Blood 3/5
By: Hotaru
Duo smiled sheepishly as Wufei emerged from the closet. "Uh..I better get some sleep, Big day tomorrow." He said finally. Holding back a frown, Wufei nodded and watched as Duo climbed gingerly into bed. "Maybe you'll make it to the game tomorrow?" Duo asked quietly. Wufei smiled to himself and replied, "We'll see."
The next morning, the only remnants of Wufei's visit was a note. Duo was running late as usual so he stuffed it into his pocket quickly. His dad was still in bed, for it was a Saturday after all. Duo managed to grab a pop tart and ran to catch the train. He lugged his bag of basketball stuff around, bumping into people and walls. "Sorry, excuse me, sorry." He muttered, running through the streets trying to get to practice on time. His coach was a very punctual person. By the time he had reached Laguardia High, Duo was out of breath. He slowly dragged his feet to the gym. "Maxwell! It's about damn time! Go get changed and practice!" the coach said as he pasted Duo in the hall.
/Go change and practice he says. I swear if I didn't have any self control I'd kick his ass./ Duo jogged into the locker room and was greeted by his team mates. The newest one, Heero Yuy, caught his interest. The Prussian eyes and messy hair. Duo caught a quick glance at the young japanese boy before stripping out of his clothes and into their uniform. The locker room emptied out and soon it was just Duo and Heero. Shoving the last article of clothes into a locker, Duo slammed it shut. "Need some help buddy?" he asked as Heero desperatly tried to open his stuck locker.
"Oh..um…" he mumbled. Duo grinned and punched the locker a few times. "Don't worry about it. It gets stuck a lot so just whack it and it'll open." He said with a wink. Heero smiled slightly and Duo headed onto the courts. Before he knew it, it was time for the game.
Duo sat in the locker room, staring at the grey floor. He always got nervous before a game. "Duo—come on, they're waiting on you!" Duo's coach said. With one last sigh and look at the floor, the young American hopped up and followed his coach outside. "And finally, the man who doesn't hate to be late, Duo Maxwell!!" Duo grinned and waved as the crowd erupted in cheers. He glanced around, trying to find Wufei. He was probably hiding under the bleachers or something. The game began, and Duo was up and about.
Wufei watched from under the bleachers where it was relativly dark. Too bright for his likings but dark enough. He enjoyed the sight of Duo running back and forth, that tank top uniform shirt showed his toned muscles well. As often as Duo scored points, he was knocked to the floor. /Why do they keep hurting him…/Wufei thought as a fellow teammate helped Duo up. Wufei took notice of the ones who kept knocking Duo down. He'd make sure they got what they deserve. "A great shot from the foul line from Pete Medina, a shot that even Duo Maxwell couldn't block!"
Wufei scowled at the annoying announcer, who kept putting 'his' Duo down. The first quarter was over and Duo walked over to the bench. [1] He drank thirtsily from his bottled water and poured it onto his face. He offered some water to a team mate…the same one who had helped him up before. Wufei watched and read Duo and the other boys lips. "Rough out there isn't it?" Duo said, taking deep breaths. The other boy nodded. The horn blared signaling the resumption of the game. Wufei was hungry…he sheilded his eyes and ran out of the gym as fast as possible.
Luckily the sun had went down and he was able to unsheild his eyes. There were a group of girls standing around outside, smoking. Wufei smiled and sauntered over to one. "Hey there." He whispered in that vampire voice of his. The girl giggled and eyed Wufei. "Um, who're you?" she asked in a Brooklyn accent. Wufei frowned as he smelled cigarettes, among other things on the girls breath. "It doesn't matter who I am…" Wufei said, slowly pulling the girl into an alley. "It matters what I am." The girl took another drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke in Wufei's face. "Then what are you?" she asked.
Wufei ran his tongue across his fangs and bit down on that girls neck, sucking her dry. Going around the school, Wufei managed to get back inside. Duo was nearly dripping with sweat as he ran back and forth. Wufei stood under the bleachers and held his breath. Duo managed to grab the ball and was dribbling down to make a shot. He leaped up and dunked it into the basket, only to be slammed into the floor. A refiree blew a whistle and a crowd of players and ref's grew around Duo. Wufei's mouth dropped open slightly. "Out of the way!" someone said, most likely a doctor.
