A/N

Hello people of the Code Lyoko fandom. You do not know me, you don't know I exist probably, but here I am, writing a fanfic for this fandom. My name is snowykittens2, but if you wish to refer to me as something, Snowy is perfectly fine.

I totally love Code Lyoko! It's my all-time favorite animated show without much of any doubt. ^^ So, I've chosen to write for this fandom, and I'm writing it around the friendship of Ulrich and Odd. I'm the biggest sucker for male friendships and brotherhood stuff you guys. Not really yaoi, like I don't mind it at all, but I like fluffiness between two guys in any fandom I see a connection between the most. Ulrich and Odd are a prime example.

This story is not meant to be Yaoi. As in, the main couple will not Ulrich/Odd. The couples will stick to canon at the point of the end of the 4th season, right before William was freed of XANA. However, if a reader wishes to view this as Ulrich/Odd, go ahead. I'm not against any couple. If I don't like the couple, then I'm neutral.

And if you couldn't get it from that, and want a more exact time line, this take place right at the end of the episode Cold sweat and on.

So, let's get to the info of this story and get started!

Summary: An embarrassing photo of himself and Odd was the final straw in this situation Ulrich had been forced into. And it was all thanks to his best friend. He was beyond furious, and seeks to avoid his best friend no matter what now. Things will be okay eventually though. "Lyoko warrior honor," right? Well, when you have XANA as your sworn enemy, horrible situations can never be easily resolved, and one has to work through all obstacles to have a second chance.

Rating: T. I'm paranoid, not better reason.

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko. Should that change while I'm writing this story, I'll be sure to let you know.

Okay, that's all out of the way. Now onto the chapter! Hope you all enjoy.

The carved out civilized town seemed as tranquil as ever, with the bustling folks on their way to engage in the normal endeavors of a weekday. Cars whipped by, blaring their horns every once in a while which was the only thing serving to disturb the peace. People shuffled by each other, coats on for warmth, eyes plastered to the sidewalk below, as their feet shuffled to move them along. The foul odor of car exhaust fumes hung in the air, while any excitement was left to be dead, like road kill.

Nothing stuck out as anything particularly active, save for the bustling youth education area of Kadic academy. At the early hour, already, there was the air of announcement being spread throughout. Students of all ages had their heads buried in a tangerine colored media magazine, all of whom were chattering quietly about it.

One of those groups was a raven-haired girl, a blond male, and pinkette female. The pink-haired girl was resting comfortably on the bench, though her eyes didn't serve fully in favor of that. Staring at the magazine, her eyes betrayed the shock she was feeling. The blond male was mirroring her actions.

The black haired female seemed the slightest bit smug and triumphant, though her voice was calm and collect whenever she opened her mouth to speak.

This interaction went on for but a minute before two other male figures sprinted by, looking like an undistinguishable blur, one being a mixture of army colors, though not in a camo pattern, and the other plum purple.

These two had the clearest voices of the entire Kadic academy area.

"You told me to tell her didn't you?"

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Ahhh! Ahhh!"

The purple blurr was but a few steps ahead of the other, his eyes continuing to glance back as to check where his pursuer was. His orbs of sight were most defiantly panicked, and whenever he wasn't looking behind him, he was seeking out an escape route to flee upon in which the more plainly color could not follow. He couldn't find one thus far, however, so his sneakered feet continued to plow into the ground as he attempted to escape, his slaked up blond hair not faltering an inch.

Behind him, with hands poised to strike like a cobra in order to literally strangle the other, the beige and dark green figure was doing his best to keep up, anger fueling into his veins to push him along. Narrowed eyes were fixated on his target, with full intention to maim the other figure. His brown hair bounced ever so slightly as he ran, while a growl was escaped his throat yet again.

"Get back here Odd!" The brunette let out a snarl.

The purple figure, Odd, craned his neck back as he ran, meeting the eyes of the other. Daggers glared back at him, alive with rage, which served to make the blond sprint even faster. Upon turning his neck back to focus on the path in front of him, a path to freedom suddenly became alive to Odd.

