Her arms felt like they were about to fall off, her feet felt like they had pins and needles stuck in at every angle, and her wallet felt considerably lighter than it had a couple hours ago. Aelita, however, didn't care a jot. She had gotten three dresses, two pairs of shoes, and a present for Jeremie all in one go.
Gods, being a girl was fun.
Yumi watched her as she smiled into the afternoon sunlight. "You're having fun," she observed, and Aelita grinned.
"You bet!' She giggled. "This was a good idea. Thanks again, Yumi."
Yumi chuckled, and swung her free around the shorter girl's shoulders. "Then let me introduce you to another fun tradition of a girls-only shopping spree: dishing about the boys we like." When Aelita blinked at her, Yumi's grin widened. "For example, a certain blond nerd that still trips over his feet whenever you walk into the room."
Aelita went bright red. Oh, no. "Yumi-"
The Japanese girl shook her head at Aelita's feeble attempts to argue, and Aelita gave up. When it came to this sort of thing, Yumi was even more stubborn than Aelita herself. She sighed as Yumi plopped down on a bench outside the store and patted the seat next to her.
"Well, what do you want to know?" She shrugged. "It's not like Jeremie and I-"
"Have you kissed him lately?"
Aelita's fading blush came back in full force at Yumi's direct question. "I don't know- have you and Ulrich gone on a date yet?" She asked waspishly. Yumi turned red at this, but shook her head.
"Don't even try to turn this one around on me, Princess," she said, wiggling her finger at Aelita like she was a toddler. "Tell me, have you or him ever made a move?"
Aelita stared at her, then shook her head.
"And why the hell not?"
"Yumi!" When Yumi just raised her eyebrows, Aelita sighed, and shrugged. "I…I don't know, Yumi. I…there's just… just never been the right time, I guess."
"Sometimes, Aelita, you have to make up your own moments," Yumi said sagely, nodding at her own wisdom.
"How?" Aelita stared at her. "How could…how could I?"
"You did once," When Aelita turned bright red and lowered her head, Yumi watched her carefully. "That kiss a couple years ago wasn't just a prank, was it?"
Aelita shook her head, not looking her friend in the face. "No, I was…I don't know. Curious. Annoyed? Frustrated?" She shook her head. "It's not like I deserved being kissed by him, after the way I acted."
"The way you-"
"Do you remember that day, Yumi?" Aelita's expression was suddenly quite far away. Even her voice had softened.
Yumi blushed a little herself, nodding. "How could I forget? That polymorph going around kissing everyone." She shuddered. "Weirdest attack ever." She watched Aelita closely. "No one was at their best that day, Princess, so don't-"
"I was such a fool!" The memory surging painfully in her heart and head, Aelita buried her face in her hands. "Such an idiot. I should've known." Yumi stared, surprised. Although she had an idea what had gone on in the Hermitage on that day, Aelita had never talked about it before. Aelita took her face out of her hands slowly. "We…Jeremie and I had had a fight. I was so stupid, going off and crying like some selfish child. I…" She shook her head, smiling self-mockingly. "I should've known the second that- that thing walked in the room that it wasn't Jeremie. I was so happy when he apologized, when he said wasn't angry with me anymore, and then..." she blushed again. "So surprised."
"It kissed you, didn't it?"
Aelita nodded, then pounded a fist against her knee, her emerald eyes angry and sad. "I should've known, Yumi. Jeremie would've never done anything like that. He would've stammered, or blushed. He was too smooth, too confident. His voice wasn't right, and he didn't smell the same-"
Yumi couldn't help raising her eyebrows at this. "Smell the same?"
Aelita blushed. "Jeremie…he has a scent, it's…it's like old books and soap. It's comforting and distracting and-" seeing Yumi's slow grin, Aelita shut up. "Anyway, I should've noticed the differences, but I-" She shook her head. "I was an idiot."
No, Yumi thought, but didn't say it out loud. You were happy and confused. "So when you realized it was a X.A.N.A clone, and not really Jeremie, you felt cheated out of your first kiss," she supplied, understanding and feeling even more sorrow for her friend than she had felt before.
