A/N: So it turns out I didn't have as much free times as I thought I did... yeah... Anyway, I was thinking about what I should do for this chapter and I thought to myself 'Hey, Aubrey hasn't been attacked in a while." and right after that came "Ulrich hasn't been attacked a lot." Therefore, I am combining these two ideas into one maybe glorious chapter. That being said, Here We Go Again!
Chapter 10
~A good friend would bail you out of jail, a best friend would be the one sitting next to you. -Anonymous
"Whoa!" Odd yelled, grabbing Aubrey's arms to steady her. Moments before she had come sprinting down the hall and almost crashed into him. She looked up, panting heavily.
"Odd! Omigod, omigod, omigod, I have to go!" She rushed through her words, trying to sprint off again. Odd kept a tight grip on her arm.
"Hold on rabbit, what's going on?"
Honey eyes flickered nervously down the hall and then back to Odd. Aubrey took a deep breath.
"Okay, so I may or may not have accidentally left a bucket of water in front of the gym door that Jim tripped on and got his pant leg soaked to the point where it looks like he peed his pants..."
"You pranked Jim?" Odd laughed. He let Aubrey go in favor of using the wall to steady himself in his fit. The brunette looked horrified.
"NO! It was an accident! I was bringing the bucket of water back for Ms. Hertz who had someone clean her room for detention and I was going to dump it outside, but then I thought I saw a baby bunny out window and I wanted to see if it was really there so I dropped the bucket which was apparently in front of the door and Jim stepped on it!" She exclaimed all in one breath. She inhaled deeply when she was finished and looked at Odd to gauge his reaction. He had stopped laughing for a moment to listen, and was starring at her quizzically.
"So, you're going to get detention because you wanted to see a rabbit?"
"Yeah..."
Odd slid down the wall, drowning in laughter. Aubrey scowled at him, about to tell him off when-
"HEY!"
"I gotta go!" She exclaimed, taking off at the sound of Jim's voice echoing through the hall. Odd waved goodbye, still trying to control his breathing as Aubrey ran.
The next person she almost bumped into was Aelita out by the dormitories. Aubrey was just able to dodge the pinkette without hitting her as she sprinted past.
"Aubrey, what-"
"I just wanted to see the bunny!" She wailed, darting away.
A few moments later she past Jeremy who was walking out of the library and had almost hit her with the door. He was holding his laptop in his hands with a few books stacked up on top of that, balancing them carefully. Aubrey's tailwind almost knocked him over, and he had to stumble to keep his load.
"Aubrey!" He exclaimed.
"No time, running!" She gasped. Her side was starting to hurt. She didn't think she had ever run so much in her life, but she didn't want to get in trouble! She knew she wouldn't get in trouble with her parents because they believed that while she was at school, she was to be disciplined by the school, but that didn't mean she wanted two secluded hours with Jim.
Aubrey turned, moving to run into the woods when she smacked into a wall. She cried out as she fell forward, taking the wall with her. When they landed on the ground, the wall groaned.
"Oww..."
"Ulrich!" The girl asked, blushing and instantly rolling off of him. The boy groaned again, sitting up and holding his head with one hand.
"Aubrey, why were you running?"
"I was-"
"JOHNSON! STERN!"
"Noooo." Aubrey whimpered, hanging her head between her knees. Jim stomped his way over to the two students, absolutely fuming.
"I knew that I saw one brunette in the gym, but I didn't realize it was really two!"
Aubrey gasped "Wait, no! I was the only one-"
"Don't take the fall for this." Ulrich interrupted. "I was there."
"I KNEW IT!" Jim bellowed. "DETENTION, BOTH OF YOU TONIGHT FROM FIVE TO SEVEN IN THE LIBRARY!"
Aubrey shrunk back, wincing as Jim stomped away still mumbling under his breath. Ulrich turned to her.
"So, why are we in detention, and why does Jim look like he peed his pants?"
"Why did you do that?! I could have gone to detention myself! You weren't even involved!" The girl exclaimed. Ulrich shrugged.
