Odd stared gloomily at the clock. School's almost out... He didn't know whether to be happy or not. He never liked school and he could go see Kiwi, but tomorrow was the school's annual Valentine's Day dance, and like every other year he would go alone and watch everyone else have fun.

"Ahem, Odd," Ms. Hertz said," Please repeat what I just said." Odd sprang up straight and looked at Ms. Hertz. "Uh-uh, you said..." She nodded, proving her point." Everyone is excited about the dance tomorrow, but I assure you that just because it's a special occasion does not mean you can daydream in class and not get in trouble for it". All the kids laughed, but Odd just shrunk back into his seat. Sadly he mumbled, "Yes Ms. Hertz."

=
(At the lunch room)

"Hey Odd what's up?" Ulrich asked. Odd shrugged carelessly." Oh you know, the dance is tomorrow and every girl I asked turned me down. Ulrich smiled sympathetically and threw his arm around his best friend." Oh come on Odd, it can't be that bad. There's gotta be some 'Emergency Only' girls."

"Already asked them too." Ulrich looked around in search of a possible free-bee. "What about Sissy?" Odd swiftly pulled away from him and looked at him with disbelief. "Sissy? Are you retarded? For one thing, I HATE Sissy! And second of all, we both know she's already been asked by Theo or some other brain-dead guy. Ulrich shook his head. "Sissy's single, and Theo asked Emily."

"But I still don't like her!" Odd repeated with his hand clenched into fists. Ulrich rolled his eyes." Whatever you say Odd." Odd tilted his head. "Whadda mean by that?! You suggesting something?!" Ulrich just turned and walked away. "HEY I'M TALKING TO YOU ULRICH STERN!"

Sissy sat down next to Herb and Nicolas frowning. "How can there be no guys left to go with to the dance?" Herb shook his hand. "I'll go with you Sissy."

"Yeah in your dreams, Herb" Suddenly Odd started yelling in the lunchroom. "HEY I'M TALKING TO YOU ULRICH STERN!" Herb and Nicolas chuckled. What's gotten him so worked up? Sissy thought to herself. Hm, to find out I'm gonna have to use the 'Ulrich Card'.

"Hiii Ulrich," Sissy swooned as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Agk! Let go Sissy!" She just sighed and stood up straight, looking at Odd's depressed figure. "Hey Della Robbia, what was that outburst about?" Odd didn't reply and instead stood up and faced her. "Sissy..." She looked around awkwardly trying to figure out exactly what was going on. '...D-do you wanna go to the...the, dance with me?" He finished and looked away awkwardly. "I-it's not like I like you or anything, it's just that I don't feel like going alone so..."

"Sure." Odd looked at her in surprise. The cafeteria went silent. "Wha-wha-?"

"Well I don't want to go alone either," she winked at him," And since you so kindly asked me, how can I decline."

"Wait, no 'Ewwwww, why would I wanna go with a short smelly pig like you!'?" Sissy shook her head. "Nope, meet me at the park entrance by 8:00."

"The dance starts at 9, Sissy"

"8:00 sharp mister!" Odd put his hands up. "Fine fine have it your way." Sissy smiled and flipped her hair, walking back to her table. Odd sat down dramatically. "Oh how awful that was! I almost vomited!" Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Oh come on Odd, she's really not that bad when she's not blackmailing us."

"Yeah, and who knows, maybe you two will have a lot in common." Aelita added. Odd huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. Yumi smiled and put her hand on Odd's shoulder. "Just try and have fun; things'll be way more fun for you."

Odd looked down at the table. "I suppose."

=
(In Odd and Ulrich's dorm)
"Should I wear my hair up or down?" Odd asked, brushing his hair. Ulrich looked at him. "Up, definitely." Odd nodded and looked at the mirror. "Why do you think she wants me to meet me an hour before the thing starts?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." Odd sighed and cleaned everything up. "I'm off,"
"Have fun!" Ulrich called. If I'm lucky. Odd thought.

