Disclaimer: Long time no see, eh fans? Heh. Surprise! The story is FAR
from over!! This chappy of "Her" will be VERY exciting, I promise! Oh, and
lyrics in this chapter are from Cher (bows down to the entity that is
Cher), Shakira (you rock my world!), and, once again, the Supremes!
And one more thing: some language in this chapter. Nothing TOO bad, but if you have a problem with it you may just want to skip this chapter.
Fist Fights
It had been quite tense in the apartment throughout the next day. Quatre and Trowa still weren't speaking to each other, Hilde and Duo seemed uncomfortable when around each other, and Heero and Wufei, as usual, wouldn't talk at all. Even Relena was unusually silent.
"What's the matter with all of you?" Areina screamed in frustration. "If looks could kill, you'd all be dead!"
They all glared at her, and a chill crept down her spine. Relena went into the kitchen, followed by Hilde.
Quatre said shortly, "I need a shower." With that, he was in the bathroom, leaving Areina, Trowa, Heero, and Wufei alone in the room.
Areina decided to have a conversation with herself, since it was obvious that she wouldn't have one with anyone else.
"Maybe I should do 'Love Child' tonight," she muttered.
"Why?" Trowa said with a smirk. "Because you are one, or because you're going to have one?"
Areina glared at him, and reacted immediately. "What was that?"
"I said, are you a love child or are you just going to have one?"
- - -
What happened next nearly gave Heero a heart attack.
"Take that back, you jackass!" Areina shrieked as she lunged at Trowa.
A very violent fight ensued. It began with Areina sending a swift fist to Trowa's jaw, and Trowa cried out more in anger than in pain.
Trowa returned the blow by cursing Areina, calling her stupid, and kneeing her in the abs. Areina grunted and grabbed Trowa by the arm, throwing him straight into the floor. She tackled him, punching every which way.
Trowa pushed her off of him and kicked her in the shoulder. She drop kicked him and got the advantage over him once again.
By the time Wufei withdrew from his shock and pulled Areina from Trowa, both of the fighters were equally bruised and bloody.
Heero grabbed Trowa before he lunged again, and the green-haired girl and sleek-haired boy still wanted to fight.
- - -
"What's wrong with you?" Wufei yelled in Areina's ear. The girl was fairly difficult to hold.
"I'll rip you to shreds if you ever say that again!" Areina declared, ignoring Wufei's reprimand.
"I'll bet," Trowa said, thoroughly calm, unlike his opponent.
Quatre came out of the bathroom, only in his underwear and with wet hair. "What's all this racket?"
"Shut up!" Areina and Trowa yelled at him in unison.
Wufei blinked as Trowa and Areina went to their separate rooms.
- - -
Duo walked into the barely lit room and peered at Areina, listening to music on her walk-man and appearing as though she was sulking.
"I heard you and Trowa got in a fight," he said, noticing her bruises and cuts. "Are you okay?"
She simply shrugged in response.
"Why did you fight him?"
Shrug.
"Are you mad at him? Or is it Quatre?"
Shrug.
"Are you at least going to speak to me?" he yelled.
Another shrug.
"Areina, if you're mad at me, could you please tell me?"
She looked at him for a long while, almost five minutes. Finally she opened her mouth.
"I have nothing to say to you." And she turned away.
"Areina," Duo growled. "You're not making it any easier to be happy."
"No one says you need to be happy all the time, Duo," she replied shortly.
"But I do," he emphasized. "If everyone else in the apartment is always serious, they need someone to cheer them up some of the time!"
"Duo," she said nonchalantly. "You're not responsible for their moods. You don't need to fix up their problems for them."
Duo shrugged. "I want to."
Areina looked at him again.
"Anyway, are you still mad at me?"
She nodded her head, and spoke. "Duo, if someone were hitting on you since the day you met them and only viewed you as a sex object, especially when they're not single, then blew up all over you when you tried to stand up for a friend, would you be mad at them?"
He opened his mouth, but closed it.
"See?"
"Well, alright then," Duo said. "How about from now on, we'll start anew. I'll stop looking at you as a really, really...REALLY hot girl and start viewing you as a human being. Okay?"
