Note: Silly me, thinking I'd write short chapters.
2. Sometimes it was easier to talk to Jeremie through a computer screen.
"What's it like?" Jeremie asks.
Aelita sits, cross-legged on the bare floor. She hums a little in question, head tilting slightly. On the screen, Jeremie adjusts the neckline of his turtleneck. He coughs, pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Lyoko," he adds.
Aelita grins. "You've been here," she says. "You know what it's like."
"Once," he counters, expression amused. "I didn't see much."
She hums again. "It's a lot of the same," she says. "Nothing really changes." She shifts, unfolds and refolds her legs. "Tell me about Earth," she asks. "Tell me everything."
/
"Odd's mentioned sisters," she says, one night when Jeremie's focused on coding and his eyes wear circles that would put XANA's eye to shame. "Do you have sisters too?"
"Hm?" Jeremie questions. "No, no sisters."
"Brothers? Yumi said she has a brother."
"No, I'm an only child."
"Oh." She hums a little, part of a melody that's been caught in her head. Try as she might, she can't remember the full song. "Like me," she says. "What about Ulrich? He's never said."
"Ulrich doesn't say much," Jeremie replies. He removes his glasses, rubs at his eyes and looks exhausted. Aelita bites her lip, watches him through the screen. "Why are you asking about siblings?"
"Curious," she replies. "Why do some people have them and some don't?"
Jeremie shrugs. He slides his glasses back on, blue eyes bright with drive while his skin looks gray and pale in the blue light of the computer screen. "Guess it's up to the parents," he says. "They decide how many children they want."
Aelita runs her fingers over her skirt. "How many children do you want?"
Jeremie chokes, coughs a few times. When he looks up, his face is flushed from exertion. "I haven't really thought about it," he says. He blinks at the screen, at her. "Uh…how many…how many do you want?"
Aelita hums, thinking it over. She glances around the empty tower room. "I don't think there's a place for children here," she states.
"Not there, no." He adjusts his sweater sleeves. "I mean, when we get you here, in the real world. When you've grown up. How many would you have?"
Aelita shrugs. "I haven't really thought about it," she echoes, lies. She studies Jeremie's tired, drawn face. There's no use in telling him she doubts it will ever happen when he's working so hard on materializing her. She doesn't want to disappoint him.
/
"It's not that I don't want to see them," Jeremie explains. He's got a pen tucked behind his ear and is staring at something on the screen that she can't see. "But I have important stuff going on here, too." He grimaces, face twisting. "That came out wrong. I don't mean that they aren't important."
"They're your parents," she agrees, "they're important."
Jeremie's been gone for a week, back home to visit his family. He looks more rested, she thinks. The skin beneath his eyes is a muted gray instead of the deep mauve before he'd left. But, she notes, his shoulders are tenser and his lip is scabbed like he's been chewing it.
He sighs, sits back in the chair and lifts his gaze to her window. His glasses are clean, his eyes are tired. She wishes she could touch him – could press a hand to his shoulder or brush the hair from his forehead. She wishes she could hug him, but she's still on Lyoko and he's vowed never to return.
"No one doubts that they're important," she adds, voice soft, hushed like someone might overhear even though they're alone. Even though she's alone. "What are they like?"
"Boring," he says fondly, smile tugging at his mouth. "My father does repair work. He's brilliant with machines. My mother…" he pauses, smile fading in width though not in warmth. "My mother teaches piano."
"Piano?"
"An instrument."
"Do you play?"
"The basics," he states. "The science behind it is fascinating but I don't have her talent." His cheeks pink slightly in the light from the screen. "When you're here, I'll play you something. Basic, of course."
She offers him a smile. "I'd like to hear it," she says. She thinks she might like to learn. "Jeremie," she adds, voice steady as he looks up at her. He's caught his lip between his teeth once more. It's a nervous habit she hasn't seen in him before. "You can go home to visit your parents," she states. "I'll still be here. I'll be fine. I am fine."
He breathes out, releases his bottom lip. "I know," he replies. "But it shouldn't be much longer. I'll see them more when it's finished."
/
"What will you do?" Aelita questions. She's sprawled on her stomach, drawing invisible designs on the tower floor while the vidscreen glows above her.
"Hm?" Jeremie questions. On the screen, his face is illuminated by a warm glow (sunrise, he had told her), and he's got a soft, quiet smile on his face. The kind he gets when he stays up all night talking with her. The kind that makes his eyes shift to a warm blue, like the pools of water in the forest sector. "What will I do when? Today?"
