@--{February}--@
Wufei sat at the drawing table in his bedroom, his dark brown eyes narrowed in deep thought. He pushed up the thin rims of his glasses and tilted his head to the side. Removing the pencil that was clenched between his teeth, he made marks on the large paper. Fifteen minutes later, he was unearthing the eraser tucked strategically behind his ear.
"Marble vinyl, page 433," he murmured. "A lighted mural backdrop, balloons. . . a lot of balloons. Front entrance, fountain. . . should we use gossamer?"
He reached for the nearby phone and quickly dialed. After four rings, a familiar voice boomed from the other end.
"Yuy residence."
"Hey Duo, it's Wufei. I need to ask you a quick question about the decorations."
"Hey Wu! How's your art class doin' with the design?"
"The design is basically done." he snapped irritably before looking at the drawing in front of him. "I'm just adjusting it to fit our budget."
"Fun, fun," Duo commented lamely.
"Look, I need to get some gossamer samples."
"Goss-a-what samples?"
"Do you have your catalog with you?" he asked. "Well, ask Heero if he has . . . thought so. Okay, turn to page 412. Yeeesss, that's gossamer."
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Relena looked up from her book angrily at the boy sitting on Heero's bed. Heero had Relena and Duo over to study, but it seemed that everyone had been content to study on their own. They sat in virtual silence, the loud ring from the telephone practically scaring them. Duo had been the only one who bothered to answer it, and apparently the phone call was intended for him.
"Hey! This cloth-y stuff looks like it can be used for floors!" Duo continued to chat with Wufei on the phone as he flipped through the large book. "Comes in a bunch of designs too. Hey! Check out the metallic gossamerothers on page 425!"
"Budget." Heero commented from his chair, not even bothering to look up from his textbook.
"Hey Wu, how are we doing on the budget?" Duo asked as he pulled a sheet of paper from Heero's desk. "Mmm-hmmm. . . well, the gossamer runs by size, it looks like the 60 inch wide rolls are at about 150 dollars a for a 100 yards. The 19 inches roll is about 20 bucks, so you can get that for decorating, but I think we should try for using this on the floors. Yeah it's a bit expensive, but if we get everything in before the fifteenth of February, there is a 10 percent discount. How much is put aside for decorations? Well, figure in the discount, subtract that, and we're just 50 under the projections! Um, did you get all that?"
"Lights."
"Oh, and Wu. . . fei, I've talked to the drama department, and they're going to rig some lights for us. Just got to pay a 25 dollar rental fee and the cabinet has to promise to get season tickets next year. I'll talk to Mrs. N about getting the gossamer samples. Any particular patterns?"
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"All of the marble colors, starry skys, water, metallic-toned, and cobblestone." Wufei listed. Sitting in a nearby chair, he added, "Did you ask him yet?"
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"No!" Duo suddenly exclaimed. Relena watched him jump from his spot on the bed and began to pace with the phone. "I can't today! And why not, Wu? Well, I'm studying today. . . with Heero AND Relena. What do you mean, 'So'?"
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"If I were you. . ."
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"Well I'm not, so quit harping me about it! I'll do it tomorrow. Quit laughing, I am! I can't talk with you laughing that loud. You're right, this is not funny. Pity!! Don't pity me! Do you want the gossamer or not?"
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"I want for you to get a date." He said seriously. "If I remember correctly at one meeting you trying to find me one. I'm just returning the favor. Let me speak to Heero for a minute."
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"No, no! That's quite enough!" Duo snapped with annoyance as he flopped back down on the bed. "Has designing made you go Hilde on me or something? One of her is good enough, I sure don't need two!"
"What was that all about?" Relena asked while Duo hung up the phone.
"Oh, my cabinet's being a thorn in my side. Don't worry, Princess, things will calm down once prom's over and done with." He explained as he sat down in front of his books and cracked one open. He grinned at his friends and tried to hide between the pages. Two weeks ago, he had been dead set on making a move on his friend, but each time he tried he'd chicken out or Relena was around.
