Differentia:
Part One-Begin A New
My trips to space were generally the same every time. My father and I leave Earth, he goes to meeting and the like, while I sit around and do nothing. All the kids at school think I'm so lucky that I get to go to space so often, but they don't know what these trips are like. Needless to say, by the time my father's work is done, I can't wait to go home. As usual, my father apologized for not spending much time with me as we rode the shuttle home. I merely asked him that next time we took a trip to space, if he could leave himself a little bit of free time.
Suddenly, something sped by the shuttle, inching closer to the window, I peered out, it looked like something mechanical. Another ship soon obscured my vision of the supposed craft. There was a little bit of turbulence, and I buckled my seatbelt and hoped that we'd reach the Earth safely.
**********************
When the shuttle landed, my father and I disembarked. Naturally, reporters were surrounding Father, hounding him and asked tons of questions. Eager to get away from the paparazzi, I told my father that I'd walk home. No one noticed as I excused myself from the crowd.
As I walked home, I saw something, like a meteor, or shooting star coming towards the Earth. Doing a few quick calculations, I figured the thing would land on a near by beach. Curious, I took off at a run to see what it was.
Before long, I could see a man coming out of the water. He must have been inside of whatever it was that had been coming towards the Earth. It must have changed it's directory and fallen into the water instead. Worried, I ran as fast as I could to the man, he looked like he would collapse any second. He was not conscious when I finally reached him. I pulled off his helmet.
"It's just a kid," I murmured, pulling out my cell phone and called 911.
He came to quickly. He was undeniable alarmed to see me, he jumped up, covering his face and demanded to know if I 'saw it.' I told him to relax and that am ambulance was on it's way.
When the said ambulance arrived, I could only watch as the boy beat up the paramedics and stole the ambulance, driving off well above the speed limit.
"Weird," I muttered, and tried to get it off my mind and continued for home.
**********************
The next day at school at the other kids were fawning over me. 'Miss Relena' this and 'Miss Relena' that. I was really getting sick of that, why could anyone just call me by my name? Always being called 'Miss' makes me feel so old. I'm only 14, well 15, it is my birthday after all. The whole school was buzzing with talk of my birthday party. I can't imagine why. My 'parties' aren't much fun, just a hundred or so people whose names I barely know ballroom dancing.
During my first period class, the teacher announced a new student. It was that boy from yesterday. He looked mad, and barely responded to when the other students spoke to him. He was so different from everyone else, and I immediately decided that I would invite him to my party, that might make it a bit more interesting.
During my free period after lunch I found him leaning against a railing, his body facing me, but his head turned away.
"Here you go," I said, holding an invitation to my party out to him, "it's an invitation to my birthday party, I hope you can make it." Around us, all my so-called friends applauded, which when you think about it makes no sense at all. The boy, Heero, I think his name was, reached out and took the invitation. I smiled, but it soon fled from my face as he looked at the invite with disgust and ripped it in half, and dropped it, letting the wind carry the two pieces away. "But...why?" I asked, my eyes tearing. I had never been more embarrassed in my life, that jerk ripped up my invitation in front of just about everyone I knew. He walked past me, pausing to wipe my tear away and he whispered something just loud enough for only me to hear.
"I'll kill you."
The mob took it's cue from Heero and dispersed, leaving me alone, in shock. This angry, ambulance stealing freak was going to kill me? Gimme a break.
**********************
As I expected, my party was an absolute bore. Just once, I'd like to have a party where I and a few close friends go to the mall or the movies, something fun. I mulled around the party trying to think of an excuse to leave, when I over heard a class mate of mine who arrived late say that he saw a guy who looked like Heero driving an ambulance towards the dock. Perfect. I told them to continue to party without me and decided the best way to find some excitement was to find Heero. Who knew what that guy was up to?
"It is you, Heero," I said, I could see him when I reached the docks, he was bent over something working, but I could tell what.
"Relena," he said, not looking up or turning around. I smiled, finally, someone who just called me 'Relena,' no stupid 'Miss.' Heero turned on his heel. "You're in over your head. Relena," he said, it was strange the way he kept saying my name. The way he said it was different, too. When most people say it, it flows together. He said it keeping the syllables separate, it was strange to hear. "Say good-bye," he said, pulling a gun off of what ever it was he had been working on and leveling it with my head.
I stepped back, my eyes wide. He was going to kill me. Hearing a bullet shot, I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting to feel the bullet cut through me. It didn't. I opened my eyes, seeing Heero covering a wound on his arm with his hand.
"I don't know what's going on here, but it's pretty obvious to anyone that you're the bad guy here," a new voice said. I heard the sound of another bullet being fired. Heero hunched over, he had been hit in the leg. In his apparent pain, he had dropped his gun. "I don't know what you did, lady," the shooter said to me, "but you better stay away from this guy." I nodded and backed away. Heero rolled on the ground trying to reach his gun again. "Take it easy, pal, you're injured," the other boy said to him. Heero ignored him and grabbed his gun. Before it was aimed, it was shot right out of his hand.
Heero limped to the edge of the dock, and climbed onto his project. "Mission failed," he muttered, desperately trying to finish whatever it was he had been doing before I arrived before he would loss consciousness from loss of blood.
"Aw, shit," the other boy said as Heero's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell off the dock, into the water. The other boy jumped into the water after him, but came back up empty handed. He tried diving in again a few times, but never found anything. Sopping wet, he pulled himself onto the dock, muttering curses.
He looked up at me, and I think he might have been crying, it was hard to tell. "Lady, I didn't want to kill him, I was just trying to help you out. Why'd he want to kill you anyway?" he asked me.
"I...I don't know," I stuttered, "I didn't do anything to him, except talk to him a little bit." I was shaking, I had just witnessed seeing a classmate die.
"Shinigami strikes again," the boy muttered to himself. He was referring to himself as the 'God of Death?' Weird. Right now I was really wishing I had stayed at my party. My eyes were tearing and I couldn't help but start crying. 'Shinigami' looked at me as I sobbed. "Oh, lady, don't cry. Look why don't you just go home, and I'll take care of this mess, okay?" He ducked out of sight for a few seconds and came back with two pieces of paper and a pen. He handed one of the pieces of paper to me. It had writing on it, but I couldn't make it out through my tears, I was too shaken up to even stop crying. "Here, if you need someone to talk to, just e-mail me and I'll call ya back and we can chat, okay? Just give me your phone number." He was being really sweet, trying to help me after this tragedy that really was my fault. If I never came here...
Snapping out of my reverie, I told the boy my cell phone number without really thinking about the fact that I didn't know this guy.
"By the way, what's your name, lady?"
"Relena Derlian," I sniffed.
"You better get on home, Lena," he said. I wiped my tears and turned to leave, but stopped.
"What's your name?" I asked him.
"Me? I'm Shinigami, but you can call me Duo if ya want. Duo Maxwell."
"Bye, Duo," I croaked out, dragging my feet home. At the time, I hadn't realized how tightly I held on to that scrap of paper Duo had given me.
**********************
When I got home, all my party guests were long gone, but I didn't care. I managed to pull myself into my room, and dropped Duo's e-mail address on my nightstand and collapsed on my bed, falling asleep.
Disclaimers: I don't own anything having to with Gundam Wing and I'm not making any money off of this fic.