Chapter 5- School
"What was that for?" Gilly asked Duo.
"Just getting the people talking." He replied with a wink.
Gilly glared at him than blushed and looked away, "You stopped by last night," She said, than turned to him, "didn't you?"
"Yeah," He looked at her, "how'd you know?"
"It wasn't too hard to figure out."
"Really."
"It takes," She paused, "less than you'd think." She winked.
"Uh-huh. Right."
"I could tell," She smiled, "That the lock had been picked with an electronic card set to do that."
"How?"
"The great Duo is stumped?"
"Yeah."
"Sucks to be you." She skipped ahead than turned around and gave him a serious look, right in the eye, "What did you do?"
He stopped and returned her stare. Gilly searched his eyes over and over again he had seen something that had given him a scare.
"I..." He began.
"You...?"
Gilly gave him an intense look.
"To be honest?"
"Well?" Gilly pressed.
"You just seemed comforted by my presence."
"Seriously?!"
"Yeah." He said hesitantly.
"Boy, I'm pathetic." Gilly said in a joking manner, even though this situation was very serious.
"How so?"
Gilly held one hand to her chest and the other outstretched, "The hopeless romantic dies of the pain caused in her own dreams," She turned to Duo, who was blushing, "That's what the headlines will read." She informed him.
"So," He blushed a deep crimson red, "what was that dream about anyway?"
"I'm not sure," Gilly lied, her voice trailing off, "but it was terrible. So sad. Part of it was I thought I'd never see you again."
"Veerrry sad." Duo smiled.
Gilly felt like punching him for his ego, but it was too late, "Here we are." She said, irritated as they stepped in front of the office.
The two walked into the office. Duo couldn't help but wonder what he'd done to get Gilly angry. He sighed; he'd never understand women.
"How may I help you?" Mr. Smith asked.
"My name is Duo Maxwell," Duo announced, "and I'm new here. I need to check in and stuff before I head to class. I already have my schedule off the computer."
"Oh, hello Mr. Maxwell." He said with a genuine smile, "Just one moment." He turned towards his desk.
"We'll need a pass to class."
"We?"
"Yeah, me and my comrade here." Duo pointed to Gilly who stood just behind him.
Mr. Smith looked at Gilly, "Ms. Gilly Hathaway?"
"Yes?" Gilly replied.
"You're new, as well, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"We usually have a more familiar student help out the new ones."
"My room is just next to his, and we're friends."
"Oh, I see." He looked through his desk and pulled out a key.
Mr. Smith placed it on the desk than went into the backroom. Duo picked up the key and held it firmly. Mr. Smith emerged carrying a neatly pressed uniform. He handed it to Duo, and Duo flashed the room key.
Mr. Smith filled out a late pass and stamped it in the time check machine. He handed it to Gilly and sent the two on their way.
"Have a great day, you two." He called.
"We will." Gilly assured him.
Gilly and Duo left. As they walked towards Duo's room. They didn't talk as they walked.
They arrived, Duo unlocked the door, and they went in. Duo casually threw his bags on the bed without even looking around. Gilly set Duo's helmet next to his stuff and picked up his uniform.
"Pretty fancy, huh?" She said looking around.
"Yeah." Duo said as he took the uniform from her.
Gilly turned around and sat on the bed while Duo put his uniform on. She hoped she hadn't made him angry by being angry herself. She pulled her left knee up to her chest and rested her chin on it. She hated having to wear uniforms, especially ones that involved skirts. They made her feel exposed and uncomfortable.
With a sigh she walked over to the balcony. She watched the early morning's stillness. She took a deep breath as Duo walked up behind her. She turned around as he spoke.
"How do I look?" Her asked.
"Do you really want me to answer?" She replied.
"Not honestly."
"First, I'll tell the truth..." She began.
"Than?"
"Than, I'll lie." She smiled. "You look like a nerd."
"Thanks."
"It's the uniform, not you."
"The lie?"
"Dashing."
"Ouch."
Gilly nodded with a sly smile.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
"Yeah." She replied and they walked out the door and towards class.
"We have all the same classes together, "He said, "except one."
"And that would be?"
"P.E."
"Let me guess, you want me to cheer you on."
"A little ego booster. I didn't know exactly what you wanted so I just made our classes the same and they happened to fall that way."
"And my free period?"
"Falls during my fist P.E. class, than you join me for the second one right after."
"All muscles and no brains."
"Hey!"
