--

Trowa walked up to his locker, first slamming his head against it. Today had sucked, really, really bad. Nothing was going right, and of course, Quatre had decided to skip school today. There goes all my support, he thought.

He quickly opened his locker, deciding he'd ditch all his things in there and then go home. Fuck the rest of this day, and fuck his homework. Something strange caught his eye as he opened the door. A note, hanging from the center of his locker. "Those assholes are fucking with me again," he muttered.

Waiting for the bell to ring, Trowa stood there and stared at the paper. After he made sure the hallway was completely empty, he pulled the paper from his locker, holding it in his hand. He was sure this was one of their cruel jokes, so he had waited for the coast to clear. He examined the paper. On the outside, it said simply "Trowa". He dreaded opening it.

He unfolded the note and started reading:

I'm falling deep

I can't get out

I've never acted this way before

~

I spend days and nights

In my bedroom

Trying to write the perfect song to sing to you

Back to the drawing board

With the words you've heard a million times before

In your head,

So love me.

So I can be myself again

Now hate me

So things seem normal in my head

I'm trying

To break away this ball and chain

So hate me

So things seem normal in my head

I spend days and nights

In my bedroom

Trying to write the perfect song to sing to you

Back to the drawing board

With the words you've heard a million times before

In your head,

I am dead.*

"What the fuck?" Trowa asked aloud, not expecting anyone to answer. "Who sent me this?" Trowa started to wander the hallways, looking in Wu Fei's usual hiding spots. He finally found him, sitting in the library, surfing the internet while he was supposed to be in class. "Wu, I need some help."

"What's up, Barton?"

"Do you know anyone else with my locker combination? And do you know this handwriting?" He handed him the piece of paper.

Wu Fei smirked. "I know it... and just one other person. And, Trowa, I'm not at liberty to say."

"What are you pulling?" Trowa glared at him.

"Calm down, Barton." Wu Fei grinned. "Read the letter again, and maybe you'll realize."

"Fuck." Trowa stared at him for a few more minutes and then huffed out of the library, making his way out the back doors.

"Trowa!"

Trowa turned around and stared angrily at the person. "What is it?" It was that braided boy that was looking at him in the lunch room.

"You seen Quatre around?"

"He skipped." Trowa muttered.

"Crap. Okay, whatever."

"Wait."

"What is it?"

Trowa decided he might not know anything, but why not ask? He showed him the letter and asked, "You know who's handwriting this is?"

"Yeah, it looks like..." Duo was cut off by Heero, who quickly snuck up behind him.

"Maxwell, what the fuck are you doing?"

"I was trying to tell Trowa something, idiot, you mind?"

"Yeah, I do. Let me see." Heero grabbed the paper and looked at it. "It's Mest*."

"Who the hell is that?"

"Oh, it's the band that wrote the song." He handed the paper back to Trowa. "Though, I guess you wouldn't know, since all you listen to is AFI."

Trowa glared. "Something wrong with that?"

"No." Heero tilted his head. "You at least have good taste."

"Jesus!" Duo waved his hand in front of Heero's face. "Are you fucking okay? You just gave this guy a compliment! That's it! Hell has frozen over, pigs are fucking flying. Heero Yuy has given some one a compliment."

"Shut the hell up, Duo."

Trowa started laughing. "Not much of a compliment anyway." Trowa looked over at Duo inquisitively. "Hey, you want to come by the house? Quatre's probably hanging out over my house right now anyway. He can't ditch and stay home, so he stays at mine."

"You serious?"

"Yeah, why the hell not? I'm going now, anyway. You going to skip?"

"Sure." Duo glanced over at Heero and then back at Trowa. "Can he come too? I hate making Heero anymore anti-social than he is, plus I promised his mommy I'd take care of him," Duo smirked.

Trowa looked blankly for a moment. "Yeah, sure." He didn't say it very sure of himself. Why the hell not? He didn't know, didn't care. He turned and started walking out the door, finding the two of them following him through, walking along side of him once they had reached outside the door. "My car's over here," Trowa pointed up to a nice sleek blank car. It was a little on the old side, but still looking as if it were in good shape.

"You drive?" Duo looked a little uncomfortable.

"Trust me." Trowa said and opened the driver's seat door, slipping in. Heero took shotgun, and Duo baled into the back.

"Fine, but my life's in your hands!"

Trowa laughed. "I'll take good care of it, don't worry."

Heero just sat and stared out the window over the dashboard. Trowa turned the key in the ignition and the music came on blasting as he quickly pulled out of the parking lot. Heero burst out of his dream world. "You listen to the Misfits*?" he questioned, recognizing the song that was playing on the stereo.

