A/N: Lemons/smutty type stuff in this chapter!
Odd happily shovels a heaping spoonful of eggs into his mouth, but stops mid-chew when he sees who is walking towards their table. "Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to grace us with their presence. Our dear, sweet Aelita, and... William. Together."
Sissi giggles. "Look at them. They're practically glowing."
"Hope you guys picked up the free condoms at the Student Center the other day. I'm too young to be an uncle."
Sissi bursts into a fit of laughter, nearly spitting her orange juice across the table.
"Odd!" Aelita exclaims, her cheeks reddening in her embarrassment.
William just chuckles. "Look, we may have slept together, but that doesn't mean we slept together."
"Oh, come on. I know you two were fooling around before we called," Sissi teases.
"I never said we weren't," Aelita fires back, her eyes glinting mischievously.
"Aelita! How scandalous!" Sissi exclaims, feigning shock. She turns to her boyfriend and gestures to him. "I believe that'll be twenty euros, my dear."
Odd groans and hands her a crumpled bill from his wallet. "I'll never learn not to bet against you, Sissi. You're too observant for your own good."
"And don't you forget it," Sissi quips as she smooths the bill out and pockets it.
William looks at them, eyebrows raised. "Really?" he asks incredulously. When he turns to see his own girlfriend's reaction, he nearly bursts out laughing but thinks better of it.
Aelita only thinly veils her disdain for her friends' behavior. "You guys are insufferable," she mutters.
"We're just teasing, Aelita," Sissi says. She reaches across the table to grab her best friend's hands. "But seriously, I'm really happy for you two. I've never seen you so happy, Lita."
"Yeah, I gotta admit, you guys are good for each other," Odd adds.
Aelita smiles. "Thanks, you guys. That means a lot."
William puts an arm around her shoulders and plants a kiss on her cheek. "You're pretty great, Princess."
Aelita leans into him. "I could say the same about you, Will."
William smiles and kisses her again.
"Okay, enough of the sappy stuff, lovebirds," Odd interjects. "Let's talk about something else. Like, what's going on with the soccer team? I heard you guys lost a game to Bellevue. How in the hell did that happen?"
William rolls his eyes. "I'm not gonna lie. We were overconfident going into it. Not me, personally, but some of the other guys, including Roux. They all thought, 'Oh, they're such a bad team, this'll be a piece of cake.' I didn't think to address it, to warn them to still bring their full effort to the pitch. So, we got our asses handed to us."
"That's rough, buddy," Odd says sympathetically.
William shrugs. "It is what it is. We just need to learn from it and move on."
"Well, if it's any consolation, I'm still proud of you, honey," Aelita says as she pats him on the back.
"Thanks, Princess."
The four continue their conversation, and William finds himself feeling more and more at ease. He's never been the most comfortable with group settings, but something about Aelita's friends—these two, anyway—makes him feel like he belongs. He's grateful to have them in his life.
As they're finishing up their meal, Sissi's phone rings. She looks at the screen and sees it's a number she doesn't recognize, so she declines the call. Immediately, her phone starts to ring again, this time displaying a different unknown number. Again, she immediately declines the call. "What the hell?" she mutters to herself.
Odd's phone starts to ring at the same time as William's. Aelita leans over to see the caller ID on William's phone read "Aunt Mary"—a name she vaguely remembers William mentioning in passing once.
William picks up the phone. "Hello?"
No answer.
William sighs. "Hello? Aunt Mary?"
Still no answer.
When he hangs up, he looks to Aelita and notices the expression on her face as she glances at Odd.
"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Odd asks.
"XANA," Aelita says flatly.
Sissi frowns. "XANA? I'm not ready to go back to Lyoko yet. Last time was pretty intense."
Odd's phone rings again, and this time the caller ID reads "Ulrich." He picks it up on the second ring. "Hello?"
