AN: Ok, time to dedicate this chapter! This time the lucky person is.... Aelita142! Congrats and thanks for taking the time to go through all the chapters and review them as you read them. It helps when I get feedback other than 'update' or 'update please.' I'm not saying I don't appreciate those kind of reviews, it just helps more when I see things from a reader's view, not just a writers. In your review, you said I was courageous to write about controversial stuff. I don't see it that way. Abuse is part of life for some people. I'm capturing only a small part of what I could and weaving it into my story rather than just make it a UlrichxYumi fluff sort of thing. Also, one person mentioned that Yumi has Ulrich's diary. She doesn't. It just so happens that they are the same color. Good spotting, though. :) And, I do know how to spell Jeremy's name correctly. Using Jeremy with just the y ending saves time since my spell checker isn't all that great. I know it's spelled Jeremie. And now, without further ado, here's chapter 18. As always, read, review, and enjoy!
As Yumi waited outside her house for Theo, a cool breeze blew gently through her hair. Goosebumps raised on her bare arms and once again she cursed herself for her choice of outfit. The top was made of black cloth that had a dash of glitter sprinkled lightly on it and was fashioned into a single-strap tank top. The one strap was tied tightly at the top of Yumi's left shoulder. The silky material clung to Yumi like a second skin and ended just above her belly-button. The skirt she wore came down to about mid-thigh and it too was made of black, clingy material.
Had the skies not darkened and the wind picked up, the ensemble would have been perfect. As it was, Yumi was beginning to freeze while she waited for Theo and she began to worry about the rain. If it rains, the concealer on her cheek and arm might wash off, leaving her in a fix. The storm clouds began to gather over the town and lightning flashed between the clouds.
Before the first raindrops could fall, Theo arrived and walked with Yumi to the dance. During the walk, Theo had insisted on wrapping his arm around her waist. Yumi cast a quick sideways glance at him as they walked and noticed his idea of dressing up was a pair of black dress slacks and a white buttoned shirt. Stopping short of the school, Yumi turned to face Theo.
"Just so you know, I promised each of my friends a dance tonight," she told him carefully.
"One dance each then," Theo said curtly. Yumi could read the anger in his eyes so she merely nodded.
Theo put his arm back around her waist and the two walked into the school. As they headed toward the gym, they passed by other couples. Tonight, Sissy was with Matt, a soccer player from another school (Remember Zero Gravity Zone?). Along with the couples there were small groups of friends and some students going solo. One of the groups contained Odd, Ulrich, and Jeremy.
"I don't know if she's coming," Odd said nervously, shoving his hands into ten pockets of the dark purple slacks he had chosen to wear for the dance.
"She will," Ulrich said reassuringly, "Samantha isn't one to miss a dance." While the was talking to Odd, Ulrich's eyes were darting around in search of Yumi. When he did spot her, he turned his head away in disgust. I can't believe she's letting him touch her like that, he thought jealously.
"Um... Ulrich? Aren't we going to go say hello to Yumi?" Jeremy said, breaking Ulrich's train of thought.
"You guys go ahead," Ulrich said, "I'll go see if I can find Sam for Odd."
"Are you sure?" Jeremy asked uncertainly.
"Positive." Shrugging, Jeremy and Odd walked over to where Yumi and Theo were standing.
"How's it going?" Odd asked.
"Fine," Theo said, looking impatiently at the gym door.
"How's Aelita?" Yumi asked Jeremy. The group had agreed that only mentioning her name would cause no problems so long as they didn't talk about Lyoko.
"She's fine," Jeremy said, "She says it's pretty boring where she is." Yumi got the hint and nodded.
"Einstein here has been cooped up these past few days working on his computer and talking to Aelita," Odd explained to Theo, "We decided he needed to have some fun so we pulled him out of his room and took his key. He can only get it back after the dance is over."
Yumi chuckled at Jeremy's plight and motioned for the group to go into the gym.
"Let's go in before the dance floor fills up," she suggested. Theo and Yumi led the way while Jeremy and Odd filed in behind them. Yumi's eyes scanned the crowd in search of Ulrich. But, try as she might, Yumi couldn't find him. I hope he came, Yumi thought, otherwise I'll have to be with Theo all night and I won't get to leave him for a dance with Ulrich. Deep in her heart, Yumi longed to see Ulrich again. She wished she knew what the kiss was all about this morning. Yumi knew it had been wrong to kiss him when she was technically going out with Theo, but the moment had carried her away and made her mind not see reason. Eventually, Yumi gave up looking for Ulrich and joined Theo in the first upbeat dance of the night. During the dances, Yumi made sure to keep an eye on Odd and Jeremy and as soon as the first slow dance began, she pulled away from Theo.