Aelita nodded. "So, I guess I did that more out of…I wanted to know how he would really react, what it would actually feel like," she admitted, blushing vividly and touching her fingertips to her lips.
"And, how was it?" Yumi asked, wiggling her eyebrows at her.
Aelita turned red again, and shook her head. "I…I don't know how to describe it. I don't really remember." She winced a little at the small white lie, but there were some things she just couldn't describe without sounding like an idiot- or like one of the romance books she had started reading.
Yumi smiled a little. "Why don't you just refresh the memory, then?"
Aelita looked at her exasperatedly. "Haven't you been listening? There's never the right moment, or…I don't know if he even feels the same."
"Like hell you don't," Yumi retorted, ignoring the little glare Aelita sent at her. "Like I said, sometimes you have to find your own moments, Princess."
Aelita couldn't help but smile impishly. "Have you and Ulrich found yours yet?
Yumi blushed bright and mock-glared at her. "I'd rather not talk about it," she replied, and Aelita laughed in-spite of herself. Yumi smiled a little and patted the pink-haired girl on the shoulder. "Think about what I said, okay, Aelita? I don't want you and Jeremie going through life regretting not making a move." Before Aelita could respond to such a statement, Yumi stood and stretched. "We should probably get you back to the dorms," she said and Aelita blinked, looking around.
The sun was setting. Glancing at her watch, she winced: it was 6:30, and curfew was at 7:15.
"Yeah, we'd better go." She stood slowly, picking up her bags. As they started to walk, Aelita hoped that Yumi had dropped the subject of her kissing Jeremie. She shoved away the image her heart was trying to push in her head- one of she and Jeremie together as she had dreamed of for so long. As if that's ever going to happen, she thought, ignoring the empty sadness in her heart at the thought of being without him. I don't deserve him. The two girls walked mostly in silence all the way back to the school, Aelita trying- and failing, to keep the young genius out of her mind.

Back at the front gates, she grinned at Yumi. "Thanks again-"
Anything else she was going to say was cut off by a yelp as she dropped her bags in surprise.
Someone had just smacked her bottom.
Furious and embaressed, Aelita spun and glared at the offender- the boy who had flirted with her earlier.
"Could you at least pretend to have some molecule of intelligence and decorum?" she snapped, not realizing she had revered back into a more formal style of speech. Jeremie always did that when he was angry, a little voice reminded her in her head. It must've rubbed off. Aelita ignored this as the youth in her sight simply smirked and stepped closer.
"Come on, sweet heart, you can't possibly want to go back and spend the night with that geek you were with earlier," he drawled, loud enough for the whole courtyard to hear. Behind her, Yumi growled.
"You shut your fat mouth, Theo, or I could shut it for you," she threatened, but Aelita shook her head.
"He's not worth it," she said, glaring at Theo. "Not by a long shot. Stupid boy."
"Boy?" Catcalls echoed from other students who had gathered to see the spectacle. "Like hell, baby." He reached out towards her again, but Aelita just backed up. "I could make you way happier than that little four-eyed dork you hang out with." The air around them went about ten degree's colder, but Theo and his friends didn't seem to notice. "Yeah, babe, you need a real man's kiss" he added as if he didn't notice the fury etched in Aelita's expression.
"A real man, huh?" Aelita raised her eyebrows, then forced herself to smile. "You think you're a real man." She took a step toward him, and reached out a hand as if to touch his cheek.
"Yeah, I-"
Crack!
Aelita's fist whipped back, then slammed into Theo's face with enough force that the impact echoed. Theo cursed and backed up, holding his face.
"You little-"
"For your information, that 'four-eyed dork' you mentioned is ten times more a man that you ever will be," Aelita spat, her eyes to slits. The green shimmered like a cat's eyes, almost glowing. A small smirk grew on her lips. "Kisses included." She spun on her heel and started to walk away. Theo staggered forward, but Aelita turned back before he touched her.
"If you ever touch me again, or mess with Jeremie or any of my friends," she added, her voice ice cold. "You could consider what you just felt to be a token of my..." her lips curved again. "Affection." She nodded to Yumi, who saluted her with a awed look on her face, and strode into the dorms.
