Theme song is From The Inside by Linkin Park.
Chapter edited by Hall1990 :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SEED or the clone aka Destiny.
Warnings: Angst! Drama! Destruction! FLYING CHAIRS!
Murphy's Law
Chapter 13: From The Inside
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Cagalli was dreaming about something nice, something what made her warm inside, something that was so close to reach, something…
And then her alarm fished her out from the Morpheus arms. Half consciously she slammed the clock rather strongly. Small broken pieces flew in every direction. Oops… Her poor and beloved since kindergarten HamHam alarm clock made last splutter sound. The clock glass broke into pieces, the sweet plastic casing that looked like an orange cute hamster cracked and the clock stopped its mechanical life. Rust in peace, babe.
Cagalli growled into her pillow. "Great. This is the way how you should start Monday's morning at freaking five o'clock." She mumbled and slowly dragged her ass from the warm, warm bed. Her karate practice was waiting.
Two hours later she stopped her car on the school's parking and checked her cell. A message from Blueberry, no text only a picture of her sock and scissors. Her soft smile turned suddenly into a panicked expression when she realized that yes indeed, she left his jacket in her room.
Her precious sock was going to become a widow!
In this exact moment yawning Athrun entered the kitchen, with a cat wearing pink crocodile socks and sexy panties in his mind. But everything vaporized from his brain when he spotted Aisha talking to a phone.
"I don't think it's a good idea… But… Yes, he is here…" She looked at her nephew with a pained expression. "Honey, your father wants to talk with you." Aisha handed him the phone.
Without a word, he took it and forcefully hung up. Like he always did. Then, without a single word, he grabbed his satchel and left the house.
Athrun wasn't even surprised. Life was just too good lately, too normal. Something just had to kicked his ass. Oh, sorry. Not something, someone.
But what surprised him was the hot flames of anger that were slowly rising in the pit of his stomach. Athrun was simply pissed off, but not at his excuse of a father but at himself. It have been years and he still felt affected every time his father popped out. That made him sick. That made him weak.
And he really hated that feeling.
"So, your last detentions is today. Are you happy?" Flay shut the locker and headed to her historic doom.
Cagalli put her hands behind her head. "Well, quoting my favorite jewel of the literature: My inner goddess went bananas."(1) She said sarcastically.
The red head chuckled. "Your inner goddess won't be alone. Half of our class got detention." Saying that Badgiruel was in a bad mood today was a fucking euphemism. "By the way, what's wrong with Zala? If looks could kill, he would be a mass murderer already."
Athrun rarely showed emotions, usually he was an invisible guy. He was there but nobody noticed him. Sometimes he was generating some dark aura, so people just left him more space. But there was few days per year, when he looked like a ticking bomb and people sitting near him were praying for no freaking pair work on classes or… bye, bye, cruel world.
On days like these, he usually ended suspended or got detentions, because he didn't mind telling the teachers where exactly they can put their questions and opinions. So yes, he got a detention today too.
"The one he's going to kill is me and my sock." Cagalli muttered darkly under her breath. "Besides, why should I know what's biting his damned ass? I'm not his nanny."
Flay glanced suspiciously at the fading red mark at her friend's neck, hidden behind the curtain of the blonde locks, but said nothing.
"Don't you have a history competition to worry about or something?" The blonde changed the uncomfortable topic and this was Flay's turn to sigh.
"It's ok… more or less." Yuna lent her the recordings so she was spending her evenings with La Flaga. She made a face, because that sounded… whatever. Thank gods that he had a rather soothing and nice voice but still, falling asleep and suddenly awaking in the middle of the night with his voice in her ears, talking with enthusiasm about massacres and slaughters, was at least creepy. Plus, Mu historically haunted her every forsaken dream now. Yup, sucked to be her.
There was one good thing. For some time La Flaga was ending their meetings on time and wasn't extending it with more "crucial" additional information about damned generals and kings. Flay suspected he was just avoiding possibility of meeting Ms. Ramius, so he ran to the parking lot after all their rendezvous. Serves him right.
