Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko. I do own a water bottle, though, if anyone cares...Which you don't.

Chapter 5

Yumi was pink in the face as she hurried home. She had kissed Ulrich. Kissed! And he kissed back! It was even better than hugging him!

"Yumi!"

Yumi stopped and groaned, hesitantly pulling her thoughts away from Ulrich and to the present.

"Hi, William," said Yumi, turning around to face him. "Can I help you?"

"Is something the matter?" asked William obliviously. He smiled. "Maybe I can help?"

"No," said Yumi. "Everything is fine."

"Great!" said William. "So, do you wanna hang out or something?"

"I'd rather not," said Yumi, trying to stay polite. "It's time for dinner, anyway."

"Oh," said William disappointedly. "How about afterwards? We could catch a movie or something."

"Well, I've got loads of homework to do, so I don't think so," lied Yumi.

"Me too," said William, shrugging. "Uh, do you mind helping me?"

"Yes!" said Yumi in frustration, and she left.

"Huh?" William was confused, but there was nothing else than to return to his dorm and try again later.

Yumi closed the door behind her as she entered her room, and collapsed on her bed. Her antagonized expression immediately broke out into a grin and she reached for her diary; this definitely called for an entry. Her hand felt only the wood of the shelf the diary was usually placed on.

"Huh?" Yumi stood up and looked around the shelf, but there was no book. She looked in her desk, under her bed, and in her closet. "Hiroki, if you took my diary, so help me I will...Oh."

The diary was in her backpack. Strange, seeing as she never took her diary to school. Yumi was puzzled for only a moment, but remembered what had happened and went into a writing frenzy. The fact that the ink on certain pages was newly smudged and some corners were dog-eared mystified her, but she was too happy to give it much thought.

"Love you, Mom! Love you, Dad!" yelled out Yumi as she left the house the next morning.

She reached the school within a few minutes. Students began snickering while she passed by, and Yumi guessed Sissi had spread some rumor about her. She held her head up high; why should it bother her? However, as she entered the math hall, she spotted a flyer on the bulletin board, and took a closer look.

Yumi cursed softly and tore it down, then realized that copies were posted all along the wall within a few feet of each other. She continued ripping them all off the wall and shoving them in her bag, blushing darkly.

There was going to be one less pinkette in the world.

Ulrich rolled his eyes at a joke Odd told him and Jeremie. One of these days he'd have to buy him a joke book. Then he could hear something else than what Kiwi would do to a Sissi covered in dog food or a guy in a canoe that's going to spring a leak.

Something caught Ulrich's eye. A small poster was taped to the classroom wall, it appeared to be a picture. He took a closer look and turned red, snatching it off the wall.

"Jeremie, did you do this?" asked Ulrich angrily, showing him the flyer.

"Me? No," said Jeremie honestly. "I didn't."

"Then who did?" asked Ulrich coldly. Odd looked at the picture over Ulrich's shoulder and started laughing.

"So, you finally kissed her!" said Odd loudly, capturing the attention of other kids in the room. It was true, though, there was no denying the image of Yumi and him kissing during their sparring session yesterday.

"Shut up," said Ulrich, balling up the picture. He cast a surveying glance around the room and groaned. "There are more?"

"Yep," said Jeremie, nodding. "All over the school."

"I thought you said you didn't do this!" said Ulrich.

"I didn't," said Jeremie. "I've just seen them."

"You are no help whatsoever," said Ulrich, storming out of the room. He didn't care if Ms. Meyer sent him to Delmas, he had to get rid of these before Yumi saw them!

Ulrich found it rather difficult to refrain from flipping off the people in the halls who giggled and whispered. He proceeded to pull the embarrassing posters off the walls until he bumped into someone. He turned around to briefly apologize, but stood dumbstruck instead.

"Oh, hey, Ulrich," said Yumi, stashing the flyers behind her back before he could see. "What's up?"

"Uh, nothing," said Ulrich, shrugging.

"Whatcha got there?" asked Yumi, gesturing to the papers in his hands.

