There she was in the long glimmering white gown at the end of the hallway again, calling out her name.
"Aelita..."
"Mother!" she managed to choke out, before running forward.
The ghostly embrace didn't give the slightest hint of satisfaction, but it was something. It was something that Aelita could still hold on to. But then the embrace sizzled, and she felt the pain burning into her skin. Her mother began to glow intensely white and turned away from her, leaving her behind. Then much like a spectre would explode, that's how her mother blew up—
Aelita bolted up from the recurring vivid dream. Ever since the past spectre attack that took the form of her mother occurred, her desperate dreams of her mother returned, and along with the dreams of her mother, the nightmares of the men in black and the wolves also returned. She rubbed at her temples and used her covers to dab at her head, letting the comfortable material soothe her throbbing head. She was about to get up and go straight to Jeremie's room – a place she could always go to whenever she had a nightmare, but she wasn't so sure she could anymore. The night before when the same sequence of dreams occurred, she had made her way to the boy's room, only to be invited by the sight of Laura.
Oh Laura. Aelita couldn't exactly pinpoint what she felt towards the girl – sure it was some sort of hatred, yet she didn't understand why. Perhaps she was just one of those people that annoyed you for no valid reason. Whatever it was, Aelita was too drained to bring herself to say or do anything. She let out a defeated sigh and shut the door, leaving the pair to do their work. She made her way down the hallway of the boy's floor to reach the stairs. She'd just have to deal with it herself like she was accustomed to a year or two ago.
The sound of a subtle running tap caught her out of her thoughts and she froze on the spot as it turned off. If it was Jim and he caught her on the boy's floor, there'd be a lot of explaining to do – which she certainly didn't feel like doing. She didn't know what else to do other than plastering herself against the wall once she heard a yawn. There was no time to run back to Jeremie's dorm or to the stairs, she'd get caught either way – not like the current idea was any better.
The figure exited the bathrooms and his silhouette most certainly did not even resemble the old gym teacher. In fact, with the boy's second yawn, Aelita recognized him as someone she knew – William. However her panic still had her slung across the wall quite embarrassingly as the boy saw her in the corner of his eye. Before he could say anything he could only look left and right then watch her confusedly.
"Aelita? What are you doing up so late?"
With a breath of relief, she unattached herself from the wall and pointed a thumb behind her, motioning towards Jeremie's room.
"Oh," he nodded. "Late night coding, huh?"
She opened her mouth to say something but couldn't bring herself to do so. The dream of her mother, the nightmare, Laura crushed her in the moment yet again, and Aelita could only stand there morosely. And William knew exactly why. His time spent alone did him good – being able to read others quite easily. This late at night, Aelita would seem tired, yet he had a feeling that that wasn't the only case.
"Everything okay?"
Yet again, with no word from Aelita in response, she tried to think of a suitable answer, but all that came out was a miserable whimper and her lips quivering. She shoved past him and ran and left him without a word in the hallway.
Which left Aelita lying in her bed and staring at the ceiling, wondering what possible she could do to reassure herself. Perhaps she could have gone to Odd and Ulrich's room, but she didn't feel right doing so. Yumi was off campus, there was no way. Which left William; the boy she'd left hanging the night before. Even during the day, him being near her had seemed so much more significant after he'd uttered those words: Everything okay? Sure, their canteen "seating plan" had already been established between the group ever since William had joined, yet his gaze seemed to be more solid after that night. She couldn't even bring her head up as his concerning stare was constant, then Yumi asked the dreaded question: Aelita you don't seem yourself, are you alright?
It was almost exactly the same as the two or so years ago when she was first enrolled into Kadic by the group; when her first nightmares began taking place. She was on the way to the canteen, feeling woozy after those dreadful images, when Yumi had stopped her in the archways, an unknown person beside her.
"Aelita, hey! Let me introduce you to William, he's new around here – just like you," she laughed.
"Nice to meet you, Aelita," he stated, holding out a hand.
At the time Aelita wasn't sure what it meant, and she held out her hand beside his, thinking that that was the right action to do. Yumi's lightly pained look and his raised brow spoke the latter. He moved his hand into hers and with another, he shook both of them.
"That's a handshake. One day you'll thank me," he laughed.
Since she didn't get it, Aelita just continued to look morose due to her nightmares, and shrugged the whole handshake business off.
