A/N: So starts the first chapter of my very first Gundam Story. I would like to thank my very good friend, Halogazer, for beta reading this story. I hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter One

After Colony 197. It had been a year since the fight with Mariemaia. The Earth and the colonies were once again at peace. The people from both sides returned to their daily lives. As for the five Gundam pilots, they settled down at their new jobs, trying to once again live a semi-normal life. One pilot was up early, getting ready for the new day.

Light shone through the gray curtains of the small bedroom. He made his way toward the full-length mirror that leaned against the wall. His long brown hair was done in its signature braid. He grabbed a white button-down shirt that was hanging from a hanger. After buttoning himself up, he took the black vest and slid it on. With black slacks, shoes, and a magenta tie to complete the ensemble, he was ready. He examined himself in the mirror. He looked like a normal student, ready for school. He chuckled with a glint in his eye. He cleaned up well.

A girl with short black hair and long bangs entered the room. She was holding a clipboard in her left hand. She jotted some items down on a white sheet of paper.

"Duo, are these the right items that I should be looking for?" she asked as she looked over the list. Half of the items she never even heard of.

Duo walked over and examined the list. "You got it, Hilde. Good job."

She looked up and noticed his attire. "Well, look at you all snazzy in that uniform." Duo did a spin and winked. "Now, are you sure this is what you want to do?"

Duo nodded firmly. "I want to do something different, you know? I'm tired of the same thing day after day. Now that we have some peace, I can do other things. Besides, I actually liked attending school back when Heero and I would go undercover."

The school that he was attending was Baker High, a school whose curriculum was designed specifically for students of military parents. However, there were some teenagers that were once soldiers themselves. When the war with OZ happened, many of the students left to fight. For the ones that returned to continue their educations, they were able to take a series of tests in order to graduate. All in all, it was a perfect school for someone like Duo Maxwell.

Hilde smiled and playfully punched Duo in the arm. "Just stay out of trouble. I don't want the principal calling me over something stupid."

"I ain't promising a thing," Duo smiled. He grabbed his backpack and waved to his friend before making his way out of the room. A new adventure was about to begin.

An alarm clock blared loudly. The high-pitch screech bounced off the walls. A hand slammed down on top of the clock, shutting off the annoying beeping. A figure rose from a sea of red covers, her red hair disheveled. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the time. The clock read that it was six-thirty in red numbers. With a groan of annoyance, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She stood up and stretched. She shuffled over to her closet and got out her magenta uniform. Still half-asleep, she buttoned the last button on her white shirt. She looked at herself in the mirror that hung above her dresser. She smoothed her skirt and put on the coat that went with the uniform. After brushing her shoulder-length hair, she grabbed her black backpack and swung it over her shoulder.

Mornings. How she detested them. If it were up to her, school wouldn't start until later in the day. She headed down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Casey. I hope you slept well," said a man who was pouring coffee into a mug. He was a slim man, with gray hair, blue eyes, and in his early sixties. Alfred was the butler of the house. He prepared the meals, did the errands, and made sure that the house was in order. He was also a close friend to Casey." Morning, Alfred," Casey greeted as she grabbed a piece of bacon. She took the cup of orange juice that was on the table and drank it in one gulp. "I slept okay. I kept tossing and turning." She rubbed the sleep from the corner of her eyes.

"I'm afraid that Owen isn't going to be home until later on tonight," he said as he handed Casey her lunch bag.

"I kind of figured that. If I recall, he did say something about a meeting," Casey replied.

Owen was the owner of the house that she was staying in. He was chief of security. He was hardly home, so she was used to not seeing him for days on end. She grabbed a slice of toast with jam and bid Alfred farewell.

Casey walked down the sidewalk to school. Looking up at the sky, she could see the clouds that hovered over her. They were like fluffy white pillows. They reminded her of how tired she still was. She looked at the vibrant green grass as it danced in the wind. She sighed and stopped in her tracks, suddenly feeling down. She was born on Earth, but came to the L2 colony when she was just a baby. During the war of After Colony 195, she went back down to Earth. The genuine air when it blew through her hair, the soft blades of grass beneath her bare feet: Everything was real on Earth. On the colony, everything seemed artificial. That didn't change the way that she felt about her home. It was peaceful on the colony.

She jumped a bit when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder and saw a girl with medium-length light brown hair and soft green eyes.

"You startled me, Amanda," Casey said as she turned around.

Amanda playfully pointed a finger at her friend. "You, missy, were supposed to meet me at my house this morning. When you didn't show, I figured you might have forgotten. I was right. I caught you daydreaming in the middle of the sidewalk."

"I'm sorry," Casey apologized. "I guess I got side-tracked."

"Yeah, that can happen from time to time," Amanda sighed with a knowing smile.