"It's Jim, he probably wouldn't have believed you if you said I wasn't there. Once he sets his mind to something, he sticks to it."
"I'm sorry." Aubrey sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. They were just on the side of a dirt road behind the school, and neither cared to move. "Why did you have to be born brunette?"
"I don't know? My dad's a brunette and so is my mom. It'd be creepy if I wasn't."
"Then fate just likes screwing us over." She pouted. "So does Odd. I think he's still laughing at me in the middle of the hallway."
"Why would Odd be laughing at you?"
"Well, I was running from Jim, and at this point I had a bit of a lead, and then I bumped into him. He wouldn't let me leave until I told him what happened, so I explained. I went to ask Ms. Hertz about the homework due tomorrow as she had just finished her gross sunday afternoon detention, and afterwords she asked if I could bring the bucket and rag the student had used to clean her room back to the gym and dump it out. I was just walking to the other side of the gym when looked out the window and thought I saw a baby bunny. So, doing what any normal teenager would do, I put the bucket down to check. This is the funny part. I kind of put the bucket down in front of the door and then Jim came in, stepped in the bucket, fell and splashed the dirty water all over him. When I realized what happened I freaked out and ran. He must have just seen my hair."
"I'm not even that surprised." Ulrich said, shaking his head which ended up rubbing gently on Aubrey's since she was still leaning on him. She blushed, and was glad he wasn't looking at her so he couldn't see it. "The only thing I'm confused on is why you actually went to ask about homework."
"Jeremy." She answered simply like it explained everything. And for Ulrich, it did. They stayed where they were for a few minutes, silently enjoying each others company.
Aubrey's phone rang. She pulled it out, frowning when she noticed it was Odd.
"Hello?"
"Hey Rabbit. Where'd you hop off too?"
"Ran." She corrected. "For once, I actually ran."
"Jim should give you an A for that." Ulrich pointed out seriously. The girl nodded.
"I know!"
"Did he catch you? He asked me which way you went and since it's a one way hall I couldn't really lie..."
"Then why would he ask?"
"I don't even know."
"And yeah, I did get caught when I ran into Ulrich." She answered awkwardly. "Because he saw brunette hair, he now thinks that both Ulrich and I were there. We both have detention with Jim from five to seven."
"Ooooo, detention with Ulrich!"
"Shut up Odd!" She yelled, her face going completely red. Ulrich poked her cheek.
"What did he say?"
"Nothing!" She snapped. Then, back to Odd, "It's not a big deal."
"Does detention count as a first date?"
"ODD!" She yelled again. He chuckled.
"Put it on speaker, I wanna know what he's saying." Ulrich ordered.
"Yeah, put it on speaker~"
"No!" She answered both.
"Why not? Besides, I've had a few detention dates with girls before."
"That's sick." Aubrey commented, shaking her head. Ulrich raised an eyebrow, but learned his lesson and stayed silent.
"Are you saying you wouldn't go on a detention date with me?"
"I wouldn't do that with anyone."
"Not even Ulrich?"
"Go die." She deadpanned.
"You're so mean to me~ Anyway, Jeremy wants to have a mini meeting in his room. I trust that both you and Ulrich can give up your time together to come?"
"You're the one that's mean to me! And yeah, we'll be there."
"See you in a few! Bye Rabbit"
"Bye."
"So what was that about?" Ulrich asked once Aubrey hung up. She avoided eye contact with him, instead tucking her phone into her pocket and getting herself up off the ground. She dusted off her skirt and started walking away.
"Nothing." She excused. Ulrich jogged, catching up to her with just a few simple steps.
"That didn't really sound like nothing."
"I assure you it was." Aubrey answered, speeding up again so that she could hold her head up high without him seeing the red that still dusted her cheeks.
"What was it?"
"Not telling!" Aubrey taunted as she took off running towards the dorms. She knew Ulrich could probably catch her and she was already tired from running from Jim, but there was no way she was going to tell him that Odd was talking about them going on a date.
