Note: Hey! I'm finally back after a week of being sick and a great contest
yesterday. We kicked some major butt, so I was so ready to write about
marching band. Until I started this I had no idea how many inside things
we have at marching band. And the list grows with each day including weird
names with even stranger origins. This chapter is longer than usual, so I
hope no one minds! And I hope everyone enjoys this, too. I don't own
Gundam Wing. Possible pairings are (brace yourselves) R+1 R+2 AND 1+2+1
(ultimately, thank god) 3+4+3, and 5 is still alone. Others may pop up,
and Hell yeah there's going to be OOC showing up in this one. This has
some Relena bashing in here right now just because I feel like it.
Chapter Three
And so the members of marching band dispersed with the speed of jackrabbits into their own little groups of friends with the final words of the band directors. It had certainly been a long morning of nonstop sweating. A couple of people also managed to pass out from all the stress heightened with the presence of the sun. Poking his head out from the air- conditioned van parked next to the practice field, parking lot, a freshman named Sam stretched out his sore limbs.
"Time for lunch?" his voice was a bit fuzzy, and his speech was almost slurred. Blinking his bright green eyes, he sought out someone in the crowd to confirm it.
"Yup! Are you feeling better, Sam?" another freshman girl with dark locks grinned at him broadly.
The remnants of their conversation faded from Heero's mind. He could only replay Trowa's ridiculous suggestion and the "thoughtful" expression he had worn on his face. 'No one can forget a Barton smirk. Damn him. Damn all of them.' His chin lifted upward to the sun, beads of sweat pouring profusely from his forehead as he walked towards the high school.
Duo watched him in keenly with a pair of bright purple eyes. 'So this is Relena's friend . . . ' He grinned and sauntered to the boy with cryptic intentions. And suddenly that devious look glinting in those eyes disappeared as he neared. His hand stretched forward and tapped Heero on the shoulder gently. Thrice. A dark head whipped around to glare at the assaulter, but when the sight of the intrusive trombone player met his gaze surprise lit his features.
"Howdy!" the annoyingly cheeky grin split across the heart-shaped face. Overzealous waving made Heero roll his eyes.
"Duo," he crisply greeted him with the typical "guy nod." A flock of giggling color guard girls burst through the distance between the two. Relena was nowhere to be seen, but surprisingly neither was too concerned. 'Bakas.'
"Idiot color guard," Duo grumbled, giving Heero a half smile.
The same grin twitched Heero's lips, "Relena's in guard," he pointed out, 'What am I doing? I already know he's using her; she's the one that needs to wake up, and she's not here to listen in.'
Duo gave a good-natured shrug and smile, "Well she wasn't in that group of guard girls."
Heero didn't even hear him over his own thoughts. It wasn't completely out of the blue, but certain unexpected. "Maybe she is stupid," the other blurted out, acting on his emotions, "to be being with you." It was a low insult, and Heero knew. He also knew that the trombone boy deserved it. All of a sudden the urge to escape became nearly uncontrollable.
Pure surprise and hurt flashed in violet eyes, mouth opening in that speechless expression, but he quickly recovered. "Jeez," he murmured, eyes narrowing. "What did I ever do to you?" 'I don't even want to think about what he meant with that one,' he walked away slowly, focusing on the high school directly in front of him. 'Too late.'
"He has feelings you know," a soft voice interjected, slicing sharply through the boy's thoughts.
'Huh?' Heero turned around to face the blonde drum major, who stared back at him with unreadable, aquamarine eyes. "I know, Quatre," he sighed. "I wasn't thinking."
A thoughtful look crossed his face, "What *do* you have against Duo?" he asked with curiosity.
Heero began to continue walking in, and Quatre followed him. A flick of his dark blue eyes turned the blonde's head backward to see Relena awkwardly trying to pick up her flags. The drum major couldn't help but smile at her newness to band.
"Relena!" he called out to the solo guard member in the middle of the parking lot, "You can leave them out here!"
"Oh!" she laughed nervously, "I didn't realize . . . Thanks, Quatre."
He grinned at her and waved off the mistake, squinting away from the shimmer of sun dancing off of the cloths. "Oh," he said quietly. "You're finally starting to like her?" eagerness shone in his eyes after it clicked in his brain.
Heero's own pair widened, "No!" he denied quickly.
After a careful examination of the Japanese youth, Quatre accepted his answer as the truth. He sighed in disappointment, "Then what is it?" he inquired expectantly.
He shot the drum major a meaningful look before turning away. "Duo's a player. I don't want Relena to get hurt."
"Oh . . . Now it makes sense," realized the other teenager. "You've always been overprotective of her," he stated as if it would be significant information to figure out a solution. 'But - Duo's not a player. He would never do that.'
"Only because she's too careless. She never realizes that she could actually be at risk of being hurt."
Quatre grinned with a light laugh, "Yeah . . . " he agreed. "Like that time she jumped out in front of that car when trying to stop her parents from leaving."
Heero shook his head at her stupidity, "Or the time that she swallowed bug spray and made a face without calling poison control," he snorted.
"Was sick for the next two days vomiting," the youth added sadly. "I know what you mean, Heero. Still that's no way to treat a guy you don't even know."
"I know him perfectly fine. He's a - " the trumpet player argued childishly.