"Finally. I've been trying to reach you but all these random calls are jamming the phone lines. I can't get a hold of Einstein, but I was able to call Herve. I'll keep trying to reach him, but I think we should head for the factory."
"Sounds like a plan, but what about Yumi?"
"Uh..." Ulrich's voice trails off.
"Lemme guess. She's right next to you."
"Um..."
"Jesus Christ, everyone is shacking up these days!" Odd says with a laugh. "We'll meet you at the factory. Hopefully you get a hold of Einstein." He hangs up the phone.
"Great," Sissi mutters.
The four friends get up from the table and make their way over to the factory as quickly as they can, walking across the sprawling campus grounds.
"Hey, Sissi?" Aelita says.
"Yeah?"
"I know you're not ready to go back to Lyoko just yet. I'm sorry we have to drag you into this."
Sissi shrugs. "It is what it is. I'll just have to deal with it."
"I'll be right by your side, babe," Odd reassures her as he gives her a side hug.
"Thanks," she says flatly.
The group arrives at the factory and makes their way down the elevator. Herve is already sitting at the supercomputer, journals belonging to both him and Jeremie scattered all over the desk.
"Any update on Einstein?" Odd asks.
Herve shakes his head. "Unfortunately, no. Ulrich and I have been trying to contact him, but we haven't gotten through yet."
*Earlier, while the four friends were at breakfast*
Jeremie sits at his desk in his dorm room, silently typing away at his keyboard. He tries to make it goal of his to piece a little bit of the Recalcitrance Code together each day, and he's made pretty decent progress so far on his own. Suddenly, his phone rings, startling him out of his concentration. He glances at the caller ID and sees it's a number he doesn't recognize, so he ignores it.
He turns his attention back to his computer, but the phone starts ringing again. The same number appears on the caller ID. Jeremie rolls his eyes and declines the call.
Suddenly, his phone starts ringing again, this time displaying a different unknown number.
What the hell is going on?
He declines the call, but it immediately starts ringing again, this time displaying Aelita's number.
He picks up immediately. "Hello?"
From the other side of the call comes a completely garbled response that Jeremie can barely make out. "Jerem... can yo... he... e? ...emie? ...llo?"
"Aelita? Is that you? I can't understand you. You're breaking up heavily."
Suddenly he hears ominous laughing in the background of the call, and a snarling voice that says "I have you now," then the room goes black.
The now XANAfied Jeremie gets up from his chair and drops his phone on the bed as he walks out of his dorm. As he leaves his room, he scans the hallway like a robot. Seeing the door to the supply closet open, he walks down the hallway towards it and locks himself in. As soon as the door shuts, XANA leaves Jeremie's unconscious body slumped against the inside of the door.
"Transfer Odd. Transfer Ulrich. Transfer William." Herve types furiously on the keyboard. "Scanner Odd. Scanner Ulrich. Scanner William. Virtualization."
The three men are virtualized onto Lyoko, landing in the Ice Sector.
"So, Einstein's not answering his phone, and Herve is leading the charge. I don't know whether to be worried or relieved," Odd muses.
William rolls his eyes. "Not the time, Della Robbia."
"Relax, I'm just trying to lighten the mood a bit."
"Let's just get this over with," Ulrich interjects. "Herve, any idea what we're up against?"
"It seems like a standard XANA attack," Herve answers. "The activated tower is to your five o'clock. No enemies in sight yet."
"Roger that," Ulrich responds.
"Ladies, your turn to be virtualized," Herve says, his voice echoing through the scanner room.
All three women step into the scanners.
"Transfer Sissi. Transfer Yumi. Transfer Aelita. Scanner Sissi. Scanner Yumi. Scanner Aelita. Virtualization."
The three women land feet first on the surface of the Ice Sector.
"Wow, it feels like it's been forever since I've been here," Yumi says as she surveys her surroundings. "Herve, Jeremie normally sends us our vehicles - do you know how to do that?"
