Authors note: This one really didn't want to get written but after three revisions it's finished. Read and enjoy.

tranquilitygal95 - Thank you for the kind words. You hit the nail on the head, I really hadn't decided until now which way I wanted to take Yumi and Ulrich either. I've made up my mind though the answer ends up in chapter 9. Sorry.

AussieUlrich - You couldn't have told me that 30,000 words ago :-) It's a little too late to change this story but I'll keep that in mind for the future.

Kitty Bridgeta - Ok, this one is a bit shorter. Thank you for the name suggestions.

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Kadic Academy, Ulrich's room, Saturday 1:38 AM: Sissy was surprised to find the door to Ulrich and Odd's room unlocked. She slipped in and saw that Odd's bed looked unoccupied. She looked over to the other side of the room and saw Ulrich lying in his bed fast asleep. She silently closed and locked the door, hoping that she was not mistaken about earlier. She gently shook Ulrich's shoulder and put a single finger to his lips to, hopefully, silence any outburst of surprise. She succeeded in waking Ulrich but had to bite back a yelp of her own as Ulrich sat up quickly and grabbed then twisted her wrist. "Ulrich, it's me, Sissy." She said in a strained whisper.

"Sissy?" Ulrich whispered back as he released her wrist and let his hand fall back to his side. "What are you doing here," he asked in a harsh whisper.

She put a hand on Ulrich's shoulder and answered "I came to check on you. I just wanted to make sure you were ok." On a whim she traced down his arm, her fingertips gliding over his skin until she found his hand. She placed her palm against his and closed her fingers.

Ulrich shivered as pleasure collided with fear. He closed his hand around hers, welcoming the contact as much as restraining her from touching him like that again. As she stood there beside his bed he had a nice view of what her belly shirt wasn't covering. The shorts she wore weren't helping him concentrate either. "I'm um fine, thanks." He said in a shaky voice.

Sissy stood there as his hand closed around hers and began to stroke his hand with her thumb. After a couple of minutes she said "Ulrich?" In a soft, warm voice.

"Yeah?" He answered, sounding a bit distracted.

"Did... you want.... I mean I... I can stay if... you know... you want me to?" Sissy asked hesitantly and hopefully. She wanted to stay like this, enjoying the possibility that he was enjoying this. But she wanted more as well. She desperately hoped that he'd let her climb in bed with him and hold her as she slept. It had been such a powerful fantasy and now she was here, so very close to making it real.

Ulrich considered his options. He wanted to take her up on the offer, partly to know what it felt like to not sleep alone. Partly to satisfy at least some of the desire she was responsible for awakening in him. And partly because he felt guilty for the way he had used her the last time they lived this night, dumping all his stress unto her shoulders for her to bear. It didn't really matter that she didn't remember, he knew what he had done. Giving in and fulfilling that fantasy would make him even, at least in his mind.

But he doubted if there was any future with Yumi if he granted her request and it was surprising how much that still hurt him. There had been no uncertainty when Yumi told him it was over, her pained and angry words and voice made it clear. And yet she had always forgiven him in the past and that gave him hope. He looked up at Sissy who, he was sure though it was too dark to actually tell, was silently pleading with him to accept. He looked inward and wondered if he'd ever get over Yumi. He'd tried once, when she had said they were just friends, and failed miserably. And the truth was he didn't want to be over her, even now. He decided to try again with Yumi, at least once more. He wasn't sure he could live with himself if he didn't. This time though he would have to be tougher, would have to find a better release for when his stress got to be too much. Having made up his mind, he told Sissy no.

Reluctantly she let go of his hand and left the room as slowly as she thought he would tolerate, hoping that he would call her back. Her disappointment carried her through the hallway but as she climbed the stairs she thought of a way to ask again. She stopped at the girls landing and waited for what, she hoped, was a reasonable amount of time. Then she turned around and went back to Ulrich's door, knocking softly. She hoped the dim light would conceal the deception she was planning.

