Three: Under the Big Top
What once was a plain stretch of grass became a colorful array of people that all crowded into a gigantic tent. The tent was huge, its flaps welcoming one and all inside its fabric body. Children chased each other around the exterior while their parents chased them, fighting between annoyance and joy. Two young men stood outside the tent. They watched the action surrounding them. Both were smiling at the antics of the young.
"Man, Quatre, you're so lucky to be a rich kid. Workin' for a living is hard work!" Duo complained. As usual, he had his long brown hair braided. He wore a white shirt and black pants and a blue cap was nestled on his head.
"Surely it's easier than fighting for your life every day?"
"Yeah… but still!" Quatre chuckled and shook his head. He glanced around.
"Where's Heero? Shouldn't he be here by now?"
"I donno," Duo shrugged. "I guess he's trying to see Relena. She's mad at him… again."
"That Miss Relena. She's always taking his mind off his friends."
"Yeah," Duo agreed. "It's such a shame that such a smart guy like Heero had to go and fall in love with his own girlfriend." Quatre rolled his eyes but chose not to respond. The two stood outside the tent for a few more minutes. Men, women, and children passed them on their way inside. They searched the faces for one they recognized.
"Were you guys waiting for me?" Duo and Quatre jumped in surprise. Duo spun around to see his friend Wufei Chang standing before him. The young Chinese man had a smug grin on his face, his arms tightly crossed over his chest.
"You know I hate it when you sneak up on me!" Duo snapped.
"Nice to see you too, Duo."
"Wufei, I didn't know you'd be here," Quatre smiled.
"Yeah, well, it's not like I have anything else to do." His distant attitude was akin to Heero's, which may have been the reason the two got along. "Are you waiting on Heero?"
"Yeah," Duo nodded.
"We might as well go along without him." The other two agreed and they entered the circus tent.
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"Cutie alert!" Mina announced.
"Where? Where?" asked Serena excitedly.
"You've got a boyfriend, you meatball head!" Raye shouted.
"Actually, three cuties," Mina corrected. "They look about our age. Ooh, I think the one with blonde hair is the cutest!"
"Show me!" Lita insisted. Mina pointed them out. "Wow! They are cuties! What're three hot guys doing at the circus?"
"Maybe they know someone here," Amy suggested.
"Or they could be on a date and their girlfriends just aren't here yet," Raye added.
"Raye, don't say that!" Mina snapped. "I think Amy's right. Let's go try and sit next to them."
"Mina, I really don't think…."
"Great idea," Lita agreed, cutting Amy off.
"They are pretty cute," Raye noted. "And anyway, we can ask them about this place. Come on." She and Lita each grabbed one of Amy's arms and together the five girls entered the tent. The stands were already filled with hundreds of people. Luckily the three guys were easy to pick out in the crowd and soon the girls were tailing them.
"Do you really think we should be doing this?" Amy hissed. "I mean, isn't it a little rude to go up and start a conversation with a complete stranger?"
"Of course not, Amy. I should know!" Serena chuckled. Serena was indeed an expert at talking to complete strangers. Still, Amy couldn't help but feel uneasy. They were in an unfamiliar world and her friends wanted to talk to guys they didn't know. Why am I the only one that ever thinks logically?
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Duo, Quatre, and Wufei chose seats midway up on the right side. It was close to the entrance so they would be able to spot Heero when he came. Many patrons recognized the Gundam pilots and gave them sufficient elbow room and then some. The stands quickly filled but there was still a big space between them and the rest of the audience. It was respect and awe that gave them this privilege, not fear. They didn't notice but continued watching for Heero.
"Excuse us, please. Coming through." The boys were slightly surprised by the arrival of five teenage girls that were all roughly their age. They were wearing sailor-style school uniforms and they all looked completely lost. Wufei watched them, only somewhat curious.
"Hi!" chirped one of the girls. She was wearing her blonde hair in pigtails and little round balls were sitting on top of her head. "Do you guys mind if we sit here?"
"Uh… I guess not," Duo shrugged.
"Okay!" She and her friends sat down a row below them. The guys could only see the back of their heads. There was another blonde in the group; she had a red ribbon in her hair. There was also a girl with black hair, one with blue hair, and the last had brown hair tied up in a ponytail.
