Holy crap... this chapter got to be really long! This superly long collection of words before you is only half the chapter, because it got so long I decided to split it in two.

Sorry about taking so long to update... but you cannot believe how busy I've been.

Read read read, please [:

Oh, and a thanks goes out to Frog Disease, my 200th reviewer!!! Yay, I love my reviewers!!

Part Uno

Yumi's POV

Man… it is way too early for this.

Aelita had barely managed to drag me out of bed this morning, and for what? To go to the zoo? So what if it was a school field trip… I didn't want to be anywhere near Ulrich Stern. Just knowing that he could be sitting somewhere on this bus was making me jumpy.

I focused in on where Mr. Delmas was boarding the bus, holding a cardboard box making jingling noises. Many of the students stopped talking to look curiously at the box, but most just talked on, not noticing.

"Students!" Mr. Delmas said loudly to capture our attention as Jim boarded the bus. Jim sat in the driver's seat. Did that mean Jim was… driving?! You have got to be kidding me.

"As you all know today, we are missing classes to go to the zoo," Mr. Delmas continued, unaware of the shocked looks on people's faces as they stared at Jim. "I'm going to go over a quick run through of the rules on our way there."

With the principle's signal, Jim pressed the gas pedal to its extent, then slowed down with a chuckle. Oh god.

"Now, you will all be in groups of 4. There will be absolutely no groups of 3 or 5. And if that wasn't clear enough for you, I will say it again. NO GROUPS OF 3'S OR 5'S," Mr. Delmas said harshly. He had captured almost all of the students' attention.

"Your group will be chained together by the wrist with these," he said, picking up a chain from the box. There were 4 cuffs attached on the chain, in equal intervals, giving a length a little less than 2 feet between each cuff.

At this, the entire bus burst into uproar. "We're going to be chained to each other!?" one girl shrieked. "I don't wanna be chained to him!" Nicolas said in his… well slightly retarded voice, pointing at Herve. Herve slapped him.

Aelita and I looked at each other in horror. Just then the bus sped up to an alarmingly fast speed, making all of us clutch our seats for our lives. Jim reached a stoplight, pushing on the brake suddenly, causing everyone to slam into their seats. A few kids rolled out into the aisles.

Mr. Delmas looked a little shaken, but bravely continued, "You will be able to pick your groups." Sighs of relief sounded all around the bus, until Jim took a sharp turn.

"We're here!" Jim chanted merrily. This time a good 6 or 7 kids flew from their seats to the other side of the bus. I grabbed Aelita tightly to prevent her from flying away.

Everyone piled out of the bus, practically stampeding over Mr. Delmas, trying to get away from the bus and Jim. Once outside, small groups began forming. Aelita was immediately taken by Jeremie, almost like they were magnets. It was a little creepy, actually.

William walked up to me, smiling. "Hey Yumi, do you want to be in my group?" I gave him a smile back and nodded, knowing that at least if I was with William we'd be able to joke around and have fun.

"Hey, Yumi," came a slightly angered voice from behind me, and I felt a shiver go down my spine as Ulrich joined us. I stood between William and Ulrich, watching them glare at each other.

I began desperately searching for someone, anyone to come with us, when I spotted Melanie. "Melanie!" I shouted, waving her over. Her face brightened, and she came over to us. She watched the stare-off between William and Ulrich and looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "You don't want to know," I muttered into her ear.

Then Jim came over, locking a cuff around my wrist. I was about to tell him to put the next cuff around Melanie's wrist, when he put it on Ulrich. Ulrich's eyes followed up the chain from where his wrist was bound to mine, and looked at my eyes. I looked away.

Jim then attached a cuff to William, who muttered an "Ow," and then the final cuff was locked onto Melanie. I looked at our right wrists, all bound together by a chain, and realized that there was no possible way this trip could get any worse.

Ulrich and I were awkward from the kiss, William wanted me as a girlfriend, Melanie actually was Ulrich's girlfriend, and I had absolutely no idea what Ulrich felt for me, or my feelings for him. Not to mention me being friends with William, the person who Ulrich currently hates, and the fact that Melanie will hate me once she figures out what happened between me and Ulrich.

Okay, now this is a disaster.

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Odd's POV

"Odd, there is no way you are going in that group. I want to be in that group," Sissi argued, her hand on her hip.

Aelita shrugged and looked at me helplessly. Jeremie, Aelita, and I wanted to be in a group while Herve, Nicolas, and Sissi wanted to be in a group, but only groups of 4 were allowed. Meaning, our groups were going to have to combine, and 2 people would have to go as a pair.

