Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko or Vanessa.
I just clean up after Odd's film premiers.
Ugh. I'm dreadfully sorry! I procrastinated, and I've started going to bed earlier so that way school won't be so horrible. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! If you like it, review it!
Roads Less Traveled
Chapter 2:
Ulrich and Odd were still going at it in their game of Halo. Although Ulrich was a formidable opponent, he was no match for Odd.
"Dude, you are such a try-hard." Ulrich whined.
"Well…aren't you supposed to be? That's the whole point of the game is to try and win, isn't it?" Odd gave him a goofy smile, like he always did when he was acting childish.
"Yeah but-," Ulrich was cut off by a knock at the door, "Door's open!"
Yumi stepped in, eyeing the two preoccupied teens, "Well, that's a nice 'how do you do?'."
"Yeah, Ulrich, say hi to your girlfriend; you haven't seen her in months!." Odd said, not tearing his eyes from the screen.
Ulrich and Yumi blushed, "She's not my girlfriend!" "I'm not his girlfriend!"
"Yeah, keep telling yourselves that." Odd laughed, "Besides, everyone knows that you two are crazy about each other."
Yumi walked to the Xbox and pressed her finger against the power button, "Let that teach you a lesson."
Instead of getting mad, Odd simply laid down on his bed, "Alright mom, are you going to ground me, too?" he sighed, "There's no way I'm getting up to turn that back on."
Ulrich laughed, "I've never met anyone as lazy as you."
"Yeah, it's a family inheritance."
"What's a family inheritance?" Vanessa asked as she walked through the doorway with Aelita. Yumi moved from her position and sat down in Ulrich and Odd's computer chair.
"Nothing, V, I was just telling Yumi about how lazy us Della Robbia's are." Odd laughed as he lazily scooted over to create a small space for Aelita to sit.
"Speak for yourself, Odd-ball." Vanessa shook hands with Yumi, "Hi, I'm Vanessa, this…thing's big brother." She pointed to Odd.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Yumi."
Odd snickered a little, "Don't you mean 'konnichiwa'?"
Yumi grabbed one of Odd's shoes and threw it at him, "Ugh, you are such a racist! For your information, I was born in France!"
"Yeah, but you're still Japanese." Yumi got up and shoved the blonde off the bed and laughed. No matter how much Odd would taunt her, she knew he meant no harm.
"She's actually mixed. She lives in France, is of Japanese heritage, knows Indonesian martial arts, and has friends from Germany and America." Aelita laughed, making her presence known.
"Yeah, speaking of Indonesian martial arts, Yumi and I have got practice in a few minutes." Ulrich said.
Yumi's eyes bulged, "On the first day?! Why wasn't I informed about this?"
Odd pulled his body back onto the bed, "Maybe Jim thinks you're too mixed and that you should slack off a bit." Just as he got settled back on his bed, Yumi shoved him back off, "Ugh…I love you too, Yumi." Aelita laughed and helped him back onto the bed.
Yumi gave a halfhearted smile, "Yeah, I guess we should get going then."
Vanessa shyly spoke, "Um, do you think you're instructor would give me lessons? I've always wanted to know some self-defense."
The gang was awestruck that a small girl like herself would be willing to learn martial arts.
"Actually, I don't think you'd want to learn from Jim. His class is for more…advanced members. But if you want to learn, I'd be glad to teach you." Ulrich said, getting up from his bed and grabbing his sports bag. He hauled it over his shoulder and turned back to the magenta-haired girl, "Meet me in the gym tonight after supper, okay? We don't have classes until Tuesday, so we can stay up late and practice."
Vanessa smiled, "I'll see you there!"
Odd eyed the back of her head skeptically. Not only had Ulrich happily offered to teach her, which was rare for him, she happily accepted it. She wasn't here to make friends like she is, not that it was a problem. It was good that she was trying to put the past behind her, but rushing things never worked for anyone.
Fortunately for the gang, classes didn't start until that Tuesday, so they had today and Monday off. After they left Odd and Ulrich's room, they each went their separate ways. Ulrich and Yumi went to their Pencak Silat practice, Aelita offered to go with Vanessa to check out the rest of the campus, and Odd had snuck away to the art room. He liked the comfort that creativity brought him; the way the worries of the world could be forgotten with each stroke of a brush. Over the summer, however, all of the paints at the school had become stale, so he resorted to drawing.
Numerous thoughts engulfed his mind as he began to sketch. He thought of Lyoko, and how their fight against Xana was becoming progressively harder. He thought of Aelita, her pink hair now reaching below her shoulders. His thoughts then drifted to his sister, about the conflict she had endured over the summer. He flinched as he recalled the events.
Vanessa and her boyfriend, Steven, had just returned home. From where, Odd did not know, but he had long past decided that their endeavors were between themselves. When Steven walked in, it seemed as if Vanessa was trying to, rather poorly, hide the fact that he was under the influence of drugs. It did not concern Odd, though; he knew that Steven had changed. Alas, Vanessa was happy, so he would be happy, as well.
