Chapter Seven

Trowa lay back on his bed and sighed.

Things had not gone over well with his parents. After being called up to the school and finding out he'd been suspended for a week they'd decided to take him home and yell at him for an hour. He'd tried explaining, but had been cut off every time. Finally he had given up and now sat in his room, pondering ways to get back at Odin for this.

There was a tentative knock at the door and Cathy stuck her head in at the small sound of acknowledgement from her younger brother.

"I heard what happened."

"Hm."

"Quatre told me a little bit too."

"Hm."

"Do you want to tell me anything about it?"

"Odin's a prick."

"I could have told you that," Cathy snorted. She sat down on the bed beside him. "What happened Tro?"

Trowa sighed and sat up. "Do you want the complete story of my day, or just the fight?"

"Everything."

"All right, but I need a confidentiality promise from you." Trowa was completely serious and looked at his sister directly in the eye. "This is not for gossip."

Catherine nodded and Trowa proceeded to tell her everything that happened, looking up at her on occasion to see her reaction to some things. She looked angry at Odin's comments about Duo and Quatre in the morning. At the part about Dorothy and Quatre fainting she had tears in her eyes. She laughed a bit at his discovery of Heero and Duo and nodded fervently when he ardently insisted that she not tell anyone about that. Luckily, she seemed to accept their relationship, or whatever they had, without any qualms. When Trowa told her about everything else Odin said, and then about him and Midii in maths class she exploded.

"That asshole! How dare he?! Did he get away with it?"

"Almost. He got a week's worth of after school detentions. Because he didn't actually throw a punch himself, he didn't get suspended, like me and Heero."

"I wonder why Quatre didn't tell us about that?"

"Catherine, would you really want more people than necessary to know how you were bullied and teased? Quatre's really sensitive, but no one has ever done anything like this to him before, not to mention he's worried about his best friend."

"I suppose." Catherine thought for a bit. "Why don't I go talk to mum and dad for a bit then I'll see if we can go visit Quatre."

"Don't tell them about …"

"Don't worry Trowa, I'll only tell them what's necessary."

Trowa smiled. "Thanks Cathy."

She ruffled his hair as she got up to go out. "No probs baby bro." She left to go and talk to his parents.

Needless to say, with her wondrous powers of persuasion, Catherine managed to get Trowa out of severe punishment and the two found themselves in their mother's car an hour after talking on their way to Quatre's place.

Iria met them at the door. "Come in," she invited with a small smile. "I'm glad you're both here, things have been a bit rough. Quatre's refusing to talk to anyone, he's locked himself in his room. I've had Duo call like fifty times and Hilde and Relena only a few less. Rashid can't get anything out of him and he's refusing to tell me anything more than he has. I even called father to see if Quat would talk to him, but he didn't."

Catherine looked over at Trowa. He nodded. "I'll go up. You can tell Iria, but the same rules apply to her."

"Rules?" He heard Iria ask as he walked up the stairs.

He knocked on Quatre's door upon reaching it. "Quatre? It's Trowa. Can I come in." The door opened and Trowa saw an extremely disheveled Quatre standing there. "Are—"

"Trowa, if you finish that infernal question I will slam the door in your face." He looked serious.

"Okay. Can I come in?"

"Sure." Quatre's room was really neat and organised and many various shades of blue. His carpet was a deep royal blue as was the back of his door. His walls were a bright sea-blue and his ceiling was sky-blue. His bed and all his furniture were white. Quatre sat on his slightly rumpled bed and gestured for Trowa to join him.

"Did you get in trouble?"

"I got suspended. Catherine managed to convince my parents not to punish me too badly. Heero got the same." Quatre's next question could be read in his eyes. "Odin got a week of after-school detentions." He looked away.

"So, what was your day like?" Quatre changed the subject quickly.

Trowa frowned slightly at the avoidance, but he still answered. "Peachy," he muttered sarcastically.

"I noticed you seemed a bit on edge today. What happened?"

"Odin was my main problem, the guy is such a prick. Why do I hang out with him?" The question was rhetorical, but Quatre answered anyway.

