Song: The Sweetest Thing
Artist: U2
The Sweetest Thing
My love she throws me like a rubber ball
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
She won't catch me or break my fall
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
~*~
"Beep!"
The shrill sound echoed throughout the bedroom, making the figure in the bed stir reluctantly and shut it off. She shuffled out and made her way to the shower. She had to go to the repair shop and then meet her friends at the mall. She sighed as she stepped into the shower and let the hot water beat down on her.
"Damn Elizabeth. Why the hell did she want to meet so early in the morning?" she muttered to herself as she rinsed off and hurried out to change. "I swear she doesn't have her head screwed on right."
She shoved her shoes on, grabbed her car keys and purse and left her apartment with a slamming of the door.
"Hey, did you watch the news last night? There was some girl who was murdered. They found her body in some dude's basement in the freezer. How sick is that? He put the body in the freezer and actually slept with it in the same house before he left. Hey, are you listening to me, Hannah?"
She looked up abruptly. "Sorry Phoebe. I was just going over the car repair bill in my mind. But I heard what you said." she paused. "That's kind of sick, living with a body in the freezer to keep you company. You'd have to be a psychopath to live like that."
"You seem quiet today; quieter than usual. Is something wrong?" Phoebe asked.
Hannah looked Phoebe, knowing it was useless to lie; Phoebe always seemed to know what she was thinking.
"I was just thinking," she said with a shrug, looking out at the people walking by; the plants screened them from others' view but she could see them clearly. "Just thinking."
Phoebe sighed. "Well, we have some time before everyone else gets here. You had another one of those dreams didn't you? The one that leaves you depressed?"
Hannah didn't say anything, simply looking out at the people; they were all happy, why could she be as happy as them?
"Hannah, you have to let it go." Phoebe said gently. "Maybe you should see some one new."
"That'll just make it worse." Hannah said in a whisper. "But you know you're in a strange position to give me advice when you're pushing your boyfriend away."
"Touché; but I can't stand to see you like this." Phoebe paused. "Do you want to talk about the dream?"
Hannah didn't say anything for a moment before she gave Phoebe her full attention. "It was that same dream with me and Heero again. I swear I have no luck with men."
"Hey, you have better luck than me." Phoebe laughed. "Look at me, one of your exes that I won't let get any closer."
"Yeah, and now we have to go to his stupid sister's party on Friday." Hannah rolled her eyes.
"It won't be that bad. We'll try and turn it into a real party." Phoebe paused. "Drag Zechs around and get him to do things for me. Then get him out of there by saying I need a ride home."
Hannah chuckled. "He's completely in love with you and what do you do? Fend him off with a stick. Zechs is a nice guy, perfect for you. Are you crazy to-"
Hannah's words were cut off as she shrieked loudly when she felt someone poke her in her sides. She whipped around at the exclamation of 'Gotcha!'. She glared at the redhead that was standing behind her chair with a gleeful and somewhat smug expression on her face.
"Elizabeth! You stupid bitch!" Hannah yelled. "What the hell?! You know I hate it when you do that!"
"Sorry to ruin your mood." Elizabeth said as she slid into the seat beside Phoebe. "Seemed like it was already horrible before I showed up."
Hannah felt all the anger drain out of her. "I had that dream again. I wish it would just stop and not come back."
Elizabeth patted her hand sympathetically. "I know, it's tough, especially since we're in limbo with graduating from university and all. This part is the worst; you did the exams but you don't get the grades yet."
"Hn." Hannah sighed. "So what's this big news you had us all meet for?"
"I can't say yet. Not until Odelle and Naomi show up."
"Speaking of the amazingly beautiful devils…"
Hannah felt her lips pull into a smile as she heard Odelle's voice. "Nice to see you two could get here on time."
"Sorry we're late. There was an accident on the highway and it was backed up for a few miles." Naomi said as she took the seat beside Hannah. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Hannah said. "Come on Elizabeth, spit it out."
"Well, you guys remember Nathaniel?" Elizabeth's face had taken on a slight flush, her voice filled with sudden excitement.
"Yes, we remember him. How could we forget when he was practically attached to your side all the time, even in high school." Odelle said in a dry voice. "And even now, about five years later."
"Yeah well," Elizabeth paused as she let the silence drag on for a few seconds. "He asked me to marry him last night."
Silence followed Elizabeth's words as everyone looked at her in shock. Hannah was the first one to speak.
"Elizabeth, we've just gotten out of university. Don't you think that you should wait a bit before you get married? I mean, you're 24 years old."
"Yeah…I hate having my birthday in January sometimes." Elizabeth said with a grin.
"She does have a point, but if he makes you happy and you two can afford it, then you have my best wishes." Odelle said with a smile.
"What? No blessings?" Elizabeth looked hurt.
"I said you have my best wishes." Odelle paused for a moment, thinking. "Besides, I'm a born sinner; my blessing wouldn't count for very much in God's eyes."
"That's true." Naomi said with a laugh. "So how are you two going to afford this wedding?"
"You guys know Nathaniel's rich; filthy rich. He said he would pay for everything. And he said nothing but the best. And he said he wants to get married as soon as possible."
Odelle shook her head. "You're not sticking me in some goddamned dress."
"Oh really?" Hannah said. "We all agreed in high school that you would be Elizabeth's maid of honour and the maid of honour has to wear a dress."
Odelle's face paled as she muttered curses to herself. "Is it too late to retract on that?"
"Yes!" Elizabeth laughed. "Besides, you said you'd be there for me no matter what."
"But this…this," Odelle stammered out. "This is my bane! It involves planning and dresses and ugh, I can't even finish speaking about it!" she screwed her eyes shut, and wrinkled her nose as she shuddered. "Pity me!"
"Ha! You wish! If we suffer, you suffer." Phoebe said.
"Hey, what does that mean? You're all supposed to be happy for me!" Elizabeth protested.
Hannah smiled as she watched the debate lying thick and fast. They got lunch and started putting together some preliminary plans for Elizabeth's big day. She had to admit, even when she felt awful, it was good to know that her friends would be there for her.
Hannah opened her apartment door with a sigh; today had been rather hectic and she was worn down. She tossed her keys and purse on the table by the door and slipped her shoes off before putting her slippers on and walking into the kitchen. She made herself a cup of tea and walked out into the living room.
