Part 2:
I stumbled slowly down the hallway, only occasionally snapping back into the real world. I had just witnessed the presence of the absolute hottest guy on earth, and he used to be a cartoon character. This definitely wasn't a typical school day. I blinked a couple of times as I spotted my locker through the mass of people in front of it. To my surprise, I saw a flash of bright blond hair amidst the usual browns. There was only one person with that color hair, and quickly popped his head above the crowd quickly as he saw me approaching, and smiled slightly. How did he know my locker number, I wondered as I came up to an enthusiastic Gundam Pilot with attire only slightly duller pink than Relenas. Now THAT's a scary thought.
"Catherine. . ." he started. I looked at him as I flung open my locker. It didn't really pay to lock it, I mean, who would want to steal a math textbook? One is bad enough.
"Yeah, Quat?" I took a notebook out of the depths and collected it within the other books I held reluctantly, and waited for the nervous-looking boy who had been only a figment of the imagination a couple of hours ago. The safest thing to do was to play along, though it didn't seem possible, but perhaps I'm just insane. It's not that far of a stretch for any of us.
"I really like this school. Do you think I'll fit in?" Quatre asked me, his smile slightly fading; he looked worried.
"Ummm." I stammered. Should I tell him about the shirt? "Well, uh, you might want to change that pink shirt of yours."
"What? I love this shirt! People should wear bright, pretty colors like this," he exclaimed, tugging at his shirtfront. Then he pointed over to that Duo, who was standing in the middle of the popular crowd, being flirted with by half the ninth grade's girls. "Not dark, ugly colors like those."
"Uh, yeah. . .just a thought. . ." I said. It looked like I was never changing his mind. I guess that you can't exactly change one's personal preference. I sweat-dropped.
I was still deep in thought when I heard the conversation across the hall come to an end and the cocky chestnut-braided boy bounce up to Quatre.
"Hey, sissy-boy," Duo grinned; prodding the blond boy playfully, "where'd you get that shirt, Limited Too?" he grinned even wider (if possible) at the antic.
"Shut up, Maxwell!" Quatre laughed, giving him a slight punch in the arm. Did they know each other, like in the show? It certainly made sense, but then; why were they here anyway?
Duo's attention turned towards me. "Hey, Quatre, who's the girl? Not bad, if I do say so myself." he chuckled.
I blushed fervently. That guy would flirt with anyone! "Hey!" I tried to defend my pride. I'm more than just pretty looks, you know! I steamed silently, but my good friend luckily filled the awkward silence fairly quickly.
"Duo, leave her alone. I think she has her eyes on Trowa." Quatre joked. Yeah, some friend; I began to blush again.
"Quatre!" I shouted. Quatre giggled slightly. This was not a laughing matter!
"Oooooooooh! I'm gonna go tell him!" Duo said, and ran away.
"Nooo! Duo, don't!" I screeched.
"Don't worry, chick, I won't," he replied, and winked. Then he walked back over towards the popular crowd, and began to flip his braid around and flirt with the girls.
"That Duo! Don't worry, I wouldn't have told him something like that if I wasn't positive that he wouldn't tell if you didn't want him to." Quatre looked over to Duo as he was presently finishing a joke that left everyone with raised eyebrows, and dare I say crickets in the background. Quatre was the only one who laughed.
"Hey uh, do you know Duo or something?" I asked.
"Oh, yeah, ever since.um, no, nevermind," Quatre began, but stopped shortly. Okay, they were definitely hiding something, and I'll give you three guesses what. It was obvious he didn't want to tell me about them being gundam pilots. I knew it. There wasn't anything that could catch me off guard, not after they had come to my school. I was determined to figure them out. What exactly had brought them here, and how?
Quatre's attention quickly turned to something behind me. I turned around swiftly; and found Trowa was walking up slowly to me. He was actually -looking- at me!
"Hey, Cathy, do you have your costume ready? We're going to be late for the circus." Trowa exclaimed, still slightly expressionless, but he said this with more expression than I had heard him ever say. I froze. Not only was the hottest guy on earth talking to me but also he had obviously mistaken me for someone else.
"Ummm.no." I muttered, confused. What? Why am I going to the circus? Maybe he's asking me out on a date to the circus, or wants me to come watch him. Wait, but my.costume???