"Today, tomorrow, next year?" She tucks pink hair behind her ear and longs to feel the warmth of sun on her skin. "When you finish the materialization program, what will you do? When you finish school, what will you do?"
Jeremie huffs a quiet laugh. He leans back in his chair, head lolling a bit against the headrest. His blonde hair is sticking up from where he's run frustrated fingers through it. "I guess whatever's next," he says, voice amused. "Next class, next term, university…" He shrugs.
"For what?" She sits up, crosses her legs in front of her. "What's your goal?"
"Right now? To rescue you."
"And then?"
His mouth loses some of its softness, his eyes seem more focused. "Defeat death, I guess." He offers a laugh, harsh and slurred with tiredness. "What else is there after saving the world?"
Aelita shakes her head. "You're delirious," she comments. "You're rescuing me, not saving the world."
Jeremie shrugs, eyes drooping. "Why not both?"
. . … . .
"Listen – you aren't listening-"
"Because you are being stubborn-"
"If you'd just do it the way I said then we'd be done already!"
Aelita huffs, throws her pencil down on the table and glowers at Jeremie. Jeremie frowns back at her, somehow managing to look perplexed and wounded as well as aggravated. Aelita huffs again.
"If you know how to do it, then you go right ahead, Jeremie Belpois," she seethes. "You can do the whole project on your own."
"Trouble in paradise?" Sissi sneers, leaning over from the table next to theirs.
"Shut-up, Sissi," Jeremie grumbles. He frowns at Aelita, eyebrows pulling together in consternation. "What is wrong with you?"
"Nothing," she snaps. She pushes back, storming out of the library and ignoring Sissi's amused laughter. She needs to get away before she stabs Jeremie with the dull end of her pencil.
/
"What's wrong?" Yumi asks.
"What makes you think something's wrong?"
"Intuition," Yumi replies. She steps out of the house, leans against the porch railing and turns to face Aelita curiously. "Jeremie may have texted something cryptic."
"Of course he did." She drops onto the porch swing, pushes off with her toes and lets the momentum rock her slowly back and forth. "I don't understand him."
The swing-bench jostles as Yumi settles down next to her. "Funny, that's what he texted."
"That he doesn't understand himself?"
"No. That he doesn't understand you." Yumi nudges her lightly in the ribs. "Does this have to do with that science assignment? The one Ulrich and Odd were working on at lunch?"
"Yes." She hangs her head, feels the tension pulling at her neck, her shoulders. There's the start of a headache behind her left temple. "He refuses to listen to any of my ideas."
Yumi hums slightly. "He's used to being the smartest person in the room, Aelita."
"What does that have to do with Hertz's assignment?"
Yumi shrugs. "Nothing? Everything? I don't know. I guess he might not be used to listening to anyone else, or used to anyone else wanting to contribute to a project. He's a boy, they're stupid. He'll figure it out eventually."
"He'll figure it out faster if I end up stabbing him with a pencil." Yumi laughs, head back, loud and clear. Aelita glances at her from the corner of her eye, mouth curving into a smile. "I'm serious."
"I've seen you on Lyoko," Yumi says, wiping tears from the corner of her eye. "I don't doubt you."
. . … . .
The summer is oppressively hot come the end of July. Aelita lays on the grass beneath the shade of the tree in Yumi's backyard and tries to remember the lack of temperature on Lyoko. On how she'd wanted to experience change. She thinks she'd settle for a XANA attack if it meant getting out of the heat for a few hours. Or, maybe, he could try and start a summer blizzard.
"I'm melting," Yumi groans next to her.
"Think we could convince XANA to start a blizzard?" Aelita muses.
Yumi snorts, sits up with another groan. "Don't tempt fate. How about a swim at the pool in town?" she asks. "I'll get Hiroki and you text Jeremie."
"Sure."
Aelita lays there another moment, listening as Yumi makes her way across the yard and into the house. She can hear the echo of the older girl yelling for her brother. Sighing, she rolls onto her side, fishes her phone from the grass and flips it open.
Pool? 15 min?
The response comes faster than she'd expected, given Jeremie's supposed to be packing to go home next week for a month.
Ok
She closes out the chat, opens a new one as she gets to her feet to collect her swimming things from inside Yumi's house.
