Note: I've re-uploaded chapter 5 with this update since I needed to make a couple of changes. First I corrected Odd's homeland (thanks to AussieUlrich for pointing that out) and second I changed the time of the J/A reconciliation to 9:00 to better fit what I want to happen.
Note 2: A quick reminder, the group has been executing a return to the past every day starting from last week's Thursday. The Friday mentioned below is actually 18 days since the Thursday mentioned in chap 5.
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Kadic Academy, Dorm building, Hallway, Friday 9:20 PM: While waiting in the hallway, Sissy tried to make sense of what was happening. She wasn't totally oblivious to the world around her and she had a few facts gathered together. First, Ulrich had done an awful lot of 'detention' with a laundry list of his teachers. No sooner than he was out of detention did Jeremy, Aelita or Yumi immerse him in more school work. In fact he had spent all last weekend doing homework or studying with one or more of them. Second, the way his group of friends were acting, especially towards the end of the week, suggested that none of them were getting enough sleep. But they weren't dodging curfew, she had managed to keep watch on Wednesday and Thursday. Now on top of that there was the fight she had just overheard. Her thoughts were interrupted by the pins and needles sensation of her foot falling asleep.
She got up, and limped to one end of the hallway, working the pain out of her foot as she walked. Once the pain was gone she turned back towards Jeremy's room and started to walk back. As she did she saw Ulrich headed for his room. He was walking slowly, the slumped shoulders and bowed head making him look depressed. She continued past Jeremy's room and purposely bumped into him, allowing herself to stumble and fall to the ground. Anger flashed through her as Ulrich laughed at her fall and said, harshly, "why don't you watch where you're going."
Sissy picked herself up and grabbed his shoulder stopping him. As he spun around to confront her she said: "Your coming with me and explaining what's going on with you and your group."
Ulrich pulled himself away. "No I'm not."
Sissy let out an exasperated sigh and decided to see if she could convince him otherwise. "Do you know what Jeremy and Aelita are doing right now?" The question was asked in a hushed voice suggesting he wouldn't want the answer spread through the school.
"No, and it's none of my business." Ulrich replied in flat tone.
"Their sleeping together." Sissy said in a low and suggestive tone, "And I've got proof." She waved her camera phone around for emphasis. "If you want that to stay between us, I suggest you reconsider your answer."
Ulrich's shock was apparent as he said "They're doing what!?"
"They're sleeping together, no do you want me to tell my father or not" Sissy answered, sounding rather annoyed.
"You'll get them expelled!" Ulrich replied in a voice that said he wasn't quite sure that was a bad thing.
"Yes, I imagine that's what would happen. Unless you want to save their academic career?" Sissy said with an evil smile. "All I'm asking is for you to talk to me. Not too much to ask for your tutors, right?"
"Fine," Ulrich grudgingly agreed, "I'll talk with you. "
"Great, we can use my room for a little privacy. And that's not a suggestion that's a condition." Sissy said as she tugged on his shirt, leading him upstairs.
She watched Ulrich drop unto her bed and just sit there. He looked, broken. That was the only word she could come up with. His shoulders were slumped and he wasn't holding his head upright. His face held a frown and his chocolate eyes were downcast and dark. He was fidgeting nervously, clearly uncomfortable with his situation. As Sissy looked him over, compassion began to seep into her consciousness. As her kinder nature took hold her original reason for bringing him here evaporated. Holding her phone so that Ulrich could see the display she pulled up the picture she had of Jeremy and Aelita asleep on each other's shoulder and deleted it. "That was my evidence against the Einstein's" she said softly, "I won't be getting them in trouble however this ends. Now Ulrich, what's wrong with you? Is there anything I can do to help?"
Normally, Ulrich wouldn't have given her a second thought. But she sounded so different, so sincere. The usual air of selfishness was gone, replaced with genuine concern. He should still be keeping his secrets but he was tired and at the end of his rope. Broken in a way that XANA had never managed, Ulrich answered honestly. "I'm a failure," he said, "I couldn't keep up and now it's over."