"One of the girls is up, I can't get past." She said, hoping there was enough worry in her voice to convince Ulrich and that he didn't realize she was faking it.

"What do you mean you can't get past her, just say you had to go to the bathroom."

"I don't think she'd believe that the bathroom is in the stairwell."

"You couldn't have waited in the stairwell until she went back into her own room?"

"She's pacing around, what if she caught me peaking on her from the stairwell?" She thought she had concealed her momentary panic well.

Ulrich blew out a frustrated breath "alright, you can stay here for a little bit and try to sneak back up later."

She immediately gave Ulrich a peck on the cheek and suppressed the gleeful chirp she wanted to make. She followed Ulrich back to his bed and sat down. "Hopefully she'll be asleep shortly then I can sneak back up," she said just a little to brightly.

Sissy left and came back twice, once after waiting in Ulrich's room for ten minutes and the second time after twenty. She finally convinced Ulrich to let her stay the night and set his alarm clock to go off early. She approached Ulrich's bed only to have to bite back an angry growl when Ulrich told her to sleep in Odd's bed. She approached her assigned bed, noticed Kiwi asleep on the pillow and grinned. She tried to shoo him off and got an angry growl. She tried again only to have him growl more loudly. She hid her smile and turned to Ulrich, "I don't think Kiwi's going to let me share the bed." She hoped that Ulrich didn't notice the happiness that had crept into her voice.

"Well I guess you can sleep on the floor. I have a sleeping bag around here somewhere." Ulrich said as he got out of bed and reached for the flashlight on his desk.

"No such thing as chivalry anymore?" Sissy retorted. "You know we can share the bed, I don't take up that much room." When he didn't change his mind she added "no one has to know." It sounded hollow even to her own ears. If she spent the night with Ulrich she wanted to brag, after all there was no point in being with the hottest guy at school if you couldn't show it off. She would grant that that wasn't the only thing valuable about Ulrich but it was important to her.

"Chivalry," Ulrich grunted, "well then you can take the bed and I'll sleep on the floor if that's what you want."

Sissy resigned herself to not having her fantasy fulfilled. "No, it's ok. You can have the bed and I'll take the floor." Some of her bitter disappointment spilled into the words.

Ulrich heard it and asked: "Are you sure? It really isn't a problem if you want the bed."

"I only wanted the bed because you were in it. I'm not some silly little princess that needs every imaginable comfort." It looked like Ulrich shook his head no, though it was difficult to tell. She watched as Ulrich began to unroll the sleeping bag he found.

Ulrich tried not to laugh as he unrolled the sleeping bag. It reminded him of the trip to the lake, of Sissy fussing about trying to live without electricity, multiple tons of makeup and her full wardrobe. Come to think of it, even Jeremy and Aelita had an easier time of camping. It probably helped that they went off on their own little nature walk after the assignments were complete. Aelita had even convinced him to leave the laptop behind. And that reminded him of all he wanted to have with Yumi but didn't. "Good night Sissy." He said a little too harshly as he got into bed. He tried to push the thoughts out of his head and sleep.

Sissy looked up at Ulrich's bed and knew something was wrong. She wondered if she had screwed up with her last line and pushed the thought aside. Forcing her voice neutral she replied "good night Ulrich." Sissy crawled into the sleeping bag and tried to sleep, the failure to secure her dream night making that difficult.

--

Kadic Academy, Jeremy's room, Saturday 5:31 AM: Aelita woke to find herself in Jeremy's bed, wrapped in his arms and face to face with him. She felt better, having had another night's sleep with the boy she loved and a conversation that had both eased her fears and raised her hopes for their future. She watched him sleep, careful to remain still so as not to wake him, for a few minutes before an idea presented itself. Blushing a little she decided to go for it.

