Stuck With You
Ulrich's eyes were tightly squeezed shut, yet he was aware of a lot of things around him. He was aware of his heart beating madly against his ribcage. He was aware of the rough bark pressed against his hands and cheek. He was aware of the evening wind ruffling his hair and causing the tree, he was currently clinging to, to sway ruthlessly.
He then became aware of something else. A voice was calling to him from down below.
"Ulrich! Ulrich!"
He prayed that it wasn't who he thought it was. Just a little while ago, he'd been looking so forward to seeing her. Now, he wished that it was anyone but her.
He cracked an eye open and looked down; quickly shutting it again before his dizziness took over. It had been enough time to confirm his fears. Yumi was standing at the base of the tree, looking up at him trapped in the higher branches like a house cat.
Odd was standing next to her. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called up,
"Ulrich, how did you get up there?"
Ulrich let out a groan as he thought back to what had led to his current predicament.
He hated Valentine's Day.
(Half an hour earlier)
Ulrich stood in front of his desk, mentally going through the checklist he had compiled of everything he would need that night. All the items were laid on the tabletop before him.
'Let's see; movie tickets – check. Change for taxi – check. Her favorite flavor chewing mints – check. Breath mints for me – check.'
Behind him, the door opened and Odd strolled into their room.
"Hey there, Ulrich. Ready for your big date?"
"It's not a date, Odd." Ulrich replied. "Yumi and I are just going out as friends."
"Of course you are." Odd smiled devilishly and picked up the movie tickets. "A boy and a girl; going to dinner and a movie; on Valentine's Day – as friends."
"It's possible." Ulrich snatched the tickets back and put them in his pocket. He went to pick up the rest of the items on his desk, but Odd beat him to it.
"What's this? Breath mints? Since when do you take these?" His eyes then widened and he grinned. He began to lean in close to Ulrich. "I get it. You want your breath to be minty fresh for when you lean in to kiss her."
Ulrich pushed away Odd's puckered lips.
"Knock it off! Besides, don't you have some 'big date' to get ready for, yourself?"
Odd's face fell. He flopped down onto his bed and began absently stroking a sleeping Kiwi.
"No. I've tried asking, but every girl seems to have plans." He suddenly sat up and looked at Ulrich brightly. "Hey, maybe I could help you out with your date?"
"What?"
"Yeah. After the movie, you could take Yumi to the hill by the woods. You could lie under the stars, and I'll surprise her with a romantic serenade on my guitar."
"No offense Odd, but your punk rock rendition of 'That's Amore' is kind of a mood killer."
Ulrich grabbed his stuff and headed out the door.
"Bye, Odd. Stay out of trouble while I'm gone."
As he stepped into the hallway, he saw Sissi walking towards their dorm. She instantly spoke up as he came into view.
"Ulrich, I -"
Ulrich stopped her by raising his hand.
"Before you even start, I've got plans."
He walked past the girl, who still had her mouth open in mid-sentence. As he turned the corner, he could hear Odd speak up,
"You know, Sissi; if you're desperate for a date, I'm free tonight."
"I'll never be that desperate, Della Robbia."
Ulrich jogged down the stairs and made for the main doors, but two girls stepped into his path.
"Oh, hi Milly. Hi, Tamiya." Ulrich tried to sound friendly, but the sight of pens and notepads in the girls' hands gave him the feeling that this was not just a casual call.
"Ulrich, could we ask you a few questions for the Kadic Herald?" Tamiya ventured.
"What about?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We've heard, from a reliable source, that you've finally asked Yumi out on a date." Milly replied. "Our readers just want to know why this took so long, and what made you change your mind?"
Ulrich groaned. He was going to kill Odd.
"Look, we are not going on a date," He said firmly. "We're just going to see a movie. People go to the movies together all the time. It doesn't mean they're dating."
"But you're also going to have dinner at La Langue de L'amour; one of the most romantic spots in town." Tamiya said.
He was going to kill Odd, slowly.
"Not to mention, it's Valentine's Day." Milly added with a grin. "So, what do you want us to tell our readers?"
"To mind their own business!" Ulrich marched past them and went out through the door. Milly and Tamiya looked at each other.
"Well, that was rude." Said Tamiya.
Milly shrugged.
"Love makes people crazy."
Ulrich marched purposely towards the school gate. Since when did everyone at Kadic care about his personal life? Even if he was going out on a date with Yumi, which he was not; it had nothing to do with anyone else. What was the big deal about Valentine's Day, anyway? It was a stupid holiday, really.
Just as he reached the gate, his mobile rang. Sighing, he took it out of his pocket and answered.
"Hello?"
"Ulrich," Jeremie's voice came over the other end. "I'm glad I caught you. I was worried you'd have turned your phone off for your date."
