What Lies Beyond
Silverthorn-2000
Author's note: First of all, I don't own squat in this case. No original characters here. Just some Sissi & Odd fluff, and the only reason I'm writing this is because A) she deserves better than what treatment she gets in Dance Among Stars (You'll see what I mean about that when the time comes), and B) I was listening to the song 'Simple and Clean' (From Kingdom Hearts) and this fic pretty much wrote itself.
And yes, I know this is really out of character for Sissi.
I shudder in the cool morning air. Why does it have to be so cold on a fall morning? Trying to think of other things, I run down a mental list of homework that should be done by now. Math and science copied from Herve. Literature, done. English, done.
Any major fashion items that I've forgotten? No, not that I know. I yawn sleepily. I didn't sleep well, but I remember falling asleep to some song on some late-night college radio station. I don't even remember the name, but I remember that it was from a video game.
Video games. Those are more Odd's thing, aren't they?
Odd. Now I know why I didn't sleep well...I'd had a nightmare. I remember...I remember the school shifting, the gym building broken almost in half. I remember that Odd, Milly and Tamia had been inside...and I remember crying. I remember being scared for Odd.
Why would I be scared for Odd? I mean, he isn't Ulrich, and that creepy little dog of his...
Am I being too hard on Odd? Is that why I had that nightmare? Do I like him?
No. There's no way. Odd and I, we couldn't ever-
Could we?
I remember another dream, being trapped in an elevator with Ulrich. I remember it filling with water, that I was going to drown, that I wasn't going to see my dad again, or Yumi, or Jeremie, or...or Odd.
I remember that being what I was scared of the most, not seeing Odd again. I don't even like Odd.
I sit, alone, in one of the windows in the front of the building. People come and go in this time before classes, but most people who live at the school proper are at breakfast. Where I ought to be, but...
But I need to think this out.
Another dream springs into my head. A joke played on me by Ulrich and Odd, after they'd caught me being...well, I guess one could say I was being a bit of a brat to Milly and Tamia. Apparently they'd put Odd's dog in the tool shed and baited me into getting my makeup smudged by the stupid little rascal.
Honestly, I think I would've preferred that than what actually happened. Herve may have brain power, but he's not much of a kisser. I would rather have kissed the dog. Or a dead fish.
I remember getting angry when they laughed at me, that I'd never felt so humiliated...and I remember having to fight the temptation not to join in, truthfully. Odd may not have a lot going for him, but he sure has an infectious laugh, and an equally infectious smile.
He smiles a lot more than Ulrich, too.
...Elisabeth Delmas, you really do like Odd, don't you? Despite all the mean jokes he's played on you, despite laughing at you, despite being a little bit of a jerk to you, you really do like him. Don't you?
Why must people who are so fascinating be so frustrating? I mean, Odd's no Ulrich, but that's part of his charm.
My vision blurs, and I blink my eyes to clear them. I realize that I'm crying. Why am I crying?
Because I'm lonely. I don't want lackeys like Herve and Nicholas, I want someone to care for me because they want to. And that's something I don't have. I...I'm something of a jerk, aren't I?
Lord, what a storybook epiphany. Odd would laugh at that, probably tell me not to worry.
I look as the door opens. Odd and his friends, headed for homeroom. I see a flicker of purple and blond turn in my direction, and I can make out the words "I'll catch up."
I hide my face behind my knees. Me, the self-styled 'most popular' girl in school, crying in a windowsill like I'm five-
"Hey, Sissi, are you okay?"
I look up. Odd is there, sitting next to me. I stare at him for a long moment, feeling so embarrassed. How am I supposed to answer that? Part of me is scared, and the other part is soaring high because he's right there...
"Odd?"
He cocks his head at an angle, and I lean in close. "Hold me? Please? I just...I don't want to be alone right now..."
"Huh?" It wasn't what he was expecting. His eyes widen, but he tries his best, wrapping his arms around me. It's a surprisingly gentle touch, not what you'd expect from someone so rowdy.
The song comes back to me, unbidden...
Whatever lies beyond this morning-
I cry, my head braced on Odd's shoulder. I cry. Odd doesn't say anything, but he's probably too embarrassed to say anything.
-Is a little later on.
Odd holds me silently, letting me weep into him. I don't even think he knows why I asked him, but that doesn't matter. Not for a little while, at least...
Nothing's like before...