Wanna Bet?
Chapter ten: Manipulation and Other Forms of Deception
She was out of Dagger's room long before noon. She didn't even want to think of how she'd explain her presence in Rain's bed to his roommate, honestly, the thought of the situation alone made her shudder. The word would be spread around the school within an hour and soon, the rumours would be wild and out of control. That's what the students in her school were like, the boys just as bad as the girls, even Hilde was guilty of some mild gossip.
She found herself drifting through barren corridors, aimlessly wandering and following her feet wherever they took her. Her mind coasted to thoughts of the ridiculous bet that she was currently participating in, and she found herself questioning why she had even persuaded Relena into agreeing to the terms. In the end, it was inevitable that people would be hurt, hearts would be broken, and tears would be shed. She shook her head and looked up, suddenly finding herself staring at a dark wooden door, adorned with the brazened gold numbers five-one-two. Hilde sighed, and was about to turn and walk away from the strange room when the door unexpectedly swung open, and in shock, she stumbled backwards, colliding with the corridor wall.
"Glad to see the sight of me still knocks your breath away."
Hilde scoffed resentfully, before looking up to greet the arrogant jerk in front of her. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight.
"Were you looking for me?" Duo asked, taking a few steps forward and almost completely closing the distance between them. His glistening cobalt blue eyes were pinned directly to hers as he buttoned up his shirt, which was still partly open, leaving his rippling chest free to her bewildered eyes. "Hilde?"
"Umm, no actually, I wasn't." Duo frowned and she breathed in deeply, trying to ignore the strong scent of aftershave burning her lungs with desire and the strong impulsive urge to shove the boy back into his room and kiss him relentlessly. But no, she had to keep in control, once she let her emotions take over, she was dead meat.
"Okay, so what. Exactly, are you doing outside my room, Schbeiker?" He ran a hand through his glossy brown hair before stepping backwards and staring at her, confused. "I haven't gained myself another lust-filled stalker, right?" He asked, grinning lopsidedly before winking, mischievously at her.
Hilde laughed, awkwardly, and tried to compose herself. "Keep dreaming, Maxwell. I was just taking a walk."
"To my bedroom?" His eyebrow arched prestigiously and his eyes grew darker as Hilde's heart began to thud against her ribcage.
'Get a hold of yourself,' her mind was screaming.
Duo shook his head curtly, brushing the topic astray, "Never mind that. I'm going out to the tennis courts, care to join me?" He asked, and noting Hilde's doubtful expression, continued, "Come on, it'll be fun. Please?"
He was giving her the puppy-dog eyes. She couldn't believe this, it was totally unfair, all she wanted to do was go back to her room and mull over how she was going to get through the trying tortures of this bet, and here she was, with the boy whom her bet revolved around, being pressured into a sport which she held no interest in, whatsoever.
"But I can't-"
"Of course you can." Duo retorted in his suave voice, lowering his head so that he was equal with her, "You have great aim."
"No that was a fluke, and besides, I wasn't aiming for your head, I swear to God-"
"Ahh save it, Schbeiker," Duo cut through her sentence once again, and closing the door behind him, he turned around to her and clasped his strong, muscular hand around her wrist. Hilde felt a strong compulsion to pull away from him - his touch was electrifying … dangerous – but he wouldn't have it, his hand only tightened further around hers as he started to tug her down the hall. "And anyways, you know what they say."
"What would that be?" Hilde asked, stumbling over her feet as she tried to keep up with Duo's fast pace.
Duo heaved his sports bag back onto his shoulder as the strap began to slide down his arm, causing his arm to collide with Hilde's, and more rousing sparks to dance energetically throughout her body. She suppressed a groan as Duo stated, "Practice makes perfect."
She couldn't help it, she groaned as she fell into step beside the American boy. Duo laughed and threw his arm across her shoulders. "Don't worry babe, it'll be fun… plus I'll be there, so just how bad could it be?"
"That's the problem." Hilde sulked, jokingly.
Duo laughed again and ruffled her hair with his hand. Hilde batted at his hand with hers, before breaking into a fit of laughter.
"Point taken," Duo chuckled, "But you're stuck with me now."
-x- -x- -x-
As the laughing couple rounded the corner of the corridor, Lani gasped silently and pressed herself tightly up against the cold wall, clutching her books firmly to her chest.