"How do you do, ladies?" Quatre greeted. He was always the one to be polite. "My name is Quatre. These are my friends Duo and Wufei."
"I'm Serena!" the first blonde announced. "It's nice to meet you guys!"
"My name is Amy," the girl with blue hair said.
"I'm Mina," the other blonde declared. She smiled sweetly at Quatre. He blushed slightly.
"I'm Lita," the girl with brown hair introduced. Duo had a huge goofy grin on his face. Wufei would've thought nothing of it if not for the fact that Duo was blushing. The girl with black hair remained silent.
"Raye!" Serena shouted, elbowing her friend. The girl called Raye turned her head and smiled at the three boys.
"How do you do?"
"How do you do?" Wufei echoed. This girl was somehow different from the others, and it wasn't just her violet eyes. He couldn't figure it out, but there was something special about this girl.
"Lita's a great name," Duo was saying.
"Thanks."
"You know, one of our friends is in the circus."
"Really?" Serena gasped. "What's his name?"
"Trowa. You won't get to see much of him, though. He wears a half mask"
"Does he… have brown hair with bangs so long it covers his eye?" Lita asked. Duo blinked in surprise.
"Yeah, that's him. How'd you know?"
"I saw him yesterday when we bought tickets. So his name is Trowa." While she and Duo were talking, Mina was having a conversation with Quatre.
"Do you like the circus, Quatre?"
"It's pretty fun, I guess. What about you, Mina?"
"Well, we didn't have very much fun the last time a circus was in our town. I'm sure this will be fun, though."
"Circuses usually are fun. It's too bad you didn't have a good time before."
"That one's a long story," Amy said, cutting in suddenly. "One we don't have time for. Right, Mina?"
"Right. Of course," Mina nodded. Quatre was confused but he wasn't given time to ponder over this, for the show was about to begin. The ringmaster entered, cracking his whip.
"Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadies and gentlemennnnnnnnn! Welcome to the greatest show on Earth!" The audience burst into applause. "Our first act tonight features our very own acrobatic wonder, Trowa Barton!" The audience went absolutely wild. Said man walked out and bowed to the audience.
"It's him! It's really him!" Lita squealed.
"You mean you like him? Bummer!" Duo groaned.
"Don't worry about it, Duo," Serena advised. "She gets crushes on lots of guys but they hardly last a whole day." Duo felt a little better.
"Trowa will be performing one of the most dangerous feats of agility right above your heads. And he will do it without the use of a net!"
"That's how they always do it," Mina noted.
"I guess they want the audience to think they're in danger," Quatre shrugged. The group watched Trowa climb up the ladder to the top of the arena.
There were trapeze bars on either side of a long expanse of nothing. Trowa gripped onto one of the bars and kicked off. The audience took in a collective gasp as they watched him soar through the air. He let go of the bar and did a corkscrew spin in the air and flipped upside-down. He was still only a little more than halfway between the two bars. Women were fainting and men were taking bets on whether or not he would fall. He suddenly made it to the other side and grabbed the bar with his legs. He did a flip and landed on his feet, safely on the ledge. He was given a standing ovation.
"That is so cool!" Serena awed.
"He's so hot!" Lita sighed.
"Show-off," Duo grunted.
"Speak for yourself," said Wufei quietly. Duo glared at him.
"Hey, come on, guys. Let's just enjoy the rest of the show," Quatre stated. Duo grumbled an inaudible protest.
"Isn't he great, ladies and gentlemen?" the ringmaster asked.
"No!" Duo growled.
"You're acting like a child," Wufei scolded. "Why should you care if Lita has a thing for Trowa? You don't even know her."
"Quiet! I can like her if I want!"
"Idiot."
"Hey!"
"Do I need to separate you two?" demanded Quatre hotly.
"He started it!" Duo accused, pointing at Wufei. The other boy chose to remain silent.
"Quatre, your friends aren't much different than mine," Mina chuckled. "They can act cool and grown up, but they're just silly on the inside. That includes me, of course."
"They usually don't act this way. I think it's because Duo likes your friend Lita."
"You don't have to tell the whole world!" Duo shouted.
"Of course not. You're doing it for him," Wufei noted.
"Quiet, guys," Quatre warned.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand now, ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to introduce to you the lovely Catherine Bloom!" The young men in the audience whistled and got up on their feet in anticipation.