"No," Quatre interrupted, treating him like a child, "you don't. But you should try to get to know him. Granted there probably be a lot of personality clashes, but I have a feeling that you'll get along just fine. Come on, Heero! This is band camp! Make new friends! Live it up!"
He raised an eyebrow, "Not saying that you don't work hard up there or all the other things you have to take care of, but this is not enjoyable for me or a lot of other people."
"Are you having problems?" the Arabic turned sympathetic instantaneously.
Heero sighed, "Yes, with the ineptitude of the other new people. And I said it wasn't enjoyable, not that it wasn't simple or easy." He slipped through the open doors of glass.
Quatre laughed, "Oh yeah, this is you we're talking about here."
"You guys are so slow!" a loud voice projected itself to the crowd, and a scowling Chinese man could be seen with chopsticks raised up in the air almost as if protesting their delay.
Trowa just smiled at Quatre and rose to help him with his speaker that dangled from his grasp. A new addition to the circle of friends turned to look at the fashionably late marchers. Violet. Again Heero was surprised. Instead of the hostility he braced himself for, the other boy just gave him a friendly smile and waved him over to sit down.
Mildly stunned Heero cut through the crowding students over to the table occupied by his circle of friends. 'Doesn't he care about what happened a few minutes ago? He sure acted like he did. What does he want? There has to be a motive behind his actions . . . ' As his mind ran through circumstances after circumstances he still couldn't come up with a plausible explanation. It didn't make sense.
"Hey," Duo grinned at him. It didn't look forced and neither did his friendly attitude; it was genuine. "Did you bring lunch?"
The trumpeter nodded while removing his black drill binder and setting down the glinting, silver instrument. He headed toward the band room only to have that pesky braided one follow him. It was like nothing happened. They walked in silence until one chose to break it. Not surprisingly it was Duo that had taken the first initiative, "Tough day," he let out a heavy breath. "Did you get burned?"
"A little," maybe it wasn't so hard to try being nice as Quatre had suggested. "Did you?" The American laughed, letting his reddened arms speak for themselves. "Hell yeah! After we come back, you want some Saran wrap?"
Heero turned to look at him strangely. He was rewarded with another chuckle and grin, "Saran wrap?"
"Yeah," he blinked innocently. "I read on the Internet that it's like SPF 300, so I thought I should try it out."
He smirked slightly, "One of two things can happen . . . " he left the statement open-ended for effect but only momentarily. "Either it'll work perfectly or you'll get third degree burns."
"So you're smart, huh?" Duo commented with a breath of admiring respect. Of course the guy looked intelligent enough without saying a word. "I just hope it ain't the latter."
By the end of that phrase both realized they were back in the lobby, and everything had just passed by like a blur. The braided boy took one look at Heero's lunch before he scrunched his face in disapproval.
"Damn! That's all you're having? What are you anorexic?" he stared expectantly for a response to his joking remark.
The other stared down at his lunch as if to double check what he brought. Neatly packed in the blue box was a twelve-inch sub sandwich, a bag of chips, some water, and an apple. It seemed perfectly fine to him. "And what are you? A binge-eater?" he shot back with perfect delivery. Staring back at the sumptuous display of the trombone player's meal, he slowly spoke again, "Never mind."
"Ha, ha, Yuy," Duo replied dryly. "For your information I always bring extra for people who want more food."
"No one asked for more information," Heero attempted to ignore the nuisance, but found it far too tempting not to. He sneaked a peek out of the corner of his eyes. Just the look at the cheery student made him realize that his mood had lifted a little. 'You'll get along fine,' he replayed Quatre's words. 'He's probably right on this one as usual.'
Heero caught sight of a flash of dark gold hair. 'Relena. Yeah, I'll keep an eye on both of them,' he decided.
"You know that girl never listens anyway," Trowa murmured softly for Heero's ears alone. "Why bother? Are just looking for something to occupy your time?"
"No." 'But maybe Trowa is also right. Let her make her own mistakes.' The only other available option was to ask her out, and to be perfectly honest Heero found her annoyingly persistent about everything. Then there was the uncertainty that she would say yes at all.
He found a piece of clear, red plastic waving back and forth in front of his eyes. "Earth to Heero."
'Huh?' Impatiently, the "flag" was snatched from the air with one fluid motion. Upon closer examination he concluded it to be a piece of red Saran wrap that now laid crumpled in his grip. 'Oh yeah . . . '
"Well?" hopeful eyes stared directly into Prussian blue. "Can I wrap you up? It's a very "scientifical" experiment after all."
Before his tongue could maneuver itself to formulate a verbal response, he started to see red everywhere around him. Within seconds red- ish purple eyes beamed triumphantly at Heero. A flash of light could be both seen and heard. The image it captured was priceless. A perfect moment of fluster, confusion, and surprise fused together to form an adorably lost Heero with his head encased in a layer of Saran wrap and a grinning Duo holding bunny ears immaturely behind the other boy's head, arm slung across his shoulders.
"Now that is going on the wall," Mama Stevenson announced, strutting away with her camera.
Dark eyes narrowed to slits, "The wall?" 'What the Hell is that?'
Quatre's eyes were fixated in the "aww" look. Trowa shot a bemused expression in his direction. Wufei smirked while trying not to burst out laughing. Duo - just grinned. "The wall," they all replied simultaneously.