She watched avidly as they strolled in the opposite direction, the boy's arm thrown casually around the girls shoulder. Lani's eyes narrowed at Hilde's retreating back as she strolled away in the opposite direction. How was it possible that Hilde had the upper hand in this bet? How was it possible that they were losing? She exhaled sharply, frustrated anger rising up through her body and filling her mind with extravagant retributions.
Tossing her bleached blonde hair over her shoulder, she fished her cell phone from her bag and flipped it open, pressing it tightly to her ear.
After three rings, the call connected, "Hello?"
"Tiffany!" Lani exclaimed, trying to keep her breaths at a regular rhythm.
"Lani? What's up? Is something wrong?"
"Yeah. We've got a major problem. Hilde and Duo are … well … acting like a couple, basically."
A brusque intake of breath resounded from the other side, "What do you mean?" Tiffany cried, "How could they be acting like a couple? Duo's with Aimee! I didn't even think he knew Hilde existed!"
"Well," Lani started, "He does, and it looks like she's in the lead of this little wager of ours. Tiff, you know we can't have her winning, it may cause a major downfall to our popularity status, and that's a big-"
"No, no. I know," Tiffany finished. "We need to get back at her somehow, the sneaky little worm."
"We need major damage control."
"Stop saying 'major', you bimbo. Who do you think you are? An American sitcom actress?" Tiffany demanded, vehemently.
Lani huffed, indignantly, "I never said I was!" she whined.
"Whatever." The line went silent for a few seconds, and Lani could hear Tiffany's irritated breaths, "Listen, I've got an idea, get back here quickly, we have to pay Aimee Wright a nice little visit." Tiffany sniggered maliciously for a few seconds before the line went dead, and the resonant humming sound that emerged from it told Lani that she needed to hang up.
Lani stared carefully at the phone in her hand, wondering what Tiffany had up her sleeve this time. Tucking her phone back into her pocket, she paced quickly towards her dorm room, thanking God for the umpteenth time, that she wasn't Hilde Schbeiker.
-x- -x- -x-
"I don't know what to do, Dorothy, he's just so … obtuse!" Relena paced around her friend's room, her feet scuffing against the worn carpet underneath her feet as she walked back and forth. "It's never going to work, I mean, there's really only one part of the task that I would be able to accomplish, and that's not falling in love with the jerk." Frustration was building up in her chest, along with a twisted state of irritation. She couldn't stand not being able to complete something. To her, everything was a challenge that she aimed to defy.
"Maybe," Dorothy started, swiping a brush dripping with red nail polish along her fingernail, before dipping it back into the container, "You could actually pay some attention to him, and stop avoiding him so obstinately. Really, Relena, your approach to this whole matter really is quite pathetic. No wonder you've never had a boy before."
Relena stopped dead in her tracks, glaring at the oblivious young blonde curled up on her mattress, and scoffed in indignation, "I've had boyfriends before, what about Connor Hutchinson?"
Dorothy snorted and looked up from her nails to meet the intense cerulean blues pinning her to the bed, "Oh, you're being serious?"
"Of course I am. What's wrong with Connor?"
Dorothy swallowed her laughter, and repositioned herself on the bed, "What's wrong with Connor?" she mimicked. "Nothing. Nothing at all. Except for the fact that you could hardly call that dating, Relena darling." She smiled at her friend, sympathetically, before blowing briskly on her glossy crimson nails.
"You should really take that stuff off, Dorothy, you know the school rules."
"Whatever, do you think I really care?" she whisked her platinum blonde hair away from her eyes, "Anyway, even if we do count Connor, you really don't have any experience with this kind of stuff, do you?"
Relena turned her head away, feeling impatience bubble away in her system, threatening to overflow and force her to cause her friend some serious bodily harm. "I guess not."
"Precisely!" Dorothy beamed, "And that's where I come in."
Relena rolled her eyes, "Oh please." She stared at Dorothy, "How can you break through Heero's blocking emotional barriers? No one can do that, it's unfeasible."
"Even still, I wasn't talking about helping him. I was talking about helping you."
Relena felt a rising fear rush through her body, "What do you mean by that?"
"Oh not much, just helping you with the basics. You know, a complete makeover, teaching you how to act around boys … how to flirt with them so that with a wink of your eye, they're puppy dogs begging in your lap."
