This is my very first story so please NO FLAMES! I will take constructive criticism, though.

This is a Code Lyoko story with the Odd/Aelita pairing so if you don't like, you don't read (I don't want reviews saying you don't like OxA). This takes place after Season 3, Episode 57 "Aelita" and it's in Aelita's P.O.V. I apologize if any of the characters are OOC. I tried my best.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Code Lyoko or it's characters, Moonscoop does.

~ Enjoy! ~

Aelita's P.O.V.

"Odd you only have 40 life points left!" I heard Jeremie warn him. Odd, Ulrich, and I were in the mountain sector, fighting off Xana's monsters while trying to deactivate the tower.

"Yeah, yeah. I'd like to see you out here Einstein!" Odd shot another laser arrow at the Tarantula firing. He hit it on target, but there were still two more to go. "Yeah! Ok, your turn Lucille!"

"Odd, cut it out with the lame names already," said Ulrich, as he dodged the lasers with his sword.

"You can do it!" Yumi, who'd been devitalized, was now in the lab with Jeremie. Thanks, Yumi. I thought. Encouragement worked better than pressure, after all.

I charged up and energy field from where I was hiding behind a large rock and aimed. The tarantula dodged, howled, and kept firing. "Aelita!"

"Jeremie?"

"I told you to stay hidden! You can't be devitalized before we deactivate the tower! Is that what you want?" He sounded so angry. I didn't understand; I could fight now. I could fight and I wasn't a damsel in distress anymore. Upset, I balled up my fists.

Ulrich spoke up. "Hey, chill Jeremie." This distracted him. "Hey! Ah-" Several lasers hit him, devirtualizing him.

I hurried out of my place to help Odd. "Odd, wait -" I was hit and fell on the hard ground, holding my stomach. "Oh . . ."

"Aelita!" Odd cried. "Laser arrow!" He fired again and was by my side in an instant. "You ok?" I nodded. "I know you are. You're tougher then that Princess," he added cheerfully with a cheeky smile.

I smiled, but we were interrupted by Jeremie. "Odd! Why didn't you protect Aelita? She's only got 20 life points left!"

I was annoyed with Jeremie blaming the others for something I did. "Jeremie, it wasn't Odd! It was me. I can help but now we need yours. Can you program the Overboard?"

"Fine. Coming up."

I sighed. "Energy field!" The pink orb hit the monster and it was destroyed.

"Nice shot!" Odd called out. "Sheild!" The remaining tarantula fired some more just as the Overboard appeared. With a quick hop, he was on. I ran to him. "Hop on!" I did so and placed my hands on his waist. "Next stop; activated tower!"

I laughed a little as he sped off. As usual, Odd made sure that he rode like a madman, spinning and dodging everything at the last second. By now, I'd grown used to it, even enjoyed it. I appreciated that he liked to lighten the mood in a sticky situation, even if I didn't always show it.

"Hurry up!" Jeremie yelled.

"Almost there! Look!" I pointed to the glowing red tower. "No!" The other tarantula had caught up and was now blocking the entrance.

"Hold on tight, Aelita!"

"Woah!" We flew faster and faster. The tarantula kept firing. This is impossible; I can't be hit at all, but here, that could happen if just a second!

Odd turned his head to face me. "Aelita, jump when I say so, ok?"

"Gotcha."

"Here we go!" We spun in circles at the monster, coming closer and closer to the ground. Almost . . . "Now!" Odd and I sprang off while the Overboard smashed into the Tarantula.

We landed side by side. I turned to Odd but didn't say anything. He stared back at me. If I was on Earth, I would've blushed. Was he taller then me? I always though he was shorter, but then I realized that we were about the same height. Curse that tall hair of his. That tall, colorful, cute hair . . . what? Suddenly, I was pulled back out of my daydream. "I – uh –" I pointed to the tower and mentally slapped myself. I must look ridiculous.

"Go on, Aelita," Odd grinned.

Even while entering the tower, I could feel him still watching me. That was . . . interesting. What was that all about? It was just Odd . . . right? My best friend until the end? Lately it didn't feel like that. Oh well, it'll talk to Yumi about it later. I placed my hand on the screen, deactivating the tower and tried not to think about it anymore.