"I can try." Herve pauses as he looks at Jeremie's notes. "Alright, here goes nothing." He presses the execution key. "Did it work?"
"Uh, we needed those on land, not in the Digital Sea!" Odd yells in frustration.
"Sorry, this is all very difficult. You try being in my shoes."
"I would rather not," Odd shoots back.
Sissi grumbles. "So, I guess we have to walk there."
"Nope," Yumi replies. "We don't have time for walking. We need to move fast." She takes off in a run, and the others join her.
Sissi sighs heavily and joins them as they run towards the tower, lit up ominously in red in the distance.
Suddenly, a Megatank shoots a laser wall in their direction. Yumi narrowly escapes being hit by doing a last-minute backflip while Sissi screams.
"Uh, you have an enemy to your six o'clock, guys," Herve says belatedly.
"Yeah, I think we figured that out," Sissi snaps.
"Aelita," Ulrich yells as he brandishes his sabers, "take Odd and Sissi and get to the tower. We'll hold the monsters off for you. Go now!"
Aelita nods, and the three of them continue running towards the tower.
As Yumi brings out her fans, she asks no one in particular, "Where the hell is Jeremie?"
"Who cares? We need to focus on what's right in front of us instead of wasting precious energy worrying about that right now," William says, his annoyance clear in the tone of his voice. "We have our overwatch, and that's Herve. So focus on that Megatank and not Belpois."
"Watch it, Dunbar," Ulrich growls. "Jeremie is our friend, and he's our leader. He's always there for us, and we need to be there for him."
"Pfft. Well, unless he and Herve have somehow swapped bodies, he's not here right now." William shoots back. "We don't have time for this. Aelita, Odd, and Sissi are waiting for us to hold these monsters off. Let's just get this over with."
Ulrich raises his swords defensively, his eyes narrowed. "You're an asshole, you know that?"
William smirks. "Yeah, I've heard that before."
"Guys, stop!" Yumi shouts. "We don't have time for this shit! There's a Megatank right in front of us, and we need to focus on defeating it."
Without skipping a beat, Ulrich shouts, "Triplicate!"
Ulrich splits into three copies of himself and runs in a triangle around the Megatank. It becomes confused at the sudden influx of targets. Ulrich takes advantage of its confusion and charges at it, embedding a saber deep in it's Eye of XANA. He jumps back as it explodes, taking with it his two copies.
Yumi runs towards the tower, throwing her fans in the direction of the Bloks that are now in her path. William follows behind her, sword aimed at another Blok.
Ulrich runs to catch up with them, slashing a Blok that is shooting lasers at Yumi.
"Thanks," she says.
"No problem."
Up ahead, Odd is fighting a Tarantula when, suddenly, he's hit by another one from behind.
"Odd!" Sissi screams. She thrusts her whip at the Tarantula that ambushed him, slicing it right across its Eye of XANA.
Odd groans. "Thanks, Sissi."
She winks and gives her boyfriend a thumbs up.
"I'm almost there," Aelita calls as she continues to run, trying to save time by avoiding combat.
A Blok manages to surprise Yumi with a hit, devirtualizing her, and Ulrich goes in for a particularly nasty revenge kill.
William notices a wayward Blok taking aim at Aelita and he breaks into a sprint, racing to block the shot before it hits her. He makes it just in time, holding his sword up to shield her. He swings his sword, producing an energy slash that wipes the Blok out.
Finally having reached the tower, Aelita runs in at full speed. The tower swallows her in, and she brings herself to a halt in the middle of the Eye. She turns her face upward as she begins to ascend to the upper level of the tower. When she gets there and the interface pops up, she immediately puts her palm on the interface and watches as it types out the familiar wording: Code Lyoko.
"Tower deactivated. Herve, quickly, launch a Return to the Past."
Without skipping a beat, Herve hits the execution key. "Return to the Past now!"