The gym. I can flee through there, go to locker rooms, and lose him that way. Odd gave the slightest of smirks at that thought, believing the plan would work, and he maneuvered himself that way. He didn't slow at all, despite his increasing protests from his muscles, until he slammed into the double doors of the gym.

The blond's feet screeched across the floor in the gym, sounding like nails digging into a chalk board. There was one door, a grey one that became Odd's own target as he literally flew for it, not halting for a minute. His lungs were pleading for more air to be pumped through them. He only stopped again, however, upon getting to the door, jiggling the handle to open it. Though he was now face with a rather large problem.

The door was locked.

Odd gulped silently, closing his eyes and shrinking against the door ever so slightly while cursing his luck. However, not even a moment later did exhaustion catch up with him and he was forced to withdraw his hands to his lap, exhaling air sharply. The sounds of another's panting became clear soon after, rage tinting this breathe. Odd was half forced to peer up at his pursuer who had finally cornered him.

The brunette wasn't looking at the blond yet, for he currently had his head bowed, and hands on his thighs as he put his head in a bowed position and staying there. No words were exchanged, which was preferable to Odd, and to empathize that he bowed his head and kept up his hard breathe. And really, both males needed to catch their breath like it had fled to Africa.

It was but two minutes later when it became clear that Odd was the only one panting, and the blond once again peered up towards the brunette. This time, the plain colored figure was looking right back, fully vertically upright with hands at his side, glaring angrily at the purple one.

Knowing he had to say something, the blond gulped slightly before opening his mouth to speak. "Hey Ulrich. What up?" Odd asked, offering a grin.

The response was an inhumane snarl from the brunette, in which Odd had to shrink back a little more against the door. When he's mad, he's scarier than XANA without any doubt. Odd forced himself to focus on the other's eyes, cringing internally at the rage that was burning in the depths. The look in Ulrich's eyes was screaming to Odd that Ulrich's greatest desire right now was to string Odd up like a piñata, and take a few un-blind whacks.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Odd questioned curiously, keeping up his grin.

Ulrich heaved sharply, and kept his glare right on the blond. "I slept fine. It was this morning that bothered me. I got to read something very interesting this morning in the Kadic news." He took a threatening step closer. "It was a very interesting photo that caught my eye however."

Odd straightened up against the door, doing his best to relax somewhat and seem unaware of the situation in hopes to suppress some rage that was radiating off the brunette like the sun. "Oh, so uh, Milly and Tamiya got another scoop for their paper then?"

Ulrich clenched his fists before jamming his fist into his pocket. A few seconds later, a tangerine colored booklet was withdrawn and roughly thrown in Odd's direction. The blond let out an indescribable noise for a protest. "Yeah. Something like that." Ulrich growled.

"That's uh cool then, right?" Odd stated, nursing the spot that Ulrich had nailed; his left cheek.

Ulrich gave the bridge of his nose a pinch before glaring at Odd once more through eyes in the shape of paper thin slits. "No Odd. It isn't. I know you know what's in there. You were holding one earlier and bolted for that reason when I showed up." He then got right in Odd's face, much to blond's silent protests. "I also know you know who gave Milly and Tamiya that 'scoop.'" A few drops of salvia evacuated Ulrich's mouth just then.

Odd gave a slight sigh before holding up his hands in defense. "Okay, okay. I get the message. You don't have to spit at me. And just a tip, that won't get any extra points with Yumi." Another inhumane noise erupted from Ulrich's mouth, though much quieter, it was much more dark. The brunette's teeth were now clenched together, which his fists attempted to convey by clenching. Odd held up his hands a little further to retaliate.

"Okay, yes, I know what the picture is and who gave it to the Kadic news! Happy?" Odd gave in, dropping his hands to the side. "What's the big deal? I think it's about time people appreciate the art of singing in the shower and while coming out!"

Ulrich flushed, withdrawing a bit before snapping. "People don't need to see it when you don't have any clothes on your back!"