"Yeah, Wuffles here's been on there many, many times," he sighed at fond memories. Wufei getting whacked by a timpani stick, getting pied in the face, and even one of a real smile lighting up his face.
"What about you, Maxwell?!" he shot back furiously.
"There'll be time for camp stories later," Quatre cut into the conversation. "Break's over."
"Nuh uh!" Duo shook his head in denial. "That could *not* have been 45 minutes!"
"We're on Niemiec time anyway," Heero pointed out as the group headed towards the band room. At least they would be inside for a while. Suddenly realizing the plastic still sticking on his forehead, he peeled the red off.
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Voila! This chapter is all done now. ^_^ I really hope everyone like this chapter because I thought it was fun typing it all. I couldn't stop laughing when I started to remember all the stupid stuff we pulled in mb. This is one kick-ass activity, guys. Guess it's one of those things that you had to be there for. We did sooo good yesterday! Niemiec (yeah that's my real director's name -_-;;) was giddy with us. We got a frickin' 73! I love that number! And it was districts, so Regionals, here we come! The bad thing is that I missed homecoming because I had no money and I was in my band clothes and kind of sweaty. I felt so isolated with all those people in formal attire passing me by. Saran wrap thing did actually happen during band camp courtesy of "Duo." And we do have pictures of people with Saran wrapped heads on our bulletin board.
Mailing list- I doubt it, but if anyone would like to get updates just tell me via email, review, or whatever. The reason I doubt it is because this is pretty new and less popular than POW. This is also why I don't do polls here.
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Replies to Reviews
Eliza Blaine - Hey girl! How are you? I hope you're doing as good as I am. Well actually better than I am because I'm tired from all this typing and lack of sleep. I hope none of them see it, too, unless I trust them. Maybe they can help me co-write! Lol. Wouldn't that be something? It would end up even more screwed up than it is right now. Not that I'm saying anything is wrong with them per say . . . but we're crazy when all together. Homecoming week was last week, and it could have been a lot more enjoyable if I was actually there half the time. Ahh well . . . Thank you so much for the review!
Lost in Smiling Eyes - Hello, hello! How have you been? Great I hope. The guard girls are pissing us band people off right now. Kelly started a thing where they're supposably above us band losers, so they shouldn't talk to us at all. Isn't that screwed up? And they do carelessly whack us with their equipment and not care at all about it. I'm glad you're assured it's going to be 1+2+1 because it definitely will. I feel the same way about the people. Relena's okay, but every time I run across a 1+R I see red (like Heero!) and start to not like her as much. I bash her character now, but that may change later. I want to show everyone what can happen to you during marching band, and I don't mean in a bad way. The emotions can get overwhelming. And I know people that have cried more than once over it whether it was tears of sadness or tears of joy. It's more than what you would expect, and you bet your ass Heero's going to start giving a damn about it! Thanks so much for the review as always! It's always great to hear from you guys.
Gpliot04- Hi! Ooh, a new reader! I like! Lol, I'm okay. First off, thank you very, very much for giving me a review. I hope you like where this is going. Quatre is here, and he's a drum major! I think it's a wonderful job for him because it seems to fit, and I can see it pretty well. Band camp . . . That was like three months ago, but I can still remember it. The military march-off was painful. I got sunscreen in my eye at the time, so it stung really bad, and I could barely see. It was no wonder that I got out, huh? It's not that you would care about any of this stuff, but I like to share band camp stories. There are just way too many.
TasukiNoBaka- Hey! How are you? Great I'm hoping. I'm kind of tired personally right now. I'm going to try to get this out before I go to bed. It's almost midnight, so . . . I'm really glad you're enjoying this story. I'm having a blast with it, which is kind of unusual. I mean I do have fun, but this is unbelievable because I'm reliving all these awesome memories. It's great to get feedback, too. Seeing as to what this is about, it's going to get long. For once I can predict that before I even started on the first sentence. So be warned! Thank you so much for the review!
LB- Hey! I hope you're still here! Hell, I hope you're all still here. I know all the trouble I've been having with updates, but I really am trying. It's hard to juggle it all with the stress in my life. I'm having a "situation" right now involving serious family matters, and sometimes it's hard not to just break down and stop caring about everything. That would be bad. After all the world doesn't wait on anyone's problems, ne? I need support, and it's just not really there. I guess that's the reason I've been so emotional lately and the week of being sick. I've rambled off again. Anyway! Marching bands are really interesting to watch. Every vid- tech session I just love to watch our show. It's so amazing when everyone is doing the same thing at the same time at the right place. A world without marching band would most certainly be different. I wouldn't have as many friends as I do now. I mean sure we may not be super close, but we go through so much together, and we share a bond even with people from other marching bands. I really want to do this fic right because this combing two of my greatest passions. Thanks a million for the review!
