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My Sister's Best Friend

Ch.2

Blue sky, all over; not one grey cloud in sight, she could see it everywhere when she looked through the large windows lining the walls of the airport. It was such a pleasant change from the frost bitten streets of New York City. She suddenly found herself wishing December could always be like this, no matter where she was. Perhaps her decision in coming here with Hilde hadn't been such a bad one. Relena couldn't really make out much of the crowd in front of her, or see exactly where Hilde was taking her. The airport was thick with all sorts of people, different ethnicities, cultures…there was even a woman yelling at her husband in the corner in some Oriental dialect that she couldn't understand. It was all so strange…but it was definitely a good change from her college life. She needed a breath of fresh air.

Hilde looked over to her best friend as she watched all the different sights around her. To Hilde, the airport, or California for all that matters, wasn't very interesting at all, since she had lived almost all her life there. But Relena had said she had never been to an airport or the West coast. She hadn't even ever been outside of New Jersey until she went to college.

Relena continued looking around her, at all the different shops and lunch stands. This definitely was a welcomed change. But that same, dreadful feeling still lurked about her. An ever present, dark cloud that hovered above her.

Relena stopped in the crowded airport suddenly, that anxiety building back up in her stomach. She griped her suit case handlebar a bit tighter than necessary and she could feel her palms beginning to perspire. Hilde was leading the way through the thick mass of all different sorts of people and every now and then having to move out of the way of a huge luggage cart, or something equally as large.

"Come on, Relena," called Hilde over her shoulder, "keep going. Just push your way through!" Hilde turned around completely and sighed as she watched her friend swallow her anxiety and stride forward, feigning confidence as best as she could. She was sorry for Relena. All the events in her life had seemed tragic, and now, with her brother's condition…she was impressed that Relena could stand, never mind smile everyday. Hilde had spunk and fire, but she wasn't sure if she had the sort of inner strength Relena seemed to have. "Come on Relena, we just have a little further till we get to my brother's car." It was small white lie, but she had to tell her something to keep her going. Looking harder at her friend, she noticed her face was paler than usual. "Are you okay, Relena?"

"Uh, eh…yeah!" She smiled at her friend in reassurance, "I'm okay." And then she noticed Hilde's doubtful look, "Honest, I'm fine."

Hilde sighed and shrugged, "Whatever you say Relena. Only you can be the true judge of yourself," she gestured to her friend's pale face and small frame, "health wise, I suppose, too." Relena nodded and tugged harder at her luggage case, urging it to follow her footsteps along the tiled walkway. They soon exited the mass of people and the building and walked up the catwalk to a stone fountain in the center of a courtyard. Relena looked all around her, at the trees of the courtyard they were standing in, taking in every aspect of the world surrounding her.

Hilde continued walking until she reached the iron bench in a corner, not too far away from the parking lot. "I've gotta call my brother," she said, looking at Relena and pulling out her cell phone at the same time, "I have no idea where he is…"

"Oh…" Relena had thought she had said they weren't too far from the car. 'But that's okay,' she reminded herself, 'Her brother will be here soon, and there really isn't anything to get worked up about.' She breathed in once, then exhaled, but she found the popular relaxation exercise her mother had told her about didn't really work for her. That feeling was coming back again. That unexplained, apprehensive feeling. It was so childish, yet it felt so real. Her hands clenched involuntarily around the suitcase handle bar; her fingernails digging into the hard plastic. She watched, as her palms grew moist with perspiration and her breathing became ragged and shallow, as Hilde dialed her brother's number. Hilde seemed slightly impatient, maybe agitated, as she waited, listening to each ring, over, and over, until…

"Hello?"

"Hey Heero, where are you? I thought you were gonna meet us at the court yard," she paused, and Relena watched as Hilde listened to her brother over the phone, "Oh." She finally said, "Well, I guess we'll just wait for you then. Bye." She flipped the phone closed, then turned to Relena, her annoyed expression even more prominent, "He says he's caught in traffic." She sighed and collapsed on the bench next to her. "It'll probably take a while. Why don't you have a seat, Relena?" Relena nodded and pried her fingers from their death grip on her luggage and stiffly walked over to the bench, cautiously sitting down.

'What's wrong with me? I should just relax. Nothing good can come of having an anxiety attack.' Hilde glanced up from her slumped over position on the far end of the bench to look at her best friend. She seemed tense and the only thing Hilde could think of, that would be bothering Relena, would have to be her brother.

"Relena?" Hilde placed her hand on her friend's shoulder and right as she did so, the girl flinched away, "Relena, what's the matter? Is it your..."

"I'm fine." Relena said and smiled over to her friend, "I'm fine Hilde. It's just been a long flight." She kept that smile plastered over her face, feigning contentment, and Hilde's worry grew.

"Are you sure?" Relena nodded, still smiling brightly, like the sun's rays.

"Positive."