You're SO lucky you're up north.
She doesn't get Odd's response until she's ensconced in Yumi's room, changed into her swimsuit and pulling on a light blue sundress. Told ya 2 come visit. Enjoy melting!
/
The pool is crowded. They lose Hiroki almost immediately. The younger boy takes off for the water, weaving between families and playful children. Yumi frowns after him before shrugging and dropping her belongings on an empty deck chair. She's waving at someone over the crowd as Aelita joins her, depositing her own towel and bag next to Yumi's.
"Maybe we should've gone to a museum instead," Jeremie says, appearing on Yumi's other side suddenly. He glances around at the groups of people milling about. "This place is too crowded."
"It's boiling outside," Yumi counters, "of course people choose the pool to cool down. Anyway, a museum? Really?"
"Don't turn into Odd and Ulrich just because they're…"
Aelita hums in agreement, tugs her sundress off and kicks off her flip-flops. She looks up as Jeremie trails off, curious as to what's caught his attention. Jeremie's gaze darts away from her, turns toward the tiled flooring. His face is red from heat and sun. Yumi snorts next to them, amusement curling her mouth into a smile eerily similar to Hiroki's.
"Just because they're…what?" Yumi questions, voice honey sweet.
Jeremie lifts his eyes to meet Yumi's and he frowns at her. "Just because they're out of town," he states, voice firm.
"Uh huh. Well, I'm going to go swim, since that was the whole point of this excursion. Coming?"
Jeremie's face is still red. "I'll be there in a moment."
"Are you alright, Jeremie?" Aelita questions. She adjusts the strap on her bikini top. "You're very red, do you need some water?" She bends to search through the bag she brought, jumps in surprise when a hand touches her shoulder.
"No, I'm fine. Really. Just, uh. I just need to send a quick text. I'll join you in a minute."
Aelita studies him, brows drawn. "You're sure?"
"Positive." He gives her a small smile, nudges her toward the water. He's staring at a spot beyond her left ear. "Go on. Yumi's waiting."
"…Alright," she agrees.
She crosses the pool deck, descends into water not quite chilly, but definitely cooler than the muggy air outside. "No Jeremie?" Yumi asks. She's floating where the floor drops away. Aelita has to dog paddle to keep above the water, toes scraping the rough concrete flooring.
"He said he'll join us in a minute." She glances back to where Jeremie is still at the deck chair they had claimed. "He's being weird."
Yumi just grins.
. . … . .
"Here, I got it."
She looks up to see one of the boys in Yumi's year reaching up to grab the book from the shelf above her head. "Thank you."
"Ethan," he says. His smile is warm, his skin tanned golden from the sun. "You're Aelita, right?"
She feels her cheeks flush a little, smiles back at him. "Yes."
"Here you go." His fingers brush along hers when he hands her the book. "You're in seconde, right?"
"Uh, yes." She shifts the book to the crook of her elbow, brushes loose blonde hair behind her ear. His eyes, soft hazel, shift to follow the movement.
"The blonde's a nice look," he states, "but the pink was cool. Made you stand out."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Before she can figure out what to say in response, another boy appears, poking his head around the stacks. "C'mon, Ethan. Madame Martin's on the war path."
Ethan grins, glances back at Aelita. "Looks like that's my cue. See you around, Aelita."
"Sure," she agrees. It's not exactly a big school. "Thank you, again."
"Anytime." He backs away, disappearing around the corner of a shelving unit with the other boy. His smile lingers like the cheshire cat. Aelita can't quite suppress her own as she rejoins the others at the table they've staked out at the end of the row. "What?" she asks, seeing her friends staring at her with varying expressions.
"New friend?" Odd asks, eyebrows raised and smirk in place. "He's cute."
"Bit old, isn't he?" Jeremie questions.
Aelita frowns. "He's the same age as Yumi."
"Calling me old, Jeremie?" Yumi questions, voice friendly and eyes sharp.
"Well, if the shoe fits…" Odd yelps as someone kicks him.
Aelita rolls her eyes, sets the book on the table and takes her seat next to Ulrich. He glances at her, expression curious, but doesn't comment.
"Is he a new, uh, friend?" Jeremie questions, face pink.
"I don't know, maybe." Her eyes lift, eyebrow raising as she stares at Jeremie. "Why? What does it matter if he is?"
"I was just asking," Jeremie replies, defensive. He turns back to his anatomy book, shoulders hunched. Aelita sighs, sits back in her chair. She's lost the motivation to study.
