I feel satisfyingly dirty.
I've got grease marks all up my arms, my hands are practically black, I believe there may be some oil in my ear, but the vehicle is working.
Gathering up my tools I stick them back in their rightful places and wheedle my may out of Saturday arvo cleanup.
Leaving Deathscythe hell with Howard I toddle off home to get cleaned up for the party.
To my absolute and utter dismay I discovered I had grease in my hair, then the shirt I was planning to wear was at the bottom of my wardrobe and I didn't have time to iron it, the rope on my duffle bag broke, my parrot had gone potty in my favourite shoes and my bike, which I'd been planning to ride to Heero's, would not start.
All this led to the sudden onset of a particularly foul mood which I reflected by running up stairs and changing into a completely black outfit which I hadn't worn for a very long time. I spent fifteen minutes lying on my bed trying to convince myself to change back into the red shirt, but I was drowned out by the crowd in my head that were determined to remind me of every rotten thing that had happened the entire week. Eventually I called Quatre because I didn't want to walk and I knew he was being driven, maybe he could help me fix my head before we got there.
Turned out that Trowa's sister Catherine was giving them a lift and she was nice enough to pick me up on the way past so I kept my mood to myself. We swung by Heero's place as well, but it wasn't until we got to the party that I realised I'd left me duffle at home which just made my mood drop another notch. I could feel Heero's eyes on me as we made our way up the front path, he'd silently questioned my choice of clothes in the car, but I didn't have an answer I was willing to give him. I wanted him to think something was wrong, but I knew if I tried to tell him I'd just make it all into this great big joke, brush it off and happily accept being called an idiot.
It's a lot more fun to wallow in self pity than it is to feel weak because someone else is pitying you. Hilde greeted me with a knowing smile and a glass of baileys as I approached the small bar in the loungeroom. Heero grabbed a beer and went over to talk to Wufei as Hilde joined me on the dance floor for a couple of songs.
Both Relena's brother Milliardo and Treize Kushrenada stopped to have a chat with me on how the basketball team was coping now that they'd left school. They'd been the star players of the senior team when Heero and I had started out in juniors.
Treize Kushrenada, is an extremely handsome, extremely fascinating sort of man. He has this dignity, a way he holds himself. He's the kind of guy that people hang around in hopes that popularity will rub off on them. The difference between him and the average popular guy though, is that Treize didn't keep himself on top by pushing others down, or spreading his money. He just was. And the fact that he doesn't seem to care that people adore him makes him all the more desirable.
He reminds me a little bit of Heero in that respect, except Treize happens to be aware that people like him, Heero seems to think the world would shoot him in the arse as soon as he turned his back.
Milliardo's a little like that as well.
I partnered up with Heero for a couple of games of pool. He seemed to think it was funny that I couldn't sink any.
We lost to Wu fei and Sally, and I'm telling you now, that was a sore blow. Then we lost the table to some other guys while we were playing catch the peanut.
On the way to get more drinks we got caught in a conga line and someone was stupid enough to put the macarena on so Ralph, me and a couple of other guys decided to introduce the version *we'd* created.
I happened to notice Heero looking rather lost standing against the wall sipping his beer when I was on my fifth drink and realised I'd somehow managed to ditch him without meaning to.
Feeling quite a bit happier than when I arrived I made my way towards him determined to teach him the word 'party' and possibly con him into a game of 'pin the tail on the sexy looking lady' that was going on near the staircase.
Before I could make my way across the room Relena appeared by his side trying to talk to him. They were obscured by the dancers for a few seconds then I saw Relena dragging Heero towards the hall door.
I'm not quite sure what part of my brain I was using at that point, but for some reason I thought it would be a great idea to follow them.
I don't think I'd quite realised what implications that hallway held until I was actually down it and could hear the muffled and not so muffled noises of a certain form of interaction going on behind a number of closed doors.
I frowned.
Heero wasn't like that.
Heero wouldn't do that.
Heero was....
A low grown issued from the door I'd paused in front of. I turned to face it licking my lips nervously and eyeing the door handle.
There was someone whispering...
'Heeeeero'
I stared at the door, startled.
If that was Relena attempting to be sexy she was doing a very bad job.
I took a few steps back towards the loungeroom, so I'm not sure where the squeal came from, but I was out of there, I didn't need to hear anymore, that was it.
Drinking games.
I'd play drinking games.
With Hilde.
She was already near the bar.
Oh and look. Trowa and Quatre are there too.
We were well into our game of swoop when they came back out again, well, I think we were, I was losing. It required more concentration than I could manage.
Neither of them looked too flustered as they joined us at the table, although Heero seemed to be a bit red in the face. I worked my way out of my sudden anxiety enough to give Heero a knowing wink before I finished off my current glass of... of...
I felt like dancing.
Hilde joined me in the attempt but we didn't do a very good job. The music just kept moving in all the wrong places. Hilde got us more drinks but I didn't even get the chance to take a sip, it disappeared, but that was ok because Heero had brought me one as well. He insisted on playing games instead of giving it straight to me though.
I was having fun.
I had one arm wrapped around Hilde and the other hand clutching Heero's as I tried to find the beat of the current song, but that meant I didn't have a hand for drinks.
Extricating myself from Hilde's grip I reached for the glass in Heero's hand but he was still playing silly buggers so I went for Hilde's instead.
Suddenly there was nothing holding me up and Hilde's cup disappeared.
I looked around for it and found Hilde instead. I had something to ask her.
I'm not exactly sure if I managed to get the sentence structure just right, or wether all the words were there but she seemed to comprehend, and she was nodding.
