Chapter 11

Accept what is, let go of what was and have faith in what will be. ~Anonymous

"Okay, so would you rather have to sing on a stage in front of a hundred strangers, or in front of your favorite band?" Ulrich asked. He, Odd and Aubrey were engaged in a game of 'would you rather' during lunch. Meanwhile, Yumi was working on homework and Jeremy was working with Aelita on the ship that was supposed to get them into the digital sea.

"My favorite band." Aubrey answered instantly. "That's less people."

"Yeah, but the strangers would forget you." Odd threw in.

"But band members probably hear fans sing all the time, so they wouldn't judge so harshly."

"Wouldn't you feel more like a star if you sang in front of strangers?"

"No!" Aubrey argued. "I have stage fright, so the less the better."

"Hold up." Ulrich interrupted the debate. "If you have stage fright, does that mean you've preformed on stage before?"

"I...uh..."

"Oh!" Aelita cut in, turning away from Jeremy's lap top. "You used to like to sing a lot, I remember that. For four years old, you were really good! Is that what you did?"

Aubrey's entire face went red. "I-I-I-I-"

"It is!" Odd yelled out in excitement. "You can sing?!"

"Everyone can sing!" She sputtered back.

"But the question is, were you good enough to go on stage." Ulrich added, pointing at her with his fork which had a piece of broccoli on it. She bit her lip.

"Okay! Yes I can sing, and I was on stage. It was in third grade. I was singing a duet in our pageant, and I was doing really well, but then the lights came back on in the middle of the preformance because some parents couldn't find their child and I saw how many people there were. It made me panic. I missed a few notes and my voice got scratchier to the point where I felt like crying when it was over. Everyone still clapped, but I can't forget the disappointed look on my teacher's face."

"Come on' rabbit, you can't let that get you down! Would you at least sing for us?" Odd asked with a puppy dog look. Aubrey scooted closer to Ulrich, shoving a hand over her own eyes.

"That won't work if I can't see you!"

"Really? Ulrich asked, amused. He grabbed Aubrey's arm and pinned it against her side from behind her, then quickly did the same with the other side. She squealed, struggling against him.

"Ulrich, no! If I'll look I'll give in!"

"Come on rabbit~" Odd begged, catching her eyes. His eyes had gone huge, he was pouting, and his bottom lip was quivering as though he were about to cry.

"No!"

"Please?"

"NO!"

"Please~"

"Maybe!" Aubrey finally agreed. Odd cheered, throwing a fist into the air while Ulrich let go of her with a smirk on his face. Aubrey huffed crossing her arms.

"If that's the way you guys are gonna be, then my bed sounds like much better company."

"Oh, hold on." Odd paused. "I just remembered, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Really?" The girl asked, titling her head in confusion. "What is it?"

Odd's eyes scanned over all of his friends who had paused what they were doing to listen in. He frowned.

"Actually, do you think we could go outside?"

"Umm... sure?" Aubrey agreed, but it sounded like more of a question. Odd got up, standing next to Aubrey's chair and waited patiently. So he was serious...

"See you guys later, I guess." Aubrey smiled sheepishly at her friends, getting up and waving to them before following Odd outside. As he watched them go, Ulrich felt a scowl form on his face. Suddenly, he wasn't all that hungry anymore.

"So what's up?" Aubrey asked, leaning against a tree. They were outside behind the gym, a place that Odd had assured her was private.

"Okay, I'm just going to ask straight out." He took a deep breath, and then blurted all at once-

"Canyouhelpmeplanandsetupfortheannualhalloweenparty?"

.

.

.

.

"What Halloween party?" Aubrey asked. For a moment, Odd was surprised that she understood, but then he remembered that blubbering was basically her second language.

"Well, every year, Kadic Academy has an annual party to celebrate halloween. Usually, the class presidents form a committee to plan, purchase, and decorate, but I kind of... scared them away."

"Odd, what did you do?" Aubrey asked, giving her friend a disapproving look. His hands shot up to defend his body.

