Author's note: Thanks for the reviews! Glad it's making some of you want to watch / re-watch the movie! - Swordy.
Some Kind of Wonderful - Part 5
It had been Quatre's plan, although for the millionth time that day, Duo couldn't quite believe that he had agreed to try it. Sat outside in the bright sunshine, the braided boy was unusually quiet as he waited for Heero to emerge from his last class of the day. Next to him, the boy dressed in sunglasses and an almost deafening Hawaiian shirt was an unwelcome but necessary part of what Quatre had called 'a sure-fire scheme'. Only Duo wasn't so sure and, as the bell rang signifying the end of the school day, it took every ounce of his willpower to remain seated.
"So um…" the boy called Howard said, interrupting Duo's reverie, "D'you want me to kiss you or feel you up or anything?"
Violet eyes fixed the boy in a glare that even Heero would have been proud of.
"D'you wanna die young?" came the icy response.
The boy looked at him dumbly, clearly oblivious to the threatening tone in Duo's voice. Howard was bisexual admirer of Duo's and so he had been nothing short of thrilled when Quatre had approached him for this little 'assignment'. In short, the plan was that Heero would see Duo with a potential suitor, get unbelievably jealous and forget Relena in an instant. The flaws in this plan were endless, but as Quatre had pointed out, it was still a plan. Aware of a set of eyes on him, Duo turned to see Howard studying him closely.
"You um, don't have a boyfriend do you?" the Hawaiian shirted boy asked.
Another glare.
"No…"
"You see, a lot of guys I know think you're…"
"What?"
"Confused."
Duo frowned, evidently missing the point. It was no great secret that he was gay so he wasn't sure how anyone could speculate that he was 'confused'.
"They think you really want to be a girl. It's the hair, you know?"
"Ah…" Duo said, finally understanding what this insufferable idiot was on about.
"But I know it's not true," Howard said, nodding confidently, "You wanna know how I know?"
The braided boy responded with a disinterested sideways glance. "Enlighten me."
"Because you radiate this sexual vibe. If you wanted to, you could be a guy like that."
He punctuated his last word with a snap of his fingers, so close to Duo's face that the violet-eyed boy flinched.
"Howard," Duo said, eyeing the other boy curiously, "This is 2002. Did you know that a guy can be whatever he wants to be?"
"I know, my dad's a beautician."
"That explains a lot about you, Howard."
Glancing beyond the glass doors, Duo spotted Heero striding down the hallway. Now was the time to put the plan into action he thought, vaguely aware that Howard was still talking to him.
"Just shut up and act like you like me," Duo snapped, interrupting the other boy.
Howard nodded thoughtfully, his eyes never leaving the braided Adonis before him.
"Okay. That will be absolutely no problem at all."
Eventually Heero emerged through the doors and made his way over to where Duo and Howard were sat on the low perimeter wall.
"Hey," he called to Duo who had pretended not to see him.
"Oh, Heero, hey!" Duo replied, feigning surprise. "What's up?"
"Listen, are you busy?" the Japanese boy asked, paying no attention to the boy in the loud Hawaiian shirt who appeared to be in some kind of trance.
"Oh no," Duo said, shooting a sideways glance at Howard, "We were just talking. Why?"
As Heero looked away briefly, Duo took the opportunity to nudge Howard in the ribs. In response to the unspoken command, the other boy started to stroke Duo's hair, attempting to give the impression of an intimate companion. Loathed of anyone touching his beloved locks, Duo gritted his teeth as he continued to smile sweetly at Heero.
"'Cause I would like to borrow your car…"
Noticing Duo's crestfallen expression, Heero simply assumed that Duo had other plans with his wheels.
"If you need it or have anything to do, I could come back round and pick you up in an hour or so and… well can I borrow it?"
"Well, where are you going?" Duo asked, hoping he sounded nonchalant.
"I um… I wanted to give Relena a ride home."
Before Duo could respond, Howard had jumped up, almost knocking Duo off the wall, to clasp Heero's hand in a firm handshake.
"Yeah by the way, congratulations dude, man she's smokin'!"
The winsome grin returned as Howard slapped Heero on the arm proudly, Duo all but forgotten. As they celebrated, the braided boy stared at the floor, mentally willing a bolt of lightning to burst forth from the bright blue sky and strike Howard dead. He almost wished the same for Heero but the thought of mourning his beloved without ever receiving a single kiss from him quickly erased the image.
"So is that okay?" Heero persisted, eager to catch Relena before she found an alternative ride home. Duo contemplated saying 'no' but trying to justify his reasons to Heero would be impossible, so instead he said: "I'd appreciate a couple of bucks for gas."
Howard laughed, sure that Duo was joking but he was quickly silenced by a stony violet-eyed stare. However, Heero's expression of surprise was more enduring. In all the time they had had the use of Duo's car, the braided boy had never once asked him to contribute to its running costs, although Heero had always helped out with servicing it and paying the bills.
"Sure," the Japanese boy said dubiously, "I'll come and pick you up in an hour or so okay?"
