26: The Longest Day [12:00 PM – 1:00 PM]
PREVIOUSLY ON CL:FL
"Damn it!"
- ULRICH STERN (Skips some LYOKO missions, but can't skip class)
"Hey Captain B, Princess. Jeremie's freaking out about not being able to get a hold of you two."
- ODD DELLA ROBBIA (Skips class, but can't skip lunch)
"Well, I do believe we have a train to catch."
- YUMI ISHIYAMA (Can skip lunch, but can't skip dinner [or her mom will kill her])
"Hey, don't worry. Everything will surely be alright, right?"
- BRYAN GREEN (Can skip dinner, but can't skip Toronto Maple Leaf games)
"Alright, new plan."
- JEREMIE BELPOIS (Skips Toronto Maple Leaf games, but can't skip rope)
"Tower deactivated."
- AELITA STONES (Skips rope, but can't skip LYOKO missions)
"Help me dispose of the body. We're done here."
- DIANA (Skips ?, but can't skip ?)
THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 12:00 PM AND 1:00 PM.
12:00:00 … 12:00:01 … 12:00:02 … 12:00:03 … 12:00:04 … 12:00:05
Despite a midday XANA attack, Ulrich and Yumi made it to the Gare de Lyon train station with minutes to spare. Neither of them had ever taken the TGV, France's high-speed rail service; for the next six hours, they would be travelling swiftly and in comfort to Nice.
"Apparently these TGV trains can reach speeds in excess of 300 kilometres per hour," said Ulrich out of the blue.
"Since when did you ever have an interest in trains?"
"Since always."
Yumi looked at him with skepticism.
"Just kidding. Jeremie thought we'd get bored during the long trip, so he gave me a list of all these fun facts to keep us occupied with good quality conversation."
Typical over-prepared good guy Jeremie.
"Are you saying that…we're relying on random tidbits of information to pass the hours because I'm…not entertaining enough for you?"
Ulrich's face turned bleach white. "What? No, I –"
"It's okay, I understand. You decided to bring along an encyclopedia to keep you company instead."
"N-no! It's nothing like that!" He was about to toss the train notes into the dumpster when Yumi grabbed his shoulder. She was laughing.
Typical Ulrich, getting all worked up like that. "Hey, you know I'm just playing around with you, right?"
Ulrich laughed nervously. "Right. Obviously, yeah," he said, stuffing the papers back into his bag.
"Come on, it's the weekend. Loosen up and stop acting like we've only just met," she ordered.
Well, she's certainly in a good mood, thought Ulrich. She was right though. School was dragging on as usual, and with XANA frequently nipping at their heels, the last few months haven't exactly been a casual walk in the park. This weekend, he had finally caught a break. Anything could happen. And he had a feeling that tonight was gonna be a good night.
They checked in and took a seat near their boarding platform.
"By the way, did you know that over 90 million passengers pass through this station annually?"
Jeremie's transportation notes never made it onto the train, Yumi made sure of that.
12:09:36 … 12:09:37 … 12:09:38 … 12:09:39 … 12:09:40 … 12:09:41
Aelita was heading back to her room to get her phone. Jeremie told her to meet him in the cafeteria, before leaving to 'pick something up'.
She was feeling nervous and uneasy about her afternoon – her 'date', as the others had called it. Initially, she had assumed that Jeremie had also invited the whole group…
~ - ~ - ~ - CL:FL - ~ - ~ - ~
After school, Aelita asked Yumi whether Jeremie had told her what movie they were going to see on Saturday. But Yumi said that she and Ulrich already had their own plans. Seeing Aelita's puzzled expression, she chuckled.
"I think Jeremie only asked you to go with him."
"Huh? Why is he being so selfish?" Aeltia blurted.
Innocently clueless. But Yumi wasn't one to play matchmaker, just yet. "Think of it as his way of trying to spend more quality time with you. And you two do make a good pair…Jerlita…I like that."
"Yumi! … Really?"
"Yes."
"Oh…"
"Don't you feel the same way?"
"Uh…well–"
"Look, I'm not talking in absolutes. I just thought that you two shared something special."
"Like you and Ulrich?"
"…Well…"
~ - ~ - ~ - CL:FL - ~ - ~ - ~
Jeremie was someone special and very important to her.
He was the first person she had contact with while trapped in LYOKO. It was his Code: EARTH program, in which he worked tirelessly to compile, that allowed her to return to the real world and re-live her life. As she adjusted to the 21st century, he was there when she needed him. And now he was working feverishly to rid her of XANA's coding within her and retrieve her stolen memories. He had done so much for her, and they had grown close over the past year.