Or that deep down, she really liked the idea.
She tucked the thought away. She wasn't sure why yet, but for some reason she was beginning to see Ulrich in a different way... it was confusing. She just wanted to be around him more, and she wanted him to put his arm around her like he did the day they were talking about his 'crush' on Sissy (that she still wasn't sure if it existed or not, because the girl was gorgeous) and sometimes she even subtly scooted closer to him at lunch. At one point, she even wanted him to hold her hand. How weird was that?
It had started just after the conversation about Sissy, and since then she had been pushing every thought about him down into the back of her mind to review on a rainy day.
Aubrey burst into Jeremy's room panting, Ulrich right on her heels. Jeremy, Yumi, Aelita and Odd looked up, amused, and Odd waggled his eyebrows.
"Odd, what did you guys talk about on the phone?" Ulrich asked, turning to his roommate. Odd smirked.
"Well-"
"No!" Aubrey gasped, lunging forward. She landed on top of Odd, smacking a hand on top of his mouth. The two fell back, Odd laughing and neither noticing the compromising position they were in.
"You will say nothing." She hissed.
Odd nodded, and Aubrey removed her hand. He looked over at Ulrich and shrugged.
"Sorry man, the rabbit has threatened me, and we all know how scary that is. I've been sworn into secrecy."
"Right..." Ulrich trailed off, his eyes flickering between Odd and Aubrey. Aubrey looked down, just realizing that she was practically nose to nose with Odd. She gasped, scrambling up and squishing herself on the floor between Aelita and Yumi with a red face. Aelita pat her back while Yumi just stared, amused.
Aubrey cleared her throat. "So uh... we were having a meeting?"
"Right." Jeremy agreed. "So, Aelita and I didn't want to announce this until we were sure it would work, but we might have found a way to explore the digital sea!"
"What?!"
"No way!"
"Seriously?"
Aubrey didn't say anything, just froze in her spot. Explore...the digital sea... as in go under water... in a place that could kill her...
Her face paled.
"Isn't this great!" Aelita asked. "We may finally be able to find my father."
"How would we do it?" Yumi asked.
"Well, nothing is set in stone, but the basic idea is that we'll create a ship that can travel through the digital sea like a submarine."
Submarine...completely submerged in water...
"There would be one main pod and then four other pods, one for each of you. The pods would be able to detach so that you can pilot on you own if you need to, but for the most part you'll each just have your own space, and the whole ship would be piloted by Aelita."
All by herself...detached from everyone...
"We only have the basic codes and design right now, but in about a month or so it should probably be ready for a test run."
"I like it."
"Sounds cool."
"As long as it runs I'm game."
"Great..."
"Aubrey, everything okay? You look a little pale." Aelita asked in concern. It was then that Ulrich remembered what Aubrey had told him about her having a fear of the ocean. He mentally hit himself.
"She's fine." He answered quickly. "Just worried about the detention we got earlier. In fact, that's in fifteen minutes, so we should probably get going."
Jeremy sighed in annoyance. "Is it really so hard to stay out of trouble?"
"It was an accident!" Aubrey exclaimed, cutting back into the conversation as her normal self.
"How?"
"Odd can explain." Ulrich answered, grabbing Aubrey's wrist and pulling her up. "Right now, we have to go."
"Bye guys." Aubrey called as they went out the door. Once they were in the hallway, Ulrich let go of her wrist and they began to walk side by side down to the library.
"Are you okay?" Ulrich asked, his voice dripping with concern. Aubrey's mouth opened, ready to give the standard 'I'm fine' when she paused for a moment. Then, in a move that even surprised herself, she shook her head.
"I don't know."
"Are you afraid of the digital sea?"
"I- yeah." The girl admitted quietly. "When we're on a landform on Lyoko, I don't feel so scared because I know where I'm going and I can see everything around me, even if the sector is limited. When I jump, I know where I'll fall. And even on the Overkite, I'm in the air but I always stay above land so that if I do get knocked off it's not into the sea... But just the thought of leaving land is really scary. We don't know what's down there, how to navigate it or anything. What if it's just a great big mass of nothing?"