After a few minutes of silence, her heard Vanessa's voice, "Steven, stop it!" he heard a rather hard smack, "Stop it!" Then, he could have sworn he heard her muffle a scream.
He heard Steven, but it was not the Steven that he once knew, "You bitch!" Then another un-muffled scream escaped from his sister. There was a vociferous sound of shattering glass, followed by several loud clatters. Odd hastily escaped from his comfort and dashed up the stairs, followed by his younger sisters whom had also heard the ruckus.
"What the hell is going on up there?!" A second later, he was brutally shoved aside by Steven as he ran for the exit. Odd ran into Vanessa's room and was taken aback by the sight. Vanessa was lying on the carpet; she was covered in cuts and bruises and could hardly breathe. The couch was knocked over and there was dirt scattered on the carpet from the broken flower vase destroyed in the struggle. Odd ran to his sister, kneeling down to her level. There was blood all over her dress, some of which was clearly not hers, proving she had put up a rather convincing fight. He pulled her head into his lap. Her once flawless face was now covered in blood, and a large gash ran from her widow's peak down to the left of her left eyebrow. There was still a large piece of glass embedded inside.
"Molly, call 911!" she did as she was told, and Odd began to perform CPR, in hopes that his sister would come to.
Odd sighed and let a single tear fall down his cheek. He rarely showed any emotion other than happiness; he preferred to inscribe it in his artwork.
Lost in his train of thought, he had drawn a rather interesting piece. On the left, there were numerous blue squares and rectangles, all appearing to be moving as you stared at the picture. At the top left corner of the page, he had drawn the Eye of Xana. The middle of the paper was dominated by various shades of pink that faded into purple as it reached the right side of the paper. At the top of this portion there was a small white rose. The purple from the middle quickly faded to crimson, which covered the entire right portion. Inside the crimson coloring, he had drawn shards of glass; larger at the top and gradually smaller as they reached the bottom.
He stared at it for a while, realizing that he had drawn his very thoughts onto a small canvas. Deciding to keep it, he neatly folded it into a small square and placed it in his back pocket.
"So, how do you think you did?" Ulrich asked. He and Yumi had just finished with their Pencak Silat lesson, and were heading to the cafeteria for supper. On occasion, Yumi would stay and eat with her friends, as long as her parents didn't mind.
"I got you in a head lock twice, so I assume I did good." She took a sip from a water bottle before placing it back into her bag, "You've gotten better, though."
Ulrich blushed slightly, "Thanks. I practiced almost every day during the summer. You aren't so bad, yourself." Although she wouldn't dare mention it, she had noticed Ulrich's strenuous training. Due to the immense summer heat, he had removed his shirt, showing his newly formed muscles. His shoulders were broader, his arms were larger, and his core had finally strengthened enough to show itself.
"Please, I'm at least a year behind you." She nudged his ribs with her elbow, causing him to jump slightly. She noticed his sensitivity, and took advantage of it, "At least I'm not ticklish!"
"Oh yeah?" Ulrich had a mischievous look about him, "Well, what would you do if I did this?" he quickly jumped behind her, assaulting her with his hands around her ribs. Unable to control herself, she burst into laughter and began so swat his hands away. He stopped, much to her approval, but kept his hands on her hips. She tilted her head to look at him, and he had a dreamy look in his eye. No longer was he the small boy whom she had met just two years ago; he was, more or less, closer to a man. The two of them stood in silence for a few seconds, before quickly flashing their eyes from each other.
"Ulrich? You can…um…let go of me now." She blushed.
"Oh! Right…sorry about that." He blushed as well. He attempted to hide it by looking away from her and towards the ground. It only lasted for a few seconds, but he saw the look in her eye. He wouldn't exactly call it desire, as if he knew what the emotion even was, but he caught a certain sparkle in her eye that he had only seen a few times before. However, they had agreed to stay friends, and that's the way it would stay.
Aelita, with Vanessa at her side, strode through the intricate maze of hallways of the Academic Principles Building. At each point of importance, she would stop and entertain Vanessa with a short lecture of what the room was there for, who the teacher was, and so on. Although Vanessa would only need to know a select few of these teachers, she toned into her new pink haired friend, nonetheless.
"This is Mrs. Hertz's room. She teaches most of the science courses here." Aelita took Vanessa's schedule from her hands, "Here, you have Biology during third block with Yumi."
"What's a…block?" Vanessa looked genuinely confused.
"Oh, yeah. I forgot you're from America. Basically, instead of seven, fifty minute classes, we have four, one hour and forty-five minute classes. At the middle of the year, these classes change, allowing you to complete other required classes."
Vanessa raised an eyebrow, "Did you just figure that out in your head?"
"Yes?" she realized her situation, and blushed slightly, "Yeah, I tend to be called a genius. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."