"Okay, in my defense, everyones' ideas sucked but mine! The parties the past few years have been kind of lame, so I said that everyone should just let me lead the committee. They said that since I was so confident, I could do everything myself and now I have to make it a success just to rub it in their faces! So what'd you say? Help a pal out?"

Aubrey's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why didn't you ask any of our other friends to?"

"Because it's supposed to be a surprise! The less people to know, the better. I know they wouldn't tell anyone, but I just feel like I need to prove to everyone that I'm not as irresponsible as they think I am. Plus, if you help me, you can prove to them that you're not as irresponsible as they think you are either!"

"But I am just as irresponsible as they think I am."

"That's not a good thing."

"Oh... Still, why not ask someone else?"

Odd sighed dramatically. "Because, Jeremy and Aelita are busy with the submarine thingy, Yumi has homework and Ulrich would tell me that I got myself into this mess, so I have to get myself out of it. Come on Aubrey, pllleeeeaaaasssseeee?"

He was basically begging now. Aubrey lifted a finger to her chin. On one hand, she would be missing some of her 'me' time. On the other hand, Jeremy couldn't bother her as much to do homework, she would have an excuse herself not to do homework, and it would help her fit in more at the academy. Besides, it's not like it would be boring working with Odd, he was one of the funnest people she knew!

"Alright, you have yourself a deal."

"Thank you!" Odd exclaimed, hugging her. "I knew you would help! That's why I already signed you up to be on my committee!"

"You did what?"

"Let's meet after school in your room so we can start planning, okay?"

"W-wait! I-"

"No time, we have to get to class!" Odd yelled, grabbing Aubrey's wrist and tugging her along as they raced to class.

What did she just get herself into?

Sunday came around in no time. Aubrey was surprised to realize that it had almost been a month since she had begun going to Kadic at the end of September. Yes, it was weird that she had missed the first few days, but there had been some issues with the application and mailing processes. She stared at the wall in a sleepy daze, remembering bits and pieces of her conversation with her parents that night on Skype. They had mostly asked her how she was fitting in, what the school was like, and if she had made any friends. Several times Aubrey almost told them about X.A.N.A, but she held her tongue. It was hard keeping this secret from them, seeing as she usually told them everything.

She rolled over again, grabbed her phone and held it above her face.

2 new messages.

Aubrey frowned. It was only 9:30, so who messaged her?

Odd: Meet me in the gym around 10:00. Time to set up.

Ulrich: Wanna go for a walk?

Her heart fluttered at the message from Ulrich, but then groaned when she realized that she couldn't go because she had to help Odd. Sighing, she messaged them back.

To Odd: I expect food.

To Ulrich: Sorry! I have to help out Odd with some stuff, rain check?

Odd answered first.

Odd: I have a granola bar with your name on it.

To Odd: It better be delicious.

It took a bit longer, but Ulrich's message came in next.

Ulrich: Okay, sure. Can you go later? And what are you helping Odd with?

To Ulrich: Classified, sorry! ^.^ how about after dinner?

Her clock now read 9:38. Figuring Odd would have a cow if she was late, Aubrey pulled herself out of her blanket cocoon and began to get dressed. She decided on wearing a simple pair of work out shorts and a red tank. She pushed all her hair up into a pony tail with several clips to keep her bangs back and threw on her converse before leaving.

"Odd, what is all this stuff?" Aubrey asked, glancing around the gym. It was full of card board boxes with items leaking out of them, all festive to Halloween. Odd was in the middle of it, rummaging through a box for things he could use. The blondes head popped up.

"Rabbit! There you are. Anyway, these are all the Halloween decorations the school owns along with a few of my own personal items. We even get a pick at it before the teachers!"

"Umm..." Aubrey stared at everything, feeling overwhelmed. They had to set up all this?

"We'll start by dividing the boxes into hanging decorations, wall decorations and floor decorations."

"Odd, am I the only one on the committee?"

At the confusion in her voice, Odd's attention snapped back to her. "Yeah, I thought you knew that."

"I figured at least some of the under class men would help!"

"Who needs 'em?" Odd scoffed. "We can handle this, can't we?"

"I hope..."

After about half an hour, Odd and Aubrey had finally sorted all the boxes.

"So what now?" Aubrey asked.

