Note: Hey, everyone! I know I haven't updated in like forever, but I haven't given up on this story. This is Quatre's recount as promised from the last chapter. Since this is before Heero entered the marching band picture, there won't be 1+2+1 hints in this chapter *is sad and sorry* But since this is a Quatre feature, there will be 3+4+3! I finally started to add footnotes to clear up confusion and whatnot for some of the stuff. If you'd like to have a look, that's great ^_^ I don't own GW still . . .
This chapter (for background info) happened five years prior to where the last chapter left off, when all the boys were cute, little eight graders. I tried to make them act more like eight graders and ended up referring back to what I was like my first year marching. Quatre is kind of a brat in the beginning . . . Not that I was, but you know. Other than that, not too much as changed since there aren't uber serious topics being discussed here. Trowa's very mature because marching band did that to a lot of my friends 8th grade year. In other words, I tried ^_^;; This is happening during the lock-in week prior to band camp.
Ice blue flashed dimly in the shadows as Quatre shrank deeper into the corner. Misery shrouded his ill temper and ill health. He shouldn't have come. He shouldn't have listened to Duo and let the braided teen drag him to this lock in. A fury of chaos buzzed around him; the blonde's antipathy against every one of the happy people splashing around in the enormous natatorium grew and hardened by the minute. Eventually the noise and bustle tuned out from his range of hearing, leaving him alone, alienated amidst groups of friends.
Duo was long gone after giving up on dragging Quatre out from the benches and went to meet all the upper classmen and entice them with his charisma. Quatre snorted in disgust at all the senior and junior girls fawning over him like he was a tiny kitten, adorable and hopelessly innocent. He flicked his aquamarine gaze away in resentment. Duo had wanted him to come and went through all the trouble of getting him here. Why then wasn't he here to talk to him? They were supposed to be best friends, but the feeling of abandonment edged his thoughts.
"Boo!" Lost in his reverie, Quatre lost track of reality, jumping at the sudden noise and sudden touch. Duo flashed his familiar grin, and the Arabic drawled out a long sigh. "Hey, Cat. What's up?"
So you've come back . . . about time.' "Nothing. I can't believe I let you drag me to this thing!" his eyes flashed accusingly, surprising even the trombone player with the sudden outburst. He scoffed loudly for lack of response and turned away.
His friend plopped down next to him on the tiled benches with a sigh. "I know you don't want to be here or in marching band for that matter, but your parents are making you do it. I just thought that maybe if you got a chance to see and meet all the people and hang out before we start marching, you might change your mind. You're not even giving this whole band thing a chance, and I really think you should at least have an open mind. It's so unlike you to act like this."
The blonde lapsed into silence, finding sudden interest in the dripping of water from the American. "I'm sorry," he sighed, leaning up against the wall. "I just really don't want to be here."
"Come on," Duo grinned at him, extending a hand. Through Quatre's mumbled words, he latched onto an arm, knowing the Arabic wouldn't mind. "I can introduce you to some people."
He smiled; a slight twitch quirking the corner of his mouth. It was involuntary but enough to break some tension between the two boys. He drew a reluctant Quatre closer to the water and a group of people joking around in the bottom left corner of the diving pool. Everyone brightened at the new editions.
"Hey, Duo," a junior girl grinned and winked at the eight grader. "Who's your cute friend?" A mock predatory look flashed in the gleam of her silver-violet eyes.
"Yeah," another upperclassmen swiveled to the other bank, gaining a better view of the sub-frosh.
"Hi," Quatre forced a pleasant smile, perfectly patient, perfectly serene. "I'm Quatre, Duo's friend," he added in his nervousness.
"Cool," the first nodded in approval much to the Arabic's surprise. She raked a hand through the water-tangled hair slicked back against her neck. "We can always use new members! My name's Cat, and this is Jeremy, Moon, Kiley, Beth, Lauren, Ryan, and Coco."
Everyone motioned enthusiastically as Cat reached their names, "Hi, everyone," the blonde felt more at ease and less alienated by the behavior of the troupe; it was nothing like he'd thought it be, and he felt better.
"So, Quatre, what do you play?" Beth inquired, wriggling her eyebrows in good humor, almost as if his instrument would determine their first impressions.
"Um, I play a lot of different instruments, but I decided to march flute," he shrugged.
"Yes!" Kim pumped her fist as a sign of victory, "Score!" The brunette whipped around to face Moon, splashing everyone within vicinity with droplets of chlorine pool water, "We have another woodwind . . ." she teased in a sing-along voice.
