Note: Yeah, this may not be all you were expecting, but I'm trying to build up some of the characters complexity. There is no romance here so far, but there is some angst, worry, and some moments where I'm wondering what Ning's IQ really is.
Review Responses:
Sands of Darkness-yeah, that whole thing with Yu and Xun was supposed to be a surprise to everyone except LelinChan. She actually came up with the idea, but I couldn't write it. It was too awkward so Lizzy took over. Sorry the party isn't this chap. This WAS going to be part of the next chap but then it was too long and I wanted to put up something. So enjoy this dwarf chapter.
jammy- I'm not gonna lie, that is the random-est pairing I've ever heard. Good luck to your friend with that pairing. I can try to put that in...maybe Chan can be a cheerleader at the public school...don't worry if you don't understand that part yet. It will all be clear soon.
LelinChan- lol, this is josh speaking now. Lizzy's here, and shes ecstatic about the pink and gold star. Your question, that made me laugh. Thats really out of character for this story...but maybe a one-shot is in order? And about Ning, that comment about Shakespeare and Charlemagne? That actually happened in class. By the same kid as the '-eth' comment. What is our school system coming to? Also, I definitely hope that I'm not fatally ill. If I die, you'll be left with Lizzy and the author-ettes. You don't want that do you? (gets whacked over head and thrown into closet) X.X
Yadi-yeah, that thing between Yu and Xun was supposed to be a surprise so I guessed it worked. Don't worry, Yu will live...most likely. I don't want to sound oblivious but...I don't really get the joke about Lu Xun and new shoes...did it have something to do with your question? (sorry for sounding stupid...)
AbsoluteWings- thats quite a list of culprits you have. Lemme get this straight... Guan Ping, Da Qiao, Cao Pi, Gan Ning, Ling Tong, Sun Ce, Taishi Ci. Should I go ahead and add the prime minister for good measure? XD it'll be hard for Lu Bu to have to try and catch that many students... this should be funny. Sorry, but the prank has been post-poned due to illness and too many medications that leave me at the mercy of the sand-man. It'll be here next chap, i promise. And this chap coming up could quite possibly be longer than all the others, so forgive me in advance if I take a while.
Jafilish- To tell you the truth, when i first read your pen name, I thought it said jailfish. I like your 'rah' it really makes your review stand out. Sorry to give you such a short chap after your first review, but i can't do much better than this at this moment. Once I'm healthy the chapters will be better, I promise.
Question and Answers!!
Yes, you've all been waiting for this. Now I have to answer all those little questions you asked. I didn't want to answer them in your review responses in case someone else cared about what the answer was so...here it is!:
1) Who is my favourite character in Dynasty Warriors? Xun is definitely my favorite to play as, and he reminds me of my by best bud, Shaun. My second favourite...hm... thats actually a pretty difficult question. Ce is probably my second favourite. I have trouble using strong slow people, and Ce is decently fast, but Xun is WAY faster.
2) What would happen if Jiang Wei and Lu Xun started singing Sexyback? ...that would be...odd...sure it would be funny but i think Xun would end up crawling under a rock afterward. Wei might run and hide too but everyone else would be laughing. Thats kind of an odd mental picture tho, the two of them singing. O.O. Lizzy said she wants to write a one-shot about that now.
3) What is Lu Xun's shoe size? He probably wouldn't like me telling people this, being in denial about his height and all. He wears shoes that are bigger than they should be to hide what size his feet are because, of course, Xun isn't small. Just a little bit on the vertically challenged side.
4) Was that Xun's first kiss in the last chapter? I think I'm going to have to say yes. Due to his shyness, he usually doesn't let people get that cloose. Yu just caught him by surprise.
Chapter 10
Xun mind felt like a hazy fog had set in to stay. Somehow, he found himself outside again in the frigid night air. He sat by the pond with his knees clasped tightly to his chest and the icy wind blew his hair about his face and his hat fell to his side. He didn't bother picking it up. Nothing seemed important except those few words that Xiao had said. How could so few words make his heart hurt this badly?
'I would love to go to the party with you'
Love? Did Xiao really love Yun? That was pretty understandable really. Xun was a speck under the microscope compared to Yun. He was taller, smarter, more confident...Yun was just everything Xun wasn't. Why did he let himself dawdle in the foolish little Cinderella story about him and Xiao...Yun was the prince, and Xun was the one of the little mice that pulled the carriage.
The beauty of the pond was deeply contrasted to the dark thoughts going through Xun's mind. He turned away to look at the shadowy trees. What would happen if he walked into that endless darkness? Would anyone miss him? Nobody ever did before... it would just be like every other time.
Looking back at the bright windows of the school, he couldn't help but feel that there was something different about Han High. Something different from all the times before...maybe that was just all the problems he was having. Theses kind of things hadn't happened at any of the other places he had been.
Xun sneezed. Was this his grand plan? Hang out beside the pond till they found him as an icicle? He'd probably be put on display as an ice-sculpture if Tong had any say in what happened to him from there... How had he gotten to the topic of ice-sculptures? He let his eyes close. So tired, but he couldn't go back to the common room. He longed for the warmth and light of the fire, instead of the oppressive night air. But things hadn't been going his way recently had they?
He sighed. What would be more difficult...going back, or leaving for good?
"Hey, wheres pipsqueak?" Ning asked Xiao when she entered
"Xun? I haven't seen him since he ran out." Xiao said
"What? But he went looking for you over 2 hours ago" Ning looked over at the door
"He did?" Xiao asked
"Yeah. Your sure you didn't see him? Did anything else happen?" Ning asked
Xiao looked sad for a moment.