(At the park entrance)
"Ahem, hey Siss..." Sissy turned and smiled at him. She had on her signature color, hot pink. The dress was long and went to her ankles where red flats touched the bottom. Around her waist was a red belt, her arms covered with long red gloves. She wore heart bracelets and a heart necklace and a fluffy red hair band that put her hair up in a ponytail. "Hey Odd, I decided not to wear heels so you don't feel as small."
Odd smirked. "Gee, thanks." Sissy laughed and hooked her arm around his. "You're welcome." Suddenly Odd's stomach lightened. Blood flushed his face and he looked away. "S-so, why'd you wanna meet up so early?" She didn't answer. He looked at her and she was staring at him. "W-what?"
"If you're going to talk to me, can you at least look at me?"
"Oh, sorry."
"Just so you know, I wanted to settle some things between us."
"Such as?" Sissy flicked him on the temple. "Ow..."
"How about the fact that we don't like each other that much? I wanted you to know that... the only reason I'm still mean to you guys is because I wanna join your group." Odd's eyes widened. "So you don't have a crush on Ulrich anymore?"
"No, I don't. I gave up a while back... another guy caught my attention." Odd opened his mouth to ask why, but immediately shut it closed again. That's none of my business. "Uh, okay then. So you just wanna be our friend?" Sissy nodded. "Can I?" Odd's heart stopped.
If I say yes, then she's gonna want to hang out with us, then we'd have to tell her about Lyoko. But if I say no, she'll be so upset. How can I do that to her?
"Uh, look Sissy, it's really complicated why we're all friends... and adding you might screw things up-"
"Are you saying I screw things up?" She asked hurtfully. "Ah! No Sissy, it's not you, it's us. We have this... thing between us and you might... mess up our system. I-it's not your fault! We just-" She placed her finger on his lips to hush him. He looked at her and blushed. "Hey, I get it." Right then her cell phone rang. "C'mon Odd, it's 9:00, let's get to the gym.

When they walked in, the gym was already packed full. The song 'Die Young' by Kesha was playing. "Sooo, what exactly do we do at a dance?" Odd asked, having been at a dance with someone else. Sissy giggled. "We dance?" Odd smiled stupidly. "Ah, of course."
She took his hand and pulled him to the dance floor. Odd could dance okay, but he's never had a partner before. So when Sissy stepped extremely close to him he shrunk back. "What's wrong Odd?"
"I-I..." His face was red from embarrassment and his legs shook, threatening to collapse under him. "Do you need anything?" Sissy asked. She was desperately trying to help Odd, but he wouldn't answer. Had she done something wrong? "I-I'm sorry Sissy, I just need to sit down for a minute."
"Okay" Sissy put his arm around her neck and led him to an empty seat. He plopped down and looked at his feet. Sissy took a seat next to him and looked at him. "I'm sorry Sissy; you really surprised me when you got close to me." Sissy smiled. "You've really never been with a girl before have you?" Odd shook his head.
The song 'Halo' by Beyoncé came on and Odd looked up smiling. "I like this song," He said to Sissy. She looked at him. "Really? This isn't exactly the type of music I'd expect you to listen to."
"It's not. It's my mom's favorite song; she would sing it to me before I went to bed." Sissy giggled. "What?" Odd asked. "Well I just don't imagine you as someone who likes their mom to sing to them." Odd shrugged. "My parents and Kiwi were my only friends before I came here."
Sissy looked at him with disbelief. "Really?" Odd nodded. "Everyone where I'm from thinks I'm possessed, when all I ever try to do is make friends with them." His voice grew in volume. "They think my parents are wizards and that they're using me as access to them to steal their souls. They never had any proof; they never even talked to me! They just turned they're stuck-up noses away from me and made up all these lies! I'm so sick of being judged for who my parents are and how I look! How we act and dress and what we like to do! I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE IT I-!"
Odd blinked for a second. Finally he realized what was going on. Sissy Delmas was kissing him. She pulled away and looked at Odd, studying his reaction. Odd realized his face was covered in tears, so he reached up to wipe them away. "Odd... are you okay now?" All he could muster was a nod.
For the rest of the dance they sat there quietly, not saying a word to one another. Finally, when it was time to leave, Odd took Sissy's hand and led her to her room.
"Odd," Sissy began when they arrived," Sometime I'd really like to sit down and talk about whatever you want to." Odd, still being shaken up from the event earlier, just nodded and walked away to his dorm.