Appalled, Relena tried to swallow, but her throat was drier than the Sahara, "Makeover? Flirting? Dorothy!" she screamed, ready to tug her hair out, "I think not!"
"But Relena-"
"No! Absolutely, completely and utterly not. No, no, no, no, no."
Dorothy sighed reluctantly, "You're such a prude, you know that, right?"
"I don't care, call me whatever you wish. I can do this my own way Dorothy, without acting like a slut."
"That's hardly acting like a slut!" Dorothy tore her eyes away from her nails to glare intensely at the honey-blonde girl, offended. "Whatever, Lena, do it your way then. I mean, you're a pretty girl, you just don't know how to use that to your advantage."
Relena glanced down at her watch, "Look, Dorothy, I have to go, if you really want to help, do me a favour and find out about these rumours of Sylvia and Heero, okay?"
Dorothy's eyes brightened considerably. "Find out the gossip? That sounds easy enough."
Relena laughed airily before leaving the room, grinning, she had a few matters that she had to sort out herself.
-x- -x- -x-
Thwack!
The ball glided easily to the other side of the court and Duo raised his arm, his racket poised and ready to strike and his posture calm and at ease. The overconfident jerk.
Smack!
It pelted back towards her. An anticipating blast of exhilarating adrenaline coursed through her blood, giving her a sudden surge of energy. The yellowish green ball was nearing with every passing second at a frightening speed. There was no way that she would be able to-
Thump!
Duo's eyes widened from the other side of the court as she hit it back towards him at an assailing velocity, there was no way that he could have hit it. Duo ran after it pointlessly, but she scored.
"Oh my GOD!" Hilde screamed, bouncing up and down on her toes, "Did you see that? Duo, did you see that?" She beamed at him and Duo found a small grin creeping up onto his face. "I scored … wow. That was so cool! Let's go again, come on, slowpoke!"
"Don't get too cocky now, Schbeiker." Duo chuckled. "I have an idea, do you care to make this a little more interesting?"
Hilde raised her head steadily, carefully scrutinising the dark haired boy. He was up to something; even from here, she could see that mischievous glint to his stunning cobalt blue eyes. She should be careful; she probably shouldn't listen to him. Nope. She was going to continue at this … boring pace. "I'm up for anything you are, Maxwell. What you got planned?"
Duo couldn't conceal the large grin that tugged relentlessly at his lips. "Awesome!" He laughed, impishly, "Just a little bet, Hilde … is all."
Hilde's heart dropped in her chest. For some absurd reason, her throat decided to narrow the passageway to her lungs, constricting her breaths to a worryingly uneven rate. Her head began to spin dizzily.
"A … b-bet?" she managed to choke out.
Duo didn't seem to notice her change in attitude, "Yup. A match, you versus me. What do you say? If I win … You err …" He smirked suddenly, and leant lightly against the tennis net. "If I win, you have to come to my dorm for a week."
Hilde's jaw dropped. Seriously … have you ever seen one of those cartoon's were the dude's jaw just unhinges, completely and drops to the floor … just like that. Okay, well, not quite like that, but you get the grip.
"And finish my homework." He finished and Hilde released a breath of relief. "I could do with some help."
"And if I win?" Hilde inquired, staring at Duo inquisitively, trying to calm her raging heart and its ridiculous antics. It was hammering frantically inside her chest, so much that she was sure it would soon explode from her ribcage.
"I'll do anything you want," Duo answered, and then looking thoughtful for a moment, added, "Within reason, of course."
"Damn," Hilde laughed before picking up the tennis ball and chucking it to Duo, "I'm feeling generous, you can serve."
"Whoa, thanks."
He served the ball and Hilde somehow managed to keep reciprocating it back to him, all the while, thinking of what she could get him to do for her if she won. She dreaded to think of what would happen if she lost, after all, she could barely even cope with her own homework.
Five minutes later, she was surprisingly in the lead, with only one more serve to go before the winner was called.
Duo held the ball in his left hand and stared down at it unsurely. He was going lightly on her, of course, but even still, he hadn't anticipated that she would get this far ahead of him. He sighed, knowing that he only had one choice left; he couldn't let her win.
