When All Purpose Is Lost
When All Purpose Is Lost

By ~*Ai*~Wing

Chapter 6

"RISE AND SHINE!!!" Someone yelled. Sunlight streamed into the dim room as the curtains were being pulled off to one side. The warmth and comfort suddenly disappeared as her blanket was pulled from her bed.

"Ugh…"

She tried to open her eyes, but they were immediately blinded by the bright sunlight. An attempt was made to cover her eyes with her hand. Slowly, her vision came back into focus. Squinting, she saw a familiar face, yet a foreign room. The face appeared to be cheerful…very cheerful.

"Wake up, Relena."

"Where am I?"

"At the shelter."

That statement sent her back into reality.

"H…Hilde?"

"Yup. Had a good night's sleep?"

"The best I'd ever had for ages." Relena stifled a yawn. She looked at the alarm clock. It was 7:35. That was new to her. She was used to waking up very early since she never could escape her horrible nightmares, so she'd rather face them in a conscious state.

Hilde was still in her pyjamas.

"I've washed up already. You can go straight to the bathroom." Hilde said with a smile.

Relena gave a slight nod, went to gather her necessities and headed towards the bathroom.

The shelter was funded privately, so the facilities were luxurious. The older children, mainly those above the age of 14, got to share rooms with one other person and have a bathroom for each room. The younger children stayed in rooms that could accommodate a maximum of 10 people and had a large bathroom to each room. No one knew for sure who funded this excellent shelter, but all the employees, volunteers and children were grateful to this generous soul.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH" Heero had to hide the smirk forming on his lips as he watched Duo scream and jump up ten feet from his bed.

"Why the heck did you do that man?" Duo eyes were flashing with anger.

"You told me to wake you up at 7:30." Heero simply replied.

Duo looked at his alarm clock. It was 7:37. He was already running late and had no time to argue with his new roommate. However, he wanted to at least get back some justice.

"Well there's other ways of waking me up!" Duo hissed at Heero.

"Don't you think I tried? I called you, I yelled at you, I yanked your braid and shook you hard. I think I even smacked you. Nothing worked so I resorted to more serious measures…"

"Which was dumping a bucket of ice cold water on me?" Duo asked with sarcasm.

"Precisely." Heero answered.

"Now you got my bed and clothes and hair all wet!!!" Duo half scolded, half whined.

"You could use a blow dryer." Heero suggested.

"Yeah, yeah…Did you try tickling me?" Duo asked.

"Why would I do that?" Heero said.

"I can never resist a good tickle." Duo stated in an almost proud tone.

"I'll add that to my list of…"

"List of what?" Duo asked curiously.

"You better get your ass ready fast! Look at the time." Heero said, changing the subject.

"Oh crap! I'm really gonna get it now!" Duo cried as he ran to the bathroom in his boxers.

Heero had to hide another smirk as he watched the braided boy slam the door to the bathroom.

Duo was whizzing through the bathroom like there was no tomorrow. He was finally ready in slightly less than twenty minutes. He looked at his watch…uh oh. It was 7:59. He was supposed to be down at the mess hall by 7:50, and he still needed at least five minutes to get there. Duo almost flew out of the bathroom…to find his room empty.

"Heero…Heero? Buddy?"

Where could he be? Duo thought as his eyes scanned the room. He finally came across a crisp white sheet of paper on the top of their nightstand. It was written in controlled fluid handwriting.

Hey Duo - Gone down to Mess Hall already. Don't want to make a bad first impression. See you there. ~Heero

That S.O.B. Duo thought as he dropped his pyjamas onto the floor and raced out the door, buttoning his shirt on the way.

At the mess hall, Duo's eyes scanned the crowd for Heero. Most of the other occupants have already finished half of their breakfast. Duo had picked up his breakfast first, afraid that there would be no food left if he had waited. Now, he was ready to strangle the mysterious boy he had just met yesterday. He could have been more considerate and waited for him. No, he just left him behind. Just as he located the mass of dishevelled chocolate hair did he hear something that made him freeze in his tracks.

"Maxwell!"

Duo knew from that yell that Ms Harwich, the supervisor of the shelter, was not pleased. He heard the steady click of heels as the woman approached him from behind.

"Y…Yes?" Duo managed to stammer as he whirled around to come face to face with the lady.

"Can you explain to me why you are 17 minutes late for breakfast?" Ms Harwich asked sternly.

"I…Well you see…I mean…" Duo stuttered.

"Your roommate told me that you weren't feeling well, that your stomach was a bit upset…is that true?"

"Yes…" Duo replied meekly.

