"You're pretty."

"Jeremy, you're not in your right mind—"

He giggled and twirled a lock of her hair. "It's like… pink, and stuff." Then he stumbled against her, almost knocking the pinkette down.

"Jeremy," she moaned. "Stand up straight. Please."

He chuckled again, swaying on the spot. All of those shocks and getting thrown against the walls had apparently gotten to him, she'd said. She had deactivated the tower, only to come back to a Jeremy slumped on the cold floor of the computer lab. They had shaken him away, gently at first, then frantically until to their relief, he opened his eyes.

"Jeremy, are you okay?"
"…You're pretty."

It had become the blond's catchphrase. Aelita had gotten over her embarrassment and initial pink blushes, and the words now only served to remind her that he was far-gone.

"Will he be okay?"

"He should be, by tomorrow."

It's not like it hadn't happened before. This time Aelita's cheeks did color as she remembered the gym. She was stuck now, walking with him back to school, on account of the important tests Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi couldn't miss. She had some of the same tests. But being ahead as she was, Aelita was the only person that could stay behind to help Jeremy back without extreme consequences.

Except he wasn't quite it walking condition. She set him upright again with a grunt, wondering why in the world he would be so heavy if he were so scrawny. She wished she'd thought to set a return to the past.

She stumbled through the forest with him, not wanting to risk the climb down to the sewers. He'd been babbling nonsense all the way. Once or twice, when he stopped giggling ridiculously or swaying like a drunk, she thought he had gone back to being serious. But it was always some equally silly statement that had him dissolving into giggles again.

Blowing hair out of her face, forehead shining with perspiration, she looked at Jeremy. She wasn't going to fool herself—Jeremy was a genius. He wasn't the best socially, athletically, or romantically, sure. When it came to academics… he had more wit and intelligence one would expect from a teen his age.

So here was a great mind, reduced to comparing her hair to cotton candy.

Aelita knew that he would be mortified once he woke. She would have been too if she knew that she had been staggering around and giggling at other people's hair. Deciding that she would spare him most of the details while hanging onto them in case they became useful, she hooked an arm around his waist to keep him steady.

Miraculously, they made it to the dorms without getting caught. Aelita unslung Jeremy's arm from around her shoulder and leaned him against the wall, then collapsed against the wall herself, sighing.

Jeremy looked at her seriously. "Your hair is in your face."

She let out a breath. Normally she wouldn't have humored him, knowing how far into pointless conversation he could go, but it seemed okay now since they were close to his room. "Yeah," she said at last. "I know."

He peered at her. "I have hair in my face too." He said this quietly, as if it were a secret that he had confessed.

"So I've noticed."

They sat there in silence for a few moments. "You want to hear a secret?" he whispered solemnly, leaning closer to Aelita. They were close enough so that their arms were brushing.

"Sure." She shrugged, expecting something more about her hair or inquiries on whether Mr. Puck had finished his "elf cookies" yet.

He glanced around quickly, then beckoned a finger. Aelita rolled her eyes, smiling slightly, but leaned in a little closer with her ear toward him.

"You can't tell Aelita," he murmured.

"But I—okay, I promise," she said, quickly realizing that it was pointless to disagree with him. He beckoned again, and she leaned closer again until their cheeks were inches apart.

"I have a crush on Aelita."

"Alright, that's—wait, what?" She drew back sharply, staring at him to make sure she had heard him right.

He nodded shyly, a blush spreading across his face. "I like Aelita a lot. But I'm afraid to tell her."

Aelita suddenly wanted to jerk back from him. "But, J-Jeremy—"

"Shh," he said, looking at her fiercely. "You can't tell!"

"But you don't know what you're—"

"Shh," he insisted, putting a finger to his lips. Aelita stared at him, red-faced and stunned.

"I… but, you don't really…" She stammered. He's not in his right mind. That was it. That was right. It was just another piece of nonsense.

As Aelita stared at the serious look on his face, she wasn't so sure.

"Time… t-time to get you to bed," she managed hoarsely, bouncing up. She hauled him up again. It was easier this time, because he stood on his own.

He collapsed on his bed and apparently had the presence of mind to kick his shoes off. But not climb under the covers. Aelita sat in his computer chair, half-shocked, watching him for several moments.

"Uh… Why don't… why don't you want to tell Aelita… how you…?" She ventured.

Curled up on the bed, he blinked at her through half-open eyes. "Too shy," he mumbled, closing them. He still had his glasses on. "So pretty." He continued muttering under his breath, and Aelita thought she caught the words "teasing" and "rejection".

She walked over and carefully slid his glasses off, depositing them on the nightstand. He pawed at his face, stretched, and curled back up like a cat.

Aelita stared at him for several moments. Her heart felt full to bursting—he looked incredibly cute and innocent while he was asleep. If she didn't know him, she would not have considered that he occasionally had crushing stress or little sparks in his eyes that said he'd seen more than he should have.

And his confession. Her cheeks flared, and she cupped a hand to her mouth. Had he actually been serious? No, he couldn't have possibly been. She tried unsuccessfully to disregard it as she tugged the covers over him. He shifted for a second, then settled comfortably.

"Goodnight," she whispered finally, and left. She made it in time for the period before dinner, but she might as well have skipped it for all the good it did her.

They noticed her lack of concentration and stunned manner at dinner.

"Aelita, you've been quiet. Is there something the matter?" Yumi asked.

Aelita looked up, startled, from poking her fork at her mashed potatoes. She took a moment to answer. "No."

"Are you sure, Princess? It's not about Einstein, is it?" Odd asked, then grinned knowingly as she blushed. "What'd he do?"

She looked around the table at the expectant faces, some smirking but all smiling.

"Actually, I'd rather not talk about it."