Lora-Helen- Hey, hun! How are you? I hope you're doing great. Right now I'm tired, and it's late the next day. I still manage to push off my writing assessment, too. I have a big speech to give about the book I read tomorrow, which will last ten minutes. Speaking of which, I should prepare for it, huh? Anyway, thank you so much for reviewing! You people make my day. ^_^ Relena with a rifle is kind of scary, isn't it? I can understand how you would like POW better though! I mean this fic is relatively new in comparison with a lot less chapters. I can't decide between the two, but both are going great. It's kind of difficult switching off after I really get into the plot, but I get sick of it sometimes, so I push off writing it even longer. Marching band practice is tomorrow, and Regionals is - two Saturdays away. I can't believe marching band is almost over!!! I also have a band concert this Thursday that I have to perform twice at. I don't mind though. After all we get to show off our mad skills. ^_^
Jux- Hi! Another new . . . name (can't exactly say face)! And you seem to really know what you're talking about, too. Thank you so much for all the comments in this wonderful review! My band background - oi, don't get me started on it because I may never stop. It is a rather unusual setting though. I'm such a sucker for falling in love stories, too. If they're well writing, my mind is just gone for the next hour or so. I'm glad you like where this is going although it's hard with only two (now three) chapters going though. I mean I'm sure people get the basic gist of it, which is turning out to be strange enough. Band camp does weird things to the mind. I can remember the first time the idea struck me, too. Just that there's going to more than just romance in here. Right now I'm really into the characters, but it's going to get very involved with marching band itself that include the bus rides, weird jokes, strange routines, interesting nick names, the strangest couples, the emotional part, the frustrating moments, and everything else. It's not all fun and games obviously because people work our butts off. And it's going to start to change people. Thanks again! And I do hope to run into you again someday.
Lady Dragon- Oh the horror! I'm afraid we'll just have to wait and see because I'm still working this whole thing out. I do have some ideas going in my head though, which I'll reveal in a semi-enigmatic way. There are some - secrets . . . I don't know how else to put it. Oh my God! 60 freshman??? Well actually I'm a freshman but this is my sophomore marching year. They let subbies in, so we have an advantage over them. That's got to be hard to deal with. In my head are about 30 Kenny's and 30 Sarah's from my band. They have got to be the worse marchers I have ever seen. I mean it's no offense to Kenny because he's nice and everything. He's just a little slow most of the time. It's kind of frustrating to deal with though. He used to step on the ands instead of the actual number. I can go on about it, but I won't. We have a pretty small band here because it's not mandatory for concert band people. I really like that about our school's band programs because no one feels forced to do something. I'm sure a lot of people don't want to be going seven hours and a half and over each week. That's not counting football games, extra things, or contests. We did beat a huge band on Saturday. They have 27 trumpets and we have - seven. That's hilarious to think about. I would be feeling sorry for Wufei's section because he'll be dictating many, many push-ups. ^_^; Thanks so much for the awesome review!
Rings of Saturn- Hi! I'm so sorry everyone had to wait this ridiculously long for the next chapter. I wouldn't say they were after her exactly, but some friendly competition is always healthy. ^_~ It'll be interesting to write about. Being a charming person is just who Duo naturally is, while Heero is trying to protect a friend from Duo's player ways. The confusion will definitely amuse me for a while. I hope you enjoy this fic! And thank you so much for the fabulous review.
Diane- Hey! How are you today? Great I hope. I'm tired as usual after a long day at school. During marching band season it's like we literally live out of there. I have a concert in two days! Whoo hoo! Time to show off mad skills. ^_^ Merci beau coup for the review and all those wonderfully detailed comments! Speaking of trombone players this guard girl really scared me today. She was like are the person that Drew (trombone)likes? I'm like O.O What??? It was hilarious though! She was trying to figure out who he liked and everything, which I highly doubt it would be me. She was like oh don't freak out, it's probably not you. I'm like oh thank goddess. That scared the crap out of me. He stepped on a nail today, too. I feel so bad for him! It must have really hurt. Anyway I'm getting off track. It would be so nice to be a trumpet player at your school! Yeah, hot guys! Trowa is very observant. Je suis d'accord! And we all know how much complaining Wufei likes to do! It's all gravy on marching band planet. I hope I'll hear from you again soon!
Nanashi- Hi! Thank you so much for giving me a review! Wufei's personality, lol, I just have to laugh at him in fics. I mean I realize it's not actually insane in the series, but the fan fiction Wufei is so much fun! It's great to provoke his attacks, and that scowl is too precious. I don't know what it is about the boys, but I luv them all! Heero's not exactly jealous because, come on it's Relena! Lol I'm just kidding. On some level, yeah, he's jealous. I mean I know I've gotten little shots of envy when guys I know well like other girls and not me just because it's not me. I mean I don't really like them or anything, but you get the picture. And that's not a good thing, is it? And Heero's known Relena for a long, long time. He is also concerned about her emotions, you know. He's never really thought about liking her though. She's just more of a really good childhood friend. My cat is so cute right now all curled up on my bed . . . ^_^
Kristy- Ewww! Yeah I completely agree with how wrong that seems. I mean it's not exactly disgusting to me, but it sure as Hell doesn't seem right at all. Neither couple (R+1/2) fits together well with each other, and it's just a disaster waiting to happen. Trust in the power of 1+2+1! Thank you so much for the feedback! I hope I'll hear from you again even as it's been so long since the last update.
