Note: Wow, I actually updated this fic ^_^;; For now I want people to know
that POW is kind of more of a priority, and I should never juggle fics like
this. I might without posting one, but you know. This is just a fun fic,
and it should be a nice reward for finishing POW. I don't know how long
it's going to be, so that just might be a problem. Actually the trap and
all should really work things out romantically *hint, hint* Anyway, it's
been so long since I've written this. Mainly it's because I was forced to
start fresh on this chapter 3 different times. I lost the first one
stupidly, the second one got deleted in China because I forgot to email it
to myself when my dad's laptop was here. So it really didn't take very
long to come up with this, but I'm so sorry. It's ridiculous, I know. And
also I had finals last week, so I was busy cramming biology, music terms,
French, Law, English vocab, and stuff down my throat and push it up my
brain. Enough complaining that no one listens to! I don't own Gundam
Wing. The pairings are ultimately 1+2+1 and 3+4+3. Not sure about Wufei.
For some odd moments just some R+1, R+2. Yeah, it's really weird, but I
think it'll work out in the end. Shounen ai shall prevail ^_^ I'm
thinking of making this a long one, so don't bother if you think it's
boring ^_^;; I would love a review, but you know, it's up to you. Enjoy!
A long string of tumultuous sound spiraled to an incredible crescendo, curling around the atmosphere, as they winded their way to the band room. Curious to Heero the other students' expressions ranged from faint smiles to broad grins. He didn't understand why everyone seemed so taken by marching band though it was carefully disguised through rather loud complaints. For a moment soft violet landed on him, beaming, smiling knowingly at the newcomer. Heero's eyes blinked back completely neutral even as the maniacal grin stretched across his heart-shaped face softened.
'Damn you and your looks,' he cursed to himself with less ardor this time. Locked gazes broke apart after Duo mouthed a mysterious "you'll see." In his mind those dark brows were drawn downward as he frowned, but he settled for the same level stare he had subjected the American to before.
"Hey!" Duo smiled charmingly at a youthful freshman girl hurrying past to say hi to the group congregated against the walls.
Her blue-green eyes shimmered as they landed on the senior. "Hey!" She grinned back and waved with sheer confidence, gazing flicking away as she walked away towards her friends.
Wufei's eye brows shot straight up, and the group was mildly surprised and amused at the unexpected reaction. "Never met a freshman with so much guts . . ." he murmured with a smirk.
No one argued. And the group parted ways.
Heero waited for some kind of predatory glint to flare in large, amethyst pools. But he was surprised and disappointed when he only saw friendly interest and slight admiration in the fraction of a second Duo looked back at the girl. It wasn't how he would picture the notorious Ladies' Man of the large high school . . . but surely he wasn't all that he seemed, 'Still, that's no way to treat a guy you don't even know,' Quatre's regretful words rang in his mind. The trombone player hadn't done anything wrong yet, so why was he passing such harsh judgment on someone he's barely known for a day?
On first look they were polar opposites. He felt a twinge - envy perhaps - every time he laid eyes on the braided boy. Able to be as good friends with his best friends as Heero was . . . His looks, his charms, his friendliness, ability to make friends, his humor, intelligence - he drew people so naturally. Out of the 4,000 some students attending his high school, he knew everyone except the new freshman coming in this year.
As the Japanese youth began to warm-up on chromatic scales, staring directly at the black paint slapped on the metal stands he was lost in his thoughts. Duo - just confused him. Even if Quatre was right - he was making judgments on someone he didn't know, wrong assumptions to be precise, they didn't fit together. He's too . . . And she isn't . . . Somehow the picture looked so wrong.
By the time his mind processed those he was finished with chromatic and moved on to all 24 major and minor scales, easily climbing up and down two octaves each. Eyes remained blank still, but with his reserved demeanor no one could tell the difference. 'Wufei is even friends with him . . . good friends.' It's been this way for so long, but Heero never ran into the boy until now. The schedule and Heero's lack of interest in "hanging out outside of school" didn't allow it.
'And Trowa and Quatre - they wouldn't be best friends with Duo unless he's a genuinely good person.' The harsh words he glaringly spat out at Duo before lunch seemed so childish now. Duo didn't even mention it or reveal any hint of animosity towards him. Abruptly the A flat died from his tongue, and he found himself walking towards the low brass section.
The senior instantaneously spotted him and brightened, meeting him halfway in front of the doors of the band room.
"Hey, Heero," he grinned. 'He's voluntarily speaking to me? Wow . . . I'm honored.'
"Duo," he greeted in turn and quickly got to the point. "I'm sorry for what I said before lunch. I don't even know you, and I'm already passing judgments," he finished monotonously.
The smile broadened as the other had spoken, "Nah, it's okay. I don't know you either, but I'd like to . . ." he smirked slightly. "And I know why you said it, too." He held his breath a little, as if threatening to pass out without an answer, 'I wonder how he'll react.'
Mild surprise widened the edges of sapphire and jumped back to a dim neutral. "I'm sorry," he murmured quickly, glancing longingly at the seat his trumpet occupied.
"Heero," Duo called the Japanese youth back to the current conversation. His hand slipped from his sides in offering, "Friends?" he smiled hopefully. 'Say yes. Say yes.'
Glancing up after staring at the hand with curiosity, he smirked. "Friends," he affirmed, confidently slipping his palm to met Duo's.
"Ahhhhhh!" a girl's shriek pierced the air as she scurried across the floor screaming and giggling, face righteously crimson.
"Mary!" matching her agility, a boy tailed after her, both zooming in between Heero and Duo. "Give it back!"
Half laughing, she choked out, "No!" before tripping over the leg of a stand and falling down the wide steps of the band room.
"Oh my God!" Tate was nearly knocked out of her seat with a solid thud of Mary's tumble, blonde locks spilling loose from an uncompleted French braid.
Her hands fumbled forward in an attempt to catch her piccolo, but it crashed on to the tile. Tate cringed and squeezed her eyes shut at the clang and gingerly retrieved the instrument. Meanwhile the heated chase continued with Jake gaining on the brunette and tackling her on carpet.