Odd shrugged. "I guess we start decorating. Let's start with cobwebs in the corners."

"Sounds good." The girl agreed.

Odd handed her a small bundle of webs and both agreed that Aubrey would take the far right while he would take the far left. Aubrey took a small stool along with her so she would be able to reach as she set the webs up. For a while, she stared at the corner. She wasn't exactly sure what to do, but stretching several clumps as mush as she could without breaking them seemed like a good idea.

"So I'll put the first piece here and then pull." Aubrey mumbled to herself. She stepped onto the stool which wobbled a bit and grabbed a piece of tape. Then, she began separating the web to find a point to tape it on.

"Oh, hey Principle Delmas! We just began setting up."

Aubrey turned. The principle had just walked in and Odd greeted him, but he wasn't saying anything in return. Instead, he just kept walking towards them.

"We're setting up cobwebs in the corner. What do you think?" Odd asked, oblivious to his strange behavior.

"Odd-" Aubrey began. Suddenly, Delmas' attention snapped towards her and he threw out his hand which was charged with electricity. Aubrey screamed and dove out of the way, narrowly avoiding the large ball of electricity that had just embedded itself into the wall.

"What the heck?!" Aubrey screamed, sitting up. Delmas was preparing to throw another ball at her when Odd tackled him to the ground.

"Odd!"

"Aubrey, it's a X.A.N.A attack! Call Jeremy and get to the factory, I'll deal with Delmas."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course!" He answered, winking at her. Then, he picked up a wooden pole with a scarecrow on it it and squared off with the X.A.N.A controlled Principle.

"Be safe!" Aubrey yelled, sprinting out the door. She pulled her phone out from the waist line of her shorts and dialed Jeremy.

ring..ring..ri-

"Hello?"

"Jeremy, there's a X.A.N.A attack! Odd's fighting Delmas right now in the gym and I'm on my way to the factory. Where are you?"

"I'm in the sewer now with Aelita about to head over. I'll call Ulrich and Yumi, just get here soon!"

"I'll do my best." Aubrey answered determinedly. She and Jeremy both hung up and Aubrey sped up. As she was getting closer to the manhole, she saw another figuring running towards it from the other direction.

"Ulrich?" She asked when she was close enough. Ulrich fell into step with her and waved.

"Hey Aubrey."

"That was fast." She commented. Ulrich shrugged.

"I was nearby."

When they arrived to the sewers, Yumi was already there waiting for them. She smiled at her two friends.

"I'm going to go see if I can help Odd."

"He's in the gym." The brown haired girl informed.

"Be careful." Ulrich warned. Yumi nodded. While she began climbing back up the ladder the two other teens each grabbed a skate board and headed out.

"So what were you doing with Odd in the gym?" Ulrich asked casually. Aubrey smiled sheepishly.

"I guess the cat's out of the bag. Don't tell him I told you, but we were setting up for the Halloween dance next week. Odd ended up intimidating everyone else away with his awesome ideas, so it's just me and him."

Ulrich frowned. "Just you two? Why didn't he ask me to help?"

"Something about proving himself. I don't know, you'll have to ask his man pride." Aubrey giggled. "But I didn't want to leave him by himself, so I agreed to help."

"Huh." The boy mumbled, losing himself in thoughts. Aubrey studied him a bit as they continued the small skate boarding trip. His eyebrows were furrowed, end every once in a while he would glance at her before getting lost in thought again.

'I wonder what's up?' The girl wondered. She shrugged it off. This was a X.A.N.A attack, not time to worry about her cru- FRIEND'S problem. She'd ask later.

Aubrey was the first up the ladder and Ulrich trailed behind her. They got into the elevator no problem and were met by Jeremy when they got out.

"Aelita is waiting down in the scanner room." He informed.

"That might have been nice to know ahead of time." Ulrich mumbled, punching in the code again. The next time they stepped out Aelita met them at the doors.

"Where's Yumi?"

"She went to help Odd." Ulrich answered, walking briskly into a scanner. Aelita looked at Aubrey who shrugged before both girls got into a scanner.

"We're ready Jeremy!" The pinkette called out.