"Jeremy will do test runs to make sure that we'll be completely safe. You know he would never send us into anything without being almost one hundred percent positive it was safe unless it's absolutely necessary."
"I know." Aubrey answered quietly. "It's just that, being in that confined space all by myself surrounded by water just... I don't know if I can do it."
"And you don't have to." Ulrich answered. "No one is going to force you to go if you don't think you can do it, but don't decide that now. We still have a month or more until this ship is built and ready to use. Use that time to prepare yourself, and remember why you're going."
"So, like, psych myself up?"
"Yeah." Ulrich agreed, grabbing her hand and giving it a quick squeeze, partly for comfort and partly so she would know he was there. The girl's face went slightly red, but she smiled at him and squeezed back before letting go.
"Okay, I think I can handle that."
By then they had reached the library. Ulrich opened the door for her, making an over exaggerated bow in the process, and she curtsied back before entering. The two giggled quietly, only stopping when they were glared at by Jim.
"Listen up. You two trouble makers are the only ones here tonight, and I don't want to waste my time watching you, so the librarian will keep an eye out. You stay on opposite sides of the library, you don't talk, eat, or sleep. Just reflect on what you've done. When the time is served, you can go to the mess hall for dinner. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir!" Aubrey and Ulrich answered, saluting him. He looked smug with himself, obviously not understanding the sarcasm.
"Good. Johnson, you go to the left. Stern, table on the right.
"Yes sir!" They repeated, marching off in separate directions. Aubrey was giggling to herself while Ulrich held back a smirk.
Almost as soon as they were seated Jim turned and left the library. The librarian was sitting at her desk, out of view, probably just reading a book. That's what she usually did, and when someone talked they got shushed not for disturbing other people, but for disturbing her.
Leaving the two students alone with her was a bad idea.
About a minute into the detention, Ulrich got up, walked over to Aubrey, and sat down again next to her with a book in his hands. She looked at him curiously, so he placed the book down and pointed to the title.
'Where's Waldo, The Wonder Book!'
Aubrey shook her head, but she was smiling cheek to cheek. Ulrich raised his eyebrow, opened the first page and gestured with his hand.
'Want to see who finds him first?'
Aubrey nodded.
'You're on.'
After ten minutes of hard searching, Ulrich had found the first Waldo. Aubrey scowled, but flipped the page and was already searching again when suddenly...
BANG!
The two students jumped, startled, and turned to where they thought the noise was coming from. Ulrich suddenly grabbed Aubrey and yanked her down under the table. Startled, the girl looked up and gasped when she saw a desk go flying into the chair Ulrich had been sitting in, effectively smashing it to bits and knocking Aubrey's onto the floor.
"Wh-What?"
"Shhhh." Ulrich shushed the girl, placing a hand over her mouth and popping his head up. He was surprised to see the librarian standing about 30 feet away, breathing heavily with electricity sparking at her fingertips. Gray hair fell out of her bun, framing her face with the tips just touching her pink cardigan. Her glasses had been discarded onto the floor and broken, revealing her suddenly large blue pupils.
"X.A.N.A." Ulrich hissed.
'ring...ring...ri-'
"Hello?" Aubrey whispered. The librarian suddenly charged forewords, and Ulrich dove to his left, wrapping an arm around Aubrey's waist bringing her with him as he rolled out from under the table. She gasped again, and then yelped when the table was broken in half by the librarians fist. Ulrich yanked her up, grabbing her wrist and bringing her with him as they took off running through the isle of books.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but I won't be if the librarian keeps attacking!...Well I'm sorry, but we're a bit preoccupied right no- ah!"
Aubrey ducked as a book sailed over her head and embedded itself into the wall. Ulrich grit his teeth, tugging her along before she could look back.