"Like hangs with like I suppose."

"You think I'm a prick?" Trowa raised an eyebrow.

"Iie!" Quatre shook his head vigorously in an attempt to placate Trowa. "I just meant that he's popular and so are you and you both play sports. Most schools have social structures like that."

"I guess." Trowa was still a bit hurt at the thought that he was like Odin. Then he remembered what he was talking about. "Anyway, there was also you I had to worry about today."

"Gomen," Quatre hung his head sheepishly. "I guess I was a bit of a pain."

Trowa smiled. "A bit." Then he grinned. "Have you spoken to Duo yet?"

"Not since the infirmary, ad all he would utter is 'are you okay?'" Quatre looked at Trowa's uncharacteristic grin. "What? Why do you look like that?"

"Oh, no reason, just thinking about something else that happened today. I walked in on Duo making out with Heero."

Quatre burst out laughing. "No way!"

"It's true. I was looking for Duo and walked into a bathroom and saw Heero's bag. Knowing that he was playing b-ball with Duo earlier, I thought he might be able to tell me where he was, so I walked in, started to ask him then got one of the biggest shocks of my life when I saw Duo pinning Heero up against a wall. Heero seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it."

Quatre was lying on his back, laughing hysterically with tears rolling down his cheeks. Trowa couldn't help but laugh as well, remembering his own shock and the looks on both their faces when they realised he was there. Suddenly the door burst open and Iria and Catherine rushed in, panicking, only to find the two boys as they were.

"I swear I didn't do anything," Trowa protested, when he saw his sister's accusing look. Quatre burst into fresh peals of laughter at his statement. "Okay, maybe I did, but it wasn't a bad thing."

Iria and Catherine just looked at each other then left the room.

Quatre smiled at their retreat, finished with his exhausting laughter and looked over at Trowa. "Arigato Trowa, you've helped me yet again."

"That's what friends are for." Quatre's smile glowed brighter when he said this. Then Quatre's face fell. "Quatre?" Trowa was worried at the cherub's sudden change in demeanour.

"I was just thinking about Dorothy." His eyes filled with tears. "I can't stand it Trowa, she's my best friend and I'm not there with her. She could die ad I wouldn't be there."

Trowa awkwardly placed a hand on Quatre's shoulder. "She's not going to die Quatre, don't think that and there's nothing you can do about being with her."

"I wish there was some way I could be with her." Quatre looked up as Trowa removed his hand and placed it on his chin, signifying he was thinking intently about something. "Trowa?"

"I have a plan." Trowa had a glint in his eye. "Go ask if I can stay over for the night."

"Okay." Quatre looked a bit confused but went anyway. "It's fine," he said upon returning. "Rashid and Iria agreed almost immediately, it was a bit strange."

"Okay, I'll go talk to Cathy and I'll be back." Trowa raced downstairs, leaving Quatre on his bed looking puzzled.

"Cathy, could you do me a huge favour?" Trowa begged as he pulled her away from Iria.

"I've done a lot for you already today, I don't know if I could wrangle it." She was toying with him. She'd do it, but wanted him to squirm a bit first, she was his older sister and as such couldn't do something for him without a little bit of squirming. Iria, however was having nothing of it.

"Cathy, come on. If it weren't for Trowa, Quat would still be crying his eyes out. What would you like?" Iria was really grateful that Trowa had come, he managed to do in five minutes what she, Rashid and her father could not in an afternoon.

"I just want Cathy to go home and pack an overnight bag for me and explain what's happening to our parents."

Catherine groaned. "Trowa, I'm not sure if I can get them to do this, you are still in trouble after all."

"Cathy!" Iria gazed at her sternly with her hands on her hips. "It is the least we can do for Trowa after his help." She turned back to Trowa. "Of course we can. I'll go with Cathy and explain everything." With both of them working on his parents there was no way they would refuse to let him stay.

"Thanks Iria." Trowa dashed back up the stairs to Quatre's room.

"So?" The blond boy asked impatiently when Trowa got back. "What's this plan of yours?"

"Do you still own that gorgeous black motorcycle?"