"Give. It. Back!"
They struggled against each other for a while, and Duo shot an amused glance at Heero, half-watching the spectacle. Wide Prussian blue stared back in surprise as if wanting to ask a question.
Duo grinned and shrugged, "Well, there you go. Woodwinds are psycho."
The Japanese youth smirked at the joke and the upcoming confrontation.
"Excuse me???" The episode with Jake was over long enough for her to catch Duo's matter-of-fact remark. She mockingly pushed the American back forcefully with accusation shining in large brown eyes. "Woodwinds are what?"
"Psycho," Heero supplied impassively. Dark hair whipping behind her, she turned to face him. "And I'm sure you two wouldn't be the right representation to disprove that."
"Wow," dark eyes widened, "Heero Yuy just made a joke!" she beamed at him. "And to defend Duo, too!" Her mouth remained open to speak when an unexpected jerk broke her train of thought.
"Yoink!" Jake grabbed for the candy bar resting in her grip. Cackling he ran for the locker room with Mary chasing after him.
Glittering amethyst trailed after the pair in amusement, "She wants him," he laughed affectionately. His gaze rested at Heero's closed up expression concerned. 'What's wrong now?'
"Niemiec is here," he commented quietly and made his way to his seat.
* * *
Four hours later . . .
It was coming down to the final hours of the grueling day. After warming up with the band, they had scattered into their own respective sections and headed off to different areas of the building. One hour of sectionals, regrouping as a whole for another, then headed back out to the heat of early August.
In the morning there had been a slight chill lacing the air and breeze, but the weather had completely changed from the stormy outlook. The sun emerged through fluffs of gray, slowly heating the dark blacktop of the parking lot. In heat-stroke weather the group hopped down to do push- ups with grimaces.
Quatre squinted at the block formation underneath his cap, waiting for them to get back up. His arms ached from conducting, and sweat formed an adhesive sticking his clothes to his skin. 'Sunglasses were definitely a good idea,' he mused silently.
"8, 14, 29, 7, 45, 34 . . ." Niemiec called out, checking his copy of the drill, and slowly arms raised.
Sighing Quatre and Chloe exchanged glances and hopped off the drum major scaffolds, armed with cans of spray paint. Shaking his bottle vigorously, he ran out to meet the demand. The first sophomore step back a little from his drill spot and watched intently at the bright orange circle and the number 10 being formed. As soon as the job was complete, he dropped his drill binder down on the paint, stepped on it, and dug his heels onto the binder. Then he lifted up the blue plastic, soft from the heat, and examined his handy work. Chips of dry spray paint attached themselves on the cover, and he grinned, showing his friends silently.
When Chloe reached Duo he smiled at her and held his drill binder out in familiar request. Smirking, she checked behind her to see if the directors were watching and quickly drew a smiley face on the black surface. Then busied herself to paint his actual spot. The paint ran as a result of gravity, making it seem like the bright orange face was crying and smiling at the same time.
"All right, guys," Niemiec's voice shot through the speakers placed at either end of the "backfield" of the parking lot, "Reset to 9, and let's run through it!"
The low brass scrambled back a set in record time, steeling back into attention. Duo gave a pointed look at the last member of the section that arrived, meaning the baritone would make it up with push-ups. "Five, Morgan," he said quietly.
"5, 6, 7, 8," Quatre shouted, conducting four counts of prep and going into the set.
Aquamarine eyes continually glanced down at the metronome propped up on the heavy, black metal. It was a familiar routine, but even familiarities need refreshing. The sun beat down on the group with relentless effort, and he certainly felt the effects wearing on him. Resisting the urge to swipe fresh sweat from his brow, he pressed on, wanting to fast forward to later in the season, when people finally understood what it was about. 'No time like the present,' he reminded himself, 'so live it up.'
A couple more resets until the directors were satisfied, and the group was dismissed for an extra-long break. It was the first day of band camp, easier than the others, but he was sure most new members had no idea what to expect. Heero didn't, and the way he looked sure as Hell was proof. Quatre grinned as he walked towards his friends.
"Hey, Quat," Duo smiled up at him, squinting.
The braided boy was lazily lounging across the floor. Careful to avoid hot spots, he managed to pick a stretch of shade able to accommodate his lanky frame. Everyone was worn down by the long day, but after the break there was less than two hours to go. It was a cheery thought, but an even cheerier one was happening.
Duo scrambled up, eyes glittering, and shot straight for the van parked by the students. He looked back momentarily at the exhausted group and heaved a sigh. Lightly sprinting back, he grabbed Heero and Wufei by the arm and dragged them with him to get ice cream. Quatre and Trowa, as he knew they would, picked themselves up from the concrete to follow.
He could feel the cool temperatures by the tubs of chocolate and vanilla ice cream and cut straight to the front of the line with Heero and Wufei still in tow. Then promptly released his grip and gingerly swiping a cone of chocolate ice cream.
"Duo!" Mama Stevens whacked his obtrusive hand away from her work, glaring sternly at the braided boy. "Give that back, and wait in line like everyone else."
She laughed, however, as he pouted pathetically, "Aww! Please? Senior privileges," he reminded hopefully. Training ridiculously large purple eyes on the marching band mom, his tongue wandered to lick the ice cream, challenging her to take it back now.
Fine, brown eyebrows shot up, and she gave him a grin, muzzling his hair just a bit, "Alright, alright," she sighed and relented. "I don't think I want that back anymore."
He smiled a smile that was neither triumphant or smug, and once again Heero found himself surprised by Duo. 'Why is he always so goddamn happy?' he wondered wryly as the violet-eyed wonder strode over to them. He beamed and held out two cones of chocolate ice cream for Wufei and Heero. They accepted the cones silently.
"You're welcome," he mocked them playfully, hmphing a little and stuck his nose in the air.
"And we're thankful," Wufei mumbled through bites of ice cream grudgingly.
"I can't believe they say we can't have dairy or soda and then just fork it over to us anyway," Duo remarked, licking off chocolate as he spoke.
"Dishonorable liars," Wufei agreed.
"There's less than two hours left in the day," Heero shrugged. The ice cream put everyone is a far better mood.
