Four: Chemistry
He had a speech planned out in his head on what he would say to her. He mouthed the words just to make sure he had them right. If he couldn't get her to forgive him then he would surely be lost. He took a deep breath and pressed his finger on the doorbell. Several female voices shouted from within. He didn't recognize them. Some of Relena's friends? Two pairs of feet ran towards the door and it was flung open. He saw standing before him two of the five girls that had mysteriously appeared two days ago.
"Hi!" greeted the blonde cheerfully, showing off a bright smile. "My name is Mina! What's yours?"
"Uh…"
"Are you friends with Quatre?" she asked.
"Well…"
"Don't just stand there! Come on in!" Still confused, he dumbly took her invitation. Mina and her tall companion watched him curiously.
"I thought it was Trowa," sighed the brunette.
"Get over it, Lita. He doesn't even know you like him."
"Did you say…?"
"Who is it?" The other blonde came into the room. Her smile faded a little when she saw who was there. "Are you Heero Yuy?"
"Yes…" He could finally manage to answer one of their questions without being cut off.
"I thought so! You fit Relena's description perfectly!"
"Relena?" he echoed. He wanted to say more but the girls started babbling again.
"I guess we should introduce ourselves," Mina decided. "I'm Mina, this is Lita, and that's Serena. Relena was nice enough to let us stay with her. There are two others, Amy and Raye, that you might get to meet later." She observed the dumbfounded Heero with interest. "You don't look like a cold-blooded killer. But I guess it's like the old saying goes, 'don't judge a look by it's color'."
"No, Mina, it's, 'don't judge a book by it's cover'," Lita corrected her.
"Is Relena…?"
"Say," Serena hummed, "do you know Trowa Barton by any chance? My friend Lita's got a crush on him."
"Well, I…"
"Are you hungry?" Mina inquired. "You have got to try Lita's cooking. She's one of the best cooks I know! She's going to give Relena some cooking lessons."
"Is Relena…?"
"Do you know what kinds of food Trowa likes? I always like to make my crushes food," Lita said, blushing when she mentioned Trowa.
"Uh…"
"What's wrong with you? Don't you have anything to say?" Serena demanded. Just then Heero was saved by the appearance of Relena. The three girls stopped babbling when she entered the room. She quietly stared at Heero, her lips in a stern, straight line. Heero wasn't accustomed to smiling but he managed a small one.
"Will you three please excuse us?" Relena requested. Her new friends obeyed her.
"Relena, I'm sorry," Heero said. "I don't know why you're so mad at me, but I'm sorry."
"You don't know why I'm mad? Well, your friend Duo was kind enough to inform me that he did not call you as you claimed. I'm mad because you broke your promise yet again and you made it worse by not showing up at the circus like you promised."
"The circus!" Heero groaned.
"Oh, wait, don't tell me: you forgot."
"Well, I…"
"Or maybe you were out on another sniper mission?" she snapped. "Is that what happened?" Heero fumbled for words but couldn't find any. Luckily he was saved yet again, this time by the doorbell. The door burst open and his four fellow Gundam pilots entered.
"Hey, Heero!" Duo greeted. He noticed Relena and quickly figured out what was going on. "I hope you're not mad at Heero for not coming to the circus, Relena. He was busy planning your romantic cruise."
"Duo!" Quatre hissed; he too took stock in the situation and made up a story to save Heero. "You weren't supposed to blurt it out like that!" Duo grinned sheepishly. Heero was completely lost.
"Really, Heero?" Relena gasped.
"Uh… yeah, right. Of course."
"Heero, I'm so happy. Why didn't you tell me?"
"It was a surprise."
"Are we coming too, Heero?" Trowa asked.
"Not on your life."
"Well, actually, Heero, that wouldn't be a bad idea. Two of my friends have crushes on two of your friends. I would so love to play matchmaker," Relena smiled.
"Relena, no," Heero begged. "Those girls are more annoying than Duo."
"Are you saying I'm annoying?" Duo demanded. He was ignored by the others.
"Anyway, how are your new tenants doing?" Wufei wondered.
"Oh, thank you for reminding me. I need to introduce you," Relena realized. She vanished for a moment and returned with all five girls in tow. Wufei found himself gazing at Raye. Something strange was going on inside of him as he stared at her. "These are my new friends. Meet Serena, Amy, Raye, Lita, and Mina. I think you girls know everyone except for Heero and Trowa."
"Trowa?" Lita gushed. She made a beeline for the Gundam pilot. Duo was absolutely fuming. What a ladies' man! First he scores Catherine, now Lita! It's not fair! "It's nice to finally see you face to face, Trowa. My name is Lita Kino."
"Hi," he managed, a little embarrassed at her forwardness.
"It would be so nice to go on a romantic cruise," sighed Mina dreamily. "It would be like The Love Boat, only this is real life."
"Yes. Raye and I went on a cruise and it wasn't very fun," Amy agreed. "Isn't that right, Raye?"
"Yeah…" Her friends were so busy flirting or talking that they hardly noticed her leaving the room. Wufei saw this, however, and followed her. He couldn't explain why. In their absence their friends continued to talk. While Mina was having a one-sided conversation with Heero, Duo was busy trying to figure out how to impress Lita. Trowa didn't seem to be enjoying the attention Lita was giving him at all. He tried in vain to push the girl onto Quatre.