"You know Aelita," Jeremie suggested, "we could always just go as a double… then Sissi, Herve, and Nicolas could at least be together."

"What about me?!" I shouted in outrage at him. How could he leave me with Herve, Nicolas, and Sissi?" Aelita looked angrily at Jeremie. "Odd has to be in our group!" she argued. Wow, go Aelita!

Then suddenly, Jim came up, with his chain/handcuff things in hand. He cuffed Aelita to Nicolas, Nicolas to Herve, and then Herve to Jeremie. Sissi and I looked at their chain in shock. "Jim, that's not how our groups were planned out!" Sissi said.

"Well, that's too bad," Jim stated as he stomped over to us. "But Jim-" Sissi protested. "I don't want to hear any more of your complaints, Miss Delmas! Now, where's the rest of your group?"

"We're the last two people," I explained, "But Jim I-". My sentence was cut short by a locking sound. Sissi and I looked down at our wrists. We were handcuffed together. With real handcuffs actually, not like the long chains attached to everyone else. Our hands were nearly touching.

"JIM!" Sissi shrieked, so loudly that almost our entire grade turned around to look at us handcuffed together. I thought for sure she was going to break some glass with that loud of a shriek. The rest of the student body looked between Sissi and I, looking alarmed. Most backed away from us.

Sissi did a little "Hmph," and almost ripped off my arm as she suddenly walked the opposite direction to her father.

Mr. Delmas stood in front of her, patiently waiting for her to speak. "I want to change groups," she stated in a very snobby voice. "Hmm…" said her father, looking around at the chained groups," well, I guess Jim can come along with you two, to keep an eye on you."

Sissi's jaw dropped as her father walked away. "Very nice," I muttered sarcastically as Jim came stomping over.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for?" Jim asked. "We've got almost 9 hours to kill walking around the zoo!"

Sissi looked like she was going to faint.

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Yumi's POV

Ulrich, William, Melanie, and I walked in complete silence. There really wasn't much to say between all of us. Well, there wasn't much to say to each other if we knew all 4 of us were listening in anyway….

I sighed, stopping in front of the glass exhibit of penguins. As I watched them swim around in the icy water through the tank, I thought of something to say. I couldn't say anything to William, or Ulrich would get pissed off, and I couldn't say anything to Ulrich without William getting pissed off. And I had no idea what to say to Melanie, because I felt so guilty about kissing her boyfriend….

"Hey," came a soft whisper in my ear. "Can we talk?"

It was Ulrich behind me obviously, I think I could recognize his voice anywhere. As he rested his chin on my shoulder, breathing onto my neck and ear, I desperately brought my scrambled mind together so I could talk to him, instead of focusing on him touching me.

"Ulrich," I whispered back, surprised at how steady I had managed to make my voice, "I really don't think now is the greatest time." I took a glance back, noticing a glare from William and a puzzled expression from Melanie.

"Why not?" he asked. "You're chained to me, so there's no possible chance of you running away." I could tell by his voice that he was smirking as I looked down at my cuffed wrist. Where the hell does Mr. Delmas get permission to chain us together anyway!?

"So Ulrich, do you have any plans Friday night?" Melanie asked, in an attempt to get her boyfriend off of me. Ulrich didn't move, so I walked away from him. He looked a little disappointed, which made me grin.

"Yeah, what about you Yumi? Want to go to a movie or something Friday night?" William asked.

"I think I'm busy Friday," Ulrich said unconvincingly, his eyes wandering to me.

"Movies would be fun," I told William in a somewhat enthusiastic voice. He may be a bit of a loser, but he was still an okay guy to hang out with. Ulrich looked malicious.

"You know Yumi," William began, walking up closer to me, "you really look beautiful with the sun shining on you like that. Maybe we could go to dinner as well?" I resisted slapping my forehead from this lame compliment. Hell yeah, you know I look good with the sun shining on me… but it doesn't mean I'm going out with a complete dork.

"She has dinner plans with me," Ulrich snarled, moving to stand between me and William protectively. I rolled my eyes. Since when do I have dinner plans with Ulrich?

"Why don't you let Yumi speak for herself?" William responded coldly. Hmmm… well, this fight should be interesting….

That set Ulrich off. He shoved William's side with his unchained hand, looking violent. William punched him with his unchained hand, being a lefty, hitting Ulrich's jaw with a loud thud. Then the fighting broke out.