Jeremy woke up as something soft and warm pressed itself against his lips. He breathed in, his nostrils filling with Aelita's personal scent. He opened his eyes and smiled into her kiss before returning it and they spent the next few minutes trading soft, sweet kisses. Aelita decided to try for a little bit more and began letting each kiss linger. Jeremy picked up on the hint and, finding the confidence he gained from their conversation on the previous morning, he began to deepen each kiss. Aelita responded positivity, giving Jeremy everything he needed to begin making out with her.

Before long they were lost in a world that was both created and filled by the love and sensation they were exchanging. Unfortunately, the real world eventually managed to invaded their little bubble in the form of Jeremy's alarm clock ringing. Jeremy pulled away reluctantly and reached out, swatting the snooze button.

With a devilish smile Aelita looked into his eyes and asked "Was that the snooze button?"

"Yes," he replied with a smirk before claiming her lips. Their make out session resumed where they had left off and continued until the alarm rang for the second time. This time it was Aelita who slowly pulled away and switched off the alarm. Looking at Jeremy with a satisfied grin she asked "did you enjoy your wakeup call?" Of course she didn't really need an answer, the look on his face told her everything.

"Very much." Jeremy replied, sounding like someone who just had one of his life's great dreams fulfilled.

"Good, so did I." Aelita gave Jeremy a very mischievous smile as she continued in a sly voice "are you sure that was your first time?"

Jeremy gave her a strange look and answered in a slightly shy voice. "Yes."

Aelita giggled, "have I ever told you how cute you are when you're flustered?"

Jeremy playfully slapped her arm, "have I ever told you how mean you are?"

"Me?" She asked faking a shocked tone. "Your precious, sweet angel, mean?"

"Yes you." Jeremy replied with mock seriousness.

"Jeremy!" Aelita replied, clearly faking her outrage. "How could you say something like that about me?"

Jeremy looked at the clock and realized that he needed to end this little game, although he regretted to do so. "Easy," Jeremy replied in a serious voice, "you know I love you and would never actually mean something like that."

Aelita took the hint, glanced over at the alarm clock herself and realized that it was indeed time for her to go. In a genuinely warm, loving voice she said "I do, and I wasn't joking or teasing with what I said earlier. In fact I'm looking forward to continuing where we left off at some point in the near future."

"As am I. Love ya princess."

"Love you too."

Jeremy checked the hallway and motioned to Aelita that it was safe. Without a sound, she slipped out the door and made her way back to her room. She again had to force herself to stay calm in order to make it back to her own room undetected. As she entered her empty room she realized that she did not yet actually live with Jeremy and wouldn't be able to spend every night with him. The simple fact was almost painful and she forced it from her mind, concentrating instead on making out with Jeremy for the first time. On reflection, it started out slow but had become everything she had hoped for and then some. It led to thoughts of how much farther they could go and while such thoughts filled her with excitement she could also feel a healthy dose of fear. She remembered words sent over an encrypted channel from her father telling her that she had time, that she didn't need to rush into anything. Her heart seemed to be telling her that in the fear she was feeling. She wondered if it would speak loudly enough if they got caught up in what they were doing. She wondered if it even mattered. They had faced death, both their own and each others, to get here. Surely they could handle sex, even if it came a little earlier than expected.

Jeremy went back to his bed and began to make it, his senses still tingling with the memory of making out with Aelita. A little bit of worry forced its way into this thoughts as they lingered on that. He had easily surrendered himself to what they were doing, and he assumed that she had as well. He felt his face heat up as he considered the possibility of going too far, of simply getting caught up in the moment and being unable to stop. It scared him, even though Aelita had just about said she was ready. He wondered if she really understood the possible consequences. It wasn't unreasonable to simply assume that they could handle the emotional ones considering all they had been through but if she got pregnant? He pushed away the worries and let himself focus on what they had so recently shared. He could talk to her later, discuss this in private and maybe with his parents if need be.