Not for the first time that day, she almost ran into someone. Three someones, in this case. Sighing, she looked wryly from one shocked face to another.
"If he reports to Jim, I can just tell him why I did," she started, but Odd and Ulrich shook their heads. Then, before she could stop them, they both engulfed her in a huge hug.
"That was awesome!" Ulrich half-shouted, and Odd tried to give her a noogie. Aelita wiggled her way out of their hold, and planted her hands on her hips, trying to grin. Boys were so strange.
"How was that awesome?"
"Theo's had it coming to him," Odd said simply. Ulrich rolled his eyes.
"He's just saying that because he stole Claire away last week," he told Aelita, then ducked Odd's half-hearted punch at his arm. Then he grinned. "But it's true. And it was awesome to see you do that. Good punch, Princess." Aelita blushed a little at the praise, and rubbed her fist.
"Um, thanks?"
"Aelita?"
She looked up, and past Odd and Ulrich, to the other young man standing there. She blushed, remembering what she had said to Theo. Had he heard that? Her face went hot. Oh, no. What if-
"Anyway, Aelita, that was seriously insanely cool," Odd said as he and his roommate exchanged glances.
"Yeah," Ulrich added, then nodded Jeremie. "Don't forget, Einstein, the battle against Pyramid Head starts in fifteen minutes." With that, the two walked away, hands tucked in pockets.
Left alone with no defenses, Aelita thought wildly as Jeremie smiled shyly, his cheeks pink. Never had she thought she'd need to defend herself from Jeremie, but, then again...
"Aelita, I..."
She smiled at him, hoping to change the subject before it got started. "How's the game challenge going?"
Jeremie blinked, then smiled. "Mission of kicking Odd's butt has already been accomplished," he informed her, making her laugh. "But...uh..."He looked at her, catching her gaze. Aelita bit her lip against that thrill in her heart, but gave up.
Find your right moment. Yumi's words from earlier echoed in her head.
"Aelita...I..." Jeremie hesitated, turning bright red, but took a step closer to her. "Uh...what you did..."
Aelita shook her head. "I shouldn't have lashed out like that, but-"
Jeremie was already shaking his head. "No, he shouldn't have done that," he told her, and for a moment, his blue eyes flashed to neon with anger. "It was crude and out of line." THe anger vanished when he smiled down at her. "YOu, however, were amazing."
Aelita blushed so bright she was sure smoke would becoming out of her ears. "Uh...I guess so?"
He smiled at her nervous answer, fidgeting nervously himself. "I...I'm sorry, but I couldn't help hearing what you said."
Oh, great. Just great. Aelita wasn't sure how she was blushing harder than before, but she was. "I...well, I needed something to yell, I guess."
Jeremie's smile faded a little, and she instantly felt like a fool. "So...you...you didn't meant it?" Jeremie winced, and blushed. "I mean..."
Find your moment.
Aelita took a breath, and stepped closer to him. "Well, I did," she said softly, and Jeremie went red all the way up to his ears. "I mean, I guess I exaggerated a bit." She bit her lip, and went on boldly, "I haven't had many other kisses to compare."
There. She said it. Sort of, anyway. Jeremie stared at her as if his eyes were about to bulge from his head. "Oh, well..."
Gods, we really are idiots, aren't we, Aelita thought wryly, and took another step forward. Brilliant fools, the pair of us. Me more than him, but..
Any other thought she was about to think was wiped clean when, a second later, Jeremie took a deep breath, leaned in, and kissed her.
She really hadn't forgotten anything, Aelita realized numbly, her heart pounding. She swore she could hear Jeremie's heart too, just as loud as hers. How could anyone forget such a feeling? No clone could have created such a sensation. Or a scent. Or a voice. She sighed into the kiss, not wanting to pull away.
After a second or an eternity, Jeremie pulled back and opened his eyes. His face was beat red, but he was smiling. Her head spinning, Aelita simply smiled at him.
"That's better," she whispered, then stood on her tiptoes and kissed him again.