Loz- Hi! How are you? Great I hope. It's been a rough month or so for me, and I so apologize for the ridiculous wait. I'm really trying my best, but it seems like even that isn't good enough. With marching band season concluding (most likely) with Regionals and the frenzy of preparation, it only adds on the load of homework, school, social life, family issues, and everything in between. I know it's probably no excuse or at least a really bad one, but it's about all I can say for myself. I'm still trying to figure out how to balance it all and still get sleep. Thank you so much for reviewing though! It's always great to hear from you guys. I know about the pairings, but it'll all work out eventually. ^_~ You'll see!
Chapter Three
And so the members of marching band dispersed with the speed of jackrabbits into their own little groups of friends with the final words of the band directors. It had certainly been a long morning of nonstop sweating. A couple of people also managed to pass out from all the stress heightened with the presence of the sun. Poking his head out from the air- conditioned van parked next to the practice field, parking lot, a freshman named Sam stretched out his sore limbs.
"Time for lunch?" his voice was a bit fuzzy, and his speech was almost slurred. Blinking his bright green eyes, he sought out someone in the crowd to confirm it.
"Yup! Are you feeling better, Sam?" another freshman girl with dark locks grinned at him broadly.
The remnants of their conversation faded from Heero's mind. He could only replay Trowa's ridiculous suggestion and the "thoughtful" expression he had worn on his face. 'No one can forget a Barton smirk. Damn him. Damn all of them.' His chin lifted upward to the sun, beads of sweat pouring profusely from his forehead as he walked towards the high school.
Duo watched him in keenly with a pair of bright purple eyes. 'So this is Relena's friend . . . ' He grinned and sauntered to the boy with cryptic intentions. And suddenly that devious look glinting in those eyes disappeared as he neared. His hand stretched forward and tapped Heero on the shoulder gently. Thrice. A dark head whipped around to glare at the assaulter, but when the sight of the intrusive trombone player met his gaze surprise lit his features.
"Howdy!" the annoyingly cheeky grin split across the heart-shaped face. Overzealous waving made Heero roll his eyes.
"Duo," he crisply greeted him with the typical "guy nod." A flock of giggling color guard girls burst through the distance between the two. Relena was nowhere to be seen, but surprisingly neither was too concerned. 'Bakas.'
"Idiot color guard," Duo grumbled, giving Heero a half smile.
The same grin twitched Heero's lips, "Relena's in guard," he pointed out, 'What am I doing? I already know he's using her; she's the one that needs to wake up, and she's not here to listen in.'
Duo gave a good-natured shrug and smile, "Well she wasn't in that group of guard girls."
Heero didn't even hear him over his own thoughts. It wasn't completely out of the blue, but certain unexpected. "Maybe she is stupid," the other blurted out, acting on his emotions, "to be being with you." It was a low insult, and Heero knew. He also knew that the trombone boy deserved it. All of a sudden the urge to escape became nearly uncontrollable.
Pure surprise and hurt flashed in violet eyes, mouth opening in that speechless expression, but he quickly recovered. "Jeez," he murmured, eyes narrowing. "What did I ever do to you?" 'I don't even want to think about what he meant with that one,' he walked away slowly, focusing on the high school directly in front of him. 'Too late.'
"He has feelings you know," a soft voice interjected, slicing sharply through the boy's thoughts.
'Huh?' Heero turned around to face the blonde drum major, who stared back at him with unreadable, aquamarine eyes. "I know, Quatre," he sighed. "I wasn't thinking."
A thoughtful look crossed his face, "What *do* you have against Duo?" he asked with curiosity.
Heero began to continue walking in, and Quatre followed him. A flick of his dark blue eyes turned the blonde's head backward to see Relena awkwardly trying to pick up her flags. The drum major couldn't help but smile at her newness to band.
"Relena!" he called out to the solo guard member in the middle of the parking lot, "You can leave them out here!"
"Oh!" she laughed nervously, "I didn't realize . . . Thanks, Quatre."
He grinned at her and waved off the mistake, squinting away from the shimmer of sun dancing off of the cloths. "Oh," he said quietly. "You're finally starting to like her?" eagerness shone in his eyes after it clicked in his brain.
Heero's own pair widened, "No!" he denied quickly.
After a careful examination of the Japanese youth, Quatre accepted his answer as the truth. He sighed in disappointment, "Then what is it?" he inquired expectantly.
He shot the drum major a meaningful look before turning away. "Duo's a player. I don't want Relena to get hurt."
"Oh . . . Now it makes sense," realized the other teenager. "You've always been overprotective of her," he stated as if it would be significant information to figure out a solution. 'But - Duo's not a player. He would never do that.'
"Only because she's too careless. She never realizes that she could actually be at risk of being hurt."
Quatre grinned with a light laugh, "Yeah . . . " he agreed. "Like that time she jumped out in front of that car when trying to stop her parents from leaving."
Heero shook his head at her stupidity, "Or the time that she swallowed bug spray and made a face without calling poison control," he snorted.
"Was sick for the next two days vomiting," the youth added sadly. "I know what you mean, Heero. Still that's no way to treat a guy you don't even know."
"I know him perfectly fine. He's a - " the trumpet player argued childishly.
"No," Quatre interrupted, treating him like a child, "you don't. But you should try to get to know him. Granted there probably be a lot of personality clashes, but I have a feeling that you'll get along just fine. Come on, Heero! This is band camp! Make new friends! Live it up!"
He raised an eyebrow, "Not saying that you don't work hard up there or all the other things you have to take care of, but this is not enjoyable for me or a lot of other people."