Areina shrugged and shook his hand. "Hi, I'm Areina. Pleased to meet you, what's your name?"
"Duo," he said with a grin. "Duo Maxwell."
- - -
Quatre looked at Trowa, beaten and swollen in so many places. "Are you alright?"
Trowa scowled and turned away.
"Let me see," Quatre said as he approached the boy who had been mad at him for so long. Trowa glared at him, but allowed the blond to examine his black eye.
"That looks painful," Quatre said softly.
"Kind of," Trowa responded in a murmur.
Quatre tapped the wound, and Trowa flinched, an unusual sign in the hard- hearted boy.
"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings," Quatre said to the anger-filled being in front of him that he used to know as Trowa. Now it was just a memory that he had forgotten was so great to remember.
- - -
Trowa glared back at him, but couldn't hold the charade any longer. "No, I'm sorry, Quatre. I hurt your feeling without really knowing the situation."
Quatre looked at the floor, and back up at Trowa. They both avoided each other's glances, until finally they embraced. It was a short, quick embrace, but an embrace nonetheless. However, it was more than that.
It was an apology, and a reunion.
- - -
This was Areina's first performance alone since the infamous booing incident. It would be tough to win over the audience by herself, she knew it, but it was now or never. After all, the curtain was being raised.
- - -
"Do you think she'll be able to perform with all the bruises?" Duo yelled over the music to Hilde. She shrugged, and the audience went silent.
- - -
Lights bounced off of her gleaming red necklace. Though it was fake jewelry, the light caused it to sparkle. Her outfit tonight was something she preferred: A simple loose T-shirt and hip-hugging jeans. She was barefoot, which was peculiar to her.
The starting music began, and she opened her mouth.
- - -
"So I find a reason to shave my legs," she sang softly into the black noisemaker in her hand. "Each single morning.
"So I count on someone Friday nights to take me dancing, and then to church on Sundays," she practically whispered into the microphone. A guitar and piano were all that accompanied her.
"To plant more dreams, and someday think of kids," she gradually increased in volume. Her hands wrapped around her body, holding something that wasn't there, Relena thought. "Or maybe just to save a little money.
"You're the one I need," she hummed, nearly crying to the audience. "The way back home is always long, but if you're close to me I'm holding on."
Relena wondered as she stared at Quatre and Trowa, so happy that they were finally in each other's arms again. Maybe Areina wasn't as strong as she thought. Maybe Areina needed someone to help her.
"You're the one I need," she sang with more passion. "My real life has just begun cause there's nothing like your smile made of sun.
"In a world full of strangers, you're the one I know."
The song ended with a long guitar riff. The next song's music began playing softly.
- - -
Heero felt almost sorry for Areina, the way she was dying for something that she couldn't have. She stood up there every night, wrapped up in the moment like a present, but she didn't realize how much she really gave away.
The next line seemed to respond to Heero's thoughts.
"I don't need your sympathy," she sang mercifully. "There's nothing you can say or do for me. And I don't want a miracle, you'll never change for no one."
Heero sat in awe, for once in his life. It seemed as though Areina could penetrate anyone when she was singing. She seemed an unstoppable wave of emotion whenever she performed.
"And I hear your reasons why," she sang loudly then backed off. "Where did you sleep last night? "And was she worth it? Was she worth it?"
- - -
In a blaze of her signature fury, Areina ripped two green scarves from her pockets and walked to the front of the stage as she sung.
"I'm strong enough to live without you, strong enough," she turned her attention to him. "And I quit crying long enough. Now I'm strong enough to know, you've got to go!"
Her movement ended abruptly, even to the surprise of the band. There was an unsteady moment of silence as all waited for her next move.
"I started school in a worn torn dress that somebody threw out," Areina moaned into the microphone. "I knew the way it felt to always live in doubt.
"To be without the simple things, so afraid my friends would see the guilt in me," she continued, narrating the story.
"Don't think I don't need you, don't think I don't want to please you," she sang to the world now. "No child of mine will be bearing the name of shame I've been wearing."
"Love child, love child," she cried. "Never quite as good. Afraid, ashamed, misunderstood.
"But I'll always love you," she made the floor tremble and quake in fear of her voice. "Always love you, you, you.
