(Avery P.O.V.)
"Better than wha-" If Aelita kept talking, I wouldn't know. I wasn't listening to her anyway. All I could think about was Odd's lips upon mine.
Despite being the tough boy he acts like he is, Odd has really soft lips. And I love them. Odd is such a good kisser, I would love to be kissing him forever. But, just like last night, I feel that burning sensation in my chest that tells me I'm running low on air.
I force myself to pull away so I don't pass out from lack of oxygen. I look over to see everyone else's reactions, and they're funnier than I thought they would be.
Ulrich's mouth is hanging open. Jeremie is rubbing his eyes and blinking as though he's hallucinating. Aelita is just staring straight ahead at us, but not really at us. Yumi, who joined us for dinner tonight, I think has the best expression. Her mouth is open just slightly, but she stopped just before she took a bite of food, so her fork is dangling in front of her.
"Wha… wha… what was that?" Ulrich asks.
"Guess." Odd says simply, and we sit down again.
"You two finally got together?" He asks incredulously. Yumi finally regains control over herself and lowers her fork. I nod.
"Yes!" Ulrich says, thrusting his fist into the air, "I knew it!"
"Is that why you've been acting so strange today?" Jeremie asks.
"No, of course not." Odd says sarcastically. Odd slowly inches his arm around my waist, then he pulls me close to him. Smiling, I lay my head on his shoulder.
"Aww, so cute. Avery is snuggling with Odd." Ulrich says with a grin.
"You know Ulrich, if this were any other day, I would have hit you." I say. I close my eyes, content.
Suddenly, I feel Odd's hands on my sides, and he begins to tickle me softly. I squirm, just a little, but eventually he starts tickling me harder.
"Hey, no fair!" I try to get away from him again, but he puts his arm around my waist. Using one hand, he restrains mine. Using the other hand, he pokes me in the side repeatedly. I begin to squeal.
"No fair! You're cheating!" I say loudly between squeals. I manage to squirm away from him, so I turn around to face him. He moves to poke me with one hand, and I grab it. He moves to poke me with his other, and I grab that hand too. So we're basically holding hands.
Within the blink of an eye, he grabs both of my hands with one of his, so he has one free hand and I don't.
"Oh no you don't, that's cheating." I say, but he gets a gleam in his eye.
"That's why I'm doing it." He says.
"Hey! You poke me again, and you don't get any kisses for the rest of the night!" I say.
"No fair, that's like blackmail."
"No, that's collateral. So, no more poking, alright?" He puts on a pouty face.
"Oh fine. But that means you owe me."
"Okay fine, whatever." I say. He puts his arm around my waist and pulls me next to him again. I rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes again.
"See, I told you they would make a cute couple." I hear Ulrich's voice say from across the table.
"Yumi? Can you smack Ulrich upside the head for me?" I ask. I hear a resounding 'smack' and smile.
"Thank you."
(Odd P.O.V.)
After dinner, we walk back in silence to Jeremie's room. None of us talk much, what is there to talk about? When we enter, Jeremie sits on his bed and pulls Aelita down with him. I sit down in the corner and Avery sits next to me. I put my arm around her waist and she snuggles in close to me. Yumi and Ulrich sit down against the wall near Jeremie's computer.
Avery slowly leans her head back on my shoulder and closes her eyes.
"Hey, don't fall asleep yet. The night has barely begun." I say, nudging her a little bit.
"Hmm… too tired…" She mumbles, almost incoherently.
"Hey Odd." Ulrich says from by the computer. He has Yumi wrapped up tightly in his arms
"Yah?" I ask.
"You know what? I was right." He says laughing slightly.
"The sad thing is, that's true." I say, and everyone laughs quietly.
"So you did tell him?" Avery asks, still not opening her eyes. Unfortunately, she basically said it to my chest, and Ulrich looks at me asking 'what was that?' with his eyes.
"She asked if you did tell me. What are you talking about?" Ulrich and Yumi look at each other and smile.
"Oh nothing Odd." He says. I stare at him for a second, and I realize what he means.
"You knew." I say softly. Ulrich nods his head. "You knew, and with all the shit I was going through you still didn't tell me? Why not?" I ask. I try not to get angry, but my temper is flaring.
Avery sits up straighter and puts her finger on my lips.
"Peace love. He didn't tell you because I asked him not to." She says softly. Instantly my temper melts away, and all I feel is the burning love for this girl next to me. I pull her finger away from my lips and kiss her softly.
"Okay guys, here's the one rule." Jeremie says from the bed. It looks like Aelita has already fallen asleep.
"I don't mind if any of you stay here for the night. The only rule is when I wake up in the morning, I don't want to find anyone naked."
"Deal." Ulrich says. Yumi and Avery both just mumble.
"Well… you said you didn't want to find anyone naked. That doesn't mean we can't just get dressed again before you wake up." I say with a smile. Jeremie stutters, Ulrich laughs, and Avery glares at me.
"You know what I- I mean of course you know that- Well Odd…" Jeremie stutters, completely thrown off balance.
"Don't worry Einstein, I know what you mean. Besides, Avery would probably call the police before I got her socks off." I say, bringing another small laugh out of everybody.
"You bet I wou-wou-would…" Avery says, yawning.
"Oh, so you would call the police on your boyfriend?"
"Hell yah I would." I don't think Ulrich or Jeremie caught it, but I did.
Avery cussed again. I get the feeling that's how her previous relationship ended… her boyfriend did something bad and she had to report him…
Silence envelops us all, and I have a feeling that Yumi has drifted off as well.
"Ulrich… she asleep?" I ask.
"Yup."
"Jeremie?"
"Uh huh." I look at Avery and put another arm around her.
"Avery asleep?" Ulrich asks. I can tell she isn't, even though she looks it.
"Hey baby… you asleep yet?" I ask quietly. A slight shake of the head and quiet murmuring tell me different.
"No… but she's giving it a good try." I gently stroke her long, luscious brown hair. Right now, it's pulled back into a tight ponytail, but she has two small strands that fall in front of her face. And I love it, it's beautiful.
As I pull one of the strands behind her ear, I can tell she drifts off. I don't know how, there's no physical change. But somehow, I can feel the peace coming off of her, and she's asleep.
"There she goes…" I whisper to Ulrich and Jeremie.
"They're so cute when they're asleep." Jeremie says tiredly.
"They're just so peaceful… it just…" Ulrich continues.
"And it just makes us love them more." I finish. I tighten my hold on Avery before I finally drift off into a peaceful sleep of my own.
Sorry to everyone, but this is the end of An Odd Love. And it truly was, an odd love. I do intend to write a sequal, I just don't know how soon I will be able to. So! I bid you all a fond farewell, and for the last time this story, review!