"Another mission done."

"Yeah."

Everyone had gathered back in the computer lab. "What do you think Xana's attack was?" I asked.

"I have no idea, Aelita. I'll have to look over the programs that Franz Hopper sent me about Xana. Also, I'll need to reconfigure . . ."

He continued to speak, but I wasn't listening all that much. My eyes drifted to the others, who looked confused as Jeremie spoke. It really is no surprise anymore.

" . . . and then I'll join the two systems together and then replace the old configuration disk with a new one." Jeremie finished.

"Uh yeah, that's great Einstein. Can we have dinner now?" asked Odd, holding his stomach and pouting. I giggled.

Jeremie heard. "Fine. You can have mine. Aelita, do you wanna stay with me?"

"Actually, uh, I'm feeling pretty hungry too," I admitted, my hands behind my back.

"Oh uh, ok fine. I'll meet up with you later tonight in my dorm."

"Yeah, sure." I followed Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich into the elevator. Once we were inside and moving, Yumi spoke up.

"Why didn't you stay with Jeremie? He could've used your help." Ulrich and Odd were facing us, waiting for my answer. Ulrich was of course staring at Yumi, but Odd was looking at me intently. He looked so . . . serious. That's unusual.

"Oh, well, I . . . uh -" I didn't want to come out and say that if I stayed, this would be the fourth night in a row I'd missed dinner and instead spent time upgrading programs that were just fine. "I'm really hungry. Besides, I promised to meet up with him later." My eyes shifted downwards.

"We would've saved you some food, but ok."

I sighed, relieved that Yumi had dropped it. The truth was, I wasn't all that hungry. I really just needed and excuse to get out of staying with Jeremie. Oh, even felt guilty for thinking it. But it was true. Jeremie always asked me to stay with him. I would help fix things that didn't need to be fixed and pretend to listen as he explained how to do something that involved a computer. Maybe he just wants to spend time with me. If only he would with something I actually enjoyed.

"And so that's when I said, 'it's not a dog, it's a rat!'"

We burst out laughing to Odd's ridiculous story of the giant rat with rabies. Even Ulrich was laughing.

"Oh Odd, where do you here these things really?" I asked through giggles.

He smiled. "Oh from my sisters, scary stories, and even Jim."

"Jim?" asked Yumi.

"Yeah. He wouldn't tell me the whole thing because -"

"He'd rather not talk about it!" We all chorused and laughed again. Then Ulrich began to speak about something else Jim had said.

I pushed around my Shepard's pie with my fork as I chewed slowly.

"You gonna finish that?" Odd asked me.

"No here," I shoved my tray across the table.

"Not hungry Aelita?" asked Ulrich. "I thought you were."

"Yeah, until I found out what we were eating." I made a face.

"Hey, no dissing the pie. It has feelings you know," Odd joked through his full mouth.

"Yeah right Odd," replied Yumi, rolling her eyes and grinning. "Well, I'd better head home. 'Night everyone!"

"Bye Yumi!" we called.

"I need to go, too," Odd announced.

"Oh really?" inquired Ulrich. "Where?"

"Outside, to meet Kyrsten." He stood up and wiped his hands.

"Kyrsten? Isn't she the girl with the brown bob and wears a lot of green?" Ulrich sounded amused.

"Yeah. She's a total cutie! Wait 'til you see her!"

"Uh, sorry good buddy, but I don't wanna risk getting slapped, too."

"Ha ha, very funny. Well, here I go." Odd hurried outside, but I barley saw. Another girl he wants to see. Why can't he just say with one, one who really cares about him? One who laughs at his jokes, one who wants to make him never stop smiling?

Stop it, Aelita. Odd is just you're friend. He flirts with a lot of girls, not just you. I shook my head. Yes, but what girls does he save constantly, make her blush, flirt with every day, and give her as nickname? I thought. Well, there's Yumi, but he doesn't see her that way, does he? I know he's all about getting Ulrich to ask her out. No, Yumi's just a good friend to him, an older sister. The only other girl who fits all of that is . . . me.

"Aelita? Aelita?"

"Huh?" I yanked my head up to see Ulrich.

"You ok?"

"Uh, yeah. Just tired I guess."