"It's not a -"
"Anyway, I need you to go up to the roof."
"What? Why?" Ulrich then slumped and put his hand over his eyes. "Oh, please don't use the X-word."
"Well, my laptop scanner has been giving me some weird readings. It's like a tower keeps activating, and then deactivating, at regular times. Xana might be trying to create a stealthier means of sending his agents to Earth, by forwarding their data a little at a time.
I figured he might try another attack on the school, so I brought up its' electronic output stats on my laptop."
"You know how to do that?" Ulrich then rolled his eyes. "What am I saying? Of course you do. And what did you find?"
"Well, there is some unusual activity coming from the radio antenna on the roof. It seems fairly weak, but I'd rather you checked, just to be sure."
"Why can't Odd go?" Ulrich said, irritated. "Yumi's going to be waiting for me."
"I can't reach Odd. Remember he got his phone confiscated by trying to call student datelines in class? Besides, if this turns out to be a Xana attack, we may have to rewind the day, and you'll get a second chance to go out on your date."
"It's not -! Oh, never mind." Ulrich sighed resignedly. "Fine, I'll check the roof and let you know what I find."
"Great. Aelita and I are waiting at the factory, just in case."
Ulrich hung up and jogged back into the school building. As he climbed the stairs, he was muttering under his breath about 'stupid Xana' and his 'stupid attacks'. He didn't know which he would've preferred; for this to be a real attack, so that he wouldn't be missing his date – er - movie plans with Yumi for nothing; or for it to be a false alarm. Although, come to think of it; they hadn't really had that many false alarms.
Coming to the rooftop door, he had to pick the lock with a paper clip and some tweezers (a trick they'd all had to have picked up during their battles against Xana) and stepped out onto the roof. Up so high, the chilly wind was blowing strongly, causing the tops of the trees near the school building to sway.
Ulrich turned up the collar of his jacket and looked to the antenna. It was situated just above him, over the door. The boy stood watching it with his arms crossed. He tapped his foot expectantly on the ground.
"Okay, if any monsters, or specters, or whatever, are going to come out; do it now." He called up to the thin metal construction. "Come on, I haven't got all night."
The antenna gave no answer, save a slight rattle from the wind.
Ulrich gave a frustrated snort, turned around and picked up his phone. He dialed Jeremie's number.
"Hey, Jeremie. It's Ulrich. Look, there's nothing going on up here. Can I go now?"
…
"Yes, I'm sure! I'm standing right beside the thing and it isn't even sparking. I'm gonna take off. I'm already late for…"
Ulrich trailed off as he felt a prickling along his arms and the back of his neck. He lifted his hand to his fringe, and saw the hairs following his fingers; a sign of static cling.
Turning around, he lifted his head up to look into the 'face' of a large humanoid shape, made entirely of electricity. He lifted the phone back to his ear and spoke again.
"Jeremie, forget what I just said. You better send Aelita to Lyoko… now."
He didn't get a chance to say anything else, as the monster shot the phone out of his hand with an electric bolt. Ulrich dashed for the doorway, but the beast spread itself out like a sheet, blocking his escape. He found himself backed up against the railing as the monster advanced on him. Looking over his shoulder, he could see one possible escape route.
Seeing the distance from the roof to the tree; and from the tree to the ground, Ulrich began to feel dizzy. There was no way he could jump that. His hair rose again as the monster towered over him. Looking back to the tree, he figured the jump beat the alternative. Maybe, if he was lucky, he'd get away with only a broken leg.
Grabbing hold of the railing, he planted his feet on top and launched himself into space. At the same time, the monster fired a bolt of electricity which hit Ulrich in the back. It hurt, but it proved to be a blessing as it sent him crashing into the branches of the tree.
Ulrich managed to wrap his arms around the trunk and held on until the branches stopped shaking. He winced at the ache in his back, although it wasn't as bad as he thought he would be. Maybe his body was getting used to being electrocuted.
Looking back toward the school, he could see the monster flatten itself and seep under the door. He should get back in there and find Odd. But as he looked down to try and find a branch to place his foot on, he was hit by the light-headedness that was a part of his oh-so-loved vertigo.
He clung to the tree trunk and shut his eyes tightly. He should've known something like this would happen. Valentine's Day always seemed to have it out for him.
Stupid Valentine's Day.
--
"Ulrich!"
Still keeping his eyes shut, Ulrich called down to the ground,
"I can hear you, Odd! I got stuck getting away from one of Xana's monsters. Have you seen it?"
"Yeah, it appeared while me and Sissi were talking." Odd then grinned at Yumi. "She screamed and jumped right into my arms."
Yumi rolled her eyes.
"Well, where is it now?" She asked.