William looks up at the sight of Aelita above him again. He watches her every move. Returns to the Past are kinda awesome, he thinks, as right now would have been the exact moment Sissi called her and killed the mood. She is once again straddling his hips, her eyes dark with lust. He swallows hard. "Aelita..."
Aelita leans down and kisses him, her hands roaming across his chest.
William moans, his hands finding their way to her hips. He grips her tightly, fingers digging into her skin.
Aelita breaks the kiss, her lips traveling down to his neck. She kisses and sucks and bites, and William's breath hitches.
"Fuck, Lita," he murmurs.
Aelita giggles. She kisses back up to his lips, kissing him deeply. She grinds her hips against his just as she did the first time around, but more confidently this time, and William groans.
He breaks the kiss, his breathing heavy. "Fuck," he says again. "You are driving me crazy. You know that?"
Aelita just smiles. She leans down and kisses him again, her hands wandering down to the waistband of his joggers. She teases him, just barely dipping her fingers under the fabric.
William inhales sharply. "God, Aelita. You have no idea how bad I want you right now."
Aelita bites her lip. "Show me."
William kisses her hungrily, his hands traveling under her sweatshirt again. He cups her breasts and squeezes them, and Aelita moans.
With a smile, William kisses her again, sliding his hands down to her ass. He grabs her and grinds her against him, and Aelita whimpers.
"Feel that? That's how badly I want you," he says, his voice husky. He flips them over so that he's now on top of her. He kisses her again, his hand traveling under her shorts and panties.
Aelita gasps.
William breaks the kiss, his breathing heavy. "You okay?"
Aelita nods.
William kisses her again while his fingers explore. He finds that bundle of nerves and rubs it in slow, deliberate circles.
Aelita moans, her eyes fluttering shut.
"Does that feel good?" William murmurs.
"Mhm," Aelita hums.
William continues kissing her, and his fingers continue their ministrations. He slips a finger inside of her, and Aelita gasps.
"Still okay?"
She nods again. Her breath is coming in short pants now, her eyes shut tightly.
Again, William kisses her, his fingers moving faster.
"Will," Aelita breathes.
William smiles against her lips. "Come for me, Princess." He continues his movements, and Aelita feels like she's on the edge of a cliff.
"Fuck," she whimpers.
"There you go, Lita," William encourages her. "Relax and let go."
And with that, Aelita falls off the edge. She cries out, her back arching as she rides out the waves of pleasure.
William kisses her softly, his fingers slowing as she comes down from her high.
"Oh my God," Aelita pants.
William chuckles. "You good?"
"That was... wow. I've never felt anything like that before."
William flips them back over so that she's on top of him again. He kisses her. "I love seeing you all flustered like this."
Aelita blushes deeply. "Shut up."
William laughs. He wraps his arms around her and rolls them both onto their sides, facing each other. He studies her, taking in every detail of her face.
"What?" Aelita asks self-consciously.
"Nothing. Just admiring the view." William leans in and kisses her softly. "I'm the luckiest guy in the world, you know." He kisses her again, his hands wandering to her lower back, slowly inching her shorts over her hips.
Panic sets in for Aelita as she realizes what's happening. "William," Aelita mumbles against his lips.
"Yeah?" he asks, not really hearing the anxiety in her voice as he continues kissing her while still playing with her shorts.
"William, stop. Hang on." She grabs his hand to try and get his attention. She sits up on the couch, pushing away from him to hug herself tightly. Without looking at him, she says, "I'm sorry. I can't do this right now." As she finishes her sentence, tears begin to well up in her eyes.
William, sitting up now as well, watches his girlfriend closely. "Is everything okay? Did I do something wrong?"
Aelita is now solidly crying. She whimpers out, "I don't know, William. I don't know. I just... I can't do this."
"What do you mean you can't do this? It seems like everything was fine just a few minutes ago? I don't understand." His sexual frustration is getting the better of him now, and anger quietly bubbles beneath the surface.
