A/N: So we're going on an average of 1 review per 1,000 views. What's up with that? Does that mean you like it or does it suck? I can assume it's good, but I'm biased. Maybe if I throw some more angst at you...


Chapter 42

After another week of recovering and seeing Dr. J, Dr. Noin cleared Quatre to go back to school. Quatre was glad that Heero had gotten him his homework. Well, except for his work from Mr. Darlian. Heero had gone to see Ms. Po about it and she told him that she would take care of it. Since that day, every time Heero went to Mr. Darlian's classroom to get Quatre's assignments, the teacher wasn't there. It frustrated Heero that the man was avoiding him, but what could he do?

Miss Une greeted Quatre warmly when he walked into homeroom. Since he hadn't been there for so long, she asked him if he wanted to continue tutoring Treize, which he agreed to. He actually enjoyed tutoring the older boy and was wondering if he ought to pursue a career in education.

Quatre's classes went smoothly and he was surprised at how many of his fellow students greeted him in the halls. He hadn't realized that so many people knew who he was. He certainly didn't know most of them, but they were friendly enough, so he returned their greetings. He was a little uncomfortable when someone passed him a note in the hall before History. It said, "Beware Milliardo, he's on the prowl and you look like prey." Quatre wasn't exactly sure what it meant, or who sent it but he made a mental note to be careful in the halls.

The biggest surprise came when he got to Business Ethics. He sat in his usual seat and was surprised to note that the other students were sitting around talking.

"So you finally decided to show up, huh?"

"Oh…um…hi, Relena." Quatre still wasn't comfortable around her after what she'd done at the Homecoming game.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever."

"So…where's Mr. Darlian?"

"Well if you bothered to come to class once in a while you'd know." She turned, flipping her hair over her shoulder and flounced to her seat, where she immediately started painting her fingernails.

"She can really be a bitch sometimes."

Quatre turned to see an older blonde boy sitting a few seats back. Next to him was another older boy who had darker hair. They motioned for Quatre to join them.

"I'm Alex, by the way. This is Josh Mueller, but everyone just calls him Mueller." The older blonde introduced.

"You're both on the football team, right?" Quatre asked as he sat in an empty desk. He remembered seeing them on the sidelines at the Homecoming game.

Alex nodded. "Yeah. Treize says you're the reason he kept his grade up in math."

"I tutored him," Quatre answered with a shrug. "But he did all the work."

"We wouldn't have beat Alliance if he'd lost his eligibility," Mueller commented. "So, I guess, that kind of makes you part of the win."

"Um…thanks," Quatre responded. He didn't think he had anything to do with the football team winning.

"So to answer your question about Darlian, he quit."

"I heard he got fired," Alex said. "The story going around is that he and Principal Po got into a fight over how he was treating a student."

"R-really?" Quatre had a strong suspicion it was because of him.

"Yeah. I heard someone got beat up and Darlian said he deserved it. Then he refused to give the kid his homework."

"Who was the student?" Quatre forced himself to ask. He had to know if everyone knew about him.

"Dunno. Nobody seems to know," Mueller responded with a shrug. "Which is why it's more believable that he quit."

"Yeah, well I heard the kid transferred to Alliance and Principal Po fired him because the superintendent found out about it."

The two older teens had a brief argument over whether Darlian got fired or quit. Quatre wondered if Darlian really had gotten fired. He also wondered how many students knew about it and whether or not anyone would realize he was the student that got him fired.

"So why haven't you been coming to class?" Alex asked.

"Oh, um…I've been sick."

"Yeah? Did you at least get to go sledding on Epyon before it all melted?"

"No. I was going to go, but got sick that morning."

"That sucks. You'll probably have to wait until next year before we get enough snow for them to block it off again."

Quatre nodded. At least he would be around next year, so he wasn't too bummed about missing out this year. He flinched as a wad of paper bounced off his head.

Alex frowned and picked up the paper as Mueller glared around the room, looking for the culprit. Alex swore as he smoothed out the paper and read what was on it. Mueller glanced at the paper and stood up. His size was intimidating at 6'2" and almost 325 pounds of muscle. It was rumored that he had a full ride scholarship to any college he wanted.

"Alright, whose idea of a joke is this?"

No one dared to meet his eyes except Relena, who was wearing a look of total innocence.

"Mueller, it's…it's okay," Quatre said softly.

"No, it isn't," Alex growled, standing next to Mueller with his arms crossed. "Why do you find this funny, Relena?" he demanded, waving the paper.

"What on earth makes you think it was me?" she asked sweetly. She wasn't intimidated by the 500 pounds of muscle glaring her down.

"Because you're the only one that would have paper with pink lines on it," Alex pointed out. "This isn't funny."

Relena rolled her eyes. "Just because I have a certain brand of paper doesn't mean that I did anything. After all, Julia borrowed a few sheets from me just last week."