"Shut up. Woodwinds still suck, a lot, or at least in comparison to the superior brass . . ." he feigned a haughty attitude, sharply tilting his nose upward in disdain to the "unworthy."
"So, not, true!" Beth yelled, splashing him with water. "Ignore him, Quatre. He's too *dumb* to know what he's talking about."
"Or so you think . . ." Jeremy smirked, dodging cresting waves of the aqua water. "Hey, watch it! I didn't say anything! I'm innocent, dammit!"
"You traitor!" Moon accused through gasps of air, defending himself poorly against the assaults of the girls. "Be proud!" But, his last words were masked by the gurgling of water as Beth, Lauren, and Cat dunked his head into the pool.
"Brass kicks ass," Jeremy whispered quickly to Duo before reverting to his innocent but amused grin. "BYFBO [6] . . ."
Quatre laughed as the two exchanged winks but refrained from singing an edited version of the BINGO song. Moon, in a sudden, desperate motion, managed to break through the surface of the water.
"You are evil creatures, you woodwinds, and strange ones, too," Moon muttered darkly with a sharp glare around the room. "No offense of course, Quatre."
No one was quite sure whether the last remark was meant in sarcasm, but there was no harm done to either party, just part of the usual banter. "You know, we have another guy marching flute this year. I think he's in your grade – but he goes to the junior high down the street. I'm not sure where you went."
Quatre brightened at the prospect of making a new friend. "Really? I don't know anyone from there. I go to the other one ten miles down from here."
"The better one," Duo interjected but motioned for the blonde to continue.
"Who is he?" he spied out across the humid natatorium, as if he could tell merely by outward appearance. His eyes swept across and locked on a tall, brown-haired boy leaping upward off the diving board.
Several eyebrows shot up at the confidence and grace of the boy accelerating downward. "Him." Lauren grinned, "His name is Trowa Barton; he's not too talkative, kind of mysterious, but he seems pretty cool." She pointed over to the high dive where he had stood, poised, "On the diving team. I think you guys will get along just fine," she beamed.
"Well, now that that's all settled, I'm going to go check in' with some other people, kay, Q?" Duo patted his friend's back on his way out. "See you guys later!" A round of similar good-byes chorused.
The blonde drowned out the following conversation, intently staring at the youthful diver. The ripple of his shadowy presence slipped towards the group, as Quatre watched, fascinated by Trowa's ease. He had a touch of acrophobia. The flute player's head broke the surface of the blue water, barely splashing the others around him.
"I thought I heard someone say my name." A single emerald eye peered at the students, who in return rolled their eyes but grinned quickly following.
"He's also got freaky senses," Coco added, wriggling his eyebrows, furtively sneaking a glance at the eighth grader.
Cat laughed, "We were just telling Quatre over here," she gestured awkwardly while trying to stay afloat, "that you're marching flute this year, too."
"A new flute player, huh?" Trowa smiled, directing his attention to the blonde. He brushed away dripping strands of hair from the right side of his expression, pushing it back. "You must be really happy, Cat. Hey, I'm Trowa, just for an official introduction."
"Hi," Quatre's smile grew easier to keep up. "I'm Quatre."
"We don't get many guy flutes, so it'll be nice to have some more support. Especially with my sister as section captain," intuitively he evaded a sharp blow to the head by Cat with a laugh.
"Section captain?" Quatre blinked in confusion, mirroring Trowa to Cat, dubious that the mismatched pair were siblings. Her wide, silver-lavender eyes and titan red tresses contrasted deeply with his plaid hunter green gaze and light brown hair. Even their personalities seemed to be miles and miles apart or at least from what he could gather in a short period of time.
"It's really going to her head . . . that she's a section captain as a sophomore," Moon pointed as emphasis, never missing the opportunity to tease the flutist. "Even though we are being over-run by these – flautists,' she somehow got picked."
A wicked smirk stretched "cattily" across her heart-shaped face as her eyes narrowed to snake-like slits. She inched closer towards Moon, "Damn straight, tuba-boy . . . So you better watch your ass! Don't worry, Quatre," she sweetly smiled at him. "Not all brass players are as annoying as Moon."
"Not your boyfriend, huh?" Kiley spoke up, teasingly.
Giggles erupted from the remains of an attempted expression of impassiveness, and Cat grinned widely, arms swooping around Jeremy, "Nope!" she declared proudly as Coco and Moon simultaneously feigned gagging motions.