Which seemed like every single hour of the day. Ever since the party at his job she had been observing Duo's every little move, and latching onto Heero even more. Heero even seemed to be distant. Other than their dealings with the prom committee, Heero rarely talked to him. Even now, as he sat right next to Heero, Duo felt extremely distant.
'Once prom's over. . . then what?'
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@--{Next Day}--@
"May I have your attention please." The school secretary's voice boomed over the loud, static-filled PA system. Duo yawned and leaned back in his chair. He looked at the clock on the nearby wall.
"Two minutes to the bell," he sighed. After the bell rang, he knew the drill.
'Gather things, go to locker. Make Quatre blush. Flirt with Hilde. Heero and the Princess will stop by and ignore me. On to the afternoon meeting. Heero's house. Work.'
He listened absentmindedly to the various voices that droned through the afternoon announcements.
"Attention all students!" Mrs. Noin's voice cheerfully filled the classroom. "I have here in my hand the nominees of this year's Prom Court!"
Duo sat up straight in his chair. He remembered that they had the nomination process during lunch, but he didn't think that the results would be finished so soon. Though he knew there wouldn't be any surprises, the same people seemed to get nominated every year.
"Junior Princess nominees are: Relena Darlian, Hilde Schbeiker, and Joan Martin. Junior Prince: Wufei Chang, Christopher Loren, Heero Yuy, and Duo Maxwell. King: Trowa Barton, Jay Kristenson, and Nicholas Winter. Queen: Dorothy Catalonia, Carol Griffiths, and Marie Knight. There will be a brief meeting with all of the nominees tomorrow morning to discuss the rules of the upcoming election."
"Shit." he cursed, sliding far down into his chair. Bowing his head, he felt hands slap him on the shoulder in congratulations. The bell rang overhead, and students began to fill out of the room. Duo, however, was far from pleased.
'The junior ballot is unbalanced.'
Gathering his things, he stormed out of the classroom. Marching rapidly to Heero's locker, he opened it and unceremoniously threw his book bag inside. He grabbed the clipboard and catalogs from the top shelf and slammed the door shut. Nodding briefly to Quatre, he turned on his heel and walked briskly to the cafeteria.
"What's his function?" Hilde mused as she stopped to stand next to the blond boy. The plan had been to meet at Heero's locker before the meeting to discuss the order of business.
"Ballot's uneven." Heero said as he walked past the pair to open his locker.
"Where?" She asked.
"Junior Prince. There are four nominees instead of only three."
"Oh."
"He probably went to talk to Mrs. Noin." he stated as he shut the locker. "Odds are he. . ."
Both Quatre and Hilde watched in silence as Heero's sentence trailed off. To their surprise, Heero slammed his locker door shut, nodded briefly to them and broke into a run towards the cafeteria. Hilde grabbed the sleeve of Quatre's shirt and began to run down the hallway.
"Where are we going?" Quatre yelled.
"This is going to be good!" Hilde exclaimed, ignoring the boy she was currently dragging down the hall. "Hush up, you! We need witnesses."
"What's going on?" a bewildered Relena shouted as they flew past her. "Why is Heero sprinting down the hallway like a madman?"
"Quit asking and start running!" Came Quatre's breathless reply.
As the three teens reached the doorway of the cafeteria, they found that there was a crowd already formed in front of the doors. Most were committee members; the rest appeared to be drawn by the loud shouting that resonated from the doors.
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"Like I told Duo, there was a tie! I was not going to pick and choose so I made the decision to keep the top four on the ballot!" Mrs. Noin explained to the two glaring boys. "If Duo wants to withdraw, so be it! So if you'll please calm. . ."
"I decline my nomination." Heero stated, his eyes never leaving Duo's.
"You can't!" Duo snapped at him. "There has to be three on the ballot!"
Eyes narrowed. "Then retract your resignation."