Trowa glanced with a grin at him for a moment. "Yeah, everyone who is really into AFI usually listens to the Misfits too. Either that, or I'm just weird."

"It's a good weird."

Trowa just smiled and stayed quiet.

"What's this?" Heero asked, listening intently to the next song. Trowa could see his one hand moving, maybe trying to figure the cords?

"It's AFI. Ever and a day*."

Heero kept quiet, still playing with his hands. "You like this one?"

"It's my favorite, I guess."

"Are we there yet?" Duo piped in, getting restless in the back seat.

"Duo, it's only been five minutes, can't you stay still?" Heero shot a glare at him.

"I'm ADD." Duo grinned.

"Right." Heero replied sarcastically.

"We're here." Trowa pulled into the driveway of a nice looking house, old and Victorian. He got out of the car and walked to the back door, walking through. Duo and Heero hurried after, walking into a nicely kept kitchen. "Hey, you here?" Trowa called up the stairs in the kitchen.

"Yeah! Was waiting for you to get your ass here." Quatre jogged down the stairs, stopping in his tracks as he saw Duo and Heero. "What are these guys doing here?"

Trowa shrugged. "Duo needed to see you or something, and Heero just came along for the hell of it, I guess. Why, Quatre? You got a girl upstairs or something?" Trowa smirked.

"Shut the hell up," Quatre grinned, giving him a punch on the shoulder.

"Anyway," Trowa cleared his throat, "Heero, I've got some CDs that you can borrow, if you want, of some of that music. They're upstairs." Trowa was really just trying to get Quatre and Duo alone. He needed to talk to him, so he would let him.

Heero stared at him for a moment. "Sure..." He followed Trowa upstairs and into a room right at the top of the stairs. It had AFI posters plastered everywhere on the walls, and a few odd and ends bands stuck in between them. "Nice room."

"Thanks." Trowa smiled and ducked under his bed, pulling out about three shoeboxes. "Here." He pulled out a stack of AFI CDs and handed them to Heero. "That's all of them. And I don't mind if you borrow those. I have a whole other set," Trowa grinned.

"...Thank you..." Heero said quietly, looking through the CDs. "Hey, Trowa..."

"Yeah?"

"Would you want to come see my band play?"

Trowa blinked and stared at him for a little. "Sure, why not?"

"We're playing at Mobile's* this weekend." Heero reached into his pocket, pulling out a two tickets. "Here, one for you, one for Quatre."

"How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing, it's taken care of." Heero nodded and started walking out of the room. "Think of it as pay back for letting me borrow the CDs."

Trowa was about to reply, but he was out of the room. He pocketed the tickets and followed Heero out, seeing him stopped at the end of the stairway. Trowa tilted his head as he saw this odd smirk come across Heero's face, as if he was trying to hold in a great big laugh.

"Jesus, Heero!" Duo practically shouted it, making Trowa make a rushed walk down the stairs. He stopped right behind Heero, seeing... Duo and Quatre standing at practically opposite ends of the room?

"What's going on?" Trowa looked at Quatre, who was, to say the least, blushing.

"Nothing. Heero, let's go." Duo was almost already out the door.

With the smirk remaining, Heero walked out the door, giving one last glance at Trowa before he left. He heard him say something, but Trowa couldn't make it out. He turned to Quatre and stared again. "You going to tell me what's going on?"

"Nope. Not a chance." Quatre grinned and sat himself up on the counter. "So, you getting buddy-buddy with Yuy?"

"What do you mean?"

" 'Oh, Heero, lets go up to my room, alone...' " Quatre smirked.

"What are you implying?" Trowa grimaced.

"Nothing. Just doesn't seem like you two are only friends."

"Are you saying I'm gay?"

"Trowa, you're strange in every way. This would just be the cherry on the sundae."

Trowa stared at him for a while. "You are so fucking ridiculous."

Quatre laughed. "I'm sorry, buddy, didn't mean it."

"Right." Trowa answered bitterly. He shoved his hands into his pocket, feeling the note right next to the tickets. He took the note out and handed it to Quatre. "Read this."

Quatre scanned it. "What is it?"

"You know the handwriting?"

"Nope."

"Fuck." Trowa grabbed it and shoved it back into his pocket. "Some one taped the damn thing inside my locker. I don't know what it means."

"Dumb ass," Quatre hit his shoulder. "You have a secret admirer."

---------------------------------

Notes (*):

*Italicized Text: Song; "Drawing Board" by Mest.

*Mest: Semi-Punk band.

*The Misfits: Punk band, before AFI was around.

*Ever and a Day: AFI song off of their "The Art Of Drowning" cd.

*Mobile's: Another made up name ^^*