Vanessa smiled, which was a rare oddity, "Yeah, I guess I will." She had only been here for a few hours, and she had already made a good friend. Granted, she was a year older than Aelita, she could still sit with her at lunch and during breaks. She wasn't exactly sent to Kadic to make friends and be sociable, but she wasn't about to complain about it, either.
Aelita looked at her wristwatch, suddenly realizing the late time, "Wow, is it really that late?"
Vanessa checked her phone, also stunned at the time, "We should go to supper. I'm sure Odd's already there."
Aelita let out a small giggle, "I wouldn't be surprised if he was!"
Aelita and Vanessa walked into the cafeteria after seeing Odd's spike through a window. The two girls got into the line and waited to get their food.
Vanessa stepped forward and was met by the gleaming eyes of Rosa, "So what'll it be, love? Shrimp and chicken or ravioli?"
"Both, I'm sure Odd will want some extra food." Rosa smiled at her, realizing who Vanessa was. Vanessa gave a polite smile and moved over so the next kid could get his food. Her eyes examined the room until she found a familiar splotch of purple hair next to a pink headed girl.
"Great, now we've got another Dorka Robbia at our school! How wonderful." Vanessa turned to see a preppy looking girl, surrounded by two guys. One was rather muscular and was staring off into space like a dolt; the other was covered in acne and wore bifocals.
"Who are you, again?" Vanessa was bewildered at how this girl somehow knew who she was. The cafeteria had been engulfed in a complete silence. Many of the kids had turned from their seats to get a better view of the girls.
"Oh, I don't know, just the most popular girl at Kadic! Sissi's the name!" She paused to flip her overly-straightened hair over her shoulder, "I'm the principal's daughter, you see, and I don't like you Della Robbia's or you're stupid little gang! So how about you just stay out of my way, huh?" A rather smug look came about her.
Vanessa didn't even flinch at her irreverence, "I remember you insulting my family first, which started this conversation. I was never in your way. Heck, I didn't even know who you were until now." she casually turned towards the table and took a seat next to Ulrich, "So how about you stay out of my way?"
Sissi's face turned a crimson color as various incoherent words escaped her mouth through gritted teeth. She quickly turned on her heel and strode to an empty table, followed by Nicolas and Herve. Slowly, the cafeteria came back to life. First with small whispers and gradually increasing to loud conversations.
Ulrich turned to the magenta-haired girl with a smile, "Wow. I couldn't have done it better, myself."
Odd laughed, "Oh my God, I'm going to die!" his laughing spurted out of control and turned into minor coughing fits, "Did you see her face?!"
Aelita gently patted him on the back, "Calm down, Odd, you'll pull a muscle at this rate." The others began to laugh at Aelita's choke.
Odd, however, quieted, "Was that a 'scrawny joke'?"
Aelita put her index finger to her lips to achieve an innocent look, "Maybe?"
Odd found it rather difficult to control his emotions. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her right then and there, but he was aware of the consequences that would bring. He just couldn't help himself. The afternoon sunlight reflected from her soft green eyes, creating an illusion of them sparkling. She was so breathtaking, and it shamed him to have to hide it, "Alright, Princess, if you keep going, I'll have to take drastic measures. And for your information, I'm not scrawny!" he paused to admire his muscles, "I'm svelte."
Vanessa couldn't help but smile. She seemed to be doing that a lot more, as of late, "Nope. You're pretty scrawny, Odd-ball."
Ulrich placed his arm around Vanessa, "See? Even your own family is on my side!"
Odd scoffed, "What?! Oh, no, Vanessa is my sister; therefore she is automatically on my side. Right, V?"
Vanessa flustered, "Um…uh." She was cut off by a blonde boy who took his seat across from her.
"Hey guys, sorry I didn't come see you earlier, I had to-," he stopped himself when he noticed the new face sitting across from him, "I'm terribly sorry, I must have forgotten my manners." He stuck a hand out to Vanessa, "I'm Jeremy Belpois. And you are?"
Vanessa shook Jeremy's hand, "Vanessa Della Robbia; Odd's sister."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." He friendlily smiled at her and returned with his conversation with the others, "Like I was saying, I had to run some tests on a…um…a program for my computer." The gang lightly nodded their heads, understanding that they shouldn't talk about the Super Computer in Vanessa's company.
Odd stretched his arms up above him and yawned, "Yeah, maybe we'll swing by tonight and check on it. Because I, for one, am dying to see what your ingenious mind has discovered. What's it this time? Cure for cancer? Solving world hunger?"
Jeremy smiled, happy that his friends acknowledge his intellect, "Well, it's the next best thing!"
Vanessa noticed the sudden change in attitude. At one moment they were cheerful, and the next they were talking about computer programs? And why did the mood suddenly change to a more serious one? Suspicion rose within her, and she decided she was to have a word with Odd whenever she got the chance.
Honestly, I hate this chapter. But, there has to be an awkward filler before the real fun begins, right? :D
