A/N: GOD. I swear this isn't going to be angsty and depressing the whole time! I was aiming for sugar-coated fluff with a side of spice but boy did this turn a little moody. Despite that, this one has more interaction between Sissi and Odd! Enjoy
After a day or two of messaging Sissi again, embarrassingly, he couldn't bring himself to cut ties with his date completely. Sissi turned out to be incredibly endearing and a great conversationalist when she wasn't trying to knock him down a few pegs.
It was a surprise, really, that when they weren't throwing insults at one another, Sissi was actually quite charming. Even from a distance, she had an air of confidence that was admirable but despite the annoying person she insisted on portraying, she was gentle and caring and all Sissi wanted was to be noticed. And Odd was definitely starting to notice her in ways he never had before.
During one of their many shared classes, Odd couldn't help but watch Sissi as she sat daydreaming in class. She was only a few rows away and he was able to watch her without fear that she would notice. Sissi had her head in her palm while she looked out the window, her eyes darting to look at nothing in particular, most likely daydreaming about her internet love.
The idea that they shared such a strong chemistry was gnawing away at his consciousness. He couldn't let go of the fact that they genuinely fit really nicely with one another.
Abruptly, Sissi looked down at her phone for a moment. She softly laughed to herself, putting a hand to her mouth to stifle the sound but Odd heard it all the same. It was lighthearted and incredibly different from her dramatic cackling when she was in a bitter mood. Odd found it quite beautiful.
Swallowing hard, Odd turned his blushing face away from his own daydream, rubbing his hands over his cheeks in sheer embarrassment of his thoughts.
"What is happening to me?" he said quietly to himself.
"Odd!"
He looked up at the sharp sound of his teacher's bark, the blush still very present on his face.
"Do you have something to share with the class?" she said, crossing her arms.
He could feel the eyes of his classmates on him and briefly looked to his side to see Sissi joining in, mildly interested in the outburst. Their eyes met for a moment and he felt a fiery heat spread through his chest. Odd's face lit up even further as he quickly looked away.
"No ma'am!" he said, clasping his hands over his desk in an attempt to look ready to learn.
The rest of the class let out soft giggles but turned back to the front, including Sissi. Odd sighed quietly in relief.
It wasn't until lunch that Odd saw her again. She was standing in line, waiting for her food. Odd had just sat down at his table, eager to fill his stomach with something other than butterflies.
Finally digging into a large double serving of mashed potatoes and gravy, Odd smiled contently. Yumi laughed as she sat down beside Ulrich, joining their group of friends.
"Odd, do you like anything else besides eating?"
Odd's mind was immediately filled with images of a certain internet girl he didn't want to admit was there, at least not to his friends.
Odd hadn't really told any of them that he was still talking to her, but he knew they would suspect sooner or later. He could only borrow Jeremie's computer, feigning to use it for school work, so many times. Plus, his friends still hadn't let him forget that it was Sissi he had been romancing in the first place, so it was still a topic of interest for them. At least as a topic of jokes, at his expense.
He simply laughed and took another large bite with a smile.
"What else is there?" he said with a mouth full of food.
"Oh wouldn't you know it." A very familiar shadow cast over their table added with the familiar shrill of Sissi's voice that grated on his ears. "Odd, the scrawny is eating Jeremie's portion again."
Odd looked to the side and upward, meeting the golden eyes of his tormentor. He frowned and responded without even thinking.
"I'll have you know, Sissi, that this is not Jeremie's helping. Rosa is just nice to me." He began to smirk. "And second, you're just jealous I can eat so much without ever gaining a pound."
His friends burst into laughter and he joined along with them, at her expense. Sissi's cheeks bloomed red and she clenched her tray looking down at her stomach. Odd took a glance too, enjoying the smooth skin that always seemed to be on display.
Flirting came easy to Odd but when he was around Sissi his mouth got ahead of him and he would spew the snarkiest one-liners at her. Her obvious attractiveness combined with her infuriating pestering was sometimes too much for Odd to handle.
Sissi stormed off to the table beside them, slamming her tray down. Nicolas and Hervé were already seated and they cowered a bit, unsure if they should even speak up.
Sissi glared at Odd one more time and sat down.