--

Kadic Academy, Ulrich's room, Saturday 6:30 AM: Sissy woke up and extracted herself from the sleeping bag she was in. Memories of last night, of how she had failed to convince Ulrich to sleep with her filtered into her consciousness. Resolving to handle this morning better she walked to the desk to shut off the alarm that had woken her. Her hand covered Ulrich's as he reached out to do the same. "Good morning" she greeted with a yawn. She stretched herself out, trying to overcome the stiffness in her muscles that resulted from sleeping on the floor. She hadn't even considered what she was doing and was overcome with excitement when she noticed Ulrich watching her shirt inch its way up her body. She continued stretching until she hit her limit and held the pose for as long as she could. As she returned to normal she thought she saw a flicker of disappointment flash across Ulrich's face. She smiled at the thought of Ulrich lusting after her even as it made her feel nervous and self conscious.

Ulrich had watched with great interest as Sissy's shirt rose and he couldn't hide all of his disappointment as her shirt fell back to its normal place. He was excited, embarrassed and ashamed all at once. It wasn't right to look at Sissy that way, especially since he wasn't yet ready to make her his girlfriend. The little show was definitely making some of him think twice about Yumi though. He pulled his attention away from Sissy's stomach and looked up at her face as he wished her a very awkward good morning. He got out of bed and began to offer an apology when he was cut off.

Sissy stopped his apology by stepping closer and wrapping her arms around his neck. Tilting her head up while gently pushing his head down until their lips met in a soft kiss. Instead of returning the kiss, Ulrich pulled away, leaving Sissy standing there with her hands on his shoulders looking dismayed. "Why. I saw."

"I'm sorry for looking at you like that." Ulrich apologized, ignoring her attempt to wave off his shame. "And I'm just not ready." Ulrich finished.

"Does this have anything to do with why you punched Odd or called yourself a failure last night? You're not you know. Not to me." She said as kindly as she could.

"Thank you, I'm glad you think so but no." Ulrich's smile faded as he continued "I need to talk over a few things with Yumi. I." Ulrich shook his head sadly, "Until I know where I stand with her I can't start anything else."

Sissy decided to not let this chance get away. She remembered how he had looked at her and said: "I bet Yumi won't let you do anything like this." Swallowing her discomfort, she pulled her shirt up a little and placed Ulrich's hand against her bare stomach.

Ulrich's mind went blank as he felt her hot stomach under his cool hand. He didn't move or speak or breath, he was simply lost in the rush of hormones and feelings that Sissy's action triggered. He had no idea how long he stood there frozen but as the torrent subsided he came to realize that there was something missing. He had no explanation for the feeling, it was just that he expected something more and it wasn't there. He was more relieved than disappointed when Sissy returned his hand to his side.

She held his hand pressed against her skin even as she her shirt fall back down, covering a few of his fingers. She had been lost in her own flood of emotions and as they faded she began to be able to process some of them. She was excited, few things had felt better than having Ulrich's hand pressed against her bare stomach. But as she looked up to face him she realized that he had a very different impression of what was happening. She shivered as she realized just what it was he might think she was offering. She carefully pulled his hand away from her skin and returned it to his side before letting go. She breathed deeply, unaware until now that she had been holding her breath.

Sissy backed away from Ulrich, noticing the shame and embarrassment written across his face. Without another word she turned and left the room. She was at war with herself as she made her way upstairs. She felt like a coward for chickening out on seducing Ulrich, so many of the girls on the television shows she liked to watch wouldn't have had a problem with finishing what she had started. But she was also grateful that he didn't take her up on the implied offer. However shallow others saw her as, she was well above trading herself for the privilege of parading Ulrich around the school as her pet.

--

Yumi's house, Saturday 8:50 AM: Yumi rushed out the door, anxious to get away from her mom's reminder that she would be late for class but in no hurry to get to school. She was not ready to face Ulrich or William though she knew she would have to. She was not ready to face a school day, having gotten almost no sleep as a result of her turmoil. She at least had some sort of decision in hand, she was going to avoid both boys while she straightened out her head. Afterwards, she might be able to give Ulrich another shot or see if any of her feelings towards William change.