"...so then me and Yumi took on the dance floor!" Ulrich yelled as Odd walked in. "Hey Odd what's... Odd?"
Odd had walked in and threw himself onto his bed, facing away from the group. Yumi sighed. "Oh come on Odd, Sissy couldn't have been that bad, was she?" Odd slowly turned to face them. "I've had a really awesome night." he said sarcastically, "I absolutely love it when I completely embarrass myself and freeze up the whole night. AND having to put someone down because of our lovely little secret of Lyoko." He turned sharply back around.
"What happened?" Aelita asked, not getting the hint that Odd wanted to be left alone. Luckily Odd knew she didn't know and went easy on her. "Aelita, I really don't wanna talk about it."
"Oh, okay." Later that night, Ulrich was flipping through some homework when Odd sat up. "Hey Ulrich."
"Done pouting?"
"Hey I'm trying to talk to you, but if you don't wanna hear then-"
"No no, let's talk." Ulrich came and sat down next to Odd. Odd sighed. "Things were going fine until she told me she's always wanted to be in our group, but I had to tell her no because then we'd have to tell her about Lyoko, and I know you guys wouldn't have approved. Then she got me into a 'Mister Softie' mood and I ended talking about my life before I came here."
"You've never told us about your life before us."
"I know, I try to avoid it. Anyways, I started droning on and on about how I had no friends here and I guess I got really upset. I had apparently cried and screamed but I don't remember. Before I knew it... she was kissing me."
Ulrich jumped up in shock. "WHAT!? SHE KISSED YOU!? AND YOU LET HER?!"
"I-I didn't notice until she pulled away. Besides, she only did it to shut me up." Ulrich began to pace. Odd looked confused as to why it was such a big deal. Well he finds out right now. "Odd you can't get into a relationship with Sissy, okay? There are three roads you can take if you do. One is that you tell Sissy about Lyoko and she's totally cool about it, she may even join. Then there's the idea that you won't tell Sissy and she gets mad at you for keeping secrets and breaks up with you, which'll hurt you. And the worst thing that could happen is if you go out with her, you become too absorbed her and abandon all of us, and Odd, I really don't want that."
"So the only road you want me to take is to go back? Well that'll be easy. Ulrich, she kissed me, but that doesn't mean I have a crush on her, I have no feelings for her except sympathy." Ulrich shook his head. "Odd, you don't know what love is. I do, I've had a girlfriend, the same girlfriend, for two years. I know love, and I am 100% sure you are in love with Sissy."
Odd shook his head. "No Ulrich, I am not in love with Sissy." He felt his blood boiling like it did at the dance. "Odd you do-"
"I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON SISSY! QUIT MAKING LIES ABOUT ME! YOU DON'T KNOW ME! ONLY I KNOW ME!" Ulrich backed away from his distressed friend. Odd quickly realized he snapped and shrunk into the corner on his bed, resting his head on his knees. "I-I-I'm so-sorry Ulrich..." Odd managed between cries. Ulrich didn't know what to do. He sat down next to Odd and placed his hand on his back. "I'm sorry too Odd, I was just trying to help you understand what you're feeling."
"How can you know what I'm feeling? How? I don't even know what I'm feeling, how do you?" Odd lifted his head up. "I think you're right man, I-I never thought I'd fall for her. I messed up, and something tells me I've got more coming up." Odd suddenly jerked his head backwards, smashing it against the wall. "Odd! Why'd you do that!?"
Odd rubbed the back of his head. "I can't fall in love with Sissy, I just can't. She can't find out about Lyoko, and she has to lose her memory every time we do a return to the past. I just cannot fall for her. I can't... I just...can't" Odd laid his head on the wall and fell asleep.
Ulrich smiled. He wore himself out. Ulrich carefully laid him in bed and went to bed himself.

Odd picked at his food, his appetite not back. Aelita, still not realizing Odd's anxiety, brought up an uncomfortable topic. "Ohhhhh, I can't wait! Valentine's Day is tomorrow and Jeremy and I have so much planned!" Ulrich smiled. "Yeah, Yumi and I are going to the carnival." He looked over at Odd, who had caught sight of Sissy. "Uh, guys, how would you guys feel if Sissy were to, I don't know, join our group?" The other three looked at Ulrich in disbelief and Odd looked over with sad thanks. "What?" Yumi hissed. Ulrich put his hand on Odd's shoulder. "Odd, he has a crush on her."
Everyone looked at Odd for his agreement, which he did. "I do, I do love Sissy. I want her to know, I want her to so we could possibly be together and wouldn't have to keep it a secret." Jeremy and Aelita whispered it over, but Yumi was angry. "No way Odd. We are not having her in our group." Again, tears streamed down Odd's face and he didn't realize it. He stood up violently and had his arm up ready to punch Yumi. "YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND YUMI. ULRICH'S ALREADY PART OF THE TEAM, SO YOU GOT HAPPY FREAKIN' BUTTERFLIES FLYING OUT OF UNICORNS EATING RAINBOWS, HUH!?" The lunchroom fell silent as they watched Odd's tantrum. Sissy looked helplessly, knowing she had caused some sort of storm within him. "Odd, that doesn't even make any sense." Odd was about to swing his raised fist when the roof caved in suddenly. It landed on the table, luckily missing Odd. Inside where the roof had fallen were glowing red eyes; eyes with Xana's symbol. "Everybody run!" Ulrich yelled.
People went running and screaming as thousands of bats came pouring out of the hole. "Everybody! To the lab!" Everyone but Odd nodded. "Odd?" He looked away. "I'm gonna help Sissy." Before they could object, Odd ran off in search of Sissy. "C'mon guys," Jeremy called," I'm sure Odd will come if we need him, we gotta get to the lab!"
"Sissy!" Odd yelled," Sissy, where are you!?" Suddenly something from behind him grabbed the collar of his shirt and wrenched him backwards. He was pulled into a closet where found Herb, Nicolas, and... "Sissy!" Odd yelped with joy. He threw himself on her and hugged her tightly. "Ow, Odd, you're hurting me." Sissy groaned. "Ah, sorry!"
He got up and helped Sissy up. Herb was shaking crazily. "W-why were there bats?!" Odd shrugged. "I don't know, but you guys need to stay in here." Odd made his way to the door but Sissy grabbed his arm before he could open the door. "Odd, please don't leave me. I need you." Odd looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry Sissy, I can't abandon my friends."
"I know they're important to you Odd, so you're gonna take me with you."
"No Sissy, it's too dangerous."
"I'm going with you Odd."
"Sissy you-mmmph!" Herb and Nicolas gasped in surprise as Sissy kissed Odd for a second time. Sissy pulled away slowly and looked at Odd sweetly. "Odd, I'm coming with you." Odd's face turned bright red and he smiled a little. "You can't tell anybody."
"I won't, and I'll make sure Herb and Nicolas don't say anything."
"They won't remember."