Obviously trying to move past the embarrassment, Sissi talked to her table partners about nothing specific, wanting to forget her hurt feelings. Hervé and Nicolas were both silent, only mumbling small answers. Finally, Nicolas got up the nerve to try and change the subject to something lighter, inevitably failing.
"So, how have you and your virtual boyfriend been doing?"
Odd's shoulders raised as he overheard their conversation, trying to gauge Sissi's emotions from her tone.
"Fantastic! He's wonderful." Odd could hear the tugging lie in her voice. Hervé pointed his fork at her.
"But you said he was always flaking on you."
"He's just busy, ok?"
Odd knew she was not only reassuring Hervé but also trying to reassure herself. There was never a good explanation for why he didn't want to meet her. Always giving her excuses and saying the time wasn't right. He was stalling, putting off the inevitable that they simply couldn't be together.
Odd looked down at his half-full tray, shame creeping into his chest. His thoughts were shaken when he felt a jab on his arm.
"Hey Odd," he found Ulrich smirking at him. "Thought you broke up with, you-know-who." He nodded to the girl sitting nearby. Odd's cheeks began to burn with embarrassment.
"I didn't-" he started, trying to defend himself. "We're not even dating."
"Oh yeah? Does she know that?" Ulrich asked.
"I can't just NOT message her back." He said, looking down at his food and continuing to defend himself with a mumble. "That would be mean."
From the corner of his eye, he saw Aelita smile and nod her head in agreement from the other side of the table.
"Right," Ulrich said sarcastically, "mean like she's been for the last several years?"
"Whatever." Odd said as he continued to eat. "She doesn't deserve that."
"I can think of a couple of things she deserves." Yumi said with a laugh. The others joined in, all except for Aelita who was looking at Odd with a worried expression.
Odd shrugged. "It's just talking. What's the big deal?"
"The big deal is WHO you're talking to." Jeremie said, putting his silverware down.
Aelita shook her head. "I don't think that's the problem here, guys."
The others looked at her while Odd stabbed his fork into his food with so much force it sent a few pieces of chicken flying.
"The problem is you're leading her on when you should just be truthful to her."
Odd shook his head. "You know why I can't do that."
Turning to their pink-haired friend, Ulrich raised his hand to her. "Who's side are you on?"
"There are no sides when it comes to love." Aelita said a little naively for the people she was preaching to but she was an idealist when it came to the more emotional side of the human experience.
"Hey!" Odd shouted finally, slamming his fist on the table. "This is MY life we're talking about. I don't think you guys get much of a say in who I choose to talk to."
A few nearby tables noticed his outburst, including the topic in question, Sissi. He turned to look around the room and his eyes met her briefly. She tilted her head, as if a silent question, wondering what was wrong. Odd flushed from embarrassment, spinning back around, and desperately wished she hadn't sat so close.
The jokes and laughter toward Sissi and his 'not so secret anymore' relationship with her weren't anything new. It wasn't hard to believe his friends disliked the idea of having any semblance of closeness with Sissi, but he hadn't expected them to feel the need to tell him what to do in this situation.
Suddenly the room felt too hot and the noise around him too loud. He stood abruptly, his fists still clenched as he made his way toward the exit.
"Odd," Aelita called to him, trying to ease the tension, "You didn't even finish your lunch."
Odd turned to see her motioning to his tray. Most of the potatoes were gone but there was still plenty of food left by Odd's standards. However, the conversation about his love life had left a sour taste in his mouth and all he wanted to do was return to the way things had been before the whole mess had started.
But he knew that was impossible.
Sissi was important to him now, whether he liked it or not. Odd glanced in the direction of his crush, who had turned back to her table, happily unaware of his musings toward her.
Odd shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "Lost my appetite."
Ulrich's eyes widened and Yumi dropped her fork. It landed on her tray with a small clank.
"You can have it." he said before he turned toward the door again.
The table was silent as he walked away. They all looked at him with various degrees of concern, knowing that in some way, they were partly at fault for the disruption that had taken place. Odd shook his head and kicked the door open before stepping out into the sunlight.
That night, Odd lay awake with the laptop on his chest. Ulrich was sulking in his bed, a little upset that Odd could so willingly flirt with someone he was supposed to hate.
They had a small argument about it when they got back to the room that night after classes.