Ulrich launched a punch at William's face, forgetting that I was chained to him, sending me forward onto him. William dodged it as Ulrich regained his balance with me behind him, then ducked as William tried kicking him in the head. Melanie was screaming and looking panicked.

I looked all around to see people staring. "What the hell are you guys doing?" I whispered loudly, "this is pathetic!" Ulrich turned to listen to me for just a split second, giving William the opportunity to punch him in the gut, making him fall to the ground. And because I was chained to Ulrich, it meant I fell to the ground. Right on top of him.

For a moment Ulrich and I looked breathlessly into each other eyes, but then he gently pushed me off him, leaping up to a crouching position to launch a swinging kick to William's ankles. William fell down, nearly bringing Melanie down with him. Melanie shrieked and looked on helplessly as Ulrich and William continued the brawl.

Okay, you know what? This is going to stop.

I grabbed Ulrich roughly by the shoulder, pulling him away from a now bleeding William. "People are staring," I whispered into Ulrich's ear. Ulrich, who had clearly been unaware of how many people were watching, noticed the crowd of people around. He turned to me to whisper something back, maybe mumble a plan in my ear, but I never found out whatever he was going to say.

A foot connected with Ulrich's head, sending him falling to the ground. I looked at William in disgust. I mean come on, did he really have to sink so low as to kicking Ulrich when he was talking to me?

And then I had it. I was going to end this fight, once and for all. I punched William right in the face with all the power I could muster up, not really paying attention to where I was even punching. Ulrich, Melanie, and I watched with wide eyes as William fell to the hard concrete with a thud.

Well… mostly me and Ulrich watched William fall, because Melanie fell down with him… you know, being chained to him and all. A number of people cheered around me when William didn't get back up. But Melanie wasn't getting back up either.

"Melanie!" I cried, running over to her and checking her pulse. It looked like she didn't have any major head injuries, probably just a bump.

"Nice," Ulrich commented somewhat sarcastically and somewhat impressed. I looked over to where Ulrich was bending down next to William, a small pool of blood forming on the ground around his head. Shit.

Everyone around us was staring and gasping by now. I think someone was calling the zoo police people, or whoever they are.

"Damnit Ulrich, we've got to get them hidden somewhere!" I shouted at him in a hushed tone.

And then, both of our eyes fell on an empty baby carriage, alone and unattended. Oh, god.

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Aelita's POV

I felt like ripping my hair out. And that is actually saying something, because I love my bubble-gum-pink hair, and I just wouldn't be Aelita without it.

Herve and Nicolas had been fighting before. Which, I could tolerate, even though it was annoying. But now, Jeremie was fighting with Herve. I sighed. How many times do I have to tell him to turn down the nerdiness?

"No way, Jeremie, it's definitely an Emperor penguin." Herve said matter-of-factly.

"Uh uh," Jeremie protested, "it is so not. An Emperor penguin would be at least an inch taller."

"Well, maybe it's a short Emperor penguin!" Herve glared at Jeremie. I guess he was trying to look intimidating or something, but he failed. Miserably. Although, Jeremie's attempt to look powerful in this argument was really no better.

So, instead of listening in on their stupid conversation, I decided to take a look around what was happening around the zoo.

I recognized some random girl who I'm pretty sure is named Courtney, chained to this guy with a mole and some other girl. She was gagging as the other two people chained to her flirted. I considered going over there to talk to her, when a second glance around the zoo made my jaw drop.

Ulrich and Yumi were pushing around a baby carriage, with a dazed looking Melanie following behind them. They looked like they were in a hurry… well, Yumi and Ulrich at least. Melanie looked sort of like a lost child.

Did Yumi and Ulrich really bring Humphrey to the zoo? Our health teacher said we didn't need to bring our babies to the zoo and we could let them stay in our rooms for today.

But then, it hit me. Ulrich, Yumi, Melanie. That was only 3 people. Everyone was in groups of 4. And last time I checked, William was with them….

What was going on??

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Odd's POV

"Okay Sissi, I think he's asleep," I whispered. Jim's loud snoring on the bench next to us droned out my voice.

"What?" Sissi asked, not understanding me. I said in a much louder tone, "I think Jim is asleep!"

Jim grumbled something in his sleep, opening his eyes then looking frantically around until he saw us next to him. "Hey kids, do you want to go see the elephants or something?" he asked, sounding way more enthusiastic than any kid at this zoo.

Sissi punched me hard on the shoulder for waking Jim up and ruining our escape plan. Our plan was to run off when Jim fell asleep. Great plan, eh?

