Here's the next chapter at long last. Just more random fun. Enjoy.
Chapter Three
He knew it; deep in the bottom of his boots he knew it for a fact. Today was going to suck.
You can ask how he knew it but he couldn't tell you. Maybe it was how cold and dreary it was, the sky an ill gray and rain slanting down driven by 40 mph winds. Maybe it was the fact the alarm clock didn't go off and he was late to the school he attended for a cover. Maybe it was because of the dream about being eaten alive by chipmunks...you never know.
Anyway, when Duo woke up an hour late, only getting up then because of Quatre pounding on his door he just knew that he'd regret not staying snuggled under the warm sheets. Since Quatre was his ride and the little blonde didn't want to be late he once again had to perform the speed change.
As he did whenever he was in a hurry he simply slung on jeans, a black t- shirt and tennies under his trench coat. Hell, it was the only coat he had. This outfit was starting to become a habit...
Running through the house he ripped through his hair, geez split ends were going to become a problem soon, braided it and grabbed his pack back. He was out the door when he remembered the borrowed pot of ink and nib that he had to return to *shudder* Relena. Scary bitch.
Once he had that tucked away in the front pocket of his backpack and made sure he had lunch money he dived in the car. Yeah, this was definitely getting to be a habit. Was it too cliché? Well even if it was then life was cliché and it didn't really matter in the long run.
In the car an annoying country song came on, a horrible and traumatizing experience but since Duo didn't have a license and driver got to choose there was squat didly he could do about it. And the worst thing was that as much as he hated country the song became firmly stuck in his head. Oh today was going to be frickin wonderful.
At the school Duo remembered a very annoying fact, he didn't have a first period. He could have slept in for another hour... Damn what a waste. Yeah but then he'd have had to ride his bike or walk in the cold. "I have nothing to do~o." Since Quatre had long disappeared Duo set his feet to wandering. After half an hour or so he found himself outside building eight, staring longingly into a large window.
Heero. Yes, there he was, sitting in the first row of English class. Look up, just look up. Duo leaned against an out jutting wall and waved to see if Heero would notice. He didn't.
He doesn't look so good. A frown tugged at Duo's mouth. Heero looked sick, flushed, tired. Is he okay? Duo pressed a hand to the window and waved again, trying to get him to look. Nothing.
I hope he didn't catch my cold. God, what if he's sick and it's my fault? Duo sighed and pushed away.
It was really cold out here and as much as he just wanted to watch Heero work in two more minutes he'd be picking icicles out of his braid. Til lunch then Heero. Duo sighed and made a beeline for the library, it was the only building he could go in without the campus cop chasing him down and yelling at him. Right now it wasn't a good idea to tempt fate, according to Mr. Elliot [*hiss* EVIL] the vice-principal, he was currently two and a half steps away from expulsion.
Like I care. If it were up to me I wouldn't even be here.
The library was crowded as usual and instead of getting a nice cushy chair he was stuck in a horrible hard and back straining contraption that would be more at home in a medieval torture chamber. Shit this thing hurts! Fighting back a whimper or a growl, he wasn't sure which; he leaned forward on the table and waited for the bell to ring. Using his trench coat as a cushion he simply sat there and stared at the clock, willing it to move faster.
"I feel like singing, I'm swinging the whole planet on the end of my chain. And when you kiss me, my head starts spinning. It's like your sending me adrenaline straight to my brain."
Goddamn country song. He couldn't help it or stop the words from slipping out and worst of all, he couldn't remember any words other than those few. Next time he ran into the blonde, Quatre was DEAD.
About the fifth time he ran through the song someone at the next table threw a book at him. "Shut up already! We get it!"
Duo snickered when the librarian dragged the boy out. Hehehe. Serves the guy right for chucking that at me. Good thing he missed or he'd be limping. Really for the right cause he had no qualms against kicking below the belt.
After a slow painful eternity the bell went off, resounding through the library. Oh hallelujah. Like a flash he was up and running to his class, desperate to see his friends. I need to talk to someone dammit!
It didn't take long to get there; the library and the CLC where he was going had nothing but a parking lot in between. But would he walk around on the sidewalk? Oh no, not him. Like a fool he ran across the parking lot and dodged cars. Hell why not? And not all the cars were parked. I swear that jackass was trying to hit me!
Here it was, the CLC. Home for STAR, (students together achieving results, not to be mistaken for STARS, students today aren't ready for sex. It's really annoying when people get those mixed up.) The gray building was large and circular. Last year it had been a computer building but had been given to the little STAR class after construction began and their previous room had lost a wall. It was a wee bit chilly in there after that.
No one was there but Mona, the teacher and Dave, the other teacher person who helped grade essays. Duo waved to them and chirped, "Hi!" before bouncing to his seat.
Dammit someone took his chair. You see there was a small problem with the room; every chair but one pulled his hair painfully. Everyday he had to walk around and switch chairs around to get that one and it really sucked when someone was sitting in it. That was why he got here early.
But today he was just shit out of luck, the chair wasn't there and as people started pouring in he was stuck in a little green one with those horrible buttons that yanked his hair. Sure he could sit on one of the two couches but he wanted to talk with his friends. Scooting to the very edge of it he leaned on the table and tried to make the best of a bad situation. You know, today sucked.
"Hey guys." His friends walked in together and sat down. Hilde beamed at him, Trowa smiled briefly and Wufei, well the jerk ignored them all and went to the computers.
"Hi Duo, what's going on?"
And so the class started with the three pretending to work while chatting about anything that caught their attention.
Duo's head jerked up suddenly. Very cold shivers were running up and down his back, and not the good ones he got around Heero either. Turning his head he saw Mona in all here scary glory towering over him. How the hell did that women tower, he was taller than her even sitting down. She was barely 4'7" for god's sake! I swear she took classes on how to be imposing in teacher school. Well that's all beside the point. The fact was she was hovering over him and he was scared of the diminutive women. "Duo, go find another seat."
"Huh?"