"Oh. I'm going to study for that stupid science test tomorrow." He got up. "You're good at science, wanna study with me?"

"No thanks. I think I'll just take a walk and head back to my room."

"Alright. See you later."

"Bye." I waited for him to leave before I did myself. I needed to clear my head.

It was cold outside; the sun had nearly set. Shivering, I rubbed my arms and continued to walk. My mind wandered to Odd again.

Odd; he was special. Even when I liked Jeremie, I had a soft spot for him. I mean who wouldn't? He saved me on Lyoko more then anyone. If I could count the times I wanted to blush when he fell on top of me, I'd be lost. He made me laugh, he was affectionate, and he tried the hardest to understand me. After he found my crying at the Hermitage, and we went to Lyoko by ourselves, I realized that Odd and I had a connection.

I was grateful for Jeremie and did my best to show him that I appreciated it. He was playful enough when I was in Lyoko, but after a while he became more controlling and less fun, while with Odd, he got better over time instead. It's obvious that Jeremie likes me, so I pretend that I do too, while inside, I tried to ignore the feeling I got when I was around Odd, who was supposed to be only my friend, my fake cousin. I hated that I had to pretend to be his cousin. We weren't really related, but if I wanted to stay at Kadic, I had to pretend I was. To everyone, I was Aelita Stones, Odd's cousin, and Jeremie's crush. I was supposed to be with Jeremie right? That's how our group functioned.

I hated seeing Odd get hurt, yet he was always ready to risk his life for me. I'm glad that we're such good friends, but at this point we were boarding the line of friendship and something more. I had the instinct to make sure that he would always be ok, and I think he did too for me. But was that enough? He was always with other girls, even if it wasn't for long.

Speaking of which, I spotted Odd and Kyrsten, her name was? He was trying to impress her. She wasn't laughing. Darting my eyes around, I spotted a tree and hid behind it, while hoping to hear their conversation. She yelled at him and slapped him across the face!

"Odd," I whispered. Kyrsten stormed off, while Odd stood there, looking awkward and embarrassed while rubbing his cheek. Once she left, I stepped out of my hiding spot and hurried over to him. Deja vu . . . like earlier today in Lyoko . . . "Are you ok?" I asked him, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

"Aelita?" he sounded surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw her slap you," I replied. "I'm sorry."

"For what? You didn't do anything, Princess." He turned away. "Then again, maybe I deserved it."

"What did you do?" I'd heard before that Odd got slapped by every girl he'd dated, but to actually see it was a whole different thing.

"Well . . . she found out that I dated her best friend and uh, broke her heart," he trailed off, looking ashamed. "I never showed up to our date."

"Odd," I scolded, hitting his arm playfully. "How dare you."

"Hey I couldn't help it. I blame Xana! Stupid computer program . . . he's just jealous!" Odd joked.

We laughed. I really couldn't understand how this was so funny, but I was glad just to be laughing with him. I eventually looked up, only to find Odd holding out his hand to me. "Wanna walk with me?"

"Sure," I grinned and took his hand, letting him help me up.

We traveled around the campus, sharing stories. "So wait, Yumi was in your body when you got slapped

by two girls?" I said in disbelief.

"Yep," Odd answered, proudly.

I have him a playful shove. "Poor Yumi."

"Hey, I felt it in the morning you know," he said back. "Yumi was cool about it though. Until she found out about Ulrich and I."

"I remember that!" I exclaimed. "You're so crazy, hugging him like that in the paper."

"Yeah, if only the girls I date would be cool about the things I do the way you are," added Odd, smiling.

"I – uh . . ." I turned away and blushed. Pull it together Aelita.

"Kyrsten said we could be friends," Odd continued. "So I asked for a kiss."

"A kiss?" I felt my stomach drop.

"On the cheek. Friends can do that right? So after I asked her for that, she slapped me and said I was out of my mind." Odd finished as we headed to the dorm building.

"You didn't deserve that," I told him, sincerely.

"Thanks, Princess."

We stood outside, watching the last minutes of daylight. "It's so beautiful," I whispered.

"The sunset?"

"Yes. I like the sunrise too, but with all of the Xana attacks at night, I end up sleeping in so I never see it." I felt my short hair ruffle in the breeze as I spoke.