"Nothing that he would care about." Xiao said
"And how do you know that?" Ning asked
"Just because" Xiao pouted
The ever so slow gears in Ning's head finally clicked into gear.
"The dance, did anyone ask you other than Xun?" Ning asked
"Other than...?" Xiao trailed off "Well, Yun asked me this morning. I saw him earlier and told him I would go with him and-"
"Crap." Ning cussed, cutting Xiao off unintentionally
"Whats up?" Meng asked
"Ning said a mean word to me!" Xiao whined
"It wasn't meant for you. You talk to her." Ning ordered Meng
Meng raised an eyebrow.
"Talk about what?" Meng asked
"She's going to the party with Yun." Ning said before leaving the common room
Xiao looked from the empty doorway over to Meng.
"Whats wrong with Xunnie?" Xiao asked
"Hes having trouble lately. Nothing to worry about." Meng assured
"Trouble with what?" Xiao pressed
"Xiao! Come here!" Da called
Xiao took one last look at Meng, searching his face for any secrets he may have been hiding, then ran to her sister. Meng looked over at the empty doorway. How was Xun doing?
Ning had checked the library first. That was a good guess right? Nerd jr. practically lived in there. His second search area was outside. Xun did go outside a lot when he was thinking. It was cold out but the kid did seem to have a few screws loose in his head. He spotted a dark something sitting by the pond. Crazy pipsqeak.
Ning walked out to where Xun was sitting against the tree. He was surprised to see that Xun was sleeping. How the hell did he fall asleep in this cold of weather?! Ning prodded Xun gently with his foot.
"Wakey wakey, shrimp." Ning said
Xun didn't wake. Wow, thats odd. He hardly ever sleeps that deeply. Ning knelt by Xun and grabbed the red hat from the ground. He replaced it on Xun's head and contemplated the best way to get Xun back to the common room. He could try to wake him, but that seemed rather difficult at the moment.
"He came all the way out here?"
Ning turned and nodded. Meng stood next to Ning now.
"You planning on waking him up or just watching him freeze to death?" Meng grinned
"He won't wake up. See." Ning poked Xun for emphasis
"Thats odd. I'll carry him then." Meng said
Meng stooped down and carefully picked up Xun.
"How much does he weigh?" Ning laughed as they started walking back to the school
"Hardly anything. Possibly less than Shang Xiang even." Meng half-smiled
Of course, in Ning's head he pictured Shang Xiang and Xun each standing on a large scale and Shang Xiang being heavier. Do to the fact that Ning's mind isn't exactly...ahem...normal, he then pictured Shang Xiang as a cow and Xun as a little cat. Now THAT was odd.
"You've got that look on your face again. What insanity are you day-dreaming this time?" Meng asked
"Shang Xiang is a cow." Ning said absentmindedly
Meng looked over at his friend, worry visibly etched on his face.
"Don't say that to her. You'll end up as the mince meat instead of the cow." Meng said
Xun twitched slightly. Meng thought he was waking up for a moment but his eyelids were still closed. Ning held open the door so Meng wouldn't drop Xun and they took the back stair case that was the quickest and least traveled route to the Wu common room.
"Hes really pale when hes sleeping." Ning observed aloud "His cheeks are always red"
Ning poked at Xun's cheek. Said boy didn't even flinch. Once at the common room, Ning opened the door. Most everyone had already gone to bed but Sun Jian was sitting in one of the arm chairs waiting for them.
"He's sleeping." Ning said before Sun Jian could ask
Sun Jian nodded. The only other people in the room were Ce, Yu, Ci, Tong, and Shang Xiang.
"He never sits still when he sleeps. You guy's must have drugged him or something." Tong laughed "He's always tossing and turning and mumbled. I think he's fighting World War 3 in his head before it even starts."
"He's not drugged. He was sitting out by the pond . He'd have made a nice ice-sculpture for the party. Cheap decorating." Ning laughed
"Thats not funny bell-boy." Yu said, voice lacking any amusement
"This, coming from the pretty-boy with no sense of humor." Ning said back
Meng had gone to put Xun in his bed, or he would have put a stop to this before it even started.
"There is a difference between being funny, and being disrespectful."
"I wasn't disrespecting anyone."
"Referring to Xun as a 'party decoration' sounds pretty disrespectful to me, and your nickname is pretty derogatory"
"Those were both jokes."
"One person's joke can be another's insult."
At this point both boys were glaring at each other. The others had been watching in shock. What was wrong with them? They usually got along fine. Yu stood, neatly stacking his books and walking back to the dorm room and Ning was left fuming by the door.
"What was that all about?" Tong asked
"Nothin." Ning said curtly
Meng had passed the peeved Yu on the stairs to the dorm room and didn't take long to put 2 and 2 together to equal 4. He wasn't going to bother trying to calm Ning down right now, nothing ever worked. Sure he'd storm around and grumble but that was all.
This is a...(dun dun duuuuuuun)FILLER CHAPTER!! Yeah, I'm still sick so with the precious few minutes I had awake and alert, I'm bringing you this chapter to let you know... being sick sucks. Take your vitamins, drink your milk...WATEVER. Just don't get the flu. Bleh. Sorry that you didn't get the chapter you were waiting for, but there are some important things in this chapter.
VOTE!!:
Ever heard a song that reminded you of one of these characters? What would each person's theme song be? I actually have one for Xun, but because you guys don't know much about his past yet, it may not make sense yet. Just send in any you have. Take some time and think it over. I'll be sure to look into every song you recommend. XD