So I kissed her.
I've got grease marks all up my arms, my hands are practically black, I believe there may be some oil in my ear, but the vehicle is working.
Gathering up my tools I stick them back in their rightful places and wheedle my may out of Saturday arvo cleanup.
Leaving Deathscythe hell with Howard I toddle off home to get cleaned up for the party.
To my absolute and utter dismay I discovered I had grease in my hair, then the shirt I was planning to wear was at the bottom of my wardrobe and I didn't have time to iron it, the rope on my duffle bag broke, my parrot had gone potty in my favourite shoes and my bike, which I'd been planning to ride to Heero's, would not start.
All this led to the sudden onset of a particularly foul mood which I reflected by running up stairs and changing into a completely black outfit which I hadn't worn for a very long time. I spent fifteen minutes lying on my bed trying to convince myself to change back into the red shirt, but I was drowned out by the crowd in my head that were determined to remind me of every rotten thing that had happened the entire week. Eventually I called Quatre because I didn't want to walk and I knew he was being driven, maybe he could help me fix my head before we got there.
Turned out that Trowa's sister Catherine was giving them a lift and she was nice enough to pick me up on the way past so I kept my mood to myself. We swung by Heero's place as well, but it wasn't until we got to the party that I realised I'd left me duffle at home which just made my mood drop another notch. I could feel Heero's eyes on me as we made our way up the front path, he'd silently questioned my choice of clothes in the car, but I didn't have an answer I was willing to give him. I wanted him to think something was wrong, but I knew if I tried to tell him I'd just make it all into this great big joke, brush it off and happily accept being called an idiot.
It's a lot more fun to wallow in self pity than it is to feel weak because someone else is pitying you. Hilde greeted me with a knowing smile and a glass of baileys as I approached the small bar in the loungeroom. Heero grabbed a beer and went over to talk to Wufei as Hilde joined me on the dance floor for a couple of songs.
Both Relena's brother Milliardo and Treize Kushrenada stopped to have a chat with me on how the basketball team was coping now that they'd left school. They'd been the star players of the senior team when Heero and I had started out in juniors.
Treize Kushrenada, is an extremely handsome, extremely fascinating sort of man. He has this dignity, a way he holds himself. He's the kind of guy that people hang around in hopes that popularity will rub off on them. The difference between him and the average popular guy though, is that Treize didn't keep himself on top by pushing others down, or spreading his money. He just was. And the fact that he doesn't seem to care that people adore him makes him all the more desirable.
He reminds me a little bit of Heero in that respect, except Treize happens to be aware that people like him, Heero seems to think the world would shoot him in the arse as soon as he turned his back.
Milliardo's a little like that as well.
I partnered up with Heero for a couple of games of pool. He seemed to think it was funny that I couldn't sink any.
We lost to Wu fei and Sally, and I'm telling you now, that was a sore blow. Then we lost the table to some other guys while we were playing catch the peanut.
On the way to get more drinks we got caught in a conga line and someone was stupid enough to put the macarena on so Ralph, me and a couple of other guys decided to introduce the version *we'd* created.
I happened to notice Heero looking rather lost standing against the wall sipping his beer when I was on my fifth drink and realised I'd somehow managed to ditch him without meaning to.
Feeling quite a bit happier than when I arrived I made my way towards him determined to teach him the word 'party' and possibly con him into a game of 'pin the tail on the sexy looking lady' that was going on near the staircase.
Before I could make my way across the room Relena appeared by his side trying to talk to him. They were obscured by the dancers for a few seconds then I saw Relena dragging Heero towards the hall door.
I'm not quite sure what part of my brain I was using at that point, but for some reason I thought it would be a great idea to follow them.
I don't think I'd quite realised what implications that hallway held until I was actually down it and could hear the muffled and not so muffled noises of a certain form of interaction going on behind a number of closed doors.
I frowned.
Heero wasn't like that.
Heero wouldn't do that.
Heero was....
A low grown issued from the door I'd paused in front of. I turned to face it licking my lips nervously and eyeing the door handle.
There was someone whispering...
'Heeeeero'
I stared at the door, startled.
If that was Relena attempting to be sexy she was doing a very bad job.
I took a few steps back towards the loungeroom, so I'm not sure where the squeal came from, but I was out of there, I didn't need to hear anymore, that was it.
Drinking games.
I'd play drinking games.
With Hilde.
She was already near the bar.
Oh and look. Trowa and Quatre are there too.
We were well into our game of swoop when they came back out again, well, I think we were, I was losing. It required more concentration than I could manage.
Neither of them looked too flustered as they joined us at the table, although Heero seemed to be a bit red in the face. I worked my way out of my sudden anxiety enough to give Heero a knowing wink before I finished off my current glass of... of...
I felt like dancing.
Hilde joined me in the attempt but we didn't do a very good job. The music just kept moving in all the wrong places. Hilde got us more drinks but I didn't even get the chance to take a sip, it disappeared, but that was ok because Heero had brought me one as well. He insisted on playing games instead of giving it straight to me though.
I was having fun.
I had one arm wrapped around Hilde and the other hand clutching Heero's as I tried to find the beat of the current song, but that meant I didn't have a hand for drinks.
Extricating myself from Hilde's grip I reached for the glass in Heero's hand but he was still playing silly buggers so I went for Hilde's instead.
Suddenly there was nothing holding me up and Hilde's cup disappeared.
I looked around for it and found Hilde instead. I had something to ask her.
I'm not exactly sure if I managed to get the sentence structure just right, or wether all the words were there but she seemed to comprehend, and she was nodding.
So I kissed her.