Odd lies in his bed, the soft afternoon sunlight filtering through the curtains, casting a warm, dappled pattern on the ceiling above. He stares upward, lost in thought, but his brows are slightly furrowed. His mind is a whirlwind of to-do lists, yet he can't help but dwell on the short text message conversation he just had with his girlfriend:
Odd: hey i forgot somethin in ur room, can i come grab it real quick
Sissi: im not in my room and im in the middle of something, can it wait?
Odd: not rly, it's my dance sneakers and im helping with choreo for the a cappella group in like 30 mins
Sissi: odd im busy ill have to get it for you later or sumthin
Odd: come on babe itll only take a sec
After that last message he'd sent, Sissi had typed for a few seconds, but never actually sent a response.
Odd sits up and swings his legs over the side of the bed, sighing. He runs his hands through his hair, then stands and stretches. "I guess I'll just have to get them myself," he mutters. He grabs his keys and heads out the door, making his way to Sissi's dorm.
As he walks, his thoughts wander. "I just don't get it," he says aloud, shaking his head. "What's her problem?" He arrives at her building and makes his way inside, heading for her room. "I mean, it's not like I was asking her to do anything crazy," he continues, his voice echoing in the nearly empty hallway. "It's just a quick trip to her room."
As he approaches her room, he hears something. Is that laughter? No way, she said she wasn't in her room, Odd thinks. He stops in front of her door, listening closely. Sure enough, he can hear laughter coming from the other side of the door. Not only can he hear Sissi's laughter coming through, but he can hear someone else's laughter as well.
A man's laughter.
"What the hell?" he whispers, his brow furrowing. Without hesitation, he reaches for the doorknob and turns it, pushing the door open. As the door swings open, Odd is greeted by the sight of Sissi, sitting on her bed, laughing and talking with none other than Julien Cronin, her most recent ex-boyfriend. "What the fuck?" Odd exclaims, his eyes wide.
Sissi and Julien look up, startled.
"Odd!" Sissi says, her voice wavering with surprise. "Wh-what are you doing here?"
"I came to get my sneakers," he replies coldly. "But by the looks of it, you actually are busy."
Julien removes the arm he has draped over Sissi's shoulders as he slowly gets off the bed. His expression is unreadable. "Hey, man. I was just leaving."
Odd narrows his eyes. "You sure look like you're just raring to go, Cronin," he spits, an uncharacteristic venom coating every word. The tension in the room is palpable as Odd watches Julien leave much more nonchalantly than Odd would like.
As Julien exits the room, he turns around to say something but is cut off by Odd slamming the door in his face.
Odd whips around to Sissi, staring icy daggers at her. "You want to explain?"
"Odd, wait," Sissi pleads. "It's not what it looks like."
"It never is," Odd says, his voice dripping with contempt. "Because it looks like you're hanging out with your ex-boyfriend in your room... alone. You looked pretty damn cozy there in his arms."
"I-it's not like that," Sissi stammers, her cheeks flushed.
"Hah. Whatever," Odd says, shaking his head. "I don't have time for this." He grabs his shoes before turning and leaving, slamming the door behind him.
"Ready to moor," Aelita calls out from the cockpit. After a few seconds, she adds, "Skid secured."
"I'll activate the tower on our behalf," Herve replies. "Stern, Yumi, Dunbar... prepare for translation."
"Roger," the three warriors respond together.
As the trio of warriors disembark the Skid, they find themselves in an abandoned laboratory in Greenland.
Ulrich looks around cautiously, his senses on high alert. "Looks like no one's been here in a while."
"Yeah, no kidding," William replies sarcastically. "It's freezing in here."
"Guys, focus," Yumi scolds. "We have a job to do."
"Right," Ulrich says, his expression serious. "Let's find that supercomputer and destroy it."
"Roger," Yumi and William reply in unison.
As the trio makes their way through the lab, they encounter a series of obstacles and puzzles, designed to keep intruders at bay.
"Man, this is some next-level stuff," Ulrich remarks, his brow furrowed.
"Yeah, it's pretty intense," Yumi agrees.
Back on Lyoko, Aelita, Sissi, and Odd are defending the Skid from a hoard of Krabs. Aelita hurls energy fields at them, but Krabs are known to be good at dodging her attacks. "Dammit," she mutters to herself as she charges up another energy field. "Energy Field!" This time, her attack hits its mark, destroying one of the Krabs.
"Nice shot, Aelita," Herve calls out.
"Thanks," Aelita replies, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
As the battle rages on, the trio of warriors continues to defend the Skid, their movements fluid but uncoordinated, not an ounce of teamwork in sight.
The whole time, Odd and Sissi never say a word to each other.