"You know," Jim began, as he led us to the elephants, " when I was just a lad, I worked as a zookeeper. Well, more of a zookeeper assistant… but let me tell you, it was a hard job!"

Sissi began making elaborate hand gestures to me, probably trying to tell me a new plan to get away from Jim, but I had absolutely no idea what she was trying to tell me. I shrugged my shoulders, giving her a confused look.

"Yeah, those elephants… it's extremely hard to clean up their poop. One time I actually asked the construction workers outside of the zoo if I could use his crane to pick up the elephant poop- and so, he gave me the keys…"

Uh oh. Jim drove a crane!? By the way he drove the bus this morning, I don't really see how he managed to even get a driver's license. I tried imagining him driving around a crane… and picking up elephant poop. I imagined him falling into the elephant poop and chuckled.

"Tell us more, Jim," Sissi said in the fakest nice voice I've ever heard. But Jim must've bought it, because he stopped in front the giraffes to begin telling the story of how he drove a crane and almost ran over an ostrich.

Then suddenly, Sissi sprinted away from Jim, almost yanking my arm out of its socket. "Ow!" I yelled at Sissi as we ran. I guess Jim heard me, because his shouts and loud, pounding footsteps followed us.

"Nice going, Odd!" Sissi snorted sarcastically, slapping me upside the head. Ow… now my head and arm hurt.

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Ulrich's POV

Almost everyone gawked at us. I mean, we were a strange sight after all… three teenagers chained together, two pushing a baby carriage along, and one looking dazed, confused, and saying stupid things. Not to mention the stares we got from anyone who knew me and Yumi….

Yumi. I wish I hadn't let my feelings get the better of me… she wasn't acting like herself anymore. She was all nervous and tense around me today, and now she looked like she was about to die of a freak-out attack. I guess carrying around William with a gaping bloody head wound in a baby carriage was adding to her uneasiness.

I noticed her hand shaking on the baby carriage as we pushed it along, and resisted the urge to hold it in mine.

"Yumi," I whispered to her, "maybe we should get out of everyone else's sight… I'm getting sick of all these people staring."

She nodded. "But where?"

Before I could answer her, an old lady came strolling up to us. "Ah, why such a young couple… is it a boy, or a girl?" she asked, leaning over to look into the baby carriage. Good thing William was covered up by a blanket.

The fact that the lady was asking me and Yumi about our "baby" sent my head spinning, but Yumi managed to spit out the word, "boy."

The old lady bent farther over the baby carriage, grabbing the blanket between her wrinkly fingers. Oh shit.

Yumi nearly dove over to stop her, but she was too late. The lady pulled back the blanket revealing William's gaping head wound and way-too-old-to-be-our-child face.

She screamed, her eyes rolling back into her head as she fell over and fainted onto the concrete ground. We sure were having a hell of a lot of bad luck today….

"Grammy!" A little girl screamed as she ran over to the lady. I began pushing the baby cart as fast as I could, Yumi covering up William's face with the blanket again before running along beside me. But let me tell you, yanking along a dazed Melanie and pushing William was no picnic.

Wait a minute….

"Yumi," I said between breaths as we ran, "go to the picnic area. It's big and woodsy enough that we'll be able to find a place where no one will see us."

She sped up, causing people around us to dive out of our way to avoid getting run over. We turned the baby cart almost fully over to dodge a small child and William was close to falling out. It was hard not to just let him fall out… but I knew it would be easier to push him then to drag him along.

It wasn't long before we reached the picnic area. We pulled Melanie and pushed William back into the heavily wooded area falling back onto the ground in exhaustion. Melanie apparently wasn't tired… she busied herself by putting little bonnets on William's head.

"You have such a sweet little girl!" she commented in a dreamy sounding voice as she tied what may be the ugliest pink hat I had ever seen to William's head. Yumi and I looked at each other for a split second and then burst out laughing, realizing what a pathetic situation we had gotten ourselves into.

Loooong chapter, right? But you have to keep reading... just think about this for a minute... Yumi and Ulrich, practically alone in a park (unless you count unconcious William or confused Melanie), chained together.

So, I'm just curious... how many people have read the new Harry Potter? Any thoughts about the end of the book? I thought the epilogue was weird.

But, if anyone wants to actually talk about Harry Potter, with details and all, please PM me. I would hate for someone to be looking at the reviews for this story and then see the what happened in the end of the book before they finished reading it...

Enough blabbing about Harry Potter... lol I'll have the rest of the chapter posted up by the end of the week... I hope.

Review people [:

--bRoK3n h3aRt--