"Okay, here we go! Transfer Ulrich, Transfer Aubrey, Transfer Aelita."

Each time they got into the scanners, Aubrey felt a little less scared.

"Scanner Ulrich, Scanner Aubrey, Scanner Aelita."

Aubrey felt her hair flying up by the force of the scan.

"Virtualization!"

"I already loaded the Overkite and Overbike. Head west. The tower shouldn't be to far from your current location."

"I'm with Aubrey!" Aelita announced quickly, looking bubbly as she rushed over to the hang glider. Aubrey grinned as she ran over as well.

"Hear that Ulrich, I'm the favorite!"

"Whatever." The teen rolled his eyes, but there was still a smile on his face.

Jeremy had sent them to the Mountain sector. Aubrey was still fascinated by all the floating mountains and majestic landscape, and the fact that all of this was a virtual world.

"Ready to go?" Aelita asked, hopping into position. Aubrey laughed as she grabbed onto the front bar.

"I was just about to ask you that. Let's go!" She jumped up, launching herself and Aelita into the air. Ulrich revved up his engines, following after them.

"So what's up with Ulrich?"

"What'd you mean?" Aubrey asked, purposely focusing on her steering. Aelita snorted.

"You know what I mean. He seemed a bit irritated in the scanner room today."

"I have no idea." The brunette answered honestly. "I mean, he asked to go for a walk this morning and I told him I couldn't because I was helping Odd and I also couldn't tell him what we were doing. Then, when I met up with him on the way here I told him Odd and I were decorating the gym. He asked if it was just us alone and why he wasn't invited. Do you think he's mad because he wasn't invited?"

Aelita giggled.

"What?"

"Aubrey, he was jealous!"

"J-jealous? Of what?"

"You spending time with Odd."

"Why? Odd and I are friends."

"Because- Watch out!"

The two girls dodged just in time to avoid a slicing, thin red light. Aubrey followed the source to what looked like giant black bowling balls.

"What are those?!"

"Megatanks. They shoot vertical beams, and one hit gets you devirtualized."

"Okay. So don't get his." Aubrey muttered. She steered the Overkite down so they were closer to Ulrich.

"What's the plan?" She asked. They circled around the tower in order to avoid being it.

"When they open up, they have to charge for three seconds before they can fire. You have to hit them within that time period. I'll take the one behind us, you get the one up ahead."

"Good luck!" Aubrey called as Ulrich stopped and pivoted his bike. He nodded to her and took off.

"Okay Aelita, this is what we'll do. We're gonna follow that Megatank low to the ground. When it opens up, I'll drop down and destroy it. You get to the tower."

"You're getting better at this." Aelita grinned. She nodded, and the two girls put their plan into action. They steered the Overkite down, gaining speed as they followed the megatank. It continued on for a few seconds before stopping and opening.

"Here goes!" Aubrey yelled. She folded her arms and legs in, dropping from her vehicle. As she dove down, she reached back and grabbed the sai from their Hollister. Gritting her teeth, she threw them with a flick of her wrists down into the Megatank's X.A.N.A symbol. The small blades embedded inside, and the monster shook for a moment before exploding. Aubrey landed in the aftershock, throwing her back a bit and ruining her landing. As she lay on the ground, she gave herself a moment to let the adrenaline wear down.

"Man, that would have looked so cool if I stuck the landing."

"Well done Aubrey! Aelita just made it inside the tower."

"Hurray." She mumbled. Soon, the world was enveloped in a white light.

"We have to organize them all over again?!" Aubrey yelled in shock. She and Odd were just beginning to set all the boxes up.

"Yeah, hehe." Odd laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "But it should be quicker now since we know what's in each box, right?"

"You think I remember all that?!" The brunette groaned. Odd shrugged.

"Either way, we have to get back to work."

"You suck." Aubrey mumbled, beginning to push boxes. "Why can't we ask Ulrich for help?"

"Remember what I said?"

"But they all know about it after that attack anyway! Come on, pleaseeee?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

"Come ooonnnnnnn."

"Aubrey."

"Odd."

"No."

"Yes."

"He'll just distract you!"