Her hopes for a quiet, brisk walk to school were shattered as felt herself being followed. She quickened her pace but still felt as if she was still being pursued. Tensing for a fight She turned quickly to surprise whoever was behind her and saw William. He greeted her with a cheery good morning before she could say or do anything.

"Hi William," she replied in an aggravated voice. "Why are you here?"

"I just thought I'd walk you to school, see how you were doing in the process." William replied cordially.

"I'm fine, and I don't need an escort" she snapped.

"Pretend otherwise if you want but you just broke up with Ulrich who, despite your denial, was your boyfriend. It's ok to feel bad about it and."

Yumi cut him off, "I neither want nor need your pity."

William was stung by her tone but tried not to let it show. "Yumi, like it or not Ulrich will never love you the way you want him to. I will. There will be no hesitation, no reservations, and no doubts. I'll love you the way you deserve to be loved." As an afterthought he added "if you'll let me."

Yumi considered as she walked, but couldn't shake the doubt out of her head. She wasn't over Ulrich and wasn't ready to face what would happen if William wasn't as sincere as his words sounded or if he turned out to be just like Ulrich, unable to share himself fully but expecting her to. "I'm not ready to take that leap of faith so just leave me alone."

William, not about to let this chance slip away no matter how tough she sounded, decided to try again. "I'm not leaving you alone, you need help to get through this and since the rest of your friends are more interested in forcing you and Ulrich back together than in helping you get over him I want to help."

Yumi sighed in frustration, "Aelita won't try and stick me back with Ulrich unless I tell her that's what I want. Since Aelita has my back you can feel safe leaving me alone. SO LEAVE ME ALONE."

"Come on Yumi, just give me a chance, one date. I promise you won't regret it."

Yumi considered, one date didn't sound so bad and afterwards she could say she didn't like him and that would be it. It sounded so easy. But she knew that it was too easy. William would almost certainly beg for another chance after that. She could be mean and string him along for a bit then dump him but that could get messy. He didn't exactly send out a reassuring vibe and that simply wasn't the type of person she was. Without an answer she chose to delay. "I need time William. I need to pull myself together before I can even think about starting another relationship."

"What's there to think about? It's one evening. It's nothing more than dinner and a movie if that's all you want. But I know I can fix that broken heart of yours, give me a chance to help you heal."

"I can't William. This is something I have to fix on my own."

William growled in frustration, "No Yumi, it's not."

"Yes, it is." Yumi said with what she hoped was enough force to convince William to give up.

"You, Jeremy, Aelita and Odd are running yourselves ragged to help Ulrich. Even I've helped Ulrich even though it hurts me, makes my dreams less likely to come true. I told Ulrich once, before I was captured, that he had your heart for the asking and that I'd back off because I could see how much you two meant to each other."

Yumi was stunned for a moment and searched her memory. She did recall a short window where he had indeed backed off. If he was telling the truth, if he had really put her happiness before his own goal of having her. That told her more about him than any of his declarations of love ever could. Her face softened as she looked him over and when she spoke, her tone was firm but soft. "I'm really not ready to try another relationship right now. Honestly, I don't think that I'm over Ulrich yet. No, don't make that face. Ulrich and I have been through so much together, it's not a bond that will break easily or fully. I really do need the time to myself. Give me that?"

William nodded, "Ok, I'll give you your space. But find me if you need anything that you can't get from Aelita or Jeremy or if all they are willing to do is put you back with Ulrich against your wish."

Though she was uncertain as to whether or not she would take him up on the offer she agreed. William walked the rest of the way back to school in comfortable silence and the pair arrived just in time for first period.

