Chapter 22: More fun at the festival

Hey, I told you I would get another chapter out this weekend! Well, I'm really trying to put some humor into some of these other chapters, but they just end up being really, well, morbid. So, I think this one is a bit happier. Anyway, here it is!

Pluto P.O.V.

Pluto pulled Zechs along to the bathrooms. "There's a water fountain there, and you should have some water."

Zechs sighed. "Fountain water is terrible. Here, let's just buy some water." He grabbed a pole and forced Pluto to a stop.

"Fine, as long as you drink something." Pluto jumped to the stand, just as some girl with short, dark hair was about to zero in. (Zechs suffered a ship explosion, time warp, and major blood loss. I can't wait in line behind some girl if he needs water.) Pluto glanced at the girl who was pushing her way towards Pluto. (Great. Now I'm going to have to deal with her.) The dark, chubby man behind the stand handed Pluto two bottles of water. She thanked him and handed him six dollars. "Keep the change." Pluto was very aware of the girl's presence behind her, and the girl did not feel happy.

"Excuse me!" The girl practically yelled in Pluto's face.

Pluto took a step back and looked down at her. "You are excused."

The young woman swelled very much like a bullfrog. "Excused! You totally cut in front of me!"

"You were not in line, now I must go." Pluto brushed past this rude person and handed Zechs the water. "Drink. It won't do to have you pass out."

Zechs smiled. "I don't think I've been affected that much." But still, he twisted open the bottle and took a long swallow of the cold water. Zechs glanced briefly behind Pluto and turned slightly away. "Incoming."

Pluto turned her head enough to see the rude teenage girl pushing her way towards the space between the goldfish pond and stained glass stand, where Pluto and Zechs stood. But someone jumped right in her line of vision and gave Pluto a very friendly hug. She was somewhat relieved to see Venus's blond hair splayed over her back.

Venus stood on tiptoe and whispered into Pluto's ear. "Nice private little corner you got here. Planning a little smoochum with-"

Pluto laughed and pushed her away. "I don't do that. You know I don't."

Duo turned around Pluto and slung an arm over Zechs and whispered something to him. Pluto couldn't hear him, but guessed it was along the lines of what Venus had said, judging from the sudden color on his pale features and the spray of water in the air.

Pluto stopped herself from laughing as she felt someone behind her. Someone not very happy. "Duo Maxwell." The voice hissed.

Pluto and Venus turned to the voice and Zechs and Duo leaned around the two girls to look. "Hello, Hilde." Duo said cheerfully. He walked forward a few steps and swung his arm around Venus. "What's happening?" He asked nonchalantly.

"What's happening?! Who is this slut?" She walked up and pushed Venus off of Duo.

Venus looked down at where the Hilde girl just touched her. "You did not just do that." She brushed her chest off and glared up at the girl.

"Just stay out of this." Hilde commanded. She turned to Duo. "Well. Well, well, well. Who the HELL do you think you are?! You call me up after two months of no word, diss me for moving on, hang up before I can even talk to you, and now you show up with this bitch?"

Venus had had enough. She pushed Pluto away and walked up to Hilde and put her face right in front of Hilde's. "Alright you listen up-"

"Hey, I was-"

"No." Venus interrupted. "You will listen to me. When I met Duo, I though he was the most awesome guy on the planet, but he said he couldn't go out with me. Do you know why? Do you?!" This time, Hilde did not interrupt, merely clenched her jaw. "He told me he couldn't go out with me because he had a girl waiting back home for him. She was waiting for him and was still his girl. But when we got back into town, he told me that it didn't work out with his girl and to be with me is what he wanted. So don't you even try to come back and grab him after you've already moved on yourself."

This time Hilde cut in with a harsh retort. "I have not moved on. Don't even try that on me. That guy is my cousin. He came to stay for the weekend while he and his brother were fighting."

"You are a terrible liar." Pluto said quietly.

"Oh, I don't need to look for her lies, I knew them before they came out of her mouth." Venus said cryptically.

Hilde gave Venus a questioning, yet disgusted look. "What are you talking about?"

Venus brushed back her hair and lifted her head with victory. "Because that man over there is connected to you with a kind of chain you don't have with family members."

Hilde shook with rage as she turned to see the man Venus was talking about. "I don't even know him!" This time her lie was apparent, even to those who couldn't sense them. She looked to Duo with pleading eyes. "Please duo. Come back to me. I still love you."

Pluto sighed and put her hands to her forehead. "If you plan on stopping this long procession of lies, try sometime soon. You are giving me a headache."

"I'm not lying!" Hilde shrieked, and several people turned to look at her.

Duo stepped up to her, and pulled Venus next to him. "Look Hilde. You have obviously moved on, but won't admit it. You see, I have moved on, and I admit it. Now go back to whatever his name was. If he will still have you after professing false love to some other guy." Duo gave a half smile and stepped around Hilde. "Let's go, Venus. There's still lots to do."

Pluto and Zechs stood for a moment looking at the shocked girl. Pluto pulled Zechs along and they brushed past her. Catching up with Duo and Venus they caught the middle of their conversation.

"Yeah, that's part of my power. I can sense the love chains connecting people. The other part is that throwing energy thing you already saw on that jerk bus driver."

"He, he. Well, what kind of chain do you sense between us?"

Venus glanced back and saw Pluto. She whispered something in Duo's ear and both grinned almost evilly.

Mars P.O.V.