"Oh no Ulrich!" Aelita yelled as he was devirtualized by a Krab. Jeremy and Yumi, who had already been devirtualized, began freaking out. "Aelita hide!" Jeremy yelled. "What do we do?" Ulrich asked. "I'm here," Odd announced as the elevator door opened revealing him and Sissy. "Oh wow Odd," Sissy gasped. "Sorry Sissy, I've got something to deal with, ready when you are Einstein!"
Jeremy nodded and began the virtualization process. Sissy walked over and looked at the screen. "Odd hopes you guys aren't mad. He told me everything on the way here. I promise I won't say a word."
"But Odd wants you to go to Lyoko so you don't forget, doesn't he?" Sissy nodded. "Please let her go," Odd pleaded inside Lyoko," Ulrich you were right, I do love her, I need her." Sissy placed her hand on her chest and gasped lightly. "Odd..." Tears streamed down her face." Odd I love you too." Odd smiled and kept running.
Finally Odd found the activated tower and Aelita. "Aw great." He growled. Surrounding the entire tower were three Bloks, two Megatanks, and the Krab that had gotten Ulrich. "Uh, Jeremy," Odd called," Any ideas on how I can defeat these things?"
"Don't worry Odd, help is on the way." Odd looked around waiting for Sissy. Yeah, he knew who was coming. Nearby, her body began forming. When she fell to the ground, Sissy looked around. "Odd! Oh Odd you're a... a cat?" Odd sighed. "I honestly don't know why, but you look pretty hot in your cheerleading uniform.
True enough, Sissy was a cheerleader. It looked like a traditional uniform, but she had tights to cover her legs. The outfit was black with hot pink lines on it where they would be. Her hair was up in a neat ponytail. "I just hope you aren't planning on trying to blend in with anything." Sissy laughed and felt how her piton balanced in her hand. "This is so cool," She gasped. "C'mon guys, we're kinda on a tight schedule."
"Yeah yeah sorry Einstein." Odd raced forward and shot arrows at the Bloks, only managing to hit one. "Odd! Behind you!" Aelita yelled. Odd turned around to meet with the Krab when suddenly Sissy leaped onto it and stabbed it in the eye. The Krab fell apart and disappeared.
"Nice job Sissy," Odd complemented. "Where would you be without me?" Sissy responded. The two Megatanks rolled over and opened up, giving Odd the perfect time to shoot, hitting both. "Yeah, go Odd!" Yumi cheered from the lab. "Oh, so you're not mad that Sissy's on our team?" Ulrich taunted. Yumi blushed. "I thought she was gonna steal you from me, but now I see know she won't." Ulrich rolled his eyes.
All that was left were the two Bloks. Odd fired, getting one of them, but as he prepared to shoot the next one..."Gah! I'm out of arrows!" He yelled. Quickly he leaped behind a rock to avoid the attacks. Sissy huffed. "Odd!" She ran toward the Blok avoiding its attacks and hit the Blok in the eye. "Phew! How many times do you guys do this?"
"Hurry Aelita to the tower!"

"Odd deary slow down!" Odd shook his head. "No way! I'm starving!"
"If you eat too much you'll get fat."
"Elisabeth I have eaten like this for years I-" For the third time, Sissy kisses Odd unexpectedly. Ulrich laughed. "Elisabeth? You call her that now?" Odd didn't answer; he was still dazed by Sissy's kiss. "I told him it was okay for him to call me that." Sissy answered instead. Odd shook his head and glared playfully. "Eventually I'll get used to you kissing me, so you won't be able to manipulate me anymore. Besides," Odd leaned forward and pressed his lips on hers," Shouldn't the guy be making all the moves?"
"Ugh, get a room you two." Yumi gagged.