Hey, everybody! It's been a while. I've been quite busy (not much has really changed) but with a school break, I now have time to finally type this chapter. This might be another all nigther for me, but if I get this done now, I'll be a step closer to a part of the story that I really want to get to.

So here's chapter 13: Bad Vibes of Things to Come

It was the following day of the rather eventful and uneasy party that was held in celebration of Stern Co. absorbing the United King of Gaming Company, and to say the least, things hadn't really improved since then.

Yumi burst through the door, tired and angry. She flung her purse onto the couch and proceeded to her bedroom. Aelita and Sam entered in after her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sam yelled, cutting the silence that choked the trio from the ride home up until now.

"I'm going to bed, it that's okay with you." Yumi replied not even looking in Sam's way.

"You're avoiding us and you know it."

"If I wanted to avoid you, I wouldn't have ridden in the same car with you guys."

"But, Yumi, we need to talk." Aelita spoke up.

Yumi finally turned around. "We had ample time to talk on the way here. If you really wanted to talk, you should've done it then. But right now, I'm tired, and I don't have time for prattle. I'm sorry for what Zander said to you, Ae, but that doesn't mean you two have been wrong in isolating him." With that, Yumi closed the door behind her.

Aelita stared at the door in despair. Sam threw her purse across the room and sat on the sofa, pushing Yumi's purse onto the floor.

"Y-you're not going to bed?" Aelita asked.

"I'm not going anywhere near that naïve little brat." Sam spat.

"Sam."

"I'm sorry, Aelita. But Yumi's still the same lonely girl she's been when we met her. She's still pining over Zander, and I can't stand it!"

"But it's not entirely her fault."

"She didn't do a thing when Zander made that comment about you!" Sam yelled. Aelita flinched as the moment vividly replayed in her head.

"But yelling at her and isolating her is not how to handle it! It hurt when he said that, but I refuse to be in the middle of this anymore." Aelita shook her head as if she were trying to shake something of her. "Not again."

"I'm sorry, Ae."

"Don't say sorry to me. Apologize to Yumi. Whether she admits it or not, she's going to need us a lot more if we want her to finally let go of Zander." Sam hung her head in silence. Aelita sighed and retreated into the bedroom. Upon entering, she saw Yumi under the covers of her bed, feigning sleep. "I know you're awake, Yumi. You don't have to say anything. Just know that I'm here for you. And even though Sam doesn't act like it, we both know that she's here for the both of us always." With that Aelita left the Japanese girl alone. Yumi remained in the bed. She didn't dare turn leave this force field. She was confused and didn't know what she should do.

When Yumi woke up, she noticed that Aelita was in her bed sleeping. She had the middle bed. Yumi slept on the opposite side of the door, and Sam slept nearest to it. It never occurred to her before, but no matter what was going on, Aelita was always in the middle. Yumi looked at the picture that was on the windowsill next to her bed. It was when they were still in high school. Even in that picture, she was still in the middle. Sam's bed was untouched.

Once she got dressed for work, Yumi exited the bedroom and saw Sam sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in hand. Yumi quietly made her way over to the door.

"Yumi." Sam called before she opened the door, voice cracking.

"What?" Yumi asked, her voice also cracking.

"I was out of line last night. I'm sorry."

Yumi smiled. "I was at fault too. I'm sorry just as much as you are." Sam smiled back. Yumi then left the apartment. When the door closed behind her, Yumi frowned. She and Sam knew what was really being said.

"Let's not fight for Aelita's sake." Nothing was solved. Nothing was fixed. But they knew that what Yumi had said was true. She was just as sorry as Sam was because, truth be told, neither of them was actually sorry for what was said.

Yumi entered the office, hoping to escape from the rather dismal mood she was finding herself falling into. Hopefully, Ulrich could cheer her up.

"Hey, Yumi." Ulrich called from his own office. He was busily typing away at his desk. Yumi returned his greeting. "So were things with Sam and Aelita?"

"You'll be glad to know that Sam and I have apologized to each other."

"That's good. Is Aelita alright?"

"She may not look it, but she's a tough little girl."

"Glad to hear it." Ulrich said as he smiled at her. He finally turned away from his computer and looked at Yumi. "It's good to know that you won't be talking to Zander anymore."