Mars pulled Wufei along the street. "Wow, this is so crowded! It's even worse than back home! Hey, goldfish!"

Wufei stopped. "Goldfish? What about goldfish?"

Mars pointed to a small stand between a funnel cake booth and an abandoned t-shirt stall. There were three girls around a small plastic pool, filled with sparkling goldfish. "Oh, lets get one! They're so cute!"

Wufei was still doubtful. "I don't see why."

But Mars had already pulled him over and was paying one of the girls the three dollars. "Come on, Wufei! You can try!"

He was about to protest, but she tugged him down next to the pond and thrust a paddle into his hands. "Just scoop a fish into the bucket." Mars instructed. She squatted down next to him and put her paddle in the water. A few fish swam around it, but she did not scoop yet. Wufei frowned with impatience and scooped at one. But he got nothing but angry glares from the now-damp girl next to him. Mars took his hand. "No, you can't force it. You have to wait for them to come right there." A small one swam slowly in front of the paddle. "And get them." Mars jerked Wufei's hand and the paddle smacked the fish into the little bucket. "Like that."

Wufei smiled slowly and held up the bucket. The glittering goldfish swam leisurely inside. "Good job." One of the girls took the bucket gingerly and cautiously poured the water into a bag. The fish plopped down in with a small splash.

Wufei took the bag and looked inside. The small fish still spun slowly inside. "Mars? This fish?" He asked slowly.

"What about it?" They started walking again.

"Do you want it?"

Mars stopped and looked at him. "But it's yours."

"Yes, but, you helped me, and you should have it."

Mars smiled at him. "Thank you, Wufei." She took the bag and beamed down into it. "I should get a purse of something to carry it."

"Need a purse, deary?" An old woman asked from a small, aged stall.

"Yes I do. Do you sell them?" Mars responded, making her way over to the stall, around a few people.

"I do indeed. Here you go, it matches your dress." The woman extended a red and black knit purse.

"It's so pretty! Did you knit this yourself?" Mars asked, shifting the fish to her other hand, so she could examine the purse.

"I make everything I sell. Guaranteed to last longer than those machine-made things all the girls want today." The woman said with a hint of distaste.

Mars smiled and put the fish securely inside the purse. "Well, I like this one. How much?"

"Ten dollars, but for you, seven."

Mars smiled and extended the money. "Thank you."

"No, thank you, deary."

Mars smiled again and left the stall. Wufei was waiting for her, leaning on the next stand. "Nice sling."

Mars smiled and took his hand. "It's a purse."

"Looks like sling."

Mars rolled her eyes and patted the purse, making sure the fish was secure. "It's a purse."

Wufei looked at her slyly. "Still looks like a sling."

Mercury P.O.V.

During the festival, Quatre was very skittish around Mercury, most likely recalling his paintball embarrassment. But Mercury pulled him along, determined to forget the whole ordeal. Finally, when Quatre had refused to meet her eyes for the third time, Mercury stopped and said, "Quatre, the paint came off. I washed it off last night, and there is no need for you to still be feeling bad about it."

"But I was right below you."

"Quatre, as long as you aren't obnoxious about it, I'm willing to forget that too."

"Besides, it's nothing you wouldn't have seen eventually." Mercury and Quatre both flushed immediately and spun around. Venus and Duo were there, both grinning madly. "Come on, stop acting like you're so embarrassed. It's not like you two weren't thinking it." Venus continued.

"Venus!" Mercury cried, still scarlet.

"Come on, Quatre, admit it." Duo added. Quatre gave a small smothered protest and looked away again.

"Stop pestering them, you two." Pluto said from behind Venus. Mercury looked up to see Pluto and Zechs, each with an ice cream cone.

"I think Quatre would like some support." Zechs laughed.

"Hey, look! It's Trowa and Laytha!" Venus yelled and waved her hand at them.

Laytha looked up and waved back. The two started to make their way over. After three minutes of fighting the tide of people, Venus, Mercury, Duo, Quatre, Pluto and Zechs rode with the flow down to them.

"Hey, you guy should get down to the square! They're about to set off fireworks!" Laytha exclaimed.

After another several minutes of squeezing through the crowd, they finally got to the square. People were already standing around, looking to the sky. Laytha tugged on Venus's arm. "I just saw Mars and Wufei! I'm going to go get them!" She yelled above the noise of the excited people.

Venus nodded and Laytha took off, pressing through the people and disappeared from sight. Minutes later, returned to their spot, this time accompanied but the two she had gone off for and also followed by Jupiter and Heero.

"Look, it's starting!" Pluto yelled and pointed up to the sky. A blast of orange exploded in the sky.

The crowd was finally silent, save the few 'oooh's and 'aaaah's. Purple, yellow, crimson, pink, sapphire, even sparkling emerald exploded in the sky in oval, ellipses, or simple splashes of twinkling color. Cherries swirled around each other, diamonds blasted high in the sky, petite little azure balls seemed to bounce off each other and burst into blazes of light. But all too soon, the show was over, leaving the audience hushed with wonder, sprinkled with glimmers of ash. Soon, people realized the silence in the air and left, chattering of the beautiful display. The twenty-minute ride home was filled with vivid recounts of color and marvels for twelve young people.

So. How was it? I hope you like the firework display. I couldn't give too many details of it, but I hope the descriptions I have are good enough. Anyway, this chapter was a bit lighter than the others, and I hope you liked it.