"Who's this Catherine girl?" Raye asked.
"Trowa's would-be girlfriend," Duo answered.
"What? He has a girlfriend?" Lita gasped.
"No. She has a big crush on him but he doesn't really like her," Wufei told her. "He just hangs around the circus because he has nothing better to do."
"So she's not his girlfriend?"
"He's not the type to have one," Wufei shrugged.
"Oh. Well, maybe I can change his mind," said Lita hopefully.
"I don't have a girlfriend either!" Duo chirped. The others were too busy watching Catherine's performance to hear him.
"She's pretty. Are you absolutely sure Trowa doesn't like her?"
"Positive," Wufei nodded.
"Well, if he doesn't like her, what chance do I have?"
"I think you're pretty!" Duo offered.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Lita. Most of your crushes don't last long enough for you to be concerned about dating," Mina smiled, patting her friend on the shoulder.
"I could take you out on a date!" Duo announced.
"Do any of you know a hotel we could stay at?" Amy asked. "We're, ah, kind of from out of town."
"Well, let me see here," Quatre mused. "Duo's place is hardly livable…"
"Hey! The pay's not that good! I'm not filthy rich like you!"
"You could stay with me, but then my sisters would think I'm a pimp. Wufei is a bit far from civilization. I guess you could call Relena and ask her."
"Who's Relena?" Lita wondered.
"She's a diplomat," Duo explained. "She's got all kinds of connections. I'm sure she could find a spot for you. Heck, she'd probably let you bunk at her place."
"I don't have her phone number with me," Quatre realized after patting all his pockets. "I think I gave it to one of my sisters, but I can't remember which one."
"You're never getting it back, man," Duo chuckled.
"We could just wait until we see her in person," Wufei said. "She and Heero were supposed to meet us here, but I guess they've been too busy yelling at each other."
"I'm sure she'll come by, even if Heero isn't with her," Quatre decided.
"Laaaaaaaaaadies and gentlemennnnnnnnn, again I am pleased to give you Trowa Barton!"
"There he is again!" Lita grinned.
"This just isn't my day," Duo sighed.
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Relena wasn't in the mood for the circus but she came anyway. She had made a promise to come and, unlike a certain young man she knew, she kept all her promises. She didn't have to wait long for the guys. Duo, Quatre, and Wufei soon exited the circus tent, followed by five girls. That's strange. I don't remember ever seeing these girls before… None of the girls looked familiar and Relena wondered if they were friends of the Gundam pilots.
"Hey, Relena!" Duo greeted. "Where's Heero?"
"You tell me."
"Huh?"
"He got a call and he claimed it was from you."
"I didn't call him."
"I thought so. He's on another sniper mission and he lied to me about it!" The Gundam pilots exchanged glances. They expected something like that. "But anyway, who are these girls?"
"Oh! Oh, yeah!" Duo gasped. "Relena, these are some girls we met at the circus. This is Serena, that's Amy, that's Mina, this is Raye, and that really cute girl is Lita." Relena smiled and shook hands with each of them. "They're from out of town, so they need a place to sleep."
"I would gladly let them stay with me," Relena smiled.
"Would you? That would be so nice," Amy said, bowing gratefully.
"Hey, uh, how long are you guys planning on staying?" Duo asked, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
"Ten months," Mina answered.
"Ten months, huh? Then I'll be… I mean, we'll be seeing you guys a lot." Duo blushed, grinning like an idiot.
"It was nice to meet you," Wufei bowed. "Perhaps our paths shall cross again. Until then, farewell." He walked a few paces, paused, then continued on.
"I guess I'd better get going, too," Duo sighed. He made a last attempt at getting Lita's attention. "I'll be sure to come and see you, Lita."
"Hmm? Oh, okay. Would you bright Trowa with you?" Duo's smile dropped.
"Oh. Yeah. Sure." He swore under his breath and also left their company.
"I hope you like it here," Quatre said. "It really is a nice place."
"You'll come and see me, won't you?" Mina asked, fluttering her eyes.
"Of course. I'll visit you all soon." He too left, his cheeks slightly more red than normal.
"Well, ladies, I think we need to get going," Relena said. "I'm going to have to get to know you better if you're staying with me."