"You're being too loud, go get centered someone else." Hilde and Trowa looked back down to their books and started working furiously, pretending they hadn't been involved. Humph, some friends.
So as Mona stalked away to empty her water bottle on a sleeping student he gathered up his stuff and went over to the only empty seat, the fifty some year old couch by the window. Of course his braid got caught on those buttons when he stood up and he was jerked back down. After a few minutes of struggling to unhook the hair he was finally free.
Screw it; he wasn't going to work now. Growling under his breath at Mona, and wincing when she looked in his direction, he pulled out his clipboard, a nib, and the bottle of ink. Drawing was always relaxing.
After scribbling random things on his first sheet and streaking it with cursive lines of "meow" he felt warmed up enough to start a real picture. It really was soothing and even though he didn't have guidelines his picture was coming out surprisingly well. His thoughts drifted and before long he was thinking of, who else, Heero. The subject of his little doodle.
His attention was jerked back to reality as something hit his clipboard and rolled. Hilde's projectile smeared the ink across his picture, obscuring the image. Now chibi tiger Heero was ruined. Looking up he glared at Hilde and threw the pen back.
She waved her hands in apology. Duo started to try and salvage the picture before he had a premonition about the little bottle of barely balanced ink. What if she had knocked it over onto his coat? He loved this coat, it was the only one he had. So he screwed the ink shut and tucked it away into the backpack. No point in tempting fate.
Mona had stepped out of the room and Hilde was hissing across the distance, trying to get his attention. "I'm so bored." She pantomimed shooting herself in the head from boredom. Trowa, in an unusual act of comedy, "stabbed" himself with a pencil and keeled over in agreement.
Just then Mona walked back in and Duo waited patiently for her to turn away before replying. He nodded in agreement and "hung" himself with his braid energetically. Too energetically obviously because he slipped and slammed the side of his head against the couch arm.
I am not joking, there are stars in front of my eyes. Damn that thing is hard, it was just fabric over very, very solid wood. His friends and Mona all hurried over to see if he was okay. Slightly dizzy he tried to assure them he was okay.
"I'm fine. No dain bramage." What the hell did I just say? Oh, I think I'm going to throw up. Maybe I gave myself a concussion.
Mona and his friends didn't look too worried; they had started sniggering at his verbal slip up. It isn't funny dammit! I'm hurt! Man down, man down!
Then the bell rang, sending shooting pain through his head. Oh god I need some Tylenol. Mona directed the kids out towards the gym; there was an assembly today. After they had to come back for the second period of STAR. Oh joy.
Getting off the unbelievably low couch Duo tripped on his coat and sprawled face first. His supposed friends started laughing again but Trowa at least was nice enough to offer a hand. Duo mumbled thanks and stormed out of the room.
So what was the assembly about? Once he had shoved his way to a seat on the top row of the bleachers he had an answer. This was the locks of love one where a bunch of students were donating their hair. People had been bugging him to do it but what could he say, he loved the braid. Before long the gym was packed and everybody else had arrived.
Heero's sitting next to me. ^-^ Everybody else was there but Heero was the only one who mattered. Just being around him made the headache fade away. With concern he noticed how flushed the boy was but couldn't help but think he was beautiful. Such dreamy eyes and his lips looked so very kissable. Hey, who said he couldn't daydream?
"Are you okay?"
"Just a little cold, no big deal." Ahh, he wants to know if I'm okay. Pardon me while I melt into a gooey little puddle.
Below them about twelve girls and one teacher, the only guy there, sat in a small circle nervously with some more students behind them. There was little squirrel!! One of his friends he hardly ever saw, Celeste, was down there too. She was so cute! Like a hyper little sister. Apparently it wasn't time for the hair hacking yet as the lights dimmed until the gym was pitch black and a mini movie started.
Heero actually smiled, barely visible, and whispered in Duo's ear. Oh, the sweet shivers were back. "Maybe I should donate my hair too." He made a joke! Duo was a little too overwhelmed by the warm breath on his neck to comment for a moment but realized an opportunity when he saw one.
"Hmm, do you think you have the required ten inches?" Teasingly he ran his fingers in the short dark brown, almost black, hair, making it stand straight and mentally measuring it. It was just as soft as it looked. Hanyan... Heero didn't seem to mind, he just kept joking.
"Oh they'll spot me a few inches I'm sure. Is it possible to have minus inches of hair?" Duo was kind of glad Heero wasn't saying that he should hack off his braid. He liked this side of Heero. I guess it just took a cold to make him relax.
"Look at the lights."
Huh? Duo frowned a little and turned his head, and looked across the gym to the other set of bleachers. Oh. A bunch of little lights were waving back and forth. There were about a hundred and they were mainly five colors. After a moment he realized what they were. Students were waving their cell phones in a little light show. Looking around he saw that kids were doing it on this side too but he couldn't see it as well. It was kind of neat.
Heero gave him a little, friendly hug as the lights came on and he sighed in disappointment. Damn the people for going on with their assembly and ruining a potentially romantic moment. Some of the students around them, he noted with amusement, were hastily pulling apart. Well what else would happen with teenagers in near total dark?
With a thump he realized Heero still had one arm around his shoulders and his hand was still in the soft curls. Times like this make me realize just how much I love him. And it hurts because I know he's just my friend. So he tried to memorize this moment, how warm Heero was, the way he felt but half a second later he pulled away embarrassed. Did I put deodorant on this morning? God, I didn't brush my teeth! What if I smell?
God I'm an idiot but I don't want to disgust Heero. It's the strangest thing, he always makes me so body conscious and doubtful, but I'm never like this when he's gone. Grr, this entire situation sucks and I still want to kiss him!
Students around them cheered and he blinked in surprise. The first person's braid had been cut off and put into a little plastic bag. You know, Celeste looked even cuter with her hair like that, short in the back and hanging longer in front. The next girl got her hair cut and another wave of cheers went up. Even Heero was catcalling and clapping. What else could he do but join in? It was what they expected and soon he was one of the loudest people.
