Before you read chapter 5, IT'S AUTHOR TIME! YAY! I wanted to take some
time here and thank some of the people who have been reading this and
waiting for my lazy ass to update, woo!
Soon to be the world renoun Gracie: I hope the chapters to come will be even more fun to read, and get even more tangled along the way!
Anthia: Hopefully my chapters will get reviewed soon, but my editor is busy with school, as am I. Thanks for reading this anyway, I know there are a few mistakes or things that can be done better. =^.^=
Vega03: Oops, my mystery woman was actually Tara, but that's okay. I am glad that this has caught your interest though.
Annie: I need you to be a pep talker for when I do my homework. Maybe I would get it all done that way! XD
And now, onto the show. **********************************************************************
Chapter 5: Closer and Further Away
Tara was true to her word, not a soul found out about Relena, not even Catherine knew. Trowa just figured that the stunt was to catch him off guard and jump-start a friendship. At least, that's the way it worked out. They started talking a lot more often and found one another's company enjoyable and redeeming. The two of them, along with Catherine, were inseparable at times. One thing that Tara loved to do was to borrow his books and read them. He was the type of person who marked important passages or scribbled down questions in the margins. For Tara, it was just another way to get to know him.
Tara knew that Trowa had told Relena about the incident, and things seemed okay. She laughed to herself about still not wanting to meet her in person. Apparently, Trowa and Relena had a tiff about it, but made up almost instantly.
They were on a scheduled two-week vacation where everything would be shut down and they were allowed to do what they pleased. Trowa, Catherine, and Tara threw their daypacks in the back of the truck, and then got into the cab. Trowa started the engine reluctantly.
"Are you sure?" he turned to his sister, who had gotten stuck in the middle seat. She had a stern expression on, but Tara beat her to the punch.
"Yeah, lets go." He sighed, put the truck in gear, and pulled onto the road.
Trowa did not want to go the beach; in truth, there was not one bit of him that felt like it, but that's where they were heading. The two women seemed so excited, and he can never say "no" when under the feminine charm. He knew it would be bad though, because he forgot to mention to them about his friends planning to meet that day for a gathering at the coast. Quatre had written him a letter urging his attendance as everyone was going to be there. He did not want to be near Relena and the rest of the group, because he was afraid that something might happen between them. Now there he was, listening to rock music with two very happy women passengers going to the beach. He just hoped that he would be lucky enough to miss them, but who was he kidding but himself?
He found a spot in the public parking lot and pulled in. The girls leapt out of the truck, grabbed their bags and ran off to the bathrooms.
"Check out the landscape for a nice spot!" he heard Tara call back to him. His heart felt like it was traveling slowly into his stomach as he looked around. He was nervous that another sweep of the people busily having fun would yield a large group of his friends. Catherine and Tara ambushed the distracted Trowa a couple minutes later, messing up his hair and hugging him around the waist.
"Lighten up, Trowa, you look down." Catherine smiled at him. She had changed into her favorite blue bikini and wrap.
"Yeah, we are supposed to be having fun, you know." Tara teased. She was wearing a black two-piece with a white tank top over it. They were both trying their best to cheer him up, so he grabbed the big umbrella they had brought and walked out toward a spot that was empty. The two ladies ran after him with delight. They set up their belongings and Tara left shortly after to hunt in the tide pools. Trowa and Catherine laughed about it, wondering if it was the childish side of Tara emerging. Catherine looked to the west where something caught her eye.
"Hey," she began to smile, "isn't that Quatre and the rest of your friends?" Trowa sat up quickly and saw Quatre, Duo, Wufei, Milliardo, Lucrezia, Sally, Hilde, and Dorothy heading toward them. They rushed over and greeted Trowa and Catherine.
"Where is Heero?" Trowa asked, starting to feel a little relieved.
"Oh," Duo scoffed in his comic way, "he and Relena are going to be fashionably late." Duo's lighthearted gesture made everyone laugh, but Trowa felt his heart sink further as Lady Une and Mahrimeieh arrived. It was only a matter of time before Heero and Relena would show up. However, for the time being, things were pleasant, and he enjoyed himself and his friends. Dorothy suddenly stood up and ran toward the parking lot.
"They are finally here!" Trowa looked over his shoulder with a stoic expression. Dorothy was talking excitedly with Relena, while Heero walked in front of them. Relena caught Trowa's emerald gaze, and she paled for a moment. He had told her that he was not coming, and they were both now thrust into an awkward situation. Trowa just turned his gaze to Heero, and they made their hellos. Luckily, a distraction was made in Tara's return. She looked around, a little bewildered at the group, only half of which had noticed her. She sat beside Trowa and Catherine, whispering something to her, and then she made eye contact with Duo.
