Title: What's Really In The Dark of Night (or Dark of Night for short)
Author(s): Dark Nuriko and Jess Eklom
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Humor/Romance/Supernatural
Pairings: 1x2
Warnings: Gender Change, POV, language, lunacy.
Rating: PG - PG-13
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Hajime. . .oh, you know. We don't own the G-boys, much to our dismay. We write solely for fun, so please don't sue. We only have about a dollar to our name, so you wouldn't get much anyway.
Author's Note: This story was written a long time ago, before I had my computer. So my chapter's were all handwritten while Jess' were typed. Well, I just found them and I figured it would be nice to finally type them so the story could be read. So… enjoy the trip into the supernatural; Gundam Style. Told in switching POV's. I'll do Duo's while Jess does Heero's. Which is pretty much what we always do.
"italics" means something a spirit is saying.
What's Really In The Dark Of Night
Chapter One; Duo POV:
My name is Duo Maxwell. I'm a seventeen year old senior at Highland Academy for Gifted Youngsters. I have long chestnut brown hair that I constantly wear in a braid and violet eyes that sometimes become blue-violet when I'm upset. I wear glassed, when I'm alone, which is often. I also hate getting too close to anyone, seeing as I never manage to keep friends for very long.
At school people avoid me, which is just fine by me. I think they believe I'm contagious. Just to ease your minds, you can't catch what I have. At least, I don't believe you can. You see, I hear ghosts, or as they like to be called, spirits. So this isn't like a cold or the flu, so I can't just give it away. Although there are sometimes I wish I could. A person could go nuts listening to so many voices and no, they aren't the voices in my head. It's a good thing I'm already insane, otherwise I'd just be an average lunatic off the street.
I first realized I could hear them when I was nine. I had been talking with them since I could talk, though. I was a very happy child. My parents thought I was a very normal child who enjoyed having an invisible friend or two. Then they died and surprise of all surprises, I could still hear my mother. My aunt and uncle thought I was trying to save myself from the grief and shock of their loss. Then Aunt Helen died. My Uncle Damien ended up losing himself in his work and Aunt Helen spent every Friday morning with me talking about him.
Now I just keep to myself and enjoy listening to the whispers that the other students and some of the teachers say about me. I also like adding fuel to their fire and making them believe I'm insane. It's lots of fun, really. I still talk to Aunt Helen too. I've even got a few more 'invisible' friends up at the school. They make the academy more bearable. After all, a school for gifted children was sometimes unbearable.
Knowing my background you should be able to better understand me. This morning, as always, I dress quickly, comb and braid my long hair, grab up my book bag, and head off to school. Breakfast is an over rated meal time and I rarely bother with it, much to my Aunt Helen's disapproval. My uncle was already at work, so he wouldn't even know. I rarely saw him anyway. He left with the rising of the sun and never returned until I was usually sound sleep in my bed. Only the coffee cup in the sink each morning alerted me that he had even bothered to come home.
Arriving at school, I watched as many of the students whispered about my all black wardrobe. They would step out of my way as I walked past. It was really a lot of fun being the odd ball in school. There were so many privileges with the title. I never waited in lines or had to worry about crowds slowing me down. It was really very pleasurable. I would just smirk and continue on my way, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. I slipped through the halls silently, making my way to the weight room. With a brief stop at the locker room, to change into my gym clothes and lock up my bag, I then turned to return to the actual weight room itself.
My first class of the morning was Weight Training. Because of this, I always came a half hour early so that I could enjoy myself. I then followed up gym with History, English, Chemistry, and Study Hall. After that was lunch, which my two electives would the follow afterward. For my own enjoyment I had chosen Art III and Library Science. Both electives gave me lots of time to myself which I loved dearly. Being alone at this school was more a blessing than a curse.
"Duo, you're earlier than usual," a calm male voice said lightly.
I smiled and moved over to a weight bench. No one was physically here but that didn't bother me. I already knew who it was. This young man had died in this very room back when it was still part of the actual gym. A faulty job on an overhanging light had ended his life early on. Now, he was stuck in the weight room.
"Hey Solo. I simply thought I'd enjoy myself before the usual sane crowd arrived," I replied. I picked up two ten pound weights a sat down on the bench. I then began to move my arms in opposite directions. While my right arm was up, my left one was down and vise versa. My muscles bunched as I lifted each weight. My eye focus was on my reflection in the mirror before me but my mental focus was entirely more on Solo.
"You shouldn't be so hard on them, Duo. You aren't insane and you know it."
I laughed, almost ready to fall over. "Tell that to the rest of the school."
Solo snorted at that. I could almost picture him rolling his eyes. Too bad I couldn't actually see him. "You shouldn't be so hard on the school crowd since none of them know the truth," Solo finally said, causing me to roll my eyes. If anyone here knew the truth, I'd be locked up in the loony bin for the rest of my life.