"What? And I suppose you and your *woodwind* girlfriend are the only ones that can make out in public?" Lauren glared pointedly.
"We do not!" Moon thundered in disbelief. "Plus she plays french horn in concert band. And besides it's Coco and Annie that are having the floor show."
Coco flushed a fascinating shade of crimson as a thoughtful Kiley began compiling a list, "Or Jordan and Holly, Jake and Ashley, Brendan and Lacey . . ." she trailed off. [1]
Left out of the conversation, Quatre unconsciously stepped back in observation. But before the feelings of alienation kicked in again, Trowa pushed himself out of the pool, averting the blonde's attention. "You get used to the drama," he explained. "Are you going to swim?"
"I didn't bring my suit," Quatre replied slightly embarrassed.
"That's alright," Trowa grabbed his dark green beach towel, wrapping it around his waist. He gave the Arabic a brief but understanding look, "I'll show you around the high school, and we can probably grab something from the vending machine. If you're up to it."
Quatre vacillated, glancing around for Duo. Not spotting the American, he turned back to the brunette, "Yeah, sounds good."
"Okay, I'll go get changed. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Yeah," Quatre nodded, relaxing a little more, watching the other dripped water in a trail, leading towards the locker room.
Duo trotted by quickly, but he backtracked after locating his best friend, "Hey, Q." He gave him a wide smile. "Did you meet Trowa yet?"
"How did you know?" he followed the braided teen to the tiled benches.
He shrugged, "Well, he's in 8th grade, a guy, and marching flute. I figured you'd have met. So I take it that you have?"
"Yeah, just now. Actually he's going to show me around." He exasperated at the American's raised eyebrow. "What?"
"Nothing, nothing," he put his hands up in surrender. "You just want to see this place. I mean it's a huge school. Anyway, it's great that you made a new friend. I think I'll hit the cafeteria for some more pizza," he grinned, spotting Trowa nearing them. "Cute, isn't he?" he winked, patting Quatre on the back. The Arabic flushed, armed with denial at the other's retreating form, but deciding the better of it.
"I think the upstairs is unlocked," Trowa dismissed whatever the American had said to Quatre. "So we can pretty much go anywhere."
The crowd in the natatorium had dramatically shrunk since he had last taken notice. "This place is huge. I don't know how I'll find my away around freshman year," he sighed.
"It shrinks with the first week," Trowa reassured thoughtfully. "Or so says everyone that's been through it."
"The only place I've really been to was the auditorium. For the spring concert," he added.
At some point in time, the two had started to randomly walk around. The rush of cool air shocked Quatre as the door swayed and shut behind them. "It's one of the best school auditoriums in the country – believe it or not."
"Wow," Quatre laughed in surprise. "It is pretty amazing though." Stepping up the main staircase, he glanced over the silver railing and out the huge panes of glass surrounding the common's area. The windows overlooked the central courtyard, which was dark and shadowy as the hour neared midnight. The steps were made out of glass, too, as was the overlooking balcony. Everything seemed so empty in the dim-lit hallways.
"Pretty amazing but unnecessarily fancy," Trowa commented following the other's intent stare. "You can imagine what happens during tornado warnings."
Quatre grinned at him in pleasant surprise, "You're a really good observer," he marveled.
He laughed and shrugged off the comments with a, "Thanks," and continued the tour. Offhand comments about the classrooms were dutifully noted – and forgotten – by the Arabic as they wound through the maze of connecting hallways. The rest laid in silence, and he contented himself with watching the other student.
"So why did you join?" blurted the sudden question. Quatre blinked aquamarine eyes expectantly. "Marching band, I mean."
"I joined because of my sister's heavy involvement in band," he explained in thought. "Usually it's just the influence of other people . . ." Trowa smiled gently at the shorter flutist, seeing him brood, blue eyes darkening in thought.
"I see what you mean," he responded absently. "To be honest I don't want to be here, you know? But my parents made me, so I can't back out of it."
Surprisingly, Trowa nodded sympathetically, "So you're wondering why people join. Because you can't find the appeal."
By then, the pair had descended down a different staircase, having finished the second floor. Tracing back to the courtyard, he noticed the wistful look Quatre cast to the darkening night. Graciously, he pulled back the door and led the other out, assuring him that it wasn't against the rules. The humidity of the day and dispersed with the sweep of darkness, scattered by slight breezes. They settled onto a bench for a short rest.