"I speak true."
"And who's the Gundam pilot?"
"Ah, and is there anything else that you require, master?"
"Later you may have the privilege of doing my homework, but that's all for now slave." Duo waved his hand and Gilly bowed, they laughed.
The tension was broken and the two walked towards their first period class. They walked into the History room of Mrs. Fittje. They were only 15 minutes late, and Gilly handed their pass to Mrs. Fittje.
"Hi." She said sweetly, "I, am Mrs. Fittje. And you are Duo Maxwell and Gilly Hathaway, right?"
"Correct." Gilly smiled.
"Well," Mrs. Fittje eyed their pass, "have a seat anywhere, little love birds."
"Huh?!" Gilly asked in surprise.
"Well, that is why you're late, is it not."
"No!"
"Sure, sure. Sit down." She motioned as she walked up to her podium.
Gilly sat down in the back. Duo sat several rows away, to throw off suspicion.
"Okay, children and love birds. Today we're playing 'Google', my version of Jeopardy, so don't freak out if I throw candy at your head." Without any warning, Mrs. Fittje threw a tootsie roll at Gilly, everyone laughed.
Gilly was busy looking at her binder when she looked up just in time to see Mrs. Fittje throw the candy at her head. With swift reflexes, Gilly caught it. The laughing stopped. Gilly looked at the tootsie roll and smiled.
"Thanks." She called.
Mrs. Fittje only starred. She hadn't expected Gilly to actually catch it. Everyone resumed their giggling, only this time at Mrs. Fittje's surprise. The kids usually just ducked, no one ever tried to catch the candy.
Duo starred at Gilly. How had she done it? She hadn't been paying attention at all, and yet her reflexes had been like lightning. His concern began to grow; her mind wasn't like a normal teenager's mind, from what he had gathered.
* * * * *
The classes went fast and soon it was Gilly's free period. She decided to go and watch Duo play basketball since she didn't have any homework. After that was her own P.E. class and her last class was Art. When she was on her way to the P.E. wing she ran into the boy called Greg. Literally, she ran into him and her and his books scattered everywhere.
"I'm sorry." Gilly said as she bent over, trying not to make eye contact.
"Entirely my fault." Greg replied as he too bent over, "So, you're the new girl."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Your name?"
"Oh! It's Gilly." She replied.
"I'm Greg."
"I know. Whitney pointed you out this morning."
"Oh." He said as he caught her eye.
She felt uneasy at the way he looked at her. She quickly gathered her stuff.
"See you later."
"When do you have P.E.?"
"Next period."
"Cool. So do I. I'll see you then."
"Yeah, right." Gilly smiled uneasily at him before walking off.
In her hurry she almost ran into Amanda.
"Goin' to see Duo?" She asked.
"Yeah."
"Cool. I'll join you."
"Okay."
The two walked towards the outside court where the game had already started. They climbed into the bleachers and watched the game. Duo was great at showing off. He would often look up to see if Gilly was watching, and when she wasn't he would do something to make her regret she wasn't. When the period ended Gilly and Amanda made their way to the girls' locker room. Gilly was issued a P.E. shirt and shorts outfit with a Centennial Eagle on it. Gilly had brought her own locker stuff and shoes, so she was dressed, laced up, smelling good, and rearing to go before Amanda could blink. Gilly took note of who else was in her class and smiled. Most of the girls from her table were there. Their teacher blew her whistle and the girls headed outside. There they met the boys, and four teams were picked. Gilly was on the team, which was opposing Duo. Teams 1 and 2 were to play each other, Gilly was on 1 and Duo was on 2, and teams 3 and 4 were to play each other best two out of three games that went to 25 points. Gilly thought that this was more like volleyball than basketball, but she sighed and went with it. Gilly noticed that Greg was on team 2. When he patted her on the back and wished her good luck, not only did she want to run, but also she felt Duo's stare burning holes through her head. She turned to him and gave him a broad smile as he passed her to get to his half of the court. "Jealous?" She asked, not jeeringly, but with concern. Duo stopped and turned to her, "Should I be?" "Well..." Gilly put her hand lightly on Duo's forearm and half closed her eyes. "You think to highly of yourself." "And you don't?" "I'm not." He assured her. "Good, you shouldn't be," she paused, "and you know it." She reassured him. "Now, I'll think to highly of myself." "Good, than you won't have low self-esteem." "So wonderful that you care." He placed his hands on her shoulders, and with the confident attitude he always displayed wished her good luck. "Thank you." "You're gonna need it." Gilly leaned towards Duo's ear, "No, I won't." She gave him a peck on the cheek than pulled away to begin the game.