Ulrich had said something about Odd being so desperate for affection that he had stooped so low as to receive it from someone like Sissi.
Odd shook his head. Ulrich didn't understand. He had only ever shown interest in one girl before, while Odd had his good share of romance with various girls over the years. Romance was a passion of his and there was just something so fascinating about his relationship with Sissi that he couldn't simply throw it away because his friends thought he should hate her.
Looking down at the computer, he mused over their last conversation. He had told her about his fight with his friends but left out the part about it being about her specifically. Sissi had eased his worry a little, and just having someone to vent to other than his friends had been therapeutic.
He smiled at the screen. Sissi had also posed the question of meeting again, and this time, Odd couldn't find it in himself to refuse.
She had been so upset earlier that day and he honestly wanted to see her in person. His mind had finally been able to blend the two persons, the online mystery girl and Sissi Delmas, as one romantic partner that he was quickly starting to yearn for.
He wanted to hold her hand, kiss her lips, and do every romantic thing he had ever dreamed of with a girl. The only thing he wasn't sure about was how she would react when she saw him.
Odd sighed, clenching his fists. Gritting his teeth he responded, letting her know a place and time.
Similar to before, they were to meet at the vending machines after lunch. So the next day, when the time came, Odd found himself clutching to a tree near the edge of the courtyard, staring at her.
"I can't do this," he said to himself. "She's going to kill me."
The night before, Odd had been vaguely on board with the idea of meeting her in person, but now that she stood several meters in front of him, he wasn't so sure anymore.
Sissi was near the small alcove that held several vending machines, standing with her hands wringing together. Her laptop was absent but she wore a smile, carefully looking around for her date.
While he felt himself backing out of the situation mentally, he couldn't help his feet from moving of their own accord. It was as if he was being pulled toward her like a moth to a flame, unable to stop himself from moving toward the light. Suddenly, he was strolling up to her, his hands at his side.
"Well, if it isn't Miss Loudmouth herself." he heard himself saying.
Maybe if he talked to her now, he could get insight into how she would take the news of her internet love being the one person she despised most.
"Shut up, Mr Scrawny Brains. And go away." she snapped, turning her head away from him.
Just as lovely as ever. Some things were just hard to change. Odd put his hands in his pockets.
"Waiting for someone?"
"Wouldn't you like to know." She said.
"Huh," Odd said, looking around dramatically, unable to help the sharp bite that came when he spoke to her. "Looks like you got stood up."
Sissi whirled around, her face flushing. "For the hundredth time, I have NOT been 'stood up'!"
"Problems with your virtual boyfriend?"
Sissi blanched for a second and tried to cover it quickly by narrowing her eyes but Odd saw the shock on her face.
"H-how did you know I was seeing someone?" She said, not denying the idea that the boy she was looking for was her boyfriend.
Odd couldn't help but smile. "uhm, lucky guess."
There was a frown on her face and she crossed her arms, obviously not buying his excuse.
"Hervé and Nicolas told you, didn't they?" She said.
Odd shrugged. "More like I overheard."
"Not that it's any of your business," She said, turning away from him again. "but he happens to be a sweet and caring guy. Not that you'd know anything about that."
It still bothered Odd that she seemed to trust her online boyfriend so completely. Someone who was always telling her he couldn't be bothered to meet her in person. Odd frowned at himself.
"Oh, it's so sweet of him to leave you here alone."
"You don't know him!" Sissi snapped.
"And you do?" He countered.
Sissi ignored his comment and shook her head. "He probably got caught up in something or is just running late. If he sees me with you, he certainly won't want to come over so will you just beat it."
Odd raised his hands in mock defeat. "Fine."
Being the sharp-witted smart ass he was, Odd slowly walked away from her and up to the nearby vending machine to slot a quarter in.
"Hmm, what to choose?" he asked loudly to himself.
Sissi turned and swung her arm in his direction. "That's not what I meant, idiot."
"Relax, no one will care that I'm here." He said.
"What is your problem?" she said suddenly, stomping towards him to face him fully, both hands on her hips. Odd let his eyes travel across her lovely curves before quickly looking away.
"What?" He said, pressing one of the buttons on the machine in front of him. "I'm just trying to pick out a suitable snack."
"Why is my love life any of your business, huh?"