"Uh, nothing," repeated Ulrich, mimicking her and hiding them behind him. "So, um, I wanted to talk to you about yesterday..."

"Oh, yeah," said Yumi numbly. "About that..."

"Did it, ah, mean anything?" asked Ulrich, his face scorching hot.

"Um..." mumbled Yumi. Come on, Ulrich! she thought. Did it? "I don't know."

"Oh, okay," said Ulrich sheepishly. It was time for a change of subject. "So, what's new?"

"Not much," said Yumi, shrugging. "You?"

"Same," said Ulrich. His fingers clenched around the posters. "Do you want to hang out later? Get an ice cream?"

"Yeah, sure," said Yumi, nodding. "Sounds cool."

"Great," said Ulrich, managing a small smile.

"I supposed I'll see you later," said Yumi, blushing slightly. "I better get going, class and stuff."

"Bye," said Ulrich, walking backwards until she was out of view then tossing the pictures in a wastebasket.

Well, at least he'd get to see her again. And she didn't say anything about the picture, or that kissing him had been the worst experience of her life. As he neared the classroom, he realized that it might be for the best if this remained a secret. What could one ice cream without tips hurt?

"Jeremie, giving me a camera phone was probably your smartest move yet," said Aelita, pecking him on the cheek. Jeremie blushed and hugged her.

"Lucky you were there when you were," said Jeremie. "All the more humiliation for our students. I've got a feeling it's going to take some time before they crack, though."

"I don't doubt it," said Aelita, sitting next to him on her bed. "They're almost as stubborn as you."

"Hey!" said Jeremie indignantly, wrapping his arm around her waist. "I'll have you know my stubbornness comes from good intentions. Yumi and Ulrich have too much pride."

"Fair enough," said Aelita, smirking. "How exactly are you going to convince Ulrich to go for a new look?"

"I'll find a way," said Jeremie. "I just have to make sure it's a look no one would expect. Any ideas?"

"It's gotta surprise the whole school," said Aelita. "He's already a jock, and I guess he kind of fits the moody teenager frame. Sort of a loner, too. What about a genius? You could definitely help him with that."

"A nerd is not going to turn Yumi on, Aelita," said Jeremie, smiling.

"Why not?" asked Aelita. "It turned me on."

"Aw, you mean it wasn't my great looks?" asked Jeremie jokingly, moving to tickle Aelita behind the neck. She squealed and batted his hand away, then set her head on his shoulder. "Hm, this is a real stumper."

"Wait a minute," said Aelita slowly. "I think I've got it..."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Jeremie inquisitively.

"Yes," said Aelita, nodding eagerly. "Odd could teach him..."

"It's embarrassing if we play it out right..."

"It'll grab her attention..."

"It's perfect!"

Aelita beamed and ensnared her boyfriend in another kiss, pleased with the results for the next plan. Jeremie held her in place by the chin, and was proud of the both of them. Although it wasn't very friendly making their pals squirm, it had to be done.

"Hey, Yumi," greeted Ulrich. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Me too," said Yumi, grinning. "What flavor are you getting?"

"The usual," said Ulrich.

"Cookies and cream?" asked Yumi. Ulrich nodded.

"And you'll be getting raspberry?" asked Ulrich.

"As always," answered Yumi.

The line shortened and they reached the vendor, and each paid for their own cone. Ulrich would have been only too happy to pay for Yumi, but knew she'd never allow it. Yumi liked to take care of herself, and he wouldn't stop her from that.

"I can't believe how busy Xana's been keeping us lately," said Ulrich while they took seats at a nearby table. "Yesterday was what, his third attack this week?"

"And it's only Wednesday," said Yumi. "It's like taking over the world can't compare to torturing us."

"Yeah, and I bet Jeremie and Aelita are close to collapsing with all the work they put into that computer," said Ulrich.

"Well, I'm sure they find ways to keep each other going, if you know what I mean," said Yumi with a mischievous smile.

"Hard to imagine Einstein a lady's man, though," said Ulrich, laughing. "There was a time when he couldn't even look Aelita in the eye without blushing."