"Well, the manager is really gonna give it to you this time! It's always me, now let's see how mad he'll be when he realizes his perfect knife- thrower doesn't have her costume." Trowa teased, a twinkle in his eye.
"Uh.yeah.um, bye Quatre!" I yelled, as I followed after Trowa, who was slowly walking away. Wait, what was I doing? Whoa, wait a second, throwing knives? I can't even cut an apple without hurting myself!
"C'mon! Hurry up!" Trowa nagged, pulling on my sleeve. Okay, to throw knives or not to throw knives, that is the question. . . but a really hot guy is actually touching me, and it's messing with my brain. How could I possibly say no to a face like that?
"Okay! I'm coming!" I blurted out, barely realizing what I had just agreed to, and ran so I could catch up with the tall boy.
"Wait for me!"
~~~
I followed Trowa to the circus. It looked exactly like it did in the show! The big tent, the lions, the dressing room with the stools. it was all there, and it was really freaky. Now that I think of it, I never remembered there being a circus here in the first place.
"Okay, here's an extra costume Cathy." Trowa said, handing me the dark red leotard with the puffy pink skirt, and the white undershirt and tights and shoes. Well, I suppose what was I expecting. . . this is a circus, after all.
"Ummm.thanks," I said, and went behind a curtain to get changed. I quickly slipped into the clothes and looked at myself in the mirror. Whoa, this was totally freaky. I finally was beginning to realize why I was here. The curly red-brown hair, the star earring. . . this wasn't me, and yet, it was. . .it didn't make sense! And, yet, it was all beginning to add up.
I hadn't noticed at first, but Catherine from the show never came to our school. The similarity between us both had become so obvious once I put on her costume. It was almost like, I don't know what! Oh my God!!! What is happening!? I looked almost exactly like Catherine from the show! Even my recent haircut and wavy hair made my hair spring up, and bounce around. In this light, my eyes looked a light gray, just like hers. Had I turned into her?
Yes, I had. It wasn't just the light; my eyes had actually gone from brown to gray.
I stepped out of the dressing room, and sat on a stool next to Trowa, which was in front of a huge mirror. Trowa was in his clown costume and I had to practically shove my hand into my mouth to suppress myself from bursting out laughing.
"Okay, where's your make-up?" Trowa asked me. I looked into his green eyes. This wasn't right, it wasn't me he was seeing, it was the other Catherine, and it wasn't fair to him. I felt a pang of sadness.
"Oh, dang! I forgot where I put it!" I lied badly, still hurting, and hoping he might know.
"It's right over there," he said, pointing to a pink case lying on top of a trunk full of costumes.
"Oh, right," I said, walking over towards Catherine's things. This wasn't theft, right, was it? Technically, I was Catherine, now, right? No, I was still myself, but I would do anything just to be with Trowa just a little longer.
I opened up the bag. I found a dark pink lipstick, a light gold colored eye shadow, dark brown colored mascara, and black eyeliner. I knew how to apply everything but eyeliner. Uh oh, I was really in for it now . . .
I started putting everything on, first the lipstick, then the shadow, then the eyeliner (which I did a very good job of applying . . . it being the first time I ever did it) then the mascara. I looked good, really good.
"Wow, you look great!" Trowa said, looking at my reflection in the mirror from halfway across the room, "But there's something about your eyeliner."
Uh oh.this is it, I thought to myself. He'll know for sure the Catherine he knew had changed just a little bit.
"It looks, different, better, not that it looked bad before.just.wow." he stammered. And I thought Trowa was a man of few words.boy, was I wrong.
Ha ha, in your face, Catherine! I apply make-up better than you! I thought egotistically to myself. Maybe this wasn't so bad, after all.
"Okay, Trowa, you're up!" the circus master yelled from the other room, pulling the curtain back slightly to find Trowa sitting by the lion's cage, and he quickly got up heading to the entrance to the ring.
"'Kay!" he said, pulling aside the red cloth as he walked out to an enthusiastic crowd. It was very full that night, I thought. After Trowa headed out, I headed out, just a little bit, to observe the crowd and, if the manager didn't catch me, the act as well.