She flicked on the television, the volume on low as she curled up, sipping the hot liquid every so often. After a few minutes, she put the tea down, and rested her head on the arm of the couch. She needed a small nap before she crashed completely. But once her eyes closed and she drifted off, she could see it all again in her mind's eye. She was standing outside the window in the rain, looking in on Heero and Relena on the couch, their bodies pressed against one another, lips locked. She looked away only to find Heero standing in front of her, his blue eyes tinged with regret. He took a step towards her, his eyes never leaving hers.
And then she woke up abruptly. She touched her face to find it wet with tears. She muttered a curse as sagged against the couch. Why did Heero have to go and cheat on her, and with Relena, an old girlfriend, of all people? He had left her for a reason? So why did he go back to her? She stared at her coffee mug before she heard the knock on her door once more. That must have woken her up.
She quickly wiped her eyes and face dry before she went and opened the door. "Zechs, what are you doing here?"
"I was just going out and I thought I would stop by to see how you were doing," he remained silent for a moment, seeing how obvious that was. "And to see if you wanted to join me for pizza. I was going to get a slice."
"I'm fine." She lied. "I'll join you for that slice. Let me just get my stuff."
A few moments later, they were going down in the elevator, the soft music filling the silence. Hannah glanced over at Zechs, eyeing his clothes; beige khaki pants with a loose collared black top and somewhat classy black shoes; all the clothes that Phoebe liked on a man. She sighed as the elevator dinged and they walked out, heading for the pizza place a few blocks away. She really didn't know what those two were doing.
When they entered the restaurant, the first thing her eyes saw was Heero sitting in a booth alone, by himself. She looked away as he saw them, making her way to the booth farthest away from him. She could see it in his eyes; he missed her and was suffering. 'Let him suffer. He went to her behind my back and thought he could get away with it.' She tightened her jaw momentarily. 'Pacifist slut.' She took a vindictive pleasure in thinking those words. Zechs slid into the seat opposite her, picking up the menu.
"Whatever you want; my treat." he said with a smile.
Hannah smiled back at him sweetly; that would rile Heero; he never could stand Zechs. "Thank you. Maybe later we should do something. It's too nice today to go back home."
"There's a pool hall a few blocks over if you want to play a few games." he suggested.
"You're just saying that because you know how bad I am at that game." Hannah laughed. "But we could shoot a few games. Play some darts."
"Sounds good," Zechs said. "It doesn't really mater what I eat. Can you order for me? I need to go to the bathroom."
"Sure." Hannah said as she looked down at her menu. "How about the parmigana."
Zechs made a face. "Anything but that though."
Hannah chuckled as she perused through the choices on the plastic protected paper. When the waiter came over, she ordered two plates of spaghetti with meatballs, cracking a few jokes and having a small conversation with the teenager. But when he left to fill the order, her laughter died down as she felt Heero's eyes on her. When she heard a chair scrape against the floor, she closed her menu and laid it down, staring stonily ahead of her. A few seconds later, Heero took Zechs seat.
"Hannah…" Heero started before he stopped thinking over his words.
Hannah didn't say anything, leaving her face blank and stoic. She took out her chequebook and started writing.
"Hannah, I just-"
"Save it for someone who cares." she said as she weighted the cheque down with the glass and walked out; Heero could break his own fall for all she cared.
Baby's got blue skies up ahead
But in this I'm a rain cloud
You know she likes a dry kind of love
Oh, oh, oh, the sweetest thing
~*~
Zechs blinked as he sat up and rubbed the bridge of his nose, the entire living room coloured with an artificial blueness. He'd fallen asleep on the couch again with the television on. He turned the television off and made his way to the bedroom, stripping as he went. When he got to his room, he put on a pair of boxer shorts and slid into bed.
He had come back home after Hannah had left. Of course, he knew why she had left like that; he could feel Heero's eyes boring holes into him as he ate his spaghetti. After ripping up Hannah's cheque, he walked back to his place slowly, thinking over his own predicament with Phoebe. They had met through Hannah and had started dating when Hannah broke up with him; Hannah simply couldn't stand his sister Relena and her feelings for him were more of a brotherly type, rather than a romantic attachment.
But he could understand what Hannah was going through. Phoebe and he hadn't cheated on each other but they were hurting. He could still remember when he had met her in their first year in university and they had started dating by the second after he and Hannah had split in the summer. But after he proposed to her a few months ago, everything had ground to an abrupt halt between them.
He could still see the single tear that had managed to escape before Phoebe had wiped it away quickly. All she had told him was that she loved being with him and that there was no one else, but there was no way that she could marry him. And she had simply left it at that.
He grunted slightly as he rolled over in bed, trying to calm the restlessness inside. Why had he simply accepted her reason like that? There had to be more to it. The regret and pain had been subtly etched in her face, but it was there. 'I never should have let her go like that.' He groaned as he shifted onto his back, staring at the ceiling illuminated by the city lights. There was no way that he was getting to sleep tonight easily. He was contemplating a sleeping pill when the phone rang. He looked at the clock on the nightstand with an arched eyebrow; it was two in the morning; who would call him at a time like this.
With a shrug he reached over and picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Brother?" the weepy voice on the end asked.
"Relena, what's wrong?"
"Oh God, he said we could never be together, ever." Relena said as she broke down into sobs. "He left me for her."
Zechs gave a mental sigh; it always seemed that Relena could never get past Heero, or even pick up the pieces of her own life. "He made his choice Relena. Leave him be."
"But I love him. I love him so much it hurts! I'd do anything for him; why can't he see that?"
Zechs paused for a moment, her words striking something. "Because he loves her Relena; it would be wrong for him to stay with you when he has no feelings for you whatsoever."
"But we…" Relena paused, thinking over her words carefully. "I even offered him the one thing I never gave him and he took it…somewhat."
Zechs closed his eyes as he sighed. "Take it from a male perspective, Relena. You tempted him with the one thing he wanted before; what do you think he would do when offered something like that?"
"But he never finished!"
"Then there's your answer, Relena. Heero isn't coming back to you. He made his choice, and the most you can do is leave him be. You might be labelled a stalker and find yourself with a restraining order if you keep on like this."
"I suppose your right." Relena said as she sniffled. "Thanks for listening to me."
