Hey! Chapter seven's up! Oh when i first wrote this chapter with only one thing in mind but then it snowballed and became this angst-ridden chapter. I swear it wrote it itself i'm just the instrument:) Plz really be nice about this chapter...Oh i got 2 fantastic ideas for YxS fics!! and one storyline for Avatar so watch out lo!
Thanks once again to all my wonderful reviewers! Here's a giant hongbao for each of you! Plz keep reviewing becoz i really love them:)
Gundam SEED franchise does not belong to me...
Inspired(not so much) by the Shakespearen play - Twelfth Night or (more) Hana Kimi or (a lot more but now lesser)She's the man and New moon all jumble together:)
ENJOY!!!:))
Shit…
Cagalli Yula Athha woke up with a start. She knew it. Glancing quickly to the clock and to Athrun's sleeping form, she did a quick check. "Shit," she cursed again as she tiptoed to get her stuff and rushed to the toilet, cursing all the way.
Yes, it's Day One of the dreaded time of the month, at least for us girls.
"Caleb, are you ok?" Kira asked at lunch. Cagalli nodded as she smiled weakly. She hated getting her periods, not only does she have to make frequent trips to the toilet to check for leakage, she had to deal with the horrible cramps. To make matter worse, she forgotten to pack her menstrual painkillers, so now she was breaking out in slight cold sweat and enduring the abdominal pain. Oh yes, let's not forget the all-important PMS. Yeap, it's going to be fun-filled days ahead.
"Yeah, you don't look so good," Yzak said as he looked at Cagalli.
"I'm fine, just stomachache that's all, no biggie," She said, waving away their concern.
The boys nodded as she stared at her food, Are all canteen food this…this unique? She stared at the brown goo on her plate. She didn't even want to think what it looked like. It was bad enough to taste it once, she wouldn't want to taste it the second time coming up her esophagus in the toilet.
'Caleb, we got to go, you ok on your own?" Kira asked since the boys had a physics test and the teacher wanted them ten minutes earlier.
"Yeah, go on," Cagalli said as the three of them left. Athrun wasn't with them; he was with Lacus or somewhere close to her. She wished she hadn't spurred him on, but she wasn't regretting. Regret and wishing are two completely unrelated words. Or at least that was what she was telling herself. She stabbed at her brown goo, before deciding that she had enough of staring at it.
She stood up and walked over to dump her lunch in the bin.
She was about halfway across when she fell-no tripped over something. She gasped in horror as her lunch tray flew out of her hands as she fell. She managed to break her fall by landing on all fours, she was about to breathe a sigh of relief when she felt something wet and slimy hit her back or rather her hair and the back of her neck. She grimaced as she felt the goo trickling down her neck.
Ew…this can't be happening.
She quickly stood up as she heard a laugh, whirling around her eyes widened in shock – it was the vampire.
I should have known it was him.
"Caleb Klutz Yula strikes. Better stay clear of him," Shinn sneered as his table roared with laughter. Cagalli felt her face growing warm as she heard snickers coming from other tables. She was about to retaliate when the bell rang.
Lucky break jerkestein she thought bitterly as she stalked out of the cafeteria. She was going to be late for history as she cleaned herself. She looked presentable as she checked herself in the mirror. Other than the fact that her hair was dripping wet, her jacket was damp and the front of her shirt had water stains, she look good enough to stand in front of the her school and give a presentation on "How to avoid looking like you just got slimed by today's mystery meat." She sighed, who was she kidding?
"You're late Mr Yula," Ms Murrue said crossly as Cagalli entered the classroom.
"I'm sorry Ms Murrue, I had a little accident during break," Cagalli said meekly.
Ms Murrue eyed her attire as she shook her head. "Forget it, just take your seat and take out your lecture pad."
Cagalli nodded glad to be off the hook.
She made her way to her table as she sat down she felt her chair wobbling slightly. Before she could even get up, the chair collapsed under her and she landed painfully on her butt. "What the hell?" she muttered darkly.
The noise startled the whole class as they turned to look at her. There was a short silence before someone yelled out, "Hahaha! Caleb Klutz strikes again! Time to hit the gym ne?" The whole class burst out in hysterics. In the midst of all the laughter, she caught a pair of triumphant red eyes. Him…
Cagalli felt anger coursing through her, Asshole, Jerkestein, Bastard… she thought furiously. She felt a pair of hands helping her up.
"You ok?" Athrun asked.
"I'm fine," she muttered as she shook off his hands to his surprise.