Aelita is getting backed into a corner, every Energy Field she shoots is missing its mark. "Guys!" she shouts, "I could use a little help over here!"
Sissi scoffs at her friend. "Don't you have wings? You can get out of there, can't you?"
Aelita is shocked by her friend's sudden attitude.
"Laser Arrow!" The Krab explodes as Odd rushes in to help Aelita. He helps her off the ground wordlessly.
"Thanks, Odd. It almost had me."
"No problem, Princess," he says with a smile. "When someone asks for help, I come running, unlike other people." He gives Sissi a look as he finishes his sentence.
Sissi takes out the Krab she was fighting. "Oh. I didn't realize we were playing that game." She storms over to Odd and Aelita.
"And what game is that?" Aelita asks.
"None of your business," Sissi snaps, shocking Aelita further, causing her to back off. "This is between me and Odd."
"I don't know what you're talking about 'between you and me.' You're the one that put us in this mess in the first place!" Odd yells back.
"Well this wouldn't be happening if you just stopped and listened to me!"
"Normally when something like this happens, it doesn't warrant listening to the offender!"
Aelita is getting more and more confused, and more and more frustrated. "What the fuck is going on with you two? We have a mission to focus on. Why are you bicker—HEY!"
Odd grabs her arm and pulls her towards him. "At least Aelita would understand my side a little more."
Sissi in return grabs Aelita's other arm, pulling her back. "Lita is my best friend! She'll listen to me first!"
"Let go of me! Why are you two fighting like you're eight-year-olds arguing over a toy?"
Odd pulls Aelita back towards himself again. "If she were to hear what you did, she'd absolutely take my side."
Sissi continues with the tug-of-war game. "If I were her, I'd support my best friend. I'm the victim here!"
Aelita wrenches her arms from her friends' grips. "I have no idea what is going on between you two but—" Aelita's sentence is cut off as a lone Krab emerges from behind an iceberg and hits her square in the back, devirtualizing her.
"See! Now look what you did!" Odd shouts at Sissi.
"What I did? You were the one who started the tug-of-Aelita game!"
"I may have started it, but you didn't have to continue it!"
The couple continues to bicker and argue as Herve and Jeremie get more furious by the second. "ALRIGHT! THAT'S IT, YOU TWO! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?" Herve roars into his headset.
Sissi and Odd flinch at the sound of his voice.
"Gotten Aelita devirtualized?" Odd whimpers out.
"AND RUINED THE ENTIRE MISSION IN THE PROCESS. WITHOUT AELITA, THERE IS NO REPLIKA DESTRUCTION!"
Aelita steps out of the scanner. She jumps as Herve's shouting match echoes through the metal walls from upstairs.
"YOU TWO ARE ON VERY THIN ICE. IF THIS HAPPENS AGAIN, I WILL PERSONALLY VIRTUALIZE YOU BOTH AND LEAVE YOU ON LYOKO FOR A WEEK. WITHOUT YOUR WEAPONS. AM I UNDERSTOOD?"
"Yes, sir," Sissi and Odd grumble in unison.
"Translation team, do you copy?"
"Hard not to after that diatribe, DaVinci." William responds, playing with his ear. "What's the problem?"
"Abort mission. I repeat, abort mission. I'm bringing you three back in. Prepare to be energized back to the Skid."
"Abort mission?" Ulrich asks, "What actually happened?"
"Aelita was devirtualized. Mission failure," Herve says, causing the three warriors to share a dire look. "Energizing back to the Skid in three... two... one..." He presses the enter key and William, Ulrich, and Yumi appear back in their NavSkids.
Herve and Jeremie work together to remote pilot the Skid back to Lyoko. The ride back is silent. As Herve rematerializes the team back to Earth, no one says a word until Herve speaks up. "This is the second Replika mission to have been unwittingly sabotaged. Odd, Sissi, whatever you two are fighting about, get it figured out for next time. Or else."
Odd and Sissi both cringe and hang their heads, unaware of the death stares coming from the rest of the team. Especially Aelita.
She storms over to her best friend and says, "Whatever this bullshit is between you two, I want no part in it. Dragging me back and forth like a ragdoll is not how you solve your problems. Get a hold of yourselves and grow the fuck up." She walks over and grabs William's hand, dragging him out of the lab and into the elevator.
The rest of the team aside from Odd and Sissi follow, just shaking their heads at the silent couple.
Sissi is curled up in bed, feeling depressed about everything that's been happening over the last few days. And to top it off, Aelita was furious with her, an emotion she sees so rarely out of her pink-haired best friend. She rolls over onto her stomach and buries her face in her pillow. "Dammit. This is so stupid. Why couldn't Julien have just stayed away?"
