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One week, Awkward beginnings

POV Odd

It had been a week since I first followed Sissi and she cried on my shoulder. She had eaten lunch with us every day since then, and I was really impressed she was able to spend time with Ulrich and Yumi in the same place. They weren't the most openly affectionate people which I'm sure helped, but I don't know if I could have stuck around if I were in her shoes. She must really want to be friends with us a lot, though I guess she must have been starved for real friendship for a very long time.

There was something that they must have done today that was more than she could handle, or maybe she just hit her limit of seeing Ulrich and Yumi together. I'm not sure which it was, but I saw the look on her face when she had enough and went quiet. She stayed and finished lunch with us though and went to afternoon classes like normal, but she never came to dinner.

I ate in record time. "Hey guys, I'm going to go meet up with a friend, I'll see you later!" I looked around at everyone at the table. Yumi was already gone and eating dinner with her family, Jeremy waved rather disinterestedly as he had his nose in his physics book. Aelita had a knowing look on her face, which I confirmed with a small nod myself. Ulrich however teased, "meeting up with a girlfriend Odd!?"

"No Ulrich, just a friend." I replied flatly, which shut him up pretty quickly, and headed to the counter to approach Rosa the lunch lady. "I don't think Sissi is feeling very well right now, I was wondering if I could bring her dinner to her.

Rosa smiled at me, "Sure Odd, I haven't seen her all evening. I'll get you a to-go box." She prepped the meal to go and came back. "Here you go!"

"Thanks Rosa!"

I took the box and headed up to Sissi's dorm room and listened at the door. I heard a little bit of movement, so I knocked a few times.

"Go away."

Well, at least she wasn't screaming through the door. "It's me, Odd."

"I don't want to talk right now."

"That's fine, I didn't see you at dinner, so I brought you some food." I really hoped that she'd be more likely to let me in after last week.

"I'm not hungry."

I wasn't ready to give up yet. "You sure?"

There was silence for a little bit. "No..."

I heard movement for a moment and then the door opened. Sissi stood there in her PJ's and she had definitely cried a little, though not as bad as last week. Her Mascara had only run a little though her eyes still looked a little red.

I held out the little to-go box. "It's beef stroganoff, and it's pretty good.

She took the box and stepped back from the doorway letting me in. "You know you didn't need to come." She looked tired.

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?" I tried to be cheerful about it, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

Sissi sat down on her bed, gave me a blank look and opened the box. She gave the greasy contents a sour look while unwrapping a plastic fork, "ugh, that's going to go straight to my hips..."

Sitting down on the seat at her vanity, I thought I might try to get this awkward ball rolling. "So, what happened? At lunch it looked like you hit some sort of wall."

Sissi glared at me before taking a bite of the stroganoff. "I told you I didn't want to talk."

Ok, this was going to require a little more tact... "Ok, then I will."

She further narrowed her eyes.

Undaunted I continued. "You know, I'm really impressed that you've eaten with us every day even after last week. You've really been trying to make the best of things, haven't you.?"

Her glare disappeared and she stared idly into her food. "I'm trying, but it's... hard." She took another bite, then looked at me. "It's hard seeing them together."

"I'll bet, but you're trying. That counts for a lot." We sat in silence for a while she continued eating.

After she ate about half of it, Sissi stopped. "I can't eat any more of this, it's too greasy. Do you want the rest?"

"Sure thing."

She flopped on the bed, still looking in my direction. "I'm feeling a little better now, thanks for bringing me something to eat."

I closed the box and got up. "You're welcome, any time." I headed for the door but stopped and turned back for a moment. "Sissi?"

She looked up at me.

"You know you'll always have a shoulder to cry on if you need it."

Sissi just looked up at me for a moment as if not understanding what I'd said, then she let out a small but genuine smile. "Thanks Odd, I appreciated the company."

I left and started walking down the hall towards the stairwell, but I heard a door open and shut behind me. When I turned around, I saw Aelita quickly walking towards me.

"Is she ok?" Asked Aelita, concerned.

"She'll be fine, just a little down this afternoon. She was a little better when I left, but I thought I shouldn't push my luck too far."

"Probably a good idea, I just wanted to check. I'm glad you're making the effort to be her friend, I think she needs it. I've got a lot of homework though, so I'll see you later." She walked off and into her room and I went to mine.

A/N: This is an idea I had while writing What Came Next 2. It takes place during the time jump and is going to be a bunch of episodes showing the progression of the friendship and eventually relationship in that particular head-canon. I hope you guys like it! Please R&R. Feel free to PM me if you have any Ideas, though I do have plenty.