Julia, a soft-spoken brunette looked at Relena in disbelief. Yes, she'd borrowed two sheets of paper last week, but she'd used both of them to turn in English assignments. She turned frightened eyes to the two football players. "I…I didn't—" she stammered out.

"It's okay, Julia," Alex reassured her. "We know you didn't." Alex had known Julia since third grade. She was the sweetest girl in the entire school. There was no way she could have written something like this.

"Relena, you have to the count of three to apologize or we're going straight to Principal Po with this."

Relena rolled her eyes again. "You really think you intimidate me, Mueller? I'm Head Cheerleader and we have Regionals next week. Principal Po won't do anything to me."

"One."

Relena glared at the football player. Quatre had stayed sitting down and was looking at the desk in front of him. He hated this.

"Two."

"He isn't bluffing, Relena. Apologize if you know what's good for you," Alex said.

Relena threw up her arms in exasperation. "Fine. If it makes you happy, I'll admit to writing it and I'm sorry."

"Don't ever write anything like this again, d'you hear? Next time, I won't be so nice about it." Mueller turned his back on the spoiled cheerleader and resumed his seat. "Don't worry about her. We all know she's the wicked bitch of the west."

Quatre nodded. But all he could see were the words Relena had written: "For a good time call 1-800-Slutbunny and ask for Quatre Winner. Cheapest rates in town. Discounts for groups."

He wanted to throw up. Did she know, or had she simply stumbled onto it by accident?

"Hey, you okay man?"

Quatre looked at Alex. "Uh, yeah. Just...not feeling so good all of a sudden."

"What's your next class?"

"I work with Treize next."

"Where?" Mueller pressed.

"The library." Quatre was confused. Why did it matter?

Alex nodded. "We'll walk you there, unless you'd rather we take you to the nurse?"

Quatre shook his head. "I'll be fine. I don't need the nurse. And while I appreciate the offer, you don't have to go out of your way to walk me to the library."

"It's no bother," Mueller commented, waving a hand dismissively.

Quatre frowned. "Did Treize put you up to this?"

Alex and Mueller shared a confused look. "No. Why do you ask?"

"Um…well…there are some rumors going around…and I thought…"

"What kind of rumors?" Alex was curious while Mueller tried to look like he didn't care one way or the other.

Quatre could feel himself starting to blush. "Oh…um…something about Milliardo wanting to bully me or something."

Alex cocked an eyebrow and looked at Mueller. "If that's true we're definitely walking you to the library."

Mueller nodded. "Peacecraft is…well, he's a dick at the best of times. I mean, look at his sister. If he's got his eye on you—" Mueller gave Quatre an appraising look "—and I can understand why he would, you shouldn't go anywhere alone. He'll find a way to single you out if he can."

Quatre was definitely blushing now. He looked down at his desk. "Then maybe it is best if I walk with you to the library. Thank you. It seems that nobody has anything good to say about Milliardo and I really don't want to get tangled up with him."

For the rest of the class period, Quatre got to know Mueller and Alex. If it wasn't for the fierce rivalry between the football and baseball teams, he felt that the two boys might have fit in with his current group of friends. Once the bell rang, the two made sure he was safe in the library before heading to their own classes.

Quatre sat at a table and waited for Treize to show up. He wondered how the older boy had done with his homework during his absence. He knew that Treize wasn't stupid, but because of his dyslexia, he sometimes had issues getting his homework right.

Quatre frowned as time continued to pass. Treize had been in Howard's class. Quatre was sure Treize had seen him. So why wasn't he showing up? Quatre finally pulled out his own homework and started it. By the time the bell rang, Treize still hadn't shown up. Quatre was a little concerned but there was nothing he could do about it, so he decided not to worry about it. Orchestra was relaxing and Quatre realized just how much he missed playing as part of the group. Yes, playing alone was fun, but there was just something special about combining his talents with others and creating something truly magical.

Heero was waiting for him at his locker.

"How has your day been?" he asked, wanting to be certain that Quatre was doing alright especially after hearing some rumors that had started floating around. He hoped Quatre hadn't heard them.

"It's been fine. Did you know Darlian got fired?"

Heero raised an eyebrow. "No. Did anyone tell you why?"

Quatre bit his lip. "Um…actually I think it was because of me," he told Heero quietly. "Some of the guys in my class said that he either quit or got fired for refusing to give me my homework. There are a lot of different rumors but enough pieces add up to it being my fault."

Heero gently lifted Quatre's chin. "Whatever the case may be, it was not your fault. If Darlian got fired, it was because of something he did, not you. Don't feel bad about it. He's been an ass for years and it finally caught up to him, okay?"

Quatre nodded. "Okay."

"Let's get some lunch before Duo eats it all," Heero suggested.

After they got their food and sat at their usual table, Quatre was approached by Treize, Mueller and Alex.

"Quatre, can we talk for a minute?"

Heero frowned but Quatre answered, "Um, sure, Treize."

"Alone?"

