DISCLAIMER: If I owned Gundam Wing I wouldn't be sitting here typing away like a nancy-fan-girl. :P
A/N: Yeah, this chapter was a long time in coming....Exams, illness, yadda yadda...But it's here now :)
IMPORTANT: One reviewer remarked something along the lines of: 'It's pretty sad that you only write for the reviews.'...Well my answer to that is: I write for my own pleasure and self-satisfaction. I only TYPE and POST my stories on fanfiction for YOU GUYS. Hence my neurosis about reviews. No point writing it if people aren't reading. So read :)
"Students," the principal of Duo's school addressed all the children seated at assembly. "I know you've probably heard rumours about what happened yesterday morning. No doubt all of these are unfounded. We have been told by the first-grade student involved, an account of what happened, but we have not found the other two boys involved. Adrian Crawley and Timothy Green did not return home last night. Their families are anxious to have them back home."
In the fourth row, Jem Taylor rolled his eyes. He knew Adrian and Tim well, and he knew that their families wouldn't have said that to the principal. Not even out of pretence.
"If anyone knows anything of their whereabouts it is vital that they tell us."
Jem was sure that Principle Dickey was looking at him when he said that.
"The boy, Duo Maxwell is in intensive care at the moment and isn't allowed any visitors. He was only at this school for a week and didn't know many people, but his classmates in Mrs. Whilder's grade one class are going to be making cards for him and it would be nice if others would consider doing the same."
* * *
"So you have no idea where they are?" Principal Dickey inquired. "They were your best friends Jem. They just ran away without telling you?"
"I was in class sir. I doubt they would have thought to, what with all that was going on." Jem answered, glaring at his shoes. He resented being questioned by the man he has so little respect for.
"I'm sure their families wouldn't appreciate that the only person with a link to their son's whereabouts is withholding that information." Principal Dickey prompted greasily.
"I doubt their parents would care, sir." Jem tried to take the snarl out of his voice, but a bit slipped in.
Principal Dickey glared at the child in front of him. He was skinny and he only came up to his waist. His mop of cherry red hair covered his black, glaring eyes. Principal Dickey considered himself the boy's physical and intellectual better, yet the boy still spoke to him in a voice dripping with derision. /Doesn't he see my authoritative stature? I am not a man to be reckoned with, yet every word of his mocks me. And worse still, I actually FEEL mocked./
"Harrumph...it matters little whether they do or do not. That point is not up for debate. What matters is that home is where they belong right now."
"I couldn't agree with you less, sir." Jem answered, making the respectful term 'sir' into what sounded like and insult.
Ignoring Principal Dickey as he lectured him, Jem sighed and looked out of the window. He wished he DID know where Ade and Tim were. /Guys, I wish you would have thought to take me when you ran away..../
* * *
It was his second night in the hospital and Duo had only just drifted off to sleep when he felt a person prodding his arm. He groaned. /Not more doctors.../
"Stop it! You're hurting him!" he heard a voice whisper.
Duo opened his eyes to see two pale faces staring at him from the darkness of the hospital room. His eyes popped wide open.
"Wh- who are you?" Duo wished his dad were here. Aunty Clare had made him stay home for a rest because he hadn't slept in twenty-four hours. It was just him and the two ghost faces in the dark hospital room.
"Ade and Tim." Tim whispered, hoping the kid wouldn't scream, or cry or attack them. Not that he looked like he was in the condition to attack anyone.
To Ade and Tim's utter surprise, Duo smiled.
"I thought you guys were ghosts."
Tim smiled and Ade also gave a nervous smile, fidgeting and looking at the door as though he wanted to run away.
"How'd you guys get in?"
"Snuck past wardens."
"What time is it?"
"11."
"Oh." Duo didn't know what else to say. "Um..are you guys okay?"
Tim and Ade looked at each other.
"How do you mean? I mean, we were the ones that...." Tim trailed off.
"Dad told me you guys ran away." Duo explained quietly. Ade and Tim looked at each other again.
"Yeah." Ade said softly. It was the first he'd said to Duo since they came. He felt so horrible around Duo; like a monster.