"I've got to go, please deactivate the tower soon." Aubrey begged, hanging up the phone. She and Ulrich leaned against a shelf, trying to keep themselves from panting. The librarians heels echoed through the room as she searched for them.
"When I say so, help me push this shelf down." Ulrich whispered. Aubrey nodded, afraid that if she spoke she would give away their location.
The librarian was getting closer and closer. Just when Aubrey was sure they would be found, Ulrich yelled out.
"NOW!"
The two turned, using all their might to push the book case. It teetered for a few moments before finally falling and crashing onto the librarian who screamed in rage.
"Run!" Ulrich gasped, taking Aubrey's wrist again and dragging her along. They sprinted to the other side of the room and turned, almost running into a metal door. Ulrich yanked it open, shoving Aubrey inside before getting in himself. He quietly shut the door behind him and grabbed a broom from the wall next to him, jabbing it into the door handle acting as a lock for the room.
Aubrey shuffled back until she hit the far wall and slid down, hugging her legs to her body as she tried to control her breathing. The room was small, probably about 7'ft by 6'ft and completely dark except for the small light seeping through the bottom crack of the door. Cleaning supplies was scattered carelessly through the room, and Aubrey was honestly surprised she hadn't tripped. Ulrich carefully walked over to her and sat down next to her in the corner behind a pressure washer. He pulled a wooden board over it to create a hiding space and grabbed Aubrey's hand, gently tugging her over. Aubrey scooted blindly until she found herself situated between the wall and Ulrich. She bit her lip, glad for the darkness when Ulrich wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Are you okay?" He whispered quietly. Aubrey gulped, taking in a shaky breath before answering.
"Yeah. Jeremy said it was a X.A.N.A attack. The others should just be getting on Lyoko."
"Let's hope they're quick." Ulrich mumbled. "Can you shoot Jeremy a text so he knows we're okay?"
"Sure." The brunette nodded, pulling out her phone. She made sure it was on silent before opening her messages.
To Jeremy:
Ulrich and I are fine for now. The librarian is attacking us. Currently hiding in a closet, please settle this soon.
p.s. We broke a lot of stuff, a return to the past is necessary.
Satisfied, the girl hit send.
"All good." She whispered, tucking her phone away. Ulrich nodded, shifting so that they were slightly closer together and better hidden.
The clanking of heels grew louder by the second.
"Come out come out wherever you are~!"
"Oh my god." Aubrey whimpered, covering her ears as she began shaking like a leaf. The librarians voice was already terrifying, but when mixed with that of X.A.N.A's it sounded straight out of a horror film. Ulrich's jaw tightened, and he pulled Aubrey closer to him, but whether that was for her comfort or his own he wasn't sure.
"You can't hide forever~!"
"Make it stop." Aubrey whispered. She was definitely going to have nightmares tonight. The footsteps came closer and closer until they stopped just outside the door. Both teens held their breath.
Five seconds.
Six.
Seven.
And then they began again, moving away from the door.
"Thank god." Aubrey whispered, untensing slightly.
"Yeah." Ulrich agreed, chuckling with relief.
BANG!
Aubrey jumped, letting out an involuntary shriek as the librarian crashed into the door. The handle began jiggling violently as she tried to get in.
Ulrich sprang up, rushing over to the door and putting all his weight in keeping the metal handle down. His body was suddenly filled with electricity and let out a pained yell, slumping onto the floor.
"Ulrich!" Aubrey screamed.
The door flew open, knocking Ulrich all the way against the back wall and snapping the broom in half. The librarian was standing their, cackling. The dark blue X.A.N.A symbol was pulsing violently in her eyes, her hair was standing up, forming a crown around her and her entire body was crackling with electricity mostly gathered in her hands.
Ulrich groaned, only half conscious on the floor.
The librarian took a step closer.
"G-get away from him!" Aubrey screamed, jumping up. She pushed the heavy wood board over, knocking it into the possessed woman's shoulder.
She didn't even flinch.
But Aubrey was pretty sure she did just get madder.
The girl swallowed, finding her courage as she jumped in front of Ulrich, spreading out her body to protect him.