Gilly was chosen to do the jump ball since she was the new girl. Reluctantly she squared off against Duo, who had been chosen to jump for the same reason. "Let's go." She smiled. "Bring it." Duo replied. "Oh, I'll bring it." The whistle blew and the ball was tossed. Gilly made her jump only a second after Duo. He thought he'd had the luck, but that wasn't Gilly's strategy. When Duo hit the ball, it went above her head. Gilly saw it go and grabbed it from the air. She hadn't jumped to high, so she hit the ground and took off with the ball.
Duo hit the ground two seconds too late, for Gilly had already passed the ball to Kim and Kim to Zoe, who mad the first basket.
"Is that it?" She asked Duo as he dribbled from the base line.
"Naw. It's just begun." He retorted.
With that, Duo was down the court and making a two point shot. Slowly, the rest of their teammates were on the side watching the show down between the two. The challenge had been mad and everyone knew.
"With the way those two play," Zoe noted, "who needs teammates?"
"Gilly's not the greatest player in the world, but it looks like she's testing Duo. Pushing him to see how far he can go." Kim added.
"He's a showoff and Gilly's just helping her friend look good, by pushing herself to the level just below his own." The girls heard Greg say.
"I say you're full of it." Amanda sneered.
"Who cares anyway?" Zoe asked, "It's still a great game.
The game lasted for a while, and just before the coaches called for the kids to go in, Duo made the final basket, and won the game.
"Good game." Gilly shook Duo's hand as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
"You too." Duo replied.
The two departed with their friends at their heals, eager to congratulate. Greg approached Duo.
"Hey man." Greg said, "Great game."
"Thanks." Duo turned to watch Gilly go inside, "It was intense."
"Yeah, I'll bet."
"She's one tough opponent."
"You guys friends?"
"Yeah..." Duo drifted, he felt something he hadn't felt before mixed with something else, "great friends."
"Oh." Was Greg's only response.
* * * * *
Gilly gathered her P.E. clothes and shoved them into her locker messily. She sighed, smiled, and began to walk towards her final class of the day. She'd have to tough it out, even though she was exhausted.
Art flew by, and Gilly quickly went to her room. When she got there she changed out of her uniform and into a pair of light blue jeans and red tank top. She looked at her bed and it seemed to call to her. She flung herself onto it and lay there starring at the ceiling. She began to think about the night before. How her heart ached. Why did those dreams have to haunt her? Duo had been there, but he hadn't just been there. He had said his presence was what had comforted her, but there was something missing.
Her eyes burned. All of a sudden she sat up. Her hand, he had held her hand. She put it to her cheek.
"Duo..."
She liked the feeling Duo gave her. His touch was special. Shaking his hand was one thing, but having him hold it, a thought that made her blush. She hadn't known she was this coy. Maybe, it was just him. She liked him.
Gilly's thoughts were once again interrupted by a knock at the door. She got up and walked towards it.
"People are so rude to interrupt my thoughts constantly." She mumbled.
She answered it and there stood Duo.
"Well, maybe it's not that rude." She added.
"What?!" Duo gave her a bizarre look.
"Nothing. Just talking to myself."
"Sure."
"Anyway, what's up?"
"Milady?"
"Yes?"
"Mightst I escort thou to dine?"
"Thou shalt."
"By my troth, we are off." Duo said as Gilly grabbed her helmet.
Duo walked back out the door and Gilly followed. They walked outside towards Duo's motorcycle. Duo put his helmet on and Gilly did the same. He climbed on and Gilly climbed on the back. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hung on. Duo fired up the engine and they sped off towards town. Gilly felt the wind rush at her and she held Duo tighter. Duo could feel something hurting inside.
I can't do this. He said to himself, I can't get involved with her. Not now, not in this time of war and loss. If something were to happen...
Duo looked back at Gilly briefly and smiled sadly. There was something sweet about her, but weird, too. He liked her, but to get involved with her would be risking her safety and feelings.
They finally made it into Troveta. They stopped at a nice little café and ate dinner together. Conversation was minimal, but Duo felt he had to drift from Gilly to preserve her heart. After dinner he took her back to the school and walked her to her dorm. "Good nights" were simple and quick. He left Gilly with a feeling of loss.