The American leaned over and grabbed a large, navy blue water bottle, "I'm assuming this is yours, Heero," he warned. Heero nodded a fraction of a second before the boy popped open the cap and took a long swig of the still cool water. "Thanks," he grinned without shame. "Tasted a little bit of Gatorade in there," he commented. "You could be a very successful band geek!"
Wufei rolled his eyes with a sigh, while the could-be band geek raised his eyebrow. All of them feel into silence to just relax for the next ten minutes of break. Duo leaned against Heero, sagged is more like it, and released a soft sigh, wanting to fall asleep. The Japanese boy didn't protest or even acknowledge the contact, sitting impassively, staring at nothing.
"Duo," he murmured a little later.
"Mmm . . ." he protested, but blinked open his eyes, "Whaaat?"
"Don't want to be late again, do you?" he smirked even as Duo glared mildly.
"I won't," he insisted and got up, staggeringly slightly over to his trombone. "Four more days," he muttered to himself repeatedly. "Four more days. I could be worse, Maxwell." 'At least I'll see Heero around a lot.'
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Wow, I didn't think that would end for a while ^_^;; If it really sounded like everything was tired at the last part, it's because I'm really tired right now. At least there is good reason for the scene . . . Day one of band camp is about to be over. I didn't think I would survive either times going through it, but here I am. Of course it wasn't as "smooth" for me as it was for these boys, but there are still four more days left. I don't think I'll write all of them out like this, no way. If you think about it, it's a really, really boring and hot process. But I will have interesting events in here. I hope you liked it! I know it was an incredibly long wait, and probably people aren't very interested in it anymore, but POW is going to be slightly more important. Reviews are cool and nice to get ^_^ Speaking of which . . .
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Replies to Reviews
FoxFire- Hi! How are you? I'm kind of not fully awake, but I think I should get at least started on these . . . Band camp was awesome - if you really, really think hard about it and decide it was for the better that it happened because it would have been Hell trying to learn all of that drill during school and still try to remember it for the rest of the season, and now you have a lot of stories to remember and annoy non-marching band people with . . . *Deep breath* That was just a grammatical train wreck, ne? ^_^;; There's a whole bunch of green squiggles in this reply now. Other than that I'm so glad that finals are over! In fact it's the weekend now, and I'm still only on my first reply, but that's okay. Relena - I kind of promised myself that I won't bash her in this fic or at least only tiny bits. I mean Heero's been friends for her for like a really long time, as have the other guys. Duo just got to know her, so that's different. And dammit, Heero needs to stop making assumptions based on very limited information. Can't wait to write them as friends! ^_^ Thank you very much for reviewing as always!
Jux- Hi! How are you? Good I hope. I just survived the first week of second semester with two two-hour delays, so I'm quite happy ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing my fic with all those wonderful comments. I'm so sorry for the incredibly long wait, but POW has been keeping me too busy along with school and everything. It's just been hectic. I know what you mean about bad fan fiction. I've read more than my share of it. Sometimes it's just so ridiculous and stupid you wonder how the author can live down the shame. Drama sounds like it would be a lot of fun . . . then again I have no talent in such matters (maybe pulling the curtains?), and band keeps me busy. Speaking of which - I have a pep band game tomorrow ^_^
Jazzy- I feel so, so bad for letting this hang out there for such a long time, but it's not the top priority right now. I just wish I had more time, so I could update each fic every ten days. In summer that gives enough time to write and answer reviews, add notes, and everything for POW and TLM. I think sometimes that I need a little inspiration to get me going. Thank you so much for your review, though! You guys are such a big help ^_^ The red saran-wrap thing actually happened this year. It was interesting when I finally figured out why people were using it.
Lost in Smiling Eyes- Hola, chica! How are you? I'm doing pretty good right now. Actually that's not entirely true - ever since I found out we could still change classes I've been vacillating between dropping one of my geography classes. Today was the last day, and my schedule remains un- tampered with *sigh* Thanks a lot for the great review as always! We're playing James Bond in band, and the student teacher guy is conducting it. I swear to Goddess . . . he's so annoying. He's got this whole bumbling idiot thing going when he doesn't know how to deal with us (mainly Jeremy). And he screws us up with his too subtle conducting and weird methods. Eight notes in common time are counted as "and" NOT "a." And he made me play alone in front of everyone this one rhythm on Wednesday because he guess I had it down or something . . .? I don't know. My heart was racing after one measure, but at least I didn't screw it up ^_^;; Wow, there goes my rambling. Hope to see you soon!
Lokogato- Hey, hey! How are you? Good I'm hoping. You always seem so hyper in your reviews ^_^ which I really, really, really appreciate, by the way! Thankfully, I'm not stopping either of the fics any time soon, but I might just decide to take a break from POW and return later on. Have you noticed that POW actually has no real direction? I mean yeah the trap, but there are so many obstacles you wonder when it's actually going to end. Maybe I should just make both of these ongoing . . . I want to get these people through their senior years, and it seems to be less awkward if POW is ongoing.
Nanashi- Hi! Wow, you know what that just reminded me of? I need to finish the rest of your fic! I haven't been reading much lately on the computer or just doing anything really other than talk to people and stuff. Niemiec told us not too long ago that some people in my band are going to be in Wind Ensemble next year . . . I would die with happiness if they put me in there. Oh my God, that just opens up a lot of hope, and I'm damn sure Sarah is going to make it. They really, really like her, and you know how band directors are about the most biased people in the world . . . I'd be really happy for her because she really does deserve it, AND she's my friend ^_________^ But we're not doing so hot right now. The rhythms in James Bond, just as I had predicted, are killing us. It's actually killing us, and the concert is on February 8th . . . not so far away. Thank you so much for the great review though!
Dark Peppermint- *hangs head in shame* I'm so sorry I haven't updated in months and months . . . But thank you very, very much for writing a review with boosting comments ^_^ I'll get into plenty of band camp stories not so far away, and I'll elaborate on Wufei smiling and getting pied and everything.