The lights flashed, and a voice came onto the speaker and echoed through the tent. "And now, an act with the lion; performed by a young clown!" the director announced in his odd voice. I spotted Hilde and Duo in the audience. I saw Hilde say, "Watch out!" when the lion came up from behind Trowa. I saw her watch in amazement as he dodged the lion, and flew up in the air, flipped, and landed on the lion's back, just like in the show. Then I saw her say, "I could fall for that clown." and Duo saying, "Yeah, right" he gave Hilde a winning smile, and she chose to flash him a smile back before leaving a smirking Duo looking at her as she went back to cheering for Trowa. I laughed.
Trowa took his bows to the applauding crowd, and wasted no time in coming back into the room. "You were great," I said. "Thanks," Trowa replied, sitting back down on the stool he had been on before the preformance.
"Okay, Catherine, the tight-rope walker isn't here, so you have to cover for him, okay? Now go get 'em!" the circus director said enthusiastically, and pointed towards the steps leading up to the tight rope.
Well, how bad could it be? I had been an expert at the balance beam, and had even made a habit of walking on clotheslines when I was little, but this was different! Those were two feet off the grass, and the worst I could do was breaking an arm, which I did, several times. This was different. There weren't any nets! The worst I could do was die!
I climbed higher, and higher, and higher, beginning to feel dizzy as I neared the top. I was never afraid of heights before, but all of the sudden, I felt the sudden urge to go back down. I had never been afraid of anything, really, but then again, if I really was Catherine from the show, I could do this with no problem, right?
I reached the final platform where a person was standing to give me a pole with a little black button on it, and said, "When you're ready, push the button, and start walking briskly. No matter what you do, don't look down!"
"Are you sure about this?" I asked, shaking.
"Of course, what are you saying, you're a professional! Now go!" he ordered, pushing me out into the light of the platform at the edge of the wire. The director announced something, but I was too high up and too scared to bother listening.
I pushed the button and flames erupted from both sides of the pole. Um, something tells me this is why they didn't mention what it did before. Sweat drizzled down my back. Okay.you can do this, I reassured myself, and cautiously took the first step, and it was stable. I started walking, precisely, and as quickly as possible. I was careful not to lose my balance, or to look down. A couple of times in the middle I felt myself loosing my balance, but quickly adjusted the pole so that I wouldn't fall. The mistakes were barely noticeable to the audience, but all I could afford to think about was the expanse of rope ahead of me, and I finally cracked. Glancing down for a split second, I felt verrrry dizzy, and for the first time in a long time, was actually truly petrified. I stopped, and felt a tear trickle down my cheek.
I spotted Trowa watching me from the ground; I was halfway there. I could do it. Mustering up every bit of courage I had left, I began to walk again. Step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, clang! I had reached the end on the hard metal platform; it was over! I pressed the button to turn off the flames, and handed the pole to the person that greeted me at the platform.
I climbed back down, and took my bows. The audience went completely wild, like they did with Trowa, cheering, whistling, and clapping. I felt proud of myself, accomplishing something risky like that. Trowa walked over to me as I we both came backstage.
"Amazing." he said, with a smile.
"Thanks." I murmured. He looked at my face, and walked closer and closer to me, and then stopped. Our noses were only four inches apart.
"Trowa?" I questioned. Were we having a moment? I sure hoped so. He reached his hand up, and placed it against my cheek. Oh my God, I thought to myself.this is it, he's gonna kiss me.
He wiped his own sweaty hand across my cheek, and pulled it back to reveal a black line running across it. He wiped off my mascara that had run down my cheek when the tear came, and I watched wide-eyed as Trowa walked away.
I stared at his back in awe. I was in shock, partly because a guy I had a crush on from an anime show was suddenly real, and about to kiss me. But I was even more surprised that he didn't kiss me, only wiping my cheek. Disappointed, I walked back behind the curtain, sighed, and began to dress into my normal clothes.
~~~
When I got home, I ran up to my room. Everything was the same, except that my bulletin board that used to be full of anime pictures of Trowa. They were all, now, full of real, life-like pictures of him. I ran over to the drawer in my desk, where I kept my collection of Gundam Wing DVD's. They were gone . . . vanished. . . every single one of them.
I guessed it really was true, I was actually Catherine from the show, and suddenly the world of Gundam Wing was now the real world. This was so NOT happening!