"What was that for?" Gilly asked Duo.
"Just getting the people talking." He replied with a wink.
Gilly glared at him than blushed and looked away, "You stopped by last night," She said, than turned to him, "didn't you?"
"Yeah," He looked at her, "how'd you know?"
"It wasn't too hard to figure out."
"Really."
"It takes," She paused, "less than you'd think." She winked.
"Uh-huh. Right."
"I could tell," She smiled, "That the lock had been picked with an electronic card set to do that."
"How?"
"The great Duo is stumped?"
"Yeah."
"Sucks to be you." She skipped ahead than turned around and gave him a serious look, right in the eye, "What did you do?"
He stopped and returned her stare. Gilly searched his eyes over and over again he had seen something that had given him a scare.
"I..." He began.
"You...?"
Gilly gave him an intense look.
"To be honest?"
"Well?" Gilly pressed.
"You just seemed comforted by my presence."
"Seriously?!"
"Yeah." He said hesitantly.
"Boy, I'm pathetic." Gilly said in a joking manner, even though this situation was very serious.
"How so?"
Gilly held one hand to her chest and the other outstretched, "The hopeless romantic dies of the pain caused in her own dreams," She turned to Duo, who was blushing, "That's what the headlines will read." She informed him.
"So," He blushed a deep crimson red, "what was that dream about anyway?"
"I'm not sure," Gilly lied, her voice trailing off, "but it was terrible. So sad. Part of it was I thought I'd never see you again."
"Veerrry sad." Duo smiled.
Gilly felt like punching him for his ego, but it was too late, "Here we are." She said, irritated as they stepped in front of the office.
The two walked into the office. Duo couldn't help but wonder what he'd done to get Gilly angry. He sighed; he'd never understand women.
"How may I help you?" Mr. Smith asked.
"My name is Duo Maxwell," Duo announced, "and I'm new here. I need to check in and stuff before I head to class. I already have my schedule off the computer."
"Oh, hello Mr. Maxwell." He said with a genuine smile, "Just one moment." He turned towards his desk.
"We'll need a pass to class."
"We?"
"Yeah, me and my comrade here." Duo pointed to Gilly who stood just behind him.
Mr. Smith looked at Gilly, "Ms. Gilly Hathaway?"
"Yes?" Gilly replied.
"You're new, as well, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"We usually have a more familiar student help out the new ones."
"My room is just next to his, and we're friends."
"Oh, I see." He looked through his desk and pulled out a key.
Mr. Smith placed it on the desk than went into the backroom. Duo picked up the key and held it firmly. Mr. Smith emerged carrying a neatly pressed uniform. He handed it to Duo, and Duo flashed the room key.
Mr. Smith filled out a late pass and stamped it in the time check machine. He handed it to Gilly and sent the two on their way.
"Have a great day, you two." He called.
"We will." Gilly assured him.
Gilly and Duo left. As they walked towards Duo's room. They didn't talk as they walked.
They arrived, Duo unlocked the door, and they went in. Duo casually threw his bags on the bed without even looking around. Gilly set Duo's helmet next to his stuff and picked up his uniform.
"Pretty fancy, huh?" She said looking around.
"Yeah." Duo said as he took the uniform from her.
Gilly turned around and sat on the bed while Duo put his uniform on. She hoped she hadn't made him angry by being angry herself. She pulled her left knee up to her chest and rested her chin on it. She hated having to wear uniforms, especially ones that involved skirts. They made her feel exposed and uncomfortable.
With a sigh she walked over to the balcony. She watched the early morning's stillness. She took a deep breath as Duo walked up behind her. She turned around as he spoke.
"How do I look?" Her asked.
"Do you really want me to answer?" She replied.
"Not honestly."
"First, I'll tell the truth..." She began.
"Than?"
"Than, I'll lie." She smiled. "You look like a nerd."
"Thanks."
"It's the uniform, not you."
"The lie?"
"Dashing."
"Ouch."
Gilly nodded with a sly smile.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
"Yeah." She replied and they walked out the door and towards class.
"We have all the same classes together, "He said, "except one."
"And that would be?"
"P.E."
"Let me guess, you want me to cheer you on."
"A little ego booster. I didn't know exactly what you wanted so I just made our classes the same and they happened to fall that way."
"And my free period?"
"Falls during my fist P.E. class, than you join me for the second one right after."
"All muscles and no brains."
"Hey!"
"I speak true."