However, Jeremie proved frustrating at times. Occasionally He would isolate himself from the group, programming well into the early morning hours, skipping classes and meals in the process. Aelita knew he meant well, but sometimes, it seemed like he cared more about the work than the person it was for.
Furthermore, most of their time together was either at the factory or discussing about LYOKO and the supercomputer. She missed the early days, when he would spend hours telling her stories and taking her to places.
Then Bryan arrived. She was really grateful the he took time off to go with her to rehearsals. Of course, she had no problem going alone, but having a companion was always better; sometimes they would eat out as well. He also taught her how to skate, and in return, she taught him how to play the piano during lunch.
Learn, laugh, live. Together.
And they certainly had their moments. There was that time where they slept together, accidentally. There was the incident at the Hermitage… She thought Bryan would get all irritated with her breaking into his personal bubble, but he didn't seem to mind. Then again, he always had a playful sense of humour.
However, he always seemed to shy away. It hurt her that he was still so hesitant at times, weren't they close friends? He'd also laugh it off as if her feelings weren't really important…
Gah! Why was this so complicated?
Bryan. That's when she saw him standing in the hallway, knocking on the door of Melanie's room.
What was he doing here?
Though Aelita knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, her curiosity overrode that notion. She crouched behind the corner of the stairway. She could feel her heat beating, not knowing why she was getting all worked up about seeing him with another female classmate.
12:15:59 … 12:16:00 … 12:16:01 … 12:16:02 … 12:16:03 … 12:16:04
Melanie's door opened.
"Hi," she greeted him shyly, leaning against the frame of the door.
Melanie Levesque
Bio: Kadic student, FRA
Has: worked with Ulrich on a geography presentation back in Chapter 3
"Hey Mel. All is well?"
"Yep. How about you?"
"Can't complain. You've got it all ready?"
"Indeed I do. I really appreciate you doing this," said Melanie as she handed him a small leather bag of contents unknown.
Bryan rubbed the back of his head. "It's no biggie. I'm headed in that general direction anyways."
"Well, to me you're doing a huge favour, so thanks a bunch. And tell them I said hi!" Melanie hesitated, before giving Bryan a quick hug – who hugged her back without hesitation. From her hiding spot, Aelita let out a small gasp.
After Melanie returned to her room, Bryan turned around to find Aelita approaching him.
"Hey you. Not leaving yet?"
"I was just going to get my phone. So what are you doing up here…in front of Melanie's door I see?"
"Oh, I'm just helping deliver something to her relatives."
Aelita's conscience breathed in relief. "Sure it's not anything more than that?" she asked sternly.
"Huh? N-no, of course not," said Bryan, hesitating. Aelita grinned and lobbed at his left shoulder.
"You know if you continue doing that, you'll never be able to appreciate the talents my left arm possesses."
"Gee, whatever will I do…"
Bryan smirked and punched her back. Aelita's expression screamed 'you didn't!' and tried to hit him back, but he was ready this time – curse his martial arts skills – and grabbed her hand with his own.
Warm. Aelita saw Bryan's face change from amusement to one that was surprised and fearful. He let go.
"Sorry about that…reflex, heh."
"It's alright." They walked on in silence, until they reached Aelita's room.
"Would you like to come inside?" she offered.
"Aren't you in a rush?"
"I've got time. Besides, I'd like to talk to you about something."
12:23:21 … 12:23:22 … 12:23:23 … 12:23:24 … 12:23:25 … 12:23:26
The engines of a white delivery van roared to life in the backdrop of a quiet suburban neighbourhood as it slowly pulled away from the curb and merged seamlessly with the oncoming traffic.
Diana was sitting in the passenger seat, going through documents on her laptop. She paid no attention to her surroundings or whether they were going at the legal speed limit. On the other hand, Apollo was driving and making phone calls on his mobile, a multitasking situation that would result in a fine of $155 in some countries.
When he was done, he dropped his phone into the cup holder and explained their situation to his partner.
"The funds are being prepared for transfer by the hour. And I've just–"
"Booked us into a hotel, which is where we're headed right now," Diana finished the sentence for him. Apollo scowled as they got onto the highway.
Sometimes, he wished his sister wasn't capable of reading his mind.
~ - ~ - ~ - CL:FL - ~ - ~ - ~
Jeremie was in the cafeteria with a frown on his face and a bundle of things he had just bought. It wasn't like Aelita to be late; she only had to grab her cell phone. He craned his neck anxiously looking for her bright pink hair, and was surprised when someone called him from behind his back.