. . … . .
The music is strong, thrumming through the air and matching the beat of her heart. Aelita grins, loops an arm through Odd's so she doesn't lose him in the crowd. Odd grins, pointed party hat askew on top of his hair.
"C'mon, Princess!" he hollers, guiding her through the crowd. Her breath mists in the air and she clutches her noisemaker, laughing as they thread their way through the crowd and back to the others.
Ulrich, Yumi, Jeremie, and Sam are in the spot they left them, near one of the street lights. "You're missing out on all the fun!" Odd yells, grinning.
"Fun?" Jeremie questions, eyebrow raised doubtfully as he surveys the mass of tourists and young people converging on the avenue Champs-Élysées. They can hear the music blasting from the DJ booth down the way. Sam hops down from where she'd been standing on a bench.
"Yeah, fun," she states, elbowing Jeremie. She smirks at Ulrich, throws an arm around his shoulders. "Let's dance, grumpy. You look like you won't step on my toes like Bigfoot over there." She tilts her head toward Odd.
Ulrich opens his mouth to protest, but Yumi laughs and pushes him while Odd rolls his eyes. Aelita bounces on her toes, watches Sam dragging Ulrich into the crowd with a sharklike smile. The girl's grip looks painful, wrapped around Ulrich's wrist. "Think they'll kill each other?" she asks.
"Only if he steps on her feet," Odd comments. He reaches over, adjusts Aelita's party hat with a smile. "Better."
"You just made it lopsided," Jeremie points out.
"Like I said, better."
Aelita rolls her eyes, smiling, and shoves him. "Want to dance, Jeremie?"
"Oh, er…"
Odd grins, drinks deep from the cup in his hands. "C'mon, Einstein. Loosen up."
"I just don't see the appeal-"
"Fine," Odd says. He takes Aelita's hand. "C'mon, Princess, I'll dance with you."
"Should I worry for my toes?" she teases.
"Nah, I'll be careful with you." He tugs her back into the crowd. She laughs, glances over her shoulder to see Yumi and Jeremie watching them, faces indecipherable amidst the lights and noise.
/
"You and Odd…" Jeremie says. They're sitting on the curb, eating sweet pastries and Aelita feels buzzed from the atmosphere and too much sugar. Sam and Yumi disappeared to find a bathroom and she's lost track of Odd and Ulrich in the press of bodies. Her feet ache in her tennis shoes.
She tilts her head, stares at Jeremie expectantly. His face is flushed from heat and exertion. "Yes?"
"I know you said it was a fake kiss, but…"
She rolls her eyes, picks off a corner of flaky pastry crust to throw at him. "Jeremie Belpois," she grouses, "you know perfectly well that Odd and I are just friends."
"I know." He reaches up, loosens the scarf around his neck. "I just meant…you two are comfortable with each other."
She shrugs again. "We're supposed to be family, aren't we?" She tilts her head back, stares up at the Arc de Triomphe as the people amassed around them begin to count down. "Tonight was fun," she adds.
"It was something," he agrees. She laughs, bumps their shoulders together. He jerks in surprise, hand landing on her knee to keep his balance. She feels her face grow warm, her stomach flip with sugar and adrenaline. "A good something."
"I'm glad." She leans over, adjusts his glasses. "You need more fun, Jeremie."
"I have plenty of fun," he blusters.
The sky glows with lights and the air is filled with cheers and noisemakers. Aelita grins, loops her fingers with Jeremie's where they're still resting on her knee. He glances down at her hand, then back at her face, expression curious and lights reflected in his glasses.
"Bonne année, Jeremie," she murmurs, leaning in to press a kiss to each cheek. "I hope it's a good one."
His fingers tighten around her, smile small and pleased. "Bonne année, Aelita."
Her smile shifts to a yelp as she's barreled into from behind. Odd presses his cheek to hers, smacks a loud kiss to the side of her face. "Godt nytt år, Princess!" he hollers into her ringing ears. Aelita swats at him, tilts her head back to see Odd grinning at her. His gold-and-black party hat shines in the lights, is attached to one side of his head while a new one adorns the other side, like two horns.
"Bonne année," she replies.