"And who's the Gundam pilot?"
"Ah, and is there anything else that you require, master?"
"Later you may have the privilege of doing my homework, but that's all for now slave." Duo waved his hand and Gilly bowed, they laughed.
The tension was broken and the two walked towards their first period class. They walked into the History room of Mrs. Fittje. They were only 15 minutes late, and Gilly handed their pass to Mrs. Fittje.
"Hi." She said sweetly, "I, am Mrs. Fittje. And you are Duo Maxwell and Gilly Hathaway, right?"
"Correct." Gilly smiled.
"Well," Mrs. Fittje eyed their pass, "have a seat anywhere, little love birds."
"Huh?!" Gilly asked in surprise.
"Well, that is why you're late, is it not."
"No!"
"Sure, sure. Sit down." She motioned as she walked up to her podium.
Gilly sat down in the back. Duo sat several rows away, to throw off suspicion.
"Okay, children and love birds. Today we're playing 'Google', my version of Jeopardy, so don't freak out if I throw candy at your head." Without any warning, Mrs. Fittje threw a tootsie roll at Gilly, everyone laughed.
Gilly was busy looking at her binder when she looked up just in time to see Mrs. Fittje throw the candy at her head. With swift reflexes, Gilly caught it. The laughing stopped. Gilly looked at the tootsie roll and smiled.
"Thanks." She called.
Mrs. Fittje only starred. She hadn't expected Gilly to actually catch it. Everyone resumed their giggling, only this time at Mrs. Fittje's surprise. The kids usually just ducked, no one ever tried to catch the candy.
Duo starred at Gilly. How had she done it? She hadn't been paying attention at all, and yet her reflexes had been like lightning. His concern began to grow; her mind wasn't like a normal teenager's mind, from what he had gathered.
* * * * *
The classes went fast and soon it was Gilly's free period. She decided to go and watch Duo play basketball since she didn't have any homework. After that was her own P.E. class and her last class was Art. When she was on her way to the P.E. wing she ran into the boy called Greg. Literally, she ran into him and her and his books scattered everywhere.
"I'm sorry." Gilly said as she bent over, trying not to make eye contact.
"Entirely my fault." Greg replied as he too bent over, "So, you're the new girl."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Your name?"
"Oh! It's Gilly." She replied.
"I'm Greg."
"I know. Whitney pointed you out this morning."
"Oh." He said as he caught her eye.
She felt uneasy at the way he looked at her. She quickly gathered her stuff.
"See you later."
"When do you have P.E.?"
"Next period."
"Cool. So do I. I'll see you then."
"Yeah, right." Gilly smiled uneasily at him before walking off.
In her hurry she almost ran into Amanda.
"Goin' to see Duo?" She asked.
"Yeah."
"Cool. I'll join you."
"Okay."
The two walked towards the outside court where the game had already started. They climbed into the bleachers and watched the game. Duo was great at showing off. He would often look up to see if Gilly was watching, and when she wasn't he would do something to make her regret she wasn't. When the period ended Gilly and Amanda made their way to the girls' locker room. Gilly was issued a P.E. shirt and shorts outfit with a Centennial Eagle on it. Gilly had brought her own locker stuff and shoes, so she was dressed, laced up, smelling good, and rearing to go before Amanda could blink. Gilly took note of who else was in her class and smiled. Most of the girls from her table were there. Their teacher blew her whistle and the girls headed outside. There they met the boys, and four teams were picked. Gilly was on the team, which was opposing Duo. Teams 1 and 2 were to play each other, Gilly was on 1 and Duo was on 2, and teams 3 and 4 were to play each other best two out of three games that went to 25 points. Gilly thought that this was more like volleyball than basketball, but she sighed and went with it. Gilly noticed that Greg was on team 2. When he patted her on the back and wished her good luck, not only did she want to run, but also she felt Duo's stare burning holes through her head. She turned to him and gave him a broad smile as he passed her to get to his half of the court. "Jealous?" She asked, not jeeringly, but with concern. Duo stopped and turned to her, "Should I be?" "Well..." Gilly put her hand lightly on Duo's forearm and half closed her eyes. "You think to highly of yourself." "And you don't?" "I'm not." He assured her. "Good, you shouldn't be," she paused, "and you know it." She reassured him. "Now, I'll think to highly of myself." "Good, than you won't have low self-esteem." "So wonderful that you care." He placed his hands on her shoulders, and with the confident attitude he always displayed wished her good luck. "Thank you." "You're gonna need it." Gilly leaned towards Duo's ear, "No, I won't." She gave him a peck on the cheek than pulled away to begin the game.
