Exactly the Same, a code lyoko fanfic

This was a request made by Bravekid, a fellow Oddissi shipper. We are few and far between but we stick together. It started out as something really small, I wasn't sure it was even going to reach one thousand, but then it morphed into this beast. It is the longest one-shot I have ever written and I'm pretty proud of it. I like how it turned out.

I do not own Code Lyoko.

Pumpkin.

Sissi Delmas was going crazy. She was a hair's breadth away from admitting herself to a sanitarium just to get away from this insanity. Incomprehensibly, the girl was trapped within reality. There was no pattern, not one she could see at least, but there were frequent occurences.

It always started out like a normal day; there was never any warning. But then a disaster, any disaster, it could be anything from homicidal zombie adults to giant mutant teddy bears, would strike. Pure terror would encompass the entirety of her being; nothing could be more petrifying, so life-threatening, so suddenly abhorrent.

And then, always at just the right time, there was a white light that washes over everything. Suddenly it was back to the day before. Nothing was different except the horror, in whatever form it had taken before, did not appear. Well, almost nothing else was different.

It was that one group, featuring people with personalities so distinct, they could've been the cast of a prime time Cartoon Network kids show. The first time around they'd do something stupid, but they always made a better decision, occasionally at Sissi's expense, the second time. Sissi herself never changed the way she acted, afraid it could trigger another loop, a worse disaster. She simply wasn't willing to take the risk.

Of that clique, the few that defied the looping, the strangest one was Odd.

Many times he had been a complete jerk to her during the first iteration, worthy of a hard slap, but the second time around he was almost sweet, comparatively. It made no sense. Was he aware of the looping? It would explain some things and yet, if that was true then, rather than being nicer, he should've been supplying better comebacks. Sissi had to be careful, like this the Italian was almost, dare she say it, charming.

The blonde pulling his punches somehow managed to romance and infuriate her. Did he think she was too soft to take his torment? Better her than some other, weaker girl. Anyone else would probably cry herself to sleep every night, but not Sissi. Honestly, she was doing the world a favor by always sparring with Odd, which is why she did it in the first place; in no way did she enjoy her verbal challenges of wit and humor. The adrenaline rush, the fire in her eyes as she watched his gleam wickedly, a conspicuous craftiness swirling in his irises, the raw energy flowing between them as they parried one another's verbal blows- who would enjoy that? Not her. Never.

It was only satisfying when she won, which killed her because half of the time she wins the white light ends up washing that away and there he is again, suddenly omniscient as he twists it all in his favor. She couldn't use her knowledge of the argument though, then he'd know and that was the last thing she wanted.

Instead she suffered silently, eternally biting her tongue as the ignorant masses once again lived the same day. Maybe one day she'd actually consider taking advantage of her knowledge, if she weren't so afraid that those people would notice.

From the moment Sissi woke up she knew she wasn't going to bother going to school that day. The teen simply did not have the energy. Reaching out from her covers, she snatched her phone off the bedside table. She shot her father a quick text full of emotional baggage and claims of sickness to ensure he wouldn't try to pressure her into going to class and then rolled right back into her pink comforter, heaving a sigh of contentment.

The black-haired girl slept another three hours before she was ready to emerge from her covers. Determined not to attend school, Sissi mulled over something to do with her free day. She had no intention of wasting it on campus.

Somehow she needed to sneak out of her dorm and explore the city; Buddha knows she'd seen enough of Kadic to become a tour guide for the place. Escaping wouldn't be too difficult.

Absconding from her bed, she ripped open her dresser in search of less conspicuous clothes; she wanted something that didn't scream "Sissi Delmas, the Headmaster's daughter, is leaving the campus". At the same time she still needed to look good in case she ran into some cute boys.