"Whoa... What do you mean you're a failure?" Sissy asked, very surprised to hear him say such a thing.
"I couldn't keep up with the work. Two weeks in and already I've lost," Ulrich replied despondently.
"I still don't understand. I assume you're talking about your studies but what does falling a little behind cost you now that it hasn't before?"
"Everything. My friends, my family. All gone. All because I couldn't keep up with my school work. All because I'm not good enough." He buried his face in his hands, ashamed of both the breakdown he was having and his failure.
Sissy scooted closer to Ulrich and put her arm around him, savoring the feeling of doing so after dreaming about it for so long. "Ulrich I know those friends of yours are important to you and I think you're important to all of them as well. They won't desert you over a missed homework assignment. Neither will your family, they'll always love you."
"You don't understand, my father demands and accepts nothing less than absolute perfection. When he doesn't get it I'll be the one leaving. He'll pull me out of school and disown me." Ulrich replied, choking back a sob.
Sissy looked over at Ulrich, amazed that he was having this sort of breakdown. He was always so tough and brave, but to see him like this? She had no idea what to do. "Ulrich is there anything I can do to help?" Her voice was low and as gentle as she could manage.
"Nothing. It's over. My life is ruined, I couldn't live up to my father's expectations, couldn't live up to Yumi's expectations." He stopped there, unable to continue. He started to cry.
Sissy pried his hands away from his face and pulled his head to her shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her and cried into his shoulder, letting out all the stress and frustration of the past week. Sissy held him while he cried and gently stroking his hair and back until he fell asleep. Very carefully she laid him down on the bed and removed his shoes. She put a pillow under his head then laid down beside him. She wrapped an arm around him and held him close, not wanting him to be alone. She laid there beside him, trying to settle her own emotions: The rage against his so called friends who let him get to this point, happiness that he had chosen her to go to, sorrow at seeing him in this state, satisfaction that she had comforted him. Eventually his calm, rhythmic breathing got to her and lulled her to sleep.
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Kadic Academy, Jeremy's room, Friday 9:40 PM: Odd slipped into Jeremy's room after two quiet knocks didn't get him a response and found Jeremy and Aelita asleep on one another's shoulder. A mischievous smirk grew on Odd's face as he got out his phone to get a picture of the sleeping couple. That turned into a frown as his phone repeatedly refused to give him a picture in the darkness of Jeremy's room. Shaking his head at his bad luck he decided not to wake them up by turning on the room light or using his phone's flash. He slipped back out of the room and went back to his, still wondering where Ulrich was.
Jeremy woke up at 9:50 to the sound of his alarm and noticed that his room was dark, the door was fully closed and Aelita was still slumped on his shoulder. "Jeremy," she asked in a very low and tired voice, "can I stay here tonight?"
Jeremy reached over and shut off the alarm as he answered. "I... I don't think that's a good idea. Somebody knows your here because the light is off and the door is fully closed but neither of us did that." Of course, that was an excuse. He would have liked nothing better than to sleep with his angel again, but the thought was making him nervous as well. The two nights he had held her as she slept had felt wonderful but now there was a new variable, lust. Even though he expected nothing to happen, the fact that some part of him was thinking along those lines was making him uncomfortable.
Aelita took a moment to process that revelation and scanned her memories, coming to the very sad conclusion that he was probably right. If she didn't feel tired, weak and sore from the nearly eighteen straight trips to Lyoko and nine returns to the past she would have agreed with him and left for her own room. But tonight she wanted nothing more than to collapse back to sleep right where she was. "Please, I don't have the energy to go upstairs," she pleaded.
