Chapter Four – Fissures
Duo pushed his way through the students in the hallway, trying to make his way to his aunt's office. He was going to be late since he'd stopped at the bathroom along the way, but he enjoyed keeping his aunt on her toes. Being that this was his second call in one day, he felt she deserved to know exactly how he felt about that. Inside his mind, a speech was slowly creating itself about how he wanted to just live his life, and not have to worry about getting pulled out of class or lunch just to get checked up on.
Duo sighed. He knew that his mother and aunt were just trying to make sure he was safe, but they were taking it a little extreme. As he rounded the corner towards his aunt's office, something caught his eye that caused him to stop dead. Dark blue, puffy, obviously new…
His jacket.
That bastard Mueller was holding his jacket.
Duo's eyes narrowed and he approached the large senior from behind. Apparently the dark haired boy hadn't noticed him yet, as the jacket hung loosely in his grasp. Duo wasn't breathing anymore, concentrating on making as little noise as possible. When he was less than two feet away, he began to reach out slowly.
"MUELLER!" A shout called out from behind him, and instead of jumping, Duo used this momentary distraction to snatch the jacket and tear down the hallway past Mueller.
"What the f-… MAXWELL! GET YOUR SKINNY ASS BACK HERE!"
The pounding footsteps of Mueller and whoever had yelled echoed in the hallways. Duo turned down the hallway at random, only concentrating on getting away – not where to get away to. On further reflection, Duo realized this was a bad idea, but all he could think about was the elation that came with holding the jacket in his hands again. He clutched it to his chest tightly and rounded another corner, only to find himself faced with a locker-filled dead end.
Duo paled considerably, denial flooding his mind as he turned slowly. Mueller and the other guy – Alex, another senior – had reached the mouth of the small corridor, and were breathing heavily from the unexpected chase. Duo glared angrily at them, tightening his grip on the jacket in his arms. He would not give it up again.
Mueller, having finally caught his breath, snarled at Duo. "Well well, fairy boy, I guess you didn't learn your lesson the last time."
Alex grinned manically. "I was sure he was trying to grab your ass too, that faggot."
"Is that true?" Mueller eyed Duo, eyed narrowing as he didn't respond. "That's sick."
"Poor little queer, stuck in a hallway all alone," Alex mocked, taking up a cocky pose. "Maybe he wants us to punish him, Mueller. He probably gets off on it, that sick fuck. Ain't that right, Maxwell?"
Duo hadn't moved the entire time, continuing to glare at the two seniors. His feet were spread apart slightly and could be called a defensive stance if his arms hadn't been so securely wrapped around his jacket. "I find it highly pathetic that you can only think of two things to call me, and I don't feel like wasting my time with you, so it'd be in your best interest if you were to just walk away."
Mueller and Alex however, weren't fazed by his demonic voice and the threats laced within his speech. They merely glared and stalked forward, and a small part of Duo accepted that even though there was no escape, he wasn't going to lose. He would never lose. He closed his eyes slowly, never once loosening the hold on his jacket.
Sorry, Heero, but I won't fight back…
"Heero Yuy, please report to Miss Noin's office immediately. Heero Yuy."
Heero's head shot up from the paper he'd been writing. His brow furrowed, but he stood, gathered his things, and left the classroom. His professor, known by the class as Howard, never looked up once.
That class was the only one that he didn't have with Duo. Relena took Advanced Writing as well, but Heero found that it just wasn't as interesting without the braided boy there to comment on the things the teachers would say. His friend was extremely inquisitive, and most times Heero found that after the teacher had survived through a volley of Duo's questions he had learned much more than the lesson could have taught him.
Consumed with his thoughts, he didn't notice that when he stopped outside Noin's door that there were two voices on the inside, and that neither were Duo's. He knocked lightly.
"Come in!"
Heero opened the door, frowning when he saw that both Noin and Mr. Peacecraft were in the room. Milliardo Peacecraft was leaning against the front of Noin's desk. He was the school's secretary, and was responsible for keeping track of every student's enrollment and their placement in the courses. He also made the announcements at the beginning and ending of the day over the intercom. He had an enormous job to fulfill and reputation to uphold, but he did so gracefully and thoroughly. He was also Relena's step-brother.
"Heero." Milliardo nodded in greeting and Heero frowned, turning to look at Noin. She looked more stressed out than usual.
"Did Duo not give you a good report?" Heero inquired, wondering if that was the cause of Noin's distress. The woman shook her head and stood, pushing a lock of short black hair out of her face.
"Heero… Duo never showed up." Heero's brow furrowed.
"I saw him leave the cafeteria. He should have been here within minutes." Noin nodded, frowning.