"I'm sure you would do the same for me." he said somewhat absently.
"Are you all right?" Relena asked. "You don't sound like yourself."
"I was asleep." he lied.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Relena said quickly. "I'll let you go then. You did get my invitation in the mail?"
"Yes. As did everyone else. We'll all be there for your party on Friday."
"Good. Then I'll let you go now. Good night brother."
"Night Relena." He said as he hung up the phone.
He started at the ceiling for a bit more, before he closed his eyes. That was all he could do; be there for her until she made a change.
Phoebe stood in her bedroom, riffling through her drawers to find the earrings. 'God, I hate these parties that Relena throws. But she gets so offended if you don't show up.' She sighed as she stood up and frowned. Those earrings were around here somewhere; and she had a few minutes before Hannah showed up to drive them all to the mansion. She had decided to wear a simple black dress with her silver necklace; the same one that Zechs had given her for her birthday when they had first met. She smiled as she remembered him saying that he didn't know what else to get her. But she had thought it perfectly fine.
"They might be in there." she murmured as she walked over to her bed and sat down, pulling out a box from underneath.
She opened it, looking through all the things she had saved from their four years of seeing one another. The movie stubs, the pictures, everything. It caused a small stab of guilt as she remember the night he had proposed to her. It still hurt, hearing her refusal echoing around in her mind. She loved Zechs with everything she had, but there was no way that she would run that risk; she had before and it had always ended for the worst.
Now, she didn't feel like going to that party and mingling with all those people. She made a motion to close the box, but stopped when she looked at the dry rose. The petals were as fragile as ancient paper, but they still had their bright red colour, frozen in time. It was the same rose from their first date. She closed the box suddenly and placed it back in its home. Too many memories now wasn't a good idea when she would probably be seeing Zechs there.
"There they are." She sighed in exasperation as she saw them beside her on the bed.
She put them on quickly, and slipped into her shoes. She grabbed her wrap and purse just as the doorbell rang. 'Why do I get the feeling that this isn't exactly a good idea.'
I'm losing you
I'm losing you, yeah
Ain't love the sweetest thing
~*~
"Did you hear about the murder?"
"That horrid thing with the poor little child who was killed? Simply awful."
Hannah rolled her eyes as she walked away from the group of socialites, taking a sip of her champagne. 'God, I should have torn up the invite and said to hell with that insecure girl.' But yet she found herself wandering around through the crowd seeing no one she knew. She had driven Phoebe and Naomi here, hoping to see Odelle and Elizabeth here. But so far only the gossipy rich who had nothing better to do with their time.
"There has to be something decent here to do." Hannah sighed as she found a seat on a windowsill. "Or else, I'm gone in fifteen minutes."
She sighed and closed her eyes; she could be out hunting down a job or something so she could start to pay back her loans, but no, she was stuck here in one of Relena's stupid parties. 'God, I really should have just stayed at home.'
"There you are Hannah," Odelle's voice sounded relieved. "I was starting to think that this stupid party was a waste of time."
Hannah smiled as she saw Odelle push her way through the crown none too gently, followed by Wufei. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, he's here."
"Nice to see you to Hannah." He said sarcastically.
Odelle grinned as she nudged him in the side. "Be nice."
"So where's Johnny?" Hannah asked. "Didn't he want to come with you?"
"He had some last minute meeting in Italy so he left this morning. I wasn't about to come here by myself."
Wufei snorted. "She's liable to spike the punchbowl to try and make things more interesting."
"He has you there." Hannah laughed. "You didn't see Relena around here did you? I'd rather avoid her."
"Don't blame you. The girl is a mess, and far too insecure about herself. Politics, I would want to go against her, but dump her and she falls to pieces." Odelle said. "Wufei, would you mind getting us some champagne?"
Wufei looked at her before he walked off. Hannah turned to Odelle puzzled.
"Good, us two can talk alone."
"But you don't drink champagne." Hannah said.
"I know that. And he knows that." Odelle tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. "I wanted to talk about Johnny."
"Something's wrong between you two?"
"He's always away." Odelle said in a quiet voice. "And when he's around, he's too tired to do anything. And I mean anything."
Hannah paused. "Does he travel by jet a lot?"
"Yes. But I told him how I felt about all of that. And he said that he would take care of it. And look where he is on our anniversary."
"That does suck." Hannah said in a sympathetic voice.
Odelle nodded before she leaned against the wall, sighing heavily. "I'm stating to fall out of love with him."
"Out of love with him?" Hannah looked at Odelle amazed. "Weren't you always going on about how you two would marry one day?"
"That was in the beginning. But now, when I stop and think about it, it's stating to fail. What we had in the beginning simply isn't there anymore. What we have is dying; it's past the point of recovery."
"Have you told him this?"
"I've tried to. When he's here, he's either sleeping off jet lag or doing more work. And the little time we spent together, he doesn't feel like talking much."
"Maybe you should call him and tell him."
"I hate to do something like this in such an impersonal manner." Odelle paused. "But shifting topic to something a bit more grisly, did you hear about that murder?"
"Yes, the one that everyone else here won't shut up about." Hannah said with an exasperated roll of her eyes.
"You remember the building Johnny used to live in a few months ago? That's the same building they found the body in. It was in his old apartment."
"You're kidding!" Hannah gasped; that certainly was something new.
"I know. But keep it quiet. I was there when the police came to question him about it." Odelle's brows furrowed. "I'm starting to worry a bit. It's not that safe with this psycho out there."
Hannah nodded her head. "Have you seen Elizabeth around here anywhere?"
"Yeah, last I saw, she was knee-deep in debate about the murder with Nathaniel and Duo. You know how she loves her macabre murder mysteries."
"True. Hey, here comes Wufei." Hannah said as she spied his slicked back hair.
"Look, onna, we're going." Wufei said in an irritated voice.
"What? Why?" Odelle demanded as he grasped her wrist.
"The lady of the hour has finally decided to grace us with her presence." the grimace on Wufei's face said enough.
Odelle tugged on her wrist, delaying him. "Good enough for me. I'll call you tomorrow Hannah. Try to take it easy, all right?"
"I will." she paused, seeing Wufei whisper something in Odelle's ear. "You two take off and find some other form of entertainment."
"We will! Bye!" Odelle called back cheerily as she slid through the crowd, Wufei now holding her hand.