There was the slight problem of who had found them together. Then again it was before curfew and thus ok for her to be there. There was still the possibility of whoever had found them turning them in later, or early in the morning. "Aelita if someone finds out we could get expelled. We already have one recorded incident of being caught together after hours." Jeremy wondered if he sounded as nervous as he felt. His argument didn't sound very convincing and given how bad Aelita sounded he simply didn't have the heart to deny her. If she answered that she wanted to stay, that's what was going to happen.
"Another return to the past, I guess" she answered with a yawn. With nothing but darkness she could feel her eyelids getting too heavy to keep open. She had a feeling that even in a bright room she would be able to nod off at any second. "Please," she added.
Jeremy relented, having thought of an option that would look a lot more innocent if they were discovered. "Ok, you can stay here, let me up so that I can get a pillow and a blanket. You can have the bed, I'll take the floor."
"No, we can share the bed. I trust you." Aelita replied, sounding like she was a little more awake and a touch angry at his suggestion.
"Are... Are you sure? I mean I'll be fine on the floor and..." Jeremy stammered out in as low a voice as he could manage then stopped as he realized that she wasn't going to take no for an answer.
Sure enough she replied with: "I'm sure," as she pulled away from Jeremy and bent down to take off her boots.
Jeremy took her boots and placed them in the corner with his shoes while Aelita got up and pulled back the covers. He set the alarm so that it would go off forty minutes early and got into bed as he saw the silhouette that was Aelita gesture impatiently. Aelita laid herself down beside him and whispered goodnight as she fell asleep. Jeremy forced himself to concentrate on Aelita's breathing, allowing her breathing to lull him to sleep.
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Kadic Academy, Odd's room, Friday 9:45 PM: Odd looked around his empty room and wondered where Ulrich was. Looking around, it was clear that he hadn't returned to the room as his desk was untouched and his bag wasn't present. He opened his phone and dialed Ulrich's number, dismayed as the call went straight to voice mail. Odd looked out his window into the dark, cold night and wondered if Ulrich had gone to the forest to sulk like he usually did. Cursing to himself he grabbed a flashlight and his winter coat then headed out the door. Before making it out of the dorms though he thought to call Yumi. Her phone rang for a while then went to voice mail. After several more attempts he decided that Yumi was screening her calls. He assumed that Ulrich was with Yumi, and that they were making up for the fight that had occurred. He returned to his room, took off his coat and put it away. Changing and getting into bed he spared a few thoughts at how lucky everyone else was. Jeremy and Aelita were right here whenever they needed or wanted each other. Yumi wasn't that far away from Ulrich. All he had was Sam's email address and phone number. He wished for some new students, he needed a few more girls to date now that he had the time. He briefly wished that XANA would come back, it had given him some much needed excitement and danger.
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Yumi's house, Bathroom, Friday 9:30 PM: Yumi settled into the tub and tried to let herself relax. She was still mad at Ulrich but now that she had calmed down she knew why. It wasn't that he had skipped out on the assignment. It wasn't even that he said he would be happy leaving school. She was pretty sure that he didn't want to leave. Of course, he did want an end to the work, they all did. No, she was upset that Ulrich wasn't letting her or anyone else help him deal with the stress. She'd tried to get him to open up, to let her help him as he did when her parents were fighting. Instead he resisted or carelessly blew off the issue. She knew him well enough to know that he was not fine, no matter how much he tried to assert that. That he wouldn't trust her to help him was a major problem.
Maybe though, she had been going about this the wrong way. But what else could she do? Talking about her problems made him protective and affectionate but seemed to prevent him from talking to her about his own issues. The subtle approach failed since Ulrich blew off the questions as not work related. Confronting him directly led to fighting, with him becoming very defensive. How were they supposed to get closer, as Ulrich himself said he wanted, if she was the only one sharing?