"Settle down class, settle down," Ms Murrue said with a hint of amusement in her voice as the class quiet down. "Caleb, there's a spare chair at the back of the class." Cagalli nodded tightly as she took the spare chair and sat down.
"Is everything ok?" Athrun asked, eyeing Cagalli.
"Everything is just peachy," Cagalli said trying hard to keep out the sarcasm in her voice but doing a rather bad job since Athrun raised his eyebrows. She felt her stomach clenched as she looked ahead refusing to meet his eyes. Athrun looked back after a while.
She should have known that Shinn was not going let it down after the Café incident. So it was now Shinn – 2 and her – nil, zero, zlinch, nada. She clenched her fist as she swore her revenge.
Sadly, revenge wasn't to come until a few days later. Shinn in the meantime was hell-bent on making her life a living nightmare. It was as if he was making up for the lost two months where he had not unleashed his full prowess, a sleeping volcano that had finally awakened.
Shinn was smarter and more cunning then she give credit for, striking when she's alone or in a company of one or two. He knew better than to incur the wrath of her friends and Cagalli had too much pride to admit she was being bullied and her PMS wasn't helping either. So she endured and waited for the right time for payback. The final straw came when after school she found her locker glued shut. She snapped.
Her mind blinded with white-hot fury as she marched to the Vampire's lair aka his locker. She didn't stop to think of the consequences, the only mantra was she chanting was He's going to pay…he's going pay…he's going to pay…he's going to freaking pay.
"Hey Shinn!" she called out when she was a few feet away from Shinn who was laughing with his friends. Shinn turned around and was greeted by Cagalli's fist.
She punched him squarely in the jaw. It was one hell of a punch because it was fuelled by anger and days of enduring the torture. It was also aided by PMS and a women's fury and everyone knows that 'Hell had no fury like a woman scorned'. So yes, the punch sent Shinn into his friends as a nice bruise began to form on his face. Cagalli felt a sense of thrill and satisfaction at it.
Shinn quickly regained his composure as he gave Cagalli's his famous death glare. It did not send a shiver down her spine like the other times but rather irritated her.
"Cut that stupid look Shinn, had enough? There's more where that came from," she said in a deathly voice.
Shinn snorted as he gingerly touched his bruise. He looked away for a second before sending a punch her way. She stumbled backwards as she felt a sharp pain in her jaw, her eyes watering slightly. She smirked, she didn't know what it was. Was it from days of torment? Or was it from PMS? Or was is from her unrequited feelings for Athrun. All she knew was that she needed it, some distractions. Whatever it was, it was messing with her head, making her reckless. And a reckless girl having her period is a lethal combo. She growled as she launched herself at him. A punch and a kick that had him doubled over. Before she could deal another blow, she slammed into the lockers; apparently one of Shinn's friends had decided to intervene. She felt the throbbing pain in her side but strangely it did not hinder her from retaliating and punching the friend. Maybe all that endurance training during volleyball finally came in handy.
"I'm here to deal with Shinn, stayed out of it," Cagalli snarled.
"If you want to deal with Shinn, you got to deal with all of us," a blond guy said, she recognized as the one she saw at the café.
"Isn't this touching Shinn? Your little friends want to protect you? Aren't you a precious one," she mocked. The guys narrowed their eyes. She didn't give a hoot about them. Those bumbling baboons will get their just desserts soon for being part of Shinn's little gang.
"No, I'll take care of this myself," Shinn said coldly.
Cagalli clenched her fists, ignoring the pain in her jaw and in her shoulder.
"You are going to pay," Shinn said glaring at her, his red eyes looking positively murderous.
"Do I look like I care?" She spat out. "You're nothing but a cowardly idiotic boy! If you are a real man, you wouldn't stoop to such despicable levels to torment me! You're a freaking disgrace!" She yelled out the last part, her amber eyes flashing dangerously.
Shinn let out a low snarl as he threw himself at her, tackling Cagalli to the ground. She gritted her teeth as she felt her back colliding painfully with the cold cement floor. She kicked, scratched and punched Shinn, earning a few of them herself. Suddenly she felt him leave her.
This is my chance! She thought as she scrambled to her feet and was about to aim a flying punch at him when she felt a strong pair of arms holding her back firmly.
No! Lemme go! Lemme have him! Her mind screamed.
"Caleb! Calm down! Calm down!" a deep soothing voice said urgently.