A sleek, black coat hanging in her closet would help her anonymity while letting her still wear her usual eye-catching brights underneath. It was quickly pulled from it's hanger along with a pair of dark skinny jeans and a colorful top. The teen dressed herself meticulously, flattening out each wrinkle of her shirt delicately with her hands. She swept her dark hair into a high ponytail while leaving her usual headband on the dresser, hoping it would make her harder to recognize. At her vanity the girl slowly outlined her eyes with black, flicking the tool gently at the corners of her eyes to give herself wing tips. Her lips were painted with a red tinted gloss that tasted of cherry medicine. Any flaws were blended out of existance with porcelain concealer and finally she was ready.

There was many "secret passages" around Kadic, like the boiler room tunnels or the storm drains, but her preferred means of incognito transportation were the oh-so classy and lesser known janitor shortcuts. Kadic was a big school and also very shrewd about the amount of janitors it was willing to hire. To make up for a shortage in staff there were convenient pathways between walls all around the school accessible through the janitor's closets. Students weren't supposed to know about these paths but, being a Delmas, Sissi naturally did.

Taking the janitor shortcuts from the second floor in the dormitory to the tech lab that was right next to the back gate of the school only, the black-haired teen was home free in a mere twenty minutes. The streets weren't very crowded despite the pleasant weather. A boy most likely playing hooky slid past her on his skateboard whilst quite obviously checking her out.

"Hey girl, what's your name?" He called out as he flipped his skateboard around to roll along side her. Sissi shot him a side-ways glance, assessing his qualifications.

His shoulder length hair, sticking out from beneath a too large beanie, was greasy beyond belief; it made her cringe at the thought of what could be living inside it. He was probably a bit older than her, considering his awkward, pubescent and spotty stumble. What struck her the most was the awful smell that seemed to occupy him. There simply weren't words for the abhorrent stench and how it made her feel.

"Not interested." She replied curtly as she crinkled her nose in disgust. The boy seemed lost in shock a moment before he swerved in front of her.

"The hell bitch?!" He said angrily, blocking her path.

Sissi was barely miffed by this setback. This wasn't anything new to her.

"Oh I'm sorry," she hissed sarcastically as she sidestepped him, "Aren't you a lesbian? I'm not into girls- oh wait it's your hair! Oops, I mistook you for a girl because of your garish hair. You really should get that cut... And washed."

Fury radiated from his body as she left him behind.

"You're the fucking lesbo! Bitch!" He called out as he skated the other way. The girl gasped indignantly, whirling around.

"Ugh!" was all she managed to shout before he was out of sight.

"I'm not a lesbian just because I'm not attracted to you!" The teen whispered angrily under her breath as she glared down the street, "I just so happen to be attracted to real men, not greasy rats- Dammit! Why didn't I think of this when he was here?!"

Suddenly her foot sank into a soft substance.

"Noooo, you've got to be kidding me!" Sissi cried out as she glanced at the brown mess beneath her shoe. "These were brand new!"

The black-haired teen was not enjoying herself nearly as much as she hoped she would.

Rather than risk further disappointment she made a beeline straight to her favorite café. A chic little hole in the wall nestled between a local boutique and pet store was her safe haven in the outside world. It's tangerine store front beckoned her in from the harsh street.

"If it isn't my number one customer, Elizabeth!" Called a calm voice from behind the counter.

"Sissi." She huffed as she approached the college student posted at the register.

"You said it, not me." He replied with a shrug. Seeing her lack of amusement, the brunette leaned forward on the counter, adjusting his patterned polo. "Rough day?" He asked, actual concern evident in his voice.

"Could be worse," the black-haired teen admitted, playing with her ponytail. "Can I have my usual?" He winced.

"It's about to get worse, we're out of your strawberry stuff." Crumpling in defeat, Sissi flippantly waved her hand in the air.

"Give me whatever." She mumbled as she dragged herself away and dumped herself limply into a cute little chair.

"One whatever coming up!" He called back to her, getting to work.