"Well, see you tomorrow, bitch." Cagalli sighed and opened the door to detention class.
"Sayonara, pig-face." Flay said and run into… Lacus Clyne.
"Oh, my!" Pink head's books scattered on the floor.
"Shit, sorry Clyne, I wasn't looking, damn." She helped her with gathering the books. "You are going home?"
Lacus smiled. "Actually, I have detention, I forgot my chemistry homework."
Strange. Flay thought and handed her books.
"Thank you, you are such a nice person. And a friend." Clyne was still smiling softly and the red head blinked.
"I saw you with Cagalli. I'm kinda jealous, you share such a strong friendship. Nothing is going to break it, isn't it?"
It's getting stranger. "Erm, yes, thank you… I think."
"Well, she was the reason why you broke up with your boyfriend but you act like nothing happened, I'm seriously impressed."
Flay blinked dumfounded again. "Excuse me?"
"I learnt on Friday night she slept with Kira on that famous party. But I see you value friendship more than love. Girl's power, hmm? But I don't think I would be so… understanding, even for a best friend." Lacus smiled. "But well, not my business. See you tomorrow." Ignoring completely the shocked expression on the red's head face, she disappeared in the classroom.
"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" Flay muttered and started to walk slowly.
Cagalli sleeping with Kira? It was ridiculous! He slept with some random chick… Not that he ever mentioned with who, Flay wasn't interested but… There was a gossip the girl was blonde… But Mir posted a tweet and there was nothing about Cags… Well, of course there was nothing, Mir wouldn't peach against the blonde… Hmm, there was only one post from Mir about it. Usually, The Gossip Girl would do anything to reveal who exactly the chick was…But, Cagalli simply wouldn't do it, she would never stab her in the back.
Flay entered the history classroom. La Flaga and, surprise!, awake Seiran were discussing French fashion from XVIII century. Two freaks didn't notice her.
Tornado of thoughts and memories was whirling inside Flay's head. Kira and Cagalli were always teasing and kinda flirting, but she was never concerned. It was innocent and she simply trusted them. But after the break up… Cagalli acted a little off when Kira was brought up. Stopped complaining so much about how annoying he was. Changing topics. Avoiding eye's contact, looking… ashamed?
Mu and Yuna finally noticed her.
"Miss Allster, I'm happy you…" La Flaga blinked and shut his mouth at the sight of her white and tight face.
Flay looked into his blue eyes. Lacus had blue eyes too. And she was right.
The girl burst with tears and throw herself into Mu's arms.
The frozen history teacher glanced at the sobbing read head, awkwardly patted her back and looked at an equally frozen Seiran.
Shit!, they mouthed together.
Thirty minutes later Flay was sitting with a cup of a cold coffee in one hand (Seiran brought it) and a pile of wet handkerchiefs in the second (form La Flaga). Two poor guys were facing her and trying hard to follow convolutions of the plot and woman's relationships in general.
As you can probably guess – mission failed as fuck.
"But you were happy, you had a perfect reason to break up with him? Shouldn't you be thankful or something?" Yuna tired to find some pluses and Mu nodded.
Flay raised her head and threw them a poisonous and angry stare. The guys gulped.
"That doesn't change the fucking fact she is my best friend. Best friend don't touch each other's boyfriends no matter what! End of story!" And then her lip shivered and new tears appeared in her eyes. "How I suppose to face her after that?" Flay sniffed into a handkerchief.
Yuna and Mu exchanged defeated looks.
La Flaga sighed painfully. "If you had been a guy, you would just have to initiated a fist fight and it would have solved everything." He said a little absently, thinking about his past.
There was silence for a minute and then suddenly Flay stood up. The chair fell down and the two guys jumped surprised.
"You are right." Flay said darkly and stormed out of the room.
The bell rang.
Two poor guys blinked confused.
"Did you just… encourage her to beat the shit out of Athha?" Yuna asked slowly.