Her phone vibrates on her desk, bringing her back to reality. She gets up to check it and mutters to herself as she picks it up. "Why is Lita calling me? She never calls unless... oh. Right." She answers the call and brings it up to her ear. "Hello?"
Aelita skips all pleasantries. "Come to the Hermitage. Now. We need to talk," she demands. With no further words or instruction, Aelita hangs up, leaving Sissi stunned once again.
"Damn. That girl is scary when she needs to be." She puts her phone down and leans on her desk. "Guess I should throw some clothes on. I don't want angry Aelita trained on me." She throws on a hoodie and sweatpants and walks out the door.
Every step closer to the Hermitage she takes brings more anxiety and trepidation. She has no idea what Aelita is going to say or ask. She trudges up the front steps and comes to a stop in front of the door. She hesitates to knock on the door, but she gives three light and unsure knocks.
Aelita opens the door almost immediately. "Couch," she barks pointing at the living room.
"Were you just waiting at the door?"
"Couch," she repeats a little louder this time.
"Alright, alright, jeez."
The two sit down in the living room. Aelita just stares expectantly at Sissi, who is doing her best to avoid eye contact. Aelita gives an exasperated sigh. "You know, there's never been a time when you haven't told me about something going on between you and Odd." She waits for Sissi, who is still quiet and avoiding eye contact, to respond. "If Odd did something shitty, you'd be all over telling me. Even if you'd already resolved the issue."
Sissi just stares at the floor, unable to speak.
"What is going on with you? You never shut up and yet I'm doing all the talking. Sissi. What is the problem?"
Sissi finally relents and looks up. "Are you sure you want to know?"
"Yes, Sissi. You helped me and William before. I want to help you and Odd," Aelita reassures her.
"You're not going to think of me differently?"
"What do you mean think of you differently?" Aelita narrows her eyes. "What did you do, Sissi?"
"Odd caught me."
"Doing what?"
"He caught me with..." She struggles to get her words out.
"With what, Sissi?"
She slurs through her next sentence just to get it out. "He caught me with one of my exes!"
"Sissi. You didn't." Aelita is stunned. She's never known Sissi to be the type to cheat.
"Whatever you're thinking of, it's not that. I didn't cheat on Odd."
"Then what exactly did he catch you doing with an ex?"
"Julien and I were just... catching up." Sissi tries to choose her next words wisely. "We were cuddled up on my bed watching something on his phone..."
"Wait. Julien? As in the guy you had a thing with in high school?"
"Him. Yeah... We were really close back then, close enough that I wanted to try being more than just friends with him. I ended up sleeping with him a few months before we graduated, but it didn't really go anywhere. He came to visit and asked to hang out and we just fell into old habits. It was so easy to just be close to him."
"So, you're telling me that Odd caught you and Julien Cronin cuddled up on your bed and now he's angry about it?"
"Yeah. He got really upset, kicked Julien out, and then stormed out himself. I tried to explain myself, but he just wouldn't listen."
"Sissi. I'm going to be honest. You're in the wrong here."
"What? How?"
"Did you tell Odd you were going to hang out with Julien?"
"No. Why?" Sissi annoyedly asks.
Aelita sighs, running her palm down her face. "So, I'm guessing you conveniently didn't tell Odd anything about this meeting of yours? No boundaries or expectations, let alone communication of any kind, right?"
"No, but—"
"No buts, Sissi. What you did is wrong and Odd has every right to be upset with you," Aelita tells her friend sternly. "How much time did you spend alone with this guy?"
"A few hours..."
"Did you avoid Odd to be with Julien?"
"I tried to tell him I was busy and out of my room!"
"So not only did you neglect to tell him anything, but you also lied to him?"
"No! I wouldn't! I didn't!"
"But you did! Sissi, you were emotionally cheating on Odd. And frankly, I wouldn't blame him if he's thinking it's worse than just what he saw!" Aelita shouts.
Sissi rolls her eyes and scoffs. "Emotional cheating isn't a real thing," she says dismissively.
"Dammit, Sissi. Yes, it is. You went off behind Odd's back, lying to him the entire way, to hang out with an old ex from years ago. You're lucky he only caught you cuddling and talking!"
"Don't say it like that! Nothing was going to happen!" Sissi argues.
"But Odd doesn't know that. You purposefully spent time with Julien to scratch whatever itch you needed scratching. And you did so at Odd's expense!"
Sissi is shocked. Aelita's torn down every defense she had for herself.
"Call Odd right now," Aelita commands, pointing at the front door. "Talk to him and tell him everything. What happened. When it happened. How it happened. Who it happened with. Tell him and pray he forgives you. Because, frankly, if I were him, I wouldn't."
"Aelita, please. Don't make me do that. It'll only make things worse."