Death's Daughter- Hi! Wow, it kind of looks like your review got cut after the . That happened to me once when I forgot that it won't work on either your bio or review replies, but thank you very much for giving me one! I love reviews. And the sunburn thing, ugh, I hardly ever burn, but I definitely did in band camp. That's when I learned that sunscreen is a really good idea until it starts to run in your eyes during the march-off . . . The pain kind of distracted me, so I got called out ^_^;; English homework sucks. I hate doing it. Right now we're reading Alas, Babylon, and we have to journal for about a page and a half after every chapter -_- ;;
Silvershinigami- Wah! *Glomps* Hey, hey! It's always great to get a review from you, and hopefully I'll be able to return the favors very soon (get working!) ^_^;;; Thank you so much! Yeah, we don't exactly call it the wall, but there's a section of the band bulletin board that is plastered with some great pictures. A lot of people have saran wrapped heads, actually . . . Other than that it has seating for all the bands, news, pep band roster, and whatever else. Now that marching band is over, there are pictures of the winter guard. We saw them perform twice! It was really cool. Oh, believe me, we're very, very into duct tape. In fact during pep band the drumline guys especially brought in huge rolls and tape each other. They have numbers taped on the back of their shirts, something about HSE Jousting Team *cracks up* and the shoes are completely silver, pants are taped to shirts/shoes. Eventually Alano made them take it off because we didn't look "professional." But if you think about it, we're decked out in huge, polo shirt with broad, vertical, red, white, and blue stripes and a collar that has horizontal stripes in the same color. We were kind of scared in the beginning, but they really don't look that bad. I mean other than the fact that the front ends are shorter by and inch than the back. It's actually separated like that. And like three years back someone duct taped Brett at the lock-in. Maybe I should save some of these things for email?
LB- Hi! Thank you very much for the review! And yes, we actually did that. It was all "Duo" though. I didn't get what was going on until the end of the day just about. It actually worked, and people would wrap their legs and stick pieces of ice down there. I think "Duo" wrapped some of his trombone, too. Actually just on Wednesday, he jabbed me really hard on my back three times for no particular reason. I mean he was behind me, and I didn't notice. Plus, he hasn't bothered me in like a whole year! Marching band is a lot of fun, but you're right, it's a lot of work, too. The only consolation I guess is that you're suffering with 100 or so of your closest friends ^_^
Aaliyah-Charity- Thank you so much for reviewing ^_^ And I'm not exactly cruel to freshman . . . after all I AM a freshman. My first year was in 8th grade though, so I knew what I was doing more so than the new people in the beginning. I mean come on; you're new to marching band, so most likely you're going to really mess up first year. And this year some new members were just amazing bad and remained so throughout the season. They try though; they really do try, and that's great. I mean I don't blame them because they give the effort, but some people didn't. Upperclassmen were never mean to me, and it was like that kind of thing didn't matter my first year. I saw just a few people this year that just didn't like freshman period, but for the most part we just have fun together. But there were some really, really awesome freshman marchers that were there for the first time and some people from other classes. Sometimes it comes naturally, but we're all there to learn.
Rocky- Hi! First off, thank you very much for giving me a review! Writing this brought back a whole bunch of memories, too. Yeah, it's definitely not duct tape, but it helped a lot of people not get sunburned. We make up for the lack in pep band (like in SilverShinigami's reply) ^_^ And yeah, it sucked that we didn't get to go anywhere else for band camp. I mean it would have been so fun to go to a college or something to practice, but it was really nice being able to go home everyday, go to sleep in your own bed with a lot more freedom. Plus, you're not completely screwed if you forgot something ^_^;; We live at school anyway, so what's the problem with another 50 hours? Actually we kind of had this thing with sandwich stickers and corn shucking/porn watching. It's a long but funny story that is over-told.
Glitterynile- Hola! How are you? I'm hyper and happy, so that's good, right? I know it's been a while, and you're probably not even here to read it, but here goes anyway. Ooh, I'm a second year marcher, too! I love marching band . . . I have a really good friend that moved to NC this year. She was in marching band 8th grade year, too, and she marched flute. Then she got into trumpet somehow (and is actually better than her little sister), and she said that's what she would march next year. We all missed her though.
Katrina- Wow . . . What you did sounds really, really cool. I would have loved to travel across the US with those wonderful people over the summer and have competitions. We're going to Southern California to perform at Disney over spring break, but I heard that half the band isn't even going. Well, everyone I've asked is going, so hopefully Kim's estimate will be wrong. At least I know a lot of my really good friends will be there ^_^ I'm in my high school's marching band, so there's probably little chance you would know of it. Our biggest school rival won state though, and that was just a harsh blow. We really, really got screwed over by the judges at Regionals. Even Niemiec said it was just insane. One of our field guides is in drum corp. though! He brought over a lot of stuff for his "fun" fundamentals program. I felt really good afterwards after I survived, but it was horrible. The control exercise was the hardest because you need really good balance. And they tried to change our habits in the middle (towards end) of our season. Oh, and thank you so, so much for the great review!
Lora-helen- Hi! How are you, hun? God, I haven't talked to you in so long . . . Where did you go? Well, thank you very much for giving me that review! The Heero, Duo, Relena "love triangle" *snorts* is going to get more interesting. You'll finally get to see what Relena thinks she knows about the whole situation and maybe get more into guard stuff. I should probably ask around about that kind of thing because I know nothing about guard other than the flags hurt when they hit you, and small people will have trouble with bigger flags. Everyone will have a hard time during the short period of time before a storm with lots of lightning. We'll just see how it all goes over! But remember that Heero's NOT going to be head over heels in love with her. She's more like a sister ^_^
Aurenne- Wow, I'm excited ^______^ I soon can finally upload this chapter to remind people I'm still alive! Isn't that just great news? No? Lol, anyway, I'm kind of hyper right now, so maybe you shouldn't pay too much attention. Hopefully I can dig out my email addresses for the mailing list thing. I need to add the new people that asked, too, so yeah. Anyway, thank you so much for the awesome review! I know about the update thing. This was kind of slow because I had finals week just last week. It was absolute Hell. Did I mention during my playing final in band I hyperventilated? Well, I did, and it was really, really bad. I've never been so nervous before, and I wasn't quite sure why I even was. But you know my hands were shaking so bad, heart racing, the dizziness, incredible, overwhelming fear, short breathing, vision blurring . . . the works! I couldn't talk for like ten minutes, and when I did my voice kind of cracked. So it's been quite stressful . . . But it's finally over, and I'm really starting to pick up the pace on this ^_____^ The results to the polls in POW, I'll get them out at the very end, so everyone can have a change to answer. But I might post what I have so far to see the most popular answers. I really don't need to procrastinate until I'm overloaded with work at the end, right? ^_^;;
A long string of tumultuous sound spiraled to an incredible crescendo, curling around the atmosphere, as they winded their way to the band room. Curious to Heero the other students' expressions ranged from faint smiles to broad grins. He didn't understand why everyone seemed so taken by marching band though it was carefully disguised through rather loud complaints. For a moment soft violet landed on him, beaming, smiling knowingly at the newcomer. Heero's eyes blinked back completely neutral even as the maniacal grin stretched across his heart-shaped face softened.
