I ask that you forgive my incredible lack of speed: Philosophy leaves the head swimming, Literature robs the intellect of power, and Human Sexual Biology drowns my thoughts with facts and memorized terms.
"I know they say that couples should spend quality time together," Miss Aqua shook her head as she marked down Lina and Zelgadis, "But aren't the two of you overdoing it?"
"Maybe you're right Auntie," Lina winked, "But it's cheaper than a movie or dinner."
"You two are just lucky this doesn't affect your graduation."
"Well, it is a perk."
Lina smiled and shrugged, then took her seat next to Zelgadis.
"By the way, what did the two of you do to get sent in?"
Lina frowned, "Some stupid preppy freshman bitch was trying to make a pass at Zelgadis, and I warned her about it."
"But unfortunately, the freshman didn't respect Lina's warning," Zelgadis added, "And so they got into a little scuffle."
"And hero boy here thought he could try and break it up, but the freshman bitch's boyfriend disagreed as well."
"And so here we are," Zelgadis admitted.
Miss Aqua shook her head and chuckled, "Very well, as long as neither of you cause trouble in here. You two are quite an item."
After Miss Aqua had gone, Zelgadis turned to Lina, draping his arm across her shoulders, "Hey, I've given that song you've been working on some thought."
"Yeah," she smiled, "What about it?"
"I think you should call it 'Guardian'."
"Really? I thought we might be able to create something a little more original than that."
Zelgadis shrugged, "Sometimes the simplest name is the one that people remember. And besides, it is what the song's about, right?"
"Well, yeah," Lina grumbled as she realized he was right, "but it seems too simple," then growled, "Oh, this is so frustrating."
Zelgadis chuckled, and Lina narrowed her eyes at him, "Shut up; I hate you."
Before Zelgadis could respond though, he heard the click of high heels, He turned his attention and immediately froze; Miss Naga was making her way down the aisle toward the two of them, a crimson rose in her hair just above the left ear.
"Miss Inverse, I wanted to be a generous teacher and deliver today's assignment to you while you were in detention hall again."
Lina half rolled her eyes, "Thanks, I guess." She took the paper Miss Naga extended and folded it up, sticking it in her back pocket, "Have a good day, Miss Naga."
Miss Naga laughed, and Zelgadis felt his spine attempt to bury itself further into his back and his skin pull tightly against itself. He watched her turn and leave, stopping only a moment to speak with Miss Aqua before walking out the door.
"Thank god she's gone now."
Lina nodded, "Agreed." If anyone had the potential to drive Lina insane, it was Miss Naga, with her eardrum-shattering laughter and her Claire University arrogance. It was rumored that she was a kinky woman with a penchant for peculiar fetish items. Judging from appearances, Lina could easily see why some would imagine her a leather-strapped dominatrix goddess. Lina started to chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Zelgadis raised an eyebrow. Lina leaned over and whispered in his ear, and his face contorted in disgust.
"Ewww! Lina, that's so wrong," Zelgadis squirmed, the image of Miss Naga in tight leather unpleasantly frozen in his mind, then he reconsidered, "Though it is strangely appropriate." His mind started to drift, and he started to remember Halloween.
Lina's fist connected dully with his shoulder, and he cursed, "Dammit Lina, what did you do that for?"
"For being sick," Lina said and looked away as a heavy blush set to her face. Whatever the expression on his face was, she didn't like it, "Look, I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?"
"Bathroom."
Zelgadis only nodded and watched her leave, his own thoughts escaping him. He drifted back to the night Lina and he had sex. Though it was only a week past, he could still feel the warmth of her body, feel the soft touch of her hands on his, and smell her hair still hot and fresh. Even the small tears that formed at the corners of her eyes when she had climaxed was a sharp memory, and the heat rose in his face and chest.
Buy why did he still feel like this? Certainly every guy didn't feel like this his first time with a girl. It was exciting, but that feeling should have worn off. Confused and not wanting to deal with it at that moment, Zelgadis set his head down on the desk and closed his eyes. Maybe later.
Lina closed the toilet stall and sat down on the toilet. She didn't really need to use it, but she did need somewhere to escape to. Every time she looked at Zelgadis her mind floated back to the week before, when she had felt Zelgadis' embrace, his strong arms, careful hands, and gentle approach. How he had cradled her kindly, but pinched her when he was being playful, his passion woven into each careful touch.