"So," Duo smiled at her, "who is your friend here, guys?" She did not need, nor want such attention, but took it anyway. She felt the eyes of Milliardo and Lucrezia upon her.
"This is Tara Kerington," Trowa's hard tone surprised her, "she is a performer who came to us several months ago." She forced herself to smile and give a little wave as he spoke, probably coming off a little too shy. The afternoon went well, although Tara could feel the tension that refused to lift. She noticed Trowa staring at Relena, so she grabbed her net bag and took Trowa's arm. She quickly diverted him into a walk down the shoreline.
"What was that for?" he asked, concerned.
"You were staring at her," she tried to replicate his cold tone, "I thought I would diffuse the situation before it started." Trowa sighed heavily and let his gaze fall a little.
'I'm sorry."
"Why do you act so differently around them?" Trowa was taken back by the question.
"They expect me to be that way, I believe."
"Why should you have to be a certain way?" she stopped and looked at him, "You are a distinct personality, why change to something that you are not? Are you afraid of being yourself?" Trowa's gaze grew a little colder, then warmed up again with an unexpected smile. He knelt down and crooked his arms, and then he smiled up at her again.
"Want a lift?" Tara felt her stern expression melt, and allowed him to carry her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her effortlessly on his back. She rested her chin on the top of his shoulder.
"You're avoiding my questions." She tried to sound impatient.
"What's in the bag?" He asked calmly, looking at the bag she held in front of him.
"Just shells and what not," she sighed, "I went diving earlier, but what does this have to do with the subject at hand?" Trowa slowed his pace and looked over his shoulder.
"I am just trying to show you that I am still the same person you know," he said quietly, "but I have to do what is necessary in my situation." Tara fell silent for a little while, thinking about what he had said. She still had something on her mind that was bothering her.
"What if your relationship ends?" she asked, and changed her mind, "I mean, what if Heero finds out about you and Relena?"
"Well," he replied, a tinge of doubt in his voice, "I guess she will have to choose between us." Tara felt horrible for asking the question.
"Will you miss her?"
"I try not to think about it," she heard his voice go quiet and thoughtful, and by being so close she could even feel that smooth tone flow through his chest, "but I'm afraid I will." She took her arms from around his neck, so he let her down. Before he could ask why, Tara was hugging him closely, trying to comfort him. She knew, in a way that made her feel cheap, that she was also helping herself.
"I am sorry to have brought it up." He heard her say softly.
"It's okay," he reassured her, "come on now, let's head back." She honestly did not want to, but they left anyway, and the group they returned to was cheery. The tension she had felt was gone for the most part, and any little bit she did feel seemed to be coming from Relena. Trowa wore a complacent smile, which let her know that he was okay.
Milliardo and Lucrezia would stare at her from time to time though, and Tara felt so nervous that she left the group and went up to the truck to escape them, if only for a minute. She looked in the truck's bed for a moment to stall for time, and she then felt someone grab her by the wrist and spin her around. It was Milliardo. She tried to fight away from him, but he had grabbed her other wrist and disabled her against the truck cab.
"So you told them your real name, did you?" He asked with a harsh smile.
"Let me go!" She snapped at him through gritted teeth, writing between him and the cold metal and glass.
"What do you honestly think you're doing?" his eyes narrowed, "Why can't you leave well enough alone?"
"I'm trying to live an honest life!" she barked still fighting him violently.
"Why can't you live it somewhere else," he had a sarcastic undertone, "away from a Gundam pilot, per-say? You did it on purpose, you know who they are. What are you planning to do?"
"How dare you accuse me like this!" she bucked away from the cab once more, managing to free her self, "Fuck you and your assumptions! Why would I try to do anything against some of the only people who would take me in? Do unto others as they do unto you, they give me nothing but kindness and that is what I give them in return!"
"Hold your tongue about that!" Milliardo was still calm, but a bit of rage snuck into his voice, "Talking about doing unto others, you should have followed your own advice." He ended with a spat, and Tara shrunk back a little, betrayed by her own words to some small extent.
"I only want to move on," she sighed solemnly, which took Milliardo a little off guard, "is there something wrong about wanting to start over again, about wanting to be normal for once?" Tara saw his eyes soften and shine, something that she hadn't seen in a very long time.
"I guess not," he sighed, and then grew stern again, "but be sure that if anything happens, we will know why to look for as culprit." He left as he said it, and Tara just wanted to die. She fell asleep that night feeling so broken, that she didn't think she would wake come morning.
