Disclaimer - Code Lyoko and the lyrics to Castles in the Sky by Dj Satomi belong to their respective owners. I own neither.

Jeremie looks at his watch. "Oh shoot! Class starts in five minutes. Gotta go Aelita." She chuckles to herself before enduring the usual wave of sadness at his impending absence.

"You need to stop getting easily distracted by our conversations." Aelita replies while Jeremie hurriedly throws his stuff in a backpack and rushes back to the chair to save his latest draft of the materialization program. A clattering sound emanates from the keyboard as Jeremie quickly types a last bit of code.

"Sorry. You do that to me. Talk to ya when I get back!" Jeremie shouts while throwing himself out the door. His euphoria at talking with Aelita fades into worry as he recalls the previous night. A glance at his watch breaks his concern and he starts running for Mrs. Hertz's class. The wind ruffles his blonde hair as a few other students stare at the school nerd actually running. He slips into class and onto his usual chair just as the bell rings and Mrs. Hertz starts the lesson.

There's a place in my mind
No one knows where it hides
And my fantasy is flying
Its a castle in the sky

The clattering of chalk on the blackboard accompanies the teacher's explanation but Jeremie doesn't notice a word of it. His mind was lost in one of the two obsessions that gripped him over the last year. This time it wasn't the materialization program. Rather the focus of his mind was the being his program aimed to free from Lyoko. Her sweet face and beautiful eyes swam in his mind's eye. The feeling of happiness that rises in him at thoughts of Aelita changes into troubled concern at her behavior last night.

She was so strange. Aelita tried to hide it but I know she felt deep pain. But why? Jeremie ponders the question but his mind refuses to cooperate with the answer. He sighs and traces the perfectly known lines of her face on the blank notebook in front of him. A soft chuckle escapes his lips at the typical crush behavior he reveals with the drawing. Then again his feelings for her went way beyond a crush.

Ha! Why would she want you? a snide voice whispers in the back of his head. Jeremie can't help but agree. He rubs a hand through his hair and stares at the pencil between his fingers. He is best known for his extreme shyness and the position of school nerd. Without Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd he probably would have no friends within Kadic Academy. A wry smile reappears on his face at the thought of who exactly he fell in love with. Aelita technically exists as a program; to him she is far more than that.

It's a world of our past
Where the legend still lasts
And the king wears the crown
But the magic spell is law

Fiddling with the eraser now, Jeremie dreams about her touch. She has never felt anything; he couldn't stop imagining how the first sensation of her warm face against his hand would feel. Aelita relied on him for her continued safety against X.A.N.A. He could not fail her. The love within Jeremie bound him to her with chains stronger than diamond and more numerous then the oxygen molecules in the classroom. Every time he put on those headphones to send his friends into danger he did it for her. The gratitude and respect Jeremie feels for Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi could never be expressed in words. I'm pretty sure they already know how much I appreciate what they do.

At first his fight against X.A.N.A. was for the cause of saving humanity. That reason still existed within him now but a far more important one eclipses it. The sole human inhabitant of Lyoko morphed from his best friend to something far more. Jeremie didn't know exactly when. Perhaps it's something as corny as love at first sight. The pain of unrequited love flares within him for the countless time. Such is the curse of love that it fills Jeremie with pure bliss yet digs its razor sharp claws into his constantly bleeding heart.

Take your sword and your shield
There's a battle on the field
You're a knight and you're right
So with dragons now you'll fight

His love is pure but unworthy. Aelita's sweet innocence deserves something more than his avoidance of life. For in truth, that's what his entire existence revolves around. The computer and internet allow him to shirk from the true responsibilities of life and flee into a world where nothing can touch him. Jeremie turns to look out the window at the waving trees and grey clouds passing across the sun. That glass separates me from the world but it's unnecessary. My own mind already does that.

Of course, his flaw led to his greatest joy so he couldn't reject the protective shell around him utterly. Without the shyness and dependence on a virtual world Aelita wouldn't have lifted up his life at all. Without the fear and cowardice the world wouldn't be in constant danger from X.A.N.A. A good and evil side seemed to balance within him. That balance resides in us all. Am I the crusader fighting for justice or the craven warrior backstabbing an ally?

Jeremie shakes his head and flinches from the window. He didn't want to stare at the world that entranced yet repulsed him. The only thing he wishes to stare at is her face. Even if he can never have her to his own those emerald eyes always remove his pain for a little while. Hours of never-ending conversations with Aelita fill his nights while mindless tedium in class becomes his days.