"What? No! She is a girl, she won't -"
Distant sounds of screaming have reached them.
"Erm, Mister Seiran, I suggest you to evacuated yourself -" Sounds of crushed things. "Rather fast."
Cagalli was staring at the clock. Five minutes to the end of her last detention. Five minutes and she will has to talk to Zala about his goddamned jacket.
The blonde cringed. She was sitting on the first row but she could hear the angry music he was listening to. He was staring outside the window and emitting dark, pissed off aura. She didn't know him that well but… under that angry appearance he looked a little… sad. And it made her worried.
Cagalli sighed when the bell rang and she slowly raised from her seat.
God, save me from this.
Well, sometimes dreams come true… and turn into nightmares.
The door burst open and Allster stormed into the classroom.
"Flay? What - " And then the red's head fist landed on Cagalli nose. Hard.
Blonde stumbled and hit the table. "What the…!"
"How dared you?" Flay asked darkly and pounced at Athha.
Whole class froze.
"CAT FIGHT!" Dearka shouted.
Mr. Neumann hid under his desk, people who were near doors run for their lives and the rest of the poor idiots, who were sitting on the back, just stuck to the walls and watched with horror the two fighting girls.
Athrun, who realized that something was happening only when a pencil box hit the window and landed on his desk, blinked and looked at the hurricane of blonde and red hair. Next, he slowly rose from his seat, turned off his music and leaned on the wall.
"Shouldn't we… stop them?" Dearka asked a little horrified.
"You have a death wish or something?" Yzak muttered, watching as Flay pulled Cagalli's hair.
Dearka was a silent for a second but then smiled. "I bet on Athha. Who's in?"
Girls, cling to each other, landed on the floor and started to roll, screaming.
"How could you do this to me?!"
"Let me go, you psycho!"
"How could you fuck Kira behind my back?!"
Whole people gasped. Dearka cursed and looked painfully at Athrun, like it was the blue head's fault or something.
The girls jumped from the floor, still struggling.
"We were drunk! Let me go!" From Cagalli's nose blood was dropping.
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Flay pulled the blonde hair. She had four, red scratches on her cheek.
"I was fucking ashamed!"
"Why didn't you trust me!?"
They stumbled and let go, breathing heavily and then, with high pitched voiced they rushed at each other again.
"How could you be so fucking stupid and thing I won't find out you slept with my boyfriend?!"
"I didn't sleep with him!"
"WHAT?!"
"I DIDN'T SLEEP WITH KIRA, WE MADE OUT!" Cagalli screamed from the bottom of her lungs and grabbed the chair.
"FUCK YEAH!" Dearka shouted and hit Athrun's shoulder "You still have a chance!" And then he realized the whole attention is focused on him and the two fighting girls are frying him with angry stares. "Sorry…!" He squeaked and hid behind Yzak.
Flay and Cagalli looked at each other. The red head blinked.
"Uhm, you are holding a chair above your head."
"Huh?" Cagalli looked above. Indeed, she was holding a freaking chair, ready to be thrown. "Oh." She said and put it gently to the ground.
The anger disappeared completely and left two girls awkwardly looking at everything but each other.
"I think we should see the director." A pale faced La Flaga said from the door.
Without a word girls left the classroom. People sighed with relief. Nobody noticed Lacus Clyne, standing in a corner and smiling softly with bright, shinning eyes.
"That was… intense." Dearka finally said. "Who made a video?" Sai waved his hand. "Cool! Post in on youtube! Best cat fight since Meer and…"
"Elsman." A dark, emotionless voice reached him and people fled from the class in a second.
A hand was forcefully put on his shoulder. Dearka gulped and looked into dark, green eyes. "Erm, yes?"
Athrun smiled a little and Dearka shivered. "What did you mean when you said, I still have a chance?"
"Well, you see…"
"If I would be you, I would watch my word, because if you tell me I'm in a middle of one of your perverted schemes…" The threat was more than obvious.
Dearka squeaked.