He chose to continue his explanation at that point. "It's really not why we join. It's more of why we choose to stay in it. It looked like you felt out of place," he addressed him directly. "Not so strange. We're all so close together, such good friends. We're so comfortable with each other and know each other so well. It feels like you're intruding in all of that, like you wouldn't belong. But I can guarantee you this, Quatre: most of us have never been friends before marching band. The reason we're so close is because of this.
"It's not an exclusive deal, and we welcome the new people. I'm not saying that you'll be best friends with everyone in here. You may not even like everyone here since we're all so different. No one is asking you to change your friends, make new ones, or anything, but it's something that can't be helped –" he cut off short, forest eyes darkened further by the night. "No one can force you to do anything you don't want to do; it's your choice in the end. After all it's not for everyone, but I have a feeling it's for you," he smiled. "Just keep an open mind. You'll probably have an easier time that way."
For moments his mind mulled over what Trowa had told him. No one had ever put marching band in that respect for him, and he felt a little surprised with the new information. Coming from Trowa, he was shocked even more as the words held greater impact than those of his best friend. They were blatant, honest, unbiased without those oh, it's so fun' or you'll make so many friends' phrases uttered at recruitment. Those words were for him, to present things in another light and allowing him to decide for himself. And Quatre had to admit that there was a certain appeal to gain such closeness with a person.
"We should get going, Quatre," the other nudged him out of his reverie. "Session two is about to start."
"Oh," the other murmured, not quite wanting to leave the comfort of being alone with someone who seemed to genuinely understand.
"Come on," Trowa urged softly, rising gracefully from the bench. Turning around, he extended a hand with a slight smile.
A grateful half-grin touched his lips, "Thanks, Trowa," he gazed at the other meaningfully and accepted the hand, feeling more at ease then than he had during the entire evening. Stepping back into the air-conditioned halls, they immediately flattened against the door, avoiding a heated depants-ing chase [2]. Quatre shot his companion a bewildered look but laughed along with Trowa.
The taller sub-freshman backtracked to the locker room to retrieve his duffel, while Quatre ran into Duo. The braided teen desperately shoved down the last few bites of pizza, while simultaneously grabbing hold of the blonde on his mad dash to the band room. "We're going to be late!" was surprisingly coherent between mouthfuls of food.
"Actually, I don't think the director is all that on time . . ." Quatre pointed out as the two emerged into the nearly deserted band locker room.
"Damn! I forgot about Niemiec-time [3]!" Having swallowed the last bit of pizza, he grinned good-naturedly. "Oh, well! It's unpredictable anyway. Let's go sit in the band room or something and talk until the other people show up."
"Okay," Quatre agreed, allowing himself to again be ushered impatiently by the other boy through the double doors.
"So how was that tour?" Duo inquired with a smirk, waiting expectantly. "You seem to be a way better mood."
"Yeah, Trowa's pretty cool and all. He's really observant though; it's kind of weird how much he notices around him. He kind of convinced me to keep an open mind about things . . ." he trailed off, snapped back and smiled.
Duo raised an eyebrow, "Uh-huh . . ." he nodded slowly, drawing a musical laugh from his friend at which he grinned impishly. By then, they had reached Duo's trombone, and he picked the instrument up with care, securing on his mouthpiece after a few practice buzzes to warm up the metal.
"In any case," he smiled brightly, "I'm glad you decided to give this thing a chance –" he was cut short as his alert gaze spotted a Chinese boy.
Placing a finger gently on his lips, he slipped closer behind the drummer. He wore the usual displeased scowl on his face, securing his quints. Quatre watched with barely contained amusement as Duo, in fluid motion, pants-ed the unsuspecting victim. With a wild cackle, the American took off, seeking refuge behind Trowa as Wufei frantically pulled his shorts up, whipping around furiously to catch the perpetrator.
Cherry red he hollered in anger, "Maxwell! Injustice! Come back here!" Stalking angrily over to Trowa, he attempted to yank Duo away from the taller boy's protection. But the braided American proved to be faster, evading Wufei's attempts. "Hand him over, Barton."
Amused, the flutist quickly sidestepped, leaving Duo exposed. Emitting a small eep,' he fled from the clutching hands of the drummer. This time he wasn't fast enough to evade as Wufei's grip yanked at his shorts. He swore as they came down slightly but quickly recovered. The Chinese boy was satisfied with his revenge, however, and returned to the rest of the drumline.