Everyone got their hair hacked off and some people started talking down on the floor, thanking the volunteers and encouraging others to do the same. Heero patted him on the shoulder and said goodbye as the assembly ended and everyone got up to leave. It was tempting to follow Heero and get shoved together with him in the crowd but no. Too many people made him nervous.
Duo just stayed where he was and watched the sea of bodies pouring out of the bleachers and out the door. It was a thing of his, he never jammed in with the crowd rushing to get out the door, he preferred to watch the people and wait for things to calm down. Uhn. My headache's back. He was distracted by the pounding that had started again and just sort of wandered back to the Star building. He went back to the couch, happy to zone and think of Heero. So that Mona wouldn't eat him alive he pretended to work, pulling out his English book and a pad of lined paper. He started writing but not about the assigned story, no, once again he wandered to the subject of Heero.
The truth is plain but can't I dream? Behind my smiling jokes I'm not all I seem Define love for me, show me the truth with your touch Is it wrong somehow that I hope for so much? My heart pounds but you look on uncomprehending These hungry glances, do I risk out friendship ending? I'm different when you're gone I can speak clearly Not tripping over desperate comments Or scooting away fearfully Torn between love and friends, what I choose What we have, what I could lose I think I love my closest friend Do I dare risk our end? I need time to think...
Well isn't that a lovely piece of drivel? Duo blushed just looking at the stupid little poem he had scribbled down but something stopped him from throwing it away. So he folded the damn thing and stuck it in his pocket. God I'm a fool, he doesn't feel the same way. He likes girls for crying out loud!
The bell rang for lunch, jerking him back to reality. Where the fuck did that hour go?
Trowa was next to him and waving a hand in front of his face. Ehh? "What do you want?" So I'm being rude now, I'm depressed, I have the right to it.
He looked relived at getting a response and smiled very slightly. "Duo man, you've kinda been zoned out since the assembly."
No duh. Everyone else gathered at the table were watching him. It was a little unnerving. "What are you looking at, let's go to lunch!" He smiled cheerfully, painfully aware of how red his face still was. Once more he bounced up, once more he tripped on the hem of his coat, leaving footprints and falling on his face. Oh today was just lovely.
He ignored his friends laughing at him once more and huffed out, stomping down to building six and the cafeteria. As usual he joined the abnormally long line, it snaked around the room and out the door and he was at the very end of it, oh joy. By the time he got his lunch everyone else was at the table and the only seat was next to Relena. [a/n Loxy, if ya read this I'm sorry but I couldn't think of anyone else who could fit your role. I don't really hate ya but still, MINE!!]
Wufei walked up and grunted hello. "Hey Duo, I've got a date later. Can you draw a tattoo on my arm to impress her?"
"Permanent or temporary?" After all I do have that bottle of ink and a very sharp nib. Oh the possibilities.
"Temporary you baka."
Smiling sweetly and taking the time to fish out his ink to wake up more completely he got ready to draw. My mind feels a little foggy but eh, anything to help a friend. Carefully he unscrewed the inkbottle and chose a rounded nib. "So, what do you want?"
Wufei shrugged and straddled a chair next to him, rolling up his right sleeve efficiently. "Just something cool." Hilde grinned and nibbled on a french-fry while watching them. Duo looked at the door, wondering what was taking Heero so long. Well he'll be here soon. So I should probably do this before I get all giggly and distracted.
"Okay, just tell me if this hurts cause it probably means I'm doing something I shouldn't." Gripping his friend's arm, he dipped the nib into the ink and started working. It was simple, a slightly curled Chinese dragon on his forearm. Nothing fancy. Just before he finished the tail he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, heard a gasp and froze.
He didn't have to look, he knew what had happened and he was in shock. No, god no. NO!!! Eyes very, very wide he turned slowly and stared at his friend. Hilde was looking at him with horror with a little bit of ink on her hand. Even slower he turned and looked down. The entire bottle of ink had been splashed over his jeans, his shoes and his trench coat. HIS COAT!!
While he would have normally screamed and beaten her he just couldn't. There was nothing but shock in his mind. His coat. Face slack without a word he stood up and walked out, holding the edge of his coat up daintily. He walked to the bathroom and took off his coat, thinking only that maybe, just maybe he could rinse it out.
Funny thing about black ink, when mixed with water it turns purple. Five minutes and two purple stained sinks later he realized this wasn't working. They were just too small and the water kept turning off. So he scooped up his coat and headed instead to the cooking classroom.
"Mrs. Mast?"
"Duo?" The teacher was a little startled to see him with such despair on his face, he could see concern on her face.
"Can I use your sink?" She took in the ink on his jeans and coat and he found himself with a bottle of gentle soap, tons of towels and a large sink. He didn't care about the shoes or the jeans, they were old anyway. But his coat, he loved the coat. It made him feel taller and always added to his confidence. It made him look like the anime type person he was!
With water as cold as he could stand he washed until the water came away clear. That meant that either he had gotten it all out or the ink was too settled into the cloth to come out now. Let us pray for the first choice. Face bleak he went through the office into Stacia's classroom where the art teacher, a good friend of his, helped him drape his coat over an easel with a ruler through the sleeves. It looked like a pathetic scarecrow.
Wufei came into the classroom with his bag, not saying a word but looking sad. The honor bound guy was probably blaming himself for the accident. Hilde trailed in behind him.
"I hate you." Duo glared at her but it lacked passion, his coat was one of his favorite things in the world, second only to Heero and his braid. He'd had it for years and it was like a part of his body, he almost always wore it when he was feeling depressed. And the biggest reason it was important was because Heero had gotten it for him. Wearing it almost felt like an eternal hug from his love. And now it was ruined.
Turning his back on his protesting friend he accepted his bag from Wufei and slung it over one shoulder before leaving to go to French class. Hilde trailed behind him with Relena, they had the same class as him anyway.