'Damn you and your looks,' he cursed to himself with less ardor this time. Locked gazes broke apart after Duo mouthed a mysterious "you'll see." In his mind those dark brows were drawn downward as he frowned, but he settled for the same level stare he had subjected the American to before.
"Hey!" Duo smiled charmingly at a youthful freshman girl hurrying past to say hi to the group congregated against the walls.
Her blue-green eyes shimmered as they landed on the senior. "Hey!" She grinned back and waved with sheer confidence, gazing flicking away as she walked away towards her friends.
Wufei's eye brows shot straight up, and the group was mildly surprised and amused at the unexpected reaction. "Never met a freshman with so much guts . . ." he murmured with a smirk.
No one argued. And the group parted ways.
Heero waited for some kind of predatory glint to flare in large, amethyst pools. But he was surprised and disappointed when he only saw friendly interest and slight admiration in the fraction of a second Duo looked back at the girl. It wasn't how he would picture the notorious Ladies' Man of the large high school . . . but surely he wasn't all that he seemed, 'Still, that's no way to treat a guy you don't even know,' Quatre's regretful words rang in his mind. The trombone player hadn't done anything wrong yet, so why was he passing such harsh judgment on someone he's barely known for a day?
On first look they were polar opposites. He felt a twinge - envy perhaps - every time he laid eyes on the braided boy. Able to be as good friends with his best friends as Heero was . . . His looks, his charms, his friendliness, ability to make friends, his humor, intelligence - he drew people so naturally. Out of the 4,000 some students attending his high school, he knew everyone except the new freshman coming in this year.
As the Japanese youth began to warm-up on chromatic scales, staring directly at the black paint slapped on the metal stands he was lost in his thoughts. Duo - just confused him. Even if Quatre was right - he was making judgments on someone he didn't know, wrong assumptions to be precise, they didn't fit together. He's too . . . And she isn't . . . Somehow the picture looked so wrong.
By the time his mind processed those he was finished with chromatic and moved on to all 24 major and minor scales, easily climbing up and down two octaves each. Eyes remained blank still, but with his reserved demeanor no one could tell the difference. 'Wufei is even friends with him . . . good friends.' It's been this way for so long, but Heero never ran into the boy until now. The schedule and Heero's lack of interest in "hanging out outside of school" didn't allow it.
'And Trowa and Quatre - they wouldn't be best friends with Duo unless he's a genuinely good person.' The harsh words he glaringly spat out at Duo before lunch seemed so childish now. Duo didn't even mention it or reveal any hint of animosity towards him. Abruptly the A flat died from his tongue, and he found himself walking towards the low brass section.
The senior instantaneously spotted him and brightened, meeting him halfway in front of the doors of the band room.
"Hey, Heero," he grinned. 'He's voluntarily speaking to me? Wow . . . I'm honored.'
"Duo," he greeted in turn and quickly got to the point. "I'm sorry for what I said before lunch. I don't even know you, and I'm already passing judgments," he finished monotonously.
The smile broadened as the other had spoken, "Nah, it's okay. I don't know you either, but I'd like to . . ." he smirked slightly. "And I know why you said it, too." He held his breath a little, as if threatening to pass out without an answer, 'I wonder how he'll react.'
Mild surprise widened the edges of sapphire and jumped back to a dim neutral. "I'm sorry," he murmured quickly, glancing longingly at the seat his trumpet occupied.
"Heero," Duo called the Japanese youth back to the current conversation. His hand slipped from his sides in offering, "Friends?" he smiled hopefully. 'Say yes. Say yes.'
Glancing up after staring at the hand with curiosity, he smirked. "Friends," he affirmed, confidently slipping his palm to met Duo's.
"Ahhhhhh!" a girl's shriek pierced the air as she scurried across the floor screaming and giggling, face righteously crimson.
"Mary!" matching her agility, a boy tailed after her, both zooming in between Heero and Duo. "Give it back!"
Half laughing, she choked out, "No!" before tripping over the leg of a stand and falling down the wide steps of the band room.
"Oh my God!" Tate was nearly knocked out of her seat with a solid thud of Mary's tumble, blonde locks spilling loose from an uncompleted French braid.
Her hands fumbled forward in an attempt to catch her piccolo, but it crashed on to the tile. Tate cringed and squeezed her eyes shut at the clang and gingerly retrieved the instrument. Meanwhile the heated chase continued with Jake gaining on the brunette and tackling her on carpet.
"Give. It. Back!"
They struggled against each other for a while, and Duo shot an amused glance at Heero, half-watching the spectacle. Wide Prussian blue stared back in surprise as if wanting to ask a question.
Duo grinned and shrugged, "Well, there you go. Woodwinds are psycho."
The Japanese youth smirked at the joke and the upcoming confrontation.
"Excuse me???" The episode with Jake was over long enough for her to catch Duo's matter-of-fact remark. She mockingly pushed the American back forcefully with accusation shining in large brown eyes. "Woodwinds are what?"
"Psycho," Heero supplied impassively. Dark hair whipping behind her, she turned to face him. "And I'm sure you two wouldn't be the right representation to disprove that."