Hannah laughed and shook her head as she started to walk around once more. She felt lonely and out of place without Heero by her side here; these events weren't her thing and always seemed more tolerable when he was with her. She took a gulp of her champagne, trying to wash away the feelings inside. Thinking of him brought back fond memories, but also the sharp, fresh painful ones.
When she heard heated voices being exchanged she pushed her way through the small crowd to find Elizabeth standing between Duo and Nathaniel, her face somewhat flustered. Her champagne glass was till in her hand, barely touched.
"I'm telling you guys, the killer had to have some sort of motive. This wasn't just some random act of violence." Elizabeth said.
"But look at the lack of evidence supporting your claim," Nathaniel said. "All of the evidence points to that girl being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person. What do you think Duo?"
"Me?" Duo looked up suddenly, glancing at Elizabeth before his face went slightly red. "I think that there's a reason for everything. Maybe this guy was simply motivated to kill, but there had to be some reason behind it, even if it was some of their own messed up problems that they took out on someone."
"So nyah!" Elizabeth said, sticking her tongue out at Nathaniel.
Nathaniel laughed. "That would be a factor I suppose and it does work with all the circumstantial evidence that they have collected so far."
"Nice to see she still gets herself into trouble." Hannah said in an amused voice.
"Hannah! Why didn't you say anything sooner? I could have used some help against these dunderheads." she grinned at Nathaniel and Duo.
"I was just talking with Odelle. She took off with Wufei."
"Wufei? Isn't she here with Johnny?" Elizabeth asked.
"Johnny's in Italy. She didn't want to come alone. And when she heard Relena finally showed up, they took off."
"Smart move," Elizabeth snorted as she raised he glass to her lips. "Hey, are you sure you want to stick around if she's here?" the glass fell back down, forgotten.
"I'm sure. Running from her won't do anything. Besides, when you stop and think about it, Heero's really the one to blame for this."
"I suppose there's some truth in that." She looked down at her champagne glass. "Look, I can't drink this stuff. I need some whiskey. Could you go get me some?"
"Of course," Nathaniel said, whisking the glass from her hand. "Be right back."
"Yeah, I think I'll leave too. This party is just boring me to death. You and Duo just chill, all right?"
"Okay." Elizabeth glanced at Duo before she looked back at Hannah. "Make sure you give me a call if…well, you know what happens again in the night. Even if it's at two or three in the morning."
"I will, and thank you. I'll see you guys later!" she called as she made her way down to the coat room.
Her shoe heels clicked against the marble floor, echoing around the empty hallway. She held her arms, trying to not shiver. The sooner she was out of here, the sooner she could go home and curl up in her nice warm bed. She took her coat from the man and shrugged into it quickly, making her way for the door.
"Hannah, wait!"
She paused at the sound of the voice through the rapid steps coming towards her. She bent her head, with her eyes closed. What did Heero want to talk to her about now?
"Hannah, you won't call me and I need to talk to you. About everything. About what happened."
Hannah didn't say anything as she opened the door. "Heero, not now. I can't even look at myself in the mirror much less you.
She walked out of the door, shutting it quietly. She paused for a moment, feeling as if she would break down into tears before she steadied herself and walked down the steps to where the valet was. She sat in her car for a few moments before she started to drive off. Maybe she was the one losing it and not Heero.
I wanted to run but she made me crawl
Oh, oh, oh, the sweetest thing
Eternal fire, she turned me to straw
Oh, oh, oh the sweetest thing
~*~
* 1 week later *
Elizabeth walked into the bridal boutique, rubbing her eyes. It seemed like the past week was nothing more than seeing swirls of colour swatches, colour schemes, and flower arrangements and such. When Nathaniel said he wanted to get married as soon as possible, he really had meant it. The way things were going, the wedding would be in two weeks. She glanced over at Odelle who had a look of disgust on her face when she saw the some of the sickly pastel colours.
"Yeah, I don't blame you. Come on, we're here to find me a dress."
"If you hate it completely, I get rights to burn it." Odelle said as she looked at one frilly creation with horror.
"Deal." Elizabeth said as she walked up to the front counter to get some help.
About half an hour later, Elizabeth found herself standing in front of a three way mirror, inspecting the white dress she had on. It was nice, with the delicate embroidery and slight ruffles. She stood there in the mirror, thinking of e day when she would stand beside Nathaniel and wearing this dress and speak the words in the sight of God. And it bothered her for some reason.
She loved Nathaniel but the more she though about it, she had come to realize that was just it; she loved him, and wasn't in love with him. It sounded weird when she said it to herself, but there was some small part of her that was saying that this was wrong, that she was marrying the wrong man.
She could still remember that year when Nathaniel was leaving for Europe and suggested that they take a break from one another to see other people and decide if they still wanted to be in a relationship. She had put on a brave face but it had hit her pretty hard. So she had simply absorbed herself in work for about a week until Duo came along and snapped her out of it. Of course, she had never put much into what Nathaniel had said in the beginning but as she spent more and more time with Duo it had started to run through her mind more and more.
And then there was that one night when she was with Duo in her dorm room, and everything had been going right. She and Duo were talking until he had become serious and wanted to tell her something. She could still remember how her heart pounded as Duo looked at her, waiting for a moment; and right then, there was a knock on the door. And when Elizabeth opened it, she found Nathaniel standing there, so happy to see her once more. She wasn't even able to get a word in before he enveloped her in a hug. Of course she had hugged him back, and said what he wanted to hear.
And now, whenever she was around Duo, it was something strange, something like 'you can see, but never touch' and she had always pushed it aside, trying to think nothing of it. But at Relena's party, that was the worst it had ever been and she had spent a sleepless night staring at the ceiling trying to be rid of the feeling inside.
"Jesus…" she whispered to herself as she looked at her reflection.
"Pardon?" Odelle looked up from the rack of dresses Elizabeth was considering.
"Nothing." Elizabeth said hastily as she stepped down. "I think I'll try on another dress."
She walked into the change room and sat down on the chair, tears coming to her eyes. That had been her problem; she had been saying what Nathaniel wanted to hear for so long, and not what she had wanted to say, what she should have said that night. And there was no way that she could break things off now; Nathaniel had poured so much energy and time into this, and whenever she looked at him, she saw how happy he was and…she held her face as she sobbed quietly, realizing the mess she was in.