I walked downstairs quickly and turned on the T.V. to maybe get a taste of the real world, just once today. I flipped quickly to channel four, to see what the news was. The reporter was blabbing on about some colony in space; so my theory really was true.it was almost unreal. . .
That night I lay awake in bed thinking about what would happen next. Would there be a war? Would things ever be back to normal? Would Trowa ever kiss me?
I sighed, and shut my eyes. There was no use worrying over such things; no matter how hard I try, there is no way I can predict the future. I listened to the sound of, my favorite radio station, and eventually drifted off into a deep sleep. At least some things hadn't changed.
~~~
I woke up to the emptiness of saturday, and rubbed my eyes. Yes, today was Saturday; Becky was coming over at 12:00. I jumped out of bed, and yawned and stretched. I glanced at the clock; it read 11:00. Whoops, I guess I had slept in a little too late.heh heh.
It felt like old times.
I ran downstairs with enthusiasm, and made myself a breakfast of eggs and a glass of orange juice before hopping in the shower. I was ready by 11:55.
Once Becky came, we went up to the third floor. I turned on the computer, still determined to make her understand that Quatre, Duo, Trowa, and all the rest were actually real. . . well, either that or we had become 'unreal' but what are the chances of that happening. Well, actually nothing could surprise me right now.
"C'mon, Becky! You have to remember! The show was called Gundam Wing. There were five boys as the main characters: Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei. Then there was Treize, Zechs, Noin, and Lady Une. And Hilde, Catherine, Relena, Sally, and Dorothy. Remember?"
"Ummm.aren't they the new students in school?" Becky asked, giving me a What-the-heck-is-she-talking-about-look.
"Yes! But that's just the thing! You have to believe me; suddenly their world has become reality, and we're living it! I used to be Catherine Hughes, but now, I'm Catherine Bloom, you know, from the show, the knife- thrower in the circus!" I explained, rummaging through the drawer where we had all of our family photos, but I couldn't find any pictures of me with my old hair and eyes.
"Damn." I hissed, but turned up at my friend pleadingly. "You'll just have to believe me somehow."
It was possible, I suppose, that when all this happened, the memory of their ever being a Gundam Wing was erased because both worlds had somehow come together, and only I must have remembered because I was actually a product of that fusion. Wait, what was I talking about?! FUSION!? This sounds like a bad science fiction film!? I began tearing at my hair and clenching my teeth in frustration.
"Ummm." Becky murmured.
"Maybe I'm just going crazy!" I yelled in a fit of anger, continuing to pull at my hair, but I stopped when I heard Becky begin to speak.
"So this was a T.V. show?" I nodded, "Didn't you say there was a dude named Duo?" Becky questioned, with a confused look on her face. I could tell she was trying her hardest to remember.
"Yes, there was a guy named Duo, gosh!" I exclaimed. "You're a little slow!" I joked.
"Shut-up. Did I have any favorite lines of his?" Becky asked.
"Oh, now that you mention it, you did. It was: "Just watch me. I'll be the God of Death once again! But right now, I need some sleep." Remember?" I quoted.
"Du-Duo.DUO!!!!!!!" Becky exclaimed. "I remember! From the episode where he and Wufei are trapped, and they cut off the oxygen supply, and Lady Une saves them, and gets shot! I remember!"
"Holy shit! I work miracles!" I laughed.
"DUO's at our SCHOOL!!!! Oh my God!!! This can't be happening!" Becky began to look around frantically, finally resting on my face in a fit of half happiness, and half confusion.
"Yay! You remember!" I exclaimed, as Becky began to look curiously at me, brows furrowed, "What is it?" I asked curiously.
"You look an awful lot like Catherine from the show, you know that?" Becky said quite innocently, and all I could think to do was to place a hand on my forehead and shake my head helplessly.
_______________________
Thank you for editing, Foxfire!
Cathy: *Sob* I don't own Gundam wing or Trowa *starts bawling uncontrollably * I wish I was that rich! Trooowwwaaa.....!!!!!!!!
Becky: Yeah, you just keep dreaming, there *pats Cathy on the back * but thanks for putting me in the fic.
Cathy: * sniffles* Please review so I don't feel insane.
Becky: Too late.
Cathy: True.