Dozens of strange happenings continued to spark around the band room, and Quatre caught most of them with his sweeping observation. He grinned at the chaos, and he had to admit it was quite exhilarating to be caught amidst this family. And he was part of it, trying to console Duo instead of outright laughing at the ridiculous exchange. Spotting the directors conversing with the drum majors, he headed back to the front row and started to piece together his flute.
Measuring the alignment of his mouthpiece and keys, he squeezed one eye shut. A look of concentration lined his expression, and he shifted in another direction to gain better lighting, almost taking out the sophomore next to him.
Her eyes grew large as she avoided the instrument, "Whoa, there, Quatre. Don't kill someone. It's a flute, not a gun!" she grinned.
Quatre smiled sheepishly, "I'm really sorry," he apologized, surprised that she knew his name, and embarrassed that he couldn't recall hers.
"It's okay," she shrugged it off. "I'm Haley," she stuck out one hand, the other busy trying to retrieve her fallen brush, blue hair tie clenched between her teeth. The whole spectacle was hilarious, but Quatre held back his laughter and settled for a small smile.
He quickly grabbed her extended hand, out of politeness and to assure that she didn't fall over. "Hey." He greeted back.
Hands at last grasping the handle of the brush, he pulled her back up. "Whoo!" she cheered, releasing the handshake. "Thanks," she added, quickly pulling her hair into a neat ponytail. She removed the tie from her teeth and wound it around her hair, releasing with a snap. "You're doing a really good job, by the way. How long have you been playing flute?"
"I can't remember not playing it," he laughed, "but I'm better at violin and piano. I guess I don't practice flute as much as I practice my other instruments."
She gaped at him incredulously, "Not fair! I wish I could play half as well as you do," admiration clear in her voice.
Granted that she wasn't the best but quite able still, Quatre blushed slightly at the compliment. "Thanks."
A sudden clapping sliced through the conversation as people began scrambling back to their spots. "Band, atten-hut!"
"Yes!" the reply was short, loud, and low – but not good enough.
"Mm . . . I give that a C. Come on, guys! Louder!" Alano encouraged. "Relax!"
Everyone quietly shuffled to the at ease position, waiting expectantly for the next command.
Clapping resounded, "Band, atten-hut!"
"Yes!" Shorter, lower, deeper, it reflected off the walls of the band room.
"Relax! I give that a B. A hundred percent, people!"
The command came another two times before the director was satisfied with the response. Remaining at attention, the band members waited for further instruction. "Good job, guys. I hope you had a nice break, and welcome to session two of the lock in. Mr. Niemiec just unlocked the doors to the stadium, and we'll be meeting there in five minutes. We'll stretch and do fundamentals for an hour. Then we'll be meeting back in here to warm up and work on show music. So five minutes. See ya!"
Noise erupted again from the teenagers as they filed out from the back door after grabbing their water and an ample amount of bug spray. Under the bright lights of the stadium, conversations buzzed with amazing speed and volume. Duo spotted him by the fence, setting down his water bottle and coating his entire body with bug spray. Duo wrinkled his nose at the smell but wordless grabbed the bottle and copied Quatre's motions. "Ugh, I hate bugs," he grumbled, rubbing the mist on his skin evenly.
"Mm," Quatre agreed. "It's amazing that they can actually shut us up," he mused suddenly, earning a raised eyebrow from his friend.
Trowa appeared by his side, settling down his own belongings, "It's pretty surprising," he agreed absentmindedly.
"Hey, Trowa," Duo nodded in greeting and dropped down to sit on the track. "Ah," he sighed in relief, glancing about for the directors. With any luck the five minutes would become ten.
"Hey."
"You two know each other?" Quatre asked, innocently puzzled.
The two shot knowing looks at each other. "Yeah," Duo grinned. "We were neighbors for a few years before he moved out. Kept in touch as you see."
Innocence quickly faded, replaced by suspicion. "What were those looks for?" he drawled out carefully.
"Uh," Duo laughed nervously in discomfort. "Yeah, you remember how you were sulking, and I kind of gave up and left for a while?" A quick nod urged him to continue. "Well, I was talking to Trowa actually, seeing if he had any suggestions on how to get you to loosen up and stuff," he replied quickly.
"That's
the reason why you talked to me?" Quatre asked, more than a
little hurt by the sudden revelation. "Because Duo asked you
to?"
"Actually, it was my idea," Trowa answered, cutting Duo's explanation off. "I had noticed you during session one, but I didn't how or even if I should approach you. So when Duo came up to me and asked for advice, I offered to go talk to you." No hesitation, the response came easily.