In the Durandal's office, on the far ends of the sofa, two girls were sitting in an awkward silence. Cagalli had ruffled hair (some of them ripped out), a bloody nose, a bruised lip, scratches on her neck and throbbing ribs. Flay had the same problem with hair, a black eye, a scratched cheek and a bruised ass.
They were sitting stiffly, looking at their knees. The clock was slowly ticking.
"Did you really have to hit my butt using the half-turn kick?" Flay asked suddenly.
Cagalli looked at her with the corner of an eye. "What I supposed to do? You were throwing pencil cases at me."
Silence.
"I didn't know you can use hip throws." Cagalli said a little impressed.
"Oh, I've learned it from watching you." Flay smiled but it died quickly.
Silence.
"Durandal and La Flaga should come back any minute."
"Yeah."
Silence.
Finally Cagalli has had enough of it.
"I'm sorry." She blurted out. "I shouldn't have made out with him and I should have told you, but when I realized what have I done and I was so ashamed and afraid, I didn't want to harm or friendship but…" Cagalli sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"I know." Flay said softly. "I'm… I'm sorry I attacked you like that. I was just so angry and I felt betrayed…" She shrugged her shoulders and sniffled too. "I was hurt because you didn't trust me enough to tell everything and…I overreacted. And it's not your fault only, the dick should suffer too." Flay said angrily.
"He should."
Then they looked at each other with teary eyes, burst into tears and hug, crying uncontrollably.
Behind them, the door closed without a sound.
"Well, I think everything is solved now." Gilbert Durandal, the eccentric but fabulous, high and mighty director of the school, said happily to his history teacher. "The power of friendship is strong in these two."
Durandal was not a fan of calling parents and dealing with the shit storms. Things like that were damned waste of his precious time. He liked the best when things were solving in a natural and not tiring way (so he could go home).
"Hmm, yes." Mu answered not really convinced and watched as his boss flung tennis gear on his shoulder.
"Please, take care of the girls." Durandal's braided hair swung on his back, when he shut the door behind him.
Mu sighed and looked at his watch. Guys were going to skin him alive.
She didn't expect him to wait for her, but there he was, leaning on her car.
"Look, if you want grill my ass about this whole mess…"
Athrun raised his brows. "Why would I do that? I want my jacket back."
Cagalli's lips shivered. "Damn, I forgot to take it! I'm sorry!" She was about to burst into tears, but instead blood gushed from her nose. "Shit!"
Zala sighed and approached her. Then put a handkerchief on her nose. "Here, clench it or you'll bleed to death. Where're the keys?"
"Why do you need them?" Cagalli asked suspiciously.
"You are not in a condition to drive a car, dumb cat. So?"
She withdrew them from her pocket. He grabbed the keys and put a package of a… frozen peas on her palm.
Cagalli blinked. "Where the hell did you get that?"
"I stole it from the school's cafeteria." He answered flatly, got into the car and started it. "Put it on the bridge of your nose, it'll help to stop the bleeding. And tilt your head a little or you'll choke to death."
"Yes, grandpa."
"Keep talking and I'm giving your precious sock to my cat."
"You know, you don't need to do it." Flay said, looking at the reflection of her poor, beaten face in a hand mirror.
Was that an electric guitar on the back seat? She didn't know he could play.
Mu sighed and switched the gears. "I feel guilty, it was my fault after all."
Flay looked at him by the corner of her eye. "If you want to make sure I won't blab to the director or my parents about your erm, involvement, then don't worry, I won't."
The teacher glanced at her. "I thought you'll use it as a blackmail to free yourself from the history contest."
She chuckled. "Damn, I didn't think about that but well, the fight help, so whatever."
"Everything is fine between you and Miss Athha then?"
"More or less. We just need to make Kira suffer…" Mu coughed. "I mean, talk to him. I swear."
La Flaga sighed. "Just make sure he'll survive and no one will notice your talk." He said and stopped the car in front of the Allster's house.