"It's just time, it's not like it means anything," came the abrupt reply.
"Thanks," Heero said, puzzled by Duo's less than enthusiastic attitude.
The Japanese boy then turned and jogged in the direction of the car park, leaving Duo and Howard alone once again.
"So you gotta wait around about an hour?" Howard said hopefully.
Duo sighed and looked away. "If I want to."
Any other human, Duo thought, would take the hint and leave but Howard continued to stare at him like a moth drawn to a particularly bright flame. After a brief silence, brought on by Heero's departure and the obvious failure of 'the plan', Howard was the first to speak.
"D'you know how much damage we could do to each other in an hour?"
Duo turned slowly to stare at the other boy disbelievingly. "It's kind of a revolting thought actually," he replied caustically.
"Really?" Howard said brightly, grabbing the braided boy's hand, "What's 'revolting' mean?"
"Oh my God," Duo said disgustedly as he jumped up, brushing the dirt off his pants, "Get your hands off me!"
He stalked off down the path; braid banging against his back rhythmically as the boy in the Hawaiian shirt watched his departure lustfully.
"Damn," he muttered, running a hand over his shaven head, "that is one cute ass!"
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For a brief moment Heero thought Relena had left already as he scanned the car park in vain. Just as he was about to give up however, he spotted the blonde haired beauty chatting to a friend as they headed towards an expensive looking 4x4 vehicle. Relieved that she hadn't already left, he vaulted a small wall to join the path that she walked down. Only several steps behind the two girls, Heero was able to catch the tail end of their conversation.
"For spring break? Are you out of your mind?" he heard the other girl say as she tossed her platinum blonde locks over her shoulder. "That's it; you are definitely coming to Aspen with us! Honestly, Relena, you'll love it! "
Before Relena could respond, Heero took his chance and called her name. Suddenly aware of the voice behind them, the two girls stopped and turned to see the messy haired Japanese boy waiting expectantly.
"Hello," he said, coming to stand a little closer to Relena, who tucked her hair behind her ear nervously.
"Um, hi," she replied, glancing anxiously at Dorothy.
"Would you like a ride home?" he asked, proud that his voice sounded a hell of a lot more confident that he felt.
"Um… er… I, well, I'm going home with Dorothy," she replied, her cheeks flushing crimson before she realised that her friend had never actually met Heero. "Um, Dorothy, this is Heero. Heero, this is Dorothy."
Heero had to turn to shake hands with the wealthy blonde who studied him thoroughly, her eyes making note of how he dressed, the way he wore his hair and so on. Heero suddenly felt like a mouse trapped in the scrutinising gaze of a particularly hungry cat. He turned back to face Relena, eager to be alone with her and away from the judgmental eyes of her companion.
"I was um… I was just hoping we could talk…" he said, gazing at her hopefully.
"Why don't you call me, yeah?"
Heero tried not to look too disappointed as Relena flashed him a shy smile.
"Um… okay," he replied, unable to tear himself away from her porcelain complexion and pale rosebud lips.
Sensing the awkward pause, Dorothy was the first to fill the silence. "Why don't you go with him, Relena?" she said innocently, avoiding the furious glare that Relena shot her when Heero wasn't looking.
Sensing that any further excuses were going to sound completely false, the dark blond girl reluctantly relented.
"Okay… um… sorry," she said sweeping a hand through her hair, "Where's your car?"
"I'll er.. I'll pull around the front," Heero said quickly, elated that Relena had agreed to go with him.
The two girls watched as the Japanese boy jogged away in the direction of the car park. When she was certain that he had gone, Relena turned to Dorothy crossly.
"Thanks a lot," she said sarcastically.
Dorothy's response was one of feigned innocence. "What?"
"Well you made me look really stupid!"
"I did not make you look really stupid! I'm just giving you the perfect opportunity to back out of the date! Tell him you're back with Treize."
"But I'm not back with Treize," Relena snapped.
"Okay, fine," Dorothy said in exasperation, "then tell him the truth. Tell him that you used him."
"I didn't use him."
"Oh really? You didn't use him to get away from Treize?"
"It wasn't deliberate," Relena said defensively, "I was mad and he stepped in. It was just bad circumstances, okay?"
"Okay", Dorothy said soothingly, "Regardless… the longer you wait to kill it, the worse it's gonna be."
She glanced across at Relena who was studying the floor miserably.
"You saw his face, I mean, he's completely deluded! Unless of course you really are interested in him…"
Relena looked up in time to see a sly smile pass across Dorothy's features as she headed away to her car. Relena briefly thought about what Dorothy had said before the corners of her own mouth twitched and turned upwards into a wide smirk.
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The car park was all but empty as Heero fired the engine for what seemed like the thousandth time.
"Come on…" he muttered under his breath, aware that he was pleading with a heap of scrap metal, but to no avail.
Spluttering and wheezing like an old man first thing in the morning, the car stubbornly refused to start, causing Heero's frustrations to eventually explode in a fit of steering wheel thumping and loud Japanese cursing.
TBC…