Four

Ulrich was still beaming when he entered his dorm. He shut the door silently, and leaned his body against the frame. He wasn't aware of anything else in the room; Ulrich could only see the small smile that he had just received. Odd stared at his best friend who was unaware of his suspicious gaze. Ulrich was taking off his shoes when he looked up to find Odd in the center of their room with his arms crossed over his chest. For some reason he was staring at Ulrich as if he had done something wrong.

"What?" Ulrich asked defensively, trying to shake off his smile. He couldn't.

"Nothing," Odd shrugged and walked away. After a long silence, Ulrich stole a glance at his friend. He was lying down on his bed looking up at the ceiling. His arms were crossed under his head. And he wasn't talking. There was clearly something on his mind. Ulrich sighed and threw his other shoe in the corner. He then stared at Odd, unwavering.

"What's up with you?" Ulrich asked.

"What do you think of that girl?" Odd inquired subtly, as if he wasn't really hearing the conversation.

"You mean Anabella?" Ulrich asked. Odd quickly glanced at Ulrich from across the room. His smile had returned in full force. Apparently both of them were still thinking of her.

"Ya, Anabella. So what do you think of her?" Odd asked again, but more insistent this time. With every second he felt the need to know if Ulrich was feeling the same as him. Ulrich took a moment to choose his words wisely. If he said what he was thinking just then, he would have said that she seemed like an amazing girl. She was just shy. And every moment he spent thinking of her, he felt the need to know more about her intensify. Then reality came crashing in. Get a hold on yourself, Ulrich Stern! You've only known her for what? Ten minutes? You don't know anything about her. Be logical. You can't be having feelings for her! Ulrich scolded himself. But then he remembered that smile, the small turn on the corner of her lips. It wasn't a big smile and it didn't even last that long. But every time he thought of it, something in Ulrich stirred. And he didn't mind it either.

Quickly, Ulrich scrambled for something to say to his friend. "She seems cool," Ulrich said with a shrug. Odd's spirits lightened. He took his gaze off of his friend and went back to looking at a small speck on the ceiling. Ulrich got up and walked over to the light switch on the wall.

"Night," he said.

"Night," Odd replied. And with that Ulrich turned off the light.

Ulrich was finally drifting off to sleep when a huge mass jumped onto his bed. Alarmed, he sat up straight and saw Odd sitting intently at the foot of his bed staring at Ulrich with steadfast eyes. Ulrich glared at Odd, making his annoyance clear, then dropped back down onto his pillow.

"Ulrich! Are you awake?" Odd whispered loudly. Ulrich replied with a groan and pulled the pillow out from under his head then slammed it against his face.

"Good. I want to talk to you," Odd continued in a regular voice, ignoring Ulrich's protests.

"And I want to sleep but is that going to happen? No," Ulrich spat crankily from under his pillow.

"But it's important," Odd insisted, "And besides, you're already awake."

"What if I say I'm dead? Will that make you leave?" Ulrich grumbled under the fluffiness over his mouth.

"No," Odd stated. And with that Ulrich throw his pillow at Odd to try and shut him up but he was able to catch it with one hand. Ulrich opened one eye to see if he had hit his target, and then closed it again with dissatisfaction.

"Curse your catlike reflexes," he mumbled groggily.

"Ok now that you don't have anything that can be used as a weapon anymore, I need your advice," Odd said gripping the pillow.

"Why now, though?" Ulrich asked falling back to sleep. Odd seemed to wave the question off and continued.

"I wanna ask Anabella out," Odd said still clutching the pillow. Now wide awake, Ulrich sat up suddenly, startling Odd— and himself. Odd gave him a wary look and said slowly, "So what do you think?" Ulrich was still trying to figure out why he sat up so fast. Why did I do that? I didn't mean to. Besides, it's not like I care about her that much. I don't even know her. If Odd wants to ask her out, he can. But when the thought of Odd's arm around her waist entered Ulrich's mind, his stomach dropped slightly. But what if I did know her? I already want to know more about her. What if she turned out to be amazing? I just can't get that smile out of my head. Something in Ulrich fluttered when he remembered that small turn of her lips, the ghost of a smile. NO Ulrich! You don't even know her… but then again, neither does Odd…. Ulrich formed a plan.

"Odd, don't you think it's a little too soon for that?" Ulrich asked cautiously. One wrong move and Odd would figure out what he was doing.

"No, it's been like…," Odd checked his watch, "Forty-five minutes since I ran into her. And in the morning, when I see her again, it'll be a whole twelve hours!" Ulrich rolled his eyes in the darkness.

"I still think that's too soon," Ulrich said again.

"Oh, who asked you," Odd sulked as he walked back to his own bed.

"You did!" Ulrich said frustrated, "You woke me up five minutes ago just to ask me!" Ulrich throw his arms in the air in exasperation. Odd pulled the covers over his head, clearly ending the conversation. Ulrich sat in the silence, not knowing what to do. He didn't want to fight with his friend. Carefully, he chose his next words and whispered them in the dark.

"Odd, I'm sorry. I just think asking someone out the next day is too soon." There was no response from Odd. "But what if you waited until the end of the week to ask her? Just one week. You could get to know her by then." Maybe I could get to know her by then. Maybe by then I won't be thinking about her smile every second. A minute passed and Ulrich began to think Odd had fallen asleep. Ulrich sighed. His plan failed. Ulrich was about to give up when a reluctant voice responded.

"Fine, I'll give it to the end of the week," Odd caved breaking the silence.

Ulrich smiled but was then overcome by sleep. Ulrich relaxed and laid back down on his bed. He could feel his muscles loosening and a wave of exhaustion flooding over him. As his eyelids were growing heavier, Ulrich thought of tomorrow.

He fell asleep with that ghost of a smile still in his head.