"A bit too eagerly, I might add," Duo supplied in a whisper, winking at Cat, who happened to overhear the exchange.
"Really?" Quatre's bright smile returned, knowing instinctively to trust the brunette.
Trowa nodded and smile back, turning his attention to the assembling block band on the field. "We should get going," Cat suggested, and the four quickly scattered to their positions in the formation.
Four claps prior – "Band, atten-hut!"
"Yes!"
"Alright, guys. Little change of plans. We'll still stretch and do fundamentals. But! Only for half an hour. Then we're going to stay out there and work on the drill we already know from last week and then head back in." Silent cheers sounded at the mention of shortened fundamentals. "Okay, turn to the le-right, and put your instruments down."
Silently, the marching band commenced stretches led by the two drum majors. Singing the Superman theme song while stretching their quads and pretending to fly away at the end and doing twenty jumping jacks, left everyone in good spirits [4]. Heavy fundamentals followed at a rapid pace to build up endurance, and they were ready to hit starting line half an hour later.
At the particular moment, they were relaxed during set ten, listening patiently to the suggestions made by field guides and the directors. Quatre, for the first time, allowed himself to be immersed fully on what he was doing. He left completely focused and strangely exhilarated by everything, and marveled at the powerful impact. Everything seemed to click at the moment as he stole glances at those surrounding him, at the directors, illuminated under the bright stadium lights . . . He had been blinded by his own self-pity and misery . . .
"I don't want to spoil it for Heero before he finds out," Quatre cut the story off short with a wink. Collective groans arose, even from Wufei, caught up in the memories of that first year (second for Trowa).
"I can't believe you're not going to tell us the epiphany!" Duo complained loudly. "And you told the depants-ing part!"
"You guys already know what it is, and I'm sure you know how it felt when everything clicked for you. You wouldn't want to spoil it for Heero. It'd be nice to surprise yourself," Quatre laughed. "And the depants-ing still happens."
"So . . . Quatre had to be forced into marching band?" Heero inquired with what seemed to be mild interest. "And when did he become drum major?"
"*Freshman* year," Duo supplied, sighing and shaking his head as if depressed. "Kicked everyone's ass, too . . . I'm telling you, this kid is beyond gifted."
Heero's mouth twitched in amusement. "Yeah, the irony is great," the American grinned. His violet eyes widened considerably at the approaching waitress, who happened to the clarinet section captain [5]. "Food!"
She laughed, "Hey, Quatre, Trowa, Duo, Wufei, and – Heero, right?" Trowa rose quickly to help her balance the trays. They had ordered so much food that it took an hour for their orders to be prepared.
"Hey," a chorus sounded back.
"I can't believe you have to work band camp week. Man, that would suck," Duo sympathized.
"Pretty much," she agreed. "Oh, and by the way, Duo, I heard your little comment about woodwinds – not very nice," she tsked. "I may just not give you your food," she smiled pleasantly.
The American spluttered incoherently, "I'm obligated – as a member of the brass section – to say stuff like that!" He argued. "And besides it was just a joke . . . I'm really hungry, Holly," pouting, amethyst eyes shimmered as he pleaded.
"Well, Heero's in brass, too, and he doesn't say stuff like that, do you, Heero?" she raised an eyebrow.
"That's because he's hopelessly innocent, onna," Wufei grunted. "Give us our food. You do want to get a good tip, don't you?"
Holly snorted, pursed her lips and set down their plates, shaking her head. Duo was one thing, but Wufei was entirely another story. "Happy?" she asked dryly and turned to leave. "And don't think you're off the hook, Duo!"
"I love you, Holly!" he called pleasantly after her.
She laughed, "Love you, too, Duo!"
Their attention was quickly diverted to the food, having not ate since four o' clock that afternoon. Quatre suggested they slow down after a few minutes of inhalation, worried about the consequences of the impractical method. They reluctantly agreed and slowed the pace, not being able to refuse the Arabic.
"So, I've gone. Who's next?"
There was a long pause as the remaining three seniors glanced at one another. To everyone's surprise, Wufei shrugged and offered, "I will."
Footnotes
[1] You don't have to remember any of those names because they've all "graduated" since they're upper classmen when Quatre is an eight grader. Just one time mention with maybe the exception of "Cat" because she's Trowa's sister. I'm not sure about that.