Aelita stands up off the couch, still hugging herself. She walks a few paces away from the couch and shakes her head.
William is now pissed. He gets up off the couch, walks around the coffee table, and confronts her. "Look at me," he demands.
Aelita doesn't respond.
"Look at me," he repeats.
"William, please, just leave me alone," Aelita sobs.
"Not until you tell me what the hell is going on."
"I can't do this. I'm sorry. I just... can't."
William scoffs. "Really? You can't? That's all you have to say? Seriously, Aelita, what the fuck is your problem?" His voice is dripping with contempt, and his anger is now bubbling over.
Aelita flinches at his words. She is silent.
William glares at her. "You know what, fuck this. I'm out." He storms out of the Hermitage, slamming the door behind him.
Aelita collapses to the floor, sobbing.
William hops in his car and speeds off, not caring that he's breaking the speed limit. He's fuming. He can't believe what just happened.
What the fuck was that about? he wonders to himself. One minute, everything is perfect. The next, she's pushing me away and crying. What the hell?
He's so lost in thought that he doesn't even realize he's pulled up to the dormitory. He parks the car and stomps up to his room.
When he gets there, Bastien is nowhere to be found. Good. I don't want to deal with him right now, he thinks to himself. He slams the door and throws his duffel bag down. He's seething, and he can't think straight.
He paces around the room, trying to calm down. Why would she do that? Why would she lead me on like that? he thinks.
He's still pacing when Bastien enters the room.
"Uh, Dunbar? Everything okay?" Bastien asks.
William ignores him.
Bastien tries again. "Dunbar?"
"What."
"Um, everything okay?"
"No. Everything's not okay."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Not particularly."
"Okay. Well, if you change your mind, I'm here."
"Thanks." William continues pacing, while Bastien watches him warily.
"Seriously, dude, you're making me nervous. Can you sit down or something?"
William sighs and sits down on his bed. "Sorry. I'm just... frustrated."
"I can tell. Wanna talk about it?"
"No."
"Okay."
William sighs again. He can't stop thinking about Aelita. He's so confused. "You know what, fuck this," he says. He gets up and grabs his duffel bag. "I'm going for a run."
"Alright. Be safe."
"Yeah." William leaves the room and heads to the bathroom. He changes into his workout clothes and heads to the track. Thankfully, he's the only one there. As he runs, he tries to clear his mind. He focuses on his breathing, and on the rhythm of his footsteps.
But no matter how hard he tries, he can't stop thinking about Aelita.
He's so angry.
He's so hurt.
He's so confused.
William runs for what feels like hours. His lungs are burning, and his legs are aching. But he doesn't care. He needs to burn off this frustration.
Eventually, he reaches his breaking point. He stops running and doubles over, panting heavily.
He can't hold it in anymore. He drops to his knees in the middle of the track and screams until his throat is raw and his voice gives out. Until he just can't scream anymore.
And then he cries.
He cries until he has no tears left.
Sissi hangs up her phone with a huff. Aelita still hasn't picked up and it's been forty-eight hours since anyone has seen or heard from her.
"Yumi, what about you? Have you had any luck?" Sissi asks her friend with desperation.
"No. I'm in the same boat as you," Yumi responds. "Has anyone been by the Hermitage to check on her?"
Ulrich points to Odd and himself. "We went after dinner yesterday, but the entire house was dark and locked up. We knocked but there was no answer." He drums his fingers on the table. "This is strange. She's never done this before."
Odd chimes in, "Where's Loverboy in all of this?"
Almost as if on cue, William trudges into the cafe, a dark cloud hanging over him. He's sporting a hoodie with the hood up, hands in the front pocket. He clearly sees the rest of the team, but purposefully chooses to sit as far away from them as possible.
"What's eating him?" Ulrich asks. "Even I know he's not normally this dark and brooding."
Yumi adds, "I heard the team has been having issues lately. Maybe that's it."