Her face grew hot and her heart pounded, and she suddenly missed him. Now that they had slept together, what was next? Before, when the thought of sex was still so, they didn't have to worry about what the next step was, or how things would work afterward. They were already in a committed relationship, in more than one way Lina thought privately, and they had already had sex. What was the next logical step to take?
Her mind drifted over the possibilities. She saw herself and Zel onstage, singing for a crowd of thousands, their own band the premiere show. Her mind changed images, several pictures of Zel and she in different sex positions. Though they were interesting she pushed them from her mind, focusing on the next image that came to mind; Zelgadis in a tuxedo and herself in a wedding dress, coming out of church with Xellos and friends in tow. Would Xellos be a better groomsman or bride's maid? She giggled at the thought, but sobered once the next image came to mind; her swollen abdomen very obvious under her apron and dress, Zelgadis in a t-shirt and jeans, the two of them working on a song together.
"If there is a powerful being watching out for me, please let him/her/it that I have no intention of moving that far forward as of yet. Ooh, this still doesn't solve my problem! Why can't it work like Gourry and Sylphiel does?"
Zelgadis looked up as he felt a hand brush his shoulder. Miss Aqua smiled pleasantly and nodded, "Something troubling you, Zelgadis?" Her voice was sincere, and yet he didn't want to drag her into it. His feelings for Lina were his own private thing to deal with.
"No, not really," Zelgadis tried to be nonchalant, "I'm just tired today."
"That's certainly understandable," Miss Aqua said, "But I'd be sure to find some energy later, if you want to keep up." With a warm smile hinting at mischief she proceeded back to the desk, leaving Zelgadis' mouth agape.
Fighting back blush, Zelgadis nearly shouted, "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" How did she know what he'd been thinking of? Miss Aqua looked to him and chuckled.
"You'll find out soon enough."
He saw Lina emerge through the doorway again. She looked distracted, and he watched her carefully.
"You okay?" he asked as she took her desk again. For a moment she did not respond, her eyes staring ahead, face embalmed in a pensive expression. After he began to speak again though, she turned her face to him, "What Zel?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
"You look worried about something."
Lina huffed, "Yeah right, me worry?"
Zelgadis was about to present his argument when the bell rang, ending the class period. Lina picked up her things, Zelgadis quick to follow, and the two of them emptied into the hallway. Zelgadis wondered if he should mention what Miss Aqua had said, but thought better of it.
"Zel, how soon do you think you can be ready for performance?"
Zelgadis stopped for a moment, unsure if what he'd heard wasn't a mistake, "Performance?"
"Yeah, when do you think you can be ready?"
Zelgadis pondered it for a moment, "Well, if you give me the music to follow, I'd give it about five days."
Lina smiled as she produced a manila envelope, "Good, you have four." She handed him the envelope, and he read the sticky note attached.
"Four days," Zelgadis whined, "But that means that we have to get everyone together and rehearse like there's no tomorrow. Damn, even Shitenoe didn't play with this short of notice, or Chimera for that matter."
Lina frowned, "Shitenoe managed to design a performance program and play it in two days after Geizneau had a nasty ski accident that put him out of commission for a month, so don't tell me four days is impossible."
"It's not Lina," Zelgadis said, "It's just that I'm amazed you're so confident about this."
"It's my survival tool, Zel, and you know it," Lina laughed, "Of course, your defenses are a little different, but pretty easy to get around." She felt a little crazy to be flirting with him at that moment, but in its own way it excited her, made her want to take it farther, to lean over and kiss him.
As Lina moved in closer, Zelgadis felt the heat rising in his face She had that look in her eyes, a shining hunger that he doubted she was fully aware of, a hunger that started a similar one in his guts, pushing into the pit of his abdomen.
"Hey you two, get a room!" someone shouted. Lina's expression changed, and she glowered in the direction of the voice.
"Go screw yourself. You don't like it, you don't have to look!" She grabbed Zelgadis by arm and pulled him along, forcing him to change his pace, "Some people, I swear!"
Zelgadis could only shrug as he walked along with her. Suddenly, his eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar purple haircut, "Xellos!"
Nearly jumping, Xellos whipped around and hid his hands behind his back.
"Hey Xellos," Lina called as they approached. Xellos only nodded and smiled, his hands glued behind him, "How are things?"