Yumi frowned. Why couldn't she have just one moment of peace? "What do you mean?"

"I may not know Sam for long, but she's never going to truly forgive you or apologize until she knows that you're done with Zander."

Darn him. He was right. "You could be one heck of a detective. Your deducting skills are phenomenal.

Ulrich shrugged. "I hang around Sissi too much. So why are you and Sam throwing around apologies when you don't even mean them?"

Yumi felt her stomach lurch. She felt like she was on one of those magic shows, and she was the unlucky assistant who was stuck in the box that the magician likes to stick swords into. It felt like the magician made a slight error in sticking one of the swords in to say the least.

"What makes you say that?"

"If you really had decided to stop seeing Zander, you wouldn't have made such a sarcastic remark. You would've said something along the lines of, 'he's not that important to me anyways,' or, 'I don't have time to deal with some sniveling ex.'"

Ulrich knew her too well. She really needed to get more friends. Preferably ones who didn't hate Zander so much or who would at least stop pestering her every chance they got.

"There's nothing wrong with Zander. So why should I stop hanging out with him?"

"You're right. Any guy who can make Aelita burst into tears and have you and Sam at each other's throats is a dear saint. You have excellent taste in men." That last comment shoved a sword into her chest. But not into her heart.

"My private life is none of your concern." Yumi said as she left the entryway of Ulrich's office and sat at her own desk. Ulrich simply walked out of his own office. He wasn't done yet.

"As your boss, I need you in prime condition. That means I can't have your mind wondering off about problems between your friends when it needs to be on your work. But I could care less about my role as your boss. As your friend—at least I think we're friends—I care about you deeply, and it pains me to see you fighting with your two best friends in the entire world.

"I'm only fighting with Sam."

"Right, Aelita's just going to watch you two tear each other into shreds. And I'm sure she's all for you going out with a guy who made her cry and who seems to have caused a rift with between the three of you before. Not to mention he's a total jackass."

"What is your problem!" Yumi snapped. "If you were my friend, you'd stop taking these stabs at me, and let me live my life."

"Friends don't watch the ones they care for voluntarily destroy their lives."

"I'm not destroying my life! I'm not even going see Zander anymore anyways."

"Only because he's going back to Britain, right?"

"No, because I don't care about what happens him."

"It all makes sense now." Ulrich said with a smirk on his face. "You don't care about any of the people you love. That's why it doesn't anger you when Aelita cries. That's how you can lie to Sam's face and tell her you're sorry. That's why you're so blindly in love with Zander."

"Just stop it! Please!" Yumi said, her voice cracking for a second time that day.

"You can't run away from this. Mainly because Zander's not going back to Britain."

Yumi turned around. "He's not? Why?"

"He's overseeing the integration process of my company consuming the European gaming companies. So he's going to be in this very same building, making sure everything is going smoothly with the transitions and all." Yumi's eyes grew bigger. Her mouth was open, but she quite speechless. Ulrich frowned. "I at least thought that the prospect of knowing that your dear sweetheart was in the same building would put a smile on your face. I guess I won't be seeing that smile today, huh? Such a shame. It's such a cute smile. Do what you want, Yumi. I told you my thoughts. I can only hope that you give into reason." Ulrich returned to his office, and they worked in silence for the remainder of the day.

When lunch break came, Yumi eagerly left the confines of the office to eat. Hopefully Sissi wouldn't give her such a hard time. She was normally more understanding (or at least more tactful) when it came to such matters. Plus she wanted Sissi's opinion of the whole thing.

"He's a jerk." Sissi said when Yumi arrived at the table that they ate together at.

"Who's a jerk?" Yumi asked.

"Zander. That's what you were going to ask me, right? How I felt about Zander? He's a jerk. He used to steal my applesauce when we were in kindergarten. Now he's out stealing the hearts and souls of those who naively sacrifice them for his own gain.

Yumi frowned. Why couldn't she just have one person make her feel like she was in the right?

"Please don't talk." Yumi mumbled.

Sissi sighed. "I won't say anymore on how I feel about Zander. But you need to decided which is more important. Zander or your friends. And I'm not talking about just Aelita and Sam. Ulrich included. Possibly Jeremie because of that comment that made Aelita cry. And then there's Odd who'll reluctantly disassociate himself from you just to make Sam happy."