"Are you having problems?" the Arabic turned sympathetic instantaneously.
Heero sighed, "Yes, with the ineptitude of the other new people. And I said it wasn't enjoyable, not that it wasn't simple or easy." He slipped through the open doors of glass.
Quatre laughed, "Oh yeah, this is you we're talking about here."
"You guys are so slow!" a loud voice projected itself to the crowd, and a scowling Chinese man could be seen with chopsticks raised up in the air almost as if protesting their delay.
Trowa just smiled at Quatre and rose to help him with his speaker that dangled from his grasp. A new addition to the circle of friends turned to look at the fashionably late marchers. Violet. Again Heero was surprised. Instead of the hostility he braced himself for, the other boy just gave him a friendly smile and waved him over to sit down.
Mildly stunned Heero cut through the crowding students over to the table occupied by his circle of friends. 'Doesn't he care about what happened a few minutes ago? He sure acted like he did. What does he want? There has to be a motive behind his actions . . . ' As his mind ran through circumstances after circumstances he still couldn't come up with a plausible explanation. It didn't make sense.
"Hey," Duo grinned at him. It didn't look forced and neither did his friendly attitude; it was genuine. "Did you bring lunch?"
The trumpeter nodded while removing his black drill binder and setting down the glinting, silver instrument. He headed toward the band room only to have that pesky braided one follow him. It was like nothing happened. They walked in silence until one chose to break it. Not surprisingly it was Duo that had taken the first initiative, "Tough day," he let out a heavy breath. "Did you get burned?"
"A little," maybe it wasn't so hard to try being nice as Quatre had suggested. "Did you?" The American laughed, letting his reddened arms speak for themselves. "Hell yeah! After we come back, you want some Saran wrap?"
Heero turned to look at him strangely. He was rewarded with another chuckle and grin, "Saran wrap?"
"Yeah," he blinked innocently. "I read on the Internet that it's like SPF 300, so I thought I should try it out."
He smirked slightly, "One of two things can happen . . . " he left the statement open-ended for effect but only momentarily. "Either it'll work perfectly or you'll get third degree burns."
"So you're smart, huh?" Duo commented with a breath of admiring respect. Of course the guy looked intelligent enough without saying a word. "I just hope it ain't the latter."
By the end of that phrase both realized they were back in the lobby, and everything had just passed by like a blur. The braided boy took one look at Heero's lunch before he scrunched his face in disapproval.
"Damn! That's all you're having? What are you anorexic?" he stared expectantly for a response to his joking remark.
The other stared down at his lunch as if to double check what he brought. Neatly packed in the blue box was a twelve-inch sub sandwich, a bag of chips, some water, and an apple. It seemed perfectly fine to him. "And what are you? A binge-eater?" he shot back with perfect delivery. Staring back at the sumptuous display of the trombone player's meal, he slowly spoke again, "Never mind."
"Ha, ha, Yuy," Duo replied dryly. "For your information I always bring extra for people who want more food."
"No one asked for more information," Heero attempted to ignore the nuisance, but found it far too tempting not to. He sneaked a peek out of the corner of his eyes. Just the look at the cheery student made him realize that his mood had lifted a little. 'You'll get along fine,' he replayed Quatre's words. 'He's probably right on this one as usual.'
Heero caught sight of a flash of dark gold hair. 'Relena. Yeah, I'll keep an eye on both of them,' he decided.
"You know that girl never listens anyway," Trowa murmured softly for Heero's ears alone. "Why bother? Are just looking for something to occupy your time?"
"No." 'But maybe Trowa is also right. Let her make her own mistakes.' The only other available option was to ask her out, and to be perfectly honest Heero found her annoyingly persistent about everything. Then there was the uncertainty that she would say yes at all.
He found a piece of clear, red plastic waving back and forth in front of his eyes. "Earth to Heero."
'Huh?' Impatiently, the "flag" was snatched from the air with one fluid motion. Upon closer examination he concluded it to be a piece of red Saran wrap that now laid crumpled in his grip. 'Oh yeah . . . '
"Well?" hopeful eyes stared directly into Prussian blue. "Can I wrap you up? It's a very "scientifical" experiment after all."
Before his tongue could maneuver itself to formulate a verbal response, he started to see red everywhere around him. Within seconds red- ish purple eyes beamed triumphantly at Heero. A flash of light could be both seen and heard. The image it captured was priceless. A perfect moment of fluster, confusion, and surprise fused together to form an adorably lost Heero with his head encased in a layer of Saran wrap and a grinning Duo holding bunny ears immaturely behind the other boy's head, arm slung across his shoulders.
"Now that is going on the wall," Mama Stevenson announced, strutting away with her camera.
Dark eyes narrowed to slits, "The wall?" 'What the Hell is that?'
Quatre's eyes were fixated in the "aww" look. Trowa shot a bemused expression in his direction. Wufei smirked while trying not to burst out laughing. Duo - just grinned. "The wall," they all replied simultaneously.
"Yeah, Wuffles here's been on there many, many times," he sighed at fond memories. Wufei getting whacked by a timpani stick, getting pied in the face, and even one of a real smile lighting up his face.
"What about you, Maxwell?!" he shot back furiously.