The girl pulled her cellphone from her pocket, flipping it open to check for texts: twelve from Groupie A, four from Groupie B, one from her father, two from Lisanna, and five from Tiffany. Tiffany was texting her about her boyfriend being a complete jerk, cheating on her with some girl. Lisanna was texting her that she was seeing a guy dating Tiffany but that he was apparently going to break up with Tiffany for her. Her dad was worried about her well being. Groupie B sent her gibberish (the dunderhead wasn't actually capable of texting). Finally Groupie A had sent her frantic texts all very concerned with how she was feeling.

Halfway through her response to Tiffany, ready to instigate a fight by telling her that "some girl" was actually Lisanna, the barista set down a cup on her table.

"Here's your whatever, also known as a chai tea with some raspberry gunk in it. That'll be four dollars and eighteen cents." He declared whilst bowing eloquently. She dug out the money and dumped it in his hand. "A pleasure doing business."

Giving her drink a hesitant sip, Sissi was pleased to find that her whatever tasted incredibly good, enough to be her new regular. She saw that Tiffany had sent her another text as she slurped up her drink. Tiffany was outraged that Sissi hadn't told her it was Lisanna and that she wasn't a real friend like Clarise who just told her. She growled as she snapped her phone shut. A stop by the boutique was her last hope at taking advantage of her day before she would head back to Kadic.

"See you later Marco!" She called out as she exited the café. "Make me another one of these whatevers next time too!"

There was a drag in Sissi's step as she headed right into the store next door. The clothing hung from racks against the left and right walls of the shop. It was a gamble whether what she was looking for would be on the left or the right. Choosing the right wall, the teen scoured the selections. Blouses of various sizes and colors were lined up alongside skirts and tees, but nothing spoke to her. A flash of color on the other side of the room caught her eye as she turned and saw a red headed teen admiring a bright pink and white stylized sweater; it was perfect.

Cursing her luck, Sissi watched as the teen carried the sweater away. The girl was quite obviously a spring and should've been avoiding such a pink like the plague but it was too late to deter the poor misled youth now.

In defeat, the black-haired teen retreated from the store empty handed. She snuck back into Kadic ready to just lay back and relax with what remained of her whatever. There were no glitches in her return as she made it back to her form without detection.

Sissi ramped the volume of her stereo up loud as she plugged in her iPod. Brittany Spears' "Toxic" began to blast in her dorm. Getting caught up in the music, the teen began to bounce and sway her hips as she stripped off her clothes hoping to change into something more comfy. She ended up dancing in her underwear, loudly singing the lyrics and completely distracted.

"I'm addicted to you, yeah you know that I'm toxic!" She sang, spinning around dramatically, just in time to see the door knob twist and give way.

"Hey Sissi! The teach wanted me to-" Odd had barged into her room, shouting. Chances are that he had tried knocking and shouting at her from outside but there was no way she was able to hear him over the racket she'd been making. In his hands was a packet of papers and a textbook. He'd shut up the moment he saw her in nothing but her bra and panties and hell if she wasn't a deer in headlights. Toxic went unnoticed as it finished playing, leading into a much more subdued chasing cars. Neither teen had the will to move. Suddenly an urgent beeping brought them both out of their stupor as Odd dropped the schoolwork on her carpet and made a break for it, shouting an apology.

Sissi slumped down onto the floor, shaking in embarrassment. She tried to bury her flushed cheeks into her fluffy rug but nothing got her heart to calm down. Jumping up, the teen quickly donned a pair of very conservative pajamas. The black-haired girl retreated to her bed, grabbing a heart shaped pillow and clutching it against her chest in utter mortification. Shoving her face into the fluff, she let out a scream.

Had he just-

He totally did.

Oh god.

How was she going to live past this day?

She could probably get him expelled. If it weren't so embarrassing she could wield it over his head, threatening to tell everyone, making her the official and final winner of whatever game they were playing. But telling everyone that he saw her almost naked was admitting that he saw her almost naked. Almost.