Sissi, ever the relationship guru, says as she squints intensely in William's direction, "No, this is something else. And I have a strange feeling our missing pink-haired princess has to do with it."
"What makes you say that?" Yumi asks.
"A girl knows." As she gets up from her seat, she flips her hair and strides over to the sullen soccer captain.
William briefly glances in her direction, scoffs, then looks away.
"Are you okay?"
"No."
"Why not?" Sissi presses.
"Mind your business," William retorts.
"Where's Aelita?"
"Don't know. Don't care," he sneers.
It's Sissi's turn to scoff. "You can't be fucking serious. What the hell is going on?"
"Go away."
"No."
"Fine. I don't have to deal with this." He shoots up out of his seat abruptly and makes a beeline for the exit. He can feel the others' stares on his back as he walks out of the room.
Sissi is seething. "Oh no you don't," she mutters to herself as she also storms out of the room, hot on his tail. She walks as fast as she can to catch up to him, almost running. When she finally does catch up to him, she intercepts him and jabs a finger into his chest.
"Get your finger off of me right now," William hisses.
"Not until you tell me what the fuck is going on!"
"I don't have to tell you anything. I don't answer to you. Now get out of my face!" He pushes past her. He needs to cool off, and the crisp, autumn air is the only way he sees that being possible right now.
She follows him as closely as she can. Cornering him under a tree on the quad.
"What is your problem, dude?" she yells.
His anger is reaching a breaking point. "My problem is you trying to butt into my business like you know me! Now get away from me! I won't ask again."
At this point, other students who were already on the quad are now staring, thinking it's some sort of lovers' quarrel. Some are snickering and pointing, others have phones out, recording the scene.
Sissi is now yelling back, "Just tell me what happened between you and Aelita!"
"WE HAD A FIGHT! ALRIGHT? There! Now would you kindly fuck off?!"
Sissi blinks in surprise. More because he actually admitted it, than because he exploded at her. "Now we're getting somewhere."
He finally notices the crowd gathering around them. He pulls his hood tighter to hide his face and embarrassment. "Dammit..." he says while rubbing the back of his neck through his hood. "If I tell you what's going on, can we at least go somewhere we don't have the entire school listening to us?"
"Fair. Lead on."
William leads the the two of them to the practice field bleachers.
"We should be fine here, no one will be using the field for a few hours."
"Okay. Now spill."
He takes a deep breath, possibly the deepest he's ever taken, in an attempt to calm his nerves. As he loosens and flips back his hood, he thinks about how to put his feelings to words. Sissi notices the puffiness around his eyes for the first time and a wave of pity washes over her.
"Remember when you called us to breakfast?"
"Yes, what about it?"
"After the Return to the Past, you didn't call again."
"You're welcome."
"I'm not saying thank you for that, and I'm about to tell you why. So get serious."
"Alright, alright. Sorry. Continue." She puts her hands up apologetically.
"Fuck. How do I say this? When you called the first time, it ruined the mood. It was such a cockblock, but I didn't say anything to Aelita about it. Mainly because I was hungry, too." He pauses, trying to find a way to not just blurt out what happened. "Without the call the second time, things got... out of hand."
"What do you mean out of hand? What did you do, William?"
"I genuinely do not know. And that's the problem here. Everything was perfect. The mood, the sun coming in through the window... her. But then she just pushed me away for no reason."
"Okay? I think I'm following you." Sissi motions for him to keep talking.
"I thought it was going to happen. I thought I'd be able to truly show her what I feel about her. We both wanted it." He explains, "Frankly, it seemed like she was more into it than I was. Then she just freaked and started crying."
Oh God, Sissi thinks, it happened, didn't it? "William, you didn't just immediately leave, did you?"
"I was hurt. I was angry. Why shouldn't I ha—"
He feels a sudden, stinging warmth on his cheek as his sentence is cut off. The sound of a slap still echoing off the distant school buildings.