He tossed the ball up into the air and keeping his eyes focused on it as it fell, swung his racket swiftly behind his back with a light whoosh before steadily ramming it against the yellow blur and rocketing it to the other side.
Hah. No way was she winning.
Hilde was still grinning proudly as Duo served the ball back towards her, his tennis whites, which fit nicely around his muscular body, hazing slightly at his rapid movements.
She was so winning.
Before she knew it, the tennis ball was smearing through the air towards her, high and promptly heading towards the far corner of the courts.
Noooo, she was doing so well too.
Breathing in rapidly, Hilde twisted and darted backwards, all the while keeping her eyes permanently converged on the ball. They both drew nearer and nearer, and Hilde felt as though she was moving in slow motion as her legs stirred beneath her and the whole world spun by in a vague distortion.
Then, as if somebody had released the freeze button, everything jumped back into motion. The ball hit the green court floor, inside the lines, Duo won, Hilde's ankle proceeded to twist painfully into an awkward position, causing her to trip and due to her unbalance, fall to the ground, landing on her twisted ankle. She cried out in pain, her hand immediately coming to clutch her ankle, which was throbbing with an excruciating pain.
"Hilde!" she heard him call to her in the distance, but the pain was causing a mental block on all of her thoughts and so, she simply curled into a ball, hoping to fade away from it all.
Duo dashed over to her side. He had never thought of tennis as a dangerous sport before, but suddenly, he was beginning to picture it in a different light. He knelt down beside the small raven-haired girl, and brushing a few strands from her face, gazed concernedly towards her. Her face was clenched up in pain and her hands were both firmly knotted around her ankle.
"Shit," he swore breathing in deeply as his eyebrows furrowed together in scrutiny, he attempted to pry one of her hands away, but she groaned and clamped on tighter. "Hilde, how am I supposed to help you if you want let me near it?"
"Duo …" she whimpered, "I'm fine. Just give me a second, and I'll be fine."
"No," Duo stated resolutely, trying, once again, to pry her hands away. "I won't. Now move your damned hand so I can get a-"
"Ouch! Don't do that!" Hilde pulled away from him, kicking him in the shin angrily before hoisting herself up against one of the brick walls surrounding the courts.
"Fine, you want me to just leave you then, huh?" Duo stood up, jumping to his feet and shrugged irately, "Fair enough, have it your way. I'm just trying to help!"
"Well there's no need to, I'm fine!"
"You bloody girls and your hormones!" Duo growled before turning and storming off, brusquely into the changing rooms, the doors slamming closed behind him.
Hilde bit her lip in frustration and sighed. Pushing herself into a more comfortable position against the wall and then slowly, impelling herself to stand.
"I can't do it!" Hilde jumped, startled by the unexpected presence and fell back to the ground again, breathing in sharply through her clenched teeth.
"You can't do what?" she asked, quietly.
"I can't leave you here. See? That's how nice I am." Duo strode over to her, and looping an arm under hers and another under her legs, he swept her off her feet and pulled her diminutive body close to his.
"Duo!" Hilde cried, "What do you think you're doing? Put me down this inst- OUCH!" She yelled as he thrust his arms up jerkily, causing her whole body to shift in his arms, "What was that for?"
"Quit complaining, and you're wriggling too much, if you keep that up, I'm going to drop you."
"Willingly?" she asked, shooting him a withering look.
"Maybe," Duo answered, a small smile gracing his face, before he shifted her in his arms again, "Hey, stop that!"
"Well then, you stop talking." She did; she fell silent in his arms as he made his way, as quickly as he could, towards the main building.
They made it eventually to the medical room, and Hilde sighed as Duo set her down on one of the chairs before going off to find a nurse.
Her heart was still racing at the close proximity that she had been in with Duo. She felt her cheeks burning as she recalled just how rude she'd been to him, but honestly, it was all in self-preservation. She hadn't wanted her so close to him. Around that guy, she seemed to lose all self-control, and it just wouldn't do, and the fact that he was being so nice didn't help either. It frustrated her, and therefore, she took that malignant frustration out on him. Unfair, yes, but wasn't life?
"Miss Schbeiker?" Hilde glanced up. A young man clad in a white medical coat was frowning down at her with dark caring grey eyes, beside him, Duo stared down at her with focused dark eyes, his dark hair falling across his face and framing his concerned face. "I'm afraid Mrs Kerr isn't available at the moment, but I'm a medical student who's been working with Mrs Kerr for a few weeks now and I'll be able to take a look at your ankle. If that's okay with you?"