'No, more like a negative.' Thought Hilde as she continued to stare into her friend's azure eyes. Relena was like that; she always smiled, even when she was in pain, or stressed. She never burdened anyone with her problems, and in the process, making it very hard to get to know her. She didn't want anyone to know the real Relena, and it all saddened Hilde. But she was determined to befriend her lonely companion even more, no matter what it took. Because to Hilde, no one could survive in this world without a little help. And right now, Relena needed all the help she could get.

"So," Relena began. She was calming down with each passing second, "what are the plans for Christmas? I never even thought to ask you when you invited me along." Hilde blinked from her stare and looked off into the distance, wondering what the hell had she planned?

"I have no idea," she finally said, "I just needed to get away from school, what with the finals coming up and all." She sighed, "I hate finals." Relena chuckled a bit, something Hilde had noted she hadn't done in quite a while.

"Me too." Hilde gave a half grin and looked to Relena.

"But seriously, I don't really know what we're gonna do." She shrugged, "Watch movies, if all else fails, and hang out with Heero's geeky friends." Relena laughed again, and Hilde felt the need to continue whatever had made her friend laugh. "Yeah, they are pretty geeky, all of 'em. They just sit around, fiddling with computers and crap all day." Hilde grinned, "Yeah, but they're all cool, in their own, dorky sort of way." Relena continued to laugh, her picture of her best friend's little brother growing more clear with each thing said about him.

"From what you've told me," Relena said, her laughter dieing down slightly, "your brother seems like a very interesting person. Tell me, I forget, how old is he, again?"

"Eighteen. Just turned it actually, two months ago." Relena seemed somewhat surprised at Hilde's answer.

"Oh," she paused, then said slowly, "I always thought he had been younger than that…" Hilde laughed. "What?"

"You probably got Heero's friend, Duo, mixed up with him." Hilde beamed at her friend, "Compared to Heero, Duo seems like a child sometimes." And then she looked thoughtful, "Though, he is kinda cute." She continued to smile, "Don't worry, you'll meet him soon." She blinked.

"Who, Heero?"

"No silly," Hilde said through her laughter, "Duo."

"Oh." Relena laughed, "Of course." She didn't know why, but all the sudden, her face became really warm, almost like it was near a furnace. Her image of Heero had been somewhat the equivalent of a child, just by the way Hilde adored him. But now, she seemed to be thinking of him not as a child, but as an adult. 'A man…'

"Relena?" She blinked, knocking her previous thoughts away and looked over to Hilde, but noticed she had stood up with her bags in her hands.

"Huh?"

"My brother's here." She said, looking at the silver SUV that had pulled up on the side of the curb. A man, a good half-a-foot above Relena's height, got out of the car. From what Relena could make out of him, he had a wild mess of brown hair and a tall, lean, rigid stance against the car door. "Heero!" she heard Hilde call out, her hand waving franticly in the air to attract his attention. He caught sight of the two of them and pushed away from his stance against the car. As he grew closer, covering the distance of 30 feet between them, she could make out his features a bit better. He was young, but he was definitely not the child she had envisioned him as. "Hey," Hilde called gently to her little brother, walking toward him, "what's up? Haven't seen you in forever and a half."

Relena caught sight of his small smile as he walked closer and watched the two as Hilde leaned up to embrace her little brother. The picture of sibling affection gave out a warm feeling, to the equally warm California day. Relena now knew why Hilde spoke of her little brother with such esteem. He seemed so kind. Heero gave his sister a soft, genuine smile as she pulled away, saying, "Brother, this is my best friend, Relena Peacecraft." And before he could acknowledge the girl in front of him, his sister turned around to Relena, her thumb pointed behind her to her brother. "And Relena, this is my squirt-" and then she glanced back, remembering the six inches he toward above her and sighed, "or not so squirt, brother Heero." And then, Heero got the chance to acknowledge the girl in front of him. For a single moment, right before he glanced away, his night blue eyes locked on to hers and she could have sworn she had stopped breathing.

He nodded, "It's a pleasure." And then that brief moment passed like the lightning that had seemed to have struck her on this beautifully flawless day.

"Like wise."

Heero glanced up at the rearview mirror that reflected the two girls in the back seat chatting away; very animatedly. Well, from Heero's perspective, Hilde was the one doing all the talking. It was nice, seeing them together; with his sister happy. Hilde always seemed to be happy, but that girl, Relena Peacecraft, was an entire different story. She didn't look sad or depressed, but she didn't look happy. Not like his sister did, anyway. Heero looked on to Relena, memorizing every feature he could see from his position in front of the car. She was pretty, he would admit that much to himself. With the way her strait, sandy blond hair flowed over her shoulders, anyone would say she was. He glanced back over to the empty front passenger seat with the open 'Time' magazine. Her picture beamed up at him, with that man Milliardo, standing right beside her. Heero studied the picture further, before looking back to the road. He was certain it was Relena in that picture, but he wasn't about to go and ask her about it. He would ask Hilde.

Whatever Relena and Milliardo's relation was, whether it was siblings, cousins, or spouses, he knew from experience it was all very hard to cope with. He glanced back to the mirror, watching Relena again. The two probably weren't spouses, although it was very well possible. He couldn't remember how old Hilde had told him she was, or even if she had told him. Still, Relena looked no older than twenty, and in Heero's mind, to young to be married.