"I'll be back after this dance," she said, heading toward Jeremy, who was sitting in one of the chairs positioned around the gym. Jeremy glanced up when Yumi stopped in front of him. He looked at her questioningly, but she merely held out her hand to him and nodded at the dance floor. Getting the idea, Jeremy took her hand, stood up, and let her lead him onto the dance floor. Jeremy put his arms around her hesitantly and started dancing with her slowly after she put her arms around him.
"Why aren't you dancing with Theo?" Jeremy asked her quietly.
"I told him I promised each of you a dance," Yumi explained, "Could you pass the word on to Odd - Ulrich too if he's here."
"Ulrich's here," Jeremy said, "Last time I saw him was before Odd and I went over to talk to you and Theo. Ulrich went to look for Samantha for Odd."
"Sam's here?" Yumi said, looking around for the object of Odd's affection. Then she spotted the girl in question dancing with Odd. "Over there," she said, unwrapping her arm from behind Jeremy's back and pointing to the couple.
"I guess that means everybody has somebody except Ulrich and me," Jeremy said glumly.
"That's not true," Yumi protested, "You have Aelita. She may not be materialized yet, but she still cares about you. If not for me falling down the hole that one time, you would be dancing with her now. We both know you should have materialized her instead of me." The pair fell silent for a moment, then Yumi whispered, "It would have been better for everyone." Jeremy disagreed, but he could see the sadness in her eyes and stayed quiet. In truth, he wasn't very good with this sort of situation and was afraid he'd say the wrong thing.
As the song ended, Jeremy ventured his reply, "You know that's not true. We'd all miss you - Ulrich especially."
"He wouldn't care if I was lost forever. I doubt he would even cry if I died." In her heart, Yumi knew this was not true. Wasn't it only last night when he woke up crying from a nightmare where she got hurt? Still, for some reason saying those things had helped to heal her hurting heart.
Jeremy shook his head as they parted, amazed at how far Yumi had fallen so fast. Was this the same Yumi who had laughed and shared jokes with them? It didn't seem to be, but he knew Yumi hadn't been herself lately and attributed it to a combination of too much stress from Lyoko and school and too little sleep.
"Thank you for the dance, Jeremy," Yumi said, breaking his train of thought.
"Oh, uh yeah, anytime," Jeremy replied, heading back toward his chair as the next fast paced song blared over the speakers.
"I don't think so, Einstein," Odd said, grabbing onto the young genius' arm and pulling him back toward the dance floor.
With a sigh, Yumi went back to Theo, trying to put a pleasant look on her face. Little did she know, her every move was being watched by a set of unwavering eyes. Hands in his pockets and shoulder slumped, his eyes never left the raven-haired girl as the night progressed. Many girls had asked him to dance, but each time he had declined, and each time the girl had gone away to nurse her injured pride and wonder what it was that held his attention so strongly. When the fifth slow song of the evening began, he was pleased to see Yumi and Samantha switch partners.
"Odd, have you seen Ulrich anywhere?" Yumi asked her dance partner.
"Only just after we came in," Odd replied, "I haven't seen him since. Why? Do you still "owe him a dance" too? Or maybe you want something else." Odd looked at her knowingly, reminding her that the moment she and Ulrich had shared that morning, was it just that morning?, hadn't gone by unnoticed.
"A dance. All I want is a dance," Yumi said, blushing slightly.
"If I see him I'll let him know you're looking for him," Odd replied.
"How's Samantha liking the dance?" Yumi asked.
"Uh... She seems to be enjoying herself," Odd said, his cheeks turning crimson.
When the song ended, the friends parted and went back to their original dance partners.
"Now you're mine for the rest of the night," Theo said, putting his arm around her shoulders possessively and walking them toward the punch bowl.
"Except for one dance," Yumi corrected, "I still have to dance with Ulrich."
"I don't think so," Theo said coldly, "Not after this morning. In fact, I don't want you around him anymore." At this latest disguised order, Yumi pulled away from Theo in surprise. When he turned an icy glare on her, she looked away.
"I need to use the restroom," she said quietly, looking at the floor. Without looking at him, she walked toward the bathrooms and wrapped her arm around her stomach, as if warding off invisible blows. Two pairs of eyes followed her retreating form until she entered the restroom and the door obscured their view. The first pair of eyes that turned away had a harsh look to them. The second pair stayed trained on the door. The owner of these eyes watched from a shadowed corner as he had before. So far, he had been successful in avoiding Yumi, though the text message made it seem like she wanted to see him here at the dance. Fifteen minutes went by and the raven-haired girl had not emerged.
AN: Ok, now that you've seen this chapter, here's a bit of a spoiler for the next. BTW, I'm keeping author notes.
'She froze as she heard something that sounded like a gunshot. Her eyes darted around, looking for the source, and didn't see the tree branch plummet in her direction'
There you go! Please review before you leave! Thanks, and I'll see you in the next chapter!