Ms Harwich cocked an eyebrow at the load of food Duo was carrying on his tray.

"Just filling up on some nutrients…" Duo said with a forced grin.

Ms Harwich shot him a suspecting look but let it pass.

Whew! He thought as he headed towards the mound of brown hair he had found earlier.

"Hey Duo." Heero said with no real expression.

"Hey, buddy. Why'd you leave me behind?" Duo demanded.

"Someone had to make an excuse. Why'd you think you were let off so easily?"

"…Thanks man! I'm really touched." Duo said with a silly grin.

"Whatever."

After breakfast, as Hilde promised, they took a tour of the shelter. It was really a beautiful place. The facilities were first rate and the furnishings were very eloquent.

"I would have never expected a shelter to be so…sophisticated." Relena whispered in awe as she took in the sight around her.

"Yeah, it's quite classy, isn't it? When I first came to the shelter, I thought that this was the best house I would ever live in." Hilde said.

"Well here's where we teenagers, ages above 12, hang out." Hilde said, gesturing to the big room on their left.

It was a large room with huge windows. There was a 51" screen TV and a big table with comfy chairs scattered around it. A magazine rack stood next to the couch on the right wall. Five computers were alongside the left wall beside the TV. A hi-fi system stood on the other side of the couch. The room's furnishings were welcoming but stylish. It was the ideal hangout for any teenager.

"Wow! Look at all these luxuries!" Relena practically yelled.

"Yup. The computers are all new and connected to the internet." Hilde informed Relena proudly.

"Can we stay here for a while?" Relena asked with a pleading tone.

"Let's see. I showed you the lobby, the mess hall, the library, the dorms, the church room, the children's wing…I think that's about it…ok, let's hang." Hilde said with a satisfied smile.

"…and as you know, the mess hall." Duo announced.

Heero actually thought the tour was entertaining. Why wouldn't it be with Duo as the guide?

"Is there somewhere I could use the phone?" Heero asked.

"Uh…why do you want to use the phone?" Duo asked suspiciously.

"You said we go to a new school when we arrive at the shelter, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So I want to phone a friend. At least so that he'll know where I am."

"I wouldn't suggest that."

"Why? What's wrong with that?"

"Well, a rule is that we're not to reveal our location to anyone." Duo said uneasily.

"Because…"

"Because the person you are hiding from might find you."

"Did this ever happen before?" Heero asked out of curiosity.

"…Yeah."

"To you?"

"No, to my ex-roommate. He had to transfer to another shelter in the end." Duo said sadly.

"Sorry to hear that." Heero said quietly.

"Still want to call your friend?" Duo asked.

Heero nodded. "My father doesn't know him and he doesn't know my father."

"If you say so man." Duo whispered and took him to where a few phones were in the lobby.

Heero pressed in a number and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello?" A deep quiet voice came through the receiver.

"Trowa, it's Heero." He said with a monotone.

"Hn."

"I've…run away." Heero could just imagine Trowa cocking his eyebrows slightly.

"Finally, eh?" Came a quiet answer.

"Yeah, to a shelter of some sort. Couldn't stand the bastard any longer. I'll be changing schools y'know."

"Well, let's still keep in touch."

Heero covered the mouthpiece and whispered to Duo.

"We can still go out of the shelter, right?" Heero asked.

"With a decent reason." Duo hissed back.

"Wanna hang at the mall tomorrow then?" Heero spoke into the mouthpiece once more.

"Agreed."

With that, Heero hung up the phone.

"You're going back to your old neighbourhood?" Duo asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah…is there something wrong with that?" Heero asked with a slightly annoyed tone.

"No…I mean yes…I mean…Aren't you afraid of running into your dad?" Duo asked nervously.

"No. The bastard probably doesn't even know the mall exists. All he knows is his hellhole of a house, the local bar, the junkyard where he works at and that whorehouse he goes to practically everyday." Heero listed off.

"Well…alright. Hey, I didn't show you the Teenage activity room yet a.k.a. the 'Hangout'. Follow me." Duo said as he started to walk off.

A.N.: Wahoo! Okay, I don't know why I yelped for joy. Anyway, I lied. I told myself I'd let Heero and Relena meet each other in this chapter, but I'm getting tired of this particular chapter. Sorry, you guys (gals) will just have to wait! He he! Anyway, to those who read my other fic 'As Rain Begins to Fall' and gave me some feedback, arigatou! Until the next chap... ~Over and out.~

Disclaimer: For the 'who knows how many times', I don't have anything to do with Gundam Wing…well other that I'm their loyal fan. ^_~