"I'll always love you."
The audience made no hesitation this time. It stood and, in unison, clapped, screamed, cheered, hollered, whatever it took to let Areina know that she was loved.
And one more thing: some language in this chapter. Nothing TOO bad, but if you have a problem with it you may just want to skip this chapter.
Fist Fights
It had been quite tense in the apartment throughout the next day. Quatre and Trowa still weren't speaking to each other, Hilde and Duo seemed uncomfortable when around each other, and Heero and Wufei, as usual, wouldn't talk at all. Even Relena was unusually silent.
"What's the matter with all of you?" Areina screamed in frustration. "If looks could kill, you'd all be dead!"
They all glared at her, and a chill crept down her spine. Relena went into the kitchen, followed by Hilde.
Quatre said shortly, "I need a shower." With that, he was in the bathroom, leaving Areina, Trowa, Heero, and Wufei alone in the room.
Areina decided to have a conversation with herself, since it was obvious that she wouldn't have one with anyone else.
"Maybe I should do 'Love Child' tonight," she muttered.
"Why?" Trowa said with a smirk. "Because you are one, or because you're going to have one?"
Areina glared at him, and reacted immediately. "What was that?"
"I said, are you a love child or are you just going to have one?"
- - -
What happened next nearly gave Heero a heart attack.
"Take that back, you jackass!" Areina shrieked as she lunged at Trowa.
A very violent fight ensued. It began with Areina sending a swift fist to Trowa's jaw, and Trowa cried out more in anger than in pain.
Trowa returned the blow by cursing Areina, calling her stupid, and kneeing her in the abs. Areina grunted and grabbed Trowa by the arm, throwing him straight into the floor. She tackled him, punching every which way.
Trowa pushed her off of him and kicked her in the shoulder. She drop kicked him and got the advantage over him once again.
By the time Wufei withdrew from his shock and pulled Areina from Trowa, both of the fighters were equally bruised and bloody.
Heero grabbed Trowa before he lunged again, and the green-haired girl and sleek-haired boy still wanted to fight.
- - -
"What's wrong with you?" Wufei yelled in Areina's ear. The girl was fairly difficult to hold.
"I'll rip you to shreds if you ever say that again!" Areina declared, ignoring Wufei's reprimand.
"I'll bet," Trowa said, thoroughly calm, unlike his opponent.
Quatre came out of the bathroom, only in his underwear and with wet hair. "What's all this racket?"
"Shut up!" Areina and Trowa yelled at him in unison.
Wufei blinked as Trowa and Areina went to their separate rooms.
- - -
Duo walked into the barely lit room and peered at Areina, listening to music on her walk-man and appearing as though she was sulking.
"I heard you and Trowa got in a fight," he said, noticing her bruises and cuts. "Are you okay?"
She simply shrugged in response.
"Why did you fight him?"
Shrug.
"Are you mad at him? Or is it Quatre?"
Shrug.
"Are you at least going to speak to me?" he yelled.
Another shrug.
"Areina, if you're mad at me, could you please tell me?"
She looked at him for a long while, almost five minutes. Finally she opened her mouth.
"I have nothing to say to you." And she turned away.
"Areina," Duo growled. "You're not making it any easier to be happy."
"No one says you need to be happy all the time, Duo," she replied shortly.
"But I do," he emphasized. "If everyone else in the apartment is always serious, they need someone to cheer them up some of the time!"
"Duo," she said nonchalantly. "You're not responsible for their moods. You don't need to fix up their problems for them."
Duo shrugged. "I want to."
Areina looked at him again.
"Anyway, are you still mad at me?"
She nodded her head, and spoke. "Duo, if someone were hitting on you since the day you met them and only viewed you as a sex object, especially when they're not single, then blew up all over you when you tried to stand up for a friend, would you be mad at them?"
He opened his mouth, but closed it.
"See?"
"Well, alright then," Duo said. "How about from now on, we'll start anew. I'll stop looking at you as a really, really...REALLY hot girl and start viewing you as a human being. Okay?"
Areina shrugged and shook his hand. "Hi, I'm Areina. Pleased to meet you, what's your name?"
"Duo," he said with a grin. "Duo Maxwell."