"What in the fuck was that for?"
"You really don't get what you did, do you?" Sissi's eyes flash with anger as she holds back tears. "Shit. Goddammit. Fuck. She hasn't told you, has she?"
"Told me what?" he asks, still in shock from the slap.
"Great. Dammit, Aelita," Sissi says to the sky. "This should be your job, not mine."
"What is happening here?" William genuinely inquires. "What don't I know?"
"Why Aelita and Jeremie broke up," Sissi starts. "Buckle up. This is gonna get bumpy."
William crosses his arms as he waits for her to continue.
Sissi sighs. "Their relationship went a long time without any physical intimacy. Like, any at all. I'm talking like almost a year. It really messed with her head, constantly feeling unwanted like that. While every girl around her was gushing about this, that, and the other that they did with some guy after short amounts of time, she was stuck wondering if there was something wrong with her. Then, when they finally did have sex, he seemed so uninterested the whole time. Neither one of them enjoyed it. But Jeremie took things too far. He broke her trust by talking to Ulrich about their sexual relationship. Not only that, she overheard him saying something along the lines of, 'I'm pretty sure I'm asexual, I just wanted to see if I actually am. Guess so, since I hated it so much.' He basically just used her body while she actually loved him. Imagine losing your virginity to someone like that."
"Well shit. How the fuck was I supposed to know any of that?" He asks incredulously.
"You weren't. But it doesn't excuse the fact that you didn't even give her the benefit of the doubt. You just got mad and left."
"Because I was upset! I thought she was leading me on!"
"William, just listen. You can't get mad at her for freaking out. She's been traumatized by Jeremie's actions. I'm honestly surprised she was even willing to try again with you."
"Well, I appreciate you explaining everything to me. But... why did you slap me?"
"Because you're an idiot, " she says blankly.
"You can't just call me an idiot and expect me to be okay with it."
"But you are an idiot for not noticing the signs." She adds, "But enough of all of this doom and gloom, go get her. Now." She points to the forest.
"Alright." He leaps up and starts running, but turns back after a few steps to yell, "Thank you, Sissi. I needed that!"
"Go, dumbass!" She waves him off. He nods in acknowledgement and disappears past the tree line.
Aelita has been cooped up in her room since the fight, only leaving her bed to use the bathroom. As much as she tries not to, she keeps replaying the words William shouted at her that cut her the deepest.
Really? You can't? That's all you have to say? Seriously, Aelita, what the fuck is your problem?
Every time those words play through in her head, she bursts out sobbing.
Through her sobs and hiccups, she hears pounding at the front door. She just assumes it is one of her other friends coming to check up on her. She has made it her mission to talk to no one, so she stays silent in her room.
Then she hears his voice.
"Aelita! Aelita, it's me! Open up, please!" he begs, pounding ever harder on the Hermitage's heavy front door.
She does not move. He is the last person she wants to see or talk to right now, but a part of her brain is telling her to go let him in.
"Aelita, I know you can hear me in there," his voice reverberates through the halls. "Please, I really need to talk to you."
She takes a deep breath and wipes her tear-stained face with the back of her hand. Slowly, she gets up and makes her way downstairs to the door.
"Aelita, plea—oh." William is shocked to see her red, puffy face. He knew he fucked up, but seeing her like this is a whole new level of hurt.
"What do you want, William?" She asks, her voice is weak and hoarse from the hours of crying.
"I... I'm here to apologize." He starts, "I was an idiot. I said some really hurtful things, and I'm so, so sorry. Can I come in?"
"I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"Fine, then we can talk out here or at the door like this. Just, please, hear me out," he says.
"I'm not really sure I want to, William," she states, venom coating each syllable.
He hangs his head for a second and then drops to his knees, pleading, "Aelita, please."
She scowls at him. "Fine," she says flatly, "but I'm warning you. If you say one thing out of line, this door is closing in your face."