Maybe he was under too much stress, pushing so hard that it was impossible for him to see anything else. Jeremy had gotten that way more than once and Aelita had to forcibly save him from himself. Which reminded her that she needed to check up on them. While Jeremy and Aelita seemed to be weathering the storm better than her and Ulrich, it had to be taking its toll on them. She was actually grateful for having William back. He had been different since the death of XANA, more subdued. But he had been helpful to her two genius friends. She'd seen him carrying both their bags to and from the factory as well as around campus on occasion. From talking to Aelita, she also knew that he had taken a few trips into Lyoko to spare the two of them the physical stress of the transfer. She would have to thank him for his help, it couldn't be easy on him to help the group when it's goal was to help Ulrich.
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Kadic Academy, Jeremy's room, Saturday 6:50 AM: Jeremy and Aelita awoke to the sound of Jeremy's alarm clock which Jeremy automatically silenced. As he opened his eyes he saw pink. Aelita's hair, he remembered as the sleep left his mind. He noticed that overnight they had shifted closer and she was now resting lightly against him. "Good morning my angel" Jeremy called out still a bit dreamy.
"Morning my prince" Aelita replied, blushing. She too noticed the change in her position. "Sleep well," she asked.
"Very." In fact he had slept better than he had all week. As the remnants of sleep left though, he started to regret that he hadn't pulled her against him and held her in his arms the entire night. Once again the thought of where that could eventually lead both thrilled and frightened him. He didn't want to take advantage of her, especially if there was any possibility that she wasn't in the type of love that could truly last. But he didn't want to be so shy that he pushed her away, making her think that he didn't love her or didn't want to get closer.
Aelita shifted away from him then rolled over so that she could face him. Her smile dropped a little as her eyes came to rest on his face, he looked nervous, a little scared and maybe a little regretful. She recognized the combination and spoke gently, "Jeremy, what's wrong? I didn't mean to push you last night, but I was so tired I just, I didn't have the energy to leave and we seemed to be getting so close, I just thought it would be ok. I never intended to make you uncomfortable."
Jeremy considered and decided that she deserved nothing less than the truth from him. "I want to be with you and at the same time I'm scared. I don't want to take advantage of you, of your gratitude, especially if you're not in love with me the way I hope you are. But if you are in love with me that way then I don't want to lose you because I'm too shy to advance our relationship." It wasn't the smoothest way to deliver that but at least he had told her.
Aelita listened to his explanation and understood. At one time her biggest fear was that she had been a drain on Jeremy's life, a burden that he didn't need to carry. He had convinced her otherwise. Now it was her turn to repay the favor. She needed to let Jeremy know that she loved him above and beyond anything he had done for her and that she was not put off by his shyness. The heat rising to her cheeks as she contemplated her answer was a good reminder that she was a still bit shy as well.
"Jeremy," she started off with a warm, loving voice while looking directly in his eyes. "I owe you more than I could even begin to repay. My life, my freedom, those are gifts on a level I can't even begin to describe. But that's not why I love you. I would trust you with my life in an instant, without even thinking about it, you've earned that and it's a good start . But I love you because you've proven yourself kind, loyal and brave. You help others before you help yourself. You've kept up the fight even when it looked hopeless. You've faced all your fears to battle for your friends. I've seen you nearly die to protect those you love and I know you would do it again without hesitation."
Aelita stopped as Jeremy reached out and so very gently wiped the tears that had formed in her eyes. She smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek, buying time try and recapture the thoughts his affectionate gesture had scattered, before continuing: "Do you have any idea what you do to me? You stand beside me and I feel as if anything is in my reach. You hold me and I know that whatever is wrong will be better because you'll be there to face it with me. You smile and I melt inside. You always find a way to show me the best qualities in myself, even when I don't see them."
Aelita took a short pause to compose herself. Jeremy waited, comprehension dawning in his eyes, a smile growing on his face. She could see that he was beginning to understand. She continued, speaking in a gentle voice: "I know you love me. You express it each time you compliment me, each time you make me laugh, each time you let me cry on your shoulder, each time you cry on mine. You should know I love you too, I express it the same ways you do. I love you Jeremy, because of all you are and not just because of all you've done."