Hilde cast a fleeting glance towards Duo, who nodded curtly, before turning back to the student, and nodding, hesitantly, "Sure."
"Great," The medical student beamed, flashing Hilde a bright smile, "Mr Maxwell, if you could just assist her into the room, I can take a look at her."
Hilde sighed and slumped back against the hard plastic of the chair that she was resting on, "You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?" She peered up at the tall boy, the chestnut locks that were resting against his golden skin, glimmering in the hall's lights, and she felt her fingers twitch as she resisted the urge to run her fingers through his silky hair. Trailing her eyes to his face, she was immediately captured by his stunning eyes, the intense deep-sea blueness of his pupils, still sparkling, even though his handsome face was completely detained by shadows.
He slid an arm underneath hers and hauling her to her feet, he supported the majority of her weight as she hobbled into the bright medical room, lit by the strongly luminous white lights, hovering from the ceiling.
"All right Miss Schbeiker, if you could just hop up upon that table over there …"
Hilde followed the student's finger to the mounted table in the centre of the room, covered by a cushioned fabric and sterile paper cloths. Frowning, she turned towards Duo, who grinned before lifting her up upon the table.
"Thank you Duo, you may leave now."
"What?"
Both Duo and Hilde turned to look at each other, before shooting bewildered glances towards the student, who was smiling casually as he untied the white laces of Hilde's trainers.
"Yes, Duo, I would like you to leave the room." The student gently pried the trainer from her foot, and Hilde groaned in pain, "You can wait outside in the hall if you really have to stay, but I'm afraid I cannot permit your presence while I'm tending to your girlfriend here."
Despite the pain that she was undergoing at that moment in time, Hilde felt herself blush deeply, a dark shade of red staining her cheeks, as her face rapidly grew hot.
"She's not my girlfriend," Duo said calmly, as he twisted the handle of the door, "I'll be waiting outside, Hil, give me a shout when you're finished."
Biting her lip, Hilde watched the student as his strong hand gripped around her thin ankle, applying pressure every so often as she squirmed in agony.
His thumb suddenly pressed firmly down, digging deeply into her ankle and Hilde yelled out, her fast reactions causing her to tug her foot away from him.
"Calm down, I was only checking something," the student suddenly looked anxious, as he cast a transitory glance towards the clock, mounted upon one of the painted white walls. Everything about this room was white, "I have to in a few minutes, I've got a lecture at six. Hold on a second and I'll get that bandaged up, it should help take some of the strain off your ankle."
He worked quickly, his hands moving in rapid actions as he wound a woven bandage around her foot.
"Okie dokie, you're free to go now, miss."
"Umm … don't you have anything for the pain?"
The student looked at her, raising his eyebrows before his eyes reluctantly skittered down to her bandaged foot.
"I probably shouldn't, I'm not meant to give pupils medication without signed slips, but …" He started towards the corner of a room, and Hilde watched him carefully as he hauled open a cupboard, "I suppose I could make an exception this time if you promise not to tell anyone." He grabbed a container, and twisted the cap carefully, pouring out its contents, scrutinising them and then hesitantly handing them to Hilde.
"I'm giving you two, but listen to me;" he eyed her carefully, "these are strong tablets-" He stared steadily into her eyes, ensuring not to break contact. Hilde shifted uncomfortably before he continued, "One now, one in the morning." He glanced at the mounted clock and a cloud of panic fogged his intelligent eyes. "I've got to go," he said as he grabbed his coat from the counter, "I'll call Mr Maxwell in, to help you out."
Hilde fixed her eyes on the small, oval shaped white pills resting in her palm. 'Strong tablets,' her foot was still throbbing with immense pain, reminding her of her injury, "… well … surely, it wouldn't make much difference if she took them both now, after all … her leg was pretty sore.'
After a few brief moments of wavering uncertainty, Hilde's hand rose to her mouth and tipping her head back, she tossed the tablets to the back of her throat and swallowed.
"Hilde, hey!" Duo sauntered into room, looking concerned. Hilde felt a blanket of pressure being lifted from her ankle.
