I thought. I started to scan the crowd in search of Odd. After a minute or so, I noticed the familiar blond hair in the crowd. But he wasn't trying to get back to the stage, he was dancing, and what's worse, he was dancing with another girl. Okay, calm yourself, Nara. I'm sure there is an explanation for this, I thought frantically.

I started to weave my way through the crowd, trying to keep the negative thoughts out of my head. I finally reached him and I put a hand on his shoulder, "What are you doing? I've been waiting for you." I said.

He smirked, "Well, keep waiting, I'm busy right now."

I couldn't believe my ears. "Well, um, do you want to dance?" I stammered.

"Why would I want to dance with you?" he asked coldly.

Tears started forming in my eyes, "Because I'm your date."

"Well not anymore," he smiled cruelly. "Consider yourself dumped, Nara."

My tears were about to fall, but I held them back. "If that's how you really feel, then fine! Be like that! I never want to see your face again!" I shouted. I ran at top speed out of the gym and went outside. Once outside, I walked over to a nearby bench and cried my eyes out. When it seemed like I could cry no more, I started singing.

----(imagine a sad song you like)----

I finished the song, and a single tear slipped down my cheek. I heard footsteps coming toward me and I looked up. I saw Ulrich walking towards me. I looked down again, knowing why he had come outside.

"You're a wonderful singer," Ulrich said to me.

"So I've been told. I don't do it often though," I answered.

"Are you okay, Nara?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm just fine," I replied sarcastically. "I'm completely okay with the fact that my date broke up with me and laughed about it."

Ulrich came up to me and sat down next to me on the bench. "I know Odd, he would never do this to you."

"Do you want me to get you an instant replay camera? He said it right to my face, and I doubt I misunderstood his words," I told him.

"I'll talk to him, maybe we can work this out," he said. "I'll get the guys and we'll work this out."

I just sat there, not making a sound. Ulrich stood up and started to walk into the school. Once he was out of sight, I touched my wristband and it glowed white. I closed my eyes and was transported to Lyoko.

--with the gang--

"Odd's not being himself, he would never hurt Nara like that," Ulrich explained to the gang.

"Do you think it's X.A.N.A.?" Yumi asked.

"I don't know, it could be," Ulrich replied.

"I'll check the super-scan," Jeremy said, heading to his dorm room.

"Well, where's Nara now?" Aelita asked as they stepped outside.

"I left her on that bench…over…there," Ulrich said as he stared at the bench. No one was sitting there. "This isn't good."

Jeremy came running towards them, laptop in hand. "X.A.N.A.'s activated a tower," he said once he reached the group.

"And Nara's disappeared," Yumi said.

"Let's get to the factory," Jeremy suggested.

"What about Odd?" Aelita asked.

"Something's wrong right now, and he's the cause for all we know. It's best to leave him out of this one," Ulrich explained.

"All right, let's go," Yumi said.

--with you--

I opened my eyes and found myself in the Polar Region of Lyoko. I ran across the ice plateau at top speed, running off all of my feelings and worries. I stopped when I was out of breath. I looked around me, and straight ahead I saw a cliff that led into the digital sea.

I started walking towards it, not really thinking of what I was doing. I reached the edge and started thinking of what had just happened to me, how my heart had been broken and then ripped from me. I never thought it would hurt this bad to have your heart broken, but this experience proved me wrong. I took another step towards the edge.

What can I go back to now?…another step closer…How can I face him again?…another step closer…Is there really anything left for me?…I took one last step towards the edge…First I lose my family, and now I've lost my best friend…I even thought he was more than that…but now… I could see over it now, I could see the digital sea flowing beneath me.

This is it, I thought as I peered over the edge. I took a deep breath, and leaned forward over the edge, letting gravity do its work by pulling me down. But I wasn't falling…I was suspended over the edge, someone holding my arm so I didn't fall any farther. I was pulled back onto the icy plain, and I just sat there, letting more tears fall down my cheeks.

"What were you thinking, Nara?" Ulrich asked angrily once he had let go of my arm.

"I don't know," I sobbed. "I just didn't want to go back."

"You should know, Odd was being controlled by X.A.N.A.," Yumi told me.

"What?" I asked as my face lit up with a glimmer of hope. So there was an explanation for his actions, I thought happily to myself.

"That's why we came here. We got worried that you weren't on the bench so we came to Lyoko, not only to deactivate the tower, but to find you," Aelita explained.

"Then where is Odd now?" I asked.

"I think I can answer that," I heard Jeremy's voice respond.

"What do you mean?" Ulrich asked.

"I mean that he is here at the factory," Jeremy replied. "I've locked him out for now, but that won't hold him for long."

"Well we'd better hurry," I said. "Which region is the tower in?"

"This one," Aelita replied. We all got on our vehicles, Aelita got on Odd's, and we sped off towards the tower.

"There's the tower!" I called out.

"And no monsters," Yumi pointed out.

"X.A.N.A. probably used a lot of energy possessing Odd, so he can't make any monsters," Aelita concluded. We reached the tower and Aelita jumped off of the overboard. She walked into the tower and after a minute or so, I heard Jeremy's voice.

"Return to the past now…"

(Rewind to the beginning of the dance)

"I can't believe we got the Subsonics to play!" I heard Sissy shriek for the second time. I looked to my side, knowing that Odd was going to be there.

"I did something bad, didn't I," he sighed.

"It wasn't really you, that's all that matters," I reassured him.

He smiled at me, "I'm glad you're my date, Nara."

"So am I," I answered. "So, what happened anyway? I mean, you went to get a drink, and then everything went haywire."

"Well, to tell you the truth, the last thing I remember is standing by the drink table, and then I noticed a spark by an outlet. Then it goes black from there," he told me.

I nodded. I saw the others by the stage again, but we didn't go to see them. Instead, Odd grabbed my hand and pulled me into the center of the dance floor. Everyone stopped dancing to watch us, annoying Sissy immensely.

Once the last song of the dance ended, we noticed the principal taking the microphone from the stand.

"I hope he doesn't start singing," I said in Odd's ear. He almost laughed, but he held it back because the principal was about to say something.

"The votes have been counted, and the King and Queen of tonight's dance are…" he paused as he opened an envelope. We saw Sissy already heading towards the stage. "…Odd Della-Robbia and Nara Sorori!"

"What?!" Sissy shrieked. Both Odd and I burst out laughing. Once we had stopped, we stepped onto the stage where we were both given crowns.

"Thanks for taking me, Odd," I smiled at Odd.

"Thanks for coming," he answered.

We both leaned closer to each other until our lips met. The entire gym erupted into applause, but I didn't hear any of it. I was too caught up in the kiss, and I wished it could go on forever. But then reality set in and we pulled away from each other. The crowd kept cheering for us, and I saw the faces of the gang in front. We stepped off of the stage and joined them.

I laughed a bit, "And here I thought that I wouldn't get a date in time." Everyone laughed at this as we all filed out of the gym.

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