"He should have been, but he never showed up. And I can't help but worry even though I know he's independent and can take care of himself. I know he's been having problems, and I can't see my nephew forgetting to show up."
Heero placed his schoolbag on the floor, glancing at Milliardo. He had a bad feeling about the question he was about to ask.
"Was he in class?"
The platinum-haired man shook his head, but Noin was the one to answer. "No, Heero, and that's another reason that we're worried. I'm sure you know how much he enjoys that class. What if something happened to him, Heero?" The young woman was starting to break down, and Heero watched as Milliardo moved from his perch against her desk to slip an arm around her. Their relationship was no secret, so it the display didn't bother Heero at all. Being friends with both Duo and Relena, he knew both adults quite well.
What bothered him was Duo's disappearance. The braided boy never left without telling someone, and here they were, with Duo nowhere to be found.
The bell signaling the ending of period three barely registered in the minds of the three in the office. Noin was trying to get control over her emotions again, while Milliardo stood quietly in an attempt to comfort her, and Heero stood, racking his brain to think of where Duo could have gone.
Wufei left his English class quickly, weaving through the students towards the classroom he'd brought Meiran to when he'd dropped her off. She would, no doubt, have many stories about the lively American and her experience in her first American classroom. He knew from experience what a class with Duo was like, and it was far from boring.
He stood outside the door and waited for her to be dismissed, smiling and nodding to Trowa as the tall brunette made his way to his locker. He watched make his way down the hall until Meiran appeared at his side, a frown marring her features.
"Is something wrong? Did you not enjoy your first class?"
Still frowning, Meiran shook her head. "No, it was very good. Duo was not there, though, and I cannot help but wonder why."
Soon Wufei was sporting a look that mirrored the small Chinese girl's. "Did Quatre not say you both had the same class?" Meiran nodded, and Wufei was about to ask more when a loud shout echoed down the halls. Both heads snapped in the direction Trowa had headed, only to find the tall brunette to be nowhere in sight. Wufei started down the hall quickly with Meiran at his heels, but before they'd gotten halfway Trowa appeared around the corner, an arm slung over his shoulders and dragging an unresponsive body. Meiran gasped.
"That's Duo!" Meiran hurried over to them both, Wufei right behind her. "What happened to him?"
"He's breathing kinda raggedly," Trowa replied, hefting the lithe boy. "But he's conscious. He's hurting, too, I think. I'm pretty sure somebody attacked him."
"But why?" Wufei asked incredulously. Duo didn't seem like the type to attract enemies. Trowa shrugged in response.
"Because they're assholes," he replied, hefting Duo once more. "I'm going to bring him to his aunt."
"We'll come with you," Meiran volunteered. Trowa nodded and the three made their way down the hall.
Quatre shut his locker, holding his gym bag loosely in his hand. He leaned back against it, patiently beginning his daily wait for Trowa. The European was always prompt to walk him to class, and it had become routine for them to go together every day. Quatre smiled – Trowa was the sweetest guy he knew.
Quatre did not really consider himself to be gay. He liked girls, he knew that much, but he found that whenever he was around Trowa his heart would beat a little faster and his cheeks would get a little warmer. He figured those were telltale signs of a crush.
Quatre glanced up from his musings with a frown on his face. Trowa was late. For anyone else he wouldn't even care if they were a minute late, but Trowa was always punctual. His brow furrowed as he heard many voices rising in question, and one in particular telling people to get out of the way.
"Sounds like Trowa…" he murmured. Forgetting about waiting he made his way towards the voice. Pushing a few students out of the way, his eyes widened when he saw the four figures making their way through the crowd.
"Trowa?" Quatre called, walking forward. "What happened?"
The brunette looked up in surprise. Quatre glanced at the bundle in Trowa's arms and gasped. "Duo!"
The lithe brunette was conscious, and looked up wearily. Duo's face was covered in darkening bruises and he cringed, not wanting to know what his body would look like under Heero's jacket. Duo's arms were wrapped tightly around a blue bundle of something. Before he could determine what the object was, Wufei and Meiran appeared behind Trowa.
"Quatre!" Wufei greeted. "Get some of these morons out of the way, would you? We're trying to get Duo to the office."
The blond nodded, and with one more glance at Duo, Quatre turned and started ordering people out of the way.
Heero closed the door to Noin's office, frowning and leaning against the wall. What had happened to Duo this time? Heero knew that Duo was getting beaten up – that much was painfully obvious – but he could never convince the violet-eyed youth to tell him who. Heero's eyes narrowed with determination. He would find out who was behind that, whether Duo wanted him to or not.
End Chapter Four - Fissures