"Can you speak son? Can you tell me your name?" he asked. Wufei took a shaky breath as he read the doctors lips. "Yeah. I'm Duo Maxwell." Duo muttered. "Good, it's your shoulder?" the doctor asked. Duo nodded as he clutched his right shoulder. He was helped from the floor and was walked over to the bleachers. "Get him an ice pack. You're gonna have to sit out the rest of the game Duo. I'm sorry." The coach said. Wufei growled. "Heero, take his place." Duo looked saddened as this Heero ran onto the court. Wufei felt his breathing increase. /He was looking forward to this game..he was going to show me…this feeling? Pain, sadness? It's so unfamiliar…/
Duo sat glumly on the side lines, watching the game. Those stupid Curtis jerks had to keep hitting him didn't they. "Look Duo, I didn't want you to miss out on the game. But what good are you if you can't even shoot?" the coach said, ignoring the game momentarily. Duo snorted and gripped the ice pack tighter. "Bull shit. I'm fine—I can play!" he said. An exasperated sigh escaped from the coach's lips and he turned back to the game. Duo sighed and looked around. Crowds of people, jumping up in their seats…/wait a minute! Those eyes…/ Duo leaned forwards and he saw a pair of obsidian eyes staring back at him. "Wufei. So he did come after all." He said to himself outloud.
Wufei smiled and nodded. Duo grinned and mouthed, "Do you want to stay or go?" Wufei shrugged and pointed to Duo's shoulder. He looked down at it and continued, "I'm fine. Don't worry about it." They decided to stay and watch the rest of the game. Duo's team lost by three points. Wufei waited until the gym was empty to go into the locker room.
Duo sat on a bench, his eyes burning with tears begging to be released. "Hey Duo." He looked up to see Heero, in his street clothes. "Hey." Duo mumbled, staring back at the floor. "Don't worry about it Duo. It's not your fault. They hit you on purpose because they knew you're the best player. We can always try again next year." Heero said, putting his hand on Duo's good shoulder. "Thanks." Duo said, sighing deeply. He heard Heero's footsteps echo to the end of the hall, then disappear.
The tears came freely now, salty little droplets sliding down Duo's cheeks, and splashing to the floor silently. His vision blurred, but he didn't care. This game was important and he blew it again. What would his dad think? Or his mom? Duo stood up and wiped his eyed quickly. "Hey." He looked up to see his new vampire friend lurking in the darkness. Duo scowled and pulled his things out of the locker. "What's the matter Duo?" Wufei asked. Duo pressed his head against the cold steel locker door. "I blew it. I fucking blew it." He muttered, wincing as the muscles in his shoulders burned in pain.
"It's not that big a deal Duo. It's only a game." Wufei replied, sheilding his eyes as he walked into the dim light. He slowly helped Duo out of his uniform and back into his clothes. "They were counting on me. We've had a really rough year and we barely made it…I promised them we'd win. And that I'd try my best." Duo said sadly, as Wufei took his duffel bag so he could hold the ice to his shoulder.
They made their way to Duo's apartment, only to find his parents weren't around. Dropping onto his bed, Duo whimpered. Wufei sat on the bed and pulled Duo's head into his lap. "I also promised him I'd win it. He'd be proud of me and maybe say 'Good job' or something." Duo whispered, clutching Wufei's white satin pants in his hands. /Being with Wufei like this is nice…I almost forget he is a vampire./ "Your father?" Wufei asked quietly. Duo nodded and sniffled. "He's always putting me d-down. Especially since…y'know I came out…always 'Fag this' of 'Fag that'. He said he lost all respect he had for me. This was the one thing I could do to make things right. To make him love me again."
Wufei stroked Duo's hair soothingly. "No Duo. Your father needs to love and accept you for who you are. I know how important this was to you and I'm sorry. It pains me to see you like this.." he whispered. Duo snuggled against the warmth that was Wufei. /I can't believe I am actually starting to like Wufei…so what if he's a vampire? I love to be with him…and he is dead sexy. Maybe things can work out between us./
Hotaru
[1] Never played basketball, don't know what the hell they're called. Quarters, innings, it's all the same!