I stumbled slowly down the hallway, only occasionally snapping back into the real world. I had just witnessed the presence of the absolute hottest guy on earth, and he used to be a cartoon character. This definitely wasn't a typical school day. I blinked a couple of times as I spotted my locker through the mass of people in front of it. To my surprise, I saw a flash of bright blond hair amidst the usual browns. There was only one person with that color hair, and quickly popped his head above the crowd quickly as he saw me approaching, and smiled slightly. How did he know my locker number, I wondered as I came up to an enthusiastic Gundam Pilot with attire only slightly duller pink than Relenas. Now THAT's a scary thought.
"Catherine. . ." he started. I looked at him as I flung open my locker. It didn't really pay to lock it, I mean, who would want to steal a math textbook? One is bad enough.
"Yeah, Quat?" I took a notebook out of the depths and collected it within the other books I held reluctantly, and waited for the nervous-looking boy who had been only a figment of the imagination a couple of hours ago. The safest thing to do was to play along, though it didn't seem possible, but perhaps I'm just insane. It's not that far of a stretch for any of us.
"I really like this school. Do you think I'll fit in?" Quatre asked me, his smile slightly fading; he looked worried.
"Ummm." I stammered. Should I tell him about the shirt? "Well, uh, you might want to change that pink shirt of yours."
"What? I love this shirt! People should wear bright, pretty colors like this," he exclaimed, tugging at his shirtfront. Then he pointed over to that Duo, who was standing in the middle of the popular crowd, being flirted with by half the ninth grade's girls. "Not dark, ugly colors like those."
"Uh, yeah. . .just a thought. . ." I said. It looked like I was never changing his mind. I guess that you can't exactly change one's personal preference. I sweat-dropped.
I was still deep in thought when I heard the conversation across the hall come to an end and the cocky chestnut-braided boy bounce up to Quatre.
"Hey, sissy-boy," Duo grinned; prodding the blond boy playfully, "where'd you get that shirt, Limited Too?" he grinned even wider (if possible) at the antic.
"Shut up, Maxwell!" Quatre laughed, giving him a slight punch in the arm. Did they know each other, like in the show? It certainly made sense, but then; why were they here anyway?
Duo's attention turned towards me. "Hey, Quatre, who's the girl? Not bad, if I do say so myself." he chuckled.
I blushed fervently. That guy would flirt with anyone! "Hey!" I tried to defend my pride. I'm more than just pretty looks, you know! I steamed silently, but my good friend luckily filled the awkward silence fairly quickly.
"Duo, leave her alone. I think she has her eyes on Trowa." Quatre joked. Yeah, some friend; I began to blush again.
"Quatre!" I shouted. Quatre giggled slightly. This was not a laughing matter!
"Oooooooooh! I'm gonna go tell him!" Duo said, and ran away.
"Nooo! Duo, don't!" I screeched.
"Don't worry, chick, I won't," he replied, and winked. Then he walked back over towards the popular crowd, and began to flip his braid around and flirt with the girls.
"That Duo! Don't worry, I wouldn't have told him something like that if I wasn't positive that he wouldn't tell if you didn't want him to." Quatre looked over to Duo as he was presently finishing a joke that left everyone with raised eyebrows, and dare I say crickets in the background. Quatre was the only one who laughed.
"Hey uh, do you know Duo or something?" I asked.
"Oh, yeah, ever since.um, no, nevermind," Quatre began, but stopped shortly. Okay, they were definitely hiding something, and I'll give you three guesses what. It was obvious he didn't want to tell me about them being gundam pilots. I knew it. There wasn't anything that could catch me off guard, not after they had come to my school. I was determined to figure them out. What exactly had brought them here, and how?
Quatre's attention quickly turned to something behind me. I turned around swiftly; and found Trowa was walking up slowly to me. He was actually -looking- at me!
"Hey, Cathy, do you have your costume ready? We're going to be late for the circus." Trowa exclaimed, still slightly expressionless, but he said this with more expression than I had heard him ever say. I froze. Not only was the hottest guy on earth talking to me but also he had obviously mistaken me for someone else.
"Ummm.no." I muttered, confused. What? Why am I going to the circus? Maybe he's asking me out on a date to the circus, or wants me to come watch him. Wait, but my.costume???
