Okay, here's chapter 2. From here on in, I'm using all the dialogue from the film, apart from where I've written new / extra scenes. There are so many great lines, I couldn't not include them, particularly from Watts (the influence for Duo's character). Swordy
Some Kind of Wonderful – Part 2
Later on that same day as darkness had started to fall, Duo Maxwell sat with his feet up on the disorganised desk in front of him, total engrossed in a comic book. Duo had a 'thing' for mecha manga which, despite his Japanese origin, Heero could neither understand nor enjoy. Heero himself was hard at work servicing a banged up Ford Mustang, which was currently suspended over his head in the bay of Darnell's Automotive Centre. Heero had worked for Harry Darnell for the past year or so in attempt to scrape enough money together to go to college. Unsurprisingly, it had been his father's idea but Heero had gone along with it for the sake of peace and family harmony.
Despite it being his father's suggestion, Heero actually enjoyed his work as a mechanic. At its worst, he couldn't imagine it was any more terrible that sitting in an office all day talking shares and profit margins with a guy called 'Gerald'. As he began to change the oil, Heero glanced across at Duo, whose expression changed in response to the words and images on the printed page. Heero smirked and shook his head before turning his attention back to the task in hand. Silence reigned for several more minutes as Heero worked and Duo read. Finally, the Japanese boy broke the silence, surprisingly eager to voice the thoughts in his head.
"Hey Duo," he called out, pausing until the braided boy looked up from his comic book, "D'you know Relena Peacecraft?"
"From school?" Duo asked curiously.
"Uh huh."
"Relena Peacecraft?" Duo repeated before he began to bat his eyelashes and swish his hair around mimicking a model in a shampoo commercial. "That Relena?"
Heero shot him his best death glare to indicate that he didn't appreciate the impression.
"Why'd you want to know about her?" Duo enquired, putting down his comic book and standing up. Heero shrugged as he continued to work under the car.
"Just interested," he said noncommittally.
Duo shook his head, a wide grin breaking across his handsome features before he froze, cupping a hand to his ear. "Hey! What's that sound? Why it's Heero Yuy's sex drive revving up and raring to go!"
Ignoring his idiot friend as best he could, Heero turned around to search for the necessary tools. "I didn't say anything about sex," he muttered.
Duo shot him a long, doubtful look. "Wanna start a book club with her?"
A long, thoughtful silence ensued. Eventually, Heero looked up to see Duo staring out of the window into the darkness, his expression serious.
"What you thinking about?" he asked, curious.
Duo shrugged, his eyes never leaving the window. "I was thinking that you shouldn't go mistaking paradise for the pair of long legs."
The braided boy didn't turn to see his friend's expression but if he had, he would have seen something close to surprise etched across Heero's features. "That's pretty deep," Heero said finally.
"Yeah well, if you want deep then try Relena Peacecraft."
He turned to look at Heero, who noted a tinge of bitterness in his friend's eyes that matched the tone of his voice. "She's not big money," Heero said after a pause, like this earth-shattering news would somehow make things better. "D'you know where she lives?"
"Yeah, our sector. I heard her older brother lost the entire family fortune several years ago," Duo said without a trace of sympathy. "But she runs with the rich so that's guilt by association."
Heero stopped his work and studied the braided boy for a moment. "Duo that's ridiculous," he said, slightly annoyed.
He was met by a shrug as Duo came to stand underneath the car with him.
"Girls like that only have one thing on their minds and you don't make enough of it to matter," Duo said, reaching up to pick some rust off the exhaust pipe.
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a car pulling up outside. As Darnell's was also a gas station, Heero was required to serve the customers as well as repair cars. He walked through to the front of the shop, followed closely by Duo who perched himself on the counter as Heero tried to wipe some of the oil from his hands.
"You know, Duo, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover," he said without looking up from his oil-stained digits.
Duo seemed to contemplate this as he fiddled with the end of his braid. "Yeah, but you can tell how much it's gonna cost."
Before Heero could respond, there was an impatient beep of the horn from the car waiting outside. He muttered something in Japanese under his breath as he made his way across the forecourt. The car was a classic Porsche 911 Turbo with large alloy wheels and gleaming red bodywork. Heero instantly knew who it belonged to before he had even glimpsed the driver. When he did look up, he was greeted by the sight of Treize Khushrenada, left hand gripping the steering wheel whilst his right arm rested lazily around Relena Peacecraft's shoulders.
"Gas, and check the oil," he instructed without a hint of please or thank you.
Duly, Heero started to fill the petrol tank, his eyes staring off into the distance. He didn't need to look to confirm that Duo would be watching this encounter carefully from inside the shop. When the tank was full, he moved around to the front of the car, Treize's eyes following his every step. He was glad to disappear from view when he went under the bonnet to check the oil.