Unknowingly, she obeyed, still panting as she glared at Shinn who was back with his friends. "You're crazy! Crazy!" Shinn shouted as he shot her a look that froze her. She continued to look at his retreating figure.
"You can let me go now," she said coolly.
The arms immediately left her, she straightened her uniform and she took a few steps before the pain rushed through her. She stumbled as she fell to the ground. She closed her eyes as she tried to regain control of herself, but the pain from her cramps and the injures she just sustained was getting unbearable.
"Caleb!"
She allowed herself to be lifted up, she winced as she bent over, clutching her stomach. The cramps were winning the war of pain.
"My stomach," she managed to gasp out.
She remembered looking into the eyes as she felt the familiarity in them, a surge of nostalgia before she finally succumbed to the darkness.
Father?
Cagalli covered her eyes as she groaned. The late afternoon sunlight was really a bitch. She winced from the pain, especially her jaw which she's sure that it would be swollen by now. At least she knew that Shinn was in a worse shape than her, the thought comforted her somewhat. She sat up slowly as her cramps still pained her.
"Good, you're awake," a voice said. She glanced up and saw Kira.
"D-did you bring me here?" she asked as she realized that she was in her own room.
"Yeah, how are you feeling?" Kira asked as he sat at the foot of her bed.
"I don't know, what are you suppose to feel after getting into a fight?" she asked sarcastically.
Kira frowned at her.
"I could do without the sarcasm you know,"
"Sorry," Cagalli muttered apologetically.
"Forget it, I guess you're fine."
She nodded.
"Ok. What the hell were you thinking?!" Kira burst out angrily.
Cagalli jumped, somehow Kira scared her and she just took on a whole coven of vampires – sort of.
"Um…Shinn was bullying me and I retaliate. Simple as that."
"Are you that eager to get into a fight? You should have told someone about it and not deal it yourself. Even so, there are other ways than using fists,"
Cagalli felt herself flaring up again.
"What does that have to do with you? I taught him a lesson and he wouldn't bother me anymore. End of story."
"No! Not end of story! You listen here! Fists don't solve anything! They never do! Do you know that if I didn't intervene, the rest of the boys would probably rip you to shreds? You'll be in the ICU for crying out loud!" Kira said furiously, trying to get his point across.
"Who ask you to intervene! I don't need your help. I can handle it myself!" Cagalli shouted, glaring at Kira.
"And look how that turned out?" Kira said as he crossed his arms.
Cagalli opened her mouth before closing it and turning away. Kira sighed before saying,
"You don't have to do everything yourself, we could have help you know. We've been looking for an excuse to mess with him. We could have had some fun with Shinn, make him run laps till night fall or use his underwear as a flag and let it flap in the breeze for all to see. Or even make him wear a dress for bullying you."
Cagalli snorted as the edges of her mouth twitched.
"Above all, we would help because you're our friend Caleb, and we never abandoned our friend," Kira said, smiling lightly.
"I know, I'm sorry Kira. I didn't think before I act," Cagalli said remorsefully.
"I'm just glad that you're ok. Other than a few bruises, you'll be fine. The swelling on your face isn't that bad because I managed to put ice on it before it got worse."
"Thank you Kira, and I'm really sorry for everything I said just now," Cagalli said softly, she felt so bad for making him so worried.
"It's ok. So um here, painkillers for your abdominal pains."
Cagalli stared at the pink pills before her, her cheeks heating up.
"K-Kira, those are menstrual pills,"
"I-yeah. I know, I'm sorry. They are the- the only ones I could find. But I…eh figured that since it's the same area, it should work fine," Kira said blushing.
Cagalli paused before taking one and swallowing it. She accepted his explanation. It did make sense if you thought about it.
"You're lucky Athrun isn't here, He'll have a fit."
Cagalli's heart sank at his name. She hated how the mere mention of his name affected her so much.
"Where is he?" she asked hollowly.
"He went out with Dearka and Yzak. I didn't go because- um I got to finish my assignment." Kira lied; the truth was that he wanted to talk to Cagalli since he noticed that she had been acting strangely around Athrun.
Cagalli nodded.
"I'm sorry. I guess you need to get back to your work,"
"It's ok, I –er finished it when you were knocked out."
Cagalli nodded again, barely registering his words. She was too pre-occupied with the messy situation that she got herself into. She's bound to be famous or infamous when news of her brawl reached the student population.
"Caleb, is there something else other than just getting back at Shinn?" Kira asked gently. He knew that the brawl wasn't just plain revenge; there was something else in her eyes that looked like hurt when he pulled Shinn off of her.