"Ran off with the rest of the students."
"I meant the monster!"
"Oh. I don't know. I gave it the slip and then came out looking for Ulrich."
"It might be heading for the factory, to destroy the supercomputer." Ulrich yelled down. "You two better get over there."
"Roger!" Odd threw a salute up to him. "We'll take care of this. Don't go anywhere."
"Funny." Ulrich muttered to himself.
Odd made to set off, but felt Yumi's hand on his shoulder.
"Odd, I'm going to stay with Ulrich. You know how he is with heights. He might fall, or the monster could come back."
"Okay then, see ya later, Yumi." Odd started running, not letting Yumi see the knowing smile on his face.
Yumi walked to the base of the tree and called up,
"Ulrich, I'm coming up."
Ulrich's eyes snapped open. She was what?! He chanced a look down and, sure enough, Yumi had swung herself onto a lower branch and was scaling the tree trunk. He shut his eyes again and groaned. This was so embarrassing!
Yumi clambered onto the branch across from Ulrich, so that they were facing each other. She placed her hand over his and spoke gently,
"Hey, how're you doing?"
Ulrich was going to reply with a sarcastic "Fine. Never better." But, when he opened his eyes, all he saw was Yumi smiling warmly at him. He could only reply with a smile of his own.
Yumi cast an eye around their immediate environment and let out a small chuckle.
"We sure do get ourselves into some weird situations, don't we?"
Ulrich laughed as well, thinking back to the various predicaments they'd been in over the past two years.
"Yeah. Chased by a giant teddy bear; attacked by laughing gas; getting trapped in that boiler room -"
He stopped and they both blushed, as they remembered the somewhat awkward situation that had arisen that day. Some time went by, with neither of them saying anything. Ulrich tried desperately to think of something to break the silence.
"Say, you want a mint?" Yumi glanced sideways at him, as he pulled a packet out of his pocket. "Here; they're watermelon."
She grinned and accepted his offer.
"Thanks. That's my favorite flavor."
"Yeah. I know."
Of course he knew. Just like he knew that, at lunch time, she always saved the strawberry on top of her cheesecake for last. Or, how she sometimes stood by the window of the auditorium, so that she could listen to the string band play those really old acoustic songs.
Ulrich found his mind wandering into unwanted areas, and decided to try and find a more casual topic. But, before he could even open his mouth, Yumi spoke up.
"Ulrich, did I ever thank you?"
"Hm, for what?"
"Well, for everything. You remember how I told you that I didn't have any friends? Well, meeting you changed all that." Yumi turned her head, so that her hair was hiding her blush. "And also, you've done so much for me. You've always been there when I needed you. Not to mention all the times you've saved my life."
Ulrich gave a small shrug.
"Don't mention it. After all, you've saved my life plenty of times too. Plus, you're always there as well. I mean, how many people would climb up a huge tree and stay there, just to keep someone company?"
"You say that, like it should be a chore." Yumi finally turned to face him with a broad smile on her face. "I enjoy spending time with you, Ulrich; whatever the situation."
Ulrich felt his cheeks warming up again. If this kept up, he was going to pass out from all the blood rushing to his face. He cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Maybe we should check on how the others are doing?"
"Right. Good idea." Yumi took out her phone and dialed. "Hello; Jeremie? Are you there?"
She was answered with a groan of pain.
"Hey, Yumi. I'm here."
"Jeremie, what hap-? The monster attacked you in the control room, didn't it?"
Jeremie managed to give a pained chuckle.
"Yep. Aelita deactivated the tower before it could finish me off. I might have some minor second degree burns; but nothing a trip to the past won't cure."
"Glad to hear it. See you later." Yumi hung up, and turned to Ulrich. "Disaster's over. We'll be going back in time any second now."
"Great, 'cause I think I've lost the feeling in my limbs." They both laughed; knowing that the danger was gone made it easy to joke about the situation.
"Y'know, Yumi?" Said Ulrich. "Even though we didn't get to go on our date; tonight wasn't all that bad."
Yumi's face froze. She looked at Ulrich, wide-eyed.
"Tonight… was a date?"
Ulrich's face blanched to match Yumi's. He started to wave his hands as he answered, almost falling out of the tree as he did so.
"Whoa, did I say 'date'? I meant that as in a 'friend-date'. You know, as in two friends, going out together… as friends."
"Oh… okay."
Ulrich put on a casual smile, but felt like banging his head against the tree trunk. He might as well throw away those breath mints.
"Hey, Ulrich."
"Hmm." He replied glumly.
Yumi leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek.
"Try not to be late this time." She said with a grin.
The white light, that signaled a return trip in time, engulfed the two, so Ulrich didn't get a chance to respond. But he figured he might just hold on to those mints.