'Whoa,' she thought, 'these really are strong tablets. Just a few more, and the pain would be virtually nonexistent.'
"You feeling okay? Anything I can do?"
Hilde smiled … perfect.
"Yes, actually," she smiled at the oblivious, dark-haired boy, "Could you get me a few painkillers from that cabinet over there?" Duo gazed at her, unsurely, with cobalt eyes that were tinted with curiosity.
"I don't know, I probably shouldn't-" Duo started, but Hilde soon cut him off.
"Please," she interrupted, "Just for the morning."
Sighing, Duo made his way over to the cabinet she was pointing towards, "This one?"
Hilde beamed, cheerfully, "That one."
-x- -x- -x-
The soft couch sunk underneath him and moulded comfortably to his body as Heero sighed in relief. Silence … peace and quiet. He was grateful for the fact that he had not yet ventured into the company of the riotous Duo Maxwell today. Sometimes, more often than not, his irksome friend was more than he could cope with and though, on occasion, he was reminded of the good times that he had spent with the boy over their years at the school, his mind was pushed to the point where homicidal thoughts were seeping into his brain.
Today would not have been an exception, for having to deal with six hundred infuriating junior students and Maxwell, would require immense patience that Heero was positive that he didn't attain.
Which reminded him, apart from the fact that throughout his years at Harrison College, he had always attained immaculate grades in everything, why the hell had he been designated as Head Boy? He wasn't an exceptionally patient guy, and he was definitely not the most sociable, hell, he was barely anything that a model Head Boy was obliged to be and truthfully, the whole situation mystified him.
Everyone was almost certain that Mister Winner had one the majority votes for the place and to be honest, he was never interested in the position.
However, now that he had it … he supposed that it had its upsides, in particular, this segregated, spacious common room …
BANG! … BANG! BANG! THUMP, THUMP!
Heero rose from the chair, somewhat startled by the suddenness of the noises coming from the other side of the door.
THUD! THUD! THUD! … BANG!
Grimacing at the audacity of it all, Heero hastily made his way over to the door.
"What's wrong, did you forget your keys a-" He stopped speaking, holding the door partly open and staring at the visitor with a raised eyebrow. It wasn't, as he had thought, Relena, who previously having forgotten her keys during a midnight inspection round had opted for trying to break the door down instead.
"Heero, dude, how's it going?" The dusty brown haired boy, just a few inches taller than Heero grinned down at him before peering past his shoulder and into the common room.
He laughed, "Neat, so the rumours are true; you have been allocated a pad suitable for some intense, wild parties."
Heero stared at him, growing more wary of the boy as each second passed. Relena would murder him if she found out that he was thinking of throwing parties in here. In fact, being the prudish ass that she was, she'd probably report him to the principal, trying to get him expelled. Yeah, she'd love that.
"Just think …" the boy paused for a second, gazing dreamily over the room, "of all the half naked chicks we could have, wandering around this room …"
"Landon, piss off." Heero said, coolly, leaning against the doorframe in a way that ensured the taller boy couldn't possibly gain access.
"Bloody hell, mate, what's stuck up you're a-"
"Landon, I'm serious. I can't let you in here with those intentions on your mind." Heero stated firmly, unperturbed by Landon's sudden anger.
"Loosen up, Yuy, I'm not here to party … yet." Landon said, his tension easing from his shoulders. Being the second row player of the rugby team, he had a tall and broad frame, advantageous when he needed to win the ball from the lineout. "I've just got some news to share to you man … or should I say … 'captain.'"
Heero nodded impassively, that was almost already certified anyway. It was no surprise really, seeing as he had been captain of the team since they started playing in second year.
"You've got me, Chris and Mikey behind you all the way!" Landon said, slapping his hand against Heero's shoulder as he did so.
Chris, the fullback of the team, stepped into view from the corridor, his build solid, steady, and helpful for his position as the player responsible for the last line of defence in the game. "And that's why we're here … to celebrate!" He reached down into his sports bag, shoving a towel out of the way and emerging with a can of beer which he promptly tossed at Heero, who immediately moved to catch it. The can fell into Heero's hand, and he grasped the cool metal with ease before he was shoved aside and his team mates entered the room. Although there were only three of them, the room seemed suddenly much smaller than it had been before, as their eyes encompassed the whole area in awe.