"No! I am not changing my mind! You are on that ballot! The decision is final!"
"I won't participate."
"Why are you being so stubborn? I'm the one to pick the stubborn people for friends! Must you always be so-"
"Boys. . ."
"You know you deserve this more than I-"
"It's just a silly piece of metal and a sash. Not a big deal, Heero." Duo pleaded with a nonchalant laugh. "It wouldn't be fair for me to even consider winning. If I did win, it would just prove the whole 'rigged election' theory. It's best I not be involved except behind the scenes."
"He has a point, Heero." Mrs. Noin agreed. "I think for right now, I'm not going to change the ballots. Take sometime to think about it, okay?"
Heero looked at the both of them and nodded. Duo's eyes lit up and he hugged his friend. "See! That's the ticket! Now, you go open up the cafeteria doors so that we can start the meeting."
"I still don't-"
"Wufei! Hilde!" Duo shouted at the door, pushing Heero toward it. "Get in here!"
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"Okay. . . last vote for today. . ." Duo rasped out. "There will be no debates. . . who's ready to go home?"
Hands waved in the air. The prom committee had been holed up in the cafeteria longer than planned. For three hours they had been debating and voting on all decorations, favors, and crowns. Wufei had drowsily presented the preliminary sketches of the prom decorations. To everyone who didn't know him, he was as cool and confident as ever. In every other sense, he was a zombie.
"Didn't sleep well, Wu-wu?" Hilde had asked when he sat down in the chair next to her.
"Didn't sleep at all." He replied as he crossed his arms on the table and buried his head in them.
"What are those long things hanging from the ceiling?" a student asked.
"Gossamer." Came his muffled answer.
"How much is it going to cost?"
The meeting went on, every item up for discussion was contested and argued. By the close of the meeting, the cabinet could barely speak (except for Wufei, who fell asleep soon after his presentation).
"Good." Duo sighed after counting the hands. "You all finally agree on something! Before I dismiss the meeting, I'd like to announce officially that I am declining my bid for Prom Prince. Ok, all dismissed."
There was a loud murmur around the room. Students stood and began to talk amongst themselves in small crowds; a few girls running up to Duo and begged him to change his mind. Hugging each of them, he shook his head and left the room.
He walked down the hallway, lost in his own thoughts. Before he could even ponder his own reasons for dropping out of the race, he felt a hard tug on his braid. Spinning around, he swung blindly to punch the assailant, only to be tackled at the waist. Pushed into a nearby wall, he felt strong hands pin his shoulders.
"If you wanted to get my attention. . ." he grumbled.
"You knew it was me." Heero replied.
Duo shrugged an arm free and began to rub the back of his head. "Maybe I wanted to hit you. That hurt." He said. Heero stared at him for a moment.
"I'm mad at you." Heero said lamely.
"Not as mad as I am at you."
"I wanted you to win."
"Well, I want you to win. And now that I'm out of the picture, you will. There ain't nothing you can do about it, because I hold the power in this cabinet."
"Why?"
Duo shrugged. "I have my reasons."
"What are they?" Heero asked as he took a step closer toward his friend.
"Um, Heero?" Duo whispered. He could barely think, Heero's face was so close to his own. Every ounce of his being wanted to run, but he was every bit aware of the hand still gripping his shoulder. Eyes were watching them, Duo was sure of that, but feeling Heero's breath across his cheek. . . "People are going to get the wrong idea. Hell, I'm starting to get the wrong idea."
"That makes two of us then."
"Heeero!" Relena screamed. She walked in between the two boys and slapped Duo across the face. Turning, she attempted to hit Heero but Duo caught her hand.
"Princess, it's not what it looks like. He was only trying to calm me down! You see, he pulled my braid, and I thought that he was some-"
"Shut up! I am so sick of this, this. . . shit!" She cried, pushing Heero aside. "It's always some misunderstanding with you! Whenever he's around you, I-I. . ." she stammered before running down the hallway.