She looks over his shoulder to see Ulrich, hair mussed and party hat missing, hugging Yumi. She releases Jeremie's hand, bounces up to kiss Odd's cheek and join her other two friends. Sam lingers near the edge until Odd tows her over, arm around her waist and energy infectious. Looking around at the faces around her, she can't imagine it being anything but a good year.
. . … . .
"You're throwing away an opportunity to change your life," Jeremie argues. It's the quiet voice, the one that says he's taking it seriously, that he isn't going to back down. It's the same argument they've had since the acceptance came in, since she declined it. "And for what? For what, Aelita?"
"I can't talk to you like this."
He grabs her wrist, fingers curled loose around her bones. It feels like a shackle. "We need to talk about this."
"We really don't, Jeremie." She tilts her chin up, stares him in the eyes. "Let go of me before we say something we'll regret."
He releases her like she's burned him. He takes a step back like she's shoved him physically away. She blinks back tears of anger and frustration, feels her heart beat slow and painful like it's struggling to circulate her blood.
"Aelita, please." He takes a breath, runs fingers through his hair. "I'm just trying to understand."
Her fingers twitch, itch to reach for him. She presses them into her thigh, nails biting into her palm. "I know," she says, voice soft. "I hope you do."
/
She's laying on the floor, legs resting on her bed. She studies the stars stuck to the ceiling. Her computer chirps and she sighs, rolls over to her stomach, and looks at the laptop screen. The screen displays an incoming call from Jeremie. Biting her lip, she presses the connect button.
"I didn't think you'd answer," he says, voice soft.
She folds her arms, rests her chin on them, and presses her shins into the bed. "I don't want to fight."
"I don't want to fight either," he replies. He rubs his temples, runs fingers through his hair. She wants to reach through the screen and smooth it down. "I'm sorry."
Aelita plucks at the edge of the throw rug, runs a fingernail over the rough Berber carpeting beneath. "For how long?" She looks up, meets Jeremie's expression in the monitor. "How long until the next fight?"
"Aelita." He pauses. "What are you looking for?"
Her chin digs into her forearm, a heavy, pointed weight. Her stomach knots. "Life," she admits.
"And you can't find that here?"
She takes a breath, releases it. Her fingers curl, tugging at the loops of carpet fiber. "I don't want to have exchanged one cage for another."
"Aelita," Jeremie pauses. His face is drawn, pale. The circles beneath his eyes are a dark, deep mauve and remind her of sleepless nights spent talking. He slips his glasses off, rubs his palms over his eyes and then his fingers up, through his hair. "That was never the intention."
"I know."
. . … . .
"So, first stop will be Gothenburg," she says, fingers tracing the route on the map, "then down to Copenhagen."
"Going to see the Mermaid statue?" Jeremie asks. His voice is muffled as he moves around his bedroom, she catches sight of his elbow as he reaches for textbooks on top of a shelf.
"I hope to," she agrees. "I think I'll make my way down to Germany then."
"Ulrich'll be gone by then, huh?"
"That's what he said. But once I get to Germany, then head to Poland." She pauses, fingertip hovering over Warsaw.
"It sounds like quite a trip," Jeremie says. When she looks up, he's staring at her, small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You're going to have a lot of fun."
"That's the plan," she agrees. It's half true. She wants to have fun, but she wants to see the world more. Fun would just be a bonus. "I have to go; Louise is summoning us for supper."
"Text later?"
"Of course." She blows a kiss at the screen, grinning when he flushes. "I love you."
/
"I'm going to drop out."
"You're not going to drop out," she states, voice firm. She's wearing a pir of headphones as she leans over her laptop in the hostel room she's staying in. Outside, the rain falls steadily. "You love it there."
"I hate sports."
She laughs, grinning. "Jeremie Belpois," she states, eyes bright. "You defeated a mad computer virus, don't tell me a little bit of physical exercise is going to get the better of you."
"You sound like Yumi," he grumbles.
She laughs again. "That just proves we're both right."
"I miss you."
Her grin fades to something small and private. She presses a hand to the screen, remembers her time in Lyoko in this same position. "I miss you too."
"I got your new postcard."
"Good." She brushes pink hair behind her ears. "Wait until you see the photos I took in Prague."
"Can't wait." He sighs, rubs his temples. "I have to get to rowing practice. I'll text you after; if I survive."
She hides her grin behind her hand. "Have fun."
"Love you."
Her smile widens. "Love you too."
Translations:
Bonne année - French for "Happy New Year"
Godt nytt år - Norwegian for "Happy New Year"