A/N: This one takes place after the Series 1 episode 'Image Problem'. I'm not feeling very romantic today as you can probably tell, but the next one is super fluffy to make up for it. Thanks as always for reading, commenting, faving and alerting. Oh, and, I totally forgot to mention that last chapter shares a similar theme with Starke's marvellous mini-fic 'When All Else Fails' which you should all check out.

-The Princess and the Genius-

Envy

In the time since it all began, Jérémie's room had become the unofficial headquarters of the Lyoko warriors. Even when the others had left, he and Aelita would often spend time discussing programming, trading ideas about the complex coding mechanisms of Lyoko, and reviewing the day's XANA attack if there had been one.

Such was this particular day.

"It's kinda weird, you know," Jérémie was saying thoughtfully, removing his glasses to wipe them on the hem of his shirt and abruptly replacing them when the action reminded him all too much of an incident earlier that day - one which he would much rather forget about. "XANA keeps coming up with more and more complex attacks. This was the most complicated thing it's come up with yet. A whole Yumi clone. It might even have worked if she hadn't acted so weird, especially when she..."

He cleared his throat and pointedly looked away. Aelita tilted her head to the side in that adorably confused way she had, and prompted him to finish.

"When she...? What did the clone Yumi do, Jérémie?"

Jérémie muttered something under his breath which Aelita was much better off not hearing, squeezing his eyes closed to avoid the burning of the elf-girl's interrogating gaze. The silence stretched on and Aelita waited expectantly. Jérémie cracked open one eye and there she remained, watching him through the computer screen. Inwardly cursing his lack of tact and drawing a deep breath, Jérémie began to form his excuses.

"Uh... well... that is, it wasn't anything really... um..."

"Jérémie? We never keep secrets from each other."

Unable to deny this, he gave in and told her, briefly, what had transpired. As he spoke Aelita's innocent features hardened, eyebrows knitting together in a frown and her lip curling.

"...And that's what happened. I mean like I say it wasn't anything, anything at all, nothing was going to happen even if Odd and Ulrich hadn't walked in and then well-" Jérémie realised he was rambling and pressed his lips together, shoulders hunched and his skinny frame tense in his seat.

Aelita pressed a hand lightly to her temple as though trying to make sense of some sudden confusion in her own brain.

"What's this emotion I'm feeling Jérémie? I feel... angry and uncomfortable. Like something was almost stolen from me."

"I don't know," he lied, grabbing a folded piece of paper from his desk to fan some cold air onto his heated face. "Emotions are complicated things..."

"Is this normal, to have such intense feelings?"

"Well maybe, naturally, given the circumstances... uh... is that Ulrich I can hear calling me? I'll be right there, Ulrich! Gotta go Aelita speak to you later bye!"

"But I didn't hear any-"

The door closed behind him before she had even finished her sentence and Aelita was left to contemplate the unfamiliar, unsettling emotions alone.

How she longed for the day when they would be there, face to face, and she could run after him.