- - -
Quatre looked at Trowa, beaten and swollen in so many places. "Are you alright?"
Trowa scowled and turned away.
"Let me see," Quatre said as he approached the boy who had been mad at him for so long. Trowa glared at him, but allowed the blond to examine his black eye.
"That looks painful," Quatre said softly.
"Kind of," Trowa responded in a murmur.
Quatre tapped the wound, and Trowa flinched, an unusual sign in the hard- hearted boy.
"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings," Quatre said to the anger-filled being in front of him that he used to know as Trowa. Now it was just a memory that he had forgotten was so great to remember.
- - -
Trowa glared back at him, but couldn't hold the charade any longer. "No, I'm sorry, Quatre. I hurt your feeling without really knowing the situation."
Quatre looked at the floor, and back up at Trowa. They both avoided each other's glances, until finally they embraced. It was a short, quick embrace, but an embrace nonetheless. However, it was more than that.
It was an apology, and a reunion.
- - -
This was Areina's first performance alone since the infamous booing incident. It would be tough to win over the audience by herself, she knew it, but it was now or never. After all, the curtain was being raised.
- - -
"Do you think she'll be able to perform with all the bruises?" Duo yelled over the music to Hilde. She shrugged, and the audience went silent.
- - -
Lights bounced off of her gleaming red necklace. Though it was fake jewelry, the light caused it to sparkle. Her outfit tonight was something she preferred: A simple loose T-shirt and hip-hugging jeans. She was barefoot, which was peculiar to her.
The starting music began, and she opened her mouth.
- - -
"So I find a reason to shave my legs," she sang softly into the black noisemaker in her hand. "Each single morning.
"So I count on someone Friday nights to take me dancing, and then to church on Sundays," she practically whispered into the microphone. A guitar and piano were all that accompanied her.
"To plant more dreams, and someday think of kids," she gradually increased in volume. Her hands wrapped around her body, holding something that wasn't there, Relena thought. "Or maybe just to save a little money.
"You're the one I need," she hummed, nearly crying to the audience. "The way back home is always long, but if you're close to me I'm holding on."
Relena wondered as she stared at Quatre and Trowa, so happy that they were finally in each other's arms again. Maybe Areina wasn't as strong as she thought. Maybe Areina needed someone to help her.
"You're the one I need," she sang with more passion. "My real life has just begun cause there's nothing like your smile made of sun.
"In a world full of strangers, you're the one I know."
The song ended with a long guitar riff. The next song's music began playing softly.
- - -
Heero felt almost sorry for Areina, the way she was dying for something that she couldn't have. She stood up there every night, wrapped up in the moment like a present, but she didn't realize how much she really gave away.
The next line seemed to respond to Heero's thoughts.
"I don't need your sympathy," she sang mercifully. "There's nothing you can say or do for me. And I don't want a miracle, you'll never change for no one."
Heero sat in awe, for once in his life. It seemed as though Areina could penetrate anyone when she was singing. She seemed an unstoppable wave of emotion whenever she performed.
"And I hear your reasons why," she sang loudly then backed off. "Where did you sleep last night? "And was she worth it? Was she worth it?"
- - -
In a blaze of her signature fury, Areina ripped two green scarves from her pockets and walked to the front of the stage as she sung.
"I'm strong enough to live without you, strong enough," she turned her attention to him. "And I quit crying long enough. Now I'm strong enough to know, you've got to go!"
Her movement ended abruptly, even to the surprise of the band. There was an unsteady moment of silence as all waited for her next move.
"I started school in a worn torn dress that somebody threw out," Areina moaned into the microphone. "I knew the way it felt to always live in doubt.
"To be without the simple things, so afraid my friends would see the guilt in me," she continued, narrating the story.
"Don't think I don't need you, don't think I don't want to please you," she sang to the world now. "No child of mine will be bearing the name of shame I've been wearing."
"Love child, love child," she cried. "Never quite as good. Afraid, ashamed, misunderstood.
"But I'll always love you," she made the floor tremble and quake in fear of her voice. "Always love you, you, you.
"I'll always love you."
The audience made no hesitation this time. It stood and, in unison, clapped, screamed, cheered, hollered, whatever it took to let Areina know that she was loved.