"And that's why you need to." Aelita stares Sissi down as if she were trying to bore a hole through her friend's head. "Tell him it won't ever happen again and mean it. Every. Single. Word. And don't talk to me until you've done so."
Sissi is taken aback by her friend's words. She shudders slightly, feeling their venom seeping into every pore on her body. She can feel the tears burning her eyes as she takes her phone out of her pocket and dials Odd's number.
Shockingly, he picks up.
"Odd? It's me. Can we meet somewhere? I want to talk to you." She pauses as Odd answers on the other side of the phone. "Okay. I'll see you there soon."
She hangs up and looks at Aelita. "I have to go. I'm sorry, Lita. Please don't hate me."
"Tell that to Odd, not me. I'm angry at you, too. But I'm here in case you need me," Aelita begrudgingly reassures her friend.
Sissi slinks out of the Hermitage and towards what might be certain death. Odd had asked to meet in his room. She's just hoping Ulrich doesn't see any of this. She arrives and knocks on the door. Odd opens it and lets her in.
"Hey. Thanks for coming," Odd says, his voice cold and distant.
"Of course. I'm sorry, Odd. I'm so sorry."
He pauses. "For what, exactly?" he asks with a deceptive innocence.
"Please, Odd, don't make me spell it out," she pleads.
"Please, Elisabeth. Spell it out for me," he demands.
She winces at his use of her full name, knowing how serious he is to use it now. "I should have told you I was hanging out with Julien. I should have stopped him when he got close. I should have stopped myself from getting comfortable. I shouldn't have lied to you. I'm sorry, Odd. I'm so sorry."
"You're right. You should have done all of that. You, however, did not."
"I'm so sorry, Odd. I promise it won't happen again."
"Sissi, I love you with all my heart, but how can I trust that you won't do this again? Or worse."
She looks at the floor, fiddling with her sleeves. "I don't know." She takes a breath and looks him in the eye. "You just have to trust me."
Odd crosses his arms. "I don't know, Sissi. Seems a little counterintuitive to blindly trust someone that's broken said trust."
Sissi's eyes well up with tears and she buries her face in her hands.
Odd watches Sissi quietly sob, unsure of what to do. Flatly, he just says, "Give me some time to think. I appreciate that you came and apologized, but I just need a little space."
"Okay," she says between hiccups. She wipes her eyes with her sleeve and gives him a sad and awkward smile before turning around and leaving.
As the door shuts, Odd lets out the breath he'd been holding and falls back onto his bed. He stares blankly at the ceiling for a few seconds before covering his eyes with his arm and quietly crying.
The following week may be the worst that Odd has ever experienced. He can't shake the emotions he's feeling. He saw Sissi with another man, Julien Cronin no less, and she tried to play it off as if it were nothing. He's been so preoccupied by his thoughts of Sissi's betrayal that he's been even less focused than normal. So poorly focused, in fact, that even his professors are asking him if he's alright.
As the week progresses, however, his thoughts of betrayal begin to turn to thoughts of longing. He still loves her and he misses her. Once he gets out of his last class on Friday, he's had enough. He pulls out his phone and texts her: meet me in your room in 15. we need 2 talk.
She responds almost immediately: ok. just got out of class. c u there
She is waiting outside her dorm for him as he walks into the hallway from the stairwell.
"Hey," he says quietly.
"Hi. Come in and let's sit down," she responds.
The two enter the dorm room and sit on her bed. The awkward silence hangs over them. The room is tense and neither has the strength or courage to speak.
Finally, Odd starts. "Sis. I forgive you."
Sissi looks up, not really sure how to react.
"I'm still really angry about what you did, but I'm willing to overlook it just this once," He bites his lip and closes his eyes, trying to keep his composure. "I need to know and hear straight from you that this won't ever happen again."
"It won't. I promise, Odd. I'm so sorry. I love you and I don't want to lose you."
"I love you, too, Sissi. But I need you to prove it to me. I need you to show me that you're committed to this relationship."
"I will. I'll do anything, Odd. Just please give me another chance."
"I will. But I'm going to need you to do something for me."
"Anything, Odd. Just name it."
"I need you to never see Julien again. I need you to cut him out of your life completely."
"What? No. I can't do that, Odd."
"You said you'd do anything. In fact, any ex you still have contact with, cut them out."
She sees the serious look in his eye and knows, for once, he isn't joking. "Fine. Here, you can even watch me," she says sadly.
He nods and looks over her shoulder as she types out a message to Julien: seeing u was a mistake. odd is too important to me and i cant lose him. bye 4ever.
She presses the send button, blocks Julien's number, and puts her phone down.
"Thank you," Odd says sincerely, pulling her into their first embrace in weeks. He strokes her hair as she cries on his shoulder.