Odd scoffed. "Tsk, some love life. A guy you've never met keeps flaking on you and you still want to talk to him?"
"He isn't." She breathed, putting a hand on her temple. "He isn't flaking. I trust that he has an explanation for not being here."
Odd felt himself stiffen. Girls didn't trust him as far as they could throw him and now, the one person he would have never thought could trust anyone was telling him she had faith that he wasn't purposely trying to hurt her.
"You really trust him that much?" He said, his voice betraying the raw emotion he was feeling.
Sissi nodded. "Of course. I know real romance, something meaningful that you stick with no matter what is a completely foreign concept to you but when you truly care about someone, it doesn't matter about the bumps in the road, you still keep faith in their love for you."
Odd's eyes were wide. When Sissi noticed, a flush crossed her face and she quickly turned her head away in embarrassment at spilling out her heart. It was so deep and so truthful that he almost believed her. But the scared anxious part of his mind reminded him that, more than likely, she was reaching from her experience with Ulrich, someone she had never faltered to love for as long as he knew her.
Sissi crossed her arms and moved to sit on a nearby bench against the alcove wall.
"What about Ulrich?" he asked, feeling a little more self-conscious than he normally would when a girl confessed her feelings to him.
"What?"
"You said that you would stick by this guy's side no matter what. Now you're stringing him along and he doesn't even know that you like someone else?"
Sissi clenched her fists and her eyes were full of embarrassed fury. "I have not strung anyone along! Plus, I can have feelings for two guys at the same time. It's not as if I'm dating them both and lying about it like some blond-headed freak that's asking too many questions than he should be."
Odd blanched for a moment but couldn't help the word vomit from spilling. "You shouldn't talk about Nicolas like that, he's not as much of a freak but more of a dimwitted puppy."
"Oh don't act so smart, you idiot."
Sissi was still avoiding the subject of his best friend and no matter how sweet her previous words had been, and no matter if he suddenly decided to tell her the truth, he knew that she could never love him like she loved Ulrich. And for some reason, that hurt more than her being disgusted by the truth of him being her internet boyfriend.
"So, have you told him about Ulrich?"
Sissi narrowed her eyes and looked down at her hands.
"No." she said softly. "But that's different. I don't really have a chance with Ulrich."
Odd blinked. Never in his life had he heard Sissi actually give in to the idea that she was never going to be with his friend. His shock must have shown on his face because Sissi spoke up.
"Oh, don't look so surprised. You all know it's true."
There was a spark of hope in his chest and Odd couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous conversation they were having.
"Yeah, we knew. I just wasn't aware that YOU knew."
"Yeah, well, I do." Sissi huffed and turned her head away. "I really like this guy. He's kind and funny and, not that it's any of your stupid business but he makes me feel like I actually have a chance at love."
With a small breath, Odd felt his entire body numb with a warm heat that spread from his chest to the tips of his ears.
While many girls had fallen for his charms over the years, not one of them had ever expressed such soft sentiment towards him. Sissi's words were so beautiful and romantic and Odd felt like he could never measure up to someone who thought of life and love in such a manner. She genuinely believed in him and here he was, too chicken shit to confront her with his own feelings. For somebody to care about him that much was incredibly new and confusing.
Odd wasn't used to serious relationships. He was a master at flirting and would jump at the chance to comfort a lovely sad girl but actually having enough mental energy to focus on one girl was, frankly, a foreign concept to him.
Sissi was pushing the boundaries on his entire view of love and she wasn't even aware of her effect on him. Her adoration and devotion was admirable. And something he was quickly starting to ache for. Something he ached to have from her.
"Well." Odd said softly. "When you put it that way."
He walked up to Sissi and put a hand on her shoulder. She startled and turned to look up at him.
"I'm sure when he sees you, he'll feel the same way." he said.
Unable to stop himself from doing something stupid, Odd bent down and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. His lips barely touched her but Sissi gasped at the contact, as if he had burned her.
When he pulled away, his eyes met hers briefly and the look of genuine shock on her face made him flush. She always made him off balance and he couldn't help but act a fool around her. Quickly he turned, putting his hands in his pockets, and walked away, forcing himself to not look back at her. He didn't want to continue his stupidity and do something moronic like run straight back into her arms and confess his feelings to her.
Odd took a shuddering breath as he walked away.
