What Humans Do
By Cybra
A/N: Set in a universe in which, following XANA’s escape from the supercomputer, it took on a human form in order to better study the opposition and attack them. I have a bad feeling that if I drabble much in this universe, it’ll form the so-wrong (yet strangely delicious) slash of XANA/Jeremy. And I blame Kite Amaru for that.
Disclaimer: Code Lyoko isn’t mine. You know the drill.
Xander—nickname “Xana” to the rest of the student body—eyeballed the concrete pit filled with water warily. He felt chilly in the undergarment-like “bathing suit” he’d been instructed to wear for this outing.
“Well, go on!” one of the girls giggled. “Jump in!”
He felt a shove on his back a split second before his feet left the edge, resulting in him submerged in water some feet away. He fought his way to the surface, still-unfamiliar physical body moving in a disjointed fashion. (Not that he knew what he was doing anyway.)
He gasped and struggled, barely making out cries for assistance. His head went under again.
A whistle blared before someone shouted “No running!” Then came a splash from behind him.
Suddenly, a form rose from beneath the floundering materialized being, pressing against his stomach and providing stability.
“Stop struggling!” the head that broke the surface snapped. “Let me do all the work!”
Xana obeyed as he stared at the back of Jeremy Belpois’s head. The boy swam into the shallow end where they both could easily exit the pool. It was then that the black-haired supposed boy released the youth.
The blond walked up the stairs with fists clenched, muttering to himself. He must’ve been on his way to get changed since he was still in his street clothes…which were now sopping wet. His sneakers offered squishy protest to each step, and Jeremy occasionally raised a foot to shake it in annoyance.
The girl who had started the entire mess started to profusely apologize, saying she had no idea Xana couldn’t swim, but he pushed her aside, following his sworn enemy. He reached out and grabbed the other boy on the shoulder, turning him around. “Why did you save me?”
It was no secret around Kadic Academy that—for whatever reason—Xana and Jeremy despised each other. If they were forced to sit next to each other in class, you could almost literally see sparks crackling between the pair. It was as if they were constantly about a half second away from twisting around and attempting to wring each other’s necks. Neither had anything positive to say about the other. However, the reason for such animosity since day one escaped the general populous.
The blond crossed sopping wet arms, closed his eyes, and turned his head away. “You may be the enemy, Xana, but I wasn’t going to just let you drown. It’s not what…people like me do.”
The black-haired one lifted a curious eyebrow, understanding what he’d meant to say but not the overall meaning. “So you’d let me live another day in spite of everything I’ve done and what you know I can do?”
Jeremy growled and glared, blue eyes meeting hazel. “Would you rather I throw you back in? Because I’m sure my conscience would let it slide just this once if that’s what you wanted.”
“Don’t trouble yourself on my account,” the darker not-human said silkily. “You’ve already been inconvenienced enough. I’d suggest changing out of those clothes. They appear rather uncomfortable.”
With a snarl, Jeremy whirled and stomped away.
Xana outwardly smirked but continually failed to make logical sense of the programmer’s reasoning.