"WHAT IS THIS!" Screamed Herve as he saw the front page of the Kadic News. He stared in disbelief at the picture of Sissi kissing none other than Odd Della Robbia!

He shoved the picture in Nicolas' face. "How did THIS happen!"

Nicolas angrily snatched the paper from his friend. "Yes, I see it but you don't have to get so close. I knew she'd been hanging out with Ulrich's group a lot the last couple months, but I definitely didn't see her and Odd getting together." He started flipping through the paper his irritation seemingly subsided. "Hey look! The spring dance has officially been announced!"

All across the schoolyard the sound of students speculating about the picture of the couple could be heard, as the vicious verbal spats the two of them used to go through was quite well known.

"...they had to be tricked into it..."

"...they look really into it for a trick..."

"...who would've thought..."

"...I'll bet Odd's just completing the set..."

"...I'll give it two days, tops..."

"...maybe she's using Odd to get to Ulrich..."

"... well they already bickered like a married couple anyway..."

No one really knew for sure what to make of it, but in the principal's office a somebody else was taking it a little differently.

"Elisabeth, what is the meaning of this!"

Principal Delmas demanded of his daughter showing her the newspaper article while bracing himself for one of his daughters characteristic outbursts.

Elisabeth 'Sissi' Delmas looked at the picture of her and Odd kissing in the rec room and couldn't help but smile a little at the memory despite her father's mood. "Well, we really like each other..." she said sheepishly.

Mr. Delmas was quite surprised. She certainly would have thrown a tantrum in the past. Maybe this development might not be so bad after all. His expression softened a little "How long have you been seeing each other?" But not too soft.

"It's only been a couple days."

"And when were you planning on telling me?"

"Uhh..." Sissi hadn't really thought of that. Everything these last few days had been such a whirlwind between learning about Lyoko, Starting the relationship with Odd, and all the pestering she's been getting about the article from other students. "I don't know. I've been really busy lately..."

"Well I have noticed you have been spending time with Mr. Della Robbia and his friends as of late."

"Yes I have."

Mr. Delmas took in a deep breath. "If it were not for the fact that both your's and Mr. Della Robbia's grades have dramatically improved these last few months, and his mysterious absences have all but vanished I would be very concerned about you getting romantically involved with each other. I imagine you are aware of his reputation?"

Sissi stared at her father in disbelief that he would bring that up, but she couldn't deny Odd's reputation for being quite the Casanova. She let out a small huff. "Aelita and Jeremy have been helping me with my studies, and Odd and I had become very good friends. We can tell each other anything and it's been like that for months. He might have become my boyfriend two days ago, but the four months before that he had already been my BEST friend. Besides, it's not like we were doing anything inappropriate, we were just kissing! And before you ask, no we haven't done anything inappropriate, and we're not going to!"

Mr. Delmas could see his daughter was becoming agitated, but some of the things she were saying were definitely cause for relief. He could find no more objections. He sighed, "Very well. You're not in trouble, and neither is Mr. Della Robbia. In the meantime, try to avoid any more embarrassing photo shoots! You are dismissed. Please send Mr. Della Robbia in on your way out." He glanced at the picture again before throwing away the paper. As much as he didn't like seeing the picture, he definitely had to admit that his daughter looked happier in it than he'd ever seen before.

He watched as she walked out the door and saw Odd. They hugged affectionately, though not inappropriately, before he started walking in. He thought again that maybe this was good for his daughter after all.

A/N I wrote this when trying to come up with a beginning to "What Came Next 3," but I didn't like it for that. I liked it thought so I thought I'd post it as a little interlude. Please rate and review. With a little interest I might be persuaded to write Odd's encounter with Principal Delmas. 😉