"There'll be time for camp stories later," Quatre cut into the conversation. "Break's over."
"Nuh uh!" Duo shook his head in denial. "That could *not* have been 45 minutes!"
"We're on Niemiec time anyway," Heero pointed out as the group headed towards the band room. At least they would be inside for a while. Suddenly realizing the plastic still sticking on his forehead, he peeled the red off.
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Voila! This chapter is all done now. ^_^ I really hope everyone like this chapter because I thought it was fun typing it all. I couldn't stop laughing when I started to remember all the stupid stuff we pulled in mb. This is one kick-ass activity, guys. Guess it's one of those things that you had to be there for. We did sooo good yesterday! Niemiec (yeah that's my real director's name -_-;;) was giddy with us. We got a frickin' 73! I love that number! And it was districts, so Regionals, here we come! The bad thing is that I missed homecoming because I had no money and I was in my band clothes and kind of sweaty. I felt so isolated with all those people in formal attire passing me by. Saran wrap thing did actually happen during band camp courtesy of "Duo." And we do have pictures of people with Saran wrapped heads on our bulletin board.
Mailing list- I doubt it, but if anyone would like to get updates just tell me via email, review, or whatever. The reason I doubt it is because this is pretty new and less popular than POW. This is also why I don't do polls here.
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Replies to Reviews
Eliza Blaine - Hey girl! How are you? I hope you're doing as good as I am. Well actually better than I am because I'm tired from all this typing and lack of sleep. I hope none of them see it, too, unless I trust them. Maybe they can help me co-write! Lol. Wouldn't that be something? It would end up even more screwed up than it is right now. Not that I'm saying anything is wrong with them per say . . . but we're crazy when all together. Homecoming week was last week, and it could have been a lot more enjoyable if I was actually there half the time. Ahh well . . . Thank you so much for the review!
Lost in Smiling Eyes - Hello, hello! How have you been? Great I hope. The guard girls are pissing us band people off right now. Kelly started a thing where they're supposably above us band losers, so they shouldn't talk to us at all. Isn't that screwed up? And they do carelessly whack us with their equipment and not care at all about it. I'm glad you're assured it's going to be 1+2+1 because it definitely will. I feel the same way about the people. Relena's okay, but every time I run across a 1+R I see red (like Heero!) and start to not like her as much. I bash her character now, but that may change later. I want to show everyone what can happen to you during marching band, and I don't mean in a bad way. The emotions can get overwhelming. And I know people that have cried more than once over it whether it was tears of sadness or tears of joy. It's more than what you would expect, and you bet your ass Heero's going to start giving a damn about it! Thanks so much for the review as always! It's always great to hear from you guys.
Gpliot04- Hi! Ooh, a new reader! I like! Lol, I'm okay. First off, thank you very, very much for giving me a review. I hope you like where this is going. Quatre is here, and he's a drum major! I think it's a wonderful job for him because it seems to fit, and I can see it pretty well. Band camp . . . That was like three months ago, but I can still remember it. The military march-off was painful. I got sunscreen in my eye at the time, so it stung really bad, and I could barely see. It was no wonder that I got out, huh? It's not that you would care about any of this stuff, but I like to share band camp stories. There are just way too many.
TasukiNoBaka- Hey! How are you? Great I'm hoping. I'm kind of tired personally right now. I'm going to try to get this out before I go to bed. It's almost midnight, so . . . I'm really glad you're enjoying this story. I'm having a blast with it, which is kind of unusual. I mean I do have fun, but this is unbelievable because I'm reliving all these awesome memories. It's great to get feedback, too. Seeing as to what this is about, it's going to get long. For once I can predict that before I even started on the first sentence. So be warned! Thank you so much for the review!
LB- Hey! I hope you're still here! Hell, I hope you're all still here. I know all the trouble I've been having with updates, but I really am trying. It's hard to juggle it all with the stress in my life. I'm having a "situation" right now involving serious family matters, and sometimes it's hard not to just break down and stop caring about everything. That would be bad. After all the world doesn't wait on anyone's problems, ne? I need support, and it's just not really there. I guess that's the reason I've been so emotional lately and the week of being sick. I've rambled off again. Anyway! Marching bands are really interesting to watch. Every vid- tech session I just love to watch our show. It's so amazing when everyone is doing the same thing at the same time at the right place. A world without marching band would most certainly be different. I wouldn't have as many friends as I do now. I mean sure we may not be super close, but we go through so much together, and we share a bond even with people from other marching bands. I really want to do this fic right because this combing two of my greatest passions. Thanks a million for the review!