"Is it because of me? I mean, are you guys going to go back home? I..I'm sorry."
Tim raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"You're sorry?? WE'RE sorry Duo. You have no reason to blame yourself for ANYTHING that happened. Don't worry about us. It's not your fault we ran away. It just all happened around the same time." Ade blurted out.
"Well, um...why did you guys run away then?" Duo wondered.
"Um..." Tim but his lip and looked at Ade. Ade shook his head and looked as though he was trying not to cry or run away. Tim felt trapped. They owed Duo an explanation at the very least, but what was he supposed to say? 'We're victims of child abuse'? Did the six-year-old even know what that meant?
"Our parents....aren't very nice to us." Tim started, still looking into Ade's eyes. "They, sometimes get....angry or frustrated and...hurt us. Badly. And if they found out what we did to you they'd be REALLY angry." Tim looked at Duo, waiting for his reaction, and Ade looked at his feet, feeling terrible. He felt so horrible that Duo knew. It was still embedded in his mind that he was at fault and deserved to be beaten.
Duo's eyes widened. He had the feeling they didn't mean that they just got spanked. Now that he knew this, he looked closer at Ade. His arm was a bit crooked and he had old yellow bruises on various parts of his body. Tim had a few scars on his arms and old bruises too. Duo could only just see in the dark, but he was pretty sure that the pock-like scars on Adrian weren't chicken-pox scars. His skin looked a bit waxy on his neck and shoulder too, like it had been burnt.
"....Why??" Duo didn't understand.
"I...don't know how to explain. I don't think I can. Some people are just like that." Tim answered.
"Well...where are you guys going to go?"
"Not sure...doesn't matter, we'll come back and visit you in a few days at night time."
Duo grinned at that. "I'll look forward to it."
Ade smiled hesitantly. 'You will?"
"Yeah." Duo smiled at the boy who looked much smaller now than he did a few days ago.
"Seeyah then." Tim smiled, then he and Ade snuck out.
* * *
A/N: Once again, 10 reviews needed to continue :) If you want more, review...so simple a system :)
A/N: Yeah, this chapter was a long time in coming....Exams, illness, yadda yadda...But it's here now :)
IMPORTANT: One reviewer remarked something along the lines of: 'It's pretty sad that you only write for the reviews.'...Well my answer to that is: I write for my own pleasure and self-satisfaction. I only TYPE and POST my stories on fanfiction for YOU GUYS. Hence my neurosis about reviews. No point writing it if people aren't reading. So read :)
"Students," the principal of Duo's school addressed all the children seated at assembly. "I know you've probably heard rumours about what happened yesterday morning. No doubt all of these are unfounded. We have been told by the first-grade student involved, an account of what happened, but we have not found the other two boys involved. Adrian Crawley and Timothy Green did not return home last night. Their families are anxious to have them back home."
In the fourth row, Jem Taylor rolled his eyes. He knew Adrian and Tim well, and he knew that their families wouldn't have said that to the principal. Not even out of pretence.
"If anyone knows anything of their whereabouts it is vital that they tell us."
Jem was sure that Principle Dickey was looking at him when he said that.
"The boy, Duo Maxwell is in intensive care at the moment and isn't allowed any visitors. He was only at this school for a week and didn't know many people, but his classmates in Mrs. Whilder's grade one class are going to be making cards for him and it would be nice if others would consider doing the same."
* * *
"So you have no idea where they are?" Principal Dickey inquired. "They were your best friends Jem. They just ran away without telling you?"
"I was in class sir. I doubt they would have thought to, what with all that was going on." Jem answered, glaring at his shoes. He resented being questioned by the man he has so little respect for.
"I'm sure their families wouldn't appreciate that the only person with a link to their son's whereabouts is withholding that information." Principal Dickey prompted greasily.
"I doubt their parents would care, sir." Jem tried to take the snarl out of his voice, but a bit slipped in.