"Um, pretty good," Xellos responded, his voice a little nervous, "You?"
"Fine, just fine. By the way, we are getting together to practice tonight; we put on our next concert in four days," Lina's eyes sank, and she noticed a slip of blue paper and a pen drifting behind Xellos, "So Xellos, what do you have there?"
Xellos looked over his shoulder and panicked, "Um, nothing."
Lina grabbed at it, "Really? It doesn't look like nothing." Though Xellos was nimble, Lina's dexterity was greater as she snatched the paper from him, "Hmm, very nice Xellos."
"Hey, give that back," Xellos halfway complained as he tried to take it from Lina, who held him at arm's reach with her left arm.
"No way, this is good…"
Zelgadis, who snatched the paper from her, interrupted Lina "I'm interested too." Turning his back to read, Zelgadis glanced at the handwriting, loose but attractive scrawl, and shrugged his shoulders to get Xellos' weight off of him and his arms out of reach.
How I wish we could sleep on clouds
The wind whistling through thy sea of hair
The emeralds you possess blink like stars
To lay within the fold of your…
"Xellos, did you write this?" Zelgadis asked as he turned around. Xellos, halfway blushing, yanked the poem from Zelgadis.
"Yes," Xellos said as he turned from them, "Well, I'll see the two of you at practice tonight, same time as usual?"
"Six," Lina reminded him. Xellos nodded and disappeared into the crowd. After he had gone, Zelgadis looked over to Lina.
"What do you think that was about?"
"Don't know," Lina chuckled, then spoke in a baby voice "Maybe Xellos finally has a widdle cwush. Aw, how cute!"
Zelgadis shuddered, "Don't do that, you freak me out when you act like that." Lina only laughed and pulled him along toward her locker. Zelgadis suddenly realized something, "Lina, I have to go talk with Rezo about this."
"Okay, well, why don't you go do that, and I'll meet you there?" Zelgadis nodded, "Good, meet you there."
Zelgadis let go of Lina and proceeded down the hall toward the chemistry room where Rezo taught. Sure enough, he found Rezo filing away the assignments handed in that day. Oddly enough, a vase sat on his desk, roses peaking out of the dark green glass in a clustered bloom.
"Hello Rezo,"
"Oh, Zelgadis, you surprised me," Rezo said as he looked up from the pile of papers, "I heard you were in detention again."
"Yes," Zelgadis rolled his eyes, "What else is new?"
"You know, if you keep that up you'll fail your classes," Rezo countered. Even though he'd said this nearly a thousand times to Zelgadis, and despite the fact the Zelgadis was a strong B-student, he still had to at least play the part of the enforcer. Though he'd never admit it to Zelgadis, he knew he was no longer in real control, "At least I hope it teaches you some sort of humility." He pulled off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "So, what did you come up here for?"
Zelgadis nodded, "Right, well, the band is doing a concert in four days, and I was wondering if…"
"Sure," Rezo responded, "I don't mind if the band comes over and practices."
Zelgadis sighed with relief, "Thanks Rezo."
Rezo added, "And, because I know how much of a hassle it can be to transport everything and drive so much, I'm inviting the band to stay over the four days until the concert."
Zelgadis' jaw hung slack, and he reached forward and put his hand against Rezo's forehead, "Are you feeling okay, or are the chemistry fumes starting to affect you?" Rezo only smiled, pulled Zelgadis' hand from his head, and put his glasses back on, blinking pleasantly.
"I'm just feeling a little generous, that's all," Rezo said, his voice lighter and friendlier than ever, "I'll see you and the band practicing at six then?"
"Yeah, six," Zelgadis said as he turned and looked at Lina, who stood a few feet behind him and simply shrugged in response. He cocked his head toward the door, and she nodded, leading him out of the room.
Once in the hall, Lina raised an eyebrow, "What the hell was that?"
Zelgadis shook his head in disbelief, "Hell if I should know. Well, at least is was easy convincing him."
"True," Lina agreed.
"Roses?"
"What?" Lina asked. Zelgadis' hand had begun stroking his chin, and he stared pensively at the floor as they walked.
"Rezo had roses in his office."
"So, maybe he likes roses." Zelgadis only shook his head at this suggestion.
"Rezo couldn't grow weeds in summertime. I hardly believe he's suddenly achieved the green thumb he never had."