"Relena," Heero whispered. He turned to Duo, who was gingerly rubbing his cheek.
"What are you waiting for?" he chuckled as he turned to walk in the opposite direction. "Go. Don't worry about me, I'll live."
'I finally got hit with reality.' He thought.
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"And just what the hell was that?" Relena yelled as she sat in the driver's seat. Heero sat in the passenger seat, his voice silent. "First, you're fighting in the cafeteria-"
"We weren't fight-"
"Then I heard of a scuffle out in the hallway. Worse still, that you started it! Fearing for your safety like a good girlfriend should, I come running out to find you cuddling with your best friend!" She ranted as she drove away.
"You didn't have to slap him."
"Oh! A guy is stealing your boyfriend in front of the whole school, what am I supposed to do?"
"Relena, Duo wasn't doing anything."
"Why are you sticking up for him? If he means so much to you, why didn't you stay with him?"
"He told me to talk to you!" Heero snapped at her. "It was my fault ok? I just got too close."
"Too close to what, Heero?" She asked, tears falling down her face. "What is going on with you?"
Turning to the window, Heero suddenly felt disgusted with himself. He just tried to kiss his best friend! Even now, he felt disappointed that he hadn't. Yet, he was glad. Thinking back, Heero realized that this wasn't the first time. There was beyond a doubt some physical attraction towards his friend--and that thought alone filled him with an unknown dread.
"I don't know," he whispered. "I'm deeply sorry, but I just don't know right now."
"Yes you do! You don't love me anymore!" She sobbed.
"The road." He pointed out when the car swerved.
"You're everything I've got! Don't you know that? I don't know what would happen if I lost you! I would just die!" Relena screamed as she pulled into Heero's driveway.
"Don't say that..."
"Please, Heero, please say that you love me. I don't know what I do if I knew that you hated me. No one loves me but you. I love you so much, I can't let you go!"
Heero watched as she threw herself at the steering wheel, clutching onto it tightly. Memories flew into his mind. Past events that he prayed she would never have to endure again. He looked at the sobbing girl, his heart breaking. There, he felt pain-a pain that he knew came from hurting her. He had to make things right.
"Relena," he whispered as he pulled her close. "It's okay. I'm not going anywhere. It will all be okay."
"Promise," she asked with a slight hiccup. Relena rested her head on Heero's shoulder, and he held her close until the tears subsided.
"I promise." He said after a pause. Turning all attention back to the window, Heero began to wonder if Duo was okay.
Relena began to smile triumphantly as she felt Heero's arms tighten around her. She won this match, and she'd make sure that this little game would end in her favor.
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@--{February 12}--@
"Well, well, well, looks like we're up against each other!" Nick laughed as he dropped his tray at the lunch table. The past week the school had been buzzing about the future prom court. Lunch period had become an exhibition show for the basketball team; and eager girls now occupied all the surrounding tables.
"Ah, you know we're gonna lose!" Jay groaned, slapping Trowa on the shoulder. "If we go to the state tourney next month, we might as well quit."
"So Trowa, are you putting up posters?"
"Cathy and Quatre insist on it." He answered as he picked at the food on his tray. After a pause, he handed his lunch over to the teammate the sat across from him. "They've been working on them like crazy."
"Hey!" Jay exclaimed, food flying out of his mouth. "I remember that name! She was that girl who kissed you at the rally!"
"That was sick," Nick said, wiping spaghetti off his sleeve. "Wait. I thought Quatre wasn't your girlfriend?"
"Quatre isn't-"
"And why not? Hey! I thought she had this lunch."
"Nick. Jay. Guys." He said, his voice low, but firm. "Quatre can't be my girlfriend. He is a boy, thus the rules that qualify him as being my girlfriend does not apply. I am not supposed to tell you that I'm gay, but apparently I am. If you have a problem with that, your problem."
"Dude. . ." Barry whispered after a long period of silence.
