Ah, the epilogue... This story has come to an end! I'm sad to be finished with it, especially since it's my first Code Lyoko story. And you guys have all been absolutely wonderful with your reviews. I'm so happy that I have such great readers! I hope you enjoy this last chapter! I've got some ideas for some new stories, so keep an eye out for them!
Please review!
Sissi stared at the ceiling from where she lay on her bed, Kiwi curled up on her stomach comfortably as she stroked his back. She couldn't bring herself to feel very happy that day; there were just too many memories that it brought up again. "Can you believe that it's been one year today Kiwi?" she asked mournfully, and the dog yapped in response. She sighed sadly as she pet behind his ears.
There was a knock at her door, but she had no time to open in when her visitors allowed themselves entry. She looked up to see Yumi and Aelita entering. "Are you ok?" Aelita asked, skipping the proper greetings. "You've kind of been lock up in your room all day."
Sissi sat up and moved Kiwi to her lap. "Yea, I'm fine… Just remembering…"
Aelita and Yumi nodded in understanding. "You should come one to the Factory with us," Yumi said. "We're going to have a little party in Odd's honor. Just the gang."
Sissi gave her friend a small smile. "Ok," she agreed. "Kiwi, go back to you're room. I hope Ulrich left the door open before he went to the soccer game."
Kiwi barked as he jumped off of her bed and ran out though the door. Aelita smiled warmly at her friends. "Let's go. The guys are going to meet us there, and Jeremie is dying to taste the cake that I bake in Home Ec."
The three girls walked together, first going to Aelita's room to pick up the cake. Once they'd retrieved it, they headed to the Factory, walking through the courtyard. Sissi's eyes found their way to the soda machines where she'd snuck out to meet Odd the year before, and she thought about that night.
Flashback
"Hi Sissi," Odd greeted.
Sissi smiled unsurely. "Are you sure it's ok for you to be out here?" she asked worriedly. "You aren't really supposed to be walking around."
"You're the one who set up the time and place for this rendezvous," Odd said mischievously.
Sissi narrowed her eyes playfully. "Because you kept texting me all afternoon to meet you somewhere!" she said, accusingly pointing a finger at him. Odd smirked with satisfaction and she sighed. "But is it ok?" she asked as she pet Kiwi.
"Don't worry," Odd said. "I feel fine. I needed to get out on my own."
"I don't get it," Sissi said. "Why did you want to meet with me?"
Odd set Kiwi down and stuck his hands in his sweatshirt pouch. "I don't know," he said. "You know, you were pretty much the only girl who didn't call me or text me to see if I was ok. I mean, I had to call you."
Sissi gave him a strange look, almost insulted by his comment. "What? You wanted the attention from me too?"
Odd shook his head and looked at his feet as he shifted his weighted from one to the other. "Just the opposite," he said. "I just wanted someone to be normal."
End Flashback
They'd had one confusing hell of a start to their friendship. Sissi sighed, and suddenly realized that she'd been doing that a bit that day.
Pushing the thought from her head, she continued on the way to the Factory in silence. Walking through the sewers didn't quite disgust her as much as it had the first time she'd gone through them. She'd gotten pretty used to it during her year of being part of the team. She'd also gotten very used to her new friends. She couldn't understand why just a year before she'd considered Yumi nothing more than her rival in competing for Ulrich's heart. Not only did she get along with Yumi well, but she also couldn't imagine ever having romantic feelings for Ulrich again now that he was a close friend.
When the three girls reached the Factory, only Jeremie was there, waiting in the large room that people first came to when entering. He'd plugged in a small portable radio for some music, and Sissi instantly went over to it to find a suitable station, not quite trusting Jeremie's musical taste. "Hey Jeremie!" Aelita said happily as she set the cake down on a large box that Jeremie was sitting on.
"Hey," Jeremie said as he stood up and kissed Aelita on the cheek. "I just finished running the scan and it looks like today's going to be completely Xana-free."
"Good," Aelita said. "Yumi, when is that soccer game supposed to end?"
"Soon," the Japanese girl said. "Ulrich might even be on his way already."
"Great!" Aelita said with a smile.
Sissi walked a bit away from the group distractedly, looking around the room. She stared at the familiar empty elevator, remembering the first time she'd ever been there with Odd. It was painful to think about the deathly ill appearance he'd had as he'd stepped out of his scanner, and she felt herself becoming slightly depressed at the thought. She couldn't help but to think about that night of Odd's surgery and about what the nurse has told them. "We're doing our best to stop the bleeding, but we aren't sure that he'll make it…" She shivered and shut her eyes.
Thankfully, Ulrich's voice interrupted her as he came in announcing loudly that he'd won the game. The others congratulated him and he began a retelling of the fantastic last play that he and Theo had made to score the winning point. Aelita, Jeremie, and Yumi all listened enthusiastically, but Sissi felt separated from the rest of them. It wasn't that she felt like an outsider in the group, but she just felt detached from their happiness.
She stared out into space blankly, so distracted that she barely took any notice of the hum of a familiar song. She gasped slightly when a pair of hands covered her eyes from behind. She smirked when the humming turned into whispered singing in her ear. "Everything she does is beautiful. Everything she does is right."
Sissi reached up and took the hands into her own, turning around to face her boyfriend. She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek lovingly. Who'd have known that in just a year scrawny little Odd would have become the tallest boy of the group? "How was the appointment?" she asked, nervousness evident in her voice. She'd been worried about it all day, the thought of having nearly lost him exactly a year before adding to the anxiety.
Odd grinned and placed his hands on her hips. "I'm pleased to tell you that you have yourself a perfectly healthy boyfriend, Miss Lizzy," he said, having decided long before that he liked the nickname for her. "And now that I've finally been approved for sports at school, I can convince Jeremie to let me start fighting on Lyoko again! My mom was really happy… About the sports, I mean… She obviously doesn't know about Lyoko."
Sissi smiled, knowing how excited he got whenever he thought about how close he now was with his parents. She stared at him silently for a moment before pulling him into a tight hug. "Sissi?" Odd said in confusion.
Sissi just shushed him, and she felt him hug her back. She loved the way that they seemed to fit perfectly into each other's arms.
"Guys, aren't you going to get some cake!" Aelita shouted cheerfully from across the room.
They ignored the presence of the others. Odd began humming the song again and dancing slowly with Sissi in his arms. Sissi giggled at his romantic, yet cliché antics, but she decided to join in anyway. She kissed his cheek and sang the ending words of their song in his ear. "There's you and me, and all of the people. I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you…"
So... there it is... Oh geez... I miss writing this story already. Again, thank you so much to every one of my reviewers for making this story so enjoyable to write!
Just in case you guys don't remember, the song that Odd was humming/singing is "You and Me" by Lifehouse... It was the one that was playing on the CD that he burned for Sissi.