Soon to be the world renoun Gracie: I hope the chapters to come will be even more fun to read, and get even more tangled along the way!
Anthia: Hopefully my chapters will get reviewed soon, but my editor is busy with school, as am I. Thanks for reading this anyway, I know there are a few mistakes or things that can be done better. =^.^=
Vega03: Oops, my mystery woman was actually Tara, but that's okay. I am glad that this has caught your interest though.
Annie: I need you to be a pep talker for when I do my homework. Maybe I would get it all done that way! XD
And now, onto the show. **********************************************************************
Chapter 5: Closer and Further Away
Tara was true to her word, not a soul found out about Relena, not even Catherine knew. Trowa just figured that the stunt was to catch him off guard and jump-start a friendship. At least, that's the way it worked out. They started talking a lot more often and found one another's company enjoyable and redeeming. The two of them, along with Catherine, were inseparable at times. One thing that Tara loved to do was to borrow his books and read them. He was the type of person who marked important passages or scribbled down questions in the margins. For Tara, it was just another way to get to know him.
Tara knew that Trowa had told Relena about the incident, and things seemed okay. She laughed to herself about still not wanting to meet her in person. Apparently, Trowa and Relena had a tiff about it, but made up almost instantly.
They were on a scheduled two-week vacation where everything would be shut down and they were allowed to do what they pleased. Trowa, Catherine, and Tara threw their daypacks in the back of the truck, and then got into the cab. Trowa started the engine reluctantly.
"Are you sure?" he turned to his sister, who had gotten stuck in the middle seat. She had a stern expression on, but Tara beat her to the punch.
"Yeah, lets go." He sighed, put the truck in gear, and pulled onto the road.
Trowa did not want to go the beach; in truth, there was not one bit of him that felt like it, but that's where they were heading. The two women seemed so excited, and he can never say "no" when under the feminine charm. He knew it would be bad though, because he forgot to mention to them about his friends planning to meet that day for a gathering at the coast. Quatre had written him a letter urging his attendance as everyone was going to be there. He did not want to be near Relena and the rest of the group, because he was afraid that something might happen between them. Now there he was, listening to rock music with two very happy women passengers going to the beach. He just hoped that he would be lucky enough to miss them, but who was he kidding but himself?
He found a spot in the public parking lot and pulled in. The girls leapt out of the truck, grabbed their bags and ran off to the bathrooms.
"Check out the landscape for a nice spot!" he heard Tara call back to him. His heart felt like it was traveling slowly into his stomach as he looked around. He was nervous that another sweep of the people busily having fun would yield a large group of his friends. Catherine and Tara ambushed the distracted Trowa a couple minutes later, messing up his hair and hugging him around the waist.
"Lighten up, Trowa, you look down." Catherine smiled at him. She had changed into her favorite blue bikini and wrap.
"Yeah, we are supposed to be having fun, you know." Tara teased. She was wearing a black two-piece with a white tank top over it. They were both trying their best to cheer him up, so he grabbed the big umbrella they had brought and walked out toward a spot that was empty. The two ladies ran after him with delight. They set up their belongings and Tara left shortly after to hunt in the tide pools. Trowa and Catherine laughed about it, wondering if it was the childish side of Tara emerging. Catherine looked to the west where something caught her eye.
"Hey," she began to smile, "isn't that Quatre and the rest of your friends?" Trowa sat up quickly and saw Quatre, Duo, Wufei, Milliardo, Lucrezia, Sally, Hilde, and Dorothy heading toward them. They rushed over and greeted Trowa and Catherine.
"Where is Heero?" Trowa asked, starting to feel a little relieved.
"Oh," Duo scoffed in his comic way, "he and Relena are going to be fashionably late." Duo's lighthearted gesture made everyone laugh, but Trowa felt his heart sink further as Lady Une and Mahrimeieh arrived. It was only a matter of time before Heero and Relena would show up. However, for the time being, things were pleasant, and he enjoyed himself and his friends. Dorothy suddenly stood up and ran toward the parking lot.
"They are finally here!" Trowa looked over his shoulder with a stoic expression. Dorothy was talking excitedly with Relena, while Heero walked in front of them. Relena caught Trowa's emerald gaze, and she paled for a moment. He had told her that he was not coming, and they were both now thrust into an awkward situation. Trowa just turned his gaze to Heero, and they made their hellos. Luckily, a distraction was made in Tara's return. She looked around, a little bewildered at the group, only half of which had noticed her. She sat beside Trowa and Catherine, whispering something to her, and then she made eye contact with Duo.