Odelle stood on the other side of the change room door, her hand pressed against it. She could hear Elizabeth sobbing quietly on the other side. She sighed as walked away, unsure of what to do. How could she help her best friend when she was in a similar boat?
"We were the couple to be. Now look at us, always apart and with no fire; nothing at all." She murmured to herself as she took a seat on the platform in front of the three way mirror.
Maybe that's why she ended up in an affair with Wufei. She hadn't meant it to happen, but Wufei…she licked her lips as she remembered those inflamed nights and quiet days spent together. She brushed a loose strand of hair back, mind twisting and turning. She had been with Johnny since high school and thought he was the one for her. Now, when they were together, she felt as if being with him was something of an obligation. With Wufei, it just felt right.
"Heh," she laughed bitterly to herself. "If only it were that easy."
She could remember the countless days she had spent lounging around with Wufei or the nights in bed wrapped in each others' arms after a long and passionate session of lovemaking. He never said it directly, but he suggested that she leave Johnny if she truly didn't feel anything for him. At first it had struck her as odd; saying things in such an indirect manner wasn't his style; but the more she thought about it, she realized that he didn't want to dishonour whatever they had by splitting her and Johnny apart. He had to leave the decision to her.
"Heh," she shook her head. "Some things really aren't cliché."
She'd met Wufei about a year and a half ago, through Trowa and Naomi. And the attraction had been there, undeniably and he was the reason she was now thankful that she had studied Chinese in high school and on the side in university. But there was something else between them, something that she couldn't fully explain.
"It's that je ne sais quoi." Odelle shook her head as she lifted her head.
She looked in the mirror, seeing three versions of her. One was her true self that simply didn't want to be alone for the rest of her life. On the right side was the her that loved Wufei with everything she had; that was the part of her that fell in love with him a year and was still falling in love with him. On the left side, she saw the her that still had some remaining loyalties to Johnny.
She turned her gaze away from the mirror and spied a lavender dress. Walking up to it, she looked over it critically; it didn't' have too many lacy frills. The entire look was simple and clean, the cut flared slightly at the bottom with an empire waistline and thin straps.
She picked it up from the rack and held it up to herself in front of the mirror. Her lips curved with a smile as she was Wufei standing beside her in a black suit. But it disappeared at the thought of Johnny. She frowned as she let the dress drape across her arms; as soon as Johnny came back, she was ending all this nonsense; if she could get a hold of him.
"Elizabeth?" she whispered as she knocked on the change room door. "You almost done in there?"
"Yeah. I want to leave." came Elizabeth's shaky reply.
"Well, maybe you should take a look at this dress before you do."
"Why?" the door creaked open.
"Because I think this might be the bridesmaid dresses." Odelle frowned, seeing a strange flash pass through Elizabeth's eyes. "Are you OK? Did you just want to leave?"
"Those are perfect. And I think I'll take the fifth dress I tried on. The one with the pearls stitched on and the embroidered bust."
"All right." Odelle slipped the dress from the rack. "I'll call the others and arrange for them to come and get fitted."
"No, it's all right, I can do-"
"I'll do it." Odelle said insistently.
Elizabeth paused before she spoke again softly. "You heard me, didn't you?"
"Yes." Odelle didn't say anything for a moment. "We'll get this taken care of and then we'll go have ice cream. And if you want to talk about it, we'll talk about it."
"All right," Elizabeth's shoulders sagged slightly with relief. "Odelle, remember that pact we made at the beginning of high school? To always help the other out when they needed it?"
"Yeah," Odelle looked at her puzzled as she laid the dresses out on the countertop. "Why'd you bring that up again?"
Elizabeth rubbed the bridge of her nose before she gave Odelle a somewhat wane smile. "Thanks."
You know I got black eyes
But they burn so brightly for her
This is a blind kind of love
Oh, oh, oh, the sweetest thing
I'm losing you
Oh, oh, oh, I'm losing you
Ain't love the sweetest thing
~*~
The sound of the channel being changed echoed through the bluish room. Nathaniel looked up from his book at Johnny, who was flicking through the channels with an impatient gleam in his eye.
"Should you be at Odelle's?"
"No. She's busy. Job interview." Johnny said as he finally stopped.
"God damn it, the murder again? You've seen it fifteen times already. Just watch something else for once."
"I was in Italy and didn't hear anything about this. Besides, half the news channels can't seem to agree on what's really happening so I'm just going to watch."
Nathaniel sighed as he looked back down at his book, trying to read and think. The wedding was almost a week away and the plans were being finalized now. He needed her, probably more than she realized. He had felt like king of the world when she had said yes. He loved her so much and would do anything to see Elizabeth happy; anything at all.
Johnny sat staring at the television as Nathaniel flipped through his book. Nathaniel was lucky; he had a woman that loved him. He, on the other hand, had nothing left with Odelle; maybe that was why she had that affair with Wufei. He can't say that he blamed her. He was never there any more and paid little attention to her. But what really burned was that she said she loved him while she had been sleeping with Wufei.
But when he had first found out, he had flown into a jealous rage; he had still considered Odelle his exclusively and had felt hurt and betrayed. So he had gone out for a midnight walk, in an effort to calm himself down. That was when he had seen the girl seated alone on the park bench, sobbing to herself. He had tried to comfort her and they had ended back at his place; his old place where there was nothing left but the large freezer that was still plugged in for some reason.
At first it had seemed like the perfect plan; exact revenge for her betrayal. But Odelle was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he was not about to let her go that easily.
He sighed as he turned off the television. 'I'm going. I need some sleep."
"You're going to show up for the fittings tomorrow, right?" Nathaniel asked, looking up from his book. "It's at the bridal shop."
Johnny winced. "Shit, I have a conference with investors from Britain."
Nathaniel shook his head. "Just make sure you go and get fitted some time before the week is over."
"All right," Johnny grabbed his jacket and walked out, closing the door behind him. "She can never leave me. Never."
Naomi looked at her watch with growing anxiousness. "Trowa, are you done yet?"
"Coming." came his faint reply from the bedroom.