He nods in agreement. "Okay. That's fair." He pauses to think about what he needs to say as he gets back on his feet.
"I want to start out by saying I'm sorry again. I don't know what came over me. I just got angry and that was wrong and hurtful. I don't blame you for how you reacted to my advances. I should have made absolutely sure you were ready. I didn't, and I paid the price. I hurt you and I don't think I can ever forgive myself for that." He takes a second to breathe a deep sigh.
She just stares expectantly at him and waits for him to continue.
"You've got good friends, Lita. Sissi knocked some sense into me." He corrects himself. "Well, I guess she slapped it into me."
Aelita struggles to hold back a small smile hearing the lengths her friends go to protect her sometimes.
"Can you imagine? The captain of the soccer team, being slapped by a woman he's not dating? It hurt. It still hurts." He chuckles to himself as he rubs his cheek. "Anyway, all jokes aside. Sissi told me everything."
Her eyes widen at that statement.
He continues. "I know what happened. It's alright. I want you to know that I understand the feeling."
Aelita balks at his words. "How could you even begin to understand what he did to me?"
"Because it happened to me, too," William says.
Aelita hears the certainty in his voice. "Wait, what?"
"Believe it or not. Her name was Tiffany. She treated me almost exactly the same way, down to the using me for sex. No real love, no real affection. I was younger and stupid. I thought I loved her. I gave her whatever she wanted and expected nothing, and somehow I still got my heart broken. She cheated on me. And it hit me like a brick. I couldn't trust women anymore. Any sign of rejection just became a personal attack. I thought I had grown out of that, but obviously," he gestures between the two of them, "that's not the case."
She takes in his words as she tries to understand them. "I didn't know that. I'm so sorry," she says softly.
"Seems like we both have some explaining to do."
"On that note," she interjects, her mood devolving back to depressed and angry, "now I need you to understand exactly how much you hurt me. William, do you understand how it felt to be yelled at and to have you just leave me?"
William winces as he recalls how it all happened.
"I needed you and you just left me there. Actually, not only did I need you then, but I needed you to understand that I wasn't alright. And you didn't even try."
He hangs his head with shame.
"And then on top of that, until now, you obviously didn't expend any energy to come check on me. Sissi and Yumi were calling me almost every half hour at one point. Odd and Ulrich at least came and knocked on the door. Where were you? My boyfriend?" She sticks a finger in his chest.
"What the hell is going on with all these women poking me in the chest today? It's pissing me off." He grabs her hand and spins her around to hold it behind her back. She yelps at the sudden movement.
He declares into her ear, "I know we're opening up and all, but don't do that. I'm not in the mood."
His voice rumbles through her body and sends shivers down her spine. Hearing him be so authoritative right in her ear is flipping a switch she didn't realize she had.
William notices she's squirming in his grip. I'm not holding her that tightly, he thinks, just enough to keep her from poking me again. He shakes off the thoughts running through his head. Get it together, Dunbar. This isn't the time.
He takes this opportunity to wrap his arms around her. He places his chin on her shoulder and instinctively she reaches up and caresses his face. He says into her neck, making her breath catch in her throat, "I thought I lost you."
"But you found me. Right where you left me, too."
William cringes at the implication of that statement. He turns her around and places his forehead on hers. "I know I fucked up, but you don't have to remind me like that."
She laughs lightly. "But how are you supposed to learn your lesson then?"
"Good question," he ponders. He lifts her face to meet her gaze and cups her cheek. "These past couple of days, have really made me think, Aelita. I realize now exactly what you mean to me."
"And what is that?"
"I love you, Aelita."
Tears begin welling up in her eyes again, and William starts to panic.
"Don't worry. I'm fine. Just realizing that I never got to hear that from Jeremie. Thank you, William. I love you, too."
She reaches up and plants a kiss on his lips before offering to let him inside, "Come on, it's cold out here."
"After you, Princess."