"WILL NOT!" Aubrey argued, her face bursting with color.

"Umm... are you guys fighting?"

"NO!" The two answered at the same time, looking at the door. Aubrey grinned.

"Ulrich!"

"Need some help?" He asked, walking over and inspecting the boxes. Odd sighed with defeat.

"Yes."

"Yes...?"

"Yes please!"

"Sure thing buddy." Ulrich laughed, patting him on the back. With that resolved, the three got to work.

"Hey Yumi!" Aubrey called, waving to her Japanese friend. She had decided to sit outside while Odd and Ulrich finished up for the day. All that was left was putting away some of the heavier tools. They had gotten pretty far, but there was still a lot to be done.

"Hey Aubrey, how are you?" Yumi asked, taking a seat in the grass next to her. They were sitting just outside the gym.

"Tired. Odd, Ulrich and I have been decorating all day."

"Those decorations make pretty good weapons." She answered nonchalantly. The two girls looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"I was actually looking for you, you know." Yumi admitted when the giggles subsided. Aubrey gazed at her curiously.

"How come?"

"You like Ulrich, don't you?" Yumi asked bluntly. Aubrey felt her face heat up and waved her hands frantically.

"N-n-no! He, we just, we're friends!"

"Uh huh."

"We are!"

"Well." Yumi started. She looked out at the field. "I used to be just like you."

"What'd you mean?"

"I used to have a crush on Ulrich too, and I wouldn't admit it to myself."

"You did?!" Aubrey exclaimed, shocked.

"I did, but I always suppressed it. With X.A.N.A around, I figured that it was never a good time. Plus, we were in separate grades so I didn't see him as often."

"What did you do?" Aubrey asked, a pit forming in her stomach.

"I kept ignoring it. Then one day, William came along."

"The guy who always attacks us?"

"He wasn't always like that." Yumi defended gently. "When I first met him, I thought he was a bit of a playboy. He was so nonchalant and cool, and he always seemed to subtly flirt with me like trying to be my partner and sit next to me in class. He asked so many questions just to learn more about me, and soon I realized I was the only one he was doing it too. It made me feel special, and I found myself slowly falling for him too. It actually caused quite a few jealous fights between Ulrich and myself."

"U-Ulrich was jealous? Why?"

Yumi sighed. "He liked me too."

Aubrey wasn't sure what she was feeling. She was suddenly dizzy, her stomach erupted into a ball of angry moths, there was a lump in her throat and she felt the urge to run, yet paralysis forced her to stay where she was.

"H-he did?"

"Yeah." Yumi confirmed. "But we fought a lot, and the more time I spent with William the more I thought Ulrich and I couldn't work. We're both too stubborn, and we butt heads a lot. Don't get me wrong, I still really care for him, but I just couldn't see a relationship. At the beginning of the year, just a few days before you came, I told him that."

"What did he do?" Aubrey was glued to her place.

"He was mad for a while, and then he met you. You guys became fast friends, and I think everyone noticed how he suddenly seemed happier and more care free then before. You brought his smile back."

"I-I did that?"

"You did, so thank you Aubrey. And be patient. Ulrich is still probably coming to terms with his feelings for you. He hasn't had many crushes before, so it's probably a bit difficult for him. He'll come around."

"But I-"

Yumi gave her a stern 'you can't lie to me look.'

"Okay." Aubrey agreed. She took a deep breath, and finally accepted the words that she had been denying for a while now.

'I like Ulrich.'

A/N: So, I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter. A lot of it seems like the group is teasing Aubrey, but I feel like all that was necessary to help her come to terms with her feelings. I don't know how well I handled the Odd/Aubrey decorating thing, but I at least hope Ulrich came off as jealous, though I don't think he even knows why yet. What did you think about Yumi talking to Aubrey about Ulrich? It was a spur of the moment thing, but I felt like it had to be settled and Aubrey needed to know Ulrich's and Yumi's history before she could move foreword with him. Sorry about the wait. I figured I would finish this before I go back to school tomorrow... *Sigh* I don't know when I'll update again, but I promise not to give up on this story! See you next time, and please review!