"Well, the manager is really gonna give it to you this time! It's always me, now let's see how mad he'll be when he realizes his perfect knife- thrower doesn't have her costume." Trowa teased, a twinkle in his eye.
"Uh.yeah.um, bye Quatre!" I yelled, as I followed after Trowa, who was slowly walking away. Wait, what was I doing? Whoa, wait a second, throwing knives? I can't even cut an apple without hurting myself!
"C'mon! Hurry up!" Trowa nagged, pulling on my sleeve. Okay, to throw knives or not to throw knives, that is the question. . . but a really hot guy is actually touching me, and it's messing with my brain. How could I possibly say no to a face like that?
"Okay! I'm coming!" I blurted out, barely realizing what I had just agreed to, and ran so I could catch up with the tall boy.
"Wait for me!"
~~~
I followed Trowa to the circus. It looked exactly like it did in the show! The big tent, the lions, the dressing room with the stools. it was all there, and it was really freaky. Now that I think of it, I never remembered there being a circus here in the first place.
"Okay, here's an extra costume Cathy." Trowa said, handing me the dark red leotard with the puffy pink skirt, and the white undershirt and tights and shoes. Well, I suppose what was I expecting. . . this is a circus, after all.
"Ummm.thanks," I said, and went behind a curtain to get changed. I quickly slipped into the clothes and looked at myself in the mirror. Whoa, this was totally freaky. I finally was beginning to realize why I was here. The curly red-brown hair, the star earring. . . this wasn't me, and yet, it was. . .it didn't make sense! And, yet, it was all beginning to add up.
I hadn't noticed at first, but Catherine from the show never came to our school. The similarity between us both had become so obvious once I put on her costume. It was almost like, I don't know what! Oh my God!!! What is happening!? I looked almost exactly like Catherine from the show! Even my recent haircut and wavy hair made my hair spring up, and bounce around. In this light, my eyes looked a light gray, just like hers. Had I turned into her?
Yes, I had. It wasn't just the light; my eyes had actually gone from brown to gray.
I stepped out of the dressing room, and sat on a stool next to Trowa, which was in front of a huge mirror. Trowa was in his clown costume and I had to practically shove my hand into my mouth to suppress myself from bursting out laughing.
"Okay, where's your make-up?" Trowa asked me. I looked into his green eyes. This wasn't right, it wasn't me he was seeing, it was the other Catherine, and it wasn't fair to him. I felt a pang of sadness.
"Oh, dang! I forgot where I put it!" I lied badly, still hurting, and hoping he might know.
"It's right over there," he said, pointing to a pink case lying on top of a trunk full of costumes.
"Oh, right," I said, walking over towards Catherine's things. This wasn't theft, right, was it? Technically, I was Catherine, now, right? No, I was still myself, but I would do anything just to be with Trowa just a little longer.
I opened up the bag. I found a dark pink lipstick, a light gold colored eye shadow, dark brown colored mascara, and black eyeliner. I knew how to apply everything but eyeliner. Uh oh, I was really in for it now . . .
I started putting everything on, first the lipstick, then the shadow, then the eyeliner (which I did a very good job of applying . . . it being the first time I ever did it) then the mascara. I looked good, really good.
"Wow, you look great!" Trowa said, looking at my reflection in the mirror from halfway across the room, "But there's something about your eyeliner."
Uh oh.this is it, I thought to myself. He'll know for sure the Catherine he knew had changed just a little bit.
"It looks, different, better, not that it looked bad before.just.wow." he stammered. And I thought Trowa was a man of few words.boy, was I wrong.
Ha ha, in your face, Catherine! I apply make-up better than you! I thought egotistically to myself. Maybe this wasn't so bad, after all.
"Okay, Trowa, you're up!" the circus master yelled from the other room, pulling the curtain back slightly to find Trowa sitting by the lion's cage, and he quickly got up heading to the entrance to the ring.
"'Kay!" he said, pulling aside the red cloth as he walked out to an enthusiastic crowd. It was very full that night, I thought. After Trowa headed out, I headed out, just a little bit, to observe the crowd and, if the manager didn't catch me, the act as well.