Relena had ink in her hair and splashed across the front of her bright, Bright, yellow shirt. Apparently he wasn't the only victim. Before he could help it, before he could remind himself that he hated the world he was laughing at her. He was laughing at Hilde for the ink on her nose, he was laughing because his skin up to the elbows was a purple gray color, he was laughing because he was stressed and tired and they were late. And the two girls were laughing with him.
Okay, so this isn't as dramatic as I thought it was, damn I am the master of melodrama. All hail me. A thought sobered him though, more than the ink stained coat. "Hey, did Heero ever show up for lunch?"
Relena pouted and folded her arms. "No, I haven't seen him since the assembly. I think he went home sick. After school I'm going to go and bring him soup."
What?! He's sick, oh god he's sick! It's all my fault! Those few words just kept circling in Duo's head, repeating over and over until he thought he would go crazy. For the rest of the day he ignored the teachers, his friends, everything. All he could think of was a miserable Heero, sick at home and wondering how he could help. To bring him chicken soup was tempting thought but other than being cliché he also knew for a fact that Heero hated chicken soup with a passion.
When the final bell rang he rushed to the bus, barley stopping to claim his coat in the art room. It was still wet and he almost turned to ice when the cold air hit him outside. Gah, coats are supposed to keep you warm not help you freeze!
Duo huddled into a little ball next to the window on the bus and rubbed his arms, trying to help the coat dry or to warm himself up but for all his efforts he remained just as cold and wet. Jesse, another kid he was friends with, was trying futilely to get his attention. Shivering Duo looked up at his fellow trench coat wearing artist and tried to smile. "Yeah?"
"Cold?"
"Yes! Am I that obvious?" Duo grinned and tried to curl up tighter, it didn't work. Their bus pulled up to the sidewalk and Duo watched the people in front of them shuffle off.
Jesse grinned much like Duo and slipped out of his coat, almost identical to Duo's. "The blue lips are a dead give away. Here." With that he dropped the large duster on Duo's head.
"Hey, but you'll be cold now!" Jesse shrugged and gestured to the sweater he was wearing and dashed off the bus before Duo could force the coat back on him.
Dammit, now I'm going to feel guilty. He's really nice though, I mean just last week he loaned me those PS2 games and he gave me that gameboy when he heard mine was broken. He wouldn't even accept any money for it! Duo shrugged out of his wet coat and wiggled into Jesse's before stowing his away in the front pocket of his backpack.
As usual he was the last one off the bus. It had become a tradition for him.
Ahh, so warm. I need to find a way to thank Jesse for being so nice. Duo bounced down the sidewalk in the general direction of home before an idea of what to do for Heero hit him. Pausing on the pavement he checked the contents of his pockets and grinned, perfect. After stuffing his money back into the jean's pocket he raced towards Nap's IGA to get what he needed. Five minutes later and with a plastic bag clenched in his fist he was running to see Heero.
It wasn't long before he was at the little brick red house and he was knocking on the door. Heero came to the door and looked out at him, frowning. "Hi, what's going on?"
"Heard you were sick." Duo looked Heero over and winced, he looked so much sicker than he had at the assembly. It was awful, his face was flushed and he looked like he had a fever. But dammit, he still looked too kissable for his own good.
Trying to look sympathetic Duo held out his offering. "I wanted to help but couldn't think of anything better. And I know you don't like chicken soup."
With obvious curiosity Heero took the bag and peered in at Duo's brilliant idea, a 1-liter Pepsi and a bag of cheetohs, puffy style. Heero's favorite junk food.
And when you're sick what makes you feel better than junk food? Heero seemed to think along the same way because he smiled and gave Duo a little hug. "Thanks." Once more Duo panicked about whether he smelled bad or something and tugged away. "Well I'm glad you like it bye!!" Duo rushed to get away; he couldn't stand the thought of Heero seeing his bright red face. I am such an idiot!
Yep, today definitely sucked. It'd take a major miracle for this to get better.
**************
Duo stared in quiet ecstatic shock at the large blue Ziploc bag in his hands. Oh, my, god. It was more than half filled with large, chocolate chip cookies, his favorite. For some reason he couldn't name tears started gathering at the corners of his eyes.
I won't ever be able to eat these. One tear streaking down his cheek he hugged the plastic bag close against his chest and giggled. I have never loved anything as much as these cookies!
Well maybe one. Duo stopped dancing around the room and reverently unzipped the bag. With care he picked out the smallest one and took a little nibble. Very salty and a little underdone but they were the best cookies he had ever eaten. Quickly he sealed the bag up and bounced to the fridge to hide the cookies away. Wandering back into the front room he curled up on the couch and ate the cookie slowly, savoring each bite.
Hmm. Yummy. With another almost hysterical giggle he hugged himself and licked the crumbs off his lips. Salty, and chocolately. It was what he imagined Heero must taste like. For a second his happiness faded, would he ever get the chance to know for sure what Heero tasted like or would he always be stuck with daydreams and wonderings?
I will not be gloomy; this is the best day in super long!! Heero made me cookies! No one else got cookies, they were just for me! He giggled and hugged himself again. Right now I feel like the most special person in the world. He had gotten his miracle. Yay!
All curled up on the couch he heard a suspicious crunching sound and bounced up. That sounded like...OH SHINIGAMI MY COOKIES!!
Sliding around the corner, he was wearing socks and the floor was polished wood, he saw a horrifying sight. Wufei was standing in the kitchen with the bag open and was wolfing down the cookies. His precious, beautiful, baked- by-Heero-just-for-him cookies.
"I'll kill you!!"
Wufei looked up in surprise and showed the cookies back in the fridge. Quickly he swallowed the last fragments and tried to look innocent. "What, I didn't do anything."
"You ate them!! Those cookies were just for me and you ate them!!" Tears of rage started down his cheeks as he yelled and he could see Wufei gulp in panic. Half a heartbeat later he was chasing Wufei around the house and beating him with the first thing that had come to hand.
It's amazing how much damage you could do with a blue stuffed bunny.
Would you please review and tell me what ya think? After all, I need to make up for all the reviews that got erased with the original version of this story. Please help?