--

Kadic City, 7:42 PM: Aelita walked beside Jeremy as they made their way back to school. She was moping, because before she started to feel sick the date had been going perfectly. The feeling in her stomach wasn't severe enough to make her think she had food poisoning but there was definitely something wrong. When she told Jeremy about it he immediately asked if she wanted to back to school and maybe see the nurse, his concern overriding whatever disappointment he had felt. She agreed to go back to school but didn't answer on seeing the nurse. In truth she felt unsettled like she had either forgotten something or had a friend in danger. So as she walked she was considering the day's events wondering if there was an explanation in the memories somewhere.

Their morning had left both of them excited and feeling closer than ever. It also put thoughts in their heads that neither was particularly comfortable with but which both found very tempting. They tabled a discussion of those ideas since they didn't have the privacy they would need. Then she suggested they go see a movie, Jeremy had readily agreed and booted his computer to look up movie schedules.

While they were busy with movie showings Odd dropped in with a crazy plan to get Yumi and Ulrich back together. Both of them immediately vetoed his plan as too dangerous and far too invasive. Sharing her mind with Jeremy had been an amazing experience but one that was completely under her control since she had been using her command of Lyoko to sustain his mind and could cut the connection at any time. Yumi and Ulrich wouldn't have that luxury if they were linked together on Lyoko, they would be open books with nothing stopping them from looking at every memory, every experience, every thought. She knew, from the Scyphozoa, what kind of violation that was and she refused to let anyone do that to Yumi or Ulrich. Odd backed off when he saw how much pain any thought of the Scyphozoa caused her and apologized profusely at breakfast.

While at breakfast Ulrich and Sissy kept giving each other the strangest looks. Sometimes he looked concerned, sometimes apologetic, and sometimes guilty. It seemed like he was completely uncomfortable with her yet couldn't keep himself from looking. Ulrich, of course, refused to explain and Odd didn't know anything since he spent the night in the infirmary. Jeremy had no better idea than she did. Over all the whole thing left a bad taste in her mouth even though she couldn't quite place why.

Then, during the short time between classes, they heard a rumor that Sissy had spent the night with Ulrich. She figured that if they regretted something they had done it would explain Ulrich's behavior. She could understand why Ulrich would regret doing anything with Sissy though why his reaction was different this time was a mystery. Another thing she didn't understand was why Sissy regretted it. From all outward appearances Sissy wanted Ulrich about as badly as one person could want another. She certainly wasn't shy about trying to get that type of attention from him either. It was troubling because it had implications for her and Jeremy when they got to that point. She made a mental note to bring it up later. She had almost forgot about that and didn't feel uncomfortable enough about talking to Jeremy to cause her sick feeling. She moved on.

At lunch they met up with Yumi who had taken the rumors in stride. Yumi had figured that if the rumors were true Sissy would be the one bragging. She also wondered out loud if Ulrich had refused her and that's why he felt guilty, he had crushed one of her big dreams. It might also have explained Sissy's behavior. After eating lunch with her and Jeremy, Yumi went home saying that she didn't feel good. Jeremy said it sounded like an excuse then pointed out Ulrich staring longingly at Yumi as she left. Yumi's opinion added to her confusion over the possible consequences of her and Jeremy's deepening relationship but it still wouldn't make her feel sick.

After Lunch Sissy managed to get Ulrich off the hook for the detention he earned yesterday though how she did it and what it would cost were unknown. Then after his tutoring session Ulrich asked Jeremy how he could fix things with Yumi, went pale as Jeremy told him to tell her everything and beg for forgiveness and finally left after Jeremy told him it might not be possible to fix this after everything else that had happened.

Lost in thought as she was she didn't notice Jeremy's phone ring or that he answered it. Instead she was abruptly pulled out of her own mind by Jeremy yelling "YOU DID WHAT! NO! DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING ELSE, YOU'VE DONE ENOUGH. We're on our way."

--

Author's note: It's ok, you can all call me mean for the cliffhanger (though you can probably figure out what happened) if you need to. Till next time.