"Amazing." Mikey breathed as he sunk into the place that Heero had previously been. The other two followed his example and in a few seconds, they had unpacked three six-packs of cold beer from their bags.
Heero stared at them, and although the disbelief didn't register on his stolid face, he was bewildered to how they had managed to smuggle the alcohol into the school.
Heero hauled himself onto one of the counters in the kitchen area, as he studied the boys who were snapping open the tabs on their cans and pouring the liquids down their throats like soda, with faint amusement.
"Don't tell me that living with that prude missy of a Head Girl; Relena, has morphed you into a killjoy." He had turned to staring at the green can of Heineken in front of him, but he was taken back as a feminine voice echoed through the room, causing his head to jolt up as dark Prussian blues clashed with glassy grey orbs.
The girl laughed and ran a thin hand through her sandy-blonde locks, "That would be a shame, because a spoilsport Heero is definitely no fun, in comparison to the guy I knew last year." She tossed her hair over her shoulder, as Heero coolly observed her. The girl was composed, undisturbed by his mannerisms, "Don't tell me you've forgotten the fun drunken nights you'd spent with little ol' me."
"I haven't forgotten, Sylvia," He answered smoothly, cracking a slight smile, the corners of his mouth quirking upwards, "How could I?"
"That's what I wanted to hear," Sylvia Noventa smiled warmly, occupying one side of the last empty couch before patting the vacant spot beside her.
Heero, catching the hint, slid of the counter and strolled over to the couch, languidly easing into the comforts of the cushions beneath him.
Sylvia watched him snap open the tab of the can before nodding to Landon, who appeared utterly enthralled by the rugby game on the flat screen television.
She thumped his shoulder lightly, "Hey! Pass me a beer." Irritated by the disturbance, Landon picked a beer from the floor and chucked it at her; she caught it quickly and after shuffling closer to Heero, she leant back against his shoulder and caressed his arm, "So, Yuy, did you miss me?"
Heero stared down at her, and for the first time in weeks, those irritating thoughts of the honey-blonde Head Girl drifted from his mind, to be instead occupied with the girl in front of him.
He shifted slightly on the chair so that her body fell backward onto his, before smirking down at her as his response.
A/N - Haha … and so, here enters Sylvia Noventa.
I have to say, I didn't quite plan for this to be a super sized chapter … okay, so this chapter wasn't exactly in my plan (yes, I have a plan, I just don't stick to it very well … they're more guidelines) but, humour me. It just popped up in the middle, completely unexpected, and so now I have to bump the rest of the chapters down one. That would be why this chapter is particularly one sided. I'm not leaving Relena out on purpose, I swear I'm not. It's just that her relationship with Heero wasn't quite as interesting as Hilde's and Duo's … until now that is. Tee hee.
Anyway, onto more important matters. I absolutely adore all of you guys! Thank you so much for sticking by me, even though my updates have been tremendously rare. You don't know how much I appreciate this. I'm not sure whether you've read my profile or not … but I've posted my reason there, but to recap – I've been going through quite a hard time lately, which I'm not going to bore you guys with, explaining it, but let's just say that it hindered me from writing. But that nasty spell is now starting to disappear, and with luck, I'll be back to regular updates in the next while. I just have to say a great BIG thankyou to all of you out there who are still reading and reviewing.
THANKYOU!
P.S. – Two warnings; before anybody mentions this, I thought I'd clarify. Considering the fact that this is an AU story, and there was no universal war against the peace treaty of the civilisations et cetera, Heero is slightly out of character from who he is in the series. Remember, he hasn't been through all of that rigorous training to drill his emotions out of his body and he hasn't been tainted by the horrors of war. Therefore, he has emotions, and he somewhat understands them, however, he still isn't a guy who clearly puts his feelings on display for all to see … he's still the reserved Heero that most of you know.
AND … ohmygasp … the gundam pilots … drinking … underage? Well, not quite, most of them are eighteen, which is the legal drinking age in the U.K, although, they're still not permitted in schools … and yes, Sylvia does seem like a bit of a wild child in comparison to the 'I'm too innocent to shoot a gun' girl we seen in the series. That's because I changed her persona to fit the story. I needed another obstacle for the girls, and this seemed perfect for Relena. A competitor (grins).
Please review, tell me anything … even if it's only one thing, I need to know you're there!