Chapter Three
He knew it; deep in the bottom of his boots he knew it for a fact. Today was going to suck.
You can ask how he knew it but he couldn't tell you. Maybe it was how cold and dreary it was, the sky an ill gray and rain slanting down driven by 40 mph winds. Maybe it was the fact the alarm clock didn't go off and he was late to the school he attended for a cover. Maybe it was because of the dream about being eaten alive by chipmunks...you never know.
Anyway, when Duo woke up an hour late, only getting up then because of Quatre pounding on his door he just knew that he'd regret not staying snuggled under the warm sheets. Since Quatre was his ride and the little blonde didn't want to be late he once again had to perform the speed change.
As he did whenever he was in a hurry he simply slung on jeans, a black t- shirt and tennies under his trench coat. Hell, it was the only coat he had. This outfit was starting to become a habit...
Running through the house he ripped through his hair, geez split ends were going to become a problem soon, braided it and grabbed his pack back. He was out the door when he remembered the borrowed pot of ink and nib that he had to return to *shudder* Relena. Scary bitch.
Once he had that tucked away in the front pocket of his backpack and made sure he had lunch money he dived in the car. Yeah, this was definitely getting to be a habit. Was it too cliché? Well even if it was then life was cliché and it didn't really matter in the long run.
In the car an annoying country song came on, a horrible and traumatizing experience but since Duo didn't have a license and driver got to choose there was squat didly he could do about it. And the worst thing was that as much as he hated country the song became firmly stuck in his head. Oh today was going to be frickin wonderful.
At the school Duo remembered a very annoying fact, he didn't have a first period. He could have slept in for another hour... Damn what a waste. Yeah but then he'd have had to ride his bike or walk in the cold. "I have nothing to do~o." Since Quatre had long disappeared Duo set his feet to wandering. After half an hour or so he found himself outside building eight, staring longingly into a large window.
Heero. Yes, there he was, sitting in the first row of English class. Look up, just look up. Duo leaned against an out jutting wall and waved to see if Heero would notice. He didn't.
He doesn't look so good. A frown tugged at Duo's mouth. Heero looked sick, flushed, tired. Is he okay? Duo pressed a hand to the window and waved again, trying to get him to look. Nothing.
I hope he didn't catch my cold. God, what if he's sick and it's my fault? Duo sighed and pushed away.
It was really cold out here and as much as he just wanted to watch Heero work in two more minutes he'd be picking icicles out of his braid. Til lunch then Heero. Duo sighed and made a beeline for the library, it was the only building he could go in without the campus cop chasing him down and yelling at him. Right now it wasn't a good idea to tempt fate, according to Mr. Elliot [*hiss* EVIL] the vice-principal, he was currently two and a half steps away from expulsion.
Like I care. If it were up to me I wouldn't even be here.
The library was crowded as usual and instead of getting a nice cushy chair he was stuck in a horrible hard and back straining contraption that would be more at home in a medieval torture chamber. Shit this thing hurts! Fighting back a whimper or a growl, he wasn't sure which; he leaned forward on the table and waited for the bell to ring. Using his trench coat as a cushion he simply sat there and stared at the clock, willing it to move faster.
"I feel like singing, I'm swinging the whole planet on the end of my chain. And when you kiss me, my head starts spinning. It's like your sending me adrenaline straight to my brain."
Goddamn country song. He couldn't help it or stop the words from slipping out and worst of all, he couldn't remember any words other than those few. Next time he ran into the blonde, Quatre was DEAD.
About the fifth time he ran through the song someone at the next table threw a book at him. "Shut up already! We get it!"
Duo snickered when the librarian dragged the boy out. Hehehe. Serves the guy right for chucking that at me. Good thing he missed or he'd be limping. Really for the right cause he had no qualms against kicking below the belt.
After a slow painful eternity the bell went off, resounding through the library. Oh hallelujah. Like a flash he was up and running to his class, desperate to see his friends. I need to talk to someone dammit!
It didn't take long to get there; the library and the CLC where he was going had nothing but a parking lot in between. But would he walk around on the sidewalk? Oh no, not him. Like a fool he ran across the parking lot and dodged cars. Hell why not? And not all the cars were parked. I swear that jackass was trying to hit me!
Here it was, the CLC. Home for STAR, (students together achieving results, not to be mistaken for STARS, students today aren't ready for sex. It's really annoying when people get those mixed up.) The gray building was large and circular. Last year it had been a computer building but had been given to the little STAR class after construction began and their previous room had lost a wall. It was a wee bit chilly in there after that.
No one was there but Mona, the teacher and Dave, the other teacher person who helped grade essays. Duo waved to them and chirped, "Hi!" before bouncing to his seat.
Dammit someone took his chair. You see there was a small problem with the room; every chair but one pulled his hair painfully. Everyday he had to walk around and switch chairs around to get that one and it really sucked when someone was sitting in it. That was why he got here early.
But today he was just shit out of luck, the chair wasn't there and as people started pouring in he was stuck in a little green one with those horrible buttons that yanked his hair. Sure he could sit on one of the two couches but he wanted to talk with his friends. Scooting to the very edge of it he leaned on the table and tried to make the best of a bad situation. You know, today sucked.
"Hey guys." His friends walked in together and sat down. Hilde beamed at him, Trowa smiled briefly and Wufei, well the jerk ignored them all and went to the computers.
"Hi Duo, what's going on?"
And so the class started with the three pretending to work while chatting about anything that caught their attention.
Duo's head jerked up suddenly. Very cold shivers were running up and down his back, and not the good ones he got around Heero either. Turning his head he saw Mona in all here scary glory towering over him. How the hell did that women tower, he was taller than her even sitting down. She was barely 4'7" for god's sake! I swear she took classes on how to be imposing in teacher school. Well that's all beside the point. The fact was she was hovering over him and he was scared of the diminutive women. "Duo, go find another seat."
"Huh?"