With a sigh, Naomi rested against a small table, trying to take some weight off of her achy feet. She had just gotten off of work and had expected to be on her way to the bridal shop for the fittings. Of course, she had forgotten to factor in Trowa and his late risings. He stayed up all night working on his latest project: some book about the history of the colonies. She smiled slightly; Trowa only seemed to have two vices: his work and his hair. She still found it amazing that he lavished so much care on it.
"But then again…" she murmured softly. "He does keep himself very fit."
Her lips curved into a smile as she remembered seducing him away from his work for the entire night yesterday. Little wonder she was so tired now while he was wide awake. When he came down the stairs and gave her a kiss, she rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Come on, we don't want to be late you know."
"Sorry princess." Trowa said as he put his shoes on. "You interrupted me in the middle of work."
"No excuse," she admonished as they left and walked to the car. "We still have to pick up your tuxedo and then go to the shop. That'll take us at least an extra fifteen minutes."
"We could be at home, working."
"No, we could be at the bridal shop getting this taken care of." Naomi couldn't hide the smile that came to her lips. "You big lovable idiot."
The rest of the drive was filled with silence, but with a comfortable happy silence. They hurried in to pick up his tuxedo, pay off the rest of the balance and then rushed over to the bridal shop. Naomi winced slightly as she noticed every one else's cars parked outside, while Wufei's motorcycle stood out from all the rest. When they walked in a wall of talking greeted them. Odelle and Wufei were already locked in some sort of argument, while Elizabeth and Phoebe were busy helping Odelle out. Hannah was looking over her dress, trying to ignore Heero who was in a corner of the room, standing alone while Nathaniel was discussing something with the manager. Zechs made his way over to Naomi and Trowa.
"You just missed on the argument. Odelle is still trying to get out of wearing a dress."
"And Wufei made some comment." Trowa added as he shook his head.
"Some things don't need any further explanation." Zechs said in a wry voice.
"Hey, there you guys are!" Elizabeth said as she detracted herself from the argument. "We were starting to think you wouldn't show up."
"And miss this?" Naomi smirked. "Well, it was rather tempting. We could have spent the afternoon together."
"Yeah, yeah. Now that you're here we can get this stupid fitting session done and over with. We figured we'd get everyone done in one shot so we don't have to run around all over the place."
"Ah, makes sense." Naomi looked around. "Where's Duo? Shouldn't he be here?"
"Duo had an important meeting today. He wants to expand his scrap yard business and had to meet with investors."
"Oh. Do you know why Johnny isn't here either?"
"Some meeting with British investors. It's kinda weird, before Odelle used to chew him out for it. Now, she just brings Wufei instead."
"Maybe she realized there're some things that just aren't worth screaming over." Naomi said with a shrug.
"Maybe," Elizabeth said with a shrug. "OK everyone listen up!" she yelled to be heard over Wufei and Odelle's bickering. "Time to get dressed and have pins stuck in ya!"
Everyone groaned but shuffled off to the changing rooms. Elizabeth watched the door slamming shut as she smiled faintly to themselves. Already she could hear Odelle grumbling and everyone else in general telling her to shut up. She looked around, feeling as if something was off. Zechs was there, as was Trowa and Wufei and even Heero, though he and Hannah were still not talking.
"Oh Lord…" she murmured to herself as she closed her eyes. "Duo's not here."
She glanced over at the lone suit on the rack before she walked into her private fitting room, slamming the door in anger and sadness.
I'm losing you
Oh oh oh, I'm losing you
Ain't love the sweetest thing
Blue-eyed boy meets a brown-eyed girl
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
You can sew it up but you still see the tear
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
~*~
*Saturday*
"Jeez!" Elizabeth wheezed. "Untie it, it's too freaking tight!"
"Well, maybe if you didn't move too much!" Odelle retorted as she loosened the laces.
Elizabeth glared at Odelle as she took a deep calming breath. In just a few hours, she'd be the proverbial blushing wife. She could have screamed at almost everyone but she found herself holding her tongue. Everything in the week had been a whirlwind; between the florists, meeting at the banquet hall to make sure the meals were correct and various other things she was majorly stressed out. And now preparing to get married in a church; the same church she had come to Dup with for Mass on Sundays. The entire room around her was a flurry of activity as Phoebe, Naomi and Hannah were getting ready. Her eyes flew open as she felt the cords starting to press against her flesh.
"That's good enough Odelle, thanks." Elizabeth managed in a steady voice.
"No problem. Now I can get on my stupid stockings. Has anyone seen them?" Odelle called out as she hurried back to the mirror to do her makeup.
Elizabeth sighed as she seated herself down in front of her vanity mirror, looking at her hair and wondering just what to do with it. A few seconds later, Naomi came up and grabbed a brush from over Elizabeth's shoulder.
"Naomi," Elizabeth started in protest.
"No, no. You sit back. I'll do your hair. This is your big day afterall. Can't have you mucking this up."
"Thanks." she said dryly before she turned head at a knock on the door.
All the noise in the room died out before Odelle spoke.
"Who's there?"
"It's Johnny. I need to talk to you."
"All right," Odelle said as she put on her stockings and then her heels. "Now he wants to talk. He has incredibly poor timing." she muttered to herself as she stalked to the door.
"Just don't take too long." Hannah said as she put in her earrings. "The wedding is going to start in about half an hour and we still need to get some stuff done.
"Yeah yeah." she opened the door and closed it with a small slam.
Elizabeth looked at the door for a moment before she looked at herself in the mirror, feeling a sense of panic and loneliness wash over her. She blinked as she steeled herself again. She would not break down and cry; she was stronger than that. When another knock came on the door, she heard Hannah open it and exclaim in surprise to see her parents there. They had come to wish her well. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath; for some reason all of this now seemed unbearable.
"Johnny, this had better be important. We still have to seat the guests and Elizabeth is far from ready."
"This won't take long at all," he murmured into her ear as he started walknig closer to her. "Just around the corner here."
Odelle rolled her eyes and stepped around the corner. Then suddenly, the world jerked sharply, ending in blackness and softness. She picked herself up, feeling strange cloth beneath her fingers. When she rose, she could see Johnny's eyes, almost burning in the darkness.
"Johnny, this isn't funny." she said as a slight shiver ran down her back. "What the hell do you want?"
"What do I want?" he asked in a soft whisper. "I only want one thing, Odelle."
"That's what you dragged me away to tell me? then what the hell is it?"