"Hi Jeremie! How's it going?"
It wasn't Aelita, but it still caused him to jump slightly and turn to the source of the voice.
"Oh, Milly. Um, how are you?" Jeremie replied, visibly shaken.
Milly Solovieff
Bio: Kadic student, FRA
Has: a stuffed teddy bear named Cuddles
"I'm fine. Just came to grab a quick bite to eat before starting on my lab report," Kadic's news reporter replied. Her eyes then glanced downward and she grinned at the bundle perched on Jeremie's lap.
"Umm..." she started slowly. "Are you going out with…?"
Jeremie gave a curt nod, as if it wasn't that big of a deal. His reddening cheeks blew his cover though and Milly's grin widened. Perhaps he was not so much of a studious nerdy person as she had previously thought.
"Wow, congrats," finally, Milly wanted to add, but wisely decided to avoid such sarcasm.
"So what was Aelita's reaction when you asked her?"
"Wait, this is off-the-record, right? You're not going to put this on the school newspaper or something?"
Milly pretended to be offended. "Of course not. The Kadic Times is a newspaper, not a gossip magazine. It's alright you don't have to tell me. By the way, while we're on the subject, where is she?"
Back to the task at hand. "Umm…I'm not quite sure. She should've been here by now." Jeremie's eyebrows furrowed.
"Hey, don't worry. Trust me, when girls are running late, they have their reasons. My guess is she's going to try and wow you."
Jeremie flushed as he interpreted that statement. "What?"
"Get your head out of the gutter geez. I mean…she'll want to look nice, dress up for a special occasion such as this."
"Oh." Right. When it came to romance and relationships, Jeremie's understanding was severely lacking.
"Anyways, I'd better get going. Hope it all goes well for you tonight!"
12:39:46 … 12:39:47 … 12:39:48 … 12:39:49 … 12:39:50 … 12:39:51
"Okay Bryan, you can come in now," said Aelita, after abruptly kicking him out of her room. After all, it is highly immoral for a guy to see his girl friend – or any girl for that matter – changing clothes.
It was Bryan recommended that she have a change of attire for the afternoon. Black and pink. Light and dark. Aelita was wearing a pale pink skirt that reached mid-thigh, with black stockings. Her top consisted of a plain black shirt underneath a dark blue zip-up hoodie. Although the outfit that Yumi had helped pick for her to wear on special occasions radiated confidence, Aelita appeared quite the opposite. She was biting her lip, her hands glued to the side of her legs.
"Well?" she asked quietly, feeling a sudden urge to change back to the norms.
Under typical circumstances, any young adolescent male would either be fully petrified or experience the pain of their jaw crashing to the ground. Despite the lack of confidence, Aelita was drop-dead gorgeous. And it was natural; she didn't have any makeup.
Bryan neither broke his jaw nor turned to stone.
"Umm…it's okay," he said, before adding: "It matches your ey…" he stopped mid-sentence as Aelita glared at him with her non-pink-or-black-or-blue-coloured eyes.
But that's when he broke into an encouraging smile. "Just kidding. Why so timid? You look absolutely amazingly attractively awesome A-ta - I mean - Aelita."
That was the alliteration morale-booster she had been wanting to hear. She 'shushed' him, but smiled back and felt herself loosen up.
"So, are you going to tell me what A-tan means yet?" Having earned twenty awesomeness points from Bryan's Department of Fashion, Aelita stepped closer towards him.
Now Bryan was petrified. This was the first time he had a good look at Aelita up close. Her clothes hugged her body just right, in a way he had never noticed when she was wearing her sweatshirt. She was curvier than Valerie, but in a super-hot way; he almost said that out loud.
"Uh…"
Aelita wrapped her arms around his waist, placed her head over his shoulder and closed her eyes.
Bryan hesitated, not knowing what to do. Aelita had never hugged him for this long. This was a little too close, given that she was not his girl…friend. However, the rest of his body seemed to say 'screw ethics' and he hugged her back, feeling lighter than air – and this was without any hallucinogens in his system.
"Everything will surely be alright," Aelita murmured Bryan's catch-phrase contentedly.
"Y…yeah."
Suddenly, and rather inconveniently, her phone went off and they broke apart.
"Every time…in every single movie, every novel, every work of fanfiction I read," Bryan started. He didn't want to let go just yet, even though he knew that the five-second rule for hugs had long expired.