The lights flashed, and a voice came onto the speaker and echoed through the tent. "And now, an act with the lion; performed by a young clown!" the director announced in his odd voice. I spotted Hilde and Duo in the audience. I saw Hilde say, "Watch out!" when the lion came up from behind Trowa. I saw her watch in amazement as he dodged the lion, and flew up in the air, flipped, and landed on the lion's back, just like in the show. Then I saw her say, "I could fall for that clown." and Duo saying, "Yeah, right" he gave Hilde a winning smile, and she chose to flash him a smile back before leaving a smirking Duo looking at her as she went back to cheering for Trowa. I laughed.
Trowa took his bows to the applauding crowd, and wasted no time in coming back into the room. "You were great," I said. "Thanks," Trowa replied, sitting back down on the stool he had been on before the preformance.
"Okay, Catherine, the tight-rope walker isn't here, so you have to cover for him, okay? Now go get 'em!" the circus director said enthusiastically, and pointed towards the steps leading up to the tight rope.
Well, how bad could it be? I had been an expert at the balance beam, and had even made a habit of walking on clotheslines when I was little, but this was different! Those were two feet off the grass, and the worst I could do was breaking an arm, which I did, several times. This was different. There weren't any nets! The worst I could do was die!
I climbed higher, and higher, and higher, beginning to feel dizzy as I neared the top. I was never afraid of heights before, but all of the sudden, I felt the sudden urge to go back down. I had never been afraid of anything, really, but then again, if I really was Catherine from the show, I could do this with no problem, right?
I reached the final platform where a person was standing to give me a pole with a little black button on it, and said, "When you're ready, push the button, and start walking briskly. No matter what you do, don't look down!"
"Are you sure about this?" I asked, shaking.
"Of course, what are you saying, you're a professional! Now go!" he ordered, pushing me out into the light of the platform at the edge of the wire. The director announced something, but I was too high up and too scared to bother listening.
I pushed the button and flames erupted from both sides of the pole. Um, something tells me this is why they didn't mention what it did before. Sweat drizzled down my back. Okay.you can do this, I reassured myself, and cautiously took the first step, and it was stable. I started walking, precisely, and as quickly as possible. I was careful not to lose my balance, or to look down. A couple of times in the middle I felt myself loosing my balance, but quickly adjusted the pole so that I wouldn't fall. The mistakes were barely noticeable to the audience, but all I could afford to think about was the expanse of rope ahead of me, and I finally cracked. Glancing down for a split second, I felt verrrry dizzy, and for the first time in a long time, was actually truly petrified. I stopped, and felt a tear trickle down my cheek.
I spotted Trowa watching me from the ground; I was halfway there. I could do it. Mustering up every bit of courage I had left, I began to walk again. Step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, clang! I had reached the end on the hard metal platform; it was over! I pressed the button to turn off the flames, and handed the pole to the person that greeted me at the platform.
I climbed back down, and took my bows. The audience went completely wild, like they did with Trowa, cheering, whistling, and clapping. I felt proud of myself, accomplishing something risky like that. Trowa walked over to me as I we both came backstage.
"Amazing." he said, with a smile.
"Thanks." I murmured. He looked at my face, and walked closer and closer to me, and then stopped. Our noses were only four inches apart.
"Trowa?" I questioned. Were we having a moment? I sure hoped so. He reached his hand up, and placed it against my cheek. Oh my God, I thought to myself.this is it, he's gonna kiss me.
He wiped his own sweaty hand across my cheek, and pulled it back to reveal a black line running across it. He wiped off my mascara that had run down my cheek when the tear came, and I watched wide-eyed as Trowa walked away.
I stared at his back in awe. I was in shock, partly because a guy I had a crush on from an anime show was suddenly real, and about to kiss me. But I was even more surprised that he didn't kiss me, only wiping my cheek. Disappointed, I walked back behind the curtain, sighed, and began to dress into my normal clothes.
~~~
When I got home, I ran up to my room. Everything was the same, except that my bulletin board that used to be full of anime pictures of Trowa. They were all, now, full of real, life-like pictures of him. I ran over to the drawer in my desk, where I kept my collection of Gundam Wing DVD's. They were gone . . . vanished. . . every single one of them.
I guessed it really was true, I was actually Catherine from the show, and suddenly the world of Gundam Wing was now the real world. This was so NOT happening!