"Hey, you had a towel on in clear view, and yet you're the one complaining. Explain that to me." Odd retorted. "Besides, I give Yumi credit. I didn't think she'd have it in her to actually get revenge on you of all people. She normally just chooses to ignore you and make you feel lower than the underworld. I mean just me and revenge, I understand to a degree. But you? I can't believe she did it!" The blond gave a light-hearted laugh. "So I give Yumi kudos!"

"You had a towel too; it just wasn't in the shot." Ulrich growled. "Besides that, if Yumi had seen you without one, let's just say we wouldn't be having this conversation." The brunette added with a snort, seeming to disregard everything else Odd has said.

Odd gave his largest grin of the day at that, interpreting that last comment to be Ulrich now in a better mood. He was giving his version of jokes; sarcasm. So in short, he was full of relief for this moment. "Well, I'll save you the comment for now. But I'll have you know, girls love me for my figure."

"As a planned dress-up doll in the future, no doubt." Ulrich grumbled, crossing his arms and tearing his gaze away from the blond.

Odd features fully relaxed as he sauntered up to the brunette, closing the gap between them once more. "Well, can we discuss this later? Last time I checked, it was bacon and sausage breakfast today. You know I can't miss that!"

The brunette whipped back around, and Odd retreated back in shock more than anything else. Ulrich's were still personified with fire, burning hotter than ever before. Odd was no longer a piñata; the rage was driving Ulrich to desire much darker things.

"No, you can't Odd. Because you're missing what's really important here as usual!" Ulrich spat, venom lacing his voice.

Odd didn't dare speak, for in all honesty, as he had told Ulrich the night prior, he was poultry, specifically, the chicken variety. He wasn't really eager to face up to this rage that the brunette was seething with, but considering he was still backed against a wall and a locked door, he was kind of at a loss as to where to go. With only a few feet separating them, he wouldn't be able to make a dash to side either.

Ulrich choose to close that gap even more, taking another step forward before speaking again. "Yumi only got revenge on me because of you. If you hadn't made me take the fall for that photo that you gave Milly and Tamiya for no reason-"

"Seriously, none of you enjoy a good prank!" Odd cut Ulrich off before he continued his rant. "Well none of you did. I guess Yumi does now, but she's really just a copycat. To have true appreciation for the art you need to be orig-"

"Odd. Shut up." Ulrich took another step forward, now only inches separating the two males. It was the brunette's turn to cut off the blond, and he affectively did it, somehow. His words being so blunt probably served to his desire nicely. "As I was saying, you made me take the fall for something I didn't do. And when you told me to do it, you didn't give me any explanation. You kept setting me up to screw me over."

"Hang on. That isn't fair." Odd put in as a protest. "Look, I'm a chicken. I admit it. So I did make you take my downfall out of fear. But while we were in Siberia or wherever, when Yumi kept complaining about you, not wanting to call you a friend, I was defending you! I told her that love was making you do crazy things!"

"You think that helps at all when we keep telling you and the others that we're just friends?" Ulrich demanded, not even blinking as he kept his eyes locked on the male in his sights. "There's nothing between Yumi and me, okay?"

The purple-clothed male gave a shrug, giving a slight roll of his eyes. "I find that to be as true as a world where you date Sissi." He admitted with a chuckle, only to be hoisted up by the collar of his shirt, forcing a slight squeak from the blond. "I also called like 10 minutes after you demanded I tell her cause I saw she was so mad at you!"

Ulrich kept Odd's shirt in his hold for a few prolonged seconds before releasing his prisoner from his hand hold, but not allowing any other freedom. "Yet, by then, she was alright with me. Then you called, and once again screwed me over. This whole thing in the end made her hate me more than ever, no doubt."

Odd gave Ulrich a slight glare for being hung by the neck line of his shirt before tilting his head. "What makes you say that?"

"Like you could understand that!" Ulrich growled without any other explanation. "The point is you made me lie to Yumi and resolved it in the worst possible way, leading to school wide public humiliation for me and Yumi once again furious at me!" The brunette roared.