Flay chuckled and opened the door. "Shouldn't you pick his side because of the solidarity of the dicks or something like that?"
"What can I say? I have three younger sisters, I'm in the vagina squad."
The red head snorted and got off. "Thanks, sir."
"Miss Allster?" She bent and looked at her teacher. "That hip throw was very impressive." He grinned and then drove away.
Flay wondered why her face felt hot so suddenly.
"See? Here's your baby, safe and sound." Cagalli pointed his jacket, hanging on a chair and threw herself to her bed.
Athrun took off her sock from the pocket and put in on a desk. Then looked skeptically at the blonde.
"You look like shit, we should postpone the tutoring."
"No!" Cagalli sat up. "You can stay. We can just talk or something…" Because I really don't want to stay alone with my brain right now.
Blueberry blinked, opened and closed his mouth. Then noticed the poor remains of her alarm clock.
"What the hell happened to this?"
"Well, me?" She said sheepishly.
"Why I'm not surprised." Athrun muttered and took gently the orange alarm clock to examined it closer. "Do you have super glue and screwdrivers?"
For the next half of the hour he was silently fixing her hamster clock and she was just lying and observing him thru half closed eyes. The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable but felt normal. Watching him was soothing. She was a little amazed how focused he could be, like he was entering other dimension while fixing things.
"The mechanism works again." He said suddenly. "Now, the casing."
"Wow, you are really good at it."
Athrun was silent for awhile. "Fixing things is simple. You can fix it or you can't." He said and she got an impression he wasn't exactly talking to her. "With people it's more complicated."
"You sound like you're talking from your own experience." She said carefully.
Athrun chuckled darkly. "Well, you can say that. Not so many people were abandoned by their fathers, who couldn't stand to look at their faces." He said flatly and kept gluing the plastic parts, but something in his voice made Cagalli shiver.
"Is he the reason… why you were so angry today?" She asked softly.
"I guess." Athrun sighed. "He calls from time to time, you know. To ensure me he'll pay for my studies and shit like that. I'm not sure, because I haven't talked to him for years. Bastard sends money for my expenses," His words were dripping with sarcasm. "But I've never touched them. I'm going to send it all back after I graduate." Athrun said with some vindictive satisfaction in his voice.
Cagalli was thinking about what he said, then it hit her. "That's why you don't want to study." She looked at him sadly. "You don't want to do what he expects."
Athrun was silent for awhile. "Maybe in the beginning." He finally said. "But now… I'm not sure anymore. Doing exactly what he wouldn't like, is like allowing him to still influence my life, isn't it? It's just plain stupid. Maybe I want to find my own ways. Or maybe I just want to run away from everything and don't look back. Or I don't give a flying shit about it." Athrun shrugged his shoulders. "Being an idiot on your own terms… it doesn't sound so bad."
"No, it doesn't." Cagalli said quietly, thinking about her mother. When was the last time she did something against Via's will or said no to her?
"They were arguing that day." Athrun said suddenly.
"Huh?"
"My parents. They were arguing few minutes before the accident." He calmly and methodically kept gluing the plastic parts. "Mom was fuming for some time after he angrily ended the phone call. Then she smiled and said, I shouldn't worry, because if parents argue that means they love each other and try to fix things. And then a truck hit us."
Cagalli opened her mouth but said nothing. Because what could she say? Everything would sound meaningless.
"We were brought to the hospital. I broke my fucking arm and she… she died after two days, without came to." He said emotionlessly. "Father wasn't leaving her side, saying sorry, saying he couldn't live without her but she didn't open her eyes. I tried to talk to him and repeat her last words but he was ignoring me completely. So, I never did." Athrun grimaced.
"I didn't notice at first. I was so numb and everything, the funeral and few days after felt like a blurred dream. But then people left and I was alone with my father and I realized, that he was avoiding me. Even if he talked to me, he had never looked at my face. One day after the funereal he returned to the work, coming back at nights, still avoiding me."
Cagalli took a shaky breath. That time, Athrun was ten years old.