Lora-Helen- Hey, hun! How are you? I hope you're doing great. Right now I'm tired, and it's late the next day. I still manage to push off my writing assessment, too. I have a big speech to give about the book I read tomorrow, which will last ten minutes. Speaking of which, I should prepare for it, huh? Anyway, thank you so much for reviewing! You people make my day. ^_^ Relena with a rifle is kind of scary, isn't it? I can understand how you would like POW better though! I mean this fic is relatively new in comparison with a lot less chapters. I can't decide between the two, but both are going great. It's kind of difficult switching off after I really get into the plot, but I get sick of it sometimes, so I push off writing it even longer. Marching band practice is tomorrow, and Regionals is - two Saturdays away. I can't believe marching band is almost over!!! I also have a band concert this Thursday that I have to perform twice at. I don't mind though. After all we get to show off our mad skills. ^_^
Jux- Hi! Another new . . . name (can't exactly say face)! And you seem to really know what you're talking about, too. Thank you so much for all the comments in this wonderful review! My band background - oi, don't get me started on it because I may never stop. It is a rather unusual setting though. I'm such a sucker for falling in love stories, too. If they're well writing, my mind is just gone for the next hour or so. I'm glad you like where this is going although it's hard with only two (now three) chapters going though. I mean I'm sure people get the basic gist of it, which is turning out to be strange enough. Band camp does weird things to the mind. I can remember the first time the idea struck me, too. Just that there's going to more than just romance in here. Right now I'm really into the characters, but it's going to get very involved with marching band itself that include the bus rides, weird jokes, strange routines, interesting nick names, the strangest couples, the emotional part, the frustrating moments, and everything else. It's not all fun and games obviously because people work our butts off. And it's going to start to change people. Thanks again! And I do hope to run into you again someday.
Lady Dragon- Oh the horror! I'm afraid we'll just have to wait and see because I'm still working this whole thing out. I do have some ideas going in my head though, which I'll reveal in a semi-enigmatic way. There are some - secrets . . . I don't know how else to put it. Oh my God! 60 freshman??? Well actually I'm a freshman but this is my sophomore marching year. They let subbies in, so we have an advantage over them. That's got to be hard to deal with. In my head are about 30 Kenny's and 30 Sarah's from my band. They have got to be the worse marchers I have ever seen. I mean it's no offense to Kenny because he's nice and everything. He's just a little slow most of the time. It's kind of frustrating to deal with though. He used to step on the ands instead of the actual number. I can go on about it, but I won't. We have a pretty small band here because it's not mandatory for concert band people. I really like that about our school's band programs because no one feels forced to do something. I'm sure a lot of people don't want to be going seven hours and a half and over each week. That's not counting football games, extra things, or contests. We did beat a huge band on Saturday. They have 27 trumpets and we have - seven. That's hilarious to think about. I would be feeling sorry for Wufei's section because he'll be dictating many, many push-ups. ^_^; Thanks so much for the awesome review!
Rings of Saturn- Hi! I'm so sorry everyone had to wait this ridiculously long for the next chapter. I wouldn't say they were after her exactly, but some friendly competition is always healthy. ^_~ It'll be interesting to write about. Being a charming person is just who Duo naturally is, while Heero is trying to protect a friend from Duo's player ways. The confusion will definitely amuse me for a while. I hope you enjoy this fic! And thank you so much for the fabulous review.
Diane- Hey! How are you today? Great I hope. I'm tired as usual after a long day at school. During marching band season it's like we literally live out of there. I have a concert in two days! Whoo hoo! Time to show off mad skills. ^_^ Merci beau coup for the review and all those wonderfully detailed comments! Speaking of trombone players this guard girl really scared me today. She was like are the person that Drew (trombone)likes? I'm like O.O What??? It was hilarious though! She was trying to figure out who he liked and everything, which I highly doubt it would be me. She was like oh don't freak out, it's probably not you. I'm like oh thank goddess. That scared the crap out of me. He stepped on a nail today, too. I feel so bad for him! It must have really hurt. Anyway I'm getting off track. It would be so nice to be a trumpet player at your school! Yeah, hot guys! Trowa is very observant. Je suis d'accord! And we all know how much complaining Wufei likes to do! It's all gravy on marching band planet. I hope I'll hear from you again soon!
Nanashi- Hi! Thank you so much for giving me a review! Wufei's personality, lol, I just have to laugh at him in fics. I mean I realize it's not actually insane in the series, but the fan fiction Wufei is so much fun! It's great to provoke his attacks, and that scowl is too precious. I don't know what it is about the boys, but I luv them all! Heero's not exactly jealous because, come on it's Relena! Lol I'm just kidding. On some level, yeah, he's jealous. I mean I know I've gotten little shots of envy when guys I know well like other girls and not me just because it's not me. I mean I don't really like them or anything, but you get the picture. And that's not a good thing, is it? And Heero's known Relena for a long, long time. He is also concerned about her emotions, you know. He's never really thought about liking her though. She's just more of a really good childhood friend. My cat is so cute right now all curled up on my bed . . . ^_^
Kristy- Ewww! Yeah I completely agree with how wrong that seems. I mean it's not exactly disgusting to me, but it sure as Hell doesn't seem right at all. Neither couple (R+1/2) fits together well with each other, and it's just a disaster waiting to happen. Trust in the power of 1+2+1! Thank you so much for the feedback! I hope I'll hear from you again even as it's been so long since the last update.
Loz- Hi! How are you? Great I hope. It's been a rough month or so for me, and I so apologize for the ridiculous wait. I'm really trying my best, but it seems like even that isn't good enough. With marching band season concluding (most likely) with Regionals and the frenzy of preparation, it only adds on the load of homework, school, social life, family issues, and everything in between. I know it's probably no excuse or at least a really bad one, but it's about all I can say for myself. I'm still trying to figure out how to balance it all and still get sleep. Thank you so much for reviewing though! It's always great to hear from you guys. I know about the pairings, but it'll all work out eventually. ^_~ You'll see!