Principal Dickey glared at the child in front of him. He was skinny and he only came up to his waist. His mop of cherry red hair covered his black, glaring eyes. Principal Dickey considered himself the boy's physical and intellectual better, yet the boy still spoke to him in a voice dripping with derision. /Doesn't he see my authoritative stature? I am not a man to be reckoned with, yet every word of his mocks me. And worse still, I actually FEEL mocked./
"Harrumph...it matters little whether they do or do not. That point is not up for debate. What matters is that home is where they belong right now."
"I couldn't agree with you less, sir." Jem answered, making the respectful term 'sir' into what sounded like and insult.
Ignoring Principal Dickey as he lectured him, Jem sighed and looked out of the window. He wished he DID know where Ade and Tim were. /Guys, I wish you would have thought to take me when you ran away..../
* * *
It was his second night in the hospital and Duo had only just drifted off to sleep when he felt a person prodding his arm. He groaned. /Not more doctors.../
"Stop it! You're hurting him!" he heard a voice whisper.
Duo opened his eyes to see two pale faces staring at him from the darkness of the hospital room. His eyes popped wide open.
"Wh- who are you?" Duo wished his dad were here. Aunty Clare had made him stay home for a rest because he hadn't slept in twenty-four hours. It was just him and the two ghost faces in the dark hospital room.
"Ade and Tim." Tim whispered, hoping the kid wouldn't scream, or cry or attack them. Not that he looked like he was in the condition to attack anyone.
To Ade and Tim's utter surprise, Duo smiled.
"I thought you guys were ghosts."
Tim smiled and Ade also gave a nervous smile, fidgeting and looking at the door as though he wanted to run away.
"How'd you guys get in?"
"Snuck past wardens."
"What time is it?"
"11."
"Oh." Duo didn't know what else to say. "Um..are you guys okay?"
Tim and Ade looked at each other.
"How do you mean? I mean, we were the ones that...." Tim trailed off.
"Dad told me you guys ran away." Duo explained quietly. Ade and Tim looked at each other again.
"Yeah." Ade said softly. It was the first he'd said to Duo since they came. He felt so horrible around Duo; like a monster.
"Is it because of me? I mean, are you guys going to go back home? I..I'm sorry."
Tim raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"You're sorry?? WE'RE sorry Duo. You have no reason to blame yourself for ANYTHING that happened. Don't worry about us. It's not your fault we ran away. It just all happened around the same time." Ade blurted out.
"Well, um...why did you guys run away then?" Duo wondered.
"Um..." Tim but his lip and looked at Ade. Ade shook his head and looked as though he was trying not to cry or run away. Tim felt trapped. They owed Duo an explanation at the very least, but what was he supposed to say? 'We're victims of child abuse'? Did the six-year-old even know what that meant?
"Our parents....aren't very nice to us." Tim started, still looking into Ade's eyes. "They, sometimes get....angry or frustrated and...hurt us. Badly. And if they found out what we did to you they'd be REALLY angry." Tim looked at Duo, waiting for his reaction, and Ade looked at his feet, feeling terrible. He felt so horrible that Duo knew. It was still embedded in his mind that he was at fault and deserved to be beaten.
Duo's eyes widened. He had the feeling they didn't mean that they just got spanked. Now that he knew this, he looked closer at Ade. His arm was a bit crooked and he had old yellow bruises on various parts of his body. Tim had a few scars on his arms and old bruises too. Duo could only just see in the dark, but he was pretty sure that the pock-like scars on Adrian weren't chicken-pox scars. His skin looked a bit waxy on his neck and shoulder too, like it had been burnt.
"....Why??" Duo didn't understand.
"I...don't know how to explain. I don't think I can. Some people are just like that." Tim answered.
"Well...where are you guys going to go?"
"Not sure...doesn't matter, we'll come back and visit you in a few days at night time."
Duo grinned at that. "I'll look forward to it."
Ade smiled hesitantly. 'You will?"
"Yeah." Duo smiled at the boy who looked much smaller now than he did a few days ago.
"Seeyah then." Tim smiled, then he and Ade snuck out.
* * *
A/N: Once again, 10 reviews needed to continue :) If you want more, review...so simple a system :)