Gilly was chosen to do the jump ball since she was the new girl. Reluctantly she squared off against Duo, who had been chosen to jump for the same reason. "Let's go." She smiled. "Bring it." Duo replied. "Oh, I'll bring it." The whistle blew and the ball was tossed. Gilly made her jump only a second after Duo. He thought he'd had the luck, but that wasn't Gilly's strategy. When Duo hit the ball, it went above her head. Gilly saw it go and grabbed it from the air. She hadn't jumped to high, so she hit the ground and took off with the ball.
Duo hit the ground two seconds too late, for Gilly had already passed the ball to Kim and Kim to Zoe, who mad the first basket.
"Is that it?" She asked Duo as he dribbled from the base line.
"Naw. It's just begun." He retorted.
With that, Duo was down the court and making a two point shot. Slowly, the rest of their teammates were on the side watching the show down between the two. The challenge had been mad and everyone knew.
"With the way those two play," Zoe noted, "who needs teammates?"
"Gilly's not the greatest player in the world, but it looks like she's testing Duo. Pushing him to see how far he can go." Kim added.
"He's a showoff and Gilly's just helping her friend look good, by pushing herself to the level just below his own." The girls heard Greg say.
"I say you're full of it." Amanda sneered.
"Who cares anyway?" Zoe asked, "It's still a great game.
The game lasted for a while, and just before the coaches called for the kids to go in, Duo made the final basket, and won the game.
"Good game." Gilly shook Duo's hand as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
"You too." Duo replied.
The two departed with their friends at their heals, eager to congratulate. Greg approached Duo.
"Hey man." Greg said, "Great game."
"Thanks." Duo turned to watch Gilly go inside, "It was intense."
"Yeah, I'll bet."
"She's one tough opponent."
"You guys friends?"
"Yeah..." Duo drifted, he felt something he hadn't felt before mixed with something else, "great friends."
"Oh." Was Greg's only response.
* * * * *
Gilly gathered her P.E. clothes and shoved them into her locker messily. She sighed, smiled, and began to walk towards her final class of the day. She'd have to tough it out, even though she was exhausted.
Art flew by, and Gilly quickly went to her room. When she got there she changed out of her uniform and into a pair of light blue jeans and red tank top. She looked at her bed and it seemed to call to her. She flung herself onto it and lay there starring at the ceiling. She began to think about the night before. How her heart ached. Why did those dreams have to haunt her? Duo had been there, but he hadn't just been there. He had said his presence was what had comforted her, but there was something missing.
Her eyes burned. All of a sudden she sat up. Her hand, he had held her hand. She put it to her cheek.
"Duo..."
She liked the feeling Duo gave her. His touch was special. Shaking his hand was one thing, but having him hold it, a thought that made her blush. She hadn't known she was this coy. Maybe, it was just him. She liked him.
Gilly's thoughts were once again interrupted by a knock at the door. She got up and walked towards it.
"People are so rude to interrupt my thoughts constantly." She mumbled.
She answered it and there stood Duo.
"Well, maybe it's not that rude." She added.
"What?!" Duo gave her a bizarre look.
"Nothing. Just talking to myself."
"Sure."
"Anyway, what's up?"
"Milady?"
"Yes?"
"Mightst I escort thou to dine?"
"Thou shalt."
"By my troth, we are off." Duo said as Gilly grabbed her helmet.
Duo walked back out the door and Gilly followed. They walked outside towards Duo's motorcycle. Duo put his helmet on and Gilly did the same. He climbed on and Gilly climbed on the back. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hung on. Duo fired up the engine and they sped off towards town. Gilly felt the wind rush at her and she held Duo tighter. Duo could feel something hurting inside.
I can't do this. He said to himself, I can't get involved with her. Not now, not in this time of war and loss. If something were to happen...
Duo looked back at Gilly briefly and smiled sadly. There was something sweet about her, but weird, too. He liked her, but to get involved with her would be risking her safety and feelings.
They finally made it into Troveta. They stopped at a nice little café and ate dinner together. Conversation was minimal, but Duo felt he had to drift from Gilly to preserve her heart. After dinner he took her back to the school and walked her to her dorm. "Good nights" were simple and quick. He left Gilly with a feeling of loss.