Casey knew Amanda since they were kids. They separated when Casey moved back down to Earth. When she returned to the L2 colony, her father had been killed during the war and Owen offered to take her in. The Casey that Amanda knew years ago had vanished. She had changed. Her friend had issues with soldiers, which was hard considering that she went to a military school. But the one thing she hated the most were the mobile suits known as Gundams. A Gundam destroyed the colony that her father was on. Amanda knew better than to bring up the mobile suits.

"Hey," Casey said as the two walked down the sidewalk, side by side. "Where's Benjamin? Shouldn't he be here, too?"

"He had to go in early for a test," Amanda replied.

"What kind of test?"

"I'm… not really sure," Amanda lied. It was hard enough to get Casey to accept his friendship. She met Ben when she returned. After meeting up with Amanda again, he was introduced as her boyfriend. Casey was on guard at first, but as the months went on, she started to relax in front of him.

Casey smiled warmly at Amanda and slung an arm around her friend. "Want to go get some ice cream after school? I've been craving cookie dough all week."

Amanda laughed. "Well, of course. You know I don't miss the opportunity for ice cream!"

The two of them arrived at the school and immediately headed toward the long blue lockers. Some ex-soldiers waved to the girls in the hallway. Amanda smiled and waved back. She glanced at Casey who just ignored them.

"Hey, guys."

A tall young man with short black hair and blue eyes appeared. He hugged Amanda from behind and planted a kiss on her cheek. The young woman giggled as she placed her books into her locker.

Casey looked at the couple beside her. "Benjamin."

"When you are going to stop calling me by my full name?" he asked.

Casey ignored the question.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "You need a man."

Casey waved her hand, dismissing the topic. "I don't need any distractions."

"What distractions?" Amanda pouted as she closed her locker. "I just think it will… help boost your mood."

Casey shook her head as the trio moved to their first class, which was history. The red-head took a seat at the back of the class. She rested her head in the palm of her hand, and looked out the window. It was going to be just another day of school.

Their teacher entered the noisy room and cleared his throat. He stood in front of the class.

"Class, listen up," he said in a monotone voice. "We have a new student that will be joining us." Murmurs were heard throughout the room. Out of curiosity, Casey turned her head to the front of the room. A young man entered the room with a wide grin on his face. She noticed the long braid that went down his back. "This is Duo Maxwell. He is an ex-soldier that fought during the last war. He is looking to continue his studies with us. Please make him feel welcome."

"Hello, everybody," Duo greeted cheerfully with a wave.

Casey rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the window. Great. There was a new person to annoy her. Didn't the school have a cut-off point or something?

The teacher looked around the room and then pointed his finger toward the back. "There is an empty seat by Amanda."

"You got it, teach," Duo smiled and headed toward the empty desk. He sat down and looked at his neighbor. "Duo Maxwell." He held his hand out.

"Amanda Lane," she introduced and shook his hand. She glanced over at Casey who was scowling. A sad smile formed across her lips. This wasn't going to get any better with her friend.

Physical Education was fifth period. Students gathered around their teacher to find out what today's activity was going to be. To Duo's excitement, it was basketball. The class was divided into two teams. Once the game commenced, yelling and laughter could be heard throughout the gymnasium. Duo managed to get a slam dunk, which impressed a lot of the girls in the class. He grinned and noticed that a certain red-head wasn't participating. She was sitting off to the side on the wooden bleachers. He couldn't tell if she was bored or annoyed.

"Hey, Amanda," he said as he walked up to his new friend. Amanda passed the ball to another classmate before giving him her undivided attention. "What's going on with the red-head on the bleachers? You know her, yes?"

Amanda looked over at Casey. She simply shook her head and sighed. "Yes. She's my best friend. Her name's Casey. She doesn't usually sit out during this class." She gave her head another shake "I don't really know what is going on with her today." Of course she didn't tell Duo the real reason. Casey was most likely pissed off that another soldier transferred into the school. She just wished her friend would just get over it.

"I see," he said. The ball was passed to him. After taking one last glance over at the bleachers, he continued the game.

During lunch, Amanda invited Duo to sit with her, Ben, and Casey at their table. They usually took the table near the vending machines. With a look of disapproval, Casey sat down. A big smile was displayed on Duo's face as he greeted everyone.

"The name's Benjamin Ferrari," Ben said as he stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Duo took the hand with a solid handshake. "Name's Duo Maxwell." He took a seat next to Ben.

"So you were a soldier in the war?" Ben asked as he unwrapped his salami sandwich. "Where were you stationed?"

Duo paused. He looked at his pasta in careful thought. "I was… on Earth. I was constantly moving around, you know? Sometimes it was hard to figure out where I was."

"Sounds interesting," Ben said before taking a bite out of his sandwich.