Aelita took one more pause before continuing. "As for your shyness, I'll help you get over that. We've built the mental and emotional bonds we enjoy today together. We can grow into, and build, our physical relationship the same way. And Jeremy, I'm glad you feel that way because it tells me that anything we do is an expression of our love, our feelings for each other and not just empty physical pleasure that we'll come to regret."
Jeremy looked at Aelita, awe clear in his eyes and face. For a moment he lay there, stunned by Aelita's feelings and the effect he had on her. It was almost too good to be true that he could enhance her life as she had enhanced his. Yet she had said it and the look in her eyes, the expression on her face, told him that every word was the truth. Feeling a confidence he never before had, and unable to form the words he needed to express his reply he moved forward, pressing his lips to hers.
Joy. Pure joy surged through Aelita as Jeremy kissed her with a depth and passion that he had never before shown. As Jeremy continued to kiss her reality just melted away until all the universe consisted of only three things: herself, Jeremy, and the kiss. All too soon her lungs pulled her back to the real world by demanding air. She ignored them for as long as she could then pulled away, gasping for breath.
"Aelita, " Jeremy began through his panting, "I don't... I don't know what to say. Everything you"
"Shhh, " Aelita said, gently placing her finger over his lips again. "You've never kissed me like that before and that one kiss told me everything I need to know. Words, no matter how beautiful or eloquent, will just ruin the moment."
Jeremy thought for a few seconds, a mischievous glint forming in his eyes as he replied "did I just hear you say shut-up and kiss me again," in a flirty tone.
Aelita laughed, drawing a broad, bright smile from Jeremy. Once she stopped she took a breath then nodded yes. Without wasting any time he pressed a another passionate kiss to her lips, separating from her only when she needed to breath. He was about to go back for thirds when his alarm went off for the second time. He silenced it and, looking sadly at Aelita, said "I hate to cut this short but if you don't leave soon you'll get caught."
Aelita looked up at the clock and back to Jeremy, with a defeated sigh she got up off the bed and offered her hand to him. He took it and she helped pull him off of his bed. She put on her boots while Jeremy opened his door and checked the hallway. Seeing it was clear he motioned to her, signaling that it was ok to go. Aelita snuck back to her room undetected though she had to force herself to maintain a soundless pace, barely managing to contain the energy and giddiness in her body. Once she got back to her room she decided to grab a shower while she didn't have any competition.
Once Aelita was safely away Jeremy grabbed some clothes, his shower kit and proceeded to the showers. He was on cloud nine, the morning having gone better than he ever could have expected. He understood, in a way that he never had before, that Aelita loved him. He was also starting to realize that the shyness that he had always feared would ruin his relationship could be overcome. He had taken the first step in that direction and not only had she liked the result, she had asked for more.
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Kadic Academy, Sissy's room, Saturday 7:15 AM: Ulrich awoke feeling much better than he had in some time. Though he was still a little sleep muddled, he knew his head would clear. It also felt like someone had taken a weight off his shoulders and chest. He realized that he was in bed with someone, her arms wrapped securely around him. As the fog of sleep left him he began to remember last night. Last night he had fought with Yumi, been blackmailed by Sissy then cried on her shoulder after telling her what a failure he was. Now he was in her room, in her bed, nestled in her arms and suddenly he felt ill. Even though nothing had happened it could be argued that he had cheated on Yumi. Yet, he couldn't feel the total outrage that he should have felt. He had cried, proving himself to be a weak and miserable failure and Sissy had let him stay, even held him close. She hadn't rejected him or thrown him out, even though his father had assured him that that's what happened to people who weren't always perfect. That release had felt good in a way he never would have expected. But the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach wasn't going away, and it reminded him of how Yumi would feel about this. He needed to get away from here and think, figure out how to deal with this.
Sissy woke up to find Ulrich extracting himself from her grip. "Good morning" she greeted, sounding very happy. "Please, stay with me just a few more minutes," she pleaded.