"Aubrey..." He mumbled.
"G-get away!" The girl screamed. "I won't let you hurt him!"
She stepped closer.
"Y-you'll have to get through me first!"
The librarian chuckled under her breath and raised her fists up as though to say 'that's completely fine, I don't mind.'
Aubrey gulped.
She
was
so
screwed.
She closed her eyes, bracing her self for her imminent doom. Ulrich mumbled something, but she couldn't hear him. She was blocking out his voice. It was all she could do to keep herself from burrowing into him and asking for protection.
This time, she would protect him.
The librarian, no, X.A.N.A screamed out a war cry as he lunged at Aubrey, an electrified fist stretched out towards her.
Three things happened.
Ulrich swept his leg across, knocking Aubrey off her feet.
X.A.N.A's fist dug into the wall behind her.
And the whole world was enveloped in white.
Aubrey was running down the dirt road behind the school. She suddenly came to a stop, doubling over as she panted.
"I-I'm alive." She questioned. She stood up, wiggling her fingers and toes, feeling her stomach, and then jumped up, whooping with joy.
"I'm alive!" She cheered.
"JOHNSON!"
"But not for long..." She trailed off, just now realizing that the return to the past had taken her back to when she was running from Jim. She could see Ulrich walking up ahead, and he had frozen, staring at her wide eyed.
"JOHNSON!" Jim screamed again, turning her to face him. His entire face was completely red, and he was puffing heavily. If it wasn't for the fact his pupils were normal and she had just come back from an attack, Aubrey would have guessed he had been possessed by X.A.N.A. She gulped.
"Y-yes?"
"DETENTION, FIVE TO SEVEN, IN THE LIBRARY!" He screamed.
Aubrey sighed.
Well, at least she hadn't gotten Ulrich in trouble.
Aubrey paused, enjoying her last moments of freedom before entering the library. Jim's back was to her, but she could see that he had been waiting. When the door closed, he turned to her.
"Great, now that you're here we can begin. Listen up. You're the only ones here tonight, and I don't want to waste my time watching you, so the librarian will keep an eye out. You stay on opposite sides of the library, you don't talk, eat, or sleep. Just reflect on what you've done. When the time is served, you can go to the mess hall for dinner. Johnson, you're on the left. Stern, you're on the right. Is that clear?"
"Stern?" Aubrey asked in confusion. She knew she hadn't gotten Ulrich in trouble, so why did it sound like he was here?
Then, Ulrich stepped side ways, revealing himself from his spot behind Jim and waved. Aubrey stared at him, eyes wide.
"Why is he here?!"
"Little trouble maker thought it would funny to throw water balloons at me from the dormitory window, so you'll both be serving time." Jim grumbled. "Now sit down, and stay quiet." He ordered, briskly walking out of the room. Once he was gone, Aubrey rushed over to Ulrich.
"Why would you get yourself into trouble? You were off the hook!"
"Yeah well, Jim made me demonstrate the bars yesterday, so I had to do ten extra reps. Besides, we still have to finish our game of where's Waldo." He answered carelessly. Aubrey shook her head.
"You're insane."
"So are you, getting detention just because you wanted to see a little bunny."
"It was an accident!" Aubrey defended. Ulrich rolled his eyes, poking fun at her as the two went to sit down at a table.
Aubrey was trying really hard to ignore any feelings for Ulrich beyond friendship, but boy was he making it difficult.
That rainy day couldn't come soon enough.
A/N: I am sooooo sorry about not updating, I didn't realize that three weeks had already gone by. To make up for it, I pushed myself to go above and beyond what I usually type, making this chapter an extra three pages and reaching 100 total pages on word document. Happy 100! My offer from before still stands, if you have any ideas you really want to see in this story let me know and I'll try to add them in. I hope this chapter was fluffy enough for you, I was really trying to make it cute and get Aubrey to start seeing Ulrich as something more then a friend. Still, I have no idea if this was satisfying, so if you thought it was, leave a review!