"So this is where you work huh?" the football captain asked, his tone mocking. "It's nice."
"Treize…" Relena started to say plaintively. She glanced at Heero apologetically as her cheeks flushed pink.
"Why don't you mind you own business Relena?" Treize snapped.
Despite his rising anger, Heero continued to work under the bonnet in silence. When he had done, he lowered the hood carefully, unable to prevent himself from glancing at Relena who sat dejectedly in the passenger seat. His attention was then drawn to the man beside her who was staring at Heero intently.
"I'd be grateful if you'd keep you'd keep your eyes and your mind off my property," Treize drawled threateningly.
Heero looked off into the distance as he waited for the arrogant blonde to pay for the petrol. He wasn't about to rise to Treize's attempts to antagonise him. He became aware of a twenty-dollar bill being held out towards him.
"That's ten for the gas and ten for the look."
The bank note fluttered to the ground at Heero's feet. He waited until Treize's car had screeched off the forecourt and into the distance before he bent down and scooped it up. Looking back at the shop, he wasn't surprised to see Duo stood at the window, frowning and shaking his head almost imperceptibly.
If Duo had looked liked he disapproved of Heero's interest in Relena that night at the garage he would most definitely have disapproved if he had seen Heero sitting in view of Seventh Street's tennis courts waiting for a certain someone to arrive. Over the past few days, Heero had learnt what classes Relena took, so he had been well aware that she had a tennis lesson first thing on that Thursday afternoon. He had found himself a vantage point that would enable him to watch, and hopefully sketch her, as she took part in the class, but as the other girls started to arrive, he was disappointed to see that Relena was not amongst them. The teacher, a rather haughty old-school gym mistress by the name of Miss Anderson then arrived and the lesson began. Heero was about to pack away his things and head back to school when the sound of a car approaching, at speed, attracted his attention.
The Red Porsche 911 pulled up outside the tennis courts and Relena jumped out, dressed in a black vest top and matching gym skirt. Smiling happily, she leaned back into the car to share a long, lingering kiss with its driver before grabbing the tennis racquet Treize held out to her. Taking it, she then turned and jogged towards the tennis courts as the Red Porsche quickly became a blur in the distance. From his position, Heero was able to hear the exchange of words between the Miss Anderson, her face pinched in annoyance, as she reprimanded her tardy pupil.
"Miss Peacecraft," the teacher began, clapping her hands together in pseudo-delight, "How good of you to join us!"
"I'm really sorry Miss Anderson…" Relena began, looking suitably contrite, but the gym mistress clearly wasn't impressed.
"I think leaving school with the boy with the hot car buys you…" she paused, finger on her lip in thought, "two weeks of detention."
"But Miss Anderson!" Relena protested as the teacher started to walk towards the waiting class.
"Hurry up, Miss Peacecraft, unless you want to make it three weeks."
From his position above the courts, Heero smiled thoughtfully.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Later on that day, Duo caught up with Heero as he strode down the corridor to his next class.
"Hey He-man!" the braided boy called out as he finally spotted his elusive friend. "Where've you been?"
"Nowhere exciting," the Japanese boy responded cryptically.
"Oh right, the library," Duo said nodding his head understandingly.
Although he hated lying to Duo, Heero allowed the braided boy to think he was right. Duo would never understand if Heero told him where he'd really been. Duo's opinion of Relena had come across loud and clear the other evening. He wasn't sure exactly why his friend disliked her so much; his friend Quatre had money and ran with some of the more wealthy students and he didn't seem bothered by that. Still, he couldn't let that worry him now; not when he had his plan.
"Oh I forgot to tell you," Duo said, narrowly avoiding colliding with a boy who had stopped to tie his shoelace, "Trowa and Quatre asked if you and me wanted to grab some breakfast with them tomorrow."
"Thanks, but I can't."
"Yeah?" Duo replied, looking surprised.
"Yeah, I'm busy. Maybe another time huh?" Heero said, distracted. "See you later Duo."
Duo watched; a frown etched onto his face, as Heero disappeared into the classroom.
"Man, Heero, you need to stop going to that library," he muttered to himself as he walked off down the corridor scratching his head, "all that reading's making you weird!"
Heero's plan was put in to action at exactly two-fourteen that same afternoon. The corridors were practically empty as the students settled into the final classes of the day when Heero walked up and purposefully smashed the glass on the small, red box mounted on the wall. Instantaneously, the corridors were filled with the wailing of the fire alarms as Heero stood and waited for something to happen. A head appeared from the doorway of the nearest classroom, which looked first up and then down the corridor before it noticed Heero surrounded by the telltale shards of glass. The owner of the head, a science teacher by the name of Mr McGuire, had issued Heero two weeks detention before the first student had even left the classroom for the fire assembly point.
Two weeks detention… it was music to Heero's ears.
TBC…