"I get it! If I pick Zander, everyone will hate me!"

"I won't." Sissi said bluntly. Yumi beamed. She was a true goddess.

"I know how it is to be blindly in love. I was that way for years with Ulrich. But Ulrich's sweet, and he never hurt me. Well, not until that whore Emily came along, but that was just a big, giant ugly bump in the road. Now Zander, he's a different story. He'll suck all of the life and energy out of you, and then throw you away. Just like the way he did every single cup of applesauce he stole from me. And everyone else he's used, I suppose."

Yumi frowned. She was a true demon.

"Just one question, Sissi." Yumi said. "How did you even know I was going to talk to you about any of this."

"I have my ways. As a lawyer and as the legal representative of this company, I have to know all of the goings on in the lives of every individual that walks through the double doors of this building."

"Well, thanks for your input, Sissi. I appreciate knowing that we can still be friends IF, and only if, I pick Zander."

"You're welcome." Sissi said as Yumi stood up and walked away. "Just don't ask me for any money, he takes it away from you! And whatever you do, don't let him anywhere near your applesauce!" Yumi laughed. "I'm serious!"

Yumi was quite proud of herself. She didn't know how she did it, but she got through the day even though everyone was against her. Why was she the only one who was willing to give Zander a chance? She'd admit that he was quite rude and overbearing, but she could not deny the fact that Zander was always there for her. He was the only boyfriend that actually acted as if he really enjoyed being with her. He made her happy, and when she was with him, she was madly in love with him. She only ended it because she didn't want to be without Aelita and Sam. But why did she have to be the one to sacrifice her own happiness just for the sake of their own?

Yumi was too deep in her thoughts, to notice the car that was pulling out of a parking space in the parking garage. Yumi screamed as she stumbled backwards. The car came to an abrupt stop.

"Yumi, you're dumber than a deer!" Zander said as he got out of his car.

"Oh, Zander." Yumi said. His comment finally registered. "I was hoping you'd swerve and hit the car next to you."

"So spiteful." Zander said. "How have you been?"

"It's unbearable. Everyone's getting on me about not hating you."

"Well why shouldn't you? Everybody else hates me."

"They don't get you."

"Sometimes I don't get myself." Zander commented.

"If anyone did, they'd probably suffer from about three mental disorders."

"I missed your cold insults. They were so cold; they tended to feel a bit hot."

A slight blush appeared on Yumi's cheeks. "Your comments always seemed to challenge me though. I miss our little insult bouts. They were fun."

"Honestly, Yumi, I miss you."

"I missed you too."

"Hey, give me your phone number, and I'll give you mine." Zander said as he pulled out his phone. Yumi hesitated. "What, you're gonna start hating me too?"

"No, it's just that . . ."

"You don't want to make anyone upset. Well what about me, Yumi? I've been miserable without my partner in crime."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'm always making changes for everyone else, but no one cares to think about how you or I feel." Yumi said as she pulled out her phone. They exchanged phone numbers.

"I'm really glad I found you again." Zander said as he stepped back into his car. And drove off.

That's it! It's a bit short compared to some of the longer ones. It's more of a set up chapter, and the next will have more progress in it, but the next few chapters are pretty much setting things up for the bigger events that'll be taking place. But of course, you'll want to read them for all of the details as to what's going on. I'm sure you knew that though.

I did finally write a small outline for how I wanted things to go. Remember when I said that it would take a while for this chapter to come up if I changed or added things? Well I did (sorry but it'll be much better this way). But that's no longer a problem. I'm not changing anything unless it's something that takes place AFTER the small outline that I wrote. I'm sticking to it, and that's final. I hope to have the next chapter up hopefully by early March. I'm going to try and update at least twice a month starting in March as well. I don't know if I'll even stick to that, but by setting the goal, I'll be more apt to type and you'll get your chapters sooner regardless.

Well, enough prattling, here's a little insight on the next chapter

It takes place a month later, and things haven't really turned out that well. Well not the way I'm sure you'd want them to go. The business is still expanding and there'll be updates on people that haven't been heard from in quite a while.

Just to let you know, I might combine the next two chapters, but only if I feel that the next one's too short. Yes, this was a completely impulsive decision, but it's not changing anything in the storyline. It's just speeding things up (and making me have to type more). Well Happy President's Day!