It wasn't really his fault. He didn't know- or did he?!

Frantic thoughts swirled around in her head for an hour before she noticed a bright white light shining through her window.

"Dammit!" She shouted as it filled her room.

Sissi woke up and was right back to where she was yesterday. Drained. She angrily snatched her phone and sent her father the exact same text so that she could sleep. She slept the exact same amount of time she did last time, although she supposed everyone else considered it the first time. She wore the exact same clothes and put on the exact same make-up and frustratedly headed towards the janitor's closet. It was only halfway through those thin corridors that she realized that, as the group who disobeyed the time loops hadn't seen her the first time, she could actually use her foresight to improve her day. The teen was sick of living twice anyway.

Strutting confidently down the street the teen spotted the dirty skater ahead of time. He once again observed her carefully as he slid past.

"Hey girl, what's your name?" He called out as he flipped his skateboard around to roll along side her. Sissi didn't even spare him a glance, already well aware of his ratty appearance.

"Not interested." She replied curtly as she crinkled her nose in disgust. The boy seemed lost in shock a moment before he swerved in front of her.

"The hell bitch?!" He said angrily, blocking her path.

Sissi wasn't even miffed this time. This wasn't anything new to her.

"Oh I'm sorry," she hissed sarcastically as she sidestepped him, "Aren't you a lesbian? I'm not like into girls- oh wait it's your hair! Oops, I mistook you for a girl because of your garish hair. You really should get that cut... And washed."

Fury radiated from his body as she left him behind.

"You're the fucking lesbo! Bitch!" He called out as he skated the other way.

"I'm not a lesbian just because I'm not attracted to you," the girl shouted confidently, " I'm just attracted to real men not greasy rats!"

She watched in amusement as he fell off his skate board in shock. Sissi gave herself a mental high five as she spun back around and continued down the street, mindful of the dog crap in her path.

She waltzed into her café with a smile and clean shoes.

"If it isn't my number one customer, Elizabeth!" Called a calm voice from behind the counter.

"Call me Sissi or I shall take my business elsewhere!" She demanded playfully.

"You said it, not me." He replied with a shrug. Sissi couldn't stop herself from giggling. The barista smiled in response as he leaned back and messed with his patterned polo. "Good day?"

"Could be worse," the black-haired teen said, entirely aware of how much worse it could be. "Care to hook me up with something new? I'll take whatever."

"I've got an idea I've been dying to try," Marco said excitedly as he retreated into the back where the machines were. "One whatever coming up!"

Sissi strolled to her favorite seat and flipped open her phone. Immediately opening the conversation with Tiffany.

'Omg its lisa w ur bf' she typed furiously. The teen sent it with a satisfied smile curling on her lips. She paused for a moment before sending another message, 'If an1 ax it was Clar who told u not me'. Tiffany showered Sissi in praise for being such a good friend. The girl also sent a quick text to Lisanna to tell her Clarisse told Tiffany about her cheating. Smirking in satisfaction, Sissi looked up just in time to see the barista set down her drink.

The teen drank with no hesitation as she headed straight for the door, ready to snatch that sweater.

"See you later Marco!" She called out as she exited the café. "Make me another one of these whatevers next time too!"

There was a spring in her step as she strode into the boutique and went straight to the middle of the left wall. Sissi spotted the sweater immediately but waited for the redhead teen from before to be close enough to notice. The black-haired girl dramatically swung it off the shelf and held it up high, noticing the redhead turn to look at the bright pink article in excitement. Wanting a little more entertainment, the girl pretended to mull over the sweater all the while the redhead seemed to drool over it. Eventually sliding a glance to the other girl, Sissi gave her a smirk and walked towards the cash register with her prize. Sometimes she just needed to be cruel.

Laying it down on the countertop, Sissi looked up at the stylish forty year old woman minding the register.

