Disclaimer: Don't own GW.
Warnings: yaoi
Duo?
Chapter 2: The Story
Heero awoke the next morning around 7:15. He groaned when he saw that his door was wide open and a few of his things lay scattered on the floor. He rose from his bed rubbing his eyes and running a hand through his messy hair.
As he started to pick things up and put them in their places, his mother appeared in the doorway. "Good morning, Heero!" she said cheerily. She glanced around at his room. "It looks-" it was then that she caught sight of the numerous objects strewn carelessly on the floor and changed the sentence. "-like you knocked everything off the shelves." She quirked an eyebrow at Heero's lazy expression.
He shrugged and continued to pick things up. Mrs. Yuy shook her head and left.
She got to the kitchen where her husband sat waiting for her. "I'm a little bit worried about Heero."
"Why is that?" he replied.
She sat down and put a hooked finger over her mouth and looked at the table with a worried expression. "Hmm... Well, I think it's just because of the move, but it was very strange... I don't really understand why, but he seemed to have tossed random things onto the floor..." She turned her eyes to her husband's. "Am I making any sense?"
He nodded. "Well, maybe it's an age thing..." he said thoughtfully. "I mean, he's a 16 year old boy, and he's just moved from the one home he lived in all his life and... I don't know, maybe he's just expressing some emotions he's experiencing right now."
He glanced up hopefully at his wife. She seemed more worried than ever. "Oh, don't worry, darling, he'll be fine." he reassured her, putting his arm around her shoulders.
Meanwhile, Heero was picking up the last few books and pencils on the floor. He sighed and stood up straight. He turned around to put the pencils on his desk when the light turned itself on. He slammed his fist on the switch and said through gritted teeth, "Would you stop that!" He then regretted his harshness when he heard his mischievous "visitor's" footsteps rushing from the room and down the hall.
He groaned and decided to get dressed.
xxx
Later, Heero stepped outside to go explore the new neighborhood. "Bye, Heero!" he heard his mother call from inside.
"Hn."
"Hello!" said a voice to his right. He turned and saw a blonde teen about his age walking toward him with a tall, brown haired boy with a unibang trailing along behind him. The blonde one smiled widely as he reached Heero. "Hi, I'm Quatre, I live across the street." He pointed to a white house across the street and to the left of Heero's. Heero blinked.
"Oh, and this is Trowa!" he said cheerfully, grasping the tall one's arm. Trowa nodded to Heero in greeting. Heero nodded back.
"Do you know anything about this house?" Quatre asked Heero with a suddenly serious expression, nodding towards the house behind Heero. Heero shook his head. Trowa and Quatre exchanged looks. "Why don't we show you around and we can talk about it?" he suggested.
Heero shrugged and stepped off the porch, falling into step beside Quatre. Trowa walked on the other side of Quatre, holding his hand. 'Cute couple,' Heero thought.
"Uh, so you don't know why the people before you lived here for such a short time?" Quatre asked Heero uneasily. Heero shook his head. Quatre sighed and continued, "Well, two families before you came, a boy and his parents lived there. His name was Duo Maxwell. He was 16 and had just gotten a new car as a birthday present from his parents. He was known by the kids around here as a friendly, outgoing boy who enjoyed giving them rides in his new car. Late in the evening, Duo would bring them all back here and call goodnight to them all before going inside.
"This routine went on for a while, until one night when everyone waved as Duo went into his home. They never saw him again. His parents found him dead in bed the next morning. They didn't know why he had died, only that he was gone."
Quatre sighed sadly. Heero looked at him curiously and noticed Trowa squeezing Quatre's hand. It was then that he realized how lonely he was...
Quatre sighed again and continued, "After his parents moved out, Duo seemed to stay and haunt the house. The next family - the one just before you - contained a little girl about 11, maybe 12, anyway, she told the kids around here that she was home alone in the kitchen doing homework when she heard someone coming down the staircase. She was so frightened that she hid under the table. She said the footsteps stopped at the last step and she saw that she was still quite alone.
"Some of her friends were reluctant to believe her, but she was so shaken up that they quickly changed sides." Quatre shook his head in sympathy for the poor girl. "Anyway, after that, Duo appeared again when the family was having dinner. They said they heard the unmistakable sound of someone running around upstairs. They also said that the footsteps would stop every once in a while and the sound of a window being closed could be heard. Then the running would start again.
"Sure enough, when the family went to investigate, the windows were closed and locked. And when the girl's father was about to open a window again, a thunderstorm began."
Quatre took a breath. Before he could continue, Trowa cut it, "Why don't I tell him the rest?" Quatre smiled gratefully and nodded.
"Duo is supposedly really shy; he only allowed himself to be seen twice while that family was there. Both times he was seen by the girl's grandmother and was facing the other direction, and both times took place in his old room. The first time she saw him was at night when she saw him bent over a grate in the fireplace. The second time he was standing next to a potted plant before melting away into the darkness. The next day they moved out." Trowa shrugged.
Heero thought about all this for a moment before telling his new friends about what Duo had done last night.
Trowa nodded and Quatre said, "Yeah, that sounds like Duo."
xxx
Later that afternoon, Heero's new friends walked him home. "See you later, Heero. Say hi to Duo for us!" Quatre said waving. Heero raised his hand and stepped inside.
"Hello, Heero!" he heard his mother call from the third floor somewhere. She walked to the top of the stairs. "Who are your new friends?" she asked while descending down the staircase.
Heero shrugged. "Just a few guys I met on my way out. The blonde one is Quatre, the tall one is Trowa." His mother nodded.
"Yes, I saw you talking to them through the window." She jerked a thumb towards a door down the hall. She dropped her arm and stared unbelievingly down the hall where Heero couldn't see.
"What is it?" he called up to his mother.
"Strange..." she whispered, "I was sure I left that door open..."
Heero smiled, gaining the attention of his mother. "What are you smiling at? That is not funny," she said curtly.
"It's just Duo," Heero said simply as he walked up the stairs toward his mother and Duo's presence.
"What?"
"Duo, Duo Maxwell." Heero looked down the hall at the door that was opening slowly and smiled. "Oi, Duo, Quatre and Trowa say hi." The sound of bare feet slapping on the wood floor was heard stepping out of the room and the door closed softly.
Heero turned to his mother, who looked very confused and stunned at the strange phenomenon. He turned back to the dark hall when the quiet footsteps continued on down the hall towards his room. Then his door opened with a slight creak and closed again.
Heero flashed his mother a quick smile before hurrying after the specter.