Aelita giggled and 'shushed' him again as she took the call.
"Hi Jeremie."
"Aelita, is everything alright?"
"Uh, yes. I'm running a little late, sorry. I had some last-minute things I needed to take care of." Aelita noticed that Bryan had taken a small green piece of paper from his bag and was folding it absentmindedly. When he saw her staring, he smiled and turned his back to her.
After a brief pause, she heard Jeremie chuckling. "Okay, no worries. Take your time, there's no rush. Though if you don't hurry up, there won't be any sandwiches left."
"But…being the caring person that you are Jeremie, you've already picked up lunch for me, right?"
Another pause. "Maybe."
"Alright. I'm on my way now. See you soon." she put her phone back in her bag.
"You have to get going, don't you?" said Bryan.
"Hmm? Yeah…"
"What's the matter?"
He notices everything. She shook her head. "Nothing." Bryan didn't buy it. So she took a deep breath.
"Well…I, I don't know. I mean, I like Jeremie a lot. I'm glad he found the time to go out with me instead of huddling over the supercomputer all day. And…everyone always says that we'd be great together."
"…Ah."
"Don't get me wrong, I'd never look down on him or anything. It's thanks to him that I'm here and not still trapped on LYOKO. But it's just…it's just that everything's changed in the past few months." And I started hanging out with you.
~ - ~ - ~ - CL:FL - ~ - ~ - ~
"Go on," Aelita urged Yumi.
"Nope, not saying another word," Yumi replied. Aelita pouted.
"I also noticed that you're hanging out with Bryan a lot. You're quite the popular girl with the boys."
"Uh…"
"Go on."
"No…nope! Not saying another word!" mimicked Aelita. Yumi laughed.
"Fine. But just so you know a couple of girls in my class seem to have taken a liking to him as well…"
~ - ~ - ~ - CL:FL - ~ - ~ - ~
Bryan nudged Aelita, and directed her gaze to his outstretched hand. In it was a bright green origami flower; he must've made it while she had been talking to Jeremie. He lightly brushed aside her hair and placed the ornament above her left forehead. He then leaned in:
"You worry too much. Just enjoy yourself tonight with Newton – or was it Einstein? Either way, I'm absolutely certain that when he sees you like this, he's going to be pleasantly surprised."
Aelita took one glance at the mirror and saw the delicate decoration perched ever so precariously on top of her head, tilted on one side. She turned and looked into the blue eyes of one of her best friends. And perhaps that was all they were ever meant to be. Bryan looked happy, but Aelita could tell that he was happy for her and Jeremie.
"Now you're ready to go," he said as he escorted her out.
Aelita struggled to come up with the right words. "Thanks…I think I needed this, though I'm not really quite sure what it is."
Bryan patted her shoulder. "Anytime. I do pride myself in my motivational speeches. Remember, if you run into any problems…" for a split second he had a worried expression on his face.
"Safety first?" Aelita suggested.
"Sure, why not. But if something happens, all you have to do is call me. And I'll be there. I'll be there for you."
"…Promise?" she wiggled her pinky finger in front of his face. Bryan laughed.
"Yeah, I promise," he replied, interlocking fingers.
Aelita beamed. "Then I believe you."
Nothing more was said until they reached the first floor. Bryan was about to head out the front doors when Aelita reached out and took hold of his hand. She turned him around, and brushed her lips against his cheek.
"Enjoy yourself tonight as well. And you still owe me half an hour of skating lessons," she murmured before heading to the cafeteria, leaving Bryan rooted to the ground in shock.
When he regained some of his senses, his hand went up to the spot on his cheek where Aelita had kissed him, for the second time.
And another memory rushed back into his head – it was someone else gently kissing him on the side of his face. She had long wavy hair, however, he couldn't see who it was, nor could he remember when it had happened. The recollection then faded from his mind, just as quickly as it had entered.
Keep her safe Jeremie, Bryan muttered to himself as the door closed behind him.
12:59:57 … 12:59:58 … 12:59:59 … 1:00:00
Fragmented Legacy Fact 026:
Although Yumi displays absolutely no interest in the subject, TGV stands for "Train à Grande Vitesse", which is French for "high-speed train".
A|N's:
What's this? Weekly updates? To the avid, observant reader, it is apparent that the chapters for this story arc are shorter. Therefore, I'll continue to do my best to upload full chapters, on a weekly basis.
Feel free to leave a comment, and as always, thanks for reading Code LYOKO: Fragmented Legacies =)