"Aelita you don't seem yourself, are you alright?" Yumi had asked.
Aelita shrugged a little, and continued to watch the ground. William almost gulped – was it his fault?
"I had a bad dream again."
Both Yumi and William watched her with concerned looks, and before Yumi could take Aelita off to the side to discuss the nightmare she had discussed with the group-
"A bad dream? What about?" William asked softly.
Yumi began to panic and awkwardly look between the two, trying to think of a way to break the conversation. William wasn't supposed to be dragged into this.
"Oh, Aelita you should hurry to the canteen before Odd gets there. You shouldn't miss the best meatballs – they're best when they're fresh!" she rubbed Aelita's back as she nodded and shrugged pathetically, and then walked off with William.
"She doesn't really like to talk about the bad dreams she gets, it's best not to ask."
"Screwed up again, I see," he pouted in response. "I'm not making a very good first impression, am I?"
That's it. Aelita decided to take her chances. Stepping out of her bed and sending a quick text to the boy, Aelita made her way silently downstairs to William's room. Softly knocking and hoping he got the text, she waited for the footsteps to make their way to the door, and of course he opened – barely even asleep, too.
"I knew you'd cave in," he couldn't help but smirk at her hopeless look, and with a pained roll of her eyes, she entered.
And so she spent the night telling him the whole story from the very beginning, something she didn't think she'd have to go through again due to already telling the others. In fact she was almost glad that she was given this third chance to un-bottle her thoughts and feelings, and in the mean time, William could catch up too. But then her life story turned into just them, and they wondered what it was about them – they weren't exactly mainstream within their small friendship group, yet there was the potential.
"All I can say is, your mother and father, they're out there. After all they've done for you, whether they're gone or not, they're definitely out there."
"What's that supposed to mean," she huffed out, noticing that the night was getting to him.
Taking a moment to rethink his last thought process, William just shrugged and slumped back against the wall.
"I was never any good with dealing with bad dreams, besides I do recall Yumi once telling me not to ask you about them," he shot a knowing glance at her beside him.
"Freshmen of the school – it's a shame we didn't stick around together much."
"Well you were busy with Lyoko and your past and the likes – there was no point in bringing me in to the whole extravaganza – even though you must admit I am doing pretty awesome right now."
Aelita could only snort.
"Watch your tongue, we already had a similar issue with Odd a long time ago."
"I'm not Odd though, am I," he said matter-of-factly.
"Thank God for that," they laughed.
It was nearing almost four in the morning and even though she was enjoying herself and glad to be taking her mind off things, she knew she would regret it in the morning. The thought of being tired all day brought her to yawning aloud, only to be joined by William also. The action caused both of them to laugh yet again.
"I should've been gone hours ago," she mumbled tiredly.
"Don't blame it on me in the morning," he muttered with squinted eyes.
"I'm not promising anything," she started to get up, and after quickly stretching her arms she dragged herself to the door, followed by William. "You don't need to see me off; I can find my own way to the door that is five steps away," she chuckled.
"I know," he said, and before he could stop himself, he lowered his face against the top of her head, placing his hands on her shoulders.
Aelita just stood still, tapping continuously at his side.
"William you- William you need to sleep, come on,"
He mumbled incoherent things into her hair and didn't seem to be letting go anytime soon. With a tired sigh, Aelita placed her arms around his waist and gradually began to squeeze, only to cause William to start laughing.
Oh, they would both regret everything in the morning.
"So then she said to me that she was busy with homework, and I told her I'd be happy to help her, and she gave me this look of love – I'm telling you guys, Sam is in love with me, there's no doubt."
"Look of love more like look of disbelief," Ulrich snorted. "You and homework put together in one room – the outcome should become a reality television show."
"Thanks for the support buddy. I can always count on you," Odd remarked sarcastically.
"Aelita you don't seem yourself, are you alright?" Yumi piped in, glancing at Aelita who had her eyes constantly shut, and her fork seemed to be slipping out of her hands.
She jumped at the sound of her name and suddenly everyone was looking at her.
"Nightmares again?" Jeremie asked.
"Well..." she began, turning to face William who was next to her, his chin in his hands, sound asleep.
The looks the group gave them after seeing the pair both tired out of their minds certainly was amusing to go through. They definitely regretted it. Their school work that day definitely regretted it too.