"You," Johnny's eyes narrowed. "And I don't want to have to share you with him. You're mine."
Odelle's face twisted into outrage, masking the shock that rushed through her rapidly. "What on Earth are you talking-"
Her words were cut off by Johnny's harsh stinging slap. "Don't lie to me. I know you had an affair with Wufei. For all I know, you're still having one with him right now."
"I'm not." Odelle said in an even voice. "You were never there, I had to turn to someone for company."
"Or an easy fuck. Is that what he was to you? Is that all he is to you?"
"Johnny-" she gasped in surprised as she felt the cold roundness of a gun barrel pressing into her bare back.
"Well? It ate me alive inside, knowing you did that to me." he paused for a moment. "You made me kill her."
"What?" Odelle's entire body went cold.
"I killed that girl. I was going to kill you." his voice was soft, barely more than a murmur. "But I can't; I love you far too much to do that to you. Do you love him? Do you love Wufei?"
Odelle felt her throat dry out rapidly, preventing her from answering. "What does it matter to you? If you have something planned, just get on with it."
Johnny dug the gun into the small of her back. "That's not the answer to my question. Do you love him or not?"
Odelle found a dry whisper coming from her throat. Then a few seconds later, she heard a voice through the thick door. "Wufei..."
Johnny didn't say anything for a moment before he thrust her away from him harshly. "Don't make me do anything else I'll regret."
"Johnny," Odelle paused, her hand on the door handle.
"Just go." he growled. "Just...go...go to him. I hope you're happy."
Odelle didn't say anything more as she opened the door and slipped into the hallway, slamming the door. When she looked up, Wufei was giving her a strange look.
"What's wrong with you onna? Hiding in a closet when there's other things to be-"
Odelle grasped him by the lapels of his suit and pulled him in for a kiss, her hands moving from the lapels to his head to deepen it. Wufei's arms slid around her as he kissed her back, his tongue delving into her mouth and clashing with her own tongue. After a few moments she broke off, panting heavily. Wufei looked slightly confused, his hair messed up from its usual sleekness. He coughed politely as he blinked, trying to clear the aroused glaze from his eyes. He fixed his hair back quickly.
"Come on, they're all looking for you." he said gruffly, offering his arm.
Odelle took it, feeling sadness and joy well up from inside her. She glanced back at the closet door as they rounded the corner. She could hear the door creaking open slowly. She closed her eyes. 'Thank you Johnny. I'm so sorry it had to be this way.'
"Oh, there you are Odelle!" Hannah snapped in an exasperated voice. "The brush got tangled in Elizabeth's freaking hair and none of us can get it out."
"Don't worry, there's stil time." she said drawing away from Wufei. "How bad is it?"
"We can't even see the brush itself, just a bit of the handle!" Hannah said as she stormed into the room.
Odelle paused at the door, looking back at Wufei. She gave him a small smile before she walked into the room, seeing Elizabeth fuming. It was much nicer to have one mirror instead of three.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union between this man and woman."
Elizabeth stood in front of the priest, tears streaming from her eyes. She had been crying ever since she stepped up on the altar. And everyone in the pews looked estatic, as if they were expecting her to be crying. If only they knew what she was truly weeping over.
The only ones with worried looks on their faces were Hannah, Naomi, Phoebe and Odelle. They were exchanging looks from one another, their brows steadily increasing as the priest droned on and on about the sanctity of marriage.
She didn't know why she wasn't saying something, why she didn't call this whole thing off in the first place. But there was no way to stop the priest now without completely embarassing herself or Nathaniel. She could hear a few people crying in the pews as well. She closed her eyes, steeling herself for the next words out of the priest's mouth.
"If anyone has a reason why these two should not be wed in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace."
Nothing sounded in the church save for some sounds of crying. Elizabeth took a deep breath, knowing that her chance was slipping away. She had to take it now, she had to or lose him forever. But her throat froze, her lips remaining stationary.
"I have a reason."
She opened her eyes in shock, surprised to hear Nathaniel's voice. But when she looked into his blue eyes, she knew what he was going to say.
"Elizabeth, why did you agree to marry me when you loved someone else?" Nathaniel asked in a quiet voice.
"I..." Elizabeth lowered her eyes. "I thought that what you wanted."
"I just want you to be happy. But I'm not what makes you happy."
"You do," Elizabeth said quickly. "It's just that not that kind of happy. Not the "I-want-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-with-you" happy. But you'll always be important to me, we'll always be close."
Nathaniel nodded as he turned around and looked at the back of the room. "Oi, Maxwell, get up here!"
People started to look up as Duo slid out from a pew, an uncertain and hesitant expression on his face. Elizabeth smiled when she saw him before she ran down from the aisle towards him, with tears running down her face more freely. Duo finally understood and ran towards her too, sweeping her up in a hug before he set her back down on the ground and kissed her soundly. When the priest cleared his voice loudly, they broke off, flustered and with slightly sheepish expressions.
"Well, I must say I wasn't expecting this." the priest said before he cleared his throat once more. "Shall we reschedule this wedding?"
"No need to Father," Duo said with a grin as he looked at her. "Elizabeth?"
"I'd be crazy to say no." she said as she started towards the altar.
The priest looked at bothof them. "Are you two sure of this? Marriage is nothing to be taken lightly."
"We're sure Father." Elizabeth said.
"Very well then. Do you Duo Maxwell, take-"
"Wait!!"
Everyone looked at the door to find Johnny running in breathlessly. The priest muttered something to himself as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"What is it now? Do you have a reason why these two should not be wed?"
"No Father. I just didn't want to miss it." Johnny said sheepishly as he leaned slightly against a pew; all the seats were taken.
The priest rolled his eyes. "Before the aliens attack this country..." he snorted. "Do you take her to be your wife?"
"Yes, I do." Duo said.
"You take him to be your husband?"
"Yes, I do."
"Then you two are married. Now kiss before something tries to interrupt again."
Elizabeth looked at Duo with a grin before they kissed and the church erupted into cheers. The flower girls started to throw rice as Hannah, Naomi and Phoebe were grinning at her while Odelle dabbed at something in her eye. Nathaniel walked up to Duo, a slightly pained smile on his face.
"You take good care of her, all right? If you don't, I'll make sure you live to regret it."