The red-head huffed in annoyance at the conversation. Amanda leaned in and told her friend to try and relax. They were just talking.

"Why did you invite him to join us?" Casey whispered, glaring at the brunette.

Amanda sighed. "He still doesn't know anyone in the school, yet. He only knows me because of our first class. I wanted to be nice."

Not buying the excuse, Casey took a huge bite of her sandwich.

Duo looked at the two girls and smiled. "Hi. My name is Duo Maxwell," he said to Casey.

"I know who you are," Casey said bluntly.

"But I don't know who you are," he smiled.

"Casey Martin," she said in a low voice. She was getting irritated that he was even talking to her.

He winked at her. "It's a pleasure."

A shade of light pink appeared on Casey's cheeks. She quickly packed up her lunch and excused herself from the table.

Amanda watched as her friend left the room and sighed. "I'm really sorry, Duo."

He waved his hand in the air. "Don't be. I actually know someone with the same personality."

A young man with short, messy, brown hair stood in the shadows of an auditorium. He was clad in simple blue jeans and a white tee. An olive-green jacket hung over his folded arms. He was Heero Yuy, one of the five young Gundam pilots. He listened while Relena Darlian, formally known as Relena Peacecraft, made her speech on how they can improve the peace. Ever since the war with Mariemaia, the citizens of the colonies had been more vocal on certain subjects. This was a good start for everyone. The people needed to be heard in order for democracy to work, which was what Relena was pushing for.

Heero turned his head when he heard footsteps coming his way. Lista, a slim young woman with long raven-black hair and green eyes, stood next to him. She was clad in the same jacket that he was holding.

"You know, you don't always have to be hiding in the shadows," she smiled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Heero returned his attention to the young woman at the podium. "It's better this way. She can go on doing her thing and not have to worry. Besides, she knows I'm nearby."

The smile didn't leave Lista's lips. "I talked to Duo a few days ago. He told me that he was going back to school."

"Waste of time," Heero replied in a monotone voice.

Lista shrugged. "I don't know about that. There is peace in the world for the time being," she said nonchalantly. "I don't see why it's wrong going back and continuing your studies. Even I was considering going to cooking school."

Heero didn't say anything and just watched as the audience stood up for applause.

The last school bell rang an hour ago. Most of the students went home for the day. However, Duo was stuck in the library, trying to do some catch-up work for his classes. The braided soldier didn't mind school; it was just the catching up part that was tedious. After a long stretch and a deep breath, he packed his books into his bag. He exited the library and headed down the deserted hall.

The school was kind of creepy when there weren't any students hustling about. He stopped in his tracks when he heard yelling coming from one of the stopped at the gymnasium and found Casey punching the air and doing some round kicks. Not saying a word, he stayed hidden and watched her out of curiosity. He never would have expected her to be good in martial arts.

She settled down, panting heavily while wiping her brow. A good workout was what she needed to let out all of her frustrations. Catching her breath, she closed her eyes. Duo walked as quietly as he could into the room, trying not to startle her. However, his foot squeaked against the waxed wooden floor. Casey shot up from the floor so fast that by the time Duo lifted his head, she was standing in front of him with her fists out.

Duo held both of his hands up in defense. "Whoa. I didn't mean to startle you." Casey glared at him for a few seconds before turning her back on him. He lowered his hands and sighed in relief. "I stayed late in the library. I was catching up on some of the work. I didn't expect anyone to be here." He looked at the back of her head. "Why are you here?"

"I train after school because the gym is big enough," she simply said. "The security guard knows me, so he lets me stay a little bit longer." Taking the fluffy white towel, she patted her face dry. She stared at the towel for a bit in thought. "I studied martial arts since I was little. Getting rusty on my skills is not an option in my book. So I make sure I train as much as possible. It doesn't matter if I am getting older."

Duo leaned up against the wall with his hands in his pant pockets. "You seem to be a strong, determined person. I like that." Casey turned her head and looked at him warily. She scoffed and started to gather her things into her bag. "Amanda is an awesome person. It's been a long time since I made any new friends." Casey sighed, knowing full well that he wouldn't be leaving any time soon. "Let's introduce ourselves properly this time." He held out his hand. "I'm Duo Maxwell."

Casey rolled her eyes and looked at the waiting hand to her right. "My name is Casey Martin," she said and took his hand in a handshake, hoping that it would satisfy him.

The braided pilot grinned. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Case."

Before he could blink, Casey slammed her left fist against the wall that he was leaning against. The fist was just inches from his right ear.

She glared hard at him. "Don't you ever call me that again," she hissed. After removing her fist from the wall, she picked up her bag and walked out of the room.

Duo stood where he was for a moment, almost in shock, and then chuckled. "She's a tough one," he said to himself. "Have to make a note on that." Slinging his backpack over one shoulder, he followed suit, heading home for the night.