"Wow," dark eyes widened, "Heero Yuy just made a joke!" she beamed at him. "And to defend Duo, too!" Her mouth remained open to speak when an unexpected jerk broke her train of thought.
"Yoink!" Jake grabbed for the candy bar resting in her grip. Cackling he ran for the locker room with Mary chasing after him.
Glittering amethyst trailed after the pair in amusement, "She wants him," he laughed affectionately. His gaze rested at Heero's closed up expression concerned. 'What's wrong now?'
"Niemiec is here," he commented quietly and made his way to his seat.
* * *
Four hours later . . .
It was coming down to the final hours of the grueling day. After warming up with the band, they had scattered into their own respective sections and headed off to different areas of the building. One hour of sectionals, regrouping as a whole for another, then headed back out to the heat of early August.
In the morning there had been a slight chill lacing the air and breeze, but the weather had completely changed from the stormy outlook. The sun emerged through fluffs of gray, slowly heating the dark blacktop of the parking lot. In heat-stroke weather the group hopped down to do push- ups with grimaces.
Quatre squinted at the block formation underneath his cap, waiting for them to get back up. His arms ached from conducting, and sweat formed an adhesive sticking his clothes to his skin. 'Sunglasses were definitely a good idea,' he mused silently.
"8, 14, 29, 7, 45, 34 . . ." Niemiec called out, checking his copy of the drill, and slowly arms raised.
Sighing Quatre and Chloe exchanged glances and hopped off the drum major scaffolds, armed with cans of spray paint. Shaking his bottle vigorously, he ran out to meet the demand. The first sophomore step back a little from his drill spot and watched intently at the bright orange circle and the number 10 being formed. As soon as the job was complete, he dropped his drill binder down on the paint, stepped on it, and dug his heels onto the binder. Then he lifted up the blue plastic, soft from the heat, and examined his handy work. Chips of dry spray paint attached themselves on the cover, and he grinned, showing his friends silently.
When Chloe reached Duo he smiled at her and held his drill binder out in familiar request. Smirking, she checked behind her to see if the directors were watching and quickly drew a smiley face on the black surface. Then busied herself to paint his actual spot. The paint ran as a result of gravity, making it seem like the bright orange face was crying and smiling at the same time.
"All right, guys," Niemiec's voice shot through the speakers placed at either end of the "backfield" of the parking lot, "Reset to 9, and let's run through it!"
The low brass scrambled back a set in record time, steeling back into attention. Duo gave a pointed look at the last member of the section that arrived, meaning the baritone would make it up with push-ups. "Five, Morgan," he said quietly.
"5, 6, 7, 8," Quatre shouted, conducting four counts of prep and going into the set.
Aquamarine eyes continually glanced down at the metronome propped up on the heavy, black metal. It was a familiar routine, but even familiarities need refreshing. The sun beat down on the group with relentless effort, and he certainly felt the effects wearing on him. Resisting the urge to swipe fresh sweat from his brow, he pressed on, wanting to fast forward to later in the season, when people finally understood what it was about. 'No time like the present,' he reminded himself, 'so live it up.'
A couple more resets until the directors were satisfied, and the group was dismissed for an extra-long break. It was the first day of band camp, easier than the others, but he was sure most new members had no idea what to expect. Heero didn't, and the way he looked sure as Hell was proof. Quatre grinned as he walked towards his friends.
"Hey, Quat," Duo smiled up at him, squinting.
The braided boy was lazily lounging across the floor. Careful to avoid hot spots, he managed to pick a stretch of shade able to accommodate his lanky frame. Everyone was worn down by the long day, but after the break there was less than two hours to go. It was a cheery thought, but an even cheerier one was happening.
Duo scrambled up, eyes glittering, and shot straight for the van parked by the students. He looked back momentarily at the exhausted group and heaved a sigh. Lightly sprinting back, he grabbed Heero and Wufei by the arm and dragged them with him to get ice cream. Quatre and Trowa, as he knew they would, picked themselves up from the concrete to follow.
He could feel the cool temperatures by the tubs of chocolate and vanilla ice cream and cut straight to the front of the line with Heero and Wufei still in tow. Then promptly released his grip and gingerly swiping a cone of chocolate ice cream.
"Duo!" Mama Stevens whacked his obtrusive hand away from her work, glaring sternly at the braided boy. "Give that back, and wait in line like everyone else."
She laughed, however, as he pouted pathetically, "Aww! Please? Senior privileges," he reminded hopefully. Training ridiculously large purple eyes on the marching band mom, his tongue wandered to lick the ice cream, challenging her to take it back now.
Fine, brown eyebrows shot up, and she gave him a grin, muzzling his hair just a bit, "Alright, alright," she sighed and relented. "I don't think I want that back anymore."
He smiled a smile that was neither triumphant or smug, and once again Heero found himself surprised by Duo. 'Why is he always so goddamn happy?' he wondered wryly as the violet-eyed wonder strode over to them. He beamed and held out two cones of chocolate ice cream for Wufei and Heero. They accepted the cones silently.
"You're welcome," he mocked them playfully, hmphing a little and stuck his nose in the air.
"And we're thankful," Wufei mumbled through bites of ice cream grudgingly.
"I can't believe they say we can't have dairy or soda and then just fork it over to us anyway," Duo remarked, licking off chocolate as he spoke.
"Dishonorable liars," Wufei agreed.
"There's less than two hours left in the day," Heero shrugged. The ice cream put everyone is a far better mood.
The American leaned over and grabbed a large, navy blue water bottle, "I'm assuming this is yours, Heero," he warned. Heero nodded a fraction of a second before the boy popped open the cap and took a long swig of the still cool water. "Thanks," he grinned without shame. "Tasted a little bit of Gatorade in there," he commented. "You could be a very successful band geek!"
Wufei rolled his eyes with a sigh, while the could-be band geek raised his eyebrow. All of them feel into silence to just relax for the next ten minutes of break. Duo leaned against Heero, sagged is more like it, and released a soft sigh, wanting to fall asleep. The Japanese boy didn't protest or even acknowledge the contact, sitting impassively, staring at nothing.