Lina shrugged, "So someone gave them to him."
"Rezo getting roses from someone? I thought you knew my super-single uncle better; he hasn't dated anyone since before I came to live with him." He looked to her, and she gave a shrug, "I don't know, Lina."
"Hey, don't worry about it," Lina said, "Unless we know Rezo's in danger, let's not worry about it."
"That's right, Miss Aqua. Later this week." Miss Naga's voice came to their ears.
Zelgadis raised a finger to his lips, and Lina nodded as the two of them walked slowly past the teachers so they could catch the conversation.
"And where are you going?" Miss Aqua asked.
"To a show, then dinner, and maybe a little somewhere else later," at the mention of this, she let out her ear shattering laugh, a slight blush coming to her face. Lina and Zelgadis looked to one another, shook their heads, and made their way to the exit, out the doors and to the parking lot where Lina's car was.
"Well, I'm not sure what Miss Naga was discussing exactly," Zelgadis remarked as he waited for Lina to unlock the car, "But it sounded…"
"Like she has a boyfriend," Lina suggested, "Or a fuck buddy."
Zelgadis paused for a moment, "Did you just say 'fuck buddy'?"
"And if I did?" Lina unlocked her own door and opened it, "I don't think it's a nice idea, but I accept that it exists." The two of them slid inside, and Lina started the car up, the eight-cylinder engine throbbing heavy under the hood.
"I've just never heard you use that term before."
Lina shrugged, "Not part of my standard vocabulary, but it's something I know." She backed the car up and drove it out of the school lot, quickly getting them out into the fresh spring air, the rock group playing in the radio delivering a rapid instrumental assault:
Black dragon fly high and win your past
Lost in the fire, the fire of hate
Black dragon fly high, spit your red flame
They're lost in the fire of damned
The fire of hate…*"Interesting," Zelgadis commented, "They kind of sound like Shitenoe."
Lina nodded, "You're right, but they're a little more aggressive than Shitenoe." Zelgadis only nodded, letting the lyrics of the music drag him into a dark world of creative sparks and soft-colored lights that took shapes.
"Hey Zel, snap out of it," Lina said as she pinched his shoulder. He flinched and looked out the window, the scenery changed. They were stopped in the parking lot of Bibel Park, a place few remembered anymore since it was now tucked away in a small neighborhood cornered in by an industrial complex.
"Lina, what are we…"
Lina hesitated only a moment before she kissed him, sliding out of her seat and on top of him. Her body was radiating heat, and Zelgadis grabbed her hips, the rush rising in his system and causing his own face to grow hot.
She grabbed the seat bar and pulled, the seat back falling back quickly and knocking some of the air out of Zelgadis. He coughed, and watched Lina slide toward his feet.
"Why so sudden Lina?" Zelgadis gasped. He didn't mind that she was willing, but he quietly wondered how it was she was suddenly so aggressive; he hadn't been that good.
"No reason, other than I'm curious," She smiled as she undid his zipper, "Besides, you can't be as boring as detention."
Pulling up to Zelgadis' house, they could see the black van; the equipment unloaded and set up.
"How slow did you say your clock was?" Zelgadis asked. Since they started they'd lost track of time, and now he wondered just how long the group had been waiting.
"Only an hour, I think." Lina laughed, "I guess I just never bothered with it. Guess it was a bad day to forget my watch."
"So, do we act like nothing is wrong?"
"No way," Lina said, "They would get suspicious at that in a heartbeat."
"So then, how do we act?"
"Natural, Zel."
"Natural?"
She nodded and parked the car, then reached back for her guitar. Zelgadis got out of the car, adjusted his boxers that were riding high, and smoothed his shirt down. He wondered if his hair looked okay and gently smoothed it as well.
"Ready?" Lina asked, giving him a quick look over. Zelgadis nodded, and the two of them walked into the garage and through the door into the house.
They were met by four pairs of eyes, a wide grin on each face: Jiras, Xellos, Vrumugun, and Zangulus. They said nothing, but instead began to clap, Xellos starting the group up. Clapping erupted into cheers and hooting, and Zelgadis looked to Lina, who only looked to the floor, her face almost as red as the fire of her hair. She cast him a sideways glance, and he smiled with embarrassment.
"Guess the cat is finally out of the bag you two," Xellos said as he patted each of them on the shoulder, "Now, about that concert."