[2] Yes, depants-ing is a common practice in my band. Don't ask why . . . Anyway, if you didn't catch on to what it is, basically it's the art of pulling someone's pants down in front of people ^_^ We're so nice . . . But it's so funny to watch.
[3] Niemiec-time . . . a little joke amongst people in my marching band. Our band director is usually never, ever on time. We're not sure how it even works, but it usually means breaks are cut short, we end fifteen-twenty minutes later, start later, get somewhere way too early – it's like a totally different time zone *nods*
[4] We have strange traditions in band. The low brass is so amusing during stretches . . . most discipline group out of everyone I'd say. Anyway, we do the Superman thing sometimes, when we're being good and stuff. It's silly but a lot of fun. Just wait until it's someone's birthday . . .
[5] People I know always seem to work at Steak N' Shake. Especially band people! I guess it's because it's so close to the "ghetto" of our town. Or the closest thing to a ghetto because it's actually a nice, pretty neighborhood. Very big in comparison to the other ones. What can I say? We're a preppy county. I've heard that we're the 8th richest county in the country.
[6] This is the out of order one. I just now noticed it popping out, as I'm doing my lovely little coding for the chapter. As far as I know, BYFBO is a male brass thing that stands for Blow Your Fucking Balls Off. I remember almost laughing when my section captain told our section before contest last year ^_^ He just didn't seem the type! But I guess, if you're brass, you're the type *shrugs* ^_^
Wow, that was a long chapter! Anyway, I hope you guys like Quatre's recount. I wonder how I should write Wufei's . . . *grins* It'll be fun. I can take suggestions though. Thanks for reading! Reviews are nice, but no one has to. If you leave one, I'll definitely answer unless you don't want me to. That's pretty my new policy ^_^ If you don't mind or even *want* a response, great! I'll answer. Four more miles left in summer gym. I can't believe I can two semesters of gym out of the way in just four more hard days . . . Then I'm done until I at least get out of high school! We're doing that stupid presidential fitness testing thing everyday, which is kind of good because it eats up time. So far I suck at everything except push-ups . . . You can imagine why I got fifty push-ups without "hesitating." Marching band is great. Anyway, I got way off track. In the end, thanks for the support! Until next time!
Replies to Reviews
LadySolaris2005- Wow, I'm so sorry I didn't update sooner. I got stuck somewhere during the tour of the school. I'm not that great at writing 3x4x3 . . . can you tell? *Laughs* Well, thank you very much for the review! I didn't really know how people would react to a GW band fic . . . It's just so out of the norm. Although I think this is going to carry over beyond just marching band – like the whole senior year thing. Anyway, if you're still reading, I hope you liked this chapter ^_^ It's longer than usual.
Lora Helen- Omg, hun! Where have you been? I haven't talked to you in forever, and I really miss you. Anyway, thank you so much for reviewing! The classical music thing happened when I was thinking about our last pep band game, actually. That was a while back, but I still remember it. In fact, Mandi was the one that played Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. But she screwed up. I tried to teach her Fur Elise, but that didn't pan out too well . . . And don't worry about short reviews. Any feedback at all is nice to have.
Meiyo- Hey! Thanks a lot for reviewing! And I definitely agree with you on the putting Wufei in the background thing. I mean I don't really have an actual preference right now of who he's with as long as it makes sense. There are so many possibilities, you know ^_^ But he'll get his feature chapter next time around *winks* I might actually stick him with Relena just to see how that works out. If it'd work out at all. If not, I can always break them up. Hey, it's band! Too much drama is a requirement!
Mlaine- Hi! Lol, you so remind me of my friend Derek. He's got the whole superior brass thing going, and I "secretly" *coughs* agree with him there. There was this one time when I actually told the clarinets that they were insane ^_^;; I mean they were rolling around and dragging each other all over the floor in front of the band hallway. Screeching and everything! Seemed pretty unstable to me . . . Anyway, it didn't go over that well with the clarinets, especially their section captain. Oh, well, nothing really happened or anything. There's a baritone player in our band that's kind of in your situation. She's the only girl in low brass, but she's one of the section captains. Anyway, thank you so much for reviewing! You guys are so much fun ^_^
Nanashi- Hola! How are you? Still reading? Maybe that's a better question ^_^;; I'm so bad with updates right now, and it can only get worse. I still have English homework to do, and on top of that, I have to finish gym, and then band camp starts up. The week right after that school is starting on Thursday, and I know we have a football game that Friday _ Oi . . . I really do try, but gym has ruined any chance of having a summer. You know that all the break I got was a week??? That's insane . . . the rest of the time I've been at school. But band this year is going great! The new members blew us away ^_^ for the most part! Thank you so much for reviewing though! And I'm so glad I'm getting a good response from all these people. It's really nice to write about something I know about, you know what I mean? I mean POW gives me so much grief since I have no idea what war is like. That's not exactly a bad thing though . . . Anyway, I hope you're still reading and that you like it!