Odd shrunk back a little again before straightening up. "I think you're over reacting. I mean, they'll get over the photo. And Yumi will forgive you, if she really is still mad at you. Why wouldn't she?"

"Why wouldn't she be mad at me? That's my question." The brunette demanded, looking at Odd like he was in need of a mental asylum. "I lied to her, I made her think I was ever justified in doing something like that to her."

"But she already got us back. Why do you think she got that picture of us and gave it to Tamiya and Milly?" Odd retorts. "She got her revenge. She won't be mad anymore."

"She'll be hurt Odd. But you're too stupid to see that!" Ulrich roared at the blond, missing the slightest of external flinches Odd gave as a response. "I thought that lying to her about something so hurtful was okay. Yumi will now assume because I'm willing to lie about something that really jeopardizes what we have, in friendship, then I'd be willing to do it again. As far as she knows, maybe I'm willing to do it for real. I wasn't loyal to her."

Odd's eyes cast downwards briefly before giving a shrug and looking to Ulrich with an unreadable expression. "I think you've gone crazy. Even if she was somehow in that mindset, what about Lyoko warrior honor?"

"You mean the same honor that you entrapped me with?" Ulrich spat yet again.

Odd gave a grin. "Yeah, that's the one." The blond went back to a more neutral look. "No matter what you do, Yumi will forgive you. Lyoko warrior's honor binds us all!"

Ulrich gave another of uncountable growls in the last five minutes before moving his head back and forth. "How could you claim that, considering it's something you have no understanding of?"

"Huh?"

That was the last of the growls Ulrich gave, and instead he wrenched his head away from the blond. "You don't have an ounce of honor in you Odd, especially Lyoko warrior honor. The world doesn't know that thanks to your luck of being able to return to the past, but I know you're first choices are always about you, not your friends. This situation just proves that all over again. This all happened because you refused to take responsibility for your actions, and push it on to your friend. If you had taken the fall originally, Yumi wouldn't have ever gotten mad at me, and there wouldn't be an embarrassing photo of me going around the entire school!"

For a few seconds, Odd said nothing, but soon enough his mouth opened again. "The photo is of us. Not just you." The blond interjected.

"Is that the best thing you can say? Really?" Ulrich questioned, darkness darker then a night with no moon encasing his voice.

The blond was simply staring at Ulrich now, the slightest of frowns on his face, left to be completely mute. With Odd not saying anything, silence became the object between the two males, and the blond not eager to break it, Ulrich got the message. He was still half expecting Odd to make a joke out of it at least, but not even that.

It was a few more minutes before Ulrich spoke again, voice not an above a whisper, but not airy at all. "You obviously can't grasp what you've done." He muttered, before striding forward with strong steps.

Odd's eyes began to grow like a little sprout of a plant at the sight of the brunette retreating before taking a step forward, holding out his hand. "Hey, Ulrich. Wait a sec."

The brunette glanced back towards the blond, coldness like the arctic showing in his gaze.

"I'm… I'm sorry." Odd muttered, lowering his hand back to his side.

The brunette only stared back to the blond for a few moments before stalking away, leaving the purple blur alone in the gymnasium, and the sound of squeaking mice fading into choking silence. The blond was left to stand there, hands at his side, a slight frown on his face, with eyes a turmoil of displeased emotions, and an absence of the normal juvenile light they normally held.

A/N

First chapter done! Wooo! I'm happy I had a weekend at my grandparents' house because I do nothing over here. So this gave me something to do. I'm happy how it turned out, I guess. I'll admit freely that it'll be hard for me to keep the characters in character throughout this, but I'll try my best! And if you have any tips, feel free to suggest! I take reviews nice and mean without no feeling of offense.

So, this is not it in this story. I plan on writing more. I plan on this story being fairly short however. Like eight chapters? It's supposed to be set up like an episode, really. So it won't be extensively long.

I'll update as soon as I can. But it may take a while because school comes first. (*Hint* I'll be pushed to type faster with reviews… ;))