"Duo," he murmured a little later.
"Mmm . . ." he protested, but blinked open his eyes, "Whaaat?"
"Don't want to be late again, do you?" he smirked even as Duo glared mildly.
"I won't," he insisted and got up, staggeringly slightly over to his trombone. "Four more days," he muttered to himself repeatedly. "Four more days. I could be worse, Maxwell." 'At least I'll see Heero around a lot.'
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Wow, I didn't think that would end for a while ^_^;; If it really sounded like everything was tired at the last part, it's because I'm really tired right now. At least there is good reason for the scene . . . Day one of band camp is about to be over. I didn't think I would survive either times going through it, but here I am. Of course it wasn't as "smooth" for me as it was for these boys, but there are still four more days left. I don't think I'll write all of them out like this, no way. If you think about it, it's a really, really boring and hot process. But I will have interesting events in here. I hope you liked it! I know it was an incredibly long wait, and probably people aren't very interested in it anymore, but POW is going to be slightly more important. Reviews are cool and nice to get ^_^ Speaking of which . . .
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Replies to Reviews
FoxFire- Hi! How are you? I'm kind of not fully awake, but I think I should get at least started on these . . . Band camp was awesome - if you really, really think hard about it and decide it was for the better that it happened because it would have been Hell trying to learn all of that drill during school and still try to remember it for the rest of the season, and now you have a lot of stories to remember and annoy non-marching band people with . . . *Deep breath* That was just a grammatical train wreck, ne? ^_^;; There's a whole bunch of green squiggles in this reply now. Other than that I'm so glad that finals are over! In fact it's the weekend now, and I'm still only on my first reply, but that's okay. Relena - I kind of promised myself that I won't bash her in this fic or at least only tiny bits. I mean Heero's been friends for her for like a really long time, as have the other guys. Duo just got to know her, so that's different. And dammit, Heero needs to stop making assumptions based on very limited information. Can't wait to write them as friends! ^_^ Thank you very much for reviewing as always!
Jux- Hi! How are you? Good I hope. I just survived the first week of second semester with two two-hour delays, so I'm quite happy ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing my fic with all those wonderful comments. I'm so sorry for the incredibly long wait, but POW has been keeping me too busy along with school and everything. It's just been hectic. I know what you mean about bad fan fiction. I've read more than my share of it. Sometimes it's just so ridiculous and stupid you wonder how the author can live down the shame. Drama sounds like it would be a lot of fun . . . then again I have no talent in such matters (maybe pulling the curtains?), and band keeps me busy. Speaking of which - I have a pep band game tomorrow ^_^
Jazzy- I feel so, so bad for letting this hang out there for such a long time, but it's not the top priority right now. I just wish I had more time, so I could update each fic every ten days. In summer that gives enough time to write and answer reviews, add notes, and everything for POW and TLM. I think sometimes that I need a little inspiration to get me going. Thank you so much for your review, though! You guys are such a big help ^_^ The red saran-wrap thing actually happened this year. It was interesting when I finally figured out why people were using it.
Lost in Smiling Eyes- Hola, chica! How are you? I'm doing pretty good right now. Actually that's not entirely true - ever since I found out we could still change classes I've been vacillating between dropping one of my geography classes. Today was the last day, and my schedule remains un- tampered with *sigh* Thanks a lot for the great review as always! We're playing James Bond in band, and the student teacher guy is conducting it. I swear to Goddess . . . he's so annoying. He's got this whole bumbling idiot thing going when he doesn't know how to deal with us (mainly Jeremy). And he screws us up with his too subtle conducting and weird methods. Eight notes in common time are counted as "and" NOT "a." And he made me play alone in front of everyone this one rhythm on Wednesday because he guess I had it down or something . . .? I don't know. My heart was racing after one measure, but at least I didn't screw it up ^_^;; Wow, there goes my rambling. Hope to see you soon!
Lokogato- Hey, hey! How are you? Good I'm hoping. You always seem so hyper in your reviews ^_^ which I really, really, really appreciate, by the way! Thankfully, I'm not stopping either of the fics any time soon, but I might just decide to take a break from POW and return later on. Have you noticed that POW actually has no real direction? I mean yeah the trap, but there are so many obstacles you wonder when it's actually going to end. Maybe I should just make both of these ongoing . . . I want to get these people through their senior years, and it seems to be less awkward if POW is ongoing.
Nanashi- Hi! Wow, you know what that just reminded me of? I need to finish the rest of your fic! I haven't been reading much lately on the computer or just doing anything really other than talk to people and stuff. Niemiec told us not too long ago that some people in my band are going to be in Wind Ensemble next year . . . I would die with happiness if they put me in there. Oh my God, that just opens up a lot of hope, and I'm damn sure Sarah is going to make it. They really, really like her, and you know how band directors are about the most biased people in the world . . . I'd be really happy for her because she really does deserve it, AND she's my friend ^_________^ But we're not doing so hot right now. The rhythms in James Bond, just as I had predicted, are killing us. It's actually killing us, and the concert is on February 8th . . . not so far away. Thank you so much for the great review though!
Dark Peppermint- *hangs head in shame* I'm so sorry I haven't updated in months and months . . . But thank you very, very much for writing a review with boosting comments ^_^ I'll get into plenty of band camp stories not so far away, and I'll elaborate on Wufei smiling and getting pied and everything.