Duo nodded as he looked at Elizabeth. "I'll make sure I don't regret anything."
Baby's got blue skies up ahead
But in this I'm a rain cloud
Ours is a stormy kind of love
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
~*~
"Oh, come on Odelle. You have to dance!"
Odelle looked up at the exuberant Elizabeth and tried to manage a scowl. "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't dance. Jeez, onna."
Elizabeth gave her a mock frown. "Tsk, tsk, I knew he was a bad influence on you. All right then."
Odelle watched as Elizabeth vanished back out onto the dance floor. Taking her champagne glass, she sipped delicately, watching everyone having a good time on the dance floor. When an arm snaked around her waist, she leaned back against it slightly. She always knew Wufei's touch.
"Don't want to dance?" he asked in a quiet voice.
"No, not really." she paused for a moment swirling the contents of her glass. "Johnny knew about us."
"He did?" Wufei snorted. "What did he do?"
Odelle paused; telling Wufei about the gun in her back would only send him after Johnny, and she had hurt him enough as it was. "He let me go to you."
"He didn't hurt you did he?" Wufei's hand moved to the small of her back, rubbing it in small circles.
"No more than I did him." Odelle murmured, resisting the urge to purr a bit. "He left right after the ceremony."
"Hm." Wufei continued to rub the small of her back. "So, you-"
"Yes." she said, pulling his hand out from behind her back and linking their fingers. "And I can be with you."
Wufei smiled faintly for a moment before he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. "Here comes both Maxwells."
Odelle looked up, seeing Elizabeth and Duo making their way over to them. "We aren't dancing. Go and interfere with Hannah and Heero! Or maybe Zechs and Phoebe!"
"Those guys already got that taken care of." Elizabeth said as she grasped Odelle's arm. "We're gonna make you two dance! And it's a slow song, how bad can that be?"
"Maxwell," Wufei growled. "You must want to lose that braid of yours."
Duo just grinned. "And let you miss out on the festivities? Ha, we'll drag you down with us Wu-man!"
Odelle smiled as she was dragged onto the dancefloor. Even from here shecould see Zechs dancing with Hannah and Heero dancing with Phoebe. She chuckled to herself; so that was their plan.
Hannah looked up as she saw Elizabeth dragging Odelle out onto the dance floor, Wufei being dragged by Duo. She shook her hith a chuckle. "Those two can be quite amusing. As amusing as Duo and Elizabeth."
"Just don't say that to Wufei." Zechs said dryly.
Hannah laughed. "I know; he liable to start ranting about something."
Zechs didn't say anything, his expression thoughtful. "Have you talked to Heero yet?"
"No." Hannah said after a few moments. "It really hurt what he did. I still love him, but it's still fresh in my mind."
"Have you seen him recently?"
"He looks fine to me." Hannah said, trying to not sound concerned.
"Aside from today. He's been a mess; literally." Zechs snorted. "He actually deigned to talk to me alone, in private."
Hannah's eyes widened. "He did?"
"Yes," Zechs said with a nod. "All he asked me was if there was any chance that you would forgive him."
"I see. And what did you say?" Hannah asked.
"I told him to ask you himself." Zechs stopped before he turned to the couple beside them. "Do you mind if I steal your enchanting dance partner, Heero?"
Hannah gave a small squeak of surprise as she saw Phoebe and Zechs glide off away from them, dancing to the music. She looked at Heero before she stepped forward and took his hand. A few moments later they were moving around the dance floor.
"Will you listen to me now?" Heero asked in a soft voice.
Hannah nodded. "I'll listen. But you should know Heero, that really hurt, catching you fooling around wirh Relena."
"Hannah, you know I love you," Heero said. "And I certainly don't want to lose you. Relena caught me at a bad moment and...fooling around with her was just stupid, and nothing I can say will make it disappear. I just want to be with you, and you alone."
Hannah didn't say anything for a moment. "I think that's the most you've ever said."
Heero gave a slight smile. "It is."
"You always were talkative around me."
Heero allowed a small smile to break through as he led Hannah off the dance floor. "I've been deprived."
Hannah smiled as he bent down to kiss her, glad to feel Heero holding her again. After a few minutes, they broke off and sat down in a corner, Heero holding Hannah in his arms.
"Heero, have you seen Trowa or Naomi? They seemed to have just vanished."
"Hn." Heero gave a shrug. "They're somewhere."
Hannah moved in a bit closer, seeing Zechs and Phoebe slipping out the patio doors. Sometimes, she was glad that Zechs was still her friend. "So," she looked back at Heero. "You actually talked to Zechs, huh?" she said in an amused voice.
Phoebe took a deep breath as she stepped out into the cool night air. The stars were particularly bright and studded the sky thickly. The patio door behind her closed with a gentle creak and Zechs came and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her.
"You feel a bit chilly." Zechs murmured as he started to draw way to take off his jacket.
"No," Phoebe said, holding his arms. "Just hold me."
Zechs didn't say anything as he held her closer, resting his head on top of hers gently. Phoebe didn't do anything for a moment before she started to speak quietly.
"Do you want to know why?"
Zechs chuckled slightly. "That would be nice."
Phoebe couldn't help but laugh at that. "It's because I was scared. Scared of losing the one thing that I cherished the most. Virtually everything and and everyone that I cared about has just left or abandoned me. It would be hard if I lost my friends. But if I lost you Zechs..." Phoebe let her words trail off.
"Phoebe, how long have we known one another?"
"Five years." she said simply.
"And have I gone anywhere in those five years?" he asked in a soft voice.
"No. I guess the thought of losing you just terrifies me."
"Phoebe, you're not going to lose me." Zechs said as he turned her around. "I'll always be here."
"Do you have any idea how much I love you?" Phoebe asked in a whisper.
"I have a pretty good idea." Zechs said as he reached into his jacket pocket. "Phoebe?"
"Yes, Zechs?" she asked, her heart in her throat as she noticed the small velvet box in his hand.
"Do you still want to marry me?"
"You bet."
Zechs smiled as he took the ring out and placed it on her finger. "I knew you'd cave sometime."
"Cave? Let me tell you something; I'm not cavin-"
"Phoebe?" Zechs murmured as he leaned in.
"Yes?"
"Just say yes."
"Hm," she smiled as she pulled Zechs in closer. "Yes."
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
~*~