"Sissi!" The woman cried excitedly, reaching her arms out for a hug, "how wonderful to see you!" Looking down at what Sissi had picked out the cashier clapped in surprise, "Oh! You found it! I was thinking of you when I designed this one you know. Hand Knit!" She declared happily as she punched a couple keys on the register. Leaning closer, she quickly looked both ways before whispering into the teen's ear, "Truth be told I was worried that little redhead over there would spot it. Girl has a horrible fascination with bright pink."

"She has to realize she is a spring, especially with like such intense hair." Sissi noted, watching the owner's eyes light up.

"Yes! Thank you! Someone who understands!" The designer proclaimed as she rung up the clothing. "Normally this kind of thing would go for a whopping fifty since knitting is hard, but for you, and for saving this sweater from Spring over there, only twenty five dollars, darling."

The teen gladly handed her friend the money and took the pattered bag containing her sweater from the woman's arms.

She walked out of the boutique feeling like a winner. Nobody was in a better mood than her. All she had left now was to go back to her dorm and-

What happened in her dorm hit her like a ton of bricks. She had to go through that again?! She had to dance in her underwear to toxic and let Odd walk in?! No wait! Odd! Odd wasn't affected by the time loop which meant that he would know that she was supposed to be practically naked and how awkward it would be. He would know not to walk into her room because there was no way in hell that he would want to experience that again. All she had to do was blast toxic and he'd think everything was the same and just leave her schoolwork outside of her dorm room. God she was a total Einstein sometimes.

With this in mind Sissi snuck back into Kadic and began to loudly play toxic. She changed quickly into her new sweater and a comfy pair of yoga pants and laid down on her bed loudly singing along. The teen heard his attempts this time since she knew to listen for them but ignored him in order to keep up the appearance of continuity.

It was quite a shock when she saw the doorknob once again twist and give way, followed by Odd entering the room shouting and looking at exactly where she had been in her underwear last time.

"Hey Sissi! The teach wanted me to-" He turned around in surprise to see her on her bed, fully dressed. There was a long pause where he stared at her incredulously before continuing quietly, "-give you these."

The black-haired teen stared at the blonde in shock.

"Oh my god." She said, her face beginning to glow red, "why did you- did you seriously- oh my god. But didn't you know?!" Sissi's asked angrily, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"Know what?!" He said indignantly, incredibly confused.

"You knew I was in my underwear!" She shouted, getting up off her bed. He seemed shocked frozen for a moment before suddenly coming back to life with a vengeance.

"What is that supposed to mean? You aren't even in your underwear!" He shouted right back. Sissi's was getting riled up past reason.

"I was last time!" She practically screeched. Then the black-haired girl froze. Slapping her hands over her mouth as she looked at the shorter teen in fear.

"Last..." Odd repeated slowly, "the return to the past?!" He seemed to realize, shock once again taking over his features.

The two teens ended up sitting on the floor of Sissi's dorm, looking at anything and everything but each other.

"So you know," Odd finally mumbled, admiring Sissi's ceiling as he played with the hem of his shirt, "for how long?"

"I noticed it like eight months ago I guess. I thought I was going crazy." She replied as she furiously chewed her lip, "for a long time I thought that if I like did anything different on the second day then- I don't know, time and space would explode or something." The girl laughed nervously, twirling a lock of her hair to occupy her racing mind. "Eventually I realized that you guys- you, Ulrich, and the rest of your friends, actually changed the way you acted. You knew it was loo- AH!" Sissi jumped up, pointing at Odd again, "You almost made me forget! You knew! Know! You entered my room knowing that I was supposed to be dancing like an idiot in nothing but my underwear!"

"We're not supposed to change the way we act too dramatically," Odd defended while scooting away from the girl's accusatory glare. "I already used up my changing the past allowance for this time around."

The taller teen scoffed, "Uh-huh, and what exactly did you use it on to the point where we had to experience this awkwardness again?"