"So," Duo smiled at her, "who is your friend here, guys?" She did not need, nor want such attention, but took it anyway. She felt the eyes of Milliardo and Lucrezia upon her.
"This is Tara Kerington," Trowa's hard tone surprised her, "she is a performer who came to us several months ago." She forced herself to smile and give a little wave as he spoke, probably coming off a little too shy. The afternoon went well, although Tara could feel the tension that refused to lift. She noticed Trowa staring at Relena, so she grabbed her net bag and took Trowa's arm. She quickly diverted him into a walk down the shoreline.
"What was that for?" he asked, concerned.
"You were staring at her," she tried to replicate his cold tone, "I thought I would diffuse the situation before it started." Trowa sighed heavily and let his gaze fall a little.
'I'm sorry."
"Why do you act so differently around them?" Trowa was taken back by the question.
"They expect me to be that way, I believe."
"Why should you have to be a certain way?" she stopped and looked at him, "You are a distinct personality, why change to something that you are not? Are you afraid of being yourself?" Trowa's gaze grew a little colder, then warmed up again with an unexpected smile. He knelt down and crooked his arms, and then he smiled up at her again.
"Want a lift?" Tara felt her stern expression melt, and allowed him to carry her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her effortlessly on his back. She rested her chin on the top of his shoulder.
"You're avoiding my questions." She tried to sound impatient.
"What's in the bag?" He asked calmly, looking at the bag she held in front of him.
"Just shells and what not," she sighed, "I went diving earlier, but what does this have to do with the subject at hand?" Trowa slowed his pace and looked over his shoulder.
"I am just trying to show you that I am still the same person you know," he said quietly, "but I have to do what is necessary in my situation." Tara fell silent for a little while, thinking about what he had said. She still had something on her mind that was bothering her.
"What if your relationship ends?" she asked, and changed her mind, "I mean, what if Heero finds out about you and Relena?"
"Well," he replied, a tinge of doubt in his voice, "I guess she will have to choose between us." Tara felt horrible for asking the question.
"Will you miss her?"
"I try not to think about it," she heard his voice go quiet and thoughtful, and by being so close she could even feel that smooth tone flow through his chest, "but I'm afraid I will." She took her arms from around his neck, so he let her down. Before he could ask why, Tara was hugging him closely, trying to comfort him. She knew, in a way that made her feel cheap, that she was also helping herself.
"I am sorry to have brought it up." He heard her say softly.
"It's okay," he reassured her, "come on now, let's head back." She honestly did not want to, but they left anyway, and the group they returned to was cheery. The tension she had felt was gone for the most part, and any little bit she did feel seemed to be coming from Relena. Trowa wore a complacent smile, which let her know that he was okay.
Milliardo and Lucrezia would stare at her from time to time though, and Tara felt so nervous that she left the group and went up to the truck to escape them, if only for a minute. She looked in the truck's bed for a moment to stall for time, and she then felt someone grab her by the wrist and spin her around. It was Milliardo. She tried to fight away from him, but he had grabbed her other wrist and disabled her against the truck cab.
"So you told them your real name, did you?" He asked with a harsh smile.
"Let me go!" She snapped at him through gritted teeth, writing between him and the cold metal and glass.
"What do you honestly think you're doing?" his eyes narrowed, "Why can't you leave well enough alone?"
"I'm trying to live an honest life!" she barked still fighting him violently.
"Why can't you live it somewhere else," he had a sarcastic undertone, "away from a Gundam pilot, per-say? You did it on purpose, you know who they are. What are you planning to do?"
"How dare you accuse me like this!" she bucked away from the cab once more, managing to free her self, "Fuck you and your assumptions! Why would I try to do anything against some of the only people who would take me in? Do unto others as they do unto you, they give me nothing but kindness and that is what I give them in return!"
"Hold your tongue about that!" Milliardo was still calm, but a bit of rage snuck into his voice, "Talking about doing unto others, you should have followed your own advice." He ended with a spat, and Tara shrunk back a little, betrayed by her own words to some small extent.
"I only want to move on," she sighed solemnly, which took Milliardo a little off guard, "is there something wrong about wanting to start over again, about wanting to be normal for once?" Tara saw his eyes soften and shine, something that she hadn't seen in a very long time.
"I guess not," he sighed, and then grew stern again, "but be sure that if anything happens, we will know why to look for as culprit." He left as he said it, and Tara just wanted to die. She fell asleep that night feeling so broken, that she didn't think she would wake come morning.