Quatre nodded and followed the three older boys to a private spot.

"What's up?"

"I heard about what happened with Relena." Treize was frowning. "Do you want me to handle it?"

Quatre felt his face turn red. "Um…no. I think…I think attention is what she wants so I want to ignore her for now and see if she stops. If she doesn't…"

"We'll take care of it," Mueller finished for him. "Just because she's a cheerleader it doesn't mean she has a right to treat anyone that way. And if she treats you that way, she'll do the same to others."

Alex nodded his agreement. "We'll leave her alone for now, but if she does anything, and I mean anything, to you again, tell us. She can't keep getting away with this crap."

Quatre looked up at the larger boys. "Um…okay." He didn't like the situation, but if they were going to insist on taking care of it, how could he stop them? They were all twice his size.

The boys seemed to be satisfied and turned to go.

"Um, Treize?"

Treize turned back. "Yeah?"

"Where were you today? Um…I mean...you didn't come to the library so I guess I'm wondering if you still need tutoring?"

"Oh that. Um, yeah. We can still meet during that hour. I missed today because I had a meeting with Principal Po about graduating this year. If I pass everything I should have enough credits. I'm meeting with her again after lunch to discuss college options."

"Really? So you'll get to skip next year?"

"The only catch is that I have to take an exam to show that I know everything I'm supposed to. If I fail I have to come next year, but at least I'll be a senior."

"That's great!"

Treize grinned. "Yeah, well…it's your fault."

Quatre grinned back. "You're welcome."

Treize chuckled and the boys headed back to their lunches.

"What did Treize want?" Duo asked when Quatre sat down.

"He just wanted to tell me why he missed meeting me in the library," Quatre answered dismissively. He wasn't sure he wanted to talk about what happened with Relena just yet. And besides, if she stopped on her own, he wasn't going to concern himself with her. It wasn't worth it.

Advanced Physics and English were uneventful, except that Quatre felt like the professors were keeping a closer watch on him than usual. Well, he supposed it could be worse.

Duo met him outside of the English room and the two made their way to the gym. Quatre knew he wasn't supposed to join in so he sought out Coach O and asked what he was supposed to do.

"Hang tight for a few minutes. Once everyone else is busy playing football I'll have you run a couple of errands for me."

Quatre nodded and sat on the bleachers. He noticed that Treize wasn't there. Maybe he was still talking to Principal Po. Some of the girls gave him odd looks for not being in his gym clothes, but he ignored them. He wasn't going to let them bother him. He'd already decided that if anyone asked, he would tell them he was sick. Technically, it was true. The doctor hadn't cleared him to participate in gym yet.

Once everyone else was split into teams, Coach O handed Quatre an envelope and told him to take it down to the nurse's office. Quatre was more than glad to do so as a stray football had already almost hit him. If he hadn't moved, it would have beaned him in the head. He couldn't tell if it was on purpose or not so he decided not to tell the coach about it. He wasn't even sure who had thrown it.

Quatre found the nurse and gave her the envelope. She had him deliver a note to one of the math teachers who asked him to return a note to the nurse and then Quatre made his way back to the gym.

"Winner…run this to the equipment room."

"Okay, Coach O." Quatre pulled the bag of sports equipment out of the gym and down the small hallway between the gym and the locker rooms. The equipment room was halfway to the locker rooms. The bag was heavy, but Quatre was glad that he wasn't being made to play football. Even if it was just supposed to be touch football three of the boys had already been sent to the nurse with injuries. Quatre had seen them when he took the second note to Nurse Sylvia. One of them had an ice pack on his shoulder and another was complaining of a twisted ankle while the third had a black eye and a bloody nose.

Lugging the bag inside the room, Quatre looked for the place to put it. Coach O had told him that there was a place for the bag next to one of the shelves in the back. Spotting the place O had described, Quatre dragged the bag over and put it away.

"Well, fancy meeting you here."

Quatre spun around to see Milliardo blocking the doorway. The older teen smirked and stepped inside the room, closing the door behind him. "I haven't seen you around lately. Where have you been hiding?" Quatre swallowed and took a step backwards. Milliardo gave Quatre a predatory smile. "Since Treize is done with you he won't mind if I take my turn."

Quatre took another step back and found himself against a wall. There wasn't much room to get past Milliardo and, even if he tried, Quatre wasn't sure he was fast enough. Milliardo walked slowly towards him.

"I've been waiting for Treize to get bored of you. You must be really good for him to have taken this long." Milliardo stroked Quatre's cheek. "I can't wait."

Quatre slapped Milliardo's hand away and pushed past the older teen, who merely laughed as he grabbed Quatre and pulled him tightly to his hips. Grinding into the smaller boy's back side Milliardo said, "Keep fighting…I like it."

"Let me go." Quatre demanded, fighting to keep calm. He knew what would happen next if he couldn't get away.

"No."

Quatre froze as Milliardo's hand went down the front of his pants.