The blonde clenched his teeth and momentarily glared a hole through her carpet before looking back up into her eyes. "Jim found Kiwi, my dog, and when he was carrying him away... Kiwi- he, God, Kiwi struggled and slipped out of Jim's arms and ran into the road- he got hit by a truck. I didn't find out until after the xa- I mean, after the school day. If it weren't for the return to the past..."

Sissi did not want to see Odd cry. It was the worst possible thing that could ever happen simply because, she knew, the moment she saw a crystalline tear sliding down his cheeks she would fall utterly and hopelessly in love. For him to be capable of tears because he cared about something so much would be the final nail in her coffin. The girl simply could not afford to turn their game of taunting and jabs would become laced with sexual tension; if the teasing turned into flirting she would die. From happiness.

Thanks to Ulrich's treatment of her and her feelings, Sissi didn't really know how to handle a consensual relationship. She had no idea where to start. Wait, what? What made her so sure that Odd would follow her into the abyss of the love-hate crush? His willingness was most likely less than Ulrich's, he was so blunt about his opinions there was no way he could possibly-

"Sissi, hello? Anyone home?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, she found the blonde directly in front of her face. His eyes- how had she not noticed this before when she'd spent so many times glaring into them?- were two different colors. She didn't even know human eyes did that. The left one was green with tiny spots of gold and blue, actually she'd kill for a skirt like that, it's such a pretty pattern. The other one was yellow, like a cat's, with a single think streak of brown slicing through the sea of gold. His eyes were just so-

No no no no! She fell into the trap! Dammit, the taller teen could not afford to be making mistakes like this! Averting her horribly plain, regular eyes, Sissi finally responded. "Oh, uh, sorry about your dog. I guess." God, she sounded lame. What was wrong with her? Looking back to the svelte boy, the raven-haired girl realized he was talking again but for some reason she couldn't hear him. Either her ears stopped working or that mysterious thumping sound coming from her chest was drowning him out.

Oh, oh god, it was too late. The girl had fallen in love with her mortal enemy- he was actually number three on her list of top ten worst enemies, only falling a little behind acne for number two and world hunger for number one. Really acne and world hunger were a tie, but putting the moral crusade first made her feel like a better person.

No wait, back to reality, the teen had to deal with Odd. More than anything Sissi needed this moment, his presence by her person, to end. She needed to be able to talk herself through this, give herself a little impromptu therapy session to cope with the facts. Otherwise she'd do something really stupid-

"Okay, you haven't said anything in a really long time so I'm just going to go," the blonde called out suddenly standing in front of her door. She had already done something stupid in just standing there like an idiot. He was leaving and he was probably going to tell his friends that she knew and then they'd track her down and- "I won't tell anyone you know about the... Time loops," he was twisting the door knob open again when his eyes flickered back over to her, "it'll be out little secret." And just like that he was gone. Her heart had melted at his words, Sissi's head felt light and empty and everything was really far away. Was she seriously about to faint? From that?

She had it bad. Collapsing onto her bed to subdue any oncoming fainting spells, the raven-haired teen suddenly remembered the song that had been blasting earlier. "I'm addicted to you," she whispered, her eyes searching the ceiling of her dorm for something. "Don't you know that I'm-"

Her forgotten iPod roared back to life with a Panic at the Disco song, successfully scaring the bejesus out of her. Taking a couple hard breaths, Sissi came to a decision. Whipping out her cellphone she sent a text to Deliliah, the Designer from her favorite boutique.

'Cud u mak me a skrt? a brite grn w tny blu n gld plkdots'

On the other side of the door, the svelte teen was smacking himself in the forehead. "Our little secret?! How cheesy was that?" He whispered angrily to himself as he walked down the hall, "Thank Lyoko that she believed the thing about Kiwi though, she would've killed me if she found out that I just wanted to see her again... Like that." His face was bright red as he quickly made his way back to his own dorm.