"I'm sorry, but I can't get caught coming out of your room. Do you have any idea how much trouble we'll get in?"
"That's an excuse, my father"
"Will save you and expel me." Ulrich cut her off.
Sissy took a moment to think about it then agreed, showing Ulrich to his shoes and checking the hallway before allowing him out of her room. Alone with her thoughts she tried to wrap her head around what had just happened. She forced him up to her room and he had broken down in front of her, spilling what sounded like his deepest fears. Then he slept with her, allowing her to hold and comfort him. Now he looked ashamed of what he'd done. She looked down at herself, trying to settle her emotions. Last night she had been overjoyed that Ulrich had let her see him so vulnerable and that he allowed her to try and make him feel better. Now she felt used. He hadn't even thanked her for letting him spend the night and worse didn't even try to hide how disgusted he was with the fact.
Her selfish manner reasserted itself. She could use this to completely destroy the relationship between Yumi and Ulrich. Then Ulrich would have to beg her to be taken in. She wished she had proof of Ulrich's overnight stay, Yumi might not be easily convinced of Ulrich's mistake without it. Then she saw it, proof positive that Ulrich had spent the night. He had left his backpack behind in his haste. All she had to do was give it back to him at breakfast. First though she hid it in a closet, just in case he came for it early. An evil grin formed on her face as she contemplated the results of her plan. Ulrich would lose Yumi in a big fight and she would be there to save him, like she had last night. Sissy went out to take her shower, finishing in record time so that she could alter her plan slightly. The cafeteria was a bad place to admit you spent the night with a boy, she would talk to his little group on the boy's floor instead.
Ulrich snuck to the stairwell and down the stairs to the boy's floor. As he emerged a plan was forming in his mind. He could run to the factory and execute a return to the past. Everyone would ask why and he could tell them that after the fight with Yumi he spent the night at the hermitage, or the factory, sulking. He would be the only one to remember his visit to Sissy and he could keep that a secret. It was perfect.
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Kadic Academy, Girls floor, Saturday 7:38 AM: Aelita left her room and paused as she saw Sissy leaving hers with a boy's backpack. As she approached Sissy she recognized the backpack as Ulrich's. Trusting Ulrich not to have cheated on Yumi and therefore assuming that Sissy had managed to steal it, she approached Sissy and tapped her shoulder. "What exactly are you doing with Ulrich's backpack," Aelita asked in a gruff voice.
Sissy's voice was full of smug satisfaction as she replied "I'm returning it, he spent the night with me and forgot to take it when he left this morning."
"He did what!?" Aelita just about yelled, her eyes narrowing in anger.
"He spent the night with his girlfriend. Now if you'll excuse me I need to give this back to him." Sissy didn't wait for a response and instead bolted towards the stairs. It took Aelita a few seconds to recover from her shock at and once she did she took off, running after Sissy. Aelita was unfortunate enough to have to doge another student coming out of her dorm room and the loss of just a few steps allowed Sissy to reach the stairwell first. Not wanting to fall herself or get into trouble by accidently tripping up Sissy, Aelita took the stairs at a slightly more measured pace than Sissy did.
Once Sissy heard the sound of Aelita running after her on the boy's floor she bolted again, running into William. Seeing Aelita running towards them, William held on to Sissy and allowed Aelita to catch up. Speaking sternly, William asked "what is going on here,... Sissy, why do you have Ulrich's backpack?"
"She stole it," Aelita accused.
"Ulrich left it behind when he snuck out of my room this morning." Sissy answered.
William looked at the two girls, and was about to ask if either had proof when the temporal wave hit.
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Author's note: At some point I will be writing up the meeting between the gang and Ulrich's parents. Since I'm not so good at making up names I'm going to ask for everybody's help. I need first names for both Ulrich's mother and father. If I use your suggestion you'll get credit in an author's note (yes, that's about the best I can do). If you don't feel like leaving me a review then PM me with your suggestion. Thanks.