And my fancy is flying
It's a castle in the sky
Or there's nothing out there
These are castles in the air

He frowns at the monumental task his friends undergo every day without anyone noticing. Sleep avoids him now; the fear and dread too much to resist. Jeremie could feel himself slowly but surely falling apart. Worry for his friends and Aelita saps the time for rest and X.A.N.A. surely knew how perilously fragile his mortal enemy was. Too many close calls and saves in the nick of time. Aelita brought up the topic of his sleeping more and more often now; she knew him too well for his own good.

Jeremie groans and rubs his head. A dull throbbing sprung up without warning for the seventh time in seven days. His mental fortitude surprised him over the year of war but his physical health swiftly deteriorated. When was the last time I had more than 5 hours of sleep in a night? Couple months? He drove himself too hard but Aelita was well worth the risk. The sooner she steps across Earth the sooner he could remove her from X.A.N.A.'s clutches.

It won't do to have her on Earth and you in the hospital or worse you know. another voice pipes up. Jeremie shakes his head at the mental reply. If the price of materializing Aelita onto Earth was his sanity or life, he'd gladly pay it. Nothing came remotely close in his priorities. Love definitely drove people to do things they'd normally never do. Jeremie stares at the words on the blackboard without reading them.

Jeremie snaps his hand into a fist and nearly pounds the table. He stops just short of gathering attention from the whole class and forces his hand back into a resting position. Hate springs up in him; hate directed at himself. No matter how much he worked on the program he could never be happy with it until it ran smoothly. Jeremie knew his behavior would scare a health professional if the doctor found out but another choice didn't exist. Aelita means too much.

Fairytales live in me
Fables coming from my memory
Fantasy is not a crime
Find your castle in the sky

Her trapped existence in continuous peril nattered at his mind. He couldn't abandon her; to stop his efforts would tear his soul apart. Jeremie's virtual life led to the bright point of his existence but yet he couldn't hold her. He couldn't touch her. He couldn't look into her eyes and say how he feels. All he has is the fantasy; the fable that one day he will feel the palm of her hand instead of the cool glass of the monitor.

An unusual thought bursts into his mind and Jeremie freezes still for a second. What if her pain is my pain? What if she longs to feel my hand as I long to feel hers? An idea breaks through the self-hatred and denial. Jeremie's eyes brighten for the first time in months outside of a conversation with Aelita. Odd's roving gaze alights upon Jeremie and he gasps. His friend actually had a true smile on his face outside of a chat with Aelita.

Jeremie is thunderstruck by the simple yet profound idea his twisted train of thought brought him to. He always loved Aelita but maybe there was something from her side more than friendship. She put up with his bumbling conversations. She never grew bored when he talked. She somehow found hours upon hours of discussion with him fascinating. Then again, she's a person stuck in a virtual area with no real experience of the Earth. Of course she finds it fascinating. the familiar and hated voice replies.

You've got the key
Of the kingdom of the clouds
Open the door
Leaving back your doubts

Instead of giving into the doubt Jeremie sharpens his gaze on the wall. Perhaps Aelita did like him. Improbable as the idea felt to his mind, maybe she even loves him. Nothing could be lost and much stood to be gained by a simple question. At the worst Jeremie would be in his current position; love wrenching at his heart without any release. The ever-present headache fades into nothingness.

Jeremie smirks at how much his life resembles a fairy tale now. He took the role of a knight fighting to save and woo the princess in distress. A few minor points such as no guarantee he would win or even get the girl made it slightly different than all those stories in Disney movies. If luck blesses him Jeremie could find the stereotypical fairy tale ending.

You've got the power
To live another childhood
So ride the wind
That leads you to the moon 'cause

The ever-present feeling of hope within Jeremie undergoes a subtle transformation. The emotion lost all tinges of despair and burst brightly in him. He looks around the chemistry class that he didn't see before now with these eyes. Everything had been so dark even in the sunlight. Now clarity met his eyes and he laughs with delight. The class looks towards him with strange looks on their faces.

How euphoric it was to finally reach a decision. A year of uncertainty and fear of change swept away in an instant. Jeremie thrusts his unopened book into his backpack. In the back of his mind he knew this feeling of utter love and bliss could crash into a hole of despair from which he might never return. Anything was possible. Including spilling out his feelings to Aelita and ending the streak of shyness and avoidance in him. Without a word Jeremie rushes out the door and towards the girl that meant more to him than life.

Fairytales live in me
Fables coming from my memory
Fantasy is not a crime
Find your castle in the sky