"Hey! Lita, watch this!" Duo shouted. He ran outside but tripped and fell flat on his face. Trowa and Heero quietly chuckled.
"Watch what? Watch you make an ass out of yourself? I think we see that often enough," Trowa smirked. Duo hopped to his feet. Other than his pride and his nose, nothing was injured.
"Why, you! I'm gonna kill you!"
"We'd better go inside," Quatre suggested and the others agreed. They quietly went inside to avoid the confrontation. Heero personally wanted to see it but a quick glare from Relena convinced him otherwise.
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Wufei found Raye in the library. She ran her fingers over the books, deep in thought. Wufei watched her for a moment without making his presence known. He could easily sneak up behind her without her hearing him, but that would be a rude thing to do to someone he didn't even know. He quietly entered the library. She turned, which surprised him because most people wouldn't have heard him approaching.
"Hi. You're Wufei, right?"
"Yes."
"Oh. I guess you were eager to get away from that nonsense as much as I was."
"No offense to you, but your friends are all ridiculous love-crazy nitwits." It had been a while since he spoke his thoughts so freely. Raye looked hurt by his harsh words.
"I agree that my friends are love-crazy, but I don't think you should call them nitwits."
"Sorry." They were silent for a moment. "I take it you're not like them?"
"Not love-crazy you mean? No, not really. Unlike them, I don't fall in love with every guy I see."
"My friends don't usually act so weird," Wufei noted.
"Anyone can act weird when they're in love."
"I wouldn't know," Wufei muttered to himself. He hadn't meant to say it out loud.
"You mean you've never been in love?"
"No…" He was growing uncomfortable. He began to slowly edge towards the doorway. "I'll be going now." Raye nodded quietly. He finally made it out of the library. He breathed a sigh of relief. He regretted leaving Raye so suddenly but the conversation had turned too personal for his taste. He wouldn't even talk about that with his friends, let alone a girl he hardly knew.
======
By the time Trowa, Duo, and Wufei rejoined them, Relena and Heero had everything planned out about the cruise. Or to be more specific, Relena had everything planned out. Heero knew better than to protest against her decisions. Duo was still mad but he quickly cheered up when he saw Lita. Unfortunately his joy was not to last, for it was Trowa that Lita most wanted to see. She did offer Duo a few words questioning his well-being but the bulk of her attention was directed at Trowa.
"What in the world happened to you?" Wufei inquired, eyeing Duo's bleeding nose.
"Long story."
"Wufei, glad you're here," Relena smiled. "You're invited on the cruise as well."
"What cruise?"
"Quit playing dumb, Wufei," Quatre said, poking him meaningfully. "You know. The cruise Heero's treating us all to."
"Right. Of course." Cruise? Great. Just what I don't want. "Remind me when we're going on this exciting adventure," he requested, his voice thick with sarcasm.
"When will it be, Heero?" Relena prompted.
"Well, uh…" Heero looked to his friends for help. They shrugged helplessly. "You see, I, uh… currently do not have the money for this… Especially if more people are going…" Here's my chance! Wufei thought.
"You two should really go by yourselves. It would be more romantic that way."
"Aw, but I really wanted to go on a cruise!" Mina whined.
"Why don't you just use one of my boats?" Quatre suggested. Both Heero and Wufei shook their heads, trying to convey without words their reluctance.
"It's a great idea. You two go on a romantic cruise by yourselves and the rest of us will have a pool party or something at Quatre's house," Trowa said.
"Pool party?" Lita squealed.
"I love pool parties! That'll almost be as good as a cruise!" Mina grinned. "Let's have it in a week, okay? The girls and I have to buy new swimsuits, and I'm sure Relena's closet needs a makeover."
"What's with girls and shopping?" Wufei muttered.
"Hahaha! Lita will surely fall for me when I show her what a champion swimmer I am!" Duo chuckled. His friends stared at him strangely but luckily none of the girls heard his declaration.
"I'm so excited!" Relena cried. "I think I'll go phone Miss Noin and tell her all about it." She went off in a happy daze. Her new friends followed, sensing their presence was unwanted. Heero turned to his four friends, glaring at them all sternly.
"You owe me big for this."
"What? I was doin' you a favor, man," Duo cringed.
"Yeah. A favor."
"That's a funny way of saying 'Thanks'," Duo huffed.
"Uh, Duo? It's Heero. That is how he says 'Thanks'," Trowa reminded him. Duo growled and crossed his arms.
"I'm not talking to you!"
"Why, because you klutzed out and fell flat on your face and I took advantage of your misfortune?"
"Quatre, tell Trowa that he doesn't deserve to know why I'm not talking to him!"
"Trowa, Duo says…"
"I heard him! Sheesh! What a baby." Heero rolled his eyes but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. The key to hanging out with these guys is to be quiet and let them make complete fools of themselves.
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What is this? I feel strange… I've never felt like this before…
This is impossible… This can't be right…
I feel… so…… light…
I can't believe this…
I think I……
But is it real…?
Or am I just imagining things…?
I wish… I knew for sure…