"You're being too loud, go get centered someone else." Hilde and Trowa looked back down to their books and started working furiously, pretending they hadn't been involved. Humph, some friends.
So as Mona stalked away to empty her water bottle on a sleeping student he gathered up his stuff and went over to the only empty seat, the fifty some year old couch by the window. Of course his braid got caught on those buttons when he stood up and he was jerked back down. After a few minutes of struggling to unhook the hair he was finally free.
Screw it; he wasn't going to work now. Growling under his breath at Mona, and wincing when she looked in his direction, he pulled out his clipboard, a nib, and the bottle of ink. Drawing was always relaxing.
After scribbling random things on his first sheet and streaking it with cursive lines of "meow" he felt warmed up enough to start a real picture. It really was soothing and even though he didn't have guidelines his picture was coming out surprisingly well. His thoughts drifted and before long he was thinking of, who else, Heero. The subject of his little doodle.
His attention was jerked back to reality as something hit his clipboard and rolled. Hilde's projectile smeared the ink across his picture, obscuring the image. Now chibi tiger Heero was ruined. Looking up he glared at Hilde and threw the pen back.
She waved her hands in apology. Duo started to try and salvage the picture before he had a premonition about the little bottle of barely balanced ink. What if she had knocked it over onto his coat? He loved this coat, it was the only one he had. So he screwed the ink shut and tucked it away into the backpack. No point in tempting fate.
Mona had stepped out of the room and Hilde was hissing across the distance, trying to get his attention. "I'm so bored." She pantomimed shooting herself in the head from boredom. Trowa, in an unusual act of comedy, "stabbed" himself with a pencil and keeled over in agreement.
Just then Mona walked back in and Duo waited patiently for her to turn away before replying. He nodded in agreement and "hung" himself with his braid energetically. Too energetically obviously because he slipped and slammed the side of his head against the couch arm.
I am not joking, there are stars in front of my eyes. Damn that thing is hard, it was just fabric over very, very solid wood. His friends and Mona all hurried over to see if he was okay. Slightly dizzy he tried to assure them he was okay.
"I'm fine. No dain bramage." What the hell did I just say? Oh, I think I'm going to throw up. Maybe I gave myself a concussion.
Mona and his friends didn't look too worried; they had started sniggering at his verbal slip up. It isn't funny dammit! I'm hurt! Man down, man down!
Then the bell rang, sending shooting pain through his head. Oh god I need some Tylenol. Mona directed the kids out towards the gym; there was an assembly today. After they had to come back for the second period of STAR. Oh joy.
Getting off the unbelievably low couch Duo tripped on his coat and sprawled face first. His supposed friends started laughing again but Trowa at least was nice enough to offer a hand. Duo mumbled thanks and stormed out of the room.
So what was the assembly about? Once he had shoved his way to a seat on the top row of the bleachers he had an answer. This was the locks of love one where a bunch of students were donating their hair. People had been bugging him to do it but what could he say, he loved the braid. Before long the gym was packed and everybody else had arrived.
Heero's sitting next to me. ^-^ Everybody else was there but Heero was the only one who mattered. Just being around him made the headache fade away. With concern he noticed how flushed the boy was but couldn't help but think he was beautiful. Such dreamy eyes and his lips looked so very kissable. Hey, who said he couldn't daydream?
"Are you okay?"
"Just a little cold, no big deal." Ahh, he wants to know if I'm okay. Pardon me while I melt into a gooey little puddle.
Below them about twelve girls and one teacher, the only guy there, sat in a small circle nervously with some more students behind them. There was little squirrel!! One of his friends he hardly ever saw, Celeste, was down there too. She was so cute! Like a hyper little sister. Apparently it wasn't time for the hair hacking yet as the lights dimmed until the gym was pitch black and a mini movie started.
Heero actually smiled, barely visible, and whispered in Duo's ear. Oh, the sweet shivers were back. "Maybe I should donate my hair too." He made a joke! Duo was a little too overwhelmed by the warm breath on his neck to comment for a moment but realized an opportunity when he saw one.
"Hmm, do you think you have the required ten inches?" Teasingly he ran his fingers in the short dark brown, almost black, hair, making it stand straight and mentally measuring it. It was just as soft as it looked. Hanyan... Heero didn't seem to mind, he just kept joking.
"Oh they'll spot me a few inches I'm sure. Is it possible to have minus inches of hair?" Duo was kind of glad Heero wasn't saying that he should hack off his braid. He liked this side of Heero. I guess it just took a cold to make him relax.
"Look at the lights."
Huh? Duo frowned a little and turned his head, and looked across the gym to the other set of bleachers. Oh. A bunch of little lights were waving back and forth. There were about a hundred and they were mainly five colors. After a moment he realized what they were. Students were waving their cell phones in a little light show. Looking around he saw that kids were doing it on this side too but he couldn't see it as well. It was kind of neat.
Heero gave him a little, friendly hug as the lights came on and he sighed in disappointment. Damn the people for going on with their assembly and ruining a potentially romantic moment. Some of the students around them, he noted with amusement, were hastily pulling apart. Well what else would happen with teenagers in near total dark?
With a thump he realized Heero still had one arm around his shoulders and his hand was still in the soft curls. Times like this make me realize just how much I love him. And it hurts because I know he's just my friend. So he tried to memorize this moment, how warm Heero was, the way he felt but half a second later he pulled away embarrassed. Did I put deodorant on this morning? God, I didn't brush my teeth! What if I smell?
God I'm an idiot but I don't want to disgust Heero. It's the strangest thing, he always makes me so body conscious and doubtful, but I'm never like this when he's gone. Grr, this entire situation sucks and I still want to kiss him!
Students around them cheered and he blinked in surprise. The first person's braid had been cut off and put into a little plastic bag. You know, Celeste looked even cuter with her hair like that, short in the back and hanging longer in front. The next girl got her hair cut and another wave of cheers went up. Even Heero was catcalling and clapping. What else could he do but join in? It was what they expected and soon he was one of the loudest people.