n/a, Super Poodle, Annoying Reviewer Girl – You have all commented that I shouldn't answer reviews because it's a waste of space. While I appreciate the suggestion, many people that review do like to get a response (I've even asked some). It's my way of thanking them for what they've done for me, and it's pretty fun to talk about random stuff like that. I'd like to continue this for people that want their reviews answered. I don't see how it's false advertising or misleading since my replying isn't inconsistent. They're not to make the chapter longer, but simply the extra stuff that you *can* ignore. People can of course say that I don't have to reply or shouldn't reply, but for the most part, I'll write something back. Thank you so much for the reviews though! And rest assured that Heero and Duo will get together ^_^
Lokogato- Hello, hello! How are you, hun? I've been suffering in summer gym for the past two months, so you can probably guess how I'm feeling about Monday coming around again. Luckily, it's almost over! Anyway, thank you so much for reviewing! You always make me laugh and cheer me up ^_^ Interesting picture you got with the flower watering thing *snickers* Speaking of cleaning instruments, I had to take mine to Paiges two weeks ago because my first valve was being stupid and not coming up. They ultrasonically cleaned the whole thing, got out the dents, chemically treated the silver, replaced the felt and spit valve pads, and fixed two valves . . . It is soooooo new, but we paid $115 for it. I think it was totally worth it though ^_^ And yes, instruments are very fun to clean, especially your method. I've never tried trombone since my only experience has been with my trumpet. Hope you're still reading and that you enjoyed this chapter!
LB- Omg, you poor dear! I don't know what I would do without a computer for that long! I'm so glad I could help with all of that. That scene was uber fun to write though. I love 1x2x1 . . . Possibly my favorite pairing of all time just because it seems to fit so well. I think that if this was a guy/girl pairing, very little people would disagree with it. Just those really big, solid 1xR fans. I'm still trying to figure out how people reach that conclusion. Thank you very much for reviewing as usual ^_^ Of course, that doesn't have the same appeal as yaoi! Yaoi just pushes it over the edge for me! Anyway, I hope you're having a nice summer and that you liked this chapter!
Leaf Zelindor- That's so sad . . . Last band camp! I mean I know that once I get there, I'll be like omg, I'm going to die. This is hell on earth – and that whole thing, but it's so sad when you realize it's the last time. And sometimes it kind of passes you by. Thank you so much for the review. Sometimes reviewing seems so much of a hassle, and I can't imagine why people would review mine. It could be so much better . . . but I'll get better ^_^ Feedback is awesome though. I hope you're still reading! I know I'm really bad at updating, but I try. This chapter gave me a lot of trouble at the beginning, but still that's not really an excuse *sigh*
Lost in Smiling Eyes- Yay! Glad I heard from you ^_^ Thank you very much for reviewing. It's so cool to see people continuing to read this thing! Quite exciting. It's also so cool that you play the piano! I do, too. It was actually our last pep band game that made me right that part . . . After we had an "adventure" going around the school, Mandi and I stole the big practice room, so I could practice piano. I brought some music with me in case I got bored. Anyway, she played Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star with this attitude that Duo kind of had. It was hilarious because she didn't remember some of it. Ah, she just makes me laugh ^_^ Anyway, I was practicing Canon in D at the time, and all these people suddenly came in and just listened to me play. They all really like the song. Isn't it great when life is inspiring? And perhaps . . . 5/R would be the most interesting pairing I've ever written. I heard good ones of those are hard to find. I want to experiment a little. That, and I was kind of bitter about this whole data-match thingie going around during my school. So I thought I should be evil and direct my bitterness at helpless characters! Brilliant, no? Lol, jk!
ookami-metsuki- I'm so sorry for the long wait. You have all heard my lame excuses . . . Thank you so much for reviewing and all the support. You guys really keep me going and cheer me up! It's so flattering to know that people really like what I write, and maybe I'll write a real book someday. Lol, wouldn't that be something . . . My mom thinks that if I do, I'll make a lot of money ^_^;; I hope you're still reading and enjoying this story! Again, I'm very sorry. Another reason to hate summer gym . . .