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"That's because you always oversleep," I reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah," he ruffled my hair. "Ready to go?"

"Sure." We headed back upstairs in no time. I felt great and very happy, even though I wished we had talked longer. It had been too long since I had a pleasant time like what I just had. I led Odd to my room. He leaned against the wall as I unlocked my door and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Odd sounded curious.

"I'm supposed to meet Jeremie after this," I admitted. Instead of making a joke or trying to convince me to see him, he just stared at me like he did on Lyoko. I peered into his eyes, which was a unique combination of blue and violet, a lighter shade of indigo.

"You know, you don't have to do everything Jeremie wants you to," he said quietly.

"Yeah, I-I know."

"You're a person, Aelita, not a toy. Don't forget that."

I smiled at him. "Thanks Odd." I turned to my door. Something stopped me from entering. "Uh, Odd?"

He perked up. "Yeah?"

"Y-you said that friends could kiss right?"

"Um, yeah . . ." he looked a little confused.

I hesitated but then ignored the feeling and leaned closer to the purple clad boy beside me. "That means I can do this." I leaned over and kissed his cheek softly. He froze and turned as red as an apple. I stifled a chuckle and whispered. "Goodnight Odd."

He snapped out of his frozen state and gave me his goofball smile. "Night Princess." I stepped into my room and closed the door gently. My lips felt like they were on fire. And strangely enough, I felt good. I flopped down on my bed and closed my eyes. What a day . . .

Then I heard a knock on my door. Hurrying to answer it was a big mistake. It was Jeremy, carrying his laptop. "Hey Aelita, you never stopped by," he reminded me.

"Oh, I'm sorry Jeremie. I'm feeling tired, can I meet up with you first thing tomorrow?" I tried not to push it, but I didn't want to spoil my day with more useless programming. I wanted to spend time with my friends and look for my father, but that was all right now. Getting into the Internet could wait for another night.

"Why are you tired? What were you doing?" he demanded.

"Jeremie, I was taking a walk."

"By yourself?"

"No . . . Odd was with me," I responded.

"Odd?" Jeremie looked pretty mad.

"I'm allowed to take walks with my friend," I said back, insulted. I didn't mention that friends were apparently allowed to kiss on the cheek, too.

"I know it's just . . ." he didn't finish.

"Just what Jeremie?"

"You've been spending a lot of time with him lately," he mumbled.

"He's my friend, Jeremie. I like hanging out with Odd." I sounded so defensive.

"Yeah, and you even went off to Lyoko with him without telling anyone," he snapped back.

"Because you were being such a jerk!" I yelled. "You never have time for me!"

"Aelita, I always ask you to help me with the supercomputer-"

"I don't always want to do that, Jeremie! When's the last time you took me for a walk like Odd did? Or anyone else for that matter?"

"You shouldn't be with Odd so much! People will get suspicious and figure out that you're not really

cousins!" he screamed back.

My mind was racing for something to say back when I realized what was going on here. "Jeremie . . . are you jealous?"

Jeremie looked embarrassed, but the angry expression never left his face. "Jealous? No!"

"Then if you're not really jealous then you won't mind if I take another walk with him tomorrow?" I spoke without thinking.

"Aelita!"

"Leave me alone, Jeremie."

"Aelita - "

"Leave me alone!" I slammed the door closed and locked it. Tears poured down my face as I hurled myself onto my bed. I curled up and cried. More than anything, I wanted to hurry to the Hermitage, but it was much too dark.

This wasn't supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to fight with Jeremie about Odd. Sniffing, I pulled out my pink cell phone and texted Odd:

Hey, can u meet me outside in time 4 the sunrise? I need to talk 2 u. Thnx. :)

~ Aelita

I flopped down on my bed and didn't bother top check my phone for his reply. My pillow was soaked with tears. I still managed to fall asleep until I woke up to the sound of my laptop buzzing.

Groaning, I lifted myself out of bed to check. Is it a Xana attack? No it wasn't. My eyes widened once I saw the screen. "Daddy?"

Oh, yes, I went there. The next chapter is going to be in Odd's P.O.V. You can review with your questions and opinions but no flames yet, plz :) I'll update as soon as I can.

R & R