'But, then again,' he mused, 'some people do marry young.' He shook his head lightly, 'But I don't think she's married…it just doesn't fit.' He glanced back at the magazine's picture, 'Most probable explanation would be for them to be siblings…can't be married.' Or at least, he didn't want her to be. But he didn't' want to think about the reasons behind that.

"Hey, Heero," Hilde called up into the front of the car. Heero blinked, suddenly loosing his train of thought, "Mom doesn't have to work, or anything, does she?" He sighed, leaning further back into his seat.

"Yeah, actually, she does. Full time, until Christmas day..." Hilde sighed as well, leaning further back into her own seat, almost mimicking her brother.

Relena watched as the two siblings conversed. The whole time she had been talking to Hilde, Heero had been looking at her. Every time she would look up into the rearview mirror, those piercing night blue eyes would lock with hers. It would only last for a moment, until she looked away, but it was still confusing. She wasn't sure if he was attracted to her, or thought she had something on her face. She blinked, diving into her purse in pursuit of her compact mirror. Maybe she did have something on her face and she just didn't know it. She gazed into the small, circular mirror. Everything seemed to be alright; nothing on her face.

Relena looked to the actual Heero, rather than using a mirror to view him, as he talked to his sister. Hilde and he seemed like night and day to her. She would be describing things in long, energetic sentences packed full with her personality, and then he would answer her in short two to three word sentences. It was odd to think of them as siblings, none the less, close siblings. He was so introverted, and she was anything but introverted. She smiled sadly, looking out her window at the passing traffic. Milliardo and her where like that, so different, but in a sense, so alike. She looked back to Heero. Maybe he and Hilde where like that, so alike, yet so different.

"Relena," instead of Hilde being the one to say something to her, like it had been the entire ride so far, Heero had spoken. Relena straitened up in her seat, folding her palms in her lap, trying not be surprised that he was going to actually talk to her.

"Yes?"

"You ever been to California?" he asked, glancing out his side window for a few moments before looking back at the road.

She shook her head; anticipating what he had to say next. He didn't say anything for a moment and she wondered why. And then she felt like banging her head on the window. 'He's driving, you idiot. Of course he's not saying anything, he can't see you!'

"Uh, no. I've never been here before." Hilde chuckled a bit from her seat on the left side of the car.

"She's never been anywhere. Except for New York, Jersey has been her whole life." Relena glanced over to her friend sharply, slightly annoyed that she would give away that she was a small town girl.

'Well that's irrational. Why would Heero care that I'm a small town girl? I mean, why should he...? Why should I care?'

"I see," she heard him say and looked back to him.

"Huh?"

"So," he continued, "You've never seen the islands off the coast?"

She blinked, "What islands?" He pointed to the right.

"Those islands." She followed the direction his finger was pointed, across the glass like sea, until she caught sight of what he wanted her to see. In the distance, she could see a long island that stretched out and then another one not too far from it. "Anacapa, and Santa Cruz." With the way the sun was shimmering through the air into the water, she couldn't help but feel content.

"Beautiful."

Hilde, on the other hand, was anything but content. Her mouth was set in a perfect Cheshire grin; mischief written all over. She knew why Heero would show Relena the Channel Islands. She also knew for a fact that when ever he wanted to impress a girl, he would show her the spectacular view of the islands. Her brother wasn't normally a flirt, but exceptions could sometimes be made. She smirked and leaned over the front seat, laying her cheek on the head rest.

"It's a beautiful view, isn't it Relena?" The blond girl nodded and smiled brightly at her friend.

"It's so wonderful. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it." Hilde would have continued with her little scheme to expose Heero's infatuation with Relena, if it hadn't been for that smile. It wasn't one of those 'typical Relena' smiles, where she was just feigning happiness. This smile was a genuine one. It was full joy and contentment, so contrasting to all her other smiles. And, as Hilde looked at her friend's crimson stained cheeks, she could tell her brother's crush was returned. She shook her head, smiling slightly.

'And they just met, too. They already like each other, it's kinda cute.' She looked to her brother, and then she looked to Relena. Heero's cheeks where also stained a light pink color, similar to Relena's. Relena was happy, there wasn't any doubt about that. Even if she was listening to Heero go on about his trip to one of the islands with his two friends, Trowa and Duo. It was unusual for Heero to be so talkative with anyone, unless he was on a sugar high, which she doubted he had been on since he was in fourth grade, which proves how unlike himself he was being to be so talkative. But the unusualness wasn't unwelcome, by any means.

Glancing back and forth between the two, as one talked to the other, she made her decision. If Heero could continue to make that genuine, beautiful smile spread across her face every day, and she could get him to open up a bit more, then Hilde would have absolutely no objections to giving them a slight push in the right direction...towards each other. She grinned; a new mischievous thought coming to her mind.

'It's matchmaking time!'

To be continued...

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