Death's Daughter- Hi! Wow, it kind of looks like your review got cut after the . That happened to me once when I forgot that it won't work on either your bio or review replies, but thank you very much for giving me one! I love reviews. And the sunburn thing, ugh, I hardly ever burn, but I definitely did in band camp. That's when I learned that sunscreen is a really good idea until it starts to run in your eyes during the march-off . . . The pain kind of distracted me, so I got called out ^_^;; English homework sucks. I hate doing it. Right now we're reading Alas, Babylon, and we have to journal for about a page and a half after every chapter -_- ;;
Silvershinigami- Wah! *Glomps* Hey, hey! It's always great to get a review from you, and hopefully I'll be able to return the favors very soon (get working!) ^_^;;; Thank you so much! Yeah, we don't exactly call it the wall, but there's a section of the band bulletin board that is plastered with some great pictures. A lot of people have saran wrapped heads, actually . . . Other than that it has seating for all the bands, news, pep band roster, and whatever else. Now that marching band is over, there are pictures of the winter guard. We saw them perform twice! It was really cool. Oh, believe me, we're very, very into duct tape. In fact during pep band the drumline guys especially brought in huge rolls and tape each other. They have numbers taped on the back of their shirts, something about HSE Jousting Team *cracks up* and the shoes are completely silver, pants are taped to shirts/shoes. Eventually Alano made them take it off because we didn't look "professional." But if you think about it, we're decked out in huge, polo shirt with broad, vertical, red, white, and blue stripes and a collar that has horizontal stripes in the same color. We were kind of scared in the beginning, but they really don't look that bad. I mean other than the fact that the front ends are shorter by and inch than the back. It's actually separated like that. And like three years back someone duct taped Brett at the lock-in. Maybe I should save some of these things for email?
LB- Hi! Thank you very much for the review! And yes, we actually did that. It was all "Duo" though. I didn't get what was going on until the end of the day just about. It actually worked, and people would wrap their legs and stick pieces of ice down there. I think "Duo" wrapped some of his trombone, too. Actually just on Wednesday, he jabbed me really hard on my back three times for no particular reason. I mean he was behind me, and I didn't notice. Plus, he hasn't bothered me in like a whole year! Marching band is a lot of fun, but you're right, it's a lot of work, too. The only consolation I guess is that you're suffering with 100 or so of your closest friends ^_^
Aaliyah-Charity- Thank you so much for reviewing ^_^ And I'm not exactly cruel to freshman . . . after all I AM a freshman. My first year was in 8th grade though, so I knew what I was doing more so than the new people in the beginning. I mean come on; you're new to marching band, so most likely you're going to really mess up first year. And this year some new members were just amazing bad and remained so throughout the season. They try though; they really do try, and that's great. I mean I don't blame them because they give the effort, but some people didn't. Upperclassmen were never mean to me, and it was like that kind of thing didn't matter my first year. I saw just a few people this year that just didn't like freshman period, but for the most part we just have fun together. But there were some really, really awesome freshman marchers that were there for the first time and some people from other classes. Sometimes it comes naturally, but we're all there to learn.
Rocky- Hi! First off, thank you very much for giving me a review! Writing this brought back a whole bunch of memories, too. Yeah, it's definitely not duct tape, but it helped a lot of people not get sunburned. We make up for the lack in pep band (like in SilverShinigami's reply) ^_^ And yeah, it sucked that we didn't get to go anywhere else for band camp. I mean it would have been so fun to go to a college or something to practice, but it was really nice being able to go home everyday, go to sleep in your own bed with a lot more freedom. Plus, you're not completely screwed if you forgot something ^_^;; We live at school anyway, so what's the problem with another 50 hours? Actually we kind of had this thing with sandwich stickers and corn shucking/porn watching. It's a long but funny story that is over-told.
Glitterynile- Hola! How are you? I'm hyper and happy, so that's good, right? I know it's been a while, and you're probably not even here to read it, but here goes anyway. Ooh, I'm a second year marcher, too! I love marching band . . . I have a really good friend that moved to NC this year. She was in marching band 8th grade year, too, and she marched flute. Then she got into trumpet somehow (and is actually better than her little sister), and she said that's what she would march next year. We all missed her though.
Katrina- Wow . . . What you did sounds really, really cool. I would have loved to travel across the US with those wonderful people over the summer and have competitions. We're going to Southern California to perform at Disney over spring break, but I heard that half the band isn't even going. Well, everyone I've asked is going, so hopefully Kim's estimate will be wrong. At least I know a lot of my really good friends will be there ^_^ I'm in my high school's marching band, so there's probably little chance you would know of it. Our biggest school rival won state though, and that was just a harsh blow. We really, really got screwed over by the judges at Regionals. Even Niemiec said it was just insane. One of our field guides is in drum corp. though! He brought over a lot of stuff for his "fun" fundamentals program. I felt really good afterwards after I survived, but it was horrible. The control exercise was the hardest because you need really good balance. And they tried to change our habits in the middle (towards end) of our season. Oh, and thank you so, so much for the great review!
Lora-helen- Hi! How are you, hun? God, I haven't talked to you in so long . . . Where did you go? Well, thank you very much for giving me that review! The Heero, Duo, Relena "love triangle" *snorts* is going to get more interesting. You'll finally get to see what Relena thinks she knows about the whole situation and maybe get more into guard stuff. I should probably ask around about that kind of thing because I know nothing about guard other than the flags hurt when they hit you, and small people will have trouble with bigger flags. Everyone will have a hard time during the short period of time before a storm with lots of lightning. We'll just see how it all goes over! But remember that Heero's NOT going to be head over heels in love with her. She's more like a sister ^_^
Aurenne- Wow, I'm excited ^______^ I soon can finally upload this chapter to remind people I'm still alive! Isn't that just great news? No? Lol, anyway, I'm kind of hyper right now, so maybe you shouldn't pay too much attention. Hopefully I can dig out my email addresses for the mailing list thing. I need to add the new people that asked, too, so yeah. Anyway, thank you so much for the awesome review! I know about the update thing. This was kind of slow because I had finals week just last week. It was absolute Hell. Did I mention during my playing final in band I hyperventilated? Well, I did, and it was really, really bad. I've never been so nervous before, and I wasn't quite sure why I even was. But you know my hands were shaking so bad, heart racing, the dizziness, incredible, overwhelming fear, short breathing, vision blurring . . . the works! I couldn't talk for like ten minutes, and when I did my voice kind of cracked. So it's been quite stressful . . . But it's finally over, and I'm really starting to pick up the pace on this ^_____^ The results to the polls in POW, I'll get them out at the very end, so everyone can have a change to answer. But I might post what I have so far to see the most popular answers. I really don't need to procrastinate until I'm overloaded with work at the end, right? ^_^;;