Everyone got their hair hacked off and some people started talking down on the floor, thanking the volunteers and encouraging others to do the same. Heero patted him on the shoulder and said goodbye as the assembly ended and everyone got up to leave. It was tempting to follow Heero and get shoved together with him in the crowd but no. Too many people made him nervous.
Duo just stayed where he was and watched the sea of bodies pouring out of the bleachers and out the door. It was a thing of his, he never jammed in with the crowd rushing to get out the door, he preferred to watch the people and wait for things to calm down. Uhn. My headache's back. He was distracted by the pounding that had started again and just sort of wandered back to the Star building. He went back to the couch, happy to zone and think of Heero. So that Mona wouldn't eat him alive he pretended to work, pulling out his English book and a pad of lined paper. He started writing but not about the assigned story, no, once again he wandered to the subject of Heero.
The truth is plain but can't I dream? Behind my smiling jokes I'm not all I seem Define love for me, show me the truth with your touch Is it wrong somehow that I hope for so much? My heart pounds but you look on uncomprehending These hungry glances, do I risk out friendship ending? I'm different when you're gone I can speak clearly Not tripping over desperate comments Or scooting away fearfully Torn between love and friends, what I choose What we have, what I could lose I think I love my closest friend Do I dare risk our end? I need time to think...
Well isn't that a lovely piece of drivel? Duo blushed just looking at the stupid little poem he had scribbled down but something stopped him from throwing it away. So he folded the damn thing and stuck it in his pocket. God I'm a fool, he doesn't feel the same way. He likes girls for crying out loud!
The bell rang for lunch, jerking him back to reality. Where the fuck did that hour go?
Trowa was next to him and waving a hand in front of his face. Ehh? "What do you want?" So I'm being rude now, I'm depressed, I have the right to it.
He looked relived at getting a response and smiled very slightly. "Duo man, you've kinda been zoned out since the assembly."
No duh. Everyone else gathered at the table were watching him. It was a little unnerving. "What are you looking at, let's go to lunch!" He smiled cheerfully, painfully aware of how red his face still was. Once more he bounced up, once more he tripped on the hem of his coat, leaving footprints and falling on his face. Oh today was just lovely.
He ignored his friends laughing at him once more and huffed out, stomping down to building six and the cafeteria. As usual he joined the abnormally long line, it snaked around the room and out the door and he was at the very end of it, oh joy. By the time he got his lunch everyone else was at the table and the only seat was next to Relena. [a/n Loxy, if ya read this I'm sorry but I couldn't think of anyone else who could fit your role. I don't really hate ya but still, MINE!!]
Wufei walked up and grunted hello. "Hey Duo, I've got a date later. Can you draw a tattoo on my arm to impress her?"
"Permanent or temporary?" After all I do have that bottle of ink and a very sharp nib. Oh the possibilities.
"Temporary you baka."
Smiling sweetly and taking the time to fish out his ink to wake up more completely he got ready to draw. My mind feels a little foggy but eh, anything to help a friend. Carefully he unscrewed the inkbottle and chose a rounded nib. "So, what do you want?"
Wufei shrugged and straddled a chair next to him, rolling up his right sleeve efficiently. "Just something cool." Hilde grinned and nibbled on a french-fry while watching them. Duo looked at the door, wondering what was taking Heero so long. Well he'll be here soon. So I should probably do this before I get all giggly and distracted.
"Okay, just tell me if this hurts cause it probably means I'm doing something I shouldn't." Gripping his friend's arm, he dipped the nib into the ink and started working. It was simple, a slightly curled Chinese dragon on his forearm. Nothing fancy. Just before he finished the tail he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, heard a gasp and froze.
He didn't have to look, he knew what had happened and he was in shock. No, god no. NO!!! Eyes very, very wide he turned slowly and stared at his friend. Hilde was looking at him with horror with a little bit of ink on her hand. Even slower he turned and looked down. The entire bottle of ink had been splashed over his jeans, his shoes and his trench coat. HIS COAT!!
While he would have normally screamed and beaten her he just couldn't. There was nothing but shock in his mind. His coat. Face slack without a word he stood up and walked out, holding the edge of his coat up daintily. He walked to the bathroom and took off his coat, thinking only that maybe, just maybe he could rinse it out.
Funny thing about black ink, when mixed with water it turns purple. Five minutes and two purple stained sinks later he realized this wasn't working. They were just too small and the water kept turning off. So he scooped up his coat and headed instead to the cooking classroom.
"Mrs. Mast?"
"Duo?" The teacher was a little startled to see him with such despair on his face, he could see concern on her face.
"Can I use your sink?" She took in the ink on his jeans and coat and he found himself with a bottle of gentle soap, tons of towels and a large sink. He didn't care about the shoes or the jeans, they were old anyway. But his coat, he loved the coat. It made him feel taller and always added to his confidence. It made him look like the anime type person he was!
With water as cold as he could stand he washed until the water came away clear. That meant that either he had gotten it all out or the ink was too settled into the cloth to come out now. Let us pray for the first choice. Face bleak he went through the office into Stacia's classroom where the art teacher, a good friend of his, helped him drape his coat over an easel with a ruler through the sleeves. It looked like a pathetic scarecrow.
Wufei came into the classroom with his bag, not saying a word but looking sad. The honor bound guy was probably blaming himself for the accident. Hilde trailed in behind him.
"I hate you." Duo glared at her but it lacked passion, his coat was one of his favorite things in the world, second only to Heero and his braid. He'd had it for years and it was like a part of his body, he almost always wore it when he was feeling depressed. And the biggest reason it was important was because Heero had gotten it for him. Wearing it almost felt like an eternal hug from his love. And now it was ruined.
Turning his back on his protesting friend he accepted his bag from Wufei and slung it over one shoulder before leaving to go to French class. Hilde trailed behind him with Relena, they had the same class as him anyway.