Cagalli paled, once again Kira had read her like an open book. Too tired to think of a lie she simply said,
"Not now Kira, not now. Maybe when the time is right, I'll let you know. Thank you,"
Kira smiled warmly as he nodded. He knew that he shouldn't rush her.
"Are you hungry? I got some food in my room. I'll get for you," he said as he exited her room.
Cagalli sighed as she brought her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. What was she thinking? She wasn't the reckless kind. She knew that fists do more harm than good. She wasn't an advocate for violence. She may be hot headed sometimes allowing her emotions get the better of her, but she was no where this rash or foolish. So what in the world made her act like that? Like a deranged animal?
Of course she knew the reason, but she'll only admit it when pigs fly or when Yunna finally grew a brain. Because admitting it would mean its existence, it would mean she had to deal with it. She knew it was there, she knew what it was. She just doesn't have to freaking guts to admit it despite all the tell-tale signs. Knowing and admitting are mutually exclusive.
She would never admit that it was Athrun Zala that made her act this way.
She hated him for making her violent, craving for a chance to let out her frustrations. She hated him for all the pain, all the torment.
Ah the torment, the torment of seeing him wooing Laucs first with his charms and then with his actions. It irked her to see him putting his energy into trying to get her by first being her friend and then slowly worked his way up. The only silver lining is that Lacus was quite adamant about them being just friends. Nothing more.
She tried after that night when he hugged her to convince herself that it's better to remain as friends and that she should forget him. She was trying very very very hard, but Athrun wasn't making it any easier. Every laugh, every smile, every slight brush of their arms, every word, every gaze, everything about him send a delicious shiver down her spine. At first she tried to tell herself that it was just infatuation nothing else. But as time passed, it was growing, developing and morphing into something greater than just a simple crush.
She was head-over-heels, mind-numbing, heart thumping, goofy smile in love with him. And she loathed it.
She loathed not being able to forget him. She loathed not being able to control her feelings. She loathed the irony of the situation that instead of distancing herself from him, she was sucked in deeper. The thing she loathed most was that he was sleeping every night less than ten feet away from her, yet the distance felt like miles. She was getting tired.
Don't fight it any longer, you know it would only take more out of you, why not admit it and see how it goes...
She gulped at that thought.
Say it. It's only six words
The hardest six words in the world
Try it
She took a deep shuddering breath.
Six words
She close her eyes as she whispered it out,
"I'm in love with Athrun Zala."
Oh god, she loved how it rolled off her tongue, she loved how it sounds, she loved how it send a wonderful peaceful feeling through her. She smiled as she repeated it again in a slightly louder voice.
"I'm in love with Athrun Zala."
PMS have strange side effects if it can make Yunna grow a brain.
Ah well, angsty? Raise your hand if you thought that it would be Athrun that saved Cagalli! Hahah i'll let u guess why it was Kira not Athrun, review and tell me!:) If you get it right you'll be offically knighted in my next chapter!:)
Actually i just wanted this chapter to put an end to Cagalli and Shinn enmity but it turned out to focus quite a bit on Cagalli's r/ship with Athrun. But i'm quite pleased at how it turned out. Maybe i'm better at writing this kind of genre:)
So this is going to be a long A/N cuz i think i need to explain, so if you're confused becoz in the earlier chapters i wrote like she was slowly but surely falling in love with him. So the key word is 'falling' which means not yet! It was only the beginning, she knows that there's something there. A crush. Not love yet, crush. So in the last chapter, i know i put that she loves him, well ya. Bu then she decides to forget him becoz it's going to complicate things esp with her complex situation. So she took back the love part and try to go back liking him as a friend, so this chapter is focus on her trying to do that but she finally realise that it's impossible becoz her feelings are deeper than she thought, so now she admitted it out loud to herself that she loves him. Yes! So from now on, the chapters are going to see her how she deals with it..I do hope it helps or is it worse? Ah i do hope it helps!:)
Chinese New Year is here! I'm so excited so so so excited!!! So here's wishing all Gong Xi Fa Cai, Hong Bao Na Lai! Ha ha! May you all a fabulous Year of the Ox ahead! Xin Xiang Shi Cheng. Ma Dao Cheng Gong!
So plz review, no flames thank you very much! Oh ya i still need 3 more votes for YxS c'mon 3 more only!!! Questions are much welcome! Remember there is no such thing as a stupid question!:)
-Coolios (love you loadds for reading moi fic le)