"And I was just… vegetating alone for days, thinking I did something wrong. Like maybe I should have died instead of mother?" He affixed the last part to the alarm clock. "But then Aisha, who was bringing us food, realized something was wrong. One Sunday, when father was locked up in his room, my granddad stormed into the house. Father was drinking and they had a fight. And I was just sitting on the stairs and learnt few interesting things. Like he couldn't stand looking at me, because I resembled mother so much. Or like he had wished, tadah!, that I would have died, not his wife. Like his life was meaningless and he didn't have a reason to live." Athrun collected the pieces of broken glass and tried to match them.
"And you know what? I was happy, because I finally realized that both of my parents died that day. That there is no hope to cling, so maybe I could move on."
"What happened then?" Cagalli asked in small voice when he went silent.
"Granddad took me to his home. Next day he put his uniform and went to our school. No idea what he said to the principal, but they released me a month before the end of school." Athrun shrugged his shoulders again. "Next thing I remember was a plane. Granddad decided I need a change and he took me to our ancestors homelands. Turned out I had there a huge extended family." Athrun smiled a little for the first time.
"We traveled a lot but we spend some time in one place, in smallholding. I had there gazillion of cousins, aunts and uncles who were talking in some freaking language and I didn't understand a thing, but it was so… unbelievable and felt like a fairy tale or a different dimension. I could pretended I was someone else and nothing happened. I was… happy there. To be honest, I always am when I visit that places on holidays." He smiled again, but it died quickly.
"After some months we came back and I started to live with Aisha and Andy. Father sold our house and moved to another city, just like that… I don't think I can glue the glass. Beside that, it's ok. Like I said, fixing things is easy…" Athrun put carefully the alarm clock in front of him.
Cagalli stood up, put her face on his shoulder and embraced him from behind.
"Why are you crying, you dumb cat." He sighed softly but didn't move when she tightened her embrace.
The clock, with strains of glue and cracks all over, was ticking quietly.
AN:
(1) Yes, Fifty Shades of Gray.
So, a lot happened in this chap. Yes, the FxC "Kira issue" is solved and the girls are still friends. I hope you are satisfied and didn't expect longer drama.
Now you know every broken piece of Athrun's past. I tried to grasp his character, made him real and I think he turned to be not bad, but you are my judges so judge me ;)
Expect the next chap in two weeks. Sorry, writing this fic is getting more and more… challenging. But don't worry, I'll finish it no matter what, with the shield or on it *epic music in the background*
Btw, I know you can't see it, but the end of Murphy's is slowly approaching. After I finish it, I want to write another multichapter story but here is a stinky problem – I have too many ideas blossoming happily (and annoyingly…) in my brain. I can't decide which one is the best and I really need a lot of time to do research and blah, blah. So, I made a poll, it's on my profile, and if you are interested please go there and press the button. After all, I'm writing for your entertainment. Of course, I can always write for myself and moan it to the moon, but it wouldn't be entertaining but pathetic, so… go to my profile and save me from myself (pretty please with Athrun's naked butt on the top).
Guest reviews:
GloriousCreation: The way you feel about Kira – this is exactly what I wanted. He is the cute jerk, he is the sweet asshole but he is much, much more and it's hard to put a label on him. I hope it makes him interesting and not stereotypical. Aww, cool to know my anime references are noticed!
Surreal: High five for the awesome blonde head and the girls power! What about this chap, hmm? I hope you still like Cags after it ;)
Okita Kagura: So, this makes me a Spanish teen rom-com writer? COOL! ;D (wait! I think I've heard about series like that!… Rebelde? I think I saw few episodes in Polish TV xD). Hope this chap fascinated you a little ;D
Guest: Hey, thanks a lot, especially for the "right characterization" line! (you really think like that? *squeaks*) And I think I should thank you for leaving a comment under Oh boy, oh girl too ;)
Thank you all for reading! And Happy International Workers' Day. Don't work today, read some fics! ;)