I walked downstairs quickly and turned on the T.V. to maybe get a taste of the real world, just once today. I flipped quickly to channel four, to see what the news was. The reporter was blabbing on about some colony in space; so my theory really was true.it was almost unreal. . .
That night I lay awake in bed thinking about what would happen next. Would there be a war? Would things ever be back to normal? Would Trowa ever kiss me?
I sighed, and shut my eyes. There was no use worrying over such things; no matter how hard I try, there is no way I can predict the future. I listened to the sound of, my favorite radio station, and eventually drifted off into a deep sleep. At least some things hadn't changed.
~~~
I woke up to the emptiness of saturday, and rubbed my eyes. Yes, today was Saturday; Becky was coming over at 12:00. I jumped out of bed, and yawned and stretched. I glanced at the clock; it read 11:00. Whoops, I guess I had slept in a little too late.heh heh.
It felt like old times.
I ran downstairs with enthusiasm, and made myself a breakfast of eggs and a glass of orange juice before hopping in the shower. I was ready by 11:55.
Once Becky came, we went up to the third floor. I turned on the computer, still determined to make her understand that Quatre, Duo, Trowa, and all the rest were actually real. . . well, either that or we had become 'unreal' but what are the chances of that happening. Well, actually nothing could surprise me right now.
"C'mon, Becky! You have to remember! The show was called Gundam Wing. There were five boys as the main characters: Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei. Then there was Treize, Zechs, Noin, and Lady Une. And Hilde, Catherine, Relena, Sally, and Dorothy. Remember?"
"Ummm.aren't they the new students in school?" Becky asked, giving me a What-the-heck-is-she-talking-about-look.
"Yes! But that's just the thing! You have to believe me; suddenly their world has become reality, and we're living it! I used to be Catherine Hughes, but now, I'm Catherine Bloom, you know, from the show, the knife- thrower in the circus!" I explained, rummaging through the drawer where we had all of our family photos, but I couldn't find any pictures of me with my old hair and eyes.
"Damn." I hissed, but turned up at my friend pleadingly. "You'll just have to believe me somehow."
It was possible, I suppose, that when all this happened, the memory of their ever being a Gundam Wing was erased because both worlds had somehow come together, and only I must have remembered because I was actually a product of that fusion. Wait, what was I talking about?! FUSION!? This sounds like a bad science fiction film!? I began tearing at my hair and clenching my teeth in frustration.
"Ummm." Becky murmured.
"Maybe I'm just going crazy!" I yelled in a fit of anger, continuing to pull at my hair, but I stopped when I heard Becky begin to speak.
"So this was a T.V. show?" I nodded, "Didn't you say there was a dude named Duo?" Becky questioned, with a confused look on her face. I could tell she was trying her hardest to remember.
"Yes, there was a guy named Duo, gosh!" I exclaimed. "You're a little slow!" I joked.
"Shut-up. Did I have any favorite lines of his?" Becky asked.
"Oh, now that you mention it, you did. It was: "Just watch me. I'll be the God of Death once again! But right now, I need some sleep." Remember?" I quoted.
"Du-Duo.DUO!!!!!!!" Becky exclaimed. "I remember! From the episode where he and Wufei are trapped, and they cut off the oxygen supply, and Lady Une saves them, and gets shot! I remember!"
"Holy shit! I work miracles!" I laughed.
"DUO's at our SCHOOL!!!! Oh my God!!! This can't be happening!" Becky began to look around frantically, finally resting on my face in a fit of half happiness, and half confusion.
"Yay! You remember!" I exclaimed, as Becky began to look curiously at me, brows furrowed, "What is it?" I asked curiously.
"You look an awful lot like Catherine from the show, you know that?" Becky said quite innocently, and all I could think to do was to place a hand on my forehead and shake my head helplessly.
_______________________
Thank you for editing, Foxfire!
Cathy: *Sob* I don't own Gundam wing or Trowa *starts bawling uncontrollably * I wish I was that rich! Trooowwwaaa.....!!!!!!!!
Becky: Yeah, you just keep dreaming, there *pats Cathy on the back * but thanks for putting me in the fic.
Cathy: * sniffles* Please review so I don't feel insane.
Becky: Too late.
Cathy: True.