"Oh, so in other words, you want to be all alone again when they haul me off to the funny farm in a straight jacket," I told the spirit. He laughed at me in reply.
"Naw. Even the funny farm wouldn't want you, Duo. You are too insane for even them."
I snickered and listened as he related tales about some of the men on our track team. Soon I was on my way over to the treadmill. I punched in a good fifteen minute job and started in on it. This way, I'd almost be done with my exercise by the time class started. This also insured I spent less time with those I had dubbed the 'sane crowd'.
"And this is the weight room," a gentle voice said as a blond haired young man walked in with only THE most popular boys in school behind him and someone else I'd never seen before. Heero Yuy, Quatre R. Winner, and Wufei Chang were our big in crowd. They were good looking and intelligent. They were also the worst ones for me to be around, seeing as the popular crowd just would clash with the social outcast. Heero was the quiet one, Quatre was the sweet one, and Wufei was the scholar. Quatre's soft blond hair and aquamarine eyes were major lady killers. Every woman was in love with his angelic features and his innocent outlook.
Wufei had shoulder length raven black hair and ebony eyes. His hair was always perfectly slicked back in a ponytail. He had small wire-rimmed glassed tat were almost constantly perched on his nose.
Finally, there was Heero Yuy, the most sought after man in all the school. His chocolate brown hair and deep Prussian blue eyes were always the first things to draw people in. His hair was constantly unrulely and make him irresistible. Usually very quiet, he was certainly the school's most wanted bachelor.
Where Heero Yuy was, you could usually find Relena Peacecraft, head cheerleader and number one fan of the 'I Love Heero Yuy' fan club. Yeah, there was actually a fan club for him… for all of the popular trio, actually. Luckily, Relena was no where to be found at the moment. At least that was a positive. The unknown guy had brown hair that fell oddly into his right eye, leaving only his left emerald green orb visible. He's make a perfect new addition to the popular crowd.
"This is the better choice for physical education," Wufei remarked, pushing his glasses up.
"Ya know, someone should frame that group so the rest of us can return to the real world," Solo remarked. I knew this would make me look crazy but I couldn't help but snicker at his comment. Quatre blinked those eyes up at me before smiling softly. He was one of the few people who talked to me. He didn't even think I was crazy. Eccentric perhaps, but not crazy.
"Hello Duo, how are you this morning?" Quatre asked. I smiled back at him.
"I'm pretty good right now, Q. Thanks for askin'. How 'bout you?" I asked in return. He smiled warmly at that. He loved my way of treating him like everyone else instead of the sole heir of Winner Industries. To me… that's what he was.
"I'm well," he answered. He then motioned his hand to the new guy. "This is Trowa Barton. He's new here."
"Duh! I soooo couldn't tell," Solo answered sarcastically. I grinned, holding in my laughter. I would love to see what he was doing while saying stuff like that. At the current moment, though, I glanced toward Heero, only to see that he was holding back laughter himself. I could feel my eyebrows rise at that. What was so amusing to HIM?
"Welcome to the academy, Trowa. Stick with these three and you'll be certain to make lots of friends." Trowa smiled in return and to my total shock walked over to me with his hand out. I wiped my sweaty palms on my towel before meeting his extended hand with my own.
"I hope you'll be one of my first new friends," Trowa said, shaking my hand firmly.
"Um, I'm cool with it but you might find better friends later on. I'm a little eccentric at best. Downright insane at worst."
Trowa smiled at that. "Then we'll certainly get along. Normal is over-rated."
At that I laughed.
"I like him Duo. I say we keep him," Solo commented. I grinned and nodded in agreement, both to Trowa and Solo.
"I find I have to agree with you," I found myself answering.
"Trowa, there's more for you to see before class starts," Wufei suddenly remarked.
"Of course. Hope to see you around, Duo," Trowa told me.
"I'm always around. See ya." He nodded and, together with the others, left. I watched Heero for a moment. He really was handsome. Luckily I'd get to see him in my art class later. So far, there were only four students in the Art III class. Heero, Wufei, Quatre, and myself were the only ones at this school even remotely skilled enough to be in it. It was also the only class I could stare at him without being noticed in as well. You see, I had a crush on Mr. Popular, but I knew nothing would come of it. After all, he rarely even looked at me.
"Maybe us living impaired aren't the only ones who like oddballs like you."
I laughed at that. "Perhaps. Class is starting soon, Solo. I'll talk with ya at lunch, k?"
Solo laughed this time. "Sure. Yet don't think I'm gonna just shut up. If I did you'd never survive gym." I almost fell on the floor. His humor was my saving grace. After all, most people, including the teacher's, didn't like me. So without Solo's sarcastic attitude toward my class mates, I'd never make it through the day. Grinning, I went to my next exercise mark, the rest of my class coming in. Perhaps I could find out what Heero Yuy had found so funny earlier while in Art class. It wasn't a sure thing, mind you, but at least I could ask.