Relena had ink in her hair and splashed across the front of her bright, Bright, yellow shirt. Apparently he wasn't the only victim. Before he could help it, before he could remind himself that he hated the world he was laughing at her. He was laughing at Hilde for the ink on her nose, he was laughing because his skin up to the elbows was a purple gray color, he was laughing because he was stressed and tired and they were late. And the two girls were laughing with him.
Okay, so this isn't as dramatic as I thought it was, damn I am the master of melodrama. All hail me. A thought sobered him though, more than the ink stained coat. "Hey, did Heero ever show up for lunch?"
Relena pouted and folded her arms. "No, I haven't seen him since the assembly. I think he went home sick. After school I'm going to go and bring him soup."
What?! He's sick, oh god he's sick! It's all my fault! Those few words just kept circling in Duo's head, repeating over and over until he thought he would go crazy. For the rest of the day he ignored the teachers, his friends, everything. All he could think of was a miserable Heero, sick at home and wondering how he could help. To bring him chicken soup was tempting thought but other than being cliché he also knew for a fact that Heero hated chicken soup with a passion.
When the final bell rang he rushed to the bus, barley stopping to claim his coat in the art room. It was still wet and he almost turned to ice when the cold air hit him outside. Gah, coats are supposed to keep you warm not help you freeze!
Duo huddled into a little ball next to the window on the bus and rubbed his arms, trying to help the coat dry or to warm himself up but for all his efforts he remained just as cold and wet. Jesse, another kid he was friends with, was trying futilely to get his attention. Shivering Duo looked up at his fellow trench coat wearing artist and tried to smile. "Yeah?"
"Cold?"
"Yes! Am I that obvious?" Duo grinned and tried to curl up tighter, it didn't work. Their bus pulled up to the sidewalk and Duo watched the people in front of them shuffle off.
Jesse grinned much like Duo and slipped out of his coat, almost identical to Duo's. "The blue lips are a dead give away. Here." With that he dropped the large duster on Duo's head.
"Hey, but you'll be cold now!" Jesse shrugged and gestured to the sweater he was wearing and dashed off the bus before Duo could force the coat back on him.
Dammit, now I'm going to feel guilty. He's really nice though, I mean just last week he loaned me those PS2 games and he gave me that gameboy when he heard mine was broken. He wouldn't even accept any money for it! Duo shrugged out of his wet coat and wiggled into Jesse's before stowing his away in the front pocket of his backpack.
As usual he was the last one off the bus. It had become a tradition for him.
Ahh, so warm. I need to find a way to thank Jesse for being so nice. Duo bounced down the sidewalk in the general direction of home before an idea of what to do for Heero hit him. Pausing on the pavement he checked the contents of his pockets and grinned, perfect. After stuffing his money back into the jean's pocket he raced towards Nap's IGA to get what he needed. Five minutes later and with a plastic bag clenched in his fist he was running to see Heero.
It wasn't long before he was at the little brick red house and he was knocking on the door. Heero came to the door and looked out at him, frowning. "Hi, what's going on?"
"Heard you were sick." Duo looked Heero over and winced, he looked so much sicker than he had at the assembly. It was awful, his face was flushed and he looked like he had a fever. But dammit, he still looked too kissable for his own good.
Trying to look sympathetic Duo held out his offering. "I wanted to help but couldn't think of anything better. And I know you don't like chicken soup."
With obvious curiosity Heero took the bag and peered in at Duo's brilliant idea, a 1-liter Pepsi and a bag of cheetohs, puffy style. Heero's favorite junk food.
And when you're sick what makes you feel better than junk food? Heero seemed to think along the same way because he smiled and gave Duo a little hug. "Thanks." Once more Duo panicked about whether he smelled bad or something and tugged away. "Well I'm glad you like it bye!!" Duo rushed to get away; he couldn't stand the thought of Heero seeing his bright red face. I am such an idiot!
Yep, today definitely sucked. It'd take a major miracle for this to get better.
**************
Duo stared in quiet ecstatic shock at the large blue Ziploc bag in his hands. Oh, my, god. It was more than half filled with large, chocolate chip cookies, his favorite. For some reason he couldn't name tears started gathering at the corners of his eyes.
I won't ever be able to eat these. One tear streaking down his cheek he hugged the plastic bag close against his chest and giggled. I have never loved anything as much as these cookies!
Well maybe one. Duo stopped dancing around the room and reverently unzipped the bag. With care he picked out the smallest one and took a little nibble. Very salty and a little underdone but they were the best cookies he had ever eaten. Quickly he sealed the bag up and bounced to the fridge to hide the cookies away. Wandering back into the front room he curled up on the couch and ate the cookie slowly, savoring each bite.
Hmm. Yummy. With another almost hysterical giggle he hugged himself and licked the crumbs off his lips. Salty, and chocolately. It was what he imagined Heero must taste like. For a second his happiness faded, would he ever get the chance to know for sure what Heero tasted like or would he always be stuck with daydreams and wonderings?
I will not be gloomy; this is the best day in super long!! Heero made me cookies! No one else got cookies, they were just for me! He giggled and hugged himself again. Right now I feel like the most special person in the world. He had gotten his miracle. Yay!
All curled up on the couch he heard a suspicious crunching sound and bounced up. That sounded like...OH SHINIGAMI MY COOKIES!!
Sliding around the corner, he was wearing socks and the floor was polished wood, he saw a horrifying sight. Wufei was standing in the kitchen with the bag open and was wolfing down the cookies. His precious, beautiful, baked- by-Heero-just-for-him cookies.
"I'll kill you!!"
Wufei looked up in surprise and showed the cookies back in the fridge. Quickly he swallowed the last fragments and tried to look innocent. "What, I didn't do anything."
"You ate them!! Those cookies were just for me and you ate them!!" Tears of rage started down his cheeks as he yelled and he could see Wufei gulp in panic. Half a heartbeat later he was chasing Wufei around the house and beating him with the first thing that had come to hand.
It's amazing how much damage you could do with a blue stuffed bunny.
Would you please review and tell me what ya think? After all, I need to make up for all the reviews that got erased with the original version of this story. Please help?