"Had me fooled." Jay said.
"Quatre is my boyfriend."
"You're joking, right?" Another teammate asked. "Oh wait, you don't joke. But then again, you are a circus clown. But, you're not joking. . ."
"He has this lunch hour and refuses to eat with me in light of him sparing my reputation. I, on the other hand, do not care. So, if you will keep this "secret" to yourselves, can someone please invite him over here before I go insane?"
"I can't speak for the others, but I'm cool with it." Nick said. "I'm a little weirded out and stuff, but I'll get over it."
"Yeah!" Jay exclaimed as he jumped from his chair. "I'll go get Quatre! Probably with the sophomores."
Nick stood. "I'll go with."
"Remember guys, he's just my friend. Don't let him, or anyone else, know I told." Trowa said, tugging briefly on Jay's jacket.
Jay broke into a wide smile. "Word is bond, bro."
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@--{February 14}--@
"Come on, Rel," Hilde pleaded. "You can tell us!"
"Yeah! Like, what is going on with you and Heero?" Suzie asked as she lowered herself into the splits. It was after school, and the cheerleaders were in their studio, beginning to warm up before practice.
"Nothing!" Relena shrugged before touching her toes.
"I was like, there in the hallway. Heero was like all over him."
"It was a misunderstanding." Relena sighed as she sat down on the cold gym floor.
"I know, you said that after you slapped the mess out of Duo." Hilde pointed out.
"I blew it out of proportion. I apologized to Duo yesterday!" She argued.
"Like, I always wondered about Heero. When Duo came out last year and like Heero was standing up for him and junk, I was like looking at how close they were and I was like, whoa and like-"
Relena continued to stretch as Suzie began to speculate about her boyfriend. The cheerleader seemed utterly clueless to her surroundings as she brought up instances that Relena never even knew about. And didn't really want to know.
"And he's so cute and smart and stuff! I would worry too! Like, I think if I was a guy, I would-"
"Suzie," she snapped. "Shut up."
Running to Heero's locker, she prayed that he would be there. She needed to see him, feel his arms around her. Anything to prove that beyond a doubt, he was hers. If not, she would find a way to guarantee it.
She reached the empty hallway that contained Heero's locker. Leaning against the door, she waited for a few minutes and then began to play with the combination.
'I remember him telling it to me before...'
After 3 tries, the door swung open with a clang. Reaching for a notebook and a pen from the top shelf, she prepared to leave Heero a little note. Opening the book, her eyes widened.
'Divide the committees. Go over time-line. (Include all scheduled meetings for the committee. Have chairpersons for each committee track progress and hold members responsible.) Start the theme selection process. Have a contest for best theme ideas with voting by the students, or select a theme as a group and make it a surprise. . .'
She began to read the contents of the already dog-eared spiral, her brows furrowing over the loads of information that was on almost every page. Order forms that were filled from top to bottom were paperclip to a page scattered with hasty calculations, the size of the numbers making her dizzy. On the bottom of the page, in large red letters, Duo had written, "Stumps offers a 10 % discount on glassware, candles, kits, and frames, if the orders are placed by February 15!"
'He's pretty much has everything under control.' her mind taunted.
"Thinks he's mister perfect!" she hissed as she closed the book. Throwing it on the floor, she reached for the catalog in the locker. "He'd be nothing without this stuff."
'Even Heero couldn't help him. . .'
"Let's see how he does on his own." She mused as she shut Heero's locker and grabbed the books. After stashing them in her locker, she returned to cheerleading practice, her spirits again high.
TBC
Author's Note: Oh, I know I'm gonna get prodded for this. . . *giggle* Huggies to everyone who's been hounding me to finish this fic. (You know who you are) ^_^
For those who are anxiously waiting for the next chapter of "Control", expect it to be out sometime in October. I'm sorry that is taking so long, but it would take me even longer to explain why. *HUG*@--{Anthy}--@