"Not anymore," said Yumi. "Especially if he's confident to make out with her in public."

"Love tends to make it's victims forget the world around them," said Ulrich. "That's what my mom says, anyways."

"Victims?" asked Yumi. "She makes it sound like love is an executioner."

"Maybe she was talking about love lost or something," said Ulrich. "Still, it fits."

"How do you know?" asked Yumi. "Have you ever lost love?"

"I've come close," said Ulrich vaguely. "You?"

"Yep," said Yumi, nodding.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments. They licked their melting ice cream quickly, but not so fast that they would receive a brain freeze. Yumi studied Ulrich's face for a moment, and noticed a smear of ice cream by his mouth.

"Uh, Ulrich, you've got a little," said Yumi, faltering and pointing to her own mouth.

"Oh, thanks," said Ulrich, wiping his hand across his face, but missing the mess completely.

"Here," said Yumi, leaning over with a napkin and cleaning it up. She felt his cheeks heating up and starting blushing. His eyes meekly met hers and she continued cleaning up the long-gone mess, if only to be near him.

Ulrich didn't shrink away like he usually would, but felt himself moving closer. He knew there wasn't any ice cream on his face anymore, but didn't really care, either. He reached his hand out to brush a stray lock of raven hair out of her face, and was glad when she didn't recoil. They stayed in that position, inches apart from each other over the table, for a couple minutes and were attracting stares from passing people.

Very slowly Ulrich brought his hand from her hair to her chin and pulled her face towards him, waiting for any sign of resistance. When none came he took a deep breath and kissed her. Yumi dropped the napkin and took his face in her hands. Ulrich held her by the shoulders, her scent overwhelming him. His nerves were instantly put at ease; kissing Yumi felt as natural as breathing.

"Excuse me, sir, you and your girlfriend need to take it outside."

The two jerked back from each other and looked up at the source of the noise. The store manager was frowning at them and pointing to the exit. Ulrich and Yumi muttered a quick apology and left the building swiftly, bright red in the face.

"Um, uh," stammered Ulrich, trying to find the right words. "Thanks."

"Oh, sure, no problem," said Yumi, staring at the ground. "That was..."

"Yeah," agreed Ulrich, nodding and swallowing hard.

"Nice," finished Yumi lamely. "It was nice." Aelita would kill her if she found out what she had just said.

"Yeah," repeated Ulrich. "Was there anything that time?"

"You know what?" asked Yumi, smiling. "I think there was."

Ulrich's heart stopped for a second. Was she going to say it? What should he do now? Kiss her again? No, that was too forward. Spill his feelings? What if she didn't return them? He had to make sure.

"So, where does that leave us?" asked Ulrich slowly.

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Yumi quietly. "I mean, we're just friends, right?"

"Well, yes," said Ulrich, biting his lip. "But..."

"Maybe I should go," said Yumi. "Give us some time to think, you know?"

"Maybe," said Ulrich. It was better than nothing. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

Yumi nodded and started leaving, then hesitated. She turned back to him and kissed him on the cheek, then waved and left. Now he had something to think about. Ulrich felt his cheek with his hand and blushed more, and then returned to Kadic, where he found all of his teachers waiting for him.

"Hey, Ulrich!" said Odd brightly. "Where've you been?"

"Oh, around," said Ulrich, shrugging. He flopped down on his bed. "What have you got for me now?"

"We're gonna give you a new personality," said Jeremie pleasantly. "Don't worry, Yumi will be all yours afterwards."

"Okay," said Ulrich, sighing.

"Really?" asked Theo confusedly. "I thought you'd be more reluctant to change."

"Life goes on," said Ulrich carelessly. "I've got a lot to think about. Go on, tell me more about it."

"Okay, then," said Jean-Baptiste. "Here's the plan..."

Ulrich nodded, half listening and half dreaming. Tomorrow there were two options. He could become the happiest man in the world, or the emptiest. And his fate rested in the hands of the most perfect girl in existence, and his best friend. But no pressure, right?